Greek Life on Stony Brook University campus

At Stony Brook University, Greek Life has a predominant presence on campus. Here is how some students view Greek fraternities/sororities.

Can a gay contestant win “American Idol”?

I saw this NY Times article “Gay Talk Surrounds Adam Lambert of ‘Idol’” posted on one of my classmates blogs and wanted to voice my opinion on the issue. I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal to certain people whether Adam Lambert is gay or not. What does that have to do with his singing abilities? American Idol is a singing competition and the contestants should be judged on their voices, not their sexuality.

Megan Mullally gave SNL’s Bill Hader his big break

I was searching on Google for the latest news on actress Megan Mullally and found an article from an Oklahoman newspaper that revealed that Mullally helped SNL’s Bill Hader to get onto the variety show. I was surprised to learn this because she never mentioned it before in past interviews she has done. 
Check out the NewsOK.com article on Bill Hader

Idol’s Top 9 Sing Popular iTunes downloads

On last night’s American Idol, the top 9 contestants were able to sing anything they wanted, as long as it was a popular iTunes download. This gave the contestants more freedom to showcase their individual style, but only a few used it to an advantage.

Danny Gokey gave a touching performance with his rendition of Rascal Flatt’s “What Hurts the Most.” He has such a likeable personality and continues to impress me with his ability to emit emotion through his singing and connect with the audience. Idol judge Simon Cowell said it was one of Danny’s best performances of the competition.

Adam Lambert showed his creativity and amazing range of vocals with his rendition of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.” Randy Jackson said that Adam was “in the star zone” and Simon Cowell praised him for his originality. Paula Abdul compared him to Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler, saying, “True genius does not fulfill expectations, true genius shatters it.”

Scott MacIntyre fittingly choose to sing Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”, accompanied by a piano. I agree with Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson that it was one of his best performances. It was definitely the right song choice and was a touching performance.

Kris Allen, also accompanied by a piano, showed originality and emotion through his rendition of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Kara DioGuardi said he showed artistry and Simon Cowell praised him for the arrangement of the song. Cowell and Paula Abdul thought it was his best performances.

Possible contenders for tonights bottom three?

I’m sorry to say, Megan Joy with her rendition of Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low.” I think she has so much potential and is a unique artist, but it wasn’t the right song choice.

The wrong song choice can also be applied to Anoop Desai. Anoop sang Usher’s “Caught Up” but there was nothing special about his performance and like Simon Cowell said, it lacked originality.

Unlike last week when Matt Giraud was unexpectedly in the bottom three, he may except to find himself there after his rendition of The Fray’s “You Found Me.” Paula Abdul appreciated that Matt choose a contemporary song, but thought it sounded too much like the original. I agree with Randy Jackson that Matt should have sung a different song, such as one by Justin Timberlake.

I don’t think that Lil Rounds and Allison Iraheta are at risk of leaving the competition with their renditions of No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” and Celine Dion’s “I Surrender”, respectively. Although the judges thought that it wasn’t their best performances, they are incredible singers and have a relatively consistent record of great performances from previous weeks.

“In the Motherhood”: Needs Improvement

So I watched the premiere of In the Motherhood last night and wasn’t impressed, despite being a fan of Megan Mullally, who plays a free-spirited mother on the show. The comedy was flat and often predictable. Motherhood focuses on three mothers, Jane (played by Cheryl Hines), Rosemary (played by Mullally), and Emily (played by Jessica St. Clair), who have different parenting styles. Hopefully next week’s episode will fare better and accurately depict Mullally’s amazing acting ability.

Idol’s Top 10 Go Motown

Motown was the theme of last night’s American Idol . Smokey Robinson was the contestants’ mentor.

Here’s who I thought gave the best performances of the night:

Kris Allen, accompanied with a guitar, showed originality and personality with his rendition of “How Sweet It Is.” Simon Cowell thinks he doesn’t have enough confidence, but I think he had good stage presence. Kara DioGuardi told Kris that he made his mark on the song and that he “did everything right.”

Allison Iraheta’s rendition of “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” once again showed that she has an amazing talent and is one of the best in the competition. I still can’t go over the fact that she’s only 16. Randy Jackson called her performance “blazing hot” and Paula Abdul complimented on her “rocker edge.”

Danny Gokey ‘s performance of The Temptation’s “Get Ready” showed off his personality and great energy. I agree with the judges, who thought it wasn’t his greatest performance, but I still think he is a frontrunner in the competition.

Adam Lambert completely took me by surprise. He definitely redeemed himself from last week’s bizarre performance of “Ring of Fire.” I didn’t even recognize him, with his slicked back hair and suit. His rendition of “Tracks of My Tears” was touching and showed his sensitive side. Smokey Robinson even gave him a standing ovation. Simon Cowell told Adam that he “emerged tonight as a star.” I completely agree with Simon Cowell that it was the best performance of the night.

Keith Morrison skit on SNL

Every week I try to watch Dateline NBC, specifically the investigations done by Keith Morrison. Every time I watch it, I always think of the Saturday Night Live skit in November 2008, with Bill Hader portraying Morrison. Morrison has such a distinctive style to the way he tells stories. It’s hilarious how he’s so dramatic and SNL did a great job impersonating him. I think it’s one of SNL’s best skits ever!

Comeback performance for Anoop Desai on Idol’s Country Week

It was Grand Ole Opry week on American Idol. While I don’t particularly enjoy country music, it was interesting to see how the Top 11 contestants would fair on this genre of music.

Here’s my rundown of the best performances of last night:

Anoop Desai made a comeback performance with Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind.” Simon Cowell said that he “went from zero to hero” and considered him to be one of his favorite performances of the night. He proved that he has a great voice with this song choice.

Danny Gokey continues to be one of my favorites of the competition. His performance of Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” was soulful and moving.

Allison Iraheta showed off her amazing vocals and unique personality with Patty Loveless’ “Blame On Your Heart”. I definitely agree with judge Kara DioGuardi that Allison is getting better every week.

Kris Allen showed his sensitive side with Garth Brook’s “To Make You Feel My Love.” I thought it was a touching performance and a good song choice. He wasn’t one of my favorites in the beginning of the competition, but now I think that he has a really good shot at becoming the next Idol if he keeps it up.

This is the first time that I wasn’t impressed with Adam Lambert , whom I am hoping makes it at least to the top four. I thought his performance of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” was weird, but it did show his unique artistic perspective and made him stand out among the other contestants.

Interviews with Top 13 American Idols

I found a video with interviews from Entertainment Tonight with the Top 13 contestants of American Idol. I know it’s an old video but it gives their reactions to making it that far on Idol.

New Twist on “Idol” to be revealed on tonight’s results show

(photo from Google Images)

An alteration to the results format of “American Idol” involving the judges will be revealed on tonight’s results show.

Last night, host Ryan Seacrest said a “surprise change to the rules” could change “the face of the competition” and “the entire theme and concept of the show.”

Simon Cowell mentioned that the public might not like this change.

Will it be a possible sing off between the contestants who earn the lowest number of votes? Will the judges choose who goes home? Will the judges have veto power to save a contestant? I guess we have to wait until tonight to find out.

More about surprise twist:
What’s American Idol’s rule change? Judges veto, sing to stay, or split vote?