For this week’s Thursday Thirteen (Fridays in Manila), I write down 13 Christian songs you have to hear.

1. Unrestrained. Calvin Nowell, Mandisa, Myron Butler & Levi, and Tony Sutherland all have their own versions of this amazing anointed song about unashamed worship.

2. The Glory by Avalon. A majestic song about Jesus Christ and the implications of His sacrifice on the cross.

3. You Are Everything by Matthew West. A glorious anthemic ballad about God’s love.

4. Happy by Ayiesha Woods. A light, summery pop ditty about how God can satisfy, with a can’t-let-go sing-along chorus.

5. I Need You to Love Me by BarlowGirl. An emotional slow song from the definitive Christian rock girl group that sings of how one needs God.

6. Set the World On Fire by Britt Nicole. A sparse guitar-driven ballad with a powerful, emotional chorus, that focuses on how one thirsts to be used by God.

7. Sing of our God by Jaime Jamgochian. A great sing-along praise song of God’s glory and magnificence. Definite must-have for worship leaders to use in church.

8. Undo by Rush of Fools. A song about repentance by one of Christian rock’s newest stars.

9. Unleashed by Warren Barfield. This toe-tapper that sings of God’s goodness is one of Barfield’s best gems. Shame it was never released.

10. You’re Not Alone by Meredith Andrews. Another great power ballad, delivered with class and restraint that can only be Spirit-filled.
11. Promises by New Life Worship/Ross Parsley. Anthemic Def Leppard song is guaranteed congregation-pleaser.

12. Empty Me by Chris Sligh. American Idol also-ran releases solid debut single with power-pop sing-along chorus about giving up something for something greater.

13. Magpasalamat by Ganns Deen. This song placed in the Top 3 of the Kerygma Songwriting Contest last year. It’s a Filipino song that means ‘Give Thanks.’ You can download it for free here. (If you do, please let me know what you think.)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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For this week’s Thursday Thirteen (Fridays in Manila), I write down 13 reasons why American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle should not win American Idol. I love Melinda, and every week she comes out and does her thang better than most of the other finalists, but here are some reasons why she shouldn’t (and probably won’t) win.

1. You know the Simons (Fuller and Cowell) are going to piss in their pants if they get another Idol who we know is not going to get airplay on Top 40 radio.

2. The number of people who are starting to get turned off by her act of humility is growing by the week.

3. Her singing skills are impeccable - but her song selections say old old old. Sure, she gives a fresh turn to the songs, but they’re still our parents’ music, not ours.

4. She can carry the uptempo songs vocally, but watching her can be a bit off-putting; the woman can’t dance.

5. If this were Seasons Three, Four, or Five, there’s no way Melinda would’ve won over Fantasia (or Jennifer Hudson, hehe), Carrie Underwood, or Taylor Hicks. Well, maybe she’d beat Taylor Hicks, but I can’t see Melinda outselling Daughtry or Elliott Yamin.

6. She is the perfect shock elimination for 4th place this year. Isn’t that usually the case? Tamyra Gray? Latoya London? Chris Daughtry? Okay, so Anthony Federov and Josh Gracin, notsomuch.

7. As the weeks go by, she starts to get predictable. We know what happens to talented but predictable performers, don’t we, Latoya, Tamyra, and Vonzell?

8. She has no neck. Joke!

9. If you think packaging a gray-haired 30-year-old Southern rocker named Taylor Hicks was difficult, imagine packaging a 28-year-old back-up vocalist with no real sense of style.

10. Every Idol has rabid fans, but if Melinda’s fan demographic is anything like Hicks’ Soul Patrol, then Melinda’s chart-topping future ain’t burnin’ so bright.

11. I just can’t see Melinda filling stadiums throughout the nation like Carrie or Kelly Clarkson.

12. Is it me, or is she starting to look more smug with every passing week? Did you catch the look she gave Ryan when he asked whether she was getting tired of all that praise?
And the 13th reason why Melinda shouldn’t win…

13. Melinda deserves so much better than to become another Taylor Hicks.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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For this week’s Thursday Thirteen (Fridays in Manila), I write down 13 reasons why American Idol finalist Sanjaya Malakar survived to make the next round of American Idol.

13. Sanjdance dances a heckuva lot better than Sundance.

12. Sanjaya kept the lyrics to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” in his hair – and as a result, didn’t forget the lyrics, unlike Brandon, Stephanie, and Haley.

11. We’re keeping him around so he can go on tour and sing Gwen Stefani songs.

10. He speaks to the little child in all of us… or he is the little child we want to speak to.

9. Somewhere out there, the spirit of Scott Savol is chanting a litany of encouragement.

8. There is magic in that Malakar hair.

7. Howard Stern is supporting him. Heavens!

6. Bollywood is gearing up for major promotional pushes.

5. VoteForTheWorst.com is sending out novenas and rosary crusades.

4. Sanjaya Malakar appeals to teenybopper girls, who think they can take him home to Momma.

3. Corbin Bleu’s hair needs some competition.

2. Michael Jackson sees himself in Sanjaya, and is bankrolling the young singer’s vote brigade.

And the number one reason why Sanjaya Malakar is still in the running:

1. Diana Ross saw herself in Sanjaya, and is bankrolling the young singer’s vote brigade!

Note: I do not dislike Sanjaya, nor do I think he deserves all the vitriol on the Internet that he’s getting. He wasn’t the worst performer last night. I just think it’s interesting that this kid continues to keep hanging on… oh, wait, that’s Blake Lewis’ line.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

For this week’s Thursday Thirteen (Fridays in Manila), I write down my 13 favorite sitcom characters.

1 Rose Nylund. Played by Betty White on the Golden Girls, Rose was a sweet but airheaded blonde from Minnesota. “Then the sheriff came, and I told him about how I kill men, and he didn’t believe me! He said, ‘Let’s see, sleep with me!’, so I did. Then the sheriff died!”

2 Phoebe Buffay. Played by Lisa Kudrow on Friends, Phoebe was a kooky lady who lived on the street before becoming friends with the rest of the gang. Phoebe: “Someday I’ll tell you about the time I stabbed a cop.” Monica: “What?!” Phoebe: “What! He stabbed me first!”

3 Chandler Bing. Matthew Perry played this character on Friends and has since gone on to become typecast in the role of the sarcastic best friend. “Everytime I see fishnet stockings, I’m reminded of… my father in fishnet stockings.”

4 Winnie the Witch. Played by Corinne Bohrer, Winnie was the lead character on Free Spirit, a forgotten sitcom - didn’t last a season - that is also memorable for a prepubescent Alysson Hannigan. “Not necessarily!”

5 Balki Bartokomous. Bronson Pinchot played this lovable character from Mipos on the hit 80s sitcom Perfect Strangers. “Now we so happy, we do the dance of joy!”

6 Murphy Brown. Candice Bergen played the title role in this runaway hit. “Oh my God, I have milk coming out of my breasts. This is like having bacon come out of your elbow.”

7 Karen Walker. Grace Adler’s rich secretary on Will and Grace was played by former talk show host Megan Mullally. Jack: “We need a good designer.” Karen: “Do you know any?” Jack (referring to Grace): “Why isn’t she speaking?” Karen: Because she’s hypnotized by her own dress.”

8 Dr. Niles Crane. David Hyde-Pierce was spectacular in his role as Dr. Frasier Crane’s brother on the hit sitcom Frasier. Niles (referring to Bebe, Frasier’s agent: “Oh, dear, don’t turn around. It’s that dreadful woman who works for you.” Frasier: “Who?” Niles: “Um… Lady Macbeth without the sincerity.”

9 Raymond Barone. Ray Romano played the title character on Everybody Loves Raymond. I relate sooo much. Debra Barone: “It’s not about winning and losing. ” Ray Barone: “You know who says that? The loser.”

10 Niles the Butler. Daniel Davis was delightful as the sarcastic butler in The Nanny. Oi vey, he was one of my favorites! C.C.:  “I couldn’t put a foot out of bed this morning.” Niles: “Did someone put a rock on your coffin again?”

11 Lucy Ricardo. All hail the irrepressible, incomparable Lucille Ball! I LOVE LUCY! Lucy (talking to Ethyl about Ricky) “He’s put his foot down so many times, I feel like I’m married to a cuban centipede.”

12 Fez. Wilmer Valderrama’s turn as the ever-horny, ever-sweet Fez (short, by the way, for Foreign Exchange Student, a little 70s spin right there) is hilarious. That 70s Show was a great show.

13 Grandpa Vladimir Dracula. Howard Morton was terribly funny as the cantankerous Grandpa Munster on The Munsters Today. Marilyn: 1988? It can’t be! Grandpa: Yes it can, and it is! But it’s no problem, I can have it fixed in a jiffy. Lily: Jiffy? You can not fix what happened, we have just taken a twenty-two year nap!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants