Bye, Bye... Miss American Idol

It was announced today that the next season of American Idol, the 15th season, will be it's last. It is the end of an American institution, to be sure, but I think we can all agree it is time to put this one out of its misery. First debuted on Fox in June 2002, American Idol created a sensation from the moment the first episode aired. 

American Idol once was a national obsession. Years ago, myself and several other bloggers would write re-caps and enjoy handicapping every minute of the Cinderella story played out in real time. I used to LOVE to watch Idol every week and root for my favorite talent to win. It was a family affair, as we would all gather together to enjoy the excitement of Idol. It was magic, watching everyday people become singing sensations each week. Thorough it's tenure, Idol has produced two bonafide recording stars; Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Then a string of 11 almost stars, some more forgettable than others. American Idol introduced us to Simon Cowell, the celebrity judge we all love to fear. If Simon said something, one was hardpressed to forget it and his advice helped launch the careers of many aspiring stars. 

The judges, they became like family. A cuckoo, crazy family with a stern father (Simon), a beautiful but dizzy mother (Paula), a groovy big brother (Randy), and the voice of reason. (Ryan) Then they got too famous...the judges almost became the focus more than the talent. There was fighting within producing staff...it was documented that the franchises marquee talent-Simon Cowell- wasn't happy and was looking elsewhere. Then Paula left and then Simon left and no matter who they replaced them with Idol was never the same without Simon.

Is that when Idol jumped the shark? 

Possibly, but my guess is it jumped the shark some where in between Season 4 and Season 8. Too many talented folks elimated early-conspiracy theories abound-and America's favorite show never quite rebounded. The hand writing was on the wall, yet it soldiered on, banking on America's belief in the dream. They bled that franchise for every dollar it was worth and they weren't smart enough to stop the bleeding. They hired new celebrity judges-big names with big followings-they changed the format countless times, yet Idol never delivered the goods after Season 4. They never delivered another true American Idol. 

In the end, we enjoyed it for what it was worth-but nobody like a guest who overstayed their welcome. 

Bye bye American Idol. Your time has come.

Epic Fail

Oh boy, do I have a story for you.

So I'm reading the Boston Herald yesterday and I read this:

North End restaurateur Nick Varano is heading to the small screen with a new show on New England Sports Network. The charismatic Strega owner is hosting an opening casting call tonight for a co-host/reporter from 8 to 11 p.m. at Strega Waterfront.

So why the auditions? “None of my friends are good-looking enough,” Varano quipped. Produced by Dirty Water TV productions, “The Strega Life with Nick Varano” will air once a month on NESN starting in early April. “It’s going to be like a variety type show,” Varano said.


So I let this marinate in my mind for most of the morning, I then ask some of the people I work with what they think. You know, like if I'm too old for this at this point in my life and stupid self deprecating crap like that. I gotta tell you that as much as I love being the center of attention, I really don't love being the center of attention.

I was surprised by what I heard. Everyone was all over me like white on rice.

"Oh my God, You HAVE to do this!"
"Candy, this was made for you!"
"You're so gonna get this!"

Later in the day, one of my favorite clients came into my boutique. We were chatting and working together, and she said to me, "Candy, you need to be in the movies." (OK, just so you know, I am not blowing smoke up my own a**, she really said that) I then tell her about the audition, to which I receive the same reaction. Fans, gotta love them. Funny thing is I then started thinking maybe I should do this. My background is in journalism, I've been in front of the camera countless times, yeah, I can do this.

I put my plan into action and did my due diligence. I called the company and asked about the specifics, did some research on Mr. Varano, told my husband, who got a good chuckle out of it and then lent his support and got a good friend to come with me. We arrive at the audition location and I put my name on the list. I was surprised to see of hundred women there, 90% of them had head shots and resumes. I did not, but fueled by my new found rock star status, I didn't care. I was not one bit nervous or intimidated. I actually felt so in control and quietly confident that I barely recognized myself. I was completely in my own head, which was a triumph in itself.

We sat at the restaurant bar and waited until it was my turn to dance. When my time came, I walked into a room with about 25 other women. I was at the back end of the line, about five in from the end. They announced that for this round of auditions, we were to grab the mike, stand in front of the camera, say your name, say you "Live the Strega life" and tell a little bit about yourself and then turn to the judges and do it again.

I watched as almost all of the 20 women in front of me bombed, and began to feel the adrenaline pump through my veins. Suddenly I felt like a crack addict on a bad trip, and I wondered why that girl of quiet confidence who walked through the door minutes earlier had abandoned me like a criminal scrambling from police sirens. I needed to think fast and do something to make me stand out from the rest as the ladies before me were toppling like domino's. Then it came to me! I knew exactly what I was going to say that will make them remember me and I'm going to take a risk.

My turn came and I took the microphone, said hello to the judges, (one of which was none other than Rajon Rondo), and began my shtick. I started out strong, real strong, so I thought. I announced articulately that I "lived the Strega life", and that the Strega life was all about passion, food, fun and fashion, living life to the fullest.

Then I gave it to them, the line I was sure would make them remember me and get a chuckle out of them.

I said in my best Seacrest impression, "And I am the next American Idol."

Crickets.

The rest is a blur, because at that very moment I was revealed to be the poser that I was. I wasn't at all surprised that they didn't ask me to stay and I wondered why I hadn't gone with my original plan. I didn't tell them about my blog, my kids, my shop, my life, and I realized I left them with very little other than the fact that I think I'm the next American Idol.

Epic fail.

In hindsight, I realized that I failed because I abandoned who I really am and I abandoned that quiet confidence of the girl that walked through the door. I should have repeated to them what became my mantra yesterday, before my fateful audition.

"You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket."

And I got a valuable lesson. I realized that sometimes, the only real competition is within yourself.

Showbiz Is A Fickle Bitch

Bet you though we'd be in Hollywood by now??? Nah, I couldn't blog yesterday because I went to the store early and had no Internet all. day. long. I wish we were in Hollywood by now but our experience was nothing short of disappointing at best.

There's Frick outside the BIG audition Tuesday.

So we set out Monday morning on our big adventure with no expectations. We spent the evening before the audition with our friend and her daughter, in West New York, New Jersey, working on Frick's audition song. Frick had a bad cold, from the plane home from Europe, of course, but she was not going to let that deter her. After a neti pot to clear her blocked nasal passages, she was feeling good. AND in showbiz, no one cares about your excuses. There are no excuses. You put up and you shut up.

So at 6:30 in the morning we drove over to the Izod Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. We were greeted my the masses of people waiting outside to get in for their shot at the big time.

See the line up at the top of the picture? The line went all the way around the building. The producers were outside filming spots for the show, with the crowd screaming, "I'm the next American Idol". We checked in at the Check In Tent and were ushered into the line you see here for the Disney Dream Ticket winners, then we were ushered right into the arena. No waiting. They weren't kidding when they said Dream Ticket winners didn't have to wait.

When we got inside we sat right there at the bottom of the picture, where the aluminum rails are in the front row and waited for instructions. The only people who were closer than us were handicapped, and they were right on the floor. As the stadium filled up, the producers brought out resident douche bag Constantine Morulis, Season 6 finalist. He, being from New Jersey, was the best they could muster up and he came out and pumped up the crowd and sang a little.

Horrible picture, sorry but that's him receiving a high five from the producer. This guy was lapping up this particular 15 minutes of fame. Then Ryan came out. Oh, Mr Seacrest. I swear this guy is the Wizard of Oz because I could have swore I heard him on the radio on my way over. Anyway, Ryan came out and told us that this was a "record" crowd and he then shot some spots for the show with the audience.

Again, horrid shots, but you can see that's Seacrest with the mike. He wouldn't stop moving around, so from the distance I was at it was hard to get a good shot. When Ryan was done they brought out tables and what I compare to voting curtains to separate them and began the audition process. Two producers sat at each table and there were about six tables. They called the Dream ticket winners to come down first, and as I told you, we didn't wait AT ALL. Frick was in a line with a bunch of other dream ticket winners and they told us that if they made it past the first round, they would be exiting to the "Bud Light" exit and moving on to the next round. If they didn't make it, it was the end of the road and they would be returning to their seat, with their red audition bracelet cut off.

The top pic is Frick looking a bit nervous just before she had to get into line. The second is of the line forming to audition and the third is Frick in the line. Looks like she made a friend.

You can't see tiny baby girl, but she is right behind the guy in the blue shirt. They broke up the people in the line into groups of 4 people, who would audition together. Believe it or not, Frick's group was in the first booth and they were the VERY FIRST group of the day to audition.

Again, you can't see my baby, but she's there, I swear! They happened to be right in front of me so I could hear the audition. All four of them sounded great, especially the blonde in the white shirt, but sadly none of them made it through.

That's them exiting the booth and then there's Frick, after they cut off her bracelet.

And that was it....We were out of there by 9:15am. We had to laugh, really, cuz it took us longer to get there than the whole audition process. We both agreed it would have sucked a lot worse if we had waited all day, then she been cut. We also wondered if being the first audition of the day put the group at a disadvantage?

In any case, we laughed all the way home and chalked it up to one heck of an experience.

As for you bloggers, I couldn't exactly leave empty handed without something for you guys, now could I?? I managed to catch a few of the freaks we saw just for you.

Yup, I wonder if any of them will get face time when the show comes round.

Frick was fine. She handled the whole thing in stride and I'm really proud of her. It was something to remember, if nothing else.

On The Road Again

So tomorrow is the day...Frick gets her shot at the big time.

We are traveling to New Jersey for the experience to audition for American Idol that Frick is lucky enough to take part in. Read here for all the details on how we ended up auditioning for the show.

We will be staying with the wonderful woman who transferred the ticket to Frick, as she lives not far from the audition site and the two will be working together today on her audition song. Funny how things work out and whatever happens, we connected with a great woman and her family and we couldn't be happier to be going through this together.

I won't be able to blog tomorrow, Tuesday, August 3rd, but will return on Wednesday with all the details. I'm not quite sure how this is going to go down, considering there are no judges left for Frick to see, (if she is fortunate enough to get that far) but something tells me this should be interesting. AND she still has no voice from her return trip home from Europe so who knows what will happen. But we have each other and that's just about all we need.

Keep you fingers crossed bloggers! We're taking this show on the road!!

Clean And Sober

If you grew up in the United States in the late 70's, could you ever forget this image and what it stands for?

I'll bet I don't even need to explain it, for it is most likely burned into the memory of every American living in that decade. I thought of this image yesterday when I was talking to Frick from Italy. It went a little something like this:

CANDY: Hi baby! How's Italy?

FRICK: It's hot and beautiful, but mom I was so surprised...It's dirty here.

CANDY: *whispering* (Please don't tell My Guy or we'll never go there) but what do you mean dirty?

FRICK: There's trash all over the place. Today we were on a beautiful beach, but it was covered with litter.

CANDY: Litter? Like trash? How could that be?

FRICK: It's everywhere. I just don't get it.

The image of the crying Indian immediately came to mind and I began to think about how unacceptable littering is in this country. Then I thought of the crying Indian again and I realized that in the 70's that commercial just may have changed the way Americans dispose of unwanted waste. Was it then, that we the people, decided to take care of our planet? And if so, was there ever an advertising campaign more successful?

Frack was shocked that the litter went unattended to and quite frankly, so am I. In the new Millennium I'm stunned that any place in the world turns their head when they see litter on the ground and I'm proud that the country I live in has worked for the last 40 years to give back to our planet. My child was horrified by litter.

For all the bad we do in this country, for once, maybe we got it right?

The World's Most Lovable Douchebag

What is it about this guy that we LOVE???
Why is he the next greatest American hero and who is this rocker extraordinaire?
Turns out this guy, is exactly "what the cat dragged in"......

Born in Pennsylvania, this 47 year old front man for the glam metal band Poison has lived a rock and roll lifestyle for most of his life. He and his band mates formed a band called Paris and left Pennsylvania in 1984 when they moved to LA, eventually changing the band's name to Poison. Their first album, with record label, Enigma Records, "Look What the Cat Dragged In" did not see much success until Michael's swayed band members in 1987 to film a little known marketing tool at the time, a music video. The result was a platinum album along with fame and success.

And Michael's has always been a ladies man. The most famous single, "Every Rose Has it's Thorns" was said to be penned about his break-up of his longtime girlfriend, Tracy Lewis, who felt that fame had changed him. The Type 1 diabetic then starred in the 2007 VH1 series "Rock of Love with Brett Michael's". In a Rock and Roll spin off of the TV show The Bachelor, multiple rocker groupies live in a house together and vie for the heart of Michaels. It was so successful, the show went on for 3 seasons.

To date, Michaels gained even more popularity when he took the crown from the King himself, Donald Trump, winning the reality TV marathon, The Celebrity Apprentice. That win brought Michaels into the mainstream, but it was not without it's dangers. A month before the airing of the pre-taped shows, Michaels suffered a serious brain hemorrhage with the prognosis touch and go for a while at best. He came through it, regained consciousness, and a week before the live announcement of the Apprentice he suffered a "warning stroke" and was briefly hospitalized. Against doctors orders, Michaels dragged himself, hell or high water, to the finale to accept his championship.

Dude has not stopped since. Like the Energizer Bunny, a week ago, Michaels was singing a duet with Casey James on America's biggest stage, the American Idol finale show.




And NOW??? Rumor has it Brett is being considered to replace America's most famous judge that we love to hate, Simon Cowell on American Idol. Is Michaels too nice? Is Michaels a big enough draw?

The world will have to wait. But if I were a betting girl, I wouldn't count Michaels out because this thing the cat dragged in, most certainly has nine lives.

Letting Your Freak Flag Fly

Today's post is dedicated to my blogger buddy RW of 1 Step Beyond. He dropped the term " "letting your Freak Flag fly" last week and I have adopted it as my own. Thanks dude.


If you read The Dandy regularly you know that I have some serious opinions about whatever the topic of the day may be. Sometimes I'm goofy, inappropriate, lazy, wrong, right, passionate, funny and not. But I'm never afraid to let my Freak Flag fly. Or should I say Gleek Flag.

Next Tuesday night the poster children of Freak Flagged-ness are coming back and I can't wait. The charm of the Fox TV phenomenon Glee is that it allows you to release your inner Stephen Tyler and embrace your geek. Even if you don't care for the edgy story lines, you gotta love the music. Like the top "dawg", Randy Jackson himself said just last night, "Glee is hot right now, dawg." I let my Gleek flag fly regularly because I have both Glee albums down loaded on my ipod. It's fun music to help pump up my workout!

Personally this season, I'd like to hear a lot more of Artie, the Glee clubber who uses a wheelchair. I love the tone of his voice and more of resident diva Rachel, who gives me goose bumps when she performs. Fire up the DVR's because the Glee cast is on the Oprah show today, pimping out their much anticipated return to TV next Tuesday after Idol. AND...they're going to perform the classic, "Don't stop believin", the Journey classic that put them on the map.

Being a Freak has never been so chic!

She's Got The Golden Ticket

Mom's get bragging rights, don't we?

Ok, so this was kinda cool. That's my baby girl Frick right there.


While we were visiting Disney, we went to the Disney Hollywood Studios theme park where they have what they call, "The American Idol Experience". I guess you could call it a ride, but not really, because it's more of an experience as the name suggests. Anyway, I asked Frick if she wanted to check it out, to which she immediately responded, "yes!". So we head off to the Idol Experience where we find out that not only is it a series of shows that you can go and view on the hour, but you can audition for it as well.


This was all Frick needed to hear. She was in, for sure. So we all go back to the audition area, get the whole audition instructions and a song sheet to choose from and go into the first audition, which is a room with a producer. Since Frick is not yet 16, but fast approaching, she needed to be accompanied by her guardian/stage mom into the room. He asks Frick to sing acapella, which she does. She chose "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus, which like most 15 year olds, is THE song. The producer tells her, he likes her vioce, but would like to hear a better song choice, something a little more challenging. Frick then chooses "Life is a Highway", which is her solo on that Girl Authority album I told you kids about a while back, which she can sing in her sleep, and she hits it out of the park. She makes it through the first audition.


Next audition, a different room and a different producer. Producer #1 tells Frick to stay with "Highway" and she goes in for the second audition. Again, home run, and I am struck by how unaffected my child is by the pressure of singing acapella in front of a total stranger. They tell her she is in the 3 o'clock show and Frick is totally pumped! They give her a time to come back, for get this: hair and make-up and a vocal coach before the show. It was so very cool, and I watched as my baby girl went through each step like a little fish at home in the water.


Next up showtime! There are three contestants per show, seven shows a day. Frick was in the 3 pm show. The stage, designed by American Idol crews was a mini version of Season Seven's stage with the lights, judges, the whole thing.




Baby Girl didn't disappoint and it was surreal watching her come to life before mine and the thousand person voting audience's eyes.






The girl had the crowd clapping and rocking. I couldn't have been more proud. All three contestants were great, and when it came time to announce the winner, Frick looked a little like this:
Cuz she WON!! Yup, she was then told she had to return that evening for the Grand Finale and compete against the other seven winners of the day for the Grand Prize, the American Idol Golden Ticket. The Golden Ticket is a ticket to audition in any city that American Idol is auditioning and they automatically get to cut the line and audition for real. Frick told me that no matter what happened, she had already won because it was one of the greatest things she had ever done in her life.

We returned for the Finale show that night, this time with six contestants (one of the winners had to catch a flight home) and stiffer competition. Frick was in the 4 spot and again, she nailed it. She looked like she was loving every minute of it! Here she is doing that Idol thing that they all do, holding up her number to vote. Hilarious, right??

All six singers were great! It came down to Frick and a wonderful singer/mom named Catherine Porter. We were literally on the the edge of our seats.

Catherine was crowned winner, with a wonderful, soulful and sultry, rendition of "Natural Woman" and was Frick first runner up, and we were on our feet, cheering a great performance by all. But then the most amazng thing happened. The producers came out to get me while I was waiting for Frick to come out after the show. They told me that Catherine wanted to give Frick the Golden Ticket. I asked how that could be possible? They told me that the Golden Ticket has a "one time transfer" and that Catherine wanted to transfer it to Frick.

We couldn't believe it. It was a wonderful turn of events after a wonderful day. We later learned that Catherine is an accomplished vocalist with an enormous talent and even a bigger heart. We spent some time with her and her husband and their adorable 4 year-old daughter and are so happy to have met them. I suggest you check her out at catherineporter.com.

I asked Catherine to join us this summer when Frick auditions for Idol, whenever or wherever that may be. I also told Frick to keep her perspective, not to get her hopes up and no matter what happens, the audition itself will be an amazing experience and opportunity.

Oh boy.....I'm in for a wild ride.

AI Why Can't We Be Friends?

American Idol, I guess you and I could maybe be friends again....Maybe.

Even after last year's travesty with the final results, and after I posted this and said I would never watch you again:

I guess since you came to Bean Town, maybe I should cut you some slack. Maybe.

So out of a genuine curiosity and civic pride, I turned on the TV and watched. And I maybe got hooked again. Maybe.

And of course, the first auditioner had the "wicked Boston accent" that makes me want to jump out of my skin in embarrassment. (no we don't all sound like that) And even though this is NOT a good representation of my fair city, I thought we "represented" quite well last night.

He is, quite funny, obnoxious and sassy!!!

My Girl Beckeye Is Eagle Eye

(Sorry Becks-I totally jacked this from your site)

Plagiarism is a dirty act, plain and simple. It is one of the first sacred rules you learn about in journalism school; one that you NEVER break. (See: Mike Barnicle) Heck, in high school, they threatened that engaging in plagiarism was punishable by expulsion or worse-criminal charges. Long story short-don't do it unless you credit your source. It's a bad move that can destroy literary careers and reputations and turn into a lethal career killer.

To plagiarize is defined in Merrriam Webster's online dictionary as:

to steal and pass off (the ideas and words of another) as one's own: use (another's production) without crediting the source.

to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

I tell you all this because my blogger buddy Beckeye from that FABU pop culture website, The Pop Eye, has loyally brought it to my attention that The Daily Dandy has been plagiarized....I know you're shocked!!! So was I!!! That's right people, The Dandy has become the victim of a horrendous literary crime, a plagiari-ee, so to speak.

In other words, I have arrived!!!!

WHOO HOOO!!!

I'm kidding....I take this sh*t very seriously and the fact that this person BLATANTLY passed off my words as his really pisses me off.

Becks sent me an e-mail alerting me to the fact that this clown, a "Mr. Ash gee" from the Indian website nhatky.in.com, jacked my American Idol recap post from the night Adam Lambert was in the bottom two. It's not like he stole a few gems here and there, NOOOO. He jacked the entire post!! Even my photo!! (which I jacked off google) It looks like he cut and paste the entire post, passed it off to his editors, and then went on about his day. Like it was business as usual, which I'm sure it probably is.

I never would have known........ but Mr. Ash gee, you made one too many fatal errors in judgement, dude. Beside engaging in "dirty plagiarism", you discounted the loyalty between fellow bloggers. Big mistake on your part, HUGE. My girl Becks totally had my back, and now you have been busted!!

The thing about this is that in my ORIGINAL post, I used a very conversational language, as if I were speaking directly to my Dandy readers about the previous nights episode of AI. Possibly not my best work, as I used a few "inferred profanities" to get my passionate point across. (Couldn't he have jacked some of my better, less profanity laced stuff? sheesh)

To prove my point, here is my ORIGINAL post dated April 30, 2009,

http://candysdailydandy.blogspot.com/2009/04/tragedy-and-comedy-of-last-nights.html

And here is the cheap, ripped off from The Dandy, "Mr. Ash gee"'s pathetic attempt at his own American Idol glory,

http://www.nhatky.in/american-idol-tragedy-in-last-night-12334436

Look, as writers, we all must be readers, and as such we are certainly inspired by something we read some where out there in the World Wide Web, but for God's sake, credit the source! If you lift an idea here and there, how much time does it take to add a link and cover your literary a*s???

SOOOO, as punishment, Mr. ASS GEE, or whatever your name is, I will send an e-mail to your purported employer over at nhatk.in and inform them of your blatant theft of my words and let the chips fall where they may. You only have yourself to blame.

As for us over here at the Daily Dandy, we take care of our own.

For one day only, as your American punishment, I urge my readers to please feel free to insert Slumdog and Seven Eleven jokes into today's comments.

Karma's a bitch dude.

This Is All I Have To Say Today

The Tragedy and Comedy Of Last Night's American Idol

I don't usually do this, but today I'm pissed.

I usually leave the American Idol re-caps to the experts (BeckEye from The Pop Eye) and comment on my AI fandom on their sites, and let the experts do their shtick. But last night Beckeye scored some awesome tix to The Toxic Avenger musical (how was it?) and was unable to view the show. And because last night's result show was uncharacteristically MONUMENTAL when the viewer results were revealed, I need to air my ire in my own format today.

So Becks, here's hoping I make you proud.

First off, I want to say," WTF is wrong with you America??"

Last night's show opened to a video montage of the previous night's performances of the final five contestants a la dramatic music and snippets of their moment in the spotlight. In all fairness, on Tuesday night's show, all five contestants, "blew it out the box!" , as AI Judge Randy Jackson would say, leaving a viewer to ponder whether or not this thing is all wrapped up and in Adam Lambert's tight fitting jeans pocket, as we may have thought.

Ryan Seacrest came out, informing us that an "enormous amount of votes came in", over 47 million and introduced the final five for a LIVE (read not lip-synched) performance of the theme of the week, a Rat Pack inspired combination of "It Don't Mean a Thing" and "I've Got Rhythm".

Next, it was on to the results. Ryan brings all five to the center of the stage and one by one sends them to opposite sides of the stage. Allison and Danny on one side, Matt and Chris on the other, leaving Adam, lone man in the center. He then asks Adam to pick which group he thinks he belongs with. Adam, of course, plays the innocent and says, "I love everybody", but based on the previous night's performance he chooses the group with Allison and Danny. Ryan then announces the first shocker of the evening!!! Allison, Danny and Adam are NOT the bottom three-the bottom three are Matt, Chris and ADAM!!!

AHHHHH! At this point my heart started beating like crazyee and even Danny and Allison, and Kara's (awkward sexually suggestive moment with Kara and Randy) mouth dropped open in shock.

So, if I may interject a personal opinion here for a moment, ADAM?? In the bottom two?? Say it aint so. America, you got it all wrong and if you are a loyal AI viewer you know exactly what I'm talking about. I think that at this point, yes, they are all looking great, but Adam in the bottom three-NO way, NO how!

We are left to sit on this drama through a semi-painful Natalie Cole performance of "Something's Gotta Give", and by painful, I mean she STRUGGLED with it. Then, my boy, Taylor Hicks, Idol winner from Season 5, gave a kick-ass performance of "Seven Mile Breakdown" from his new album "The Distance". Let the public flogging begin now, because I LOVE this guy and I will be one of the four people who buy this album. He actually made me forget my anguish over Adam for three whole minutes.

Then it was on the the biggest shock of the evening, if I thought I couldn't stand any more, Ryan brings the bottom three out and "shocks the world" when he announces the next one safe is.......Chris.

AHHHHHHHHHH! Now I'm on my feet, hyperventilating and dying a slow death. I'm kidding, but oh. my. God. Cut it the F-out!

I hardly could sit through Jamie Foxx's #1 chart topping performance of "Blame It", because at this point, I'm thinking and knowing it's Matt that's going home, but really, Adam Lambert fans have never come this close to elimination before and we are not liking it at all.

Ryan puts us out of our misery by announcing that FINALLY Adam is safe and Matt gets sent home but at this point I'm exhausted and pissed off.

So I think you can guess what this means. This means that although Adam is clearly the best contestant to grace the Idol stage ever, and continuously performs to unbelievable and unattainable levels of greatness, a super star in his own right, he is not guaranteed a win. This means I have been reduced to indulging the 13 year-old inside of me, and I must now VOTE.

This is how it works and if I want to see Adam get all the crowning glory he deserves, VOTE FOR ADAM, I must.

If you feel the same way about Adam, then I urge you to VOTE FOR ADAM. Plain and simple.

Lucky for me I am an AT&T customer and I am only a mere text away. Or 12.