The Kellie Pickler Award- Female Reality

Named For: Kellie Pickler (American Idol)
Awarded To: The best female reality competition contestant of the season
2009 Winner: Sugar Kiper (Survivor)
2010 Winner: Parvati Shallow (Survivor)
2011 Winner: Haley Reinhart (American Idol)

10. Michelle Money (Bachelor Pad) 0 points

9. Laura Kathleen (Project Runway) 1 point
5th by Me

8. Vanessa Macias (Amazing Race) 3 points
2nd by Jaydon

7. Lindsey Pavao (The Voice) 4 points
3rd by Tyson

6. Grayson Schmitz (Top Chef) 5 points
1st by Jaydon, 4th by Me

5. Skylar Laine (American Idol) 8 points
1st by Larry

4. Chelsea Meissner (Survivor) 10 points
1st by Cecil

3. Juliet Simms (The Voice) 11 points
1st by Tyson, 1st by Me

2. Daniele Donato (Big Brother) 13 points
1st by T-time, 2nd by Me

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Jessica Sanchez (American Idol) 14 points
1st by Jack and Rizzo, 3rd by Me

This is Jessica Sanchez's first nomination and win for the best female reality competition contestant of the season.  Here to discuss her rapid rise to stardom is Poolie voter, Jack.

__________________________

For the last three seasons, American Idol has really flipped the script with the female contestants.  After eight years of putting up with the boring girls’ performances, they have recently been the ones who I look forward to the most.  Season nine gave us Bowersox and Didi Benami, and season 10 introduced us to the amazing Haley Reinhart.  With no disrespect to those three, even with how great they were, they could not carry Jessica Sanchez’s gym bags.  Jessica has the best vocal ability I have ever seen in the competition outside Adam Lambert.  And the fact that she is only 16 is all the more impressive.  By the time she hits her prime, she may be in consideration as one of the best voices of all time.  Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Jessica was her versatility.  We have seen such different dynamics before from a guy (the aforementione Lambert), but never from the female side.  She roared out of the gates with “I Will Always Love You,” which was pitch perfection, out-dueling Jennifer Hudson and Jordin Sparks who performed the same song at different award show tributes.  That performance, along with “You Are So Beautiful” and “The Prayer,” proved she could sing the ballads as good as anyone.  Have you ever seen anyone hold those high notes with so much ease?  But there was much more to Jessica than slow ballads.  She brought out her jazzy side on many occasions, most notably her performance of “Steal Away.”  Say what you want about that growl, but I thought it was fantastic.  Just when you think you’ve seen everything this girl had to offer, top four week came, and Jessica brought singing to new heights.  The performance of the season, and maybe the series, was her take on “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”  We’ve heard this song done so many times, but she put absolutely everything she had into this two minute show.  I have never seen someone put so much heart and emotion into a performance and still nail every single note.  They should have stopped the show and crowned her right then and there.

Unfortunately, there was a group of people against Sanchez.  It is not possible for any contestant to have no haters, that’s the way our world works.  But the arguments that the haters tried to come up with for disliking her were absurd.  I heard claims of her showing no emotion? Please.  Did you not see that single tear come down her cheek after she left her heart on the stage singing “..I’m Not Going.”  I also heard that she is too pageanty and rehearsed.  So these people are mad that she has been singing her whole life and has been coached how to sing?  How dare someone practice their craft before entering Idol.  And perhaps the most absurd comments were how she was arrogant.  I don’t know what show those people were watching, but what I saw was a very humble, innocent, 16 year old girl who is living out her dream.  And even if she does think she is a great singer, wouldn’t you if you were in her shoes?  There was only one acceptable complaint of Jessica Sanchez.  And that is her occasional bad song choices.  If she had picked the right songs week in and week out, she may have been able to put up the greatest singing season of all time.  But as for now, she will go down as the 2nd best in my book, right behind Adam Lambert.

by Jack Forcella

The James Zinkand Award- Worst Reality Contestant

Named For: James Zinkand (Big Brother)
Awarded To: The reality competition contestant that you most love to hate
2009 Winner: Margie and Luke (Amazing Race)
2010 Winner: Aaron Kelly (American Idol)
2011 Winner: Jacob Lusk (American Idol)

10. Oliver Green (Project Runway) 0 points

9. Vienna Girardi (Bachelor Pad) 1 point
3rd by Tyson

8. Sarah Grueneberg (Top Chef) 2 points
4th by Me

7. Beverly McClellan (The Voice) 4 points
2nd by Jack

6. Lawon Exum (Big Brother) 7 points
2nd by Jaydon

5. Kalie Booker (Big Brother) 9 points
2nd by T-time

4. Adam Poch (Big Brother) 12 points
1st by T-time, 2nd by Me

3. Rachel Reilly (Big Brother) 15 points
1st by Jaydon, Cecil, Rizzo, and Larry

2. Astro (The X Factor) 18 points
1st by Tyson, 3rd by Me

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Joshua Ledet (American Idol) 19 points
1st by Jack, 1st by Me

This is Joshua Ledet's first nomination and win for the reality competition contestant you most love to hate.  American Idol has now won the James Zinkand Award for three straight  years.

The interesting thing about my hatred for Joshua Ledet, is that he seemed like a very nice kid.  He was nice, polite, and honestly not supremely annoying when he spoke on American Idol this season.  The problem was that when he performed, I wanted to stab myself in the eye.  Every time it was a run.  Every time it was some kind of vocal Olympics.  I hoped and hoped that he would just sing one song as it is written.  Not because I wanted him to go further in the competition, but because I couldn't handle yet another shout-fest without wanting to jump off of my balcony.  Every time Joshua Ledet made it through to another round, it meant he was passing a contestant I liked more than him, and for that I hated him all season long.

by Dan Forcella

American Idol Top 4- Ho Hum, Hollie

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+55)
Skylar Laine
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 4: +55, Team Total: 342

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+55)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 4: +55, Team Total: 276

Jack
Deandre Brackensick
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+55)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker

Top 4: +55, Team Total: 237

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Eliminated (-24)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 4: -24, Team Total: 134

Me
Colton Dixon
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Team Total: 58

American Idol Top 5- Ledeted To The Judges

I like Phillip Phillips.  I would probably enjoy his music when he comes out with a record.  Phil is probably well on his way to winning this entire competition, but he was God awful this week on American Idol.  As bad as Joshua Ledet?  No, but still bad.  You have to give the judges credit.  They decided that they wanted Josh to make it to the end for some ridiculous reason, and they have done as much as possible to make that happen.  He was in the Bottom 3 guys the very first week of the finals!  He has passed a ton of people on his way to now being voted as one of the Top 3 overall this week.  With their constant praise, and non-stop standing ovations, Jennifer, Steven, and Randy have triple-handedly advanced Joshua to the Final Four.  That is a feat worth celebrating, because he is the absolute worst.

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+45)
Skylar Laine: Eliminated (-22)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 5: +23, Team Total: 287

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+45)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 5: +45, Team Total: 221

Jack
Deandre Brackensick
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+45)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker

Top 5: +45, Team Total: 182

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Bottom 2 (-11), Safe (+45)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 5: +34, Team Total: 158

Me
Colton Dixon
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Team Total: 58

American Idol Top 6- Testone Deaf

Here are some scores for you.  Finally Elise is gone!

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+36)
Skylar Laine: Bottom 3 (-10), Safe (+36)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 6: +62, Team Total: 264

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+36)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Eliminated (-20)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 6: +16, Team Total: 176

Jack
Deandre Brackensick
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+36)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker

Top 6: +36, Team Total: 137

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Bottom 3 (-10), Safe (+36)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 6: +26, Team Total: 124

Me
Colton Dixon
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Team Total: 58

American Idol Top 7 (pt. 2)- One More Time?

I'm out...good luck everybody.

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+28)
Skylar Laine: Safe (+28)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 7 (pt. 2): +56, Team Total: 202

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+28)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Bottom 3 (-9), Safe (+28)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 7 (pt. 2): +47, Team Total: 160

Jack
Deandre Brackensick
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+28)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker

Top 7: +28, Team Total: 101

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Bottom 3 (-9), Safe (+28)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 7 (pt. 2): +19, Team Total: 98

Me
Colton Dixon: Eliminated (-18)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 7 (pt. 2): -18, Team Total: 58

American Idol Top 7- Save For the Belle

I talked at great length about this week's results with Jack and Rizzo.  My two email conversation with Rizz about Sanchez's bottom three appearance and inevitable save can be read below...

From Rizzo...

I have not watched idol from last night yet. But I don't need to because from what I hear they made a big deal about needing to save Sanchez.

I think there is NO WAY she got the least votes. She is the best female voice by far and very popular. Also dialidol.com is never wrong and they don't even have her in the bottom three for total votes. Joshua had the least votes and raw numbers.

I think they did this on purpose for ratings and to draw attention to the show. I think and still think that it's Phillip and Sanchez to the end.

Larry mentioned something about daughtry and how everyone was sure that he would stay so no one voted or something.

Bottom line is no way in hell that Sanchez actually had the least votes. I think they did this on purpose for ratings/attention/press etc.

Also, no idea why I am so interested in this because I have not watched an episode in two weeks.

From me...

haha i love that you are so interested even you haven't watched.  i am also extremely intrigued, haven't watched a single results episode, and only watch the performances (no judges, intro videos, crap) on the regular eps.

here is my thought.  i think it is extremely possible that they staged this elimination and save in order to drum up excitement, however I don't believe it is necessarily what happened.  dialidol has definitely been wrong in the past...heck they had eben frankewicz as the leading vote getter in the top 24!  usually, though, they do have good standings.  since the added the texting votes though, they have been less accurate.

while i agree that jessica is the best of the season (you may like philphil, i may take colton, but sanchez has the best voice talent), I think she may be hurting for votes because she's from southern california.  the other six of the top seven are from the south or southeast, places that are known to vote well (texas, louisiana, south carolina, tennessee, georgia, mississippi). those people have nothing better to do than sit by their phones and vote for their small town girl or guy who is on idol.  it's rare to see somebody from LA, San Diego, NYC, etc. do really well on these shows, because people have lives in those places and theirs no "entire town or state voting for the contestant" mentality.

having said all that, I still think there is an absolute chance that Idol rigged all of that to increase ratings for the rest of the season, but then why wouldn't they just rig every week?  why not rig the entire order of finish?  why would they have a dude win the last four seasons and then complain about it?  there's a lot of merit to the fact that they may be cheating the system, but I'm not entirely sold on it.

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+21)
Skylar Laine: Safe (+21)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 7: +42, Team Total: 146

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Eliminated (-16), Saved (+21)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Bottom 3 (-8), Safe (+21)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 7: +18, Team Total: 113

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Safe (+21)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 7: +21, Team Total: 79

Me
Colton Dixon: Safe (+21)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 7: +21, Team Total: 76

Jack
Deandre Brackensick
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Bottom 3 (-8), Safe (+21)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker

Top 7: +13, Team Total: 73

American Idol Top 8- Brackensick to My Stomach

Scores...

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+15)
Skylar Laine: Safe (+15)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 8: +30, Team Total: 104

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+15)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Bottom 3 (-7), Safe (+15)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 8: +23, Team Total: 95

Jack
Deandre Brackensick: Eliminated (-14)
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+15)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker
Top 8: +1, Team Total: 60

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Bottom 3 (-7), Safe (+15)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 8: +8, Team Total: 58

Me
Colton Dixon: Safe (+15)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 8: +15, Team Total: 55

American Idol Top 9- Heejun, Don't Make It Bad

Predict the Bottom Three
I predicted Heejun, Hollie and Deandre in the Bottom 3, and for Deandre to go home. I was very surprised to see Skylar in the bottom 3. I never saw that coming.

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+11)
Skylar Laine: Bottom 3 (-6), Safe (+11)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 9: +16, Team Total: 74

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+11)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Safe (+11)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 9: +22, Team Total: 72

Jack
Deandre Brackensick: Safe (+11)
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+11)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker
Top 9: +22, Team Total: 59

Tyson
Heejun Han: Eliminated (-12)
Hollie Cavanaugh: Bottom 3 (-6), Safe (+11)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 9: -7, Team Total: 50

Me
Colton Dixon: Safe (+11)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 9: +11, Team Total: 40

American Idol Top 10- Erika Pelted With Boos

I changed the scoring system a bit so that those who are in the bottom three but make it through get extra points.  This inevitably helped people like Rizzo and Jack, and hurt my scores, so you are all welcome.

Survivor
Me: W1- Phillip, W2- Hollie, W3- Skylar
Jack: W1- Hollie, W2- Deandre, W3- Joshua

Predict the Bottom Three
Jack copied my bottom three for the second straight week (Erika, Elise, Deandre), but unfortunately for the both us, it was wrong this time.  Our choice of Erika going home was correct, but sadly Heejun was in the bottom three instead of Elise.

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+8)
Skylar Laine: Safe (+8)
Erika Van Pelt: Eliminated (-10)
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 10: +6, Team Total: 58

Tyson
Heejun Han: Bottom 3 (-5), Safe (+8)
Hollie Cavanaugh: Safe (+8)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 10: +11, Team Total: 57


Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+8)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Safe (+8)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 10: +16, Team Total: 50



Jack
Deandre Brackensick: Bottom 3 (-5), Safe (+8)
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+8)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker
Top 10: +11, Team Total: 37




Me
Colton Dixon: Safe (+8)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 10: +8, Team Total: 29

American Idol Top 11- Shannon's Migraine

I think this season's Fantasy American Idol has become a two team race, as Larry's duo of Phil Phil and Skylar and Tyson's duo of Heejun and Hollie will battle this out to the end.  I definitely give the edge to Larry, though, because Heejun will have an earlier exit than the other three if the judges get what they want.

A few thoughts on the performances...I keep wanting to love Colton Dixon, but he has yet to impress me.  Phil Phillips is the type of artist I like, but he has been pretty average thus far.  Jessica Sanchez is the best female contestant this show has seen in years.  What she did with "Turn the Beat Around" was fantastic, and if any other Idol had done that song it would have been karaoke hell.  Skylar Lane is 10 times the country star that Lauren Alaina tried to be last year.  People like Hollie but she hasn't done much for me thus far.  Heejun is funny, and his tone is nice, but he needs a lot of work.  Josh, Deandre, and Elise are all good singers, but none do it for me.  Erika needs to go next.

Survivor
Me: W1- Phillip, W2- Hollie
Jack: W1- Hollie, W2- Deandre

Predict the Bottom Three
Both Jack and I picked the Bottom 3 of Shannon, Elise and Erika perfectly, but he correctly identified Shannon as the eliminated contestant, while I had Elise going home.

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+6)
Skylar Laine: Safe (+6)
Erika Van Pelt: Bottom 3 (-4), Safe (+6)
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 11: +14, Team Total: 52

Tyson
Heejun Han: Safe (+6)
Hollie Cavanaugh: Safe (+6)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 11: +12, Team Total: 46

Me
Colton Dixon: Safe (+6)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 11: +6, Team Total: 21

Jack
Deandre Brackensick: Safe (+6)
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+6)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker
Top 11: +12, Team Total: 26

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+6)
Shannon Magrane: Eliminated (-8)
Elise Testone: Bottom 3 (-4), Safe (+6)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 11: 0, Team Total: 34

American Idol Top 13- She's The Sanchize

This is super late, and because of how busy I was this week, I only got to watch American Idol in the express style.  That is that thing where you only watch the performances, cutting out all judges comments, preview packages, and Seacrest filler.

My favorites of the night were Phil Phillips and Jessica Sanchez.  Jessica's performance was one of the best female performances I've ever seen on Idol, and blew away Jennifer Hudson's rendition of the same song at the Grammy's a few weeks ago.  She is pretty great, but Phil Phillips is still going to win this thing.

I picked Phil and Jack took Hollie Cavanaugh in the Survivor Pool, so we are both still in.  Neither of us realized how the Bottom 6 was going to work this week, so that didn't pan out as planned.  I thought it would be Erika, Elise and Jermaine with Erika going home.  Jack took Elise, Erika, and Jeremy with Elise going home.  All the people we chose were in the Bottom 6, so there's that.

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+5)
Skylar Laine: Safe (+5)
Erika Van Pelt: Bottom 6 (-3), Safe (+5)
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 13: +12, Team Total: 38

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+5)
Shannon Magrane: Bottom 6 (-3), Safe (+5)
Elise Testone: Bottom 2 (-5), Safe (+5)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 13: +7, Team Total: 34

Tyson
Heejun Han: Safe (+5)
Hollie Cavanaugh: Safe (+5)
Jeremy Rosado: Eliminated (-6)
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 13: +4, Team Total: 24

Me
Colton Dixon: Safe (+5)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 13: +5, Team Total: 15

Jack
Deandre Brackensick: Safe (+5)
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Bottom 6 (-3), Safe (+5)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker
Top 13: +7, Team Total: 14

American Idol Top 25- Flawed Game

Well my Fantasy Idol season is over.  Only one of my five picks made it to the Top 13, which brings me to my next point.  This game is seriously flawed.  Not in fairness, because I did a bad job picking my team, so I deserve to be gone.  Instead, it is flawed in enjoyment.  I know that I have no chance to do anything at this point, so I have much less rooting interest in the season.

I'm thinking about starting a new fantasy Idol game.  I like the idea of either a survivor pool like in the NFL, where you pick one person that won't get eliminated that week, and you can only pick one contestant once throughout the season.  Or, I also like something to do with predicting the bottom three.  I'm going to try and get those going as well as continuing this regular fantasy league.

On a final note, I decided not to allow Rizzo to take on Jermaine Jones, not because it would have given him four contestants in the Top 13, but because Jack asked me earlier if he could just pick the "wildcard contestant" and I told him no.  It wouldn't be fair to give Rizz Jermaine after the fact.  He's still in good shape with three in the finals.

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Top 10 (+10)
Shannon Magrane: Top 10 (+10)
Elise Testone: Top 10 (+10)
Aaron Marcellus: Out (-3)
Johnny Keyser: Never made it
Team Total: 27

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Top 10 (+10)
Skylar Laine: Top 10 (+10)
Erika Van Pelt: Wildcard (+6)
Adam Brock: Out (-3)
Brielle Von Hugel: Wildcard Chance (+3)
Team Total: 26

Tyson
Heejun Han: Top 10 (+10)
Hollie Cavanaugh: Top 10 (+10)
Jeremy Rosado: Wildcard (+6)
Hallie Day: Out (-3)
Chase Likens: Out (-3)
Team Total: 20

Me
Colton Dixon: Top 10 (+10)
Reed Grimm: Wildcard Chance (+3)
Eben Franckewitz: Out (-3)
Haley Johnson: Out (-3)
Jen Hirsh: Wildcard Chance (+3)
Team Total: 10

Jack
Deandre Brackensick: Wildcard (+6)
Baylie Brown: Out (-3)
Joshua Ladet: Top 10 (+10)
Chelsea Sorrell: Out (-3)
Creighton Fraker: Out (-3)
Team Total: 7

The 'Crazy' James Zinkand Award- Worst Reality Contestant

Named For: James Zinkand (Big Brother)
Awarded To: The reality competition contestant you love to hate
2009 Winner: Margie and Luke (The Amazing Race)
2010 Winner: Aaron Kelly (American Idol)

Place. Nominee (Series) Points (My Vote)

10. Alex Reznik (Top Chef) 0 points

9. Gia Allemand (Bachelor Pad) 1 point (5th)

8. Zac Young (Top Chef) 2 points (4th)

7. Rachel Reilly (Big Brother) 7 points

6. Julie Berry (Survivor) 8 points

5. Ragan Fox (Big Brother) 9 points (3rd)

4. Jane Bright (Survivor) 11 points (2nd)

3. Scotty McCreery (American Idol) 15 points

2. NaOnka Mixon (Survivor) 15 points

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Jacob Lusk (American Idol) 20 points (1st)

This is Jacob Lusk's first Poolie nomination and first ever win for the honor of reality competition contestant you love to hate.

Was there a better moment during this American Idol season than when Jacob Lusk went home?  Whether it was his overly dramatized performances, or telling America that we are all afraid to look in the mirror if he was in the bottom three, Jacob was just another in a long line of easy to hate Idol contestants.

The Ed McMahon Award- Best Reality Personality

Named For: Ed McMahon (Star Search)
Awarded To: The best reality competition personality
No Previous Awards

Place. Nominee (Series) Points (My Vote)

5. Phil Keoghan (Amazing Race) 2 points

4. Adam Levine (The Voice) 2 points (3rd)

3. Tom Colicchio (Top Chef) 3 points

2. Ben Folds (The Sing Off) 5 points (2nd)

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) 11 points (1st)

This is Ryan Seacrest's first Poolie nomination and first even win for the best reality competition personality award.

With Simon good and gone, Seacrest wasn't forced into awkward moments with the mean Brit that always made me want to kill myself.  He simply killed it up there on stage this year.  Albeit he does have the advantage of being around Randy, Jennifer, Steven and a bunch of terrible contestants for an entire season, but he still was one of if not the best part of American Idol this year.

The Kellie Pickler Award- Female in Reality

Named For: Kellie Pickler (American Idol)
Awarded To: The best female reality competition contestant
2009 Winner: Sugar Kiper (Survivor)
2010 Winner: Parvati Shallow (Survivor)

Place. Nominee (Series) Points (My Vote)

10. Danielle Keene (Top Chef) 0 points

9. Natalie Getz (Bachelor Pad) 0 points

8. Tara Murphy (Ultimate Catch) 2 points (4th)

7. Mallory Ervin (Amazing Race) 3 points (3rd)

6. Mary Sue Milliken (Top Chef) 4 points

5. Chelsea Kane (Dancing w/ the Stars) 5 points

4. Andrea Boehlke (Survivor) 8 points

3. Brenda Lowe (Survivor) 8 points (5th)

2. Britney Haynes (Big Brother) 14 points (1st)

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Haley Reinhart (American Idol) 19 points (2nd)

This is Haley Reinhart's first Poolie nomination and first ever win for best female reality competition contestant.

Haley had a lot of things going for her this Poolies season.  First off, there were hardly any enjoyable females on Survivor.  Secondly, not enough people watched Big Brother to take in the awesomeness of Britney Haynes.  And finally, Haley had both fantastic performances and a killer attitude.  Her "Benny of the Jets" gets me going every time I listen to it, and every time the judges made a negative statement about her, she had perfect reactions.  Whether it was shrugging them off or rolling her eyes, it was great to see her realize that these judges were as terrible as ever.

American Idol Top 4- I've Done So Much

Did James Durbin really say that he's done so much on this show that no one had ever done before? What? Sing one heavy metal song? If that's what he was referring to then he should not be bragging about that, because that was a terrible, terrible performance. And if he is talking about him acting like an idiot in every interview and talking moment with Seacrest, then I'm sorry James, that's been done on the show before.

Let's all just rejoice in the fact that Haley has made it through another week. I have to be honest. I did not see this coming. Apparently America isn't filled with as many idiots as I thought, because Haley is the best singer in this competition by a country mile. We all know that Scotty is going to win this thing two weeks from now, so let's get ready to see his bug eyes all over the place on finale night.

Fantasy Scores

Peaches

(2) Casey Abrams
(11) James Durbin- Eliminated (-24)= -24
(14) Scotty McCreery- Safe (50)= 50
(23) TaTynisa Wilson
Top 4= 26 Total= 449

#hoponthelaurenalainatrain

(1) Lauren Alaina- Safe (50)= 50
(12) Lauren Turner
(13) Stephano Langone
(24) Naima Adedapo
Top 4= 50 Total= 238

Thia Megia #cangetit

(18*) Haley Reinhart- Safe (50)= 50
(19*) Ashton Jones
(15) Karen Rodriguez
(22) Brett Loewenstern
Top 4= 50 Total= 195

*acquired from Larry via trade

Missing Didi

(4) Clint Gamboa
(9) Thia Megia
(16) Jacob Lusk
(21) Rachel Zevita
Total= 85

Paula's Incoherence

(5) Paul McDonald
(8) Robbie Rosen
(17) Kendra Chantelle
(20) Jovany Barreto
Total= 25

Preacher With a Satan Tattoo

(6) Julie Zorilla
(7) Pia Toscano
(3*) Tim Halperin
(10*) Jordan Dorsey
Total= 10

* acquired from Tyson via trade

American Idol Top 5- Drop Dead Diva

Spoiler Alert...Below are the results and some thoughts on this week's episodes of American Idol. So before reading any further, watch the eps, cry a Lauren Alaina type of cry, then read what I have to say.

Finally. Finally, everyone seems to have jumped aboard the Haley Reinhart bandwagon. As a front compartment passenger, I'm not sure if I want to allow all of these newbies on the train. She's been among the best for a long time now, but only recently have the fans and critics come to notice. She has scraped along the bottom three, while putting forth fantastic performances like "Benny and the Jets" and "Rolling in the Deep," but nobody could get over her first live performance that really wasn't all that good.

Hey, you didn't see me staying along for the Jacob Lusk ride after his first week performance blew me out of the water. No, I abandoned ship the second he opened his mouth for a second outing. But now it seems everyone has Haley "in it to win it" to quote a famous Idol judge. She was in the top three of the voting last night for cryin' out loud. If she can top Lauren next week, she might even gain more female momentum and have a shot to make the finals. I don't see anyone topping the smirky Scotty, but there is always hope.

Here is to hoping...

Fantasy Scores

Peaches

(2) Casey Abrams
(11) James Durbin- Safe (41)= 41
(14) Scotty McCreery- Safe (41)= 41
(23) TaTynisa Wilson
Top 5= 82 Total= 423

#hoponthelaurenalainatrain

(1) Lauren Alaina- Bottom 2 (-11), Safe (41)= 30
(12) Lauren Turner
(13) Stephano Langone
(24) Naima Adedapo
Top 5= 30 Total= 188

Thia Megia #cangetit

(18*) Haley Reinhart- Safe (41)= 41
(19*) Ashton Jones
(15) Karen Rodriguez
(22) Brett Loewenstern
Top 5= 41 Total= 145

*acquired from Larry via trade

Missing Didi

(4) Clint Gamboa
(9) Thia Megia
(16) Jacob Lusk- Bottom 2 (-11), Eliminated (-22)
(21) Rachel Zevita
Top 5= -33 Total= 85

Paula's Incoherence

(5) Paul McDonald
(8) Robbie Rosen
(17) Kendra Chantelle
(20) Jovany Barreto
Total= 25

Preacher With a Satan Tattoo

(6) Julie Zorilla
(7) Pia Toscano
(3*) Tim Halperin
(10*) Jordan Dorsey
Total= 10

* acquired from Tyson via trade

American Idol Top 6- King of Anything?

Spoiler Alert...Below are the results and some thoughts on this week's episodes of American Idol. So before reading any further, watch the eps, claim to be 19 so it isn't as creepy, then read what I have to say.

Apparently this is how every season of American Idol is going to go down.  It's starts with plenty of trepidation, because I know the show burns me every time, but as the live episodes begin I get involved after finding a couple of contests that I like.  As they inevitably end up in the bottom three on numerous occasions, the excitement more than makes up for the fact that the judges are impossible to enjoy and a majority of the contestants are untalented and uninteresting.

But after a while the only ones I like are gone, in this case Paul, and the writing is on the wall for Haley, so the interest begins to wane and wane.  As of now I really am not rooting for anyone other than Haley.  Instead I am rooting for others not to win.  I really have no affinity towards James Durbin, but he is such the less of three evils at this point, that I have to root for him.  Let's pretend that Haley has no chance, which is probably true.  And also take into account that Jacob Lusk is both a terrible singer and an awful human being, which gives us James, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina to win this title.

While Scotty and Lauren were early favorites I think Durbin has made the necessary late season run to take this thing.  While I might not like James very much, at least he might deserve the crown.  He has performed. He has taken a few chances.  He has done enough for the show not to be embarrassed if he wins.  Lauren?  She has not had one performance that I wouldn't call mediocre.  What she's had going for her is that she has never been awful.  Scotty has similarly skated along in mediocrity, but if a guy that gets made fun of by Joel McHale on a weekly basis for his smirks wins the competition, they should really end this thing right then and there.

So James Durbin has my vote moving forward, unless for some oddity, Haley has been gaining the steam she really should be ever since Benny and the Jets.

Fantasy Scores

Peaches

(2) Casey Abrams- Eliminated (-20)= -20
(11) James Durbin- Safe (33)= 33
(14) Scotty McCreery- Safe (33)= 33
(23) TaTynisa Wilson
Top 6= 46 Total= 341

#hoponthelaurenalainatrain

(1) Lauren Alaina- Safe (33)= 33
(12) Lauren Turner
(13) Stephano Langone
(24) Naima Adedapo
Top 6= 33 Total= 158

Missing Didi

(4) Clint Gamboa
(9) Thia Megia
(16) Jacob Lusk- Safe (33)= 33
(21) Rachel Zevita
Top 6= 33 Total= 118

Thia Megia #cangetit

(18*) Haley Reinhart- Safe (33)= 33
(19*) Ashton Jones
(15) Karen Rodriguez
(22) Brett Loewenstern
Top 6= 33 Total= 104

*acquired from Larry via trade

Paula's Incoherence

(5) Paul McDonald
(8) Robbie Rosen
(17) Kendra Chantelle
(20) Jovany Barreto
Total= 25

Preacher With a Satan Tattoo

(6) Julie Zorilla
(7) Pia Toscano
(3*) Tim Halperin
(10*) Jordan Dorsey
Total= 10

* acquired from Tyson via trade

American Idol Top 7- Why Do You Call Him Stefano?

Spoiler Alert...Below are the results and some thoughts on this week's episodes of American Idol. So before reading any further, watch the eps, call a diva a diva, then read what I have to say.

Sometimes when watching American Idol, it can be hard to imagine how some of your least favorites gain any votes. Who in their right mind would place votes for Stefano or Jacob? How did they make it this far? But then you run into a marketing director from Campbell University who says they can't believe that Stefano went home this week on American Idol because "it was his best yet."

Let's break this down. Not only did this person actually enjoy watching Stefano on the show, and was now upset that he had been eliminated, but he thought that him dancing around the stage oooing and ahhhing was his best performance of the season. I'm not a Stefano fan, but he has been okay on occasion. Last night was terrible! He did no singing, and it was well past his time to leave.

The rest of the real bottom three was Jacob and Haley. Silly. The rest of my bottom three was Jacob and Scotty. I fell asleep during Jacob's song, and he should be leaving next week, but Haley was once again fantastic. Now that Paul is gone, she is my favorite, and I hope to watch her make it to the top four. I say four, because there is no stopping Scotty, James and Lauren from being the final three.

Scotty was extra smirky this week. I can't even pay attention to his singing anymore, because I'm just watching his eyebrows move up and down constantly. Casey and Durbin were the only other two that I enjoyed this week, while Lauren was once again just run of the mill. She's not good, but she's not awful like a few of the others.

Fantasy Scores

Peaches

(2) Casey Abrams- Safe (26)= 26
(11) James Durbin- Safe (26)= 26
(14) Scotty McCreery- Safe (26)= 26
(23) TaTynisa Wilson
Top 7= 78 Total= 295

#hoponthelaurenalainatrain

(1) Lauren Alaina- Safe (26)= 26
(12) Lauren Turner
(13) Stephano Langone- Bottom 3 (-9), Eliminated (-18)= -27
(24) Naima Adedapo
Top 7= -1 Total= 125

Missing Didi

(4) Clint Gamboa
(9) Thia Megia
(16) Jacob Lusk- Bottom 3 (-9), Safe (26)= 17
(21) Rachel Zevita
Top 7= 17 Total= 85

Thia Megia #cangetit

(18*) Haley Reinhart- Bottom 3 (-9), Safe (26)= 17
(19*) Ashton Jones
(15) Karen Rodriguez
(22) Brett Loewenstern
Top 7= 17 Total= 71

*acquired from Larry via trade

Paula's Incoherence

(5) Paul McDonald
(8) Robbie Rosen
(17) Kendra Chantelle
(20) Jovany Barreto
Total= 25

Preacher With a Satan Tattoo

(6) Julie Zorilla
(7) Pia Toscano
(3*) Tim Halperin
(10*) Jordan Dorsey
Total= 10

* acquired from Tyson via trade