American Idol Bracket 2014

It's official! The American Idol bracket "Queen of the Idol Picks" trophy is in my possession for a whole year! The first year I won it, in 2012, we didn't have the trophy, so this is technically my first time having it, but 2nd time winning the bracket in 3 years. If you recall, the last time I won it, Phillip Phillips was my pick to win it all (based partly on rave reviews in his audition by one of my co-workers). She, and I, were right that year and Phillip won it all, securing 10 bonus points for me. Last year, I narrowly lost (due to a misunderstanding of the rules by the other members of our bracket).

This year, my pick was Caleb Johnson. It was a tough pick, and I had a couple others I was considering. Ultimately, I went with my gut, and the fact that Caleb just seemed like a true performer, who really had his act together. He knew what kind of an artist he wanted to be, and he was so consistent in all of the rounds leading up to the live shows. Week after week during the competition, he continued to make the smartest song choices. They were perfect for his voice and his style. He also challenged himself and chose a few songs that were outside of his comfort zone. But like all of the greats before him (David Cook, Adam Lambert, etc.), he made those surprising song choices into some of his best performances. He was inventive and creative, and always made you wonder what he was going to sing the following week. He continued to escape the bottom 3 every week, and I felt like he only grew stronger and stronger. It was to the point that I wasn't even worried about him ever being in the bottom, because he was just that good.

The other 3 ladies in our bracket, were not so lucky. Ben was chosen as a pick to win it all, and he was voted out in week 3. The other 2 ladies chose Majesty as the winner. She was voted out in week 4. By week 4, I was the only one with my "horse in the race". As our rules state, you can switch your pick to win if your pick gets voted out, but you will only get 5 bonus points if that person wins. Dexter was chosen as a replacement, and he was voted out in week 7. After that, Alex and Jena were the picks by the 3 other ladies. Alex was voted out in week 11. We were now down to the final 2: Jena and Caleb. It was me against 2 of the other ladies, with my Caleb STILL being in it! For the first time, I was really worried that Jena was going to win. The critics and fans all around raved about Jena's talent. I just didn't see what all the fuss was about (If you read by Reality Bites blog, you know my feelings about Jena). 

As we went into the final night, I was still leading the bracket by 2 points. Only Nancy could catch me. I knew I had to be careful, so I weighed by final vote very carefully, and I figured something out. If I voted for Caleb to win, and he lost, I got 0 points for the week. Nancy would get 5 points for guessing Jena to win for the week. Her pick to win was Alex, so she couldn't get any bonus points, but that 5 points would be enough to beat me. However, if I chose to give Jena my vote for the week, I stay ahead if she wins, but even if I was wrong and Caleb won, I still would get 10 bonus points for picking Caleb as my pick to win it all from the beginning. So, the choice was obvious. Plus, I thought it might actually help Caleb by "voting against him". Sure enough...it worked! The other 3 ladies (plus me) picked Jena to win, and it was CALEB!!!! I was so ecstatic! Not just because I won, but because the right person won. All of my voting (50 votes by text, Facebook and Google, and as many phone calls as I could get to go through), plus my mom's 50 votes on all methods proved to do the trick. 

It was another fun and unpredictable year for our bracket. I fully expect to keep this trophy next year as well. :)

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American Idol Bracket Party 2012

Today was so much fun...for several reasons:
(1) It's Friday
(2) It's the start of a long holiday weekend
(3) Today's the day I got treated to lunch because I won our American Idol bracket!  This was the most fun, but it does need some explaining, so I'll start at the beginning...

At Lehman's, there are plenty of us who watch American Idol religiously. So, this year, we decided that it might be fun to hold our own version of the March Madness Bracket.

The Rules:
Each week (beginning with the Top 10), we would choose who we think would end up in the bottom 3, and who we think was going to be voted off. For each correct bottom 3 guess, you earn 1 point, and for a correct "going home" guess, you earn 5 points. If you were good, you could earn a total of 8 points each week. (None of us achieved that mark...I came closest with 7, in the first week).

At the beginning, each person chose the person who they thought was going to win it all. This choice was locked in, and couldn't be changed. At the end of the competition, if this guess was right, you earned a 10 point bonus.

From the Beginning:
I chose Phillip Phillips as the winner, as did Linda. Nancy chose Jessica Sanchez; Becky chose Skylar Laine; and Diane chose Colton Dixon. The first week of "our" competition, I got a great start by being the only person to choose Erika to go home, and I was correct! After that, it was pretty much downhill for all of us. America was not voting the way we all predicted, and time after time, our choices were, for the most part, incorrect. Near the end, Nancy pulled ahead of me by some risky choices, and it looked like she was going to win. At the finale, we all believed it was pretty clear that Phillip was going to win, and we all chose him as the winner. On Wednesday, May 23, Phillip was declared the winner over Jessica Sanchez! With the 10 point bonus, I was able to overcome Nancy by 2 points, to become the 2012 bracket winner. Linda also made a nice showing in third place, due to her 10 point bonus.

However, I must also give credit where credit is due. On the very first audition episode of the season, Shelley came to work and declared that Phillip Phillips would win it all. Who knew, that after hundreds of other auditions, and a dozen or so rounds later, that he in fact, would be the winner!  That's just outrageous! I don't think anyone will ever come close to predicting another one like that.

The Reward:

My sweet, personalized t-shirt
from Linda

The winner of the bracket was to be treated to lunch of her choice. And so, today, the lunch took place. However, I got so much more than just lunch! Nancy, Linda and Shonda went so above and beyond, and I was totally shocked by their creativity (although, really I shouldn't have been, because I know them both pretty well).  Not only did I get pizza from Gionino's, but I also got a crown (purple of course), a boa (purple of course), and a personalized t-shirt with my name on it and everything!!!! Then, to top it all off, Linda whips out her phone and starts playing Phillip's winning song "Home"...just perfect!!!

This is just another reason I love the people I work with! They are so thoughtful, and they know me so well...hello PURPLE everything! Loved it!!! I couldn't ask for better co-workers and friends. I am so blessed!

Our awesome HR Team: Nancy, Shonda, me, Linda