American Idol
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They’re adding venues by the day, so check the list below to see if there’s a venue near you, then go buy American Idols Live concert tickets. They’ve finally added Texas dates, so they’re back in my good graces. Now, maybe I can go see the show since they’ll be right here in Houston.

Wed July 5, 2006 Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena
Thu July 6, 2006 Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena
Fri July 7, 2005 Worcester, MA DCU Center
Sat July 8, 2006 Worcester, MA DCU Center
Sun July 9, 2006 Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center
Tues July 11, 2006 Albany, NY Pepsi Arena
Wed July 12, 2006 Hershey, PA GIANT Center
Thur July 13, 2006 East Rutherford, NJ Continental Airlines Arena
Fri July 14, 2006 East Rutherford, NJ Continental Airlines Arena
Sat July 15, 2006 Long Island, NY Nassau Coliseum
Sun July 16, 2006 Long Island, NY Nassau Coliseum
Tues July 18, 2006 Wilkes Barre, PA Wachovia Arena
Wed July 19, 2006 Cleveland, OH Wolstein Center
Fri July 21, 2006 Rochester, NY BlueCross Arena
Sat July 22, 2006 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
Sun July 23, 2006 Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall
Tues July 25, 2006 Bridgeport, CT Arena at Harbor Yard
Thurs July 27, 2006 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena
Fri July 28, 2006 Washington DC Verizon Center
Sat July 29, 2006 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum
Sun July 30, 2006 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
Tues August 1, 2006 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Bobcats Arena
Wed August 2, 2006 Columbia, SC Colonial Center
Thurs August 3, 2006 Duluth, GA Arena at Gwinnett Center
Sat August 5, 2006 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center
Sun August 6, 2006 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
Tues August 8, 2006 Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena
Thurs August 10, 2006 Nashville, TN Gaylord Entertainment Center
Fri August 11, 2006 Columbus, OH Value City Arena
Sat August 12, 2006 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
Sun August 13, 2006 St. Louis, MO Savvis Center
Tues August 15, 2006 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
Wed August 16, 2006 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
Thurs August 17, 2006 Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis State Fairgrounds
Fri August 18, 2006 Louisville, KY Freedom Hall
Sat August 19, 2006 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
Sun August 20, 2006 Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center
Tues August 22, 2006 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Fri August 25, 2006 San Diego, CA iPay One Center at the Sports Arena
Sat August 26, 2006 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Sun August 27, 2006 Anaheim, CA Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
Tues August 29, 2006 Sacramento, CA ARCO Arena
Wed August 30, 2006 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose
Fri September 1, 2006 Portland, OR Rose Garden
Sat September 2, 2006 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
Tues September 5, 2006 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Thurs September 7, 2006 Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie
Fri September 8, 2006 Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie
Sat September 9, 2006 Houston, TX Reliant Arena
Sun September 10, 2006 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
Tues September 12, 2006 Duluth, GA The Arena at Gwinnett Center
Thur September 14, 2006 Huntington, WV Big Sandy Superstore Arena
Fri September 15, 2006 Norfolk, VA Constant Convocation Center
Sat September 16, 2006 Reading, PA Sovereign Center
Sun September 17, 2006 Syracuse, NY War Memorial at OnCenter
Tues September 19, 2006 Hershey, PA GIANT Center
Thurs September 21, 2006 Portland, ME Cumberland County Civic Center
Fri September 22, 2006 Providence, RI Dunkin Donuts Center
Sat September 23, 2006 Bridgeport, CT Arena at Harbor Yard
Sun September 24, 2006 Wilkes-Barre, PA Wachovia Center

The night started with Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee singing “I Made it Through the Rain”. They were then joined for the end of the song by the rest of the final 12.

Birmingham, Alabama was being covered by the O’Donohue twins. It was packed with screaming Taylor fans. Universal City was covered by Tamyra Gray. It was packed, but it was hard to tell if they were Kat fans, American Idol fans, or Taylor fans.

This year they allowed several contestants to sing with their American Idol. Paris Bennett started this off singing “We’re In This Love Together” with Al Jareau. Then Chris Daughtry sang with Live.

Unless I missed it when I was out of the room, I don’t think Kellie Pickler sang a duet last night. She did, however, do a series of silly skits with Chef Wolfgang Puck. Called Puck & Pickler, these segments featured Kellie sampling escargot and fending off a live lobster.

Katharine’s choice of duet partner was odd, in my opinion. She sang “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” with meatloaf. Now, I understand this song was made famous by Celine Dion and Meatloaf, but I just thought that Meatloaf didn’t sound that great and that his voice really clashed with Katharine’s voice. You could also tell that Katharine’s aspirations include acting, as she chose to “act” the whole song. Was I the only one who found this grating and irritating.

Then they did this odd segment (repeated throughout the rest of the show) called the Golden Idols. This consisted of reviewing some of the worst and most bizarre performers of the season—AGAIN. Most of these were just annoying, but a few bear mentioning.

Crazy Dave Hoover made a return, fell off the stage, jumped back on, and then I’m pretty sure had to be dragged off by security, but we didn’t get to see the last part since they went to commercial. Elliott’s Mom won the proudest family moment. They also had the really, really bad guy who sort of looked like Clay Aiken on. They even let him sing. This was really just a setup to get Clay Aiken on the stage singing. Of course, it took me a moment to realize that it WAS Clay— what’s up with the hair, dude? And, finally, in their tribute to male bonding, the cowboys from the L.A. auditions made an appearance singing “Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”.

The guys from the final 12 sang a medley of songs, starting with “Taking Care of Business”. Midway through the performance, Taylor came out and played the harmonica with them.

Then, there was the obligatory Ford commercial. This one was a bit special, though, as it lead up to the reveal of Taylor and Katharine’s new Ford convertibles.

Elliott sang U2’s “One” with Mary J Blige. I thought this was a really good performance. Their voices seemed well-suited to one another, and Elliott sounded great.

Carrie Underwood sang her new single, which is a real tear jerker. She looked great and was coming off her wins at the Country Music Awards the night before. I had heard Bo Bice was going to be there for last night’s performance but, again, unless I missed it, I didn’t see him.

I don’t know what was going on with the finalists’ duets last night. As previously mentioned, I thought Meatloaf didn’t sound as good as he usually does. Then Taylor sang “In The Ghetto” with Toni Braxton, and she sounded horrible. She seemed more intent on prancing around the stage in a REALLY short skirt than on singing the song.

Taylor’s duet was followed by the girls singing their medley, which was full of “I am woman, hear me roar” songs, starting with “I Feel Like a Woman”. The girls all sounded really great.

Shortly after the girls’ medley, there was a tribute to Burt Baccarat. This was really good, too, except for Kevin Covais singing “Pussycat, Pussycat”. Eww. The medley was finished off with Dion Warwick singing two songs, including “That’s What Friends Are For”. I was reminded how good Melissa McGhee was and led, once again, to wonder how Kevin Covais managed to reach the final 12. A lot of times when you see people later, you think “Wow, they really ARE good”. Not so with Kevin Covais. He was just nowhere near the league of the other performers. They might as well have let Cowboy Garrett join the final 12.

That was pretty much it, except for the reveal of the winner. But there was one other surprise. In the most random move of the evening, Prince sang a couple of songs. Um, what? Okay, it clearly wasn’t for ratings because a) they don’t need the help and b) no one knew ahead of time. It wasn’t in relation to anyone else singing (which leads me to wonder the rumors about them trying to get him on the show were true— that he didn’t want to interact with the contestants). So, what the heck was Prince doing on the show? I can only assume it was an attempt to lure “cooler” acts for the future. Now, they can say to more modern performers, “You should do American Idol. Even PRINCE has been on American Idol.” I don’t know. It just seemed odd to me.

Then they revealed that Taylor was the winner, he sang his single, and there was confetti and hugging all around.

In all, I think it was a really good season. We’ll be covering Idol goings-on between now and next year when we start the process all over again. So, stay tuned.

Season 5’s American Idol album will be out next week, May 23rd. Among the songs on the album: Chris Daughtry singing Bon Jovi’s “Wanted, Dead or Alive” (which I think was one of his best performances) and Taylor Hicks singing the Doobie Brothers’ “Taking It To The Streets” (I really wanted him to sing “Levon”). If you’re a Kevin Covais fan, you’ll get to hear him sing Nat King Cole’s “When I Fall In Love”. I don’t know that I’m planning to buy the compilation album, as I’m saving my nickles to buy Taylor Hicks album What about you? Anyone planning to purchase the album?

You can see her on The O.C., a television drama about teenagers from Orange Country, California.  Lisa is actually a teenager in Orange County, so this should be right up her alley.

Do you care what your American Idol favorites wear? The Washington Post does. A recent article has very little good to say about anyone’s outfits on American Idol. Funny, they did forget to mention Simon Cowell’s penchant for little black t-shirts. They also left out Kellie Pickler.

The eliminations are over, and we’re down to nine.

As usual, there was a front row and a back row. On the front row were Mandisa, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Hicks, and Paris Bennett, so I was pretty sure that row would be safe, and they were. That left Elliott Yamin, Lisa Tucker, Ace Young, Katharine McPhee, and Bucky Covington at risk.

You may recall that before the performances, I predicted that Lisa Tucker, Ace Young, and Bucky Covington would be in the bottom three. Well, I was close. The bottom three were Lisa Tucker, Ace Young, and Katharine McPhee. I’m not totally surprised by Katharine’s inclusion, as she was my “what are the judges listening to” candidate last night, and I did think Bucky did a good job. Ace was let off the hook first and sent back to his seat.

And then there was the elimination. Tonight we said goodbye to Lisa Tucker. Obviously, I’m not surprised. I think she was a very sweet girl, and I had forgotten how young she is (only 16) because of the self-possessed, confident manner in which she always conducted herself. Keep smiling, Lisa, and good luck!

First, let me say, this is the time when the show gets a bit odd. It’s too long for one hour and two short for two and, for some reason, Fox doesn’t want to broadcast it for an hour and a half. So, what you end up with is a show that feels somewhat rushed. The songs seemed much shorter than usual.

Lisa Tucker started off the show with “Because of You”. The song didn’t suit her, and I think she’ll probably go home after that performance. Simon was absolutely correct when he said “it didn’t work”.

Kellie Pickler was next with “Suds In The Bucket”. I think this is the kind of song she should always sing. It was sweet, cute and suited her very well, I thought. The judges thought otherwise. Randy and Paula felt the song choice was weak. Simon wasn’t crazy about it, either.

Next was Ace Young, who sang “Drops of Jupiter”. He wanted to go more rock, but I thought this was one of his weaker vocal performances. I did think his performance skills were a bit better, although someone needs to talk to him about constantly pointing the hand that isn’t holding the mic. It’s distracting and weird. Randy was really harsh with this song. He said it was the wrong song and poorly sung. Paula like it, but it was Ace, so…. well, take it for what it’s worth. Simon gave his worst insult possible, calling the performance “karaoke”.

And then there was Taylor Hicks. His performance of “Trouble” was my favorite performance of his, thus far. I really enjoyed this, and I like his new haircut without coloring it. Randy wanted more performance (I think that means dancing), but I had to agree with Paula. It was nice to see him SING. Simon thought the performance was good, the vocals were good, but did not care for the styling. Okay, whatver, Simon. I do like it when Taylor wears Hugo Boss, though, so I guess I see his point.

Mandisa sang “Wanna Praise You”. I thought it was a good gospel song. I could picture people at a Christian concert listening to and enjoying the performance. I just found out today that Mandisa has sung with the Beth Moore praise band, so I imagine this is really the type of music she likes to sing. Randy must have a headache or something because he doesn’t really like ANYTHING tonight. Simon didn’t care for this performance, calling it “indulgent”. I think the religious element bothered him, but I could be mistaken.

Okay, be prepared to throw stones or heckle me… whatever. What did I say last week about Chris Daughtry? I’m tired of hearing the same song. This was the same song, only screaming, instead of singing. The funny thing about Chris singing Creed’s “What If” was that I was talking with my brother this afternoon about Chris’ lack of versatility, and my brother said that if I didn’t like the same song over and over, I must not like Creed. So, yeah, what a surprise that Chris sang Creed. And, for those of you who think that I’m just a stick in the mud who sits around listening to Whitney and Celine Dion, you could not be farther from the truth. I don’t like metal music, but in my past I listened to a lot of hard music. I just don’t like screaming, and that’s what tonight was. And I felt totally justified that Simon agreed with me. He commented that Chris has got to show us “another side”. Amen to that, Simon.

And now for the “What were the judges listening to” award… Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Katharine McPhee singing “The Voice Within”. I didn’t think this performance was horrible. I just thought it was “ah-right”. Randy felt like it was a good performance but that it didn’t bring anything new to the song. But Simon felt like it was the best performance of the night… Huh?

Bucky Covington sang “Real Good Man”. I don’t have much to say about it. I think it was a good performance and that he will make a fine country music singer when this is all over. I don’t think he deserves to be in the bottom three this week, but I think he may be.

Next came Paris Bennett singing “Work It Out”. I thought the song was a bit mature for her. But I think she’s one of the best performers of the group. I like her vocals, too, but she really does put on a good show. Randy loved this. It got his first “hot one” of the night. Simon, on the other hand, found it to be “precocious”, like a “little girl pretending to be Beyonce”.

The closing song tonight was Elliott Yamin singing “I Don’t Want To Be”. I thought this as a really unique performance, and I thought it was his best performance of the season. Randy and Paula liked it a lot. Paula said he was “one funky white boy”. Simon liked the vocal but hated the arrangement and the dancing. Fortunately, this time that didn’t start the “it’s not a dancing contest” argument again.

So, it was a pretty good night, in my opinion. Some were stronger than others. It wasn’t overall fabulous, but I thought it was a fairly strong showing.

Yes, I know. No one has even sung yet. But I’m going to stick my neck out and make a bottom three prediction. I think Ace Young, Bucky Covington, and Lisa Tucker will be in the bottom three. I think Lisa will go home.

What am I basing this on? I think those three have probably the smallest fan base, just based on polls on different sites, web site chatter, etc. And, while they may have decent performances tonight, I’m not sure that their best performance is enough to sway people who aren’t die-hard fans.

So, I could be completely mistaken (it won’t be the first time), but that’s my prediction.

With Kevin’s exit, there is now a 7 in 10 chance that the South will rise again— well at least to the top of the American Idol ratings. This is not unusual on American Idol. Katharine McPhee, Lisa Tucker, and Ace Young are the only remaining non-Southerners.

Who was your favorite performer tonight?
Mandisa: 17% (13)
Bucky Covington: 1% (1)
Paris Bennett: 3% (2)
Chris Daughtry: 36% (28)
Katharine McPhee: 12% (9)
Taylor Hicks: 17% (13)
Lisa Tucker: 3% (2)
Kevin Covais: 0% (0)
Elliott Yamin: 1% (1)
Kellie Pickler: 9% (7)
Ace Young: 3% (2)
Total Votes : 78

I thought Barry Manilow was really good. I think I’ll buy his cd for my Mom for Mother’s Day. She doesn’t read my blog, so I can say that

So, they went really fast through the back row, with everyone safe. That was fine, except Taylor was sitting in the front row. My thought process went something like this: Why is Taylor sitting in the front row? Why is Taylor sitting in the front row? Why is Taylor sitting in the front row? Why is Taylor sitting in the front row? I think you get the point.

Fortunately, they quickly said that Katharine and Taylor were safe. Phew!

That left, oddly enough, my ideal bottom three: Bucky Covington, Kevin Covais, and Lisa Tucker. Lisa was quickly sent back to her seat, leaving Bucky and Kevin.

At this point, I was sure that Bucky was going home. I thought that the Kevin fans would keep him in there at least a couple more weeks. But NO— tonight was his night. No more Kevin to kick around. Way to go, America!

I wish Kevin all the best. But I am glad that I won’t have to hear him sing this week. This way, I can like him for the sweet kid that I’m sure he is, rather than liking him less and less every week.

I was really shocked that Mandisa didn’t know who Barry Manilow was— didn’t know AT ALL? How is that possible? He’s Barry Manilow. Other than that, I thought Mandisa’s performance last night was her best yet. And is it just me, or has she lost weight?

I thought Bucky Covington sounded okay, but I did not really enjoy the performance of the song. Simon thought theperformance was “nothing more than a pointless karaoke performance.” I thought that was a bit harsh, but I agreed that it wasn’t that great a performance. I thought it was the weakest of the night.

I don’t really have anything additional to add about Paris Bennett’s performance. She was very good. Barry thought so, and the judges thought so.

I mentioned that I found Chris Daughtry’s performance a bit boring. I thought it was good. And I appreciate that Chris “knows who he is”, as Simon is so fond of saying. But I just think it’s kind of like hearing him sing the same song every week. I like a little more variety.

I thought Katharine McPhee’s song choice was not the best for her. Simon loved it and thought that she was “a star”. I hope, for Katharine’s sake, that my trend with the “I just don’t get what the judges are raving about” songs doesn’t hold true. I didn’t get the fuss over Melissa, and she went home. And I like Katharine, so I’d like to see her continue to be around.

I loved that Barry Manilow thought Taylor Hicks was one of the best male vocalists in the show. I agree, Barry, I agree. I think someone’s been working with Taylor. It was still unique but less spastic.

I don’t know what else to say about Lisa Tucker. It was a cute, decent performance. Unfortunately for her, there were many performances that were much better than that.

So, supposedly Kevin Covais just broke up with a long term girlfriend, and they’re still such great friends that they still talk every day, but he gives us the “Aw shucks, I’m just a sweet kid still waiting to fall in love” routine. Hmmm. Wonder how the ex-girlfriend feels to find out she’s not his first love. Or is this just more manipulation of his female fans? I do have to say that this week’s performance was better than last week, but honestly I just don’t see how anyone could think there were three performers that performed worse, so that Kevin should avoid the bottom three.

I thought that after Barry Manilow worked with Elliott Yamin that Elliott sounded a bit like Barry at the beginning of the song, in particular—not that that’s a bad thing. Why did Elliott look so different this week? I couldn’t really put my finger on exactly what was different, but something definitely looked different. Anyone have any ideas?

I was glad that Kellie Pickler was back to singing country. I thought it was a good performance. I’m partial to Patsy Cline singing Patsy Cline, so I didn’t think it was out of this world, but I thought it was good. She seemed stressed, though. Particularly when they first walked out. Is all of this just a bit too much for Kellie?

When Barry Manilow said that he’d encouraged Ace Young to sing in falsetto, I screamed “NOOOOOO!” at the television. What is up with falsetto in this year’s competition. I hate it. Ugh. But last night it was only the last note, and it was fine and appropriate. I should have known Barry wouldn’t be wrong. I find a disconnect between the sexy image they try to have Ace portray and what I think is his true personality. He seems painfully shy to me and when they to portray him as the Constantine of this year, I just don’t buy it.

SPEAKING OF CONSTANTINE….

Did you see him? It was the highlight of the show for me. It would only have been better if they let him sing.

Well, that’s the wrap up. I’ll be back tonight to share in the agony and exultation of elimination night. See you then.

I don’t have time to do my full write-up tonight, so I’ll just write the abridged version and update you with all the scoop tomorrow.

Mandisa was great, singing “I Don’t Hurt Anymore”.

Bucky’s “Oh Boy” was alright, but not fabulous.

Paris Bennett is a great singer, and she did a great job with “Fever”.

Don’t hate me, but I thought Chris Daughtry’s “I Walk the Line” was a bit boring. More on that tomorrow.

Katharine McPhee won the “were the judges watching the same show I was watching?” award tonight. I like Katharine a lot, but I thought tonight was one of her worst performances.

I love Taylor Hicks. You all know that. I thought tonight was a great performance but not a great song choice.

Lisa Tucker sang “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”, which should have been a great song for her, but it was a bit high school talent show for me. I mean, don’t get me wrong— she would have won the talent show by a mile, but I didn’t think it was fabulous.

Kevin Covais. Well, we’ll just have to discuss this tomorrow. For now, I’ll just say he sang “When I Fall in Love”, and his ex-girlfriend must be so glad to know he’s never had a true love before. Are we being played by “sweet” Kevin?

Elliott did a great job with “Teach Me Tonight.”

It was back to country music for Kellie Pickler, singing, “Walking After Midnight”, and thank goodness for that after last week.

The closing number was “In the Still of the Night” by Ace Young. It was alright— definitely better than last week.

So, who will be the bottom three this week?

My ideal bottom three: Bucky, Lisa, and Kevin.

My predicted bottom three: Bucky, Lisa, and Katharine.

I think Lisa may go home, although I think it probably should be Bucky (well, you all know I think it should be Kevin, but I don’t think that’s going to happen).

Who do you think will do best singing music from the 50s?
Katharine McPhee: 10% (4)
Kellie Pickler: 2% (1)
Lisa Tucker: 2% (1)
Mandisa: 7% (3)
Paris Bennett: 7% (3)
Ace Young: 7% (3)
Bucky Covington: 5% (2)
Chris Daughtry: 2% (1)
Elliott Yamin: 10% (4)
Kevin Covais: 5% (2)
Taylor Hicks: 40% (16)
Total Votes : 40

The results were pretty mixed on your reactions to last week’s elimination. Most of you were at least somewhat surprised. But quite a few of you thought the results were right on.

What did you think about this week’s bottom three?
Right on!: 21% (8)
I’m not surprised.: 16% (6)
A bit surprised.: 34% (13)
Are you kidding me???: 29% (11)
Total Votes : 38