Wednesday night, two hours before Lost

[cleolinda]

Bon Jovi night on American Idol! Man, I have never been sorrier that Gina got booted off so soon, because this would have been perfect for her. Jordin and Blake are my favorites at this point--not because I think they have the best singing voices per se, but because I feel like they have the total package: the looks, the spark, the youth appeal. Which is not to say they're appealing because they're young, but they appeal to the younger viewers in a way that I'm not sure Melinda or LaKisha do. And between those two, I have to go with Blake. I mean, Chris is like Justin Timberlake Lite--which is basically what Simon means when he says that Chris "is good at making a song contemporary": he can boy-band it up, and he even kind of looks like him. So he does have the youth appeal thing, and has done some interesting arrangements. But it's Blake's arrangements that I consistently look forward to, ever since "Time of the Season." (Ironically, it's Blake who actually does the Timberlake beatboxing thing.) So what does he go and do? "You Give Love a Bad Name," my absolute favorite Bon Jovi song. (Yes, I have one. DON'T JUDGE ME.) And he does the beatboxing--something he hasn't used in several weeks--and the general effect is that it sounds like he's remixing the song as he sings it. Which I love, because what the hell is the point of getting up on stage and singing an '80s karaoke staple the exact same way it was recorded? And I'm always astonished that he can do it live--I think there was some song he did earlier in the season (a 311 song?), where he censored the word "ass" with a little fizz-fizz sound that cracked me up. Also, it made my stepfather happy that he had the drummer onstage with him last night.

P.S. I wish Gina had done "Livin' on a Prayer" instead of Jordin, because Gina would have rocked it, and Jordin is probably going to get kicked off over it. Sadface.

(The level of service you have come to expect from this blog: "You Give Love a Bad Name" converted to mp3 and edited down to the song itself.)

FDA issues antidepressant alert; Antidepressant suicide warning expanded.

Feds: Millions ate chickens fed tainted food.

Sarcastic judge tosses KFC lawsuit. I just like the juxtaposition of the last two headlines there.

Experts skeptical of 'Master Cleanse' detox diet. Although it still may be safer than eating any food produced in America.

Chemical cocktail may be key to pet-food deaths.

Couple touring home find woman's body.

Authorities charge man with rare 'murder by duel.'

Historian: Jack the Ripper was South Africa's 'King of Pimps.' Wait, what?

xkcd's Map of Online Communities (includes the Bay of Trolls, Isle of Slash, Your Base and Spaaaarta).

Christian Bale Says Heath Ledger Has 'Really Crazy' Take on Joker. And while we're here, remember: any full-face shots of Joker!Ledger to date have been debunked as fakes. So we still have no idea what it's going to be like.

Keira Knightley To Quit Acting? Probably not, but it does sound like she's being overworked and overstalked by photographers at the moment.

(Meanwhile: Keira's Mom in a Historical Romance Frenzy: First Thomas, Now Hemingway.)

"There's Already a Sin City 2 Teaser?!" Well, not released yet, but still: I have never been so deeply excited for a movie without being entirely sure who was in it. (IMDB says Rachel Weisz is "rumored"; I've heard Rose McGowan elsewhere.)

(Meanwhile: Rachel Weisz Tops 'My Blueberry Nights' Poster. Also: Running With Frank Miller's Ronin.)

First Photo of Kidman in Australia.

Peter Jackson shopping The Lovely Bones to non-New Line studios.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is The Frog King.

Martin Freeman Starring As Rembrandt For Peter Greenaway?

Crichton's Andromeda Infects A&E. But wasn't it already a movie back in the day?

Mel Gibson Wants to Do 'Maverick 2.' Good luck finding anyone else, is all I can say.

'Babel' side effects leave Japanese fans nauseous.

Paparazzi preventing Lohan's Oscar dreams? Wow, I had no idea that paparazzi was Italian for "coke-fueled party-girl shenanigans."

(Meanwhile, case in point: Lohan plans to 'milk' her 21st birthday.)

Also, the second story in that article: Orlando Bloom is way, wayyyy too nice to his fans:

When the “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” star was asked about a woman who reportedly snuck into his hotel room, Bloom told Gotham, “To be honest, I don’t want to share that with you because if I were that person reading this, I’d feel so embarrassed.”

Bloom says he once actually apologized to a fan who was angry that he didn’t pay attention to her.

“She got kind of aggressive with me and was really angry. She was like, ‘I’ve been at every premiere and you never say hello’,” the actor told the mag. “And it was funny, I felt really upset. I felt bad for her. So I turned around and went over to her and just gave her a hug and said, ‘It’s cool. I’m sorry you feel let down or disappointed. But the nature of my life is I can’t necessarily stop every time, and it’s not because I don’t want to.’ I think she felt a little better afterward, and so did I."

How can you not love him? He's so cuddly.

Comments

[pinstripe-bindi.livejournal.com]

Oh god, I've always prayed no one ever remakes The Andromeda Strain, because you just know they're going to clutter it up with a bunch of unnecessary romantic side-plots. And the female scientist will probably be some big-hootered 19-year-old actress. The fact that they're making a mini-series does not bode well, because there really isn't THAT much story, so I guess they'll be padding it with a lot of character backstory. *groan*

Also: Orlando Bloom is really just FREAKISHLY nice. Wow.

[maliekai.livejournal.com]

You are, simply, the best for sharing that mp3. And I don't mean that in the Tina Turner way... OR DO I?

[lady-tavington.livejournal.com]

OMG, CLEO THANK YOU FOR BLAKE'S PERFORMANCE ON MP3 VERSION EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK.

::tries to calm down.::

[evilsimon.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. Orlando Bloom is not human. He is an alien from one of those planets that come to bring world peace or whatnot.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I think you can buy $.99 studio versions of all the performances--taped before the shows, I would imagine--but the live version, I know I like.

[lady-tavington.livejournal.com]

LOlz, I can't buy the stuff of the site, coz you know, hee, not in the US, and I can't do the whole shameless asking my mom for the money thing either, a $ is 50 pesos here in the Philippines, so you know...hee. Besides, the live version sounds awesome anyways, so thanks!

[headtotoe.livejournal.com]

[b]Wow, I had no idea that paparazzi was Italian for "coke-fueled party-girl shenanigans."[/b]

I didn't either. But..it all makes so much more sense now.

And Orlando..I just...AWW.

[xphile101.livejournal.com]

Did you want the studio recording of Blake doing You Give Love a Bad Name? They release 'em every week and I have it.

His beatbox is so awesome. I have massive amounts of love for people that can beatbox.

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you on Blake! Thanks for the .mp3!

And wow - that's so nice of Orlando!

[laerwen.livejournal.com]

Orlando Bloom is definitely made of plastic. He cannot be real. ;D

[laughing-cities.livejournal.com]

xkcd is one of my favorite websites EVA. =] and i literally lol'd at that one.

and i agree. who CAN'T love Orlando Bloom? hehe. though WHERE HAS HE BEEN?! besides Pirates and Haven [which i heard wasn't all that great] he hasn't been anywhere! it kind of makes one [meaning myself] sad.

[elendiari22.livejournal.com]

Awww, Orlando is so cute. I love hearing about actors who are actually really nice to their fans. :)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

EEEE! That would be awesome. Don't you have to pay for it, though?

OMG

[derangeddarling.livejournal.com]

Ok. I just spent the last 15 minutes FREAKING OUT because I have never been an Idol person. Never watched a full episode, never planned to, only own music from one post-Idol "star" (Kelly.) But then there was Blake. I had heard his name but never seen a picture or a performance before this entry, and I have now bookmarked both those You Tube links and am listening to the MP3 on repeat. I LOVE HIM.

I will now proceed to watch every Idol episode he is on (er, when are the new eps of Idol? >.<) and then You Tube watch all the ones I have missed (what season of Idol is this? 53?) and then plaster my computer with pictures of him and buy his album the second he wins Idol and releases it.

SO MUCH LOVE.


Also, I have never really visited ONTD unless I check out a link of yours, and I would just like to say that I am glad I don't because there is soooo much unnecessary hate on that Kiera article. I feel bad for the girl!

Finally, much love for Orlando. I knew he was worth my endless devotion! ^.^

*fangirls*

[emisi.livejournal.com]

Wow, I had no idea Orlando was so nice. Aww. He's so cute!

re: Orlando

[derangeddarling.livejournal.com]

I know! I orderd Haven on DVD since in never came to theaters around me (neither Detroit nor Chicago!) but I haven't watched it yet, and i am really concerned about his lack of work beyond Pirates. IMDB has Love and Other Disasters listed, but i have literally heard and seen nothing about it.

He hasn't even done that many movies, I hope he isn't slowing down for good already! He needs a few more wildly famous films so he'll be all over the magazines again, I somehow lost all the best posters I had in moving from home to college....*woe*

[promise19.livejournal.com]

If you've haven't seen Kingdom of Heaven, you should definitely see that... and of course, Troy. But he's much better in KoH. He's the hero and totally hot and awesome. Also, I keep praying for a Director's Cut on DVD. There was an amazing love scene that I read about that totally got left on the cutting room floor. Now that he's done with POTC I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him elsewhere. Oh, and while it was a little lame, Elizabethtown. But it was still MORE ORLANDO!!!

Re: OMG

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Look up Blake Lewis on Wikipedia and it'll tell you which songs he's performed on the show, which will help you wade through all the Blake-related files on YouTube. I can't believe I missed "You Keep Me Hangin' On," which is one of my favorite songs, period, but I know that "Love Song" is a pretty good cover.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

Never really got fangirly over Orlando Bloom before, but after reading that . . . yeah. *fangirls*

You Give Love a Bad Name

[hulamoth.livejournal.com]

Dude, I do love you.

And I wish I were an Orlando fan. Good lord.

[elendiari22.livejournal.com]

The Director's Cut of KoH is out, you can get it at Barnes and Noble. It is totally awesome, the movie makes so much more sense, as all of the plot holes are filled in.

[miabee023.livejournal.com]

Wow. You know, my high school is currently in Blake-mania, because we happen to be WHERE he went to school. And I knew he was good, but I thought that maybe all the rave reviews I've been hearing are just because he's local. But I guess not, my goodness. I suppose it's kind of strange to hear someone who's NOT from my school say he's their favorite. And here I thought we were just in our own little Northwest bubble of excitement.

[last-archangel.livejournal.com]

Why does it not surprise me that Orlando Bloom is that much of a sweetheart? I am so happy my suspicion that he was a genuinely nice person was not disappointed. <3

[zrath.livejournal.com]

Yeah, "Andromeda Strain" is the one Crichton movie I really really like, so miniseries? WTF!?!?
I know it's the Brothers Ridley but still!
My brain just went 601.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee! Yeah--I can definitely say that he doesn't have the best voice on the show (so I wouldn't say give into the hype completely), but he's a great performer and his biggest strength is that he can mix things up, which I don't know that anyone else this season (or maybe on the show, period) has ever really done. I've seen people do different arrangements of songs, but I've never gotten the feeling before that it was driven by the contestant himself. I mean, you actually see on the show where Jon Bon Jovi's like, "I don't knoooooow about thiiiiiis..." And then he knocks it out of the park anyway. It's not the mentor or the rehearsal coaches or whoever rearranging the song to help the performer out (which they have done on occasion), you know? It's honestly this guy wanting to be creative with things. Also, he's cute. ; )