Subscribe in a reader
The Aston Martin Jump
By Jeff | April 28, 2008
I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted on here and hopefully these videos will get me back on track. I couldn’t resist the urge to put these videos on my site. You have probably heard about them. The first video is of Kobe Bryant endorsing Nike’s “Hyperdunks” basketball shoes. It shows Kobe Bryant jumping over an Aston Martin as it drives by. Pretty sweet and there were people questioning the validity of the video. Personally, I don’t know how you could question the validity. It was made pretty well, but seriously, so many things could go wrong so there wasn’t a question in my mind that it included special effects. Anyway, here it is.
Now, there is where it gets even better. I love NBA Basketball on TNT. Ernie Johnson, Kenny “the Jet” Smith, and Charles Barkley are the best at breaking down games and entertaining. The next video is no exception. As part of their coverage of the Lakers vs Nuggets series, they provided their own Aston Martin jump that involved Kenny Smith. Well, Kenny doesn’t quite make it and the laughs that ensue are genuinely infectious. I’m not sure what it is, but when “the Chuckster” starts laughing I immediately follow suit. Enjoy!
What can you jump? Click the ThinkBox FeedBox to subscribe and be notified of new content.
Topics: NBA, Nike Hyperdunks, TNT, aston martin jump, basketball, charles barkley, ernie johnson, kenny smith, kobe bryant, video, youtube | No Comments »
American Idol 2008 Season 7: Top 7 Finalists Performances
By Jeff | April 16, 2008
This week was Mariah Carey week on Season 7 of American Idol 2008. The remaining top seven finalists performed in order to make it through to next week. One more will get eliminated before the week is over. It’s my job to predict who it will be. I agree with Simon’s assessment that this show was harder on the girls because we have a direct comparison of the songs with Mariah’s version while the guys would sound totally different thus better. Of course, in saying that, there have been two girls and three guys eliminated. Go figure.
Last week, I was left with my jaw on the floor as Michael Johns was eliminated in what I think is the greatest shocker of all eliminations. I know Daughtry was a shocker too. It’s just my opinion.
Anyway, Tuesday April 16th, 2008, we saw each of the remaining seven finalists perform a song from the Mariah Carey collection. Mariah served as this week’s mentor. Dolly Parton week was awesome. So we’ll see if the song writing of Mariah will translate as well as Dolly’s did. Well, it didn’t but at least David Cook returned to the top of the performers again.
Let’s take a look at each performance along with my personal thoughts. First, here is a quick rundown of how I ranked the performances of the seven finalists.
- David Cook - “Always Be My Baby”
- Jason Castro - “I Don’t Wanna Cry”
- David Archuleta - “When You Believe”
- Kristy Lee Cook - “Forever”
- Syesha Mercado - “Vanishing”
- Brooke White - “Hero”
- Carly Smithson - “Without You”
No one else has stepped up to change my opinion that only David Cook, or David Archuleta deserve to win 2008 American Idol Season 7. I’m slowly starting to soften towards giving Jason a long shot but I don’t see it happening. While Syesha has overtaken the top female spot in my mind, I still can fathom a situation where she actually has a chance to win. Basically, I’m saying that nothing has changed other than the fact that Michael Johns was eliminated and I had him as the third possible potential winner. The order in which the other contestants exit is only important to me because I’m trying to beat my good friend Jason at predicting it more accurately. We are currently tied so we’ll see who he picks to see if I can regain my lead. Let’s check out a video of the performances and review my thoughts for each contestant.
David Cook - “Always Be My Baby”
David Cook returns to the top performer spot this week with his rendition of “Always Be My Baby”. Thankfully, David visited my worst performer list last week only briefly. As I stated before, at this point American Idol is a mere formality as David Cook could make records right now and sell very well. For the most part, he continues to affirm my belief that he will be the top selling artist to come out of this season’s American Idol contest. I don’t have much to say other than only time will tell if David’s raw talent can win over Archuleta’s ridiculous fan base.
Jason Castro - “I Don’t Wanna Cry”
Jason closes out the show with a fantastic performance. In fact, it may have very well been his best performance of the season in my opinion. I have no idea what Randy was talking about. Jason basically took an unknown song and made people wonder why it wasn’t a hit. He made it original as David Cook did and sang it with his signature. There’s nothing more you can ask of a contestant at this point. We want original and Jason Castro has pretty much given that to us from the get go. Jason is my second best performer of the night as he solidifies the dominance of the guys with the top three performances.
David Archuleta - “When You Believe”
To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed with David’s performance. It was nice and pretty much the same we have seen from him and for the time being, I guess there is no reason to change because the little teeny-boppers will suck it up everytime he performs and vote like there’s no tomorrow (shameless, I know). While the judges keep slurping the Archuleta milkshake, the little spoiled girly girly pre-teens are using their unlimited messaging plans to make sure he makes it all the way to the finals. My only question is what kind of singer is Archuleta? What kind of CDs will he actually produce? He sounds like a Clay Aiken to me. He will probably have a hit or two but might be better suited for Broadway or something if he can get some acting skills. There is no way that I could shell out money for a dozen or so Archuleta performances.
Kristy Lee Cook - “Forever”
Crazy. Kristy Lee Cook surprises me again. Honestly, I thought she did pretty well. I was totally expecting a train wreck for Mariah week from Kristy and she kinda rocked it out. Apparently, Kristy doesn’t want to go home. As ridiculous as it may sound, I have Kristy as the best female performer this week. What is happening to me? I will still contend that Syesha is the best female contestant remaining, but Kristy is trying her best to make a run at it. Her support will determine her fate. Ok, that’s stating the obvious, but what I mean is that Kristy has a chance to be in the bottom three even though I personally don’t place her there. Her support doesn’t appear to be consistent. It’s only when she performs well that she avoids the bottom three and the times when she doesn’t perform well she narrowly escapes elimination. She’s like an elimination ninja. I’m going to go out on a limb and state that Kristy will avoid the bottom three.
Syesha Mercado - “Vanishing”
This is tough. She sang the song well. It didn’t blow me away and it wasn’t terrible. The overall performance was good. There is a chance that Syesha has risen above the other girls as the best female remaining. The problem is that the girls have an extremely tough hurdle to beat that is more prevalent this week than it was during Dolly week. The comparison of their performances with Mariah’s version is going to be tough and while Syesha sang a song that I’ve never heard before, I can still imagine how Mariah would sing it. Syesha is no Mariah Carey. As strong as she sang and as crazy as this may sound, I have to put Syesha in my bottom three performances. I think she is safe from elimination, but either the song selection or just the fact that it was Mariah week puts her in the bottom three.
Brooke White - “Hero”
You know what. As much as I hate to say it. Brooke is in serious jeopardy. This was an odd performance to tell the truth. It actually seemed that Brooke got more nervous as the performance went on. The close-ups of her seemed to show her shaking more and more as she neared the end of the song. I agree with Randy that the bridge of the song was horrible and maybe she felt it and the fact that she knew it was bad caused her to think about it to much. I don’t know. But after watching it a couple of times, it’s clear that right after the transition she clearly lost her confidence. I really like Brooke and it would totally suck to get eliminated the week right after her sister’s wedding. There’s a chance that will happen but maybe she’ll get some sympathy votes from Simon’s ridiculous hamburger reference.
Carly Smithson - “Without You”
Hey, what a surprise. Carly returns to my list for worst performer. It seems that Carly is not ready for prime time and truthfully, may never be. She flopped as an artist many years ago and apparently nothing was learned from it. It’s time for Carly to realize that millions of dollars are not waiting for her. She’s got a powerful voice but somehow it gets lost in the translation from the performance to the audience. I don’t have a solution for her other than accept whatever money she can earn from being the lead act on a cruise ship or something. By the way, did you all hear what Simon said to Paula right after Carly’s performance? Call me crazy, but I played it back several times and it sounded obscene. Obviously his microphone was not supposed to be on, but he asks, “Do you want my advice?” Then Randy looks over a little surprised and the camera pans out and it sounds like Simon says the following into Paula’s ear, “You want his milk and you’ve got a boner.” It makes no sense, I know because last time I check girls don’t have boners, but that’s what I hear everytime I replay it. Interesting.
Elimination Prediction
So there you have my ThinkBox thoughts. This was a forgettable Idol night at least for the ladies. Other than David Cook’s performance, this is another show that will easily be forgotten. Mariah has written some great songs over the years. There’s no denying that. And I’m afraid that as far as the girls go, there may only be a handful of people that could get away with singing them. The guys clearly out performed the girls this round. I’m not sure if it was just that it was hard not to compare the performances with Mariah’s version or if somehow Mariah’s songs just exposed their flaws more openly. Maybe it’s somewhere in between or a combination of the two. Frankly, it doesn’t matter because I don’t think a girl has an honest chance to win this year anyway.
Once again, I’m predicting an all-female bottom three. No female is truly safe this week and for some odd reason I have Kristy Lee Cook actually avoiding it altogether. I don’t know why. Just call it a hunch maybe. But I’ve been wrong before, so we’ll see. Anyway, my bottom three include: Carly, Brooke, and Syesha. Unfortunately for the ladies, the remaining male contestants are very strong so I would not be surprised if we see all four girls get eliminated in the next four elimination rounds. I’m not calling it now. I’m just saying that I would not be surprised if that’s what happened.
Carly Smithson
After a quick look at my proposed bottom three, it really only came down to Carly or Brooke. Brooke lacked confidence and Carly lacks several things. I picked Carly to exit last week so I figured if I keep picking her then eventually I will get it right. It appears that Carly has, at least temporarily, replaced Kristy as the worst contestant remaining in the competition. I have nothing against her. She seems nice enough even with the ridiculous tattoo’d right arm. I don’t know. There’s no compelling personality to hang onto. There are no memorable performances to cling to. Carly has absolutely no chance of winning American Idol and probably has a zero percent chance of signing with another record label. So, it just seems like a good time for her to exit so she can put this particular dream aside and pursue a more realistic singing career.
I just feel that Brooke’s innocence and humility will garner enough votes to keep her from getting eliminated. People may perceive her as the worst performer because she lost confidence and seemed to get more nervous as the song went on that her fans will vote extra time for fear she is getting eliminated.
Below are some statements that I made last week when I predicted Carly to be eliminated. I like it so much that I’m going to leave it in tact. Ultimately, Carly can really blame this week’s elimination on one thing: song selection. This week’s song choice did not work for whatever reason. Whether you call it a mistake, an error in judgment, or whatever, I call it Carly’s Exit Song.
The Remaining Finalists
- Brooke White, 24, Van Nuys, CA
- Carly Smithson, San Diego, CA
- David Archuleta, 17, Murray, UT
- David Cook, 25, Tulsa, OK
- Jason Castro, 20, Rockwall, TX
- Kristy Lee Cook, 24, Selma, OR
- Syesha Mercado, 21, Miami, FL
Top 12 Eliminated Contestants
- David Hernandez, 24, Glendale, AZ (3/12/08)
- Amanda Overmyer, 23, Mulberry, IN (3/19/08)
- Chikezie Eze, 22, Inglewood, CA (3/26/08)
- Ramiele Malubay, 20, Miramar, FL (4/02/08)
- Michael Johns, 29, Los Angeles, CA (4/10/08)
For a quick recap from a slightly different perspective, swing by American Idol 2008 - Top 8 Performances and see what Jason had to say about the performances.
American Idol Pick Off 2008: Jeff 8-9 Jason 8-9
Topics: american idol audition, american idol contestants cut, american idol girls, american idol guys, american idol judges, american idol season 7 | 4 Comments »
American Idol Season 7 Cuts to 7 Finalists
By Jeff | April 15, 2008
And then there were seven.
Now that the shock of Michael John’s elimination has worn off, I feel I can finally post my elimination thoughts. American Idol Season 7 held another elimination round for the remaining finalist on Thursday, April 10th, 2008. And all I can say is “Wow!” I had picked Carly Smithson for elimination and you could see it all over her face that she was even expecting to go home. Maybe she reads the ol’ ThinkBox. Maybe not. In a complete shocker, Michael Johns was eliminated from American Idol Season 7. Unbelievable! I thought Paula was going to conduct a violent protest right then and there.
If you are keeping up with my contest with Jason of Pop Critics, Jason and I remained tied with both guessing incorrectly. We both had Carly as the worst performer and the one to be voted off. It was a huge shock that we were wrong and that Michael Johns was one actually eliminated from American Idol 2008.
Jason and I are still tied with a predition record of 8-9 or 47%. For the first time this season, I have gone below a .500 record. With four straight weeks of wrong predictions on my part, I’m beginning to realize how difficult it truly is to predict the voting of millions. Here was my ranking for the performances of the 8 finalists just to refresh:
- David Archuleta - “Angels” by Robbie Williams
- Kristy Lee Cook - “Anyway” by Martina McBride
- Jason Castro - “Over The Rainbow” by Judy Garland
- Michael Johns - “Dream On” by Aerosmith
- Brooke White - “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor
- Syesha Mercado - “I Believe” by Fantasia
- David Cook - “Innocent” by Our Lady Peace
- Carly Smithson - “The Show Must Go On” by Queen
My bottom three were Carly, Syesha, and Brooke. I didn’t actually expect David Cook to be in the bottom three of the show so I removed him from that list. I had predicted another all female bottom three as well as a female elimination. Well, I was wrong and that appears to becoming a trend. Anyway, let’s discuss my thoughts on the bottom three - which were Carly, Syesha, and Michael.
Why Michael Johns?
I really don’t have an answer for this one. I was shocked, surprised, dumbfounded, and totally freaked out by the elimination of Michael Johns. I have a feeling this is one of those times when the culmination of events resulted in this unbelievable ending. Here is my theory as the way I see it.
Michael Johns was one of my favorites to have a chance to win American Idol 2008 Season 7. What went wrong? Well, several things. First, Michael Johns sort of plagued himself by not listening to the judges. They tried to tell him to stick to a more “bluesy” sound rather than “imitation rock”. They were right. There were times, although they were pretty good, that it sounded like he was going to win a karaoke contest. Second, Michael John’s true fan base are not dedicated Idol voters. The “Rock-blues” crowd is not near as strong a voting group as the “teeny-bopper pop” crowd. Thirdly, David Cook did a horrible job on his performance so the voters that enjoyed the “rocker” sound saw that David might be in trouble and used their votes on him to make sure he was safe because they assumed Michael would survive. Finally, for some reason, people hate to see contestants eliminated. Carly was in obvious trouble and her supporters worked extra hard to get her the votes she needed.
So there you have it. That’s ultimately why I think Michael Johns was eliminated. It was the culmination of all the events above the led to the exit of one of the favorites. Michael Johns should not have been eliminated, but this kind of thing happens every year and is being compared to when Daughtry was eliminated. Although, I would rank this higher due to when Michael left and the fact that it came from left field. That’s debatable I’m sure. Sorry, Michael.
Why not Carly or Syesha?
Carly expected to go home. We saw her even raise her hand during a backstage shot when Ryan Seacrest asked who may be going home. I have no true answers as to why she is still here other than I guess her support is a little higher than I realized. It seemed she was destined to go home as I felt confident in that prediction so her supporters worked over-time to get her enough votes to stay in. Unfortunately, Michael took her place on the chopping block. Shame on you America. Shame.
Syesha could have gone home and I would not have been that surprised if she did. Syesha has a beautiful voice and a beautiful face. She is also the lone African-American remaining so it’s possible she will get votes based upon that fact alone. Even though I picked her to be eliminated last week, I think she still deserves to be in the competition. If she can avoid diva songs from diva artists that she can’t compete with, she could easily become the longest surviving female. But song selection is going to be huge for her.
The Remaining Finalists
- Brooke White, 24, Van Nuys, CA
- Carly Smithson, San Diego, CA
- David Archuleta, 17, Murray, UT
- David Cook, 25, Tulsa, OK
- Jason Castro, 20, Rockwall, TX
- Kristy Lee Cook, 24, Selma, OR
- Syesha Mercado, 21, Miami, FL
Top 12 Eliminated Contestants
- Michael Johns, 29, Los Angeles, CA (04/10/08)
- Ramiele Malubay, 20, Miramar, FL (04/02/08)
- Chikezie Eze, 22, Inglewood, CA (3/26/08)
- Amanda Overmyer, 23, Mulberry, IN (3/19/08)
- David Hernandez, 24, Glendale, AZ (3/12/08)
I previously stated that only the two Davids (Archuleta and Cook) and Michael had a chance to realistically win American Idol this year. Well, obviously Michael doesn’t have a chance so that leaves the two Davids. I haven’t considered finding a third replacement yet and I may not find one at all. We’ll see how the next few weeks play out.
For a quick recap from a slightly different perspective, swing by American Idol 2008 Results - Top 7 Announced and see what Jason had to say about Michael getting eliminated.
American Idol Pick Off 2008: Jeff 8-9 Jason 8-9
Did you see this coming? Click the ThinkBox FeedBox to subscribe and be notified of new content.
Topics: american idol audition, american idol contestants cut, american idol girls, american idol guys, american idol judges, american idol season 7 | No Comments »