Congratulations to American Idol finalist Tamyra Gray who just announced that she is pregnant. This will be the first child for Tamyra and her husband, Sam Watters from the band “Color Me Badd.”

Tamyra, who is due in July, says, “I’m just trying to take care of myself and enjoy it. This is way harder than Idol.”

Tamyra and Sam do not plan on finding out the sex of the baby until he or she is born.

Congratulations you two!

The good news of the night, though, is that I decorated cupcakes while I watched with my trusty cupcake decorating friend, and she had totally good insights. I’ve decided to steal them for my blog.

First, the guest mentor was Jamie Foxx. Was he in the Rat Pack? He was, right?

Kute Kris, The Way You Look Tonight: I really like this song, and I love Kris (creepy-but-not-fully-grown mustache non-withstanding). I pretended he was singing about the way I looked tonight (aka covered in orange frosting). I think Jamie Foxx wanted to make out with him. Get in line, Jamie. Friend Cupcake noted that it was weird that Kute Kris’s song was slow until the last 30 seconds and then was uptempo and then, like every song, ended in falsetto. Neither of us like the falsetto.
Simon thought the song was “wet.” I’m not kidding. Is that a British thing? Did the song make him want to take out his bumbershoot?

Iraheta, Someone to Watch Over Me: Iraheta turned 17 this week, though she is still unable to muster a coherent sentence. Which I find very charming. Also, she sings like someone who can sing super well. I want her to sing more songs on Idol, on account of her awesomeness. Friend Cupcake also liked it. So did Jamie Foxx. Simon thinks she’s going home. CONSPIRACY!
Randy said she looked like Brittany Murphy but dope. Should Iraheta be upset about that? Should Brittany?

Douchey Scarf, My Funny Valentine: Totally just remembered that Melinda Doolittle sang the pants off this song. Know who didn’t? Justin Timberlake. Know who else didn’t? Douchey. I know it’s a hard song to sing, but the whole thing was weird and off-key and ick. Friend Cupcake thought it was way dull. But Simon? He thought it was wonderful. Even after hearing Iraheta. CON-SPIR-A-CY!

D. Gokes, Come Rain or Come Shine: I like that Jamie Foxx got right in D. Gokes’ face. I like that Jamie did it to be more like Michael Mann. I didn’t like how D. Gokes was all, I’m smarter than you and Michael Mann put together. And Jamie was like, I’m gonna stay in your face until you cry, like a Miami Vice cop. And D. Gokes was like, eep. And I was like, Yay!

Friend Cupcake wisely noted that D. Gokes’  song, like Kute Kris’s, was slow and then fast at the end, and she pointed out that every song this season seems to start slow and end fast because apparently that’s what this “artistry” thing is that Kara keeps talking about. I thought that was a great point.
Oh, and to prove that I’m not a negative person, I will say that I liked the trombones.

Twentzlight, Feeling Good: Remember how a couple of years ago in the semifinal round one guy and one girl both sang this song, and they were both eliminated? Yeah, I don’t think that’s a real concern for Twentzlight.
Scary moment of the night: I told Friend Cupcake that I felt like watching Twentzlight was akin to watching an Olympian. Like, I can appreciate the skill and the amazing talent and the professionalism of his songs. But I just don’t actually enjoy listening to him 9 times out of 10. THEN, Paula compared watching him to watching the Olympics. I was like, yay! I said that! And Friend Cupcake said, you’re like the next Paula. Eep.
Anyway, I know Twentzlight will win. I guess I’m ok with it, though, because he seems super nice.

One more fantastic point by Friend Cupcake this evening. I made her watch both the Kelly Clarkson number (see above) and the Tamyra Gray song from the same episode (see below), and she noted that no one could possibly sing such awesomely straightforward version of either song in today’s Idol world, because now they all need to follow the slow-then-fast “artistry” model. So true! Thanks, Friend Cupcake.

Who will go home? I pray it is D. Gokes or Douchey Scarf, but I fear for Iraheta and even Kute Kris who had the awful first performance slot.

The Service of Tenebrae

The Tenebrae is the office of Matins and Lauds sung on the last three days of holy week, with a ceremony of candles. ”Tenebrae” is the Latin word meaning “Shadows.”  The service was an adaptation of the Ancient Tenebrae Service. The gradual extinction of the candles during the service is accompanied by chorales and narrations.

It was an enjoyable evening. A number of the songs/hymns were familiar to me. The choir sang well. Arrangements were in 4 part harmony.

I would really like to hear this choir arrange and sing Kirk Franklin’s  ”Now Behold the Lamb”  . The version sung by Tamyra Gray in the movie The Gospel (see below) is one of my favorites that stays on my iPhone. Girlfriend can saaang. The song was originally release on the Kirk Franklin & The Family “Christmas” album.

Katharine McPhee
Season 5, Love Songs Week

Jordin Sparks
Season 6, Country Night

Tamyra Gray
Season 1, Big Band Night

Syesha Mercado
Season 7, Beatles week

Carrie Underwood
Season 4, Billboard No. 1s Week

David Cook
Season 7, Dolly Parton week

Fantasia Barrino
Season 3, Performance-Night Finale

Anthony Fedorov
Season 4, 21st Century Week

Stephanie Edwards
Season 6, Semifinals

Michael Johns
Season 7, Dolly Parton week

Vonzell Solomon
Season 4, Season Finale

Kady Malloy
Season 7, Semifinals

WORST

Jennifer Hudson
Season 3, Wild Card Round

Ryan Starr
Season 1, pick a week…any week!

Ramiele Malubay
Season 7, Dolly Parton results night

Blake Lewis
Season 6, Bee Gees Week results show

Amanda Overmyer
Season 7, Semifinals

Rickey Smith
Season 2, Disco Night

Haley Scarnato
Season 6, British Invasion Night

Sanjaya Malakar
Season 6, various nights

Nadia Turner
Season 4, Billboard No. 1s Week

Clay Aiken
Season 2, Bee Gees Night

Vonzell Solomon
Season 4, Semifinals

Katharine McPhee
Season 5, Songs From the 21st Century Night

Source

Segundo o Evangelho: filmaço

Misturando romance, fé, crises eclesiásticas, descrença e umas gramas de humor, este filme me marcou profundamente e não irei esquece-lo tão cedo.

Trata-se da história de um jovem, levita na casa de Deus, cujo pai, o bispo Taylor, é pastor de uma pequena igreja e também conferencista; este vê a mãe em agonia de morte, enquanto o pai está viajando, pregando a palavra. O pai chega no momento posterior à morte da mãe, e o filho debita ao pai a ausência de consolo e socorro. Isto acaba por fazê-lo perder a fé e abandonar o seu pai.

Ele vai ao mundo e ao submundo e inicia uma fase ótima de sucesso profissional, tendo um hit tocando por todas as rádios, quando é informado de que o pai sofreu um infarto. Retorna, então, para a antiga casa, acompanha o pai até a sua morte, quando vê raiar uma nova liderança sem os princípios que nortearam o velho pai e seu rebanho.

Decide, então,  que não verá a sua igreja acabar sem luta. Arma um evento beneficente, o qual vem a ser um sucesso estrondoso.

Por fim, o novo líder reconhece seus erros, abraça os irmãos que tanto apoiaram o antigo bispo e decide recomeçar. O jovem retorna aos caminhos do Senhor tendo ao fundo, a belíssima música ‘the lamb of god’, cantada majestosamente pela Tamyra Gray.

Espetacular!!!

What made this choice so smart wasn’t the fact that David picked a pop tune like ”Billie Jean” for ”Songs from the Year You Were Born” Week. Rather, it was David’s savvy decision to eschew the King of Pop’s iconic version for Chris Cornell’s haunting, rock-friendly arrangement that really paid off. It won him legions of fans — and even the respect of Simon Cowell.

Katharine McPhee, ”Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”
Season 5

Talk about unexpected. Before serving up KT Tunstall’s pop confection, Katharine had given us Aretha (twice!), Whitney Houston, and Ella Fitzgerald. Not exactly contemporary. More than anything, this choice (and her saucy, on-her-knees performance) showed that the eventual runner-up had real pop-star potential.

Constantine Maroulis, ”Bohemian Rhapsody”
Season 4

Constantine always had a flair for the dramatic. So what better song to show America what he could do than the theatrical masterpiece by Queen? It was a risky choice, but Constantine pulled it off with bold vocals and some enthusiastic head banging. In fact, the performance was so good, we nearly forgave him for those cheesy, smoldering looks he kept throwing to the camera.

Fantasia, ”Summertime”
Season 3

Movie soundtrack week inspired more than a few contestants to go with cheesy, overwrought tunes like Titanic‘s ”My Heart Will Go On” (Diana DeGarmo) or gimmicky numbers like ”Jailhouse Rock” (Jon Peter Lewis). Fantasia, however, aimed for understated with this soulful Porgy and Bess ballad that showed off her gorgeous pipes — and has since gone down as one of the best performances in Idol history.

Ace Young, ”Father Figure”
Season 5

As if the Idol heartthrob hadn’t already won over enough swooning fans with his good looks stellar audition, Ace kicked off the semifinals with a George Michael tune that both complimented his limited vocal range and appealed to fans’ libidos. (Sample lyric: ”Just for one moment, to be warm and naked at my side.”) And you thought Idol was a family program.

Elliott Yamin, ”Moody’s Mood For Love”
Season 5

The song — featuring lyrics that were added to jazz saxophonist James Moody’s solo on the track ”I’m in the Mood for Love” — showcased the smooth velvet quality of Elliott’s vocals, as well as his Stevie Wonder-like bounce. Who says you can’t win fans with obscure, offbeat ditties?

Melinda Doolittle, ”Have a Nice Day”
Season 6

Rock is all about confidence, and timid Melinda wisely chose this Bon Jovi anthem that had confidence built right into the lyrics. JBJ told her to ”take it to church,” and after this performance, no one questioned that Melinda had the soul, life experience, and Tina Turner ‘tude to testify.

Kristy Lee Cook, ”God Bless the USA”
Season 7

Chris Daughtry, ”I Walk the Line”
Season 5

Jasmine Trias, ”It’s Raining Men”
Season 3

WORST

Clay Aiken, ”Grease”
Season 2

Jordin Sparks, ”Livin’ on a Prayer”
Season 6

Michael Johns, ”A Day in the Life”
Season 7

Tamyra Gray, ”New Attitude”
Season 1

Carrie Underwood, ”MacArthur Park”
Season 4

grandparent favourite david archuleta was obviously not a hugely better prospect but at least he wasn’t a throwback to the early 90s unless you think the fact that he was born in 1990 qualifies that comparison. neither of them are a leona, hell, they’re not even a jordin sparks. i’m even going to go out on a limb here and say i preferred carrie unde-robot-wood and taylor ‘father ted’ hicks.

god i just didn’t really care that much about any of the contestants after chikezie went. he peaked too early with ’i believe to my soul’. i liked syesha but she clearly wasn’t as good as similar artists from previous years, like vonzell a few years back.

do kids still listen to complaint rock? seriously? i didn’t believe it in the 90s and i don’t believe it now. scenes of kids jumping up and down on their bed playing air guitar are always the most unrealistic elements of any movie or tv show for me, and I didn’t know anyone who did that.

at least we had a few who were enjoyably shit keeping up the sanjaya malakar/that stupid marine/jasmine trias tradition. that er, jason er…dreads bloke, clinched the cringe of the ‘season’ with his double bob marley massacre. jason castro, just looked it up. kristy lee cook was unenjoyably shit. brooke white looked like a little old alien, like gail from corrie…

doubtless there will be another ‘season’ so here are some of the better performances from the last 6 years…

ruben studdard – a whole new world

latoya london – somewhere

elliot yamin – if you really love me

tamyra gray – a house is not a home

chikezie eze – i believe to my soul

jennifer hudson – weekend in new england

mario vasquez – do i do

lakisha jones – and i am telling you

anwar robinson – what’s going on

mandisa – i don’t hurt anymore

At the beginning of the show, I felt bad for Syesha when Ryan said that three of the contestants have already been number one in the votes. I know it’s possible that she has been number one, but not likely since she’s been in the bottom three more than the rest of them. Poor Syesha. She looked like she knew Ryan wasn’t talking about her.

Round One

David Cook, “Hungry Like the Wolf”: Duran Duran? Okay. I’ll go with it. At this point in the game, it must be hard for DC to sing on the AI stage. Like Chris Daughtry before him, DC has already surpassed American Idol on the cool points scale. And this is further evidenced by Miss Abdul’s pre-scripted off the cuff “your hungry like a wolf has left me with a big appetite” comment. I did notice that Paula (and the other two judges) had no notes in front of her. That means she must have memorized all her lines. Impressive, especially considering she didn’t forget the punch line to the one about being the only girl in the “questionable” boys club.

Syesha, “Proud Mary”: She’s looking gorgeous again. I love her hair like this … so sophisticated. I think the new look is really doing a lot for her. Love the dress and the attitude, too. Girl totally rocked those “Tina” moves. She is a completely different person than she was at the beginning of the season. And I love the new Syesha (except for her incessant use of the word “fun”).

Jason Castro, “I Shot the Sherriff”: Bob Marley? In the words of Jason Castro himself, “go figure.” Put this kid on stage in front of a bunch of potheads, and he’ll make a lot of money … from concession sales. I didn’t like it. And I love that song. Randy and Simon HATED it. I thought they were going to start a riot. Let’s hope JC doesn’t try to take on Bob Marley again, or they just might.

David Archuleta, “Stand by Me”: I love that Ryan has taken to calling him little David, as well. That’s too cute. Of course little David would pick an “easy listening” rock song. Other than the obtrusively loud breathing, I really liked this one from him. His voice just isn’t quite strong enough to totally carry it, though.  Then he just broke out into “Beautiful Girls” toward the end of the song.  Seriously? Okay, I liked it until he threw in Sean Kingston. And I think he may have redeemed himself at the very end, but I can’t be for sure because my DVR skipped a little during that part. Compared to JC’s performance, though, little Archuleta was like a little angel sent from the Celestial kingdom.

Round Two

David Cook, “Baba O’Riley”: FANTATSTIC!!! Best of the night so far, for sure. I like it when he just sings instead of trying to “perform” for the judges. Oh, and I forgot to mention how much I love the jacket. (On a side note, why is Ryan having so much trouble reading the prompter tonight?)

Syesha, “A Change Is Gonna Come”: Did she really just compare the Civil Rights movement to American Idol? Hmm. Wow! Love the dress. And the hair. And the song. Syesha is bringing it tonight! Where did this girl come from? I barely even noticed her at the beginning of the season. She’s really stepped it up. And Paula really had something profound to say to her: “Singing the song, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come,’ you have changed. You are magnificent. And you have come. Welcome to your dream, Syesha. This is it for you.” (Omg, Ryan tried to wipe Syesha’s nose, too!)

Jason Castro, “Mr. Tambourine Man”: Did he really forget the lyrics? Why didn’t he just start over? Brooke did it a million times. I actually kind of felt bad for him when he did it. He seems like a sensitive soul. But a sensitive soul does not a pop star make, quite the opposite, really. Tonight was a train wreck for him. I don’t think his baby face is going to save him this time. Maybe he can get a gig opening for Willie Nelson … or Jimmy Buffett.

David Archuleta, “Love Me Tender”: How does Little Archuleta not know Elvis? Is Elvis still considered the devil’s music or something? He really played to the camera on this one. Smart choice. He’s going to get ALL the tween girl votes. I LOVED this one from him. But I don’t agree with the judges and their “crushing the competition” comment. He may be the one that is best suited for American Idol, but there was no crushing involved. David Cook and Syesha also brought it this week.

Conspiracy Theories: Do you think they placed Big David in the death spot and Little David in the coveted final spot (especially right after train wreck Castro) so he could steal all Big David’s vote? Do you think someone paid Jason Castro to take a fall so that Little David would look better? Then there was that comment at the end of the show: “Remember, this is the same week that we lost Tamyra Gray and Daughtry because perhaps some people thought they were safe.” Is he leading us to make the obvious connections to Syesha and David Cook and vote for them? Interesting … very, very interesting.

Who’s Going Home: Jason Castro, even if the producers have to “fake” the vote.

Tom Collins & Maureen in RENT – singing “Seasons of Love”

American Idol’s Tamyra Gray as Mimi

Surprisingly, miraculously, amazingly, Brooke is safe and Syesha is in the bottom two once again.  This season is getting ridiculous; nothing makes sense.  But it’s okay.  Even if Syesha is voted off, as we’ve seen with past AI alumni like Tamyra Gray and Clay Aiken, there is life after American Idol, a good life at that.  She’ll be okay.

Next inducted into the bottom two is, wonder of all wonders: Carly Smithson.  She gave a phenomenal performance last night and has absolutely no business in the bottom two, with Syesha Mercado of all people.  And the one going home is Carly Smithson, our Irish songbird whose voice is ten times better than several of the six finalists left onstage.  But, like several of the alumni from past seasons who also didn’t take the top honors, she too will be fine.  Carly Smithson – you will be missed.

1. Kelly Clarkson (Season 1) – Natural Woman

2. Carrie Underwood (Season 4) – Alone

3. Elliot Yamin (Season 5) – A Song For You

4. Clay Aiken (Season 2) – (tie) Bridge Over Troubled Water and Solitaire

5. Chris Daughtry (Season 5) – Walk The Line

6. Constanine Maroulis – (Season 4) – Bohemian Rhapsody

7. Jennifer Hudson (Season 3) – Circle of Life

8. Ruben Studdard (Season 2) – Superstar

9. Katherine McPhee (Season 5) – Somewhere Over The Rainbow

10. Tamyra Gray (Season 1) – A House is Not A Home

tie

Blake Lewis – (Season 6) – You Give Love A Bad Name

Yes, this is 2002. Yes, this is American Idol. But Tamyra Gray’s got chops worth digging up from the YouTube graveyard and cementing as one of contemporary pop culture’s greatest missed opportunities. She was cruelly washed out of American Idol’s first season in fourth place and I accordingly stopped keeping real tabs on pop fare. Kelly Clarkson was perhaps a better pick for the masses anyway — last I checked, she’s doing fine, and kudos for the pipes she brought to “Since U Been Gone” — but Tamyra, abysmal wardrobe aside, is the real thing. Wikipedia reports that she’s currently playing Mimi on Broadway’s way-too-long-running RENT (and the only decent part of that self-absorbed musical bloat, I’ll wager), and I can’t imagine it’s the 28-year-old’s last bit in the spotlight.

Eventual Idol winner Jennifer Hudson may have somehow managed to bungle her way into an Oscar for Dreamgirls (and HOW?), but Tamyra’s rendition of “And I’m Telling You (I’m Not Going)” has Hudson way beat. It’s worth pointing out that this particular number was a ballsy song choice for a singing contest elimination round, but hey, brassiness never worked against the other Idols any.

This looks about right, gang, but I’m not surprised our sweet Melissa placed at 5th overall and that an under-rated Diana De Garmo ended up last. The top four were dead on IMHO but I would have thought that Daughtry’s numbers would have been a little closer to Clay, given his ability for radio airplay. Then, again, those Clayfans know how to “stand by their man” on any given day!

You can read all of the article and the hilarious comments here.

What say you all? On the money or all washed up? Let the discussion begin!

Carry on!

1. Star
From the beginning of this song, this song just lacks the energy it needs to keep the listener interested. While Gray’s vocals are well done, the accompaniment is just so bland and it has no soul at all. The song itself is a bit catchy, but the accompaniment is just so bland. Gray’s vocals do have an ounce of energy in them, but no enough to ressurect this song.

2. The Only Thing
The same problem here. While the song starts off as a fairly catchy song, it just lacks a certain something. I do like the intro and the little interludes in between the chorus and the verses. When Gray sings, the accompaniment just dies. Gray is a bit bland in the verses as well though.

3. Legend
Ew, the brass instruments at the beginning are slightly painful. Especially the second time they hit the longer note, it’s slightly dissonant and they are not in tune with each other. I quite like Gray’s vocals in here though. I love how she sings this song. If I didn’t have to hear the really bad trumpets (?) in the background, I might actually like this song. That, and it gets a boring halfway through.

4. Raindrops Will Fall
This is quite a nice song, and I love the introduction. I find Gray’s delivery a bit rough at times, especially in the chorus. But I quite some of the vocal variety she has in this song. It still missing a certain something in terms of her delivery, probably due partly to her rougher delivery at the belting bits, and I find her notes too rigid and stiff sounding.

5. Ha Ha
I quite like the subtle delivery at the beginning, but again, this song doesn’t do anything to catch my attention. It’s rather bland, but quite nice vocally.

6. 17
I quite like this song. It as a nice mellow sound to it, and I like the harmonies and the background vocals supporting Gray’s main melody. It’s a bit too repetitive at times, but the basic song is very to nice.

7. Don’t Stop (Keep it Coming)
I like the string bits during this song, but everything else is quite dull. As a result, yet another boring song.

8. U’ve Only Got 1
I quite like Gray’s delivery of this song, but it doesn’t deliver much else other than her vocals and quite a nice melody. This song is generic and is just nothing new from what I’ve already heard.

9. Face
This song is very dull until Gray picks it up in the chorus with an edgier sound with a stronger guitar/rock influence. Vocally, I like how she delivers the chorus. The song itself is still dull though and doesn’t really go anywhere from there.

10. Like A Child
This is quite a nice song, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. A bit repetitive, but the melody is quite pleasant, and so is Gray’s delivery of this song.

11. Yesterday, Today
Again, another decent song, but it doesn’t really stand out as anything new. It’s still an enjoyable song, but still lacking something to make it good.

12. Good Ol’ Days
This song is a bit monotone, but it can be a bit catchy at times. I find it a bit repetitive as well, but it’s a decent song.

13. God Bless the Dreamer
I love how she delivers this song right from the beginning and delivers this song quite well. I still don’t like her voice when she start to belt; it just lacks tone and takes away from her performance. The ending bits are rather nasty to listen to as she’s going for the belting sound but in my opinion she doesn’t sound good at all at that point. She sounds excellent at the beginning though. I love the jazzy sound from the piano.

Overall-
Favourite track: 17
Tamyra Gray’s debut album was okay. While I found the majority of the tracks rather boring, the latter bit picked up a little bit with songs that were a bit more interesting than those in the beginning half, which is a shame because the beginning was just dull and would probably make the listener stop listening to the album. The latter half wasn’t that bad, though. Gray’s vocals were also generally good, although I think she needs to work on a better tone while she belts. It’s a bit too much shouting and it doesn’t sound pleasant at all. Overall, an average album.

On Saturday, the 4th-placer from AmIdol’s inaugural season wedd Sam Watters, of Color Me Badd fame. Remember them? Think slap bracelets. Hypercolor. Roller skating rinks. “I Wanna Sex You Up.” Got it? Okay.

I really likedd Tamyra on AmIdol, and if I hadn’t been headd over heels in love with Miss Kelly Clarkson, I wouldd have rootedd for her to take it all. Or Nikki McKibbin. Or Ryan Starr. Or Jim Verraros. No, not Jim Verraros. But close. I actually wouldd have rootedd for anyone other than Justin “Ribbon in the Sky” Guarini to win that thing. You know why? He bothers me, that’s why. Remember in the final episode, when Ryan Seacrest askedd him if he was nervous, and he saidd something along the lines of “I know that no matter what happens tonight, Kelly and I will both have amazing, successful careers?” Sometimes, when I feel sadd and blue, I reflect on that moment, and my cares flutter and fall away, ribbon-like.

But back to Tamyra. “X-factor” girl. It turns out she’s hadd a marginally successful career in television and as a songwriter, cowriting Fantasia’s number-one single “I Believe.” I believe I’ve never in my life heardd that song on the radio, but I’m going to take E!’s wordd for it. Redd states or something, I guess. Watters has workedd with Celine Dion and Kelly Clarkson, and cowrote Jessica Simpson’s recent single “A Public Affair,” since Color Me Badd disbandedd in May of 2000. At that point they releasedd their final album, The Best of Color Me Badd, which I’m sure soldd really well with people who hadd been cryogenically frozen since 1992.

I wish them luck, and I look forwardd to reading the many variations on “Color Me…” headlines surrounding this joyful union.