Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe it's already been four years, sweetie. I sure love you.

Scenes from the Wedding Rehearsal

Plus one from the wedding day:

More to come!

Baptism Pictures

Sorry to cross post again, but I love these pictures and I think this is a great idea for a portrait session. Get the story behind this picture and see the rest of the pictures from this session here.

My cute little buddy

More pictures here.

American Idol - Final Results

SPOILER ALERT - If you don't want to know who won until you watch the show, stop reading.

Also, this blog post is REALLY long. I apologize in advance.

To quote The Seacrest, we've finally made it. The last night. The crowning of the Idol. Adam and Kris are dressed in white for what I can only assume will be an inspirational opening number. We're guaranteed at least one all-white outfit song in every finale. They typically close with it, but I guess you have to change things up a bit.

The final night is filled with crazy and cool musical pairings that we have to sit through until the last two minutes of the show where we find out who won. We also get LOTS of video montages that I'm sure you'll see on the 50 city tour if you choose to attend. And the final night is always filled with cutaway shots of celebrities and former Idols in the audience. I'll be updating you with those as I see them. Like this:

Kimberley Locke!
Patricia Heaton with Paris Bennett right behind her!
A woman who looks kind of like Janice Dickinson, but I can never be sure if it's her!

Almost 100 million votes last night. Randy's rockin' a killer velvet bow tie. They're showing judge montages from the season. Randy's is hilarious. "Not my best performance for me for you for me tonight." Love it. Kara's earrings are huge. Kara's montage is also funny. Paula has the biggest heart in showbiz? And the biggest vocabulary? What? That was pretty funny too. Short clips of all the big words she has used this season - further confirming my belief that she has a ghost writer that works on her comments. No way she knows all those words. Simon's montage was very funny too.

Carrie Underwood!

Microphone issues for Kris & Adam. They throw to Mikalah Gordon (former Idol contestant - proving that you don't have to win to have a career, though her makeup is horrible) in Conway, Arkansas. Carly Smithson is in San Diego with Adam's fans.

Top 13 singing "So What" by Pink. Uh oh. Awkward dancing from Scott is back. He tries so hard to do their stupid little moves. I'm not sure what Allison just did with that pelvic thrust to the camera. Jasmine Murray just cracked out on her little vocal ad lib. Poor girl. Not sure the all white outfits matched that song. I'm just sayin'.

David Cook is singing a song called "Permanent" which I think is about his brother who just died of cancer. Great song, actually - and I haven't loved his singles. He's singing really well too. Go, David! The performance is going to be sold on iTunes to raise money for cancer research.

I wish they would give up on this stupid award things they do every year. It's just another excuse to trot out the embarrassing auditions. At least we're going to see Norman Gentle again. He's absolutely hilarious. He's in a sweatshirt and jeans, but I'm sure the Norman clothes are underneath. I love when I'm right. He's totally flat on the big note again, but totally brings down the house. Ryan's wearing the headband and glasses.

Lil Rounds & Queen Latifah are singing Queen Latifah's new single. They sound great together. I like Lil's hair too. Wish I could see who the dancers are. Last year, some of the former SYTYCD kids were the backup dancers.

Anoop and Alexis sing the first part of Jason Mraz' song "I'm Yours" and then Jason comes out and sings with them. I love Jason Mraz. He's a ridiculously talented songwriter and singer. Here come the rest of the Idols - minus Kris & Adam. That was a fun performance. I'm completely not hating the

Awww, Kris' wife looks super cute. Here is Kris' season montage. Followed by a duet with Keith Urban. COOL! This is a cute song. I haven't listened to much country lately. Is that Jerry Springer playing drums for them? I forgot how much I like Keith Urban. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go re-load my iPod as soon as the show is done tonight.

Justin Guarini!

Okay, I just rewound and watched the Wendy's Twisted Frosty boy band commercial. That was completely hilarious. And have I said how happy I am that SYTYCD starts tomorrow? I haven't? Well, I'm excited.

The girls are singing "Glamorous" by Fergie. And here comes Fergie singing "Big Girls Don't Cry". Ah, a medley. Loved Allison knowing the "choreography" when no one else did. Now the Black Eyed Peas are performing their super catchy new single. Evidently Fergie had an issue with the tape delay. These guys are amazing performers - their tour is going to be amazing. That was awesome.

More Idol awards. This time to bring bikini girl back onstage in a bikini. Of course. Love that Seacrest made fun of the new implants. Wow. She's going to sing. Ouch. Kara is joining her onstage. AWESOME! Girl can sing! You go, Kara. The song you wrote for the Idol winner completely sucked, but that was great. Oh! Wow! Dress removal by Kara! There's a bikini underneath. That was gutsy. And evidently she won a bet and they're donating money to her favorite charity.

David Cook!
Ryan Seacrest's Dad!
David Archuleta!

Allison Iraheta and Cyndi Lauper are going to sing "Time After Time" together. Cyndi is playing some kind of cool zither while they sing. That was a fantastic performance. They sound great together. Cyndi was kind of bloated and not looking good on "30 Rock" the other day, but she looks fabulous tonight.

Seacrest interviews Kris' parents and Adam's parents. Adam's mom is wearing a total rock glam outfit. And there is a single boy that doesn't look like Adam's brother there with Adam's parents...hmmmm.... :)

Danny Gokey sings "Hello" by Lionel Richie. I love me some Lionel. First concert I attended at the tender age of 13. I know. I'm so cool. It was the "Dancing on the Ceiling" tour, and he did, in fact dance on the ceiling. Lionel comes out to sing a song I don't recognize. It's apparently called "Just Go" and it's a new single for Lionel. Awww, yea! "All Night Long!" Nice. Admit it - you're up and dancing like Paula right now. Danny's pulling out some sweet harmonies, but he needs to cut out that crazy dancing. I must admit, I heard the list of performers for tonight and I was feeling like there would be a lot of clunker performances, but I've liked all of them so far.

Ruben Studdard!

Here's Adam's highlight reel. Glad they got some skin help for him. Wow. Those early shots are rough. He's got some kind of crazy studded jacket with wing shoulders on. Wow. Looks like something Meatloaf would wear. Well, since he's performing with KISS, the outfit totally makes sense now. Nice. They enter from the ceiling with fireworks. Perfect. Adam would have to wear a jacket and crazy boots like that to fit in with them. Adam sounds so much better than they do. "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night" actually sounds great with him singing it. That was very fun. Seriously, who gets to sing with KISS?

Carlos Santana is going to perform with the Top 13. Santana is going to be at the Hard Rock in Vegas for the next couple years. That would be fun to see. Matt Giraud opens "Black Magic Woman" and then we go medley style into "Smooth"

Heather Locklear!
Camryn Manheim!
Janice Dickinson, again. (Seriously? Don't we have other people we could show?)

Awesome Ford commercial that ends with Kris and Adam getting new cars from David Cook.

Steve Martin is performing on banjo with Michael Sarver and Megan Joy?! Fantastic! I love this. Cute little bluegrass duet. The song is called "Pretty Flowers" and Dolly Parton and Vince Gill sing it on Steve Martin's new album. He writes songs too? Talented dude. Talk about a renaissance man.

The boys are performing. All of them are in black suits, black ties and white shirts. Nice. They're singing "If You Want My Body" by Rod Stewart. And here comes Rod Stewart singing "Maggie May". He seems to be having a hard time walking to his mike stand. Man, he's old The morning sun shows your age, indeed. They're showing a lot of people in the audience - I'm assuming so they don't have to show him.

One more Golden Idol. Here comes crazy Tatiana. Pretty funny bit - or is it a bit? Security is chasing her around the stage while she sings.

Kris and Adam are singing "We Are the Champions." Queen is backing them, plus the Idols, plus a gospel choir, plus fog. Now, that's a production number! Adam is completely KILLING this song. Kris sounds fine, but Adam is fantastic. And they look like they are having such a blast singing this song. They're just looking straight at each other and singing. Awesome.

Glad I followed The Seacrest's advice and extended the Tivo recording.

And the next American Idol is:
Kris Allen!

What?! Wow! And Kris gets a little trophy. And now Kris has to sing Kara's song for the next four months. Maybe they'll let him sing it in a different key on tour. How cute that he pulled all the Idols out in front of the judges with him and went to shake the judges hands. I like Kris. Awww...his cute wife just came onstage and gave him a big hug.

And in keeping with Idol tradition, the best singer didn't win. But now Adam has some freedom to do what he wants with his career since he didn't win.

It's been fun, everyone! Thanks for reading! I'll start recapping SYTYCD shows once the Top 20 hits the stage. In the meantime, enjoy the auditions.

American Idol - Afterthought

Jeanne kindly pointed out that I offered no prediction or favorite in my post last night. Total oversight. There was a lot going on in the room when I was blogging last night. I missed a lot of my friends' comments too. It's a shame I couldn't get my fingers to type faster - their comments were insightful and hilarious.

For the record, my favorite performances last night were the first two that Adam and Kris picked for themselves. The producers could have picked better songs for Adam and Kris. They weren't as bad as Paula's pick for Danny last week, but they could have been better. I really couldn't hear the words to Kara DioGuardi's song very well. (I'm sure they were awful lyrics. I just wanted confirmation.) I don't think Adam or Kris could hear when they sang the last song. They were both pitchy, and Adam isn't usually pitchy. I don't think they could hear themselves. I think Adam could have sung it better and I strongly suspect it was written to suit Adam's voice because the producers were planning on Adam being in the finals. Kris was great, though vocally tired at the end when he had to sing in a ridiculous key. He's very consistent, fun to watch and easy to listen to. Adam was great - he really has outrageously great technique. All my performing friends completely geek out over his skill and mastery over his voice. It's awesome to watch someone do something that well as you work so hard to perfect it in yourself. And if I were going to watch a concert, I'd much rather go see Adam in concert than Kris.

I know I'm totally fence sitting. And honestly, I'd be happy if either of them win. I can't think of many AI finals where I can say that. On vocal talent, Adam deserves to win. On overall musical talent, Kris deserves to win. On performance, Adam deserves to win. And they're both just as nice as can be. Very gracious and respectful of each other.

That said, I think Kris is going to win. But I think it's going to be close.

Why Kris? The biggest reason is Danny's voting block. Danny is a music worship leader in his church. His fans aren't going to vote for Adam. Kris is cute, young, married to an adorable wife, and is a music worship leader in his church. If Danny's fans vote, most of them will vote for Kris. Also, I think Kris did a better job overall last night. And I think it was a bit too apparent that the producers of AI want Adam to win. Did you notice on Kris' last song he didn't get any comments about how he sang? Just how proud he should be to be up there in the finals and that he did well. Also, (and I thank Professor Chan over at VFTW for pointing this out) Adam's arrangement of the crappy Idol ballad had more instruments in the arrangement and backup vocals. Kris' didn't. That's lame. It made his tired voice sound more exposed. And Kris has the VFTW voters behind him. Not that this has mattered all season, but they might push him over the top.

Plus, I just checked on Dial Idol. They pick Kris.

I'm interested to see what happens. And follow Seacrest's advice and extend the time on your Tivos and DVRs. It's pretty horrible when you commit to two hours of TV to find out who wins only to have this happen:

"And the next American Idol is..."

Boo-doop!

See you tonight!

*Edited to add: "Glee" was awesome. The closing performance of "Don't Stop Believin'" gave me chills several times. That Lea Michele can SING! Great arrangement, great voices. It's going to be a fun show. Can't wait until it comes back in the fall.

American Idol - THE FINALE!

Woo hoo! I'm watching tonight with Tarryn, Merrit, Lori, Dana and Carolyn. Coming to you from the Kodak Theater tonight. All the judges are spiffied up. Kris won the coin toss, and chose to go second.

I really should have a video on my friends. They're shouting out to all of you right now. I'm having a difficult time typing all the things they want me to right now. Just know they love you.

Adam Lambert - "Mad World" (Personal pick)
Smart move, dude. Open with your most popular song. (According to Rickey.org, this performance was the most searched for American Idol content on Google. This is due in part to getting cut off by the Tivos, but even if you factor that out, it's still the most popular performance this season.) Fog machine is in full effect, green lights and a Matrix leather coat. I know a lot of you commented that you didn't want to listen to an entire Adam Lambert album - in response, I give you this single. :) That was beautiful. I think I liked the performance better the first time, but this was still beautiful. Merrit is thrilled that Kara's hair finally looks good. Paula hit the tan spray a little too hard. Simon feels it was a little too theatrical with the fog and the long coat.
1-866-IDOLS-01, -03 or -05

Kris Allen - "Ain't No Sunshine" (Personal pick)
A little flat on the first long note at the beginning, but he recovers. Dana is wondering if this was Kris' most Googled song. I'm checking. (It's not - "Apologize" and "Heartless" were his most popular.) A quick aside - Lori is thrilled she's beating me at cards....I'm not playing, but she is beating me. (As usual, Tarryn is kicking everyone's trash.) That was a beautiful performance. He's fantastic.
1-866-IDOLS-02, -04, -06

Simon declares that Round 1 went to Kris. We agree.

Adam Lambert - "A Change is Gonna Come" (Producer's Choice)
Nice choice for Adam. Blues guitarists on each side. That was a great performance. Fantastic. The judges are gushing. Paula - wear a bra!! Ouch. NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT! And you forgot mascara. Simon declares he is back in the game.

Katie Holmes & Suri are in the audience!! We had to rewind it three times so Carolyn could see Suri.

Kris Allen - "What's Goin' On" (Producer's Choice)
Nice arrangement. I like already. This is an awesome song. Can't wait to buy it. Randy - you're wrong. That was awesome. Simon, you're also wrong. I thought he absolutely made it his own. Dana feels Simon is baiting the audience by hacking on Kris' performance and choosing Adam as the winner of Round 2.

All the Idol kids are in the audience. Anoop and Megan are evidently dating. They look a little cozy.

The New Single Round:
Both contestants are going to sing the same inspirational ballad. It's called "No Boundaries" and it was co-written by Kara Dioguardi, naturally.

Adam Lambert
This song is pretty well suited to him. Much more so than past rockers who end up in the top two. (see: Blake Lewis) Kind words from the judges. Not so much for the song. Kara loved it, of course. Adam is very gracious. And I really appreciate that he manages to balance confidence and kindness.

Kris Allen
His voice is tired. Or at least it sounds tired in his low range. And he looks nervous. We're talking about how we like Kris' voice better in terms of a full CD to listen to. His voice is on the verge of crapping out on him. That key was ridiculously bad for him. They should have changed it. They're giving Kris some really nice comments and props for ending up in the finals. Which he deserves.

Here's Carrie! She's singing live! Carrie, you're so pretty.

Here's the consensus in the room tonight -
Carolyn: Kris Allen
Dana: Would vote for Adam, will buy Kris' CD, and would have bought Danny's CD. They all have a place in her music heart.
Tarryn: Kris Allen (based solely on tonight - this is the first episode she's seen)
Lori: Kris Allen (again, based solely on tonight)
Merrit: On talent, Adam Lambert. On "I like him better," Kris Allen

I ♥ Faces - Blurb Book Photo Contest

Friends, thanks for your opinions and help. Here's the photo I ended up going with*:

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

Go check out the rest of the entries (or enter a photo of your own! The contest closes at 9:00 p.m. Central time tonight) at I ♥ Faces!



*Many friends and family did pick this photo as a favorite - but photo #1 technically had the most votes. As I was reading the blog entry requirements for the contest this afternoon, I realized that #2 was my only choice - close-ups of the face were requested for this contest. Noticing that detail earlier would have made my choice MUCH easier. But thank you for your opinions and comments. It was so fun to see which photo was each person's favorite.

Opinions?

If you have time, I could use a bit of help. They're having a little book contest over at I Heart Faces this week and I've had a terrible time deciding which photo I want to enter. I've narrowed it down to three:

#1:
(I received an honorable mention for this photo, but you can re-enter photos for this week's competition.)




#2:



#3:
(This is Diggity's favorite. I'm leaning toward this one right now.)



Leave me a little note in the comments if you have time. I appreciate your input. I have to enter the photo sometime tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon.

American Idol - Top 3 Results

I just got off a plane and got to my house. I still have baggage sitting in my car, but I have been really excited to see this results show. The bags can wait.

88 million votes last night. Less than 1 million separating the top two. That will make next week particularly drama filled. Excellent.

Very interesting article in USA Today - they followed the top three for the three days before the performance show. It's worth a read. Click here.

Extra lame Ford commercial this week. I can see the concept they were going for, but it didn't work for me. Totally excited about the homecoming packages for each contestant. This is one of my favorites parts of this episode. I may or may not have cried all the way through David Archuleta's homecoming footage last year. Danny drew some huge crowds in Wisconsin. Interesting that he is out on the stage first. He's either the first of the top two, or he's the first in the bottom two. Or, he evidently gets to wait until Kris sees his homecoming footage. Kris had some great crowds as well. So much fun for them to get to go home and see everyone.

While we watch Kris and his cute wife in their Arkansas parade, let's look at Dial Idol, shall we?



That's what we call "too close to call." It's going to depend on the text messages.

Jordin Sparks performs her new single written by the piano dude from One Republic. Kind of a catchy tune. She's done reasonably well for herself. I hope the second album does okay. I like her.

And now, Adam's homecoming footage. He's on the cover of the Entertainment Weekly that arrived while I was gone. I don't think that has ever happened before - they've had all the Idols on the cover while the show was still going on, but never just one. While we watch Adam visit his hometown of San Diego (he totally had the easiest travel schedule, by the way) Let's talk about Adam. I loved reading everyone's comments about him. Those of you that said you didn't like listening to the loud rock songs - I see your point. I would point out in return, that his falsetto acoustic performances are beautiful and quite easy to listen to. The beginning of "One" last night was gorgeous. And, along with Stacie, my love for Adam is pure technical admiration. Vocally and performance wise. He's brilliant on both fronts. That's why I love him. That, and he's a theater boy that actually has a shot to have a pop career. That's rare. But seriously - the fact that he can sing his face off like that and still be able to talk, let alone sing the next week, is amazing.

I hate Katy Perry. HATE. Her cape is hilarious. Too bad she can't sing live. I give her props for being a brilliant performer/showman, but I hate her music.

Four minutes left. I hope the Tivo makes it.

The top two are:
KRIS ALLEN!!! (The judges look shocked/excited about this. I yelled for joy!)
and
ADAM LAMBERT!!!

What?! That is AWESOME!

Danny is going home. I'm actually thrilled at this result. I like Danny and all, but he was the weakest last night. Next week's show is going to be completely amazing. And he will have a fabulous career on the country/Christian music circuit.

American Idol - Top 3 Performance Show

It's anybody's game tonight, I'm thinking. They're performing two songs tonight - one chosen by the judges, one by the contestant.

Danny Gokey - Dance Little Sister (Paula's pick)
I don't know this song either. This could work for him or against him. People tend to like familiar songs. Interesting that Danny is first tonight. He might be pitchy on the chorus. It's not a particularly hard melody and he's kind of yelling at us up until the sax solo. I didn't love the song or the performance. Randy likes it. Kara doesn't like the dancing. Paula is irrelevant here. (She's always irrelevant. What am I saying...) "Sign Your Name" would have been a much better choice for him. Good call, Simon. And though Danny is singing a ballad later (which was Paula's excuse for choosing this song), "Sign Your Name" has enough of a beat to it that it would have worked I think. I digress...

Kris Allen - Apologize (Kara & Randy's pick)
NICE. Excellent choice for him. Hope he kills it. He's sitting at the piano - excellent. I like that he's doing the chorus in falsetto and full voice. That's a cool little change. He's full voice through the second chorus and second chorus. Liked it a lot. Randy likes it. Kara was underwhelmed and wanted him to change it up. Paula - you aren't allowed to comment on bum notes or poor vocals. Simon calls Kara out for giving him the song and then criticizing him for singing the song the way it was originally recorded. It would have been cool on acoustic guitar. They should have suggested it. Wow. Kara is a little bit crazy tonight.

Adam Lambert - One (Simon's pick)
Again, I think it's unfair for Simon to pick for Adam. Simon got clearance from Bono for him to sing this. Pared down with just piano. Diggity doesn't take kindly to people messing with U2 songs, but I think he might even like this. Holy crap. That was amazing. Fantastic arrangement, great vocals. Fantastic. Randy likes it. Kara says it was unbelievable. Paula throws down some more analogies. I don't think I've heard this much of Paula all season. Diggity usually zips through her comments. Simon thought his song choice was brilliant. I love Simon.

Danny Gokey - You Are So Beautiful
He did a fantastic job with that song. Great liberties with the melody. Great vocals. He really did a good job. Simon called it a vocal masterclass. That's a pretty great compliment.

Kris Allen - Heartless
Not sure about Kanye West as a choice for Kris. Never mind. I like it. I love it! That was great. I can see why he went with piano on the first song. Randy and Kara are gushing. Paula is stupid, but she liked it. Simon likes it too. Kris is a total stud. That's why he's still here, kids. That performance right there. 1-866-IDOLS-02 or 08

Adam Lambert - Cryin'
This is a great choice for him. We'll see how he does. Okay. He ROCKED that out. Especially after Danny atrociously screamed Aerosmith last week. That was great. Everyone loved it and Simon reminds us to vote for Adam.

Watching the video recap back, here's who did the best job (in my humble opinion):

1. Adam
2. Kris
3. Danny

I don't know who will actually go home. I really have no clue. I hope it's Adam and Kris. I like Danny a lot, but I really think Adam and Kris were the best tonight.

Who did you like?

American Idol - Top 4 Results

Results time! I'm interested to see how this will go down. Dial Idol has Kris and Allison as the bottom two with less than a percentage point separating them.

I would hate to be the person that comes up with the treatments for the Ford commercials every week. How do you think of a new commercial every week? I think they've done this billboard thing already. Maybe it was magazines. I don't remember.

The Idols perform "School's Out" with Slash on guitar. Thankfully, it's going to be live. Rock just doesn't work for Danny or Kris. Blues, country, pop, yes. Rock, not so much. Allison and Adam sound SO cool together.

Diggity keeps dry heaving every time Seacrest announces that Paula is singing tonight. I want to sing, "One of these things is not like the others..." Daughtry! No Doubt! Paula Abdul!

Recap of last night: Kris is told not to be humble anymore. Adam is a total pro. Totally on message. Way to work in the Led-Zepplin-first-time-on-Idol thing again. Have to say, Danny is handling the awful note thing quite well. Very cool spin on it.

Wow. Paula's performance gets a video package? Wow. And she's lip synching and has a processor on her voice. There are all these weird references to her leaving idol on the video screens and int he dance. It's a stupid song with not great choreography and I think she worked every possible thing into the performance - wind machine, fireworks, flips. I don't even know what that was for or about. And I think it was pre-taped. The No Doubt performance was pre-taped after yesterday's show. And whoever mixed the audio did a lame job. I love Gwen Stefani and this is such a great song. She's running too much to sing well, but she's a blast to watch. But I digress.

So, we're more than halfway through and no results until now. I hate that. We're told that the three stools tonight are for the top three, not the bottom three and they will be announced in random order. The top three get to go home and be heroes in their town for the day. Seacrest goes through all of them one by one like usual.

First person that is safe is: KRIS!!! Yes! This makes me happy.

Daughtry is going to perform. We get reminded that Chris Daughtry got eliminated this week during his year. They're debuting their new single. This kid has serious pipes. He's amazing. They get their super huge platinum record plaque on stage. I'm glad they've done so well.

Second person that is safe is: ADAM!!!

Allison and Danny are left. Dial Idol says it's clearly Allison. But Dial Idol doesn't include text messages...

The final person in the top three is: DANNY!

Allison is going home. She's getting a great response from the audience. Cute girl. She'll have a great career. An all male top 3. I think that's a first.

American Idol - Top 4 Performance Show

Check out Diggity's pre-show comment -
"Well, I hope Allison is going home, but this week's theme favors her, I guess."

That's right, grasshopper. It sure does! It's rock & roll week! And Ryan just shocks us (well, me) by letting us know that the Idols will sing solos and will pair up for a duet tonight. COOL! Slash is the mentor tonight. I don't feel he will have the same impact as Jamie Foxx. Just a hunch.

Adam Lambert - Whole Lotta Love
Diggity likes this. Me, I have no idea. I'm not the rock aficionado in our house, so I'm deferring to him. When we thought the song ended, Diggity said, "That was kind of boring." Then when Adam did the little tag at the end, he said, "Hard to outdo Robert Plant and Led Zepplin, but that ending was better." And this is the first time a Zepplin song has been done on Idol. Nice. I just told Diggity I'd never heard that song, and he has decreed that I am going to be going on a Zepplin diet. Kara dressed in the theme again. *sigh* And she's a little crazy tonight.

Allison Iraheta - Crybaby
I like this song. Never heard it before. Diggity is probably preparing a playlist for me to remedy my lack of exposure to classic rock. I have to say, Allison's high notes are the cleanest they've sounded in weeks. I'm kind of impressed with her vocals tonight, and I'm not usually impressed with her. Evidently the dress rehearsal got cut short earlier because of falling set pieces. I think it helped in her case to not have to sing so much today.

Kris & Danny - Renegade
I like the fact that they are doing duets instead of singing two solos tonight. Much more interesting. (Carly Smithson and Michael Johns did a duet in the finale last year and on tour that was hugely popular - I'm sure that inspired this idea.) Unfortunately, this duet wasn't so interesting to watch, but the harmonies were FANTASTIC. I feel like Kris was a little pitchy, though I'm hoping Randy confirms it. Okay, I'll take confirmation from Kara. I can't believe they are letting them sing with a band that loud onstage and they don't have in-ear monitors. For the hearing protection alone, they should have them.

UPDATE: Diggity IS preparing a playlist for my iPod. That's hilarious.

Kris Allen - "Come Together"
Quotes from Diggity:
"Does he only sing out the side of his mouth?"
"I would have gone high on that note so he's not singing the song note for note like the Beatles."
"He just reminds me of Enrique Iglesias too much. It wasn't ferocious enough."
Enrique Iglesias? Wow. Diggity is rough.
Kris did change up the bridge and the ending a bit. I liked that. Diggity's right on the lack of ferocity especially. Randy was very cool and complimentary. Kara didn't like it. Paula thinks he's an artist that needs more energy. Simon doesn't like it and compares it to eating ice for lunch. What? I feel like they're setting him up to get voted off.

Danny Gokey - "Dream On"
It was fine until the end. The screaming was awful. AWFUL. That's all I'm going to say about that. I'm kind of embarrassed for him, and I think the audience is clapping so much because they don't know what else to do. Horror film, indeed Simon.

Allison & Adam - Slow Ride
I have to say, I think this is a bit unfair to put the two of them together. Though, they picked kind of a silly and boring song. They're sure trying hard and they sound good. I just wish they'd picked a better song. I liked the harmony part about 2/3 of the way through. They're fun together.

Wow. So, predictions -

Safe - Adam, Allison, Danny
Going Home - I'm not happy about it, but I think it's Kris.

Though there is an outside possibility that it could be Danny. They totally gave Danny the loser edit on the phone number recap. He hit some great notes in the song and they chose the screaming ending to show for the recap of his song. Poor kid. Are they trying to force him into the top? Also, Danny Gokey is the VFTW pick this week. They swore they'd never pick him unless he did something awful because they HATE him over there. The screaming at the end locked it in.

Celebration!

Many, many things to celebrate today!

• This is my 400th post!
• Amanda is visiting us this weekend!
• We finally got the mulch put in our flower beds! (I get excited about simple things.)
• Some of my photos were included in this month's issue of Store & Style. (Go check out the issue here. Read about it on my photography blog here.)
• Chris & Heather get married in THREE WEEKS!
• Amanda & Darren get married in TWO MONTHS!
• My portrait collection sold in the online auction for my school (11 bids! Wahoo!) and I have another one up for bid in a live auction for the school tomorrow. Building this business is great fun.
  

Oh...and I'm 35 years old today. (I borrowed a picture from G-Man's birthday a couple weeks ago.) Thanks for the Facebook birthday wishes, texts and calls. Facebook is awesome on birthdays. Gotta love all that cyber love.