Season 10 is an interesting bag. Is it entertaining? The most talent EVER (TM Randy Hyperbole Jackson)? Boring? Exploitative? Does it have too many stage moms? Too many screamers? Is it a girls year or a boys year? DO WE EVEN LIKE IT?! The answer to these questions is I don't know. I honestly don't know! I've seen every episode this season and every episode I feel little flickers of hope and excitement...followed by waves of doubt (and self-loathing). I want it to be good and enjoyable and I will fully admit that I legitimately love J.Lo and Steven right now. However, there's a part of me that thinks that ANYTHING would be better than Season 9, and there's another part of me that suspects this season could go horribly horribly wrong (not that that couldn't be entertaining, of course).
So now we have a Top 24. Now WE get all the power. The possibilities...are endless!
There was some kind of Vegas week this year that felt totally unnecessary, but we got to hear more people sing so i think that's good? And also they all sang Beatles songs, so yay? Some of them were quite good, I have to admit, but group singing always seems counterproductive to me because I honestly don't care whether these people can work in a group or not. Then came the LONGEST "GREEN MILE" EPISODE EVER OH GOD, PLEASE KILL ME. It was nice that we got such long introductions to ALL of the Top 24, I'll admit, but man these episodes were boring.
I'm going to mention some of my early favorites, but I felt like I needed to explain myself as to why there aren't a lot of girls in the list. As much as season 9 was maligned (and in most cases, rightly so), going into the semis the girls had a lot of promise. I admit, a lot of this stems from personal preference, as girls like Didi, Lily, Crystal, and Siobhan all have less conventional, "quirky" voices, which appeal to me more. But is it just me of do all of the girls this season sound exactly the same? Not only that but we have A LOT of pop/diva voices this year for the girls. Unfortunately this means that every time one of those pretty young things walked down the endless airplane hanger runway (why so long, Idol?) and they showed their past performances, my eyes glazed over and all I could think was "I swear to god, I just heard this girl sing". I think it's fairly obvious what kind of girl they were "casting" this season.
Some of my early favorites (who could very easily go home next week and who I reserve the right to turn on at a moments notice):
Paul McDonald
Paul might be my favorite right now. He has a really quiet and kind of uniquely beautiful voice. He also sang an original song for the judges that impressed me enough to take notice, and his "Blackbird" (with other Top 24 member, Kendra Chantelle) was gorgeous: watch his video package.
He also wears suits with glittery roses on it, looks drunk while he's singing, and looks like he should be a member of Driveshaft. And for that, I'm giving Paul a tentative THUMBS UP!
Robbie Rosen
Robbie, aka Aladdin, is someone I remember liking from his audition and every time I hear him sing I like him more and more. He's cute and young, so there's a lot going for him right there, but I'm constantly impressed by his solo performances. He's got talent.
Now he just really needs to sing A Whole New World.
Tim Halperin
Timmy's got a lot going for him. In fact if I was to guess who would win this season based on who has won the past few seasons, I'd put all my money on Tim. Cute, white, soulful, plays an instrument? Oh yeah.
I didn't even notice Tim until Vegas week, when his "Something" performance (with Top 24 member, Julie Zorrilla) really really stood out.
I'm worried he might be kind of boring, but for right now, I'm hoping we see a lot more from Tim.
Thia Megia
The only girl I'm putting up here and I'm kind of reallllly nervous for her. I liked Thia from the beginning because of her awesome name. Not to mention she seemed kind of quirky. However, her Vegas week performance and her final solo were really underwhelming. I'm hoping she can pull out all the stops for the semis because I want her to do well.
Some other contestants of note: Lauren Alaina is the girl they've pimped out the most and therefore is really hard to stand. Not to mention her penchant for rubbing up all over Steven and wearing the most ridiculous outfits I've ever seen. I think she's probably a shoo-in for the Top 12 though. Rachel Zevita also has a penchant for ridiculous clothing items, but I point her out because she has the "story" of trying out multiple times and never making it. And she does interesting things with her voice that I'm not sure if I like a lot or not at all.
I actively dislike Clint Jun Gamboa, James Durbin, and Jordan Dorsey (if they wanted a male R&B singer, why not Aaron Sanders! He was so good ;__;). Brett Loewenstern is a cutie, but I was sad to see Colton Dixon and Jacee Badeaux (Fat Bieber!) go. Casey Abrams, aka Upright Bass! is going to be so much fun going on. Scotty McCreerymakes me laugh. I think I like him, but it's mostly for the lulz.
In which Justin Bieber wishes you a Happy Valentine's Day.
Ah, the Grammys. Out of all the awards shows out there, you can always count on the Grammys to provide the most spectacle in terms of performances, outfits, upsets, and general WTF(!) moments. In true Ashitaka's Angels fashion, we liveblogged the event, and will be sharing tidbits of our reactions below. But wait, there's more!! In a new twist, throughout the post, we'll also be doling out our own special awards! That's right, folks, you're getting the Ashitaka's Angels Blog, now with 20% more blog!!!
Now, let's get to it, shall we?
Up first: The Ashitaka Award for Best DIVA:
L-R: Yolanda Adams, Martina McBride, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch
a.k.a. Gospel Diva, Country Diva, Diva Diva, Soul Diva, Indie Rock Diva
To send the Aretha Franklin its own brand of get-well card, the Grammys opened up with a tribute to some of her best hits. What better way to tell the Queen of Soul you wish her well than to assemble 5 divas and have them try to out-wail and out-melisma each other. We at the blog were temporarily confused by their battling, but then, ultimately entertained.
L: What is happening?
8:05 PM
Z: A diva explosion is happening
Z: It's their tribute to Aretha Franklin since she's sick. Christina is bogarting the stage as usual.
L: AT LEAST SHE REMEMBERED THE WORDS. OH SNAP
Z: LOL
L: I forgot to turn off capslock
Z: lol let's try to keep the yelling to a minimum
Z: ...at least until lady gaga pops out of her egg
Z: I feel like there should be a line of diva action figures after this
L: JHUD looks good
Z: It's that weight watchers
L: WHY DOES XTINA GET A SPECIAL MIKE STAND?!
Z: She has the highest midichlorian count
Z: sorry, that was my lame attempt at a star wars reference
L: well i'm loling
L: LMAO AT THEM TRYING TO OUT DIVA EACH OTHER
Z: that's the best part!
Z: I'm surprised christina didn't try to cut a bitch
L: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
And the 1st Ever Ashitaka Award for BEST DIVA goes to...
No one. Let's be honest, to say any one of them out-diva'd the others is to invite their collective wrath.
Wait! I mean...it's Christina!..Please, don't hurt me, Christina Aguilera. I fear you the most.
Next up, perhaps one of the most hotly-contested categories of the night: WEIRDEST COSTUME. This was a tough one. Lady Gaga was the obvious favored contender after she showed up in HER OWN EGG.
Gaga 'incubating' on the Red Carpet.
Hatching onstage to perform 'Born this Way'.
Our surprised reaction at Gaga's performance:
L: That was actually relatively normal for her
Z: Yeah, she toned it down a little bit
Z: Is it just me or does that song sound like express yourself?
L: lol omg it's not just you. EVERYONE'S been saying that
Z: I predict it will be her BIGGEST HIT YET
L: probably. some radio stations vowed to play it once every hour since it premiered lol
Z: oh, man. that's a lot of gaga
BUT just when we thought Gaga had weirdest costume award locked up, who should show up but Cee Lo Green performing in...well....
...this.
Cee Lo and Gwyneth Paltrow a.k.a. Rainbow Chicken and White Lady that Sings
Also, Gwyneth Paltrow was there, much to our dismay.
Z: I like this song, but c'mon...Gwyneth?
L: GO AWAY, GWYNETH
Z: I'll take the puppets over her
L: This is crazier than Gaga
Z: agreed
L: WHAT IS HAPPENING
L: DO YOU SEE THE PUG PUPPET?!
Z: I didn't know Cee Lo had an NBC peacock costume
Z: I think Gaga wanted to wear it, but Cee Lo called it first
L: haha yeah
L: GO AWAY GWYNETH
Z: I don't understand!! What is she doing? I'm uncomfortable
L: TRAIN. WRECK.
L: O_o
Z: wow.
L: O_O
L: X_X
L: ..............
Z: wha happened.
L: WAT
After seeing both Lady Gaga and Cee Lo Green, we at the blog were left to wrestle with that age-old question: Which was weirder first? The rainbow chicken or the egg? Cee Lo or Lady Gaga?
After much deliberation, the ASHITAKA AWARD FOR WEIRDEST COSTUME goes to...
WE HAVE NO IDEA. We throw up our hands and simply shake our heads.
Not surprisingly, these two were also head-to-head for our award for MOST CRACKED-OUT PERFORMANCE. The Winner? By a muppet hair, Cee Lo Green.
WE. CAN'T. EVEN.
Lady Gaga's egg-hatching was decidedly subdued compared to Cee Lo's muppet band. Also, Gwyneth was there. So, that alone made his performance just a skosh more crack-filled than Gaga's.
L: She sounded better than him, but was completely unnecessary
Z: Yeah. I wonder where else she's going to pop up. I predict she will win the grammy for best new artist at the end of the night
9:55 PM
...without even having recorded an album
L :|||||
Z: Correction: her 'album' will be "That one country music movie and that one episode on glee'
Onto the next category! The Ashitaka Award for BEST WINNING SWEEP!
This, of course, goes to none other than Lady Antebellum, who won a whopping 5 Grammys last night, including 'Record of the Year' and 'Song of the Year' for "Need You Now," the affinity for which one of us had in spades.
"It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone, and I need you noooowww!"
L: DON'T JUDGE BUT I FUCKING LOVE 'NEED YOU NOW
Z: I'm not judging! I like that song, too.
L: I'M DOING MY LADY ANTEBELLUM ROCK HANDS RIGHT NOW
L: Their harmonies are delightful. Did you know the lead singer of Lady A tried out for American Idol twice and got rejected?
Z: Well, i bet she's laughing all the way to the bank now.
L: mmm hmmmmm
Some musical heavy-hitters were also in the building last night, classing up the joint, and subsequently are the recipients of The Ashitaka Lifetime of Awesomeness Award. The first recipient is none other than Barbra HBIC Streisand, who sang "Evergreen." She was also the only contender and winner of the 'Making Lea Michele Cry Just By Being There' award category.
No auto-tune needed.
Z: It's Barbra Effing Streisand. I bet Lea Michele is losing her mind.
10:50 PM
L: LOLOLOL
L: omg Lea Michele is freaking out.
The 2nd recipient of the Ashitaka Lifetime of Awesomeness Award goes to folk legend, Bob Dylan, who headed up a small folk fleet singing "Maggie's Farm."
The voice? A bit weathered. The man? Still a legend.
L: omg his voice sounds so terrible
Z: It kinda does. It's so gravelly! I really wanna pour some honey down Bob Dylan's throat.
L: My brother saw Dylan in concert and said he basically just talked all his songs
Z: Yeah, his vocal cords sound like they're ripped to shreds
9:35 PM
L: Whatever whatever, i still love him
Z: It cannot be denied...the man still has legendary status
Z: Fave Bob Dylan song?
L: DON'T THINK TWICE, IT'S ALRIGHT. Yes, that deserved caps.
In the Category of 'Most Disorienting Performance in a Good Way,' the Ashitaka Award goes to...'Album of the Year' winners, ARCADE FIRE!
It's hard to tell from the picture, but the intensity of the strobe lights in their performance was an amount equal to that used by most Japanese children's cartoons. Basically, it was seizure-inducing times ten. But the music was phenomenal! And their big win for "The Suburbs" was extremely well-deserved.
"Sometimes, I can't believe it. I'm moving past the feeling!" Great song.
L: I'M DEAD AND I LOVE THEM. my head kind of hurts now though
Z: THEY MUST PLAY ON TOP OF A GLACIER
It wouldn't be a real Grammy night without some celeb sounding off in grand fashion. This brings us to our final Ashitaka Award of the night, the often sought, highly-coveted title of 'MOST QUOTABLE'. This year's recipient is...
We didn't see him in the seats during the festivities, but Kanye, being Kanye, still made his presence known. Many times, he would tweet exactly what we were thinking. It was 20% eerie, 80% hilarious.
Take for example, during Justin Bieber's performance, in which he had backup dancers dressed as ninjas.
L: OMG OMG : @kanyewest Kanye West NINJAS... YESSSSS!!!!!!! 1 minute ago Z: LMAO L: I just RT'd Kanye. I had to. Z: Understandable
Another example: when John Mayer turned up onstage channeling Johnny Depp in 'The Tourist'.
Johnny Depp's doppelganger, Ravi Shankar's daughter, and Nicole Kidman's husband, a.k.a. Mayer, Norah Jones, and Keith Urban sang Dolly Parton's "Jolene."
L: @Kanye West: I didn't know Johnny Depp played guitar
54 seconds ago
Z: LOL L: ALSDFJG;LASJGL;ASDJF
Z: Kanye, we're all sharing the same brain!
Final example: after Arcade Fire won for 'Best Album of the Year,' we rejoiced. As did Kanye.
L: OMGOMGOMGOMGOGMOGMOGMOGM
L: I DIDN'T.....I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD HAPPEN
L: WAT. IS. LIFE.
Z: THERE IS HOPE!!!! Also, Kanye is an arcade fire fan?
L: I want Kanye to sample Arcade Fire. That would be dope
Z: That's not a bad idea
L: Itt doesn't have to be a collab. You know he's totally thinking about it
Z: I wouldn't be surprised if he already has
L: yep
Z: lol Kanye just tweeted #ARCADEFIRE!! He can hear our thoughts
L: LMAO KANYE, I'M DYING
L: I almost RT'd everything he tweeted tonight, but i refrained
L: and you know he was just watching tonight in his giant palace somewhere. Wearing his designer pajamas.
L: thinking of crazy things to tweet
L: while sipping orange juice from a 24 karat gold goblet
Z: surrounded by 24 ballerinas, in a room draped in a giant white tapestry
L: Still looking for his antique fishtank
11:55 PM
Z: and a geisha that he misplaced
Speaking of Kanye West's tweets, in case you haven't seen this, or if you have and you want to experience it once more:
You're welcome.
And so ends the 1st Ever Ashitaka's Angels Awards/Award Show Recap!!! Hope you enjoyed it. Grammys, we'll see you next year.
Love. So much love. This might be one of my favorite episodes of the whole series. I always enjoy the show's "fantasy" type episodes, which are often very over-the-top and meta (like the paintball episode or the claymation episode), so I was very excited for this one. And I was not disappointed!
Being a huge Lord of the Rings geek, the almost identical musical cues to Howard Shore's score as well as the running voice over filled me with such glee. I've only played something similar to D&D once, so I don't have much experience with the rules, however the episode was enjoyable to follow for the sheer absurdity of it, while still keeping in character.
I do find Britta annoying on occasion, but her outrage at the treatment of the goblins was perfect and one of my favorite parts of the episode, along with her distress over the death of the goblin waiter, Kyle (with an awesome performance from Abed, the dungeon master).
Annie pantomiming her character, Hector the Well-Endowed's, sex scene was outrageous and amazing on so many levels.
And then there was Chang...playing an elf...in black face. I said previously that Chang should be in every scene ever, but I kind of like what the show is doing with him, in that he normally comes in, acts completely and utterly ridiculous and hilarious for a little while, and then leaves. Makes you appreciate his genius all the more.
The one thing I had a problem with this episode was Pierce, mostly because it's really hard to like Pierce. Chevy Chase is fantastic and the character can be hilarious at times, but he's still a really horrible person, and this episode emphasized that. It's kind of hard to root for him as part of the group. There's part of me that kind of admires the show for just going with it and showing that Pierce isn't really an admirable human being at all, but there's another part that constantly wants to slap him.
Above all though, this episode had really great group dynamics and a Jeff who was sympathetic and trying to right a wrong by helping out Neil. I liked Jeff's characterization in this and I loved how everyone came together to help someone else. This episode really had it all and has further cemented this show as one of my personal favorites.
