The World of Scott Mindeaux

Idol Chat – Top 6 with Andrea Bocelli

The vey famous Andrea Bocelli and David Foster join the Idols tonite. Tonite’s theme is Love Songs.

Katherine – “I Have Nothing” written by David Foster and originally performed by Whitney Houston. Kat you started off great. Then…you started reaching for the high notes and we’re having pitch problems. This was just OK…but Simon was right…if you’re going to perform a Whitney Houston song…you better sound better than the original – you didn’t tonite. I’m sorry Kat…

Elliott – “A Song For You” – Elliott…I’m watching and I luv what I hear. However, you need stage presence bro…walk around! Engage the audience. I’ve been saying it for a few weeks now and this is where it will count. You have a great voice, I luv your music, but you lose me on attention span. Paula…don’t cry….it was very touching however to see you cry. Wow…Simon loved it!!

Kellie – “Unchained Melody” – Interesting choice Kellie. Let’s see what you do with it. You have to really stop playing the “ditzy blond” routine. It does not become you Kellie. Ok…timing problems..pitch here and there. I don’t care for this arrangment. Giving it a “country” twang doesn’t work. You pitch on held out notes…watch it Kellie. That was awful ending. But somehow, America has voted for you the last two weeks and I thought those were awful too.

Paris - “The Way We Were” – Wow…..I can’t wait! Interesting version. I guess I had Babs all in my head, but you came out with a version all your own. Very nice. Oh Simon…don’t be so pissy.

Taylor – “Just Once” – What’s up bud??? That wasn’t a very good beginning. Soft tones aren’t your strong points Taylor. You shine when you can let it out. I’m not sure this was a good fit for you tonite. The ending was a bit more interesting, but it was OK. For you and last week, this was “Just again…”

Chris – “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” – Hmmm…..there is that vibrato again…just too much for my tastes..especially for a love song. THe mid and ending is more your style. You like that. Overall, I’m not sure this was a fantastic performance either. But the votes will probably move you to the Top 5. I’ll be voting for Elliott.

This was a hard night. A mix of weird versions, bad pitch and bad choices. In my opinion, there were only TWO songs tonite that I really liked. Elliott and Kat (just BARELY…).

CEO of The World of Scott Mindeaux celebrates 39 years!

PRESS RELEASE
For all media outlets.

Los Angeles, CA – “I think I will be 39 for several years at this point…” says Scott Mindeaux during the mid-day activities on his 39th Birthday. Mr. Mindeaux is the owner and producer of The World of Scott Mindeaux 2k6 – a blog and podcast produced out of Southern California.

Mr. Mindeaux’s planned day of activities didn’t include a very sweet phone call from his neice, ToniLyn, early this morning. Having celebrated her 6th birthday last weekend, she wanted to wish her Uncle Scott a “very happy birthday”. Ms. ToniLyn’s mother Beth got on the phone and wished him a happy birthday as well. During a recent trip to Las Vegas, Mr. Mindeaux left his sunglasses and iPod in his sister’s residence. “Did you send my iPod back yet?” he inquired to which his sister said “Yes, yes..it’s in UPS’ hands. You have a big surprise in your box”. The package should arrive sometime on Monday. Details to follow on Monday.

Meanwhile, the day didn’t stay as happy as he had hoped. While at a restaurant with his parents, Scott pulled his credit card out to pay for the meal. Why has he paying for his own birthday lunch? Mr. Mindeaux’s mother celebrated her 71st birthday this past week on the 19th and this was just as much her birthday lunch as it was his. “I wanted to take mom to lunch…” Mindeaux said. The host returned to the table and asked for another card. “Why do you need another card, that card is good..” asked Scott. The host said he tried it twice and it was declined. Puzzled, he turned to his father and his dad paid for lunch. After lunch they proceeded to the local market to pick up some items and Scott used his card to pay for their purchased. DECLINED is what came across on the screen. The cashier said, “You probably have fast fingers, swipe and type in your pin again.” Once again the word DELINED read across the screen. “I know there is money in the account, its a VISA Debit Card” he said. Mom had to pay for the purchases. Very puzzled, Scott called his bank, Bank of America. He got to customer service by pressing “0″ just like Citibank. After verifying Mr. Mindeaux’s information, Bank of America informed him that his credit card number had been compromised. They couldn’t disclose anymore informtion other than law enforcement had submitted a list of numbers that were retrieved and his was part of those numbers. In an effot to thwart fraud, it is Bank of America’s policy to place a hold on the account and issue a new credit card. “…this is a very very bad day to do this. It’s my birthday today and I’m going out with friends tonite and need my card” he said. “I’m very sorry for this, but bank policy dictates that for your protection we have to issue a new credit card…” said the representative. Concerned for auto-pay transactions that are tied to his account, he inquired about those and was told that all arrangements made with this credit card number will need to be moved to the new card. “This sucks…this really sucks. This is the 3rd card I’ve had to have in the last two years now. One time was because I lost my card, this is the 2nd time due to fraud. I guess BofA is just doing their job.” said Scott

The rest of day will be spent with friends up in Los Angeles and will be having dinner with Aaron and Davey. They are planning a wonderful dinner at the Opus Bar and Grill on Wilshire near the famous Wiltern Theatre. “I was in the mood for a steakhouse theme. I’ve been craving steak for weeks and I’ll get my fill tonite.” said an enthusiastic Scott. Before dinner, Aaron and Scott will spend some time walking outside and perhaps pay a visit to Sur La Table and buy a few things. Scott offered, “I’m just looking to spending some time with Aaron. He has been a very good friend and I’ve enjoyed getting to know him more these last few months…” Aaron’s roommate, Davey, a member of the financial community, will be joining them for dinner. “I don’t really know Davey that much except thru Aaron. We went out to dinner last week together and it was nice getting to know Davey more. He’s kinda cute, but not sure if there is anything there, if you know what I mean.” said Scott.

A further press release will be sent out pending the evening’s activities and further informaiton on the security breach. For more information on Scott Mindeaux, please visit his website at www.scottmindeaux.com.

Idol Chat – Top 7 and Rod Stewart

Ok folks. I have been working a 3pm to 12am shift and I am missing American Idol for 3 weeks. So it’s about 2:14am and I’m just getting to Tuesday night’s show. This week we are graced by the presence of Rod Stewart. Rod has been working on a series of CDs called The American Songbook. Songs of America’s musical history – a salute to the classics.

Chris Daughtry – Singing “What A Wonderful World” – Oh my. A far departure from what we have seen of Chris. The performance was just OK, not bad, but not spectacular. Chris’ vibrato really bugs me.

Paris Bennett - That outfit looks like she works in an office. I don’t like the color. Ok..back to the music. Tonight she is singing “Foolish Things” – Sexy and saultry. If she put her hair up I think she would have captured the mood. Very nice performance Paris! I lliked this tonite.

Taylor Hicks – “You Send Me” Started off kind of plain. I wanted to see you busting out on stage in true Taylor style. The ending was you Taylor. Stay to your form! Overall it was just OK.

Elliott Yamin – Blow me away Elliott! Tonight he chose “It Had to Be You” – Goosebumps. Very nice! I kinda agree a little bit with Simon. I want him to connect with the audience more. He needs to learn to move and sing at the same time.

Kellie Pichler – “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” – Interesting choice Kellie. This started off sounding like opening night on the opening number of a high school musical. I’m not feeling it. Pitch Kellie, watch the pitch. Yuck. It’s getting worse. What’s up?!?!? Did you practice?!? Very amateurish.

Ace Young – “That’s All” – Pitch and tempo issues at the top. Nice clean look tonite, hair pulled back…very interesting. You vocal range doesn’t match the song in my opinion. This is a little sloppy. Pitch, pitch, pitch. The last note? OMG, pitch! Simon said it was “charming”.

Katharine McPhee – My girl is up next! “Someone to Watch Over Me” – You look great Kat. Sing it! Some pitch issues, but I loved it. I’ll be playing this over and over on the iPod all week. Wow! Praise from all three, Simon LOVED her!

I think KELLIE is in trouble…..

Idol Chat – Top 8 and Queen

Well here we are, down to the final 8. Tonight we are blessed to be joined by Queen.

Bucky – Good start to the evening. I thought it was alright. Nothing special. It kinda sounded ok

Ace – Oh God. He tried to sing “We Will Rock You” it was awful! Learn how to move on stage!

Kellie – Ok..she picked the most popular Queen song and I hated it. All I could think is Reba singing Bohemian Rhapsody. But the judges liked it – Simon too!

Chris – He chose “Inuendo” – Ewww…I do not like the opening of this song. There is something about how he does vibrato that is very “frequency” like. This was a 3 or 4 for me.

Katharine – “Who wants to live forever…” – the sound system sounds like its almost feedbacking…I’ve noticed it all night now. I like the beginning of this song. Dramatic opening. I hope this was my TV that sounds awful with the trebles. I liked it. Did you see Fantasia behind Paula??

Elliott – Thank you, thank you for getting rid of the “Spock” look with the hair. It’s slight but you combed up the hair. “Somebody To Love” is what he sang. Ok Elliott, it was a bit shaky at the beginning. I’m not “feeling” the groove with you on this song. I’m not sure this fit you tonite. Vocally, it was ok. Nothing special…most of the vocals tonite were “verbal” rather than singing. I liked the ending tho.

Taylor – He changed his song from “We Are the Champions” to “A Crazy Little Thing called Love”. Ok start. DId you miss kicking the mic stand Taylor? Interesting arrangement. Funny thing is that I thought that another band wrote this song. Your version is a little weird for me. This is one of those songs that everyone knows and creating a Taylor version might not work for everyone.

Paris – “The Show Must Go On” – Love the look girl. Vocals seem strong. Sounds great, but I don’t like the song – I don’t think anyone else out there will either. “The Show Must End”.

So my predicitons? Kellie, Paris (it was forgettable and being last it didn’t make an impression) and probably Ace.

Who’s going home? Maybe Kellie.

Top That, Chef!

What is it with reality shows and crying? So far these last few weeks, its quite clear that I’m a reality TV junkie. The other thing that has become quite clear to me is that I’ve noticed that we have alot of crying goin on. Top Chef’s Dave and American Idol’s Paris luv luv luv to cry at the end. With the departure of each contestant come the waterworks. I mean, ok, I get verklepmt from time to time, but every show??

Like I said before…Paris, it’s ok….really.

And Dave, I like you, but it’ll be ok…really.

This week’s challenge was to fuse Latin American Flavor with another cuisine. The choices were Chinese, Moroccan, Indian and Japanese. Each team had to successfully fuse the two cuisines together. On top of that, it had to be “street food”. They were each provided a street cart and they had to serve their food to the highly diverse crowds of the Mission District in San Francisco.

The pairs and their street food:
Tiffani and Dave: Moroccan/Latin – Moroccan Cubano Pork Sandwich
Harold and Lisa: Japanese/Latin – Corn Sope with Char Sui Pork with a drink
Stephen and Lee Anne: Chinese/Latin – Seared Tuna Avocado Salad
Andrea and Miguel: Indian/Latin – Curried Chicken and Lentil Burrito with a drink

My first impression was yea…go with the alternative team: Dave and Tiffani. Alternative team? Dave has to be family and Tiffani seems very kewl with the whole queer thing. So I say, go team! They made this Moroccan Cubano Pork Sandwich. This dish was the definition of street food. Completely portable and a good fusion of Moroccan and Latin foods. Next we have Stephen and Lee Anne with their Corn Sope with Char Sui Pork. Sounds yummy and the judges said it tasted great. The flavors worked well together. Now here is where I think got weird. Now, you all know how I feel about Stephen. Pompous, self-centered – you know what I mean. This is the middle of the Mission District and the boy is in a suit with a bright orange tie and the spiky blond hair. He’s holding a tray of food and drinks walking up and down the street trying to get people to taste their food. I think people were afraid of him.

Harold and Lisa had it the roughest. They decided to make Ahi Seared Tuna salad with Avocado and Jicama. Jicama you say? What was that? Did you say Jicama??? Lisa left the jicama back at the studios. This dish was NOT street food. Seared tuna salad in the Mission? the judges were right, a dish served in a bowl and a utensil was needed. this was not portable food in the sense of what the challenge was about.It was a bit too fancy for the folks in the Mission. Last but not least is Andrea and Miguel. Now, earlier in the show, Andrea had won the quickfire challenge and was immune from being sent home. This means that if their dish sucked, Miguel will go home. Miguel chose to put his fate in Andrea’s arm. They made this inside-out Indian Burrito. This, too, was served on a plate and needed a utensil. On top of that was the fact there was a drink. One of the judges said, “I’m holding a plate, a fork and a drink. How do I walk and eat?” Again, not portable.

In the end Lisa was sent home. Dave cried.

Idol Shock!

America, what gives??? Did you pick up the phone? Did you vote??? Tonight’s results show was the most shocking ever in this series! Ryan groups the final 9 into three groups of three. The bottom three for sure I thought was the grouping of Ace, Bucky and Katharine. Both Ace and Katharine have been in the bottom three before. But just as you think you know what’s going to happen, Ryan says that group is safe.

What the fuck?? So now we have Mandisa, Elliott and Paris on the stage. My mind is still spinning over the fact that Bucky and Ace made it through. Then Paris is sent back to the group, she is safe. Now it’s down to Mandisa and Elliott. More anger fills my body and I’m yelling at the monitor. No, it can’t be Mandisa , not Mandisa. But could it be Elliott? As shaky as he was during his performance yesterday, I did like it. I also pitted Mandisa as being way up in the votes.

Then it happened…one of the most shocker moments in American Idol history. Ryan said Elliott was safe and the whole theater was SILENT. The camera crews panned the audience, then the family and friends of both contestants and utter shock was in their faces. I think even Elliotts family thought for sure Elliott has been sent home. But seconds later it became painfully clear that Mandisa was going home.

Mandisa, you will truly be missed. I had you down for weeks as one of the contestants to make it to the final four. Your songs are on my iPod and I’ll be listening for months to come! Get a record deal and I’ll be the first to download your album on iTunes.

I’m pissed America!!! Get out and vote next week. I think Ryan said the final 8 will be singing to the wiles of Queen. Will it be a surprise of Chris Daughtry sings Bohemian Rhapsody? Tune in and find out, next week, Tuesday at 8pm on FOX.