Couch Potato Blog

American Idol viewers whittled down the finalists to seven last night, getting rid of precious Scott, the blind guy with lots of heart. Paula actually had a coherent moment as she bid him farewell, telling Scott that he inspired the world. I agree. Though his performance the other night was only lukewarm, his guileless personality and normalcy in spite of disability makes me feel warm all over. I’ll be watching for ya on the summer Idol tour.
I must say Frankie Avalon’s performance last night was really decent and the guy looks great, about as old as Simon, who apparently was born in 1959, when Avalon was at his height. But oh no: Kelli Pickler—that was awful. She was off key and looked cheap. I know I won’t be downloading that song—whatever it was—on i-Tunes.
I’m still not feeling most of the Idol song selections this year either and it’s actually quite painful to watch these young people sing easy listening songs week after week. Seems like Idol is geared toward the 50-something crowd this year and it’s making me weary. Still, talent abounds. My favorite from this week was Matt Giraud and his cool rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Part-Time Lover.“ More than decent, I’d download that. Allison was also great in spite of a lame song choice. Contestants sang songs from the year they were born and her case, it was 1992—one of the best years for a new type of rock and roll and yet Allison picks a Bonnie Raitt song. Ugh. Oh yeah and there was all this hype about Simon giving Adam a standing ovation. Unfortunately, the show ran long and my DVR did not record his performance. I got to see it yesterday though, taped at the beginning of “Fringe” on Fox’s west coast channel. Eh. It was all right. I can see why Simon liked it: very British-sounding and girly. Adam is not my favorite; do we want an Idol who’s already a professional? I thought this was an amateur competition. Lastly, Paula ... what’s with the silky, Cinderella gloves? I couldn’t hear you clapping.