American Idol 8 - Top 5

This week on American Idol, we have songs from the Rat Pack era. For me, this is not a wildly exciting theme as I am unfamiliar with a lot of these standards. However, Idol is proving to be a great way to introduce these songs to new generations of fans; those who have no idea these songs exist. So all in all, it's a good thing Idol chooses to do a theme like this every couple of years. It seems they flip flop years between Broadway tunes. And there's no denying that Frank Sinatra is one of the very best from the Rat Pack era. His songs are legendary and will live on for all time. And taking all things into consideration, this week's song choices by the five remaining contestants were very smart and suited them all. On with the recaps!

Kris Allen - "The Way You Look Tonight" : Kris' evolution on Idol has been pretty amazing. He was barely featured in any of the early rounds, did a decent-enough job to get into the finals with his "Man in the Mirror" rendition, and has surged to the top of the pack in recent weeks. He's up first this week and receives major props from this week's mentor Jamie Foxx. I have become a fan of Kris and am absolutely loving his rendition of this song. He's on pitch and the first half of this song is very sensual, soft, and he's really connecting to it. Then the tempo picks up and it's still pleasantly good. He gives the song a more upbeat, jazzy feel. He closes the song with a very nice falsetto note (I didn't find it off-pitch). However, I was VERY upset how Simon chose to throw Kris under the bus this week. Honestly, what was his problem with Kris and this song?!

Allison Iraheta - "Someone to Watch Over Me" : Allison is this season's contestant that has gotten no respect. No respect from the American voting public and the judges (except for Kara). For her to land in the bottom three on three separate occasions in blasphemy especially in all of those weeks, she was one of the best of the night! Maybe this week, things will go her way. I am loving Allison's look this week; she actually isn't dressed like a rocker, but more like a typical 17-year old high school girl. And right from the start of this performance, I am feeling her deep connection to this song. I don't think I've felt such high emotion from her in a performance like this to date. It's very restrained, yet she adds a certain edginess to the song with her vocals. I can clearly understand her this week and it was so nice to see her step back from the rock genre and into something out of her element. Well done to Allison.

Matt Giraud - "My Funny Valentine" : Next we have the contestant who has defied fate on three separate occasions during the course of season eight. Honestly, I don't see Matt getting much further in this competition with four other superb contestants around him, but he's definitely made the most of his time on the Idol stage. And he certainly makes Michigan proud for bringing some much needed positive news to the state. I remember back in season six when Melinda Doolittle absolutely slayed this song - so Matt has some pretty big expectations to live up to. One thing is for sure, Matt has slowed down this song in his rendition - WAY down. I am thinking the song's range is way too low for Matt because he's failing to hit the right notes, especially in the beginning of this. He's a bit more restrained with the riffs, much like Jamie suggested, however he's not completely laying off them. I will say the ending was better than the beginning, but it just wasn't the best we've seen from Matt.

Danny Gokey - "Come Rain or Come Shine" : Danny has become the contestant people either love or hate. There's no denying he has a pretty large fanbase that keeps him in the competition week in and week out - in fact, he hasn't landed in the bottom three yet. However, he is one of the contestants to receive the most negative commentary from the fans and his popularity has definitely fallen since the early stages of the show. He's often described as being smarmy, show-boaty, and egotistical. Whatever you might think of him, he's still in this competition. And many, including Paula, are penciling him in to reach the finale. This week I found Danny to be much more tolerable than I've found him in previous weeks. In fact, this is probably the most relevant Danny has been to this competition in awhile. First off, Jamie Foxx's mentoring of Danny was hilarious - all up in Danny's face. I really enjoyed how the performance started with a more restrained Danny and keeping the song relatively simple. However, the final-third of the song was typical shouty-Danny. That took away from this being a great performance for me.

Adam Lambert - "Feeling Good" : Next up is Adam Lambert, who again performs in the pimp spot. How many times has he had the fortune to sing in this position? I know it's the most of any contestant this season. After all, it's a foregone conclusion that he'll win this thing. Why don't we crown him now and forget the final three weeks we have of Idol? Ah, but there's always hope of a shock elimination! Why don't I think it'll ever be Adam? I do generally like Adam but I think he tends to go a tad bit overboard with the theatrics of some of his performances, particularly those that are the uptempo, manic ones. And what a set-up we have for Adam to begin his performance; way up top on the stairs at the center of the stage; him gradually walking down, posing, and singing. I do enjoy the way this performance starts; certainly more restrained and he's not over-doing it. I was afraid this was going to be a train-wreck if he was going to glamrock-it-up. But overall, it was another spectacular vocal from Adam. And what the heck was with that second to last glory note? That was sick!!

Wow, the contestant recaps are getting longer and longer as we get down to the finale. I guess with less contestants, I write more! Anyways, here is this week's performance rankings, based on my opinion:

1.) Allison Iraheta
2.) Kris Allen - bottom two (actual bottom three - 4/29/09)
3.) Adam Lambert (actual bottom three - 4/29/09)
4.) Danny Gokey
5.) Matt Giraud - eliminated (actual eliminee - 4/29/09)

Matt Giraud gave the weakest performance out of the five, which is why I am thinking he'll get the boot this week. I genuinely believe Matt's time is up in this competition - even though he's defied fate a number of times. But you have to be at the top of your game at this stage of the competition and Matt most certainly wasn't compared to the other four. And despite my opinions of Kris having the second-best performance of the night, Simon certainly didn't feel that way. He was thrown under the bus this time around, which is why he'll land in this week's bottom two. And going first never helps a contestant, either. Allison could also be a threat to land in the bottom two (or three, if they do a bottom three this week), however, I have seen a lot of negative reaction to Simon's comments about Allison's performance. A lot of people have stepped up their voting in support of Allison so with that being said, she should escape any threat of elimination this week. And with the continued pimping of Danny and Adam, don't expect them to go anywhere this week.

With that being said, I was a little disappointed each of the five contestants only sang one song, unlike previous years when each contestant at this stage sang two songs. I guess adding that fourth judge really took away a lot of performance time and that's especially sad. I think the producers of Idol really need to re-examine the four-judge panel heading into next season. I don't believe it's working all that well, especially when it's taking away from the performance time of the contestants. Out of anyone, they need to get rid of Randy because I've found him to be the most irrelevant this season than ever before. Just get the three-judging panel back, at least keep Simon and Paula, and things will be much rosier heading into season nine.

I have lost my concentration to write anymore as some idiotic woman is screaming obscenities to a person on her cell phone outside my window, so I'm going to get on my merry way. Ugh, some people... Be sure to enjoy tonight's results show starting at 9 PM on the east coast on Fox. Peace!

The End of an Era for the Pistons

It's no secret I am a fan of all Michigan sports teams. Heck, I even like the Detroit Lions - even though they have been pathetic for years. I was raised to like all Michigan sports teams, as they are whom my parents rooted for after all these years. And it's kind of funny because my mom grew up in a family where they loved the Chicago Cubs and the Green Bay Packers. My dad's family didn't seem to be all that big into sports, although there was some excitement over the Red Wings and Tigers. So it's kind of nice to see in my immediate family at least, we all root for the same teams. And if you live in the state of Michigan, you probably know that the University of Michigan and Michigan State have a pretty big rivalry between them. I root for both schools when it comes to sports (except for their respective division one hockey programs, who face off against my alma mater Northern Michigan University Wildcats) because I believe we're all in this together. I mean, it was incredible to see the Michigan State Spartans make it to the championship game just last month in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Too bad they fell one game shy.

Being the big Michigan sports fan that I am, I am inclined to comment on the rise and fall of the Detroit Pistons. I didn't have my blog around the time when they won their last NBA championship in 2004 (man, five years ago already). But if I did, you can probably bet you'd see a few blogs regarding that championship run. What an incredible team that was - and they were never expected to beat the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals. There were many predictions of them being swept or losing in five games to the Lakers. But who ended up almost being swept out of the finals that year? I would say the 2004 Piston team were a group of overachievers. Most of that team was made up of individuals who nobody had heard of before. But boy, did they know their names once that season was over. The Pistons were known for their stellar defense that crushed the competition. Even those high offense teams were stymied by the Pistons that year. And now five years later, that era in Pistons basketball has officially come to a close.

Yesterday the Pistons were swept out of their first round series against the Cleveland Caveliers. The Pistons honestly had no answer to Lebron James and the rest of the Cavs team. They seemed to keep pace with the Cavs for awhile, only to be overwhelmed and completely blown out in the third and fourth quarters. Many people are likening the close of this era to the one that ended in the 1990's to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan when the Pistons were swept in a playoff series during the 1990-91 season. Back then, the Pistons were coming off back-to-back championships but they faced an almighty challenge against that up-and-coming Bulls team. And we all know how many championships the Bulls were able to rack up in the decade of the '90's. This season, after six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances and playing in over 100 playoff games - the latest and greatest era in Pistons basketball came to an end at the hands of the new NBA superstar Lebron James and the upstart Cavs. I mean sure, the Cavs were in the NBA Finals two years ago, only to be swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs. This year's Cavs team is far more experienced now and more hungry than ever. If they don't make it to the Finals this season, I'll be shocked. And whoever they play in the Finals, they will give that team one heck of a series.

It remains to be seen exactly what will happen to the nucleus of players that make up the current Pistons roster. Allen Iverson definitely won't be back after a nightmare of a half-season with his new team. I honestly thought it would work out better for A.I. and the Pistons than it did. I wasn't one of those people to question the trade that Joe Dumars pulled earlier in the season. But oh how wrong I was. Just look at how exceptional Chauncey Billups is doing with the Denver Nuggets now. As for Rasheed Wallace - I don't expect him to be back, either. He is getting older and I think the Pistons have grown tired of his tirades. He acts like he doesn't care anymore and is due a fresh start in a new city. Antonio McDyess is rumored to be out as well, which is especially sad because he never got to experience winning an NBA championship in Detroit which he was really hoping to get. They came awfully close in 2005 against the Spurs, only to be ousted in seven games. Tayshaun Prince is also being rumored to be traded so the Pistons can pick up a more offensive player. Whatever happens, this season is definitely the last of the current Pistons team. It was a great ride and hopefully the Pistons will be able to return to their championship form sooner, rather than later.

The Latest on David Archuleta

So it's been a little while since I wrote a blog about David Archuleta, last season's runner-up on American Idol. Did I mention before he should have won last season? Ahem ... anyways, David is continuing his hectic performing schedule. After last week's appearance on American Idol where he sang the latest single off his debut album "Touch My Hand," he flew off to the UK where he's the opening act in a number of shows to the group McFly. I am sure many of you reading this blog are unfamiliar with the group McFly, but they are a pretty big act in the UK. Obviously this should end up helping David's exposure in the UK quite a bit. American Idol does air across the pond, but I'm not sure how hugely popular it is over there like it is here. I mean afterall, they have their own version of American Idol called "The X-Factor." So they may be more excited about their version than ours; however, from visiting various Idol and David Archuleta message boards, I've noticed quite a few fans of Archie from the UK as well.

So, what did everyone think of David's performance on American Idol last week? I thought he did pretty good - his stage presence has improved markedly from when he was on the show last season. He was really getting into the performance and interacted with fans in the audience. I don't think it was his best vocal but I heard rumors to the fact that he had been sick. And he was probably super nervous returning to the Idol stage. I know I would be! So, with all things considered, I would give David a solid B+ for his performance on Idol. I noticed from a lot of comments on-line, people didn't necessarily like the song, but they were impressed by his performance as a whole. And I've got to admit, the song "Touch my Hand" is a tad on the corny side. But it is catchy nontheless and David does a good job singing it at whatever venue he performs.

David also makes an upcoming appearance in the popular Disney show "Hannah Montana" featuring Miley Cyrus and sings a duet with the star of the show. In fact, this episode has just recently appeared on many "On Demand" cable features, so if you have On Demand as part of your cable subscription, you can catch it early! Now, I don't profess to be a "Hannah Montana" or Miley Cyrus fan - I actually find her to be quite annoying. However, this is tremendous exposure for David. I believe this particular episode of "Hannah Montana" featuring David Archuleta is set to officially premiere on the Disney Channel on May 3 - be sure to check your local listings just to double check. And for those of you who can't wait, I found a video clip on YouTube!



The song is titled "I Wanna Know You," and usually I don't find Miley to be that great of a singer. However, she sings great with David Archuleta. I do think this song starts off on a rather annoying note with Miley's "whoa oh ah uh oh oh's" but it gets a lot better. It's a much better duet than I expected! And David looks very confident in his acting role, albeit short. Go David! (Update: The official Radio Disney version of the song has David's part in the song cut right out! Instead of David getting a solo like in the TV version of the song, it's basically just Miley's song with David singing in the background. How horrible. I certainly hope this song doesn't get released as a single because Disney and Miley both ruined it for me.)

So what's next for David this summer? Once his tour with McFly ends, he'll next be paired up with another Disney star, Demi Lovato, for a tour across the U.S. this summer. This should prove to be another very successful venture for David as he'll be touring with someone very popular with the tweens and young teenagers. The tour is expected to last for much of the summer and include stops in many of the major metropolitan areas in the United States. For more information on this tour and other David Archuleta information - be sure to check out David's official website: DavidArchuleta.com.

American Idol 8 - Top 7 (Again)

So here we are again for the second week in a row - a top seven! I am sure many people out there were unsure if the judges would ever use their power to save a contestant this season from the brink of being eliminated like Matt Giraud faced last week. And let's be honest, Matt certainly has had his up and down weeks. And last week's performance wasn't exactly stellar either. So to be fair, Matt probably was due to go home last week. But, will we honestly see Adam or Danny get kicked off anytime soon? Probably not. This would've been the last week the judges could've used the save so hopefully it don't end up biting them in the rear end! I would be absolutely sick if someone like Allison or Kris gets sent home prior to Lil or Anoop. But isn't that what makes American Idol so intriguing year after year - those shocking eliminations? It's hard to forget those nights when Chris Daughtry or Michael Johns went home way too early.

This week's theme is disco! It seems like such an irrelevant week to have at this stage of the competition, although basically the entire decade of the '70's was disco music! And from past years, disco week has provided some pretty memorable train wrecks. We'll see if this season is anymore different! Let's start the recaps:

Lil Rounds - "I'm Every Woman" : I think Lil is at a big disadvantage this week with the way the show starts sans the video package and her being the first contestant on stage. Seems like the kiss of death for me and the producers could possibly be setting her up to go home. Again, as in prior weeks, this is not starting out all that good. Her phrasing needs a lot of improvement and she's not hitting the right notes. She's sounding terribly flat, particularly on some of the higher notes. She improves towards the middle and the end but it's still just an average performance for me. I don't care if she's been ill and is on vocal rest; that can't be an excuse for her sounding mediocre ever since the top 13 began.

Kris Allen - "She Works Hard for the Money" : This isn't the type of song you'd expect Kris to sing but after all, it is disco week! I am loving this stylized, cool, jazzy arrangement of this classic Donna Summer song that Kris has put together. He really re-invents this song and turns it into a contemporary tune. Kris has really become a genius of re-creating some classic songs, particularly those from the '70's. This song ended up suiting Kris nicely, even though the original performer was female. But then again, other male contestants this season have also covered songs originally performed by females, so it's not like it's something completely different. But we're definitely seeing from Kris the kind of music he would like to make. Kudos to him.

Danny Gokey - "September" : You know, I was a pretty big Danny Gokey fan at the beginning of the season. I thought his backstory was inspiring even though many other people thought he was using the drama of his dead wife to gain votes. But lately I have been finding Danny to be rather off-putting; basically from his demeanor. I don't know; I've just been getting weird vibes from him lately. He starts off this performance with a "yeah" that sounds similar to that of a fire alarm. Yeow - that hurt the ears. For the most part, Danny is on-pitch through the entire song. I think it's his performance skills that could use some work. I don't know; he just hasn't had a truly memorable performance yet for me. I think he does just enough to get by each and every week. I still don't believe it was as good of a performance as the judge's said.

Allison Iraheta - "Hot Stuff" : This performance starts off very slow and intense. Allison is basically leaning back on the stairs that Ryan comes down from during the opening of the show. Wow, Allison is decked out in a very tight-fitting leather ensemble. She looks like hot stuff herself - and then I remember she's only 16. Tempo then picks up and she's really rocking out to this on stage. Despite some enunciation issues that Allison typically has, this is turning into a very enjoyable performance. Once again, she is displaying those very powerful rock-star vocals. And despite Randy and Kara's problems with the arrangement, I didn't feel it was that big of a deal. I absolutely love how she picks songs that are way too old for her to be singing, too. (laughs)

Adam Lambert - "If I Can't Have You" : I think prior to this week's performance show, many people were expecting Adam to do the best of all the contestants with disco week. He has also fallen into a bit of a predictable pattern of singing a powerful ballad one week, and then following it up with a big up-tempo rock song the next. He is back to following that pattern with a ballad, although the original was a bit more up-tempo than this. Adam is as good as ever with this performance. His vocals are spot-on and as usual, he is showing off that amazing range he's got. I had actually hoped the tempo would pick up a little more than it did. I thought the middle and end portion of the song was a big under-whelming, but overall, it was another brilliant performance from Mr. Lambert. Enjoyed the emotional connection he showed with this one.

Matt Giraud - "Stayin' Alive" : I was quite surprised this was the first Bee Gees song performed this week as I was expecting a total of two Bee Gees songs covered during disco week. But then again, this is the Bee Gees most famous disco tune of all! Matt's rendition isn't totally disco; in fact, I'm sensing a heavy RnB flair. His vocals are a bit gravely at times and he loses it a bit on the falsetto, but all in all, this is a nice vocal performance from Matt. I am really digging how he re-invented this song to fit his style. He's definitely having a good time on stage and this song really suits his style.

Anoop Desai - "Dim All the Lights" : Anoop is probably the underdog of all underdogs during season eight. I mean after all, how many times has he been in the bottom three lately? He finally gives his wardrobe a bit of a makeover from his usual preppy look, although his attire is more fitting of a '70's night. This performance starts out rather boring for me but then the tempo picks up. It's kind of a mid-tempo arrangement and I'm still not blown away by it. Overall, I'm bored by the whole thing. I just don't think this song suited him all that well. And then he doesn't help matters by squealing through that last note. Could nerves have possibily gotten to him at this stage of the game?

With that out of the way, here is this week's performance rankings:

1.) Kris Allen
2.) Adam Lambert
3.) Allison Iraheta (actual bottom three - 4/22/09)
4.) Matt Giraud - bottom three
5.) Danny Gokey
6.) Anoop Desai - eliminated (actual eliminee - 4/22/09)
7.) Lil Rounds - eliminated (actual eliminee - 4/22/09)

As for my predictions, I am giving Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai the boot. Both had mediocre performances and neither are deseving to be in this season's top five. However, do not be surprised to see a shock elimination. Allison Iraheta may be that person, as sad as it is for me to say. Let's hope not, though! Don't forget to watch this week's results show tonight at 9:00 PM (EDT)!

Whoa - my predictions are right again! Both Lil and Anoop went home this week. I've never had a streak quite like this before. Let's see if it continues next week!

The Joys of Spring

Despite our recent blast from old man winter, spring is officially here. I am sure the U.P. has made the national news the past few days because of the late-season winter storm that dumped up to 20 inches of snow in some locations; particularly on the west end. I am pretty pleased that in the location I am blogging from, we only picked up a few inches of snow yesterday and already it is mostly gone. And with how wet and heavy the consistency of the snow is, it should melt pretty quickly once the temperatures warm up. It doesn't sound like we will get too warm today, with high temperatures only getting up into the middle 40's. But after today and a few days beyond, we'll get into the 50's and 60's. What a wild roller coaster of extreme weather up here. And prior to this winter storm, we had temperatures up into the 70's last Friday! Hopefully no more snow until next winter now.

The spring season is probably my second favorite of the four seasons. Spring officially starts for me once the snow begins to melt. The warm late-winter sun can really have an effect on the lingering snow pack, even if temperatures aren't that warm. Once you hear the water flowing down the side of the streets into catch basins - spring can't be that far away. Another sure sign of spring is when the birds start arriving from the south. The American Robin is the state bird of Michigan, and they are typically one of the first birds to arrive from the south. I've heard a few instances where some Robins have stayed around all winter as long as they have a sufficient supply of food, such as berries or fruit from trees. But that's pretty extreme as Robins are not that fond of the cold weather. I guess on average, once the snow begins to leave, then it's pretty easy to spot that first Robin of the season. However, I'm usually not surprised to see one even when we still have a pretty healthy snowpack on the ground. They get pretty anxious to move north and many times, the weather in Upper Michigan can be quite deceiving. Soon afterwards, the birds of the blackbird family start arriving like the Brown-headed Cowbirds, Grackles, and Red-Winged Blackbirds. The calls of birds quickly start to awaken a landscape that had been in a cold, lazy sleep from the deep of winter.

Soon or shortly before all the snow leaves, there is a definite hint of spring smells in the air. The major one is the smell of living "things" starting to grow up from the ground. For example, the grass. One way to conjure up the smell of growing grass is to use a garden rake to rake the dead blades of grass and other assorted debris that have landed on the lawn during the winter time. It usually helps for the temperatures to be warmer than the 40's and the sun to be brightly shining. This helps to awaken the grass and other plants even more. Then you have the spring bulbs starting to burst from the ground. Once the bulbs are fully grown, they can be an assortment of perennial plants like tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and many others. Most of them do not have a distinct spring smell but some do. As we move even further into the spring season, the sights, sounds, and smells of spring grow and grow. Not only do we have the young frogs or peepers begin to make their evening calls in the swamps and rivers of the country side, but the buds on trees begin to open up. It's not much longer before the wonderful summer season is officially upon us.

I am sure each and every person has their own sights and sounds that make it feel like spring is with us. The ones that I mentioned are probably the most obvious to me. That's not to say spring can be an ugly time of the year, too, because as we've seen the past few days around here - it definitely has its ugly side! Especially when the temperatures stay really chilly and it takes forever to melt the snow. Nothing can properly grow when it's that cold. Luckily for us, we've had some warm days dispersed in between the cold. I just hope this is the last that we've seen of the snow because after all, it's almost May! I thought April showers brought May flowers? But for us in the U.P., we always seem to end up with April snow showers than actual liquid precipitation more often than not. Here's to warmer spring days ahead!

American Idol 8 - Top 7

So April is turning out to be a rather slow month in the "Luke's Ponderings" blogging world. Thank god for American Idol at least! Ah yes, we have transitioned into a new week and we are now down to seven contestants to compete for this season's American Idol crown. So far, there is only one stand-out in this year's crop of contestants - but things can change. This week's theme on Idol is "Songs from the Cinema" with guest mentor Quentin Tarantino. He's created some epic movies and he seems to know music, too. I am glad to see he'll be a mentor that'll pull no punches and will say what's on his mind. Hopefully the contestants choose the right songs that'll make everyone happy. Let's begin!

Allison Iraheta - "Don't Want to Miss a Thing" : You know, I do like this Aerosmith song, but it doesn't seem to fit with the American Idol mold. David Cook did okay with it last year in the finale - maybe Allison can have better luck this year. The performance starts off too low for Allison; she has trouble with those lower notes in her registry and it's kind of hard to hear what she is singing. I don't think this is the right song choice for her. Even the part of the song where she totally rocks out and sings with that rocker flair is just okay for me. In my opinion, not Allison's best performance but it was miles above many of the other contestants tonight. However, with Allison being first and with her relatively small fanbase, she could be in trouble.

Anoop Desai - "Everything I Do" : Anoop is doing what works best for him: singing ballads. This really is his strong suit and he's really impressing me this week. I like how he's turning this song into his own - definitely not being a copy cat. He really seems to be in his element and is hitting all of the right notes. His vocals are very nice and they don't even waver on the upper notes when he belts it out, either. Another very nice, controlled vocal from Anoop. Maybe not quite as good as last week's performance, but certainly one of his best. He was definitely connecting with the song and it's nice to see Anoop stepping it up week after week.

Adam Lambert - "Born to be Wild" : And now we have reached the point in the hour where Idol becomes "The Adam Lambert Show"! What on earth is Adam going to bring to the table this week? And lookie here - it's Adam being his rock star-self. "Born to be Wild" is a very upbeat, uptempo, high-energy song. Again, when Adam goes this route, his stage presence is undeniable. However, I tend to enjoy his controlled ballads versus his shouty, manic rock performances. His song tonight was rather manic and wild, but it was a high energy performance. Just look at everyone in that audience on their feet. I bet his concerts are really going to be a lot of fun to be present at.

Matt Giraud - "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" : Wow, I am really impressed with the way he's giving this song a totally new sound. I love the original by Bryan Adams but Matt starts this little ditty by stripping it down with him just playing the piano while he sings. And then some elements of the band are added and it tends to lose its charm. I am not liking the middle and end portion of his performance, especially when his voice cracked at a few different points. I almost think that threw him off a bit and he started hitting some off-pitch notes. He's an amazing pianist, I'll give him that. However, tonight's performance overall was just average and a bit safe.

Danny Gokey - "Endless Love" : Interesting look for Danny this week. No glasses, he clearly did not shave for a few days, and he's dressing in a different style. Kind of like ... Kris Allen! He's even performing like Kris Allen - sitting on a stool and looking into the camera with a heart-felt gaze. Copy cat! Okay, so I'm kidding about the copy cat thing but the American Idol stylists did him a disservice this week. Yes, he starts his performance very controlled and we see a vulnerable side to Danny. However, I don't believe he was hitting the right notes in the first part of the song. The notes were kind of all over the place. Then, once we get into the crescendo of the song he begins to over-shout. Clearly not the best we've seen from Danny and it's just average for me.

Kris Allen - "Falling Slowly" : Okay, talk about a totally obscure song when comparing it to all of the other's we've heard so far. I am completely unfamiliar with this song, yet Kris is making me like it. And with tonight's performances only being about average for just about everyone thus far, Kris has the potential to be tonight's star. I am really enjoying Kris' performance. It's very sensual and soulful. His phrasing is elegant and his vocals are pitch-perfect. I can really sense the emotion from the song just in the way Kris is performing it and he has really connected with it. I think he did just enough with the song to make it is own - obviously he didn't want to experience another repeat from last week. Honestly, I don't know what Randy heard to make him dislike the performance that much. Was he in another world??!

Lil Rounds - "The Rose" : Ah, the coveted pimp spot. Ugh, the producers are giving it to Lil - who clearly is not deserving considering how horrible she's been the past three to four weeks. I am a fan of this song and Bette Midler's interpretation. Heck, I even sang it as part of a group performance for my high school chorus class (in which I didn't end up participating anyways - that is a story for another day). But Lil is not making me love her interpretation. In my opinion, this is a song that doesn't need to be changed drastically and she rearranged it horribly. The beginning of the song was horribly off-pitch and she didn't improve much once the song ended. Honestly, what is this woman trying to do? I am glad Simon called her out for her karaoke-like performance because it honestly was not good. A terrible way to end the show!

My goodness, in my opinion there were only two or three performances that I thought were good. All of the rest were mediocre at best. Here is how I rank this week's performances:

1.) Kris Allen
2.) Anoop Desai (actual bottom three - 4/15/09)
3.) Adam Lambert
4.) Allison Iraheta
5.) Danny Gokey
6.) Matt Giraud (actual bottom three {SAVED} - 4/15/09)
7.) Lil Rounds (actual bottom three - 4/15/09)

My pick to go home this week is Matt Giraud. And that pains me to say it because I honestly like the guy and have been rooting for him to do well since he's a Michigan guy. However, he's up one week and down the next. Tonight was clearly a down week for Matt and even when Kara finds it difficult to praise something you've done, you're toast. And Kara is Matt's biggest fan! Do I think the judges will use the save on Matt? I doubt it unless Matt makes a big improvement during tomorrow night's results show. Many of this season's performers have a really good week and then follow it up with a poor one. However, Lil has been absolutely poor for a good month at least. And it appears she may be getting more support since votefortheworst.com has made Lil their person to support in the competition. That's why I don't forsee Lil being voted off, even though she certainly deserves it. As for the potential that Kris or Anoop get eliminated - it's certainly possible as we really haven't seen a minor shocking elimination since Alexis Grace was booted off. However, if either two of them get voted off this week - I don't think it's going to be all that shocking, maybe more so for Kris but not Anoop. Let's face it, he'll lucky to reach the top five.

And that wraps it up for this week's American Idol recap. Be sure to check back in next week as we get down to the final six performer's of season eight! Enjoy tomorrow night's result's show!

Matt Giraud would've been eliminated if the judges wouldn't have used the save!! Matt Giraud is saved! But, two contestants will be eliminated next week!

American Idol 8 - Top 8

So yet another week has come and gone and it's time for the American Idol contestants to sing songs from the year they were born. So essentially, it's '80's week (except for Allison)! That's not completely a bad thing. The 1980's had some incredible songs. And usually I don't go back-to-back with American Idol recaps in my blog, either. But I'm on an unusual stretch at work where I'm working afternoon shift two weeks in a row. And when I'm on afternoons, I have the least amount of motivation to do much writing! Except when it comes to these American Idol recaps which I absolutely have to write. So how will the contestants fair this week? Will Lil actually pick a song the judges will like? Will Kris Allen continue to shine with his ability to rearrange a song? And will Adam and Danny continue to be the front runners? Let's find out!

Danny Gokey - "Stand By Me" : When I first heard Danny was picking this song, I thought to myself, "oh no." Because as we all know last year, David Archuleta absolutely knocked it out of the park. But Danny chooses a completely different arrangement and it totally works. I really like his controlled vocal performance - far less over-shouting than some of his previous performances. And even when the tempo picked up, it still wasn't half-bad. But I still don't believe Danny has had a truly memorable performance yet that will be talked about for a long time. Hopefully he'll continue to step it up each week because I don't see him going anywhere.

Kris Allen - "All She Wants to Do is Dance" : Before Kris performs, Ryan mentions the praise from the judges he's been getting for some of his prior performances. Well, he's certainly in for a rude awakening there! The whole brass ensemble to this arrangement was rather off-putting. It definitely did not work as well as Kris probably hoped it would. I certainly applaud his efforts in attempting to make this Don Henley hit different but I believe he strayed too far away from the original. His vocals are actually pretty decent, but the song just did not do him any justice this week. He could be in trouble - and that would be especially disappointing.

Lil Rounds - "What's Love Got To Do With It" : I am really digging this song choice and if Lil executes it properly, she could actually receive some much needed praise by the judges after several weeks of sub-par performances. But again, I am finding this to be very average. I believe she needs to work on her interpretation and phrasing of the songs she chooses. She infuses too much southern drawl into her vocals. And she needs to be able to hit all of the right notes, which she clearly did not this week. I agreed with Simon in that it sounded too much like Tina Turner's version. She needs to differentiate herself more and become an original artist.

Anoop Desai - "True Colors" : Anoop is going back to singing a ballad this week. It seems that is where he is most comfortable and it allows him to show off his vocals the most. When he attempts an up-tempo song, he comes across as being too much of a party guy and not a true vocalist. "True Colors" is definitely working for Anoop. I am actually liking this so much better than his version of "Ooh Baby Baby" a few weeks back. I am not bored to tears with this and vocally it's very good. He even backed it up with a very nice falsetto note to end the performance on. Very well done for Anoop.

Scott MacIntyre - "The Search is Over" : Wow, it seems very odd to see Scott carrying a guitar. I thought all he could play was the piano! Despite Simon's comments on the song, I think it's a great one in my opinion. However, it wasn't the right choice for Scott. I give him huge props for stepping out of his comfort zone and straying away from the piano for one week. It could've been a good opportunity to showcase his vocals - but they weren't that great. He especially struggled with the build-up into the faster tempo portion of the song and that one stretch where he hit the falsetto was particularly excruciating. The song was just too big for him.

Allison Iraheta - "I Can't Make You Love Me" : I loved the way this performance began. Her vocal is very controlled and she's performing in a very heartfelt way. We're able to really listen to her vocal skills and based on that I find that she's an amazing singer. I think her enunciation of the words in the song is better this week, too. I feel America needs to embrace her more - either that or the judges need to give her the proper credit she deserves. She certainly knows how to sell a song and she does another spectacular job. I would love to see her go deep into this competition - much further than Lil, that's for sure.

Matt Giraud - "Part Time Lover" : Matt starts it off very different from the original; very soulful and sexy. Even when the tempo of the song picks up, it's still slowed-down from the original. I am really enjoying Matt's interpretation of this song. Sometimes it can be the death-knell for anyone tackling a Stevie Wonder song, but Matt made it his own. He tends to over do it with the runs, but that's kind of who Matt is. Such a very soulful and bluesy performance. It was a big improvement over last week and it should save him from a trip into the bottom three this week.

Adam Lambert - "Mad World" : So what is Adam going to do this week? You can always expect the unexpected from Adam because he's never predictable. Let me start off by saying I love this particular arrangement of the song. Adam's performance is based off an arrangement by Gary Jules, heard most famously from a "Gears of War" video game ad a few years back. It was another very controlled performance from Adam, much like "Tracks of my Tears." But I found this performance to be even better because the song is amazing. Just listen to the lyrics and you'll see what I mean. Another superb job from Adam and a great way to end the night.

So with the recaps out of the way, here's this week's performance rankings:

1.) Adam Lambert - best of the night
2.) Allison Iraheta
3.) Matt Giraud
4.) Danny Gokey
5.) Anoop Desai (actual bottom three - 4/8/09)
6.) Kris Allen
7.) Lil Rounds (actual bottom three - 4/8/09)
8.) Scott MacIntyre (actual eliminee - 4/8/09)

So once again, Adam gave a masterclass performance that a lot of people raved about. I just don't see him or Danny ever winding up in the bottom three because they are such popular figures, even though Danny hasn't been quite as good as Adam. Matt and Anoop continue to have their up and down weeks and they'll need to continue to perform at high levels to even consider cracking the top five. And after a strong surge from Kris the previous few weeks, he stumbled somewhat and could end up in trouble this week. I don't have him being in the bottom three this week, but I'm sure you all remember what happened to Michael Johns last year in the top eight. That could actually end up happening this year with Kris, although his performance wasn't nearly as good as Michael's was last year. Allison continues to shine week in and week out and this week was no exception. I believe America will embrace her a little more because the judges actually complemented Allison on her singing abilities instead of what she was wearing. Meanwhile, Lil Rounds is free falling to a place I never imagined she might end up, getting kicked out before the top six. And I don't believe the judges will save her, either. And last but not least is Scott. He's an inspiring individual and has a great personality. However, his vocals just aren't as good as the rest of the group. I pick Scott to leave this week.

Don't forget to watch tonight's results show. I'm sure it'll be as dramatic as always!

Scott leaves American Idol and I have correctly picked the last three eliminees in a row!

American Idol 8 - Top 9

The weeks just go by so fast, don't they? We're down to the final nine contestants on this season's American Idol. I have to say that this week's theme is rather vague, wouldn't you say? Top downloads, top iTunes downloads - whatever it is. Any case, the contestants basically have free-reign to do whatever they want. The smart thing to do would to perform a song that's mostly current, like a few of the contestants did this week. However, if one of these contestants can turn a song from the past 20 or 30 years into their own, that could also pay-off quite well. We may be in for a few surprises this week as we get closer and closer towards that big Idol finale in May. But there's still plenty of competition left, so let's get on with this week's recap!

Anoop Desai - "Caught Up" : So after last week's snooze-fest, Anoop is going with a high energy song. Uh oh, following the judges (specifically Randy) advice! That doesn't usually work out the best. I think Brooke White said it best recently that it's always good to be yourself. Don't go trying to please the judges! And I'm not overly enthusiastic about this performance. His cheesy dance moves aren't helping either. It's just kind of middle-of-the-road for me. The song doesn't do Anoop any justice and what's worse is that he seems more cocky than ever! He's got to be careful.

Megan Joy - "Turn Your Lights Down Low" : Megan is performing a song she "absolutely loves." That makes me chuckle because that doesn't always work out, either! Like the judges commented, you might love a song, but that doesn't mean you sing it well. I am beginning to wonder if any of this season's contestants have watched the show in the past? Megan's performance is painfully bad. Her singing isn't terrible; basically just mediocre. But the song isn't giving her any love! I am finding it to be very dull and it does not fit her jazzy tone. And I have to ask, this song is current?

Danny Gokey - "What Hurts the Most" : Danny is toning it down and singing his heart out this week. This is the direction I wanted to see him go because I feel he hasn't met expectations the past few weeks. His performance is better than the previous two before him, but it's still nothing spectacular. I feel the judges over-praised Danny's performance - no surprise since he's the "chosen one." The front part of the song was actually quite enjoyable when he was much more controlled. However, I felt he was trying too hard with the back end of the song and over-shouted a lot. There were definitely some pitchy moments, as well.

Allison Iraheta - "Don't Speak" : Wow, Allison is going to be playing the guitar this week - I didn't know she could play any instruments. I am really digging the opening of this performance where she's more restrained and concentrating on playing the guitar. We get to hear her vocals better this way. Allison does her usual thing on the back-end of the song and it's as good as always. I don't particularly believe she had a "moment" like she did last week, however. There was too much criticism of her outfit and not enough discussion on her performance by the judges. After all, isn't this a singing competition?

Scott MacIntyre - "Just the Way You Are" : I bet Scott was just dying to get a chance to perform a Billy Joel song if he ever had a choice - and he got his wish! It's not a pitch-perfect performance by any means, as Scott tends to struggle the most with the higher notes in his registry. However, this is the best he's sounded in awhile. I like the arrangement of this performance where it's stripped down and he's just playing the piano. This should definitely spare him from ending up in this week's bottom three.

Matt Giraud - "You Found Me" : So far, this is the most current song choice by a contestant this week. I think this song should suit Matt well because the piano plays an integral part of the original version by The Fray. He's placed oddly in the audience with a keyboard - which was probably his doing. And the opening of the performance is terribly off-pitch. He's struggling to find his place with the song but he's finally able to recover. However, he reverts to making the song sound more like the original and not doing enough to make it his own. I wouldn't say it's as bad as his Coldplay performance, but definitely not his strongest.

Lil Rounds - "Surrender" : It sounds like Lil is doing everything she possibly can to pick a song that will please the judges. Well, she'll have to try again next week because she picked a song that does not suit her. She is seriously losing her edge in this competition and is falling back to being a middle-of-the-pack performer. I would tend to agree that this was a safe song to pick for Lil, however, she has to be able to hit the right notes in the song, too. She really seemed to struggle when she was building up to hit the big notes towards the end of her performance. Still not where Lil needs to be to be considered this season's winner.

Adam Lambert - "Play That Funky Music White Boy" : Wow, this is a pretty bold song choice for Adam. But then again, he's definitely one for the dramatics! I wouldn't perceive this song as being well-suited for Idol and for anyone else attempting to sing it, this performance would be a trainwreck. However, Adam really makes this watchable and doesn't do a half-bad job with it. He is definitely back to being a funky rocker this week. Whatever the case, whether he performs a ballad or an up-tempo song, he displays amazing control when he sings. He very rarely hits an off-pitch note.

Kris Allen - "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" : Kris says he loves to make a song current and to make it his own. He's hoping to have a performance considered memorable. Well I think he achieved just that. I loved the stripped-down opening to this performance with Kris on the keyboard. Then the song opens up with more of an up-tempo feel and stringed instruments are added. Kris continues to play the keyboard and this is absolutely fantastic. He clearly made this song his own. And he's just oozing with confidence on that stage! What an amazing transformation from when we first saw him during the semi-finals. Great, great job.

And how do this week's performances rank? Well, here's your answer (from best to worst):

1.) Kris Allen
2.) Adam Lambert
3.) Allison Iraheta (actual bottom three - 4/2/09)
4.) Danny Gokey
5.) Scott MacIntyre
6.) Lil Rounds
7.) Matt Giraud
8.) Anoop Desai (actual bottom three - 4/2/09)
9.) Megan Joy (actual eliminee - 4/2/09)

This week I predict Megan to be sent packing. I think her time is up and with two sub-par weeks in a row, the American public won't look too favorably upon that. However, don't be surprised to see someone unexpected in this week's bottom three, either - especially Allison. The judges haven't done enough to support this girl and she could wind up in the bottom three again. However, I don't believe she'll be going home quite yet. I mean look at her, she's 16 years old and she's already like a pro. Her fanbase is still relatively weak, but if she continues to sing solidly week after week - and with more people getting voted off, her fanbase should gain members. One could only hope!

Don't forget to watch the results tonight - should be another good one!

(UPDATE: Megan is the one to leave American Idol this week.)

Celebrating 200 Blog Posts!

It's kind of hard to believe how long this little blog has been going. In the past I've tried to keep up with journals but have had minimal success. When I first started "Luke's Ponderings," it wasn't here on Blogger, but on WordPress. It did okay, but there were spurts where I wouldn't write for awhile and then I'd forget my password. Towards the end of that particular blog, I couldn't remember the password so I just decided to start a whole new blog on Blogger. And I am really happy I made the switch. Customizing a blog on Blogger turned out to be so much easier - so it ended up being a no-brainer. The old "Luke's Ponderings" is still on WordPress for those who may be interested in what I wrote prior to October 2006. At that time, I was pretty much new to the whole blogging experience, so please excuse the typos and lack of focus.

Now I'm 200 posts into this blog and I am having a lot of fun keeping up with this thing. Some weeks are a little tougher when I'm lacking motivation to write or am having a difficult time coming up with a topic. But if you think about it, there are thousands of topics in which to write. All you have to do is put on that thinking cap and voila - something to write! But I promise you this - I have no desire to quit writing altogether. After all, that is what I got my degree in college for. I feel that this is an extension of that. This helps to keep my mind refreshed with the writing process and as long as blog's continue to exist, my writing will continue.

For those who visit "Luke's Ponderings" often, you may have noticed a new look to the blog. Not only did I feel it was a time for a change, but it also helps to celebrate the 200 post occasion; if you will. And to make the blog look even more professional, I have incorporated a banner to the blog. Four pictures are included in the banner and I thought I would explain the importance of each of those pictures. Obviously there's American Idol. For three seasons now, I've discussed the contestant's performances here at "Luke's Ponderings." That will continue well into the future. It has been something very important for me to write about and its become identifiable with the blog, as well. Next is the Mackinac Bridge. This is significant because it's the link between Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. I often discuss issues involving Michigan and the U.P., and the Mackinac Bridge is an iconic image for the state. The third picture in the banner is of the Tahquamenon Falls, located in Upper Michigan. Again, it's an iconic place in the U.P. - in fact, it's the second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River. It's a beautiful and scenic place, and it and the Mackinac Bridge are important scenic locations up here. Thus those two images explain why they are included in the banner since I often talk about U.P. and Michigan issues. And last but not least, a picture of musical notes. This is synonymous with music, which is often a subject I discuss, particularly in the "Songs I Dig" blog. Those pictures along with some nifty looking fonts and a well-stated "theme" wrap up my thoughts on the banner and the new look. I hope everyone likes the changes!

With that being said, "Luke's Ponderings" has undergone a great transformation in the last two in a half years. The blog's exposure on the web has gradually picked up and more people are noticing it each and every day. In my opinion, we have a long ways to go before it becomes one of the most elite blogs on the web - but I'm doing everything I can to get it noticed. And you can expect that I'll keep plugging away and writing when I can. I am also considering registering a domain name for the blog - as this is the web project I am most focused on and willing to continue for many years to come. So the changes here aren't finished just yet. I am always thinking of new ways to get the blog noticed, so you can be sure that "Luke's Ponderings" will be around for a long time to come.

American Idol - Top 10

Here we are again - another week of American Idol (even though it's a day late because of another speech by President Obama). This week on Idol, we are celebrating 50 years of Motown. A few of the major Idol blogs are dissing this week's theme because it's been overdone throughout the eight seasons of the show. But the Motown franchise is celebrating a major milestone this year, so props to Idol for giving us this week. Hey, any little bit of positive coverage for Detroit, the auto industry, and Michigan as a whole is welcomed. And hopefully we'll get a little bit more of positive coverage when the NCAA men's basketball Final Four moves into Detroit next weekend. This week's Idol mentor is Smokey Robinson, one of Motown's biggest starts. I remember the last time I saw Smokey on TV, he freaked me out! I think it was during the Grammy's or something. But he looks and acted a lot better during his time with the Idols. Alright, it's time to get it on!

Matt Giraud - "Let's Get it On" : I really enjoyed how Matt started his performance out by playing on the piano and giving the song a different sound than what we're used to. It gave the song a totally new vibe for me and I thought it was really cool. There's no doubt he has a definite bluesy sound to him. I found it even more surprising when he got up from the piano and actually began performing in front of the audience! Now that was very risky and he showed off more personality that way. Overall, I thought he put his own spin on this classic song and the performance was well done. He showed that he, too, can be a performer on that stage.

Kris Allen - "How Sweet it Is" : Again, another performance where I enjoyed how it started. Kris starts it slow, nearly acapella except when he strums the guitar a bit. Then the uptempo portion of the song begins and he gets accompaniment from the band and overall, it's a very enjoyable performance by Kris. I love that he's been stepping it up week after week. He proved to us that he can sing a more upbeat song without having a ton of trouble and having it labeled as being karaoke. He doesn't seem as nervous as when he started singing live and he's really been showing a ton of personality with his performances the last two weeks.

Scott MacIntyre - "You Can't Hurry Love" : Scott decided to change things up a bit with the arrangement of the song. I really don't think it worked because it made the song sound more like it should've been performed at a mall. The arrangement was a bit too fast and I don't believe the piano-sound worked for this particular performance. Vocally, Scott did okay but not great as the performance certainly had its pitchy moments. It was a nice effort on his part, but it just fell flat. A different song probably would've suited Scott better.

Megan Joy - "For Once in My Life" : Again, Megan infuses her own uniqueness into this classic Stevie Wonder song but it doesn't work with the performance. I definitely think it was too fast of a song for her and that typical jazz sound that Megan uses seemed out of place this time around. Her unique sounds tends to work best when she slows it down, particularly with songs like "Walking After Midnight" which she sung last week. She had trouble hitting the right notes from time to time, especially the higher ones. Overall, it just wasn't a strong week for Megan.

Anoop Desai - "Ooh Baby Baby" : Vocally, Anoop did really well as I hardly noticed any off-pitch notes. However, I did find the performance to be rather boring. I listened to the original version with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and the tempo in that particular song seemed to be a tad bit faster. Anoop's song was just too slow and I found the chorus of all places lacking in energy. I realize that the song is a ballad and it's supposed to be sung slow, but the way Anoop performed it was rather tedious. I am hoping to see Anoop pick a song with more tempo next week but nothing as disastrous as "Beat It" was a few weeks back.

Michael Sarver - "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" : I almost think Michael would be better suited singing ballads more than uptempo songs because ballads tend to highlight his voice better. When he performs a song like "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," it sounds too clumsy and he really struggles keeping up. It seems like when he picks an uptempo song, it's not the right choice. Last week, his song during Grand Ole Opry week did not suit him as well as it should have. Overall, it was a weak performance that included odd phrasing and weird facial expressions. And he topped it off with a terrible second-to-last note.

Lil Rounds - "Heat Wave" : I was rather touched seeing Lil get so emotional being in Motown and talking about it with Smokey. Then, we quickly transition to the live performance where the band is blaring the very opening of the song and we are treated to this very uptempo song. It was kind of a shock to my system and I think the moment deserved a much slower song, for what it's worth. Vocally, I thought Lil did okay, but nothing spectacular as she seemed to struggle more with the lower notes in the song. She definitely had a fun time on stage but I think she really could've had an epic week if she went with a ballad.

Adam Lambert - "Tracks of My Tears" : Adam definitely had a moment with this song and it's going to be remembered as one of the best of this season, at least. I loved seeing this side of Adam; very heart-felt, with a softer tone. If you can believe it, he showed a more vulnerable side and it was such a smart thing to do. I really liked the whole vibe of the song; more of an acoustic sound with more woodwind instruments added once we got to the chorus. The overall arrangement of the song was well planned out and it proved to be the best performance of the night.

Danny Gokey - "Get Ready" : I think Danny needs to take a page from Adam's book and know when to reign it in from time to time. We haven't seen a truly heart-felt performance from Danny in awhile and I am finding him to be rather stale in this performance. You know, I was really liking Danny from the beginning but he needs to start showing me something different because the same routine week in and week out is getting old fast. I did find his "choreography" with the background singers to be nicely spontaneous, but overall I wasn't all that impressed with the performance and it definitely lacked a spark.

Allison Iraheta - "PaPa Was a Rolling Stone" : Wow, Allison totally blew it out of the box tonight. I am so happy to see this because she's been one of my favorites since the beginning and she definitely needs more support from the fans especially after winding up in the bottom three last week. She had lots of energy and certainly showed off a more funky side. There's no question she can belt it out. I do believe she needs to enunciate some of the words in her performances a little bit more - but even that can be hard to do when singing these kinds of songs. This was definitely one of Allison's more memorable performances to date.

So, with the recaps out of the way, I bet you're wondering how I ranked this week's performances. Well, here ya go!

1.) Adam Lambert
2.) Allison Iraheta
3.) Matt Giraud (actual bottom three - 3/26/09)
4.) Kris Allen
5.) Anoop Desai
6.) Danny Gokey
7.) Lil Rounds
8.) Megan Joy
9.) Scott MacIntyre (actual bottom three - 3/26/09)
10.) Michael Sarver (actual eliminee - 3/26/09)

So no surprise who I think will be sent home. Michael basically just picked the wrong song that was way too big for him. Something much slower that allowed him to hit the big notes would've suited him just fine. Yet, you have to make sure not to sound too old fashioned either. It's tricky trying to please the judges all of the time. If not Michael, then Megan or Scott are deserving to be sent home. Scott really needs to pick his game up, otherwise he won't survive another week. Megan just needs to pick the right songs that will fit her jazzy sound and she'll last at least until the top eight.

With another week of Idol in the books, it's time to prepare for the top nine. Next week's theme is "top downloaded songs," or something along those lines. Yes! A contemporary week during the top ten - something last season definitely lacked. Be sure to stop in next week and read the performance recaps from the top nine singers during American Idol's eighth season. See you then!

American Idol - Top 10 Quick Thoughts

A full recap of tonight's performances will be posted on "Luke's Ponderings" tomorrow - but just a few quick thoughts on tonight's show.

Adam Lambert for the win! I thought he did an absolutely incredible job with his song tonight. It was a slowed down, vulnerable, soothing vocal of "Tracks of My Tears." Honestly we haven't seen anything like it from Adam yet this season and it was such a smart thing to do! I was so blown away by it and I have truly become a fan of this guy. For me, he's gradually won me over week after week with his performances even though in my recaps, I haven't really reflected that sentiment. I didn't give him as much credit as he deserved for his "Black and White" performance from a few weeks back. I watched that one back a few different times since and it honestly gives me chills. I still believe "Ring of Fire" was rather like broadway, but it still shows off Adam's incredible skills. I thought he was far and away the best performer of the night.

I have also come to realize why the ratings may be faltering for this show. It's not anything the contestants have done nor has it really been anything to do with shock eliminations in the past. Mostly, I blame the judges! The judges really drove me nuts tonight. How immature and childish are they getting to be? At the end, you had Simon drawing a mustache on Paula with a crayon and totally ruining Allison's moment. Allison gave a phenomenal performance and I felt it was mostly ruined by these stupid antics between Simon and Paula. Get a grip, you two! Either that, or get a room. I also found Kara to be rather off-putting tonight, as well. I noticed a couple of different times where she repeated the same comments with different contestants. One of the comments was about two contestants having artistry, when Simon a week or two back said that American Idol is nothing about being an artist! I also hated it when she got downright rude to the audience after getting booed. Up to this point, I didn't really have a negative thing to say about Kara. But after tonight, she definitely got on my nerves. And now there's Randy. Seeing that he doesn't always get to give his critiques first anymore, he often says, "I agree with Simon, or Paula, or Kara..." and he doesn't appear he's able to say anything original in his commentary. I'm finding him to be real stale this season, and he's typically been my favorite judge on the show. But he, too, is starting to get on my nerves a bit. I am almost beginning to think the entire judges panel needs an overall make-over. It's getting to be too over the top and almost more about them more than the contestants.

Overall, I thought the show was pretty decent. It started off really good, then the performances trailed off and some of them were downright bad. But things picked up again very nicely and things ended with a bang with Allison's performance. Be sure to vote for Allison tonight! She's another one that deserves to stay in this competition for a very, very long time. I am still baffled she ended up in the bottom three last week and near the bottom the previous week. Vote for Allison and keep her in the competition!

Well that's it for now. Be sure to watch for the full top 10 recap here on "Luke's Ponderings." Goodnight!!

Songs I Dig - 13

After a few months, it's finally back. I am happy to bring you the very latest edition of the "Songs I Dig" blog. All of these songs have been on the radio for awhile now - so I'm not bringing anything fresh to the table with these picks. Actually, this blog should've been published over a month ago - but I kept putting it off and putting it off. But the good thing is that these songs are still very much current and highly popular. So I am not doing any dis-service to my readers by posting about old songs.

Also as a note, the SID blogs in the past were getting to be quite cumbersome; becoming more of a chore than something enjoyable to write about. That means I have decided to shorten-up the write-ups a bit and talk less about each of the artists/groups past and discuss the song more in-depth. Because after all, it's more about these hot new songs than the actual artists, although a little backstory doesn't hurt either. So I hope you enjoy the more-condensed write-ups of each of the songs featured here.

All American Rejects - "Gives You Hell" : Okay, so this song has been on the radio for quite awhile. My initial reaction when I first heard it played was that it was going to be a total failure. I just didn't think it would do that well for AAR because it wasn't like their previous successful songs. But the song started to grow on me. Then it all came down to actually watching the music video on VH1 when my position on the song completely switched. It's a fun, up-beat song that's enjoyable to sing along to. I can picture this song being played at sports arenas because it's one of those kinds of songs.

Kelly Clarkson - "My Life Would Suck Without You" : You want to talk about a catchy new song? This one is the epitome of catchy songs. I had a similar reaction to this song like that of "Gives You Hell," but my disdain for the song quickly faded the more I listened to it. It's kind of a dysfunctional relationship song with the message that despite all of the trials and tribulations that go on between a certain couple, the fact is that life would be pretty darn boring without him/her. And what's more, I am absolutely thrilled to see the original American Idol winner back on the chart with a #1 record. Go Kelly!

The Fray - "You Found Me" : Does anyone else feel the same way about music released by The Fray when it first comes out - in that it's hard to understand every word that lead vocalist Isaac Slade says? I've come across that with just about every song they've released to the radio, but that's not to say their music isn't good. "You Found Me" ranks right up their with the likes of their previous hits. To me, I think of The Fray as being comprised by a bunch of good guys trying to make the most of their experience in the music industry. And they keep encountering more and more success with each song released. Good for them.

Lady GaGa (f. Colby O'Donis) - "Just Dance" : Lady GaGa is a relative newcomer to the music industry in terms of being successful. I wasn't familiar with her until this song hit the airwaves around here. I remember watching a video of her interact with my favorite American Idolist David Archuleta after a Jingle Ball performance from this past winter. She seems like a friendly gal and she loved being right next to David. I wonder what he thought of her attire at the time? You have to admit that "Just Dance" is an incredibly catchy tune. I can picture all of the older teenagers and young college crowd dancing to this song at dance clubs. It's definitely one of those songs you can dance to.

Pink - "Sober" : Here's a female vocalist that just keeps on going. It seems like each of her songs released to radio become hits in no time. "Sober" is no exception. It certainly has a much different flavor than her previous #1 hit song, "So What." It has a slower tempo and deals with a darker topic. However, I absolutely love the arrangement of the song. The whole overall feel of the song has a sort of haunting touch to it. And the way Pink harmonizes in certain spots of the song is wonderfully done. This is one tune that continues to climb up the charts week after week and I won't be surprised if it soon makes it to #1.

So that does it for this edition of the latest "Songs I Dig" blog. I hope you like the more condensed format - I know I did! Be sure to check back to "Luke's Ponderings" for a new edition of the SID blog very soon.

Home Buyer

For awhile now, I've had plans of owning my own home. 2009 is proving to be the year that I might actually make that happen. And really, it's the perfect time because in a lot of areas of the country, it's a buyer's market. Homes aren't exactly selling fast enough for a lot of people, so property is selling at far reduced rates than they were three to five years ago. With the way the home market is these days, there are some exceptional deals for people to take advantage of. Hopefully I'll be able to find a good deal that comes with a great home.

I will say this, however. When you're first jumping into the home market like I am, it's easy to become frustrated. A lot of times I am hesitant to make a move until it's too late. On my drive home from work one evening, I saw a home that had been on the market for a very short amount of time. It really looked great from what I could tell, so I quickly jumped on-line to see if I could find any more details about the place. The website didn't provide a whole lot of pictures, but the home included many great options - a lot of what I was looking for in a home. The price was a little high on the place, so I decided to keep my eye on it until the price dropped. Well, it wasn't long before the price of the home was slashed by over $25,000. I was excited to see the price come down by that much, but there had to be a reason for it to drop so drastically in such a short amount of time. I became more proactive about finding out additional information on the home, so I decided to e-mail the realtor about it. And in all honesty, I did not get the kind of information I was looking for back in a timely matter. Before I knew it, an offer had already been made on the home and three additional parties were scheduled to look at the place. Shucks! But I took solace to the fact that the home was being sold "as-is," meaning that potentially this place needs a lot of work. The website only posted one picture of the front of the house and the shot was actually far away. So it very well could've been too good to be true. But still, I was disappointed this didn't end up in my favor. It probably was too big of a house for me - honestly, does a single guy really need a two-story, four-bedroom home? But the price and the details are what really drew me into the place. Oh well, better luck next time.

I have also been frustrated by the fact that the area where I live is not being largely affected by today's poor real estate market. In my opinion, the home market in central Upper Michigan has been affected somewhat, but not drastically. So instead of sharp price declines on homes, the market has stayed relatively flat. Still, that doesn't mean homes haven't been on the market for a good year or two before finally selling. I've seen homes that just haven't been selling very fast because the price is too high. But prices still have not fallen drastically. Yet, I have to believe something good will soon come my way. I just have to wait and see. I want to be able to take my time and make a good, solid choice. Rushing into buying a home could have bad consequences - ones I may end up living with for the rest of my life. I want to make sure I can be proud and comfortable of where I live.

Obviously you can be sure I'll provide updates on the home-buying process as they happen to me. For a first-timer in this area, it's easy to become overwhelmed by the process and I'll try not to let the situation result in one big anxiety attack for me. I want to be sure I am living in a nice area, in a neighborhood I can be comfortable with, and be relatively close to work. So far I have found a few places that fit those needs, but the prices are still a little too high for my liking. Hopefully prices begin to come down a bit more, or if a home stays on the market - I can set a price that the seller just simply cannot refuse. Time will tell whatever happens. I am patient when it comes to finding my own home - but if a deal happens to spring forth, I am not going to sit long enough for someone to try snapping it up before me.

American Idol 8 - Top 11

It's time to get out your cowboy hat and boots and celebrate country music on American Idol this week! More specifically, the songs featured on this week's Idol come from artists who belong to the coveted Grand Ole Opry. This week also is the first of the mentor weeks as Randy Travis gives his advice about each of the contestant's songs. There isn't a huge amount of recent country artists included in the Grand Old Opry, from what I understand. So the contestants have a choice of picking songs that go way back to the Country-Western times. Somehow I don't think they want to be classified as being too "old-fashioned" either. Seeing that Carrie Underwood is a member of the Grand Old Opry, how much you wanna bet that we'll be seeing one or two of her songs featured by this week's contestants? I guess we'll find out.

Michael Sarver - "Ain't Goin' Down Til the Sun Comes Up" : Country seems to fit Michael well even though he's made comments previously that it's not the kind of music he wants to sing. It's a very fast, upbeat country song. He appears extremely comfortable on stage singing this song, even interacting with the audience. Michael does a nice effort with this performance. It involved plenty of risk especially with a song that moves as fast as this; it could've been very easy for him to stumble and forget a lyric or two. It was a good performance, but not spectacular. Agreed with Randy in that it didn't show off his vocal abilities like it could've.

Allison Iraheta - "Blame it on Your Heart" : A very rock-country type of song for Allison. I am not familiar with this song but I am going to assume the original does not have this much of a rock flair to it. Allison infused her own rock edge to it and it fit her personality to a T. She plays to her strengths and does a nice job. She is having lots of fun; seems very comfortable moving around on stage. I do think that her lack of a large fan base may end up hurting her at this stage of the competition. She's been a solid performer, but typically the American audience doesn't embrace a female rocker like Allison.

Kris Allen - "To Make You Feel My Love" : Kris is going without his guitar tonight which I think is a very good move. I always feel that by mixing it up week after week, it shows off more variety. Kris shows a very vulnerable side to him with this performance. I think he's been getting better and better with each week. I tend to agree that he's probably better at singing ballads than more of the up-tempo songs. I could really feel his connection that he had with this song and he's definitely doing the right things to stay in this competition.

Lil Rounds - "Independence Day" : I thought the low notes in the early part of the song were too low for Lil and she struggled a bit there. She tried singing a straight country song and I don't think it quite fit her. She certainly could've included a more R' n B edge to the song and probably would've had much better success with it. I don't agree that a different song (such as Randy's suggestion of "I Will Always Love You) would've done Lil any better either. The performance definitely got much better in the later half of the song where she was able to hit those power notes like she usually does. This week certainly wasn't as strong as Lil has been.

Adam Lambert - "Ring of Fire" : I can empathize with Randy Travis in how he was speechless over Adam. I mean, what can you really say about this? It started out very intense. It almost seemed as if I was watching a Broadway rendition of this classic Johnny Cash song. He starts to infuse his usual vocal dynamics into the song once the tempo picks up. This whole performance has a very different sound to it; no question it has more of a middle eastern flair to it. I can say I've never seen anything like it on American Idol. Honestly, this is supposed to be country week, right? One thing you can say about Adam is that he is entertaining.

Scott MacIntyre - "Wild Angels" : I can tell Scott enjoys picking songs that tell a message. Again as I've said before, Scott isn't the most dynamic singer during this season of Idol - but he definitely holds his own. He struggled more with the lower notes in this song. I would tend to agree that he shouldn't always be playing the piano during his live performances but then again, he's not going to be moving steadily across the stage without it, either. He's doing what he feels is most comfortable to him. The falsetto note towards the end of the song wasn't great. Overall, I'd say it was a good performance from Scott, but not great.

Alexis Grace - "Jolene" : It will be interesting to see how Alexis pulls this one out. We're used to seeing her sing rock songs with a harder edge. "Jolene" is more of a softer tune and Alexis even said she wanted to show that side of her. I don't entirely believe it was the right song choice for this particular week. Overall, she struggles a bit with the song and is off-tune throughout. The arrangement just wasn't as favorable for her to be successful this week, either. Basically, it was just an okay performance and actually was quite forgettable. A rare off week for Alexis so far in the competition.

Danny Gokey - "Jesus Take The Wheel" : There's always a certain risk to choosing a song that has been created by a former Idol. I think a different song would've suited Danny better, especially one that wasn't so low or bland to start. The front part of the song just sounded awkward to me; even though that's how it's supposed to sound. Of course be rebounded well with the later half of the song once the tempo picked up and he was able to get into his upper register. That is typical of Danny's performances there. He's a very likable guy, but this week he was just good for me, not great.

Anoop Desai - "You Were Always on My Mind" : Anoop goes the Kris Allen route and performs a softer, vulnerable ballad. It's a perfect song choice because it allows Anoop to show off his vocal talents. He is definitely much improved over the last couple of weeks. He doesn't go over board with the song and holds back more. It was definitely a much more controlled performance and he doesn't try to do too much with it. It was very well done and it's nice to see him get such great reviews from the judges. Another very likable guy.

Megan Joy - "Walking After Midnight" : We have absolutely no idea that Megan has been sick this week except after her performance is over when she starts coughing. I don't know what more you can say about Megan that hasn't already been said. The judges say time and time again that she's quirky and unique. That about sums up this performance. It was the perfect song choice for Megan and she delivered on that unique sound of hers. She made the song her own and certainly made it much more memorable. And actually, it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.

Matt Giraud - "So Small" : Whenever I think of Matt, I just can't get his Coldplay performance out of my head. He has been severely damaged because of that and hopefully as we move further along in the competition, that performance in particular can be all but a memory. He is a super-talented guy and there's no question he belongs in this competition. He does a very impressive job with this Carrie Underwood song. He is a true consummate musician - I think he nailed this song tonight and it proved to be a very memorable performance.

So how did the contestants fair? Here is tonight's performance rankings:

1.) Matt Giraud
2.) Anoop Desai
3.) Kris Allen
4.) Allison Iraheta
5.) Adam Lambert
6.) Danny Gokey
7.) Megan Joy
8.) Michael Sarver
9.) Lil Rounds
10.) Alexis Grace (actual eliminee 3/19/09)
11.) Scott MacIntyre

CODES:
best of the night
in danger of being eliminated

As for who will be eliminated tonight - now that is a very tough call. Even though I've had a very tough time connecting with every one of the contestants this year, they are all extremely talented. I thought these last couple of weeks have been very strong, vocal-wise. In my opinion, the top six in this week's performance rankings are a lock and in no risk of going home anytime soon. Adam, Anoop, and Danny have such huge fan bases. Allison has been consistently strong each and every week even though her fan base isn't quite as big as the three guys mentioned. Kris Allen has been improving with each week and is quickly becoming a fan favorite. And then there's Matt Giraud who we know is an amazing musician. He stumbled pretty seriously after his Coldplay performance but quickly picked himself back up and is making a strong push towards the later stages of this competition.

Now as for the bottom five of the performance rankings, the only one that could be considered a pretty sure lock to stay in this competition for a long time is Lil Rounds. She, too, has a pretty strong fan base. Megan, Michael, and Scott are basically just cannon fodder. It'll only be a matter of time before they get eliminated. As for Alexis, she also has a relatively small fan base and one weak performance like this week's could leave her in serious danger. That is why I am picking Alexis Grace to be this week's eliminated contestant on American Idol. I know, it's a mild-shocker seeing how well she has done in prior weeks. But does anyone see her outlasting Adam, Danny, Anoop, or Matt? The males truly are the stronger of the gender this season and the only female contestant that stands a chance to last awhile is Lil, and maybe Allison, too. It could be a very, very interesting results show tonight. Don't miss it!

(UPDATE: Sad to say, but I ended up being right - Alexis is eliminated. It is never easy, especially someone with her talent. Only one sub-par performance was all it took for her to be booted off. I am disappointed she is gone, to say the least.)

Last Gasp of Winter?

Hopefully I'm not jinxing us here in the Upper Peninsula - but I have a feeling we are beginning to see the last gasp of winter. After a very brutal mid-March chill has brought temperatures down into the single digits and teens, a nice warm-up will be headed our way for the weekend. The forecast for Saturday and Sunday call for bright, sunny skies with temperatures up into the 40's. Don't be surprised if a few inland locations reach the 50 degree mark. And honestly, it's very much welcomed after a brutal winter season up here. It's been snowy and cold; for awhile there, we were on pace for having our snowiest winter of all time! The snows have eased up a bit as of late, but we'll probably still end up having the fifth or sixth snowiest winter of all time. In fact, this winter has been so cold, Lake Superior is mostly ice-covered. Its been six years since that last happened and prior to that, 1994. It's a huge lake so it's easy to see why Lake Superior doesn't ice over all that often, even though it's the coldest lake out of the five Great Lakes. The good thing about having Lake Superior nearly covered with ice is that the lake effect snows stop; which they have. Moisture isn't being drawn out of the lake - so hopefully that'll keep the lake levels from dropping even further than they have in most recent years.

Of course the weather in the Upper Peninsula during the month of March can vary so much. Back in 2000, we underwent an unprecedented warm spell that melted away the remainder of our snow in a matter of a week. Actually, the warm spell began in February and was very relentless. We may have cooled back some during that time frame, but no major cold snaps. Spring came early in 2000 and it certainly was very enjoyable for those sick of the winter chill. That in comparison to the past couple of winters, where the snow extended well into the month of April. In fact, during the winters of 2007 and 2008 - the month of April brought with it our worst snow storms of the year! The good thing, though, is that usually the snow doesn't stick around for very long in April. The sun angle is much higher and the jet stream continues its northward trek into Canada.

So what will the remainder of March and April bring weather-wise for the Upper Peninsula? One can never tell. With the way this winter started and hasn't let up, we're due for a break. Usually if a winter starts off slow, it seems to end with a bang. We started out with a bang this winter, so hopefully we're in for a quick end to winter. However, we don't want it to end too quickly with the snow melting ridiculously quick. That'll cause a lot of worries in regards to flooding. Typically the Upper Peninsula is not an area prone to flooding because the rivers aren't huge. However, that doesn't mean flooding doesn't happen. A few years back, the city of Wakefield in the Western U.P. was innundated by spring flooding. How can I forget back in 2003 when a dam on the Dead River in Marquette County broke. It spilled millions of gallons of water downstream towards Marquette, MI; causing thousands to be evacuated and shutting down our two iron ore mines because the power plant that sits near the Lake Superior shore close to where the Dead River discharges became flooded out. We had to converse power for a good month until that power plant was brought back on-line. So the U.P. isn't totally immune to flooding concerns. Of course we all want an early end to the winter season, but it has to be moderately slow. As long as we don't get any major April snow storms this season, I'll be happy.

American Idol 8 - Top 13

And let the real show begin! We have now advanced to the final round of American Idol and I've got to say, I am excited! Despite the fact that I don't have the same buzz like I did with last season, I still have good feelings that season eight will end up being just as great. There is a lot of good talent in this year's pool; I just think we haven't seen the contestants live up to their potential. Hopefully everyone will be able to step it up as tonight they sing the songs of Michael Jackson. I believe that MJ has a vast collection of songs that are touchable; however, there are a few that shouldn't be attempted. Did any of tonight's contestants dare to cover some of those songs? We shall see. On with the review!

Lil Rounds - "The Way You Make Me Feel" : This is a very high energy song. She really looks good on stage; wearing a slimming outfit with nice, light colors. Lil appears comfortable being on stage and is not showing any nerves. Not sure if the song really shows off Lil's great vocal abilities but she definitely had fun with it. I believe she's absolutely perfect for this competition. Nice way to start the show.

Scott MacIntyre - "Keep the Faith" : Scott, as promised, playing the piano; exactly what I was looking forward to. I don't really believe he will be known for his vocal abilities in this competition because in my opinion, his singing is just average. But you have to admit he's one heck of a musician. The way he plays the piano is phenominal. I wasn't familiar with the song he chose this week so I was surprised the tempo picked up part-way through. I thought the end of the song was better than the beginning but overall, it was a very good effort from Scott.

Danny Gokey - "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)" : Danny is one of the most talked about contestants of season eight; either you love him or hate him. I thought his song choice was very odd and it started off really weird. But the tempo quickly picked up and suddenly it's one big party in the studio. Danny is full of energy and very likable. There's no doubt about his vocal abilities. He was very fun tonight and his singing wasn't half-bad either.

Michael Sarver - "You Are Not Alone" : I think this was a million times better than his semi-final performance singing "I Don't Wanna Be." This is more of a sound suited for Michael and he may be more comfortable singing ballads. The performance was just a bit boring for me when it started, but I really began to feel Michael's passion and soul. It was definitely a well-controlled performance.

Jasmine Murray - "I'll Be There" : A very predictable song choice from Jasmine. I wouldn't call it a pitch-perfect performance by no means. It was an admirable effort, however. She struggles with the lower notes in the song but I have to say the ending was better than the beginning. With the way she's dressed and picked songs the past couple of weeks, I can't get the "Princess Jasime" allusion out of my mind when I think of her. It's time she mixes things up and does something a little more edgy.

Kris Allen - "Remember the Time" : I really enjoyed how this started out. He injected a lot of soul into it and it didn't hurt with him playing the guitar. He showed a ton of confidence on stage and had lots of fun. Miles better than his semi-final song where he sang "Man in the Mirror." However, he did get a bit clumsy towards the end of the song when he may have gotten caught up in the moment and started over-singing and becoming off-tune. Still, much better than I was expecting.

Allison Iraheta - "Give it to Me" : She is certainly the bona-fide rocker chick in season eight and she's playing it off extremely well. I think it falls just a tad bit short of her semi-final performance where she sang "Alone," but it was still very good. She has no trouble hitting the right notes; even the higher ones in this song. She is definitely one of my favorites of this season so far.

Anoop Desai - "Beat it" : What a tremendously risky song for Anoop to sing. I have a feeling Simon will rip his performance to shreds; which he does. Actually the whole panel does! I didn't think it was terrible, but it wasn't great either. You could tell he was having a lot of fun with it, as he moved across the stage with ease; even interacting some with the audience. Still, a bit indulgent and over-the-top. I feel bad because Anoop is so likable. He really looks disappointed.

Jorge Nunez - "Never Can Say Goodbye" : I am really liking Jorge's sound with this song; has a very Latin-American feel and is very soulful. He even sounds like Marc Anthony at times. He was off on a few notes but overall I found the performance to be very enjoyable. I think he's a breath of fresh air for this show, especially if they are looking for a singer in the Latin American market. I'm still rather puzzled why the judges panned it so terribly.

Megan Joy Corkrey - "Rockin' Robin" : A very fun, quirky song for Megan - seems to fit her nicely. She looks absolutely stunning tonight in that red dress. I love her personality; she seems very bubbly. I'll admit, I wasn't blown away by her vocals but she is a very pleasant and likable person. It is an older song; maybe that's why it seems so old-fashioned. I was a bit taken aback by Simon calling her song choice "stupid." This is practically his girl!

Adam Lambert - "Black or White" : The start of the song seemed a bit sub-dued, more restrained. Things really start picking up towards the middle and end. I thought we were going to see a different side of Adam with the way the song started, but I should've known better. In my opinion, it's a bit over-the-top at times and shouty, but there's no question he's an amazing performer. He's so confident on that stage it's not even funny.

Matt Giraud - "Human Nature" : I am so totally digging the arrangement of this song. It almost has a naturistic-sound to it and it's enhanced even more with Matt playing on the piano. Loved the overall feel of the song. Probably not quite as good of a performance like his Wild Card song and I'd even characterize it as being a bit safe. But I believe we'll be seeing lots of Matt in the weeks to come.

Alexis Grace - "Dirty Diana" : I am really enjoying the start of this song. She really turned herself into this edgy, rocker-style performer. She has to be careful not to over-do it, however. Don't think it was pitch-perfect, but still, very nicely done. She appears to be very confident being on that big Idol stage. There's no question she's in her element while singing on this show and I look forward to her performing with her guitar in the weeks to come.

With the recap out of the way, how do I think the contestants performed tonight? Ask and you shall receive! Here are tonight's rankings:

1.) Danny Gokey
2.) Adam Lambert
3.) Lil Rounds
4.) Matt Giraud
5.) Allison Iraheta
6.) Michael Sarver
7.) Kris Allen
8.) Alexis Grace
9.) Jorge Nunez (actual eliminee 3/11/09)
10.) Scott MacIntyre
11.) Megan Joy Corkrey
12.) Jasmine Murray (actual eliminee 3/11/09)
13.) Anoop Desai

My prediction: Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez will go home. Jorge is a very memorable contestant but I don't think he did enough with his song tonight. And it doesn't help when he gets absolutely sand-bagged by the judges! I still don't get why they thought it was so horrible. Jorge is a very happy and likable guy. Obviously it will be very disappointing to see him go home at this stage of the competition. Meanwhile, Jasmine has "cannon fodder" written across her profile in big, bold lettering. Honestly, I don't understand why she was even chosen as a wild card because in my opinion (and many others), Jesse Langseth was a much stronger contestant at this stage of the competition. I just don't see a whole lot of star potential in Jasmine, so it would not surprise me at all to see her get the boot this week.

Still, don't be surprised if there's a huge, shocking elimination during the next couple of weeks. That is, if the fan votes still count after the anticipated rule change that will take effect on tonight's results show. The speculation on the internet is that the judges will get a one-time veto of the fans' votes where they can bring back a deserving contestant who's on the brink of being eliminated far too early. If this is the new rule that will take effect, will they be hesitant to save a contestant like Allison, Matt, or Michael? Honestly, the three I believe are untouchable are Danny, Adam, and Lil. I think those three have a clear path right down to the top three so long as either one don't seriously mess up. As for the others, it's probably only a matter of time before they get voted off.

Be sure to enjoy the results on Wednesday. Kelly Clarkson will be peforming her hit song, "My Life Would Suck Without You." Really looking forward to that!

(After the results show, I picked both contestants sent home. Whoot! First time this season.)