#TeamAndrewGarcia- Beatles

It's a scary day for Team Andrew Garcia. The consensus among Idol bloggers seems to be that it's either Aaron Kelly or Andrew going home tonight. My love for Andrew aside, I have no idea why Aaron is still on the show. He's been consistently awful and has no appeal whatsoever. People say it's the "grandma vote" keeping him in. I hope, for Andrew's sake, the grandmas have scooted on over to Katie.

I liked Andrew's performance of Can't Buy Me Love. It was fun. He didn't mess with it too much, but did put a little spin on it. The breakdown was fantastic. I do agree with the judges, though, that the band was just too much. He might have been better off with just a base and some drums. Overall I think performances that are more in keeping with his old youtube status have gone over better. Acoustic guitar, a little fun with the melody and timing... perfect.

So is Andrew going home tonight? I sure hope not. I think he's gotten enough exposure that he'll get really far in the business regardless. Honestly- I'm being selfish. I want Andrew in the top 3 because then we get a parade. :) Nothing happens in this town and we're JUST FINALLY pulling together for Andrew. It would be a shame for him to be off the show at this point.

In case you missed it, here's Andrew's performance and the judge's (as always) harsh critique:



I watched this episode at Shakey's with Andrew's family, friends & supporters. It was kind of fun and everything is better with mojos :) Post-viewing I went home (illegally redialing to vote as I drove!) and logged in to BlogTV to watch AJ Rafael's "virtual voting party". This has become a weekly ritual. There's nothing worth watching on tv after Idol and AJ takes the time to chat with fans & play songs while everyone votes for the next 2 hours. There were some surprises in the chat last night. There's a veil of necessary secrecy but let me say two things: 1) Andrew Garcia loves his fans and 2) assuming Andrew survives this week, you should really get in on the voting party next week. Hope I see you there.


Post-script
Once voting had closed I posted I'd listen to AJ sing one song & go to bed. He let me make a request and then sang a really beautiful version of his original "My Soldier" for me. That's been my favorite song for a while but recently (and for obvious reason) it's become increasingly touching for me. It was very sweet of AJ to play it. He's such a great kid. :)

#TeamAndrewGarcia Hollywood Week!

Although it was taped a couple weeks ago, American Idol Hollywood week is on tv this week. I've never actually watched this portion of the show, but I found it really interesting that many people who gave really promising auditions in their hometowns totally bomb in Hollywood. I guess it's nerves, but it seems like it would be less stressful to be in front of the judges for the second time.

Anyway, our boy Andrew Garcia is still a front runner! When we heard the hopefuls could choose to accompany themselves on an instrument, my sister and I both really hoped Andrew would play guitar because he's really good. Sure enough, he played and sang a killer acoustic version of Paula Abdul's Straight Up:



Gutsy move! I wonder if he'd been planning to sing that for a long time (back when Paula was still on the show) or if he decided to pay tribute to the former judge after she left the show. Either way, it was an amazing performance! Andrew totally flipped the song on its head and made it far more beautiful than the original. Much like Marie Digby's version of Rihanna's Umbrella, I think Andrew's interpretation highlighted the lyrics and moved the pop song closer to being a really pretty love song.

Andrew once again got rave reviews from the judges, with both Randy & Kara showing excitement during the performance. Andrew's fellow contestants were totally into it, too, which I thought was pretty cool. My sister and I started shrieking when Ryan Seacrest's voice-over indicated that once Andrew was called out to the front row, they all knew that was the group that was going forward. :)

Twitter, blogs and new agencies are all onboard the Team Andrew Garcia train. I have yet to see a single negative word about him. While that could mean people won't bother to vote for him.. it still means he's getting the attention and accolades he deserves. Win or lose, Andrew is on his way up!

#TeamAndrewGarcia

This is a totally off-topic entry but I'm so excited! Andrew Garcia- an incredible local musician- is on American Idol tonight! A brief clip of his audition was on the preview last week and this week we'll see him hear the 4 magic words: "You're Going To Hollywood!"


It seems he's had to take down all his videos from his youtube account, but you can still find Andrew on a few other youtube videos. One of my favorites is this collaboration with Cathy Nguyen. He's also seen here with JR Aquino and my favorite singer/songwriter AJ Rafael:



Spread the word by tweeting #TeamAndrewGarcia and don't forget to watch Idol tonight! I know he just made it worth it for me again!

***UPDATE***

Andrew KILLED IT! Amazing audition! Check it out: