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Inside 'Idol' Performance Night Top 13
I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that last night's "American Idol" featured the best Top 12 (now Top 13) overall performances on night one. There was nary a clunker in the bunch, at least from my seat in the house - with the exception of Megan Joy. I'm just going to call that a beautiful disaster. Gorgeous girl. Ridiculous song choice. What was she thinking?
I've been going to the show whenever possible for the last five seasons and bringing back reports from inside the taping. As usual I try to give you a snap shot of what went on inside for those who are interested. First of all, if you ever go to the show I hope they bring back the regular audience warm-up guy Cory. The one they had last night was a dud! No offense i'm sure he is a lovely man but those commercial breaks can seem interminable when you can't run to the fridge for a snack! Although he was giving away I-Pod touches with the "American Idol" logo on it. So, he wasn't all bad. The big change in the studio was that the judges didn't get their usual walk-in welcome prior to the show. When twenty seconds after the show started no judges were in their seats I knew something was up. I actually really like the walk to stage they did. I hope they keep this every week.
So up first was Lil Rounds who seemed to impress Kara DioGuardi right off the bat. She turned to Simon Cowell and mouthed "good" to him. Lil received a standing ovation after her performance. Some nights every contestant gets that treatment. Not with this crowd. They were fickle as you'll see when you read on. I cracked up when Simon told her he hated the outfit. The guy sitting next to me tapped me and said clearly she was wearing "mom slacks." I guess those are the nicer version of "mom jeans"!
I think Scott MacIntyre sounded better in the taping than he did when I watched it back on television. During his performance Simon was whispering something to Paula Abdul. Scott got a standing ovation also. I have to say I was very upset with Ryan Seacrest. After he read Scott's 866 number they went to commercial. Ryan walked immediately off stage right and left the poor guy standing alone on stage. Obviously he needs help getting around. He could have at least told him someone would be right out to get him. Poor guy looked so lost standing up there for the good fifteen seconds before someone came to get him. Maybe because I have now met him twice and felt this urge to help him but my heart was breaking for the poor guy. Ryan you know I like you, we use to work together but please take better care of Scott from now on.
You know Simon would have good things to say about Danny Gokey. He had a huge smile on his face and was laughing, enjoying the performance the whole time. Another standing ovation.
Randy Jackson must have had something he couldn't wait to tell Simon during Michael Sarver's performance. What you didn't see was him sliding his chair over behind Kara and Paula to pow wow with Simon. Another standing ovation from the crowd. Michael sweetly turned back to wave to his wife and daughter just before leaving the stage during the commercial break.
So, if you read my blog about the Top 13 party I owe Kris Allen $20 bucks. No one had a "will you marry me sign." Its interesting because when I was talking to him that night I felt like he was hiding something the way he was acting when I mentioned how girls love him and want to marry him. Well, it turned out he is already married and that's why he was behaving odd. It had yet to be revealed on the show. You should have heard the gasps from the young girls in the mosh pit up front when they showed his taped piece and he revealed he had been married five months. Simon was right when he said he should have not brought up the wife just yet. The young girls are not happy.
Despite her fantastic performance last night Allison Iraheta was the first person to not get a full standing ovation. Now it could be just that by this time everyone was getting tired because the audience started to get much more stingy with their praise from this point on.
Anoop Desai had Paula on the fence about whether or not to stand up and dance. At one point she looked like she was going to and then Simon put his hand on her shoulder to keep her down.
Poor Jorge Nunez could not get this crowd on its feet. Just a small group stood after his performance and it got even worse after Megan. I counted a total of eight people stood for her performance after it ended. Mostly family and a couple of fans.
Then Adam Lambert brought the crowd back with a roar. For the first time the entire audience was up on its feet dancing as he performed. He's already a rock star but apparently not as season as the judges thought. He was the only contestant who forgot to give the microphone back to production when he was finished!
Simon watched Matt Giraud's performance on the monitor in the judges console the whole time I'm guessing because with him sitting at the piano it was hard to see his facial expressions.
The crowd seemed to love Alexis Grace but the judges had better things to do apparently. They were talking during most of her performance. Hopefully it was them deciding she was a "naughty" girl tonight and not discussing their favorite lunch meats!
Celebs in the house - Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Gordon Ramsey who showed up around 6:30, ninety minutes after the show started.
Idols in the house - Justin Guarini (for TV Guide Channel), Ace Young (for American Idol Extra), Phil Stacey and Chikeze.
*Sorry I posted so late after yesterday's show. Busy, busy day. For the record I accurately predicted Jasmine and Jorge would go home! The proof is on LA Time Buzz Meter.
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Lil received a standing ovation after her performance. Some nights every contestant gets that treatment. Not with this crowd. They were fickle as you'll see when you read on.