American Idol 11: Phil holds the edge but it will be close

I have been taking a break from this for some time. Donna Summer and Robin Gibb both passed away this week. Tomorrow will be the results of this year's final.

Phil has been improving the last few weeks and seems less one dimensional in his performances. Jessica has already broken one record in being the first Asian American to feature in the final. As for Skylar who went out a couple of weeks ago, she actually did not improve that much after "Shameless", so she was actually more of a dark horse than a dream idol.

It looks like Phil did better in the final song. Also the majority of people voting seem to be young girls who would most likely vote many times for him. Such has been the scenario for the last few years that there has not been a female winner for quite some time. It will be close but Jessica could still win it.

American Idol 11

This week both Heejun and Skylar were in the bottom three but Heejun was the one to go. What Heejun sang was not really the genre that I like but the vocals were probably one of the best in the history of American Idol. The judges gave a standing ovation but it looks like that did not count much when it came to the final decision. This seems to be unfair and in the future, it should be made a rule that a standing ovation should be an automatic save. Seems like J-Lo wanted to save him but the others disagreed. Anyway here is his performance.



I thought Skylar performed very well and should not have been in the bottom three. Even though she has a nasally voice, her last two performances have been good. Will be the one to watch in the next few weeks - if she stays long enough.

American Idol 11

This week was a surprise indeed - as Heejun had ended up in the bottom three. I was also surprised that Deandre was also in the bottom three. I felt that they were both entertaining. It looks like Heejun's chances of winning this is not very strong and he may be sent packing next week. Here is the video of him singing Billy Joel's "My Life"



I felt that this was one of the best performances of the night. Except for Phillip Phillips, Diddy did a good job with most of the singers. Phillip had changed a lot of the song and it sounded almost nothing like the original. I was surprised the judges did not comment about this- it was like they have not listened to any Billy Joel songs at all! Colton Dixon was the other singer that I felt could have ended up in the bottom three - his voice was just too whiny for my liking. Why the judges and mentors never comment about this while people in the internet do - is a mystery to me. Jessica Sanchez did a good job with " Everybody Has A Dream" but for some reason I still don't think she is ready to win it. So if Heejun goes off next week, who is the next best choice to win it? Skylar Laine?

American Idol 11

Heejun has made it into the top 10 of American Idol. This week he sang "Right Here Waiting"



Two singers were sent home this week - "gentle giant" Jermaine Jones was disqualified due to some legal issues while Shannon Magrane was voted out.

American Idol 11

Jeremy Rosado was sent home this week.

Here is Heejun singing " All In Love Is Fair".

American Idol 11

Heejun Han made it into the top 13. Here is his cover of "Angels".



"Gentle giant" Jermaine Jones was the wildcard in the top 25 and he surprisingly made it into the top 13.

American Idol 11

This year there is one dream Idol at this stage compared to 2 last year. This year the dream Idol is Heejun Han. At first I myself was not too sure about him but now he seems more ready to win it and is the one to watch this year. I think it will still be tough but he seems to have had the most Twitter followers in the internet so it appears he has grown in popularity.

There will be 25 contestants for the next round but still don't know who the last one will be. Either Johnny Keyser, cowboy Richie Law, Jermaine Jones or David Leathers will be given the last spot.

American Idol 11

Two more contestants fainted in the group round and both of them were sent packing. They were Jacquie Cera and Imani Handy. It was also so unfortunate for the tent girl Amy Brumfield to forget her lyrics - had she remembered them, she may have made it to the next round. This was a two hour episode which also featured some solo singing after the group auditions. At the end of the episode, there were only 70 singers left.


The next episode featured group auditions in Vegas where they took on mostly songs in the 50s. This was one of the best episodes as most of the auditions sounded good. I feel that the contestants who did not make it, should try again next year.

One of the best auditions was from the group comprising of David Leathers Jr., Jeremy Rosado, Ariel Sprague and Gabi Carruba when they sang " Rockin Robin".

American Idol 11

Last week Symone Zaire Black fainted and fell off the stage. In the next episode it was revealed that she was okay. She was actually one of the better singers that day along with Baylie Brown and Heejun Han.

Jim Carrey's daughter Jane was eliminated before group week.

This week will be group week and the delayed telecasts over here will be today and tomorrow.

In Memory of Whitney Houston

As this is a dream blog and the Olympics are coming, probably the best way to close this one is through this inspirational song - taken from the 1989 Grammy Awards -"One Moment in Time."

In Memory of Whitney Houston

Another one of her memorable number one hits in the 80s- " Where do Broken Hearts Go"



Who can forget the popular "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" that was widely played in dance clubs all around the world?



Not a number one hit but highly regarded as the best song from the 2003 album " Just Whitney" - taken from an episode of "Boston Public" - "Try It On My Own".




In 2009, Whitney talked about her problems in drug addiction and her tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown at the Oprah Winfrey show.

She also gave this touching performance of "I Didn't Know My Own Strength".

In Memory of Whitney Houston

In the 1980s Whitney had achieved a record-breaking string of seven number one hits.

One of them was this unforgettable song - "Didn't We Almost Have It All."

In Memory of Whitney Houston

Ah it's Valentine's Day (over here in Malaysia, that is). Considered by some to be the greatest love song of all time, here is " I Will Always Love You".

In Memory of Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston has passed away unexpectedly at the age of 48. I have actually been receiving updates about her from my email. The last project she was doing was a film called "Sparkle" with Jordin Sparks. For the next five days I will be posting some of her best videos from Youtube in memory of her.

Here with over 8 million views is "I Look To You".

American Idol 11

The seventh episode featured the final auditions in St Louis.

Reis Kloeckener, was bullied when he was in high school but singing seemed to be the saving grace for him when he joined the choir there. In this episode (another ordinary one) he appears to have the best overall package as he has the voice and the looks. Although he made it to Hollywood week, it looks like he may not have made it to the top 24 based on the spoilers.

Once in a while, we get to see many people who can't judge singing. This was the case for the group of fellow hotel workers who came in to support Mark Ingram in his audition. All of them said he was good. Steven said “I love everything about you except the melody ”. Here is the video

American Idol 11

The sixth episode featured auditions in Portland.

Brittanny Zika was probably the best singer in an episode which was rather ordinary.

Baby-faced Ben Harrison (is he for real?) provided some funny moments. He looks like Benny Hill but it seems like he is serious about singing. His audition wasn't too bad although not quite good enough for Hollywood week I guess. Here is the video.

American Idol 11

The fifth episode featured auditions in Houston.

Five years seems a long time for Baylie Brown as she seems to have changed quite a lot since the first time she auditioned. She was one of the favourites for the American Idol but forgot the words during group week. She seems to look less commercial now - if that is right way to put it - but then her voice seems to be still strong. It will be interesting to see how she fares in the voting as the spoilers seem to indicate she is in the top 24.

The last contestant Ramiro Garcia was born with no ears and doctors said that he would not be able to hear or speak. He sang " Amazing Grace". Randy said "I am hopeful" while J-Lo said that the decision made would be a leap of faith - does that mean it was not that good? He gets through and I was thinking - have there been any really good versions of that song lately anyway? Whatever the case may be, people like Shelby and Ramiro prove that sometimes miracles do happen and dreams do come true.

American Idol 11

The fourth episode featured auditions in Aspen.

Richie Law sounded like Scotty but could only see about 10 seconds of his singing. Still he sounded pretty good and was one of the singers that got through. Richie and Shelby Tweten were the ones I was most impressed but generally the auditions seemed like a low key affair. Shelby has been suffering from depression since the 4th grade and has been taking meds to control her depression. Singing also seems to help her.

American Idol 11

The third episode featured auditions in San Diego.

The daughter of comedian Jim Carrey, Jane was one of the people who tried for it. She is a pretty girl, sings okay but strange that she is working as a waitress. Anyway she got through and her father seemed to be happy for her.

Single mother Ashley Robles would have been the best performer for these auditions if not for Jason " Wolf " Hamlin who closed out the show with his cover of "Folsom Prison Blues" (second song again). Here is the video.

American Idol 11

The second episode featured auditions in Pittsburgh.

Heejun Han was so nervous and reminded me of a jellyfish when he shook his hands. It looked as though it was going to be one of those funny and disastrous auditions. Surprisingly his singing was very good. Probably one of the best Asian American singers I have heard. I am using the word Asian Americans from now on as the word "Orientals" can be derogatory in some countries. Strangely enough Jasmine Trias at third placing is still the best performer among Asian Americans and I think it it will still be tough for Heejun to improve on that. Heejun is originally from Korea and I got to admit I have seen some really good singers from there. Recently the Korean series "Dream High" showcased some of the best singing and dancing talents from Korea. Anyway this is a funny and good audition - you can catch it here

I was most impressed with the singing of Creighton Fraker. Once again the second song was better than the first one. Here is the video.

American Idol 11

First auditions for the eleventh season were held in Savannah.

Life can be tough out there - literally - for Amy Brumfield who lives in a tent. She was one of the successful ones.

Colton Dixon was back too with his sister. At first only his sister was going to audition but the judges persuaded him to do so. They were both successful in their auditions.

Best audition was by Phillip Phillips. His first song was not as good as his second one. So catch the "Thriller" right at the end.