Survivor: Race vs Race

So Jane and I watched the first episode of Survivor XVIII (or whatever number we’re on now). We’ve always been big Survivor fans, and even being overseas for four years I think we’ve only missed 3 seasons of it.

It seems everyone thinks that dividing the tribes by race is pretty controversial. And I guess so, but really – everyone segregates themselves in this country anyway, right? We still have white churches and black churches, for example, and although many of these churches would welcome some from the other pigment, it would feel like a cross-cultural experience for that person.

So back to Survivor. I think the main area where this race thing could blow up is when tribes merge. Naturally, members of the dominant tribe in a merge will stick together and vote out the minority members from the other tribe. Well, in this case, these will be race minorities getting picked off, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone thinks that it’s a racial thing – when in fact, it is a tribal thing. Probably.

And for anyone who plans on being on Survivor, take note: The person who gets voted off first is always an outspoken person. Always. It was proven again tonight. Stay under the radar, folks. Just being quiet automatically gains you six weeks minimum.

American Idol: From Four to One

American Idol: Country Week

Oh my oh my oh my. My pick to win Idol done bit the dust. I better do some revampin’ of my predictions, huh?

First off, I’ve been hearing that she was voted off because she’s fat, and fat women don’t sell records. I don’t think that was it. I think that she got the lowest number of votes for one of two reasons (or a combination of the two):

1. She was a little “too Christian” for mainstream America.
2. Her fan base got lax and overconfident so didn’t really bother voting.

So now the competition gets really interesting to me. And so my updated Final Four are:

The winner? Aw shucks, I’m gonna wait to see what the real Final Four are before I pick.

American Idol: 21st Century Week

Everything is going according to plan. Next week we’ll say so long to Ace or Bucky. A few thoughts:

Look, if Ace continues to struggle with the jitters, he’s got to stop holding his hand straight out to the camera. And it kinda bugs me that he seems to be playing exclusively to the camera, instead of just singing the dang song. That’s backfiring, I think – Jane said it gives her the willies.

Mandisa, you rock with your bold testimony. I love it.

I don’t think Chris will win Idol, which is a good thing. He’s just not solo artist material. This guy needs to be frontlining a rock band. If he does, I think he’ll be way more successful than if he cuts a sell-out pop album like Bo Bice did.

Stock went up: no one
Stock went down: Katharine

Americal Idol: 50’s Week

Oh good, I wasn’t wrong (so far). While I was sad to see little Kevin go, I agree with Jane that it was time. He’s had his run, but there’s too much talent still in the competition for him to carry on any further.

I’m also pleased to see that the two people I was wrong about in my Top Twelve predictions were the first two to go. Come on, you gotta admit, even when I’m wrong I’m right.

Stock went up this week: Ace, Chris
Stock went down this week: Bucky, Lisa

Next week it will be either Bucky or Lisa to go, depending on what the theme is. Because certainly one of them will be out of their comfort zone, being polar opposites, and whoever gets caught out will get the boot. Ace may well have earned another couple weeks with a pretty good performance.

American Idol: Stevie Wonder Week

Okay, by the time I post this, everyone in the States already knows who got booted from the remaining Top 11, right? Well don’t tell me. We don’t get to see it until tonight our time. But here is my belated feedback on last week’s show:

This is a good group of Twelve, I gotta say. The Top Twelve of American Idol 5 is like a nice big juicy steak. Sure, it’s got a little fat on it – Melissa, Kevin, Ace and maybe Lisa. But after that has been trimmed off, the remaining eight bites are nothing but succulent, juicy, prime-cut beef. That’s the problem. None of those last eight bites deserve to get thrown in the trash, and yet seven of them will.

So here are a few predictions:

* As I implied, Kevin, Ace and Lisa will be the next three to go (not necessarily in that order).
* I think that Paris and Kellie will go after that, leaving Katharine and Taylor in the final Six. Both Taylor and Katharine went way up in my books after Stevie Wonder week.
* It kills me to say Paris will go so soon, but in this competition the fan base for each genre is but so large; support for the “female R&B” will go to Mandisa instead. For similar reasons I think Katharine will take the “female pop” votes from Lisa and Chris will take “male non-pop” votes from Bucky.

All for now. I’m so tempted to go to the American Idol website to see who got booted, just in case I’m really botching my predictions. But I’m such an incredible man of integrity, I’m hitting “Publish” anyway. :^P

EDIT: Oops. I left Bucky out of my predictions, forgetting that I not only had Katharine in my top Six but in my Final Four. So Bucky should be a fairly quick departure, around the time of Kevin, Ace and Lisa.

American Idol: The Top Twelve!

Well, the Top Twelve has been announced, as you all found out on what, Thursday? We didn’t find out until yesterday; we had to tape the late-night Saturday broadcast of the boys’ night and results show. So yo, dog, check it out:

My Top Twelve prediction was pretty close – 5 for 6 on the guys, 5 for 6 on the girls. I was pretty surprised to see Ayla and Will booted. I mean, sure, Will’s performance was kinda tepid, but I thought he’d get the teen girl votes. Apparently, all the teen girls were voting for Kevin instead. And Ayla? I was sure that her dad had hired a full staff of people to call in votes for her. I guess it went down to her actual performance. Jane said that Ayla looked like she had just come from the prom and changed clothes to go tubin’ down the river. Prom hair, river clothes. No one becomes a pop star looking like that.

So predicting the Final Four? Wow, that’s tough. But here goes, in alphabetical order:

And the Top Two? You heard it here first:

vs.

Now I’m sure I’ll have a lot more disagreement with my Final Four and Top Two predictions than I did with my Top Twelve predictions. Shoot, I’m not even sure I agree with my Final Four predictions! So leave your comment, putting your own predictions on the record.

P.S. Based on these predictions, the winner? Mandisa.

Don’t Tell Me

Ever since moving here, I rarely get to find out the winners or losers of Survivor, The Apprentice, American Idol, etc. on TV. I usually accidentally find out the results from a news story or website. Then I try my hardest not to give it away to Jane.

So just a blanket warning to all of you: Don’t tell me whether I am right or wrong about any predictions I make regarding American Idol! I do not get to see the results show until the weekend. That’s why I don’t post about it until Monday.

Thanks!

American Idol: Four More Bite the Dust

I was going to put a spoiler warning at the top, but if you haven’t seen last week’s shows by now, you probably don’t care that much if you read what happened. :^)

All in all, a good week on Idol. Already two of my predictions have come to pass:

* Bobby Brady will outlast Harry Connick, Jr.
* You will never get to the final twelve by being obnoxious and arrogant.

And my predicted top twelve is still in the competition. I have to say: the girls, for the most part – pretty boring. They all sound the same to me (except for Mandisa – that girl’s got some pipes). The guys are much more diverse and unpredictable. Some reflections on last week:

* Wow, Paris finally looked vulnerable. I thought she was going to slam-dunk her way through to the final four, but if she has another couple weeks like that, the judges will turn on her. And then so will America.
* Simon told Ayla that she gets her songs down so perfectly, she lacks the rawness that America likes to hear. Watch for Ayla this week to spend countless hours in the practice room working on sounding raw.
* Ace proves that he is, indeed, just another pretty face. Sure, it was a bold song choice; but light a match, folks – he really stank up the room with that one.
* Chris totally rocks. The only thing I don’t like about him is that in his post-song interviews with Seacrest the past two weeks, he has said the word “absolutely” three times. Thesaurus, dude. Check into it.
* My homeboy Elliott pretty much rocks, too. Glad to see he lost the ring beard – now he just needs to grow out his bowl cut and he’ll ease into the final four.

If I have my way with my predictions, this week we should see Melissa, Kinnik, Gedeon and Kevin get the boot. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if Gedeon nips Bucky for that last spot. He was great last week.

Next Monday: My Final Four and Top Two Predictions

American Idol: My Top Twelve

Okay, it’s way early to be making predictions, but that’s half the fun. When we get down to the twelve finalists of American Idol 5, how many will I get right? My initial impressions:

* Bobby Brady will outlast Harry Connick, Jr.
* The new Carrie will outlast the new Bo.
* You will never get to the final twelve by being obnoxious and arrogant.
* Daddy might be able to buy you a top twelve spot, but you won’t become Idol 5.
* Taylor Hicks will keep getting votes because people want to see what he will do next.

So here’s my limb, and I’m going out on it. The Final Twelve:

Once we get the final twelve, I’ll post my final four and top two predictions. Feel free to comment with your own picks and why you agree or disagree with mine!