Fenxy

I LOVE listening to Carly sing AND talk... her Irish Accent is sexeh.

You just like David Hernandez cause he's a male stripper and he does that wink and pout thing @ the camera ;)

Haha. Nah, he's not my type. I just think he's consistent, and has a fantastic voice.

I don't think he did as well this week. He FLOORED me last week.

I loved David Cook's performance this week.

I think it's tough to say who's gonna win it all at this point. Give me a week or so and I'll tell yah ;)

I didn't catch the guys last night :-/

All the davids are good. I have yet to be impressed with the girls. Will watch tonight to see if I can discern the best of them .

I have to agree with Right On, David Cook was great last night. Jason did a good job on Hallelujah last night and he has the cute factor going. The rocker Amanda is lucky to still be on the show after last week. Carly has a good voice, but has not done anythiing special yet.

The show is rigged if Amanda Overmyer advances one more week.

I believe the young boy one will win, though I loved the performance of Hallelujah last night, I think that the people who vote on that thing will vote for that little kid.

David Archuleta.... I think he's just OK... he hasn't floored me yet.

I think Archuleta is cute as a kid and seems sweet, but I'm not a fan of his voice. I really like Michael Johns, the Aussie. He's consistent between light and classic rock, styles I enjoy.

As for who will win...I think it's a tough call at this point. However, I don't know that it will be Carly, because, outside of the Heart song, she continues to sing pretty slow music. That bores a lot of young listeners, I imagine, who undoubtedly take the most time out to vote for the contestants.

I loved carly's performance tonight. She could use some more uptempo selections, but she does well. She can do better but she's doing well.

The show is rigged if Amanda Overmyer advances one more week.

I take that back, she was VERY entertaining last night.

Carly is my favorite girl this year so far.

Amanda's got a lot of talent, but not a lot of flexibility. She will be awesome in her niches, it's just a matter of finding the right songs.

Yeah, I think she did enough to stretch out another week.

I thought that the night belonged to Brooke White. I'm totally not a fan of her, I think she's really limited vocally and kinda boring, but she put a good spin on some Benatar.

Ugh...I can't stand Amanda Overmeyer; it's like watching a drunk person at a wedding. She was so all over the place vocally....it was plain bad IMO.

I am slowly growing into a Brooke fan. Last week Carly Simon and Pat Benatar this week. She is making great song choices and improving every week. Carly is still the better singer, but she needs to improve her song choices.

Who I'd like to win: Brooke White
Who I think will win: David Archuleta

Hopefully David A. -- He's got a lot going for him.

He's charming, young, and has an amazing voice. Props to the kid, I hope he wins!

Wow, if that arrangement was more chikezie than the band then we got a mover and a shaker now.

I just caught a clip of Brooke(?) White and although I don't know anyone else I am going to pick her if she continues to perform like I saw tonight.

David Archuletta really screwed the pooch tonight. Loved David Cooke though!

Yeah - WOW! David Archuleta was plain teeeeeerrible!

I loved Carly Smithson and David Cook. I thought that David Hernandez picked the wrong song, but sang it as well as he could. Oh man, I hope the coutnry gal goes home..I can't even remember her name...she was just awful!

Eight Days a Week was painful to listen to.

Dude! I am FURIOUS right now about this week. David Hernandez really went home?

The guy was probably the best technical singer on the show and had delivered some of the best performances of the season. He had 1 bad week and he goes home? Nope. We all know why he went home; the ex-gay-stripper thing, which is ridiculous as Nikki McKibbin (from Season 1) was an exstripper. Antonella Barbera had nude photos all over the net. Both of them stayed well past David, and they were both terrible singers. Throw the word gay in there and it's no longer a passable offense.

(sigh)

Bad couple of weeks for the gay community. Whenever it seems we make progress, there's always something to remind us where we stand. Leave it to reality TV to ruin my night.

I'm going to go watch old episodes of Dallas. :)

</ rant>

Come on now Ryan, you can't always toss out the Gay card when something like this happens. David's performance sucked this week. He didn't perform and that's what happens. With so many people still left yeah you can say others were more deserving, but I have no problem with him being voted off after what I saw from him and this was my first week watching.

And amazing you bring up gay and American Idol without remembering the famous Clay Aiken...

If a guy getting voted off American Idol defines a whole community well no offense you got some twisted shit going on in your head. As with any community you stand where you want to, if you feel you are moving backwards then it's you who is moving backwards when you should be moving forward.

Maybe the Academy that awards movies didn't realize Brokeback Mountain was about two gay men? Now I understand there are certain areas where people of all types get held back, that is how society works. You either live with it and fight it or you sit back and cry.

David sucked this week. His performance was uninspiring. If I could have voted for 6 people to leave I would have, but that wasn't the case. Life goes on.

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of Hernandez. He WAS a good singer, but not song picker or performer. People may very well not be voting for him because he's gay... but even if that was 0 factor among 100% of the voters, I don't think he could've lasted much longer without a MAJOR improvement.

I never thought David Hernandez was any good, his voice sounded weak to me always. He m ight be a much better stripper.

I thought that girl who sang that awful rendition of Eight Days a Week should have gone though, and I wish she would do something about her stance - it is painfully obvious she rides horses all the time.

Kristy deserved to leave more than David by far.... She ruined that song.

I do think assuming he got the boot because of his sexual orientation is a bit of a reach Ryan... I'm sure some people out there didn't vote for him for a multitude of reasons but who really knows. There's not a way to prove why he got the least number of votes.

I didn't think he did well this week but I think it should have been David and Syesha that got to go sit back down.

I agree with Right On, but I also did not vote for David. The only David that was worth voting for was David Cook. I think Brooke is definitely sneaking up on everybody though.

Yeah I voted for Carly and David Cook myself.

We'll have to agree to disagree then James. Google David Hernandez and see what comes up: all stories about his past as a gay stripper. Nothing about his progress as a talented musician. It's coincidence that the story goes national over the past week and then he gets voted off? When 3-4 contestants were much worse than he was? It's easy for you, as a straight man, to assume people don't factor that in. But, being on the gay side of things, people are always factoring in a gay person's sexuality. I've lost jobs and promotions because of it, even though I was clearly qualified. Essentially, that's what happened to David.

I realize I look like the crazy gay conspiracy theorist, and I don't really care. That's the climate we live in today. You can be about anything - an unwed teen mother (Fantasia), a kid who's out of touch with reality (Sanjaya), a slut with nude photos all over the net (Antonella Barbera) or about anything else, just don't be gay.

I'm just disillusioned lately with America. Seems like things are moving backwards rather than forwards, so maybe I'm overreacting. But, then again, maybe I'm not. Only time will tell.

I think we'd be in the same situation if he was a straight stripper and that story went public. We americans are hypocritical prudes remember. Show us as much T&A (would that be pecs and a for guys?) as you can get away with on tv, but god forbid someone do that for a job when it's not "art," if you can consider some of our television programming art.

@Scrivs

If a guy getting voted off American Idol defines a whole community well no offense you got some twisted shit going on in your head.

It's not just American Idol, but I see how you got that impression.

Like I said above, I'm frustrated with America, and the treatment of the gay community, in general.. Over the past few months, we have the following incidents:

May 2007: Sean William Kennedy, 20, was walking to his car from Brew's Bar in Greenville, SC when Andrew Moller, 18, got out of another car and approached Kennedy. Investigators said that Moller made a comment about Kennedy's sexual orientation, and threw a fatal punch because he didn't like another man's sexual preference.

Oct 2007: Steven Domer, an openly gay 62-year-old Oklahoma man, vanishes without a trace. Police drag their feet on declaring him a missing persons, even though he was last seen with 2 men known to be part of a local skin head gang. One officer even remarks to a reporter that "gay men are known to be nomadic". It's later discovered that the two men brutally murdered Domer simply for being homosexual.

Jan 2008: Three gay men were attacked in the privacy of their dwelling by an angry mob who had days before threatened them if they did not leave the community. According to reports, two men were hospitalized, one with serious injuries, while another man is still missing and feared dead.

Feb 2008: Brazilian gay rights activist Alexandre Peixe dos Santos was attacked and beaten at the Sao Paulo's Gay Pride Association offices in Brazil.

Feb 2008: Lawrence King, 15, shot in the head over being openly gay and asking a male classmate to be his Valentine. It take Ellen talking about the hate crime on national TV for any news outlets to pick up the story. To this day, there has been little to no public outcry over the murder, aside from the gay community.

Mar 08: A speech from Oklahoma Republican Representative Sally Kern is put on Youtube by the Victory Fund. In the video, Sally says that homosexuality is a bigger threat to America than terrorism or Islam. She calls homosexuals a cancer on our society. When the story breaks, and there's a public outcry from the gay community, Kern is given a standing ovation by the Republican house for a job well done. (And, on a more personal note, the local talk radio coverage here in Oklahoma has been praising Kern for her "courage". Several callers even remarked about how the "fags" or "homos" are overreacting.)

If think that this is all in my head, here's a brief excerpt from an FBI study:

In the United States, the FBI reported that for 2006, hate crimes against gays increased to 16%, from 14% in 2005, as percentages of total documented hate crimes across the US.

The studies are released November of the following year, so I'll be interested to see the results for 2007.

I get that I'm coming across like I'm a gay rights zealot. But that's only to those outside of the gay community. And that's because you get an nonobjective view of events from the media. All of these situations I mentioned above are either left completely outside of the mainstream media, or are mentioned as sidenotes. All of my close friends who are part of the LGBT community feel the same way: that things are moving backwards, at least over the past 6 months or so. Like the fight has stopped being about gay marriage and begun being about being seen as equal human beings.

It's like you said: I can sit and cry, or I can do something about it. In my time as a 9rules member I pushed for a LGBT community, something I felt was important in bringing attention to some really talented members of the blogging community who just happened to write about issues affecting the gay community. I was disappointed when that never materialized. Maybe if it had, I wouldn't be the only bringing these issues to the forefront.

If I have to wear the label as the "crazy gay" on 9rules, I'll wear it. That's doesn't intimidate me in the slightest Scrivs. But, as you're labeling me, you're reading what I say and, whether or not you agree with me, hopefully you're walking away with the idea that things are different on this side of the rainbow flag than you perceive them to be on your side.

Maybe the Academy that awards movies didn't realize Brokeback Mountain was about two gay men?

Sorry? Did it win best picture, as most critics believed it would? No, Crash won.

@ Ryan- For me American Idol is a popularity contest along with a singing contest. If it wasn't I do not believe Blake would have made it into the finals. That being said, everyone has their favorite style of music. David could sing and probably should not have been voted off this week, but he was not the most talented. You have to remember people do not vote against someone they vote for their favorite. For me personally this changes from week to week until they get down to the final 4 or 5.
I do understand your frustrations with how gays are treated in our society, but I do not believe American Idol is a good example of this. By the way I do not think of you as the "crazy gay" on 9 rules and believe that most people feel the same as me.

@Liza - Yeah, I totally get how it works. For me, it seems that David Hernandez got the raw end of the deal though. It's hard not to think that when you read all you read about him is how horrible his past was, nothing about his talent as a singer.

And thanks for the kind words. :) When I believe in something, I'm gonna stick to my guns. If that makes other people think of me differently, I can't control that. And I can't worry about it. :)

Ryan, I see your point and I think a lot of it is just the recent amount of news surrounding the gay community that has you all stirred up.

Like I said earlier... there is a LOT of negative press surrounding David H. but if you're doing well on a reality show, the press will ALWAYS dig up shit on you. It's their game. I saw a lot of Entertainment shows talking about him and I think ONE time they said he was dancing for guys. The rest said he was just a nude dancer. I had a feeling that he was gay but it didn't even cross my mind during the show, or when he was voted out.

Yes there was a pile of dirt on David, and yes he didn't have a very good week... but without asking everyone who DIDN'T vote for him why they didn't all you have is conjecture. There is absolutely no way to prove WHY he was voted off the show.

hopefully you're walking away with the idea that things are different on this side of the rainbow flag than you perceive them to be on your side.

I'm half-black, half-white and look like a teenager so yeah I've had my issues with stuff in the past, but I didn't use it as a crutch. My parents dated around a time where white women and black men weren't a good mix. My issue is people crying and whining about this reality we live in and trying to pinpoint it only being about them.

I can go by every month and point out where a small-town white girl is murdered, does that mean all small-town white girls are doomed?

What about a black person who can't get a promotion because it's just assumed that a black person's intelligence isn't up to par? Tyme made it big in her niche by overcoming odds, not crying about them.

I don't know the exact numbers of American Idol or how the voting worked out, but hey if you want to think him being gay or whatever the hell he is was his downfall then that is on you. I've never gotten anywhere by crying and moaning about things and you won't either.

I understand where you are coming from. You root for your people as you should and when they don't make it, it hurts. But don't fall back to the easy scapegoat of him not making it cuz he was gay, that will get you no where. Or maybe that's an easier way to look at life for you. I fail because I'm gay.

It's like when people tell me they can't dance because they are white.

They can't play a violin because they aren't asian.

Fuck that noise.

Some blacks really believe they can't make it out the ghetto because they are black. I got no respect for them. Others feel differently and make something of themselves. I got respect for them.

Some whites try to rap knowing the odds are against them but they go through with it and they don't whine.

Did Brokeback Mountain have to win Best Picture for you to think the world is okay with gays? Being in the top 5 wasn't good enough? Coincidentally Crash wins and it depicts society and racism at its worth.

Am I blind to think life is easy for all gays? Nope. Life is rarely easy for any of us. Some people have more hurdles than others, either jump over them or cry that you have too many.

I know people who stand up and fight for what they believe in and my point is you coming here crying about him being a gay stripper being the reason for his loss and how gays are being held back does absolutely nothing for your people. You want to be strong and help them, then be strong and help them. That's the issue I have with how you are responding and reacting. You are a great person and I feel you can handle things differently to help your own cause, instead to me you are hurting it.

Focus on the strides the gay community takes instead of focusing on the losses.

And my apologies for derailing the Idol fever.

@Ryan, I understand the situation you face, though I am not you and can't exactly put myself in your place. I go to Georgetown and surprisingly, or not, there are quite a few gay hate crimes, a lot of gay bashing, or just plain harassment of the gay community there. I myself was surprised, coming from NYU where I saw none of that at all. It is kind of another world, and to think it is at a fairly large university of supposedly educated individuals is even the more distressing. If ignorance can't be dispelled in the land of those who have at least a decent intelligence what hope is there for anyone. I think it clouded your judgment here though, he would have gone next week if not this past week - just looking at the singers from my non-expert point of view.

I personally didn't really know that singer was gay, I'm rather new to this whole idol thing, and I didn't think he was very good the other night, though as I said that other girl should ha gone first.

@RightOn:

Ryan, I see your point and I think a lot of it is just the recent amount of news surrounding the gay community that has you all stirred up.

To you it's just news, to me, and the gay community, it's real life. For instance, I have a friend who's getting his masters at OSU. He and his boyfriend were walking from a restaurant to their car last Friday night and passed a group of people waiting outside for a table. As they passed, one of the guys waiting said, "what a couple of faggots!" to his buddies. The entire crowd laughed, children and all. Sounds minor, but that's an intimidating situation for 2 gay men to be in. And those instances have become more common in the last 6 months or so.

@Scrivs:

My issue is people crying and whining about this reality we live in and trying to pinpoint it only being about them.

1) I'm not trying to make this about any one specific person; I'm making this about the treatment of a group of people, which I thought was clear.
2) Just because this is the reality we live in doesn't make it right. During the Nazis reign in Germany, people could have said, "well, that's reality. Best not complain!" and let it go. But part of being human is wanting better. If hoping for progress make mes a whiner, I'll own it.

I can go by every month and point out where a small-town white girl is murdered, does that mean all small-town white girls are doomed?

You're putting too fine of a point on things, and I think you know that. I'm talking about the systematic targeting of people based on one specific trait that, currently, is seen as sinful or making an individual lesser in society's eyes.

Also, have I said all gay people are doomed? No, that's a stretch. I've said that the climate is shifting in America towards the gay community. Does that mean I think that all gay people will be murdered or experience violence? No, and I don't think I've represented that. But there is a feeling amongst some of the gay community that it's become more tolerable to target the gay community than it was even 12 months ago.

What about a black person who can't get a promotion because it's just assumed that a black person's intelligence isn't up to par? Tyme made it big in her niche by overcoming odds, not crying about them.

Again wrong. Why, when I'm talking about gay rights, do people always go back to fair treatment for the black community? Have I implied that gay rights and rights for other minorities are mutually exclusive? I don't think I have. Discrimination is discrimination and whatever the basis, is wrong.

I think the implication you're making with the comment about Tyme is that I'm the kind of person who plays the gay card when I don't succeed and, if that is your intent, that's uncool.

I work in corporate America and it's the good ole' boy system where you get ahead by paling around with your boss; playing golf, talking sports or talking about women. If you think the fact that I don't do those things hasn't been something for me to overcome, you're dead wrong. In my field, I'm one of very few openly gay men at my level, and I got there by working twice as hard as those connected to the system.

I don't say that as someone jaded, I'm smart enough to know that being bitter won't hep me at all. Instead, I take that frustration and I let it drive me professionally, which is why I am where I am. I've never written off my own personal failures as being because I'm gay. If I didn't succeed, it's because I wasn't giving enough or there were circumstances outside of my control.

But, at the same time, does that mean I'm restricted from pointing out the fact that the system isn't fair? No.

I fail because I'm gay.

How have I equated this to my own failures or successes? Hell, David himself is saying he doesn't think he was ousted for the drama regarding his personal life, which is a smart PR move on his side.

We're talking about a specific situation. In this case, I'm talking about someone whom I believe didn't receive a fair shake because he was judged based on his sexual orientation, or the perception of his orientation. Can I prove that's why he left? No. You can prove it wasn't his orientation that got him the boot? Nope.

Am I blind to think life is easy for all gays? Nope. Life is rarely easy for any of us. Some people have more hurdles than others, either jump over them or cry that you have too many.

Who doesn't have hurdles? Again, it seems like your only solution is to ignore the problems and hope they go away. If you know me personally, you know my ass jumping those hurdles, but you also know I'm going to be telling the ref that my lane had more than others. Maybe things will change, maybe the won't, but they definitely won't if I stay quiet.

I know people who stand up and fight for what they believe in and my point is you coming here crying about him being a gay stripper being the reason for his loss and how gays are being held back does absolutely nothing for your people.

If you think for a second that I'm not out there fighting the good fight, you're mistaken. I think you know better though.

I get what you're saying: you think actions speak louder than words, and I agree. But actions AND words can work together.

I was obviously frustrated last night when I posted this but, looking back, would I have not said it? Nah, I don't think I was out of line or I've done anything to hurt the gay community.

You are a great person...

Thanks,as are you. Even when we disagree (which generally means you're wrong), you know I've got nothing but respect. :)

How about that LGBT community now? :)