Hello,

Just a quick blog today. Some quick "American Idol" news first. Due to President Obama speaking Tuesday night, "American Idol" will be moved to Wednesday and Thursday night for next week only. (TMAR = themusicaddict rankings after the Top 36 announcement.) My blogs reviewing these shows will be delayed as I'll be working long swing shifts on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I finally get a Tuesday off and "AI" is moved to Wednesday next week.

Here's who will be in the third group on March 3rd. They will be: Alex Wagner-Trugman (TMAR = 28), Nathanial Marshall (TMAR = 25), Von Smith (TMAR = 31) Wow that is a pretty weak group so far! Also Felicia Barton (TMAR = 17, she might not be high enough) Ju'not Joyner (TMAR = Not ranked: very little screen time usually equals cannon fodder.) Arianna Afsar (TMAR = 22), Kristin McNamara (TMAR = 27), Kendall Beard (TMAR = 26) McNamara and Beard are too much alike that they are inter- changeable to me. Jorge Nunez (TMAR = 10), Lil Rounds (TMAR = 3), Scott McIntyre (TMAR = 8) and Taylor Vaifuana (TMAR = 21). This looks to be an exceedingly weak group, by far the weakest of the three. (Of course that is my opinion and I could be completely wrong. Group 1 didn't knock any one out.) The male contestant to advanc to the Top 12 should be Jorge Nunez or Scott McIntyre. The female contestant will probably be Lil Rounds in a landslide. Felicia Barton, Arianna Afsar and possibly Ju'not Joyner might be in the mix as well.

Paula is pimping her premium prospects: In an interview with a magazine, she picked her favorites. She listed Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, Matt Giraud, Ricky Braddy, Nick Mitchell and Scott McIntyre. Do you notice all of them are men?

Speaking of Gokey the backlash is now forming against him. A lot of people feel he is using his wife's death to garner votes. EW.com's "Idolatry" pointed this out in their new episode yesterday. They aren't the only one making that case. If that's the case, then I hope he goes away soon. Either way he needs to tone it down. Don't have your friends or family show your wife's picture while you singing. A great example of how to handle a family tragic situation is David Cook last year. He was going through a lot of personal turmoil due to his brother's health issues. He handled what was a very difficult situation with 100% class. So far Gokey is handling his situation with very little class and tact. I'm afraid he's going to be this season's David Archuleta, that is not a good thing.

Last but not least, songs rocking my iPod. Yesterday my iPod was really into power- ful female vocalists. On my iPod and iTunes I usually listen to music on the random setting. The last music I listened to not on random was Morrissey's "Live At Earl's Court". I've been going through a bit of a Smiths phase lately. 1) "Explode"- Nelly Furtado This song rocks! 2) "I Am...I Said"- Brooke White I really like her version of this song. 3) "The Look"- Roxette 4) "Teenage Grafitti"- Pink Spiders 5) "Hawaii 5-0 Theme"- Artist Unknown 6) "Say My Name"- Destiny's Child 7) "No Spill Blood"- Oingo Boingo 8) "Breathe (2AM)"- Anna Nalick 9) "Queen of Pop 2"- The Gonna Bees 10) "Romeo and Juliet"- Dire Straits 11) "Since I've Been Loving You"- Led Zeppelin 12) "Bodies"- Drowning Pool 13) "Ghostbusters"- Ray Parker Jr. (Anoop Desai this is a possible song selection you should sing in the wild card round. Please no more sappy ballads!) 14) "Takin Off The Pain"- Ashton Shepherd What a great song! 15) "Horse To Water (Live)"- R.E.M. 16) "Time To Say Goodbye"- Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli. A song featured in one of last year's worst movies "Wanted". 17) "Too Bad About Your Girl"- The Donnas The Donnas are a great rock band that really kick butt 18) "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance"- Sinead O'Connor A great, great song by a very under appreciated artist. 19) "Genie In A Bottle"- Christina Aquilera This still is probably her best song. 20) "The Shortest Straw"- Metallica 21) "Rat Is Dead (Rage)"- CSS 22) "Twisting By The Pool"- Dire Straits 23) "El Scorcho"- Weezer 24) "She's Got The Rhythm (And I Got The Blues)"- Alan Jackson 25) "U Can't Touch This"- M.C. Hammer 26) "Teenage Dirtbag"- Wheatus.

I will be back tomorrow with my Top 36 based on the first round of the Top 36 performances. themusicaddict