Thursday, May 05, 2011

A feeble attempt at writing a shorter Survivor/Idol Mash-up

I have a goal this week. And that is to write a Survivor/Idol blog that does not go on forever.

A good way to start? Miss the first 20 minutes of Survivor. By doing so, I missed seeing my guy Steve lose the Redemption Island showdown, and thus I miss out on the big money in Stacy’s Survivor pool. But really, I had given up on that a long time ago, seeing the old Ometepe tribe vote out the Zaps one-by-one. Steve-O never really stood a chance.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a physically wearying challenge as this week’s Immunity. I was tired just watching them. Jeff boasted many times that it was 110 degrees farenheit out there, and they had to run up and down a massive staircase of puzzle pieces, finding the right piece for each stair step, one at a time. If they got it wrong, they had to run back down and start again. UGH. Rob lead most of the challenge, with Grant and Andrea threatening him, and literally by the last few pieces, he was dragging himself up those steps. Grant, my ex-NFL player hottie tottie, was skipping up and down those steps like it was nothing. Unfortunately, he’s not as clever at the puzzles as Boston Rob, so he kept getting it wrong, which allowed Rob to win despite dragging his ass at the end.



What happened next was actually kind of scary. After winning Immunity, Rob collapsed at the top of that giant staircase. Probst offered to bring in medical, but Rob shrugged off the help, demanding water and help to stand up instead. But I seriously think the guy was kind of out of it there for a while. It was a little unsettling to see how wobbly and giggly he was. I still have no idea how he got down that staircase, because they didn’t show it. I have the feeling Grant had to piggyback him down.

No surprise, they voted Andrea off. Someone from the Ometepe 6 had to go, and even though Rob floated Phillip’s name, I knew it would be Andrea. They need to keep Phillip in there, if for no other reason than entertainment value. Phillip let us in on a secret – that he has a verbal weapon that will decimate Boston Rob should they end up in the Final 2. I don’t want to see Rob decimated. In fact, I hope he wins this thing finally.

But I’d love to see Phillip there with him in the end, just to see what this magical word-bomb is that he has up his sleeve... Never a dull moment with Phil!

It’s "current & classic" night on Idol. Who do I think is current & classic?

You know it.

STEVEN TYLER, BABY!!



James Durbin is kicking off the contemporary song section of the night, and after watching him singing with mentor Sheryl Crow in the practice, it made me wish they could do a duet. He’s doing “Closer to the Edge” by 30 Seconds to Mars. Once again, James was slammin’. I didn’t know the song, but he made me love it. He remains my favourite to win this thing.

Jacob’s going with “No Air”, a track that’s normally done as a duet, but he’s singing both Jordin Sparks' & Chris Brown’s parts. I’m not a huge fan of this performance, and I think the song is a little too high for his register. Jacob can go high, but it felt like he was straining to do so throughout it. Just 'meh' for me.

Up next, we have Lauren, who’s taking on the rather risky challenge of a hit by a former American Idol. She’s singing “Flat on the Floor” by Mrs. Mike Fisher, aka the woman I want to shoot with laser beams of death from my eyeballs. Lauren’s the country-cross-over power bomb. Just like Mrs. Fisher. She was a little breathless at times, but overall, it was a good song choice for her.

Scotty’s going up-tempo with Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone”, a little harder-edged country, and it’s the first time in a few weeks that I’ve really enjoyed a Scotty performance. Loved the leap off the front of the stage, and I think someone gave him a lesson in controlling the annoying head swivels, ‘cause he kept it to a minimum. It really did feel like a Scotty concert.

Somehow, Haley got Lady Gaga’s permission to use one of her unreleased songs called “You and I”. Sheryl called it a super-bold choice. And you know what? Haley killed it. I don’t know the Gaga version, but I would buy the Haley Reinhart version. The judges totally pissed me off by trashing it. Haley looked like she wanted to slap them. If I were her, I would have. Thank God Steven got it.

And on to the classics we go! James chose “Without You”, and couldn’t even finish the rehearsal with the mentors because the words made him break down. Clearly, he has an emotional connection to it. Real tears, people. Real tears. Absolutely amazing that he kept it together and sang through that emotion. Beautiful.



Jacob? Doing Nazareth? Interesting choice... Of course, he Jacob-ized “Love Hurts”, giving it almost a gospel-y feel. He has such a powerful voice. My parents would probably love to see him on the Gaither Gospel Hour on Friday nights. It was a great moment for Jacob, but I had hoped he’d break out of his comfort zone a little more with a song choice like that. Instead, it was same ol’ same ol’ Jacob.

Lauren Alaina’s classic is one of my all-time favourites, “Unchained Melody". I thought Lauren looked stunning, and she did an absolutely gorgeous version of that song. Nothing much more to say. Perfection.

Oh my gosh, Scotty’s going with another one of my personal faves – Elvis’ “Always on my Mind”. Scotty countrified it, of course, a little more like the Willie Nelson rendition, but again, another beautiful performance. Swear to God, these friggin’ Idols are bringing tears to my eyes.

Haley’s got the last chance of the night to wow the crowd, and she’s going to attempt to do so with the classic “House of the Rising Sun”. The acapella intro that Sheryl suggested was haunting, and from there, it only got better. Haley got the standing O from the judges that she deserved, and she made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. That was AWESOME.

I guess if I have to pick, I’m sending Jacob home. And after that, I don’t even know how anyone’s going to choose a winner. What an amazing group this year. It’s almost impossible to pick just one.

I know. This isn't short. But it's shorter than last week. I tried.

2 comments:

PKB said...

I'm cheering on Phillip, he's my guy in the pool! Glad he's still around, I've never made it this far in a pool before. Scotty and Haley are my favourites on Idol. I never liked Jacob and for some reason I can't stand watching James. Scotty has also worked on how he holds the mic, that was as annoying as the head swivels.

Jill said...

I agree on Scotty - he did hold the mic in a rather annoying way before, but last night he seemed to have do better - overall, I was far more impressed with his stage presence and showmanship than ever before!

James is still my favourite, though.

I hope Phillip pulls through for you on Survivor!!