the music tutor.

Blake or Jordin?: American Idol Final Predictions.

npbradshaw — Thu, 24 May 2007 00:11:01 +0000

Aside from the Sanjaya nonsense, I’ve been fairly pleased with the crop of singers on American Idol this year. Of course, there were those first few weeks where some of the singers that were included left a lot to be desired, but for the most part, I think this group was pretty strong. It was definitely the best final three that I’ve seen, and last night was a terrific final.

That being said, I’m going to state what I feel is obvious:

Blake, though he is an extremely talented performer with a great career ahead of him, will not be this year’s American Idol winner.

I think Jordin has it in the bag, and will probably win by a less-than-small margin.

I thought halfway through the season that it would probably be Blake and Jordin in the end (don’t think I posted that thought here though), but I also knew that anything could happen, and would not have been surprised if it had been Melinda and Jordin or some other combination. I will, however, be a little surprised if Jordin does not win.

No matter what the outcome, they both are two of the most likable finalists that I remember seeing, and I say “Congratulations on a job well done” to both of them.

And I’m bummed that Heroes is now over. I’ll be pining all summer for Season 2.

I know that was totally unrelated.

Too cool.

npbradshaw — Sat, 19 May 2007 04:06:49 +0000

Check out this awesome drummer.

The video is here.

American Idol predictions 13.

npbradshaw — Wed, 16 May 2007 20:16:19 +0000

I’ll keep it short and sweet.

This is probably the best final three American Idol has ever had. Not only are Blake, Jordin and Melinda incredibly talented, but they delivered flawless performances last night. No one’s nerves got the best of them; there were no glaring mistakes. The song choices were pinpoint-accurate for each of them, showcasing the best of their vocal abilities.

That being said, each of them deserves a place in the finals. However, there can only be two, so I’m going to predict that it will be Melinda and Jordin.

I won’t be shocked or disappointed if I am wrong.

American Idol predictions 12.

npbradshaw — Wed, 09 May 2007 02:59:08 +0000

After a pretty good show last week, this week’s show left me a little deflated. The song choices were not all that great, and the finalists did not sing at their best.

…Well, Melinda did. She was great vocally, as usual, but her first song was pretty boring. The second song was much better, but still not all that exciting. Nevertheless, I think she’s a shoe-in for the semi-finals.

The other shoe-in is Jordin. Her first song was the best performance of the night, and although she seemed to be yelling in the second song, I don’t think that will hurt her at all. She has been solid throughout the competition, and her consistency has been second only to Melinda’s.

That leaves Blake and Lakisha.

Sigh.

I like both of them, and I hate to see either of them go, but I am going to predict that we’ll be saying goodbye to Lakisha. She just about lost her voice at the end there, and she has no teeny-bopping fans or hip beat-box gimmicks to save her. Blake’s performances might not have been the greatest, but they still weren’t bad and he’s got the coolness factor going for him.

Love the Bee-Gees!

The end!

npbradshaw — Thu, 03 May 2007 03:23:52 +0000

We’ve reached the end of another year! Our chorus concert is tomorrow evening, and I am excited. My chorus has done a wonderful job this year, and I know they are going to sing beautifully tomorrow. Next year the schedule may be a little different, with us meeting in the morning instead of from 2-3. That way, more people can join without having conflicts with band or orchestra.

Congratulations to you guys. I am very proud of you, and you should be pleased with the work that you have done. Knock ‘em dead tomorrow (does anyone even say that anymore? “Knock ‘em dead??”) and have a wonderful simmer!

…That’s summer.

I need to go to bed now.

American Idol predictions 11.

npbradshaw — Wed, 02 May 2007 04:53:49 +0000

Cool. Good night of performances.

Phil sang as well as he did on country night, which was great. It was a big power song, but he still managed to sound relaxed as he did it. He seemed right at home singing Bon Jovi.

Lakisha! She’s back in all her splendor! Excellent performance. (And I loved her comment about how she’s heard of Bon Jovi thanks to seeing him on Oprah! lol)

And Melinda. In all her Tina-Turner-ish goodness. What can be said about her that hasn’t already been said by everyone? She’s anointed.

Even these three powerhouse performances couldn’t top, in my opinion, the best display of originality, creativity, and talent of the night: Blake.

Simon’s comment for him was spot-on. Blake’s performance will be loved by some, hated by others. I loved it. What a re-mix! The bit at the beginning where he made the sounds of a record being put on a turntable and starting was ingenious. A truly incredible creative mind he has, and not to mention a smooth, pleasant, almost crooning voice that is reminiscent of Jamiroquai and a little Maroon 5.

Cool.

Jordin didn’t do great, but she’s still great, and she still has some momentum from her emotionally-charged performance last week, I think.

Who will go home? That’s a tough call, but I think that since it’s tonight’s results coupled with last week’s, the unsafe ones are Phil, Lakisha, and Chris. It may be Phil and Chris’ swan song.

I could be wrong. I have been before.

Random cute picture.

npbradshaw — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 22:44:12 +0000

I saw this picture on a blog called I Can Has Cheezburger. I like Matisyahu, so I thought it was a cute picture.

MANTISYAHU

American Idol highlights.

npbradshaw — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 03:41:13 +0000

What a great elimination show!

What was really cool was that no one was eliminated. I was really happy to see that. Of course, that means that TWO people are going home next week, but at least we get another week to see all six of these performers who did so well on Tuesday.

As for the whole “Idol Gives Back” part of the show, I really enjoyed the performances. Kelly Clarkson was great. I’m not really big on Il Devo. I think Josh Groban is a better singer, and I was glad to see him on the show. He gave a moving performance with that young choir. The Celine Dion/Elvis duet was pretty ingenious. My husband marveled at that. (“It’s live TV!”) And Annie Lennox! Love her. Bono at the end was pretty cool too.

That was an entertaining show for sure. Kudos to the producers for putting it together.

American Idol predictions 10.

npbradshaw — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 02:29:27 +0000

Yay! We can get back to watching a singing competition!

Everyone did well tonight, in my opinion. It will, therefore, be difficult to say who should go home. I think if I were to rank the performances tonight, I would put Jordin, Melinda, and Phil in the top half. That, of course, leaves Blake, Lakisha, and Chris in the bottom half.

See the trouble? The bottom half sang well too.

So who do I think will come to the end of their road?

I’m going to predict Lakisha. Shockingly.

Only because the judges comments were less glowing toward her than toward Chris and Blake. I think she and Blake will be the bottom two. That isn’t to say that they are not as capable as the others. Lakisha held her own singing a very difficult song originally done by Fantasia, and Blake gave a super-sensitive and charming performance of THE classic John Lennon song, “Imagine.” Though they both turned in perfectly respectable performances, at this point I think the judges comments will be carrying more weight and influence with voters. Ergo, Lakisha’s departure. Possibly.

I’ll be sad to see any of them go.

Criteria for juries.

npbradshaw — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:22:44 +0000

Ladies!

We’re three weeks away from juries! All of your hard work and practice will culminate in two minutes that will decide your fate as a singer!

I’m kidding, of course.

But seriously, here are the nine criteria on which you will be judged:

Attire
Memorization
Presentation
Diction
Tone Quality
Pitch
Phrasing
Rhythm

See you next week! Have a great weekend!

*hugs*