Child of the 90's!!!- Part 1 TV Shows

Well my lovely followers, I am aware that I haven't been doing mch updating lately other than my Idol recaps so I thought I would change that by posting a new multi-post segment called "Child of the 90's". Now I was born in 1984, which means I spent the majority of my childhood in the 90's. Let me just say I think it had to have been the best decade to grow up in! We had great FAMILY friendly tv shows, movies, music and we spent a majority of our free time playing OUTSIDE with friends. It was the decade that the internet became popular, but not as time consuming as now. People also had cell phones, but for the most part they were all over the age of 18. You didn't see 8-11 year olds walking around with their OWN cell phone. Nope, back in my day we had to use the old landline to get in touch with friends or actually use our two feet to walk or ride to their house. I actually sometimes miss being a kid. Life was so much easier when you only had to worry about going to school and doing homework. No worries about bills, no $4 gas prices, no terrorism worries. Life was so much simpler back then!

The first part will be dedicated to the great family tv shows that came out of the 90's (or late 80's that were still popular in the 90's). Now I'm sure you all know that I am a reality show junkie! I love me some American Idol, Deadliest Catch, The Bachelor, Biggest Loser, The Voice, etc, but I think I can count on one hand how many scripted family shows there actually are these days (that aren't on the Disney channel or Nickelodeon). So without further ado, here are my favorite (family centric) shows from the 90's (in no particular order):

1. Home Improvement

Home Improvement followed the lives of TimTaylor, his wife Jill, their three kids Brad, Randy, and Mark, co-worker Al, and neighbor Wilson. I was seriously addicted to this show as a child. I absolutely LOVED Jonathan Taylor Thomas, or JTT as all of the posters on my wall said. This show came on in 1991 when I was 7 and ended after a successful 8 seasons in 1999. This was a great family show. I remember watching this every Tuesday night, never missing an episode. Of course there was adult humor in it, but I never understood it. Now watching the DVD collection that I am almost through buying, I get to re-watch them and actually understand the jokes that were being made by Tim and Jill. Funny for adults, yet safe enough to watch with the kids. Definetly a classic!!

2. TGIF on ABC

Okay well this was the best thing ever back in my day. Two hours dedicated to family comedies. Friday night used to be the best night of TV for me. Now TV shows are basically doomed if they move to Friday nights. Here are a few of my favorites that made the TGIF lineup:

A. Boy Meets World

Probably my favorite show ever from TGIF. I used to LOVE Rider Strong on this show. I actually recently started watching this again on the ABC Family channel in the mornings. I remembered how much I loved it, that I even started buying the DVDS. Great show that was just the right amount of cheese, without going overboard at all. Oh and I loved when Matthew Lawrence joined the cast for the last few seasons. He was just too good looking!! Ran for seven seasons from 1993-2000.

B. Step By Step

The 90's answer to The Brady Bunch. Like the Brady Bunch, featured two people marrying that each had three kids of their own. Of course this one was a little more realistic because the kids didn't instantly get along with their new siblings or even their new step parents. Ran from 1991-1998 (last season was on CBS).

C. Full House

Well even though this show didn't stay in the TGIF lineup for it's entire run, it was there for its first four seasons before moving to Tuesday nights. Full House was the story of a recently widowed father with three young daughters who had his brother in law and best friend move in with him. Of course this show was one of the cheesiest of the 90's, but it is still a classic and was one of my faves as a child. Also seems to have made a good career for the Olsen Twins and featured hottie John Stamos as Uncle Jesse. Unlike some other shows, Full House never aged the kids or made one of them suddenly disappear. The core cast members were played by the same actors for the entire series. Full House ran for eight seasons from 1987-1995.

D. Family Matters

Family Matters was a spin-off of another TGIF show "Perfect Strangers". It centered around the Winslow family and of course their nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel. The Winslow family featured father Carl who was a cop, mother Harriet, children Eddie, Laura, and Judy (who vanished from the family with no mention whatsoever), Harriet's sister Rachel and her son Ritchie and Carl's mom "Mother Winslow". Fun fact: Family Matters is the second longest running show featuring a predominatly African-American cast (The Jefferson's is #1). The show lasted 9 seasons from 1989-1998 (the last season was on CBS, along with Step by Step).

3. Roseanne

Roseanne certainly wasn't as wholesome as some of the other shows, but still focused around a blue collar family that loved each other. The show followed Dan and Roseane Conner along with their three children Becky, Darlene, and DJ and Roseanne's sister Jackie. Becky's husband Mark and Darlene's boyfriend/husband David (also Mark's brother) also were regular cast members for a majority of the show's run even though they were never featured in the opening credits. In the final season of Roseanne, the family wins the lottery and the show kinda took a bad turn. The last few episodes returned to the family dynamic that everyone loved though. In the final season it was revealed that the entire show was actually a book being written by the character of Roseanne. During the last few lines of the show, we learn that in the supposed real life of Roseanne Conner, Dan actually died from his heat attack and Becky was married to David while Darlene was married to Mark. If that confused you, thats how I remember feeling while watching it :). Roseanne aired for 9 seasons from 1988-1997.

Now of course I am aware that other great shows came out of the 90's. Friends, ER, Seinfeld (not a personal fave, but still incredibly popular), 90210, etc., but I mainly wanted to focus on family comedies since they don't seem to exist anymore.

Check out this fun little original song. Nice little trip down memory lane too!!

What were some of your favorite shows from the 90's?

Next post: 90's Toys!!

Idol Live with Nicole!! Top 6- Results!!

So this week I AM sticking with my prediction from last night and calling Haley, Casey, and Jacob bottom 3, with Jacob being eliminated. Bruno Mars and Crystal Bowersox will also be performing tonight.

No mystery typer for the intro tonight, just Ryan Seacrest talking. Contestants are in a different order tonight than last night: James, Scotty, Haley, Lauren, Jacob, and Casey. Its like they are standing in the power list order of the day or something because I totally believe James is the one to beat now with Scotty being second. Casey and Jacob are for sure the bottom two too. Ryan tells us that "a lot of fans are going to be disappointed with tonight's result". Okay well I was disappointed last week so I better not be one of those fans this week too! It better be Jacob!! Or Casey. I'm really hoping there aren't any more duets tonight after last night. I can't handle having to see or hear James and Jacob duet again. Really filling time this week by letting is know that Steven is on the cover of Rolling Stone and featured in People. He lets us know that he may be a good boy, but when he's bad he's even better. Great...that actually was clever. Oh good as if I hadn't heard enough about the Royal Wedding EVERYWHERE else, we now get a tribute to all things British. Various British actors and figures are shown. Jacob once again sends out a sign that he isn't into women by letting us know the decorations are purple. Call me crazy or mean, but I am NOT reading too much into all of these subtle little hints he is giving out! Well the only thing relevant to Idol and Brit Week would be Simon Cowell...the only judge that knew how to say something mean, but true! No Simon cameos though. Oh good now we get a group performance of a medley of Carole King songs. Included in this medley are a whole lotta songs I don't know at all. Oh I recognize one..."One Fine Day". Well at least they are really singing and not lip syncing. Wow another song I know, "It's Too Late". James did pretty good with that one. I am sticking with my guess and predicting him to be the winner, or at least top 2.

Ford music video this week is "Our House". Cute video once again, although I miss seeing cutie Stefano in it :(. Performance of "Riding With the Radio" from Crystal Bowersox. Good performance and not a bad song. True to the style of Crystal from last season. Okay so far we have had performances from Crystal, Lee, David C., Adam, Fantasia, Kelly, etc. Where is my Kris Allen performance?!!? He can sing anything he chooses, I just want to see his cute self (I like his voice a lot too :))!!

More filler!! Questions from ATT users now. Casey says he would do a duet with Oscar Peterson (famous jazz musician) if he could do one with anyone. Jacob says he discovered his vocal range when he was 6 or 7. Lauren says the hardest thing about being a finalist is missing people from back home. She sends out her sympathy to all those in the south dealing with all the tornadoes, as does Ryan after she does. Scotty says he used to work at a grocery store and tanning salon before Idol. James says he has played with a few bands before Idol. Haley says her all time favorite past Idol contestant is Adam Lambert, Siobhan Magnus, Kelly Clarkson, Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox. Ryan then dogs on Taylor by saying "what no Taylor Hicks". Nice Ryan...although I do agree. Goodness time for results finally!! Haley is called up first and we get a video recap from last nights performance. We could totally make this show half an hour now. Jimmy says Haley's problem as an artist is that she doesn't know who she is yet. Haley then must've said something vulgar because she gets bleeped. Haley is SAFE!!! Wow that means we have a new member to the bottom 3 club!! Unless they only do a bottom 2. Scotty is next. Jimmy says Scotty is a phenom. Scotty is.... Ryan makes him wait to hear the results. Lauren's turn now. Jimmy says Lauren only hears the negative in her critiques. She agrees with Jimmy. Ryan also makes Lauren sit back down before hearing if she is safe or not. Casey is next. Jimmy says he is a great musician but he was disappointed last night with the growl. Says Casey needs to realize that the family dog does not vote on this show. BEST CRITIQUE EVER THIS SEASON!!! I guess the are having Jimmy voice his comments so the contestants can actually get constructive criticism for once this season. He predicts Casey is safe. Once again we don't get to hear his result. Haley is the only one safe so far that we know of. Ryan tells us we may be surprised who is safe and who is not. Well obviously either James, Lauren, or Scotty are bottom 3 this week since Haley is safe. With the recaps, we really didn't need to watch last night.

James is on stage after the break. Jimmy says when he sings heavy metal he isn't always believeable, but when he sings songs with a rock feel he is. Says there's no doubt in his mind he can win this. James is SAFE!!!! YAY :) Jacob's turn now. Jimmy says that the Dancing with the Stars stage is right next to the Idol stage and when he says Jacob's outfit last night, he thought he went into the wrong dressing room. LOVE JIMMY!! Says you need the whole package for this show. Says he thinks Jacob could possibly go home tonight. He then adds that we need to stop comparing the contestants to themselves each week and start comparing them to each other, there is only one winner. JIMMY NEEDS TO BE THE ONLY JUDGE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON!!!! Ryan has Casey, Lauren, and Scotty join Jacob back in center stage. LAUREN IS SAFE!!! So this makes it seem as if Jacob, Casey, and Scotty are the bottom 3. HOWEVER, he never mentioned those words at all. Clever Ryan! Let me just say that my BFF Becca called me earlier today and predicted that they were going to make it seem as if Scotty was bottom 3. Kudos Becca!!!

Bruno Mars is next performing his hit "The Lazy Song". Love the musicians!! They are just chilling on some random, raggedy couch on stage...with a dog!! A real dog at that :). I love me some Bruno Mars!!! That man can do no wrong when it comes to music! Well of course I loved that performance!

Results time!! Ryan reminds us that the results are in RANDOM ORDER TONIGHT. Therefore, Casey, Scotty, and Jacob aren't necessarily the actual bottom 3. JACOB IS SAFE!!!! BOOO!!!! Scotty is SAFE!!! Casey is ELIMINATED!!! He didn't look too shocked by this at all. I wouldn't either if I were standing up there with Scotty. Well the judge's save lasted an extra 5 weeks so that's not too shabby. Still think they wasted it though when they could've used it for Pia!! After watching is goodbye video, I do have to say Casey is a pretty great MUSICIAN with all the different instruments he plays. Looks pretty happy during his video. Way to take it like a man, just like Stefano did last week. Next week when Jacob is eliminated I bet he won't take it as well. Casey sings "i Put a Spell on You" for his sing out song. As he is singing he kisses a bunch of random girls in the audience. There is way too much growling in this performance. It was pretty entertaining though:)

So no real surprises tonight. I guarantee Scotty wasn't actually a member of the bottom 3 and I really, truly hope that Jacob leaves next week. I have had about 3 or 4 weeks more of him than I cared to.

Leave me some love!!!

Idol Live with Nicole!! Top 6!!

So I'm gonna be honest with you. With Pia and now Stefano being gone, and the fact that tonight's theme is "Songs of Carole King", I wasn't going to do this blog. However, being that my Idol blogs are the most read entries of my blog, I decided I would...for you!!! Feel free to leave me some comments this week as thanks :). So like I said, tonight the contestants will be singing songs from Carole King. I think tonight's eppy won't be one of my favorites. Guess we will see though!!

Hmm the way order the contestants are introduced tonight is Scotty, Lauren, James, Jacob, Haley, and Casey. Think the producers think that's how the elimination order is going to go? I can almost guarantee they have the top 3 right. Switch around Jacob and Haley and that would be my order of elimination. Ryan reminds us that there is less than a month until the finale :). We then get a little video package highlighting Carole King and her music writing/singing career. Cameo of Constantine Maroulis in the audience. Babyface is mentoring the contestants this week with Jimmy Iovine. I do have to admit that I like Babyface's music, although I don't think I've heard anything from him recently.

Jacob Lusk- "Oh no, Not My Baby" by Carole King. YAY Jacob is singing first....that generally isn't a good thing on this show, especially when you have made bottom 3 visits previously. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last week I have to see him on this show until the finale. Rehearsal didn't seem to go too well at all. Jimmy tells us he is an incredible singer...I disagree. Starts off kinda high for my liking. Sounds a little shrieky. Continues to stay too high pitched. Has a long glory note in the middle, but that also sounds too high. He starts taking us to church at the end. Yea that was my least favorite performance of his I do believe. Steven says that was beautiful. He liked that character with the dancing and the voice, says that's what they're looking for. Jennifer says there were little spaces where it wasn't perfect, but he killed it. Randy says it was a little sharp in a couple of spots. He called the scatting incredible. Says hopefully America will give him some votes and he can stick around. I disagree all around. Pretty sure I can't give an un-biased opinion of him anymore though...I'm calling him BOTTOM 3!!

Lauren Alaina- "Where You Lead" by Carole King. During rehearsal she says she is nervous about hitting the high notes that the judges want her to. Halfway through her rehearsal, Jimmy surprises her with a visit from Miley Cyrus. Which is amusing since two weeks ago he was telling Lauren how she is a much better singer than Miley. MIley tells her she will have some mean comments (clearly not from these judges, they don't give anyone mean comments), but to just ignore it. She is doing pretty good. I can't say I ever remember hearing this song, but she is putting her country twist on it and it sounds like something that could be played on country stations today. She pulls some random guy up on stage and sings to him. At least he is age appropriate. She then sings the entire ending of the song sitting next to him on stage. Jennifer says she is so proud of her for pushing herself. Jennifer liked that she heard her voice crack. Randy says she came out with a little extra swagger. He doesn't know if he loved the song, but he loved that she came out with a vengeance. Steven says she shined when her voice broke. Ryan pulls the guy she was singing to back on stage and asks how old he is. Turns out he is 19, but at least hes not 39. She will be SAFE.

Tonight's eppy also features duets from the contestants. Looks like Haley and Casey are paired up and I'm going to assume Scotty and Lauren are, which means James and Jacob will be also. Their voices don't exactly mesh.

Haley and Casey- "I Feel The Earth Move". Casey says he likes growling with her. This is actually a decent duet. I think I prefer her more than him, but neither are bad. Their voices match up pretty well. Towards the end he sounds like he is shouting though. He always makes scary faces when he sings too. Looks kinda stalkerish. Steven asks how much in love with Haley Casey is. Says it showed. Says there wasn't anything about it he didn't like.

Scotty McCreery- "You Got a Friend". Ryan says Scotty stepped out of his comfort zone this week, but I don't know if I agree. Yes, he chose a song that wasn't made famous by a country artist, but he sounds pretty much the same on it as he does with everything else he sings. That being said, he is doing pretty good with it, like always. Ending was my favorite part, where he added his little twist to it. Gotta say that's my favorite of the night so far. Its also the only song I have known (as a solo performance) so that might sway my opinion a little. Randy says the beginning was flawless, says not to fall off the high notes so rough though. He loved it though. Screams "Scotty is in it to win it"...obviously. Steven says he found his "just right song". Jennifer says he is getting much better with the high register of his voice. Says he told the story beautifully. He will be SAFE!!

James Durbin- "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". James seems to get the Coke sit downs a lot. He compliments Scotty by saying he was amazing. 100 times better than dress rehearsal. Says he got requests on AmericanIdol.com to do this song. James says no marching band or flaming piano this week, he's just going to be himself. Jimmy says Carole King and James Durbin were made to come together. Okay Jimmy, we will see! Unlike Scotty, James does something a little different every week which makes him a pretty well rounded performer. It could also give him the edge to actually win the whole competition. Playing guitar this week. He sings the first few bars of the song acapella and its pretty amazing. He's great for the whole song actually. Even his little shrieky/ screaming high parts seem pretty in place for the song. KUDOS JAMES!! I'm sure America will still love you tomorrow. Steven says he really liked the beginning...me too! Says he didn't like the rock part at first, but then he grew to like it. Says that was the first song he ever made out with a girl to. It's kinda strange that he specified that it was a girl. Jennifer said it was magical from the beginning. Says he will be the star of the night with that. I agree. Also says he has had a strong week every single week...also true Jennifer. Randy says he proved he wasn't a great ROCK singer, but a great SINGER. Ends by saying "THIS GUY JUST MIGHT WIN THE WHOLE THING". I find myself agreeing with Randy again. He then says the word "crazy" at least 20 times. Lots of praise for James from Ryan also. He will be SAFE!!

Scotty and Lauren- "Up On the Roof". Ryan says this is their third duet and asks what is going on with them. Scotty says they are like brother and sister. These two just are too funny together during their video package.  Of course these two sound good together. Never heard this song, but they are doing well with it. I'm loving the little city skyline silhouette background they get too. Jennifer said it was beautiful.

After the break, some little blond girl is sitting on Steven's lap. Somehow Ryan makes no mention of this either...

Casey Abrams-"Hi-De-Ho". Okay when I heard the title of this song I immediately thought of Wilson from Home Improvement! The beginning is pretty good vocally. Not liking the creepy faces he starts making once he gets past the opening part though. I'm liking it less and less the further it goes. He also has about 20 or so other people on stage with him too playing all kind of instruments and backup singing. I do like the growling in this song, but the faces freak me out. Okay so it turns out it was only about 10 or so people on stage with him. Randy says he loves that he always keeps the show different. Says it took him back to New Orleans. Yes, that sounds like a good comparison actually. Steven says he found his niche. Says he made his scalp itch it was so good. Jennifer said he was in his element, but wants to see him loosen up a little more with his body. Says to loosen up his legs a little bit. Pretty sure Randy was also saying "less growl" during Jennifer's comments. I'm calling him

BOTTOM 3, especially since James, Scotty, and Lauren SHOULD all be safe. 

After commercial, Ryan talks to someone in the audience that I'm pretty sure is Roseanne. If not, she could be her impostor.

Haley Reinhart- "Beautiful". Well I thought Haley got the pimp spot, but since Jacob and James still have to duet, I guess the pimp spot goes to them. Technical issues before Haley performs. Seem to have been fixed though. She sounds pretty good, so I'm guessing they did fix the technical glitches. I've got to give Haley some major props. The last four weeks or so she has actually been one of my faves, which is pretty great considering she was one of my least faves when the show started 2 months ago. Nice job Haley!! Who would've thunk that she would be one of the two remaining girls. Not me!! Steven says she is as beautiful as that song is. Apparently he heard God in her voice. Well I don't know if I would go that far. Jennifer called it beautiful and says she has one of the best voices in the competition. Randy didn't like the beginning, but he liked the end. Said the beginning was a little boring. Hmmm she was pretty good, but I can't see Scotty, Lauren or James being in the Bottom 3....I'm torn. 

James and Jacob-" I'm Into Something Good". Apparently they weren't too thrilled to find out they were going to have to duet together. Imagine that. Color me amazed, they are actually doing better than I thought. Jacob's dance moves crack me up though. Kinda reminds me of Carlton's from Fresh Prince. They serenade Jennifer. Jacob goes way too high. At the end they try to out-shriek each other. Obviously I prefer James, but that could be my biased mind again. Steven says that wasn't award winning. They say they were going to church with it! 

Faves of the night: James and Scotty

Bottom 3 prediction: Haley (by default), Jacob, Casey

So a couple weeks ago I was sure that it would be a Scotty/ Lauren finale. However, after tonight, I think James could win the whole thing. He will be in the finals with either Scotty or Lauren though. 

Bruno Mars and Crystal Bowersox on tomorrow's results show!!  

Idol Live with Nicole!! Top 7- Results!!

Okay I am going to start this post by making a change to my bottom 3 prediction from last night. I am going to say Casey, Jacob, and Stefano will be bottom 3, with Stefano being eliminated. Loved Stefano last night though, but I think his 9 lives are about up in this competition. Would be thrilled to see Jacob go though! Can't say I'd miss Casey too much either...

During the intro recap, the mystery typer doesn't mention anything about a surprise elimination so I'm still saying Stefano is going home. Just a side note, I don't think I would want to be in the part of the audience that sit behind the stage. I would rather look at the contestants faces than the judges all night. Ryan lets us know there were over 52 million votes last night. Voting count seems to be way up this season. Probably because you can vote online now. Jennifer says she hopes its not a girl going home tonight. It won't be. Group performance of "Hey Soul Sista" by Train featuring Haley, Stefano, Jacob, and Lauren. Jacob is completely annoying me with his cheesy smile. I know that's mean, but I can't stand him too much. This isn't too bad of a performance. Pretty decent I guess. Much better than that train wreck last night of "So What". The fact that the lyric "So gangsta, I'm so thug" is in this song amuses me. I never really noticed that part until Lauren and Haley sang it, but the Train lead singer isn't exactly "thug" either. Totally can't hear Stefano singing at all, did they turn his mic off or what?!

After break, Ford Music Video. This week its "World" by Five for Fighting. Whoo hoo, another song I know!! Cute little video, but you all know how much I actually love these things (for real!). So I just realized how much I miss seeing the Ford commercials from last season with Kris Allen. I just miss seeing Kris Allen in general actually. Up next singing "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay is Scotty, James, and Casey. I hope this is better than when Matt Giraud sang it back in season 8. Doesn't seem like a Scotty song, but he sounds much better on it than Casey. They're doing decent, but it's kind of lackluster. Scotty sounds much different on this song than he normally does though so maybe next week he will step out of the box a little. Ryan asks Jacob what he thought when all the contestants called him a "diva" last night. He says he doesn't think they meant it in a bad way. He thinks they meant it with his notes vocally. Yea I'm pretty sure that's not all they meant. Scotty has a cupcake named after him back in his hometown. Casey shows a painting that a fan sent him of him and his dog in a bass. Nice. Results time!! Casey and Jacob stand first. Apparently there was a "technical glitch" during Jacob's performance last night. Guess we are sticking with that. Casey is SAFE!! Dang it I shouldn't have changed my prediction!! Jacob is BOTTOM 3!! YAY!!! He won't be out though I'm sure.

David Cook performs "The Last Goodbye", his single from his upcoming sophomore album. Aww I really liked David Cook! Still do actually. This new single has the potential to be a hit if it actually gets radio play. Okay James has something in his hands that he is showing to everyone, but I have no clue what. David's mom apparently just wanted to come to the show to meet Steven, so of course she gets a hug. Seriously, how do people find that guy attractive?!?! He looks like a woman!!

The contestants got to go to a Dodgers game this week and apparently bowling. I totally want to go bowling with them!! James and I could compete for the lowest score because after three times he still hadn't hit a single pin. Although when they showed his score later he had 100. Jacob wants to go to the spa...wonder why people think he is a diva. Totally wouldn't mind being the one massaging Stefano!! James takes over though and Stefano calls him something worthy of a bleep :). Scotty's shirt during this clip said "Trojan Men" which I am sure has something to do with his school, but it still is amusing :). Lauren, James and Stefano make their way to the center. Hmmm I wonder who is in the bottom out of those three??? Ryan asks Randy if Stefano did enough to stay out of the bottom 3 tonight, Randy says he hopes so. Well that was just mean Ryan, because Stefano is BOTTOM 3!! Little punk had me excited for a second there. Lauren and James are both SAFE!!! Knock me over with a feather. Haley and Scotty are next. Hmm this is the most predictable show this season. Scotty is SAFE!!! Haley is BOTTOM 3!!! So surprised! Ryan sends Haley right to the safety of the couches though. Well that was pointless Ryan.

Katy Perry performs "E.T." after break. Well this is interesting. Lots of dancers dressed like aliens. Her outfit has a pink light show going on on it. Oh good Kanye West makes a cameo. Like Kanye's music, but not a big fan of him as a person. Good performance. I'm guessing that was pre-taped because Ryan is backstage with Stefano and Jacob after it. Jacob says this competition is everything to him and he gave America his best every time. Stefano is used to being in the bottom 3 so he says if its the end of the road, he will keep pushing to get to where he wants to be in his career.

Elimination time!!! To fill time Ryan asks what Jennifer thinks of both Stefano and Jacob. She says Jacob has given many great moments that she won't forget. Stefano has come far as their wild card pic. She hates to see either of them go. Randy says they have shown America what kind of artists they are. Steven says no one deserves to be standing there (naturally). The person going home is...STEFANO!!!! Aww I'm bummed, but not surprised :(. Awww James has his head down in his hands and looks heartbroken :(. He's got a smile on his face for the whole video, but he looks like he wants to cry. Yea he can't stand still during it at all...just like me, always has to move!! Aww still has a smile on his face. He is singing "Lately" as his sing out song. James goes out while he's finishing the end and picks him up. Love their little bromance!!! I am going to miss them together! They then hug for a good minute, before Stefano gets a hug from everyone else. I seriously love those two together!!! I seriously feel bad for James. Poor guy is getting hugs from the contestants just like Stefano. He then has to walk away from the group towards the back with his head down, I'm guessing he's crying :(

Next week "Songs of Carole King". Wow Stefano, bet you are sad you're missing that one. What happened to the whole "current themes" this season. Can't say there have been too many. Bruno Mars next week on the results show though!!! I LOVE me some Bruno Mars!!!  

So I guess I should've stuck with my prediction from last night because I was dead on. I should always trust my instincts!!! I'm sad Stefano is leaving, but not at all surprised. Still gonna miss him though!!! I'm ready for Jacob to go next week!  

Anyone with me in missing Stefano?? Or the Stefano/James bromance??? Let me know what you think!!!

Idol Live with Nicole!! Top 7!!

Tonight's theme is "Songs from the 21st Century". This will most likely be the most current music we hear this season. However, contestants seem to do not so hot with current music (i.e. Stefano with "Just The Way You Are"), so hopefully tonight's eppy isn't a train wreck and they pick some smart, great song choices!

Intro to the show features a brief recap of the contestants auditions (no singing parts tho). Let me just say that I like Ryan Seacrest, but I honestly would laugh if he ever fell down the stairs as he was being introduced (as long as he didn't get hurt of course!). Someone has a sign that says "James, you are the next Steven Tyler". Pretty sure it was meant as a compliment. Hopefully they mean musically and not look wise. Reunion of the eliminated contestants from the Top 13! Ashthon, Karen, Naima, Thia, Pia and Paul!! Aww good I need a Paul performance for some entertainment tonight!! They are performing "So What" by Pink. The 6 girls perform first and Paul comes out for the second half...with his rose suit and all. Let me just say I feel bad for Paul because I am sure he is not too comfortable singing this type of song. I'm thinking it wouldn't have been his first choice! I think he messed up the words too. Its actually a little painful to listen to. Can't say I miss Naima too much either. Pretty sure we just got a screen shot of Mark Ballas (of Dancing with the Stars fame) in the audience since rumor has it he is dating Pia now. The judges all praise the performance and Steven tells them they just made America rethink their opinion. No Steven, I have top disagree! Oh yea, I don't feel bad for Pia anymore at all. She has been signed to a record deal, performing on Dancing with the Stars soon, and now dating cutie Mark Ballas (after breaking things off with her pre-Idol bf). No more sympathy for you Pia!!!

Scotty Mcreery- "Swingin" by Leann Rimes. The pre-performance clips this week feature the contestants talking about one another. This should be great since you all know how much I am loving this group!! All the contestants are making fun of the way he talks, holds his microphone sideways, and his eyebrow moves. Weird song choice for Scotty. Seriously, he had 11 years worth of country songs to choose from and he picked this!?!? I am glad to hear something upbeat by Scotty this week though. Of course now that the contestants all pointed it out the only thing I can pay attention to is how he is holding the mic. He sounds okay, but this is probably my least favorite performance of his, strictly because of the song choice. Sounded good throughout and glad to hear something different, but not my fave at all. Steven wants him to boot scoot a little more, but he liked it. Jennifer loves his story telling quality, but like me she didn't understand his song choice. Randy says it was so safe and kind of boring. I agree with this, but keep in mind RANDY was the one saying LAST WEEK to Scotty that he liked that he kept to his roots and said if its not broke don't fix it. Quit contradicting yourself Randy!! Glad the judges are actually giving criticism this week though. I'm positive he will be safe though, probably get more votes because the judges didn't like it.

After commercial we get to see Scotty being greeted backstage by the other contestants. He tells them he knew they were going to say something. Lauren says there's 15 million little girls pointing their finger at Randy right now.

James Durbin- "Uprising" by Muse. Casey tells us James is the rocker of the group, in case we didn't already know that. They all make fun of his scraf tail. Stefano says the first time he saw it he wondered if it was a joke or if he was for real. I'm sure the rest of America is right along there with you darlin'! They then all mimic his scream and back bends. Jimmy loves his song choice this week. Well this is already interesting. To start we get some drummers from a marching band to lead him out. The drummers then drum behind the judges, which seems like it would be a distraction to them and a view blockage to the audience that they are standing directly in front of. Luckily they are only there for about 20 seconds though. James is singing pretty well on this song though. The drummers seem to be distracting me too much too I guess. Quite the interesting outfit he has on tonight. Some high pitched shrieking going on. Well that was different, but good. Oh good, after the performance the drummers play their way off stage. Jennifer says that will be the best theatrical performance of the night. Randy of course says Muse is one of his favorite bands. I'm pretty sure Randy feels the need to say he loves every artist that is performed on Idol that you wouldn't typically hear. He seems to love a lot of the non-pop singers. He wants James to follow the direction of Muse when he gets a deal. Says this will probably be the best performance of the night. He then name drops the lead singer of Muse (of course). Steven tells him to stay out of his closet. Calls it Mad Max meets Storm Troopers on Melrose. WTF is on Steven's cheek?!!? Says that he loves that he is "out of his mind beautifully so". He will be SAFE!!

Oh good, the drummers are now back with Ryan!!!! (Sarcasm)

Haley Reinhart- "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. The other contestants all mimic her growl and her arm raise while singing. Stefano says he and Haley have a love/hate relationship and I believe him because they didn't seem to share much love with each other while chilling in the bottom 3 last week. Based on rehearsal, this could be a good week for Haley. She is performing on a stool behind the judges table. Yup, I was right. The beginning is pretty darn good! Sounds like she is getting a little short of breath while singing. Chorus sounds nice with her growling. She is doing the arm raise too. Love her red and white polka dot dress!! Great choice for her! My fave of the night so far, who woulda thunk!? Randy says she chose a perfect direction for herself. Calls the chorus a little sharp, but still great performance. Steven also loved it (shocking!). Jennifer says it takes a lot of guts to perform a song that is currently at the top of the charts, but she liked it. She should be safe, although possibly bottom 3 just based on history. Not eliminated tomorrow though!

Jacob Lusk- "Dance with My Father" by Luther Vandros. Okay am I the only one that doesn't compare him to Luther?? Scotty says the universal term for Jacob is "diva". I absolutely agree! Lauren agrees with him. They then make fun of his "yaggaty yeas" aka his over the top performing. Oh goodness he is crying during his rehearsal while singing. Alright, I will cut him some slack since he lost his father. He makes it less than 10 words in before he gets emotional. Takes out his inner ear piece before he gets to the chorus. I've noticed people doing that before, they must not be able to hear right with them in. Decent vocals, but I'm not a fan of the high note at the end. Dang you Jacob, I feel bad judging you since your dad is passed away! Steven says it was beautiful. Jennifer says he needs to know how to control his emotions while performing. Says "emotionally" it was a good performance though. Randy says he agrees with them on the "emotional" part, says vocally it was "good", but it didn't make him jump up and down. Wants the old Jacob back though. Tells him not to hold back anymore (thanks Randy I'm not going to appreciate that if he is hear next week). He says he missed the words at the beginning because something was wrong with the track in his ear, not emotions. Hmm that could be true since he removed his ear piece. I'm calling him bottom 3. 

After commerical Ryan talks with Mark Ballas, but won't say what show he is from. I'm guessing since it is their biggest competition huh. Ryan then asks if there are "any favorites" this season and he says Casey is his favorite. Ryan says "that's a curve ball" once again referring to the fact that he is dating Pia.

Casey Abrams- "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5. The contestants all talk about how "weird" he is...while wearing a beard. They then make fun of his weird instrument playing and dancing. Entertaining! Vocally he sounds good, but he is still making the weird, creepy faces. Playing guitar this week. This is one of his better performances and much better than last week, but still kinda boring to me. Ending is a little off key too. At the end he gets way into Jennifer's personal space, which would totally make me uncomfortable. Oh yea and then he kisses her. Steven says he did what he has been trying to do for four months. Jennifer says Casey's not playing fair. Says she loved it...the performance! Randy says he loves that its always about surprises with Casey. He then says he was a little nervous about hearing him do Maroon 5 since the Nirvana thing was a little eh. Although I am pretty sure he liked the Nirvana thing when Casey did it... Tells him to continue to take chances. Steven says something that gets bleeped, but Casey looks totally shocked by it so I wish I knew what it was!! Apparently he loved it though. Ryan now has on the fake beard, which Casey takes off of him and apparently leaves the glue behind.

Stefano Langone- "Closer" by Ne-yo. Lauren says he tries to be a ladies man. Scotty says he is confident about himself, he's not afraid to go to the pool and take his shirt off...slowly. Jacob says he will flirt with a piece of paper if he found out it had estrogen in it. Casey says he has a very hot quality to him. Lauren says he doesn't need to try so hard, he's a cute guy. James says Stefano is a big flirt. So glad he is doing an uptempo song!! It got Pia voted off, but at least he's doing it! Well this is already better than the Bruno Mars song from the start. He takes the inner ear piece out too. Well that was pretty darn good if you ask me! He sang uptempo and did well with it and he actually moved around a lot on the stage. Nice job Stefano!! Randy thought it was going to be bad karaoke, but says he did a very good job and smoothed it out. Steven said really good. Jennifer says he really had his swag going on. She really, really liked it. I think she wishes she got a kiss from him rather than Casey...I would at least! Well he should be safe based on vocals and performance, based on history though he will probably be bottom 3.

Well an hour and twenty minutes into the show we learn that Steven has lipstick lips on his cheek from his daughter. Finally! I was seriously wondering what that was :)

Lauren Alaina- "Born to Fly" by Sara Evans. The contestants all make fun of the way she talks and how much she talks. Jimmy says he was motivation her last week by telling her she was better than Miley Cyrus. DJ Tanner sure is a great singer!! I'm putting my money on her or Scotty as the winner this season. Well this isn't my favorite of hers, but she is doing good regardless. Steven says she is so good naturally. Wants to hear her sing Faith Hill or Shania Twain next time. Jennifer says she has color in her voice. Tells her to sing the big notes next time, she can do it. Randy says she can sing anything. She CAN sing the big notes. Tells her she must believe. She will be safe!

Well it was actually a pretty good night! No train wrecks, that's for sure!

Faves of the night: Stefano, Haley

Bottom 3 prediction: Jacob, Haley and Stefano (based on history). I have a feeling my boy Stefano will be going home tomorrow :(. At least he gets to leave on a high note though!

David Cook and Katy Perry on tomorrow's show!!

Help!!!!

So I seem to be in the giving mood lately. I've mentioned in previous posts my new years resolution to give to a different charity each month and I am successful thus far. The AMAZING show "Secret Millionaire" has just added to my desire to want to give and help others out. In fact, the show inspired myself and a couple co-workers to start a project at work where we collect various items for one of the local charities each month. Now, to the part I need help with. My bestie and I have decided that we want to start some sort of charity. We just have no idea how to go about doing it. That's where you all come in! We know we want to do something to help animals. Becca (my bestie) knows a lady that runs a program to help various injured wild animals so we are going to help with that, but we also want to do something for the dogs and cats. Unfortunatley we can't shelter stray cats and dogs ourselves, but if we could do something to help the dogs and cats in need in another way, that's what the goal is. Now I have 531 followers, so if anyone can offer some suggestions I would love it!! Thanks so much!!

Idol Live with Nicole!!! Top 8- Results!!

Predictions for the bottom three: Paul, Casey, and either Haley or Jacob. Of course I could be completely wrong like last week, but we will see. I'm predicting either Casey or Paul to be the one voted off. Hopefully it won't be a shocker like last week!!

Since last night was songs from movies, the intro is a little film reel set up. No mystery typer this week :). Okay so during the little recap intro, we get to see the judges over praising Casey. I call it that because personally I hated it. Is it just me?? Did anyone else think the judges went a little too overboard with their comments to him. I think they are just trying to build him up so we don't think they regret using their save on him. Oh and his reaction was a little over the top too. C'mon Casey, Jacob is the overly dramatic on and there is not a need whatsoever for two drama kings! So I am totally loving reading people's signs. I just saw one that said "Steven is the most beautiful man in the world". Seriously?!?!?! Maybe it was supposed to say Stefano cause at least that would make a little sense. I can name at least three men just on this episode that are more beautiful than him! Ryan reports there were over 53 million votes last night. Guess people decided they actually need to vote!!

No big group performance this week, but little group ones :). These were pretty good last time so I'm glad they're back. First up singing "American Honey" by Lady Antebellum is Lauren and Scotty. Scotty's eyebrow movements really amuse me, but not in a good way. Of course these two sound great together once again. Might as well look now America, because this is who you will be seeing in the finale I'm pretty sure. They could probably form a duo and be pretty successful.

Ford music video time! This week we get a behind the scenes look. This should be entertaining. They get to dress up as zombies this week. Paul is bummed that he didn't get to be a zombie with Haley, James, Scotty, and Stefano. He has too white of teeth to be a zombie :). Well they have to be the best dressed zombies I have seen in their nice 3 piece suits. Jacob screams like a girl!! Music video is "Animal" this week. OMG another song I actually know! Fun music video!! Results time! Haley and Casey duet next with "Moaning". I've never once heard this song, but they are sounding decent on it so I'll call it good. Not exactly my type of song though. I prefer Scotty and Lauren's performance. Judges seem to have loved it though because they give them a standing ovation. Wow we even get judges comments. Results time!! Lauren, Scotty, Haley, and Casey are of course first to hear their fate. Scotty is SAFE!! Lauren is SAFE!!! Haley is BOTTOM 3!! Casey is SAFE!!! I am actually pretty surprised by Casey being safe.

Random filler with Rob Reiner meeting the contestants. Ohhh I guess because he is a movie director and it was movie week. Okay then?? The contestants seem pretty intrigued by him though. Rob tells Casey he could be Seth Rogen's younger bass playing brother. Well it was filler, but it was fun :). Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean sing "Don't You Wanna Stay" next. Lauren and Scotty are front and center standing for their performance. No surprise there. Nice performance, fun chat with Ryan at the end.

Paul, Stefano, Jacob, and James perform "The Sound of Silence" and "Mrs. Robinson" after commercial. Okay I like all of these guys (for the most part) individually, but they all are so different that they don't sound too great together. Gets better after the beginning though. Very weird combo. Results time!! James is SAFE!! Stefano is BOTTOM 3!! Paul is BOTTOM 3!! Jacob is SAFE!! Well I was 66% right on my bottom 3 prediction. I would replace Stefano with Casey, but that's just me.

Chaka Khan and Anita Baker cameo. Rihanna performs "California Kingbed". I was seriously hoping she didn't perform "S&M", but after Iggy Pop last week I wouldn't have been surprised. Glad she chose this one though. I haven't heard this song yet, but I'm liking it!

Elimination time!! Haley is SAFE!! Stefano is SAFE!! Paul is ELIMINATED!! Okay for some reason they bleeped basically everything Stefano and Paul said to each other as they were hugging. Seriously producers, I find it hard to believe that the whole thing was explicit! Let me just say I totally love the little bromance that Stefano and James have going on. So cute!! So Paul and his beautiful white teethed self are leaving tonight, but after last night's performance I'm not surprised at all. I do like Paul though because he sure was entertaining to watch. If they had had a Rod Stewart week her would've owned it! I will miss you and your uniqueness Paul, even though your singing wasn't the greatest! I've said it before and I will most likely say it again; this group seems like such a fun, extremely nice group. Jennifer requests Paul to sing "Maggie May". Of course he is doing great with it. Aww big group hug at the end. I seriously LOVE this group!!!

Well I will miss Paul with his cute self with the gorgeous teeth and his crazy dancing. Seems like such a sweetheart too! Not at all surprised to see him go though, last nights performance wasn't exactly great!