The Art Of War

Sometimes, people need a mistake to wake them up, and in Idol’s case, 2 mistakes perhaps?(hopefully).

I am not a fan of Pia since she took the last bus to dull-ville sometime back, but I never expected her to be out of the game, THIS soon. In fact, I was still rooting for her to be in the final two, with beloved James, until Scotty fever grew on me. Having said that, when they put her in the bottom three with Stefano & Jacob, I thought we would see the last of Stefano, until Pia was called instead. I was shocked, but not surprised!

In the history of Idols, plus other similar reality shows, results like these, dubbed as mistakes, are really not that strange. Every contestant has their own fan base. In fact, the real battle here are between the fans who voted, and not the contestants, per say.

So, Pia, is now, voted off, everyone is talking about the shocking elimination, and perhaps, finding faults, but what can we say, really? She just didn’t get enough votes, there could be people who didn’t vote for her, thinking that others would, but no one really knew, until the results were released.

After Casey, does America need another mistake to wake them up? Do they? And is this a mistake after all? No one is new to this game. We all know, a reality and popularity competition like AI, needs more than a good vocal to get to the finals, we call that “a strong fan base”. A big group of people who won’t bother about the rest, but just keep voting for their favourites, and these are the people who will eventually decide, who will be in the top two. These are the people who will eventually buy the new idol’s records, and support them all the way! In the end, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?

So, to fans of Scotty, James, Jacob, Lauren, Hailey, Stefano, Paul & Casey, who is Pia to them? She is just a competitor, and she needs to get LOST! Sorry, but that is a fact. And although we see her as an Idol material, to the fans of others, she is a threat. This is not merely a singing competition, but a popularity game, and the one with the bigger support group, can call the shot! This is the art of war, AI’s very own, art of war! And that has always been the rule!

My only hope now is, to have James & Scotty in the final two. It will be a battle between country & rock. And if both of them play their cards right, in places where it counts, they could end up being there, BATTLING it out!

I can’t help thinking whether the judges regretted using their save vote on Casey, and whether they would have used their save vote, if they knew, Pia would be eliminated this week?

AI, I don’t mind you driving me nuts, just don’t drive me mad.

Eleven Minus Two?

I am not a fan of Elton John, however I must say, he is an incredible artist, legendary in his own rights. His music has never been my cup of tea so I was not that thrilled about this week’s theme. But after seeing the top 11 performed last night, it was kind of refreshing to hear how some of Elton’s numbers were given new arrangements. I liked what I heard, although some went a little bit too far.

The whole “Casey” elimination drama should never have been played that much. Ryan, should really tone it down a bit, as it adds too much of salt to an already salty pie. Having said that, I am really hoping that no such surprises will take place this week.

I am going to be honest; I am a “bias” person. I only look forward to my favorites and that means, I listen to probably just few seconds of each contestants, not in “my list”, unless I find something interesting and encourage me for a longer stay. This is a singing competition, everyone can sing on this show, but the whole idea is to find that “someone” who stands out, not just vocally, but in PERSON! The glamorous word for it is perhaps the X-Factor. It’s that unknown reason that drives you to keep wanting more from an artist, and you don’t even know what it is. There’s a combination of suspense, and other elements that draws you more to the performance & the overall show. An AI is actually a stage to look for the “next to be” and not “someone who is already there”, cause it pays more to be “one of a kind” rather than “a similar kind”.

So, what happened last night?
1. Scottie
Scottie… Scottie ..Scottie, he is perhaps the only contestant, who looks so comfortable week in and out, singing country, pretty safe in his comfort zone. And last night, he showed a side of him that I’ve never seen. Like what Randy says, he’s seasoned so fast, yes, and he sinked in to it like a pro. Although he is not versatile, what the heck, who wouldn’t want to keep him in the show?

2. Naima
Although I appreciate her effort to give a different kind of twist to the song, the results to me, were both weird, and disrespectful. She didn’t do any justice to the song.

3. Paul
Ok, to be fair, Paul is an interesting star to be. He is original and his voice is unique. You can only like or hate this kind of talent. Unfortunately, I am just not a fan.

4. Pia
She can nail any ballads. She has proven that week in and week out. But there’s something about her that I find pretty disturbing. She came out strong in the first week, but later on, she decided to take a road trip to dull-ville, without looking back. I am just bored. How odd is that, cause she is so pretty, and sings like Celine, maybe that’s what it is, we already have Celine Dion!

5. Thia
She is just too “plain” for this year’s group of talents. Not strong enough.

6. Stefano
Too bad, I was really hoping he would redeem himself, to me, the performance last night, was not it.

7. Casey
I hated the drama, but I must say, he did well to prove he deserved to be there

8. Jacob
He gives me the impression, that he loves exaggeration. Sometimes, being less is better.

9. Hailey
She probably did her best last night, but I won’t call it the best of the night. Problem I have with Hailey is, she is forgettable. Up to last night, she was really playing it safe. I don’t know. Even after seeing her last night, I find her shifting from “forgettable” to trying way too hard :(

10. Lauren
I liked her. Better than Pia. I hope she will stay.

11. James
He is the guy I have been “rooting for”, to win this season. And after my huge disappointment with Adam, I hope America won’t let me down this time. However, last night’s show to me was way too crazy. It’s probably different being among a live audience, but watching from home, with the whole fire thingy.. gees.. a little bit too much for my taste. Anyhow, I wish he would take on something slower, perhaps a ballad, to show us another side of him that we have not seen. I think, if he does that, with the right number, he could secure his spot in the final two.

I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about the masses of sardines, fishes of all kinds surfacing in the island of Mexico. I have a bad feeling about it, a really bad one. Well, Mother Nature is “mad”, we just hope she is forgiving enough, for now.

With these strange thoughts and worries in my mind, I hope to see, Naima & Hailey go.
But I think, Stefano & Thia or even Paul may be sent home.