American Idol & The Bachelor - The Real Beginning, and The End

First, I have to dibble and dabble in the outcome of tonight's American Idol results.  I have decided that I will be presenting a weekly update on my Idol thoughts for each week the show continues.  Why?  Well, because I can.

Now:  America... GOOD JOB.  You got it right.  You sent the person home who had the most pitch problems and least stage performance of the night last night.  Ashton Jones. She's gorgeous and she DOES have a good voice, but she's generic, unoriginal, and quite frankly, mediocre.  I'm not tryin' to hate, but homegirl didn't give me much reason to send love.  That being said, the others that I would like to see good rather quickly are:
Jacob Lusk - He has a good voice, but was TERRIBLE last night and I'm just not feelin' it.
Karen Rodriguez - Girl has a good voice, but boring and over-the-top.
Thia Megia - She has nothing new to add to the stage, or the industry in general, and is mediocre at best.

I wouldn't mind seeing Haley Reinhart leave either... She's a bit under-whelming. When someone has to growl THAT MUCH, they are usually compensating for something.  She's pretty... but her voice sounds like sh's trying to hard.  Naima Adedapo is another one that is just not doing it for me.  Her performance last night was current and fun to watch, but her singing is just okay for me.  James Durbin = Talent... and Adam Lambert all over again.  LOVED Adam, but been there, done that. I don't want him to go quite yet, but I want others to succeed him. There... I spoke my peace on that.

I can't say who my "favorite" of the season is quite yet, but there are a few I already adore a little bit and wanna see them succeed.  I think Pia Tuscano has an AMAZING voice, but I'm not on the bandwagon just yet.  I love Paul McDonald's quirky style and raspy voice, but he didn't do Ryan Adam's song (one of my FAVORITE SONGS) justice last night... It was pretty blech, but I DO think there's more to him and he has SO much potential to propel him.  He's just my style - indie, song-writer.  Casey Abrams is right there with Paul, in that he's different and fun to watch.  He's got a great melodic sense to him, and seems ridiculously talented, but there's a lot of hype over him when he spent TOO much time on the growling last week... I like him though.  Scott Mcreery is not my cup of tea usually, but homeboy is GOOD.  He has a great voice and just seems comfortable on stage.  I wanted him OUT at first, but he's been changing my mind the last two weeks.  Stefano Langone has a cool, unique tone, but I'm not sure... there's something about him that's not selling me. Lauren Alaina is really amazing!  She has great pitch and stage presence, but she's also very young.  I like her a lot.

So, I haven't picked a favorite for me, but I think that Casey, Lauren, and Pia are definite front-runners... watch out other idols!

Sidenote: The MANSION for these guys is INSANE!  I have to admit, I say that because I'm completely and utterly jealous... Their crib it tight.

The one thing I didn't get at all (I have my theories) was why they let Kendra Chantelle slip through their fingers!  Why?  What a gold-mine in that girl!!!  She was GORGEOUS and SUPER talented!  Oh well, I hope she finds her way without Idol backing her... She was a favorite that somehow didn't go on.

Anyway, moving on...

... to The Bachelor!

I know, this is a bit late coming, as I haven't really talked about it much all season, but I have to add just a bit to about my opinion on who should "steal Brad's heart."  I must admit, I have been reading spoilers all season until the last two weeks, and heard from differing sources that Emily Maynard (so funny cause I have a friend named that...) or Chantal O'Brien would be the finalists.  They were spot on about that, as I thought they would be, and hoped they would be.  I've heard that Chantal wins, then heard that Emily wins.  I like them both for different reasons - Chantal is independent and driven.  She's a bit more in your face, and she knows what she wants, but I don't think Emily is this dependent, sweet thing with no opinions.  She has that side to her too, but she balances them differently.  I'll tell you who I think should win...

Sidenote: I hate saying "win," cause that's not what this should be about, but let's be real.

I have always been rooting for Emily in the back of my mind.  She is gorgeous, funny, sweet, and seems genuine.  Plus, she's a southern girl... we gotta stick together!  Haha... Really, I just think she's a great match for Brad.  With that being said, I was POSITIVE that she wasn't going to win because of her past and her daughter.  I thought that would be a huge hang-up for her... but I've seen a change in her and I'm not sure she isn't ready to move past that.  But, does Brad see that too?  We'll see.
*muah*

Song of the Day:  Last week when I was at the Joshua Radin concert, one of the opening acts was an artist named Laura Jansen.  As I said, she was featured on my blog once before for a cover of Use Somebody.  Here is her newest, and original, song called Single Girls.  It's FANTASTIC and the video is AMAZING- Enjoy!