White Girls Can't Sing

I only watch 3 tv shows: Lost, Prison Break and American Idol. My evenings are often filled with fatherly duties and unexpected happenings, so thanks to my trusty ReplayTV and iPod, I can watch peacefully while I carpool, or at my desk during lunch.

This week I watched in horror as the guys sang. Out of the 12, only 3 guys were fairly good: Blake (beatbox), Phil (bald), and Chris (curly-fro). The others were unexciting, and some were downright painful to watch. Thanks to the ipod, I was able to skip through the performance and go straight to the judges.

The girls on the other hand, were quite good. The first singer Stephanie looked like a crossbreed between Fantasia and LaToya London. They're all pop and R&B singers, no country singers--man, I miss Kellie Pickler. There were at least 4 great performances, but unfortunately, only the minorities sang well. The white girls were terrible, really awful (except maybe Gina, who's not likable, and should not make the top 12, IMO). Fortunately for us, they'll be kicking off 2 at a time these next 3 weeks, so the pain is only temporary.

Last night Paul Kim (from San Jose) was the first to be eliminated. I don't think America is ready for an Asian idol anytime soon, let alone a barefoot Asian pool boy. Too bad, even though he butchered Careless Whispers, I thought he had a good voice. Fact is, his perceived fan base is nonexistent (Asian guys don't vote, and Asian girls only like white guys). The other unlucky ones were Rudy, Nicole and Amy--all forgettable. If you ever want to check on the voting status, check out this link for predictions: DialIdol.com. The software calls all the voting numbers and track the busy signals. It claims to be 87% accurate during the season, and 100% accurate picking the winner.

The season is still early, but so far I see no clear front runners. I think LaKisha is good, but we all remember what happened to Mandisa last year after Country Week. IMO, no one has the "whole package" of voice, charisma, and looks. In year's past we knew at Week #1 that Carrie Underwood and Katharine McPhee would make the finals. This year, not so. But either way, it's still great entertainment. 33 million viewers can't be wrong!