American Idol Top 10

Thursday night, the "Top 10" of American Idol season 12 was revealed in Los Angeles, CA. The top 20 made their way back from spending the last couple weeks in Las Vegas, to the home stage at CBS Studios, where it would determine a pretty significant moment in each of their lives. Some for the better, and the others, that it was the end of the road.

I absolutely loved this reveal show; I felt like there were enough new elements to keep it different, and they kept the ball rolling with everything, so it felt like it moved along quicker, where sometimes it just feels like, "get on with it, Ryan!" I liked how they split the guys and girls, told them who was going through, then gave them a chance to wrap their minds around it, before going out in front of the audience to perform their song of choice. Also, can we talk about how compassionate Ryan seems since he's been dating Julianne?? He seems so much more relaxed than in the first several seasons.
To me, it was so cool when those screen doors slid open; seeing families' reactions to their kids getting through and the contestants' faces, as well, to know that they're one step closer to achieving their dream. I couldn't help but tear up.

Here's my recap of the show. First, it was the guys.

Paul Jolley~ Woo! So happy! I really love his voice ( I mean this in the best way that he has almost one of those tortured artists sounds, like when he sings it's coming from his gut and you know exactly how he feels), his southern charm, and his story. He seems like a nice guy with that country soul, and I really enjoy getting to see him grow as the competition goes. He has that star quality, but he'll adapt to it more and more. He is definitely one of my favorites.

Burnell Taylor~ I like him! I think he has a good voice, he has his own sense of style. This works for me. He seems likable too, which is a big deal to me.

Curtis Finch Jr.~ Not a big fan; reminds me too much of Joshua Ledet, who I ended up really liking. So, for me, it's just not anything original, but that could change by the end of the season. I hope to be wowed.

Devin Velez~ I didn't really remember him much when he first sang in Vegas, but after he did his first performance over there, I thought he was incredible. The way he went into singing Spanish, made it seem so effortless, and it sounded beautiful. I was a little worried he might start to do that every time, so I was a little on the fence, but I think he has such a powerful voice that it'll carry him through.

When it came to the last spot, my mom and I were on the edge of the couch, almost literally biting our nails, because Lazaro hadn't made it through. But, we were also pulling for Nick. I love that he had that whole singer/songwriter vibe going on. He's also 29, so it was his last shot. So, we were pulling for either of them, and then....

Lazaro Arbos~ As soon as I saw Lazaro's first audition and his backstory, I was really connected with him. At first, I was rooting for him because of how much he had overcome, and then he opened his mouth. I was completely floored by what he could do. It just goes to show you what a lifesaver music truly is. You can hear his story in his voice and the songs that he sings. His confidence has grown week after week, and last week's performance blew me away with how he owned the stage. It was a different side to him that we hadn't seen. He's my other favorite guy.

Then, just as we were able to breathe a sigh of relief that most of the guys we'd wanted made it, it was time to take a deep breath for the girls.

Janelle Arthur~ I really like Janelle. I think she's sweet and fun; reminds me a bit of Kellie Pickler, and like Mariah said, is just the all American girl. I think she has a good voice, but I just don't know if the songs have been strong enough for her yet. She really reminds me of classic country-the days of Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline, which I love, because that's not around much anymore. I think if she were to sing more of those old time-y songs and make them current, she'd do incredible.

Candice Glover~ I was actually pretty surprised with this one! I liked her, but wasn't sure that she would make it through. I was really impressed with the song she did after she was into the top 10, so I'm excited to see how she does.

Angie Miller~ After people had been chosen and Angie's name still hadn't been called, we were starting to get worried, but as soon as she was called and stepped onto that stage, I was at ease. She has been my favorite from the beginning, so it was taking everything in me not to blubber like an idiot. I was holding back so many tears (especially because it's my favorite Beyonce song-SO powerful), and then I saw Keith crying and talking about she makes him emotional when she sings, and that just really didn't help. Basically...She's incredible and I'm pretty sure she will win the title. If not, she won't have a hard time getting a record deal.

Amber Holcomb~ I think this girl has some CRAZY vocals. I wasn't crazy about her first performance in Vegas, but I think that was more to do with song choice than anything. This week, she KILLED that Whitney Houston song and made it look so easy. So not fair! HA! I think she really shined this time around, and is only going to get better from here. She definitely has a powerhouse voice! And she always seems to have a smile on her face.

Kree Harrison~ FINALLY, they call her name (is my first thought). I absolutely love her! She is another true artist in a different way; her voice tells such a deep story when she belts it out, and she just wears her heart on her sleeve. I love that she is who she is and knows what kind of music she wants to sing. To me, she's one of those dark horses; she's incredible, yet quiet, which usually works in a lot of cases on Idol, and I'm pretty sure it'll work in her favor as well. She seems to have quite a large fan group, myself included, and I know they are hardcore voters! She has such a confidence and stage presence that just comes so naturally that it's ridiculous. I know she's going to do great.

So, all of my favorite girls made it and so did most of my guys! I'm really loving this season already and I can't wait to see how well everyone else does as the season goes on, because a lot of times, they surprise you. There is so much talent and it seems like a really great group of people.

I am SO BEYOND EXCITED for next week, and not just because I'm anxious to hear what they sing (and I am), but because I will be in the live studio audience at CBS when they show tapes! I've never been to a regular taping, just two finales (not that I'm complaining at all there), so I'm incredibly excited that it happens to be the very first taping of the top 10. It'll be interesting to hear how everyone sounds live, and will make it a bit easier when it comes to voting later on.

That's all for now,
Shelby

Antiquing

Tuesday morning, I woke up feeling much better than the day before. I talked to one of my best friends about our plans to go antiquing, and she kept making sure that I felt well enough to go, otherwise we could do it another time. But, I'd been looking forward to it and felt good, so we set a time and went from there. I spent most of the morning just hanging out, watching Full House, then decided to get ready, eat lunch and just waited for her to pick me up.

Marissa picked me up, then we went back to her house to meet up with one of her friends, Michael, who was going to come with us. We'd only met one other time, so it was a chance to get to hang out with him too, which was fun!
We headed downtown, laughing, then just randomly stopped at a few antique stores. We didn't really have a plan, which made things more exciting. I found SO many amazing things in the first store we went into, which lasted for close to two hours, I'd say! There were so many trinkets, furniture, postcards, and just about anything else along the lines of home decor. If you didn't look carefully, you could miss a lot. I was really wishing I'd had more money. I ended up buying too many postcards, and that took most of my money, but I thought they were really cool and rare, so there's that. I hope I can find a way to use them for decoration in my room somehow; maybe Pinterest has some ideas.
We went to another antique store just at the corner of the street, which had a ton of old collector's items as well. I just love all of the stories that are in one place that have been donated over the years. It's cool to wonder what happened to them or who they belonged to all of these years. I found this really amazing plaid suitcase that I was starting to wish I'd saved my money for, but, maybe next time I'll learn.

A little while later, we went to another antique store, In Your Wildest Dreams, which my aunt had told me about. She had gotten a lot of my recent birthday and Christmas presents there, so I wanted to check it out. Well, they were getting ready to close, but I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. We got to the store, and it was HUGE. There were several levels and it went pretty far back, so there was a lot to cover. They had a lot of amazing clothes; past and recent, as well as furniture and other home goods. Marissa and I were joking that I need to get a job and she'd look for a new one so we could buy a place together and decorate it with all of the antiques we'd been seeing.

When we knew the store was about to close, we headed out, and I figured that would be the end of my day, but, apparently that was just the beginning of the fun. I just really love our downtown area! They're fixing it up a lot, and it looks beautiful. There are so many cool coffee shops and stores that I'd like to try out. We said we'll have to do the antiquing thing again, but start earlier, have breakfast and make a list of the places we want to go. 

I ended up going to dinner with Michael, Marissa, and her boyfriend, which was a blast! It was my first time of getting to hang out with them on a normal night, because they do stuff like that all the time. I felt like I hadn't been out and about in weeks like that, so I was up for anything. Part of my initiation was picking the place to eat, and I did it in a pretty quick manner, I'd say. I picked a delicious, local burger place, which was tasty! Then, the guys were still wanting to do something else, so we went bowling! 

It was very entertaining! I hadn't been in awhile, so it was fun to do something different than normal, and the drunk guys next to us definitely made for an interesting time. One of the guys had everyone's names memorized in our lane and the lane on the other side of them. After awhile, it was a little creepy, but I don't think that's what he was going for. 

After two games, we played a few games of air hockey in the arcade, which was fun. I hadn't played that in ages, man, I forgot how tiring it can be! It works the arms A LOT! It was hilarious watching the guys get so into it (while Marissa and I were having "girl talk"), and then Marissa and I who would accidentally knock the puck into each other's goal to score, when we actually played! HAHA. 

It was starting to get a bit later, but the guys were hungry again, so we ended up at Sonic. I just had an ice tea, and we all sat in Marissa's car talking about random subjects like The Office and American Idol to the famous goat videos. Marissa can now not listen to "I Knew You Were Trouble" without hearing the goat. hahahahahaha. Mission accomplished. I don't think I've had that much fun in awhile of just having a simple night like that. Also, I was voting for American Idol...Yup, that's talent. I hadn't watched yet, but when you have a favorite, you stick by them...And of course, Kree and Angie were incredible, so I felt good with my voting. 

Finally, after the lights turned off at Sonic, we took that as our clue to leave, and it was close to 11 anyway, so it was good to get home. Marissa dropped me off, and I hung out with my parents for a little while. It was seriously one of the best days/nights I've had in a really long time. It was a great reminder to me that I'm still young, and I should get out more and just be in good company, instead of acting as if my life has already passed me by.

I definitely can't wait until we all hang out again!

That's all,
Shelby :)

Icky Sicky

Just when I thought I was starting to feel better, I got hit again with feeling sick and throwing up. I was watching Full House and just having a pretty normal afternoon, when I got really sick and was down for the rest of the day. I felt SO miserable.

I tried to pass the time by reading, watching TV, getting artsy, writing, etc. I started feeling better in the late afternoon, but I was still trying to take it easy.

That night, I had soup for dinner and watched The Bachelor and was still feeling good, but when I was getting ready for bed, I got really sick again. I have no idea what's going on. I was even starting to think that I need to make a doctor's appointment, which is something I NEVER, EVER suggest! But, it's getting to the point that I'm tired of feeling crappy all the time.
I went to bed a little earlier that night, and got a lot of rest, so that I'd be able to keep my original plans for Tuesday with my friends.

That's all for now,
Shelby

Forgettable

What is it about me that is so unforgettable? Is it that I'm not pretty enough? I'm too quiet? Something about my face in general? This question has been haunting me again over the past couple days, and it was something I thought I'd long forgotten.

Over the years, I've always been the one that people "forget" about or just don't choose to remember because they don't care. Alright, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but that's how it feels at times. I've been left out, a substitute teacher that had me in their classes over my four years of high school thought I was new, and Carrie Underwood didn't remember me last time we met (I actually just threw this one in for kicks. I totally don't expect her to remember, even though she does a lot of other people. And it was a weird night). I know these are little things that wouldn't bother most people too much, but to me, they do. I take everything personally, so I feel like I'm doing something wrong in my life if I'm not that memorable.

I've always been quiet and haven't spoken up a lot, but I've never wanted to blend in either. I guess I've just been afraid. My biggest fear is that I'll be average; that I'll never do something that changes the world or something that'll just blow everyone away, because I'm not really "the best" at anything I do.

Maybe this is just me having a pity party or maybe I'm onto something! All I know is I want to be the girl that lights up a room, that makes people's day better just from a simple smile, and I want to do something really BIG that gives people no other choice but to remember me.
Or maybe, all of of these unmemorable moments are leading me up to something that I've waited my entire life for, and this will give me that shove that I need. I don't know, but it couldn't hurt.

~Shelby

Sunday!

Sunday was a pretty typical day; woke up, went to church, the usual. It was another great service, part of the dream again series, which usually has me in tears by the end of it or thinking of what I need to do to get started on the life God has planned for me. We didn't stay long after the service ended, just said hi to a couple of people, then had lunch at Outback. Things got really cooky there; we sat in booth 23, and "Stars Go Blue" came on over the radio. So, if that's not an OTH moment, I don't know what is. I had my parents cracking up, which is always fun and I don't remember laughing that much in a really long time, so it was nice.

We came home for a little while, then my dad and I went out driving. It has been several weeks again since I've done it, so it was rather interesting to get into it again. I wanted to come up with an excuse as to why we couldn't go, but I had nothing, and know I need to get my license SOON! I think I made quite a bit of progress. I made a few Uturns, which was exciting, because I've always been a little terrified of how that works, and drove out on a country road several times. Well, while I was making a sharp turn, I somehow lost control of the car a bit, going off into the dirt, then hit the gas instead of the brake, because I freaked myself out! HAHA! But, we survived, and then I knew what I had to do to avoid that the next times. 

After about an hour, I drove home, and bought some music on itunes, wrote in my journal and relaxed. It was a pretty perfect afternoon for doing just that, since the weather was a little gloomy outside. Then, we went out for dinner at Arby's, which was cool, then came home and played Yahtzee! I forgot how much fun it could be, because it has been years since we last played. My dad cranked up some of his music, then I switched it to Taylor Swift's Red. We were laughing and joking, and it reminded me once again of the things you can do when you just put your phone down or step away from the computer every once in awhile.

I went to bed feeling like things are about to turn around. I have a new outlook, and I hope that I can make it last; maybe I'm finally out of this "funk" I've been in for way too long now. I also started feeling sick again, but figured it would pass. It didn't. 

That's all for now, 

Shelby

"It's Moving Day, It's Moving Day...Hey, Baby, Hey!"

Saturday morning I woke up to my alarm clock going off much earlier than usual. And it was on purpose. I opened my eyes around 6:45, did my devotion, put on my makeup, and was ready to go by 7:30. My parents and I had breakfast at Denny's, which was amazing! Pancakes had sounded great the night before, so we decided we'd either go to Denny's or ihop the next morning. That was a really great decision!

I had also deleted my Facebook and Twitter apps, so that I can start to be truly engaged in conversation and spending time with family/friends, rather than checking what's new with most people that I really don't even contact with anymore. So, we finished breakfast, and had to stop by my dad's work to get a few things, then went up to my grandparents' place to help them move. Luckily, they were just moving into a smaller place in the same complex, just a few steps away.

There was quite a bit to move, and it was hard trying to figure out where everything would go, but the process was fun. I was glad I got to see my uncle, because I haven't seen him in awhile, and some other relatives that I only see a couple times a year, if even that. I love having all of those silly moments that families have while moving! It was like a sitcom waiting to happen. Good times! 

I also fell in love with the patio/view at my grandparents' new house. It's right above the freeway, so you can watch the cars go by and it's a terrific view of the city; you can see for miles around. If only we hadn't been there to work, I would've been pulling out my notebook to write some ideas down. It's the perfect place to think. 

Then, when I had a moment free, my grandpa asked me for some help with something, and we ended up talking for quite some time. He told me all about who he thought should be president in 2016, his life on the farm, among other things. I was really trying to soak it up, because you just never how rare those moments will be. 

We moved things around for most of the morning, then took a break for lunch. We ordered pizza, and all just sat around talking about politics and whatever else. My uncle always likes to talk to me about American Idol, so that's what we did. We talked about our favorite contestants and some of the others we were shocked they kept. 

After lunch, we got back to work, and things got a little more intense as it all started winding down. My cousin's daughter, Kylie, is such a big helper. She's only 7, but she was probably doing the most, if you want to get technical. She was willing to do whatever anyone needed her to, and she is great with organizing things. So, once all of the main furniture was moved into the new place, Kylie told me I'd be helping her put everything back in the fridge, and make sure nothing else was left in the other house. She was definitely putting me to work and I liked it. We also organized their bathroom, and a few other little things here and there. It was fun and tiring.
Once everything was settled into its place, Kylie wanted to show me a little pond with some fish in it, so we walked over to that area, watching the fish, and she tried to make "traps" that would catch the fish. I don't get to hang out with kids very often, but I'm always in awe at their hearts and passion. And it reminds me of when I was younger, and you start to wonder what happens along the way that just all of a sudden makes you change your mind. We were over there for a little while, then decided to head back to the house.

Everyone was pretty pooped out, just watching TV, and a few others were still getting some of the last stuff at their other place. After a few minutes, we all started heading out. We said goodbye to everyone, then my parents and I went to chipotle for dinner, which was so tasty. I was starting to crash at that point, and there were a lot of college age kids in there being loud, so that was not helping. Finally, we were done, went to Target, then came home to watch Jeopardy and eat Cinnamon rolls.
It was one of the BEST days I have had in awhile. It reminded me of what life is supposed to be about; the simple things-family, togetherness, and not always being in such a rush. It reminded me to slow down and notice the details of things around you. It helped me to appreciate people again, rather than just being with them and not listening to what they have to say.
I'm so glad I helped and got to spend some time with the ones I love :)

~Shelby

Random Playlist

Every once in awhile, I'll pull out my music i.d. for a random song I like while I'm in a store or if there's a song playing in a restaurant, or sometimes if I'm just wanting to take a look at the lyrics when I hear something I haven't heard in awhile. I've been checking out my last that I've had running from over the past couple years, and found that there is quite the assortment of songs. Some are fantastic, and others...I'm wondering how the heck they even got there. Take a look:

• When It Comes To Love-Shane Wallin
• Let No Woman- Big Steele (Really not sure how this one ended up on there)
• Carried Away-George Strait
• Faith In You- Randy Travis
• Jar of Hearts- Christina Perri
• Unpretty- Glee Cast
• Gone Like That- Josh Kelley
• I Just Can't Stop Loving You- Michael Jackson
• For Good- Glee Cast
• As Long As You're There- Glee
• Pretending- Glee
• Still Got Tonight-Matthew Morrison
• Lighters-Bad Meets Evil
• Wrong Again-Martina McBride
• Some Fools Never Learn- Steve Wariner
• You Make It Look So Easy- Eric Church
• Smile- Avril Lavigne; actually...Don't look this one up. I didn't know how bad the language was! Also, I'm not a fan of her since she was turned down our music pastor/friend when he tried out for Idol...
• The Living Proof-Mary J. Blige
• The Promise You Made- Cock Robin
• Reality- Kenny Chesney
• Real Love-Toby Lightman
• Bigger Than The Beatles- Joe Diffie
• I Would've Loved You Anyway- Trisha Yearwood
• Hear You Me- Jimmy Eat World
• Love Working On You-John Michael Montgomery
• Light Outside- Wakey!Wakey!
• What We're Gonna Do About It-Tommy Shane Steiner
• Without You-David Guetta
• All I Want-Toad The Wet Sprocket
• Backseat Of A Greyhound-Sara Evans
• Love Song For No One- John Mayer
• Sneaky Feelings- Elvis Costello
• While I'm Waiting- John Waller
• In This Life- Collin Raye
• It Must Have Been Love- Roxette
• Sideways-Santana
• I Won't Give Up-Jason Mraz
• Anyone Else- Collin Raye
• All I Want (remix)- Toad The Wet Sprocket
• When I Close My Eyes- Kenny Chesney
• Unbroken- Tim McGraw
• Don't Get Me Started- Rhett Atkins
• More- Trace Adkins
• When It Comes To Love-Foreigner
• How Love Should Be-Tyler Hilton
• When It Comes To Love- Foreigner
• All At Once-The Fray
• Redneck Crazy-Tyler Farr

So, I realized that I really like the "When It Comes To Love" song...Because I've looked it up, like, four times. Weird. And I was reminded of how much I miss 90s country songs, and wonder why they don't play a lot of them on the radio today...Major bummer. 

That's all for now,

Shelby