PamelaMaeSnap

Which shows exactly how much attention I paid to the Nick Fradiani tour and ... who was it? Candice Glover? I liked bow-tie guy. Did he even make Top 5? Getting old and having brain issues sucks except when I can happily forget the existence of Nick Fradiani.

My guess ... and this is TOTALLY talking out of my a$$ here ... is that given the increasingly poorly-attended (or decreasingly attended?) concert tours of the last few years, I wouldn't be surprised to see them rework it ... I think they may want to capitalize on it being the LAST TOUR ... but if they do it, I could see them: A) Adding a few big-name alumni (and we know now who's willing to be involved based on last week's shows! And maybe they could convince a few other higher-profile idolettes for the right price) B) Cutting down the number of current finalists who are on the tour to, say, Top 5 (or more, depending on how many noteworthy former contestants they could get to do it ... or maybe even mix those contestants up based on locale ... I mean, hell, I'D buy a ticket if Ruben was going to be there!) and/or C) Being more selective with their destinations and venues ... better to sell out a smaller facility than to have a big forum empty and echoing with the sound of despair and a dead franchise. Maybe a combination of the above, and you'll see a tour ...

I actually like Manny himself (the flirting with JLo schtick notwithstanding) and like his energy and style. He honestly seems like he's having fun, and I don't get the feeling that every single move and note and facial expression has been oh-so-carefully choreographed (yup, looking at ROXAMILLION). I just don't think he's that good. But unlike some other previous contestants who weren't really that good (ahem-Lazaro-ahem) I don't think he's the kind of guy who's going to sneak into the Top 10 and then outlast his expiration date because tweens and grandmas are voting for him. So while I don't think he's going to make it into the Top 10, I wouldn't be that upset if he did. I can definitely tolerate him more than some of the others in the mix for those last six spots (JENNNNNN, Gianna, Hiccups) ... ETA: I didn't mean to imply that ARI333 who is awesome and shares my brain was a tween or a grandma because she liked Lazaro. I like tweens and grandmas! I am old enough to be one or the other.

YAY!!!!!!! KNOLLISHNESS!!!!!!!! And Ari333, I've cleared a special place for you on my blanket because we share the same brain.

When they change the rules up so much that even Tara isn't sure how many people are advancing from semifinals seven hours before the first part of the Top 10 was "revealed," you know they're messing with us.

I think since MacKenzie is not 15 but an actual grown-up, I had no problems with the line about removing the dress ... if anything, it kinda gives little nerd boy some sexy. If Lee Jean or Thomas sang it, I might have a few issues ...

How much would it suck to wait forever for Idol tickets, stand on line for hours, and then get stuck behind Jeneve's dad in the audience?

I'm surprised by how many people here thought that Trent would be on the bubble to make it through. IMHO, he's been the judges' favorite singer since Day 1 and I have never gotten it because he not only leaves me cold but actively squicks me out. But that's such a YMMV thing that I accept I'm in the minority in his being one of my LEAST favorite of the Final 14. I figured he was a lock to be one of their choices. I DO think La'Porsha was put through over, say, MacKenzie because they felt of all of the folks they felt SHOULD be Top 10 she was the one they trusted the least to get voted in, and her absence from the Top 10 would have been pretty much a travesty. They would have looked REALLY bad without her in that final group. I thought MacK had cojones in the best possible way to sing his original song. He doesn't have the best pure pipes out there, so why not remind people what makes him unique. Who I would LIKE to see go home: T-String (srsly?), Manny, Jennnnnnn and her eyebrows, Gianna. Who I THINK will go home: T-String (srsly!), Manny, Avalon, Lee (so cute, so sweet, so talented but needed another year or two ... and to show that he knows songs by someone other than Ed Sheeran to go the distance).

Staying unspoiled, would be fun to speculate on who the judges put through right away ... I'm assuming Olivia Roxamillion since they seem hellbent on forcing her down our throats whether we like it or not ... Tristan because they may realize they miscalculated on how to address her backstory and she doesn't have the audience love she might have had, and they'd like to give her another chance to earn it (personally, I really like her) ... Trent, because of their inexplicable love for watching a guy sing who looks like he's secretly pushing out a turtlehead ... And someone from the trio of Lee/MacKenzie/Dalton, because I feel reasonably confident that whichever two are NOT chosen by the judges from that triad will be voted in by the fans, so they can play it safe by pushing through the others they want there ... Actually, using that latter theory, if they opt against the two guys/two girls votethrough, they MIGHT put through La'Porsha and just one guy, because of the four guys I listed I am SURE all four will land in the Top 10 anyway but La'Porsha is the best singer there but not might make it through if left to the devices of voting Amurica. (Mods: If this should have gone in spoilers, even though it's speculation, please feel free to move it!!!)

Not that this show cleared it all up for me, but since I am also bingewatching (finally) Transparent and just watched the first few episodes of Season 2, where Rabbi Rachel explains that the wedding ceremony is not really a legal marriage ... it ain't legal until the officiant sends in the paperwork. So maybe that's the case for Emily and Mitch?

I liked everyone except Dana!

"PItyfree, you should check out the series Uncorked, which was on Esquire TV a while back. It gave a lot of great behind the scenes about the certification of Master Sommelier, which is a very difficult process. The show followed six sommeliers and was very informative! The people were all likeable, and the show high quality-no shit stirring for drama, just a straightforward presentation of the people and the process, really interesting!" I admit I was bummed that PTV didn't have a thread for the show but by the time I watched it I think it wasn't on "real time" anymore so it seemed too late to ask them to add one! REALLY hope they do a Season 2 because there's a lot they could follow up on with the next set of MS exams ... if they do I will definitely request an active thread here for it!

Was there a point (which I must have missed) where they explained how (some of) the "choosees" got involved in this? I mean, we know that Emily the Actress was either a plant or else they put out a casting call. What I am not sure about is how/why someone like Tom would have ended up here. He seems way too sweet and normal to not only NEED to find a wife but to be willing to marry her in this situation. Ditto Chandlar. But mostly Tom. ETA because of the couple of posts that showed up while I was typing this ... maybe Mitch can find a gig on one of the "somm" shows/films. I've been totally obsessed with "Somm," "Somm: Into the Bottle" (the sequel) and also Esquire's reality show series "Uncorked." Mitch would be a great fit ... he's good looking and comfortable on camera. If you haven't watched these films/shows, they're FASCINATING and would, on topic, give a great glance into Mitch's chosen career.

From the first time I saw you on here, I wondered if it was an Aimee reference or just a term that is used elsewhere other than in the song!

I would never have guessed that, DRIVINGSIDEWAYS! LOL.

They totally made me their bitch when they played "Sweet and Dandy" by Toots and the Maytals. And I'm blown away by how much Aimee Mann sounds like Karen Carpenter. Not sure why I never noticed that before, since my iTunes playlist has approximately 52 songs by Aimee Mann on it, give or take a half-dozen. Anachronisms notwithstanding (big-money bat mitzvahs were NOT a thing in 1973-74), I am definitely enjoying this ride ...

By the way, is it just me or did Constantine get Botox? Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak? Was there work done on your cheek?

I confess I find this show hilarious and I'm not even sure why. I'm definitely looking forward to the episode next week with the dogs. But I suspect this will have a really limited shelf life ... I mean, how many more species can it cover?

While this isn't a spoiler per se, it's an observation re: the above convo so hope it's okay ... for whatever reason, I do think that for this final season they decided that they would make sure all of the viewers were well aware of and familiar with each finalist before the audience voting started ... hence, the decision that they judges would handle all of the early cuts and, in fact, take control of the NEXT set of cuts before letting the audience vote a few folks back in the week before full audience voting begins. There were no surprises, no hidden sleepers that we'd have time to allow to grow on us, and no "unpleasant surprises" ... I feel like, for whatever reason, they want to be sure that no matter who wins out of the Top 10, they'd be okay with any of them and they're doing everything in their power to make sure of that. And honestly I guess I understand that. They've definitely been ... I can't think of the word for it, when you're caught unaware by an unpleasant surprise ... like Taylor Hicks winning.

Tsaggy? Is that you? Oh, and also ... if it is at all humanly possible (and I have my doubts), Constantine is even more disgusting, reptilian, smarmy and overrated than he was in his own season. How and why they ended up with him as one of their "beloved alumni mentors" is beyond me unless it was to deliberately sabotage the two unfortunates he was paired with, and that clearly didn't work (well, it did but didn't). And the stories that came out about him and his escapades, shall we say, with fans afterwards didn't exactly improve my opinion of him. JLo saying that they thought Haley was going to win does not mean they WANTED her to win ... just that they thought she was going to win, which may help explain why they drove the entire fleet of LA buses over her. I wasn't a Haley fan at that time, and I thought "Bennie and the Jets" was one of the most laughable and overrated performances in show history (though I hate the song to start with), but, as with Lauren Alaina who I couldn't stand either and quite liked last week, I liked Haley this time (except the hat. What's with the hat?). I would rather have seen Casey though. Finally? I love Lee. I may be alone in that opinion but I just love love love him. I hope he makes it through to voting rounds. Hopefully the lack of quality guys may help him there.

I think it is officially inevitable now: Dalton wins the whole thing. Not sure who he'll face off against in the F2 but it won't really matter. Just give him the prize and the confetti and the crappy coronation song that hopefully he can remake 5 years down the road into his own dawg and the record deal and Scott Bruschetta's discarded facial hair and call it a day. And while he's not on my Top 5, I only have a Top 4 anyway (LaPorsha, MacKenzie, Lee and Tristan) so I might even find room for Dalton in that group down the line ... I've been pleasantly surprised by his cute quirky personality and approach to songs/song choice.

Ironic, since she's the only one of the hamsters who doesn't. WHAT IS UP with this ombre trend? I only just figured out that this awful look which Amanda in particular seems to have embraced like a tube of Cray Glue is deliberate and not the unintentional result of a bunch of women going several weeks on a reality TV show without access to their colorist. They should just change the name of the show to "Roots."

I'm going to just throw this out there because it might or might not be relevant to the convo ... re: Avalon's style (or lack thereof) and whole package outside the voice itself. My daughter and I have watched AI together since Season 2, so we're going back a pretty long way here ... she's 25 now, so you can do the math (even if Jenna Renae can't). There was a dropoff for a bit when she wasn't watching it, while at college and then when she graduated and moved into an apartment where she opted to not have TV/cable (she had Hulu and that was it). But for her last year she came back to the fold and watches it religiously, albeit in California, with her boyfriend ... every Thursday and Friday morning on her drive to work she calls me so we can discuss amongst ourselves. My daughter was a music major in college (specifically songwriting with a performance focus in voice) and in fact had several college friends who were either Idol alum or future Idolistas, and now works in a non-performance facet of the business ... She dissected pretty much every semifinalist (and is nowhere near as snarky as I am, so it was almost all positive or at least objective dissection) and is generally most drawn to the ones who she feels sing with passion and authenticity. After watching the duets episode (she had missed it because her DVR didn't tape so I was giving her some tips on which ones to watch online), I mentioned that I was really surprised to realize that we had NOT discussed Avalon ... I would have thought she'd be a contestant my daughter would have really liked for many reasons (note: authenticity and passion, both of which I think Avalon has.) Her answer? She continually forgot that she existed until she'd watch the show. She just found her really forgettable, good voice notwithstanding ... she didn't NOT like her. She just kept forgetting she even existed when she played back the show's performances and contestants in her mind. And I can't help but think that my daughter is probably not the only person watching the show who feels that way. There may be some over the top people there, but they're memorable in their own way ... and I can't help but feel that being the girl with the good voice who seems to want to fade into the scenery can't be helping her if a fan who might normally be quite driven to someone with her style needs to be reminded that she even exists after watching every episode.

"And I guess the Good Rats were really . . . something? I've never heard of them." They were a Long Island-based rock band that had real blue-collar workman appeal, and a lead singer/songwriter who had an amazing voice and was a great songwriter (he passed away not too long ago, and I think they were still playing every so often until his death). They had a very devoted following and if you grew up in NYC/LI or the general vicinity in the mid-70s you were probably familiar with them, but they never quite "made it" in terms of real commercial success. ETA: I noticed that the title of Episode 4 is "Rats." Coincidence, I'm sure, but man, it would be awesome if that episode actually has to do with the band and they play one of THEIR songs ... I'm sure it would be easier and cheaper to get clearance from Peppi Marchello's estate than from Led Zeppelin. Honestly, the album "Tasty" STILL has legs, IMHO ... I was listening to it not long ago and was pleasantly surprised how well it stands up to my memory of how good it was (and the follow-up, "Rat City In Blue," also had some great tunes) ... I think one thing that probably hurt them was that they were ... well, not a really attractive bunch of guys LOL. If they'd all been pretty, or even had a few pretty boys, I bet they could have been huge. I remember I had a flyer on my wall from one of their concerts, and my mom's comment was "I wouldn't want to run into any of these guys in a dark alley." Here are two links to tunes from "Tasty" to give you an idea ...