Ok, I’m not so good at these re-cap things, & so I usually don’t do them. Also, I’m lazy. BUT… There’s so much I have to say about American Idol, & I could only talk about it to one person today. The LIWW (Lady I work w/) isn’t in today, & the only other person here who watched it works in our mailroom. So, of course, I can’t really justify spending more than 30 mins talking to her about it. Esp. since she obviously was busy & had stuff to do. So, here I am.

The only word that fully sums up how I felt about American Idol last night was “excited”. There are so many other words I could use, but that one seems to fit best. So, are you ready to play? Take a drink everytime you read the word “excited”.

Ok, 1st off, how excited was I that Taylor won? How sweet was he?!?! Remember when Kelly won, & sang her single at the end of the finale the 1st year? And she was tearing up, & screeched out some of it b/c her voice couldn’t keep a note? When Taylor was singing off, he was getting the crowd hyped up. During this entire finale, he showed that he could work a crowd. And during his single to sign off the show, he told the crowd that he was livin the “American Dream”. I know that these kids get put through a pressure machine, but he made it through, & he’s stoked about it. And I’m really happy for him. Ok, enough about him.

And did’ja guys see the last Coke commercial? I can’t find it, but when I do, I’ll post it here. But it was simply a red background, & flashed 3 sentences (paraphrased):
“We’ll make this short”
“Drink Coke”
“Now tell us the winner, Seacrest!”

Now, on the rest of da show. About Katherine & Meatloaf:

1. What kind of name is “Meatloaf”? If I was a singer, & I went to pick a pseudonym or stage name, I would not pick Meatloaf. I would pick something more appealing. But maybe meatloaf is the most appealing thing he could think of at the time? Hmmm… I never thought of that. He was hopped up on a lot of drugs back in the 70s. Ok, I take it back, so Meatloaf can have his name.
2. What’s goin on w/ that red handkerchief he’s waving around like he’s Scarlett O’Hara? Is that were Steve Tyler & Shirley Manson got their handkerchief ideas from? Does anyone else still use the word handkerchief but me? You can take a drink for that too then.

Oh, & how excited (total understatement here, I completely lost my breath!) was I went Chris performed w/ LIVE!!! Those of you who went to school w/ me, do you remember how totally crazy I was about Ed Kowalczyk in college?! That was during Live’s height. I’ve seen them perform since then. The most recent time, I drove out to Pittsburgh to see them, & they are even better now than they ever were then. I’m totally not kidding. As a fan of music, & live shows, I really do think that Ed Kowalczyk & Live are probably the greatest performers I’ve seen live. No, I’m not kidding. I think it’s b/c they’re so relevant. He’ll do an old song (like from Mental Jewelry or something), & in the middle they’ll start jammin out & do lyrics from some recent hip-hop song to their music. He’s also so intelligent. I’ve seen a lot of bands, & most ppl would disagree w/ me about my thinking that “Live” is the best live performance I’ve seen. But don’t knock it til you try it. You won’t be sorry.

And is it wrong for me to say that I enjoyed Elliot’s performance w/ Mary better than her w/ U2? I mean, I love, love, love the U2 version of “One” (the live version better than the album). But the version that Mary does? ehh, not so much. It’s alright, but not as good as U2’s live version (or their album version). But, Elliot & Mary together? Loved it. And she looks better; she’s not dressing & doing her hair like an old matronly lady anymore. I swear, ever since she got married, you’d think she just turned 64 by the way she was presenting herself.

I did not really enjoy Taylor & Toni Braxton’s performance together. 1st, I couldn’t understand anything Toni was singing. And it seemed like she was trying so hard (too hard). I know there’s a huge audience (read: lots of disposable income candidates) watching, Toni, but I don’t think you sealed the deal there for yourself. I did like how comfortable Taylor looked doing a different genre of song though. He’s very versatile, that Taylor; a real Renaissance man!

And what was not exciting: the Clay-look-alike act. So, they invited the Clay-imposter to come onstage to do a song, & the real Clay comes out. Well, he’s a newer, trying not to be gayer, Clay. He’s got this spiffy new ‘do. And the fake-Clay just goes wild. I mean, he really loses it. So, now it’s just kinda pathetic, & I’m wondering to myself, if I was a gay man, I really don’t think I’d be attracted to Clay Aiken. I just don’t see it. Any gay men out there? Does anyone find Clay Aiken hot?!? Not just attractive, but drop-dead, like a “hot tamale”? You can say so as an anonymous person in the comments if you do.

Oh, & jeez-Louise! Did I flip out when I saw Prince come out!!!! Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. I guess no one was really expecting him. But how exciting was that. Yes, I will admit I let out a squeal. But seriously, who knew?!?!

Speaking of losing it… The Idol judges have now officially lost it. Here’s proof. And I’ve also noticed that they’re really wrapped up in themselves. During Tuesday night’s sing-off, you could see the judges off-stage just talking to each other, ignoring the singers. Not “talking” either, Paula & Simon were arguing, & she was smacking him (big surprise). Aren’t they there to listen to the singers? I mean, it’s not supposed to be “party-time” for them. They’re not supposed to get drunk there.

And lastly, the “Hoff” was there. One of my fave lines is “Don’t hassle the ‘Hoff”! Corny, yes. But please don’t tell me that you haven’t figured out by now that I’m super-corny. I’m kewl w/ it though. Anyway, the ‘Hoff lost it too; when Taylor was announced the winner, he cried! I couldn’t find a pic of that, but here’s another reaction shot. And for those of you who are questioning why the ‘Hoff is there, he was a guest judge on Australian Idol, & has been on American Idol before too.

UPDATE: I finally found video of it, so I’m replacing the pic w/ the video. Warning: I’ve never added video before, so I’m hoping this works. And it’s footage from Jay Leno. I am NOT (not, not, NOT) a fan of Jay, so I am in no way condoning his show. I am a hardcore Letterman-fan (not stalker-style, but…).