Oscar 2013 Predictions

The Academy Awards are tomorrow night, so what better way to spend Oscars eve than by sharing my predictions and who I think should win.  If you haven’t been following the Oscar race, the nominations can be found at Oscar.com.  With that being said, here are my predictions and favorite nominees (note: when I say “my pick” I mean my favorite nominee, not exactly who I think will/should win).

Best Picture

Prediction: Argo.  Ben Affleck was snubbed in the directing category, but that hasn’t slowed down Argo’s race to the top.  It has picked up quite a few Best Picture wins, including awards at the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes.

My Pick: Argo and Silver Linings Playbook were my favorite movies of 2012, so if I was able to choose, my pick would between those two.  Between the two, however, I think I lean more towards Silver Linings Playbook.

 

Best Actor

Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln.  He WAS Abraham Lincoln and he’s a lock.

My Pick:  Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook.  Maybe it was because I wasn’t expecting much from Bradley Cooper because of his past roles in things like The Hangover and The A-Team.  I didn’t take much away from those, but in Silver Linings, he blew me away.  He was able to portray Pat in both a funny and touching way.  The subtlety and growth that he managed to breathe into Pat made him (along with Daniel Day-Lewis) my favorite male performance of the year.

 

Best Actress

Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook.  In what seems to be a competition between Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain, I think Jennifer Lawrence will pull it off.   The reason I think she will take it over Jessica Chastain is because Lawrence’s Tiffany is easier to emotionally connect to.  Jennifer Lawrence shines as the young widow.  Chastain’s character in Zero Dark Thirty comes off more cold and aloof, making her harder to build an emotional attachment to her.

My Pick: Jennifer Lawrence.  After her intense roles in Winter’s Bone (for which she also garnered a Best Actress nomination) and The Hunger Games, she is allowed to have some fun and let loose a bit, showing another facet of her talent.  Even if she does not win, I feel like she’ll be able to score nominations for years to come.

Best Supporting Actor

Prediction: Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln.  In what seems to be the hardest category to predict, I think the Academy will stick to its seeming love of history, and go with Tommy Lee Jones as the pro-abolitionist, Thaddeus Stevens.

My Pick: Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained.  Picking between the nominees was hard, but I think Christoph Waltz’s bounty hunter in Django Unchained was my favorite performance of the bunch, but only because Leonardo DiCaprio’s deliciously evil, Calvin Candie failed to score a nom.

 

Best Supporting Actress

Prediction: Anne Hathaway in Les Misérables.  They might as well have her name engraved on the  statue already.

My Pick: Anne Hathaway in Les Misérables.  While critics weren’t as kind to the musical as expected, Anne Hathaway’s performance has been underscored as a highlight, with her heart wrenching performance of “I Dream A Dream” being the crowning jewel.  She may have been in the movie for a less than two seconds, but her performance stole the entire show.

 

Best Animated Feature

Prediction: Wreck-It Ralph. It’s probably between Wreck-It Ralph or Brave, but I think Wreck-It Ralph will take it.

My Pick: ParaNorman.  Probably a long shot, but the original story was creepy, funny, and touching at the same time.

The rest of my picks are under the cut.

 

Valentine’s Day with Kris Allen

Earlier today (or yesterday now), season 8 American Idol winner, Kris Allen, tweeted that tonight was the lend of the first leg of his Out Alive Tour.  As part of the first round of shows, he made a stop at San Francisco’s Café Du Nord, which proved to be the one of the most awkward shows I’ve ever attended.

Kris Allen perfomed at San Francisco’s Cafe Du Nord on Valentine’s Day.

The San Francisco stop of the Out Alive Tour was at the Café Du Nord, a place that’s about the size of my living room.  “Awesome!” I thought.  It would be a nice, intimate show.  Those type of shows are always fun, so I thought I was in for a great time.  Not exactly.

Before Kris came on, he had an opener, Jillette Johnson.  She’s an up and coming singer-songwriter, very much in the vein of Fiona Apple.  She reminded me a lot of a pre-The Fame/pre-famous Lady Gaga.  Her stuff was raw, but still had a catchy quality to it.  She played the piano, and gave a nice little history about each of the songs she performed.  It’s been more than a week that I’ve seen her, so the details of her set are a little fuzzy, but I enjoyed her.  I enjoyed her so much that I regret not buying her EP, Whiskey and Frosting.

After Jillette Johnson’s set, Kris came on.  I don’t know what diva attitude got into him, but he was late.  A whole eight minutes late.  All I kept thinking was, “Damnit Kris Allen!  There’s a train I have to take back home!  I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR YOUR DIVA ATTITUDE.”  Eventually, the princess came on stage, opening the show with Out Alive, a cut from his latest album, Thank You Camellia (and it totally should’ve been a cut from The Hunger Games soundtrack because it just fits so perfectly).

Kris performed a 14 song set on Valentine’s Day.

Throughout his set, Kris zipped through a fourteen songs, which included a mix of songs from his latest album, his first (studio) album and a handful of covers.  In San Francisco, some of his songs from his first album included his (only) successful single, “Live Like We’re Dying,” the incredibly catchy, how-the-hell-did-they-release-a-duet-with-the-dude-from-Train-over-this?! song, “Alright With Me,” and another shoulda-been-a-single, “Before We Come Undone.”  I was particularly stoked for “Before We Come Undone” not only because is it one of my favorites from his (major label) debut, but because it wasn’t “Red Guitar.”

While I was appalled at the exclusion of what might be one of the catchiest songs to ever exist, “My Weakness” (Seriously.  Try listening to it and see if you can get the whistles out of your head), the song choices from Thank You Camellia were upbeat and fun, and translated well live.  He got his feet kicking throughout songs like “Better With You,” “Loves Me Not” (featuring Jillette Johnson and crossdressing!), and “Rooftops” (which might have been my favorite song of the night).  The only song that I thought could have been left out was “Leave You Alone,” which frankly, should’ve been left alone and replaced with something else, like “My Weakness.”

Kris Allen and Jillette Johnson engage in some cross dressing during their duet, “Loves Me Not.”

Mixed throughout the setlist were new songs and cover songs, like the bouncy new track, which he called a possible taste of record number three, “Paul Simon” (I think that’s what it was called) and the White Stripes cover, “7 Nation Army.”  Something that Kris is particularly skilled at is mashing up songs, making them fit together pretty well, which he did with George Michael’s “Faith” and fun.’s “We Are Young” and “Some Nights.”

Taking a page out of Kelly Clarkson’s book, the show included an audience request section, where Kris and his band found a request via Twitter, and performed it during the show.  Continuing his diva attitude from the start of the show, he disregarded the requests and instead performed a (swoon-worthy) cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis.  It was Valentine’s Day, so he dedicated it to his wife, who was in the audience.  I  It was all very sappy and adorable and what not, but he totally should have done my request instead (it was “Toxic” by Britney Spears).

So, I’ve basically covered what he performed and his incredibly diva-like attitude for the night (I mean, how DARE he be a couple of minutes late and ignore my awesome request and dedicate something to his wife?!?! JERK!).  As for how he actually was…what can I say that I haven’t said about him before?  His live shows have only improved since the last time I saw him.  He’s incredibly engaging and his live vocals go down incredibly smoothly.  He is a great and captivating live performer, which is even more incredible considering he has no props or theatrics to add to his live show.  It’s just him and his band playing songs, which is a bit refreshing in this era of autotune and huge theatricality (which is not to say that I don’t enjoy that because, by god, I do).  His voice has just gotten stronger, and I stand by my statement that he deserves to be a lot bigger than he is.

Kris Allen: Up Close and Personal

So, let us go back to the beginning.  I started off talking about how awkward and uncomfortable this show was, despite having lauded Kris’ performance that night.  As great as he was that night, it still made me feel super awkward.  I was able to snag a place close to the stage, which I thought was awesome at first.  Once the show started, however, that feeling changed a bit.  Even before the beginning, that awkwardness started to sink in.  I’m not a short dude, so I felt like I was blocking a bunch of people.  Then, Kris hit the stage and that’s when things got uncomfortable.  As he sang his tiny little heart out (the dude is seriously small), I was able to see his back teeth and up his nose.  That’s how close I ended up being.  It made my proximity to the stage less awesome, and kind of awkward…by which I mean really awkward.  Regardless, Kris was still great, and at least I can report that it looks like he has no cavities!

So, sorry that this was kind of long.  I haven’t written something for a while, so I’m also sorry if it sucks.  Here’s a couple of videos of the show to make up for that.

 

 

 

Set List:

1. Out Alive
2. Better With You
3. Alright With Me
4. Loves Me Not (with Jillette Johnson)
5. Faith/We Are Young/Some Nights (Cover – George Michael/fun. mash-up)
6. Before We Come Undone
7. Can’t Help Falling in Love With You (Elvis cover)
8. Paul Simon
9. Leave You Alone
10. Monster
11. Rooftops
12. Live Like We’re Dying
13. Seven Nation Army (Cover – The White Stripes)
14. Shut That Door

Weekly Entertainment News Roundup: 4/27/2012

Sooo, I kinda said that I was going to write here more, but lo and behold, I didn’t!  I’m HORRIBLE with keeping up with things, but hey! I have an excuse!  I started my last quarter at school (how scary is that?!) and I have an internship with The Celebrity Cafe, where I get to write stories about the world of entertainment.

What a pain!  I just HATE keeping up with TV, movies, and music.  (In case you missed the sarcasm, this indeed was sarcasm).

Every week, I have to write stories for the site, and so far its been a great experience.  I’m loving it, and working from home isn’t too bad.  I worked from home A LOT with my last internship.  Maybe having two internships in a row where I work from home is a sign?

So, now that I’m writing about a bunch of stuff, I thought I’d share, so I decided to post a sort of master post of my weekly stories.  It’s my third week working, but I barely had the idea of doing this.  Hopefully I can keep it up, lol.

So, without further ado, here are the stories I wrote this week.  If you want, click and share on these stories! Comment on them too!  Not only do I suggest that you do this, I also encourage it!

• Ryan Seacrest signs up for more ‘American Idol’
  • Ryan Seacrest re-signs with ‘Idol’ to continue hosting the hit show.
• Pixar announces ‘Dia De Los Muertos’ and more projects
  • Pixar talks death, dinosaurs, and the human mind when discussing their upcoming projects.
• Jack White scores ‘The Lone Ranger’
  • The White Stripes front man will write, produce, and perform the score for the upcoming Disney film starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.
• Queen Latifah and Jill Scott set to star in a ‘Steel Magnolias’ remake
  • As Lifetime starts production on its upcoming, all African-American Steel Magnolias remake, Queen Latifah and Jill Scott have been announced as the stars of the project.
• Martin Scorsese will shoot all his future films in 3-D
  • After filming Hugo in 3D, Martin Scorsese will film all his future projects in the format.  Plus, find out which of his classics he wished he could’ve filmed in 3D. Ang Lee also talks about his experiences in the format, and how 3D will have an effect on December’s The Life of Pi.
• Elizabeth Banks talks bad film experiences
  • While Elizabeth Banks may be riding high with this year’s hottest movie, The Hunger Games, she didn’t always have great experiences on set.
• Ryan Seacrest joins the NBC family
  • Seacrest out? Not by a long shot. The American Idol host is taking over the media. He has signed a deal to continue hosting Idol on FOX, appears on E!, and hosts ABC’s Rockin’ New Years Eve special.  Now, he just signed a deal with NBC, where he’ll be a major presence on the network.

2011 Film Favorites

Tonight is Oscar night!  With Hollywood honoring the best films of the past years, what better time is there for me to look back to my personal 2011 favorites.  Ok, yes, the end of 2011 would’ve been better, but that didn’t happen.  So, with that being said, here are my favorites films of 2011.

10. Crazy, Stupid, Love.

As a romantic comedy, Crazy, Stupid, Love could have easily fell into the regular, predictable pitfalls that so many romantic comedies do. Instead, it is a fresher take on the regular boy-meets-girl storyline by intertwining different stories that are able to come together to provide a few twists and turns.  The material feels fresh and the script is witty, and is delivered terrifically by the cast, which includes Steve Carrell, Emma Watson, and Ryan Gosling.

09. The Ides of March

Confident writing, direction, and performances come together in The Ides of March to paint a picture of political corruption.  It develops an intrigue with a series of twists that are delivered with an emotional precision bythe cast that makes, which develops a sense of political intrigue.  Clooney and Gosling give terrific performances that play each off other greatly and are able to capture the cynicism of the disillusioned that the film effectively portrays.

08. Bridesmaids

For some reason there’s an old adage that women are not funny.  If Tina Fey and Amy Poehler haven’t knocked that door down with their hilarious NBC comedies, Bridesmaids has surely done so.   Bridesmaids is a raunchy, laugh-a-minute comedy bolstered by the chemistry of the strength of its cast.  Though full of gross-out gags, it still manages to be heartfelt without sacrificing the laughs.

07. The Artist

Producing a silent film in an era of CGI, shiny effects, and loud explosion jars with the today’s slickly produced movies.  However, that is what makes The Artist be a standout in the last year.  Despite lacking any sound, the charm and expressions of the leads are engrossing.  Even though the two leads never speak to each other, their relationship is captivating.  Coupled with the film’s delightful visual style, the film is a love letter to classic cinema, and is able to capture the aura of feeling stuck in a moment while the rest of the world is moving on.

06. Winnie the Pooh

Maybe it’s my sense of nostalgia that made me love this so much.  I grew up watching the Winnie the Pooh television series on TV and pretty much wore out my VHS copy of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  This new Pooh adventure captured the magic of the classic animated films.  While short, Winnie the Pooh was whimsical and nostalgic, capturing the spirit of the perennial characters.  This animated film is charming and it takes a heart of stone to not fall in love with this tale of friendship.

05. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2

Like Winnie the Pooh, I grew up with the Harry Potter franchise, and Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2 had a lot running on it as the end to the series.  I’m glad to say that it delivered.  The conclusion to Harry Potter’s adventures starts of thrilling and keeps the action going until the very end.  The film delivers with its dazzling battle sequence, while still delivering on its emotional intensity that is portrayed powerfully by the actors.  It’s the best movie in the eight film saga and a suitably magical way to end the series.

04. The Help

Though it has been argued that the film ignores major issues of racism, the film’s strength really relies on the strength of the cast.  The women leading the film captivate you with their heart and have the ability to make you laugh, cry, and feel hopeful without falling into clichéd cheesiness.  The film had a great story and it is perfectly portrayed by the strong cast, especially the lead, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer.

03. Hugo

Hugo seems to be director Martin Scorsese’s love letter to the movies, and it is beautifully written.  While the trailer didn’t do much to impress me, I was blown away when actually watching it.  It is a dazzling and original story that captures the magic of the movies.  It pays tribute to the spirit and wonder of film, and also demonstrates the same spirit extremely well.  There was extraordinary attention to detail that contributed to the fantastical spirit of the film, which was further encapsulated by the performances by Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace-Moretz, and Ben Kingsley.

02. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

David Fincher continues his streak of dark films with the American adaption of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  He creates an unsettling and icy atmosphere, which is the perfect backdrop for the story that’s about to take place.  Dark, twisted, and intriguing the film is a brutal story about a murder mystery that’s being investigated by disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomqvist (Daniel Craig), who enlists the help of tormented hacker, Lisbeth Salander.  What ensues is an engrossing and riveting film that goes to dark places and does not relent as the story progresses.  Rooney Mara plays Salander, the unlikely hero, pitch perfect, infusing Lisbeth witch a sense of gloom and a quiet rage.  She’s a badass through and through, which gets the audience rooting for her from the get go.  At times brutal, but always interesting, Dragon Tattoo is an engrossing mystery that captivates it you from the first second to the very last frame.

01. Drive

Going into Drive, I was half-expecting a Fast and Furious type of film, but it was so much more than that.  Ryan Gosling plays the enigmatic Driver, a Hollywood stunt driver by day who moonlights as a getaway car driver by night.  He doesn’t say much throughout the film, but Gosling portray him as an interesting character, rather than a boring person.  The movie starts off as a quiet, romantic fairytale between Driver and his neighbor, Irene, lulling the audience into a fall sense of security.  That all changes when Driver decides to help Irene’s husband, who has recently released from jail.  The security established by the first part of the film is shattered, jolting the audience, as a hyper violent tale of mafia double-crossing emerges.  The sense of mystery and violence come together with fantastic performances from the cast and a greatly told story to make Drive a relentless ride, and my favorite movie of 2011.

My TV Favorites: 2011 Edition

So, I’ve neglected this blog for quite a while.  As you may or may not know, I studied abroad in London and in the hoopla of getting ready to leave and actually being there, this was left on the back burner.  No!  It was taken off the burner completely.  However, it’s a new year and a new start, so what better time to get back into this?  I thought the best way to start again was through my yearly 2011-in-review-although-no-one-cares posts!  So, off I go with my favorite television shows of 2011.

10. Grey’s Anatomy
After a lackluster season at the beginning of the year, Grey’s Anatomy left me feeling underwhelmed for the first time in its seven year run.  When it came time for the season premiere in September, I watched not out of excitement, but out of loyalty, and I’m glad I did.  Something happened over the summer break that refreshed the show.  I think it was the concentration being placed back on what remains of the original cast.  Instead of the new kids being front and center, concentration shifted on the show’s veterans, which was a needed shift and gave back the feeling of the show’s glory seasons had.  It went from nearly falling off my radar during season seven, to becoming a weekly must watch for me again.  The midseason finale has got me eager to see what the show will bring in 2012.

09. Up All Night
While it’s still a little hit and miss sometimes, Up All Night is shaping up to be one of my favorite new shows of the season.  It sometimes falls into the cliché sitcom traps, but the performances by Christina Applegate and Will Arnett more than make up for it.  All the characters are likable, but Maya Rudolph’s zany take on ex-pop-star-turned-talk-show-host, Ava is what makes the show shine and worth watching.

08. New Girl
I’ve found that people think that Zooey Deschannel is either adorable or annoying.  I personally fall in the adorable category, which makes my favorite show of the 2011 season New Girl.  The show exudes Deschannel’s quirky and adorable charm.  The rest of the cast work great together and watching them and the situations they get into is fun to watch.

07. White Collar
Although the show is in its third season, I started watching (from the beginning) this year.  After the first episode, I was hooked.  Action-packed and intriguing, the show provides a season-long mystery coupled with fun adventures led by FBI agent, Peter Burke, and ex-con man, Neil Caffrey.  The show is fun and Tim Dekay and Matt Bomer are charming leads that play off each other extremely well, which makes the show a can’t miss.

06. Modern Family
Usually, as a show enters its first season it starts to show signs of wearing down.  Not Modern Family.  Three years in, it still is clever and hilarious, the most important things for a sitcom to stay fresh.  The show continues to be funny with its strong cast characters who could easily fall into stereotypes, but all are fully fleshed out and have depth.  The plethora of Emmys that the show has gathered have been greatly deserved.

05. 30 Rock
Perhaps the show ranks lower than it usually would because it’s been gone since May, but despite that, 30 Rock is always consistently funny.  Watching episodes multiple times is always a treat and despite repeat viewings the jokes are still hilarious.  The kooky characters, especially Jane Krakowski’s Jenna Maroney (it’s a crime that she hasn’t earned an Emmy yet) are all lovable and bring a quirk to the show.  Coupled with Tina Fey’s consistently genius writing, 30 Rock has been hilarious for five seasons and counting.  The upcoming sixth season premiere on January 12^th promises to be another hilarious season for the heavily lauded show.

04. Community
One bored summer afternoon I randomly decided that I should watch Community, so I caught the first two seasons to make sure I was set before the third season premiered.  It was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever done, television wise.  Full of quirky characters and plot lines, Community is highly original and dead-on with every punchline.  The show is extremely clever and is definitely one of the smartest comedies on TV.

 

03. Parks and Recreation
When Parks & Recreation first premiered, I watched it, but at some point I stopped keeping up with it.  Much later, I saw that it was on Netflix and decided to give it another chance.  Season one was a little slow to start, but it quickly picked up.  It’s relentlessly smart and funny, but also heartwarming without falling into the cheesiness.  All the characters are extremely likable and add to the show, which is more than you can say for most shows.  Overall, Parks & Rec provides endless laughs without them being cheap.

02. Chuck
As it starts its fifth year, Chuck is now coming to end.  Thankfully, it was allowed another season to wrap things up.  In its five years on air, it hasn’t missed a beat.  Although one of the storylines at the beginning of the season was a bit questionable, it got resolved quickly.  Despite the shortened season, the show still has still been able to pack action, laughs, and twists, which makes me sad to see it go on January 27^th.

01. Happy Endings
When it first started, it seemed as ABC wanted to burn off Happy Endings.  It aired double episodes of its short season at 10:00 PM.  However, word of mouth helped the show grow, and it got renewed for another season.  Thank God that happened because it’s one of the funniest shows on air.  Although the premise of the show, a group of thirty-something friends hanging out, has been seen before, the chemistry of the friends really carries the show.  The combo of Alex, Dave, Max, Penny, Jane, and Brad is a joy to watch, making you want to hang out with them.  The writing is sharp and hilarious, and although the whole cast is great, the wacky Penny and snarky Max provide one liners that are sharply hilarious and make the show ah-mah-zing.

This is American Idol!: Season 10 Tour Edition

This year's American Idol Top 11 contestants headed on the annual AI tour.

A couple of weeks ago, the annual American Idols Live! Tour rolled into San Jose, and after attending my first show during season 8, I sort of made it an unofficial tradition to attend every year.  Unlike previous years, the show was not set up in a countdown format, where contestant performed in the order they were eliminated, but rather it was all mixed up, allowing for more solos and group numbers.  The girls kicked off the show with a performance of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, which led to a revolving door of solos, duets, and group performances.  The show was basically split into two parts: The Pia Toscano Show (feat. Stefano Langone) and The Country Bears Jamboree.  However, I’ll be commenting on them in the order they were eliminated.

Thia Megia:

Thia Megia was pleasant.  Her frilly dresses and quiet demeanor really made her go unnoticed though.  Her solo performance of the Selena Gomez, Who Says was her only solo song.  It was nice, but outside of that, it was just there.  While she wasn’t bad in her performance or in her group parts, there wasn’t much that made her stand out.

Naima Adedapo:

Naima Adedapo was eliminated the same week as Thia Megia.  She deserved to stay on the show longer, and her performances proved that.  Her solo performance of Jennifer Lopez’s On The Floor was one of the most fun moments of the show.  She was a burst of energy and I wish she had more numbers to perform in.  Her On the Floor performance was probably the highlight of the show’s first half.

Pia Toscano:

The people who put together the Idol tour want to remind you that Pia is good.  Really really good.  She was put in practically every number of the tour, she opened up the show, and she even got to sing her first post-Idol single (to my knowledge, the first time it had happened).  She can sing the hell out of a ballad and can really stand in one place and really wave her arm.  Her voice is great, but there were moments in her performance where it seemed as if it kind of just dragged on.  However, she looked great and could really belt out a tune.

Paul McDonald:

Paul McDonald was basically a fun, drunk uncle performing.  His Maggie Mae performance helped pump the crowd up and was a delight.  However, his appearance was short, so there was nothing really more to it.  It was fun and light.

Stefano Langone:

Stefano Langone thinks he’s awesome.  From his tweets proclaiming something like he’s better than Bruno Mars to saying that he’ll be winning Grammys next year, he’s a little big for his britches.  While he may talk the talk, he really sounds like a generic Latin singer.  That doesn’t mean he sounds bad, but if there really isn’t anything to make him standout from any other singer with Latin ~flair.  His performances showed off his bloated ego, which made them border on the ridiculous side, especially when he ended his set by stripping his shirt off.

Casey Abrams:

On the show, Casey was hit and miss for me.  Sometimes I liked him, but others he creeped me out.  Thankfully, for the tour rendition of Idol, it consisted more of me liking him.  Though at one point he did get a little creepy, it was towards the end of his set.  The upright bass he brought out for his rendition of Santana and Rob Thomas’ Smooth gave it a moody and new feel, which was really enjoyable.

Jacob Lusk:

Jacob Lusk could really belt, and he showed it, especially with the two R&B songs he chose to perform.  They were upbeat and happy numbers, which really kept the show going.  His happiness and joy shone through and he gave a really fun performance.

James Durbin:

James was such a mixed bag.  It was his hometown show, so there was a lot of support for him in the audience.  He started off strong too.  His first song, Guns N Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine was rousing opener and it seemed as if everyone was in to it.  It was a perfect choice to kick of his performance.  Things took a 180 right after, with Muse’s Uprising.  Although he would like to think he was hitting amazing high notes, he was really producing cringe-inducing shrills.  Despite his shrieks, he kept up his energy throughout his performances, but that wasn’t enough to make up for his ear-splitting scream.

Haley Reinhart:

Perhaps the best of the night, Haley’s slinky, sexy set was expertly sung.  Her growly voice worked perfectly for her reprises of House of the Rising Sun and Bennie and the Jets.  House started off acapella and it was chill-inducing.  Bennie, in turn, was a fun jazzy number.  With her two songs, Haley was, for me, the best performer of the night and triumphantly showed that the judges bashing her week after week were basically wrong.

Lauren Alaina:

My journey with Lauren on the show was strange.  When she first was introduced I quite liked her, but as it went on, I got annoyed with how she was portrayed.  However, as the show started coming to a close, I started liking her again.  On tour, she did what she probably did best: pop-tinged country music, and she really sold it.  I had forgotten how strong her voice was and her live performances really showed it off.

Scotty McCreery:

Scotty McCreery, the good-ole-boy from the South that sang about Jesus and 9/11 ultimately took home the American Idol title.  Every week, he took country songs and always did them well.  His tour choices were no different.  Performances like Gone were cheesy, wholesome fun, while the back to back ballads kind of dragged his set down a bit.  His coronation song, I Love You This Big was sappy and cheesy, which pretty much made it kind of funny to sit through.  Despite dragging at times, his voice was always clear and he sounded great, and he had the shrieking girls eating out of his hand.

This Could Have Been Better:

• The Order:  Maybe it was because I was used to the countdown format, where the contestants perform in the order they were eliminated, but the random group performances inter-cut with solo sets was strange to me.  I liked the countdown version because it was able to highlight each contestant more.
• James Durbin: Uprising was just not a good choice for him.
• The Pia Toscano Show (feat. Stefano Langone): We get it! Pia is good.  However, the whole first half of the show was pretty much dedicated to her and Stefano.  It would’ve been nice to see more of the other contestants.

Highlights:

• Haley Reinhart: To me, Haley was the performance of the night.  She sounded flawless and her jazzy, slinky set was the perfect thing to show that Randy and J.Lo’s constant attacks were completely unwarranted.
• Naima Adedapo: I was blown away by the 10th (or 11th) place finisher.  Her performance of Jennifer Lopez’s On the Floor was a fun, energetic treat.  It was a shame that she was on stage for so little.
• Baby Lock Dem Doors: Finally hearing Scotty McCreery perform his go-to song, Your Man (aka Baby Lock Dem Doors) was worth the price of admission.

Overall: The show’s mixed up order proved to be a new way to see the show.  It gave it more of a variety show feel while highlighting some of the contestants more than others. Like past Idol shows, it was a good mix of different genres that had something for everyone.  Even though each contestant gave their best on stage, the night belonged to third place finisher, Haley Reinhart.

Setlist:

1. Born This Way (Naima, Thia, Haley, Lauren, and Pia)
2. Empire State of Mind (Pia)
3. California King Bed (Pia & Stefano)
4. Maggie Mae (Paul McDonald)
5. Who Says (Thia Megia)
6. Tight Rope (Naima, Thia, Haley, and Pia)
7. Grenade (Stefano)
8. DJ Got Us Falling in Love (Stefano w/ Naima, Thia, Haley, and Pia on backing vocals)
9. Animal (Paul, Jacob, Casey, Stefano, & James)
10. On the Floor (Naima)
11. This Time (Pia)
12. Firework (Pia, Lauren, & Thia)
13. Smooth (Casey)
14. Moanin’ (Casey & Haley)
15. Harder to Breathe (Casey)
16. Forget You (All, except Scotty)
17. Flat On the Floor (Lauren)
18. Like My Mother Does (Lauren)
19. If I Die Young (Lauren w/ Stefano, Thia, & Haley on backing vocals)
20. Sweet Child o’ Mine (James)
21. Uprising (James)
22. Never Too Much (Jacob)
23. You’re All I Need To Get By (Jacob w/ Naima, Stefano, & Pia on backing vocals)
24. The House of the Rising Sun (Haley)
25. Bennie & The Jets (Haley)
26. Your Man (Scotty)
27. Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not (Scotty)
28. I Love You This Big (Scotty)
29. When You Say Nothing At All (Scotty & Lauren)
30. Gone (Scotty)
31. Here I Go Again (James & Lauren)/Faithfully (Casey, Paul, & Haley)/Walk This Way (Naima, Jacob, Stefano, & Thia)/Any Way You Want It/Touchin’, Kissin’, & Squeezin’ (All)

Pick of the Week: 7/10/2011

I didn’t do one last week, but if I did, it’d be Horrible Bosses.  It seems ridiculous, but great fun.  Plus, I really like both Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman.

Scotty McCreery and this year's "American Idol" contestants hit San Jose on 7/13.

Now, for this week, I have two!  The first one is the annual American Idols Live! tour, where the show’s top 10 contestants hit the road.  Season 8 was the first year I went and it was a blast.  This tour showcases the talent the shows finds, and they’re a lot better than they were on the show.  This year, the contestant I’m most looking forward to is third place finished, Haley Reinhart.  The format of this year’s tour is different from the last two incarnations of the tour, so I’m looking forward to seeing that.

My second pick? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.  As the conclusion to the epic series, do I really need to say more?  If you’ve been living under a rock, you can catch the trailer below:

I already have my tickets to one of the midnight screenings.