Talent

JAMES BLUNT

James Blunt was on Oprah yesterday. This young man impressed me with his talent (he performed 'You're Beautiful' & 'Goodbye My Love' on the show) & his self-deprecating humor. Before his current gig, he was a soldier in the British army & brought his guitar with him (strapped to the side of his tank) on his rotation through Kosovo. He has also served as one of the Queen's guards, & include "prancing on a horse for Japanese tourists to take pictures of him" on his resume.

When he sings, look into his eyes & you can see that the music & words truly comes from his soul. My husband bought his CD a few months ago, & I never really listened to all the tracks. I will now...

AMERICAN IDOL

Country music was the theme yesterday. I can't say that I am a huge country music fan. Apart from Shania Twain & Faith Hill, I can't think of any other country performers that I would listen to on a regular basis.

The final 9 gave a rather lacklustre performance; even my favorite, Taylor Hicks, singing Take Me Home Country Road, sounded like he was (to use a Simon Cowell-ish analogy) at a campfire trying to get people to join him in the song. The two idols who are supposedly the most comfortable in this genre, Kelly Pickler & Bucky Covington (question: what reason on this good earth would a parent have to name their twins Bucky & Rocky???!!!) failed to impress me - they just didn't seem very comfortable on stage.

And Kenny Rogers - gosh, I didn't recognise him without the full beard that he used to have....he should have kept it...