I realized I hadn't written anything about this so here is my commentary of the episode.
I never realised the Top 4 were so diverse, Trinidad and Tobago, England, Brazil and of course Branden the American.
Quote Sandhurst: "Let the white guys die first!... I watch horror movies, the black man always dies first!"
I'm sad that Jonathan didn't do something mad because I bet the judges are going to say - you should have broken out and gone crazy!
Why didn't anyone jump?
Why do they always style Sandhurst weirdly?
Sadly I think Branden should go as his photos aren't strong enough and one good runway last week doesn't make a good model. Sadly unlike last year I doubt any of them would be good informal models. Sandhurst stated so before, Branden; have you seen him! Mountaha is Ok but I think Jonathan is probably going to be the best.
Runway
Sandhurst - He looked quite stiff
Branden - I thought his walk was convincing
Mountaha - She's still to edgy, needs to soften up
Jonathan - I still have a thing with the arms but he did the best.
Branden's face is soooo animated, did anyone see him react to Catherine's comments.
When Catherine said "I thought he looked so chic" I thought she said "I thought he looked so shit!"
It's obvious the bottom two would be Mountaha and Branden, but I was so shocked Mountaha went, Catherine probably said "If she(e) doosn't goe Aer will quit(e) this show!"
Photos
Sandhurst - It's definitely rock and roll but you must agree it's slightly disturbing! His eyes are mad!
Jonathan - He looked strong but sadly not strong enough. For some reason his legs look really short in this photo.
Branden - It;s a very bad shot.
Mountaha - It's Ok, not good not bad.
Based on the emotion I will have to rank the photos as...
Sandhurst
Jonathan
Mountaha
Branden
But personally I thought Sandhurst's photo was way too extreme in the eyes.
Overall
Jonathan
Sandhurst
Mountaha
Branden
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Britain's Got Talent Semifinal Scores
Basically I thought Shaheen, Diversity, Aidan and Gareth Oliver were the best in the semifinals in terms of Performance, Talent and Likability. I was disappointed Gareth Oliver didn't make the finals but I expected that. Personally I also felt that Sue Son, MD Showgroup and Sugar Free were good finalists to chose from but in the end I wasn't annoyed that any of the finalists made the finals.
Britain's Got Talent Final
For the finals there's no point in giving a score, I'm just going to rank the performances.
Flawless - The performance was good. At first I thought it would be a bit too gimmicky but it was actually really good, really clean cut and dynamic, but I thought it could be somewhat forgettable.
Shaheen Jafargholi - Shaheen's voice just amazes me, I'd say he is the best singer in this competition. He controlled those notes so well, however sometimes when I watch him it feels like he's trying to imitate somebody, just can't put a name to it. However the performance was fantastic considered his age, he just needs to brush up on his technique a bit and he can be a huge hit. At the moment I'm amazed he didn't even make the Top 3.
Aidan Davis - It was a nice performance but using the same stage effects is a no no I'd say. It was cool but it doesn't sustain my interest long enough, he has the disadvantage of being the next street dancer after George Sampson, there's obviously going to be comparisons made and at the moment his performances haven't been as interesting.
Susan Boyle - Personally I never thought Susan was going to win, there was just a nigging feeling that she wouldn't actually win. Anyway back to the performance, it was actually her most vocally accurate performance but I felt it was less emotional and touching compared to her auditions. She did her best considering she wanted to quit beforehand.
Diversity - I feel totally shocked by all the nasty comments I've heard about them winning over Susan. Stop with all the bitching. Ok back to the performance, I actually didn't feel that connected to it. It was a good performance and I praise them for doing something absolutely different but I just didn't find it as good as their other performances.
2 Grand - The girl was really great, her grandfather was average tonight but the girl was the best she has been. It was really heartwarming but sadly it wasn't dazzling enough.
Hollie Steel - It was her best performance I'd say, there were still a few glitches but she performed very strongly and she should be absolutely proud of herself, all the people who've attacked her I wish just stop, that's like the only thing I hate about talent shows; that people talk badly about people that they don't actually know.
Stavros Flatley - Sadly the more I see them the less I like them, I actually didn't really like this performance, it was OK but sadly I still found their auditions their best. They're absolutely loveable so I can't say anything bad about them!
Shaun Smith - It was a good performance and very nice but it just didn't feel like a winning performance, it just didn't have the impact as some performances have, but he's still a good performer and I hope he does well for himself in the future.
Julian Smith - I'm just wondering, did he play this in his audition and semifinals as well? Ok don't ridicule me for saying something like this but if he only knows how to play one tune I'm sorry he won't be able to make it! He plays the saxophone really well but if he doesn't show a bit more range then I really can't say he's the most talented as I'm sure someone who stuck to pklaying one piece for a long time can get to a decent standard. If he didn't play the the same tune he would be near the top as he played this piece the best he's played it.
Shaheen Jafargholi
Susan Boyle
Hollie Steel
Diversity
Shaun Smith
Flawless
Julian Smith
2 Grand
Aidan Davis
Stavros Flatley
This is a very rough rank of the night I think, all I know is my favourite was Shaheen Jafargholi. Susan, Hollie, Diversity and Shaun can all switch positions. Flawless, Julian Smith, 2 Grand and Aidan Davis were about right in their place whilst Stavros Flatley could have been a bit higher, I don't know.
Flawless - The performance was good. At first I thought it would be a bit too gimmicky but it was actually really good, really clean cut and dynamic, but I thought it could be somewhat forgettable.
Shaheen Jafargholi - Shaheen's voice just amazes me, I'd say he is the best singer in this competition. He controlled those notes so well, however sometimes when I watch him it feels like he's trying to imitate somebody, just can't put a name to it. However the performance was fantastic considered his age, he just needs to brush up on his technique a bit and he can be a huge hit. At the moment I'm amazed he didn't even make the Top 3.
Aidan Davis - It was a nice performance but using the same stage effects is a no no I'd say. It was cool but it doesn't sustain my interest long enough, he has the disadvantage of being the next street dancer after George Sampson, there's obviously going to be comparisons made and at the moment his performances haven't been as interesting.
Susan Boyle - Personally I never thought Susan was going to win, there was just a nigging feeling that she wouldn't actually win. Anyway back to the performance, it was actually her most vocally accurate performance but I felt it was less emotional and touching compared to her auditions. She did her best considering she wanted to quit beforehand.
Diversity - I feel totally shocked by all the nasty comments I've heard about them winning over Susan. Stop with all the bitching. Ok back to the performance, I actually didn't feel that connected to it. It was a good performance and I praise them for doing something absolutely different but I just didn't find it as good as their other performances.
2 Grand - The girl was really great, her grandfather was average tonight but the girl was the best she has been. It was really heartwarming but sadly it wasn't dazzling enough.
Hollie Steel - It was her best performance I'd say, there were still a few glitches but she performed very strongly and she should be absolutely proud of herself, all the people who've attacked her I wish just stop, that's like the only thing I hate about talent shows; that people talk badly about people that they don't actually know.
Stavros Flatley - Sadly the more I see them the less I like them, I actually didn't really like this performance, it was OK but sadly I still found their auditions their best. They're absolutely loveable so I can't say anything bad about them!
Shaun Smith - It was a good performance and very nice but it just didn't feel like a winning performance, it just didn't have the impact as some performances have, but he's still a good performer and I hope he does well for himself in the future.
Julian Smith - I'm just wondering, did he play this in his audition and semifinals as well? Ok don't ridicule me for saying something like this but if he only knows how to play one tune I'm sorry he won't be able to make it! He plays the saxophone really well but if he doesn't show a bit more range then I really can't say he's the most talented as I'm sure someone who stuck to pklaying one piece for a long time can get to a decent standard. If he didn't play the the same tune he would be near the top as he played this piece the best he's played it.
Shaheen Jafargholi
Susan Boyle
Hollie Steel
Diversity
Shaun Smith
Flawless
Julian Smith
2 Grand
Aidan Davis
Stavros Flatley
This is a very rough rank of the night I think, all I know is my favourite was Shaheen Jafargholi. Susan, Hollie, Diversity and Shaun can all switch positions. Flawless, Julian Smith, 2 Grand and Aidan Davis were about right in their place whilst Stavros Flatley could have been a bit higher, I don't know.
Britain's Got Talent Semifinal 5
The Dreambears - This is the type of act I'd rather not see twice! I'm just not a huge fan as it's kinda cheap and cheesy. Very little skill involved and it wasn't particularly funny.
Good Evans - No to be honest it's just not good, it's hard to say that to those cute little girls but sadly it was just very below average. There's no point giving them awfully low scores, as long as I place them about right on talent it's fine.
Luke Clements - It's not extremely entertaining, it's street entertainment which we've all seen before.
Mark Matcham - Haven't been impressed yet and this probably won't do it any favours. I was by no means interested, in fact I was absolutely bored, what's so talented about that? I'll give him a somewhat decent score for his guitar playing.
Aidan Davis - It wasn't the most eye catching performance but it was a great performance to watch. The staging was great and the whole thing was simple but effective, but in the finals he'll need to step up his game to bring something more eye catching. It was such a sincere performance but yet again he needs to break into something dazzling for the final.
Hollie Steel - Did she get a second chance? Only watching youtube videos so I don't know. It was a very shaky performance and it was much less endearing than what I'd hoped it to be. Her voice is good for her age but she still has a long way to go. I've seen the first part of it and it's definitely very commendable but sadly I found her vocals to be weaker than her semifinal auditions. Honestly all those people who are attacking her just stop it. Yeah she didn't act professionally and yeah she put on the fake tears but come on why focus on those things, it'll be a good learning experience for her.
DCD Seniors - It looked a bit messy, it'll probably be a good backing performance but sadly I don't think it's good enough to be a stand alone act, they definitely could improve on the performance though. I think they can be better.
Greg Pritchard - It was an absolutely awful song choice! It was just extremely messy and I really didn't understand what the whole performance was about. It was absolutely weird but not extraodrinary. He has the talent but this performance was awful. As Simon said, I felt like I was in a horror movie at times, he could have made it big but this performance was a bummer.
The Dreambears (7/6.5/8.5) = 22
Good Evans (7/7/8.5) = 22.5
Luke Clements (7/8/8) = 23
Mark Matcham (6.5/7.5/7.5) = 21.5
Aidan Davis (8.5/9/9) = 26.5
Hollie Steel (8/8.5/9) = 25.5
DCD Seniors (8/8/8.5) = 24.5
Greg Pritchard (6/9/8.5) = 23.5
Best performance, very easy to say, Aidan Davis. Most talented, Aidan Davis and Greg Pritchard.
1st - Aidan Davis
2nd - Hollie Steel
3rd - DCD Seniors
4th - Greg Pritchard
5th - Luke Clements
6th - Good Evans
7th - The Dreambears
8th - Mark Matcham
Britain's Got Talent Semifinal 4
Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes - It was quite cute but sadly there just wasn't enough tricky moves, I understand it's difficult to have such a good relationship with your dog but the thing is it wasn't something particularly spectacular to watch and we've definitely seen better dog acts.
Sugar Free - It was a nice dance act but I don't know, something is missing but it's still a good act. Yeah I think Simon hit the spot! It doesn't feel connected to the dancers.
Callum Francis - His vocals could have been improved, and that's one of the big segments. Personally I don't really like it! I didn't find it that charismatic a performance nor was his singing good. Callum is likeable but sadly I'm not a fan. His smile is crazy!
Fred Bowers - I totally commend him and how much he has probably worked to do something like this but as a performance I'm not a fan! As I haven't seen this before I actually thought he was going to come out and actually break dance rather than attempt to break dance. He's bleeding like mad! Is he Ok? Talent points go for how he's managed to stay in shape even though he's 73 (not his break dancing!)
2 Grand - It's very cute and endearing but it's just very difficult to judge these type of acts as you want to give them high scores but technically they weren't fantastic, they were good but not dazzling. This episode is more about the likeability factor rather than the amazing talent.
Julian Smith - It was a nice rendition and very touching but I'm not sure one man and his sax is going to cut it, there's not enough to look at. It was a good performance but sadly I don't love it as much as some do.
Brit Chix - It was very karaoke sadly. There's a lot of better acts in the UK (in my school even), it's not awful but it's just amateurish and needs a lot more work.
Fabia Cerra - hmmm....
Jackie prescott and Tippy Toes (7.5/8/9) = 24.5
Sugar Free (8/9/8.5) = 25.5
Callum Francis (8/8/8.5) = 24.5
Fred Bowers (7.5/8.5/9) = 25
2 Grand (8/8.5/9) = 25.5
Julian Smith (8.5/8.5/9) = 26
Brit Chix (7/8/8.5) = 23.5
Fabia Cerra (7.5/8/9) = 24.5
Best Performances - Julian Smith. Most Talent - Sugar Free (maybe Julian should be in here too).
1st - Julian Smith
2nd - Sugar Free
3rd - 2 Grand
4th - Fred Bowers
5th - Fabia Cerra
6th - Callum Francis
7th - Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes
8th - Brit Chix
Britain's Got Talent Semifinal 3
Harmony - It felt like a mess to be honest! The singing was annoying as well! I didn't understand it, what was the act?
Shaheen Jafargholi - Oh my god! He has a great voice and his notes are spot on. His technique could be improved but I personally found this performance better than Susan Boyle's considering Shaheen is 12. However I thought the staging was average.
Stavros Flatley - I remember the audition and I think what made it so cute was his son, if it was only the guy it may have lost the attraction but with the little kid it's just perfect. Personally though I found this performance to be less likable than their first audition, it was still good but it gets through because of it's likability rather than the talent I'd say. I would give them a higher score but sadly my judging criteria can't put them any higher and personally I felt this performance was weaker than their auditions.
MD Showgroup - I liked it but it just lacked something that would really push it through. The performance is difficult to judge on as I'm split on whether giving them 8 or 8.5.
The Barrow Boys - It's a bit random! I commend their strength and control over the barrows but it's just a weird talent and where did they discover this! They must have been really bored when they found this talent of theirs!
Kay Oresanya - It doesn't sound like a saxophone! It just sounds awful! Ok I commend him for making me laugh for the longest time, it was utterly horrendous and disturbing! It really doesn't sound like a saxophone it sounds like a baby squealing! Sorry it's just mad! I totally agree with Amanda, it's bloody terrible but I loved it! It was so funny! I commend him for making me laugh that's why I gave him 8.5 for the performance.
Floral Highnotes - The opera was OK but the flower arranging was random! It's just absolutely absurd! Actually the opera began to get on my nerves.
Ben and Becky - They are talented dancers but I'm afraid they're probably not talented enough I don't know because I think the performance could have been better, they're still great dancers but I think the performance could have been improved.
Best performances from Shaheen and Kay! The most talented are Shaheen and MD Showgroup.
Harmony (7.5/7.5/8.5) = 23.5
Shaheen Jafargholi (8.5/9/9) = 26.5
MD Showgroup (8/9/8.5) = 25.5
The Barrow Boys (7/7.5/8.5) = 23
Kay Oresanya (8.5/7/9) = 24.5
Floral Highnotes (7/8.5/8) = 23
Ben and Becky (8/8.5/8.5) = 25
Stavros Flatley (8/8/9) = 25
So the rankings for this final
1st: Shaheen Jafargholi (currently he's my favourite)
2nd: MD Showgroup
3rd: Stavros Flatley
4th: Ben and Becky
5th: Kay Oresanya
6th: Harmony
7th: The Barrow Boys
8th: Floral Highnotes
Britain's Got Talent Semifinal 2
DJ Talent - Absolutely stupid! This is something you can watch once (well actually I couldn't stand it the first time!) but more than once you see how ridiculous it is!
Merlin Cadogan - As I didn't see all the auditions this was actually one I've never seen or heard of. I know this sounds evil but I wonder what happens if he couldn't escape? It was definitely a tough thing to do but, yet again I may sound evil, it didn't really excite me as much as it should have. Simon was hysterical!
Jamie Pugh - Another guy which I thought was slightly overrated, I guess this performance really did slam him (typing whilst I haven't seen it yet) because he was like a favorite to topple Susan Boyle. Well now that I've seen it I understand! It wasn't awful but it was not something you'd expect to see on a talent show because it's below mediocre! I guess I feel sorry for him because something went absolutely wrong for him, maybe it's nerves. But I can't make myself give him a bad score!
Shaun Smith - It was a strong performance, sometimes he went way too mellow though. It was a nice performance and I'd definitely like to see more of him. Wow he's 17, I feel so bad because I'm 17, he really looks older, like 21 or something.
Gareth Oliver - It was amusing and he's a good entertainer and wow he can sing without moving his lips! I actually find it amazing! If only he didn't grit his teeth as much maybe I'd be absolutely mesmerized. Simon was very very harsh and for once I totally disagreed with him. Amazingly I think he's actually my favorite act as of now!
Hot Honeyz - It was Ok/good. I would be more impressed if they actually sang along! But I know how difficult that would be. But there is a degree of difficulty to dancing in high heels and doing those type of moves but it just didn't appeal to me that much.
Peter Coghlan - Oh I'm getting a bucket ready! I wonder what Beyonce would say to that! If I was her I'd faint! I give him the hands up for his confidence, but I guess every drag queen has confidence.
Flawless - I liked it but I'm definitely more of a singing guy however I have found that I've given dance groups higher scores as of now! Maybe I'm more critical on singing. Anyway I liked Flawless. I think Flawless are probably better dancers than Diversity but Diversity are more likeable because of the little kids- I just melt (they also have more likable choreography)! But Flawless seems much neater and put together whilst Diversity are more likable in my opinion
DJ Talent (1/1/5) = 7
Merlin Cadogan (7.5/9/8.5) = 25
Jamie Pugh (7/8/8.5) = 24
Shaun Smith (8/9/9) = 26
Gareth Oliver (8.5/9/9) = 26.5
Hot Honeyz (8/8.5/8) = 24.5
Peter Coghlan (3/3/7.5) = 13.5
Flawless (8.5/9/8.5) = 26
Best Performance were Flawless and Gareth Oliver whilst Merlin, Shaun, Gareth and Flawless are all on par for talent I believe.
1st - Gareth Oliver (disappointed that he didn't make it through but I expected it)
2nd - Flawless
3rd - Shaun Smith
4th - Merlin Cadogan
5th - Hot Honeyz
6th - Jamie Pugh
7th - Peter Coghlan
8th - DJ Talent
I'd probably give Jamie a lower score but I just couldn't make myself do it, but he was about 6th on the night I guess.
Britain's Got Talent Semifinal 1
So Diversity won Britain's Got Talent but here's what I had to say about the Semifinals and Finals.
Semifinal 1
Diversity - The performance was good but don't get me wrong it was a little manic and ironically a bit too fast paced for me! It was a good performance but everything felt a bit loose, maybe I'm a bit dumb! But it's my opinion. It was still a strong performance though.
Sue Son - It was a good performance but a lot of things were going against her, firstly the choice of music wasn't the best in my opinion, it doesn't bring to a climax well secondly there was Escala last year and people may just feel like it was the same. Thirdly she had all that scandal, she is talented enough to be in the final but sadly she was in a tough semifinal.
Darth Jackson - Utterly ridiculous, this is what destroys Britain's reputation! How did he get through!
Natalie Okri - It was very amateurish, sad to say. Personally I never found Natalie's voice to be that special, it's cute and quite strong but by no means the most talented in the show. It was a bad choice of song definitely because if she wants to dazzle people she needs to sing big ballads rather than dance tracks.
Julia Naidenko - The look on Simon's face is something I'd never want to see again! Anyway it's a nice show but it doesn't sustain my interest for long enough. It's definitely a talent but there are different types of talents and Julia's talent isn't something right for this show (especially since I see very few teenage girls voting for this and I believe they are one of the bigger demographics voting wise).
Faces of Disco - This is actually quite funny, I never knew I'd succumb to something like this. It's perfect for showbiz but it's not a talent. But it's definitely watchable.
Nick Hell - Ok here's the deal, it was disturbing! The problem with it was is that daredevil acts should stun the audience, basically make us question how they did it, but his doesn't, it just makes us look away because it's not death defying but just disturbing, no talent in it at all.
Susan Boyle - I actually didn't love it, it was a good performance but not enough to dazzle me on the spot. She'll go through most obviously but if she wants to keep my attention she needs to perform something absolutely magnificent, her audition was close to fantastic but this performance was only close to great, it was a very good performance but she just missed the spot for me. But she's definitely got it all going for her, in times like these we need something to dream about and Susan Boyle confirms that anyone could do it and everyone has something in them, however on the technical side this performance wasn't enough to satisfy me as it was kind of shaky at points. I don't think she'll win to be honest but I know she'll do well.
Scores (Performance/Talent/Likability)
Diversity (8.5/9/9) = 26.5
Sue Son (8/9/8.5) = 25.5
Darth Jackson (3/1/2) = 6
Natalie Okri (7.5/8.5/9) = 25
Julia Naidenko (8/8/8.5) = 24.5
Faces of Disco (8.5/7.5/9) = 25
Nick Hell (3/2/1) = 6
Susan Boyle (8/9/9) = 26
Performance = Graded on how entertaining and watchable
Talent = Graded on the contestants actual or potential talent
Likeability = Self Explanatory
The best performances I think were Diversity and Faces of Disco. The most talented are Diversity, Sue Son and Susan Boyle. I also added the likability factor as it's important to be liked by the audience if you want to win.
Therefore ranks are...
1st - Diversity
2nd - Susan Boyle
3rd - Sue Son
4th - Faces of Disco
5th - Natalie Okri
6th - Julia Naidenko
7th - Nick Hell
8th - Darth Jackson
Roland Garros Review of First Week
Let's start from the beginning. In Section 1, before Nadal lost, I think nobody would have expected him to lose. David Ferrer was possibly who we'd expect to be his most difficult opponent but he was beaten in the third round by Robin Soderling who had been doing OK since now. I did manage to predict all 4 of the third round players in Section 1 but I thought it would have been a Nadal Vs. Ferrer affair. Now that Ferrer was gone and Nadal had absolutely thrashed Hewitt I honestly didn't expect Soderling to do much, but how wrong was I. Soderling has possibly revitalized my interest in tennis this year and whether he wins or loses the next match doesn't matter to me as he's done something totally unexpected of him and he should be exceptionally proud of himself. Besides the loss of Nadal there weren't any huge upsets in this section, but of course Nadal losing is enough of an upset to fill the whole tournament!
I'd also managed to predict the four third round players in Section 2 but I was expecting Stanislas Wawrinka to get to the fourth round rather than Davydenko. Verdasco has been steadily going through the draw and I expect that Verdasco will be extremely happy to see the back of Nadal, no offence to Soderling but even if Nadal isn't playing well in the back of your mind you'll be expecting him to bounce back considering his awesome form on clay. However I was in doubt on whether Nadal would actually win! He seemed less dominant compared to his previous Roland Garros performances and the near loss to Djokovic and then the loss to Federer in his last clay court tournament was enough to put queries through my mind. Soderling kind of reminded me of Djokovic so if Djokovic had prepared himself better for Roland Garros I wouldn't be surprised if he lifted that title.
Section 3 was the first draw I didn't get right for the third round, I was expecting Montanes to be Murray's opponent but he sadly lost in the first round to Tipsarevic who went on to retire against Murray. Anyway Murray actually played really well against Marin Cilic who was on his back so many times, maybe Murray does have a chance to make it further (but I wouldn't put my money on him considering he's playing Gonzalez next).
Though I predicted Gonzalez winning in Section 4, I made quite a lot of wrong predictions along the way. Firstly I expected Kristof Vliegen to beat Rui Machado, then I predicted Granollers to beat Ouanna (who eventually beat Safin in a 5 set thriller which I was expecting Safin to win). I was also predicting Daniel Brands to beat Robert Kendrick. Then in the second round I thought Youzhny would be the dark horse of this section but he lost to Victor Hanescu and then Hanescu beat Simon (but actually I'd thought Youzhny would beat Simon). But Gonzalez did win in the end and an undisputed dark horse of this tournament, I'm just shocked he hasn't been mentioned as a possible favourite.
For Section 5 I managed 3/4, not expecting Tsonga to preform as well as he's done. Two of my favourites performed below par at Roland Garros. Tursunov lost in the first round in 4 sets and Juan Monaco lost in 4 sets in the second round. Del Potro is my pick for the quaterfinals but I honestly thought he would be playing Juan Monaco instead.
Now comes my worst section, Section 6! I only managed 1 out of 4 here. Maximo Gonzalez amazed me as I didn't even expect him to get through the first round. Seppi my pick for the third round lost to Maximo in straight sets. Then I had expect Ljubicic to be in the third roun but he lost in the first round in 5 sets. Of course the shock of this section was Djokovic losing in straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber. Djokovic was having a decent clay season whilst Kohlschreiber had never been past Round 2 of Roland Garros, so honestly I never expected a straight sets win by Kohlschreiber. I'm incredibly dissapointed as Djokovic hasn't made the semis of either Grand Slam so I guess it's now all eyes on the US Open as I doubt he'll win Wimbledon.
Yet again I managed 3/4 in Sevtion 7. Andreas Beck was my choice over Gicquel but Gicquel managed to squeeze through in 4 sets. Andy Roddick is actually playing exceptionally well on clay so I'm extremely happy for him.
Whilst for section 8 I got 3/4 again! Actually I didn't realize Blake went out in the 1st round until I looked at the draw just recently! I thought Haas was going to play Berdych but that didn't go to plan did it! I was praying that Mathieu beat Federer but sadly it wasn't to be - imagine Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all out before the 2nd week!
Overall I managed to predict 45/64 players for the 2nd round, quite a mediocre achievement actually! For the third round I predicted 13/16 for the Top Half (note, I got all 8 for the first quarter!). Whilst only 11/16 for the bottom half giving me a score of 24/32, average I must say! I also only managed 9/16 for the 4th round. Well enough anaylsis on the mens lets look at the womens.
I didn't actually predict the womens outcomes because I was so tired after trying to predict the mens draw. Anyway Dinara Safina has been fantastic as of now, though she hasn't played anyone challenging I'd say she's only lost 5 games out of 4 matches. I was really dissapointed that Anne lost 6-0,6-0 to her but I guess she had no chance of winning. All in all no shock that the favourite got to the quaterfinals.
In section 2 I predicted that Victoria Azarenka would make the quaterfinals, simply because Ana Ivanovic is not capable, at the moment, of achieving that feat, I believe. Since Nicole's loss of any form I think Victoria Azarenka has been my favourite teen player out of the likes of Radwanksa, Wozniacki and co. It's great to see that she's on top at the moment and it really reminds me of the teen rivalry between Ivanovic, Vaidisova etc etc a few years ago.
Venus losing in the third round wasn't a shock but it was a shock that she lost to Agnes Szavay 6-0,6-4. Agnes has just lost it in my opinion, I really don't see her coming back to her best tennis in the near future so I was quite shocked that Venus lost to her, it would have been more predictable if she lost to Safarova in my opinion. Dominika Cibulkova managed to see how easy her draw could potentially be and managed to fight through without playing any of the major players e.g. Venus, Amelie or even Anna-Lena Groenefeld. Personally I thought it was Amelie's chance to get through to the quaterfinals but I knew Anna-Lena Groenefeld would be her biggest challenge.
Section 4 was extremely predictable and at the moment the fourth round match is on TV. Petrova's loss to Sharapova was expected and Na Li making the fourth round was also expected for me, especially since Vera Zvonareva decided to quit the tournament. Besides those few names I have mentioned nobody else would have had a chance to break it to be honest (maybe Kaia Kanepi but I would have doubted it).
Section 5 posed a shock somewhat in that Sorana Cirstea managed to beat Caroline Wozniacki, a possible quaterfinalist I'd thought. Now I think Jelena has it in the bag (getting to the Quaters I mean). Jankovic hasn't played anyone exceptional or even worthy of making the quaterfinals as of yet and yet again I think she's got the easiest draw to the semifinals. If she doesn't make the semifinals I'd be gobsmacked.
Section 6 was probably the biggest shock of them all. I never expected Dementieva to lose to Samantha Stosur, I kind of expected Virginie Razzano to make the fourth round but I wouldn't have put any money on it. There were a slew of possibilities in this draw but Samantha Stosur making the 4th Round never crossed my mind and to be honest this section has set up an easy win for Jelena Jankovic in my opinion.
Just to mention it's quite interesting that Virginia Razzano's matches have gone (6-3,6-3) (6-2,6-2) and (5-7,5-7).
Section 7 sees possibly in my opinion the third favourite. Dinara I'd say is the biggest favourite with a large gap until Jelena Jankovic, then Svetlana Kuznetsova is in my opinion the next best player. She's been under the radar but I honestly expect her to make it to the semis. Hopefully Agnieszka Radwanska will pose a threat to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Section 8 saw the demise of Flavia Pennetta. I was so sad when she lost to Alexa Glatch 6-1,6-1. Flavia could have possibly made it far but she blew it. Nicole also continued her awful form and she's slowly fading from my memory, it's awful to see such potential blown away. Anyway Serena and Aleksandra Wozniak are both predictable 4th round players.
Basically if Dinara manages to beat Victoria Azarenka I believe she'll be headed to the finals and unless Svetlana Kuznetsova can summon up something I don't think Dinara is going to lose this tournament.
I'm not a huge fan of watching doubles (and they are barely on TV anyway) so I'll have minima; to say on it. It was dissapointing however to see Jamie Murray lose and it's quite interesting to see so many pairs of players being from the same country as each other (but the seeded teams are less so). Anyway I hope the Bryan brothers all the best. Whilst for the women's we see the usual faces of Cara Black and Liezel Huber, I wonder who would win though. I've never been interested in the mixed doubles (even when Jamie Murray and Jelena Jankovic won) simply because it's way to unpredictable and I now very little about it. But what would have been interesting is if Bob Bryan and Lisa Raymond played Mike Bryan and Liezel Huber.
How many players have played in the Juniors and Seniors at the same time? Well lauren Embree did that but lost in both of them! Laura Robson being the No.1 seed is probably my main interest, hopefully when she turns pro she'll be at least a decent Top 10 player.
I'd also managed to predict the four third round players in Section 2 but I was expecting Stanislas Wawrinka to get to the fourth round rather than Davydenko. Verdasco has been steadily going through the draw and I expect that Verdasco will be extremely happy to see the back of Nadal, no offence to Soderling but even if Nadal isn't playing well in the back of your mind you'll be expecting him to bounce back considering his awesome form on clay. However I was in doubt on whether Nadal would actually win! He seemed less dominant compared to his previous Roland Garros performances and the near loss to Djokovic and then the loss to Federer in his last clay court tournament was enough to put queries through my mind. Soderling kind of reminded me of Djokovic so if Djokovic had prepared himself better for Roland Garros I wouldn't be surprised if he lifted that title.
Section 3 was the first draw I didn't get right for the third round, I was expecting Montanes to be Murray's opponent but he sadly lost in the first round to Tipsarevic who went on to retire against Murray. Anyway Murray actually played really well against Marin Cilic who was on his back so many times, maybe Murray does have a chance to make it further (but I wouldn't put my money on him considering he's playing Gonzalez next).
Though I predicted Gonzalez winning in Section 4, I made quite a lot of wrong predictions along the way. Firstly I expected Kristof Vliegen to beat Rui Machado, then I predicted Granollers to beat Ouanna (who eventually beat Safin in a 5 set thriller which I was expecting Safin to win). I was also predicting Daniel Brands to beat Robert Kendrick. Then in the second round I thought Youzhny would be the dark horse of this section but he lost to Victor Hanescu and then Hanescu beat Simon (but actually I'd thought Youzhny would beat Simon). But Gonzalez did win in the end and an undisputed dark horse of this tournament, I'm just shocked he hasn't been mentioned as a possible favourite.
For Section 5 I managed 3/4, not expecting Tsonga to preform as well as he's done. Two of my favourites performed below par at Roland Garros. Tursunov lost in the first round in 4 sets and Juan Monaco lost in 4 sets in the second round. Del Potro is my pick for the quaterfinals but I honestly thought he would be playing Juan Monaco instead.
Now comes my worst section, Section 6! I only managed 1 out of 4 here. Maximo Gonzalez amazed me as I didn't even expect him to get through the first round. Seppi my pick for the third round lost to Maximo in straight sets. Then I had expect Ljubicic to be in the third roun but he lost in the first round in 5 sets. Of course the shock of this section was Djokovic losing in straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber. Djokovic was having a decent clay season whilst Kohlschreiber had never been past Round 2 of Roland Garros, so honestly I never expected a straight sets win by Kohlschreiber. I'm incredibly dissapointed as Djokovic hasn't made the semis of either Grand Slam so I guess it's now all eyes on the US Open as I doubt he'll win Wimbledon.
Yet again I managed 3/4 in Sevtion 7. Andreas Beck was my choice over Gicquel but Gicquel managed to squeeze through in 4 sets. Andy Roddick is actually playing exceptionally well on clay so I'm extremely happy for him.
Whilst for section 8 I got 3/4 again! Actually I didn't realize Blake went out in the 1st round until I looked at the draw just recently! I thought Haas was going to play Berdych but that didn't go to plan did it! I was praying that Mathieu beat Federer but sadly it wasn't to be - imagine Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all out before the 2nd week!
Overall I managed to predict 45/64 players for the 2nd round, quite a mediocre achievement actually! For the third round I predicted 13/16 for the Top Half (note, I got all 8 for the first quarter!). Whilst only 11/16 for the bottom half giving me a score of 24/32, average I must say! I also only managed 9/16 for the 4th round. Well enough anaylsis on the mens lets look at the womens.
I didn't actually predict the womens outcomes because I was so tired after trying to predict the mens draw. Anyway Dinara Safina has been fantastic as of now, though she hasn't played anyone challenging I'd say she's only lost 5 games out of 4 matches. I was really dissapointed that Anne lost 6-0,6-0 to her but I guess she had no chance of winning. All in all no shock that the favourite got to the quaterfinals.
In section 2 I predicted that Victoria Azarenka would make the quaterfinals, simply because Ana Ivanovic is not capable, at the moment, of achieving that feat, I believe. Since Nicole's loss of any form I think Victoria Azarenka has been my favourite teen player out of the likes of Radwanksa, Wozniacki and co. It's great to see that she's on top at the moment and it really reminds me of the teen rivalry between Ivanovic, Vaidisova etc etc a few years ago.
Venus losing in the third round wasn't a shock but it was a shock that she lost to Agnes Szavay 6-0,6-4. Agnes has just lost it in my opinion, I really don't see her coming back to her best tennis in the near future so I was quite shocked that Venus lost to her, it would have been more predictable if she lost to Safarova in my opinion. Dominika Cibulkova managed to see how easy her draw could potentially be and managed to fight through without playing any of the major players e.g. Venus, Amelie or even Anna-Lena Groenefeld. Personally I thought it was Amelie's chance to get through to the quaterfinals but I knew Anna-Lena Groenefeld would be her biggest challenge.
Section 4 was extremely predictable and at the moment the fourth round match is on TV. Petrova's loss to Sharapova was expected and Na Li making the fourth round was also expected for me, especially since Vera Zvonareva decided to quit the tournament. Besides those few names I have mentioned nobody else would have had a chance to break it to be honest (maybe Kaia Kanepi but I would have doubted it).
Section 5 posed a shock somewhat in that Sorana Cirstea managed to beat Caroline Wozniacki, a possible quaterfinalist I'd thought. Now I think Jelena has it in the bag (getting to the Quaters I mean). Jankovic hasn't played anyone exceptional or even worthy of making the quaterfinals as of yet and yet again I think she's got the easiest draw to the semifinals. If she doesn't make the semifinals I'd be gobsmacked.
Section 6 was probably the biggest shock of them all. I never expected Dementieva to lose to Samantha Stosur, I kind of expected Virginie Razzano to make the fourth round but I wouldn't have put any money on it. There were a slew of possibilities in this draw but Samantha Stosur making the 4th Round never crossed my mind and to be honest this section has set up an easy win for Jelena Jankovic in my opinion.
Just to mention it's quite interesting that Virginia Razzano's matches have gone (6-3,6-3) (6-2,6-2) and (5-7,5-7).
Section 7 sees possibly in my opinion the third favourite. Dinara I'd say is the biggest favourite with a large gap until Jelena Jankovic, then Svetlana Kuznetsova is in my opinion the next best player. She's been under the radar but I honestly expect her to make it to the semis. Hopefully Agnieszka Radwanska will pose a threat to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Section 8 saw the demise of Flavia Pennetta. I was so sad when she lost to Alexa Glatch 6-1,6-1. Flavia could have possibly made it far but she blew it. Nicole also continued her awful form and she's slowly fading from my memory, it's awful to see such potential blown away. Anyway Serena and Aleksandra Wozniak are both predictable 4th round players.
Basically if Dinara manages to beat Victoria Azarenka I believe she'll be headed to the finals and unless Svetlana Kuznetsova can summon up something I don't think Dinara is going to lose this tournament.
I'm not a huge fan of watching doubles (and they are barely on TV anyway) so I'll have minima; to say on it. It was dissapointing however to see Jamie Murray lose and it's quite interesting to see so many pairs of players being from the same country as each other (but the seeded teams are less so). Anyway I hope the Bryan brothers all the best. Whilst for the women's we see the usual faces of Cara Black and Liezel Huber, I wonder who would win though. I've never been interested in the mixed doubles (even when Jamie Murray and Jelena Jankovic won) simply because it's way to unpredictable and I now very little about it. But what would have been interesting is if Bob Bryan and Lisa Raymond played Mike Bryan and Liezel Huber.
How many players have played in the Juniors and Seniors at the same time? Well lauren Embree did that but lost in both of them! Laura Robson being the No.1 seed is probably my main interest, hopefully when she turns pro she'll be at least a decent Top 10 player.
RAFAEL NADAL LOSES
This is probably the best day of the year in tennis for me! Nadal lost to Robin Soderling in 4 sets I'm so happy I can't believe it actually happened and on CLAY! I was sad that Djokovic lost but at least Nadal has joined him. A longer review of the tournament so far is coming up.
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Make Me A Supermodel Season 2 Episode 11
I'm a bit late on this but it's because my computer was down for a while, so here goes...
To me Make Me A Supermodel Season 1 and Season 2 seem to be completely different shows to me they just don't seem to be from the same idea.
Yes Jonathan is back to blond! I'm so pleased! Finally he's back on track for the final (as I think the judges love Sandhurst enough to force a win on him).
That photographer is crazy! But I have to say he knows what he wants and that's cool.
OK here's my opinion on the group
Mountaha - She walks fantastically and sometimes she lands a fantastic shot, I do like her, but her downsides are; she doesn't look like a model in person, she just looks tired all the time, she can totally flunk photoshoots and she has somewhat of a rotten personality - too much ego in that package!
Salome - She is a little big for the usual but that shouldn't stop her. Yes she's beautiful but I don't really see the model in her. I think her photos have been OK but her walk is average at best.
Jonathan - I wish he was a little taller because he looks minuscule compared to Sandhurst and Branden! However out of the 5 I think Jonathan looks most like a model, he has that certain quality in him I think. His photos have been strong and I think the judges were wrong in saying he plays it safe. He does need to improve on his walk but it's not awful.
Branden - His face is too one tone and I'm beginning to get bored of his walk. He's a nice guy though, as a person I really like him (after his brush up with his ego), but as a model I think he's got a mountain to climb.
Sandhurst - His walk is strong and I don't find his build to be too wrong for modeling. However I see him doing more commercial things (even though his walk is strong). He feels more TV ready than model ready - e.g. the models on TV shows that are good but are only good on TV not as an actual model.
Who should win? Jonathan by far but who would be the darling of the series? Sandhurst, he is TV ready!
Well well Salome won the challenge again! She photographs nicely but I don't think she deserved to win all of her wins, interesting though because Salome is doing so well in actual photoshoots. Ok Salome's cluelessness does rub me in the wrong way sometimes!
Neither girl looked Rosa Cha at all! Neither girl is swimwear anyway, Mountaha is way too edgy for swimwear whilst Salome doesn't have the body for swimwear - it's a fact. Remember I'm not saying she's fat she's just not right for the job.
OK Branden really can't be a spokesperson! If I had a store he would be the last person I'd hire! Ooh this is a bad week for Sandhurst! Well the judges will save him no matter what so it really doesn't matter.
I think Branden's the one to go sadly because he's still a child.
Branden looked absolutely horrified when one of the blonds (or whatever they were called) was in fact a guy wearing a dress. lol
First Walk
Goth
Branden - It was good and I liked how he portrayed his character. Maybe a bit too much sway in the arms but for once it worked with the getup rather than looking like frankenstein.
Salome - She looked a bit crazy in the eyes and the walk was awful at the start, it got slightly better.
Sandhurst - for the first time I think since the show began I didn't like Sandhurst's walk. It was just dreary. The getup was awful as well.
Mountaha - Though her walk felt a bit pageant meets goth chick I did think it was quite good!
Jonathan - His cool and relaxed posture made the whole getup believable. He still does have a little too much tension but it's getting there slowly.
Second Walk
Glam
Branden - The whole thing looked ridiculous to me but he did his best with the walk.
Salome - Yet again bad walk.
Sanhurst - on a side note, is Sandhurst a Hilary Clinton supporter? It's just that he said something about Hilary Clinton. Anyway his walk was better but it still felt a bit mediocre for Sandhurst's standards.
Jonathan - His stiff arms are still way too evident but he looked great in the whole getup.
Mountaha - This walk was strong but I still found her face to be a bit weird.
Branden
Jonathan
Mountaha
Sandhurst
Salome
ooh it's probably Salome going.
Wow for once Nicole was backing her girls!
This episode is perfect as they begin to break down strongholds like Sandhurst and everyone else they kind of levee on the same level whilst Salome on a slight backhand.
I don't understand, why isn't Tyson or Nicole on the judging panel? Do they have such a big budget to afford all of them!
Yet again 1 girl and an entourage of guys it's interesting as now the editting has made the whole show a level playing field, I actually don't know who will go! But my instinct (and wishful thinking) tells me it's Branden.
Photo time!
Branden - It's quite gritty for a swimsuit shot, I do like the masculinity but his body needs work if he wants to be a swimsuit model and he always gives that same snarl and menace in the eyes.
Jonathan - I like the shot, it's not his best I believe from looking at his film in the episode but I think it's a nice shot which shows understated strength in his body.
Sandhurst - I think the shots Ok, but it kind of makes me think of Baywatch gone 180 degrees! His face isn't great but his body is cool.
Salome - I think the proportions look wrong here, she looks beautiful and the shot is good but her legs look awfully short in my opinion.
Mountaha - I think this photo is good but her waist looks larger than it should be in this shot.
Salome
Mountaha
Jonathan
Sandhurst
Branden
Ok so overall the rankings for this week!
Jonathan - He did well in both the runway and the shoot and I know he had a better shot.
Mountaha - She did well in both the shoot and the walk but was pipped to the post by Jonathan.
Branden - Though I put his shot last he didn't do awfully and his runway was stylish, if only he did better on the shot.
Salome - Though she took an amazing photo her walk was dreadful!
Sandhurst - Once I tallied the scores Sandhurst came in at dead bottom, he didn't do awfully in any segment but he didn't do well either. This week was just very mediocre for him.
To me Make Me A Supermodel Season 1 and Season 2 seem to be completely different shows to me they just don't seem to be from the same idea.
Yes Jonathan is back to blond! I'm so pleased! Finally he's back on track for the final (as I think the judges love Sandhurst enough to force a win on him).
That photographer is crazy! But I have to say he knows what he wants and that's cool.
OK here's my opinion on the group
Mountaha - She walks fantastically and sometimes she lands a fantastic shot, I do like her, but her downsides are; she doesn't look like a model in person, she just looks tired all the time, she can totally flunk photoshoots and she has somewhat of a rotten personality - too much ego in that package!
Salome - She is a little big for the usual but that shouldn't stop her. Yes she's beautiful but I don't really see the model in her. I think her photos have been OK but her walk is average at best.
Jonathan - I wish he was a little taller because he looks minuscule compared to Sandhurst and Branden! However out of the 5 I think Jonathan looks most like a model, he has that certain quality in him I think. His photos have been strong and I think the judges were wrong in saying he plays it safe. He does need to improve on his walk but it's not awful.
Branden - His face is too one tone and I'm beginning to get bored of his walk. He's a nice guy though, as a person I really like him (after his brush up with his ego), but as a model I think he's got a mountain to climb.
Sandhurst - His walk is strong and I don't find his build to be too wrong for modeling. However I see him doing more commercial things (even though his walk is strong). He feels more TV ready than model ready - e.g. the models on TV shows that are good but are only good on TV not as an actual model.
Who should win? Jonathan by far but who would be the darling of the series? Sandhurst, he is TV ready!
Well well Salome won the challenge again! She photographs nicely but I don't think she deserved to win all of her wins, interesting though because Salome is doing so well in actual photoshoots. Ok Salome's cluelessness does rub me in the wrong way sometimes!
Neither girl looked Rosa Cha at all! Neither girl is swimwear anyway, Mountaha is way too edgy for swimwear whilst Salome doesn't have the body for swimwear - it's a fact. Remember I'm not saying she's fat she's just not right for the job.
OK Branden really can't be a spokesperson! If I had a store he would be the last person I'd hire! Ooh this is a bad week for Sandhurst! Well the judges will save him no matter what so it really doesn't matter.
I think Branden's the one to go sadly because he's still a child.
Branden looked absolutely horrified when one of the blonds (or whatever they were called) was in fact a guy wearing a dress. lol
First Walk
Goth
Branden - It was good and I liked how he portrayed his character. Maybe a bit too much sway in the arms but for once it worked with the getup rather than looking like frankenstein.
Salome - She looked a bit crazy in the eyes and the walk was awful at the start, it got slightly better.
Sandhurst - for the first time I think since the show began I didn't like Sandhurst's walk. It was just dreary. The getup was awful as well.
Mountaha - Though her walk felt a bit pageant meets goth chick I did think it was quite good!
Jonathan - His cool and relaxed posture made the whole getup believable. He still does have a little too much tension but it's getting there slowly.
Second Walk
Glam
Branden - The whole thing looked ridiculous to me but he did his best with the walk.
Salome - Yet again bad walk.
Sanhurst - on a side note, is Sandhurst a Hilary Clinton supporter? It's just that he said something about Hilary Clinton. Anyway his walk was better but it still felt a bit mediocre for Sandhurst's standards.
Jonathan - His stiff arms are still way too evident but he looked great in the whole getup.
Mountaha - This walk was strong but I still found her face to be a bit weird.
Branden
Jonathan
Mountaha
Sandhurst
Salome
ooh it's probably Salome going.
Wow for once Nicole was backing her girls!
This episode is perfect as they begin to break down strongholds like Sandhurst and everyone else they kind of levee on the same level whilst Salome on a slight backhand.
I don't understand, why isn't Tyson or Nicole on the judging panel? Do they have such a big budget to afford all of them!
Yet again 1 girl and an entourage of guys it's interesting as now the editting has made the whole show a level playing field, I actually don't know who will go! But my instinct (and wishful thinking) tells me it's Branden.
Photo time!
Branden - It's quite gritty for a swimsuit shot, I do like the masculinity but his body needs work if he wants to be a swimsuit model and he always gives that same snarl and menace in the eyes.
Jonathan - I like the shot, it's not his best I believe from looking at his film in the episode but I think it's a nice shot which shows understated strength in his body.
Sandhurst - I think the shots Ok, but it kind of makes me think of Baywatch gone 180 degrees! His face isn't great but his body is cool.
Salome - I think the proportions look wrong here, she looks beautiful and the shot is good but her legs look awfully short in my opinion.
Mountaha - I think this photo is good but her waist looks larger than it should be in this shot.
Salome
Mountaha
Jonathan
Sandhurst
Branden
Ok so overall the rankings for this week!
Jonathan - He did well in both the runway and the shoot and I know he had a better shot.
Mountaha - She did well in both the shoot and the walk but was pipped to the post by Jonathan.
Branden - Though I put his shot last he didn't do awfully and his runway was stylish, if only he did better on the shot.
Salome - Though she took an amazing photo her walk was dreadful!
Sandhurst - Once I tallied the scores Sandhurst came in at dead bottom, he didn't do awfully in any segment but he didn't do well either. This week was just very mediocre for him.
Roland Garros
WTA Tennis is probably at its most unsteady faze in the past few decades, with nobody managing to demand any attention on a consistent note and tournament winners seemingly picked out of a hat! That can be said when Alexandra Dulgheru ranked 201 in the world managed to win in Warsaw. When hearing something like this you must imagine it to be a challenger event, but no, the Warsaw Open is a $600,000 "premier" event which boasts Justine Henin as its 2007 victor.
The event headlined players like Jie Zheng, Sara Errani, Aleksandra Wozniak of course we can't miss off Anne Keothavong! It also featured Alone Bondarenko who has sweet memories here and the return of Maria Sharapova. Though this line up is by no means the best clay court field amassed it should have been enough to bar a no namer from the final let alone the trophy. Alone looked the stronger player throughout the tournament (besides the final I guess) breaking Maria's fairytale comeback and Anne Koethavong's hopes of doing Britain proud whilst Dulgheru passed through a somewhat revived Daniela Hantuchova to make the finals.
It's nice to see unexpected winners from time to time but when this is happening basically every week it makes me worried that women's tennis is heading for extinction.
It seems that since Henin retired everything has exploded or imploded on the WTA tour with fantastic revivals, dreadful demises, young teens falling by the wayside after so much speculation and all of the other whatnots. I just hope a well rounded player manages to bring the tour a much needed lease of life (though I believe Nicole Vaidisova is a great player to reign at No.1 it ain't happening any time soon!).
On a side note Dulgheru's win was so unexpected that even photographs of her winning (on the WTA site) look poor and unprofessional, as if everyone was focusing on Alone and forgot about her until she lifted the trophy!
So the Roland Garros draws are out, I'm slightly late on this but my computer had been breaking up on me for the past week so here goes.
Anyway before I go into the draws I just wanted to emphasize on a small article I read just now. Supposedly Nadal lost to Brian Dabul in a one set exhibition match at Roland Garros! Dabul is currently ranked 109. Well I'm not saying Nadal is now going to lose in the first round but it does shock me that the king of clay lost to someone like Dabul, it must be a kick in the stomach for him especially since he lost to Federer recently on clay, it does spark questions on Nadals form.
Rafael Nadal's eighth of the draw should count themselves awfully unlucky to be matched with nearly 0% odds of making it to the quarterfinals. Nadal will face Marcos Daniel in the first round, though Daniel favours clay above any surface (winning 9 out of 10 of his challengers titles on clay) he poses a miniscule threat to the clay king. His second round opponent could be either Igor Kunitsyn or Teimuraz Gabashvili, both of which aren't great on clay courts, but I favour Teimuraz's chances slightly more than Igor's. Anyway it doesn't really matter because they should be obliterated by Nadal. I believe his third round opponent will be Lleyton Hewitt as I think Ivo Karlovic's form isn't on the ball and Lleyton seems to be doing well lately. But still this should be an easy match for Nadal.
David Ferrer, who is on the other side of Nadal's eighth, should have an easy job in making the 4th round along with Nadal, even though he hasn't been having a great clay court season (bar his finals appearance in Barcelona).
Davydenko is a strong clay court player but that seems to crumble when he's playing anybody who has featured in the Top 10 of the rankings ever! Therefore Stefan Koubek shouldn't be a problem nor would Paul Capdeville (who I believe will be his second round opponent). But when it comes to Stanislas Wawrinka (who made a brief appearnace in the Top 10), I'm not sure. He's also had a sturdy clay court season which makes it very difficult to predict.
Nicolas Massu the 31st seed should be able to edge out Agustin Calleri and then make it easily past Sam Querrey. But Fernando Verdasco should be the eventual victor of this mini squabble.
The eventual quaterfinal draw here I believe will be non other than Rafael Nadal Vs. Fernando Verdasco with Verdasco losing to Nadal yet again.
Murray leads the next eighth and being one of the most in form players. However that cannot be said for clay, he's still an ok player on clay but he will not pose a threat to the title. It will be a workout for him but he is in good form so maybe he could pull off a decent finish. What's also aiding him is that his eighth of the draw isn't very tough, I believe his opponents will be Potito Starace, Albert Montanes and Radek Stepanek - all of which are easily beatable. If Cilic was better on clay he could be a threat but sadly that's not the case.
Fernando Gonzalez has been understated this year and I believe he's possibly Murray's biggest threat for a semifinal spot. But whoever is in this quarter should count themselves lucky as they've got the easiest draw, being the one with the most potential to spark an underdog. I hope Marat Safin does well, I believe he'll get to the third round before being dispatched of by Gonzalez.
Mikhail Youzhny also has quite a simple draw so maybe he could get far he's lucky that its Gilles Simon in his draw rather than anyone else. Therefore I'm going to make a risk by predicting Youzhny as the 4th round opponent to Gonzalez.
Juan is the first player in the bottom half, he'll be a tough opponent for any player. Lucasz Kubot who made a few headlines by reaching the finals in Belgrade could be a challenge if he's on form but I don't believe Del Potro would lose to him. Igor Andreev (the next seed) worries me a bit, not in terms of beating Del Potro but I just don't know whether he'll make it to Round 3. He's a good clay court player but he's had some bad results lately.
Juan Monaco, who is also in Del Potro's section and one of my favourite players, has been handed a great draw; hopefully he'll capitalize on it. Tsonga could make beat him but his recent results don't put him favourably.
Djokovic will most likely be on the other side of the court to those group of players. Before that Tommy Robredo is probably his toughest opponent but I believe Djokovic is in the right form to make easy pickings of him.
Bernard Tomic will be in this draw but sadly I don't think he's got the experience to make it through Round 1 on clay.
Ivan Ljubicic Vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero will be an interesting match, it's quite difficult to decide who'll win but my instinct is leaning on Ljubicic.
However back to Djokovic he does have Nicolas Lapentti as a first round match, quite a tough first round opponent if I must say, definitely could cause some difficulty.
Andy Roddick is the first seed in the next section. Roddick's a great player but we all know what his game's like on clay. But he doesn't have a touch early draw so maybe this year Roddick could make his best showing at Roland Garros. He's also got Monfils in his draw who he beat recently on clay and is having a bad few weeks so maybe just maybe Roddick could break into the quaterfinals! (to lose to Federer again!!!!!)
Blake has been playing well on clay recently but Tommy Haas will be a difficult challenge.
Oh on a side note, Robby Ginepri Vs. Pablo Andujar will probably be the prettiest First Round match you'll see but sadly neither of them are doing well on clay this year.
But what annoys me is that Roger Federer yet again has an easy draw, it seems that it's been ages since his first 3 round draws have been difficult, as if someone is fixing it to make it easier for him!
I won't be analyzing on the women's draw because I simply don't have the information or the patience to do what I did for the men's draw with the women's. I'll probably do something similar at the start of round 2. Anyway I've made up my Round 2 hopefuls (for the first time) so lets see how many I'll get right!
The event headlined players like Jie Zheng, Sara Errani, Aleksandra Wozniak of course we can't miss off Anne Keothavong! It also featured Alone Bondarenko who has sweet memories here and the return of Maria Sharapova. Though this line up is by no means the best clay court field amassed it should have been enough to bar a no namer from the final let alone the trophy. Alone looked the stronger player throughout the tournament (besides the final I guess) breaking Maria's fairytale comeback and Anne Koethavong's hopes of doing Britain proud whilst Dulgheru passed through a somewhat revived Daniela Hantuchova to make the finals.
It's nice to see unexpected winners from time to time but when this is happening basically every week it makes me worried that women's tennis is heading for extinction.
It seems that since Henin retired everything has exploded or imploded on the WTA tour with fantastic revivals, dreadful demises, young teens falling by the wayside after so much speculation and all of the other whatnots. I just hope a well rounded player manages to bring the tour a much needed lease of life (though I believe Nicole Vaidisova is a great player to reign at No.1 it ain't happening any time soon!).
On a side note Dulgheru's win was so unexpected that even photographs of her winning (on the WTA site) look poor and unprofessional, as if everyone was focusing on Alone and forgot about her until she lifted the trophy!
So the Roland Garros draws are out, I'm slightly late on this but my computer had been breaking up on me for the past week so here goes.
Anyway before I go into the draws I just wanted to emphasize on a small article I read just now. Supposedly Nadal lost to Brian Dabul in a one set exhibition match at Roland Garros! Dabul is currently ranked 109. Well I'm not saying Nadal is now going to lose in the first round but it does shock me that the king of clay lost to someone like Dabul, it must be a kick in the stomach for him especially since he lost to Federer recently on clay, it does spark questions on Nadals form.
Rafael Nadal's eighth of the draw should count themselves awfully unlucky to be matched with nearly 0% odds of making it to the quarterfinals. Nadal will face Marcos Daniel in the first round, though Daniel favours clay above any surface (winning 9 out of 10 of his challengers titles on clay) he poses a miniscule threat to the clay king. His second round opponent could be either Igor Kunitsyn or Teimuraz Gabashvili, both of which aren't great on clay courts, but I favour Teimuraz's chances slightly more than Igor's. Anyway it doesn't really matter because they should be obliterated by Nadal. I believe his third round opponent will be Lleyton Hewitt as I think Ivo Karlovic's form isn't on the ball and Lleyton seems to be doing well lately. But still this should be an easy match for Nadal.
David Ferrer, who is on the other side of Nadal's eighth, should have an easy job in making the 4th round along with Nadal, even though he hasn't been having a great clay court season (bar his finals appearance in Barcelona).
Davydenko is a strong clay court player but that seems to crumble when he's playing anybody who has featured in the Top 10 of the rankings ever! Therefore Stefan Koubek shouldn't be a problem nor would Paul Capdeville (who I believe will be his second round opponent). But when it comes to Stanislas Wawrinka (who made a brief appearnace in the Top 10), I'm not sure. He's also had a sturdy clay court season which makes it very difficult to predict.
Nicolas Massu the 31st seed should be able to edge out Agustin Calleri and then make it easily past Sam Querrey. But Fernando Verdasco should be the eventual victor of this mini squabble.
The eventual quaterfinal draw here I believe will be non other than Rafael Nadal Vs. Fernando Verdasco with Verdasco losing to Nadal yet again.
Murray leads the next eighth and being one of the most in form players. However that cannot be said for clay, he's still an ok player on clay but he will not pose a threat to the title. It will be a workout for him but he is in good form so maybe he could pull off a decent finish. What's also aiding him is that his eighth of the draw isn't very tough, I believe his opponents will be Potito Starace, Albert Montanes and Radek Stepanek - all of which are easily beatable. If Cilic was better on clay he could be a threat but sadly that's not the case.
Fernando Gonzalez has been understated this year and I believe he's possibly Murray's biggest threat for a semifinal spot. But whoever is in this quarter should count themselves lucky as they've got the easiest draw, being the one with the most potential to spark an underdog. I hope Marat Safin does well, I believe he'll get to the third round before being dispatched of by Gonzalez.
Mikhail Youzhny also has quite a simple draw so maybe he could get far he's lucky that its Gilles Simon in his draw rather than anyone else. Therefore I'm going to make a risk by predicting Youzhny as the 4th round opponent to Gonzalez.
Juan is the first player in the bottom half, he'll be a tough opponent for any player. Lucasz Kubot who made a few headlines by reaching the finals in Belgrade could be a challenge if he's on form but I don't believe Del Potro would lose to him. Igor Andreev (the next seed) worries me a bit, not in terms of beating Del Potro but I just don't know whether he'll make it to Round 3. He's a good clay court player but he's had some bad results lately.
Juan Monaco, who is also in Del Potro's section and one of my favourite players, has been handed a great draw; hopefully he'll capitalize on it. Tsonga could make beat him but his recent results don't put him favourably.
Djokovic will most likely be on the other side of the court to those group of players. Before that Tommy Robredo is probably his toughest opponent but I believe Djokovic is in the right form to make easy pickings of him.
Bernard Tomic will be in this draw but sadly I don't think he's got the experience to make it through Round 1 on clay.
Ivan Ljubicic Vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero will be an interesting match, it's quite difficult to decide who'll win but my instinct is leaning on Ljubicic.
However back to Djokovic he does have Nicolas Lapentti as a first round match, quite a tough first round opponent if I must say, definitely could cause some difficulty.
Andy Roddick is the first seed in the next section. Roddick's a great player but we all know what his game's like on clay. But he doesn't have a touch early draw so maybe this year Roddick could make his best showing at Roland Garros. He's also got Monfils in his draw who he beat recently on clay and is having a bad few weeks so maybe just maybe Roddick could break into the quaterfinals! (to lose to Federer again!!!!!)
Blake has been playing well on clay recently but Tommy Haas will be a difficult challenge.
Oh on a side note, Robby Ginepri Vs. Pablo Andujar will probably be the prettiest First Round match you'll see but sadly neither of them are doing well on clay this year.
But what annoys me is that Roger Federer yet again has an easy draw, it seems that it's been ages since his first 3 round draws have been difficult, as if someone is fixing it to make it easier for him!
I won't be analyzing on the women's draw because I simply don't have the information or the patience to do what I did for the men's draw with the women's. I'll probably do something similar at the start of round 2. Anyway I've made up my Round 2 hopefuls (for the first time) so lets see how many I'll get right!
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Roland Garros soon
It feels like a long time since the Australian Open occurred, though I feel that this year has gone quickly tennis is probably the only things which seems to have gone slowly for me. Can't really talk much about this as my computer is playing games with me, which finally made me buy Kaspersky's or whatever it's called, got it for a tennar so thought it was a bargain - dunno. Well I was originally going to buy BitDefender but it seems like only the critics rave about it whilst the population don't. Anyway why am I rambling on about Antivirus software!
I believe Roland Garros is wide open for Dinara to take. There are very few who could make an impact on the womens tour on Roland Garros with many experienced players playing their weakest on clay and a number of youngsters who are by no means ready to take that coveted spot. Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova could challenge for the title but I believe Dinara's got it in the bag. As for the men's I don't really need to say do I!
I believe Roland Garros is wide open for Dinara to take. There are very few who could make an impact on the womens tour on Roland Garros with many experienced players playing their weakest on clay and a number of youngsters who are by no means ready to take that coveted spot. Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova could challenge for the title but I believe Dinara's got it in the bag. As for the men's I don't really need to say do I!
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Maria's Back!
Maria will be playing in Warsaw this weekend as a wildcard, I wonder if she could get back to her previous form, but she's definitely set herself a difficult task to conquer. Besides returning on her worst surface, clay, she's also locked in to facing Caroline Wozniacki who managed to get to the finals in Madrid. Lets wish her luck because she'll need it!
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Eurovision 2009 Final!
Ok so everyone knows it was Alex who won the night by the biggest points difference in Eurovision history - 169 I think, don't remember exactly but I thought I should do the show justice by going through the night.
First and foremost... was Dima lip-synching? It just looked like it to me. Anyway moving on...
Lithuania
I still love this songs chorus as it's very touching but he sounded quite lonely up there, the song needed a lift as his voice wasn't able to carry it well. Sadly Sasha only managed 23 points in the end, it still amazes me how Wikipedia manages to update all the scores in about 5 minutes. It deserved more points than 23 but I knew from the start that the bad placement on the show (first up) was not going to help them at all.
Israel
It sounded different! It sounded more up beat, I have to say it was probably their weakest performance! But it's still a nice song. It managed a respectable 53 points but I guess Boaz did score better last year. But it was a strong field so they should be happy with 16th.
France
I have to say this was my favourite of the night! I knew it wasn't going to win but I stuck by it because Patricia Kaas is an excellent vocalist and she sung the song so sensually, I'm thoroughly pleased with her 8th place finish but of course if it was me I'll put her in the top 5! But beggars can't be chosers, like Britain France didn't make it into the Top 10 from 2003-2008. Patricia can go home pleased as I expect she knew she wasn't going to win as that type of song isn't what Eurovision is about. A 12 would have been nice though - bad Belgium!
Sweden
Sadly I still think her low notes were not to scratch, she definitely sounds more confident on the higher notes I guess the audience felt the same way as she only scored 33 placing her at 21st. I knew it was going to be tough for Malena to break in as I thought Charlotte Perrelli was a good bet for the top half of the table but she only placed 18th. The song is still good but sadly Malena didn't make it her own.
Croatia
I still believe he gets way too much stick, he isn't that bad it's just his song that's boring. However he did sound a bit breathless, I did however find the backing dancers to be quite eyecatching! Anyway I think they can go home proud! They were considered total outsiders but they managed to break into the Top 20 with 45 points placing 18th, though I must say it does baffle me to how they managed that!
Portugal
It was a sweet performance and totally underrated. I didn't love the song though but her vocals were nice. She managed 15th with 57 points, an expected and somewhat decent showing I'd say.
Iceland
Ok, before I get onto what I felt about Iceland let me write down my notes whilst watching the show. Did anyone think the stage looked like a Dreamworks production? As a ballad lover I should be jumping up and down but I still don't love it. The key change was awkward and the build up is lacking, she did sing it quite well though. But here is what I'm baffled by she managed to place 2nd with 218 points. I just really didn't think the song was all that, I love Yohanna but not the song, I'd personally place her about 10th or so. It's quite interesting though to think that if Iceland didn't sing a ballad would the UK have become 2nd?
Greece
I think he definitely improved on his singing since the semis BUT I still don't like the song and I think the dance moves were weird. I also disliked one of the backing singers; her voice sticks out in my ear so so much. But to my relief they didn't make it anywhere in the Top 5! They managed a respectable 7th with 120 points but I think that kind of score is enough to get Sakis shot in Greece! For Sakis and for Greece I don't think 120 points is enough! That's there lowest scoring since 2003! I think Sakis must be heart broken but I revel in that pain! Though he still managed to make the Top 10 I think Europe finally saw how gimmicky the whole thing was.
Armenia
I think they were decent and it really brought some of eastern Europe to the contest (if it wasn't filled with it already!) But I miss the movement that was seen in the MV, it was much more active but I still liked it. My dad hated it though! He said they looked like witches and they should go home! Well they got into the Top 10 with 92 points! hah eat your face! (but on a sidenote it is there worst placing!)
Russia
She tried to be too sensible, it just looked a bit stiff and she looked on the verge of tears. But the emotion was still good but maybe a bit too screachy.
She managed to place 11th with 91
Azerbaijan
The beginning still reminds me of some Sean Paul track, but it's definitely quite catchy and growing on me. It doesn't sound like a winner as the verses don't click with me. What it does have is energy which is lacking in a few entries. It managed 3rd with 207 which was better than what I'd expected actually. But honestly two years in a row Azerbaijan have given Turkey 12 and vice versa. Same with Ukraine where they have given them 10 points and them also. Block voting at its best (Note: Azerbaijan have only competed for two years).
Bosnia & Herzegovina
By this point I was very happy that the whole show was generally decent, unlike last year where there were lunatics and pirates running about. I still like it but there's something missing to make this a hit. But at least they managed to place 9th above Laka! I hated Laka!
Moldova
Yet again I think they get too much stick. It's energetic and it makes you smile. It is at times kind of crazy but it works for me. It's definitely not my favourite though, my dad on the other hand saids it's crap! He said if it wins it would a miracle as Graham Norton said! In fact I second that! But she did manage to score 68 points and place 14th!
Malta
She's also improved by massive amounts since the semis but I still think the song is totally boring and the scores reflected that, 31 points placing 22nd. Chiara must be in tears how many times have I heard "3rd first time, 2nd second time, could it be this time!" No dear it's No.1 minus 21 places! Malta thought they could revive some of there glory with Chiara, well well!
Estonia
It's a very nice track and it works in any setting, the girls are also gorgeous! Probably the prettiest of the night. My dad hates it though! He said it would lull him to sleep! Basically if it's not Chinese and not fast paced or loud (e.g. high notes) and not something from the 60's/70's he would absolutely hate it.
Anyway it's great they made 6th with 129 points. They definitely did Estonia proud though, they haven't managed to qualify since 2003 (when I don't think there were semi finals)
Denmark
Well, 5 seconds in and my dad said he was quite good - he changes moods in a heartbeat! In fact I agrre with him, I do like it! Something with a beat you can tap to and nice vocals is enough for me to jump up and praise it! His voice sounds a bit raw though. But I'm amazed my dad is a Boyzone fan, come on Brinck is basically Ronan! He did Ok placing 13th with 74 points It's about the place I'd expect him to be.
Germany
It's quite energetic and I love Oscars singing and the stage, the song is average though. Shame on Graham Norton for calling it pants! My dad actually liked it, he thought it was American! erm! yeah....
Well Oscar only managed 35 points placing 20th, I guess nobody knew who Dita was! I did however expect Germany to place about here as you can't expect all of Western Europe to get near the top!
Turkey
I still find it massively overrated and what was up with there being 3 backing dancers and 1 guy wearing normal clothes! I like it more than before but I still don't love it. They managed 4th with 177 points.
Albania
What's up with the backing dancers! The performance was not awful but it doesn't hit any marks with me everything just lacked something to make it OK. They're just here for the party! Totally amazed they made 17th with 48 points.
Norway
Do I need to say anything! The biggest score in Eurovision history 387, the biggest win 169 points between 1st and 2nd. The most 12's with 16. Everyone loved it, besides my DAD! He said it was plain and nothing to jump around about. Well he was shut up when Alexander won with 387! He deserved to win and you could just here that song as the winning song. Norway must be really happy 2008 they took 5th and now they won, covering all the bottom placements they've had! But tbh I wouldn't have placed such a landslide win on them.
Ukraine
I still love it, it's got a great beat and Svetlana's "singing" (more like grunts) add perfectly to this "song". It's just DIVA! The guys in the roman costumes were a bit weird though. It;s a shame they only made 12th with 76 points because I'd listen to this any day over Shady Lady by Ani Lorak.
Romania
I like this a bit more but I haven't really disliked anything this year, which is weird for Eurovision. But this performance was just lost in all of them which reflected in there scores 40 at 19th.
UK
Oh my dad annoys me, I regret watching Eurovision with him! He's never heard of this song so he asked "Why didn't Alexandra Burke perform!" I was like shut up! But Jade sang well but I still don't love the song, I really expected a bit more from Andrew Lloyd Webber but I think we deserve to place in the Top 10 and we did, Top 5 in fact and at one point 2nd! It was such a shame seeing Norway's votes as they placed Turkey above us which meant we came 5th rather than 4th. Well Jade did well and I'd listen to It's My Time anyday over Is It True (Iceland's entry).
Finland
I love this song, I still dislike the male vocalist though, but it's still one of my favourites. I'm beginning to dislike Graham!
But I was in shock when Finland placed bottom! WHAT! Come on! How did that happen! And there were Croatia, Albania and Romania who could have filled that spot! All of Scandinavia were really strong this year but it didn't really convert to good placements. I feel cheated that Waldo's People came in last. From what I've read I've rarely heard anyone who disliked it. They should have totally made the Top 10.
Spain
I like the Latin flavour but it just doesn't cut it with me. Everything is Ok nothing wows me.
I was in shock that Spain was the last country to score and came out 24th with 23 points. But the shock was because Spain were considered quite strong contestants (though I never believed so) and closing the show should have done them some good. What is even more shocking is that they lost to last years rubbish!
So we still have a lot of Western European countries in the bottom spots, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Germany but we also have a good few near the top Norway, Iceland, UK, France. But yeah I was shocked that Finland placed bottom and I definitely thought Germany, Sweden and Lithuania deserved better.
Wikipedia have now got the semifinal scores. What utterly shocks me is that Sweden placed 4th in their semifinals but absolutely bombed in the finals. Well she did sound better in the semis, though not great on either occasion. But for Malta she placed 6th on her semis but bombed also when I thought her finals performance was much better than her semis. What does shock me is that FInland was actually at 12th out of 18th! They were the juries vote. I knew Europe didn't like dance tracks (ala Iceland last year) but I was lead to believe they'd do well seeing the praise from netizens.
Denmark placing only 8th in their semis was also shocking and Croatia were actually 13th! I think the jury should have brought back Ireland. But what makes my day is that Czech Republic scored 0! Europe isn't delusional after all.
So my Dad's favourites were...
Iceland - I think he likes Yohanna more than the song though, I second that.
Germany - He said it feels American. ???
Denmark - Don't remember why he liked this but he did.
Greece - He found his dance moves good! hmmm!
He also liked Israel from the recap but I thought he said he hated it! Oh well that's my dad!
However he hated Armenia, Moldova and Estonia - well look where they came.
My favourites...
France - Underrated brilliance
Norway - Who couldn't
Ukraine - DIVA
Finland - Love it more now that it came last
Armenia - Jan Jan!
UK - Have to be patriotic
Worst of the night for me was Croatia and Albania.
As a closing note I have to congratulate Jade, she really did us proud. And what do I hear from the news right after...
Jade Singing: It's my Time, It's My time...
News Reporter: Well it's not!
Talk about being patriotic! She gets in the Top 5 and we're still moaning! Hate the British attidude - come on we came Top out of the Big 5 who always place bottom! But honestly who is going to fill Jade's shoes! Now that we're back in at the top it would be awful to drop down again! I wish we sent something current but still Eurovision. I wonder what would happen if we sent Leona Lewis! It would never happen but worth a thought! lol
Oh nearly forgot, does anyone think that some countries should have less of an impact on voting, considering some countries probably send thousands of votes whilst some send in millions. It just hit me how unfair it could be if a bunch of small countries votes for one song which won but in may have actually got less votes in total. Well I guess this is still the best way to score.
First and foremost... was Dima lip-synching? It just looked like it to me. Anyway moving on...
Lithuania
I still love this songs chorus as it's very touching but he sounded quite lonely up there, the song needed a lift as his voice wasn't able to carry it well. Sadly Sasha only managed 23 points in the end, it still amazes me how Wikipedia manages to update all the scores in about 5 minutes. It deserved more points than 23 but I knew from the start that the bad placement on the show (first up) was not going to help them at all.
Israel
It sounded different! It sounded more up beat, I have to say it was probably their weakest performance! But it's still a nice song. It managed a respectable 53 points but I guess Boaz did score better last year. But it was a strong field so they should be happy with 16th.
France
I have to say this was my favourite of the night! I knew it wasn't going to win but I stuck by it because Patricia Kaas is an excellent vocalist and she sung the song so sensually, I'm thoroughly pleased with her 8th place finish but of course if it was me I'll put her in the top 5! But beggars can't be chosers, like Britain France didn't make it into the Top 10 from 2003-2008. Patricia can go home pleased as I expect she knew she wasn't going to win as that type of song isn't what Eurovision is about. A 12 would have been nice though - bad Belgium!
Sweden
Sadly I still think her low notes were not to scratch, she definitely sounds more confident on the higher notes I guess the audience felt the same way as she only scored 33 placing her at 21st. I knew it was going to be tough for Malena to break in as I thought Charlotte Perrelli was a good bet for the top half of the table but she only placed 18th. The song is still good but sadly Malena didn't make it her own.
Croatia
I still believe he gets way too much stick, he isn't that bad it's just his song that's boring. However he did sound a bit breathless, I did however find the backing dancers to be quite eyecatching! Anyway I think they can go home proud! They were considered total outsiders but they managed to break into the Top 20 with 45 points placing 18th, though I must say it does baffle me to how they managed that!
Portugal
It was a sweet performance and totally underrated. I didn't love the song though but her vocals were nice. She managed 15th with 57 points, an expected and somewhat decent showing I'd say.
Iceland
Ok, before I get onto what I felt about Iceland let me write down my notes whilst watching the show. Did anyone think the stage looked like a Dreamworks production? As a ballad lover I should be jumping up and down but I still don't love it. The key change was awkward and the build up is lacking, she did sing it quite well though. But here is what I'm baffled by she managed to place 2nd with 218 points. I just really didn't think the song was all that, I love Yohanna but not the song, I'd personally place her about 10th or so. It's quite interesting though to think that if Iceland didn't sing a ballad would the UK have become 2nd?
Greece
I think he definitely improved on his singing since the semis BUT I still don't like the song and I think the dance moves were weird. I also disliked one of the backing singers; her voice sticks out in my ear so so much. But to my relief they didn't make it anywhere in the Top 5! They managed a respectable 7th with 120 points but I think that kind of score is enough to get Sakis shot in Greece! For Sakis and for Greece I don't think 120 points is enough! That's there lowest scoring since 2003! I think Sakis must be heart broken but I revel in that pain! Though he still managed to make the Top 10 I think Europe finally saw how gimmicky the whole thing was.
Armenia
I think they were decent and it really brought some of eastern Europe to the contest (if it wasn't filled with it already!) But I miss the movement that was seen in the MV, it was much more active but I still liked it. My dad hated it though! He said they looked like witches and they should go home! Well they got into the Top 10 with 92 points! hah eat your face! (but on a sidenote it is there worst placing!)
Russia
She tried to be too sensible, it just looked a bit stiff and she looked on the verge of tears. But the emotion was still good but maybe a bit too screachy.
She managed to place 11th with 91
Azerbaijan
The beginning still reminds me of some Sean Paul track, but it's definitely quite catchy and growing on me. It doesn't sound like a winner as the verses don't click with me. What it does have is energy which is lacking in a few entries. It managed 3rd with 207 which was better than what I'd expected actually. But honestly two years in a row Azerbaijan have given Turkey 12 and vice versa. Same with Ukraine where they have given them 10 points and them also. Block voting at its best (Note: Azerbaijan have only competed for two years).
Bosnia & Herzegovina
By this point I was very happy that the whole show was generally decent, unlike last year where there were lunatics and pirates running about. I still like it but there's something missing to make this a hit. But at least they managed to place 9th above Laka! I hated Laka!
Moldova
Yet again I think they get too much stick. It's energetic and it makes you smile. It is at times kind of crazy but it works for me. It's definitely not my favourite though, my dad on the other hand saids it's crap! He said if it wins it would a miracle as Graham Norton said! In fact I second that! But she did manage to score 68 points and place 14th!
Malta
She's also improved by massive amounts since the semis but I still think the song is totally boring and the scores reflected that, 31 points placing 22nd. Chiara must be in tears how many times have I heard "3rd first time, 2nd second time, could it be this time!" No dear it's No.1 minus 21 places! Malta thought they could revive some of there glory with Chiara, well well!
Estonia
It's a very nice track and it works in any setting, the girls are also gorgeous! Probably the prettiest of the night. My dad hates it though! He said it would lull him to sleep! Basically if it's not Chinese and not fast paced or loud (e.g. high notes) and not something from the 60's/70's he would absolutely hate it.
Anyway it's great they made 6th with 129 points. They definitely did Estonia proud though, they haven't managed to qualify since 2003 (when I don't think there were semi finals)
Denmark
Well, 5 seconds in and my dad said he was quite good - he changes moods in a heartbeat! In fact I agrre with him, I do like it! Something with a beat you can tap to and nice vocals is enough for me to jump up and praise it! His voice sounds a bit raw though. But I'm amazed my dad is a Boyzone fan, come on Brinck is basically Ronan! He did Ok placing 13th with 74 points It's about the place I'd expect him to be.
Germany
It's quite energetic and I love Oscars singing and the stage, the song is average though. Shame on Graham Norton for calling it pants! My dad actually liked it, he thought it was American! erm! yeah....
Well Oscar only managed 35 points placing 20th, I guess nobody knew who Dita was! I did however expect Germany to place about here as you can't expect all of Western Europe to get near the top!
Turkey
I still find it massively overrated and what was up with there being 3 backing dancers and 1 guy wearing normal clothes! I like it more than before but I still don't love it. They managed 4th with 177 points.
Albania
What's up with the backing dancers! The performance was not awful but it doesn't hit any marks with me everything just lacked something to make it OK. They're just here for the party! Totally amazed they made 17th with 48 points.
Norway
Do I need to say anything! The biggest score in Eurovision history 387, the biggest win 169 points between 1st and 2nd. The most 12's with 16. Everyone loved it, besides my DAD! He said it was plain and nothing to jump around about. Well he was shut up when Alexander won with 387! He deserved to win and you could just here that song as the winning song. Norway must be really happy 2008 they took 5th and now they won, covering all the bottom placements they've had! But tbh I wouldn't have placed such a landslide win on them.
Ukraine
I still love it, it's got a great beat and Svetlana's "singing" (more like grunts) add perfectly to this "song". It's just DIVA! The guys in the roman costumes were a bit weird though. It;s a shame they only made 12th with 76 points because I'd listen to this any day over Shady Lady by Ani Lorak.
Romania
I like this a bit more but I haven't really disliked anything this year, which is weird for Eurovision. But this performance was just lost in all of them which reflected in there scores 40 at 19th.
UK
Oh my dad annoys me, I regret watching Eurovision with him! He's never heard of this song so he asked "Why didn't Alexandra Burke perform!" I was like shut up! But Jade sang well but I still don't love the song, I really expected a bit more from Andrew Lloyd Webber but I think we deserve to place in the Top 10 and we did, Top 5 in fact and at one point 2nd! It was such a shame seeing Norway's votes as they placed Turkey above us which meant we came 5th rather than 4th. Well Jade did well and I'd listen to It's My Time anyday over Is It True (Iceland's entry).
Finland
I love this song, I still dislike the male vocalist though, but it's still one of my favourites. I'm beginning to dislike Graham!
But I was in shock when Finland placed bottom! WHAT! Come on! How did that happen! And there were Croatia, Albania and Romania who could have filled that spot! All of Scandinavia were really strong this year but it didn't really convert to good placements. I feel cheated that Waldo's People came in last. From what I've read I've rarely heard anyone who disliked it. They should have totally made the Top 10.
Spain
I like the Latin flavour but it just doesn't cut it with me. Everything is Ok nothing wows me.
I was in shock that Spain was the last country to score and came out 24th with 23 points. But the shock was because Spain were considered quite strong contestants (though I never believed so) and closing the show should have done them some good. What is even more shocking is that they lost to last years rubbish!
So we still have a lot of Western European countries in the bottom spots, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Germany but we also have a good few near the top Norway, Iceland, UK, France. But yeah I was shocked that Finland placed bottom and I definitely thought Germany, Sweden and Lithuania deserved better.
Wikipedia have now got the semifinal scores. What utterly shocks me is that Sweden placed 4th in their semifinals but absolutely bombed in the finals. Well she did sound better in the semis, though not great on either occasion. But for Malta she placed 6th on her semis but bombed also when I thought her finals performance was much better than her semis. What does shock me is that FInland was actually at 12th out of 18th! They were the juries vote. I knew Europe didn't like dance tracks (ala Iceland last year) but I was lead to believe they'd do well seeing the praise from netizens.
Denmark placing only 8th in their semis was also shocking and Croatia were actually 13th! I think the jury should have brought back Ireland. But what makes my day is that Czech Republic scored 0! Europe isn't delusional after all.
So my Dad's favourites were...
Iceland - I think he likes Yohanna more than the song though, I second that.
Germany - He said it feels American. ???
Denmark - Don't remember why he liked this but he did.
Greece - He found his dance moves good! hmmm!
He also liked Israel from the recap but I thought he said he hated it! Oh well that's my dad!
However he hated Armenia, Moldova and Estonia - well look where they came.
My favourites...
France - Underrated brilliance
Norway - Who couldn't
Ukraine - DIVA
Finland - Love it more now that it came last
Armenia - Jan Jan!
UK - Have to be patriotic
Worst of the night for me was Croatia and Albania.
As a closing note I have to congratulate Jade, she really did us proud. And what do I hear from the news right after...
Jade Singing: It's my Time, It's My time...
News Reporter: Well it's not!
Talk about being patriotic! She gets in the Top 5 and we're still moaning! Hate the British attidude - come on we came Top out of the Big 5 who always place bottom! But honestly who is going to fill Jade's shoes! Now that we're back in at the top it would be awful to drop down again! I wish we sent something current but still Eurovision. I wonder what would happen if we sent Leona Lewis! It would never happen but worth a thought! lol
Oh nearly forgot, does anyone think that some countries should have less of an impact on voting, considering some countries probably send thousands of votes whilst some send in millions. It just hit me how unfair it could be if a bunch of small countries votes for one song which won but in may have actually got less votes in total. Well I guess this is still the best way to score.
Friday, 15 May 2009
ANTM Cycle 12 Finale!
It's that time again, after an uneventful cycle one girl will win (most likely Teyona). I've heard spoilers which state Teyona's win so I wouldn't be shocked if she won especially since Aminat is placed so badly in the opening picture that I doubt she'll win therefore as Allison will not be able to win it has to be Teyona - right!
Allison looked so frightened! The problem is she just doesn't look like a model in person so I doubt she'll book jobs. The more I see McKey the more I find her disturbing, she spooks me out! Wow is Jay taller than 6'0! I thought he was like 5'10 - 5'11 considering he looked taller than Mckey and I thought McKey was 5'11.
Aminat has the same problem with the gap in her front teeth - like Danielle!
Aminat was OK, but she needs some elloquence lessons, besides taking butt ugly photos she's so similar to Danielle.
Allison has improved a lot but she still looked a bit frightened.
Teyona was awful! She was so bad that she'd go if it wasn't for Tyra's love for her so many favourites have fallen due to this commercial e.g. Analeigh! But the difference with Analeigh is that she wasn't loved by the judges, she was liked by the judges.
Teyona just isn't covergirl, I wonder how her shot looks because she can't smile properly - she's freaky when she smiles (but then you can say that with Allison at times).
Commercials
Teyona - Very frightened and she was stiff.
Allison - She was quite stiff but at least she delivered it.
Aminat - She looked the best out of the three as she was the most relatable.
Aminat
Allison
Teyona
Photos
Teyona - Wow I actually liked her covergirl shot, well she had to smile like that or she'd look horrenduous.
Allison - I like it but I think she may have extended her chin a bit too much.
Aminat - Sadly her picture failed again, it was average it didn't look awful but it was dissapointing.
Teyona
Allison
Aminat
Teyona is a good model but she just can't work commercials, however much she improves - just like McKey but she still won anyway.
Call outs
Allison
Teyona
Aminat - it's sad but it was obvious from the start that it was Teyona or Allison but I just tend to overanalyze.
I hope Aminat learns how to work her face because if she does she really has the potential to be the most successful ANTM ever - that's why Tyra gave her so many chances, she as a person has the most potential out of anybody that has ever been casted but sadly she just didn't get it by the final.
Teyona has definitely improved her smile but she needs to improve it more.
McKey really hasn't improved much on her walk, she still leads from her legs too much in my opinion, she drags her body along.
Teyona did well but I wish I could see Aminat doing this, she'll blow even Fernanda Motta out of the window (jk).
Allison has improved a lot! Bravo to her.
Miss Jay looked like she was going to reveal herself halfway through! Teyona looked like a lizard when crawling - as always! lol. Wow the ending was like an orgy as someone said on youtube! But I liked it! It was different, they worked it out.
Looking back everything was just way too predictable like with McKey, they've definitely reverted back to giving the favourite the win rather than the runner up spot. Tyra looked a bit big at judging looks like she's enjoying a little (big) cake or two!
The thing is the winner rarely has any photos shown after her win, this applies with Teyona I haven't seen a photo of her since but I've seen a few of Allison.
Teyona was sooo robotic in the walk!
Wow it's Allison (just joking! lol lol)
IT'S TEYONA - Like we didn't know that since week 1! Well sometimes it's better to be predictable, but hopefully the editors won't make it so obvious next cycle.
Yeah Fo was signed by Nous! Allison too! Go Fo! Go Allison! Well Natalie and Jessica got signed by Ford Los Angeles. Ford is definitely more prestigious but from what I've seen getting in Nous maybe better for Allison and Fo as Nous is a respected and well known little company whilst Ford has so many models that Natalie and Jessica will probably be forgotten by next year. But Nous is probably more well known for the men to name a few...
Aaron Castillo, Billy Marquet (former JDMA model), Chad White, Eddie Tucker, Simon Tham (he's half Asian he must be famous! lol), Tyson Beckford and JONATHAN WAUD! Any agency with Jonathan in it is enough for me to rank them highly lol!
Now hopefully Aminat, London and Nijah will also get signed and if Kortnie can too then all the better!
As a final thing I'd like to say emphasize on Teyona's astronomical call out. She is the first girl to average over 0.8 in call out ratios for the judges (using my method of scoring). In fact she scored 0.833. This score is so high compared to her next competition McKey and Joanie both at around 0.78. Most of the judges favourite girls have only made the high 0.7's for call outs but Teyona banishes that in every way possible - beat that Cycle 13!
Allison looked so frightened! The problem is she just doesn't look like a model in person so I doubt she'll book jobs. The more I see McKey the more I find her disturbing, she spooks me out! Wow is Jay taller than 6'0! I thought he was like 5'10 - 5'11 considering he looked taller than Mckey and I thought McKey was 5'11.
Aminat has the same problem with the gap in her front teeth - like Danielle!
Aminat was OK, but she needs some elloquence lessons, besides taking butt ugly photos she's so similar to Danielle.
Allison has improved a lot but she still looked a bit frightened.
Teyona was awful! She was so bad that she'd go if it wasn't for Tyra's love for her so many favourites have fallen due to this commercial e.g. Analeigh! But the difference with Analeigh is that she wasn't loved by the judges, she was liked by the judges.
Teyona just isn't covergirl, I wonder how her shot looks because she can't smile properly - she's freaky when she smiles (but then you can say that with Allison at times).
Commercials
Teyona - Very frightened and she was stiff.
Allison - She was quite stiff but at least she delivered it.
Aminat - She looked the best out of the three as she was the most relatable.
Aminat
Allison
Teyona
Photos
Teyona - Wow I actually liked her covergirl shot, well she had to smile like that or she'd look horrenduous.
Allison - I like it but I think she may have extended her chin a bit too much.
Aminat - Sadly her picture failed again, it was average it didn't look awful but it was dissapointing.
Teyona
Allison
Aminat
Teyona is a good model but she just can't work commercials, however much she improves - just like McKey but she still won anyway.
Call outs
Allison
Teyona
Aminat - it's sad but it was obvious from the start that it was Teyona or Allison but I just tend to overanalyze.
I hope Aminat learns how to work her face because if she does she really has the potential to be the most successful ANTM ever - that's why Tyra gave her so many chances, she as a person has the most potential out of anybody that has ever been casted but sadly she just didn't get it by the final.
Teyona has definitely improved her smile but she needs to improve it more.
McKey really hasn't improved much on her walk, she still leads from her legs too much in my opinion, she drags her body along.
Teyona did well but I wish I could see Aminat doing this, she'll blow even Fernanda Motta out of the window (jk).
Allison has improved a lot! Bravo to her.
Miss Jay looked like she was going to reveal herself halfway through! Teyona looked like a lizard when crawling - as always! lol. Wow the ending was like an orgy as someone said on youtube! But I liked it! It was different, they worked it out.
Looking back everything was just way too predictable like with McKey, they've definitely reverted back to giving the favourite the win rather than the runner up spot. Tyra looked a bit big at judging looks like she's enjoying a little (big) cake or two!
The thing is the winner rarely has any photos shown after her win, this applies with Teyona I haven't seen a photo of her since but I've seen a few of Allison.
Teyona was sooo robotic in the walk!
Wow it's Allison (just joking! lol lol)
IT'S TEYONA - Like we didn't know that since week 1! Well sometimes it's better to be predictable, but hopefully the editors won't make it so obvious next cycle.
Yeah Fo was signed by Nous! Allison too! Go Fo! Go Allison! Well Natalie and Jessica got signed by Ford Los Angeles. Ford is definitely more prestigious but from what I've seen getting in Nous maybe better for Allison and Fo as Nous is a respected and well known little company whilst Ford has so many models that Natalie and Jessica will probably be forgotten by next year. But Nous is probably more well known for the men to name a few...
Aaron Castillo, Billy Marquet (former JDMA model), Chad White, Eddie Tucker, Simon Tham (he's half Asian he must be famous! lol), Tyson Beckford and JONATHAN WAUD! Any agency with Jonathan in it is enough for me to rank them highly lol!
Now hopefully Aminat, London and Nijah will also get signed and if Kortnie can too then all the better!
As a final thing I'd like to say emphasize on Teyona's astronomical call out. She is the first girl to average over 0.8 in call out ratios for the judges (using my method of scoring). In fact she scored 0.833. This score is so high compared to her next competition McKey and Joanie both at around 0.78. Most of the judges favourite girls have only made the high 0.7's for call outs but Teyona banishes that in every way possible - beat that Cycle 13!
Make Me a Supermodel Season 2 Episode 10
I realized Nicole Trufino was only 23 or something, I knew she was younger than the normal top model hosts but I thought she'd be about late 20's if she was a host.
Wow there's only 6! Salome should go next but I'm worried they're going to cut someone I like! However it is likely going to be Branden (I like him but not as much as Jonathan).
I think if I was to rank the models in terms of favourites and least it would be...
Jonathan
Sandhurst
Mountaha
Branden
Jordan
Salome
at this very moment.
I think out of the girls Jordan is the well rounded model who can do well in photoshoots and the catwalk. Mountaha is a catwalk model, Salome I don't know. Jonathan is a print model more than a runway model whilst Sadnhurst is the opposite. Whilst for Branden I don't know, he lost it all when he lost his ego. I like him more as a person now but I like him less as a model now also!
If someone was to win this it should be Jonathan hands down because he's versatile in this industry whilst Sandhurst he's a good model but I don't see him fitting in to the modelling industry. Mountaha could work it but needs to improve on her photos consistently whilst Jordan just needs to get herself back together again.
Oh Branden must have felt awful that he was always taken out.Jordan and Branden looked the weakest for this shoot. I feel sorry for Branden, his ego was just hit so hard that he can't even continue. Why was Jonathan only in one! That's just so not right! I'm amazed why they put Sandhurst and Branden's shots in because both of them looked plain boring to me, I'd definitely not buy from that brand lol! This is so not right! It's just not right. Jonathan probably wasn't the strongest it was Salome or Mountaha but Jonathan deserved to be in more than 1 shot, especially not a 6 people group shot. Wow Salome is 38 hip! That isn't huge but as a model that is thwacking huge! Oh no they better not send Jonathan out because he is the best guy. It is worrying because his photos are normally stronger than his catwalk, they may just send him home by saying he's safe.
Jordan continues to annoy me. I hope this doesn't break Jonathan because in my opinion I like him blonde. Mountaha looked awesome!
Quote Salome: "I never thought I'd have a weave, I thought it was for black people!" WHAT!
Sadly it is an attempted sabotage at Jonathan's career on MMASM, now I'm convinced the judges don't want him as the winner. As Sandhurst said he used to have a glow but now he looks a bit awkward. I'm really nervous for Jonathan and Salome's hair looks awful as well, she looks like she's just come out of bed. Sadly I think they're going to cut Jonathan because I kind of think it won't be Branden for some reason and I doubt it's one of the girls.
Jordan is such a bitch! I always new I disliked her but now I actually hate her personality.
Salome - WEIRDO! But she showed some control which was cool.
Branden - He looked confident and I liked that, but he was still slightly hunched over.
Jordan - She was soooo not comfortable.
Sandhurst - He made it energetic, good on him. But when he lifted his hands like that I wanted to wince!
Mountaha - Oh my god she just oozed the personality! Even though she used very little of the heelies or whatever you call them. I think as long as you work your ground it doesn't matter if you didn't use the heelies.
Jonathan - His face was a bit stiff but he showed so much control and vibe hate his afro - attempted sabotage 2!
Mountaha
Jonathan
Sandhurst
Branden
Salome
Jordan
Everyone besides Jonathan and Jordan had a great get up especially Mountaha. I hope Jordan's going because she was weak in both parts.
Oh shut up Perou! You're a load of bollocks! This is annoying me why are they criticizing Jonathan so so much because he's not the best but he deserves top 3 at least. Branden and Jordan have to go before him with their current performance. I fear it's Jonathan if it is I don't know if I'd bother watching the next episode.They just love Sandhurst it's quite obvious he's going to be in the final 2. Oh no it looks like Jonathan he was like the only one who didn't get praise about his future potential.
Well I've calmed down now, it was Jordan who left - as verified by Bravo. She was good at the start but she continued to fall down and down, she had to go. She was too preoccupied with hating on people rather than doing well.
Photo time!
You can't expect me to judge Jonathan on that photo alone can you! He obviously had much better shots but it's also obvious that the show is developing it so that either Jonathan or Salome goes next week.
Firstly the six shots
Sandhurst's shot - It looks cool and I do like it don't get me wrong but it seems a bit too sinister, I think the shot should have been a bit more fun and rowdy, this looks like he's going to jump up the empire state building and throw someone off of it! lol I still like it though!
Group Shot - I don't understand why this shot was chosen, it's utterly boring and none of them stand out.
Branden - How does this portray the brand well? I'm confused. At first glance he looks quite sad and depressed but when you look closely he's actually not doing anything - it's just the way he looks!
Girls group shot: This is possibly the best shot out of the bunch bar Jordan - she just looks like a rag doll in between the two. Mountaha shows sass and really looks perfect for the shot (but her arm is scary!) Salome does really well also, she'sn probably prettier in this shot than Mountaha but she doesn't seem to have that attitude, she just looks pretty.
Salome - I like the shot, it's sexy but not too revealing. It definitely works.
The other three girl shot which I had to look for the video to see!: Jordan yet again looks dreadful, Mountaha lifted her head up a bit too much whilst Salome looked cool, her face was really stunning. But I still don't understand why they chose this shot either. 3 good choices and 3 bad choices.
Overall
Branden - Plain boring to me, didn't bring any attitude and didn't convey the emotion needed on set, he was lucky he scraped out an Ok shot.
Jonathan - He was so unlucky, he wasn't the best of the day but he was not the worst. I've seen some of the outtakes and some were eww but a few were cool. He also brought more to the set I think which is annoying because he is always called out for only bringing one face - er hem Sandhurst face looks the same in every shot and Branden doesn't change at all! Way to go judges for making yourselves look utterly stupid and bias!
Sandhurst - Based on the sole photo I saw he was the best out of the boys, but I'd loved to see the whole film as in my opinion he kept on doing the same thing - even though the same thing was quite cool.
Mountaha - She brought that rock chick attitude but sadly I've only seen one photo I really liked of her whilst one was good and one was average.
Jordan - Utterly dreadful, if she didn't go out this week I would have boycotted this show.
Salome - Though she was very one face she brought versatility to each of the shots, she knew she didn't have the attitude that Mountaha would bring so instead she chose to be the strong seductress.
Ranking
Salome
Mountaha
Sandhurst
Jonathan
Branden
Jordan
So after collating the two scores I come up with...
Mountaha
Sandhurst
Jonathan
Salome
Branden
Jordan
as my rankings
Mountaha blew everyone away this week whilst Sandhurst did well. Jonathan and Salome were the hardest to judge but in my opinion Jonathan was weaker on the shoot whilst Salome was weaker on the runway. However Jonathan was better rounded this week than Salome. Salome failed to impress on the runway but she did well in the shoot but in hindsight she looked awful in some of the shots as well. But Jonathan brought the vibe to set and had a few good shots (that were sadly not chosen) his walk was interesting but his face needed improvement. It was definitely not Jonathan's strongest week but I hate how the judges pull him down at once for it. But this teaches Salome that in MMASM you need to be well rounded!
That means Mountaha places first two weeks in a row - way to go girl! Sandhurst jumps up to second whilst Jordan continues to be the worst for me. However Jonathan jumps out of the 0.75 club for the first time - is this a sign!
To save herself from losing any more grace this was the best time for Jordan to leave but I still believe Salome and Branden need to go. Branden in my opinion should go next week as he hasn't improved and in fact has deproved whilst Salome is improving but will never make it as a successful model. sorry Salome fans.
I just can't see Sandhurst not making it into the final 2 (in fact I can't see him not winning). The judges obviously love him and they've been giving him good critique (they say they haven't given him good critique throughout but that honestly BS). I just hope joining him in the final would be Jonathan or Mountaha as if it was anyone else I'd be annoyed as hell. And also if Jonathan doesn't make it to the Top 4 I will utterly lose my head, I would just boycott watching it and just see who out of them wins. But I'm convinced that Jonathan isn't the winner as he's been linked with Nous Model Management and LA Models (and recently I've seen him on Front Management in Miami but they state he's 6'0 and I'm like are you sure!) - and in fact is the only contestant I've seen any real work from! Let's hope he becomes the most successful out of them all! Mwahahaha!!!!!!! Also shame to Nicole Trufino for saying Jonathan isn't too memorable! He may not a madman like Sandhurst but he's way more memorable than Branden! and getting photographed by Rick Day, well you must have something! As Rick Day is basically a guy who loves to shoot guys with hot bods in a very provocative way! (Was i trying to be too decent, I sound stupid!)
Wow there's only 6! Salome should go next but I'm worried they're going to cut someone I like! However it is likely going to be Branden (I like him but not as much as Jonathan).
I think if I was to rank the models in terms of favourites and least it would be...
Jonathan
Sandhurst
Mountaha
Branden
Jordan
Salome
at this very moment.
I think out of the girls Jordan is the well rounded model who can do well in photoshoots and the catwalk. Mountaha is a catwalk model, Salome I don't know. Jonathan is a print model more than a runway model whilst Sadnhurst is the opposite. Whilst for Branden I don't know, he lost it all when he lost his ego. I like him more as a person now but I like him less as a model now also!
If someone was to win this it should be Jonathan hands down because he's versatile in this industry whilst Sandhurst he's a good model but I don't see him fitting in to the modelling industry. Mountaha could work it but needs to improve on her photos consistently whilst Jordan just needs to get herself back together again.
Oh Branden must have felt awful that he was always taken out.Jordan and Branden looked the weakest for this shoot. I feel sorry for Branden, his ego was just hit so hard that he can't even continue. Why was Jonathan only in one! That's just so not right! I'm amazed why they put Sandhurst and Branden's shots in because both of them looked plain boring to me, I'd definitely not buy from that brand lol! This is so not right! It's just not right. Jonathan probably wasn't the strongest it was Salome or Mountaha but Jonathan deserved to be in more than 1 shot, especially not a 6 people group shot. Wow Salome is 38 hip! That isn't huge but as a model that is thwacking huge! Oh no they better not send Jonathan out because he is the best guy. It is worrying because his photos are normally stronger than his catwalk, they may just send him home by saying he's safe.
Jordan continues to annoy me. I hope this doesn't break Jonathan because in my opinion I like him blonde. Mountaha looked awesome!
Quote Salome: "I never thought I'd have a weave, I thought it was for black people!" WHAT!
Sadly it is an attempted sabotage at Jonathan's career on MMASM, now I'm convinced the judges don't want him as the winner. As Sandhurst said he used to have a glow but now he looks a bit awkward. I'm really nervous for Jonathan and Salome's hair looks awful as well, she looks like she's just come out of bed. Sadly I think they're going to cut Jonathan because I kind of think it won't be Branden for some reason and I doubt it's one of the girls.
Jordan is such a bitch! I always new I disliked her but now I actually hate her personality.
Salome - WEIRDO! But she showed some control which was cool.
Branden - He looked confident and I liked that, but he was still slightly hunched over.
Jordan - She was soooo not comfortable.
Sandhurst - He made it energetic, good on him. But when he lifted his hands like that I wanted to wince!
Mountaha - Oh my god she just oozed the personality! Even though she used very little of the heelies or whatever you call them. I think as long as you work your ground it doesn't matter if you didn't use the heelies.
Jonathan - His face was a bit stiff but he showed so much control and vibe hate his afro - attempted sabotage 2!
Mountaha
Jonathan
Sandhurst
Branden
Salome
Jordan
Everyone besides Jonathan and Jordan had a great get up especially Mountaha. I hope Jordan's going because she was weak in both parts.
Oh shut up Perou! You're a load of bollocks! This is annoying me why are they criticizing Jonathan so so much because he's not the best but he deserves top 3 at least. Branden and Jordan have to go before him with their current performance. I fear it's Jonathan if it is I don't know if I'd bother watching the next episode.They just love Sandhurst it's quite obvious he's going to be in the final 2. Oh no it looks like Jonathan he was like the only one who didn't get praise about his future potential.
Well I've calmed down now, it was Jordan who left - as verified by Bravo. She was good at the start but she continued to fall down and down, she had to go. She was too preoccupied with hating on people rather than doing well.
Photo time!
You can't expect me to judge Jonathan on that photo alone can you! He obviously had much better shots but it's also obvious that the show is developing it so that either Jonathan or Salome goes next week.
Firstly the six shots
Sandhurst's shot - It looks cool and I do like it don't get me wrong but it seems a bit too sinister, I think the shot should have been a bit more fun and rowdy, this looks like he's going to jump up the empire state building and throw someone off of it! lol I still like it though!
Group Shot - I don't understand why this shot was chosen, it's utterly boring and none of them stand out.
Branden - How does this portray the brand well? I'm confused. At first glance he looks quite sad and depressed but when you look closely he's actually not doing anything - it's just the way he looks!
Girls group shot: This is possibly the best shot out of the bunch bar Jordan - she just looks like a rag doll in between the two. Mountaha shows sass and really looks perfect for the shot (but her arm is scary!) Salome does really well also, she'sn probably prettier in this shot than Mountaha but she doesn't seem to have that attitude, she just looks pretty.
Salome - I like the shot, it's sexy but not too revealing. It definitely works.
The other three girl shot which I had to look for the video to see!: Jordan yet again looks dreadful, Mountaha lifted her head up a bit too much whilst Salome looked cool, her face was really stunning. But I still don't understand why they chose this shot either. 3 good choices and 3 bad choices.
Overall
Branden - Plain boring to me, didn't bring any attitude and didn't convey the emotion needed on set, he was lucky he scraped out an Ok shot.
Jonathan - He was so unlucky, he wasn't the best of the day but he was not the worst. I've seen some of the outtakes and some were eww but a few were cool. He also brought more to the set I think which is annoying because he is always called out for only bringing one face - er hem Sandhurst face looks the same in every shot and Branden doesn't change at all! Way to go judges for making yourselves look utterly stupid and bias!
Sandhurst - Based on the sole photo I saw he was the best out of the boys, but I'd loved to see the whole film as in my opinion he kept on doing the same thing - even though the same thing was quite cool.
Mountaha - She brought that rock chick attitude but sadly I've only seen one photo I really liked of her whilst one was good and one was average.
Jordan - Utterly dreadful, if she didn't go out this week I would have boycotted this show.
Salome - Though she was very one face she brought versatility to each of the shots, she knew she didn't have the attitude that Mountaha would bring so instead she chose to be the strong seductress.
Ranking
Salome
Mountaha
Sandhurst
Jonathan
Branden
Jordan
So after collating the two scores I come up with...
Mountaha
Sandhurst
Jonathan
Salome
Branden
Jordan
as my rankings
Mountaha blew everyone away this week whilst Sandhurst did well. Jonathan and Salome were the hardest to judge but in my opinion Jonathan was weaker on the shoot whilst Salome was weaker on the runway. However Jonathan was better rounded this week than Salome. Salome failed to impress on the runway but she did well in the shoot but in hindsight she looked awful in some of the shots as well. But Jonathan brought the vibe to set and had a few good shots (that were sadly not chosen) his walk was interesting but his face needed improvement. It was definitely not Jonathan's strongest week but I hate how the judges pull him down at once for it. But this teaches Salome that in MMASM you need to be well rounded!
That means Mountaha places first two weeks in a row - way to go girl! Sandhurst jumps up to second whilst Jordan continues to be the worst for me. However Jonathan jumps out of the 0.75 club for the first time - is this a sign!
To save herself from losing any more grace this was the best time for Jordan to leave but I still believe Salome and Branden need to go. Branden in my opinion should go next week as he hasn't improved and in fact has deproved whilst Salome is improving but will never make it as a successful model. sorry Salome fans.
I just can't see Sandhurst not making it into the final 2 (in fact I can't see him not winning). The judges obviously love him and they've been giving him good critique (they say they haven't given him good critique throughout but that honestly BS). I just hope joining him in the final would be Jonathan or Mountaha as if it was anyone else I'd be annoyed as hell. And also if Jonathan doesn't make it to the Top 4 I will utterly lose my head, I would just boycott watching it and just see who out of them wins. But I'm convinced that Jonathan isn't the winner as he's been linked with Nous Model Management and LA Models (and recently I've seen him on Front Management in Miami but they state he's 6'0 and I'm like are you sure!) - and in fact is the only contestant I've seen any real work from! Let's hope he becomes the most successful out of them all! Mwahahaha!!!!!!! Also shame to Nicole Trufino for saying Jonathan isn't too memorable! He may not a madman like Sandhurst but he's way more memorable than Branden! and getting photographed by Rick Day, well you must have something! As Rick Day is basically a guy who loves to shoot guys with hot bods in a very provocative way! (Was i trying to be too decent, I sound stupid!)
Eurovision 2009 Second Semifinal
Personally I felt this semifinal was stronger than the first but anyway here's a bit of my commentary.
What the hell was the opening about! There were bears dancing! Well actually that seems to define Eurovision!
What did they do to Natalia's hair!
Croatia – Not a favourite to get through but he did feature on Oprah I think and I thought the entry wasn’t awful. Ok maybe I’m mistaken! The entry sounded bad at the start, it improved by the chorus but it just sounded like yelling half the time. It wasn’t as bad as I may have suggested but it wasn’t great (kind of boring).
Ireland – The stage was quite cool but I’m not sure if this is what Eurovision would warm to, I’m worried they won’t make the finals. The start wasn’t song that well but it got better, in fact this was placed quite well as it comes just after a very slow (relatively boring) entry, hopefully people will feel revived and therefore like this. I’m not saying I love this but I just want Ireland to do well! Lol. But I did like it.
Latvia – Ok this is boring, it’s not a song it’s not an entry it’s just random! It’s something you’d find in a bar at 3am – drunken guys singing! Well at least that has more energy – the random key and tempo changes just don’t work. There’s also no energy and the music is bad. It’s just RANDOM! I ditto the British presenter – it was a car crash.
Serbia – Oh why have they got an awful placing again, well at least we’ve got some of the worst out of the way. This is just random! I do think the chorus is quite catchy though, but I still dislike it. It’s just a joke that hasn’t gone far enough! They try to be jokey but you almost think they are trying to be sensible! Yet again a 3am pub song but not something you’d want to hear when you’re sober. But at least they didn’t open a random suitcase of money this time!
Poland – She comes badly in the list, after two really dreadful acts the audience must be half asleep. But the problem is she isn’t that great singer anyway. Her English is awful and she started off really shakily, she improved but I think she mutilated the song because it sounds like quite a nice ballad. She should have song in Polish because her accent was even harder to stand than Dima Bilan’s! But she did bring some good notes I guess, but the whole thing was just very inconsistent and shouty, that the high points were absolutely covered.
Norway – YEAH Norway! I hope this is good – lots of applause so people love it! I still love the music and he’s the best vocalist of the night in my opinion (well it’s only been like 6 acts or something). He just has a very magnetic charm about him and the song oozes that. What it benefits from is that it’s very active and danceable; it should appeal to a wide audience. It’s just a charming entry and if it does win it deserves it.
Cyprus – Well let’s see what this sounds like live. She sounded absolutely breathless, if it was deliberate then she really shouldn’t be a singer because that’s not good breathlessness that’s I have asthma breathlessness! Yet another song that was mutilated by the artiste, I really didn’t want to hear much more of her.
Slovakia – I like this entry as it’s very sensual and the singers are generally quite decent besides the really scary note that the female singer did early on; it came so suddenly my heart jumped out. It would have sounded better if the singers didn’t try to shout each other down! But it was still quite a nice performance. We are really hearing a lot of high notes tonight!
Denmark – It’s Ronan Keating! Just joking, but honestly he sings in such a similar style. He was a bit incomprehensible at the start but I still liked it especially the chorus (I rarely dislike a chorus!) Oh my god did they substitute an ape for their drummer! He was like twitching his mouth so many times! It’s a simple entry, it may not be the best but it’s a good finalist I believe.
Slovenia – I love instrumentals but I do agree that it may not be to the taste of everyone especially when it is a song contest. That may be the reason why they fail to make the finals but I still think it’s a good track. Hey the singer wasn’t singing in English! Well good for her! Don’t follow all the stupid rules. Oh she converted back to English. She’s actually one of the better vocalists of the night. Everyone is belting their lungs out tonight!
Hungary – I don’t like it! It’s just a mess! He’s a dancer not a singer. There are good parts in the song but then it just becomes awful. But again it’s the singer who mutilates the song. It looks and sounds like a workout video!
Azerbaijan – One of the favourites to make it in the Top 10. In my opinion it starts off well and I love the chorus but the inserting parts are average. I still like the energy and the singers aren’t awful – which is always a nice addition to Eurovision! Lol.
Greece – He looked like he was doing Tai Chi! I don’t love it as I knew but it was definitely energetic and the stage was intriguing, but I stick to my guns he looked like he was doing a fusion of dance and Tai Chi. He really didn’t sing that well either and one of the backup singers sounded like a robot. This track is all about the stage and the dance but it really doesn’t sound that good. I definitely would not be happy if they won but I understand why they could as they are Greece.
Lithuania – Finally something good! Well Ok not finally but I’m anticipating this. This is probably one of my favourite chorus’ of the competition. The singer isn’t fantastic but he does well enough compared to many other singers who have mutilated their song tonight, but there have also been a few that have done well.
Moldova – I loved the energy and the beat was actually quite nice! It’s not something that I would love but it’s something that I definitely could like. I just don’t know but this entry really does hit something with me, maybe it’s the energy, maybe it’s the beat I don’t know but I have to say I like it!
Albania – It just wasn’t good! The singing was average/subpar, the song was Ok but when you started to get in it, it became absolutely unbearable. I really couldn’t wait for it to finish. It wasn’t awful but everything was just subpar.
Ukraine – Despite some negative comments about Ukraine I still love it. What’s good about her is that her English is so accented that you can’t actually hear it so it’s fine! I also love the energy of this and her voice actually works really well with this song but in my opinion she sounds like she’s singing more in Russian than English – which is fine by me! She sings quite well, the performance was good and the music was good what else do you need on Eurovision!
Estonia – Something to calm us all down! She lost some of her haunting essence, her voice is still good but it’s less haunting and her look is less haunting as well. I still like it. It’s very grand the whole thing. I like it!
Netherlands – NOOOOOO!!!!!!! Please don’t put me through this! Ok the whole thing makes me sick already! Most of the Western European countries have stepped it up this year but the Netherlands obviously have not! Though I don’t remember what they had last year I doubt it could be any worse than this.
Funnily I hate the favourites like Malta and Greece! Well I don’t hate them but I think they are massively overrated. Malta just sounded very pitchy and Greece was just a dancing act.
I can’t wait for France! And Germany to a lesser extent, though I do like Spain and Russia. I would say United Kingdom but I’ve heard it quite a lot already. But honestly if we fail this year I really don’t see how we could possibly do well ever again! It’s not whether the song is good but we put so much more effort this year by putting Andrew Lloyd Webber on the line.
Wow Croatia got in, it was Ok but slightly boring. Albania hey! Erm slightly shocked. Oh my god there are 4 left and Norway, Estonia and Denmark are still left ungiven. Wow they are leaving it quite late if they want Norway or Greece going through. I HOPE Greece doesn’t make it through, that would make my day! Boo they did give it to Greece. I knew Slovakia and Slovenia wouldn’t make it even though I liked them, Ireland I thought could get in but I was worried for them as well.
Funnily I hate the favourites like Malta and Greece! Well I don’t hate them but I think they are massively overrated. Malta just sounded very pitchy and Greece was just a dancing act.
I can’t wait for France! And Germany to a lesser extent, though I do like Spain and Russia. I would say United Kingdom but I’ve heard it quite a lot already. But honestly if we fail this year I really don’t see how we could possibly do well ever again! It’s not whether the song is good but we put so much more effort this year by putting Andrew Lloyd Webber on the line.
Wow Croatia got in, it was Ok but slightly boring. Albania hey! Erm slightly shocked. Oh my god there are 4 left and Norway, Estonia and Denmark are still left ungiven. WOW THEY ARE LEAVING IT QUITE LATE IF THEY WANT Norway or Greece going through. I HOPE Greece doesn’t make it through, that would make my day! Boo they did give it to Greece. I knew Slovakia and Slovenia wouldn’t make it even though I liked them, Ireland I thought could get in but I was worried for them as well.
So in the end I decided on a top ten and they were
Norway
Ukraine
Azerbaijan
Estonia
Moldova
Lithuania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Denmark
Ireland
Yep I put Moldova in and closed Greece out! Can't wait for the Finals on Saturday!
What the hell was the opening about! There were bears dancing! Well actually that seems to define Eurovision!
What did they do to Natalia's hair!
Croatia – Not a favourite to get through but he did feature on Oprah I think and I thought the entry wasn’t awful. Ok maybe I’m mistaken! The entry sounded bad at the start, it improved by the chorus but it just sounded like yelling half the time. It wasn’t as bad as I may have suggested but it wasn’t great (kind of boring).
Ireland – The stage was quite cool but I’m not sure if this is what Eurovision would warm to, I’m worried they won’t make the finals. The start wasn’t song that well but it got better, in fact this was placed quite well as it comes just after a very slow (relatively boring) entry, hopefully people will feel revived and therefore like this. I’m not saying I love this but I just want Ireland to do well! Lol. But I did like it.
Latvia – Ok this is boring, it’s not a song it’s not an entry it’s just random! It’s something you’d find in a bar at 3am – drunken guys singing! Well at least that has more energy – the random key and tempo changes just don’t work. There’s also no energy and the music is bad. It’s just RANDOM! I ditto the British presenter – it was a car crash.
Serbia – Oh why have they got an awful placing again, well at least we’ve got some of the worst out of the way. This is just random! I do think the chorus is quite catchy though, but I still dislike it. It’s just a joke that hasn’t gone far enough! They try to be jokey but you almost think they are trying to be sensible! Yet again a 3am pub song but not something you’d want to hear when you’re sober. But at least they didn’t open a random suitcase of money this time!
Poland – She comes badly in the list, after two really dreadful acts the audience must be half asleep. But the problem is she isn’t that great singer anyway. Her English is awful and she started off really shakily, she improved but I think she mutilated the song because it sounds like quite a nice ballad. She should have song in Polish because her accent was even harder to stand than Dima Bilan’s! But she did bring some good notes I guess, but the whole thing was just very inconsistent and shouty, that the high points were absolutely covered.
Norway – YEAH Norway! I hope this is good – lots of applause so people love it! I still love the music and he’s the best vocalist of the night in my opinion (well it’s only been like 6 acts or something). He just has a very magnetic charm about him and the song oozes that. What it benefits from is that it’s very active and danceable; it should appeal to a wide audience. It’s just a charming entry and if it does win it deserves it.
Cyprus – Well let’s see what this sounds like live. She sounded absolutely breathless, if it was deliberate then she really shouldn’t be a singer because that’s not good breathlessness that’s I have asthma breathlessness! Yet another song that was mutilated by the artiste, I really didn’t want to hear much more of her.
Slovakia – I like this entry as it’s very sensual and the singers are generally quite decent besides the really scary note that the female singer did early on; it came so suddenly my heart jumped out. It would have sounded better if the singers didn’t try to shout each other down! But it was still quite a nice performance. We are really hearing a lot of high notes tonight!
Denmark – It’s Ronan Keating! Just joking, but honestly he sings in such a similar style. He was a bit incomprehensible at the start but I still liked it especially the chorus (I rarely dislike a chorus!) Oh my god did they substitute an ape for their drummer! He was like twitching his mouth so many times! It’s a simple entry, it may not be the best but it’s a good finalist I believe.
Slovenia – I love instrumentals but I do agree that it may not be to the taste of everyone especially when it is a song contest. That may be the reason why they fail to make the finals but I still think it’s a good track. Hey the singer wasn’t singing in English! Well good for her! Don’t follow all the stupid rules. Oh she converted back to English. She’s actually one of the better vocalists of the night. Everyone is belting their lungs out tonight!
Hungary – I don’t like it! It’s just a mess! He’s a dancer not a singer. There are good parts in the song but then it just becomes awful. But again it’s the singer who mutilates the song. It looks and sounds like a workout video!
Azerbaijan – One of the favourites to make it in the Top 10. In my opinion it starts off well and I love the chorus but the inserting parts are average. I still like the energy and the singers aren’t awful – which is always a nice addition to Eurovision! Lol.
Greece – He looked like he was doing Tai Chi! I don’t love it as I knew but it was definitely energetic and the stage was intriguing, but I stick to my guns he looked like he was doing a fusion of dance and Tai Chi. He really didn’t sing that well either and one of the backup singers sounded like a robot. This track is all about the stage and the dance but it really doesn’t sound that good. I definitely would not be happy if they won but I understand why they could as they are Greece.
Lithuania – Finally something good! Well Ok not finally but I’m anticipating this. This is probably one of my favourite chorus’ of the competition. The singer isn’t fantastic but he does well enough compared to many other singers who have mutilated their song tonight, but there have also been a few that have done well.
Moldova – I loved the energy and the beat was actually quite nice! It’s not something that I would love but it’s something that I definitely could like. I just don’t know but this entry really does hit something with me, maybe it’s the energy, maybe it’s the beat I don’t know but I have to say I like it!
Albania – It just wasn’t good! The singing was average/subpar, the song was Ok but when you started to get in it, it became absolutely unbearable. I really couldn’t wait for it to finish. It wasn’t awful but everything was just subpar.
Ukraine – Despite some negative comments about Ukraine I still love it. What’s good about her is that her English is so accented that you can’t actually hear it so it’s fine! I also love the energy of this and her voice actually works really well with this song but in my opinion she sounds like she’s singing more in Russian than English – which is fine by me! She sings quite well, the performance was good and the music was good what else do you need on Eurovision!
Estonia – Something to calm us all down! She lost some of her haunting essence, her voice is still good but it’s less haunting and her look is less haunting as well. I still like it. It’s very grand the whole thing. I like it!
Netherlands – NOOOOOO!!!!!!! Please don’t put me through this! Ok the whole thing makes me sick already! Most of the Western European countries have stepped it up this year but the Netherlands obviously have not! Though I don’t remember what they had last year I doubt it could be any worse than this.
Funnily I hate the favourites like Malta and Greece! Well I don’t hate them but I think they are massively overrated. Malta just sounded very pitchy and Greece was just a dancing act.
I can’t wait for France! And Germany to a lesser extent, though I do like Spain and Russia. I would say United Kingdom but I’ve heard it quite a lot already. But honestly if we fail this year I really don’t see how we could possibly do well ever again! It’s not whether the song is good but we put so much more effort this year by putting Andrew Lloyd Webber on the line.
Wow Croatia got in, it was Ok but slightly boring. Albania hey! Erm slightly shocked. Oh my god there are 4 left and Norway, Estonia and Denmark are still left ungiven. Wow they are leaving it quite late if they want Norway or Greece going through. I HOPE Greece doesn’t make it through, that would make my day! Boo they did give it to Greece. I knew Slovakia and Slovenia wouldn’t make it even though I liked them, Ireland I thought could get in but I was worried for them as well.
Funnily I hate the favourites like Malta and Greece! Well I don’t hate them but I think they are massively overrated. Malta just sounded very pitchy and Greece was just a dancing act.
I can’t wait for France! And Germany to a lesser extent, though I do like Spain and Russia. I would say United Kingdom but I’ve heard it quite a lot already. But honestly if we fail this year I really don’t see how we could possibly do well ever again! It’s not whether the song is good but we put so much more effort this year by putting Andrew Lloyd Webber on the line.
Wow Croatia got in, it was Ok but slightly boring. Albania hey! Erm slightly shocked. Oh my god there are 4 left and Norway, Estonia and Denmark are still left ungiven. WOW THEY ARE LEAVING IT QUITE LATE IF THEY WANT Norway or Greece going through. I HOPE Greece doesn’t make it through, that would make my day! Boo they did give it to Greece. I knew Slovakia and Slovenia wouldn’t make it even though I liked them, Ireland I thought could get in but I was worried for them as well.
So in the end I decided on a top ten and they were
Norway
Ukraine
Azerbaijan
Estonia
Moldova
Lithuania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Denmark
Ireland
Yep I put Moldova in and closed Greece out! Can't wait for the Finals on Saturday!
The Apprentice Uk Season 5 Episode 8
Sorry about mucking up the episode numbers don't know how I did it.
My duvet and pillowcases are exactly the same as the guys' room! I notice things as stupid as that :)
I was quite shocked that Howard wasn't the one to bring up the gay market. I'm a bit worried that the gay thtme isn't going to work well in Margate.
Quote Mona: I don't think the gay market is so suitable for Kent... for Kent people I don't think it is a big thing in Kent. erm WHAT!
Howard in the interviews was just embarrasing! Does he have to be so assertive, can't he just say be intimate but not rude? For Yasmina the families idea leaves me split. Yes familes are definitely going to think about holidays in England now rather than abroad but is that re-branding Margate? I'm sure Margate was a place for families before anyway.
Mona puts herself into too many sticky situations. Oh I wouldn't have known that you were a ... (transexual)! lol. The gay theme may be too specific but as long as they develop it well then it doesn't matter as Margate Council are unlikely going to use their ideas anyway!
For the first time I actually see why Lorraine is annoying, she talks down to people and thinks she knows it all. But in all honesty normally she's right (Lucinda anyone!) she just needs to work as a team and speak to her team in the right way.
Why do they always have time limits! Work OT!!!! If the professionals won't do it then tell them to send it to you so you can do it overnight and then print it out at home.
Yasmina's posters were good but I still feel that there were a bit too much text below the titles. Overall it was an average idea back up by good ground work. Debra's team had a better idea but awful ground work.The posters looked like noticeboards! The majority of the information should be in the leaflet; the poster should be eye catching and then attract the viewer to research on it, that's when the leaflets come into play. I'm still quite amazed why nobody researched on Margate's vision for the future.
Basically when James held the posters up I was like "erm... I think you're holding up your leaflet" it was just a disaster. Tha main contrbutor to the failure of this task was Debra because she's such a control freak and she doesn't listen but I think she's better than this performance so she doesn't deserve to go home just yet. Debra and Howard shouldn't have lied to the branding experts about purposely leaving their leaflets half blank, honestly own up and then offer your idea as an alternative. I'm sure they would have understood as the team only had two days to come up with everything. The show honestly needs some longer challenges even if it was just for one week.
It's amazing how Mona, being the hero of last week, got shot down this week. I still think her amazing sales should have saved her for at least another week. I probably would have fired James because, even though he's a nice guy, he doesn't do anything substantial. He speaks a lot of sense (and a lot of nonsense!)
But if it weren't for last weeks £2400 worth of sales I think I wouldn't have placed Mona in the final 5 as without the mention of her sales I'd know she'd be on the chopping block. But I forgot that it was You're Fired which told me about Mona's sales, not the actual show, which meant that the producers wanted to maker her cut predictable.
I don't understand why Debra and Howard didn't blow up the hand in hand poster because that would have been such a great poster. I also didn't understand why they kept on yabbering about Mona living in Kent so she should understand Margate. I live in Kent but I barely know Margate, quoting from Googlemaps Sittingbourne (where Mona lives) is 39 miles to Margate. Do you honestly expect Mona, who has lived in Kent for 4 years, to know the tastes of every single community within a 50 mile radius!
I was amazed that Mona spoke 6 languages, I wonder which. If I could speak 6 languages I'd chose English, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin - cheating, but there you go!), Korean, Japanese, Italian and Spanish. It actually prompted me to count how many I knew or learnt, here goes...
I'm fluent in English and Cantonese. I can speak Mandarin to an extent. I think I could speak conversational German (as I took it for my GCSE's but never put it into practice). I've had about 9 years worth of study on French! (Though I'm awful at it!). I've had about 2 years worth of Latin lessons (it may be a dead language but it's still a language!) and I've been trying to study Japanese recently. So if I was fluent in all of them I would speak 7 languages! I wish!
Quote Mona (not exact quote but it was something alone these lines):
Nick: "So what sexuality was that (transexual) man?"
Mona: "Well, I'd consider him in transit!"
That has to be the quote of the series even if it was on You're Fired. Mona really has given us a lot of laughs! Remember the first task...
Mona: "What's this?"
Yasmina: "It's a feather duster!"
Classic!
My duvet and pillowcases are exactly the same as the guys' room! I notice things as stupid as that :)
I was quite shocked that Howard wasn't the one to bring up the gay market. I'm a bit worried that the gay thtme isn't going to work well in Margate.
Quote Mona: I don't think the gay market is so suitable for Kent... for Kent people I don't think it is a big thing in Kent. erm WHAT!
Howard in the interviews was just embarrasing! Does he have to be so assertive, can't he just say be intimate but not rude? For Yasmina the families idea leaves me split. Yes familes are definitely going to think about holidays in England now rather than abroad but is that re-branding Margate? I'm sure Margate was a place for families before anyway.
Mona puts herself into too many sticky situations. Oh I wouldn't have known that you were a ... (transexual)! lol. The gay theme may be too specific but as long as they develop it well then it doesn't matter as Margate Council are unlikely going to use their ideas anyway!
For the first time I actually see why Lorraine is annoying, she talks down to people and thinks she knows it all. But in all honesty normally she's right (Lucinda anyone!) she just needs to work as a team and speak to her team in the right way.
Why do they always have time limits! Work OT!!!! If the professionals won't do it then tell them to send it to you so you can do it overnight and then print it out at home.
Yasmina's posters were good but I still feel that there were a bit too much text below the titles. Overall it was an average idea back up by good ground work. Debra's team had a better idea but awful ground work.The posters looked like noticeboards! The majority of the information should be in the leaflet; the poster should be eye catching and then attract the viewer to research on it, that's when the leaflets come into play. I'm still quite amazed why nobody researched on Margate's vision for the future.
Basically when James held the posters up I was like "erm... I think you're holding up your leaflet" it was just a disaster. Tha main contrbutor to the failure of this task was Debra because she's such a control freak and she doesn't listen but I think she's better than this performance so she doesn't deserve to go home just yet. Debra and Howard shouldn't have lied to the branding experts about purposely leaving their leaflets half blank, honestly own up and then offer your idea as an alternative. I'm sure they would have understood as the team only had two days to come up with everything. The show honestly needs some longer challenges even if it was just for one week.
It's amazing how Mona, being the hero of last week, got shot down this week. I still think her amazing sales should have saved her for at least another week. I probably would have fired James because, even though he's a nice guy, he doesn't do anything substantial. He speaks a lot of sense (and a lot of nonsense!)
But if it weren't for last weeks £2400 worth of sales I think I wouldn't have placed Mona in the final 5 as without the mention of her sales I'd know she'd be on the chopping block. But I forgot that it was You're Fired which told me about Mona's sales, not the actual show, which meant that the producers wanted to maker her cut predictable.
I don't understand why Debra and Howard didn't blow up the hand in hand poster because that would have been such a great poster. I also didn't understand why they kept on yabbering about Mona living in Kent so she should understand Margate. I live in Kent but I barely know Margate, quoting from Googlemaps Sittingbourne (where Mona lives) is 39 miles to Margate. Do you honestly expect Mona, who has lived in Kent for 4 years, to know the tastes of every single community within a 50 mile radius!
I was amazed that Mona spoke 6 languages, I wonder which. If I could speak 6 languages I'd chose English, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin - cheating, but there you go!), Korean, Japanese, Italian and Spanish. It actually prompted me to count how many I knew or learnt, here goes...
I'm fluent in English and Cantonese. I can speak Mandarin to an extent. I think I could speak conversational German (as I took it for my GCSE's but never put it into practice). I've had about 9 years worth of study on French! (Though I'm awful at it!). I've had about 2 years worth of Latin lessons (it may be a dead language but it's still a language!) and I've been trying to study Japanese recently. So if I was fluent in all of them I would speak 7 languages! I wish!
Quote Mona (not exact quote but it was something alone these lines):
Nick: "So what sexuality was that (transexual) man?"
Mona: "Well, I'd consider him in transit!"
That has to be the quote of the series even if it was on You're Fired. Mona really has given us a lot of laughs! Remember the first task...
Mona: "What's this?"
Yasmina: "It's a feather duster!"
Classic!
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