( travolta voicing dawg, miley's right mix of youth & huskiness )

In Mariah's words herself, this movie is "too cute".

P. KOHLSCHREIBER def. N. Djokovic

6‑4, 6‑4, 6‑4

Lol...in 3rd round. Shiteous (yes, that's my new favourite made-up word now, along with emohut) since many commentators were predicting he'd reach the final and maybe even threaten Nadal after their epic Madrid semifinal.

In Nole's words, "suddenly I haven't played in the last three Grand Slams the way I wanted, and I don't know ... I cannot allow myself to have such a bad performance as I had today. I cannot allow myself to be that defensive. This is not me. This is not my game."

He seemed quite positive and mature about the loss, and also praised his opponent on his win. Asked whether he was mentally exhausted this far into the season, he replied, "mentally I'm a little bit exhausted, yes. But still, that's not an explanation for my loss today. That's not excuse, for sure.

I mean, it's a Grand Slam. Look, you know, I'm one of the favorites to get far in the tournament. This cannot happen. Of course, it's all my fault, and I accept the responsibility. [...] I think it was just me and my head today. I don't want to blame anybody else."

Now Nole's quarter of the draw is wide open and pretty uninteresting. Whatevz, just let Rafa have his title already.

Also, great article about the Roger/Rafa rivalry.

Ugh. I started off liking Anoop but my real favourite this season was Matt, but only because of his iTunes studio recordings of his performances each week. His voice is exactly the type of male voice I like listening to. It's like a more vocally agile Justin Timberlake with a greater singing focus in his songs. I downloaded his 2 pre-Idol albums but they're largely too amateur for me to enjoy. A few songs are nice, like "How" and "Could You Use a Love", but his AI recordings are several notches up in both the vocal department and production value. And yet they're still largely tacky covers of other people's songs. I really feel that he can be successful if he gets the right people behind him to help him write, produce and market the music that would best suit his considerable strengths. The talent is certainly there. The voice is there, and probably could do with even more improvement and strenghtening, especially in the upper range, if it were to be really spectacular. His riffs are like nothing else. He has a really gorgeous sense of groove to his voice with a really strong and modern pop/r&b sensibility, but grounded in natural technique. Just listen to his "come on, come on, come on" part in "Let's Get It On" or the smoothness and integration of his runs in "Part-Time Lover". His "Who's Lovin' You" is probably my favourite live performance on Idol this season from any contestant. He just has a really nice tone, really good vocal control, and the requisite passion and expertise. I'm kind of bummed he was eliminated even though it was overwhelmingly predicted. I really just wanted him to stay until Top 3 or something so I could have enough studio recordings of his to form an "album".

As for Anoop, he's probably still my sentimental favourite. I like Matt because I like what he offers. I like Anoop more on an emotional/personal level. He just seems like a really intelligent, well-spoken guy with an unexpectedly soulful voice. My problem with Anoop was I felt he essentially regressed throughout the competition. He started off the best with "Angel of Mine" and "My Prerogative", but then subsequent weeks he just delivered the same old, same old. I think he probably just lost confidence among his competitors and lost his sense of self. His relative lack of musical experience (not just in solo performance, but in arrangements, production, recording etc.) probably also disadvantaged him, particularly as he doesn't have an absolutely stand-out voice, but rather just a competent voice with a really nice smooth/r&b tone. He needed to take more risks, to go for more glory notes, to go for more riffs and runs, to go for more inspired song choices. I just became frustrated with him because I felt he had more to offer than what he was presenting. Then I think, maybe I really just liked him with the Clef Hangers? Maybe he performs best in the setting he's used to, among his friends in that group, where he is clearly the stand-out and can comfortably and confidently shine. But then I listen to "Angel" and I'm just confused ... why didn't he sing like that, or a song like that, on Idol? I listen to his performance of "The Only One For Me", or "I'll Make Love to You" and it's just like, wtffff. For me, while the setting is of course different, those performances are so infinitely superior to anything he ever did on Idol, possibly "Always on my Mind" excepting. Oh well, I think this season sucks. The glory days are over for Idol, but I still love the show for what it brings. I think entertainment still needs and craves American Idol.

BJ kisses what appears to be a purple anemone ball. ( Gloves and cap again?! )

So ... what did I think. I thought he was a little under in the group performance, and Jason's evaluation that he was the worst would've hit him hard. The Project Moda routine was awful, his costume was embarrassing, the final lift had a fault, but I credit his and Talia's commitment and fearlessness in executing it. I thought the night was shaping up to be a sure-fire kiss of death for BJ, so thank God for the second Nappytabs routine. BJ stated Napoleon & Tabitha are among his favourite choreographers, and he was doing a routine in a style which completely befits him (lyrical hip hop), so it was the perfect opportunity for him to shine. I've always loved Nappytabs' routines on the American SYTYCD (I've watched the Katee and Josh one to "No Air" a hundred times), so I was pretty excited to see BJ and Talia work with them. The reaction from the judges and crowd could not have been any more positive, which was in the moment extremely thrilling for me (as Whit would've seen, when I began fangirling over MSN to her in the commercial break). I am really glad BJ managed to score and deliver the routine so brilliantly, because the rest of the night was flat for him, and no matter what happens, he at least has this moment to define and pinpoint the pinnacle of his experience with the show. I'm also hoping that this so very well-received routine might be exactly what he needs to possibly push him over the line into the Top 4, though I still maintain the odds are against him, particularly as Ben and Charlie remain rock solid in their fanbase and popularity. But, like BJ said, even if he does exit tomorrow, all it really means is he misses one week of rehearsals. He made it through each but one, and was the star in a routine the judges unanimously heaped superlatives on ... you couldn't ask for much more.

At least it ain't twirly.
( super mario, is dat chu? )

So, as completely expected and predicted, BJ was in the bottom 2 males. And as hoped, Timo was the once who left. Both their solos were amazing (come on, BJ's turns!), but Timo's I admit was more dynamic and entertaining. It seems like almost an inevitability that Charlie and Ben will be the top 2 male dancers, with their popularity reinforced week after week. Charlie still hasn't had to ever perform a solo facing elimination, and Ben seems to have only gained in popularity the further he advances in the competition. Which is why I've decided that I'm going to vote next week ... I'm thinking maybe there'll be some sudden influx of BJ voters who haven't been voting in past rounds just so they can see their favourite make it to the finale. I don't know. I still think with 95% confidence he won't make it to the finale (which ironically might make the achievement of making it to Top 6 hurt more than if he left earlier), but at least I'll be able to say I did my bit.

People, I've found Mariah Carey's Twitter. This excites me more than I could possibly ever explain.

This guy is so talented it's really quite sickening.