When Jennifer Hudson was voted off, there was such a public uproar that the question of racism was immediately raised. Even Elton John got involved in the debate, despite the fact that, of the six remaining contestants, at the time, three were black (Fantasia Barrino, La Toya London and George Huff). Ruben Studdard, also African-American, had won the season before. Unfortunately, as is the case with most racial discussions, the two groups involved are usually Caucasians and African-Americans.

Do Other Groups Get Forgotten?

In the uproars and conspiracy theories that have been bestowed upon Idol in these past 6 seasons, one question remains – why have there been no Asian contestants in the top 12? While I definitely had not tapped him to win, I thought Paul Kim was good enough for the top 12. He certainly sang better than Alaina Alexander, Antonella Barba, Leslie Hunt, Nick Pedro and AJ Tabaldo. I guess America didn’t see it that way. Maybe that’s why Sanjaya sticks around. Aside from the fact that he is South Asian, his presence brings diversity to the predictable.

Since writing this post originally, one reader pointed out Jasmine Trias, who I remember being very proud of being Hawaiian (which can consist of any number of cultural backgrounds since Hawaii is known for it’s diverse population) but to the less discerning and vigilant viewer may not have recognized her as being Asian.  If there’s someone else, let me know!

Here are some sites I found this morning after searching the net for others who raised the same question (most were Asian themselves):

• Asian Guy’s American Idol (I’m not even kidding about the name!)
• Yahoo Discussion (wow, was that interesting reading…)
• 8 Asians
• Where Are All the Asians on American Idol (discussion thread)

If anyone finds anything interesting of the subject, send it over!

Source

Post from: Crushable

In interviews with TV Guide following last week’s voting off of Alaina Alexander, Alaina appeared to be very supportive of Antonella and her efforts in going further on the show amidst all the turmoil and chaos of the recent photos online.

“She’s strong, and she’s going to be just fine. Everything that’s going on… she’ll pull through.”

If you’ll remember, Alaina couldn’t quite make it through her encore performance of her song after getting voted out of the contestant pool for Season 6. This is what she had to say about that experience.

As for breaking down in tears during her Thursday-night swan song, to the point that the other gals had to chime in on the lyrics, Alaina told us, “I was OK until the music started, but that triggered something and I had to let it go. But that’s just me. I tried my best!”

What? Alaina shed a tear? She never did that during the regular season.

Post from: Crushable

Voted off this week were: Nick Pedro, A.J. Tabaldo, Alaina Alexander, and Leslie Hunt.

On this week’s photo I’ve also highlighted (with a white box) the contestants that I think will make it to the final four:

• Melinda Doolittle
• LaKisha Jones
• Phil Stacey
• Blake Lewis

Post from: Crushable

Time for four more to go home. I’m really read for the narrowing down of contestants and getting to the point where we can see more of the ones that can really sing. Special guest and former idol tonight will be Kellie Pickler.

WOW! Over 32,000,000 votes came in this week. Here are my picks for tonight’s losers:

Guys:

• Sanjaya Malakar
• Brandon Rogers

Girls:

• Alaina Alexander
• Antonella Barba

The group song tonight is “Joy to the World”, not the holiday themed song of the same title either. This is the one about Jeremiah being a bullfrog. These group songs don’t do much for me. Do you all like them? Let me know in the comments.

— Commercial Break —

Time to get rid of one of the guys! Let’s see who it will be???

After a little scare with Jared Cotter being asked to come down to the podium, IT’S NICK PEDRO GOING HOME!!! Another bad choice in my opinion, definitely not the worst singer that should be going home, but best of luck to you Nick for all your future endeavors.

Nick sings his exit song. Can’t stand them making these people sing after they’ve been voted off.

— Commercial Break —

Which of the girls will be going home? Hey! I got one right. Alaina is going home this week for the girls. It had better be Antonella Barba following her out later in the show.

And this is why they shouldn’t be asked to sing. Alaina is totally is emotional and can’t get through the song. It’s just not worth watching again. I’d rather see clips of their journey, including clips of their last song instead of hearing them try to sing it again live. That would be a much better tribute.

— Commercial Break —

Kellie Pickler shows up in a stunning blue dress and short, curly locks and what appears to be some other enhancements, but more on that later. Does a good job singing her song and is totally clicking with the country ballad. Is it just me, or does Kellie look about 15 years older than she did just a year ago? Even in the face, maybe it’s just too much make-up.

— Commercial Break —

Time to get rid of another guy. Although I think it should be Sanjaya, it comes down to him and AJ. Although AJ is a much better singer and performer, I’m not sure he’s going to go from one of the top vote getters last week to bottom of the barrel this week. We’ll see….and the loser is…….. A.J. Tabaldo!!! Sanjaya is totally shocked, along with A.J. and he’s being a great sport. Paula says that it’s a singing competition but tonight doesn’t reflect that.

— Commercial Break —

Ryan is rushing through the women’s results. Antonella, Leslie and Jordin are all asked to stand-up. I’d be okay with Antonella or Leslie going home, definitely not Jordin. Antonella MAKES IT ANOTHER WEEK! CRAP!

Jordin vs. Leslie…. and Leslie is going home tonight. Gina Glocksen is really torn up! I think they were very good friends and it shows.

The comments by the judges seem to be saying to the audience that they need to remember it’s a SINGING competition and that you need to vote for the people you want to keep hearing perform.

Hey look at that! They’re showing clips of all four people going home. Would have been much better to highlight each one of them individually after their votes.

Here are the results for those going home in Week #2:

Nick Pedro, A.J. Tabaldo, Alaina Alexander, Leslie Hunt

Post from: Crushable

Gina Glocksen: 22 from Naperville, IL
She’s dedicated her performance to her boyfriend. She’s auditioned multiple times and her boyfriend has supported her. Looks like she almost fell down walking out in that dress and singing at the same time. Boring performance so far, but it will pick up in a minute. She’s not on tonight at all. Very pitchy and feels like she’s pushing to hard to sing this song. Sounds more like screaming than singing. She’s going to take a serious hit tonight.

• Randy – good song choice, little pitchy, must of sounded different.
• Paula – compares her to Carrie Underwood singing it, excellent job though.
• Simon – good song choice, vocals felt very forced at the end. Still confused about who she really is.

— Commercial Break — 

Alaina Alexander: 24 from Redlands, CA
Dedication goes to her mom. Inspired by her mom to keep going because she’s done such a good job providing for her family. I like this song for Alaina, although not a big fan of the original group. She’s doing okay with it I guess. Haven’t really been wowed yet, but Alaina’s really putting it out there with this performance. I think she’s going to need it though. The vocals are real crisp, losing the lyrics with her breathy singing.

• Randy – started off good, tuning and pitch went away
• Paula – hard song to sing, pitch was off but not nearly as bad
• Simon – ran out of steam before the end of the song, lost it in the middle part of the song

LaKisha Jones: 27 from Flint, MI
Dedicating the performance to her grandmother. “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips. I’ve seen this song performed live by Gladys Knight and LaKisha is definitely doing it justice. Coming out strong again and fitting the bill for exactly what she needed to deliver in the song. Not oversinging at all, just letting it flow from those strong pipes. Nice stage presence. Has Paula standing to her feet and dancing a bit, but that doesn’t really take much.

• Randy – that was hot, started kind of rough, turned it around though and delivered
• Paula – she loved it and loves her
• Simon – a phenomenally good singer. Not as good as last week because she didn’t come out with the attitude. Didn’t like the outfit.

— Commercial Break —

Melinda Doolittle: 29 from Brentwood, TN
Dedicating the performance to her best friends. One is her vocal coach and they even given her a book of what to wear each day, which is a little weird honestly. “My Funny Valentine” is a choice to really soften the mood. As my wife says, she sounds like an early Dionne Warwick. Absolutely not a back-up singer anymore. She’s really put some extra vocal stylings into her performance and added some good riffs and slides.

• Randy – we’ve got a competition, came out her tonight to win it. Unbelievable.
• Paula – just outstanding, great phrasing, very different, out of this world.
• Simon – “that was incredible”. Without question the best vocal throughout the competition. Compares her to precocious people with great egos and no talent, and Melinda is exactly the opposite. A breath of fresh air.

— Commercial Break — [Antonella is going to attempt Celine when we return]

Antonella Barba: 20 from Point Pleasant, NJ
She dedicates her performance to her brother who plays guitar and his support means everything. I can’t believe she’s trying to do Celine. I’m not a big fan of Celine and normally don’t care when people try to sing her popular songs, but there’s no WAY Antonella should be doing this. The best news is that I really don’t want her to make it much further and this performance may give me exactly what I want. I can’t wait to hear what the judges say.

• Randy - Completely wrong song, pitch all over the place, way too big a song for her
• Paula – made leaps and bounds from last week
• Simon – most of the vocals just weren’t good enough, worse than last week

— Commercial Break —

Be sure and read the next post for the second half of the girls night for Week 2. Don’t forget to vote in the poll if you haven’t already as well before tomorrow night.

Post from: Crushable