Pop Culture Buzz

This part of the show is so painful. You really cannot grasp who is going to become the next Taylor Hicks or Kelly Clarkson from this group of wannabes. This year it seems that the show is off to a much more mean start than that of last seasons. At times the bad auditions are funny and over the top, but this year they seem to be more painful and the judges less tolerant of their antics. It got pretty uncomfortable at times.

Let’s talk Paula Abdul right off of the bat, and get that out of the way. She is seriously in a tail spin. We can tell she is completely high and out of mind. The constant moving, and swaying back and forth is an obvious reaction to being too high on pills or booze. Either way, she is a train wreck so far this season. She is not the same ditsy broad we have come to know and love. She has lost her marbles this year. It will be fun to watch her melt down on prime time t.v.

The show opened up bigger than any other past year with 22 million viewers. This show has no end in sight. I have a feeling this year will be much bigger than any other year. With rumors swirling around about Paul McCartney and Mariah Carey appearing as judges this year looks to be a huge success.

Oh and one more thing, what the hell is up with that door being locked on just one side? I am convinced the producers locked that door just to add insult to injury! Seriously it made me laugh my ass off, but how cruel of a trick! It is so nasty if it is on purpose, either way it made for mean spirited t.v. and was a tad bit unecessary.

Here are the contestants that are creating a buzz in my household, I even added their nicknames so it easy for me to remember who is who:

Denise Jackson (The Crack Baby):
Her voice is very powerful. I just wish she would not have shared her life story. I could have gone all night without hearing her crack baby story. She could be a mess, but I see her going pretty far in this contest.

Paula (Shakira):
Her Blondie cover was lame, but once she kicked into Shakira we were able to see what a cute personality she has. She could go far, but I doubt it.

The Navy Guy:
I hated his Rascal Flats song, and couldn’t tell by this audition if he has the range and voice talent to get to the end. I though the was bland, my partner thinks he rocked it out. We’ll see.

Matt Sato (The Little Gay Boy w/ the Eyebrows):
His voice is pretty strong but those pencil thin eyebrows were so bad it took away from his presence. If he get those eyebrows fixed he could do well.

Rachel Jenkins (Army Girl):
I am getting sick of watching enlisted people try out for this show. People are not silly enough to fall for the patriotic trick. Once she is out of her army gear she may not be as good as we think she is.

Sarah Krueger (Curly Hair Girl):
This girl is my favorite so far. Her voice is powerful and she has a neat, original look about her.

We can’t really tell who will do well at this point. For now we have to sit through this torture for a few more weeks until we get to the good stuff. Until then I will try and keep good track of the contestants and keep my eye out for that one special person that could win. I was lucky last year and pointed out the winner (Taylor Hicks) very early on. Let’s see if I can do it again this year.

With the new season of “American Idol” right around the corner I thought it would fun to post some streaming music by past idol contestants. The American public so far has purchased hundreds of millions of records by the artists posted below. With no end in sight look for this new season of “Idol” to be bigger than any in the past. And that would be seriously big!

Some of these singers have gone on to sell unbelievable amounts of c.d.’s; Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken and of course Kelly Clarkson (the biggest of them all). Some other contestants have done just fair; Fantasia, Ruben, Hicks and Chris Daughtry. Daughtry and Hicks have just recently released both of their first c.d.’s in the past two weeks. They may prove to be major stars within the next year if their initial numbers keep up. In my opinion it is unlikely, but what do I know? I can’t stand Underwood or Aiken and they sell big too.

I love Jennifer Hudson, who doesn’t have a streaming link (damn!) and I even like the Kimberly Locke gay dance hit “8th World Wonder”. Mario Vasquez, Diana DiGarmo and Latoya London all have failed to make their mark on the music scene, but not for lack of trying sadly enough. I am anxious to see what Katherine McPhee has up her sleeve on her up coming pop album. I am sure I will review it all on this blog. You will also see a lot of up to date “American Idol” blog posts here once the new season starts in January of 2007. I will create a new section in the “categories” section to the right of this page for all the fresh “American Idol” gossip. I cannot wait for January!

And once again, for the record, I loathe Clay Aiken…but I had to post his streaming song to give a scope of reference for those of you readers who are not familiar with the phenomenon that is “American Idol”…sorry.

FANTASIA - “SUMMERTIME”

KELLY CLARKSON - “A MOMENT LIKE THIS”

TAYLOR HICKS - “TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS”

RUBEN STUDDARD - “SORRY”

CLAY AIKEN - “STILL THE ONE”

CARRIE UNDERWOOD - “JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL”

KIMBERLY LOCKE - “8TH WORLD WONDER”

BO BICE - “THE REAL THING”

CHRIS DAUGHTRY - “WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE”

MARIO VASQUEZ - “GALLERY”