I love the 80's, part two

Welcome back! It’s Brenna again, doing double duty this week to return Lindsay’s favor last week. I’d first like to give a shout out to PittGirl of The Burgh Blog, one of our favorite daily reads, which kindly gave us a shout out today, prompting a flurry of IM activity consisting of Lindsay & me freaking out that someone actually pays attention to us. If you’re from Pittsburgh, have ever been to Pittsburgh, or know anything about Pittsburgh, check her out and thank us later.

Tonight the girls took on the 80’s, and it didn’t take long for the first of my predicted Whitney Houston attempts (see last night’s recap) to take place. Asia’h (really, why the apostrophe?) sings “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” taking me back to me listening to this single on a record player sometime in my childhood. Two of the three judges love it, and Simon is lukewarm, which leaves me wondering if I’m tone deaf. I thought she was off key the entire song. Yet again, girls, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SING A WHITNEY SONG. It will never do you justice. Next.

Boring, forgettable Kady sings a boring, forgettable song. I completely agree with Simon – she is robotic, has zero personality, and should probably give up now and work as a Britney impersonator on a cruise ship somewhere.

Amanda rocks the Bret Michaels “Rock of Love” bandana ™ in her interview a second week in a row, and then busts out the Sunday Night Football song… oh wait, it’s really “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” The judges love it. I honestly don’t have an opinion, because I spent the entire song getting psyched for football season, then realizing it was still eight months away. Dammit. On a good note, NBC should totally hire her to sing the song this year. She’s much better than Faith Hill.

Bret or Amanda?

I’m sitting here about a half hour after watching the show and I can’t remember what song Carly sang. That’s not a good sign. I know she was good, but I just can’t get excited about her, and like Simon I’m waiting for that one song that she just nails. She better find it soon, or this one-time front runner is going to fade into the background.

We got 3/4 of the way through this week’s contestants without anyone ruining any of my favorite artists… and then Kristy Lee came along. I have absolutely nothing to say. Unless you’re the second coming of Steve Perry, do not even attempt to sing anything by Journey, unless you’re drunk, it’s 1:30 am, and you’re screaming “Don’t Stop Believin’” at the top of your lungs at the bar. I refuse to comment on her performance out of principle. (But I will use this opportunity as an excuse to link to the Tony Romo/Mr. Belding video.)

Side note: is it cold in the studio? It looks like all the boys are wearing tee-shirts and scarves.

Ramiele sings another cheesy Phil Collins song, this one being “Against All Odds.” To me, it felt like she was trying to get more out of it than was there, and it ended up sounding strained. I think Ramiele is very talented, but she needs to choose better songs that show off her range. I wasn’t too impressed by this one.

Brooke has become one of my favorites this year, and she impresses again with an acoustic take on “Love is a Battlefield.” I would probably buy her CD if she ever released one. She sings exactly the kind of music I enjoy, she sings it well, and her personality is pleasant and fun. I really hope she sticks around, but I would like to see her sing some more up-tempo songs to see what she’s capable of.

At this point in the evening, the judges have gone absolutely off their rockers. Paula is falling out of her chair, making even less sense than usual, Simon looks like he’s going to finally walk off that stage for good, and Brooke looks as scared as Jennifer Garner did upon being attacked by Gary Busey. What exactly is in those Coke cups???

Syesha, in the pimp spot, gives us more Whitney Houston. Ladies, have you learned nothing of the Idols that have stood before you? I don’t think Kelly, Carrie, Fantasia, or Jordin could even pull off Whitney. I don’t care how good you sound (and granted, Syesha did sound rather good) – I will always compare you with Whitney, and you will never, ever win that battle. Fortunately, Syesha has decided to attend the Haley Scarnato School of Short Shorts to get her votes tonight. Not just short shorts though – oh no, they’re more than that. These are short, high-waisted, satin shorts. The Fug Girls would be mortified.

So, thankfully, we have neared the end of the semifinals. After tomorrow we will no longer have the restrictions of having to vote for males or females, and I predict the females will have a rough time this year. My predictions for bottom three this week are Kady, Amanda, and Kristy Lee. I don’t think I’m lucky enough for Kristy Lee to go home yet, so most likely Kady and Amanda will say goodbye.

Lindsay will be back with you tomorrow, guiding you through the results show. Happy viewings!