American Idol 2011: Scotty McCreery And Lauren Alaina On The Season’s Finale

First, I must confess that it sure doesn’t feel like a “Finale” on this season’s “American Idol”.  With all my “favorites” gone, the curtain fell many, many weeks ago starting with my gal Thia Megia and then my man James Durbin.  Who would have thought that James might not even make it to the “Top 3”.  The audacity of the American voters!!  Yes, I’m still stinging from his elimination.

But if he has to go, he has to go.  So…  Let’s get down to the “Final 2”.  Notice I did not say the “Top 2” because all the best ones had already exited the Idol stage.  Okay, enough of my “rants”.  To the “music” business at hand.

With the 2 remaining “country music” contenders left to battle it out, one does not expect much from this season’s “Finale”.  But I must go on record that the 2 kids did put in a lot of effort to at least indicate their genuine interest in vying for the Idol title.  And like in all past season “Finales”, both Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina had to belt out 3 songs.  The first was to be a repeat of their personal favorite performance of the season, the second being a song selected by their own idol and the third an original coronation song which was to be their first single.

Scotty McCreery was first to sing, going with Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone” followed by Lauren Alaina’s choice of Carrie Underwood’s “Flat On The Floor”.  So far so good but nothing spectacular from either one of them.

For the second round, we find Scotty singing his idol George Strait’s choice of “Check Yes Or No”.  Lauren went with her idol Carrie Underwood’s selection of “Maybe It Was Memphis”.  At this point, I was almost giving up on watching altogether because it certainly did not feel like a “Finale Night” at all!!  The judges were no help either.  They gave “Round 1” to Scotty McCreery while “Round 2” went to Lauren Alaina.  No surprises there.  It’s been like this all season from these 3 “oh-so-brainy” judges!!  Yes, I am being intentionally “sarcastic” here!!

And now for the third round.  Scotty took on “I Love You This Big” and although it wasn’t that big a deal, he at least did maintain his personal “style” (let’s just call it the “Scotty Way”).  One thing for sure, he’s made Idol history by being the most consistent contestant who has been “sticking to his gums” from Day 1 until today on the “big stage”.  I at least could admire him for that.  And coming from such a tender age, it is most pleasantly surprising to discover such maturity in one so young.  Yup, that’s Scotty alright!!  As for Lauren, she closed the night with “Like My Mother Does” and she certainly did it with all the “drama” she could muster, mother and all.  Coupled with the fact that Ryan Seacrest had earlier started the evening by declaring Lauren a little “under the weather” because apparently she had strained her vocal cord or something and he even took the “drama” a little further by bringing on board a doctor to confirm the diagnosis.  Now isn’t that a little obvious that they’re fishing for “sympathy” votes?  Geez… and guess what?  All 3 judges practically declared Lauren the winner after this round.  Poor Scotty – thrown under the bus (like what happened to Haley Reinhart earlier)!  Double geez…!!

Now if Simon Cowell was following this season of “American Idol” and was watching tonight, I wonder what might have crossed his mind??  Dare I mention it in this article of mine??  Anyway, like what I’ve been saying in my last couple of posts, since my “favorites” are no longer around to battle it out, I certainly have no expectations about tonight’s event and certainly not that excited about the results either.  But in all fairness, even though there were no memorable “moments” in either country kid’s singing, they did put on a good show with it looking a little lob-sided though because I somehow felt that Lauren was a teensy-weensy “too confident” tonight for her own good.  Dare I utter the words “too cocky”??  A little “humble pie” might help her to acquire more votes.  This sudden inflation of “overconfidence” on her part reminds me of the old saying “Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched” as her attitude might just result in a “backlash” of sorts.  As for poor ol’ Scotty.  He did look mighty “uncomfortable” with all that going on around him.  But his professionalism and maturity won me over as I’m sure did a lot of fans who tuned in tonight.  Go, Scotty, go!!!

Anyhow, let me try to end this article with an upbeat mood by giving you a couple of videoclips from these 2 future “country” musicians.

Dancing With The Stars: “Karate Kid” Ralph Macchio Gave His All Until The Very End

Week 9 on “Dancing With The Stars” showcases a “Winner Takes All Cha Cha” which earns the winning couple an extra 15 points.  So it should be a motivating factor to spur on the remaining 4 celebrities on this all-important night.

My favorite “Karate Kid” Ralph Macchio was like a completely different dancer altogether.  Having recovered from the previous week’s leg injury, he hit the dance floor (with his partner Karina Smirnoff) with such sharp and precise moves when he took on an “Argentine Tango” (song “Violentango”) that he probably caught every spectator by surprise.  For once, he was displaying a terrific posture.  But alas, the judges only awarded him a score of “25”.

Next, we are shown clips of his “Karate Kid” days with Pat Morita, pixes of a young Ralph with his girlfriend (before she became “Mrs Ralph Macchio”), his parents, his kids – they were all showcased in nostalgic fashion.  His “flashback” was that of a happily-married family man with a stable kind of environment unlike those of the “Hollywood” jet set.  When he performed the “Salsa” complete with “stuffing” to his “booty” to the tune of “I Know You Want Me” with Karina in a sexy wild animal outfit, he was “oh-so-flexible” and “shaking like he means it”.  Although I wasn’t too crazy about the choreography, I definitely loved the way Ralph and Karina enjoyed this dance routine.  Unfortunately one of the judges Len Bruno gave some pretty rude (bleeped out) remarks which clearly offended Karina.  Ralph was defensive of his partner as proven by his comments during the interview clip.  For this dance, they received a low score of “23” which together totals up to only “48”.

In the challenge between Hines Ward and Ralph Macchio in the “Winner Takes All Cha Cha”, I must say that although my “favorite” is Ralph, the choreography in Ralph’s dance routine is not so typically that of a “Cha-cha-cha” and I actually enjoyed Hines’ old-fashioned take on this genre much more and probably so did the judges as they awarded the win to Hines and his partner Kym.

Next on is my female “favorite” Kirstie Alley.  During the rehearsal, we witness Kirstie no longer enjoying herself (with her professional partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy) as much as she used to.  Either the pressure of the dance competition is getting to her or the “rapport” and “chemistry” she once shared with Maks has “fizzled” into “thin air”.  But on the night itself, she managed to command a beautiful “Viennese Waltz” (song “One and Only”).  Of course the sweeping movement of her gown as she swayed in time to the music helped to paint a perfect portrait of a dance performance but it was somewhat “robotic” in nature.  I have to say that she’s lost that certain “spark” that she normally brings to the dance floor.  There is no longer any excitement, passion or energy in her dance steps.  In the brief interview that preluded the results, it was a case of “oil and water” when you look and listen to this pair – such a stark difference from past interviews when Kirstie was oozing charm and wit and character.  What’s happened to the “old” Kirstie?  Even when they were awarded a score of “27”, she didn’t look too ecstatic.

Before she performed her next dance, clips of her early years in “Star Trek” and “Cheers”, her 2 kids from her previous marriage to “Hardy Boys” Parker Stevenson and her cocaine-addiction story all came into view as did a short clip of John Travolta (her ex-movie-co-star) as well as that of his wife Kelly Preston.  Obviously they were rooting for her.  When she finally performed the “Paso Doble” (to the tune of “White Room”), it felt a little too forced.  Kirstie’s movements looked more like a “walk in the park” and the overall routine did not look polished enough and of course there was still no “love” between her and Maks.  But the judges loved it and started to praise the “technical” aspects of her performance, awarding a score of “27” thus bringing it to a total of “54” for both dances.

In the “Winner Takes All Cha Cha” between Kirstie Alley and Chelsea Kane, it was observed that even though a little “cheekiness” by Kirstie did bring back memories of the “old” Kirstie, it was not enough to take on Chelsea who is obviously the stronger of the 2 dancers and moreover, the latter had more vitality and energy coupled with a very good sense of rhythm.  It was sheer joy to watch Chelsea perform.  Her moves were just so tight.  And yes, the judges favored Chelsea who won this challenge.

In the final round to decide who would take home the extra “15” points, Chelsea Kane and partner Mark Ballas beat Hines Ward and partner Kym Johnson after their performance of an “instant cha-cha-cha”.

When it was time for the elimination for Week 9, my “favorite” Ralph Macchio and his professional dancing partner Karina Smirnoff were the ones given the “boot”.  I was so utterly devastated.  I will truly miss his “boyish” good looks come next week.  He has brought back so many fond memories of those “feel good” movies he used to star in.  Let’s hope some movie or television moguls will sign him on to a new movie or better still television series so that we can “ogle” him on a weekly basis.  I could still remember his guest appearance in “Ugly Betty” where I did not recognise him at all but thought he was such a “cutie hottie”.  So, I truly hope his career will be re-vamped after his popular stint on “Dancing With The Stars”.  He exited with such grace and sincerity when he thanked those who had supported him and I definitely feel that his presence in this season will not be forgotten.  He has touched us with his “dancing” but most of all, he has touched us with his determination to plod on.

Let’s look at the following videoclips which captured the essence of Ralph Macchio aka The Karate Kid’s spirit in his last quest on this dance competition.  Also included is my other “favorite” Kirstie Alley who’s still in the running and who’s still plodding on…