Bachelorette Recap- Final 8 Guys

Hey there, ready for another Bachelorette recap? This week they were in Croatia. By the previews from last week and the intro, it looks like it is going to be a great episode! So here we go!

The first one-on-one date was with Travis. If you remember from the first episode, this is the guy with the ostrich egg that Emily eventually smashed (with Travis’ permission). They walked around the city and did some shopping. I just don’t see a connection between them. Yes he’s a good guy, but just don’t see any sparks flying between them. Travis says he feels a connection, but Emily doesn’t because she sent him home.

The group date was the rest of the guys minus Ryan, which means that Ryan went on the second one-on-one date. For the group date, they went to see Disney/Pixar’s new movie, Brave. After the movie, they competed in their very own Highland Games, which is something from the movie I guess. And the funny thing is, the guys all had to wear kilts! Seeing the guys compete against each other in the games was pretty funny. And even though Chris wasn’t the best at the events, Emily named him the “Bravest”. And at the end of the date, he ended up getting the rose. Then they shared a kiss, with the other guys watching nearby.

I never had a problem with Ryan until this episode. Wow, he’s just…I don’t really know how to describe him. He’s just so full of himself. I don’t remember when, but Emily said that he called her a trophy wife, which she doesn’t like. And again, he brought that up again. She isn’t really sure about him and neither am I. I think I liked Ryan in earlier episodes, but now I think that she deserves better than him. And she thought so too, because she sent him packing. And he didn’t take it that well because he questioned her on why she was sending him home. He doesn’t think that she is going to find someone, wow.

After she sent him home, Arie snuck out to go see Emily. Since she didn’t give the rose to Ryan, she gave it to Arie, which I thought was cute! She said he had to hide the rose from the rest of the guys. I think he is the one for Emily! They are just so cute together and there is definitely a connection there!!

Time for the rose ceremony! She’s down to 6 guys and each week the decision on who to send home is becoming harder and harder. The roses went to: Sean, Jef, Arie, and…after stepping outside to talk to the host, she realized that she couldn’t hand out the final rose. But then, she got handed an extra rose so she could give both John and Doug a rose. At first I thought that maybe she would send them both home! That would have been crazy! I think out of the 6 guys left, that Jef, Arie, and Doug are the best 3 for Emily. I’m predicting now that it is going to be one of those 3 that she ends up with in the end! But we’ll just have to wait and see!!!

SYTYCD- LA Auditions

This week the auditions took place in Los Angeles. What I’ve decided to do for my So You Think You Can Dance posts is to just write about the dancers who stuck out to me rather than comment on every single audition. That will make my post a lot shorter since the audition shows are 2 hours long!!

The first one who caught my attention was Alexa Anderson. She auditioned last year and made it to Vegas but cut right before the top 20. I thought that she was really good! She made it to Vegas so maybe this year she will make it to the top 20!

I also liked Eliana Girard who is a pole dancer. She has great form and is just fantastic! The judges thought so, too, because she got a standing ovation!!

The Ninja Twins, also known as Nick and James Aragon, are hilarious!! But unfortunately, they are 32 and the age cutoff is 30 so they aren’t able to be on the show. They should get their own TV show! And their dancing was awesome!! If only they would have auditioned 2 years earlier!!

Sam Lenarz is another on that I think is really good! And what is incredible about her is that 6 months before she auditioned, she came home from dance and her mom had packed her room up and kicked her out! Luckily she had a friend whose family was willing to take her in and give her a place to live. I can’t imagine a mother just kicking her daughter out of her house! She was put through to choreography and she made it to Vegas!

Another contestant I found interesting was David Matz. He performed with some kind of ring kind of like a hula hoop but a lot bigger. He was put through to choreography because they would like to see him dance without the ring. He thought it was too difficult so he’s not going to Vegas this time around.

Jasmine Mason and her brother Marshea were the next 2 contestants to catch my attention. Marshea has tried out for SYTYCD for the past 3 years and since then, things have changed dramatically for him. Both Jasmine and Marshea were in a car accident and when they talked about it, their mother said that he was pronounced dead upon arrival. So I had thought that meant he had passed away. It turns out he was in a coma for 2 days and came out of the coma just 6 weeks before his audition! That is incredible!! They both made it through to Vegas!!

That wraps up this week of auditions. Next week they go to Atlanta! Leave me your comments on this weeks auditions!

So You Think You Can Dance!

Season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) has begun!! I didn’t really get into the show that much last year, but I’m going to try to get into it this year. I was never really a fan of dancing before this show began back in 2005, but now I kind of am. And even though I can’t dance, it is still awesome to watch! And there is one dance that I am always going to remember. The song was “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis. You have got to check it out because it was amazing!!! You have got to check it out!!

The auditions started out in NYC! Amelia Lowe is up first and I’m not too sure about her. She made it though, so that goes to show what I know about dance. Sometimes there are dancers that I don’t like, but the judges do. They’re the experts, so I guess they know what they are talking about. But then there are others that it is obvious that they can’t dance. It is funny to watch those!

Toshihiko Nakazawa is next and he is different. I think he has talent with all the hip-hop and free-styling he did, but I don’t think he’s right for the show. The judges saw something in him and are going to let him stick around for the choreography part of the auditions. When they are on the fence with putting someone through to Vegas, they have them do some choreography  as a big group and then decide based on that. Oh, and during this round, they dance with partners. It turns out that when they showed the choreography round, Toshihiko gave up because he couldn’t lift his partner. I knew he wasn’t cut out for the show.

So you know how I said there are some people that it is obvious they can’t dance? Well, Austin Freeman is the first person of the evening that thinks he can dance, but he can’t! He does a dance that he created called Mr. Wiggle. Is this guy serious? All he is doing is wiggling his legs back and forth. I can’t believe he calls that dancing!

Next up they go to Dallas and the first contestant who catches my attention is Bree Hafen who is a mom of a 2-year-old and 5-year-old. Nigel brings her kids closer to the stage and has them sit in her chair during her audition. She is really good!! Nigel had her son walk on stage as she was dancing to hand her the ticket to Vegas! That brought a few tears to my eyes!! Then Nigel had them put on some music to let Bree’s daughter dance! At 2 years old she is such a wonderful dancer!! I had to rewind my DVR and watch it again!! Here is the video so you can watch this if you haven’t seen it!! She is just adorable!!!

Daniel Baker is another contestant that I thought was really good. He is a ballet dancer originally from Australia but he currently lives in San Francisco and performs with the San Francisco Ballet. And he got a ticket straight to Vegas! Since he is used to dancing alone, it will be interesting seeing him dance with a partner.

So I’d really like to know why this guy is auditioning for the show if he doesn’t care for the show. He said he doesn’t need a gimmick, yet he came with a hamster outfit and they showed him dancing around in it. Umm, I think the hamster outfit would count as a gimmick. If you don’t like the show, don’t waste the producers time auditioning!! His audition spot could have been saved for someone amazing! But I guess we’ll never find out who could have had his spot because he wasted their time.

The last contestant of the night is Jarell Rochelle whose mom has an eye disease that is making her go blind. Nigel asked if she could see from where she was sitting in the back of the audience and she said she couldn’t, so he had her come up and sit in his chair. I thought he was one of the best of the night!!

The first week of auditions is over. Tomorrow night they head to Los Angeles for more!! Leave me your comments! Have a great Tuesday!!

The Bachelorette

So I’ve never watched an episode of the Bachelor or Bachelorette before and I don’t know why. It may be that there were other shows on at the same time so I didn’t have the time to watch either show. But I taped the season premiere of the Bachelorette last night and I wanted to write about what I thought as I watched it. I was hooked from the very beginning. Emily’s story is so touching! A single mother whose daughter never even got the chance to meet her father because he died in a plane crash before she was born. And then Emily was on the Bachelor and ended up being the girl that he picked. But then something happened and they broke off their engagement. She even said herself that being on the Bachelorette is a big risk but she is willing to take that risk to find a husband and a father figure for her daughter. So this season on the Bachelorette, she will meet 25 men and hopefully find her husband.

Watching her meeting the guys for the first time was awesome! I can’t imagine what was going through her mind at that moment. Instead of mentioning all of the guys, I’m going to mention some of the ones that stuck out to me.

Doug is a single dad with an 11-year-old so I think Emily loves that about him.

Jackson immediately took her hand, got down on one knee, and said “Life’s not about how many breaths we take, but about how many moments take our breaths away. And this is one of those moments.” Kind of cheesy but sweet at the same time. 

Aaron came out and said, “I’m a high school biology teacher but I’m here to have chemistry with you,” yet another cheesy line. 

Jef decided to skip the limo and instead came out on a skateboard behind the limo.

Next up was Tony who had a pillow with a glass slipper on it and said his name was “Charming, Prince Charming.” He’s looking for his princess, how cute!!! Then he put the shoe on her foot and it was a perfect fit!

Travis was carrying an egg that he said was a symbol of Emily and her daughter and that he will take care of the egg throughout the journey. That was kind of strange, but okay.

Ryan pulled out some notes that he had taken so he would remember what to say and on one side of the paper it said “You are beautiful” and the other side said “I’m so nervous”. That was cute!

Next, a helicopter appeared. One of the guys was like, “What if it’s Brad?” It wasn’t, it was just Kalon. I don’t think the other guys were impressed by that, but I think Emily was.

I think any one of those guys would be perfect for her! This is going to be a great season!! Once she met all the guys individually, she got to see them all again, but this time they were all together. Doug gave Emily a note that his son, Austin, wrote for her. That was adorable!! I definitely think Doug could be the one. But then again, it’s still too early to tell because they are all great guys!

After she got the chance to mingle with the guys for a little bit, the host brought out the first impression rose which Emily has to give to a guy and that guy is safe at the first rose ceremony. Seeing that rose pushed some of the guys to get their one-on-one time with Emily. I think it’s funny how the guys are already fighting over her. When she found out that Arie is a race car driver, she kind of seemed nervous at first, but she said she is fine with that. Her first fiancé was a race car driver and was actually on his way to a race when he died so Arie was nervous to tell her that.

Next Emily took that first impression rose and asked to see Doug so she could give him the first impression rose. She loved the note that she got from his son and the fact that he is a single dad. I think she picked a great guy to give the rose to! He deserved it!

Up next was the rose ceremony. At this stage in the game it’s hard to tell who she will send home. I think she likes a lot of those guys and is going to have a hard time deciding which ones to send home. The ones that left were Brent, David, Jackson, Jean-Paul, Lerone, and Randy. I’m not really surprised about her eliminating any of those guys. She definitely kept the right guys there.

I’m glad I decided to check out the show because it looks like it is going to be a great season! So be sure to check back each week to read my recap of each show!

Night 2 of The X-Factor Premier

Welcome to night two of The X-Factor premier. First up is Ashley who claims to be a “starving artist”, but said she isn’t really starving. Wow, she is one of those delusional people who think they can sing, but they can’t!! She’s also one of those people that can’t take no for an answer. You’re never gonna make it in the music business, just give up!!!

I thought that Caitlynne was kinda good. I agree with Nicole that she has room to grow though. I thought that was sweet of Paula to go up on the stage to comfort her. She’s only 16 though, so so definitely has time to improve and try again.

Next up is Nick, who is currently unemployed because he took 2 days off work to audition for The X-Factor. I think that’s horrible!! He’s a great singer!!! So Nick is the first one we see get through from Miami. Will the good singers keep on coming?

Jeremiah sounded amazing!!! It’s not too often that you hear a guy that can sing that high! The crowd seemed to love him and so did the judges!!!

Melanie was even more amazing!!! She definitely  has it!!! How come she hasn’t auditioned for Idol before??

Ken…I mean Jonny, was up next. When Simon asked him who he looks like, he goes “Justin Bieber” and Simon says “No, Barbie’s boyfriend”, haha!! I think with some work on his voice, he could probably be really good. He had a good personality, but not quite the right voice for the show.

I think it was hilarious how Nicole ketp sayiing “Y’all” to everyone and kept asking herself, “Did I just say “Y’all?” I guess being down south can have you talking like they do down there.

Dylan totally surprised me!!! This guy sold his truck so he could buy a plane ticked to get to the audition. I thought that because of that, he was going to be good but guess what….he sucked!!! About every 5 words out of his mouth was a swear word!!! I seriously can’t believe he sold his truck so he could do there and do that!! I guess some people really will do anything to get their 15 minutes of fame! (Or shame in his case!)

Caitlin, the rugby coach, was really good!!! She sang a different version of “Stop in the Name of Love”, a slowed down version of the song.

Side note, I love the commercial with Simon where he throws all of the phones and says “Rubbish” to all of them. Which phone is the one that he keeps and says is the best? Oh yeah, that would be Verizon!!! My fiance is getting his own cell plan soon and I kept trying to convince him to switch to Verizon, but he won’t. He is getting Sprint, which means when I get on his plan eventually, I’ll have to switch to Sprint. I mean, I guess it makes sense because they are the cheapest, but I’ve never had a problem with Verizon, so why would I switch? Oh well, as long as the services is ok.

Back to the show…this guy Xander, who Simon keeps calling Alexander (which is his real name but he doesn’t like it), is kind of annoying!! I didn’t like the first song he sang, but I kinda liked the second one. Wow…he didn’t make it through. I really thought that Paula was going to say yes!!

Week one of The X-Factor has come to an end. I wish we would have seen a lot more younger kids audition. The age limit starts at 13, so it would be pretty cool to see 13 year olds audition. Oh well, we still have more auditions to see, so maybe there will be more. So, what did you think? I heard today that last night’s episode got half the ratings that Idol did this past season!! Do you think it will pick up more viewers?

Simon is back!!!

The guy that we all love to hate (or maybe some people actually love him) is back on TV with the X-Factor!!! And I almost forgot that Paula Abdul is back as well!!! Having the X-Factor on in the fall is going to be really nice because it is on right before Idol starts back up again in January. It’s also going to be nice to have Simon and Paula working together again!! So here we go…it’s time for the premier of the X-Factor!!!

By watching the opening to the show, it looks like there is going to be tons of drama, just like on Idol. It sounds like they got some Australian guy to do the hosting. So anyone age 12 and up can compete and they can audition as individuals or groups. They showed one kid that looked like he was a lot younger than 12!! And they showed another guy that looked really old! But that’s the beauty of the show, it doesn’t matter how old you are. The next big star might be 50 years old, who knows. They can’t audition for American Idol, but now they have the X-Factor.

First up is a 13 year old girl. She has a cute personality!! I’m hoping she has a good voice!! That audition process has to be scary!! It’s completely different from Idol because you are singing in front of hundreds, maybe thousands, of people. Rachel is so cute!! And…she can sing!!! Side note, did they get LA Reid to judge because he looks like Randy? Cause that’s who he reminds me of. It’s almost like the original Idol judge panel up there. Cheryl looks kinda like Kara, so yeah…it’s almost like they tried to create the Idol judge panel. So, Rachel gets 4 yeses and is through to the next round! I’ll admit I just felt a tear in my eye. Even though she’s the first person we’ve seen, I think she can make it far in the competition!!.

Well, another thing this show has in common with Idol is that there are tons of bad people!! Tons of people who really think they can sing but never in a million years would they make it on any singing competition!!

Siomone is a Beyonce wannabe, for sure!! I agree with LA though, I don’t really like her singing voice that much. Ok…I take that back after she sang a second song. The second song sounded a lot better than the first one. I’m glad that the other 3 judges gave her a chance! They are going to prove LA wrong!!

I’m really rooting for Stacy, a 42-year old, single mom of 2. She’s been told since she was 30 that she’s too old, but I’d have to agree with that. She is really good!!! She’s been living in LA for 10 years and she hasn’t gotten noticed? Wow, the music industry must be harder to break into than I thought. She got a standing ovation from all 4 judges and is going on to the next round!!!

Wow!!! This show is nuts!!! I can’t believe when Geo pulled his pants down that they didn’t make him pull them back up!!! That is ridiculous!!! I agree with Simon when he said “What the bloody hell was that??” Paula went to the bathroom and got sick after seeing that and I don’t blame her. That was insane!!!!! Then the guy goes and acts like his pants just fell down by mistake. Yeah right!!!

Up next is…ok, so they introduce us to Marcus and then show us a clip of him 10 minutes later where is his laying on the stage. And then they go to a commercial break. This is his last chance at singing because his mom gave him 2 years and after that, he has to go to college and choose another career. He is really good!!! Now we know how he ended up on the floor, he was so overwhelmed about being on that stage. He was put through to the next round so we’ll be seeing more of him on the show!!!

Finally, the first band on the show!! They are singing “Rolling in the Deep”. I love this song so I hope they are good!!! They mixed it up at the end at it sounded really good!!! I forget what their name was, but they are through to the next round!!!!

Next is Chris, who hauls trash. He has a 2 year old son and just got out of rehab. Hopefully rehab helped him turn around his life and make good decisions. He sang an original song and was amazing!!!! I think he’ll definitely be around in the competition for a while!!!

Well, the first episode of The X-Factor is over. I thought it was really good!! You could kind of compare it to America’s Got Talent, because it’s open to a wider age range. But the part that is better than America’s Got Talent is that The X-Factor is only for singing. I don’t really care about seeing any other kind of talent. I’m all about the singing!!!!

So what did you think? Will the show have as much success as Idol?

Guest Post: Is Reality TV Good or Bad For Society?

My Featured Blog of the Week on Nicole’s Random Blog hop, Cadence from Less Than Reality, has written a piece about reality TV that I would like to share with you. Thank you Cadence for being my first guest post!! And readers, I hope you enjoy!

Is Reality TV Good or Bad For Society?

Whether you consider reality television to be a good thing or a bad thing, one thing is for sure: it’s affected most of our lives in one way or another. Whether we cringe as we watch someone make a bad decision on The Bachelor or laugh when someone points out that a reality show was filmed right near their home, reality TV has had an impact on many of our lives.

Reality television has become such a prevalent topic in society that it not only dominates television and the media, but it’s found its way into academia. In fact, a question asking students whether reality television benefits us or is harmful appeared on the SAT exam.

So, what is the answer to that question? There’s an obvious response, in my opinion: reality television is good for society…and bad…and it can get pretty ugly.

The good:

Reality television can be educational, but in a fun way. For example, HGTV shows like House Hunters and Holmes on Homes are fun to watch, but also teach us lessons about purchasing property, hiring good contractors and the value of a dollar in different geographic areas. If someone sat you down with a textbook about hiring a contractor, would you be interested? Probably not. But is it fun to watch Mike Holmes fix up someone’s mess and give them something beautiful at the end? Absolutely.

Reality TV also creates a positive outlet for those with talent. For example, American Idol made it possible for talented singers without connections to the music scene to prove their skill. While some people have criticized this show and others for portraying glorified karaoke, the show brings so much joy to participants and viewers alike that it’s easy to justify its existence. Plus, American Idol and other contest-type shows create excellent opportunities for family time. I’ve heard many stories of whole families joining together to see who’s going to stay on American Idol for another week.

Some reality shows, like The Locator and Downsized, send positive messages. While the shows are clearly manipulated for the cameras, it is heartwarming to watch family members reunite on The Locator, and to watch the family on Downsized interact. I’m not going to say that Downsized doesn’t frustrate me with its clearly fake solutions to everyday problems – because it does – but the message of the show is clear: you can recover from losing cash without your family falling apart, and you can build your way back up. Additionally, the show Undercover Boss creates an outlet for a company to improve its employee relations while sharing its corporate values with the world. These are all positive communications.

The bad:

Reality TV creates an unrealistic view of reality. For example, take the shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. I loved these shows when they first began. It was interesting to see Maci, Farrah, Catelynn and Amber on season one of both programs. I supported these shows because the girls were real: they didn’t know how they’d be portrayed. Because of this, we got a good view into the struggles in their everyday lives. We connected with them. We wanted them to succeed. Then, the problem began. MTV saw that ratings were high, so they kept pumping out seasons of 16 and Pregnant and created a second set of Teen Mom girls. Rumors swirled that girls were getting pregnant on purpose to be on 16 and Pregnant, and that the show made it look like parenting isn’t that hard. MTV contends that they show an accurate portrayal, but let’s be real here: MTV won’t show us a desperate mom with no hope at all, because it would be too depressing to watch. MTV shows us girls who struggle, but not girls who are so down on their luck that they can barely survive.

The ugly:

Reality television rewards people for being messy. For example, Danielle Staub, who horrified castmates and viewers on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, was rewarded with multiple television opportunities after she was kicked off RHONJ. For her bad behavior, she was rewarded with fame. The same goes for Snooki and the others on Jersey Shore. The housemates acted inappropriately and were rewarded with fame and fortune. What kind of message is this sending to America’s youth? Act like a fool on reality television and you’ll never need to get a real job? Be the most outgoing, ridiculous character on a reality show and you’ll be rewarded for your behavior? This is not okay!

Reality television thrusts people into the spotlight. This can take a normal, well-adjusted person and turn him or her into someone who lives their life just to stay famous. (You don’t think all of the sex tapes and videos of outrageous behavior that got out were accidents, do you?) In terms of another issue, reality television-based fame can ruin people’s lives. Take the Brown family from Sister Wives, for example. The media frenzy caused by their reality show forced them to have to leave their home and move to Las Vegas. I’m not saying that being featured on a reality show was a brilliant idea for the family’s stability, but their strong, loving family seems to have done a lot for the public perception of polygamists. For their attempt at improving relations with their culture, they were slapped with an investigation by the state, and one of the Sister Wives was fired from her job.

In conclusion, like anything else, reality television is both good and bad for society. I’ll compare it to the existence of painkillers: if reality television is used responsibly, in moderation and without causing an addiction, then sure, go ahead and take it in when you need it.

 

So, what do you think? Leave me comments letting me know what you think about reality TV.