NBC has announced the cast of characters for the 2010 Celebrity Apprentice!! And what a cast of characters it is. This will surely bring out fireworks.
Darryl Strawberry: A baseball player in the 80s and early 90s who helped lead the New York Mets to a World Series championship in 1986 and the NY Yankees to three World Series championships in ‘96, ‘98 and ‘99. Besides being a baseball legend, he has also battled drug abuse and cancer.
Cyndi Lauper: “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!“ ‘Nuff said. But seriously - she is so talented and she will be a spit-fire this season for sure. SIDEBAR story about Cyndi Lauper - (if you don’t care, just skip down for the next celebrity - ) - I purchased tickets through TicketMaster to Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” tour in the summer of 2008. They were performing at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston and the tickets came with a special viewing of their rehearsal the night before. WHAT??? I could see Cyndi Lauper, B52’s, The Clik and Rosie O’Donnell during rehearsal! WOW! I scooped ‘em up! So the night before the concert, I got home a few minutes late. My husband promised that we’d get there on time. We hit Boston traffic. DARN! But, just like the parting of the red sea, the traffic lifted and we were full speed ahead. We pulled into the parking area with 5 minutes to spare. But all the doors were locked. WHAT???!! What was going on? I re-checked my tickets and it was clear as day. Time was right, location was right. What was going on? I started to cry but “Super Manny” said he’d get me inside. The place was in darkness. He saw a food truck go behind the building and we followed. We showed the guy our ticket and he brought us inside the theatre. The theatre was in darkness with no one in sight. I thought for sure there was some sort of mistake and maybe we got scammed when I bought the tickets. My husband said, “Well, since we’re here - let’s sit in the front row.“ So we walked down the long aisle, alone, and sat our butts in the center seats right in the front row. After a few minutes, we heard someone on a microphone saying CHECK CHECK CHECK. The lights came on and Carson Kressley (from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) comes walking on stage. Here we sit - two lonely souls in a theatre that seats 3,000. Carson says that we were the best two people he had ever performed for. We cracked up. I thought - no way. The real performers won’t be here. Curtains opened and The Clik performed. I had never heard of them before, but they rocked. Curtains closed, Carson came back out, told a few jokes and then, the curtains opened again and the FREAKIN’ B52s started to play. They played for 40 minutes!!!!!!!! Just for me and Manny. WHAT??? This was crazy!!! Sure enough, curtains closed again (after we gave a standing ovation of course) and Carson came back out. They set up a microphone and a stool and ROSIE O’DONNELL - the real thing - came on stage and performed for 45 minutes. She told us to tell her if a joke wasn’t funny. Um - yeah, sure. I’ll do that. NOT! And then, after her performance - Cyndi Lauper performed for an hour and a half. For us. Two people from RI. It was crazy and she was so unbelievable. She kept thanking us for coming. Thanking US??? No way Cyndi - THANK YOU!!
OK - back to Celebrity Apprentice….
Bret Michaels: Best known as the lead singer of Poison. “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn”... He also had his own reality TV show on VH1 called “Rock of Love with Bret Michaels”.
Sharon Osbourne: Ozzy’s wife. She was the super star of their family reality TV show and she is also one of the hosts/judges of America’s Got Talent. LOVE HER! And she will not go quietly. Watch out for her baby!
Michael Johnson: WHO??? Wikipedia says he’s an Olympic gold medalist for sprinting.
Holly Robinson Peete: Again - Wikipedia to the rescue. Her father was “Gordon” on Sesame Street and Holly also appeared on the very first episode. She was also in 21 Jump Street, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, and she played Diana Ross in the 1992 movie about the Jacksons.
Goldberg: I think he’s a WWE wrestler?
Carol Leifer: Stand-up comic discovered by David Letterman. She’s funny, but I don’t think she’s going to be a force in this show.
Sinbad: Another stand-up comedian who is best known for films like First Kid and Jingle All the Way.
Summer Sanders: Olympic gold medalist for swimming and she is now a sports broadcaster. Trump sure does love the Olympic medalists!
Rod Blagojevich: HA HA HA HA HA! Former governor of Illinois who was impeached (only the 8th governor to be impeached in the history of the US) for trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by the resignation of President Barack Obama. This should be interesting. And with all of these stand-up comics, they will have a field day with this guy.
Maria Kanellis: WWE professional wrestler. EEK! I’m sure she’ll be very dainty - like a little wall flower.
Curtis Stone: He is an Australian celebrity chef and has been on all kinds of reality TV shows (including Biggest Loser!)
Selita Ebanks: WHO??? A fashion model. Known bester for her work with Victoria’s Secret. By the looks of her, I don’t think she’s going to be “another pretty face”. She looks ruthless. WOW!
Well - there you have it. Celebrity Apprentice starts on March 14, 2010 at 9pm and you can be sure my TiVo will be working hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Biggest Loser is BACK!!! Tomorrow night at 8pm on NBC10!!! I love when the networks speed things up. It seems like last season just ended. Oh wait! It did! This show is great and this season is sure to make us laugh, cry and be inspired.
Sing-Off only started on December 14th and became a quick hit show! What is Sing-Off? It’s like other hit shows like “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent” except these singers do not have back-up music. They do everything a capella and sing their hearts out to try and win the #1 slot. This has been a hugely popular show for young men between the ages of 16-25. I think it’s the beat boxing that they enjoy.
It was a short run and I think NBC will run this show again. But they need a new host and they DEFINITELY need new judges. Nick is way too in love with himself, and it shows. The fake winks and weird hand movements are going to turn off this show’s target audience for sure. The judges were so BOOOOORINGGGG! Shawn Stockman of “Boyz II Men”, Nicole Scherzinger (singer of Pussycat Dolls) and some guy named Ben Folds (who I had to Google just to see who he was). None of them gave true criticism, even when the groups were horrible. There were fake crocodile tears and Nicole was way worse than any Paula Abdul impersonation. Clapping over her head and talking just to hear herself talk. We need the next Simon or Piers Morgan to come along if this show’s gonna make it in the long run.
In tonight’s season finale, the groups got to sing with Natasha Bedingfield (who forgot her own lyrics when performing “Pocketful of Sunshine”, how embarassing). They sang with Smokey Robinson who didn’t even show up to their rehearsal. That looked really bad - like he’s “too good” for that. That performance was rather borning. The version of “You Don’t Own Me” with Nicole Scherzinger was HOT HOT HOT! She should stick to singing and get out of the judge’s chair. And the improv with Bobby McFerrin was UNBELIEVABLE!! We had to rewind and watch it a second time. WOW!
Side note (because I can’t seem to focus) - do you have a DVR or TiVo? If so, play this game with your family. It’s so fun! Fast forward through the commercials and see how many commercial blips you can name. It’s actually pretty fun!!
OK - back to the season finale. Tonight (12/21/09) was the finale with three groups in the finals. If you don’t want to know who won, don’t scroll down ... :
Voice of Lee (Cleveland, TN): I was totally shocked that they made it into the final three. They didn’t win (THANK GOODNESS) and they were way to “innocent” for me. I felt like I was watching “Kids Incorporated” every time they took the stage. They could sing OK, but the “Little Suzie Sunshine” act was barf-life.
Beelzebubs (Medford, MA): Representing New England BABY!! And kickin’ butt! These guys were so darn fun!!! They were my faves from day one. They were funny, entertaining and talented. They took second place, but they were so good.
NOTA (San Juan, Puerto Rico): Even though Beelzebubs were my favorite, this group took a very close second in my book. They were my son’s ultimate favorite for sure!!! They were very talented and deserved the #1 spot.
Other contestants (those that didn’t win) included:
Maxx Factor (Baltimore, MD): NBC calls them “super moms”. Um - I would say “grand-moms”. They were a bit too old fashioned for me. They didn’t make it to the finals - but they did stick around way too long.
Solo (Omaha, NE): This group had only been together for a few months and the audience could definitely tell. Sweet group of strugging artists - some of them actually living on the street. But they weren’t ready.
The Socals (Los Angeles, CA): They were good. Quirky. A little nerdy. Not the best, but certainly not the worst either.
BYU Noteworthy (Provo, UT): This was an all-female group and they just couldn’t hit those low notes, which is desperately needed in a capella arrangements. If they get a few guys to off-set the background, they might have a chance in the future. I loved their lead singer with her blonde spiked hair. She was a “hot ticket” - to quote a saying that my father used to say.
Face (Boulder, CO): They went home too early, but definitely not the winners. They sang a bunch of rock songs and their verison of “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi was KILLER!
Do you have want it takes to be on the next Sing-Off? Do you want to represent New England? Click here to find information about auditioning. GOOD LUCK!
The Biggest Loser Finale airs on NBC10 on 12/8/09 at 8pm!!! It feels like the season just started and these contestants are almost HALF of their former selves! It’s crazy!
Amanda - she was picked by viewers during last year’s finale. At first, she was quite a whiner. But she has really developed into a beautiful person and I like her a lot. Not my fave - but I like her a lot.
Liz - She is definitely not my favorite. I don’t know what I don’t like about her. But she’s just never grown on me. I do like the relationship between her and Danny and I love the way they have supported each other as the Brown Team this year. I don’t think she’ll win and I think it will be VERY difficult for her to maintain her weight loss once she goes home. Her support system at home is pretty weak.
Rudy - Nice guy, had a lot to lose. Not my favorite EITHER (which means you have guessed my favorite by now). I think he’s a force to be reckoned with and he has a huge amount of weight lose. Which gives him a great chance to reach 60% body loss. He has a real shot to win the whole thing - but I hope he doesn’t. Because (read below)...
Danny - I WANT DANNY TO WIN SO BAD!!! I love this guy. He seems genuine and I’ve loved him since the beginning. I hope he helps his family back home because his kids look up to him so much. I will be honest (as I always am). He looks so much older now that he’s lost the weight. I mean - he looks like he’s aged about 20 years. I’ve seen that happen with lots of friends who have lost lots of weight. I don’t know why this happens, but it does. In a healthy way - he has probably lost 10 years. But his face looks a lot older. GO TEAM DANNY!!!!
The videos below will show you some of the former Biggest Loser contestants and what they look like today.
Season 2: Dr. Jeff
Almost 5 years later, the doctor’s prognosis is still great. I’m so glad Dr. Jeff has kept the weight off! During the last Biggest Loser episode, they said that one of the BL winners had gained all of his weight back. THANK GOODNESS it wasn’t Dr. Jeff!!!
Season 3: Marty and Amy
Season 3’s happiest couple has a new reason to be thankful: a baby. I loved the episode when he proposed. I cry every time I see it. I’m glad he was able to keep the weight off and I’m sure Amy will be able to work off the baby weight. My children are 17 and 11 and I still say that I’m carrying baby weight! HA!
Season 5: Roger Shultz
The former football star is still a winner. Roger wasn’t my favorite during season 5 - but I’m glad he’s doing well. In the interview, he said that his football kids see a guy who is “in shape”. I think he still has a bit more to go, but he’s definitely looks much healthier!
Season 5: Pete Thomas
The former 400-pounder is on a mission to help others. I know, you don’t believe this. But I really don’t have an opinion about Pete. He looks great and he visited a food pantry. Nice guy - no big opinion either way.
Biggest Loser is in full swing. The season started with 16 contestants and it’s now down to the final 6. Allen, Amanda, Danny, Liz, Rebecca and Rudy. This doesn’t really leave many contestants to cheer for. I’m not really moved by any of them. If I have to choose, I guess my favorite is Danny, followed by Amanda.
My favorite contestant was Abby, but sadly she went home a few weeks ago. I still get a lump in my throat every time I think of her story. Losing her husband and two children in a car crash has got to be the worst EVER. Thank GOODNESS Tracey went home last week. She was a little bit looney and was so irritating! This past week, I lost 2 more of my faves - Shay and Daniel. AAARGH!!!
Jillian is on fire this season. She is way into it. I was cracking up this past episode when she was making fun of Bob for taking the contestants to a circus gym to work out. She took the team out back and had them flipping tractor trailer truck tires. HA! She’s such a brute!
The season finale is December 8th and I’m guessing that Danny, Rebecca and Rudy will be in the final 3. Let’s see if I’m right.
P.S. The new season of Biggest Loser starts on January 5th!!! Gotta love NBC - back-to-back seasons!!
YAHOO! Biggest Loser Season 8 has begun on NBC 10 and it began with a BANG!! What a first episode. The season’s theme is “Second Chance” - which I LOVE! Where do I begin?
I guess I’ll begin with Tracey. Click here to meet Tracey. She came out of the gate strong and appeared to be a strong competitor. The first challenge was a 1 mile race and the winners would get to pick their partner. Tracey was pushing hard and going back and forth between first and second place. Just before the finish line, she collapsed. Everyone passed her and beat her to the end. Some of the contestants went back to try and pick her up. They pulled her across the finish line and then her eyes rolled back in her head. They had to get a helicopter to rush her to the hospital and that’s the last we heard. It was so scary!! Even though this is TV, it’s still real people. She pushed too hard and her body just couldn’t take it.
Next big contestant that made me cry like a baby was Abby. Click here to meet Abby. In October 2006, she lost her husband and two children (ages 5 and 2 weeks) in a horrific car crash. Can you even imagine??? They would have to put me away in a mental institution if that ever happened. Seriously. I was crying uncontrollably when I was listening to her story. I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping she does awesome in this game.
Another shocker was Daniel. Can’t remember Daniel from Season 7? Click here to meet Daniel. Daniel was the largest contestant ever on Biggest Loser (until this season). They brought him back to finish what he started. He lost 142 lbs last season and is still at 320 lbs. I’m so happy he’s back because I know he can do it with his determination!
Amanda was on last year’s season finale and was one of two contestants that America decided to bring to Season 8. Click here to meet Amanda. She’s kind of whiney and has a “poor me” attitude. She was VERY close to falling below the yellow line in the first week. I’m not optimistic that she’s going to go very far.
The rest of the contestants were very typical. No one else stood out too much. The heaviest contestant in Biggest Loser history is a woman, so that was a bit shocking. This season is sure to be a biggie! And I don’t mean size. For the past month, I have been running 1 mile everyday. My kids have gotten me hooked. I tried doing this last year, and after 5 days, my knees were killing me. I later found out that it was because I didn’t stretch good enough before AND after. So, I make it a ritual that I stretch for 15 mins before I run and 15 mins after I run EVERY SINGLE TIME. If I don’t have time to stretch, then I don’t have time to run. So far, so good. 4 weeks and I’m still going strong. I am currently running a 13 minute mile. Which, for me, is great. My son runs something like a 6 minute mile. JERK! HA! The kids are running in the CVS Downtown 5K on Sunday 9/20/09. They wanted me to do it with them. Um - not ready. Maybe next year.
Here are some links to help you out. The store is really cool! I already bought a T-Shirt! I love the bodybugg and I’m saving my pennies for that little gadget for sure. Great holiday gift ideas on this site (hint hint - hubby). Until next time bloggers!
OK - so America’s Got Talent had the finale tonight. I thought I did a good job calling it and BOY was I wrong! If you haven’t seen the show yet or if it’s sitting in your DVR, I warn you of a “spoiler alert”! Results below.
First, let me say that AGT totally stretched the show into 2 hours. And I mean stretched worse than Gumby! This show could have easily been an hour. The show felt stretched and way too long. But who am I to judge? I’m just a loyal viewer. I think America voted with their hearts instead of voting on who was truly talented enough to win. Here’s the list of entries.
Barbara Padilla vs. Hairo Torres - Padilla went to the top 5, America got it right!
Voices of Glory vs. Lawrence Beaman - Voices of Glory went to top 5 OUCH!! Beaman (AKA Barry White) should have gone to top 5
The Texas Tenors vs. Fab Five - Texas Tenors went to top 5. That’s SO WRONG!!!
Drew Stevyns vs. Kevin Skinner - Kevin Skinner went through to the top 5. America voted with their hearts instead of their heads. Did you see Kevin singing in the opening act?? Can you say fish out of water???
Grandma Lee vs. Recycled Percussion - Recycled Percussion went through. America got it right, even though I totally LOVED Grandma Lee!!!
OK, so we have the top 5 and I had picked Barbara Padilla as the winner. Voices of Glory went home first. Then Texas Tenors went home second. OK - so I have faith in America’s vote to get it right. Then Recycled Percussion went home. Ummmm - getting nervous. I thought the final two would be Padilla and Recycled Percussion. Now that my trash can drummers have gone home, I’m getting worried about America’s decision. It’s down to Skinner (the chicken farmer) and Padilla (the opera singer). Go to commercial (DARN IT!)
Then Susan Boyle comes back to sing. WOW!! That woman can sing!! Wild Horses - unique sound. Beautiful! She’s awkward, but gorgeous at the same time.
Now, back from a long, long, long, long commercial break. I’m dying!! And Nick says that the winner is…...............
Kevin Skinner - the chicken farmer. WHAT?????!!!!!! America is “HOFF” their rocker!!!! What??? Padilla lost to Skinner! Yup, that’s it. Don’t worry Barbara - someone will scoop you up. Skinner is a sweetheart, but I’m not certain that he’s a $1 million act. Skinner - hold on for the ride. This guy’s life will never be the same. Good luck Kevin! I hope you do well.
Big Brother - done, “Team Jordan”
AGT - done “Skinner Winner”
Now it’s time for Biggest Loser and Survivor. New season, new reality shows. Until next time bloggers!
So America’s Got Talent 2009 is coming to an end. That last 10 acts performed and boy was it difficult to choose. It was easy to pick out the ones going home. But the front runners are all so close. Here is my take on the results of the finale (which airs Weds night at 8pm).
Voices of Glory: They sang “The Greatest Love of All”. Big song - whew! Cute kids, sweet story. I cry every time I see the mom. The performance started out a little shaky. That 8 year old little girl sounds much better when they are belting the notes. When she sings alone and tries to sing softly, she doesn’t quite stay on key. But they were sweet, sounded absolutely AWESOME at the end!!!! And their mom stood up for them to give them a standing ovation. Talk about lump in the throat. They won’t win the million, but they’re going to do just fine in this world.
Hairo Torres: His routine was weird. He’s the dancer who contorts his body like a freak of nature. Amazing moves but not worthy of $1 million. Don’t get me wrong, he’s unbelievably flexible and truly should be a backup dancer for some big league artist. But dancing as a solo act - I’m not seeing it. No mill Hairo. Sorry.
Lawrence Beaman: WHOA!!! Simply close your eyes and you’d SWEAR he was Barry White. His voice is so unique and he is one talented dude. Not to mention that his body is ripped. What a good lookin’ guy. WOW! Simple, sweet, humble. Love him. Definitely worthy of the million. But there is someone much better who will steal it from him.
Barbara Padilla: Our opera singer who beat cancer. Love, love, love, love this woman. Her husband talked about her treatment and how she said that she took way more from the cancer than the cancer took from her. God love her! She took her situation and grew from it. I’m not sure that I could do the same given the circumstances. My husband doesn’t think someone would sit and listen to opera in Vegas. I beg to differ. This is our AGT million dollar winner for 2009!
Fab Five: Five tap dancing sisters. Talented. They danced to “Circus” by Brittany Spears. It was a full production with acrobats. And I love how these women stay exactly together when they dance. Totally in sync. They won’t win, but they are very talented.
The Texas Tenors: ICK!! No million. I haven’t liked these guys from day one. They are so fake and go way over the top every time they sing. They sang “My Way” and I’d like to say “Go Away”. When they sing together as a trio, they’re not THAT bad. But when they each sing separately, I want to stick hot pokers in my ears. Seriously. I have no idea how they made it this far.
Drew Stevyns: Cute guy, sang “I’ll Stand By You”. He’s not a very strong singer. I would say he’s much like Kevin Skinner (see my notes on Kevin below). But David has a better story and his simple, sweet Southern personality is better. He will not win the million.
Grandma Lee: I just love this woman. I wish she was my grandma!!! She’s hysterical! Unfortunately, she won’t win the million. But I hope someone scoops her up for a movie or a comedy show. Her material is really funny. She said that her kids are in the audience and they are sweating more than Ryan Seacrest watching Brokeback Mountain. I spit my water all over my computer screen when she said that. She also replaced Piers as her boyfriend. With Simon Cowell!! Gotta love it.
Kevin Skinner: He sang “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. This guy is so darn sweet and when he showed him and his family fishing outside his little country house with “SKINNER” on the mailbox, I was so hopeful that he’d win. The singing just wasn’t strong enough, but he is the sweetest country guy anyone could meet. With a little work, this diamond in the rough could go places. I hope someone scoops him up too. No mill Kevin. Sorry dude.
Recycled Percussion: Better than Blue Man Group. Better than Stomp. They bang on trash but they build these mechanisms around their trash. Last week they played on the roof of an old van and then the top of the van ripped off and started flying over the stage with them on top. This week their mechanism started raining on them. They are so, so talented and I could completely see a Vegas act like this. I think Padilla (the opera singer) will win. But they deserve it too.
It’s so hard to decide between Barbara Padilla, Recycled Percussion and Lawrence Beaman. But Barbara - you’ll do it baby! We’ll see if I’m right on Weds night.
In the meantime, I’ve got some serious decisions to make. The season premiere of Biggest Loser just started. LOVE THAT SHOW! And the season finale of Big Brother also started. It’s a BIG night with losers and brothers. Which one to watch first??? AAARRGGHHH!!! Decisions, decisions. Flip a coin.
If you haven’t watched America’s Got Talent results show on 9/2/09, then I recommend that you do not watch this video because it reveals the results. And a little bit of opinion from Kim.
So sorry bloggers! I have taken a short hiatus from blogging due to my own personal reality show back at home. What is that, you ask? Are you sure you want to know?
Well, somehow we agreed to have a Spanish foreign exchange student come to our house for the month of July. OK, no big deal. Great experience for us and for our children to experience a different culture. Then his friend wanted to come along too. OK - two. No big deal. We can handle it. And then, HIS friend wanted to come. THREE???!! Um…well… They said, “Pleeeeeeeeaaaase!“ I said OK (Manny’s gonna kill me). AND THEN A FOURTH REQUESTED! What the??? As my mother always said. What’s four when you already have three? So, I said yes. But that was it!
They arrived on June 25th and invaded my home. WHOA! Teenage boys sure can eat!! Let’s see. Daily consumption included: Two gallons of milk (remember, this is PER DAY), four 2-liter bottles of soda, a package of Oreos, a box of cereal, 2 loaves of bread. Not to mention dinner time consumption - which was quite large. Carlos, Pablo, Victor and Borja were fun though! We really took them on an American experience. Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston, Newport, Seekonk Speedway Demo Derby, Bristol Fourth, beaches, whale watch, New York City. You name it, we did it. And the whole time - my TiVo was filling up, up, up. I was able to squeak in a few episodes of America’s Got Talent (love it!). I still can’t believe the host is married to Mariah Carey. Didn’t picture that!
In the middle of all this chaos, a lightning struck RIGHT next to our house. It blew out some outlets, destroyed our garage door openers and fried our septic tank mother board. What next???
The boys returned to Spain on July 22nd and even THAT was an ordeal. One of them forgot his passport at home and didn’t realize it until we had gotten all the way to Logan Airport!!!! Needless to say, he missed his flight and had to get on a later flight. Costly mistake for sure.
This weekend, I have a date with my bed and my TiVo ALL WEEKEND LONG! I will barely leave my room!!! Especially since I have about 14 loads of laundry to do (did I mention that these freakin’ kids used 25 towels a day???)
I’ve started watching Big Brother - LOVIN’ IT!! Plus I still have old episodes of Survivor from this past March/April. Yes, I’m a little bit behind. I know. Hell’s Kitchen started this week and of course, America’s Got Talent will be watched too!
America’s Got Talent starts its new season on June 23rd. I simply can’t wait!!! Same great judges but - WAIT! A new host??? Click here to meet Nick Cannon! The new host of AGT. It’s going to be tough to replace Jerry Springer - the former host of the show. What a character. I wish Nick the best of luck because those are really big shoes to fill. Britain’s Got Talent has received widespread buzz over the past several months and I hope it translates to big ratings for the American version. I simply love this show and, if it gets good ratings, it will come back year after year. This show makes me laugh and cry. Heck - sometimes it even makes me mad. (Remember Donald Braswell who sent me an email after I blogged about him last year?) This show is great! There hasn’t been too many reality shows to really inspire a bloggation out of me lately. But this show is sure to bring out the rapid fire typist in me.
P.S. I will do my best to blog, blog away this summer. But I will have a house full of kids with friends visiting from Spain for 4 weeks. So take pity on me if I fall behind.
What an Idol show!!!! Cyndi Lauper, Rod Stewart (who almost tripped and fell on live TV - ouch!), Lionel Richie, Santana, Black Eyed Peas, Queen Latifah, KISS, Queen and Keith Urban!!!!! It’s so funny that the “big stars” didn’t want anything to do with Idol in the early years. Now it seems like EVERYONE wants a piece. Did you see the people in the audience??? Idol has become part of the “IT” factor. Did you see the the unbelievable schooling by Kara with Bikini Girl. She totally outsang her!!! Bikini Girl should be embarassed! And, not to mention that I think Kara looked better in a bikini! HA!
The show was great! 2 hours flew by. I’m glad they didn’t try to stretch it to 3 hours. My kids had to get to bed for school!
And, in the end - Kris Allen FREAKIN’ WON!! What the???!!!! As I said - Adam should have won. But I had a feeling that voters would root for the underdog. I wonder how far apart the votes were? The auditors said that they had almost 1 million voters. I wonder the percentage? KRIS ALLEN??? SERIOUSLY???!!! The Sleeper??? I am totally shocked. I think you may have heard my gasp from your house. My entire family was piled into my bedroom to watch the show and it was completely shocking! Adam took it well. He acted like he was fine, but I’m sure he was crushed. I was proud of him (and his reaction) but I’m sure he was shocked by the result. He was totally the front-runner and this announcement was a shocker. A shocker for sure.
As my husband Manny said - now Adam can do “his own” album. And it’s so true. I’m sure there are Idol rules and now Adam doesn’t have to follow those rules. He’s so unique and he can create a unique album. Kris has to follow the Idol rules while Adam can go out on his own. But then again - we can see how that worked (or didn’t work) for Bo Bice. Has anyone heard of his happenings since Idol? Carrie Underwood won and Bo went where?? Anyone? Bueller? Having your own unique sound is great. But if you get too weird and offtrack - it can derail your career real quick. Mainstream wins - whether true AHTEESTS like it or not (AHTEESTS = posh form of Artists).
But it seems so weird. Kris Allen - American Idol Season 8. Adam will be just fine. Just fine… Kris Allen - hmmmm? One hit wonder? We’ll see.
So - unless you were hiding under a rock today - you know that the final performances of American Idol was last night. The final performances by Adam (the front-runner) and Kris (the sleeper). If you look back at my blog postings, I had called Kris “THE SLEEPER” since the beginning. I thought that final three would have been Allison, Danny and Adam with Danny and Adam being in the finals together. I was almost right - Allison, Danny, Adam and KRIS were all in the final four. Allison went home - as I had predicted in the first month of performances. But Danny got cocky and went home before Kris. I’m not even sure how Kris even got to this point??? But hearing his first performance last night definitely wow’d me. Performances two and three - not so much. Simon Fuller (the creator of American Idol) picked their second song. I’m not sure he picked fairly. Adam’s song was PERFECT for his style. Poor Kris had to FORCE it to work. And then the final song (co-written by Idol judge Kara) wasn’t perfect for either of them. But Adam “worked it out dawg” - better than Kris. In the end, it’s almost a DUH moment. Adam has to win (but I’m not a huge fan of the screech). I’ve started to really like Kris and I usually vote or root for the underdog (especially in sports). But Adam needs to win - hands down. I almost voted for Kris last night as a sympathy vote. But then I thought, “how many people are doing that right now?“ Could Kris actually win by sympathy votes? Meredith Vieira on The Today Show said she loves Kris - but didn’t vote. On paper - Adam wins. I didn’t vote. But if Kris takes the cake tonight, it will be chalked up as the BIGGEST UPSET in Idol history. I’ll be hovered in front of the TiVo tonight. Will you??? BTW - can I say that I LOVED the fact that the show was ONLY AN HOUR!!! Thank you! Finally!!! No need to drag the sucker out! Whew!!!
Kim Reis is addicted to reality shows. From Biggest Loser to The Apprentice. From Survivor to American Idol. If it's a reality show, then it's set to record on her TiVo. Every week, she will give you her Reality Check recap with the highlights and the lowlights from some of her favorite shows. Visit Kim on her Facebook.
) - I purchased tickets through TicketMaster to Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” tour in the summer of 2008. They were performing at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston and the tickets came with a special viewing of their rehearsal the night before. WHAT??? I could see Cyndi Lauper, B52’s, The Clik and Rosie O’Donnell during rehearsal! WOW! I scooped ‘em up! So the night before the concert, I got home a few minutes late. My husband promised that we’d get there on time. We hit Boston traffic. DARN! But, just like the parting of the red sea, the traffic lifted and we were full speed ahead. We pulled into the parking area with 5 minutes to spare. But all the doors were locked. WHAT???!! What was going on? I re-checked my tickets and it was clear as day. Time was right, location was right. What was going on? I started to cry but “Super Manny” said he’d get me inside. The place was in darkness. He saw a food truck go behind the building and we followed. We showed the guy our ticket and he brought us inside the theatre. The theatre was in darkness with no one in sight. I thought for sure there was some sort of mistake and maybe we got scammed when I bought the tickets. My husband said, “Well, since we’re here - let’s sit in the front row.“ So we walked down the long aisle, alone, and sat our butts in the center seats right in the front row. After a few minutes, we heard someone on a microphone saying CHECK CHECK CHECK. The lights came on and Carson Kressley (from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) comes walking on stage. Here we sit - two lonely souls in a theatre that seats 3,000. Carson says that we were the best two people he had ever performed for. We cracked up. I thought - no way. The real performers won’t be here. Curtains opened and The Clik performed. I had never heard of them before, but they rocked. Curtains closed, Carson came back out, told a few jokes and then, the curtains opened again and the FREAKIN’ B52s started to play. They played for 40 minutes!!!!!!!! Just for me and Manny. WHAT??? This was crazy!!! Sure enough, curtains closed again (after we gave a standing ovation of course) and Carson came back out. They set up a microphone and a stool and ROSIE O’DONNELL - the real thing - came on stage and performed for 45 minutes. She told us to tell her if a joke wasn’t funny. Um - yeah, sure. I’ll do that. NOT! And then, after her performance - Cyndi Lauper performed for an hour and a half. For us. Two people from RI. It was crazy and she was so unbelievable. She kept thanking us for coming. Thanking US??? No way Cyndi - THANK YOU!! 
This show is great and this season is sure to make us laugh, cry and be inspired.
