American Idol 3/18, 3/19, 3/20

[vivalostwages]

Okay, eleven finalists sing tonight. No info on the theme, but here's the thread, anyway.

[Queen Tonya]

The Beatles:II!

I think the big questions tonight are what will Kristy do, and did David A learn his lyrics, hmm? :dubious:

[HazelNutCoffee]

The Beatles? Really?

I guess last week wasn't technically The Beatles, but . . . huh.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Amanda LOOKS better tonight, but her singing is terrible.

[Queen Tonya]

Amanda: Back in the USSR

I'm so disappointed in her, she's been the Great Punk Hope and I always adore them and they always get voted off early on and she's not getting voted off but she's not entertaining me either.

I'm entirely meh on her performance.

[Biggirl]

She's my Sanjaya. I loved that kid but he couldn't sing. I love Amanda but that girl can't sing for crap.

[LilyoftheValley]

Amanda: Back in the USSR

<snip>

I'm entirely meh on her performance.

Yeah, meh was the word for me. She lacks something in the stage presence department, I'm not sure just what...

Oh wait, now I do. She just said something like she wants people to say that she's having fun...and she really doesn't look like she is.

[Biggirl]

Ah, the girl who squatted and took a dump on the stage last week, Kristy. I hate her. She must leave.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Yawn. This girl is so boring.

[Carm6773]

Kristy is no better this week.

[KSO]

Kristy Lee picked her song based on the title? She needs to be put out of her misery. Nevermind that her performance sucks. Again.

I hate her too, Biggirl.

[LilyoftheValley]

Oh, Kristy Lee. You picked "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" basically from the the title...because you'd never heard it...

Damn, people. It's not that much of an obscure one! Hell, didn't some grungy band even do it? Pearl Jam, maybe? I would have pegged this for David Cook.

Ouch, she's not hitting the notes either.

[Queen Tonya]

Kristy: You've got to hide your love away

This arrangement is way too low for her, I wonder if they did that because it's got a fairly wide range and they were worried about her high notes. Whatever the reason, she's showing a great example of the "listen to the songs before you choose one!" I mean, dayum, even if you've lived under a rock and never heard the Beatles, give a listen to a dozen or so and find one that you can sing.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

I hates hates hates this. She showed no respect for the melody at all. What a hack job abortion. Does she really think she can phrase better than John Lennon? That was despicable.

[HazelNutCoffee]

"It's kinda new to me, the Beatles thing."

:smack: Jesus Christ.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Die, Kristy. Just die. You didn't know the melody. You suck.

[KSO]

Now she's just pissing me off. How in the hell can someone who aspires to be a pop singer be "new to the Beatles thing"? Fuck off, you stupid twat.

[Carm6773]

I still cannot believe David A. is only 17.

[Queen Tonya]

David A: Long and Winding Road

We've replaced David's comb with an egg-beater, let's see if he notices.

One of my personal fave Beatles songs, but totally in his comfort zone, he's balladizing his little tuchis off.

[Biggirl]

David A. will always be Lizard Boy to me. He's gotta stop that lip licking. He is the first of the of the night who can actually sing, though.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

David H. Really needs to redeem himself this week. "The Long and Winding Road" should be perfect for him. It's the one I would have suggested for him myself.

A little slow but nice tone. Bridge was too slow as well. NIce tone, not bad. But this arrangement is dynamically very flat. There's no builds. All in all it was ok, not his best but better than last week. The arrangemnet didn't do him any favors.

[LilyoftheValley]

David A. Is this the worst Beatles song ever, or did you just make it that with your arrangement? "Hotness", Randy? Dude, I don't usually fall asleep to "hotness".

ETA: OK, everyone thought he was amazing; Simon thought he was memorable; it's one of Queen Tonya's favorite Beatles songs...it must be me.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Okay, David, you've redeemed yourself. It was a bit "safe" though. Almost boringly so.

[KSO]

Too many runs, I thought, but otherwise very good.

[Drain Bead]

I'm surprised that I'm not hearing an "old-fashioned" from Simon. That was a very dated arrangement from David A.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Hmph. I'm feeling meh about Michael J. Granted, it's a difficult song to pull off.

[Queen Tonya]

Micheal: A Day in the Life

He's just so pretty. After all the "The who? Beetles? Who're they?" stuff from the younger contestants, it's hard not to love him just for having the proper respect.

I kinda dig that he acknowledged the difficulty of these minute and a half arrangements, it's one of the most annoying parts of Idol.

[Biggirl]

Blah for the Aussie guy.

[LilyoftheValley]

OK, I never really liked Aussie Michael, but he knows the Beatles. And this is a great song (though probably not for a short Idol pick). Now let's hear him do it.

Ouch, did he chop up the lyrics so badly that he totally forgot what he was going to sing at the end there? That made no sense.

Tried to go for the quirky Bohemian Rhapsody repeat, and it didn't work. Too bad.

[Drain Bead]

Taylor Hicks nailed "A Day In The Life" during last year's finale (was it last years? Or did he do it during his own finale?) and Michael just sounded...wheezy and strained.

[KSO]

I don't get Michael Johns. His voice is thin and weak and shaky and he misses notes.

[Queen Tonya]

Man, little David A is gonna get a blanket party by the other contestants if Simon doesn't stop using him as a benchmark.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

"A Day in the Life" just isn't going to work when it's all chopped up like that and he didn't really execute that well anyway, especially on the McCartney part.

[LilyoftheValley]

Oh, Kristy Lee. You picked "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" basically from the the title...because you'd never heard it...

Damn, people. It's not that much of an obscure one! Hell, didn't some grungy band even do it? Pearl Jam, maybe? I would have pegged this for David Cook.


Yes, self, Google has informed me that it was covered by Eddie Vedder. He did an amazing job (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfIh34uZY00) too, IMHO. I have to stop listening to real performers on YouTube during commercial breaks.

[Sanity Challenged]

I must be cranky today. Amanda is starting to really bore me. David A. did good, but not as good as the judges are giving him credit for - it was competent but nothing special. Michael Johns was pretty poor.

Pretty much the highlight of the show so far was Kristy offering to blow Simon out of his socks. I guess it's about time she started displaying talent of some form.

[Queen Tonya]

Brooke: Here Comes The Sun

No instruments tonight, interesting. She's twangy, though.

ETA: what in the heck is with that dress?!

[HazelNutCoffee]

Ouch. Is it just me, or is Brooke way off on a lot of her notes?

[KSO]

Brooke was super annoying for some reason. Also twangy and boring.

ETA: Wow, how gracious of her to be willing to accept the judges' criticism. :rolleyes:

[Biggirl]

This song suits Snow White's limited range. I'm not liking anyone too much today.

[tnetennba]

Really didn't care for the arrangement of HCTS. The guitar is really the heart of the song, and they kind of minimized it.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Brooke was karaoke and a little too self-satisfied. That's two weeks in a row that she picked very easy songs. She isn't very courageous.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Oh God, she's being so nicey-nice. I don't know why it's annoying me so much.

[tnetennba]

So was Simon just shitting on "Here Comes the Sun" by saying there's a "whole world of difference" between that song and "Let it Be"? Because I think they're both great songs.

[Drain Bead]

Brooke's dress was hideous. She looks like Big Bird.

[PunditLisa]

Brooke should have chosen "Strawberry Fields Forever."

[Diogenes the Cynic]

What did she do that was different than any other week? She picked a very safe, unchallenging song. What so daring about it.

And she asked if she could do "Let it Be" again this week? Man, she really is artistically gutless. She's perfect for this show.

[LilyoftheValley]

I'm living in bizarroland. Brooke was actually one of my favorites so far tonight (I wasn't looking at the screen, though). Of course, I didn't like any of the others at all, so that's not saying much.

I still want to vote for Eddie Vedder.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

So was Simon just shitting on "Here Comes the Sun" by saying there's a "whole world of difference" between that song and "Let it Be"? Because I think they're both great songs.
I wondered about that too. Maybe he thinks HCTS has too much guitar on it. It's just as classic (and just as classically "Beatles") as "Let it Be."

[Queen Tonya]

I still want to vote for Eddie Vedder.

Well, sure, who wouldn't? :D

[Nutty Bunny]

Brooke needs a piano since she seems so awkward and uncomfortable when she's "dancing" (or whatever that was). I cringed at the "Whoo!". Yikes!

[off topic]Ooh! A new Simon Pegg movie. Sweet![/back on topic]

I felt like I was watching a Disney movie when she was on. I almost expected birds to make her a dress like in Cinderella. But it was more like birds tore it apart.

[tnetennba]

I'm really sick of the rocker guys who are alternative in the way that was passe 15 years ago.

[KSO]

Frampton comes alive! On American Idol!

David Cook really, really, really sucked.

[Biggirl]

Stop looking at your guitar! Man, I hate that Emo Guy is the best so far tonight.

[Queen Tonya]

David Combover: Daytripper

Thank you, thank you, thank you for admitting you cop every single one of your arrangements. Of course, the judges will miss the significance of that statement, but you and I know the truth at least.

[Drain Bead]

So I might actually buy David Cook's "Day Tripper."

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Whitesnake's version of "Daytripper." It always bugs me when they try to Daughtry their way through a week by doing someone else's version of a song that's in their comfort zone rather than just manning up and trying to stretch.

This sounds just like the Whitesnake version. They're letting him do a solo? Cool.

I guess that was pretty good for a Whitesnake cover.

[HazelNutCoffee]

David C. Not bad. Favorite so far, anyway.

[tnetennba]

Stop looking at your guitar! Man, I hate that Emo Guy is the best so far tonight.

Nah.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Simon hates guitars so of course he's going to hate it. He's never "gotten" rock.

[Carm6773]

wtf? Geico commercials?
Paula, Paula, Paula.....

I liked David C's performance

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Do "Feel Like I Do!"

[HazelNutCoffee]

Oh, Diogenes, that reminds me, I laughed at your Randy/Paula/Simon dialogue over in the Obama speech thread. They are rather predictable.

[Talon Karrde]

Bleh, that version of Daytripper sucked. I guess part of the blame goes to White Snake for butchering the song.

[tnetennba]

Simon hates guitars so of course he's going to hate it. He's never "gotten" rock.

I've never felt like anything on American Idol can really pass as "rock." As Simon said to Chris Daughtry, the kind of guys these "rocker" guys are trying to be wouldn't be caught dead on this show.

[Sanity Challenged]

I was looking forward to Brooke, but meh. David Cook - OK. Still meh.

Who's gonna save the show tonight?

[HazelNutCoffee]

Jesus, Carly, what are you wearing?

[tnetennba]

I honestly don't even know why this Irish chick is on the show.

[Carm6773]

ok, this week Carly look preggers

Never heard the song before, but it was a good performance

[Queen Tonya]

Carly: Blackbird

Or Sparrow, whatever.

Interesting that she says it's one of the first songs she tried learning on guitar, but doesn't play it.

I'm not minding the tattoo, but does she have to go sleeveless every week?

I liked it, I'm finally reminded of what I liked about her in the beginning.

They did an excellent make up job on her tonight, too.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

First off, "Blackbird" should be accompanied by an accoustic guitar, not a piano. Secondly, she fucked up the words, thirdly, she's buttfucking the melody (why can't any of these people respect the melodies. What makes them think they have the right to rewrite Paul McCartney?)

That was obnoxious.

[gonzomax]

Because she is one of the better singers?

[Biggirl]

That was pretty. I liked the Irish girl.

[Drain Bead]

Is anyone else noticing that Carly's posture is awful? She was hunched over that mic like the stand wasn't adjusted properly or something.

[LilyoftheValley]

Jesus, Carly, what are you wearing?

I really just wish she would choose something with sleeves.

[KSO]

I thought Carly was horrible and looks like she got dressed in the dark. Terrible make-up also.

I'm sick of the fucking attitude a lot of these people have. Maybe the reason you haven't had any success in the music industry is because you suck.

[LilyoftheValley]

Oh no she didn't...

If anything could surpass an arm length self portrait tattoo, it would be blue knuckle tattoos.

[Drain Bead]

Was Carly in prison recently?

[tnetennba]

I have not really been entertained tonight. There's nothing close to what I'd prefer to the original, or even queue up on iTunes for a change of pace, and nothing has really sucked enough to be funny.

[Nutty Bunny]

Carly fucked up a truly gorgeous song. Why I chose to watch this show again when I knew they were doing The Beatles again, I don't know.

If that seems harsh, I'm sorry, but I have such strong feelings for these songs and I can't stand to hear anyone take such liberties with the melodies. "Blackbird" should not be belted like that.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Carly was the best so far, I think. Which isn't saying much tonight.

[tnetennba]

Oh, this is a lovely song choice.

[tnetennba]

I think this guy might be my favorite this season (and tonight), but he breathes into the mike too much.

[Queen Tonya]

Jason: Michelle my belle

I like Jason, he's got a pretty voice and he at least understands a few things about music.

He is rather breathy, you're right.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Blergh. Did not like.

[Biggirl]

Ah, Jason loves me, he keeps saying it. His voice is so weak. Why is it that the performers I like can't sing and the ones who can sing, I don't like.

[LilyoftheValley]

Good song choice for Jason Castro. He's so dang goofy and cute. "I thought bell was English!"

Liked it.

[tnetennba]

Easily the best tonight, anyway.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Simon: "This is a very weird show tonight."

YES. Yes, it is, Simon.

ETA: I didn't like his goofiness with that song. Paula, for once, had it right.

[Nutty Bunny]

Jason didn't mess with the melody and I really like his voice. But I wish he hadn't smiled through the song. It seemed out of place.

Oh my god, I agreed with Paula about the pacing of the song.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Because she is one of the better singers?
I think she's average as a singer and obnoxious as a personality.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

I thought Castro was fine. He did a straight version of the song, didn't dick with the melody, stayed in key and wasn't obnoxious. That's good enough to make him the best of a bad night.

[Carm6773]

I'm not liking this version of Yesterday

[Drain Bead]

Wow, Syesha is capable of subtlety. Who knew?

[KSO]

Syesha is singing this way too slow. The guitar is ahead of her.

I found it boring and overwrought.

[tnetennba]

Neither hate nor love "Yesterday". Just kind of pretty and muzakky. You could do something interesting with this song, but people rarely do.

I do kind of like the guitar arrangement.

[Biggirl]

The new best of the night. I even liked her runs. Good thing she wasn't voted off last week. Shyesha, I mean.

[gonzomax]

Compared to the rest ,she will be on for quite a while. Sometimes I wish they would just shut up. Simon is always right.

[HazelNutCoffee]

It was okay. Pretty and in tune. That makes it one of the best for tonight, I suppose.

ETA: Eh, she should have stuck to the melody.

[Drain Bead]

And not two seconds after I posted that, she shit all over the melody. Now I have to wait for the 60-second countdown to say I was wrong. Damn.

[Nutty Bunny]

She's singing too high. Maybe shouldn't hit the lower notes unless she went this high, but I.....oh Christ, she just belted and did a run. I have no use for this version at all.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Yeah, everybody knows that "Scrambled Eggs" story, Ryan.

Syesha is straying from the melody a little but not in a terrible way yet.

She made a couple of intersting phrasing choices but they didn't seem obnoxious and it sounded like she knew what she was doing. Her phrasing choices were thoughful rather than ignorant like the others. That was the first time I wasn't bored by Syesha.

[Queen Tonya]

Syesha: Yesterday

I chuckled when she belted out "I did SOMETHING wrong" listening to the audience scream in response and knowing we're going to slam her for it in here. :D

Softened hair, a very confused dress; all cleavage from the empire waistline up, all Laura Ingalls from there down.

She does have a very pretty voice, but she's just boring. I'm sure she's a lovely girl,, but her personality isn't coming out or something.

[tnetennba]

And not two seconds after I posted that, she shit all over the melody. Now I have to wait for the 60-second countdown to say I was wrong. Damn.

I don't know what you're talking about. I guess I'd have to listen to it again.

[PastAllReason]

I HATED that. I thought it was awful. She hurt my ears, and I thought she sounds like she sang most of the song offkey.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

I HATED that. I thought it was awful. She hurt my ears, and I thought she sounds like she sang most of the song offkey.
She wasn't off key, she made some different harmonic choices that might have initially sounded "off," but there was subtlety to it. This girl's had some training in theory, or at least whoever coached her on that arrangement did. There was some technical knowledge involved in what she was doing. The others just tend to spew notes without really knowing what they're doing.

[tnetennba]

This guy was more fun last week. I love this song, though, and he's doing OK with it.

ETA: Kind of like the harp bit... and everything that followed. I really like this guy.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Er . . . um . . .

Tonight was just weird.

[gonzomax]

Can we send them all home tomorrow. Chickeeze stunk that up.

[LilyoftheValley]

Chickezie's at the hoe-down? What was that Simon said about a strange night?

[Drain Bead]

R&Babilly?

[Queen Tonya]

Chikezie: I've Just Seen her Face

I'm not familiar with this one, again. He might be the slickest song selector for consistently doing that, to keep away from the expectations of what the song "should" sound like.

It seemed fine, the harmonica part was kinda goofy.

[tnetennba]

I liked it.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Chick-EZ -- Holy shit, I thought he was doing just ok before he pulled out the harmonica. Holy shit, this kicks ass. That's two weeks in a row this guy pulled out the stops. Where was that in the earlier rounds.

The harmonica was cool, Randy, GFY.

[tnetennba]

Chikezie: I've Just Seen her Face

"I've Just Seen A Face"

[Nutty Bunny]

I got whiplash from his transition from slow to fast. I still have harmonica-fatigue from Taylor Hicks, so I didn't like that at all.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Chickezie's at the hoe-down? What was that Simon said about a strange night?
Yeah, tell me about it.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Did Simon get fucking stupid recently or something? he couldn't have been more wrong about that performance. It was really good. I know more about music than Simon does and he's wrong.

[Biggirl]

Chickeze was a mishmash. Interesting, though.

Boy, tonight was uninspiring.

[Drain Bead]

I'm with DTC on this one. Crazy Chikezie is much better than boring-ass ballad Chikezie.

[Talon Karrde]

I was disappointed when he started it slow, but loved it once he started in with the harmonica and it sped up. That song is supposed to be fast because it's so joyous.
It's such a fun song to play, I like playing it faster than I'm really able to.

[Queen Tonya]

"I've Just Seen A Face"

:smack: That's what I get for typing too fast.

What's "GFY" Dio?

[tnetennba]

This is really karaoke.

[HazelNutCoffee]

What's "GFY" Dio?
Go Fuck Yourself. :)

Oh, dear. Just let tonight be over.

[Drain Bead]

Oof, Ramiele. Where is her voice?

[Nutty Bunny]

This is really karaoke.

And off-key! Rameile is in the bottom 3 tomorrow.

[Queen Tonya]

Ok, so she's not sucking nearly as hard this week. I'm still not at all sure Ramalamadingdong deserves to be in the top 10, but she's cute.

[Biggirl]

Remoulade was way off key. She's still adorable, though.

[HazelNutCoffee]

I love Rammie, even if she was meh tonight.

[tnetennba]

"Really mediocre"? I'd like to see Simon right a better song. What a fucking pinhead. I think he only knows the Beatles #1s album.

[tnetennba]

Shades of mediocrity tonight, though I slightly prefer "Michelle" and "I've Just Seen a Face."

[Biggirl]

Kristy must go. By vote or by machine gun, I don't care which.

[LilyoftheValley]

Ramiele? Was awful. Awful! Bad karaoke.

MrValley couldn't stop saying how bad her clothes were.

[tnetennba]

I like Chickezie even better on the replay. My favorite tonight.

[HazelNutCoffee]

MrValley couldn't stop saying how bad her clothes were.
I know! These girls need to learn how to dress themselves.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

:smack: That's what I get for typing too fast.

What's "GFY" Dio?
The G stands for "go," the Y stands for "yourself."

[Sam Stone]

I thought David Cook was pretty good. Not fantastic, but he and Chikeze were about the only two people tonight who actually breathed some life into those songs. Everyone else just muddled along. I've honestly forgotten most of the other performances already. Amanda impressed me last week, but this week she sucked. Michael Johns has exactly one style - grab the mike with both hands, look like you're taking a dump, and bellow out the song. That got old a long time ago.

I didn't much like Jason Castro's version tonight, mainly because he didn't come close to selling the song. He was just walking around grinning at the girls while some notes came out. And his biggest strength is that he puts his heart into the music and it shows. Tonight it didn't.

Same goes for Brooke. Actually, it's interesting because the two most moving performers in the final 11 failed in exactly the same way - they forgot about the song itself. Brooke at least was trying to evoke the feeling of the song - she just failed at it. She was trying to come across as a flower child dancing in a sunny field, basically. But she doesn't have the moves for it. She should stay behind the piano and be the new Carly Simon (without the edge, regrettably).

David Archuleta bores me. He's the new Rick Astley - the young kid with the big booming voice, served up for little real purpose. Even if he sings a song very well, there's just no point to it. He doesn't bring anything new to music we haven't heard a zillion times. I'd rather listen to Harry Connick, Jr.

I liked Chikeze. I like everything about him. I like that he's willing to take big risks. I like that his arrangements have a real authentic feel to them - they're honest-to-god covers of songs, rather than just being a karaoke performance of the song with some runs tacked on to impress the judges. He's really starting to stand out from the pack.

Right now, if I were picking three overall frontrunners, I'd say David Cook, Chikeze, and Brooke. Carly Smithson, Jason Castro and Archuleta are in the next tier. Ramiel, Kristy, Michael, Amanda, and Sayesha can go home any time.

[Slacker]

I really thought Syesha had it there for a few minutes. Then she completely ruined it with the GLORY NOTE. Wow that was awful.

This is when I gave up and stopped watching last year. I'm still on board this season for two people: Brooke and Jason. Sadly, they both kind of sucked tonight, but still. ;)

Last week was Ramilade's turn to ruin one of my favorites, and this week it feel on Kristy. What a hot mess. Couldn't she have done "Act Naturally?" That would have been more her style and an actually somewhat clever statement about her experience. Of course, she would have had to have heard of the Beatles to pick a more obscure song I guess. :P

I think Ramilade borrowed one clothing item from each of her BFFs and assembled them into an outfit. Yikes.

Edit: Whoops I almost forgot. Chikizie. We already have a Taylor Hicks, and he's one more than we need to begin with. Last week was awesome, but that lightning aint going to strike twice. Move on to something else, fella.

[Rachael Rage]

The only other season of Idol I have watched this closely was season five, and I have started to see this season's contestants matching up with that season's top 12. My nominees are (in order of expulsion in Season 5):

The Melissa (who?) is... David H (doomed by bad song choice)
The Kevin Covais is... Ramelie (beloved only by kids & grandmas)
The Lisa Tucker is... Syesha (talented but dull & 'actressy')
The Mandisa is... Kristy Lee Cook (musically ignorant)
The Bucky Covington is... Amanda (great in a limited range)
The Ace Young is... Michael Johns (good looks, OK voice)

The top six could go two ways:

The Kellie Pickler is... David C. (limited genre; devoted fan base)
The Paris Bennett is... Jason C. (abso-tively freakin' adorable)
The Chris Daughtry is... Carly (the shocking elimination!)
The Elliott is... Chikezie (awkward, weird and all heart)
The Katherine McPhee is... Brooke (talented but kinda souless)
The Taylor Hicks is... David A (the stealth pro)

or, dare we imagine?

The Kellie Pickler is... Jason C. (devoted fan base; small-town charm)
The Paris Bennett is... David A. (freakishly talented; eliminated too early)
The Chris Daughtry is... David C. (cribs all his good arrangements)
The Elliott is... Brooke (best voice, weird stage presence)
The Katherine McPhee is... Carly (ultra-polished; weird fashion choices)

... and The Taylor Hicks goes to....

Chikezie Eze! :eek: Well, heck, did any of us think Taylor would win back in the top 11?

I suspect I might have done better in the Idol Prediction Game had I worked this out earlier. :p

ETA: Damn, Slacker beat me to the Taylor = Chikezie comparison. That's what I get for noodling on my post for too long...

[Kolak of Twilo]

So I just got in from work and am in the middle of watching this on tape (yeah, I know; very 20th century of me) and I have to ask: Did anyone else notice the earpiece David A. was wearing in his right ear? WTF? I've never noticed anyone on the show with something like that before. Anyone have an explanation what that was for?

[Kolak of Twilo]

OK, Paula just mentioned in talking to Michael J that they are all working with monitors in their ears. I guess I just didn't notice it until I saw David A.

[DKW]

Wow. This was about 5 times more entertaining than a typical early-round AI show (and about 50 times more entertaining than I expected a Beatles theme night to be).

I know a lot of you ate, drank, and breathed The Beatles growing up and have really high or specific expectations for a Beatles song (pretty unrealistic for a hamfest like AI, IMO), but for me...speaking as someone who wants any kind of break from bland, tedious, predictable, overdone pop...hey, I liked it. Let me put it this way: It sounded like a sequence of songs I'd hear on a classic rock radio station. And since the whole point of this show is to find the next radio-playable singer, well, I can't complain.

And remember, this is a 1960's band we're taking about, meaning that this current crop is two generations removed from Beatlemania. Even if you preached to them over and over how incredibly essential and great and wonderful this band was, nothing can ever come within a light year of experiencing the phenomenon as it happened.

Anyway, I noticed a few minor slipups, maybe a cringeworthy moment or two (nb. to R&B Diva: A lot of listeners find gender finagling really off-putting), but overall, it was consistently good.

I can't point to any obvious elimination choice, and frankly, I have no idea who I even want to see go. Archuleta is most likely safe; beyond that, it's a toss-up.

[Dung Beetle]

I swear I quit watching this season a couple of weeks ago. Every Tuesday or Wednesday, my husband groans, "Oh no, it's American Idol tonight!", and I say, "Well, I'm not watching anymore, so do what you want", and mysteriously we wind up on Channel 13 and I'm in the same room sort of paying attention.

First off, correct me if I'm wrong, but did Ryan work in a douche joke at Paula's expense? He showed that picture of Hee Haw Honey and her horse, and Kristy says, "I was spraying her with vinegar to keep the flies off", and Ryan says, "Vinegar, Paula, that's the trick…"

Carly: Why was she wearing a clown's maternity blouse? Why does she want to draw ugly pictures all over herself?


Good song choice for Jason Castro. He's so dang goofy and cute. "I thought bell was English!"


He's Vinnie Barbarino all over again. Whenever he says something dumb, my husband does the old John Travolta "What? Where?"

[Judith Prietht]

Chikeze and god help me David Cook were my favorites of the night. I confess that up until last night I only knew "I've Just Seen a Face" as a Phish song. And I don't even like Phish. But Chikeze at least looked like he was having a good time up there, and made me forget that Ramiele was still left to perform. I watched him twice.

Brooke's dancing was so awkward -- she could really benefit from some stage coaching (or whatever it's called. You know what I mean). Syesha did exactly what I thought she would do with "Yesterday," with the runs and whatnot, and it ended up being boring and predictable for me. We forwarded through Kristy after about 2 seconds. She really ought to go tonight.

I am unprepared for a performance by Kellie Pickler.

[Cat Whisperer]

Once again, I liked David Cook, and I don't like that kind of music. He's doing something that the other contestants could learn from - he's consistently playing to his strengths, picking songs that showcase what he can do, and knocking them out of the park. He and Carly look like professionals on the stage to me. I think David Cook has depths of talent that we haven't plumbed yet; that, or he'll just keep doing the same thing he's been doing. It could go either way. :)

I love everything about Chickadeedee's recent performances except his voice - it sounds thin and weak to me.

I liked Syesha's performance except for the last run that she kinda failed on. It was very Tony Braxton, though.

Ramiele is floundering. She needs her big brother, David, to help her.

[Trunk]

First off, correct me if I'm wrong, but did Ryan work in a douche joke at Paula's expense? He showed that picture of Hee Haw Honey and her horse, and Kristy says, "I was spraying her with vinegar to keep the flies off", and Ryan says, "Vinegar, Paula, that's the trick…"I don't know. I thought it was more of a dig at keeping away Simon, or something, but I'm going to run with the interpretation that has flies swarming around her coochie.

I also liked how awkward he left it after the "blow you out of your socks" comment.

Anyway -- last night SUCKED. Harmonica? Peter Frampton box?

We need this shit for BEATLES songs?

Total lack of energy from virtually everyone.

I can't stand that Irish girl. Could she be any uglier or more full of herself? And who dresses her? Her grandmother, saying, "this is what all the kids are wearing these days"? Try singing "blackbird" straight if you want to show me how talented you are, because you sound like an idiot.

I did like Castro, though. Maybe I got lost in his deep blues eyes like Simon, but I liked his version a lot. I didn't think it sounded bad at all.

[yellowval]

I'm apparently the only human alive who hates the Beatles. So I'm definitely biased here but last night was terrible. I could sit through one week of this crap but two is just too much.

That said, I thought David Cook and Chikezie were probably the best last night, followed by Carly and probably David A., who sang well enough but was boring as hell. It's hard to say who was the worst, because there are just so many to choose from. Ramiele sucked big time and so did Jason Castro. Jason actually made me cringe he looked so awkward on stage. And he needs to stop saying the word "cool" because every time he says it all I can think of is the scene in "Grease" where Danny and Sandy meet at the pep fest and Danny does that whole, "That's cool, baby" thing. Oh, and Kristy Lee was terrible, too. I'd put Ramiele, Jason, and Kristy Lee in the bottom three, and hope to hell they send Kristy Lee home.

[Dung Beetle]

I don't know. I thought it was more of a dig at keeping away Simon, or something, but I'm going to run with the interpretation that has flies swarming around her coochie.


Me too.

[Hal Briston]

Anyone catch the incredibly back-handed compliment Simon dealt to Syesha?

"That was your best performance yet." <snip> "It was pretty good."

Ouch.

Anyway, c'mon America -- boot Ramiele so I can stay at zero points in the prediction game!

[tnetennba]

Speaking of snark, look at the "should have sung" for Kristy here: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1583649/20080319/id_0.jhtml

"Flying" is an instrumental (I think the Beatles only instrumental).

[vivalostwages]

I can't remember anything about Amanda, and that says volumes.
Kristy has no instincts. Horrible.
I really liked David A., David C. and Syesha, whose performance was quite moving. She was on the verge of tears, though, and that could have interfered with her rendition.
Brooke was all right; last week she was better. Same comment for Chikezie.
Ramiele was cute but forgettable.
Jason's goofy-sexy thing is wearing thin, and I find his performances to be lazy. He's slumming it now, just phoning it in.
Christy's tattoo is bugging me a lot even though her voice isn't all that bad.
Michael Johns had a horrible arrangement, quite lackluster.

Dial Idol has Amanda and Kristy at the bottom.

[vivalostwages]

Did I see Simon wink twice at Ryan? What is up with those two? :dubious:

[Club 33]

For the life of me, I do not get the love-fest for Jason Castro. I thought Simon made an excellent point about something to the effect that, were this competition taking place on the radio, he wouldn't have a fighting chance. Yes, he is a very good looking guy, but there is nothing remotely remarkable about his voice. Sure, he is usually in tune but he plays everything way too safe.

And just to further demonstrate how out of touch I am, I really like Amanda. Sure, she is a Joplin clone, but so was Robert Plant, for the most part. She is full of energy, a great performer, and far more unique than the usual herd of Whitney wannabees. I'll take an Amanda rendition over being bored to tears by Jason Castro any day.

[woodstockbirdybird]

I think what this week and last week proved, more than anything else, is what phenomenal singers Lennon and McCartney were. They made it sound easy (the way great soul singers like Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson did), but you realize how hard it is to actually sing when you see other people straining.

The arrangements last night were almost uniformly godawful (if there's on thing Lennon/McCartney were masters of, besides singing, it was writing melodies - stop fucking with them!), with a special mention going to Kristy's "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". She actually made that song completely suck, and I hope her dumb ass gets booted tonight.

[fessie]

"I've Just Seen A Face"

"I've Just Seen a Farce"


(the show, not Chikezee - I adore him and Jason)

[Joey P]

When Carly was singing, they showed her parents/friends...was it just the lights or did two of the three people have tattoos on their faces?

[Slacker]

So two nights of Beatles songs and we only had a few good performances. What a waste. I think they really needed some help with song selection. Allow me:

David Archie: "Happiness is a Warm Gun." Bonus points for grabbing a trenchcoat from wardrobe.

Kristy Lee: As mentioned above, "Act Naturally" would have been perfect. Especially if she sang it in a super hillbilly accent while dressed like a scarecrow (with hay sticking out of her sleeves and pant legs) and doing that Ashley Simpson hoedown dance. Thayre gonna mayke a big starrr outta meeeeeee!

David Hernandez: "Do You Want To Know A Secret?"

Michael Johns: "Nowhere Man." Replace the "he's" with "I'm" though.

Amanda: "It Won't Be Long." It won't indeed.

Ramelie: "With A Little Help From My Friends." I get by with a little help from my friends, I breath air with a little help from my friends, I chew foooooood with a little help from my friends!"

Carly: "When I'm Sixty-Four." No need for a wardrobe change.

David Cook: "I Should Have Known Better" than to try the comb-forward.

[vertizontal]

One thing the judges have pointed out year after year, is that they can't stand having the contestants go up and just sing the song straight, as made famous. If you do, the judges call it boring and predictible and karaoke and "just an imitation".

[Cat Whisperer]

I think what this week and last week proved, more than anything else, is what phenomenal singers Lennon and McCartney were. They made it sound easy (the way great soul singers like Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson did), but you realize how hard it is to actually sing when you see other people straining.<SNIP>
My husband pointed out last night (I don't remember which song) that they were also masters of complex harmonies. These guys keep trying to sing songs that were done as 2 to 4 part harmonies as solos, and they really lose something.

(I thought I saw face tattoos on some of Carly's crowd, too.)

[Hal Briston]

(I thought I saw face tattoos on some of Carly's crowd, too.)That'd be her husband -- he's got some serious facial tattoos/piercings going on.

[Joey P]

Ahh, here we go...
http://www.rickey.org/?p=6917

[Liberal]

On behalf of humanity, I'd like to apologize to Lennon and McCartney.

[tnetennba]

...and to Harrison for "Here Comes the Sun"?

[Wile E]

...

Carly: Why was she wearing a clown's maternity blouse? ...

Bravo!

I only got to see a couple performances so I really have nothing to add, I just had to applaud DB's turn of phrase.

[ouryL]

Evidently, no one is telling these kids that they sound like shit. They sound worse than last week. They don't KNOW the melodies. They don't what was the "hook" that made a particular song interesting. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[accidentalyuppie]

I really think they are doing these contestants a huge disservice by refusing to let them perform anything that was written during their lifetimes.

On one level, I like these oldies because I am old --over 50. These songs bring back memories of my teen years, listening to the Beatles on my transistor radio or on the 8 track player in the Vista Cruiser.

But the song choices haven't been good, probably because the contestants don't have a deep knowledge of all the songs available that fit the theme, the way some one that lived through the time period does.

Other random observations on last night:

It really sucked, I think all contestants were having problems with the new earpiece monitors they mentioned.
I really really really wish Amanda would've done "Why Don't We Do It in the Road".

These kids need to realize that the Beatles took lots and lots of drugs, so not every song is good for American Idol ("A Day in the Life")or even good. Be especially wary of stuff from the White Album.......although someone should've done "Julia"...(Jason,maybe).

Kristy really is so tired of being the perpetual second worst that she really wants to get voted off, because of this I hope she comes in second again...anyway, if she leaves don't we have to hear her again ( I don't watch the result show,do they still do that?)

And David A gets on my nerves, he is such a slick little "biz kid". I'm sure that his song choices are vetted through a team of coaches, consultants and focus groups, after last week I had a mental picture of a big meeting of everyone in the "David Archuletta business".......with guys in suits throwing out ideas like "people think he's a little too slick and are starting to dislike him, maybe he should forget his lyrics and garner some sympathy".

Anway,I'm severely unimpressed with this season.

[ouryL]

BTW Did these kids even see "Across the Universe"? The movie plot might have been nonexistent, but the singing had heart and a vision.

[PunditLisa]

Only saw part of it because Dancing With the Stars was also on, but I've got to say that Syesha gave the best performance of the ones I did see.

I wonder why, given how much time they devote to filler, they don't allow the contestants to see more than 1:40 of a song. It's a singing competition, for pete's sake. Why not give them 2:30 or 3:00 to do a song. I would have loved to hear a more complete version of "A Day in the Life."

I also blame the producers for having two consecutive weeks of McCartney/Lennon. It really was a lackluster evening after last week's blow-out.

[Hal Briston]

Something struck me today -- I wonder how much those 378 people who bought Carly's Ultimate High album are looking to sell their copy for now?

[Slacker]

I wonder why, given how much time they devote to filler, they don't allow the contestants to see more than 1:40 of a song. It's a singing competition, for pete's sake. Why not give them 2:30 or 3:00 to do a song. I would have loved to hear a more complete version of "A Day in the Life."
This irks me too. We're expected to tune in for 120 minutes (God bless you Tivo), and they provide around 17 minutes of music? Are the attention spans of the kids they market this show to so short they can't handle three minute songs? I've never heard a Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana song, are they all 1:40 long too?
Something struck me today -- I wonder how much those 378 people who bought Carly's Ultimate High album are looking to sell their copy for now?
You just sent hundreds of eBay sellers to their local car wash CD bins with dollar signs in their eyes.

[Hal Briston]

Meh...never mind...I just checked eBay, and there's a crapload of copies out there. I guess someone kept all the unsold ones in a warehouse, just in case.

[tnetennba]

BTW Did these kids even see "Across the Universe"? The movie plot might have been nonexistent, but the singing had heart and a vision.

Agreed. I thought the music in the movie was spectacular. I was bored by the movie itself, but thought it was beautiful to look and listen to.

[Carm6773]

I wasn't that impressed with the group sing.

[Drain Bead]

Wow, Carly in the bottom 3. That's a surprise.

[Carm6773]

Where is everyone this evening? It's quiet in here.

[KSO]

Well, Kristy Lee has found her inspiration, I think. She was totally into The Pickler.

[Queen Tonya]

Where is everyone this evening? It's quiet in here.

Here I am, I'm touched that you missed me. ;)

My kitchen sink suddenly decided water pressure was so passé, making my "I'll just whip thru these dishes before Idol starts" idea a total joke. :mad:

I caught the very high school choir ensemble sing, not so great.

I turned down The Pickler, and now we're crying in Africa with Elliot?!

[Queen Tonya]

Amanda added highlighted extensions this morning, huh?

[Silver Fire]

If Amanda doesn't go home, I am going to be bummed out. Not because I particularly like the other two (I don't) but because I can't stand listening to her sing ever again.

[Silver Fire]

Yay!

[Queen Tonya]

Yay Amanda for handling herself well, Kristy was more upset than she was.

Something awful happened with her intro to the singout, but she handled it like a pro.

I'm not saying the wrong choice was made, just enjoying her competence. I hate the cry-fests.

[JayRx1981]

I liked Janis, I mean Amanda, the first time I heard her. But her singing style NEVER changed. Not once since auditions. Even if she's awful, Kristy Lee Cook at least has more range than Amanda does (not by much). I'm definitely glad she got the boot this week.

Now go sell out that local bar you were talking about last night Amanda. ;)

[AuntiePam]

Anyone else think Carly's "You're kidding me!" was a bit disingenuous?

(That'd be the second "You're kidding me!" -- not the one she said to herself when Ryan told her she was in the bottom three.)

[Joey P]

I really really really wish Amanda would've done "Why Don't We Do It in the Road".
How about "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window"

[Biggirl]

Not watching the results show. Our company would rather watch basketball.

But from what I'm reading I think you all mean to tell me Kristy remains? That there are people cheering Amando leaving and the Dumpster staying. What is wrong with this world?

[Hal Briston]

Well, that figures...this is the first time since Hollywood Week that Amanda didn't sound like she was singing with a mouthful of dog crap, and she gets the boot for it.

Ah well...this is a kick in the nuts for my prediction game score, but at least I never have to hear her again.

[Brynda]

Anyone else think Carly's "You're kidding me!" was a bit disingenuous?

(That'd be the second "You're kidding me!" -- not the one she said to herself when Ryan told her she was in the bottom three.)

I didn't. It looked genuine.

[Slacker]

My fellow trash TV watchers, our long national nightmare is over.

I liked Janis, I mean Amanda, the first time I heard her.
Poor Janis.

[8675309]

I totally disagreed with the judges on Syesha. I thought she showed no vulnerability with her voice.

Do some of these kids realize they are actually telling a story with these songs and not merely pronouncing words, giving them the ability to do runs at will?

[kaylasdad99]

Somebody spoiler the outcome, please. It's past Michaela's bed time. Am I correct in reading between the lines to believe that Amanda is gone?

[Slacker]

You're correct, kaylasdad99.

[kaylasdad99]

By the way, why does the thread title suggest that the show will be airing tomorrow night?

[kaylasdad99]

You're correct, kaylasdad99.
Thank you much.

[DKW]

I dunno. We talk all the time about what we don't like, what we don't want to see, we judge the contestants' weaknesses, flaws, and limitations, we point out mistakes...the fact remains that at the end of the day, nobody has the slightest idea what actually gets someone eliminated. Let alone how badly a weakness or limitation hurts (with Kathy Lee Cook being the latest case study). How many times have the judges railed on a "safe" or "boring" performance? Yet neither of the first two finallists to leave even remotely qualify as either.

It's fun to speculate, of course, but I truly believe that at some point we just have to watch and accept...grudgingly if need be...whatever the outcome is.

IMO? Yeah, Amanda was one-dimensional (and didn't do the kind of punk that I go for...I can only take so many love ballads, y'know), but everyone knew that from day one and voted seven contestants out before her nonetheless. I liked her efforts at bringing a little energy into this, even if she was doomed to fail. She went as far as she could...nothing great or terrible about that, just the way the show works.

[Queen Tonya]

It may have been a tough biker chick facade, but I always got the feeling it never went as deep for Amanda as for the others. She really was a happier and more well-adjusted person with a life prior to trying out for AI. I'm not kidding myself that anyone can make it thru all the grueling rounds of auditions by coasting, she was giving it her best shot since she was there and all, but it just didn't mean as much to her as to Kristy or Carly.

The remaining top ten all said extra long thank you's in their bedtime prayers that night to be still in the top ten, still going on tour no matter what. Amanda's okay, she's got plenty to go home to and wasn't living or dying based on any one week, so somehow it's better that she went tonight even though some folks might be arguably more deserving.

[Liberal]

And David A gets on my nerves, he is such a slick little "biz kid". I'm sure that his song choices are vetted through a team of coaches, consultants and focus groups, after last week I had a mental picture of a big meeting of everyone in the "David Archuletta business".......with guys in suits throwing out ideas like "people think he's a little too slick and are starting to dislike him, maybe he should forget his lyrics and garner some sympathy"Either that or space aliens have planted a chip in his head and are using him to facilitate conquering Earth. I mean Jesus, I don't get the David hatred. His voice is incredibly beautiful. It's smooth like chocolate silk. It's Frank Sinatra smooth. His tones have the purity of Stevie Wonder. His voice has the power and control of Elton John. He is far and away the most talented singer in the competition. For whatever reason, it seems like some people are turned off by genuine humility like his. He doesn't do fake aw-shucks; he takes criticism the same way he takes praise, with a humble acknowledgment and gratitude. I sometimes wish he looked skeezy or had elephantine knots on his face or something because I truly believe all the screaming girls (and quite a few guys) bring out tinges of envy in others. Not anyone here, of course.

ETA

Oh, and one other thing. It's time to stop comparing Amanda to Janis Joplin. Janis actually had a pretty voice.

[Dung Beetle]

Bravo!

I only got to see a couple performances so I really have nothing to add, I just had to applaud DB's turn of phrase.
Ah yes...nasty comments about strangers. It's my gift. :o

Boy, I was dancing when I saw the bottom three. I'd have been happy to see any of them go.

Did they say Dolly Parton was going to be on this season? I love her!

[Long Time First Time]

Sad to see Amanda go. My money is still on Dave A to win it all.

The judges have been saying over and over that this is the best year evah for talent. While it's hard to say that when they sing individually, it does seem to me that the group songs they do on elimination day have sounded 100000% better than in any other year. That might be because the voices blend better this year, but perhaps it does reflect overall quality.

[PunditLisa]

No huge surprise. Amanda was a bit like a fish out of water in this competition. It's kind of a bummer that she never did sing any slow songs because it would have interesting, if nothing else.

I really don't get the judges. They tell David A to quit singing slow songs because they're bringing them down. He does what they tell him to do, he looks stupid and they lambast him. He goes back to singing slow songs and they praise him up and down!!!

I really like David A. Don't get the screaming girls because he doesn't ooze sexuality any more than Josh Grobin, but I certainly don't dislike him. I actually don't think he'll win because he's missing the x factor. Combine him with Jason Castro and it'd be awesome.

[Sam Stone]

I actually liked the group sing quite a lot last night. The harmonies were beautiful, and the arrangement wasn't bad. Along with Brooke White's 'Let it Be', I think that was the only other time they did justice to the Beatles.

[Iggins]

I think Amanda is relieved to be excused from the tour. I got the feeling that she wasn't really interested in going on the Idol Tour.

[woodstockbirdybird]

I actually liked the group sing quite a lot last night. The harmonies were beautiful, and the arrangement wasn't bad. Along with Brooke White's 'Let it Be', I think that was the only other time they did justice to the Beatles.

Missed the group sing. What song did they do?

[Darth Sensitive]

On the whole, I've enjoyed the last two weeks. I'm 19, these songs aren't sacred to me, I can't think of anything that really would bother me as much as these guys changing things up seems to do to you all. I like the Beatles and everything, know a bunch of stuff by them, but not their whole catalog.

I liked the singers taking the songs and making them their own. The harmonica and talkbox solos were fun, but I did think the country last week was a bit over the top.


Did Pickler get implants?

[Slacker]

Did Pickler get implants?
Lol. Yes, yes she did. Hence Ryan's joke about how she's grown in so many way since she was on the show. The last time she dropped by Ryan asked if she'd changed at all since become a "star" and she said of course she hadn't, as she nearly knocked him over with her new rocket breasts as she turned toward him. :P

[Polerius]

I dunno. We talk all the time about what we don't like, what we don't want to see, we judge the contestants' weaknesses, flaws, and limitations, we point out mistakes...the fact remains that at the end of the day, nobody has the slightest idea what actually gets someone eliminated.
I think the problem is that in this show, people vote for whom they want to stay, and not for whom they want to leave.

The way the show is now, the top 5 or so contestants get all the votes, while the bottom 7 or so get all the scraps. People didn't vote for Amanda to leave; it's just that not enough people bothered to vote for her to stay.

Since all the bottom singers get the left-over votes, each one's total is "in the noise", so it's a bit random who happens to get the least that week.

I think that they should change the show so that, until the top 5, say, people vote for whom they want to leave. Then, once there are 5 contestants left, they vote for whom they want to stay.

This would take away a lot of the unpredictability of the show in the early stages (and would also prevent groups like VFTW in keeping the bad singers around)

It's possible that the final winner would be the same with either method of voting, but at least we would be able to quickly get rid of horrible singers like Kristy so we wouldn't have to be subject to their "singing" week after week.

[Dung Beetle]

I think everyone's agreed that they need to change the voting method since the first season...alas, they do not listen.

[psychobunny]

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't find David A's voice particularly pleasant. He's incredibly talented, is always on-key, and has excellent phrasing, but I find his voice a little thin and reedy. I also don't think he has a clue what he's singing. It's like a great technical performance with nothing behind it. I do think he'll probably win, which would at least protect him from his father until he's 18.

OTOH, Ramiele has a gorgeous tone to her voice but has no clue how to use it.

[OpalCat]

Just watched both nights on TiVo and am reading this thread, making comments at random, not in the order that anything was sung.

Amanda: One Trick Pony. I wanted to like her, but everything she does sounds the same. I had the same criticism of Melinda last season. You listen to her do about 2 or 3 songs and then you don't ever have to listen to her again because you know exactly what it is going to sound like. Also, I don't understand her hair. It's different lengths every week... wigs? extensions? What is it? It's like MAGIC!

David A. Is this the worst Beatles song ever, or did you just make it that with your arrangement? "Hotness", Randy? Dude, I don't usually fall asleep to "hotness".

ETA: OK, everyone thought he was amazing; Simon thought he was memorable; it's one of Queen Tonya's favorite Beatles songs...it must be me.
No, it's not you. I hated it, too, because it bored me stiff. It was like "here's the lyrics, in my pretty voice" and nothing more. Contrast that with Syesha, who annoyed me by changing the gender of the song (I hate that) and by screwing around a bit with the melody on one of my favorite songs, but she was so emotionally connected that I loved her performance anyway. She had everything that David didn't. She was actually in her song, she had her soul behind her voice. David was just going "la la la" except with words. Syesha didn't blow me away with her song, but I appreciated what she put into it. David has a lovely voice, yes, but he's painfully boring to listen to. And the lip licking thing is irritating.

Michael Johns: I gotta say, I like the guy. He messes up with the singing, and it makes me cringe, because I want to like his singing more, because I like him*. I think he's genuine, but he needs more...practice? training? polish? Something, anyway. He's starting to be a little too much of a Michael Hutchence clone with his performance style... granted I *like* Michael Hutchence a lot, it's just that sometimes I feel like I'm watching someone doing an impersonation of him, rather than doing his own performance.

Boring Blonde: she's vapid and annoying and I hate her singing. It's aggressively boring.

Brooke: oh honey, you can't dance; please stop trying. She seemed really ill at ease without her instruments. She also looked like she had memorized a series of movements... like "when I get to this word, I'm going to do this hand gesture" and then was following it like a poorly rehearsed script. It looked about as natural as when you see someone's lips move as they count while trying to do ballroom dancing or something. Ugly dress.

David Cook: I'm having flashbacks to the early '90s Pearl Jam et al sound. I don't particularly mind, since I enjoyed that sound, but this one was a little dull for me, partially because I'm just not that into that song. And I find it disturbing that when I watch him perform, I can't help but think about sex. I don't find him even remotely attractive, but he makes me think of sex anyway. Not having sex with him or anything, just sex in general. Maybe it's that he looks like that's what *he's* thinking about... But anyway, he still has me won over from the Lionel Ritchie song a few weeks ago (I don't care if he got the arrangement from another band's cover--hell they only have a week to come up with this stuff. He did what he did very well, IMO).

Carly: Is that a maternity blouse she is wearing, or is it some crepe paper decoration from a Mexican themed party? Wtf, it's hideous. Gah. I think she sang her song decently, but she didn't blow me away. I like that song and I think Simon had a grudge going into it because he doesn't like that song. I don't think any way she sang it would have made him happy. Also, what's with the prison style knuckle tattoos?

Jason: I like him, as in I'd want to invite him over to hang out. He seems like such a nice guy. He knew he was over his head with the French lyrics but he shouldn't have made it so obvious on stage where he was almost laughing at himself and shrugging while he sang them. He has a really pretty voice, though... it's that sort of weak and vulnerable voice that's suited well to certain types of songs (and not at all to others). He's another one who needs more practice/training/polish, though.

Chickezie: wow I hated that. He was so fun last week, too. He seems very comfortable on stage and I like his performance, I just thought that song was lame as hell.

Ramiele: I don't even remember what she sang. Mainly what I remember was that her lips looked slimy and gross. I hate lip gloss--it makes you look like you're drooling on yourself or you've just eaten a plate of greasy fried food without utensils.

This Pickler chick, who I gather from past talk is a previous contestant, is irritating as crap. Isn't she also the completely braindead ditz who didn't know France was a country on "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" Anyway, I could only take about 20 seconds of her song and then I had to fast forward through the rest or I was going to start throwing things.

* Partly because he seems to have a similar taste in music to me, based on what he sang back when they were auditioning and in Hollywood and stuff when they could do whatever they wanted.

[ShelliBean]

Well, Kristy Lee has found her inspiration, I think. She was totally into The Pickler.

Well, that would have been more interesting than watching them sing...

[tnetennba]

Pickler thought Europe was a country. And of course she thought it was adorable that she managed to get into adulthood without knowing what "Europe" was. Sigh.

And let me say in advance of anyone arguing that Pickler is just managing a public persona of idiocy to achieve success, let me retort: no she isn't, and a guest spot on "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader," in which the answer is a resounding, "Not even fucking close," is not success. She's a novelty act that wore thin ages ago and has absolutely nothing in front of her except $100 gigs at county fairs for another year or two.

[Polerius]

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't find David A's voice particularly pleasant. He's incredibly talented, is always on-key, and has excellent phrasing, but I find his voice a little thin and reedy.
You're not the only one. My wife and I agree with what you wrote: he has excellent singing ability, but not a pleasant voice.

On the other hand, some of my friends think he has an amazing voice.

I guess this goes to show you that even though the same sound waves hit our ears, our internal experience of those sound waves is vastly different from human to human.

[PunditLisa]

When Pickler was on AI, I couldn't stand her because she seemed so proud of her stupidity. "What's calamari??"

Now she has a gig as a roving reporter on The Tonight Show and she can actually be entertaining at times. Men, even major league baseball players, will do just about anything when a pretty blonde with big boobs asks them to do it.

[Liberal]

I found the lip-licking observation intriguing, since it was something I hadn't noticed before. So I replayed the gig, and sure enough, Archuleta did indeed lick his lips. Twice. But seeing as how lip licking is such a natural thing when one's lips are dry, I went ahead and checked out Cook to compare. He licked his lips five times. Then, when he was finished, he actually licked his chin.

[...wince...]

I seem to recall some people being uncomfortable with Chris Richardson for his head turning. I've noticed lots of people turn their heads as well.

[OpalCat]

He may have done it less this performance than usual, but it's more the lizard-like way that he licks them that is creepy. Somehow it's more noticeable when he does it.

[DKW]

Polerius - Yes! Exactly! I mean, I can understand the problem with cut days (i.e. don't get to chest-thump about incredible bazillions of votes every week), but if they must go the last man standing route, can't they at least do it right? Remember Survivor, the show that started it all? When someone has to go, the tribe members decide who goes, not who they want to keep from going. AI should be the same. Sure, it's "negative", but since there has to be an elimination, that really doesn't make a difference.

Imagine*. Annoying, obnoxious, or otherwise unappealing contestants take a hike; doesn't matter how many homies give you unconditional love if the rest of the country wants you out on a rail. No more propping up hopeless cases for whatever silly reason. No more ridiculous "I'll support the underdog I like who's in trouble instead of the safe favorite, but wait, is the underdog really in trouble, and is the favorite really safe?" guessing games. No more screwing the system by obsessive dial-crazy fans (especially since they're effectively negated by the other contestants' obsessive dial-crazy fans). Such a simple step to do so much good, but AI refuses to make even the tiniest change. Geez.

* Yes, I'm aware that this is a Beatles song. I already said I enjoyed this week. Get off my case. :)

[Icarus]

Polerius - Yes! Exactly! I mean, I can understand the problem with cut days (i.e. don't get to chest-thump about incredible bazillions of votes every week), but if they must go the last man standing route, can't they at least do it right? Remember Survivor, the show that started it all? When someone has to go, the tribe members decide who goes, not who they want to keep from going. AI should be the same. Sure, it's "negative", but since there has to be an elimination, that really doesn't make a difference.

I've said it before in these threads - I think the "Vote for your favorite" method is part of what makes this show such a success. It's something positive you can get into with the kids. If they went to the "vote off the worst" they would lose 2/3 of their audience.

Also, remember some of these performers are kids, only 16 or 17 years old. How would you like your kid standing up there hearing Ryan intone, "23 million people voted and they don't like you!" After a few suicides the show would fold right up.

[Labrador Deceiver]

I think the problem is that in this show, people vote for whom they want to stay, and not for whom they want to leave.

The way the show is now, the top 5 or so contestants get all the votes, while the bottom 7 or so get all the scraps. People didn't vote for Amanda to leave; it's just that not enough people bothered to vote for her to stay.

That's the beauty of the show. If you're too apathetic to vote, you're too apathetic to buy her record.

I think that they should change the show so that, until the top 5, say, people vote for whom they want to leave. Then, once there are 5 contestants left, they vote for whom they want to stay.

Not a good idea. The most popular entertainers also have the largest group of detractors. Celine, for instance. The producers of this show would be unable to ascertain the popularity of each individual singer if the vindictive fans were all clamoring to vote other people off. The result would be white noise.

[Cat Whisperer]

I think they should keep the voting the way it is, but give each of the judges one veto to be used through the course of the voting portions of the show. So when the US American public does something stupid like voting Jennifer Hudson off the show, one of the judges can throw down his veto and say, "No way, man, she's not going anywhere. Take the next lowest contestant."

[Dung Beetle]

I've said it before in these threads - I think the "Vote for your favorite" method is part of what makes this show such a success. It's something positive you can get into with the kids. If they went to the "vote off the worst" they would lose 2/3 of their audience.

Also, remember some of these performers are kids, only 16 or 17 years old. How would you like your kid standing up there hearing Ryan intone, "23 million people voted and they don't like you!" After a few suicides the show would fold right up.
Someone here (sorry, can't remember who) recently suggested that votes choose the bottom three, then the judges pick one of them to go. No need to say who the most hated was.

[Cat Whisperer]

Someone here (sorry, can't remember who) recently suggested that votes choose the bottom three, then the judges pick one of them to go. No need to say who the most hated was.
Wouldn't they figure it out when they were told to get out? :D

[Dung Beetle]

They could always pretend the judges just had it in for them. They wouldn't know how universally hated they were until they got home and started looking around on the Internet. :)

[Sam Stone]

Someone here (sorry, can't remember who) recently suggested that votes choose the bottom three, then the judges pick one of them to go. No need to say who the most hated was.

That's pretty much what they did on Rock Star Supernova. Every week the contestants with the three lowest vote totals had to perform a new song for the judges to redeem themselves, and then the judges would pick which one went home.

I much prefered that system. For one thing, you'd get three new songs on elimination night, rather than hearing a lame sing-out by the loser featuring the worst song from the night before. Second, some of the best performances of the show were on elimination night, because the performers have to pull out all the stops to keep from getting the boot. Third, the judges actually have some say in the proceedings, rather than just giving their opinions.

There was a lot about that show that was just way better than the format for American Idol. I wish it had survived.

[tnetennba]

I think the fact that AI gets huge ratings while the other show is gone shows that Idol ain't broken from Fox's perspective, and they ain't gotta fix it.

[Sam Stone]

I think the other failed for other reasons. The extreme lameness of the whole 'Supernova' concept, for one. The walking train wreck that is Tommy Lee for another. The whole notion that a rock and roll band would have a shred of credibility with the public or the rock media if they picked their lead singer on a TV show. A host who sucked the life out of the room every time she opened her mouth.

But the presentation of the show and the performers was fantastic. The band was phenomenal. The contestants were very good (almost all of them better than the best contestants on AI, in my opinion). The way the contest was carried out was pretty cool, in terms of the rules anyway. I liked having the bottom three have to sing for their lives, so to speak. It beat the hell out of publically rejecting someone then telling them to sing their sorry asses off the stage.