paul4295

I could imagine countrified versions of some of Adele's ballads, so I don't think it will be too bad (although I agree that they can be hard to sing). Since you mentioned Jack, who I also like and find interesting, I could see him doing a killer version of Easy on Me, maybe with just an acoustic guitar.

Q is the worst (oh, except for Bhanu). I can't believe they didn't either vote him out, or just challenge him to quit. If you thought he was your ally, how can you can work with him now? I guess you could justify keeping him, though, because he just made himself the ultimate goat. There's no way he can talk himself out of that performance when it comes up at final 3 (or 2), right? I'm rooting for the Charlie/Maria under the radar alliance. They seem reasonable and likable. They should pull in Hunter and Ben, and try to vote out (or at least rein in) the loose cannons who change their mind every 5 minutes.

I feel like there had to be a lot of strategizing that they didn't show. It seemed quite clear that the only two people anyone was considering were Venus and Moriah, and if you're one of those two, the obvious strategy is to play up why you're worthy and the other one is not. Yet somehow, Venus starts campaigning for a Charlie vote like she's in a power position, and it doesn't hurt her (even after Q suggested voting her out because of it). And Moriah didn't seem to do much at all until tribal council. In other news, I'm enjoying the post-Bhanu portion of the season where we actually get to know some other players.

Still too many sob stories. I'm glad Ziggy is gone. He was just not that good, and way too much drama for me. I'd say he has more of a chance in theater than in pop music. Odell clearly can sing from what we've heard before, but that's not what he did last night. It was just one long tuneless vocal run. He hit some great notes in there, but it didn't sound like a song (any song, let alone the one it was supposed to be) to me. I like Alyssa Raghu, but her showstopper performance was nothing special, and KB was fantastic in the sing-off, so if we could only have one of them, I'm glad KB got the spot. KBlocks was interesting for a minute, but there were many better singers than her who got cut. I suspect that America will not share the judges' affection for her.

Hollywood week concludes with the naming of the Top 24.

Since they were reuniting castmates from classic movies, I wonder if they asked Robert DeNiro, who was also in The Godfather, Part II, to present with Al Pacino, but he refused.

More auditions, more sob stories, and probably some wacky antics from Katy, with a few actual constructive comments here and there. (I'm just guessing. I haven't watched yet. Should I bother?)

I agree. If I ever made it onto the show, I would not sacrifice my game just to give the producers more drama to make a potentially more entertaining show. (Or, maybe I should, because they're just going to keep throwing random twists in so that whatever strategy I'm trying to use won't matter anyway.)

More auditions from the judges' home towns and LA (in random order, of course). Discuss.

Auditions in the hometowns of the judges--Santa Barbara, CA (Katy), Tuskegee, AL (Lionel), and Leesburg, GA (Luke). I will continue to say that I don't like how they jump back and forth between different locations that were probably taped weeks apart from each other. I wish they would show the auditions from one city, and then move on.

I was also bothered by the silent "confession" at the end. I can understand the team members being upset about being lied to, but Gabi either deceives them or comes up with some crazy/illegal idea in almost every episode, and they complain a little, but then just back off and fall in line every time. I don't get why this would be such a deal breaker that they all walk out on her (if that's even what they're doing, since we don't know what anyone said or thought). They've all been traumatized, and they all seem to understand that trauma can make you do crazy things. I think we needed to hear why they reacted the way (it looks like) they did.

Coming back after 6 months with the news that Bel Powley was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for this. Good for her!

I knew it wouldn't happen, but I was really hoping James Marsden would win for playing "himself" on Jury Duty. (It reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld's funny bit presenting at the Emmy Awards one year, about how he was nominated multiple times, but never won. The line was something like "I guess you just didn't think I was very convincing at playing myself.")

I agree about this. Ariana Dubose is definitely very talented, but to me she seems like she's always trying too hard. But I also think that medley did her no favors. I feel like they crammed too many songs into a short amount of time, and when you add all the dancers, it was just all over the place. I thought Little Big Town and Ben Platt were great.

I had a little chuckle at the interview with Emily where she is holding the glass of wine. I can't remember ever seeing anything like that before on Survivor, and it made it look so casual, like she's just out to lunch with a friend telling a funny story. It also answered a question that I always wondered about--are those interviews happening "in the moment," hours later, or even the next day, reflecting on what happened earlier? Clearly that one was happening in the moment.

I was very surprised that JoJo quit. She seemed to me to be the most determined of all of them. She would have been the most satisfying winner. The other three all had their ups and downs. Erin may have had the most mental toughness, but she failed a bunch of tasks, and didn't show much leadership, as they said. Nick was invisible for the first 4 or 5 episodes. Tyler seemed to have the most growth along the way, so I guess I find him the most satisfying of the three. I give them all a lot of credit for making it to the end, though.

I am watching this now, and I totally agree. I feel like there is a good show here somewhere, and I want to know what the portal is all about, but they're just taking way too long to get to the point. I don't really want them to add another layer onto all of this, but I'm curious about Denise's mother. Is she dead? Is she estranged from Irene and Franklin? If not, I would think one of the characters should have at least mentioned her. It would also not be unusual for a daughter-in-law to be involved in the welfare of her in-laws, maybe more so than the granddaughter, even if the granddaughter is an adult. My thought about Byron the annoying neighbor in episode 2 was that maybe he is going to rescue Irene and Franklin from some dire situation later on. If not, then they're giving him and his wife way too much screen time.

The only Emmy nomination it received was for Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score). Nothing for the actors or the show itself. I was hoping at least Liev Schreiber would be nominated. He's been nominated in the past, so I thought maybe he'd have a shot.

Despite the historical inaccuracies and British accents, I thought this was very moving, and pretty much excellent all around. I hope it gets some well-deserved Emmy nominations. I thought all the performances were really good. Bel Powley had the showier role, and she was very good, but Liev Schreiber's understated performance was heartbreaking. I don't know how this got buried on the National Geographic Channel (which I have never watched before), but I'm glad I found it, and I'm recommending it to everyone I know.

I agree, and I've said that forever, but I can imagine when you're tired, dirty and hungry, and they offer you food, a bed, and a shower, it must be pretty tempting.

We is easily the most talented and polished of this season, but that person never wins. She's the Katharine McPhee/Melinda Dolittle of this season, destined to place second or third. American Idol viewers love the underdog/diamond in the rough/insert-your-cliche-of-choice here contestant, so the winner will be either Iam (most likely), Megan, or Colin. I don't think Iam's style is marketable, but I could see Colin having a decent career in country music, or Megan in Christian or gospel music. I'd say he's actually a good lounge act, but definitely not a rock or pop star. I love that he sang an ELO song last night, and I know all the 70s/80s songs he's been singing, but that's not marketable. My neighbor plays in an 80s cover band in local bars. They're great, and they can pack the bar with 40 and 50 year-olds, but they're not selling records. I see that in Zachariah's future. Zachariah and Tyson were both born 40 years too late. Tyson could've been a Richard Marx-type artist, and Zachariah could've been Lou Gramm (Foreigner) or Dennis DeYoung (Styx).

I've heard a lot about We's third place finish on The Voice, but not much about Megan. (I don't watch The Voice.) I was surprised to learn that Megan was also a contestant on The Voice (remote Covid edition in 2020) and placed ninth. Given how she has been portrayed as some newbie who is afraid to sing in front of people, I find this a little strange. I do think she's very talented, and belongs in the top 10 in my opinion, but they seem to be packaging her as something she is not.

I'm a little disappointed in the judges saves, but it doesn't matter. History has shown that the voters have their favorites, and they don't really change. Lucy and Nutsa will be gone soon enough, and I think the top 5 will likely be Colin, Iam, We, Megan, and Zachariah. I thought that was probably Lucy's best performance, but I still put it way behind Mariah and Kaeyra (who would have been my saves), Olivia, and really most of the others. I don't like Nutsa's personality, but I do think she is a very good singer, and I think it was hard not to reward that performance last night. It was not Jennifer Holiday or Jennifer Hudson level, but she gave a really good performance of a difficult, iconic song. Colin really impressed me for the first time last night. It thought he was great (and I'm not a country music fan), and we could have a repeat of Noah Thompson with him. Luke certainly seems to be rooting for that. If they ever do a Bonnie Raitt biopic or one of those "jukebox" Broadway musicals about her, Mariah should play her. I hear so much of Bonnie Raitt in her voice.

Because the judges are supposed to be experts with relevant commentary that would help viewers make a decision. In reality, that hasn't happened since Harry Connick, Jr. was a judge. The current judges never have any real criticisms to make. Every batch of singers is the best they've ever had, every original song is a masterpiece, and every note is sung perfectly with stirring passion and emotion. I think they do find a lot more good singers now than in early seasons, and that makes it hard for me to find any standouts. They're all good, but I don't know that any of them are really great. Some of them sound great one week, and then just OK the next week. I will say I don't get the appeal of Zachariah, Lucy, or Iam. Zachariah and Lucy try too hard, and I don't think their voices are that great. Iam has a really good voice, but he bores me. He's just not a performer (at least not yet).

Yeah, I agree. Seemed like singers were going through based on a story rather than talent, and I expect them to disappear quickly in Hollywood. I can only remember two that I thought were really deserving--the girl who said she had only been singing for a few months, and one country guy whose story I can't remember (if he even had a story). I think it was the one who brought a friend to play guitar for him. Edit: Sorry one more--the guy that played the piano and sang the Ray Charles song was probably the best of the night.