P. D. Griffith's P.O.V.

Ep. “13 Finalists Compete”

So this week the contestants hit the “Big Stage” and it was an interesting week. The contestants were given the repitoire of Michael Jackson to

Lil Rounds: Performed “Way You Make Me Feel.” I am not going to lie, every time I hear this song I think of the movie Center Staged. I know how horrible that is. But in relation to Lil Rounds performance. I thought she did a great job. I loved the little liberties she took with the melody and wooooh does she have a falsetto.

Scott MacIntyre: Performed “Keep the Faith.” I must say, I haven’t really been a fan of him thus far, but this week he turned me. The judges weren’t lying when they said we needed to hear him on the piano. The performance felt heart-felt and the song was a good one. Way to go Scott! Did anyone think of Mika when he did that high note?

Danny Gokey: Performed “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).” Whoo that was a performance. The man has some pipes! My one thing is I question whether he would be able to sustain that kind of voice for an entire concert. The “soul” he possesses is definitely something that doesn’t seem normal for a white guy. He is like a white SEAL from Michigan.

Michael Sarver: Performed “You’re Not Alone.” I kind of feel bad for him because he had to follow Danny. Also, I really couldn’t stand how nasally he sang the song. And the fact that his voice kind of gave after the first power note does not bode well for me. It was aight.

Jasmine Murray: Performed “I’ll Be There.” She did good. She has balls though. I mean to do a song that has not only been performed by Michael Jackson but covered by Mariah Carey! That takes balls; and she did alright. I really agree with Kara that she needed to move down about 1/2 a key and she would have sounded effortless.

Kris Allen: Performed “Do You Remember.” So the performance was alright, he sang well, but I don’t know if it was as good as other performances. Now he was very smart though; he added a guitar to his persona. He was the “hot guy” for the girls, but now he is the “hot guy with the guitar.” This show is going to have a hard time getting rid of them. Note: As a man who has been MRAZ-merized, I love to hear Randy say a performance is Jason Mrazy.

Allison Irahetta: Performed “Give Into Me.” Smart decision at song choice. She chose one of the few Michael Jackson “rock ballads.” I really liked the performance but the women rockers haven’t ever held on too long. Only time will tell.

Anoop Desai: Performed “Beat It.” So I love this song and I have to say the minute they announced that this was Michael Jackon Week, I placed this on the list of songs the contestants shouldn’t touch, just below “Thriller.” I think I was right, and the judges agreed. The man is a performer but he just can’t match Michael Jackson with that song.

Jorge Nunez: Performed “Never Can Say Goodbye” by the Jackson 5. I don’t know why but Jorge reminds me of Ricky Martin merged with Marc Anthony…and that’s not a good thing. Now on top that this week, he seemed like he was in a lounge in Vegas. It was so ballroom I didn’t know what to do with myself while he was singing. Not my favorite tonight!

Megan Corkrey: Performed “Rockin’ Robin” by Jackson 5. She definitely has a relevance for the music industry right now but I don’t know how far she is going to get on the show. It just sin’t a voice that can really be showcased in a “mainstream” competition.

Adam Lambert: Performed “Black and White.” So another good performance by Adam. I do think he needs to expand his song selection a bit so that he doesn’t seem to be doing the same rock song thing every week…I will eventually will I get tired of the “rock scream.” However, it was definitely one of the best performances of the night.

Matt Giraud: Performed “Human Nature.” So it only seems appropriate that the duelling pianist plays the piano the same night as Scott MacIntyre. I thought the performance was not strong enough to really hold up to the other preformances of the night. This one might not get him through to the next round. I guess I’ll found out tomorrow.

Alexis Grace: Performed “Dirty Diana.” So she is one of my favorite artists. She not only has a unique sound, but she is cute and personable. I thought the performance was awesome and she has to move on. Side Note: does she look a bit like Majandra Delfin from Roswell?

So I think this is going to be one great Top 13. The contestants came out tonight and the majority of them sang songs that work for them and had killer performances. In the end, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Lil Rounds and Alexis Grace were my favorites. I think Anoop Desai, Matt Giraud, Jorge Nunez and Jasmine Murray are the ones who need to be worried about the results tomorrow night.

Ep. “If You Have Nothing Nice to Say…”

So last week was the “spa/wellness” episode; this week we have the “home decor” episode. The show started with Jill dealing with her “gay husband” redesigning her apartment and then moved to Alex and Simon talking with an architect about their renovations. My thoughts on the matter…I wonder why Jill listens to her “gay” because I think his taste is HORRIBLE and I wonder if Alex and Simon are only doing these renovations because of the feedback from season 1 about their gross apartment. Later, Ramona and Kelley go to the Richard Meier “showroom.” Richard Meier is a world-famous architect just continuing the theme of the episode.

In other news, Bethenny gets a cover shoot with Social Life magazine and when LuAnn makes the comment, “Are they doing any retouching?” Bethenny gets upset. Now, I see how Bethenny took it, but in the same sense, LuAnn was a model and understands the photo shoot experience and I don’t think that she meant it in the way that Bethenny took it. I am glad that Bethenny maturely handled the situation by privately having lunch with her. But then she turned that right around by gossiping about it in the Social Life issue launch party. Tisk tisk Bethenny.

So the drama this season might be petty, but at least they are laying on the drama like the ladies of the OC without any issue.