TV

Well, the time has come to "celebrate her home," as the Ruben song says. Seems like she didn't want to be celebrated home, as she couldn't stop crying. But hey, these things happen.
Meanwhile, what do you think of the Final Four? It's certainly an eclectic group. For those who will say Jason doesn't deserve to be there, I say you are wrong. Just my opinion!

He's safe, and I'm not suprised. I think America rallied behind him last night after the Great Judging Debacle -- especially because not one person apologized for putting him in that position. I mean, couldn't Paula have said, "Hey, sorry about hating your performance BEFORE YOU EVEN PERFORMED. Now get out there and sing."
Or, they could have thrown him an apology bone tonight. Instead, it was all about rallying around Paula. Ryan said that "the judges were thrown a curveball on the air," which "sparked a lot of gossip about Paula.
"Just for the record," he added, "the rumors -- they're not true. She's part of our family and we love her."
Wow. Cryptic much? Why not go ahead and explain what the heck happened last night instead of brushing it off like that?
And -- for God's sake -- why not apologize to Jason after you're done kissing up to Paula? Oh well. The voters did it for them.

The group number was particularly odd tonight, wasn't it? But it was nothing compared to the small talk between Constantine Maroulis and Ryan Seacrest. I was creeped out, and I'm not sure why. (Maybe because I remembered how gaga I once was over Constantine. That's gotta be it.)

Calling all Sex and the City fans, tune into The Oprah Winfrey Show Thursday as the talk show queen welcomes the cast in advance of the May 30 movie premiere. According to a press release touting the already taped show, stars Sarah Jessica
Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis talk about trying to keep the movie's plot under wraps while filming in New York City with hundreds of fans watching. Mr. Big, a. k. a. Chris Noth, also sits in to talk about being a man in pop culture's most beloved ladies-land theme park. (Tune-in time: 4 p.m. on Channel 8).

After rewatching the drama this morning, I was struck by a couple of things.
- Did you catch the looks of everyone onstage as Paula started discussing the second song? Priceless. Especially Syesha -- she was clearly bemused by what was unfolding.
- Do you think esteemed host Ryan dropped the ball for not being the one to step in? His only reaction was to quickly glance at someone offstage as if to say, "What do I do? What do I do!?" I wonder: If Randy (our hero) hadn't said something, would they have just gone on as if everything was fine and dandy? Possibly! Because one thing is already clear, based on Paula's "explanation:" They think we're stupid.

How did the loopy judge see into the future to comment on a performance that hadn't even happened? She told Entertainment Tonight she was "trying to give my critique for Jason Castro and scribbled Jason's name, and that was David Cook's!"
No way. In the notes in question, she'd panned Jason's "second" song for lacking charm and leaving her empty. If that was meant for David, why did she turn around and say to him, "You were fantastic, and it was a song that wasn't known"? This is the type of lie a 5-year-old would tell. The logic is missing.
So what really happened? The judges probably watched the rehearsals and based their notes on them. Which is all kinds of wrong, but it's believable. But it still doesn't explain why Paula Abdul didn't realize that none of the gang had gotten to their second songs yet. "This is hard!" she exclaimed after her slip-up. Yes, recalling the last half-hour of one's life can be a challenge, but most of us manage.

Many questioned Andrew Lloyd Webber and his songs for the Idol singers and, indeed, quite a few seemed uncomfortable with it (although Syesha and David Cook seemed to have a good time!). But I think the Neil Diamond songbook was much tougher. While there are many interpretations of Webber by Broadway singers out there (which in turn gives this crew a lot of room for interpretation), Neil Diamond's work is so defined by his vocals, love 'em or leave 'em, that they are really hard to cover. He's raw, he's ragged, he's powerful, he's out there. And for me, the best these kids could do (yeah, sorry, even for Syesha and David Cook who were at least smart enough to sing lesser known Diamond songs) was tread water. I actually do like David Archuletta, but come on, you can't sing Sweet Caroline without the audience wishing they were listening to Diamond's version. Your thoughts? Which songbooks have proved the toughest so far this season? (And do you know Diamond has a new CD coming out next week, Home Before Dark?)

You know, it's been driving me crazy all season how much Brooke has reminded me of Carly Simon (although I like Carly much much more because of all the songs she's written). There's something about that long, lean look, the vulnerability, the piano and guitar accompaniment, the husky voice -- anyway, I thought it was just me. Then I read this story from the AP in which Carly Simon says Brooke is her favorite! What do you think? Does Brooke remind you of Carly? And has anyone besides Mario checked out the new Carly Simon album, This Kind of Love?

Here's the video of Paula getting confused that Darla mentioned in this post.
Watch this.
Oh man.
Oh man.
Still. Makes. Me. Cringe.