Thursday, May 15, 2014

AI Season 13 Top 3 Elimination


They're dragging this out for an hour tonight. I am so very happy about that...

Ryan, in a blue suit and neatly shaved, for almost the last time this year says: This is American Idol. Ooh, he's carrying a puppy.... aaawwwww, a little black lab named Georgia. Puppies are so cute.

The kids look less than excited about tonight's reveal.

JLo is extremely sparkly- all gold and bronze, with an updo. HCJ is natty in a suit. Keith never looks any different. JLo is wearing Pucci, if that matters to anyone.

That's right, Caleb went back to Asheville. This will be the first time they've gone somewhere I've actually visited. Well, outside of quick clips of Pike Place Market. I know he went to Biltmore, and you all know how I feel about Biltmore.

Supper convo- we're reminded that Caleb was sick. I saw online that Alex was sick too, but no one made a big deal out of his voice issues. Caleb looks like he's breaking a fever.

Alex is wearing a white sweater with roses, and blue shoes with no socks, Caleb is wearing his Civil war jacket, Jena has no bangs, and her black waisted dress looks lacy.

The Fordmercial gives us clips of the Top 3 singles. Alex sounds coffee house, Caleb screams, and Jena is poppy.. No surprises.

Jena, wearing really obvious fake eyelashes, says her home visit was fun. She went back to Farmington, MI. The kids at school are excited, and Jena is happy to see her family and her puppy dogs. She's on the morning show and riding in a white limo. The Greek restaurant where she works went all out for Jena's visit. Jena's Gramma is crying even before she sees her. I might have something in my eye too. Her parents house is full to the rafters with friends and family. Down in the empty basement, Jena plays her keyboard and sings a bit. Later, her parade drives through downtown, and Jena cries a little. She has a good crowd, and her grandparents are adorable- Elliott Yamin's Mother levels of adorable, which is a whole lot of cuteness.

Ryan announces that Jena will sing next week with Paramore. This is not to assume that Jena is one of the Finalists, but I imagine that's a given.

Speaking of Elliott Yamin- there he is, all scruffy and sunglasses and a hat. I liked Elliott a lot. Also Danny Gokey, whose first wife died just before his first audition. He has since remarried and has one child and another on the way. He looks happy and that is nice. I'm tired of the show, but I wish the kids well.

Scotty McCreery will sing his latest single, Feelin' It. Already I can see that Scotty is more comfortable on stage than he was during his entire season. He's wearing a blue, short sleeved tee, and I always forget just how deep his voice is. It surprises me every time I hear him sing. He still sings out of the side of his mouth though, so some things never change. There's comfort in that. The song? It's country, and medium-upbeat. Pleasant enough but not my style. Adulthood suits him.

Alex looks miserable, like he expects to go home, and not the way he did last week. He did a radio interview in Manchester before heading to his home town Mont Vernon, NH. VT? I can't remember.  Alex's sister looks just like him. His mama is so happy to see him. It always makes me a little misty to watch the happy homecomings. Alex is overwhelmed. His band, Undertow, came to visit and schmooze. Why are we watching JLo watch Alex's homecoming? Lots and lots of Sad JLo watching... does she know something we don't? One small boy went purely crazy with excitement. Alex got the black limo, and there were lots and lots of people at his parade. 6,800 folks came to his concert, which is pretty darn cool. He's playing a bluesy song .

Alex will sing with Jason Mraz next week, and that is pretty much a match made in heaven. Music heaven anyway. Angsty Radio Music Heaven, the kind Alex is hoping for.

Caleb went home to Asheville. Asheville loves Caleb. I love Asheville. He visits a school of rock, but they probably weren't as surprised to see him as he thought they were going to be. Caleb's younger brother is a larger, more obnoxious, clone of him. And there's Biltmore, beautiful beautiful Biltmore. I was there. And there. And there. Also there. If you get to Asheville, visit Biltmore. That's an order. His concert looks very well attended. And his voice was still in good repair that day. Either Caleb didn't get a limo, or he just wanted to drive his old SUV for the fun of it. And there's downtown Asheville, which is a seriously great town.

Caleb will be performing with Kiss, and he is fall-down-on-the-floor excited. Or maybe his brother Houston is drop-his-big-brother-on-the-floor happy. Either way, I hope his brother doesn't sing, because man, I don't want to watch a season of him.

At least the hour has gone by fast. And I confess to enjoying commercials featuring The Allure of the Seas... I've been on that ship, I say to The Hub, who knows that already.

So, down to business... 75,000 hopefuls down to these three. All of them look sick.

Ryan draws it out a bit, and the kids all gather closely... the lights are dim....

First person to compete in the Finale is.... Jena....
She's surprised but no one else is.

And the other Finalist is...  Caleb.

For just a moment, I thought maybe Alex would do it, but this really is okay. It's better for him not to be saddled with the AI title, which is not always a great legacy. Non-winners have sometimes had more success than the winners. I wish Alex a huge career, singing exactly the music he wants to sing. I may even buy his album.

Harry stood up for him. Harry never stands. Alex sounds good, and he's holding it together well. I don't think this is any kind of surprise for him. The Top 3 are all very talented, and they're all very different, and I fully expected the less-flashy one to go.

But he's not going far- the whole Top 10 will be back, and that'll be great fun.

No comments: