Make sure to get her ears checked first.
Found Gedion’s sad back story here: http://musebay.com/?p=42
The saddest thing? According to this blog, he attends the Yo! Memphis Academy of Visual and Performing Arts.
To me, there’s an eerie resemblance here.
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Okay, so it’s just the enormous grin.
That backstory is amazing. It’s sadder than Pickler’s and even has some of the same elements as Paris but they’ve said nothing on the show about it at all. Incredible what the kid has been through and is still going through. I guess the producers must think he’s not cute enough for anyone to give a shit. 
Speaking of sad backstories, did you guys know that Brenna is an only child who lost her dad at age 12, then lost her stepdad at 18 when he pushed an 8-year-old out of the way of a car? Damn, almost makes me like the girl (who also was in chess club!). Funny how she only gets the ego edit. Guess they’re hoarding all the pity for Kellie.
Sorry, forgot the link.
To be fair, they haven’t followed Kellie’s “tough luck” back story since the auditions. They’ve just played her up as a cute country girl.
But I think it’s true that all the contestants have interesting stories that haven’t been told. When are we going to hear Ayla’s tragic story about how her favorite pony got sick, or how she tore her prom dress?
I agree with those who said Ace sucked. That hurt my ears and I just wanted it to stop. He really, really sucked and I have to wonder what is up with the judges that they thought that was good. Simon was ever so slightly critical and he even reigned that in. The powers that be must have decided they want pretty boy to stick around and told them to pump him up but he really sucked.
Will is probably leaving. Ace really sucked but the other one leaving could be a toss-up, maybe Kevin but I don’t think Bucky is safe either. Even Elliot could be on the line, he may be a good singer but he’s not very interesting. Ace really sucked and should be the one to go but, providing all the teenage girls in the country did not lose their phone priveleges tonight, he should be safe even though he really sucked.
The other guys are probably safe, Ace really sucked. But why doesn’t anyone ever tell Gideon to sing something younger? He always seems to pick old Motown type songs.
Paula just gets weirder and weirder. [sub] Ace sucked[/sub]I want to like Paula because she’s a fellow short person but she’s a few squirrels shy of a tree full of nuts. What does that mean? I don’t know, ask Paula. Does she even know what she’s staying? [sub] Ace sucked[/sub] I think random words just pop out of her mouth. “You got your blueprint and PURPLE MONKEY DISHWASHER!” Uh … okay Paula, here drink your valium … er, Coke! Ooops, you spilled it while you were flailing about madly. [sub] Ace sucked[/sub] Oh well, we’ll just have the doctor get the shot ready for the commercial break.
Did I mention that Ace really, really sucked?
Hmm…must’ve slacked off last night…it seems I never put in my rankings for the ladies:
Lisa
Mandisa
Melissa
Katharine
Kellie
Paris
Ayla
Kinnik
WTF is going on when Kellie outsings Paris?? Anyway, the guys:
Taylor
Chris
Gedeon
Bucky
Ace
Kevin
Will
Elliot
WTF is going on when Kevin outsings Elliot?? Bizarre week.
Ok, my predictions for the final 12, coupled with their order of elimination:
Bucky
Ayla
Kellie
Gedeon
Ace
Elliot
Paris
Katharine
Taylor
Lisa
Mandisa
Chris
So Wile E, what did you think of Ace?
Last night Lisa got criticized for always singing old songs. Tonight Gedeon got praised for always singing old songs. I think the double standard sucks.
I didn’t agree with Randy a few weeks ago when he said he thought the guys were great and the gals would be hard pressed to beat them. I haven’t seen anything since then to change my mind. I do think some of the guys have great talent and potential, but most of them also seem to have a proclivity towards choosing suck-ass songs.
I’m curious if anyone participates in an American Idol drinking game? It might be kind of dangerous though, especially if you have to drink everytime Randy says “dawg”, “you did your thing”, " it was a’ight". If you also drank everytime Paula babbled and Simon said “ghastly”, “karoake” and “I’m not being rude” you wouldn’t make it through the first half hour.
Then again, maybe you’d finally be able to understand Paula.
This may be a shock but if I were being perfectly honest, I think I’d have to say he kind of sucked.
K, just got through it. Overall good night for da paownd.
Bobby Brady and Cousin Oliver are going home. C. Ya.
Chris is now officially the most boring contestant. Which means he’s got a shot at the big prize.
Gedeon is retarded. No, seriously. Retarded. Still, he can sing. But retarded.
Tonight was the first time I thought Tyler could win. At first I was like, Aww, no, not Michael McDonald–you’re this close to being a Michael McDonald coverband in the first place! Don’t go there! But then he owned it.
Ace surprised me. I was thinking that if he was ugly he’d never have made it this far. Now I want to hear him do some Prince and some Jeff Buckley.
Elliott, boring song. Boring. Song. Still, he gets a pass for last week’s brilliance.
Bucky, well first off I’d do THAT twin sandwich in a second. But I see him singing at state fairs. Not winning this.
I didn’t read anyone else’s posts until I posted my own, so now I have to come back and say you guys are all drunker than Paula. That was Ace’s best performance so far. He finally took a chance and exhibited some uniqueness, some personality.
You guys need to listen to some Prince for some perspective on falsetto. Up to now I had dismissed Ace as a talentless pretty boy. He redeemed himself tonight. But then, I’m a Jeff Buckley fan, so I don’t fear falsetto.
Geez, I’m on a totally different wavelength from The Group here. Maybe it’s b/c my twin toddlers manage to interrupt just about every song. No, make that every song. This despite my having given them a whole brand-new roll of scotch tape, each!
And we don’t have Dolby surround-whatever, just ordinary TV speakers.
Ace was fantastic, I thought; I don’t want to like him, he’s too pretty, but I honestly enjoyed the parts I was able to hear. I’m not familiar with the song, but I wanted to hear it again.
Taylor, Og love him, peaked too early in this process. He sounded pretty ordinary to me tonight - I kept hearing Michael McDonald’s voice in my head, and would have much preferred it. He’s just so glad to be away from that damn rabbit suit, he’s forgotten that there’s still a contest going on.
Elliott’s song was so blech, I couldn’t possibly enjoy it. But that jazz piece he did a couple of weeks ago still resonates, it was wonderful, exquisite. Too bad he looks like a cross between a monkey and a pirate, I keep expecting him to say “Arrr mateys” while eating a banana.
Chris was fantastic as well, his song showcased lovely vocal textures IMHO. And his demeanor is adorable, I’d love to see him win.
Will & Kevin were each awful. Gedeon and Bucky are both excellent singers, but I don’t feel enthused about them.
Now the women — Mandisa really stood out, her performance gave me goose bumps. I thought Kellie was awful, her voice sounded so thin. On the whole, though, these 8 women seem to be equals, I don’t see a big disparity between them. The judges’ comments about the women have seemed capricious to me, they’re just pushing the bankable singers.
It’s interesting to see a much stronger talent pool this year, compared to last, when there was that little leprechaun twerp and that chick with the flower.
See? I was right. 
OK, right off the bat I have to admit I’m an unabashed Elliot fan. His vocals are outstanding even if the song choice is mediocre at best.
Ace, give up the crappy falsetto man. Blechhhh.
Chris looks great with hair. So what if it’s receding a bit, that’s maturity (wink, wink) The performance was ok, he can do much better.
Michael McDonald is one of my favorite artists - Taylor is not. The blues harp is your forte man.
What’s with the over enunciating, Gedeon? I think the lips were out of sync with the sound. And that mouth is huge. Also, we’re tired of the oldies.
The last three are gonzo alonzo.
I thought Kevin was the one who was over-enunciating. Hmm. His performance, along with Ace’s, Will’s and Bucky’s, was not quite so stellar tonight.
Tomorrow night, Kevin and Will are going to join Melissa and Kinnik as they get on the plane for home.
No, not Will! He’s got to make it to the final 12. I like Kevin & Bucky but they just aren’t up to the level of the others. I’d rather see Ace gone than Will. Will makes me happy. Ace makes me feel used.
Before I recap tonight, let me reiterate a suggestion I made on an earlier thread: Have the judges watch, take notes, and keep their damn traps shut during the performances. Then, in the last six minutes or so, take them backstage and grill them. That way we can get honest assessments on who they think will be going and their overall impressions of the contest, instead of just mouthing the same drivel about “sharpness” and “karaoke” and “being in the groove” and “not standing out” over and over and over. Be nice, be brutal, be ambiguous, I don’t care, just stop wasting my time.
Gedeon McKinney: Classics are always a calculated risk. You want to appeal to the mainstream, yes, and you want something familiar, but you don’t want to get labelled an old fogey singer, either. Right now, he’s firmly in the “will-survive-this-week-but-probably-won’t-win” category. I really hope he starts making a move, as he’s one of the few really good singers remaining.
Chris Daughtry: Clearly the most competent singer of the whole bunch, and I honestly think alt rock is the perfect choice for AI, i.e. one step away from vanilla pop. Furthermore, he seems to understand what you actually have to do to win; start safe, turn it up in the later rounds, and save the best for the very end. Still too early to consider him the man to beat, but he’s looking really good.
Taylor Hicks: Ugh…did not like that awkward gyrating at all. Note to future contestants: If you can’t shake your groove thang, don’t. Looking like a statue is preferable to looking like a complete moron. The song itself was good, although I’m not a big fan of the type of semi-unintelligible singing popularized by Michael McDonald.
Kevin Covais: Vincent? Is he throwing in the towel? I mean, if you’re going to do easy listening, at least pick something that takes a little effort, like Arthur or Calypso.
Elliott Yamin: A perfectly servicable outing. One of the things every contestant needs to be aware of, however, is you have to be aware of which artists are extremely unpopular and will spur a backlash, usually people you’d never suspect. Same reason you don’t want to do anything by Baha Men, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, etc., even if it’s perfectly appropriate.
Ace Young: Mmm, I dunno. Unusually high-pitched singing does not have widespread appeal. The teen vote will carry him through, but is that just delaying the inevitable? Big, big gamble here. Let’s see if it pays off.
Bucky Covington / Will Makar: Don’t really remember. Nothing too fancy.
On the whole, I think Chris, Ace, and Gedeon are safe. Won’t speculate on who’s going; it could be anybody.
On a parting note, did anyone think that the microphone was not turned high enough? At least three times, my parents noted how “soft” the singing was (especially obvious with Chris).
No way! Just when you don’t think it could get weirder with all the damned twins on AI this year you find out Bucky has an identical twin, and then tonight Bucky and Rocky just found out from a viewer in New Jersey there’s a TRIPLET sibling who’s identical to them and they knew nothing about him! Cite
