American Idol – Fire is gone, or is she!?

Hello and thanks for checking out my blog today. I post every day at 1pm central and since American Idol has included really talented singers this season, I can’t help but write about some of the episodes. Even judge Katy Perry is growing on me even though she and I would probably agree on 3 or less things in real life. But on the show, I bet we agree that Warren Peay, Wé Ani, Zachariah Smith are top 10 material! In fact, if you watched the first half of this week’s double header, you saw that those three are already going to the top 24 live show next week. Where Katy, Luke, Lionel and I disagree are a few others they sent through last night. I’m talking about talented singers (but not standouts) Michael Williams, PJ, and Malik. Like I’ve said before, I miss Simon. He’d be honest with these three guys. One is only there because he looks like Tom Cruise (as pointed out by my mom). The other two are gay so cutting them would be a hate crime in today’s culture. Idol ain’t got time for that!

I’ll probably get cancelled for using that GIF since I’m a straight, white guy. So the judges broke whatever made up rules the show has, to send both to the top 24. Sadly, as the judges explained, one contestant they had planned on keeping had to be cut to let PJ and Malik through. So they can break made up rules but having 25 singers instead of 24 on next week’s live show is an unbreakable rule? OK, sure.

Then there’s Fire. This show isn’t just about the best singer. I think they made a mistake in letting her go home. But at the end of the episode, they teased about a twist no one will see coming, so I’m sort of hoping somehow Fire gets brought back? Especially after her cryptic tweet yesterday…

Using phrases like “may not have made it” and “you haven’t heard the last of me” is open-ended enough that she very well could return as a wild card, right? I’m sure I’m not the only one who would sniff and possibly cry a little bit if she makes it to the live shows. But the cynical, or practical, side of me thinks that if Fire truly does want to change her life for her daughter’s sake, maybe trying to become the American Idol winner was too lofty of a goal. Certainly there are available jobs somewhere between famous singer and stripper, right? Go work at Best Buy. Drive for Amazon. Apply at Walmart. But who are we kidding? Give her a chance, Idol producers!

Yesterday I posted about my excitement for the upcoming episode. I listed 6 singers I have my eye on, and now 2 of those made it to the next round. One is out (Fire). Tonight’s exciting episode will reveal if I’m correct about the other two.

Who are your favorites? Do you think the big surprise will be swapping Nutsa out for Fire?

-Out of the Wilderness

Cranked Up for American Idol Showstopper Rounds

I’m sitting in my camper watching “The Kominsky Method” but waiting for a new episode of “American Idol.” Tonight starts the Showstopper stage of the show. I’m not entirely sure what that means but I’m also not looking it up on purpose. I’m hoping Ryan Seacrest or the judges will explain it, unlike the introduction of the Platinum ticket. Am I the only one who had no idea what that was when they gave one to Cam Amen? Here’s out it went…

I was surprised when, on one of the final audition episodes, a contestant got something called a Platinum ticket. “What in the world is that!?” I thought. I was a little annoyed it was handed out with no explanation, as if we all absolutely knew what a special reward it was. Not to ramble, but that’s not the only thing that irked me this season. Katy Perry can be fun to watch, but when she does stuff like this and this, I remember why I don’t like her much.

But I should have grace. Certainly I need grace, too! Pet peeves aside, I’m loving the quality of singers this season.

So back to tonight’s episode… the synopsis is that contestants will be paired up against each other and judges will be sending people home. Yikes! I guess “showstopper” means that the show literally stops for some of the hopeful singers. In other words, you don’t gotta go home but you gotta get the heck up outta here!

Tonight I’m hoping to see Fire, Zachariah Smith, and Megan Danielle. They’re my top 3 up to this point in the competition. A couple of others who’ve captured my interest are Lucy Love, Jayna Elise, and Warren Peay.

Who are your favorites? Were you confused by the Platinum ticket thing? Chime in with your thoughts about tonight’s episode. I hope it’s a good one!

-Out of the Wilderness

My first (and only?) sprint triathlon

You know how when people first do something, like get a tattoo, go scuba diving, or have kids, they can’t wait to do it again? For me, it’s a sprint triathlon and just like that person who got a barbed wire tattoo, swam with hungry sharks, or has a rambunctious kid…. and they NEVER WANT TO DO IT AGAIN, yeah, I feel ya. OK my experience wasn’t quite that traumatic but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The course was 1/3 swim, 19 mile bike, and 5K run.

starting lap 2 of the cycling
so fast, the camera barely caught me 😉

This was the bicycling part of the race, as you can see. Before biking was swimming. I must’ve looked like a goofy manatee floating in the lake as I thrashed around trying to find the shore. Then there was the bike. I love my bike but it’s not made for speed. But I still love my bike.

The last of the three challenges was running. It was a 5K, unlike the run I normally do on Easter weekend (Jesus, the Risen 1K). I ran well but not as fast as I would’ve liked. By the end of the race, as I crossed the finish line, I was exhausted and felt like I’m sure Jesus will come back before I do another one of these! How fitting on Easter to think about the return of Jesus, I guess. But also, if something you’re doing makes you wish for Jesus’ triumphant descent from Heaven, maybe that’s a sign.

I really enjoyed the training, though. Working out with my brother in law, practicing my swim, running and biking in the neighborhood will be the highlights I remember from this endeavor. I’m going to “tri” to forget my official time in the race yesterday. I’m going to “tri” to not remember swimming completely perpendicular to the path I was supposed to be swimming. But… I will also “tri” to remember singing as I ran, encouraging people who passed me or I passed on the bike and run, seeing my awesome dad cheering for me as I pedaled by on the bicycle course. Lots of good memories for this manatee. A big thanks to my dad (again) for coming out to cheer us on and take pictures, and to Robin McDougall, a new friend who got a pic of us before the event started!

thanks Robin! I’m on the right, posed with my brother in law and his brother and his brother’s wife.

-Out of the Wilderness

NF’s new video “Happy” – Is it happy?

NF must’ve made a New Year’s resolution to put out a music video every month and while most people fail with whatever goals they make on January 1st, NF is coming through with flying colors and listeners are the beneficiaries. The last two have been so good and I posted about them at the links below…

HOPE – The new NF music video – hope, goosebumps, and identical twins?

MOTTO – The New NF video for “Motto” is a fun red carpet ride!

And now there’s HAPPY. Take a look then scroll down for more thoughts and questions.

I guess this song presents the rest of us with a question… is this the happy version of NF? I thought it was interesting that 8 years ago NF tweeted about this exact emotion… happiness.

Is this the happy album he was hoping for? It’s called HOPE and when one is hopeful they can be happy, too. But they can also be desperate and unhappy. They can have hope because things are bad. They can have hope because things are great. The more I think about it, I’d venture to say this IS the happy album simply based on the lyrics for the song HOPE. He talks about having a lot of struggles for the past 30 years but at the very end he takes the reins. That’s a turning point. Something flipped. Perhaps all, or at least most, of his demons are in the rear view mirror. Ahead is blue skies, twists and turns for sure, but even with life’s curveballs, he is happy.

What do y’all think? I still need to listen to the entire album. I’m sure that will give a better understanding into the incredible artist we know as NF.

-Out of the Wilderness