Kick-off: American Idol Hollywood Week

And so, we’re off to Hollywood. One of the biggest change in Season 8 of AI was to cut short the crappy audition pieces (which was rather some of the more entertaining parts of the show) to lengthen the Hollywood Week part of the season. Talk about trying to roughen it up! Anyways, Hollywood Week was entertaining, funny at times, but definitely full of drama. Gladly though, a few genuine talent shone through.

First day of Hollywood Week consisted of performances that screened through the contestants that will make it through the next round. To be honest, there is just too much people involved that it’s hard to pinpoint who’s who, so this stage did not stood out that much. Though I was glad Michael Castro safely skirted through.

The second part of Hollywood Week proved to be the more entertaining one, since it is a Group Sing. This allowed the contestants to not only showcase their vocal capacity but also their flexibility when working as a team. Ahuh. Some groups held it together, while others fell apart due to clashing personalities.

The Team Diva, oddly enough, proved to be such divas but minus the lackluster performance. It consisted of orphan girl Rose, Bikini Girl Katrina Darell, Jasmine, and another one whom I forgot the name of. There was too much drama, springing around (surprise, surprise!) Katrina. Even Kara could not withstand her boisterous attitude. I’m glad she’s gone for good in my next American Idol viewing sessions.

There were quite a few standout from the performances and I’m too tired to mention them all, so I’d rather list them down here:

*Adam Lambert – His experience in theatre really proved itself here. Belting out those high notes was rather a pleasure to watch. And damn, he made those black eye-liners look sexy!

those killer eye-liners!

*Jeremy Michael Sarver. Another impressive vocals! Boy, could he sing! I’m no good at predictions, but he’s one of those few real talents I’ve got my bet on to make the top 36.

*Danny, the young widower. Hah, forgot his name. I tend to mix the contestants up for now. But he’s good, cited as one of the best auditions by the judges. So, there’s no surprise he makes it through.

Michael survives Hollywood.

*Michael Castro. He made it, but I was rather sad he did not get that much air time. Is this some sort of conspiracy? Or was he too much of a hands-on favorite that it’ll be not worth the air time? Whichever way it is, I was not pleased. *sobs*

Looks like this is the guy’s season right here. Not too many impressive showing from the women, although I expect that to change in the coming weeks, especially as the number of contestants slim down. Speaking of women, the good ole catfight between Kara D. and bikini-girl Katrina is on yet again! But this time, with Kara having the last say. Ever the poser that she is, Katrina did not let it get her down as she even managed to pose for the camera. No, I don’t find her annoying, instead she’s amusing. Anyways, the crappy stuff are over and AI looks to be more exciting in the coming weeks. Till then!

sibling rivalry?

dreadlocked Jason.

He might not have the most powerful vocals out of the season 7 batch of American Idol wannabes, but he managed to swoon as many audiences (and voters) as needed to get him to the top 4. Dreadlocks? Soulful voice? The good looks? Dreamy eyes? Yes. I know you know who I’m talking about. Jason Castro might have missed a few notes along the way but he did captivate fans with his endearing performances and irresistible charm that goes whenever he steps into the center stage. And he kept that smile on even when he received a few reprimand during his not-so-good performances. He was with a talented bunch but Jason stood his ground.

As American Idol returns with yet another season and lots of surprises, we though it’s the last we’ve seen of the Castro’s on American Idol. However, the musically inclined family is back with another equally talented brood, in the form of Michael Castro. Watching the auditions with my family, my mom pointed out as Michael was being interviewed before he steps into the audition room: “He’s the more good looking one.”

Being the loyal Jason fan that I am, I chided in Jason’s defense: “Jason’s got the soulful voice and eyes.” Just when I was about to launch a series of defense for Jason, Michael started singing his audition piece, a Gavin de Graw song I was not familiar with. If Michael’s claims were true at all, knowing that he begun singing only 20 days before the auditions, then you know there’s a natural talent there. He is one of the greatest finds of this season and even the judges were impressed that they couldn’t hide how pleased they were with his performance. I had to admit, he might actually do better than Jason when he’s already this good at this stage of the competition. He’s got more spunk, more attitude, more confidence, as compared to Jason’s shy demeanor.

faux-hawk, junior Michael Castro.

But no, Michael isn’t going to ride the coattails of his older brother’s success. In fact, he brings a fresh new style into the table that I might find myself watching more American Idol this season.

On Mass Media

Jerry Seinfeld: “It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.”

idol marathon

My entire weekend consisted mainly of listening to my younger brother lament the fact that he has to say goodbye to his teenage years, and me confirming just why I deserve the title of being the world’s biggest couch-potato there is (haha, no puns!). Yes, aside from the fact that I was feeling too lazy to get out of the house (despite Ed’s insistence on me getting to do more outdoor stuffs and exercise), I have found one reason to make the television set my bestest buddy even just for this weekend.

And come on, pardon me, okay? I mean, everyone’s so hyped up over this whole “American Idol” frenzy. This weekend was probably the only time I was able to sit down and watch the entire season, on a marathon at that. Yes, it started out from the auditions to the trimming down of the contestants to twelve, and up to the final two Davids. And my dad’s quite confident that Cook had this in the bag (so reminiscent of Paula’s comment that she is “looking at an American Idol” after one of Dave’s performances on the Neil Diamond episode). I agreed with him, but wouldn’t make it quite obvious because he thinks he has an ear for music (sorry dad!).

Watching AI actually led me to make the following observations:

1) That Jason was eventually doomed, and was quite lucky he went as far as top 4.

2) This was probably one of only few times that Simon gave some “good” feedbacks (as he likes to play the role of the “hard-to-please” judge) on a contestant’s performance, most of them on Dave Cook’s.

3) Such a pity for Carly when she finally got a thumbs-up from Simon, that’s when she was sent packing (kiss of death, indeed!).

4) Quoting Randy Jackson to Jason Castro: “But you’re a beautiful guy!” (under ordinary circumstances, that would have been taken as a compliment, right?).

And lastly, 5) David Cook. Hmm, how can any man look so good and sound so well at the same time? If I would have been single, the thought of him alone would have made me glad I was. haha

That’s it for now. Can’t wait for the finale.