It was the best season, it was the worst season...

Do you watch American Idol? I don't usually blog about TV shows but this season of American Idol has driven me nuts! I've watched it for years and have seen seasons that are fantastic- like the season that Carrie Underwood won, and seasons that flat out suck- like last season (does anyone even remember who won? I had to look it up. Couldn't remember a single contestant!). This year, however, has been a dang roller coaster.

In the beginning, I felt like there were so many good singers it was hard to pick who I thought would be the winner. There was a lot of potential for things to go a lot of ways. Ok, I guess it's always like that in the beginning, or at least it should be if there are actually good singers chosen. Anyway, in what I would consider a good season, the eliminations should be relatively predictable. You can probably say from the top 12 who will be the first half to leave and who are your top 5-6. If the season sucks like last year, you just don't watch.

This season I felt like, of the top 12, some of the worst singers held on the longest while a couple of potential winners went home early. I have no problem saying that I can't fathom why the judges felt they should use their one save of the season on Casey. I thought he had a unique sound but he was not American Idol material. His rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit positively sucked. He sounded like a kid screaming out on a playground somewhere. Further - Jacob?!? No clue how he hung in there as long as he did and actually got positive feedback from the judges. He has had a problem with being sharp from day one. Maybe part of it was that he was just not my style, but I found him just painful to listen to.

On the other hand... Paul, who had a very unique sound and could actually carry a tune incredibly well, got voted off very early. But, too bad, judges had saved loser Casey. Same thing with Pia. I seriously had her pegged as the winner, and I know I'm not the only one. The judges were stunned, it was reported in the news like a major event. She was perfect. Never a word of criticism from the judges. I don't think they ever said anything she should change or improve. At the very end of her run they mentioned she should try something that wasn't a ballad. Her singing, however, was flawless. She should have won. When she left, though, it did blow the competition open in that other people actually had a chance. I held out my hope and figured that James was it. He had this competition in the bag. Judges even told him it was his to lose. He continued to sing better than everyone and bring a totally unique vibe to everything he did. And he left as the 3rd runner up, just like Chris Daughtry 5 years ago.

Of those who are left I like them in this order- 1. Lauren, 2. Haley, 3. Scotty.  I don't think the competition will end that way though. My prediction is that Haley will be the winner. I say that mostly because Scotty and Lauren share a genre so the country vote is divided between the two of them and everyone else who votes will be voting for Haley. She's lucky that way because she is not the best singer of the three. Early on I didn't like Haley at all and thought she should have been one of the earliest to leave. I think she's gotten a lot better throughout the competition, but I'm not wild about her style. She over-uses the "growl' that the judges told her they like. To me she seems like she's doing an awful lot of acting while she sings, which to a point is fine, but the artist should seem comfortable too. I like Lauren best because she's the best singer of the three and she's the most fun. She seems completely natural performing and I could actually see myself buying her album. Scotty is alright, he'd have to come out with a big hit for me to buy his album though. I'm not a super country fan and I don't see him doing anything but the really super country stuff.

Ok, there's a big fat post you don't care about. Or do you? If you have something to say about this season of AI, share it in a comment! I should be in bed.

The End.