Because I tweeted damn near 50 times last night during the Grammy's [or so it seems], I'm not going to tell you everything I thought. You can go look if you'd like.
BUT... I didn't get to talk about the red carpet, and we obviously need to.
Here's what I loved, hands down:
She can do NO wrong, and she's channeling her inner Faith Hill, which is a pretty great decision.
Another reason Kelly Rowland deserves more credit in the music industry. Beautiful.
NEVER thought I'd put Paris in a category of looking good at the Grammy's, but homegirl did it right. I hope that doesn't mean her album will be good. I don't think I could support that.
Nothing bad to say about this lady... even when there's snot coming out of her nose.
Hate the hair, but look at that body! Damn gurl.
These actually leave me a little undecided on my feelings:
I kinda wanna put this in the "good" pile, but I won't. A lot of people HATED her for wearing bebe on the red carpet, but like she said- it's her. Plus, I thought she looked rather pretty.
Sure, it's an ugly outfit, but she's not dressing like a man, and if you take off that netting, her face is actually pretty. I commend her for not being an attention whore.
T-Swift and Gaga in this category! Can you believe it?! I think this dress had potential. It's pretty, and I do enjoy the heart at the chest. I think she had great hair for it, too... but where the f are her boobs?! Plus, it's Taylor.
Alicia Keys rarely looks bad, but I'm hating this hair on her. Swizz Beats and that purple velour jacket- I'm kinda in love with it. Not everyone can pull that off.
And these are just stupid decisions:
Miss Linda Ramone. She's like part Ashley Olsen, part Reba, part Zenon, part saggier boobs than Betty White.
As I said last night, it's like her main focus is outdoing Lady Gaga these days. She had to make some weird red carpet entrance that tied into her performance just like the egg, but no one liked it. It was stupid and rather pointless. Leave the pope outta this.
I'm sorry... is that a doily, Fergie? Did you get this as a DIY idea on Pinterest?
I coulda let the dress slide, Robyn... then you had to wear the platform Tim's.
I've been saying that Katy is so pretty she can pull off the blue hair, but not this time. The roots showing is tacky. The blue on blue is not a good look.. and the style of her dress makes her look a bit larger, am I right?
But THIS.... is the best outfit I saw all night.
RICK ROSS. IN A V-NECK. And that pose! Stop it and get out of town. I haven't giggled so hard at an outfit in a long time.
Overall, it was a decent show. I'm not mad about Adele winning so much, especially after she thanked radio. Not many pop stars will do that. The only thing I ask for next year: A little less "reminiscing" on the music from 40 years ago. Bring back the 90s music for reminiscing purposes, kthanks.
love, elizabethany
PS: Pictures found on Buzzfeed, in case you wanna see more.
Tonight's American Idol finale performance show was two things: rather boring, and terribly unfair.
I get that it sucks that Lauren had the whole voice loss thing, and I feel for her big time, and I totally gave her the excuse of "if she was well, she'd be a lot better tonight."
But when they gave her that super emotional and decent song, and gave Scotty one that will work in Country, but is not relate-able to anyone else, that was just unfair. They gave her every benefit they could have given her tonight.
And as if the producers didn't give her the benefits, Scotty deferred his coin toss win to let her go second.
Anyway, that's why I want Scotty to win. They're both incredible singers. They're both going to be successful. [Is that the first time we've ever been able to say that?] I picked Lauren to win during her audition, but Scotty is more ready out of the two, and he's the better person.
Proof? This video that Tim Halperin took of him before they found out their fate in the Top 40.
He's so freakin' down to Earth, and I don't think he'll ever let it get to his head. He has the confidence, the swagger, the talent, and the personality to really make it big, and on top of that- He's a pure gentleman.
I don't think I'll be mad either way tomorrow night, unless it's anger towards the producers... But let's be honest, we've always known they pick favorites.
I didn't get to watch American Idol on time tonight, so instead of bugging you all with a million tweets, I figured I'd share all of my thoughts as I watch right here. PLUS! I can add all the performances in in case you missed it.
This season is amazing and if you haven't been watching, you're not smart. Get with it.
Now on with the show.
Woah. J.Lo... that's what I like to call Barbie make-up. I guess it matches the glitter sparkly dress, though.
It'd be nice if they got Casey's sound right. It really affected the ability to tell if he was good or not. I hope it doesn't affect the voting. His look was on point!
Thia really bothers me personality-wise. She's either really boring, or too soft, insecure, or something. But I don't like watching her. She's an amazing singer, and was good tonight, but... ugh. Definitely doesn't have that "spark."
Jacob was definitely becoming too much, and tonight was hella hard to judge with him because of the sound again, but he did a lot better than usual. I'm glad. He's definitely talented like woah. And YAY standing ovation! Yay for him!
Lauren killed it from the first note. Seriously. She's back, and she looked great!
Stefano was good, but like they said, there's definitely something more I want from him. He keeps reminding me of Bruno Mars for some reason. I want him to be special for something... besides his mom's food.
Haley definitely put on a show! You could tell she was feeling it and I really do love her sound, so I hope America kept her around.
Wow. Scotty found a way to legitimately turn Motown into Country. That's why I'm liking this season. People are being themselves no matter what. Scotty better be in the finale. There's no reason for him not to be. He's going to kill the country scene too, assuming they accept a youngin'.
I wish Pia had more personality. She's kinda like Carrie. Carrie was always blah to me, but damn, they can both sing. I'm thinking she needs to be joining Scotty in the finale. I'm sick of her and ballads, but at the same time- her Celine/Whitney voice works with that stuff.
I'm still more than obsessed with Paul's voice, and his personality is cute too, but all of his songs have really sounded the exact same week after week. I need something different.
Naima owned the stage tonight when it comes to performance. She sounded great, but she really strutted around, brought in the audience, and did a freakin' African dance breakdown in the middle! I like her originality, but I'm having a hard time imagining her as an artist.
Woah. Now I don't know if I can keep saying everything I've said about everyone else. James did AWESOME! Nothing bad to say. At all. Incredible.
Tonight's show was pretty incredible. Never have we been at the top 11 and I haven't known, with confidence, who I want gone. I'll be sad to see anyone go, really! BUT. If I have to pick one to go, it's definitely Thia. I don't think America will agree, but I hope they do. Joining her in the bottom three should be [unfortunately] Casey, Paul, or Haley.
Wow. Tomorrow night's show is going to be intense, I think.
Let me know your thoughts! I like hearing them as much as I do sharing!
I was trying to figure out when the perfect time to jump into covering this new season would be, and I've picked right now.
I had very low expectations for this season of American Idol. Without Simon, what show do they have?
Fortunately, they still have a great one, and I am very pleasantly surprised with how everything is going! Even though I wanted to punch the judges in the face for seeming to let everyone through to Hollywood, Steven Tyler is hella entertaining, and I don't think I've ever been happier with a top 24.
Up until the very last decision between Brett, Colton, and Jaycee, I agreed with everything. The judges' reactions weren't always as entertaining as they used to be, but I think they made better decisions.
So, in case you missed it, here are the top 24 contestants:
Ashton Jones, Brett Loewenstern, Casey Abrams, Clint Jun Gamboa, Haley Reinhart, Jacob Lusk, James Durbin, Jordan Dorsey, Jovany Barreto, Robbie Rosen, Scotty McCreery, Stefano Langone, Julie Zorrilla, Karen Rodriguez, Kendra Chantelle, Lauren Alaina, Lauren Turner, Naima Adedapo, Paul McDonald, Pia Toscano, Rachel Zevita, Tatynisa Wilson, Thia Megia, and Tim Halperin.
I color coded them all based on my wishes/predictions for the top 12. I picked 6 that I have to have in the top 12 in green, 6 that I hope don't make it there, and 12 that could go either way or I can't decide on.
As for my early predictions; Lauren Alaina is probably the front-runner. She's young which makes me a little hesitant, but she's likable and has a powerful voice.
BUT! HELLOOOO! My favorite is obviously my boo, Tim.
I've always loved introducing people who I think have a lot of potential or need to make it big, and thanks to Buzzfeed and Twitter, I was able to do that with Tim. You all have listened to his stuff for months, now it's time to catapult him to the top!
Starting Tuesday, I'll make sure to tweet and Facebook his number so we can all become an army of support, but watch the show! And tell all your friends "OMG I KNOW HIM!" cuz you totally do.
I'm really excited for this season. They're changing it up, and the talent is incredible. The people I picked to make it/not make it was mostly based on personality because all of them are honestly incredible.
*Sigh of relief.* Didn't wanna have to hate on my favorite show.
Tweet The 53rd Annual Grammys were last night, and if you follow me on Twitter, you know exactly how I felt about the show... But it's time for me to express myself one final time and pick some best and worst dressed!
Best Dressed on the red carpet:
I think Selena Gomez takes the cake for me, but I really did love Julianne Hough and Keri Hilson a lot. Selena's gold dress and hair was so simple, but sparkly and perfect for her body and just beautiful. I love the pattern on Julianne Hough's dress and her face/hair always look perfect. The asymmetrical mini on Keri is fun, a bright color, and enough to be different while still being gorgeous. I love the silver and long sleeves/mini dress combo on J. Lo, especially with her awesome legs, and Justin Bieber can pull off a while and off-white suit at the age of 17. Swagger.
Some honorable mentions:
I can admit it when it's true: Kim Kardashian looked good! LOVED the gold dress with her hair! It may have been showing off a bit too much, but I her makeup wasn't too crazy and I couldn't help but love it. Jennifer Hudson looks AMAZING! I don't love the open front on her dress or the plain hair too much, but the top of the dress is beautiful and her body is SMOKIN'! I liked someone's tweet: "When did J-Hud become better looking than Xtina?" As for B.o.B.- I think a lot of guys really stepped up their game this year away from the usual jeans/suit jackets and plain suits, and I love the red and just his overall attitude when pulling this outfit off. Who says only hipsters wear scarves?!
Worst dressed:
Everyone's talking about Rihanna and I can't figure out if they agree with me or not, but she's a cross between Strawberry Shortcake, and a naked Christmas tree with the white garland being wrapped around. Sorry, but this is just bad and awkward. Nicki Minaj is really growing on me, and part of me thinks this outfit is hilarious, but seriously- way too much. Leopard print mixed with bride of Frankenstein is just not a look for someone who may wanna be taken seriously in my book. Miley also looks really pretty awful. She clearly gained a freshman 15 in her last movie, and the side-boob needs to go. We saw it in Marie Claire, we get it. You have boobs. Keep it classy, please. You're better than this, Miley. I love the dress, but the overall look: no.
As for the show:
Christina fell and didn't really redeem herself from the Super Bowl, in my book. She looks and sounds awful, and it's really a shame.
As for Lady Gaga, I can't decide if I'm really annoyed by everything, or if I think the egg was cool. It was pointless, if you ask me. They made this huge deal about it on the red carpet, but when it came to the performance, it opened up and that was that. LAME. Plus- her shoulders and face were freakin' creepy. Her abs were AWESOME, but I couldn't look because of all the other body mutations.
Justin Bieber/Usher/Jaden's performance was AWESOME. Biebs is going through puberty, but as far as I can tell- he's proving it won't be a factor.
Cee-Lo Green wins best outfit of the night, obviously. I couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole performance, yet it was musically good too. Still iffy about Gwyneth Paltrow as a singer, but I'll take it for last night's purposes.
Dr Dre's appearance that everyone's been hyping up was underwhelming. Yes, it's cool to see him back with Eminem. Yes, the performance as a whole was great, but he just stood there and rapped in a not-so-talented way.
Rihanna's dress during "Love the Way You Lie" was AWESOME. I LOVED it! Liked the whole performance, to be honest.
Rihanna's performance with Drake- Also underwhelming talent-wise. Overwhelming gyrating-hips-and-nice-ass wise.
If you really wanna know everything I think, just check Twitter. Kthanks.
I think the show was pretty good as a whole. I wasn't disappointed! Ending: Awkward. Biebs not winning Best New Artist- Weird. Lady A taking home a ton of awards for a song they put out YEARS ago: Unfair. Still, I was entertained throughout... Minus the whole Barbara Streisand thing.
What'd you think? Let me know! I like to read your opinions too!
love, elizabethany
PS: Finding videos that are guaranteed to stay up for more than a couple hours is going to be impossible, but to check out what we could find, and more pictures of everyone, click here!
Tweet The 2010 American Music Awards were last night and I tried not to tweet too much so that I could share it all here, but based on my followers dropping like flies, I'd say I failed in that mission.
Oh well. I don't care! And I'm still going to share everything that I think is worth your time [as quickly as possible] right now.
First of all- Mike Manning, from Real World DC, hosted part of the Coca Cola Red Carpet! It was on Ustream so I don't have a video, but I gotta congratulate him! SO pumped he's making a GOOD name for himself after the show!
Now, onto the show-
The opening act: Rihanna
When it opened and she was singing "Love the Way You Lie Part 2," I got excited. I thought she was going to put on a killer performance. Then, she started "singing" more. She reminded me of Britney Spears at the 2007 VMA's. It was disconnected and rather effortless... completely disappointing.
The Awards:
Lady Antebellum were nominated for Pop/Rock AND Country Group of the Year. Is that weird to anyone else? Shouldn't they only be in the Country category? They won Country Group of the Year, though, so YAY for them!
Will.i.am accepted the Black Eyed Peas' award for Pop/Rock Group of the Year with a pretty sweet lego hat on. I gave two thumbs up.
Justin Bieber pretty much kicked everyone's ass. Breakthrough Artist, Pop/Rock Male, and Artist of the Year all went to him, and I can't even be mad about it. Have you turned on your radio this year? He's everywhere, and he's running the show, period.
That being said, he thanked Michael Jackson in the most bizarre way a 16 year old could- "Without Michael Jackson, none of us would be here." I mean that's just not true. We'd be here, Justin Bieber... but you might not be as fly.
He also brought Usher on stage with him to accept his Artist of the Year award and you have to admit- it was freakin' precious. I got goosebumps, and may have teared up a bit. Don't judge.
The performances
Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull took the stage after an awesome intro from Rico Rodriguez and Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family, but I'll be honest- it's not worth your time. It wasn't anything worth talking about.
Miley Cyrus was right after him with "Forgiveness and Love" and I think she's the one performance I'm not sure how I feel about it. It wasn't OMG SO GREAT, but the lyrics were pretty good. A little pitchy, but who wasn't last night? At least she wasn't pole dancing or ripping her [emo-styled] clothes off.
Diddy/Dirty Money performed for some odd reason. I assume he forked out a ton of money to get on that stage to have everyone say "Who cares?" It's obvious the girls are just his sex slaves and know they can't make too much of themselves to take away from Diddy's shine. It's a shame, really. Dawn could do better than working for Diddy. Diddy can't put on a show like he used to. I won't waste your time with this train wreck.
Kid Rock has been performing his ass off at all of the recent awards shows, and a lot of people don't like it, but homeboy was the first one to take the stage and actually sound halfway decent. I don't care how much his music has changed and how "Country" he may be now, I didn't mind it.
I'm not feelin' the Black Eyed Peas' new song "The Time." I like the sampling, but it's just too much. They put on a good, outrageous show, but I still don't see it being something everyone remembers. You be the judge-
Katy Perry just not sing live. I loved the choir beginning [even though most people were pretty anti-it] and the fireworks were obviously pretty awesome, but she was not. Watch if you want to see the proof,
Willow Smith intoduced Justin Bieber from her tippy toes, and he as of this moment in the show, he was the best to take the stage [the only one who could argue would be Kid Rock, in my opinion]. He had a few pretty epic voice cracks, but it just added a little flavor!
Bon Jovi was a refreshing touch vocally, but ya gotta admit- it was like watching any of the past few Super Bowl halftimes. It was cool, but it wasn't nearly as epic as it could have been. Don't bother.
Pink had one of the best, if not the best, performances of the night. The girl is pregnant and rockin' a show hard core. The performers all around her were amazing! Just... watch it.
I love a good, fly Ne-Yo performance, and I even like his new song, but they're getting to be a little typical for me. Even though they practically had sex on my TV, I'd say skip it.
Do I need to comment on Taylor Swift? Besides her uber-straight hair and bangs, it was exactly what she's done every other time you've seen her sing live. It was off-key and boring.
Christina Aguilerashowed her goodies that we've missed so dearly performed a song from Burlesque. She looked a little hefty if you ask me, but what can you expect from a girl who's coming back to the scene full forced?! Wait.. you mean.. she's supposed to be hott in such a movie?! Well, you tell me- Did she pull the performance off? I'd say if people are gonna give BritBrit a hard time about any of her performances, you can absolutely hark on Xtina, who didn't sing like we remember. She also didn't even look remotely attractive. [Audio is not right, but it's the best working that I could find.]
Time has changed our beloved Usher's live performances. Or maybe it's just the opposite. His performance wasn't much different than the one he did for the VMA's. His vocals were pretty shot, and it was obvious he's getting a little old and tired. I love him, but it's the facts of life- his "best performing artist" rep is dwindling. You can skip this one.
Train couldn't have looked happier to be on that stage. Lead singer Patrick couldn't stop smiling and DANG. Those glitter pants were something serious. Because it'll make you smile too, I say ya watch it-
Ke$ha started out very odd and auto-tuned, but I'm pretty sure she was singing throughout her performance. She definitely used a lot of back-up vocals, but you could hear her real voice, and it wasn't terrible! She's an interesting character with an interesting show, and a hilarious "auto-tune" machine at the beginning-
Gavin Rossdale and Santana were just plain boring, I'm sorry. My ADD couldn't watch the whole thing, so neither will you.
The closing performance: NKOTBSB- New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys
Epic. Epic, epic, epic. That actually doesn't even describe it. This performance made me cry real tears. They were by no means at the height of their talent, but like Toby Knapp said, nostalgia is a drug, and seeing two of the biggest boy bands on stage, together, singing their classic songs, and doing the typical boy band dances was something we haven't seen in much too long. Without this performance, the 2010 AMA's would have been forgettable. Now we'll remember it forever.
It was like they were trying to bring back a lot of things from the 90s, or maybe a lot of the 90s people we love are coming back on their own in a big way, and I loved the effort. Sadly, the performances weren't as good and the music just isn't the same as it was back then.
Thanks for trying, AMA's, but without that ending, it would have been remembered as "The American Pitchy-Music Awards."
Tweet Well dang, another season of the Real World is over. Crazy!
Last season I couldn't really step back from my personal involvement with the show and rate the season as just someone watching the show. With Real World New Orleans, I got to be closer to the show and cast than I ever have been while staying just another fan of the show.
Because of that, I feel it's appropriate to express my thoughts on the season as a whole.
Overall, was it a good season?
I'd say it was pretty good. The roommates were diverse and entertaining in a variety of ways. I laughed, I gasped, I cried, and I got angry throughout this season.
You'd think that'd be enough to consider it a good show, but there's one thing that didn't come easily- Making a connection with any specific roommate. Somewhere along the way Bunim-Murray has really forgotten the game-plan that used to make the show what it was. The scattered storylines and extreme focus on the drama kept it entertaining, but didn't give it the heart that the "first generation" Real World seasons used to have. The seasons that really showed 7 people growing, learning, and changing.
The "real" people is what makes the show and what separates it from the Jersey Shore. If it keeps going more and more towards drama and randomness, more and more people will lose interest. Real World is all about compelling stories, isn't it? If so- why don't they put more of a focus on those stories other than a quick 15 minutes? Jemmye's drama/story was good, but it continuously kept getting interrupted and was never given closure in the end. It was just forgotten.
What made the season good?
Though I just said the above, I have to admit- Ryan's drama made the season. It was his psychotic ways that drove Preston to say some of the funniest things he said. It was him that made Eric jump out of the background and into our hearts [and dreams] in his undies. Without Ryan, this could have been a season just like DC with two roommates hooking up and fighting, one roommate getting tamed, one trying to sing, one trying to be a star, and one to comment on everything that goes on.
Like I said, I also liked Jemmye's role. She was hilarious and unpredictable, but she also had a dark past that she was trying to get over. Seeing both sides of her was interesting and if there was anyone that I did develop a heart for, it'd definitely be her.
What will be missed?
The unpredictability was at a high this season, for sure. Ashlee's comments and facial expressions were also on point. Just because you're not causing the drama doesn't mean you can't be a vital part of the show. Her and Preston's comments on everything that went down were classic. Also- Knight's witty comments and ways that he dealt with different things [hiding like Anne Frank and escaping every moment he didn't want to be in] were pretty great. Oh, and Eric in his undies, of course.
What should there have been more of?
I always say there should be more random funny moments. I think there were more this season than last, so that's good! More in-house relationships and bonding would have helped us feel a little closer to the roommates as well.
Mckenzie's relationship with Grant was obviously more than what we saw. Why didn't we ever hear about him again besides St. Patrick's Day and the final episode? Same goes for Preston and Marty's relationship. Obviously they were something special, but how are we supposed to know?
Would it be wrong if I put Eric in his boxer briefs here, too?
What could have been left out?
I'm sticking to my statement that I say in the chats- They should keep it to 7 roommates. That being said, I think Sahar is the one who could be sacrificed. Her singing storyline wasn't anything to swoon over and Pablo kept her from doing anything interesting, then turned out to be a huge d-bag.
They didn't need to show Ryan come back to the house; it was pointless. A lot of times things were hyped up way bigger than they needed to be, but I understand it's to get people to watch.
I can't sit here and pretend like I didn't enjoy watching each episode. There was always something I loved that kept me watching. The step back to observe it as a whole is what has me wanting more. Hopefully some things get cleared up during the reunion and Sh!t They Shoulda Shown.
Thank you all for chatting with me every week and making me enjoy a show more than I ever could without your involvement. Also- thanks to the cast for letting us in their lives and a special thanks to Preston [and all his friends] and Ashlee for making appearances on this here blog.
