AI Season 12- Top 4 Performance

We start with clips of each of the girls' original auditions (this season's auditions, not Candice's Season 11 audition). We're reminded that Amber liked shortie short shorts back then too.

Nicki is wearing a sleeveless wild animal print dress with a vaguely Empire waist, a gathered skirt, and a black and white polka dot neck ruffle. Mariah is in a royal blue mullet sack with a train. The slouchy neckline slouches deeply. Very deeply. I didn't notice what the guys wore owing to the danger that Mariah's unfettered chesticals could fall out of that deeply slouched neckline.

The Gals all visited LA's Children's Hospital to cheer the little ones. We'll get clips from each visit.

#1. Amber brought hats and craftiness to the sick kids, who are all pretty adorable, and some of whom are seriously ill.

She's wearing a rather attractive white and black belted jumpsuit with cut out sides and back (and *attractive* and *jumpsuit* are two words I never thought I'd type together). Her hair is really curly, and it looks nice that way. She's singing Power of Love, and doing very well with it, standing still at the top of the stairs. She begins a Capella, and builds with a controlled and lovely performance.
K-N-R Standing O.
K- that song was tailor-made for Amber
N: calls Amber a big sexy glass of milk
R: no fear, you are ready (repeated several times)
M: showed amazing range, # POW
JI: detected a small strain in Amber's voice, will be difficult to beat

#2. Candice played peek-a-boo with the most adorable little bald girl at the hospital.

She's wearing a loose black top with white (or maybe silver) zig-zags, black stretchy pants, soft curls, and huge shiny earrings. They keep talking about Drake, and saying the words hip-hop, which fill me with dread. But I should not have worried. If the song was originally rap, Candice changed it. It's smooth and jazzy. The lyrics consist mostly of five words (*I better find your lovin'*). She gets lots of applause, but no Standing O.
N: Knows Drake and promises he'll send a message tomorrow, loves Candice's vocal, but wishes she had stuck to the original melody
R: crazy vocal, but it's not necessary to throw in so m any runs
M: wonderful vocal, but the performance skewed Adult Contemporary
K: agrees with Nicki, thinks Candice is still finding herself
JI: agrees with Nicki

#3. Kree spent time at the hospital singing to preemies and hugging worried mamas.

She's wearing a belted red shirt and black leather pants, with orange lipstick. This song is Standard Country Smokey Bar stuff. Kree is trying to show sultry emotion, but the effort shows. I also think I hear a few off notes. It's okay, but not up to the first two performances.
R: Kree loves the blues, but this was maybe not her best vocal
M: babble babble
K: all four girls are exceptional, but Kree needs to show more emotion and connection
N: that performance will not put Kree through this week
JI: agrees with Nicki
Kree smiles bravely but she is barely holding back the tears.

#4. Angie visited with toddlers and got lots of hugs.

She's singing Jessie J's Who You Are, wearing a black dress with white splotches, and an odd leather harness-like collar that goes around her neck like a yoke, extends down the center front and then turns into a belt. Her hair is straight and flat tonight, and I like it a lot better than her usual Big Curls. She's sitting at a white piano, with blue lighting,. The judges love love love Angie at the piano, but I think her high register is thin and screechy. The lighting turns orange, which is a little unsettling. During the lively parts, Angie bounces on the piano stool like it's been electrified. This is not a horrible performance, but it's nothing I'd want to hear again.
K-N-R Standing O
M: Says she would have stood too but her train was caught under a chair wheel
K: Angie begins too prim and proper but lets loose at the end
N: loves Angie at the piano
R: 10 out of 10 out of 10, best performance of the night so far, in it to win it
JI: Angie is neck and neck with Amber

Amber (odd skinny pants with huge color blocks in shades of blue, a shortie denim vest, and a black tank) is dueting Adele's Rumor Has it with Kree (softer hair- I think it's been changed from a center part to a side part, and black top over the same black pants). Kree sounds much better on this song, but Amber has clearly taken over the lead on the duet. I love the Tribal Drums.
K: the girls sound really good together
N: Amber has grown so much and commands the stage, Kree has lost her confidence
No time for Randy and Mariah to babble

Angie (black shorts romper and boots that look like those things you use to hang from the ceiling to do upside-down stomach crunches) and Candice (short-sleeved black top, black pants, smaller earrings) will sing Rhianna's Stay. I worried about this pairing, but I needn't have. Candice is perfect as always, and even Angie is head-wagglingly fierce. This pair is playing off each other perfectly.
K-N-R Standing O.
R: yo yo yo un-believable yo yo yo
M: babbles over Randy

Ryan informs us that the second theme of the night is One Hit Wonders. For a moment, I hope that we'll get to hear one of older girls sing Afternoon Delight, but it very soon becomes apparent that the show has not the slightest idea what a One Hit Wonder is. I'm getting ahead of myself here, but every one of the next four songs was recorded several times, a Bilboard charter several times, written by award winning writers, and sung by people/bands with multiple studio albums (and in many cases awards). Nothing about any of aspect of any of these songs qualifies them for this category. I'll provide links for each, if my head doesn't explode first.

#5. Amber is in a tight, short, bright orange shirred dress with darker side panels, and white gladiator boots. She's singing McArthur Park,written by Jimmy Webb ( many Grammys, inducted in the Songwriter Hall of Fame), and a #2 Billboard hit for Richard Harris (multiple Grammys). Amber is singing the Donna Summer version. Yeah, that Donna Summer, who is probably the absolute opposite of a One Hit Wonder. And my word, this is just plain awful. Amber's unnecessary key-change into her lower register is weird, and I am pretty sure that she messed up the lyrics.
R-M Standing O
K: incredible performance
N: blooming flower, called her Angie, and says that of all four girls, she would like to get to know Amber the most (Me: Does Nicki realize that the other girls can hear her?)
R: in it to win it
M: inner glow, star quality
JI: Judges missed the mark, bad song, cheesy performance

#6. Candice is in a red jacket over a white and black circuit-boardy kind of print. She's singing Emotion, which was originally done by Samantha Sang, which would be the closest to an actual one hit wonder singer in the lot tonight (though she charted with it in 13 countries) except that Candice is singing The Bee Gees version. They also wrote the damn thing. No one hit wonders here. Her performance is oh so smooth and oh so good. No Standing O's though.
N: Candice made her groove to the old song, and then segues into a rebuttal of Jimmy's comments about Amber's performance.
R: Candice is returning
M: points out that Candice has a cold
K: wonders if there are only old one hit wonders (Me: I wonder who decided what constitutes a one hit wonder. I also scream at the TV a lot).

#7. At first I think Kree is wearing a pretty little black dress, but when the camera pulls back, I see that she's actually wearing a jumpsuit. It  looks nice on her though (that's twice tonight with the jumpsuit approval- odd).  She's singing Procul Harum's (several charted songs, 11 studio albums) Whiter Shade of Pale. Well, this performance is better than her first one, but I don't think it'll be enough to keep her on the show, which makes me really sad.
R: Kree is back
M: takes 100 words to say "I have no words"
K: too middle ground
N: Kree is in danger
Kree holds it together. Barely.

#8. Angie is in a long mullet dress with a black leather bodice. She's singing Julie London's Cry Me a River. For crying out loud- Julie London recorded more than 30 studio albums over a 40 year time span, and had at least six charted singles. The song itself has been covered at least 22 times. The performance is standard Angie stuff- thin in the high register.The audience loves it.
M: Even Mariah knows that Cry Me a River isn't a one hit wonder
K: mystical celestially powerful
N: tonight was Angie's night
R: yo yo yo

I don't know whether Jimmy didn't care to critique the last two performances, or if they just ran out of time.

Round 1 Ranking:
1. Amber
2. Candice
3. Angie
4. Kree

Round 2 Ranking:
1. Candice
2-3 Tie: Kree, Angie
4. Amber

Best performance of the night: Candice and Angie's duet.

I am very afraid that Kree will go home tomorrow night. Or I would be, except that Ryan said something cryptic about a special announcement tomorrow night. Since there are three more weeks until the finale, and the show only needs two more, I wonder if no one will go home tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see.

Sneak Peek- Fantasy Fiber Arts Cruise Mystery Lace Fingerless Mitten Class

Sign up for my Mystery Lace and Bead Fingerless Mitten Class on the Fantasy Fiber Arts Knitting Cruise,and you'll get all materials (except for the needles) to knit this exclusive design. Students will have choice of yarn and bead colors.

It's hard to imagine right now (since it's snowing here), but summer is coming, sooner than you think!

Contest #3!

I'm switching up the order on the final two contests- this week the lucky winner will get signed copies of Taunton's Threads Selects Lace Socks and Colorwork Socks, both with patterns from my book The Big Book of Socks.

Same drill as before- enter by leaving a comment on this post. Be sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting anonymously! The contest is open worldwide.

The drawing will be made, and the winner announced, on Sunday!

And if you're not a sock knitter, or a knitter at all, enter anyway- use the booklets as gifts, or donate them to your local library!

Upcoming Travels and Classes

My Work Travel Season is starting earlier this year. Here's where I'll be, and what I'll be teaching, and when. Registration info, materials provided and/or needed, and material fees (if any) as well as class fees are listed on the individual sites and links.

I hope to see some of you there!

Fantasy Fiber Arts Knitting Cruise
sponsored by Friends and Fiberworks, Asheville, NC, July 26-31

Leaving from Charleston, SC on July 26, with day excursions in Nassau and Freeport, The Bahamas!
I'll be teaching:

Mystery Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten- here's a sneak peek of the pattern. Students will be given a choice of lots of yarns for their own two-color combos.

I'll also be teaching a Mystery Lace and Beaded Fingerless Mitten Class (sneak peek to be posted soon), and the EEK! A Steek! class. All materials come with the class fee except knitting needles, large-eye needle, and scissors.


Michigan Fiber Festival (MFF)- Allegan, MI
Festival August 16-18, Workshops August 14-18

Wednesday AM: Writing Patterns for Publication
Wednesday PM: Little Tips and Tricks
Thursday all day: Nordic Christmas Stocking
Friday all day: EEK! A Steek!

North Country Fiber Fair (NCFF), Watertown, SD
Sept. 20-22

Friday: 1-4 pm: Little Tips and Tricks
Sunday: Needlefelted Half-Moon Santa (all materials provided, no prior needlefelting experience needed)

Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF), Fletcher, NC, October 25-27

Friday- all day: EEK! a Steek!
Saturday 9am-12pm: Exclusive Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten Design (yarn provided)- sneak peek to be posted soon
Saturday 1-4 pm: Little Tips and Tricks
Sunday 9 am-12 pm: Written Patterns for Publication
Sunday 1-4 pm: Design Your Own Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten

AI Season 12- Top 5 Elimination

Before we get started I thought I'd post this, just in case you thought I was kidding about Nicki's dress last night.

Boobapalooza... amirite?

Okay, back to tonight. Once there were ten, but we eliminated five guys in a row so now we have Grrl Power. Or maybe we have blatant producer manipulation. One or the other.

Nicki is wearing a tight white tank and tight jeans, and though she didn't actually put them away, there is far less exposed boobage tonight. She also has what I think may be a Gucci belt slung over her shoulder. Mariah is in a pretty coral sleeveless dress with a scoop neck and a dropped waist and pleated skirt. She looks positively schoolgirlish. Randy is in a gray jacket with weird decorations arranged a little like an all-white match-three game.

The girls sing a Donna Summer medley, I suppose in keeping with the whole Diva theme. The harmonies sound fine, Janelle's solo not so much. For all the official, and unofficial, All-Girl Rah-Rah, the show feels the need to back up the Top 5 with an all-male dancing chorus.

They're not even pretending to do anything altruistic with the Ford Fiesta Missions any more. This time they're driving red and blue cars on a scavenger hunt. It's not exactly a competition, it's just a lame excuse to feature shots of Ford Fiestas. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the old Fordmercials. The girls finally end up in a barbershop, sucking up to that guy from Glee.

We're going to do individual critiques before the rest of the festivities tonight.

Angie (black leather pants, black top with a long shirt tail, and silver arrowheads down the front.)
JI says that Angie is a great technician at the piano but her singing-only performances are not believable.

Candice (black pants and a loose black and silver top).
 JI says that Candice was perfect last week, and he worried about Straight Up. But the combo of Candice's two songs were very very smart, and she blew his mind. Ryan asks Randy if he got hold of Paula about Candice's performance, and while Randy says no, Paula herself sneaks out from behind the curtain. Paula's wearing a red dress designed by aliens. There is very little of her original face left, but she still maintains a Hotline to Babbletown. Mariah visits there, but it's just not the same.

Fallout Boy is in the audience. No one cares, even them.

Though I most certainly was not a Claymate, I still have a soft spot for Clay Aiken (and yes, I saw him in concert many years ago). We get a montage of his Idol Journey, and an update on his current life, which includes lots of charity work with disabled kids. Clay's face is thinner and more mature than it was, and his eyebrows are startlingly sculpted. He's back to tall, red hair. Tonight he's singing Bridge Over Troubled Water, which tells me that he's not working on anything new right now. But if he's going to recycle an old song, this is a great one, especially with the gospel choir arrangement. Clay still has the same wonderful voice, though his vibrato is a little out of control. He's still firmly in charge of the Glory Note, though. I'd go see him again in a flash.

More critiques:
Janelle (black blouson strappy top and long mullet skirt with a wide white hem, fringey booties).
JI says that Janelle was sleepy and her song choices were a strike-out. Ryan reads a weird but encouraging message to Janelle from Dolly Parton (which includes the news that Janelle is not really a blonde).

Amber (black shortie short shorts, black square-necked tank top, sparkly silver booties).
JI says that Amber is brilliant every week and yet she still ends up in the Bottom 3. He has no idea why but he thinks she took a huge risk last night and succeeded.

Kree (loose white blouse, black jeans).
JI says that Kree made the wrong song choices and did not show enough emotion while performing, but he loved Nicki and Mariah's disputes.

Next, for no reason other than it happened during Fantasia's season, we get a recap of the first Huff (when poor George Huff was forced to choose which group of three finalists he belonged with, the twist being that the former top vote-getters were all in the bottom. That was the night that Jennifer Hudson was eliminated, and we all know how much that hurt her career). We also check in with LaToya London, the third member of The Huff. LaToya lives in Oakland and has been busy in plays and is now recording again. She sounds sad yet hopeful, though maybe just a tad bitter about being lost in the shuffle. All of this is leading to a performance by Fantasia herself, the winner of Season 3.

Fantasia now has short, red hair, and is wearing a one-shouldered white toga dress which features her shoulder tattoo nicely. She has on good makeup, though her eyes are very very wide open. She's singing her new song (no reprises of old stuff for 'Tasia, nosiree) called Lose to Win. I was not a fan of Fantasia, or of anyone in her season, but her talent is undeniable. The song starts out slow and restrained, but since this is Fantasia, we know it's going to go batshit eventually. I can't understand a word of this song, but by damn, she means every single shouted syllable. The audience goes batshit as well.

So with ten minutes left, we finally get down to it. Ryan announces, in no particular order, the safe girls:
Candice (YAY!)
Angie (okay)
Amber... uh oh....

So it's  Kree and Janelle in the bottom Janelle looks like she's handling it just fine, Kree might throw up right on stage. But Janelle knows what's coming and she comforts Kree who can barely believe that she's safe. Janelle sings for the possible Judge's Save, and she sounds fine, but I really don't think they'll keep her around because doing so could endanger one of the better performers.

And nope, for the first time ever, the judges will not use their Save. And why should they? The eliminations happened in pretty much the right order. Janelle is a sweet girl with a good voice, a couple of years on her and she'll be a powerhouse. I wish her luck.

Next week, we'll be getting down to the Nitty Gritty, and any one of them could go home. It'll be interesting.

Thursday Tab- Saalfield 1943 Air, Land and Sea Paper Dolls

I'm so happy to share this gorgeous wartime paper doll set from Saalfield, 1943. Thank you Dottie!

AI Season 12- Top 5 Performance

It's been six years since a girl won this shindig, and the show finally figured out how to make that happen again (Hint: get lots of good female singers in several styles/genres, and don't allow any of the guys to play a guitar).

Randy is wearing a starlet leather jacket with gold ornaments on the breast. Keith is in a white tee with the word Liberte on the front (very French of him). Nicki... oh Nicki... is in a tight red dress with a keyhole bosom, and by *keyhole*, I mean a large gaping hole filled with enormous cleavage that threatens to spill out entirely. I don't usually jump ahead in the recap, but I will say that I spent the entire episode mesmerized by the possibility that Nicki might fall out of her dress. Mariah, by comparison, is fairly restrained in a strapless black glittery bodice that might actually be made out of metal, over a short sleeved top made of black netting. I didn't notice what Ryan wore. It's all Nicki's Boobs' fault.

Tonight the Girls are singing Songs from the Year of Their Birth, and Songs by Their Favorite Diva. I will also say in advance that learning that the oldest of the girls was born when my oldest son was almost out of high school (and the youngest when they were both in college) is extremely sigh-inducing.

#1. Candice, 1989. Candice says she was a chubby cheeked, bossy kid, and her parents agree. She's singing Straight Up... yeah, the Paula Abdul one. I am concerned about this song choice. Candice is wearing a royal blue blouse, jeans, and straightened hair. Aaaaaand... I should have known better than to worry. This is smooth and jazzy and nothing at all like the frenetic original. Candice is getting the 360 spin-cam and she's playing to the camera and to the band and to the audience perfectly.
K: whoo,  whoo, good Lord... and then many words that boil down to how seductive Candice's voice is
N: congratulations on making it to the Top 5
R: loved the arrangement
M: genius
JI (commenting from back stage): needed a bigger song, this one was too vocally narrow for Candice's talent

#2.Janelle, 1989. Janelle was a girly girl and totally adorable. She was a performer even as a toddler, and Vince Gill's voice had the magical ability to make her stop crying. Janelle is wearing a dowdy long gray dress with wide black zig-zag stripes. She's singing some Vince Gill song that I don't know, standing still at the microphone with her huge guitar. It's old-style country, and Janelle is singing it well, but it's totally boring.
N: loves how comfortable Janelle is with the guitar, the vocal was pretty
R: in her comfort zozne
N: believed in Janelle
K: angelic voice but didn't feel the song.
M: interrupts and babbles
JI: Keith is right, the performance not strong enough

#3. Kree, 1990. Kree was a good baby, and she looks exactly like her late mother. She had red boots which she loved so dearly that she wore them to bed. Kree began performing at age 3. She's wearing a white cardi with elbow-length sleeves over a white top with silver embroidery, black pants and black patent leather knee-length stiletto boots. Her hair is nicely sideswept and she has great makeup. She's singing She Talks to Angels, by The Black Crowes, with which I am not familiar. But Kree is giving it an effortless country twist. It's lovely.
R: Kree, man, let me say this, man...
M: thinks Kree can sing anything but was maybe holding back a bit
K: agrees with Mariah
N: loves the shoes, lapses into the British Accent and says it was the best of the night so far
M: interrupts again, says nothing worth hearing
JI: not strong enough to take the lead

#4. Angie, 1994. Angie's family is fixated on the fact that Angie was born thin (their word) but became a chubby baby, therefore Angie is also fixated on that. It makes me dislike her mother (the one who called Baby Angie a *fatty* on a previous segment) intensely. And it explains why Angie is Pageant to the core. She's singing I'll Stand By You, sitting at the piano, of course. Angie is back to tons of cascading curls. Her strappy tank top is festooned with lots of chains and her jeans are holey. I don't love this song, and I don't love Angie (though after seeing her parents again, I do feel sorry for her), and I think she starts out way too high. The performance is mechanical.
The judges don't agree with me, she gets a K,R & M Standing O.
M: loves Chrissie Hynde
K: loves Angie at the piano
N: great performance
R: great song choice
JI: turned the song into a power ballad, best tonight so far

Ryan reminds us that Carly Rae Jepson (who is almost 30 but dresses 14) is going to perform on the finale. I had managed to forget that.

#5. Amber, 1994. Amber sang with her sister, and had on-air journalistic ambitions. Her expressionless father sends his love. Expressionlessly. Amber is wearing a tye-dye knit dress with cap sleeves, and electric yellow heels. Her hair is in a single braid, slung over one shoulder. She's singing Without You (the Mariah version, since the original is way before her time). Man, this is Amber's worst performance ever, parts are too low, there's too much embroidery, it's shouty, and I think she's a bit sharp throughout.
She gets a K-R-M Standing O.
K: shouts *Amber Alert*, and then retracts it as stupid
N: the low notes weren't quite right, and Mariah did it better
R: not perfect, brave to sing that in front of Mariah
M: loved some of the choices Amber made
JI: A for Bravery, but Nicki was right about the lower register.
Ryan fills in a bit with some Amber-style fast talking.

#6. Candice has chosen Mariah and Whitney Houston as her Divas. She's singing their When You Believe. She says she's nervous but that Mariah has given her courage. Candice is wearing a pretty white silky blouse and black jeans. The stage is filled with smoke, strings, and purple starscapes. Man, this is beautiful and I got GOOSIES at the key change.
4-Way Standing O
N: THAT is how you do it, the song is a perfect message for everyone
R: best vocal of the night
M: so proud
K: just ripped out all the stops and annihilated them

#7. Janelle's diva is Dolly Parton, and she's chosen Dumb Blonde, a song I've never heard. Janelle has soft curls and is wearing a floaty white layered tunic with sparkly speckles and a low slung belt, a short sparkly skirt and boots. This song is obviously an anthem for anyone who has been judged unfairly, but Janelle just doesn't have enough sass for the message. The whole performance is plodding.
R: fun song but not a great vocal
M: hears what Randy is saying and mostly repeats it, only a little less bluntly
K: wonders about that song choice from Dolly's huge songbook
N: says Janelle is in jepoardy, gives a pre-consolation pep talk

#8. Kree is going to sing Celine Dion? Oh dear. She's looking glamorous in a simple black dress with a peplum. Peplums annoy me just by existing, but Kree looks good. She's in the dark with  multiple spotlights and purple smoke. Her performance is good, really good, though maybe just a tad tentative.
4-Way Standing O
M: smart choice, showed versatility
K: Kree is back
N: epiphany: Kree is not country, Kree is worldly
R: agrees with everyone

#9. Angie's Diva is Beyonce. Of course. She's wearing a short black dress with an overdress consisting of hundreds of loopy chains. And booties. I don't like Beyonce, and I don't love Angie, and I don't love Halo, and this isn't impressing me at all. I think her voice sounds thin. Then again, Beyonce's voice sounds thin to me too, so I shouldn't be surprised.
I am surprised by the 4-Way Standing O
N: Angie is back
R: in it to win it
M: loves Angie's clarity
Evidently there wasn't enough time for Keith to add his critique.

#10. Amber's Diva is Barbra Streisand. Huh. Didn't see that one coming. She's wearing a heavily boned, white strapless top with a very deep plunge which is nevertheless, a modest deep plunge (tricky thing, that), and a long black skirt. She's singing What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life? standing at the mike, with a grand piano and strings. I think she's just a tad behind the music, but otherwise is doing a surprisingly good job with this. Her voice has a lovely tone (which was entirely missing from her first performance) and it sounds much more mature. The whole performance might be a bit slow, but it's otherwise really nice.
N: simply perfection
R: very difficult song to sing
M: tells everyone to vote for Amber
K: elegant and regal

My Top Performances:
Candice #2
Candice #1
Kree #1
Kree #2
Amber #2

My Worst Performance:
Amber #1
Janelle #1 and #2

All five of these girls are talented, each in a different way, so truly, it could be any of them staying, and any of them going, but I really think Janelle will head home tomorrow.