American Idol Season 7: Another four bite the dust

It was bye forever for Alexandrea Lushington, Alaina Whitaker, Jason Yeager, and Robbie Carrico tonight.


Jason Yeager's departure wasn't anything surprising, and I was close with my prediction of Alexandrea and Alaina, but I thought there would have been more support for Robbie. Of course, Nelson called it, so props to him. If there was any unity between what the judges said this week and how the votes were cast, it was that a song that did not fit a singer at all was grounds for elimination. Still - big surprise for me that Amanda Overmyer is still on the show, as so far all she's proved to me is that she can belt out loud rock songs. Well, as long as my favorites are still in the running, I'm happy.

American Idol Season 7: My Picks for the Top Ten Girls

The girls took the stage tonight, and I must admit, they have a lot of work to do to catch up with the boys. No one singer stood out for me and poor song choices across the board hurt many girls tonight. Maybe the 70's (which was the theme for this week) was a better decade for male music. At least that's the way it sounded.

So to recap. Carly Smithson opened things up with Heart's "Crazy on You" which the judges themselves weren't too crazy about. I really wonder about her, since there's always the fact that she once had a multi-million dollar recording contract. It's the fact that everyone knows, but no one mentions on the show. Whether that can hurt her or not is still unclear - but I know as a voter, it's hard to vote for her versus some of the contestants who are having their first big break on the show.

Let's look at the mistakes of tonight. The big one was Amanda Overmyer's rendition of Kansas' "Carry on my wayward son." It's a great song, no doubt, but it had too much guitar and not enough vocals. And since this is basically her second chance after a lackluster performance last week, she's probably out of the running. Same for Kady Malloy - Heart's "Magic Man" was less than memorable and I've really got to wonder if some music history is needed for these girls to pick the best songs from each decade.

Songs were also chosen that were simply too safe. Alexandrea Lushington didn't push herself on Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now," which suggests to me that she's saving herself for a later performance to wow the judges. She's probably one of the better female vocalists, but so far she hasn't shown it on the national stage. Safety was also the name of the game for Syesha Mercado. Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones" did not allow her to demonstrate her range nor her style, leaving the judges confused with why she picked a song by a male to begin with.

There were more mediocre performances from Alaina Whitaker, who sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You," from Greases. Too slow, too boring, and too pagenty.

Needing to find their groove was Asia'h Epperson and Kristy Lee Cook. Asia'h started off poorly with a Eric Carmen's "All by myself," a tough choice but one that she really took off with at the end. She's got talent, but she's inconsistent. There's always mention of her being sick, but that can only get your sympathy for so long. Kristy Lee was so-so with "You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt causing Simon to suggest she attempt a country song next week. And while I think Kristy Lee is a lot better suited for that genre, I do think that country singer's don't fare particularly well on the show - I mean, when was the last (or first time) there was a rapper that won American Idol? Country music, I feel, is not mainstream enough for the pop culture teenage/adolescent market.

Well, I saved for the best for last and I've gotta admit that while Ramiele Malubay did not song her best with Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way", she's got an incredible voice and all the judges love her. And so do I.

The surprise performance of the night came from Brooke White who last week was my #12. She totally fit with Carly Simon's "You're So Vain," and the poignant looks at Simon while she sang that line is going to win over the fans for this week. She'll be cruising into the next round.

So without further ado, my rankings for this week:
10) Amanda Overmyer
9) Kady Malloy
8) Alaina Whitaker
7) Alenxandrea Lushington
6) Syesha Mercado
5) Kristy Lee Cook
4) Asia'h Epperson
3) Carly Smithson
2) Brooke White
1) Ramiele Malubay

American Idol Season 7: My Picks for the Top Ten Boys

The ten boys left really upped the ante tonight, with almost all of them giving stellar performances that shook up my own rankings compared to last week. It was seventies week, so the music selection was a lot more energetic and fun, allowing many contestants to demonstrate their singing abilities, provided they pick the correct song. Michael Johns started things off with Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way," which was a poor song choice and even poorer performance, with some awkward microphone movements. I think he's safe, however, since the judges still recognize that he has talent. Jason Castro was next, strumming the guitar to Andy Gibb's "I Just Want to Be." I think the guitar is a big bonus for Jason, since he can obviously play it, but like the judges said, he almost hides behind it. Paula challenged him to sing without a guitar next week - I'm interested to see if he'll rise to the challenge.

When each contestant was introduced, they all answered the typical "Tell us something people may not know about you." Luke Menard revealed that he's been touring with an a-capella group for the past 6 years. The clip of him sing was not very flattering - hitting high notes and then cutting away is never a good thing. Plus, his performance left a lot to be desired, as his selection of "Killer Queen" was almost whiny, according to Simon. Robbie Carrico, on the other hand, revealed that he's into drag racing, which fit well with his rocker persona. He belted Foreigner's "Hot Blooded," which I think improved him in the standings.

The next two contestants are the two males divas of the competition. Danny Noriega is a no-brainer in this category - with his head shaking attitude, argyle sweater vest, and emo-hair. I enjoyed his version of "Superstar" by Luther Vandross; much better than his Elvis rendition last week. As for David Hernandez, I had him really low last week because of his poor performance, but thankfully he pulled it out this week with The Temptations "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." He must of taken a hint from the ladies when he started his performance on the staircase and showed a lot of confidence that he lacked last week. And why is he a diva? He said he used to do gymnastics when he was younger. And now he can do a "killer cartwheel." Sigh

Next, the worse performance of the night - Jason Yeager, sorry, but I think you're gone. Singing the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin'" was not a good idea and dancing like Ricky Martin was even worse. The ending too, was really awkward - doing some sort of air-drum bow after holding a note for a long time. Nooooo way, especially when sandwiched between two good performances....which leads us to....

Chikezie! He rocked some double polos and Donny Hathaway's "I Believe," which had the appropriate line "You better remember my name" which was pointed directly at Simon. He's definitely safe for this week.

The David's were the last to perform. First was David Cook, who brought out the electric guitar and turned on the lefty switch to belt "All Right Now." I thought it was an excellent performance, but Simon says he doesn't have charisma. I don't know where he got that from the performance. Blah, maybe Simon's told to deliberately cause drama.

And of course, last but not least, little David Archuleta. It was a big challenge for him to sing John Lennon's "Imagine," but he pulled it off and made Randy scream "Hot hot hot fire!" and bring Paula to tears. As Simon says, he's the one to beat.

So with all of that analysis, here's my list of the top ten boys:
10) Jason Yeager
9) Luke Menard
8) Michael Johns
7) Jason Castro
6) David Hernandez
5) Robbie Carrico
4) Danny Noriega
3) David Cook
2) Chikezie
1) David Archuleta

Pad Thai Pad Thai Pad Thai

Well, a Macbook Pro saved the day for Jenny and I on Saturday night, when we embarked on making pad thai. Sure, holding up the laptop above a sizzling hot wok is not really advised, but how else are you going to get a picture like this?

So how did we make this wonderful dish, you might ask? Jenny found this blogger's step-by-step instructions which proved very helpful throughout the process. I'd say the first time is the hardest, but by the second batch, it's all gravy. Pad thai...gravy.

Dumpling Time!

If I had one last meal before I died, I would choose a heaping portion of dumplings. I'm not sure what the allure of dumplings is for me, but there's something very satisfying about popping a bite-sized dough-wrapped moon-shaped shrimp/pork/etc dumpling in your mouth. Maybe it's because I was deprived of them as a child. And now that I'm an adult, I can eat as much as I want. I swear I'm a little piggy when it comes to these.

Jenny's been telling me for awhile that she wanted to make dumplings just like her parents and I've been a big supporter, especially since visiting her in Texas was basically dumpling heaven for two meals. So, finally, this weekend, I present to you, my faithful audience, photographic proof of some successful dumpling making!


Making dumplings is not that hard. We had some left-over shrimp from some amazing pad thai we made on Saturday (sigh, no pictures for proof...that dish deserved its own post) and after removing the veins and shell, we combined it with chives, eggs and salt. That mixture is then placed inside dumpling wrappers (while watching the Oscars, of course).

You have to be careful not to put too much in, or the wrapper won't close.

The dumpling is pinched on all sides to ensure it does not open when placed in hot water.

Ta-da!

Ready for boiling!

Placing them in the hot water.

The finished product.