Ana's Houston TX Recap

First of all I will start by saying I was a little nervous going with my hubby to the AI concert because honestly, I totally dragged him there.  He did it for me, how sweet! But very reluctantly I must say. But the great part was that he ended up having a blast, he laughed, he whoood, he danced, etc. We had so much fun together watching  all the idols.  It was like a date thing, really very nice. We had been to several concerts together before, but the last one we went to was five years ago, so it was fun to do. Now that we are parents of a 3 year old, we don't go to concerts much, so it was nice to do something out of the ordinary.  It did not hurt we had second row seats, either. It was worth our money IMO. I had a pretty good view of all of them.

So anyways I will go one by one, but I will say before hand our four favorites were Taylor, Chris, Elliott and surprisingly. Paris.

MANDISA:
She opened the show great with I'm Every Woman, she really does have a powerhouse voice, and she looked very pretty  with all her make up and bling bling.

She sang her songs well, great opener but her last two songs were too mellow for us. We decided that she probably will have a good gospel career but my hubby was a little harsh  by saying she could have a great job as a backup singer.
He thinks she doesn't have the looks for a solo R&B artist. But what does he know? I think she is super talented.
I wish her the best though, she is a great girl and deserves much success.

ACE:
My husband hated his set because well, he doesn't like Ace at all. I personally love him as a person, he is a sweetheart, he seems so sincere, kind and gentle. As an artist I don't know, he looks great but his voice was just average to us. Nothing special, I think he could have a great future with a boy band but not as a solo artist.
Boy bands are not in style anymore, so I dunno. Hopefully he will have many things working out for him after this.

LISA:
She looked great, wearing jeans and modern top. Did not like her first song but we actually enjoyed pretty much her songs with her playing the piano. Her voice sounded very good and she got excited with the applause. She couldn't believe people were applauding much for her. The problem for us was that Elton John songs are very hard to make them your own (except Taylor) and you can't help to compare her with the original artist. I think the songs were good but not appropriate to her age, but I liked watching her play the piano.

PARIS:
Well now  comes a fun part! Paris came out to do her duet with Lisa, and the energy there went up many notches. My husband was very impressed with her!He loved PARIS! Actually we both liked Paris on the show too. I am telling you this girl will go places, she does have that extra something special that maker her a STAR! Her voice sounded amazing, I don't know why people have been giving her bad reviews. I loved her outfit, her makeup, her hair and overall her  stage presence. She commands the stage, I would go on to say besides Taylor & Chris she is one of the most natural performers there. Her Beyonce song was impressive, good crowd pleaser and it kept people on their feet. She is a force to be reckon with that's for sure. My husband said that out of all the girls she had the most potential and he predicts a great recording career in her future. Just give her five years or so and she will be ready. I hope so, Paris deserves it! She is the BOMB! Next is:

BUCKY:
He is a nice guy, very low profile, laid back. His set was good, nothing special. He looks a little uncomfortable out there, my husband was getting sleepy during his set. KELLY came out for her duet with Bucky, and it was cute but then again nothing special.

I am telling you KELLIE PICKLER was one of of our biggest disappointments. Her set was sort of rushed, she did  talk about being a Sonic waitress and had some people laughing, but all in all. IT was a FORGETTABLE performance. Her voice did not sound great to us, I did not like her outfit at all. What happen to the stylist? And those hair extensions have got to go. They look totally fake and her hair looks lifeless. Sorry Kellie fans but it is the truth. I like her personality though, very fresh. So let's see what happens with her country career, One thing I will tell you: Carrie Underwood she is not.
She wish she could have a voice like her. Maybe  she can become a TV comedian as many people have suggested.
But she is a nice girl, I wish her the best.

INTERMISSION

CHRIS:
THe rock show finally started! Chris entrance was amazing, the whole place became alive when he came out.
What a great voice, I read people were saying Chris voice sounded hoarse, but it did not sound hoarse at all to me.
My husband said: WOW! HE is really really good! We liked Whole Lotta of Love and I personally loved his version of Dead or Alive. My husband not so much, because he said that is a very well known Bon Jovi song and no one should sing that song besides the original artist, but in the end he said he did it justice. Chris put on a black cowboy hat to sing DOA.
I did not like  his outfit though, not rockerish enough. It was like a gray v neck sweater, very preppy for his image. But hey I guess he wanted to change. Anyways, Chris said again that he was finishing his album and that if people would come to see him next year? Does he always asks this question? Is he testing his fans? Chris will be successful that's for sure. He has the chops and he looks like a rock Star IMO. How successful will he be? That is the question. There are many rocker bands out there just like Chris so he must come out with an original sound for his band DAUGHTRY and that will be key to become a HUGE rock artist. Time will tell, but he has everything going for him.

ELLIOTT:
We loved the NICKELBACK duet. My husband said that was one of the highlights of the show as many people have pointed out before. I agree. Elliott's voice is so good, we were very impressed. Amazing vocals.. My husband said he has the most melodic voice and I agree. That guy can sing anything, his voice is mesmerizing. The only bad thing about Elliott's set is that his songs are too mellow for an arena concert. He will definitely fit better on smaller venues I think. Many people in my area sat down during his set. I must admit I sat too, too slow. Trouble was great. The energy went back up again and he finished with a bang.

THe PATIENCE number sounded very harmonic and quite good. The guys voices blend together very well. I am glad they are keeping it on the tour.

Now on to KAT
Let me start by saying that I am a Taylor fan but I always loved KAT too. So I was looking very much to her set.
She looked amazing by the way, her short hair looks so good and classy. Great for her face features. The dress is very pretty and elegant BUT as many of you have said before it is not appropriate for the show. For a party yes, but not to perform. She almost tripped by the way when walking down the ramp. She looked very happy, smiling all the time
Kat was very playful, but unfortunately her songs were Meh.... At least to us. Not much applause as for the others.
Not impressed, my hubby was disappointed he said she is a pretty girl but her voice and her stage presence were lacking. HE hates SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW so you can imagine. I think she did fine with that song, at least she sang it better than BHCT and Think. We laughed with Kat also, because she came down on the front row for Think.
There were two guys standing and she came up to them, gave them a hug and danced with them. She said: Please be nice gentlemen..... very cute. They were all excited.. She is beautiful. Kat was flirty, she was happy. I hope she comes out with a good debut, but my husband also predicts a Diana Degarmo outcome. I don't. I think she will do better, but she has to keep up and improve her performing skills.

On to the other highlight of the night! I knew Taylor was coming down the aisles, but the problem of sitting in the front rows is that when Taylor starts singing Jailhouse rock it takes forever for him to get on stage so he almost sings the entire song walking through and when the song ends that is when we get to see him. I had him so clooooose! He looked amazing, he wore the black jacket, purple shirt and I think those cool blue sneakers. I was too excited to focus on his feet.

And yes people: His hair was gelled! (Yaay, he did it! For me!) he had sort of a spikey hair thing going on that night, but it worked for me. Anything with gel works and no bangs. So I got what I wanted. Taylor is such a handsome guy in person, everyone who told me so were so right.

His energy is mesmerizing and I got to tell you, I could notice he was tired a little bit but he gave it his all.
Hollywood nights, DIMYP and TI2TS were my favorites. LFTC was just a blur. Too short, he did not sing it at all, and he kept saying Houston! Texas! Houston, Texas!, instead of singing the groove thing. I was expecting that but oh well, poor Tay he just might be so sick of doing that Stevie Wonder song so many times. He didn't even do the tambourine at the end, he ended it way too fast. DIMYP was a great moment, the crowd got into it, and Taylor looked touched really.
He came back for TIT2Ts  and my husband loved very much that one. He likes Michael McDonald and he says only Taylor can challenge him. My hubby loved his contagious dance moves, (that is how he calls them). And the harp was so HOT! It was a crowd pleaser also.

My husband always liked Taylor during the show, he thinks he will do just fine, and that he will be the most successful along with Chris. Each within their own niches in the market. And we also concluded the following:

Chris music =  for arenas.
Taylor's music =  for smaller theater sized venues.

I had my doubts before about this topic, because I really wanted to see Taylor on arena tours, but now I understand that is not quite the place for him. He will do great in smaller venues. Houston has a very nice theater called the Verizon Wireless, I think Taylor would love that place. It is very intimate and has great acoustics so maybe Taylor will book it for his future solo shows. We both can't wait to go to see Taylor again up close. My husband is excited about watching Taylor again really, that makes me so happy. He joins the Soul Patrol. He is not obsessed as I am, but he recognized that Taylor is  amazingly talented and one of the best performers he had seen. Very special artist, that is what he said. UNIQUE, of course. Taylor owned the stage and  I will say him and Chris are a league above the others vocally and performance wise. They are the whole package.

One more thing: Taylor and Kat were very playful in LIA. They have so much fun out there. Taylor came out with a black towel and they kept throwing it to each other. I think Kat was helping him clean up his sweat because Taylor did not change, his  purple shirt was soaked. What happened to the white shirt?? I was hoping he will wear it, but no luck.
Taylor and Kat have great chemistry together. I don't know if those rumors about them are true or not, but they just seem to enjoy each other's company so much. They look cute together and hey:  Kat & Taylor, If you have the hots for each other I will say go for it. Now is the time, now before it is too late. There will be too much going on your lives, so the moment is now... My thoughtful advice. Ha, ha.  Hope they remain friends though. Even though they are extremely different, that is why they are attracted to each other IMO. But who really knows? My husband and I are total opposites by the way, but we love that.

To end this long recap, I will say I am a little sad that all of this AI5 thing is over for me. Taylor's set was just too short , I didn't even had time to appreciate it. Taylor 's solo tour will be a long way, but I will be in the front row when he comes back to Houston again. You can take that to the bank!

Good things do happen to good people, and I am glad it happened to TAYLOR HICKS!