Kudos to Cook!

Your new American Idol, as Ryan Seacrest would say. Honestly, this is the first Idol album I will actually buy.

I am visiting the east coast now so I learned 3 hours in advance that David Cook had won on Wednesday and I couldn't tell any of my Idol fan friends! Then I woke up and found 50 emails on our group list!

Anyway, it's all pretty much over now, but I have to say how thrilled I am that David C won. I made my mother watch it with me on Tuesday and Wednesday and even she loved him. She said David A was too young to sing some of the songs he was singing and she's right. It's just that he doesn't have a lot of life experience for some lyrics and that's okay. He has plenty of time to do things.

I was especially happy that Simon apologized to David C for being dismissive of him and proclaiming David A the winner. Whether he knew then that Cook had won or not, I don't know. I'd like to believe he knew he was wrong and should have been more fair to him. But then again, I want to believe in the basic humanity of most people.

Today I'm headed up to my college reunion where I'll be teaching a class on YA literature to other reunion folk. I hope people enjoy it!

An Idol 3-Fer

Have I already declared that David Cook truly rules Idol?

I know, I know: David Archuleta has long been anointed as The Chosen One but after last night, I think I figured out why I prefer Cook. Archuleta, as perfect as he is, as adorable as he is, is predictable. We know he will do well on every song he sings. We know he will look into the camera at just the right moment. We know the pit grrrls will scream and wave their arms whenever he looks their way. There is no element of surprise.

On the other hand, David C could do anything with any song. Like the Roberta Flack song last night...he started singing a la Flack, beautiful notes, nice and slow, and then rocked it out. He showed us, yes, he can sing a song the way you expect but then wham! Turn it around and show us what it could be. That's the unpredictability that I love about him. That's why I will buy his first album, sans Idolettes.

As for Syesha, I appreciate her talent and her beauty. But last night was not her trying to win Idol. Last night was her audition for a Broadway show. C'mon, "Fever"? That is not the song you pick when you know who the voting demographic is. The people voting are not gonna like a vampy lounge act. And especially when it's not even sung that well. Sorry, Syesha. She knows she's not winning which is why she completely ignored the voting blocs and sang for the producers who are casting their next shows.

No need to play crystal ball today. Syesha is definitely headed home and the final showdown will be between the two Davids.

Bonus Round **HK spoilers!!**

Okay, how happy was I to see Ben get chucked off Hell's Kitchen last night? That was an awesome episode! From the "palate-testing" contest (yay, Mattie, showing your chops!!) to the manipulative Survivor-like behavior Ben attempted to rope his buddies into, this was an all around excellent show. I was so glad to see Ben exposed for exactly what Matt said he was: a bully who was looking to scapegoat. Once Matt was gone, Ben turned to Louross to be the next to suffer. I appreciated seeing Petrozza be a mature good guy and refuse to play into Ben's hands. As for next week...I predict Christina will be the one to go to the men's team. Matt will definitely not go and Corey seems determined to remain where she is, leaving Jen, Rosann and Christina and since we already know Christina feels like Corey and Jen are out to get her, she may just take this opportunity to move to a new team. Whoo-hoo! Can't wait!

VEE Reviewed by TeenReads

Thanks to TeenReads.com for giving me a really nice review of ALL ABOUT VEE!

Btw, doesn't the yellow in the girl's dress really make the cover stand out? I love it. I think I may want to get a dress like that for myself for signings and school visits but I'm not nearly as attractive as the model which, of course, is only right since she's a model and I'm a writer who sits in front of her computer all day.

Btw also, tonight is the Idol results show for Neil Diamond week and I just have to say how disappointing the perfs were overall last night. Even my very fave, David C, was not as butt-kicking as he usually is and all I have to say is, WHY NOT? The Neil Diamond canon is vast and expansive yet not one of the contestants seemed to pick the right song or to perform the ones they did pick with any sort of passion or energy. And I'm sorry to say but I think it's Brooke's time to leave: when HH is yelling at the TV because she's smiling through "I am, I Said" because once again she doesn't understand the lyrics, then you know it's time to gracefully exit.

More tomorrow when either Jason or Brooke leaves...

Surveying the Television Landscape

First the reality roundup: HH and I are only watching 2 reality shows this season, Idol and Hell’s Kitchen but both are excellent – and we watch them for completely different reasons. We love Idol because the cast is terrific and extremely-talented and we actually do hope to hear David Cook on the radio someday (although we definitely will not be attending any of the “Up With People”-ish concerts they do). We love seeing the contestants do well and it pains us when they get bad marks from the judges.

On the other hand, the HK cast is dreadful! Each of them is less likable than the last. While we don’t wish ill upon any of them, like poor Vanessa with her burned hand from Tuesday night, we don’t care if they all get kicked off the show. In fact, this season’s cast is so cruel and vindictive that it might be better if Chef Ramsay does show them the door and instead asks one of his show chefs to run his new kitchen in LA. We like the girls group only slightly better than the boys simply because we hate them slightly less.

So…Idol…America gets it wrong…again! The bottom two were supposed to be Brooke and Jason – come on, people, everyone knew that! They are adorable but sang horribly on Tuesday. Instead America chose Carly and Syesha? Two of the best perfs of the night? Wrong, wrong, wrong. And then to kick of Carly??? Quadruple wrong. HH said he wanted to stop watching when they kicked off Chikezie but we kept with it, trusting that the voters would get the top 5 right. As everyone said last night, it was a popularity contest this week. The girls like Jason and they think Brooke is sweet; those are the only reasons those two stayed and they should be planning ways to thank all those supporters somehow.

On a non-reality note: LOST is back tonight and I could not be happier! We have been counting down the weeks (again!) until this show returns. I have no idea how many episodes are left for the season but we will take whatever we can get. That being said, I hope there are a LOT.

Ah television...is there nothing it can't do?

Finally, Kristy Lee Cook's Idol journey is over. We - and she - have waited week after week and somehow she kept squeaking by, making it through to the next round on sheer charm and cute outfits. But even she knew it had to end at some point.

I gotta hand it to her: she acted like a true pro last night when told she was leaving the show. Sure there were a couple of tears shed but nothing drastic or melodramatic, a la Brooke White, who seems to have replaced Ramiele in the waterworks department. Kristy Lee graciously took the stage, singing to the judges (and especially Simon) with no sadness or bitterness in her voice. HH thinks her few tears were ones of relief and I have to agree. But she will have a solid career in country music if she wants one.

I have to laugh because when I was writing this blog yesterday, I accidentally wrote that I thought the bottom 3 would be Brooke, Kristy Lee and Syesha. I posted it and then re-read it and saw I had written Syesha where I meant to write Carly so I went back and edited it. Lo and behold, who were the actual 3? I should have gone with my apparent instinct.

On another note, I have discovered Hell's Kitchen, the Top Chef-like show on FOX that Gordon Ramsay hosts. OMG! I luuuurve this show! It's no Kitchen Nightmares, which is still my fave, but it'll do for the time being. Can I say how happy I was Jason the misogynist left on Tuesday night? This show is the true definition of "guilty pleasure." Just like a raspberry and chocolate fondant...

Mariah Week

Talk about separating the wheat from the chaff...it's not easy singing Mariah Carey's songs as the contestants on Idol are finding out. I had no idea she has a 5 octave range, until Ryan Seacrest pointed it out last night. No wonder it's nearly impossible to imitate her.

Easily the bottom three of the night are 3 of the girls: Brooke, Kristy Lee and Carly. And frankly I think Brooke is gonna go - if it's based on last night's perf only. Otherwise, Kristy Lee should leave, but I think she was surprisingly good enough to stay another week.

The boys, though, were outstanding! I was so happy for Jason and David C about the stupendous praise they garnered from Simon (although how funny was it that Simon didn't know what a luau was?). I loved David C's perf but I never know if the judges will agree with me; what do I know about singing, after all? It's nice to know they recognize and appreciate the original talent on the stage.

Could the final two be the two Davids? Who would have guessed? I suppose I owe David C an apology for the Hollywood week comments I made. I said he wasn't a real rocker but he knows what he's doing and has vastly improved from week to week. Even from last week when Simon thought he was being pretentious: this week he came back with a solid, humble showing.

Rock on, dude.

Pseudo Sightings

I’ve been going through a dry spell recently in regards to my celebrity sightings. Either they’re all staying away from me, knowing I will mention them on my website, or they’re out of town. It all adds up to no new sightings for me in the past few months. I thought I might have seen Julianna Marguilies in her car near West Hollywood but it was wicked fast and it could have been nobody. And I’m not gonna cheat you and say it was when I didn’t have a witness.

So what do I have instead? Pseudo sightings. HH and I were in Frankie and Johnny’s Pizzeria on Sunset this weekend (we had walked there and it was hotter than Hades that day!) and we noticed that visiting celebrities have written their names and notes on the walls with Sharpies. Well, of course there’s a big sign that tells the regular folks not to do any such thing but if you’ve got a TV show, go for it!

(They used to do this at another pizza place we liked called Albano’s Brooklyn Pizzeria on Melrose but that’s gone now, taken over by Enzo and we haven’t been back. Anyway, celebs wrote on their walls too. It must be a pizza joint thing.)

So here are the names we were sitting next to along with one of HH to prove we were there. Hehe…

First is Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum who plays Lex.

And, drum roll, please…the one and only Paula Abdul from the one and only Idol.

I have a hard time imagining that tiny little thing eating a slice of pizza. Maybe she just had a salad.

Random Friday Stuff

1. I can’t wait to see ALL ABOUT VEE on bookshelves. If anyone sees it anywhere, PLEASE snap a photo and email it to me! Or post it on your blog or something and let me know because that is just about the most exciting thing for an author. That and seeing it in someone’s hand as they’re reading it (and I don’t mean my mom or dad!).

2. I’m super-thrilled to be guest blogging today at Paula Yoo’s site. Come check it out! You know from reading my blog that I loved LOVED Paula’s book, Good Enough and I can’t wait for her next one, so if guest-blogging gives her time to finish it, then bring it on. Go, Paula! Write, write, write!

3. I couldn’t watch Idol Gives Back on Wednesday. I mean, yes, I could but I just couldn’t. The show makes me too sad. I watched last year and it was really depressing. I’m sure there was a lot of great stuff going on and I’ve read about all the terrific performances but I just…I couldn’t. I did, however, watch last night’s results show…

4. …and I couldn’t believe Michael Johns was voted off! Well, I guess I can, based on his ascot-vest combinations and the fact that he doesn’t actually understand the lyrics of the songs he sings (e.g. the Beatles “Across the Universe” and Aerosmith’s “Dream On”). He’ll do fine – heck, they’ll all do fine – but certain of them will do more fine than others. Like David Cook who has been humbled a bit after all his great perfs.

5. It’s finally getting warm again where I live which makes me feel soooo much better. I adore warm weather and sunshine, even if it does distract me from my work. My excuse for not getting my pages done these past couple of days? My new book is out! Whoo-hoo! Yay, VEE!!!

:) leigh

Discount Blogging

Let's get the Idol stuff out of the way: Ramiele was voted off last night during Dolly Days and while I'm sorry she didn't make it farther (and honestly, certain others should have been kicked off before she did), I don't think she's ready for what comes with stardom. She cries much too easily, gets thrown off her game, for someone who needs to be professional at all times. Not just in front of a mic but out in the real world, talking to people, doing things, and yes, even being criticized. Making a little sad face when someone gives you bad news is not how pros do things.

And now...okay, here's something. My book, LOVE, MEG, is at Amazon for like, six bucks. It's a whopping 62% off the regular price - and it's 2 dollars cheaper than the paperback which will be released in a week. So, while I don't completely understand the logic behind it (maybe they're trying to get rid of some stock and figure people looking for the book will buy it in hardcover first?), I say, if you ever wanted a copy of the book, NOW is the time to get it. Hey, if you order enough copies, you can even get the free shipping!

Dolly Days

She's so cute, isn't she? Dolly Parton is indeed like a doll, like one of those Barbies that you can dress up and braid her hair and change her shoes. I used to love to change Barbie's shoes. She had such tiny feet for a grown woman.

The Idol contestants didn't do so badly last night, with my fave, David Cook, adding yet another song to his repertoire. If I were a music producer, I would definitely be looking at him and these songs for an album when he's finished with the tour. I literally close my eyes when he's on and pretend he's on the radio.

As expected, Kristy Lee and Brooke did very well but the latter kept smiling through her rendition of "Jolene," which really felt awkward with the lyrics about a woman begging another woman not to take her man. How do you smile through that?

I think Ramiele was probably the weakest although I have to say I didn't think Syesha should have tackled a song Whitney Houston made famous. There are inevitable comparisons - and no one can possibly live up to her. Christy was fine but I have to agree with Simon: she is not dressing the part of a star. She looked very pedestrian last night.

As for the boys, I still love Jason but he did "his thing" last night which made him just all right. He hasn't really tried anything to make himself stand out from the other 8. Michael Johns was, for the first time in a while, very good and very watchable. I didn't feel like he was trying to be anybody else but himself. And then there are the Davids, both of whom were outstanding.

Oh and David C - great new haircut! Totally worked for him. I hope he keeps it.

So who's going home? Bottom three could be Ramiele, Syesha and Jason, based purely on performance.

It's Not Easy Being Chikezie

Again, the wrong person went home on Idol last night. Mister Chikezie has such a great voice, great personality and he really knows the right song choices for his style. He's a throwback to the days of Lionel Richie and Luther Vandross and you know what? There are millions of people who love that kind of R&B. I have no doubt that, once the tour is over, he will be making records.

As we heard Ryan say last night (and apparently he also mentioned this on Tuesday before David Cook sang) the "Billie Jean" arrangement was previously done by Chris Cornell. You may remember him best as the lead singer of Soundgarden which was a grunge band. I think he also writes movie soundtracks. Talented guy. I saw the clip of him singing the song on YouTube but I do think David Cook sounded better. Doesn't matter; just glad he was given credit (and why don't the judges mention that?).

Next week is country songs and we can pretty much guarantee that Kristy Lee, again, will not be going home. Country isn't for everyone - and I'll bet Chikezie would have done a great job with it. So who can't sing c&w? Carly? Aussie Michael? Can't you just see what David Cook will do with Garth Brooks? Perf!

David Cook Rules!

I think, to be ultra cool, I should have spelled "rules" with a "z" as in "DAVID COOK RULZ!!!!"

To quote my friend and fellow author Paula Yoo, I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE DAVID COOK! Seriously, I think I'm in love. I WAS in love with Jason Castro but that was only because he reminded me of all the guys I had crushes on in college who didn't like me back. I could never get the guys who looked like Jason to fall for me. But no matter, because now I have David Cook, who is the kind of guy most people underestimate who then KICKS BUTT!

I have mentioned this before but it's worth repeating: each week David Cook gets better and better and more impressive with his performances. His confidence is building not waning, as some others' are, and he is taking more chances with his arrangements. He was absolutely brilliant singing "Billie Jean" like that last night. I really really hope this was his own unique arrangement and not something he borrowed from someone else, like he did with Whitesnake and the Beatles.

I listened to his song twice, once with my eyes closed to see if it was something I would listen to on the radio. Yup. Oh yeah. I would download that in a heartbeat. In fact, I may just do that today if they have it up on iTunes.

One of the Cooks has got to go and it ain't gonna be this one.

Beatles Night Take 2

Once again, I was impressed with David Cook and his rendition of "Daytripper." I completely disagree with Simon that he was predictable. Of all of the performers last night, David C and possibly Syesha both understood the emotion behind the songs they sang. Syesha's "Yesterday" was not bad but then again, it's such a wonderful song, it's kind of hard to screw up.

Not so for Michael Johns (who continues to choose my very favorite Beatles songs and then screws them up!) and Brooke White, both of whom just sang the words and disregarded what was meant behind them. Does anyone think George Harrison was really singing about the joys of the sun? He was singing about love!

I really have no idea what Chikizie was trying to do with the harmonica but I liked him until he began to use it...fortunately he chose a song that was not well-known so there wasn't much to compare it to. As for the rest, I really didn't remember them and that's not good. Carly's "Blackbird" was okay but I'm not really a fan although I do dig the tattoos.

And I totally agree with Simon about Jason's performance: if it had been on the radio, I would have turned it off. He had absolutely no connection to that song. But because he's a charming cutie, he can get away with it.

I think bottom 3 tonight will be Kristy Lee, Ramiele, and Chikezie (just because the judges didn't get his perf). But I gotta say, I won't be surprised if Michael Johns is there. Sorry, mate.