Culturally Preconditioned

And it’s official. The girls are way better than the guys in this competition (as always). And Ryan is a little obsessed with Simon Cowell (as always). Stick Insect should shut the fuck up, do his job and not fawn over Simon after every round. Anyway, Song from the 60s continues tonight with the ladies.

Kristy Lee Cook - Rescue Me (Fontella Bass)

Such a well-known song, but I have a feeling it would’ve been better performed by someone else. She sounded too sweet for this song (And I wrote this before I heard Simon’s comments). And what the fuck is that thing that she do with her eyes - bulging out like that? It’s distracting. 5.5 out of 10.

Joanne Borgella - Say A Little Prayer (Dionne Warwick)

Voluptuous is now my new favorite word. She didn’t oversing this anthemic classic, but I was somehow expecting something out of the ordinary. Nothing exceptional about her performance, but yeah it was still alright. 6 out of 10.

Alaina Whitaker - More Today Than Yesterday (Spiral Staircase)

Wow.. this is helluva lot better than CHikadees yesterday.. how poignant. It is indeed more (better) today than yesterday. I wasn’t impressed with her prior to tonight, but I kinda changed my mind now. 7.5 out of 10 and +1 point to her dad for giving Simon an icy death glare from the sidelines.

Amanda Overmyer - Baby, Please Don’t Go (Them)

Damn I love this girl. Rocker chick’s got the pipes to carry any rock and roll tunes, and she fucking knows it. Le sigh.. this totally brings back Dilana memories. 8 out of 10.

Amy Davis - Where The Boys Are (Connie Francis)

She pulled off the 60s look but that’s pretty much it. I know she was going for the smoky, country voice thingy but unfortunately she failed miserably. 3 out of 10.

Brooke White - Happy Together (The Turtles)

I don’t know why but personally, she’s just not pleasant to look at. There’s just something psychotic, devious and creepy about her.. it’s weird. I know that’s a mean thing to say, but I never hold back on saying what I think. She’s got a singing voice, but that performance .. well in my honest opinion, I thought it was pretty shitty. Not a fan. 5 out of 10.

Alexandrea Lushington - Spinning Wheel (Blood, Sweat & Tears)

ohmahgad.. I love her. Her voice so crisp and clear and yet so powerful at the same time. She’s got an awesome stage presence, and is definitely the token diva this season. 8 out of 10.

Kady Malloy - A Groovy Kind Of Love (The Mindbenders)

Oh, I wasn’t aware that this was a song from the 60s (oh fucking sue me, granny). It was a slow as hell of aperformance but she didn’t completely put everyone to sleep like some people (I think). She kinda went overboard with the harmonics though. 6 out of 10. And +2 points for her for the uber excellente Britney impersonation.
Asia’h Epperson - Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin)

Her voice is awesome. In small doses. You can only endure so much of the serak basah-ness. I wish they’d stop pimping on her father’s death though.. that is so going to get annoying soon. 7 out of 10.

Ramiele Malubay - You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me (Dusty Springfield)

Should I be prepared to get crucified if I make negative remarks on Ramiele? Cause you just know I’m going to be called a traitor and anti-Asian and all that shit. This is ssooooooo going to be Camille/Jasmine-redux all over again and I’m hating it. On the bright side, she’s actually better than the two, but IMO definitely not the best of the night. 7 out of 10.

Syesha Mercado - Tobacco Road (The Nashville Teens)

Okay, she just upped herself up from Alexandrea. A better sounding Nadia Turner. She is, however, a self confessed mactor. Ick. I just hope she’s not going to shout all the way through this competition. But as for tonight, me likey. 8 out of 10.

Carly Smithson - The Shadow of Your Smile (Tony Bennett)

For once on this show, the overpimping is completely justified. I love this girl. She’s in a completely different ball game than the rest IMP (even though the ending.. terkedu kejap). 9 out of 10.

Final rankings for this round :

1. Carly Smithson (9/10)
2. Syesha Mercado (8/10)
3. Amanda Overmyer (8/10)
4. Alexandrea Lushington (8/10)
5. Alaina Whitaker (7.5/10)
6. Asia’h Epperson (7/10)
7. Ramiele Malubay (7/10)
8. Kady Malloy (6/10)
9. Joanne Borgella (6/10)
10. Kristy Lee Book (5.5/10)
11. Brooke White (5/10)
12. Amy Davis (3/10)

The girls are completely running this show.. and you all better know it. I won’t be making any reviews for the results show (as usual).. but at this point in time, I don’t really have a solid favourite.. so I don’t really care who goes home (except Michael Johns and Carly Smithson). And I’m posting this just because I can.

Well the new season is here upon us again. This show is one of the few shows on TV that I try not to miss, however bad it gets. They’ve shown us the auditions and the Hollywood rounds for the past few weeks, and we’re now down to the Top 24. And here they are (pictures courtesy of justjared)

Back Row L-R: Alexandrea Lushington, Robbie Carrico, Jason Castro, Danny Noriega (striped shirt), Brooke White, Amanda Overmyer, Michael Johns, David Cook (bandana), Luke Menard and Carly Smithson (standing far right).

Bottom Row L-R: Chikezie Eze, Colton Berry, Asia’H Epperson, Kady Malloy (seated, black dress), Joanne Borgella, Ramiele Malubay, David Hernandez (seated, front), Amy Davis, Alaina Whitaker, Syesha Mercado, Jason Yeager, David Archuleta (seated), Garrett Haley and Kristy Lee Cook.

Well tonight’s it’s the Top 12 guys, where this week 2 guys will be cut out from the show. Who will it be? Your guess is as good as mine. I’m just glad that fake British wannabe titty sucker Josiah didn’t make it this far into the show. This week’s theme is Music from the 60s. Good call that they’re putting this snoozefest of a theme out of the way so soon into the competition, so we don’t have to endure it later down the line.

David Hernandez - In the Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett)

Dude can sing and is pretty easy on the eyes. It’s always hard to judge the first singer of the season. And does he remind anyone else of David Rocco? 6.5 out of 10.

Chikezie - More Today Than Yesterday (The Spiral Starecase)

How can you not love a guy with a name like Chikezie? Well that’s what I initially thought anyway. He didn’t sound so flattering with his lower registers, despite his long note at the end. I especially didn’t like him mouthing Simon off. There’s a place and time for that, but you weren’t that great to be mouthing people off in the first show. 5 out of 10.

David Cook - Happy Together (The Turtles)

Isn’t this one of the songs from Joseph and His Technicolor Dreamcoat show?Anyway, it sounded weird. Is it the offbeat temp? I just didn’t like it as much as the judges did. not at all. 4.5 out of 10.

Jason Yeager - Moon RIver (Audrey Hepburn)

This song maybe as slow as shit, and his performance may be boring as sin, but I actually liked his voice. I dunno. I’m surprised there were such venomous remarks from the judges, actually. 7 out of 10.

Robbie Carrico - One (Three Dog Night)

Okay, that came across more of a Bucky than a Bo. At this point of the show, I was almost in tears and so not impressed with this batch of guys. 4 out of 10.

David Archuleta - Shop Around (The Miracles)

I’m sre this guy has a HUGE fanbase already. Personally I think he’s okay, but I’m not overly impressed. Turn the doe-eyed visuals off and you can almost tell that a child is singing. Not my favorite, but I’m sure he’s a lock for the Final Five, at least. 6 out of 10.

Danny Noriega - Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley)

OMG it’s Betty’s nephew-clone! The swagger and the ‘tude. Oh my. I am kinda torn. He’s like Sangina, but can actually carry a tune somewhat. God help me. 5.5/10 (that +0.5 point for the diva headsnap he gave to Simon)

Luke Menard - Everybody’s Talkin (Fred Neil)

Yet another boring as shit performance. His voice is actually decent, but the performance was just dull, dull, dull. In fact, the only thing interesting about his segment was a shot of his wife giving a quick slap on his ass when he got the golden ticket. Worst song choice ever. 3.5 out of 10.

Colton DeGeneres - Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley)

I loved his Ellen reference. It was actually kinda funny. But this isn’t Last Comic Standing. I wasn’t expecting to like his performance, but it was actually quite okay. Plus I actually like this song. 6 out of 10.

Garret Haley - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Neil Sedaka)

Holy Austin Power, it’s Heather Graham-lite! Okay, his voice was okay, but I have slight problems distinguishing if it’s a male or a female voice. The snooze of a performance definitely didn’t help either. 4.5 out of 10.

Jason Castro - Daydream (The Lovin’ Spoonful)

The dreadlocks are cool and I was totally hooked within the first line of his performance. Excellent song choice and excellent call with playing the guitar. He’s like a slightly youthful sounding Jack Johnson. The best of the night so far. 7.5 out of 10.

Michael Johns - Light My Fire (The Doors)

I loved his rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody during the Hollywood auditions and his performance tonight proved to the others that he is definitely one of the guys to beat in this competition. 8 out of 10.

Well the end is near. I’m afraid I won’t be able to watch the ‘live’ episode since I’m working the EU shift again this week. I might catch the repeat show at midnight.. but then again, I think I want to see that pseudo-British warbling self-entitled asshole get cut from the Top 24 in American Idol even more. Josiah Whatzisname - Biggest douchefag ever. As for the TARA2 finale, I’m sure I’ll eventually watch it soon.. not that keen on it, though. I think I might just read Klubkidd’s blog later, since he’s down in Singapore for the wrap-up party anyways. I’ve heard spoilers about the winners.. don’t know if it’s true. Oh well.. this season is beyond salvation anyway, regardless who the winners will be. It’s been fun. Not.

Holy shit.. it’s here! Currently downloading the episode… will post the review in a day or two. I haven’t been this excited about Survivor since.. well the last season. LOL I NEVER get tired of this shit.. the game is always different.

I haven’t watched the episode.. but I already know the outcome. Like someone on Sucks mentioned, this episode was the epitome of predictable - well ain’t that the overall theme of this season. I’m not even sure if I’m going to bother watching and make commentaries for the midnight rerun of the episode (I’m in the office right now).. or even the finale for that matter. So have at it.

SURVIVOR MICRONESIA STARTS TOMORROW, PEOPLE!!! OMFG!!!!!!

ps. I’m pretty sure I’m going to watch Episode 12 some time soon though. LOL.

pps. Michael McKay.. I’m not going to be all kissy-ass and bow down to you like the rest of the hopeful TARA3 heathens out there. You fucking SUCK. And that’s that.

As some of you might realize, fuckin ntv7 has finally come to their senses and started airing Survivor : China (Saturday nights). I still can’t bring myself to forgiving them for abruptly cancelling Survivor : Vanuatu - just 3 weeks before the finale. Anyway, since Survivor : China is showing (I still think this was one of the better seasons post All Stars) on our local tv, there is hope that they’ll show Survivor : Micronesia too.. also known as Survivor 16, also known as Fans vs Favorites, also known as Survivor Half-ASS 2. In case you don’t already know, the show will premier on CBS this coming Thursday (and Big Brother too!!!).. so here’s a little something to whet your appetite.

Here are the two teams: The first team which is the Airai tribe, consisting of the FANS (the new players) — (numbered photos are courtesy of SurvivorFever.net)

Michael Bortone (1), Tracy Wolf (2), Joel Anderson (3), Kathleen Sleckman (4) Erik Reichenbach (5), Mary Sartain (6), Chet Welch (7), Natalie Bolton (8), Jason Siska (9), Alexis Jones (10)

And here is the second team which is the Malakal tribe, consisting of FAVES (players from past series - which might be totally new for those who haven’t been following the show)

Cirie Fields (11) - from Exile Island, Jonathan Penner (12) - from Cook Islands, Amanda Kimmel (13) from China, James Clement (14) - from China, Ozzy Lusth (15) - from Cook Islands, Yau-Man Chan (16) - from Fiji, Eliza Orlins (17) - from Vanuatu, Jonny Fairplay (18) - from Pearl Islands, Parvati Shallow (19) - from Cook Islands, Ami Cusack (20) - from Vanuatu.

First impressions on the previous players : Cirie - overrated, Jonathan - LOVE. Amanda - LOVE, James - good choice, Ozzy - zero social skills, Yau Man - LOVE, Eliza - good choice, Jonny Fairplay - waste of a filler, Parvati - holy WTF? shit we got ourselves another fucking Amber, Ami - LOVE LOVE LOVE.

And you might enjoy the following youtubes too. The first one is a pretty cool ‘trailer’ (I don’t think they’ve ever done this for previous seasons). And the second one is a Meet The Castaways session.

February 7th. Can’t wait.

And have a Prosperous New Year for those celebrating the Chinese New Year!