American Idol Top 10

Just now catching up, so I figure why not blog while watching. 

IF YOU HAVEN’T CAUGHT UP YET AND ACTUALLY CARE, STOP READING. 

Guys:

Paul Jolley - Kinda surprised, honestly.  Glad a Tennessee boy got in, but I really didn’t have him in my Top 10 voices, so I don’t have much to say. 

Burnell Taylor - Obvious.  If he hadn’t gotten in, I might have stopped watching.  Another Southern boy, so good stuff there, lol.  His voice is amazing.  And I LOVE that he did India.Arie.  She doesn’t get enough praise anymore and that song is one of my favorites. (“Ready for Love” in case you didn’t know the title.  Go get it. Great album, actually.)  He looks great and sounds great, so congrats. 

Curtis Finch, Jr. - I think this guy is a pretentious asshole.  I really can’t stand him and I hope he gets voted off first.  Nicki looks a little surprised to see him and not happy about it.  Not that he doesn’t have a good voice, but he’s so fake.  I son’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth. Ooh, and he totally screwed some of those notes there at the end.  And the pan to his “friend.”  Come on, now.  You ain’t foolin’ nobody.  Which also irks me and plays into how disingenuous I think he is. 

On a side note, what was with all the church choir directors this year?  Not that I care, I actually really liked the lady from Texas with the short, edgy haircut.  Can’t remember her name. Christa, maybe?  I just think it’s weird that there were so many that made it so far all in the same season.  

Devin Valez - He’s got a really great voice.  And I love that he sings in Spanish sometimes.  I don’t think Idol’s ever had that before.  I just hope it doesn’t hurt his chances with the general audience.  Yep, Nicki said she didn’t think the bilingual thing had been done on Idol before either.  Sorry, hope that didn’t sound flippant or rude.  I just finished a huge painting for class and had a giant bottle of champagne to myself, so my diction may not be as eloquent as normal.   

Another side note: I googled and the lady I was thinkin of was Cristabel Clack.  I was close.  

Lazaro Arbos - Yay!! I love him! He’s got a great voice and really is inspirational to so many people.  I wonder if they’ve ever suggested he sing bilingually…?  Ooh, “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.”  Good choice, I think. 

As for the other guys, I’m sad that my hometown boy, Nick  Boddington of Memphis, didn’t make it in, but honestly, there were better voices.  Charlie didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell; he’s just too quirky to appeal to a mass audience.  I have a feeling I’ll say the same thing about Zoanette here in a little bit.  I liked Elijah Liu, but his performance last night wasn’t that great.  Vincent was too gimmicky and Cortez screwed up, so that’s the way it goes. 

Girls:

Janelle Arthur - I like her a lot and she’s from right outside the town I’ve made as much home as I can for about the last 10 years, but I really thought there were better voices in this weel’s performances.  She definitely has that country twang that was there in ’80s and ’90s that I miss, but..I don’t know.  Kinda wondering who of my top5 girls gets the boot now.  I can’t say that 2 chances for Tennessee to bring it home isn’t exciting, though.  That performance really was good! Maybe some of last week was song choice cause I just din’t care for that song.  Either way, I wish her the best of luck. 

Candice Glover - There was no doubt! She was my #1 girl.  Gorgeous. Love her.  And another Southerner! We just do it better down here. The control she has! Damn! o good. Keith is so into her voice, lol. Wow, she actually got MAriah to stand up! She never does that! Aww, it just hit her!  Congrats, girl! 

Angie Miller - Another no-brainer. My #2.  Lover her voice.  I can’t WAIT for that original song she wrote to be available on iTunes. She’s adorable and the fact that she can play the piano and sing her heart out is part of why she rocks.  I don’t know this song, but I like it. Oh, it’s Beyoncé? Hmm.  Missed that one.  But Angie’s got heart.  Can’t wait to see how she does. 

Amber Holcomb - Yay!!  My #3! She’s great and just so natural! Even as nervous and excited as she was, she’s killin it! She could totally win this.  I really see it coming down to Candice, Angie, and Amber…if the producers will let the Final 3 all be women. 

Kree Harrison - I liked her a lot, too, but I’m surprised that 2 country artists made it through.  Fans usually rally behind one.  Ok, maybe she’s not straight country! That performance was great! 

So sad that Tenna, Aubrey, and Breanna couldn’t make it, too.  I’d easily have traded Curtis and Paul for 2 of those 3.  Not 100% which 2, but yeah. Amd 7 out of 10 are Southerners.  See?  lol.  But it’s definitely the year of the woman on Idol. 

Dear College Freshmen…

I realize you’re super stoked about being away from home, being “an adult,” and starting your life, but seriously, use your brain.  I understand that your first few weeks of college can be nerve-wracking and scary, but just chill and relax.  When someone asks a question, just freakin answer it!  Doni’t start rambling about how your grandmother’s dog once went to the vet and they found a tick on it.  Trust me, no one cares.  It only makes you look like a freshman, the exact thing most of you are trying to avoid.  Speak when spoken to.  Don’t volunteer frivolous, off-topic information; that’s for your new roommate, not a class full of strangers.  

I understand that you’ll get lost on campus.  Don’t hesitate to ask someone that seems to know where they’re going.  If that person is an asshole, flip them off and ask someone else.  Most people, especially here in the South, don’t mind helping.  At the same time, if you don’t know where you’re going, stop standing in the middle of the damn walkway.  You’re only holding up traffic and pissing everyone off. 

Most of all, have a good time! Live it up! Drink if you’re so inclined! But do your damn homework.  No one (including the professor) wants to hear your excuses as to why you didn’t do an assignment.  We’re probably not gonna believe you anyway.  College should be fun, but you don’t want to be there forever.  Trust me, I know first hand. 

And if there are any freshmen reading this, hit me up! Even if I don’t attend your universtiy, I can likely help you navigate the ridiculous bureaucracy that is the American higher education system.  God knows that I’ve been at this long enough! And almost done, thank GOD! 

A Request of the Religious and Spiritual

I’m doing a project here at The University of Tennessee for a video class and I’m doing it on religion and prayer. I’m looking for additional audio for the video, so I have a request, especially for those of you with iPhones (I say iPhones because I know the audio quality capable on them). I’m wanting prayers/incantations from as many different religions as possible, especially non-Christians and especially if you speak a language other than American English. I have access to tons of different Christian denominations and American English speakers, so I’m trying to increase the diversity of language.

On a 2nd note, if you are in or around the Knoxville, TN area and are willing to be filmed for the project, it would be more than greatly appreciated. Again, non-Christians will take precedence because I have an abundance of them already.

My email address is ***jclayto4@utk.edu**** If you are comfortable bring filmed, feel free to just shoot it to me in an email or if you’re open to being filmed or if you record any audio, shoot me a message with the attachment. I’d appreciate it if you’d include:

Your Name (for credit)
Your Religious Affiliation (if any)
Any other information you’d like to include such as age or location.

Thank you so much in advance!!!

~Johnathan

Self Evident Truth Project

Just an reminder, the Self Evident Truths Project will be in Knoxville Sunday, March 11th and Monday, March 12th.  On Sunday, they’ll be at Lox Salon from 10a-5p.  On that Monday, they’ll actually be on campus in the OUTreach Center here at UT. I have an appointment set for 3p, y’all should come!  

As a little added incentive, UGA just broke the record for number of turn outs of any other city in the country in one city with 95.   We need to break that! 

The guy I’ve gone out with a few times…

…is petrified of storms.  I’m really trying not to say something stupid or insensitive, but it’s just so foreign to me.  He’s form over here in East TN and because we’re in a valley, they’re not used to all these severe storms since the mountains usually keep the worst of it out.  But as a Memphis boy, we get this all the time.  I actually find it kinda relaxing.  I’m that person that would be sitting outside reading or something right now if I had a front porch.