pinoy big brother double up: 12 housemates revealed

the 12 housemates of pinoy big brother double up was revealed tonight in a special show dubbed as pinoy big brother double up: the magical reveal. the 12 housemates are as follows:

1. princess, 22, sassy vamp ng cebu
2. tom, 21, riomantic stud ng samar
3. delio, 26, simpatikong kusinero ng batangas
4. paul, 24 cebu
5. jason, 21, boy astig ng mindoro
6. melissa, inday kengkay ng gensan
7. yuri,
8. carol, conservative pharmacist ng tondo
9. mariel, 21, struggling mom ng davao
10. yhel, 26, young widow ng pampanga

as one of this season's twists, two sets of identical twins will also enter the house, though there are several differences in their features. the twins are:

toffi, 19, basket bolero ng rizal and kenny, 19, joker jock ng rizal
jp, 29, jetsetter dad ng qc and jm, 29, delightful dad ng qc

as part of the double up twists, there will be 2 big brother houses. the twins will leave separately and will switch houses once ordered by big brother. they need to keep this a secret and shall not be revealed to the other housemates. if any of the housemates notice this secret, they will be forced evicted from the house.

the first house is occupied by princess, tom, delio, paul, jason, jp and kenny.

the second house is occupied by melissa, yuri, carol, mariel, yhel, toffi and jm.

it will also be the first season that the big 4 will have charities that will also get prizes from the show.

survivor philippines: palau: why troy lost

troy is a magician, or a mentalists if that's what he prefers to call it. he is a performer and it has been his passion to entertain people. he is a people person, but unfortunately his charms and mind reading skills seems to not work anymore when he was voted off survivor philippines.
so why did troy lose?

first, he was not a strategic player. he made alliances but he was not the one who dictates who should go next. he plans poorly and is too hasty. powerplayers such as louie and tara has been overshadowing his strategic skills in the game.

second, he was overconfident. he was not considering the option that he might be going next. he let his emotions affect his judgement. it was his dislike to tara that let him vote for him but he did not hussle that much to get tara off.

lastly, he was not likeable at all. he was not liked by his tribemates. he annoys everyone. mika hates her and he was one of the most disliked castaways in one reward challenge. in a game of survivor, like almost equates to trust. and when people don't like you, they won't trust you.

but if there would definitely one major factor among the three that led to his downfall, it would definitely be the last one. he was not liked and he was not able to win the trust of his tribe. he was an easy target since everyone wants him out and that was what precisely happened.

image is from: http://blogs.gmanews.tv/survivor-philippines/index.php/the-castaways/4-castaways/13-troy-the-mentalist

survivor philippines: palau: why vlad lost

vlad is definitely is a survivor in his own right. he overcame his insecurities and made it an inspiration to improve himself. he later on made himself look good and even became a model. he was also a former swimming varsity, so he has an edge on water challenges.

but unfortunately, he was voted out in the fourth tribal council by a vote of 5 - 2 from his fellow airai tribemates. but more surprisingly, he gave up before even going into the challenge with justine in isla purgatoryo.

so why did vlad lost?

first, vlad became too focused on playing the game rather than focusing on how to get the hearts of his tribemates. his competitive spirit got the more of him. he was playing the game too hard even though he has not won the trust of his tribemates. in this game, trust of your tribemates is the most critical thing to gain.

second, he is not a strategist at all. yes, he plans on how to go about the voting process and how to get further in the game. but he is too hasty. he is too clumsy. when he approached charles after they lost the immunity challenge, he did not see that mika was on their back. it was the critical point, i think if he got charles' votes, he could have stayed in the game.

third, he was prepared physically but not mentally. he did not anticipate that survivor is a mental a game and it is definitely a hard game to play. he has said this before he left the game, that the game is starting to affect him mentally and he needs to call it quits.

lastly, he did not exploit the fact that the original airai tribe has the advantage in numbers. he could have gathered the original airai tribe first before having talks with louie and charles. they could have voted off an original koror and try to sway the vote and eliminate cris. but the fact that they planned to vote off cris first and align with louie and charles, and he calls to vote off louie lateron; he definitely would look like a traitor rather than an ally.

but what surprised me was when he quits before even challenging justine. knowing his competitiveness, it is very uncharacteristic of him to just say it's over. you can't always have a second chance in everything and he decided to let it go away just like that. that makes him so much less of a survivor...

image is from:
http://blogs.gmanews.tv/survivor-philippines/index.php/the-castaways/4-castaways/15-vlad-the-metrosexual

survivor philippines: palau: fan plug shoot

pinoy reality junkee was there yesterday, 29-aug-09 at gma 7 for the shoot of the new survivor philippines: palau fan plug and had some exfosure (in honor of patani...). had 6 takes though (quite nervous and they said i moved too much!)

watch out for the tv plug (hope my part will be aired...) to be shown soon!

survivor philippines: palau: why carol lost

carol is definitely a survivor, being a noble teacher for a long time and imparting her knowledge to countless kids in her classes through the years. upon joining survivor philippines, it was expected for her to bring into the game her motherly attitude and survival instincts. but she was voted off unanimously on the koror tribe's second tribal council on day 6.

so why did carol lose?

first, she had the motherly attitude but her younger tribemates did not appreciate her. comparing her to season 1's nanay zita, she is no where near her attitude. she was more assertiva nd a disciplinarian at heart, which annoys her tribemates. it was their complaint about her and was even discussed during the first tribal council. despite this, she did not adjust and still annoyed the other tribemates.

second, she is not a physical asset at this point. since koror has been losing in the challenges, the tribe thinks that they must keep the stronger players first to be able to win. with her age, physical condition and performance, carol is definitely a target to be eliminated.

third, she has no clear strategy nor alliance. in a game called survivor, strategy in alliance is crucial. she is the only castaway in the tribe with no clear alliance and she is seldom shown strategizing for the game. she is being overshadowed by the other castaway's strategizing skills. i think she was not ready for that part of the game and she lacks the strategy to last long in the game.

i was really surprised that in her exit interview, it seems that she did not expect that she will be eliminated. was this a complete blindside for the second straight week? with carol now in isla purgatoryo, let's see if she can win her face off with justine to stay alive and still survive.

survivor philippines: palau: week 2 highlights: isla purgatoryo revealed, carol voted off by koror

another twist was revealed last week in survivor philippines. the castoffs will be brought to another island, called the isla purgatoryo. in this island, they will be given limited rations and supplies and will live with a dog and lots of snakes in the forest. only one cast off can stay on the island. when another cast off arrives, the two cast offs will compete in a face off to determine who will stay in the island and who will go home. the one that would win will wear the immunity bracelet, which is the right eye of the idol. the one who lasts the longest will rejoin the other castaways during the merge.

both tribes received a treemail on day 4 that there are 6 chickens on the island and they need to find them. since both tribes liuves on the same island, they fought for the chicken but it was airai who go all 6 chickens.

this week's reward challenge is a mental and balance challenge. from wikipedia, here are the mechanics:

"With letters painted at the front and back and standing on a ledge, tribe members would try to spell the answer to the riddle being given by the host. Each member must traverse the ledge and can only touch one tribemate at a time. The first tribe to form the riddle's answer wins a point. First tribe to three wins the reward."

reward for this week is fishing gear, which they can use to get food. if koror wins, they will get their crate of supplies and is airai wins, they will decide if the crate will be given to koror, just like in week 1. in this challenge, airai decided to sit down cris since they will have difficulty on the balance part. despite this, koror still managed to escape a win with a score of 3-2. it's their first win and they got their crate at last.

at the immunity challenge, another physical challenge was done. here are the mechanics, again from wikipedia:

"Tribes squabble over a coconut placed in the middle of a field take it to their goal at the other side to score a point. The coconut could be passed between members in any way except overhead. The first tribe to score three point wins immunity."

in this challenge, no individual immunity will be awarded. at the start, both tribes scored and was tied at 1-1. goals were made by amanda for airai and marvin for koror. koror then snatched the lead after scoring the next goal. airai then tied it up and eventually won immunity by winning their third goal. koror will again face tribal council for the second straight time.

with no individual immunity at hand, carol is an easy target to be eliminated. louie seems to be the one trying to have the pole position on strategizing in koror. he has talked to almost everyone in the tribe and has been taking too many sides. talks of voying for charles and tara was also heard in the tribe. louie formed an alliance with suzuki and charles to eliminate tara and marvin in the next tribal councils.

at the tribal council, there were talks about louie's frequent swearing and how the tribe thinks about it. and then it was time to vote. and finally, when the votes were counted, carol was voted out unanimously, 6-1 by her tribemates. carol becomes the 2nd castaway voted off the island.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_Philippines_(season_2)

are you the next big star: geoff taylor and francesca farr are declared the winners

after weeks of competition and elimination, geoff taylor and fracesca farr were declared the grand winners of the talent show are you the next big star? geoff beat fellow finalists alex castro and jay perillo while francesca edged out camille cortez and xyrene parsad.

both winners won one million pesos, a condominium unit from avida, a management contract with gma artist center and recording contract with gma records.

celebrity duets: season 3 contestants revealed

after 2 successful seasons of the localized reality show celebrity duets, gma 7 will launch another set of contestants for its third season. this will start on august 29 and will replace another talent search, are you the next big star which was concluded last night.

the contestants this season includes:

> veteran actress and director gina alajar
> fashion designer maxi cinco
> entrepreneur joel cruz
> photographer nicollo cosme
> champion boxer nonito donaire, jr
> beauty queen janina san miguel

> model akihiro sato
> actor and producer jomari yllana

the show will still be hosted by couple regine velasquez and ogie alcasid. the judges for this season are freddie santos, danny tan and season 1's grand winner tessa prieto valdez.

image is from: http://www.starmometer.com/2009/08/19/celebrity-duets-3-contestants-revealed/

survivor philippines: palau: why justine lost

justine ferrer is a survivor. she has been an entertainer in japan since she was 19 and has been the breadwinner ever since. she has survived descrimination because of her uniqueness and her identity but she never gave up and she always stand after each fall. she is one of the stronger characters in survivor philippines this season.

but unfortunately, she was voted out unanimously (7-1) by her tribe and became the first castways to be voted off.

so why did justine lost?

first, she bacame complacent of her alliance with the girls. before the tribal council, there were so much talks that they would vote out charles. the girls even formed an alliance (echo, tara and justine), sensing the guys had an alliance. they trusted the girls too much that she did not realize that she was also in danger.

second, despite her giving her best in the challenges, her tribemates still viewed her as one of the weakest in the tribe. with carol being safe due to the immunity bracelet that was given to her by airai, the clear ones in danger in the tribe's eyes were charles and justine. among the boys, its clearly charles being the weakest since louie, marvin and suzuki contributes so much in challenges. among the three guirls, echo has been giving the tribe coconuts and tara has a very strong personality. maybe her being in the background and not being able to compete against the 2 girls gave the tribe an impression that she is the weaker one.

third, even if the show denies it, her identity being a transgender affected her. i think the filipino culture is still not ready to accept the fact that there are transgenders here in the coubtry. i am not saying that the vote was a discriminatory vote but i think she does not deserve to go this week. i was predicting a charles boot this week. but i am proud of her, admitting the fact that she was once a man on national television is really a brave thing to do in a conservative culture that we have. and even being in the island is a big accomplishment. and i also think she admitted it too early in the game.

i think she played the game well but just fell short. let's see how she fares in the next week since i think there will be an "outcast" like twist that was used in survivor pearl island. so we are not saying good bye to her but we are still looking forward to see her in the coming weeks.

but ultimately, justine is and will always be a survivor!

survivor philippines: palau: airai reigns supreme, justine voted off

here is a recap of survivor philippines: Palau's first week. the show started off with the castaways being fetched fofrom their homes. they have a limited time to pack and they need to go with the staff to palau immediately. the emotions were high since some of them have not yet said goodbye to their loved ones. this part reminds me so much of the first episode of pinoy fear factor. i think they could have had a special primer where they showed this just like last season where the castaways were introduced during a special sunday show rather than during the first episode.

upon arrival at the island, they were greeted by paolo bediones. he then asked the two oldest castaways to step forward. it was cris and carol. cris was assigned in airai and carol was assigned to koror. they will pick tribes. males will pick female members and vice versa. so the final tribes were:

airai: cris, amanda,mika, jef, vlad, troy, shaun, maya
koror: carol, justine, echo, tara, marvin, louie, suzuki, charles

then they were off to the first challenge. they were asked to navigate the island using a map. they should follow the marked path and avaoid going to the areas marked with red exclamation points. they will carry with them 2 heavy crates containing their supplies. the first tribe to get to the other side of the island wins and will take home to their camp the supplies. the losing tribe will take only the bolo. the race was pretty much even at the start with airai working as a team a little better. but it was obvious in the end that airai had better communication skills than koror, giving them the edge and eventually winning the race. so airai takes the supplies and koror settles for the bolo.

at camp, both tribes made shelter upon their arrival at the area. airai had ann easy time makinbg their shelter since they divided the labor among themselves and they easily agreed on the area. on the other hand, koror had strong personalities that they had a hard time finishing their shelter. both tribes also found their water supply and their tree mail. that night, both teams attempted to make fire but bothe were unsuccessful. they settled for body heat to warm them up. charles went down with a fever and was helped by his koror tribemates to keep warm.

there was another reward challenge in day 2. here is the mechanics lifted from wikipedia:

The members of each tribe are divided into two: one group of six puzzle seekers and another group of two puzzle solvers. The puzzle seekers, harnessed to each other, enter a partially-submerged maze to retrieve twelve bundles of puzzle pieces and exit through the opposing tribe's entrance. The puzzle pieces are passed to the puzzle solvers, who would untie the pieces and solve the puzzle. First tribe to solve their puzzle wins the second reward.

the reward is a flint so they can make fire.it was a see saw battle in the beginning, with both tribes retrieving the puzzle pieces in the maze. they even tually collected all 12 but it was koror who got out of the maze first, with airai not far behind. it is now up to the puzzle solvers. and in the end, airai's puzzle solvers were better than koror's. so it was airai again winning reward.
at camp, both tribes are now strategizing on who to vote out, despite the fact that the immunity challenge has not taken place. at koror, the guys and the girls are planning for a gender based vote. since the tribe is split into 4 - 4, the guys are planning to get jef to their side while the girls are planning to get cris to their side. in airai, carol's attitude is getting into the castaways nerves and talks of voting her off in the tribal council is intensifying.

then came the immunity challenge. here is the mechanics again from wikipedia:

Each tribe would dig out a stone monolith weighing 250 kg (550 lb) and carry it between two balance beams and over a wall before placing it on its new portal. Once that is done, two tribe members would jump into a sand pit and search for the immunity idol. First person to find the idol wins immunity for their tribe.

if koror wins immunity, they will get their supplies. if airai wins, they will decide if the supplies will be given to koror. at the start of the race, it was koror leading since they got the monolith out of the sand first. airai followed soon and caught up in the balance beam. it was the good teamwork of airai that enabled them to take over the lead. the wall was really a challenge to both teams. but airai proved to be stronger. airai was first to the pit and never looked back. it was shaun who found the immunity idol, giving airai the first immunity. koror did not even passed the wall.

the airai tribe decided not to give the supplies to koror. and their is another twist. the eye of the idol when pulled out turns into a bracelet. this is an immunity bracelet. the winning tribe will decide to whom they will give the bracelet among the losing tribe and that castaway will be safe from the vote. without second thoughts, they decided to give it to carol, who they think is the weakest among the tribe. the second eye of the idol also is an immunity bracelet. paolo got it and said that will come into play in the later part of the game.

back at camp, koror was really disappointed on their loss and they were still talking about the challenge. realizing that they were up for the vote and they cannot vote out carol, two names comes up in the chopping block. first, it was charles for being too relaxed in the challenge and having no "mind power". another name was justine since they were worried if she can still cope up in the next challenges. it was clear that louie, suzuki and marvin has an alliance. the girls (justine, tara and echo) also formed theirs. there was also some drama when charles said to tara's face that he is considering voting her off. tara was so angry that he swore at charles. the macias sisters really speaks their minds out.

at tribal council, justine's identity was revealed. justine is a transgender, a man who underwent operation to become a woman. it was revealed to the koror tribe in day 2 when the suzuki told louie that he thinks justine is gay. louie then told tara and tara told echo. echo was the one who asked justine and she confirmed it. she said that it was a complement that they did not notice it at first.

then came the votes. here are the votes:

charles
justine
justine
justine
justine
justine

5 is enough so justine is the first castway to be voted off this season. the final score is 7 - 1, only justine voted for charles. it was a complete backstab at week 1. justine never saw it coming. she though that everyone was voting for charles.

in the primer for next week, it was shown that justine is not eliminated yet. she was brought to a new island and will live there. and she might be able to join the game again. this is the same concept used in survivor pearl islands where the outcasts (the third tribe) competed in week 7 against the 2 tribes. if they placed first, 2 of them will come back to the game. if they placed 2nd, only 1 can come back. it was burton and lil who rejoined the castaways after the challenge. so

let's see how the philippine version works.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_Philippines_(season_2)

survivor philippines palau: premieres in philippine tv on august 17

last year breakthrough hit in philippine reality television, survivor philippines will launch its second season, survivor philippines palau on monday, august 17 in gma 7. this season, survivor will go to palau, the same location where the us version's 10th (survivor palau) and 16th (survivor micronesia) was filmed.

the new set of 16 castaways are:

> louie ang (24, pasig) - an IT professional and is dubbed as "the chickboy"
> mika batchelor (25, palawan) - "the sexy chef" who is a chef and restaurateur in palawan
> cris bolado (39, quezon) - dubbed as the "gentle giant;" the oldest among the men but definitely the most recognizable one, a former basketball player who has played in the PBA
> echo caceres (20, bicol) - "the spicy bicolana," a call center agent and her family's breadwinner from albay
> amanda coolley van cooll (25, mindoro) – “probinsyanang tisay,”
> charles fernandez (21, dagupan) – a general labor construction worker in alaska
> justine ferrer (29, caloocan) – “the beauty queen,” worked as a singer in Japan before but now owns a buy and sell business and managed a baby ultrsound company
> jef gaitan (22, laguna) – “the girl next door,” a model who stopped school since 18 to focus on her career
> carol gementiza (45, iloilo) – “istriktong guro,” the oldest among the castaways, and a public school teacher for more than 20 years
> marvin keifer (18, cagayan de oro) – “the ultimate crush,” the youngest among the castaways; he is swiss – filipino and is a backpacker and environmentalist; had tv exposure before through qtv 11’s hired where he won to be a model of a designer jeans company
> tara jane macias (19, cebu) – “taray queen,” an english tutor and is said to be the sister of season 1 castaway, chev macias
> vlad nesas (24, las pinas) – “the metrosexual,” an industrial design major, varsity swimmer and model
> troy perez (27, manila) – “the mentalist,” a biology major, works ina bank and is a magician
> shaun rodriguez (31, zambales) – “the hot dad,” a PR staff in Manila’s city council office, has experienced bankruptcy when his investment was lost due to the closure of a mining company he invested in
> maya segovia (32, batangas) – “the lady pilot,” a military officer and a pilot of the philippine air force; considers herself a man trapped in a woman’s body
> sadatsugu suzuki (21, tondo) – “japinoy hunk,” grew up in japan for 18 years but stayed pinoy and now studies criminology in emilio aguinaldo college

the castaways will be divided into 2 tribes namely, koror and airai which are also tribe names in the us versions that were shot in the same location (koror in survivor palau and airai in survivor micronesia). more twists will definitely be introduced this season.

so, who will be the second pinoy sole survivor? watch so you will know.

source: http://blogs.gmanews.tv/survivor-philippines/

project runway philippines: episode 1 results

project runway philippines season 2 episode 1

the challenge: to create a dress that would explain who you are as a designer from the clothes you are wearing

top 3: patrick, russel and santi

winner: patrick - mainly due to the versatility andaesthetics but judges are concerned on the color since he used all black. he is granted immunity in the next challenge

bottom 3: richie, jas and hazel

booted out: hazel - mainly due to editing, there was too much going on in the dress

all in all, the first runway show was more impressive compared to last season. all were well executed and was really good. this proves that project runway philippines is really a show to watch out for!

picture is from the facebook account: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=296688&id=87931650598

project runway philippines: season 2 premieres on august 12 at etc!

the second season of the hit reality show project runway philippines will premiere on the entertainment channel (etc) on august 12, 2009 at 10pm. after aries lagat's win last year, 13 new designers are up to the challenge in the shows new season.

here is an excerpt from the shows website:

The Runway re-opens for the number one fashion reality competition!

Find out who's in and who's out in the 2nd season of Project Runway Philippines.

More innovative challenges, more exciting guests, and a more talented group of designers, are Season 2's cast of characters ready for reality TV? This season reveals their different sides and stories. Some start off as vulnerable and reserved, but they evolve under pressure and wind up being more creative than they give themselves credit for.

But as everyone knows, only one designer will be the winner of Project Runway Philippines. Who will it be? The answer will reveal itself as the new season starts on ETC this August.

Premieres August 12, Wed 10:00pm

the designers for this season are the following:

> cherry veric, 27 - the glam queen, an experienced formal wear designer from china and saudi arabia

> hans coquilla, 27 - the small wonder, a cebuano who dropped out of school to pursue his dream to become a fashione designer

> hazel sta. ana, 23 - tiny but feisty, a registered nurse from pasig but decided to pursue a career in fashion design

> jas cristobal, 35 - ms. congeniality, an accountant from valenzuela who jazzed up her office wardrobe and got her officemates ordering clothes from her

> manny marquez, 37 - the magician, an experienced designer from san pedro, laguna who has trained under legendary ben feralles

> meanne santos, 21 - the chic chick, the youngest among the 13 designers and hails from cavite, she has been designing for a local clothing company

> patrick galang, 25 - the prodigy, a former call center agent from san pedro laguna who decided to enter the fashion scene and has been making waves in the local magazine circuit

> pau geronimo, 23 - the drama queen, a clothing technology major of UP and hails from pasay, she considers herself a flexible designer

> randy leano, 32 - the diva, a physical education teacher in a local university from laoag, he started designing for costumes for their school plays

> richie bondoc, 29 - the preppy charmer, hails from pampanga and grew up with designing since his mother is a dressmaker. after his mother died of cancer, he took over their business

> russell villafuerte, 25 - fashion rebel, an interior designing major of UP and hails from antique

> santi obcena, 24 - the smooth talker, a former dancer from quezon city, he considers his creativity and understanding of movement as an advantage

> tracy dizon, 26 - spunky momma, a tv stylist and retail merchandiser from quezon city

website: http://www.etc.com.ph/projectRunwayph.php

facebook acct: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Runway-Philippines/87931650598

survivor tocantins: debbie's game is over

school principal debbie beebe becomes the 10th castaway voted off survivor tocantins: the brazlian highlands. she lasted 33 days and becomes the fourth member fo the jury.

after the last tribal council, where sierra was voted off; coach was visibly upset that taj and erin did not vote for sierra. they are calling them cowards. debbie is getting annoyed by all that coach is saying. coach is plotting to vote off taj, then erinn, which he has agreed with jt. he still has no clue that jt and stephen is not solid in their alliance.

the next morning, debbie woke up and decided that her alliance with coach is not doing her any favor and coach is not liked by any one at camp. so she decided to put her game face on and drop coach and plot to vote him out. she talks with jt about it jt is still in doubt about debbie's loyalty.

the reward challenge for this week is the survivor auction. each castaway has 500 dollars to buy any of the items up for grabs. teh first item is french fries with mayo and ketchup dip. taj and debbie wants this and bids for it. but in the end, it was debbie who won the fries.

next item is chicken parmessan and garlic bread and a glass of wine. coach immediately bids at 100, stephen beat it at 120. they are fighting for it when jt immediately raises it to 300. coach raised it to 320 and jt did not bid any more. coach gets the item.

the next item will be kept covered. jt and stephen are bidding for it. but in the end, it was jt at 160 dollars that won it. when the item was revealed, jt was pleased to see that it was nachos. the fourth item is also covered. stephen bids at 20 and jt challenges him up to the 100 mark, saying that anything is painful to see below 100. so the fourth item goes to stephen. jeff reveals that it is chicken heart, which is a local delicacy in brazil.

the last item is now for auction. it's a cellphone with a message from home. any castaway can give his or her money to someone who they think deserves it (they can pool money) and only one can receive the message from home. the castaways gave their money tpo taj, who misses her family the most. so taj wins the last item.

what? erinn did not even participate in the auction. she did not even bid once. is she the first to ignore the auction in survivor history?

so taj cries over the message from his husband with his son and their dog. at the end, her husband said "see you at camp..." and he kisses the camera. jeff repeated the last statement to taj and it was only then that taj realized that her husband will be there in tocantins!

so jeff reveals the twist, if she agrees to go to exile with her husband, all the other castaways will get to see their lovedones. of course taj will agree, for all of them gave their money so taj can buy the last item in the auction. so all of them will see their loved ones.

taj heads on to exile where she meets her husband, football player eddie george. he was amazed on how much weight she has lost and she shows him her insect bitten legs and unshaved armpits, oh how sweet...

back at camp, the other castaways meet their loved ones. jt got a visit from his little sister, stephen got his brother, erinn got his dad and debbie was with her husband. but wait, coach's loved one is his assistant coach. does coach's family doesn't want to see him? hugs here and their, crying everywhere. i think this is one of the most emotional reunions ever in survivor.

when it was time to say goodbye, all had a hard time letting go and there was more crying and hugging....

the immunity challenge follows soon. it's an obstacle race and a mental challenge as well. each castaway must dig a hole on the sand below a plank. they must pass through the hole and below the plank. they would next cross a balance beam and then crawl under ropes to the end of the course. at the end, they need to memorize 10 math symbols that they need to put in order on the equation on the starting line. they will then solve the equation. first castaway to finish wins immunity.

at the start, it was jt who leads the course, followed by coach then taj and tstephen. jt had a huge lead and was the first to write down symbols on his board. most of the castaways had 2 trips through the course before they got all the symbols, except for stephen, who got it all on his first trip. it was down to jt and stephen on solving the math equation. but in the end, it was stephen who finish first. jeff checks his board and declared... stephen wins immunity!

back at camp, more haggling continues. debbue is still considering voting coach out. the ex-jalapao tribe is in complete control of the game! it is really amazing. who ever goes tonight will definitely be between debbie or coach. coach is still clueless that jt and stephen is not with him. poor coach.

at tribal council, coach again provided so much words of wisdom about the remaining castaways and the jury seems annoyed by it. so it still comes down to the vote. stephen keeps the immunity necklace and he is the only one who is safe tonight.

so now, the votes:

taj
debbie
coach
debbie
debbie
debbie

debbie is eliminated!

coach looks surprised. he is the only one who did not know that debbie is going (aside from debbie of course). hope he realizes he is in danger next tribal council.

american idol 8: allison says goodbye, all male top three revealed

the rock and roll night was a sure hit at the 8th season of american idol. after last night's performance, 64 million votes were casted in the 2 hour span, the most of any season outside the finale episode.

the results night was jampacked, with the groups song being performed with this week's mentor, slash. it was still hard rock, and as expected, adam performed the best during the group song and danny and kris still looked awkward.

also on idol stage tonight, judge paula abdul will perform for the first time in idol history. she performed "i am here for the music". it really looked like it was lipsynch but i ope it was not. she still is an entertainer and she is still damn hot!

next on stage is no doubt. i started their song but i switched channels after some time.

then results time. ryan talks about how its gonna work tonight. so there are three stools on the right part of the stage, one for each of the top three. after they are called to safety, they will occupy each of the stools. the top three will be called randomly, and in no particular order. ryan calls the four hopeful on the stage and talks about the performances last night and the judges' critiques.

so the first one safe tonight is.... kris allen! yes america! thanks for saving kris! he still can't believe he is on the top three. he looks stunned. his wife appears to be crying. yes! kris is safe!

suspense... another intermission before we get the final results. it's chris daughtry! well, three seasons ago, he was eliminated on the same week (after elliot, katherine and taylor qualified to the final three). after that, he formed his band and moved on to be one of the most successful rock bands in a short span of time. their debut album is already quadruple platinum and they are releasing their second album.

they will be singing their first single out of the new album "no surprises." daughtry is really amazing! hope adam learns from chris that it does not need to be too shouty to be a rock star. i still love chris daughtry and he is incredible! after the song, ryan surprised the band with their quintuple platinum award (which was handed to them by kris allen - lucky kris!). this means their album sold 5 million copies worldwide.

then back to results. the second person put to safety is ... adam lambert!

no surprise their. after being in the bottom three last week, adam fanatics will surely keep their phone busy voting or him this week. plus the fact that he was the best performer last night.

so it is down to danny gokey and allison iraheta. in my review, they were the two weakest singers last night. danny was the worst last night but i predicted that allison will go home tonight simply because of fanbase.

so the one who will complete the top three is... danny gokey!

and the one with the lowest number of votes is... allison iraheta!

still no surprises. amidst the fact that allison is a good singer, allison never really had a strong fan base. she has been in the bottom three for a couple of times and i think her fans never had the consistency of voting for her. being named as the dark horse in the competition, she really has a great voice and her energy and youth is evident in her performances. hope she gets a record after the show and i also hopes she gets a good stylist after this.

so, we have an all male top three this season. next week, all three will be going back to their own hometowns and they will perform two songs next week. one song will be their personal pick and another will be picked by one of the judges.

2 more weeks and we will have a new american idol. what's sure right now is that it will be a male... other than that, your guess is as good as mine.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/american-idol-8-top-4-performance-rankings-57211.aspx

american idol 8: dialidol predicts who goes home among the final 4

here is dial idol's prediction on the top 4 of american idol season 8:

they put adam lambert to safety (which is no surprise since he is in he bottom 3 last week and the fans would surely burn his phone lines off) adn put the othe r3 idols to the danger zone, with allison getting the last spot.

source: http://www.dialidol.com/asp/predictions/predictions.asp

american idol 8: top 4 performs rock and roll classics, first duets in idol history

it's rock and roll night tonight for the top 4 of american idol. after matt's elimination last week (which was his 3rd elimination in the show, the most of any idol) and adam and kris' inclusion in the bottom three, the idols needs to bring their game tonight for anyone can be sent home.

so here is my rankings of tonight's performance:

4. danny gokey - what the hell was that? i hate the screaming, it was over the top and he was trying too hard. i hate the scream at the end and the kneeling was really cheesy. i think he is in danger for the first time in the competition. he should never record a rock song ever if he seals a record deal after the show.

3. allison iraheta - it was okay but too monotonous for me. i agree with randy that her highlights came during the chorus parts and nothing else came. i was a bit disappointed since we all know that this genre really fits her voice and she couldhave done better with it. but one note, it's the first time that i like her outfit and her hair, thanks to adam's stylist.

2. kris allen - he sounded great and did not over do the vocals. i like that he picked a sonmg that fits his strength and he played the guitar, which all of us loves when he does. i know that it looks awkward since this is not really his genre but he did well. i like that he chose an upbeat song and i think he did a good job.

1. adam lambert - no question, he was thee best of the night but i think some parts were a bit over the top and some got a bit cheesy. but he was really good. this week is really his week and it is his genre, i liked the fact that he nailed it. but there were parts that i cannot understand the words he is singing and becomes almost shouty.

the idols also did duets for the first time in the show. i think the pairing was unfair, for both adam and allison I(who are both rockers) were paired together. but surprisingly, i liked the duet of kris and danny over allison and adam. danny and kris started great and i agree that they complement each other. they sounded great despite the fact that the music overpowers their voice at some parts. allison and adam, on the other hand, appears to be shouting each other and were not complementing each other and i think it was too over the top.

so my bottom two would be allison and danny. i am predicting allison to be going home this week.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/american-idol-8-top-4-perform--episode-in-review-39311.aspx

survivor tocantins: coach wins immunity, sierra becomes the third jury member

after tyson's elimination during the last tribal council, debbie and coach are obviously surprised that tyson is gone. sierra seems to be pleased that she escaped yet another tribal council. the morning after, debbie was talking with jt and stephen and asking if they are still into what they have agreed. jt and stephen said yes and debbie relayed this to coach.

surprisingly, the old jalapao tribe is in control of the game now. having been down in numbers at the merge (4 jalapao and 6 timbira) and even suffering a blow at the unexpected elimination of joe due to his wound infection. it is amazing how the three did it by simply gaining timbira's trust and good choices.

the reward challenge involves a survey. each castaway is asked to answer a survey and it was tallied. jeff will ask questions from the survey randomly and they need to answer the most popular response, which is not necessarily their answer.each correct answer will give them a chance to cut another castaway's rope. each castaway has three ropes. if all the three ropes are cut, their figurine will be smashed and will be out of the game. the last castaway standing wins reward.

sierra was the first one out, followed by coach. next out was debbie. by the fourth question, the next person out was erinn. wow! jalapao is killing timbira. having answered the last question right, erinn cut jt's last rope and eliminated him. then it was between taj and stephen. both got the next question right, leaving taj with 1 rope and stephen with 2. stephen was the one who got the last question and won reward.

he has to choose one person to be sent to exile island, and he chose erinn (since they need to know if there is a new idol, and erinn is definitely with the old jalapao, after voting out tyson in the last tribal council). he also has to choose who he will share the reward with and he chose taj and jt, his old jalapao tribemate.

at exile, erinn knew that there is no idol and she was shown with no fire and no food. it rains and she is all wet. that is basically it, and she is amazed on how emotionally strong she is.

at camp, coach and debbie asked sierra if she will be willing to join them in bringing back the old timbira alliance. this is the best time to get erinn after stephen sent her to exile. but sierra hates the fact that coach and debbie is trying to get her despite attempting to get her out the previous tribal council. so it ended up in drama, with debbie walking out and debbie and coach agrees to vote sierra out.

at the reward, the old jalapao tribe was ate with a family and they were served with local brazilian delicacies, which they absolutely enjoyed. during the meal, the family's 3 year old daughter fell and hit her head. now comes taj on her mother mode and came to the rescue. she comforted her and she said that she reminded her of her son and how she missed her family.

they then went to the small spring which jeff told them was unique. it turned out that the spring has no bottom, since the sand is being continuously pushed up and you would not sink into it. it was pretty cool and as expected, the three talked about strategy on who to keep and who to eliminate.

when the three returned to camp, coach immediately talked to jt and wants his assurance if he will be in the final four. look at how coach think that jt is in complete control of the game? jt assured hima nd coach resorted to badmouthing sierra. coach told him that sierra and debbie approached him and asked him if he would consider to bring back the old timbira together, which was the opposite of what really happened.

sierra, on the other hand talked to stephen and told him what really happened. stephen is scared of this happening and went to talk to jt and coach. coach also told him his version and he is really confused on who is telling the truth.

the immunity challenge is a two part challenge. in the first part, the castaways needs to get 3 bags several meters away by throwing grapling hooks. the first three to get all three bags will advance to the next round. in the second round, castaway will manneuver a ball through a maze with holes. if the ball falls through a hole, they need to start over. first person to get the ball to the finish hole wins immunity.

at the first part, it was evident that jt and coach has an advantage, finishing way ahead of the others. then after that, it was between stephen and debbie. both got a good throw but it was debbie who got her bag across the line. so the finalists are coach, jt and debbie.

in the final round, jt got an early lead but his ball fell through a hole. debbie was nowhere in the game. coach had it slowly but surely and had an edge over jt since he started over. having done several risky moves, jt overtook coach's lead but unfortunately, his ball fell again. coach then regained lead and heads on to win coach wins immunity!

so back at camp, sierra is fighting for her life and told jt and taj about the attempt to revive the timbira alliance. she even confronted coach and debbie about it. much drama followed but nothing was resolved. they are still in limbo on who to vote, either sierra since she is a non-entity in the game despite the loyalty she has shown or debbie due to her scheming.

at tribal council, the topic was again brought up and again, coach lied straight up. coach did not gave up the idol and they voted.

here are the votes:

sierra
debbie
stephen
sierra
debbie
sierra
sierra

sierra is eliminated from tocantins and is the third member of our jury.

i am surprised on how far sierra got in this game. she was votedthe weakest in timbira when they arrived but she managed to hang on and stay there. she was even instrumental to tyson's elimination last week and she really survived this despite the odds.

image is from: http://tocantins.survivor.com/survivor-tocantins-cast/2009.01.14/sierra-reed.html

american idol 8: america votes out matt giraud

tonight, only four idols will survive. i think this is the best top 5 ever, all five having superb singing skills and last night's show proved this fact. all had a great night and i think it was the best night of the season yet.

the show started with the group song and it was okay. i enjoyed the disco group performance more than this week's song. it's danny and allison's birthday. the idols were shown baking cakes for the celebrants which somehow ended with food fight. the house was a mess and ryan handed danny a gift, the bill of the house cleaning amounting to six thousand dollars.

then, the results. the first four idols were grouped into pairs. matt and kris were in a pair and were in the left side of the stage. the other pair was allison and danny. adam, who is the only one left, was made to choose which group is safe. adam thinks it is danny and allison. and he is right, but unfortunately, adam is in the bottom three; with matt and kris.

so we have our bottom three, matt giraud, kris allen and adam lambert. kara is surprised. but i think this is the correct bottom three. they really were the bottom three in terms of performance last night.

then, it is natalie cole and season 5's winner taylor hick's time to perform on the idol stage. i won't expound since i switched channels.

then back to the results. ryan is sending back one idol to safety and will be part of the top 4. and he is none other than, kris allen. whew! i really like kris and i am happy that he is safe. i think america still got the right bottom two.

it is now this week's mentor jamie fox's turn to perform. again, i switched channels since i am only up for the results.

and it's results time. and the person going home is... matt giraud.

i think america got it right. considering that it's matt's third life in the competition. after getting the boot in the semifinals group 2, he was given a chance to get into the finals via the wildcard. after that, he has been a member of the bottom three a couple of times. two weeks ago, he got the lowest number of votes and he was saved by the judges. i think he does not have the chance of winning the competition.

so we have the final four, danny gokey, allison iraheta, kris allen and adam lambert.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/american-idol-8-top-5-performance-rankings-85370.aspx

american idol 8: dialidol predicts the top 5

dialidol.com once again predicts who will go home today in american idol. with all the 5 remaining idols giving good performances last night, here is their prediction:


they did not save anyone from elimination , all the 5 idols are in danger of being eliminated tonight. the busiest phone line was for danny gokey, with adam lambert not far behind him. their bottom three are allison iraheta, kris allen and matt giraud, with matt's phoneline being the least busy among the five.

survivor tocantins: tyson apostol is eliminated

for the second week in a row, blindside is the name of the game insurvivor tocantins: the brazilian highlands. utah native tyson apostol is voted off the show, which was completely unexpected to him and two other castaways.

the episode started with sierra completely surprised of brendan's elimination last week. she was so sure of their so-called exile island alliance with the old jalapao tribe. they have decided to vote out coach but the complete opposite happened, brendan was voted out and he didnot use his hidden immunity idol.

sensing that she is in grave danger to be eliminated next, she talks to tyson to take her again and promised to be loyal to the old timbira again. but as expected, tyson hates her and sierra cannot convince her.

at the reward challenge, the 8 remaining castaways were divided into 2 groups of four. the red team are jt, tyson, erin and debbie while the blue team are stephen, coach, taj and sierra. in pairs, they will get big puzzle pieces from the trees and place it to their proper spots. after retrieveing all four pieces and putting them in place, the teams will flip or rotate the pieces so that the holes will align and they will see the vowels.

when they get the vowels, they will arrange it together with the given consonant to form a phrase. first team to get the phrase wins reward. reward will be a feast and they will be entertained by local capoeira dancers, a local martial arts. they will also send one member of the losing team to exile island.

the retrieval of the pieces were neck to neck until the red team had a slight advantage in the last piece. but red team's team work proved supeior when they arranged the puzzle pieces first, getting the vowels. once they were arranging the letters, it was debbie who suggested the word feast and they immediately got it. the blue team was not even close to getting the vowels. red team wins immunity and sent stephen to exile island.

at the reward, the four enjoyed the feast and the dance. the dancers even invited them to dance with them. debbie were doing back flips and the others were doing cartwheels here and there. after dancing, erin was shown vomiting after eating and dancing, talking about embarrassing moments on tv.

at exile island, stephen discovered that there is no new idol in play.

at camp, sierra is still finding a way to stay in the game. now, talking with debbie. she gets points for her fighting spirit and perseverance.

at immunity challenge, the castaways are given an option whether to play or not. if they decide not to play, they will eat pizza during the duration of the challenge. three opted to eat the pizzas rather than participating. they are jt, stephen and coach. wow! the girls are rocking and all decided to play.

the challenge is that the castaways will slide pucks across a playing board and they need to get the pucks nearest the x mark. the one closest to the x after 3 rounds wins immunity. the first round was just a feel of the board, almost all of them are far from the x. at the second round, all threw near the target. at the last round, they were simply hitting each other's targets and taking the lead. so debbie was the last to throw during this round with sierra leading. but her puck was nearer to the x mark so debbie wins immunity.

with debbie winning immunity, the old jalapao tribe saw the opportunity to vote for tyson. after winning the last 2 immunity challenge, he is simply a threat. sierra is in and they talked to erin about it. she agrees and they hope she is really solid to it.

at tribal council, sierra emphasized that she has a big target in her back. jeff on the other hand pointed out how big a physical threat tyson is. then the votes were casted. the old jalapao tribe did not play the immunity idol. so, the votes:

sierra

tyson

sierra

sierra

tyson

tyson

tyson

tyson

another blindside! tyson is voted out of the game. the old jalapao tribe, sierra and erin voted for tyson. it was a complete surprise to tyson. brendan was happy at the votes and sierra was visibly happy.

well, that is survivor, one day you are top, the next day you are out (just like project runway...)

image is from: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/bio/tyson_18/bio.php?season=18

american idol 8: double elimination for lil rounds and anoop desai

after matt giraud was saved last week, a double elimination was done this week, with the disco theme in play. they are singing for apots in the top 5 and keep their dreams alive in the 8th season of american idol.

the results show started with the group performance. it was choreographed by no other than american idol judge paula abdul. it was one of the best performance yet this season but the camera was a bit too playful and the idols did not execute some of the blockings well. but over-all it was good.

now, its the results. lil rounds gets her results first. i ranked lil as one of my bottom three picks last night. she was okay last night but not great. as expected, lil rounds' journey in american idol ends tonight. she sings for the last time and got everyone on their feet.

the next number was from some of the disco legends. it was a medley of some songs that i can't remember so i was not able to get their names.

back to results. the next to get the result is kris allen. kris gave the best performance last night and i think the judges agrees to that. despite being last in the dialidol rankings, kris allen is safe. next up is adam lambert. adam was one of my bottom three last night in terms of performance but his fans would keep him alive. and he is safe. danny gokey was next and was also safe. looks like the favorites have their fans voting for them.

next up is anoop desai. anoop got the pimp spot last night bt he did okay. his arrangement is too slow for me and it will be no surprise if he is in the bottom three. anoop is in the bottom three and steps to the left side of the stage.

so its between matt giraud and allison iraheta. both of them are in the middle of my rankings alst night. i think allison did better compared to matt. i predicted matt to be in the bottom three. but after being saved last week, his fans might have realized that they need to vote for him. so allison was in the bottom three.

so the next to be eliminated is either allison iraheta or anoop desai.

next to perform is david archuleta. he seems to have gone thinner as compared to the time he was in idol. he still has it and worked the stage out. he sounded tentative at times but he still rocks.

so back to results. after 45 million votes, the one going home tonight is anoop desai.

no surprises here. i think america got it right. i think if the 2 continued on, they won't have a chance to win the contest anyway. i predict that next week, either allison or matt will be going home.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/american-idol-8-top-7-performance-rankings-20-11089.aspx

american idol 8: dialidol predicts the top7

dialidol.com released its official predictions for the top 7 in their disco night. in a surprise result, they put no one into safety, having put all idols in danger. please see screenshot below:






i think this is not a good prediction. they will surely get it right since all the 7 idols are in danger. lil rounds and adam lambert has the busiest phone lines, which are my bottom 2 tonight based on performance. the bottom 3 on their rankings are kris allen, allison iraheta and matt giraud.

american idol 8: idols' disco night

tonight is american idol season 8 disco night and i expect fun all night long. with two idols going home tomorrow, after the judges saved matt giraud last week, the idols must bring their a game to please the viewers.

so here is my rankings for tonight's performances:

7. adam lambert - he took the risk of slowing down the melody but it is getting too predictable. if the song is slow, he speeds it up. if the song is fast, he slows it up. i hate the shrieking portion. i think this is his worst so far. he is getting too boring...

6. matt giraud - i expected more from him since he needs to step it up after being in the brink of elimination last week. it was okay, he changed the arrangement a bit but it was nothing special.

5. lil rounds - it was not a bad performance, but it was not great. it was okay and was a bit too over the top to me, to the point that it becomes too shouty. but the song exhibited her great voice. but going first would definitely hurt her chances.

4. anoop desai - i think he did okay but the start was too slow or me. i think it does not deserve the pimp spot but it will help him get through. the song showed his range and he did okay. i think we will still see him on stage next week.

3. danny gokey - i liked danny's performance tonight. he played with the arrangement a bit and it sounded good. it was not his best but it was good. i think it was enough to keep him in the competition. but at this stage of the competition, he becomes somewhat predictable. he needs to wow us next week for him to stay in the running.

2. allison iraheta - i like the fact that she is now exhibiting control of her voice. i initially hated her for being too shouty but now, she knows how to control it. she started soft, built it up and highlighted it in the end. but i still don't like the outfit...

1. kris allen - kris got a song nobody expected him to pick. it was really a risk and it paid off. he knows what he is capable to do and maximizes it. i love how he changed the melody and he really rocked it!

i did not expect disco night to be this boring, with everyone trying to slow their songs down. my bottom three based on performance are adam, matt and lil. but i think the bottom three will be lil, adam and anoop. who will go home? i think matt and lil will go home.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/american-idol-8-top-7-performance-rankings-20-11089.aspx

amazing race14: mark & michael are eliminated

stuntmen and brother mark & michael became the 7th team to be eliminated in the 14th season of the amazing race. the arrived last at the mat at the season's 9th leg, which ended in gilin, china.

the two also arrived last in the previous leg, after suffering several misfortunes and bad decisions in that leg. they also incurred two 2 hour penalties in that leg, after paying their cab drivers personal belonging since they are already out of money. but luckily, it was a non-elimination leg of the race.

in this leg, they are so far behind and they still need to finish the speed bump. even if the flight to china enabled them to catch up a bit, the lag was still too much for them to conquer. they were eliminated at the pit stop that was st the sun and moon pagoda at the banyan lake in guilin.

this leg was also spiced up by the fight between jen and luke. luke threw an elbow at jen at the hair salon clue box, which prompted jen to call luke a "bitch." at the roadblock clue box, they also had a scuffle and luke pushed jen to the clue box, although it was unintentional. luke confronted jen at the pit stop but i think jen has the correct stand on this one.

kisha and jen were first at the pit stop, winning a trip for two to barbados. this is their first win in nine legs. actually, the first three teams were neck to neck to the mat, it only happens that the pair stepped on the mat first. so the rankings are as follows:

1. kisha and jen

2. tammy and victor

3. margie and luke

4. jamie and cara

5. mark and michael

so mark & michael are eliminated.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/photos/galleryviewer.aspx?ai=58955&bIds=774%2C775#GalleryViewer=1/0/0/3009667/s

survivor tocantins: brendan is eliminated

after 24 days in the island, brendann synott became the 7th person eliminated and the first jury member of survivor tocantins: the brazilian highlands. the votes were split between him, sierra and coach, but brendan got the most votes.

in the reward challenge, the remaining castaways were divided into three teams of three; black, red and white. the black team was composed of jt, brendan and debbie. the white team is composed of sierra, errin and stephen. the red team is made up of taj, coach and tyson. they will alternately take turns of throwing metal balls and try to break the other teams' tiles. once all the teams' tiles are broken, they are eliminated. team with the last tile standing wins reward.

red looks like the team to beat since they have coach and tyson. sensing these, the two other teams immediately targeted the red tiles. this strategy paid off and the first team eliminated was the red team. it goes down to a nail biting showdown between black and white team. but in the end, the black team wins reward. their reward is a white water arfting trip down rio dovo and a picnic of sandwiches, chicken, brownies, chips and watermelon.

at this trip, jt really enjoyed the rafting part and he looks so happy. he also bonded with brendan so much and jt told him that he can be in their alliance with sierra, stephen and taj (which he already knows). jt really changed brendan's mind since brendan already wanted him out next.

at the immunity challenge, the castaways will navigate through a rope course. they are attached to a rope that is entangled over and under a wooden obstacle. they need to go from one end to the other by climbing, going over and under the wooden obstacle. first three to finish the first part will advance to the final round, which is more complicated, with a three level obstacle already. first to finish the course wins immunity.

the castaways started the race pretty even but towards the middle, it was evident that only four are in contention to advance. thes four are tyson, brendan, jt and sierra. first to finish is jt, followed by tyson. so the last place was contended by brendan and sierra, with brendan getting the last spot in the finals.

in the finals, brendan got the early lead, breezing through the three level course easily. tyson is not far behind but jt seems to lag much. but towards the end, brandan's rope got tangled up and tyson got up to him. he eventually took the lead and finished the course. tyson wins individual immunity back to back!

so at camp, planning on who to vote is very much evident. brendan is planning to vote out coach and coach is planning to eliminate brendan. eventhough the old timbira has the numbers, they are not sticking together and is working to eliminate each other. the power is now with the old jalapao, since who ever they decide to vote with will be safe.

at tribal council, brendan revealed that he has the hidden immunity idol but he decided not to use the idol. in the end, the old jalapao mebers decided to vote with coach. they split the vote between brendan and sierra. four voted for brendan, three for sierra and their votes went to coach.

an unexpected twist, blindsided again... brendan is eliminated!

brendan will be the first member of the jury and will be one of the few who will determine who will win the title of ultimate survivor.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/photos/galleryviewer.aspx?csi=21&ci=40000416&pi=2007947&ai=-1&idx=-1

american idol 8: judges save matt giraud

it is results night for american idol 8's top 7. last night was movie theme song night. i have a seaparate blog on their performances and i am predicting lil, anoop and matt to be in the bottom three tonight, with anoop finally going home.

the show starts with the week's group performance. they are singing maniac and i think this is one of the best group performances so far this season. everyone is in tune and everyone seems to be enjoying - plus the fact that they played with the judges on the start of the song.

so now, the results. the first three to get their results are allison iraheta, adam lambert and anoop desai. allison gave a good performance last night and she is safe. adam was next up. i rated him in the bottom three in terms of performance. but who cares? with his fan base he is surely safe... and he is. last is anoop. i rated him the worst performance last night. and after hearing 2 safe's tonight, i know he is in trouble. and anoop is in the bottom three. no surprises.

next up is jennifer hudson's homecoming to idol. this is the first time she is back after season 3. and there is so much hype going on about the oscar awards and the grammy she won already. jennifer gave a solid song number and she definitely showed the top 7 how to give a good performance. hope lil took notes...

next to get their results are kris allen and lil rounds. one of them is in the bottom three. this is a no brainer. kris allen gave the best performance last night. even simon agreed that he is brilliant. but lil was not bad last night. she was just okay. so again, no surprises - kris is safe and lil is in the bottom three. (oh yeah! 2 out of 2 already...)

last to get their results were matt giraud and danny gokey. another no brainer here. danny gokey has the fan base that matt can only wish for. and danny gave a better performance than matt last night. randy also contradicted simon by telling danny that he did his thing last night. and again, matt is in the bottom three and danny is safe.

so i think i got it right this week. the bottom three are anoop, lil and matt. ryan sent someone to safety immediately. and he sends anoop desai to safety. what? anoop is safe? yikes, lil is in danger....

next is miley cirus' number. i switched channels, so i missed it...

so back to the results. the one with the lowest number of votes is matt giraud.

what? lil beat matt? kudos to votefortheworst.com and thanks to the pimp spot...

so matt sings for his life. without the piano, he sings again and he seems to be better last night on the piano, though last night was even not as good. i agree with the judges, this is a case of doing too much to the song. the judges are deliberating and after a while, the female judges are already dancing to matt's number. i think they already decided his fate.

so after his song, it is simon who gives the verdict. he said that he is a good singer but he has no chance of winning this thing. so the judgs has decided, and it is good news for matt. the judges are saving matt giraud!

matt will go down in american idol history to be the first idol to be saved. it is actually his third chance in the competition. he was a wildcard and now, being saved by the judges. i think he does not deserved to be saved after his performance. but i think it was a good decision to use the save now and stir up the competition a bit.

the other idols ran to the center of the stage after the announcement and congratulated matt. but simon interrupted and said that he thinks that they should not celebrate because of two reasons. first, 2 idols will be eliminated next week. and second, next week is disco night. with the judges' save already out of the game, everyone is now in danger of elimination.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/american-idol/american-idol-8-matt-giraud-ge-27816.aspx

american idol 8: dialidol predicts the top 7

dialidol.com gave their prediction on who will go based on the measurements on the busy signals of the idol phonelines for the top 7 of american idol. same as last week, they put only one idol to safety. this idol is danny gokey, whose phone line is the busiest among the top 7.

the six other idols are deemed to be in danger of elimination. so thei9r bottom three are allison iraheta, matt giraud and kris allen. kris' phone line is the least busy among the idols. allison and kris gave solid performances last night and i think matt deserves to be in the bottom 3 based on his performance last night.

this is the second straight week that kris allen got the lowest ranking in dialidol. last week, he was also in last place but when results came, he was not even in the bottom three.

here is the snapshot of the rankings last night:

source: http://www.dialidol.com/asp/predictions/predictions.asp

american idol 8: idols sing hit movie theme songs

last night, american idol season 8 finalists sang movie theme songs and their guest mentor is none other than director quentin tarantino. expectations are high since we are down to our top 7 finalists and some took risk which paid off and some still did not deliver. so here is my rankings of last night's show:

7. anoop desai - i did not like the arrangement of the song. it was too slow for me and he was tentative at times. he still shows so much inconsistency. i will not be surprised if he goes home this week.

6. matt giraud - i did noot like his take on the song. i agree with randy, the first part was good but the middle and end was disaster. he was out of tune at the middle and seems to be catching his breath. i was very disappointed.

5. adam lambert - i still did not like his performance. i think it was over the top. it was too loud and shouty for my taste. too dramatic and i don't really get the hype he is receiving. it was just okay.

4. lil rounds - contrary to what others thought, i think her performance last night is one of her best so far since the top 13 performances. she sounded great and it was a good performance. did she deserve the pimp spot? no. but that could get her some votes.

3. allison iraheta - she chose one of my favorite songs and she did justice to it. for the first time, she showed the control that i was looking for. she started soft and she built it up towards the middle. she did not sound too shouty and i really like her voice.

2. danny gokey - another good performance from danny. i did not like the start, it was too slow and a bit too low for him. but when he reached the chorus part, it was really damn good. this is one of his best yet.

1. kris allen - i totally disagree with randy on this one, kris sounded good last night. i did not know the song he sang but he made me want to know the song. this is not his best performance but he definitely nailed the song.

so my bottom three based on performance are anoop, matt and adam. but i don't think this will be the bottom three after the votes. i predict that the bottom three will be anoop, matt and lil. lil might not be there since she got the pimp spot and she might get the sympathy votes. if she escapes the bottom three, i think allison be in the bottom three.

so who had the lowest votes? i think anoop desai has and will sing for his life tonight. i have said this before that

will the judges save him? no.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/american-idol-8-top-7-perform--episode-in-review-20137.aspx

survivor tocantins: joe dowdle is out of the game

joe dowdle became the latest castaway out of the island in survivor tocantins: the brazilian highlands. joe is a real estate agent from austin, texas and was a member of the jalapao tribe.

the episode also featured the merge between the jalapao and the timbira tribes. a small feast was prepared for the merge, which prompted them to get a new tribe name and wear the new buff. the tribe color is now green. they all decided to the new tribe name, forza.

the merged tribe will now stay at the old timbira camp. when the old jalapao came over, they saw that they had a better shelter and they have to improve it. sensing that they are in trouble due to tyhe numbers, the jalapao boys worked around camp.

new alliances are also being formed after the merge. coach has approached jt to watch each other's backs and they are joined by stephen, debbie, tyson and erin. they are plotting to vote out brandon since they think brendan is manipulative and they think he has the immunity idol.

joe and erin, who were the last to go to the exile island, checked out the tree mail idol to check if the idol is still there. they found the compartment empty and they knew that either sierra or brendan has it, since they are the only other 2 timbira members who has been to exile island.

but joe has another problem of his own. he has infected his wound which was just below his left knee. it has been swollen and red and he has been limping around camp. many castaways has noticed this and are thinking of voting him off.

at the immunity challenge, tribal immunity idol is no longer at play and they are now playing for individual immunity. this week's challenge is a simple one. each castaway will cling on the pole and they must stay on the pole as long as they can. last person on his or her pole wins immunity.

the challenged seems to be simple but it proved to be very hard. at the start of the challenge, stephen and joe immediately struggled. less than 5 minutes in the challenge, stephen bailed out and joe followed soon. jeff noticed joe's wound and asked him if it was okay. then several other castaways struggled. taj, brendan and erin fell off their pole consecutively. jt also was struggling and fell off after about 20 minutes. only 4 castaways are left, all former timbira members. coach was the next one to fall, followed soon by sierra.

the challenge is now between tyson and debbie. both are struggling. debbie's arms are already shaking and tyson is holding on the pole by his toes. but soon after, debbie can hold on no longer and released her hold. tyson wins the first individual immunity of the season.

jeff asked the castaways to leave but asked joe to be left behind so that the medical team can look at his wound. the doctor told him that it was infected and the doctor feared that the infection is too close to his bone and it might worsen if he stays and played on. worst case is he might lose his leg.

back at camp, plotting begins, with the old timbira tribe meeting near the camp fire. coach and tyson are making brendan and sierra think that they are voting for jt so that they would not have a clue that they are voting for brandon. when coach told jt about this, jt feared for his life. if brandon plays the immunity idol, he might be in danger. so he and stephen asked tyson to split the vote between brendan and sierra.

stephen also asked taj if she was willing to vote for brendan and explained to her the whole set up. they are also wondering why brendan are not making signs of who they would vote since they had the exile island cross tribal alliance already. so taj said that she is willing to do it. so everything seems to be in place and it looks like either brendan or sierra is going home.

but jeff showed up at the camp. he said that joe is not with him and the medical team already decided that he cannot continue on in the game. he is now being lifted via helicopter to be treated and he will be fine. taj asked jeff to say to him that they all love joe and they miss him. jeff informed them that there will be no tribal council anymore.

tyson was crushed because his plan to eliminate the strong player brendan has been destroyed. anything can happen in the next three days and things will definitely change. in the preview, the so called exile island alliance was showing plotting against coach and coach is doing the same against brendan. i think either coach or brendan will go home next week.

what is unclear right now is that, will joe still participate as a jury member or not? hope he still continue as a jury member, just as what they did in a previous season. bruce was pulled out of the game due to stomach aches and he still continued to join the jury in survivor panama: the exile island.

image is from: tv.yahoo.com/show/42547/photos/10

american idol 8: scott macintyre is eliminated

after performing songs from the year they were born, the top 8 idols now faces america's results. more than 34 million votes were counted and one idol might be going home tonight.

tonight's group performance was also a song from the year american idol was born. it was can't get you out of my head. i was a bit disappointed that kris and anoop got a smaller part this week. but over-all it was just okay, past week performances were better.

so now, it's results time. the first three that was asked to face results were adam lambert, kris allen and anoop desai. adam got a standing ovation from the judges aside from the fact that he got the pimp spot. i definitely think adam is safe, and he is.

now, it's down to anoop and kris. one of them is in the bottom three. kris gave an okay performance last night, not his best but anoop gave an awesome performance, way better than his past performances. dialidol got both of these idols on the bottom of there charts. so america votes, and kris is safe and anoop is in the bottom three. i think anoop does not deserve to be there.

guest star flo rida now performs on stage and gave an awesome performance with all the action, dancing and the stuff. awesome showmanship from this guy even if i did not like the song that much.

then, back to the results. danny gokey is next up. and he is safe. no surprise about that. matt giraud is next on the chopping block. matt gave the best performance last night, in my opinion. so i expect him to sail through to the next round. again, ryan gave him a cliff hanger and said that he is safe.

next is scott macintyre. in my episode review, i think scott gave the worst performance last night. i think scott is in the bottom three with dialidol on my side. and scott is in the bottom three and ryan guides him to the silver stools.

so it's now between the two girls, lil rounds and allison iraheta. allison gave an okay performance. i did not like it since did not know the song but the judges loved her. i would not be surprised if she is in the bottom since she has been there twice even if she gave a great performance. lil was one of the worst last night. i have predicted that lil will be in the bottom three. so after the nationwide vote, america listened to the judges, it is lil in the bottom three.

so the final list of the bottom three is anoop desai, scott macintyre and lil rounds. it is anoop's 3rd time in the bottom 3, scott's 2nd time and lil's first. i got 2 out of the three from my predictions last night. only anoop is not on my list.

kellie pickler from season 5 performed again on idol stage with best days of your life (i think that's the title of the song) from her self titled album. she was that girl who does not know calamares and was the rollerskating waitress. she works that stage out and even sang beside simon. if i am not mistaken, simon looked at her chests at least twice during that time. she looks hot and she looks better now. and she even sings better now.

so now, back to results. one will be sent first to safety, and it is lil rounds. i think anoop does not deserve to be in the bottom two after his performance last night. poor anoop. so it's down to anoop and scott. ryan reveals that only a 30 thousand votes separates the two idols. so the one with the lowest votes is scott macintyre.

he again sings air supply's the search is over and the judges is deliberating hard. i think paula and kara likes to save him since they are the ones cheering him on while he sings. after the song, simon reveals that they are on a deadlock, with 2 wanting to save him and 2 wants to let him go. they are still fighhting over it and simon said that there are still a couple of people that he thinks deserves to be saved rather than scott. so finally, the judges decided to end scott's journey.

scott macintyre is going home tonight.

this is the second week in a row that i got the boot spot on. next week will be hard but i think either anoop or lil will be going home next week.

image is from: http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/american-idol-8-top-8-power-rankings-33740.aspx