Singers Wow Judges In Hawaii, Jelly Roll Hits – American Idol Part 2

“You went and saved the best for laaaast…” That Vanessa Williams song rings true for American Idol this weekend in Hawaii. There were two parts, Sunday and Monday night. The first half on Sunday (recap here) was rather dull with only a couple of acts I can even remember and it was only two days ago! Bummer. But then some real powerhouses showed up for part 2 on Monday night, featuring my top 2 favorites– Jack Blocker and Jennifer Jeffries— plus a host of great performers. Basically all of them were amazing. I can’t see any matrix of data points on a graph where the 4 who get eliminated next weekend aren’t from the first night of singers.

From Monday night’s episode, these three performances surprised me the most:

Kennedy Reid… such stage presence! I’m starting to think her first auditions were calculated. Just enough to get to the voting round. Now she’s leaving it all on the stage.

Emmy Russell… The most adorable of the group. She has a folksy voice that is hard not to like! This was her best performance all season. Great song choice, too, using a track from the up-and-comer Benson Boone and his viral hit…

Mia Matthews… a touching rendition of “Daddy’s Hands” and if you didn’t at least *almost* cry, you must be dead inside.

Honorable mention goes to Jelly Roll, the mentor of the night. I haven’t ever met him but he comes across as such a genuinely kind, and funny, man. He was so encouraging to the artists and I love that he embraces his darker past and even better, he’s left that life behind. He said something like he used to live to tear down but now he’s living life to build up. Very cool, sir!

Overall, a great episode that saw my favorites shine and a few underdogs who might be gaining momentum.

-Out of the Wilderness

American Idol Hawaii Part 1 – The Best and the Worst

I don’t know if I’ll ever understand why the American Idol judges keep certain contestants that are so far outmatched, sending home singers that could actually have a shot at winning the entire thing. The phenomenon has happened on every season, I’m sure. Judges Katy, Lionel, and Luke narrowed the field down to 24 last week and last night, half of those performed for our votes. Overall, it was a rather lackluster episode. My criteria, and maybe this is too harsh, but I judge each song on whether we’ll be talking about it during the week or months afterwards. For example, last season almost every time Iam Tongi took the stage was better than the week before and wowed everyone… especially with his rendition of “Don’t Let Go.” So did the first voting round of season 22 blow me away? Not exactly. But there were 2 performances that stood out to me.

Abi Carter “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)”…

McKenna Breinholt “The Story”…

The rest were good but nothing you’d write home about. I’ll just say it: Most were boooooorrrrrriing. Except for one. It was entertaining for all the wrong reasons and because of that, I need to compliment the judges. While I miss Simon Cowell is for his brutal honesty, current judges (who care about their own careers, too, understandably) take a different slant on critiques. This can make it hard when a performance is subpar. I applaud Luke, Lionel, and Katy for crafting their criticisms in a constructive way but deep down, I bet they want to say, “You kinda suck.” Or as Simon might say, “You can hear better singers drunk in a karaoke bar.” Yes, I’m talking about Blake Proehl’s performance.

I have no doubt that Blake was a hell of a football player. Making it to the highest level (the NFL) means only one thing: You’re the elite of the elite. That’s impressive, for sure. But just because you’re good at one thing doesn’t mean you’re good at something else, too. It still ticks me off that the judges selected him to be in the top 24 when Ziggy, Scarlett Lee, and 57.3 other singers were obviously so much better. Blake might get by this first round of cuts mostly due to his charm and good looks, but sooner or later (it’ll be sooner), his deficient singing ability will be too obvious to overlook.

-Out of the Wilderness

My Favorite American Idol Performances – April 2024

Not ironically, this is also a list of my top 3 as we head into the live episodes where 24 contestants (or maybe there’s a wild card??) will sing for our votes. My top favorite is Jack Blocker, who famously got the golden ticket thanks to the crew of idol (not the judges, except for Luke). I loved his performance of “Your Cheatin’ Heart.”

My next favorite with her best performance so far is Jennifer Jeffries with an original song called “Change My Ways.”

Rounding out my top 3 is Mckenna Breinholt singing “When We Were Young.” Her low note is startling in the best way.

Honorable Mention (and maybe a wild card, I hope) is Ziggy pouring his heart out with “All I Want.” A sweet soul, apparently.

Who are your favorites? I’m sure I’ll have to update this list once tonight’s episode airs, the first that includes us, the audience. Come on Jack, Jennifer, and Mckenna… knock it out of the park!

-Out of the Wilderness

Jojo Siwa Identifies as a Seahorse in Music Video For “KARMA” – Reactions and More…

Usually I’m so grateful to be experiencing life in this era. But when someone comes along trying to be a seahorse, I start to question our progress as humans. I guess we’re at the point in history where anyone can just make a music video. Case in point: Jojo Siwa.

On a positive note, the production value is high. The costumes are elaborate. The yacht is amazing. Beyond that, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and by the comments left on YouTube (see a few below), the video is not very beautiful. I’ll end my critique with this: It’s not the worst song I’ve ever heard. That award goes to this person.

Here’s a behind the scenes clip from ET that will make you like Jojo less than you probably already do.

What’s it called when someone believes their poop doesn’t stink? That’s the vibe I get from Jojo. I have a feeling she’s surrounded by people that say yes a lot. That’s unfortunate for her and I foresee a destructive future in the name of fame, fortune, and self-love. Along with that, she’ll blame everyone else but herself.

-Out of the Wilderness

My First Sprint Triathlon of the Year is a Month Away!

Yesterday marked the one month countdown until my first sprint triathlon of 2024, which will only be my fourth ever! My first sprint tri was April 8th, 2023 so I guess my rookie year is ending in a few days. I still remember that first one like it was yesterday with all the splashing and gasping and getting passed by a lot of people. I crossed the finish line, exhausted, and said, “I’m never doing that again!” and I meant it. The race was a 600 yard swim, a 19 mile bike, and a 5K run. It was my first and that was obvious because of my beach bathing suit, a bike from 1975… I had only a vague idea of what to expect that day.

Since then I’ve completed 2 more sprint triathlons and 2 duathlons (run, bike, run). There are so many benefits to taking part in these races. One of them is simply staying in shape. Another is this: it’s nice to have something to work towards. When I run, or bike, or do an outdoor workout, I love having a goal in mind, especially when the workouts get difficult. It’s all for a purpose.

The upcoming triathlon is May 4th in the panhandle of Florida and I’m feeling a range of emotions each day. Mostly I’m excited. But also, nerves. It will be set up close to the same as the first one from last year. There’s a 600 yard swim, a 16 mile bike, and a 5K, so it’ll be a good test of my progress in the last 12 months. Have I improved? Will the swim portion go more smoothly? Can my new bicycle help me perform better? What will my energy level be when it’s time to run the 5K?

So many questions! I have a training calendar that takes me right up to race day and I’ve added something new. I’ve included “two-a-days” where I’ll have 2 workouts per day (although not every day), along with rest days, of course. Two thoughts are driving this…

  1. I want to be faster than I was last April/May
  2. I’d love to finish in the top 3 of my age group

I have a fast class of athletes ages 45 to 49 so my work is definitely cut out for me. I just hope that I can live up to my potential. Training continues to be my favorite part. Without training, someone could just show up and probably finish the race. Enduring each part of it, the swim and the bike and the run, just well enough to cross the finish line. But I genuinely love that feeling of accomplishment when the training helps me to endure and to actually be better than I was the last time. Practice the familiar feeling of swimming, cycling hard, and running even when my mind wonders if my body can hold up.

-Out of the Wilderness