aradia22

I pretty much agree with you, Donny. I was happy to see them do well. They're resilient. I wish they were a little more competent but in a way they're even stronger for doing as well as they did given those setbacks.

were in the sing off. was in the sing off, you guys! Hooray! Sadly, was the one who ended up going home. Not sad because I feel any real attachment to was always fairly competent and I was really hoping it would be . Oh, well.

That's an interesting point. I am watching Selfie and A to Z right now but there are also shows I'm not watching like You're the Worst that pick up some of the rom com threads. I think to some extent indie movies have also picked up the slack. There's The F Word/What If with Daniel Radcliffe. Maybe these movies still exist but they don't exist in the same form because the same people aren't making them. And maybe the reason the big Hollywood studios have largely stopped making these movies is that they don't turn a big profit anymore. Indie also likes making minor twists. A big one is the friendship rom com. Take "For a Good Time Call..." which employs rom com tropes but is ultimately about the friendship between the two female characters.

Back from Show Boat. Super late because I stayed for the stage door. It took a while for people to come out and then Vanessa came out quite late (probably waiting for the stragglers to give up and go home) and Norm never came out at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I was in seat P21 in the orchestra but because a bunch of the orchestra seats weren't filled (this is the last night, they were sold out some of the other nights) I was able to shift over two seats and get an unobstructed view of the stage for the first act. By the second act the people in front of me had gotten the same idea but thankfully the woman directly in front of me was still shorter than I am so the view was still quite good. They added some numbers back in which made the first act in particular feel quite long. I enjoyed it and it wasn't exactly dragging but I did feel the time. I didn't think much of Julian Ovenden when I heard him in promotional clips but his voice is gorgeous live. Some of you know that I've only ever seen the Irene Dunne version of Show Boat. I think both Julian and Lauren Worsham who played Ravenal and Nola found that perfect blend between contemporary musical theatre and that more warbling operatic sound. They both sang beautifully. Lauren was a little precious for me in the beginning playing younger Nola. It had a Kristin Chenoweth vibe... you know when Kristin tries to act cute? Alli Mauzey was fantastic as Ellie. Her voice is clear as a bell and her comedy is silly but it still lands. Edward Watts was a very handsome Steve but there's not much more to say. NaTasha Yvette Williams also really got my attention as Queenie. Her vocals were amazing. I can see how Vanessa Williams' performance might not have been for everyone. With Can't Help Lovin' That Man she swung it a little. She didn't alter the tempo but it was a little bit like Lena Horne's version. A little jazzier. Bill was sung more straight but had the feel of a cabaret torch song. There was a song in the middle that she just sang straight. She was lovely but her acting was a little off for me. I don't think she felt things that deeply or else it wasn't showing much on her face. If you've seen her movie version of Bye Bye Birdie it was kind of that mixed with Wilhemina Slater. I felt like she was playing a little broad and I wanted more genuine warmth. Can't Help Lovin' That Man was great but I really felt the absence of emotion in Bill. Norm Lewis was a bit of a letdown. He fit the part perfectly and there were times I loved his vocals but I think it's just not in the sweet spot of his range. There was a real base who had a small section in another song and you could hear the real difference in the quality of their voices. I mean, if he can sing Phantom he's probably not perfect casting for this.Though his acting was great. The young KIm was a little stiff but I don't expect much from child actors. The older Kim was fine though she wasn't as good as Lauren. Fred Willard was a little flat as Captain Andy but whatever. It's not a role that's going to kill the show. Now, as for the orchestra and chorus. OMG, guys. I forgot how much I love music like this. With a theatrical production... unless it's Les Mis or something, you have to keep the cast in line so you can afford to pay everyone's salary but with 5 night concert you can just get a bunch of the best singers and that is what they did. I think everyone was unmic-ed and maybe there were stage mics but in row P I was just getting this wall of sound. It swelled in the most gorgeous way. And there were some proper, proper sopranos in the mix which made me very happy. The guys were also great. I wasn't in love with the orchestra when they were playing the overture but when they were accompanying the singers, my God, so gorgeous. I hope they get in a good sized orchestra for The King and I. They were filming it the whole time so I think they might be airing it on PBS. There were moments here and there where I thought 'they probably could have used some more rehearsal time' but as a theatrical experience it was brilliant.

Paul Akister: I like that Paul sings properly, holding the notes, actually try to sing the notes instead of shout or talk or whisper them. But I think some of the low notes were out of his range and sounded awkward. Also, adding a beat will not make him James Arthur. These are clearly not Paul's choices. Paul doesn't want to wear a leather jacket and disappear into a cloud of smoke. Jay James: What the heck is this? Moulin Rouge? I'll give him credit for improving during his time on the show from intolerable to incredibly mediocre. But he's never going to be great. Also, his outfit? Is he part of the tech crew? Put in some effort, man. Lauren Platt: Fantastic. A throwback song not outside of her capabilities that didn't show off how her voice hasn't fully matured yet. Really boring though. Also, WTF why were there so many lens flares? Ah no, nevermind. She couldn't hit the big notes at the end. Only the Young: I like them. Not in an ironic way. They make me smile. If they do get careers after this they will either release an album of covers and become children's TV presenters or they might find someone to write great songs for them and become a throwback pop act. Like a combination of S Club 7 and The Scissor Sisters and the B-52's. Ben Haenow: Vowels unpleasant. He wasn't singing badly. I just didn't enjoy it. Why do his eyes roll back in his head when he sings? It makes him seem really not genuine which is the opposite of what you need to seem for Man in the Mirror. I think it got a little better when the music came in. Hitting the chorus helped too. Stevi Ritchie: I feel like I'm being tricked. I could not really pick out Stevi's actual live vocals until the other voices dropped out. There were problems. Though at times it wasn't bad. I just don't find Stevi fun anymore. Stereo Kicks: I feel like this was a mistake. Backstreet Boys was fine but this era in the sound of boy bands does not do Stereo Kicks any favors. All the solos, even James Graham's, had some issues and also some nice moments. Perhaps we wouldn't need to kick people out of Stereo Kicks if all the members of the band could sing perfectly all the time. Instead, we have 8 people who collectively sing the right notes about 60-75% of the time. Also, I thought their stage presence was just really off and then a rando got carted off stage. Poor James Graham. I hope they're not in the sing off again. It's getting to the point where I might just buy his solo album because I feel so bad for him getting stuck in this stupid thing. Fleur East: So this was clearly Fleur's "I can sing" week. I like this song because of Boyce Avenue. There were some issues but I think she did a solid job of proving she can sing. She gave me a bit of a Whitney vibe. A great thing about Fleur is that even when she's not dancing she knows how to perform. She doesn't park and bark. I think some of the issues came from her raspy voice. Andrea Faustini: When it started I thought 'I might genuinely enjoy one of Andrea's performances'. I think it was one of his better vocal performances but I think it was still just too much. I don't mind his voice too much when he's singing straight but there are just too many affectations. He needs to edit. My Rankings. I'm fine tomorrow unless Only the Young or Fleur are in the sing off. I'll feel a little bad for James if it's Stereo Kicks. 1. Only the Young 2. Fleur East 3. Andrea Faustini 4. Stereo Kicks 5. Paul Akister 6. Ben Haenow 7. Lauren Platt 8. Jay James 9. Stevi Ritchie

Why is this even a thing?

Maybe it's because I've watched her on youtube for a few years now but I don't see a discrepancy between the way she acts and the way she looks. Although I do think she comes across as a little more fake after doing more work for other people. She's one of the more intelligent youtubers. She's always been fairly articulate and well-spoken and I think she studied architecture. This is slightly off topic but the In a World... argument of Lake Bell's kind of rubs me the wrong way. Yes, you shouldn't adopt a baby voice because you're trying to appeal to guys and you can totally find someone's voice irritating. But the idea that you should automatically reject a voice that's high pitched and/or feminine because it's incongruous with your picture of an adult or a professional bothers me. It's similar to one of the reasons I always disliked What Not to Wear. Sure you shouldn't show up for work in pajamas but why should everyone conform to your ideas of appropriate attire? Whatever. Off on a tangent now. As for Emily, I actually think they didn't discuss everything. It was a little awkward how they talked around it. I don't think it was just about the divorce. Some of the things she said made me think that she's had some therapy or counseling and that it might have been for an eating disorder or self harm.

My recap is up on trashtalktv. I was too tired to watch the show live so I just watched it the next day. I don't know if it was because I only had to watch it once or because this was just a better crop of hamsters but I liked them. The show's still kind of boring but now I'm used to it. I thought the quality of the clothes was good for a one day challenge with teenagers though I'd appreciate it if they didn't keep prompting them to cry.

Oh my God. We've discussed how that's the movie that probably really set off my Joan Crawford/Clark Gable obsession, right? It reminds me of how Gossip Girl would always be making references to old movies and classic books.

So what is the point of them being in the room during judging then? I never hated Aaron that much. I've always thought that he was a jerk but he's a jerk who picks fights with other jerks. And I'm coming around on him more since he can apparently cook good food. Keriann and Katsuji do seem to put out good food rather sporadically and certainly not often enough to back up their egos. Also, I could not have rolled my eyes harder at the whole 'I miss my children' so much thing from Keriann at the beginning. Calm down. You just feel bad because they don't love your food and you expected to sweep in and have them kiss your ass. Don't suggest that you're going to quit because you want to be at home with your kids. That's gross. Don't use your kids like that. I already got the story about how you're doing this so your kids will follow their dreams or some BS like that. Stop it. I feel like they're working the redemption angle for Aaron. It started with his bonding with Swayze and it's been steadily building. We'll see if they'll continue selling it or if they're just setting him up for a fall.

Not Swayze tattoo! Why would you do this to me, show? I think his name was James. I was sad to see him go because he seemed to be a nice guy and also he had a tattoo of Patrick Swayze. The same complaints kept coming up though. Apparently his food is old fashioned and he makes weird choices like serving crudites as bar food at Cheers. I knew that he would be eliminated with the other girl because they were not going to let go of their Boston contestant this early. I'm still not enthusiastically rooting for anyone. We had frontrunners at the beginning and now I feel like all I see is Gregory and whoever is in a fight that week. We've never been able to taste the food but it used to be more compelling to watch them make and eat it. I'm not sure if the problem is with the judges or the contestants. The main challenge this week was interesting but odd. It felt like it came from another show like Hell's Kitchen or something where they were actually being tested on skills for a job. I think that may also have been part of the reason we got kind of boring food this week. Cooking food that people want to eat is not the same thing as condescending to diners and making something pedestrian that doesn't challenge them or yourself. Over Katsuji. Go away.

Eep! Guess who just got Orchestra tickets for Show Boat with Vanessa Williams and Norm Lewis! So excited. The concert is Saturday at 8. I'll report back afterwards.

I waited a super long time to watch this because there were so many pilots I wanted to catch and this wasn't expiring from hulu until recently. Guys, I think I might love this show! This is the one new show I've watched where from the first episode I genuinely liked it instead of just saying "well this had some problems but I'll stick with it." John Cho seems awake after sleepwalking through Sleepy Hollow. The writing is great. It feels like Suburgatory mixed with The Mindy Project. I know romance is coming up but I kind of wish they wouldn't rush it.

Happy election night. Some choice tidbits paraphrased... Mocking one politician who focused on women's rights who lost. Clearly that's was a bad idea. Though the Republicans won back a bunch of seats so clearly they don't need to change "how they talk to women." Yeah. You keep thinking that. Congrats to Mitch McConnell and the Republicans for refusing to go along with immigration reform because it helped them win. In case anyone was curious about whether politics was more important than actually passing legislation. Keep your seat. Don't actually do work.

For me, part of the problem is that with eight guys, we never fix what's wrong with James Graham. As a solo artist both the judges (production backstage) and the audience would have the opportunity to focus on his flaws and they'd be addressed. You know, the way they made Paul stop making crazy faces (for the most part) or tried to make Lauren dance. Hidden in the group we're just so grateful when he comes on and we get a reprieve from the off key wailing of the others. I particularly dislike the little one because they let him sing way too much given his ratio of hitting the right notes. I have noticed that he could work on his stage presence but it's never going to be addressed while they have so much to focus on. I feel bad for James. He really got shortchanged getting thrown into this group.

I recently learned that there's a boy band in Korea with 10 guys in it. I don't even know how that would work. But maybe Stereo Kicks should take some notes. Or sing notes properly. Either one.

Just a heads up for those of you who might be planning to visit NY. The Lauren Bacall exhibit announced at the Museum at FIT will open in March. In the meantime they've made some photos of the clothes she donated available online. http://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/view/objects/aslist/5406?t:state:flow=e4f54edb-672d-4bdc-9ac9-5018bff8263d

I felt like we should know his name so I went back and watched one of the old arena audition videos. The one who sings all the solos in Stereo Kicks is named James Graham.

Whew! Thank you, voting public. Fleur wasn't even in the sing off. Instead faced off against and the judges went to deadlock. went home. I feel brilliant for predicting it would be a .

Guys... what the heck is Saturday Night? http://www.broadway.com/buzz/178164/odds-ends-james-lipton-exclusively-on-bradley-cooper-stephen-sondheims-saturday-night-revived-more/ Also, I know we just had a musical based on Rocky and the songs of Tupac but I always feel like the Brits make the weirder cash grab adaptations. http://www.broadway.com/buzz/178172/she-shoots-she-scores-bend-it-like-beckham-musical-to-receive-world-premiere-in-londons-west-end/

In addition to my normal comments I will also be ranking everything as Halloween or not Halloween. Ben Haenow: Highway to Hell. Arguably Halloween. Thank God they finally just gave him a rock song. This is his sweet spot. He still needs better stage presence but now when he's not doing much you can chalk some of it up to rock star swagger and not just emotional disingenuousness. Bear in mind that I don't like rock but I think Ben sounded great. Lola Saunders: Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. Barely Halloween. Also I swear to God she said "I remember when I lost my mind. There was something so sexual about that place" which are NOT the lyrics. It was an improvement from last week. The song plays to her strengths but she still doesn't have good enough control. Sometimes the notes are wonky and she doesn't know how to let her voice soar. It was still very sloppy with lots of bum notes. I do think her stage presence was better. Fleur East: Thriller. Halloween. Her voice seemed weak when it was exposed in the beginning of the song. I think that was a mistake. I still love Fleur and I think it was better than last week but it was just OK. I don't know if she used to smoke or she has that Emma Stone thing where she shouted too much as a child but that rasp in her voice makes me think that as hard as she works, she might never have a big voice. They need to be careful and play to her strengths, though yeah, giving her the Thriller dance was a good fit, it is still a singing competition. Don't go home, Fleur! Jack Walton: Bleeding Love. Not Halloween. I actually love Leona. I know some people hate her but I like her first two albums. I haven't listened to the new one yet and I don't listen to Christmas albums. He's not horrible. I just find his voice incredibly annoying. It's like you take normal notes and make them breathy and twist and torment them into these tortured closed off vowels. The notes don't deserve that. Just a touch flat. The vampire thing was super creepy.... creepy because Jack looks 13 and the predatory vampire looked way older than that. Jay James: Mad World. Not Halloween. You'd think it would be barely Halloween like Lola but the lyrics just throw it off too much and Jay's performance didn't do anything to help that. He's not a good singer. But it was a good week for him. He sounded very weak in the beginning but once they hit the breakdown I think he was surprisingly tolerable. Not... I would buy his album... tolerable but not bad. It's a weird kind of singing in between talk-singing and straight toning it but it's not an unfamiliar pop vocal. Andrea Faustini: Relight My Fire. Not Halloween. Also, gold devil horns Andrea is something I can't unsee. I liked this more than I usually do because I don't think he was reaching for a song beyond his capabilities. I do think this exposed a few weaknesses. His voice isn't actually that powerful most of the time and his vowels are a little closed off too sometimes. I need some way to describe it. It's not like he's going to an "e" vowel but it's almost croaky. I don't know. You know it when you hear it. It's different from what Jack does. Lauren Platt: Dark Horse. Halloween. Pretty but I think she was just a hair off pitch. Like she was really in the danger zone in the beginning of the song. There were some weird notes because I don't think her voice has fully developed and she was going for rounded alto notes that she couldn't hit quite right. And she doesn't have the power she wants to access. It's a thin sound when it comes out of her throat. Also, hey, let's not make her pretend to dance again. There were also a few really strangled notes. It's a Lola problem of control but I think her voice is also still developing. For God's sake I feel like I say the same thing every week. Paul Akister: Bat Out of Hell. Halloween. I think they were taxing Paul a little with all those lyrics. It was just like, please get to the chorus. I don't know if it was the range but I heard this really mellow pretty sound that I don't get often in Paul songs when he's doing what Haenow and Andrea do. There were nice runs but I think for the most part it lacked the energy it needed. Still, the good was enough to put him ahead of the others. Only the Young: Monster Mash. Halloween. Oh, Louis Walsh you magnificent creature. Just give them a bloody kid's show already. This is what they're meant for! I think the brunette was still a little iffy but the others picked up the slack. When they're on, the guys have perfect clean bubblegum pop vocals and baby voice adds character. I actually really enjoyed this. Stereo Kicks: Rock Your Body. Not Halloween. I have a hazy memory of this time in pop music but is this the video with the Halloween theme? I don't think it works if you take away the costumes since the song has nothing to do with Halloween. The "Oh my God, we're back again" made me laugh out loud. There were a few issues but overall they sounded good. They almost always sound good. There are just too many of them! Just cut the weakest singers! God damn it. Stevi Ritchie: Music of the Night. Arguably Halloween. But... dafuq? Breathy and flat and something else I can't describe. Kind of like if you scraped the notes over something without getting any grittiness in the vocal. The high notes were weak. I feel like he's talking a lot of this. Ugh. Ugly vowels. From "let your mind start a journey" it got better. Is this who Stevi really sees himself as? It's not up to Broadway/West End standards but for X Factor there were some nice moments. Overall sloppy though. But Brits love the crap out of Phantom. 1. Only the Young 2. Ben Haenow 3. Paul Akister 4. Stereo Kicks 5. Andrea Faustini 6. Jay James 7. Lauren Platt 8. Lola Saunders 9. Fleur East 10. Stevi Ritchie 11. Jack Walton We're still going with double eliminations. was already sent home. Never a fan. OK performance last night but it's hard to stay with that when we're getting down to the top 10. I'm really worried for Fleur tomorrow. I have a strong feeling a girl is going to be in the sing off tomorrow.

Is that what you call it when you celebrate Halloween a day late?

I still don't hate this team but I don't feel like they're ever going to be my favorites. I don't feel a sense of joy when they do well. Maybe because it sets Jim off to bragging. It was nice of him to say that what mattered about the detour was that she stayed safe and it was nice to see Misti do really well at a challenge for once even if she did let Jim carry her bag of hay earlier in the episode. You know what I really miss? Seeing people socialize. Not fighting or short clips so the viewers can get information about express passes or whatnot but really socializing in between tasks at the airport. Or maybe socializing a little at tasks. I'm not in love with alliances but it was nice to see the racers relax a little at the butter task and then to see Alli help out Te Jay at the detour. I feel like we don't get that a lot with Misti and Jim even though they apparently like Adam and Bethany because so often they're either at the front of the pack or the back of the pack and running their own race.

Not the best and not the worst. Unless we get tasks that really play to their strengths, they might not last long. I vaguely remember hearing that we'd be heading to Asia later in the race. That could help them out if one of them speaks the language in whatever country they go to. I don't know what else would really play to their strengths from what we've seen. I do think it's possible that they're better at mental challenges but I don't think we've seen enough to confirm that. I said this on another team's board but I can't tell if they suck at navigating or if they have terrible luck asking for directions. Or maybe it's a little of both. I won't be upset if they win but they're not my favorites right now. They need to be a little stronger to win me over.

Yay! I'm so happy they made it through another week. Maya is totally adorbs. I would love it if they dominated a little more but they seem to have major navigation issues. Do they just have bad luck asking locals for directions? Is it them? I don't know. I love that Maya speaks French... though one time it seemed like she was counting in Spanish. I was so nervous for them when they couldn't find the hay. They seem to do well at the actual tasks... just not getting to the tasks. I'm not sure how much their knowledge really helped but if it did, I'm glad they were able to bring their food science knowledge into the butter churning challenge. Maya rocked it crossing the bridge in style, though really I think most of the teams were fine with the height. I expected her to breeze through the puzzle a little quicker but it was admirable of her to try and keep Brooke calm and to keep herself calm with the giant ball of irritation that was Brooke at that moment. Please don't get yourselves eliminated with your poor navigation skills, food scientists! I really like you!