Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
In a recent episode of American Idol, Megan Danielle chose “Up to the Mountain” for her individual Hollywood audition. She has the voice of a singer three times her age and I love it. It’s like she smokes a pack of cigarettes before each performance, a quality hard to match. Here’s her performance and then a few other past contestants singing the same song. Chime in with a comment on which is your favorite, although it’s hard to pick!
Megan Danielle (season 21)…
Crystal Bowersox (season 9)…
Jessica Cabral (season 15)…
Kree Harrison (season 12)…
Kelly Clarkson (“Idol Gives Back,” 2007)…
Honestly, it’s hard to decide my favorite between the legend Kelly Clarkson and newcomer Megan Danielle. Megan makes me think of what Brandi Carlile must’ve sounded like at 20 years old and Kelly Clarkson, well, she’s Kelly freaking Clarkson.
If you’ve been keep up with American Idol, you’re aware contestants just made it to Hollywood where the stage and the chances of getting eliminated got bigger, that is if judges stick by their made up rules. This week, Katy Perry didn’t mock anyone like she did previously, so that’s good. We got a two-fer with episodes on Sunday and Monday. First night was individual performances, then Monday was all about duets. Because of the nature of the show and humans and circumstances, one duet turned into a trio and a few almost turned into solos. This was the case for Fire, who needs success as much as any contestant on the show.
Fire’s partner was Kaya Stewart, the woman I wrote about in this post. Daughter of a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and, while she isn’t a great singer, her spoiled brat attitude annoys me way more than her voice. She and Fire practiced for hours and when it was time to take the stage in front of the judges, Kayla announced that instead of caring about Fire and trying to make it through the performance, she just quit. Sounds like someone is scared of getting a “no” so she beat them to it. Meanwhile Fire was left alone on the stage until a selfless Jayna Elise stepped up to sing in Kaya’s place.
Another untouchable contestant almost ruined things for Cam Amen. I say untouchable because Cam’s duet partner was J Valerione, a man who identifies as non-binary, they/them, and androgynous. I still haven’t figured out if all those identifiers means Jay is a drag queen, but based on the dictionary definition and the way Jay dresses, I’d say he fits the mold. Therefore, it would be considered hate speech if someone were to call him out for, say, being extremely self-centered when he decided to leave the competition halfway through duet rehearsals because it was just too much for him. Well, that DID happen and Cam, unfortunately, was stuck between a rock and a hard place… that is, until Jay returned to heroically save the day. There’s a lesson here: A person who starts a fire should get no credit for putting it out.
After their messy duet performance and along with the judges, Jay treated Cam like a child who got a boo boo. Such a condescending aura even though Jay is the whole reason Cam fumbled through the performance! Gosh, that ticked me right off. But because Jay is in such a special class, we aren’t allowed to tell him what he did was selfish, stupid, and when he quit the show he should’ve never came back. With that said, Jay DOES have a nice singing voice. But he totally screwed Cam over. Can’t you just feel the patronizing going on in this picture?
Besides the two quitters, there were great duets in the show. If I had to pick a favorite, I’d go with Hannah Nicolaisen and Warren Peay who performed, “It’s Your Love.”
And I gotta mention Zachariah Smith and Isaac Brown who improvised their way through “I’m Still Standing,” and did it with gusto. Zachariah’s voice, backstory, and personality could take him really far in this competition.
I have to start off by saying that I’m fully rooting for Fire. OK, yes American Idol has manipulated me just like they wanted but if anyone needs a “win,” it’s her. She’s scrappy and clawing her way to a better life for herself and her daughter. How can we not be on the sidelines cheering her on? At least put her through to the live shows so she can feel the support of America when we get to vote! With that in mind and in random order, here are my five favorite moments from the first round in Hollywood, the individual performances.
Fire “You Say”…
Zachariah Smith “Cold as Ice”…
Megan Danielle “Up to the Mountain”…
Haven Madison “Still Need You”…
Lucy Love “To Make You Feel My Love”…
It’s hard to say if any of these contestants will become the next American Idol but based on just these performances alone, one of them should be!
Most of my camping trips center around exploring nature whether it’s rivers, lakes, ocean, wildlife, or hiking through forests. And before I admit this weekend trip to Chewacla State Park in Auburn, Alabama was NOT centered around those things, the park is actually pretty good for that kind of thing, as far as I can tell…
Plenty of hilly hills for a road bike and lots of trails for mountain bikes, plus a waterfall you can hear from a good bit away. There’s something special about camping in the woods when a hotel is the other option. That’s the case here at Chewacla, so close to Auburn University. I’m guessing it is full to capacity every home football game but I was in town to watch my nieces play club soccer against a few area university club soccer teams.
I can’t say with enough enthusiasm how nice it was to have a state park so close to the university. It was just a hop skip and a jump to the soccer fields and coming back to the quiet, dark part in the evenings is the relaxation and decompression everyone needs.
Me and My Dad
Not to mention my campsite (and most in the park) has sewer hookups so if you camp in an RV or trailer, you know how much having sewer makes us feel like kings and queens. It’s nice.
I’d book this site again in a heartbeat if I had any events in Auburn, or just for the outdoorsy-ness of it. Good times! Have you camped at this park before? I didn’t really get a chance to explore like I normally would but the time I spent in the park was still very enjoyable!
Even though Women’s History Month is now literally history, I thought this commercial from Ford was worth writing about. Ford released this satirical commercial last month (which technically makes it a March fool’s joke 🤪) advertising an Explorer manufactured WITHOUT all the parts invented by women. Take a look then scroll down for more info…
No comment. If you go to the YouTube page, you’ll notice Ford didn’t turn off the comments. I found it very peculiar that even with 687,000 views, there are ZERO comments! So no one out there assumed the only inventions from women would be the visor mirror or a steering wheel in the back seat? Just me? But seriously, I thought it was unbelievable to have no comments on the video… until it dawned on me that men are smart. When it comes to women and having a relationship with them, there’s a time to speak and a time to just be quiet.
Clever. No one would buy this “Men’s Only” Explorer, especially given the fact that people don’t much like Explorers even when they’re built correctly! There’s a reason they have the nickname “Ford Exploders,” after all. But putting reality aside, this is a cute and clever commercial from Ford celebrating women for women’s history month.
How do you feel about the commercial? Does it make your heart all warm and fuzzy for the women of the world?
Out of the Wilderness 