Fantasy Idol Standings: The Final 2
We’re down to the final two on Idol. Thanks to my diligent wife, here are the almost final standings for our Fantasy Idol pool:
Jen – 8
Pat – 11
Sue – 11
Jason – 14
Jaime – 14
Kathy – 15
Tracy – 15
Idol just hasn’t been as good for me this year, and may actually be my last year watching it. It might be partly because we’ve been so busy with things at church and home that I just haven’t gotten into it as much this year…
Fantasy Idol Update: The Top 6
Here are the standings after four weeks of eliminations, as calculated by Jaime:
Jen – 4 pts (still the one to beat!)
Pat – 5 pts
Sue – 6 pts
Jaime – 6 pts
Kathy – 7 pts
Jason – 7 pts
One of these years, I’m going to win my own game on my own blog. Right now, it’s not looking promising.
Fantasy Idol Update
Before the results come out tomorrow, I wanted to clarify that we’ll be assigning position #9 to the first person knocked off tomorrow and position #8 to the second.
Fantasy Idol 2010
So, despite the fact that I haven’t blogged in like forever, people have been asking if I’m doing a Fantasy Idol game this year… Sure, why not.
Here’s how it will work this year:
- You’ll pick the finishing order for the top 10. You have until 8pm on March 31 to set your picks.
- You’ll get 1 point for every spot you’re off. In other words, if you choose Katie Stevens to finish 8th and she finishes 10th, you’d get 2 points.
- The lowest point total at the end wins.
As you know you’re picks, leave them in the comments here.
Fantasy Idol Finals
It’s been several days since the American Idol finale. The little I saw was good, though the bikini girl/Kara piece looked to be a ratings grab. In the end, I’m glad Kris won. Adam was unique, but I think Kris sells more records than Adam, but Adam will deliver a much better live show.
Here are the final results for our Fantasy Idol pool:
Kat 60 Lisa Criste 54 Suzer Steege 53 Addie’s Auntie Jen 50 Kristina Beras 50 Phyllis 49 Caroline Criste 46 Kathy 46 Tracy Bramwell 45 Jaime 45 Zach Attack 44 Kelsey 43 Jason Christ 39 Mark Bramwell 38
Thankfully, I did not finish in last place. Kat is the winner of the pool this year, giving all six of her points to Adam. Despite his loss, Kat was able to hold off Lisa for the win. Congrats to everyone who beat me. Big thanks to Mark for taking last place and saving me the embarrassment of losing my own game.
American Idol Finale
It’s been a long, strange season for us watching Idol. I haven’t been as into it this year, which is odd. I thought the show was pretty good this evening, but I was expecting more from Kris.
I’ll stand by my Twitter prediction, however, and choose Kris to win it all. He should get more of Danny’s voters than Adam, and sometimes a weak performance can influence the fans to actually vote. We’ll see what happens tomorrow evening!
We’ll also crown our winner in Fantasy Idol tomorrow evening. Don’t miss it!
Howard Dean You Are Not
Good show this evening. I enjoyed seeing Daughtry perform, but Paula was … bad. It sounded like a recording, not a live performance, which is just plain lame if that’s what happened.
I especially enjoyed Danny’s candidness when it came to his awful scream at the end of his song. I thought for a moment that he might pull a Howard Dean:
Thankfully, his scream did not do him in. Whew.
Jaime reminded me that we haven’t had a Fantasy Idol update in a while, so here it is:
Kat 54 Lisa Criste 52 Addie’s Auntie Jen 48 Phyllis 47 Kristina Beras 46 Suzer Steege 46 Zach Attack 44 Caroline Criste 44 Kathy 44 Kelsey 43 Tracy Bramwell 43 Jaime 43 Jason Christ 38 Mark Bramwell 35
I am happy to report that I have climbed out of last place. I still have no hope of winning, but at least I’m no longer in last place in my own pool. The race is effectively down to two participants. Kat has all six points tied up in Adam. Lisa has 2 points for Danny and 2 for Adam.
Rat Pack Review
I thought it was a pretty good show this evening. Kris Allen is growing on me and could pull off an upset along the way. I’m not sure he can win it all, but maybe.
I keep wanting to like Alison more, but every week she’s just ok for me. I expect her to be in the bottom three. Matt should be there also and either Kris or Danny. I have to go with Kris, but don’t be surprised if it’s Danny.
Matt will go home.
Huh?
I didn’t watch the American Idol results show last night. Turns out, I’m kind of glad I didn’t. What were they thinking? Using the save on Matt Giraud? How incredibly dumb.
I can only imagine what Kelsey will say about this after they didn’t save Scott… 
Well, here are the Fantasy Idol standings, reflecting Matt’s saved status:
Addie’s Auntie Jen 30 Kat 30 Lisa Criste 30 Phyllis 30 Kelsey 28 Tracy Bramwell 28 Zach Attack 28 Caroline Criste 26 Jaime 26 Kathy 26 Kristina Beras 26 Suzer Steege 26 Mark Bramwell 24 Jason Christ 22
I am doomed to finish in last place I think. The only question now is how far out of first I’ll finish.
Idol Review: Top 10
Good show last night, at least what I was able to watch. I missed Matt Giraud and Kris Allen, though I did see the judges’ take on Kris. Addison decided to scream her lungs out during Michael Sarver and Lil Rounds, so I only was able to hear bits and pieces of them.
All that being said, here are my thoughts on the evening:
- Adam Lambert is probably the most versatile of the idols this year. I’m still not a huge fan, but he’s growing on me. I imagine it’s hard to pull out a surprise each week and he’s done so each time.
- Danny was great, but I’m surprised none of the judges commented on his opening video “Smokey is right” moment, only to start singing the song and he went with his own version. You can tell they were rushing to make the break so they could finish on time, so that’s probably why no one said anything.
- I couldn’t understand Allison this evening.
- Megan Joy was bad.
- Scott too.
- Anoop was forgettable.
- Lil looked good and sounded good from what I could hear, but not great, which I expected her to be. Simon was right about the song not giving her a “moment” to remember.
Michael Sarver should go home. Megan Joy and Scott MacIntyre should round out the bottom three.
No Saving Grace
Well, my bracket is busted, before the tournament even got started. I thought for sure Alexis would make it into the Top 5 at the least, possibly all the way to the end, but America has torched my Fantasy Idol picks. Bummer.
I think Alexis deserved to stay longer than she did, but whatever. It will be an odd touring group with 7 guys and only 3 girls. Odd indeed.
Here are the Fantasy Idol Standings through 2 weeks:
Addie’s Auntie Jen 12 Kat 12 Kelsey 12 Lisa Criste 12 Phyllis 12 Tracy Bramwell 12 Zach Attack 12 Caroline Criste 11 Jaime 11 Kathy 11 Kristina Beras 11 Mark Bramwell 11 Suzer Steege 11 Jason Christ 10
Other highlights of the evening:
- We taped the show and watched it back in only 30 minutes. No commercials and no Brad Paisley for us.
- When I fast forward on my ancient VCR, I hit stop and then fast forward because it’s faster than watching the fast forward. Most commercial breaks are about 3 minutes. Idol commercials tend towards 4 minutes though. So I turned on the display timer, fast forwarded and hit play like I did for every other commercial break this evening. Only to discover that the last last commercial break is only 3 minutes, so it came on with Ryan and Alexis on stage. So much for the drama of the moment.
- My picks really needed Alexis to get saved. If they didn’t use it here, I’m not sure they will. What were they thinking?
The A’s Have It
An interesting night on American Idol. I don’t really like country music, but I do like Randy Travis. It was a good night if your name started with “A”. Here’s how I ranked the singers:
- Adam Lambert: I’m still not really a fan, but his was the only truly unique song. I liked what he did with it.
- Anoop Desai: Glad to see Anoop is back. Great vocal, just ok stage presence.
- Matt Giraud: He’s a more talented Scott MacIntryre with the piano. He doesn’t stand out in my mind yet, but he did well this evening.
- Allison Iraheta: I like her spunk and rock voice.
- Alexis Grace: Not my favorite song choice, but I still liked her. I’d like to see a little more rock from her next time.
- Lil Rounds: Good vocals, but I couldn’t get Carrie Underwood’s version out of my mind and this just didn’t match up. Simon was right about her not being in to the song too. It just didn’t fit her.
- Danny Gokey: Ugh. Not a good performance, though the chorus was way better than the verse. He should still sail through though.
- Megan Joy Corkrey: Quirky as usual. I don’t think she should win, but I’m always looking forward to what she’ll come up with.
- Kris Allen: The vocals were strong, I just didn’t care for the performance.
- Michael Sarver: Great job with the lyrics. He shouldn’t win this competition though.
- Scott MacIntyre: If he weren’t blind, he’d be out of this competition already. He’s just not that great.
I think Michael Sarver goes home.
Jasmine and Jorge, We Hardly Knew You
The results are in. In short, I like them. I would have liked to see Jorge make it farther, but it was fair to see him go. I’m so glad that Alexis made it so there’s not a phone number controversy.
I also like the new rule for the judges. I think it’s fair to give them one save for the year, which should help keep someone worthy in the competition. It’s a good addition to the system. I’m also glad they didn’t exercise it this week.
Fantasy Idol is now underway as well. So far, no one lost an idol, so everyone is tied at 6 points. Here are the picks:
Addie’s Auntie Jen: Danny Gokey (2), Adam Lambert (2), Lil Rounds (2)
Kat: Adam Lambert (6)
Mark Bramwell: Adam Lambert (1), Kris Allen (1), Lil Rounds (1), Alexis Grace (1), Megan Corkrey (1), Matt Giraud (1)
Tracy Bramwell: Adam Lambert (2), Danny Gokey (1), Lil Rounds (1), Megan Corkrey (1), Matt Giraud (1)
Phyllis: Danny Gokey (1), Adam Lambert (2), Lil Rounds (2), Allison Iraheta (1)
Zach Attack: Danny Gokey (4), Scott MacIntyre (2)
Jaime: Danny Gokey (2), Adam Lambert (2), Alexis Grace (1), Lil Rounds (1)
Kathy: Danny Gokey (2), Adam Lambert (2), Alexis Grace (1), Matt Giraud (1)
Kristina Beras: Adam Lambert (2), Danny Gokey (2), Alexis Grace (1), Kris Allen (1)
Suzer Steege: Adam Lambert (3), Kris Allen (2), Alexis Grace (1)
Kelsey: Danny Gokey (3), Scott MacIntyre (2), Allison Iraheta (1)
Jason Christ: Danny Gokey (3), Alexis Grace (2), Adam Lambert (1)
EDIT: Missed 2:
Lisa Criste: Danny Gokey (2), Allison Iraheta (2), Adam Lambert (2)
Caroline Criste: Allison Iraheta (2), Alexis Grace (1), Adam Lambert (2), Danny Gokey (1)
Looking forward to the season!
American Idol: Top 13
I enjoyed most of the show this evening. I think Danny showed his awesomeness. I didn’t care for Adam, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Alexis was probably my 2nd favorite of the evening. Kris, Allison, Matt and Megan were also good.
Megan’s performance was really interesting for me. There were parts that I really really liked, but some that were just ok. There was something about it though that made me like her.
It’s funny to me that Idol doesn’t own the Idols-13 phone number. In fact, it actually belongs to a not so nice company (the link doesn’t take you to said company, just another blog post with information).
Ok, so here are my picks on the bottom 3 (assuming that’s still how it works):
- Michael Sarver
- Anoop Desai
- Jasmine Murray
Jaime and I are thinking that the big twist for the results show is that America chooses the bottom three, but the judges decide who goes home. I also think they could make the bottom three sing to save themselves. What do you think?
Last thought: Don’t forget to register for Fantasy Idol.
Fantasy Idol 2009 Signups
Well, we have our Top 12 13 contestants finally! I felt bad for Anoop getting his chain yanked again, feeling the complete disappointment of not making it, only to be told he’d actually made it because they were upping the number of contestants. That’s just brutal.
But enough about the Top 13; It’s time to play Fantasy Idol! Here are the rules:
- You can pick up to six contestants for your team.
- You can divide a total of 6 points among your team. (You are responsible for correctly adding your points. In the event that you assign too many points total for your team, one point will be deducted starting with the first contestant you selected and moving through each of your team members until it reaches six total points.)
- Each week your contestant survives, you will receive the number of points you’ve assigned to that contestant added to your total score.
- The person with the most points at the end of the season gets a free copy of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. (In the event that I win, 2nd place will receive the prize.)
Here’s an example of how it works:
You choose Anoop, Kris and Jasmine for your team. You decide Anoop is worth 3 points, Kris is worth 1, and Jasmine, 2. Each week Anoop survives, you’ll get 3 points added to your total score. Each week Kris survives, you’d get 1 point.
The deadline to sign up will be 7:55 EDT (Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead this weekend!) on Wednesday, March 11, which is 5 minutes before the results show starts. This gives you the opportunity to see everyone sing one more time before deciding. If you wish to change your picks, simply fill out the form again. Your latest valid entry will count as your official team.
Also, the name you enter on the form will be what’s displayed on the blog standings.
Feel free to invite as many people as you want to join in on the fun. Please point them to this post for the rules and to sign up.
American Idol: Group 3
I was underwhelmed with the show this evening. I’d say this group ranks a distant third as far as performances go. No one truly impressed me, and I’m not sure any should get a second chance in the wildcard round.
That being said, here’s how I saw things:
Top 3
- Lil Rounds: Not my type of music, but clearly the best vocal of the night. If I liked this music, I probably would have been impressed.
- Scott Macintyre: Decent performance, but I’d like to see him go through so we can see him play on the piano while singing.
- Jorge Nunez: Again, not necessarily my style, but I think he should go through. He’s likeable and a good singer. I think the competition can only support one ballad-type singer, so Scott or Jorge could be an early out in the Top 12.
The 2nd Tier
- Kristen McNamara: She’s likeable and cute, an above average singer that has room to grow.
- Felicia Barton: Also a good singer and a great story, getting a last second callback for the show. She shouldn’t make it through, but you never know.
The Distant 3rd
- Kendall Beard: I like her, but it’s hard to see her as anything more than a country singer. She doesn’t belong in the Top 12.
- Von Smith: He didn’t sing awful, but he didn’t stand out much either.
- Ju’not Joyner: I liked the slow start to the song, but he should have picked up the pace in the middle to give it some pop.
- Arriana Afsar: Terrible song choice, but she just makes the cut above the bottom of the barrel folks.
The Bottom of the Barrel
- Alex Wagner-Trugman: He’s really likeable. But that song was awful. Awful.
- Taylor Vaifanua: I’ve seen her sing the entire song, then saw the playback, and I still can’t remember much about her.
- Nathaniel Marshall: Did you see him perform? I predict he’s last to go for the suspense.
In the end, I think anyone in my 1st and 2nd tier could go through, with Lil Rounds being the only shoe-in. We’ll see though.
Also, the wildcard round is on Thursday, not next week. This means polling for Fantasy Idol will open after Thursday’s show sometime, possibly by Friday morning. Watch for the official post then!
American Idol: Group 2
From the “This is why I need a DVR” department… I set our VCR (yes, you read that correctly) to record American Idol this evening, but I forgot to set the digital converter box to Fox, so we actually taped the first 40 minutes of Biggest Loser instead of Idol.
From the recap at the end of the episode, it looks like that may have worked out well for us, as the performances seemed pretty bad. Watching Nick’s short clip was like a flashback to the tryouts, only it was a contestant that things they can sing and the judges just lay into him. How did he make it this far again?
Ok, from those that I saw, here’s who I liked (and didn’t):
My Top 3 (Should advance to Top 12)
- Allison Iraheta: I like her sound, but the song choice won me over. Jaime thinks I have residual love for anyone who sings Alone by Heart because Carrie Underwood sang it so well several years ago. Could be.
- Kris Allen: None of the guys really blew me away, but one has to make it. I like Kris, but I think Adam Lambert makes it.
- Megan Joy Corkrey: There’s something about her voice that I just love. It was a fun song, but her dancing could use some work. She’s marketable, so she should be a good fit for the top 12.
My Second Tier
- Mishavonna Henson: She was good, but I kind of agree with Simon that she sounded too old. I think she’s the odd girl out in this strong group of girls. Hopefully she gets a call back for the wildcard round.
- Jesse Langseth: Likeable but just ok voice for me. I wouldn’t mind if she got another shot in the wildcard round, but I’m ok if she doesn’t.
My Bottom Tier
- Matt Breitzke: Simon’s right. He’s quite forgettable with his song choice, but that’s probably a good thing. It certainly moves him up my list. I wish I could forget these other two goofballs below him.
- Kai Kalama: Ugh. Awful. He looked like a greasy car salesman/vegas singer cross. The song was a terrible choice. I had such high hopes for such a cool name, too.
- Adam Lambert: I’m definitely in the “hate it” crowd on this one. Way too over the top, awful vocals, stupid expressions. Randy’s right, though, he looks like Edward Cullen of Twilight fame. There should be enough young girls that find him attractive that he should get more votes than Kris Allen, which is too bad.
So how do you rank them?
American Idol: Group 1
Well, we are finally down to the real deal with American Idol. It was good to move out of the auditions phase and into the actual competition. Here’s the rundown of candidates as I saw them, with a quick comment on each:
- Tier 1
- Danny Gokey: Top vote getter for boys/overall. He sounded great and how could you not vote for him with his story?
- Anoop Desai: 2nd highest vote tally, advances to Top 12. He’s really likeable.
- Alexis Grace: Top vote getter for the girls. I liked the punky hair. Very rocker-like.
- Tier 2
- Michael Sarver: Like him, should get a 2nd chance at the Wildcard round.
- Tatiana del Toro: Way better than expected, but I don’t think she should make it. She might, though, thanks to Vote for the Worst.
- Jackie Tohn: She’s more likeable when she’s not singing.
- Ricky Braddy: The judges thought he sounded good, but I thought he was forgettable.
- Ann Marie Boskovich: Borderline tier 2 at best.
- Tier 3
- Stephen Fowler: Horrible song choice. Absolutely horrible. I wouldn’t mind if he got a 2nd chance, but I’m not sure he will. He’s used up too much grace from the judges making it into the top 36.
- Stevie Wright: I liked her a lot after her auditions. She was awful tonight. I hope she gets a 2nd chance. She could grow a lot.
- Brent Keith: He’s nice enough, but no in the same league as the tier 1 people.
- Casey Carlson: Wow. She was terrible, but kudos to her for not crying on stage. The judges were rough on her.
Fantasy Idol 2009
It’s almost time to start our Fantasy Idol season again. It seems the process for choosing a Top 12 is different yet again. There seem to be 3 weeks of 12 singers each (the Final 36). Each week, three winners will be chosen. There will then presumably be some method for getting the extra 3 singers back into the mix to round out the top 12.
Our rules will be a little different this time, however. Each player in the pool will be given 6 points to distribute among the finalists as you see fit. For example, you could take 6 different finalists and give each person one point. Or you could pick 3 people and give each 2 points. You get the number of points you’ve assigned to each contestant added to your score each week they survive. For example:
My picks are:
- John Doe: 2 points
- Jane Smith: 3 points
- Jimmy Johnson: 1 point
Now, John makes it 3 weeks, Jimmy 5 and Jane only 1. My point total would now be:
- John Doe: 2 points X 3 weeks = 6
- Jane Smith: 3 points X 1 week = 3
- Jimmy Johnson: 1 point x 5 weeks = 5
- Total Score: 14 points
At the end of the season, the person with the most points wins.
I’ll release the details for how to give me your picks once we get a little farther along, including when the deadline to pick will be.
The American Idol Finale
Some thoughts from Jaime and I as we’re watching the show:
- They are an advertising machine.
- Apparently there is a dance show on Fox.
- And Ryan can dance!
- There’s some Love Guru also.
- And Disney wants some love.
- David Cook does Risky Business Guitar Hero. Archy too.
- It’s great to see the Top 12 again.
- Amanda Overmeyer looks like she’s having the time of her life. Why Purple?
- Brian Adams is cool. A good choice for the Top 6 Guys. Jaime was really excited about this, especially the first 2 songs.
- Brooke looks so happy singing with Graham Nash. They sound good too.
- Jaime’s choice for an artist she would sing with on American Idol: Billy Joel.
- Mine: David Crowder or Chris Tomlin.
- Yay Renaldo! With the USC Band and Cheerleaders! And they cut to commercial because he’ll never stop singing…. Nice.
- Apple has some of the best marketing people in the world.
- Carrie Underwood flunks the modesty test.
- I hope George Michael isn’t singing until that sun sets on the screen behind him. Boooooring! And what’s with those glasses?
- Simon apologized! Whoa!
- And the winner is: Jaime and Annie! (Of Fantasy Idol)
- The other winner is: David Cook. He is very classy. Best idol crowning moment since Carrie Underwood won season 4.
Dueling Davids
Not a lot to say this evening. Archuleta was his usual self. All the songs were kinda the same if you ask me. Cook showed his versatility. He looked a little out of it this evening. I think Archuleta wins, but Cook goes on to sell more albums.
Close, But No Cigar
Well, my first pick for American Idol didn’t win, but I feel good picking someone who at least made it into the top three. Syesha picked up her game a bit too late to overcome the lead the Davids had on her. I still like her, but it was the right decision.
Our last update on Fantasy Idol before the final show:
- MomH (56)
Jaime (56)
Annie (56) - Karen (43)
- Alicia (38)
Sue (38) - Kathy (36)
- Jason (34)
- Tracy (29)
So Annie and Jaime’s hopes ride with David Cook. If Cook wins Idol, Annie and Jaime win our first Fantasy Idol competition. If Archuleta wins, it’s a tie.
Battle of the Davids
I wasn’t that into AI tonight. Archuleta’s first song was probably my favorite. Cook’s last one was a close 2nd. I also enjoyed hearing Switchfoot’s “Welcome to the Planet.” Syesha was good, but not good enough to beat out the two favorites. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.
Mees-mmm-hmm-mm-na-na-ome
Meesa going home. Sorry, forgot the title there for a moment.
Goodbye Jason Castro. You simply can’t forget the lyrics to a song this late in the game and expect to stay. He’s a nice enough guy, but it was his time to go. I feel bad for the lashing he took from Simon and all the bad press for his horrible performance, but still… It was time. Past time. I only wish he could have gone out on a positive note for his sake.
It’s shaping up to be a big run for the finish in our Fantasy Idol pool. Here are the standings with 3 weeks to go:
- MomH (55)
- Jaime (54)
Annie (54) - Karen (42)
- Alicia (37)
Sue (37) - Kathy (35)
- Jason (33)
- Tracy (28)
The race is on. Jaime/Annie can win if David Cook goes all the way. It’s a tie if he finishes 2nd. They lose if he goes home next week. Tune in and watch the drama unfold!
