PamelaMaeSnap

A) I hate Jax and that vote-whoring with the dress just amplified that hate with the power of a thousand nuns (copyright TWOP). B) I wonder ... if the contestants had some prior inkling of who was going home well before this week's episodes? I wonder because of a few Tweets I read during the week ... after Top 12 performed but well before Top 8 show aired. Katherine cryptically wrote on March 3 "When lemonade keeps turning into lemons" and Savion (sniff sob) posted something that was apparently deleted on February 27 along the lines of feeling pressured to change his style and be someone he wasn't (the Tweet is no longer in his feed but some of the responses are). His Tweets are usually very upbeat so that caught my eye ... and Katherine's I had no clue what she meant. But in both cases I wonder if both knew they hadn't made it through?

Auntlada, please scootch over a little bit so I can take a seat next to you on the Tyanna-Joey-Quentin-Qaasim bus. Sadly, my preferred method of transpo unceremoniously dumped my other two passengers, Savion and Katherine, but now there's more legroom I guess (making lemonade out of lemons). (Speaking of lemons and lemonade, I'll head over to my old stomping grounds, the Knoll, after this with an observation ...) I'm not going to review everyone but I will make one observation that I NEVER thought I'd say ("NEVER" being since the Hollywood rounds when I first saw her). I actually really liked Loren last night. She has rubbed me the very wrong way up until now (though not as much as JAX I HATE JAX AND HER VOTE-WHORING WITH THE DRESS ADDS TO MY JAX HATE) with her over-the-top affectations combined with her complete lack of connecting that huge voice with any heart or emotion. But ... but ... best song choice I can remember on AI since, maybe, Chikeze did "She's A Woman." I love "I Wanna Be Where You Are" like nobody's business and once I got over the shock of her picking it, I thought she killed (in a good way) and showed the first spark of connection to what she was singing that I've seen from her. Okay. Heading to the knoll now ... with some thoughts on whether the contestants had some prior knowledge as to who would be booted.

DISLIKE that only Top 16 are eligible for wild card. No Savion or Katherine. That sucks.

I just ... can't ... deal with Savion getting cut first round, questionable song choice or not. I really thought he had the groundswell love from last season ... I have been Team Savion since his first audition so I am very very very sad. You can tell by the three verys. I'm really surprised that Adam made it. I had quite liked him in the Hollywood rounds but he actually made me physically cringe in Top 12. Otherwise, no BIG surprises for me ... I thought Riley would make it before Top 12 performed but he was so meh that I kept forgetting he was there. I DO like Qaasim and Quentin, though ... I don't expect any big surprises among the girls. But yeah, Savion is a surprise ... an unpleasant one ... I think this makes Tyanna and Qaasim my personal TCOs, now. That said, I still am calling a Jax-Daniel final two and have been since auditions. Ugh.

I still find it hard to believe there won't be some wiggle room for wild cards so that they can, if necessary, shove their chosen ones down our throat at the expense of some who really should have made it. I'm not sure there's necessarily anything wrong with no wild cards (hello Ca-a-a-a-armen, goodbye Chip Days), just surprised they're not preparing for them if needed. Maybe this year they are confident that their chosen ones will all get through via vote.

For those of us who remember the catchphrases from the epic American Idol threads in another place in another time, the thing I love most about Joey is that I know that whatever song she chooses, she will make it her own dog. That alone is enough for me to root for her to make it far. Plus, I happen to love her voice ... I think the thing she needs to do soon, if she makes it through (and I hope she does), is to do one song with no accordion, no ukelele, etc. One standard ballad (though not something like, oh, "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" ... maybe "Moon River" or something) ... just her and her voice. Let people hear it. I also adore Katherine. She may have one of the loveliest voices I've heard from a Top 24 girl in years and years and years. I don't know if she'll make it through, since she wasn't shoved down our throats in the early rounds, and her nerves seemed to get the best of her on Top 12, but if she does, I look forward to seeing what she does, and I will keep an ear out for her down the line because I'd buy her CDs in a heartbeat (especially based on what seems to be her taste in music). But if I were to pick ONE person that I adore that I think might actually make it far it would be Tyanna. That voice. That smile. That personality. That humility. That backstory. That awesome mom. Those cute ties. I just lovelovelovelovelove her. I can't remember the last time I went into the round past the semis liking as many girls as I liked guys (Savion, Qaasim and Quentin, if you're keeping score).

AAAAAAAAAAAH DUHHHHHHHHHHHHH thank you!!! Of course!!!! I knew I should know but I got thrown by the Samantha/Samantha! And yes, I'll post it here ... or at least the picture of the makeup at the neckline LOL ... if I get a photo of myself in it that doesn't crack the lens I'll post it here too ;) BTW, the comment about needing to switch interpreters every half hour ... SO true! My work entails, among other things, doing specialized copy-editing/proofreading of court transcriptions where there is, as often as not, the need for interpreters and I've gotten used to the shifts they do (usually about 15-20 minutes, sometimes more and sometimes less) and I am continually gobsmacked at how exhausting their work must be as I listen to them!

Love love love Tyanna, Katherine and Joey. And while I haven't heard much (anything?) of Adanna, I thought her "Man's World" was pretty amazing. On the guy's side, I have been Team Savion since his first audition last year so am emotionally invested in him already. There are several other guys I like but for now I'll hold off until after the next round before I get even more invested in anyone. That said, I'm predicting a final two of Jax and Daniel.

I'm just relieved to see I'm not the only one who finds Jax to be unbelievably irritating. From the first time I heard her, I thought two things simultaneously -- I will hit mute every time she opens her mouth, and she will probably win the whole thing and be Final 3 at the very least. I respect that she is probably good at what she does, but I just cannot stand that whole raspy/whispery/angsty style that seems to be so current. I seem to be in the minority as far as Shannon goes, though ... I thought she was the weakest of the girls. A lot of meh. LOVE LOVE LOVE Tyanna. Loved her before I knew her backstory and love her even more now. I'd say that going into the "Final Judgment (dun dun dunhhhhhhhh)," my three favorite girls were Tyanna, Joey and Katherine Winston (who is getting SO little pimpage that I suspect she's cannon fodder but Oh My God what a golden voice).

Okay, I know this is going to sound really stupid, but obviously I must have missed something ... at the beginning, Alyssa introduced someone named Samantha who was sitting behind her ... who was that? Not Samantha the designer, since she was with the group. I felt like I was supposed to know who she was and I've been a pretty devoted PR watcher but I've never watched one of the reunion shows before so ... help please? I've also wondered about Dmitry's ... tastes, even though I realize the curiosity is totally inappropriate. There is just something about him that I find inexplicably sexy, though, and he really brought it last night (or whenever ... I just WATCHED it last night). But I do love me my Fabio. He just seems like someone who would be wonderful to hang out with (and the rest of the designers generally seem to feel the same way). Deep dark confession: I actually bought one of his designs on the PR auction ... I fell madly in love with the dress (the paint-splattered fashion-forward one with the slit in the front and the odd bustle in the back) and I thought it might be my one and only chance in my life to have something truly one-of-a-kind that I might actually be able to wear ... I am impossible to fit (I'm short, high waisted, gravity has taken its toll on everything from shoulders to knees, and the girls are huge -- in other words, NOT a model). I asked him via Twitter if the dress might possibly fit someone whose measurements were not modelesque and he responded very quickly that the top had a lot of room. And, indeed, it did! It actually DOES fit me on the top ... I need to get it hemmed a bit at the bottom because, again, I am 5-2, but it seems like it will be a pretty easy alteration. The bustle is odd but my butt is pretty small so it doesn't look too bad, and it looks really amazingly good in the front (the slit is just the right height to show some leg but still allows me to sit without flashing the world) so I'm very excited ... there was/is a little bit of the model's matte makeup at the neckline so I'll get it dry-cleaned first but I thought that was sort of a neat touch. I'll take a picture ;)