American Idol 2, March 18: Grooving to the Movies

Next we get to see the first American Idol - Kelly Clarkson! No, she's not singing yet. Of course they're going to hold that to the very end of the show. But we see a clip from the movie with Justin with guys and girls hitting on each other on the beach while they sing about it. Then a quick clip of Justin and Kelly making out - Ryan asks her if Justin is a good kisser or shoved his tongue down her throat. Thank you, Ryan. Kelly looks good but is overly made-up. Must be the same person who did Carmen.

Who has to follow Kelly? Charles Grigsby, that's who! He says he never flew on a plane and now he's going first class and being treated like a superstar. He sings "You Can't Win" by Michael Jackson from The Wiz.

Randy: "I like you… not the best we've seen… didn't like that song on you."

Paula: "adorable… had fun… the best is yet to come."

Gladys: "crowd-pleaser."

Simon: "50,000 movies to choose from and you choose The Wiz… not the best song."

Me: I'm still not impressed by Charles' vocals. He gave a decent enough performance and the audience were on their feet, but it seemed almost like they felt that they were supposed to be on their feet, not that they were really feeling it. I know I wasn't.

After Randy's criticism, Charles pulled a Julia to some extent by saying that he had fun with the song and then asking the audience if they had fun. Charles, Charles, Charles - did you not pay attention last week?

Now it's time for Rickey Smith. He says he used to drive a beat-up Honda and now he's riding in a stretch limo - it's amazing. He can't believe it. He's still just Rickey Smith and he'll stay humble, but he does love the star treatment. He sings "It Might Be You" from Tootsie because he did an up-tempo song last time and wants to switch gears so the crowd can feel the song.

Randy: "brilliant… great controlled performance… better every week."

Paula: "I love you… you have a knack for picking songs… beautiful voice."

Gladys: "magnetic… sound so fresh."

Simon: "what sets you apart is you're a nice person… didn't hear something totally original… certainly good enough to stay in another week at least."

Me: He was smooth and did a good job. Based on that performance, he can't compete with Ruben or Clay, but it was still very good. I even enjoyed the high notes, which he has previously hurt my ears with.

Hey, look, and Old Navy shopping spree for the contestants! Woohoo! Moving on.

Julia DeMato is next. She says before she came to Hollywood, she was just the girl next door. It's great and she loves it. We even see a shot of her hugging Kimberly Clark. She sings the theme song from Flashdance, "What a Feeling." She says it's about finding that confidence inside of you and bringing it out, so maybe it will help her do that.

Randy: "alright… little pitchy… not overwhelmed."

Paula: "kind of agree with Randy… you light up the camera… not my favorite performance."

Gladys: "feeling like you're not really having fun with this… if you don't believe it, I won't." (This may be the only negative comment Gladys gave all night.)

Simon: "first part of the song okay, second part not… like disco on ice."

Me: I liked the ripped shirt - I remember when girls were actually wearing that after the movie came out. She is just not showing herself to be a great performer. I don't know what Paula is talking about when she says Julia lights up the camera. When I see her I feel like she looks nervous as hell, like a deer in the headlights sometimes. She even reverted to doing the side-to-side dance again. The song gave her the opportunity for a great and lively performance, but she didn't rise to it. It was better than last week, but…

My impression was enhanced further when Ryan tried to help her out by asking if she is indeed having fun. Julia gave a half-hearted "yeah" and said she's trying her best. At least she didn't mouth off to the judges this week.

Last, but not least, is Kimberley Locke. Before coming to Hollywood, she was studying for her LSAT (law school test), now she's getting the star treatment. She definitely enjoys the pampering. She is singing "Home" by Diana Ross from The Wiz because the lyrics have a lot of meaning and she can put her passion into it.

Randy: "what an improvement… sang better, very good."

Paula: "we should charge for tickets… beautiful."

Gladys: "love your voice… so rich."

Simon: "a lot better than last week… not crazy about the dress… the competition starts for you next week because you redeemed yourself this week."

Me: I agree with Simon about the dress - and that her singing was definitely much better this week. She put a lot of power into the performance.

Coca Cola moment - Charles beats Rickey at pool. Woohoo!

Now it's finally time for what we've all been waiting for - Kelly Clarkson singing "Anytime" from her upcoming movie. If you haven't heard the song because you didn't see this episode, it's not going to do any good for me to try to describe it. But Kelly is still the super-power singer we know and love. The only thing that I don't like is that makeup - the eye shadow is horrible - and the strappy leg things she has on. But, hey, it's Kelly, so who cares!

OK, I'm not used to handicapping who did better than somebody else, but I'm going to give it my best shot. In my opinion, here is the way they lined up tonight:

1. Ruben Studdard
2. Clay Aiken
3. Trenyce
4. Rickey Smith
5. Kimberley Locke
6. Kimberly Caldwell
7. Joshua Gracin
8. Corey Clark
9. Charles Grigsby
10. Julia DeMato
11. Carmen Rasmusen

So, by all rights Carmen should be voted out. However, I think Julia already has two strikes against her from last week and since she didn't have a stellar performance, she may be the one to go. But, hey, pretty much nobody predicted Vanessa's departure last week, so who knows?!

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

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