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  #1  
Old 12-25-2003, 04:23 PM
Short Guy Short Guy is offline
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Anyone seen World Idols?

I don't know who's seen World Idols today, or who even cares, but since there were a fair share of American Idol threads in the past (to which I couldn't participate because I live in Belgium), I thought I'd give it a try.

Also, I don't know if the show has already been broadcast in the USA, what with different time zones and all, so here's a spoiler alert just in case. Now, on to the feature presentation.

- How about those judges, eh? Some of them seem to think they're the stars of the show, and they seem to feel it's their duty to be as harsh as they can be, except, you know, when the artist is already making a lot of money.

- On the other hand, some of them deserved it. What was up with that first contestant (forgotten the country already, sorry)? And Poland? What was she, battery operated?

- Being from Belgium, I've got to give Peter props for the way he stood up to the judges. The whole "are you sure you belong in this contest?" crap had been done to death in Belgian Idol already, and I would have gotten really sick of it by now too. I can't objectively estimate his chances, though.

- Personally, I'd vote for the "ugly" guy (well, you know, TV-ugly) who did the U2 song. At least the judges were right on this one, there's no way he would have gotten any sort of contract if it hadn't been for this show.)

So, any comments? Favourites? Meaningless criticism?
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  #2  
Old 12-25-2003, 05:00 PM
bigdfrombigd bigdfrombigd is offline
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Hello-Ireland calling! I came in half way through. I thought that the first judge on the upper left hand corner, (don't know where he was from) was a bit of a butt-head. How could anyone find fault with Kelly Clarkson's (usa) performance?!!! I s'pose I am a bit biased because she is from my hometown of San Antonio, but I thought she was brilliant. My next favorite was the last guy from Norway. I thought he was great. I wanted to punch Simon Cowell for his unnecessary, unhelpful comments on his looks. The Australian judge was very funny though-" If they had a Middle-Earth Idol you would win that". The Norweigian guy seemed to take it on the chin. He had a good attitude and I loved his singing voice. I missed Will Young (U.K.) as nature was calling. What song did he sing?
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  #3  
Old 12-25-2003, 05:04 PM
Short Guy Short Guy is offline
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"Light my fire". Not entirely convincing.
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  #4  
Old 12-25-2003, 07:20 PM
GraceTX GraceTX is offline
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I'm watching. It just started a little while ago so only two contestants have actually performed.
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  #5  
Old 12-25-2003, 07:57 PM
GraceTX GraceTX is offline
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I also want to add that I just love the two hosts of the show. I don't know who they are but they're so cute. I want to invite them over for a slumber party. Who are these guys? They really are precious.
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  #6  
Old 12-25-2003, 08:27 PM
ISiddiqui ISiddiqui is offline
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Watching it now. The hosts sound like the Ireland hosts. Can we trade Ryan Seacrest for those too?

Quote:
I thought that the first judge on the upper left hand corner, (don't know where he was from)
Canada... yeah, he did seem harsh. She can't compare to the divas? Um... ok?

The Belgium guy is on right now... AWESOME! I may like him better than Clarkson right now.
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  #7  
Old 12-25-2003, 08:35 PM
GraceTX GraceTX is offline
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I looked them up. They are Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. I like 'em and yeah, I'd trade Ryan for them. I liked the Belgium guy. It wasn't my type of music, but I thought he was great.

Why is Simon representing the US? He's not American. I guess he's a better selection than Randy (dawg) or Paula.
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  #8  
Old 12-25-2003, 08:38 PM
Patr100 Patr100 is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Grace
I also want to add that I just love the two hosts of the show. I don't know who they are but they're so cute. I want to invite them over for a slumber party. Who are these guys? They really are precious.
The hosts are Antony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly - but we in the UK know them as "Ant and Dec". They started out young working together in a children's drama programme called "Byker Grove" and have worked together ever since. They are popular presenters and hosted the UK Pop Idol and "I'm a Celebrity get me out of here" and before that the most popular Sat morning show as well as many other shows.
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  #9  
Old 12-25-2003, 08:39 PM
ISiddiqui ISiddiqui is offline
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Well he's an American judge, even though he was also a British judge. And I think the judges are simply the judges from the respective countries.
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  #10  
Old 12-25-2003, 08:46 PM
GraceTX GraceTX is offline
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Will was much better tonight than he was when he appeared on American Idol and sang with Kelly. She sang circles around him, but he's gotten a lot better since then. He also had a noticeable lisp when singing and seems to have gotten rid of it.
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  #11  
Old 12-25-2003, 08:50 PM
ISiddiqui ISiddiqui is offline
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The Norway guy did very well with 'Beautiful Day'. Impressive indeed!
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  #12  
Old 12-25-2003, 08:58 PM
GraceTX GraceTX is offline
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Yep, the last contestant was the absolute best. He was awesome and as much as I think Heinz is a hottie, I've got to give him (the guy from Norway) the votes.
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  #13  
Old 12-25-2003, 09:02 PM
ISiddiqui ISiddiqui is offline
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If I actually voted for such things I'd do the same .
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  #14  
Old 12-25-2003, 10:28 PM
Queen Tonya Queen Tonya is offline
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Yes, the Norway Idol killed on U2's Beautiful Day, but wow....couldn't they at least have fixed his teeth? Excellent voice, killer control, just a wonderful performance.

Short Guy Peter was incredible. Loved his return comments on the accusations of selling out, and his song selection was perfect for his voice. When he was performing, all the men in the house who were refusing to watch 'that stupid chick show' meandered in to see who that was. He totally nailed that performance and I hope he wins.

Will from the UK is cute, and probably has a good pop voice, but wth was he doing to that Doors song?!

I love Kelly, but she blew it tonight. Way oversang, on an Aretha hit no less! Whichever judge bashed her for "shouting with tone" was right on, seemed like most of the other judges were commenting on her past performances/sales/persona more than the song she murdered on this show. She couldn't hold still for more than a sixteenth note, has she recently taken up smoking crack?

I'm torn between Norway and Belgium, it's gotta be one of those two, but it'll really suck if Kelly wins it.
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  #15  
Old 12-25-2003, 10:40 PM
GraceTX GraceTX is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Queen Tonya
Will from the UK is cute, and probably has a good pop voice, but wth was he doing to that Doors song?!
To be fair, I think he did the other version of the song. It wasn't the Doors version, but a tamer Jose Feliciano version of the song.
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  #16  
Old 12-26-2003, 05:23 AM
Short Guy Short Guy is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Grace
To be fair, I think he did the other version of the song. It wasn't the Doors version, but a tamer Jose Feliciano version of the song.
Or the Mike Flower Pops version.
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  #17  
Old 12-26-2003, 10:03 AM
Queen Tonya Queen Tonya is offline
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Huh, if I'd heard either of those versions, then it probably wouldn't have sounded so weird to me. Well, I guess it's better Will's not the only one, but still sounded shockingly wrong to me.

So, looks like the total here is Norway? Think we'll be predictive of the real vote? And since I missed the beginning of the show, where presumably it was discussed, what does the World Idol winner win?
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  #18  
Old 12-26-2003, 10:07 AM
Short Guy Short Guy is offline
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Quote:
What does the World Idol winner win?
Good question.
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  #19  
Old 12-26-2003, 01:20 PM
ISiddiqui ISiddiqui is offline
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Well one of the judges did praise Will for 'bringing back' the Feliciano version of 'Light My Fire'. It may have been the UK judge.
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  #20  
Old 12-26-2003, 01:37 PM
karomon karomon is offline
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Nobody liked the Australian dude? For me, it's him and the guy from Norway - the gap rocks my socks.
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  #21  
Old 12-26-2003, 03:04 PM
Tasha Yar Tasha Yar is offline
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I got the impression the Polish judge didn't know who Jose Feliciano was. At any rate, Will Young did well. I like the way he just kind of laughed the dope of a judge's insults off and said "thank you".

The fellow from Norway was excellent. His looks weren't so bad either. He's no less pop idol-y looking than Rueben or Clay were. I'll be happy if he or Will Young win. If not them, then I guess either Kelly or the Canadian should get it.
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  #22  
Old 12-26-2003, 03:37 PM
bigdfrombigd bigdfrombigd is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Grace
I looked them up. They are Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. I like 'em and yeah, I'd trade Ryan for them. I liked the Belgium guy. It wasn't my type of music, but I thought he was great.

Why is Simon representing the US? He's not American. I guess he's a better selection than Randy (dawg) or Paula.
I think Simon Cowell must be the producer or own the rights to World Idol or something, because when he was raggin' on that Polish freak didn't he say something to the effect of "why did I even hire you?"
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  #23  
Old 12-26-2003, 05:08 PM
Boo Boo Foo Boo Boo Foo is offline
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Is anyone gonna vote for Billy Idol? Or is he a previous winner?
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  #24  
Old 12-26-2003, 05:32 PM
Miss Creant Miss Creant is offline
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Was anyone else besides me amused at Simon's comment to a contestent something to the effect of "if the Polish judge likes you, that ought to tell you something"


The guy from Norway ought to win
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  #25  
Old 12-26-2003, 05:47 PM
Gyrate Gyrate is offline
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I'm also leaning towards the Norwegian guy, although I refuse to give any money to Simon and company by actually voting. Will Young was his usual cute self; his recent output has been much better than his Pop idol-generated stuff (including Light My Fire), so my reaction to his performance was "Eh". Liked the Australian guy too; he and Will are much of a muchness.

The German and Polish performers picked completely inappropriate songs for their voices and styles; the background clips of the Polish girl showed she had a fabulous voice, but she nevertheless managed to beat "I Don't Know How to Love Him" to a bloody pulp. Horrible.

The inclusion of the Middle Eastern woman and the rock dude singing Kurt Cobain was slightly surreal, but at least added a breath of fresh air to the proceedings. It was obvious no one wanted to incur a fatwa by saying anything negative about the Arabic song.

And Ant and Dec are indeed too cute for words. It amuses me that they apparently only have one personality between them, as they tend to win TV and entertainment awards as a single unit. Note they also always stand with Ant on the [viewers'] left and Dec on the right, so they're always "Ant 'n' Dec" in that order.
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  #26  
Old 12-26-2003, 05:57 PM
Miss Creant Miss Creant is offline
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I also found it surreal that the guy from Belgium use the word "homeys" in a sentence.

Will Young's backround clips promised a great voice, but when he performed, it was too much like Goat Girl (Carmen Rassmusen ?) from the most recent American Idol.
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  #27  
Old 12-26-2003, 06:38 PM
Tasha Yar Tasha Yar is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gyrate

And Ant and Dec are indeed too cute for words. It amuses me that they apparently only have one personality between them, as they tend to win TV and entertainment awards as a single unit. Note they also always stand with Ant on the [viewers'] left and Dec on the right, so they're always "Ant 'n' Dec" in that order.
Cute indeed. I've been seeing too much LotR (Two Towers DVD extras, FotK commentary track and RotK at the cinema -- all in one week!) as of late because they instantly reminded me of that other cute twosome: Merry 'n Pippin!

Pity those of us in the US get Ryan Seacrest because I much prefer Ant 'n Dec.
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  #28  
Old 12-26-2003, 07:21 PM
Eliahna Eliahna is online now
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That Norwegian guy (Kurt?) was amazing! I was a huge fan from the second I heard his voice. He deserves to win - and it would be a real shame if looks kept him down.

I loved the Belgium guy (Peter?). He did a great job, and I loved his choice of song. I found it bizarre that the judges did not comment on his performence, but instead attacked him for being a sell-out. WTF? He was great, and the principals of the hard rock/grunge world in general have absolutely nothing to do with anything.

I was really impressed by the Canadian guy (Ryan?)... his voice just seems to flow out, it's incredible. He was really good.

Germany, Poland and England sucked ass. All three did a poor job and their song choices were unfortunate. I can't believe that Will from England got so much good feedback on such a half-assed effort.

Guy from Australia... well, he was never my favourite. To me, he sounds like just like a lot of other singers, and I've never been a fan of his version of What A Wonderful World. I wish him well because he seems like a genuinely nice person, but his style of music isn't the sort I would listen to.

Kelly Clarkson did not deserve the praise that was heaped on her. Pete Waterman hit the nail on the head when he said she did too much trilling - like Mariah Carey and a bunch of other female singers with great voices, she sacrifices the song in order to show off her vocal range and control. Yeah, she does it well, but I'd rather hear the song without the trilling and carrying on. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Simon Cowell is a jerk. A biased, arrogant jerk. He slammed all the contestants that he hadn't personally dealt with in the past, and then he praised Kelly and Will to the roof. He got up the Canadian and Polish judges for daring to have an opinion that was different to his own, and most of his "constructive criticism" had zilch to do with the performances of the artists, focusing on insulting their appearance and style.

JMHO, of course!
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  #29  
Old 12-26-2003, 08:53 PM
RitzyRae RitzyRae is offline
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The whole thing would have been much better if Simon had lost it and started beating on the Polish judge...but then maybe I'm just tired of all this Idol business.

However, I did think it was neat of that one girl to sing in her own language. It was quite special I thought.
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  #30  
Old 12-26-2003, 09:53 PM
ISiddiqui ISiddiqui is offline
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Quote:
I did think it was neat of that one girl to sing in her own language.
After all, it was called WORLD IDOL. I hoped more would sing in their own languages.
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  #31  
Old 12-27-2003, 12:20 AM
ianzin ianzin is offline
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I saw about 10 minutes of this while idly zapping around channels. I thought the Polish girl was cute and had bags of youthful energy and sparkle. She won't win, but she lit up the screen for a while and gave the show some life and voltage. I got the impression that if we could just plug her into the national grid we'd solve the energy crisis. I've seen Kelly a few times during trips to the US - hell of a voice and she can really sing, but she's very much a product of her generation with all the over-trilling and 'decoration'. I'm glad I missed Will Young. I've nothing against him, and good luck to him and his success, but how he ever won anything I've simply no idea.

The two presenters, Ant and Dec, are the golden boys of telly presenting here in the UK, and have worked their way up the showbiz ladder very successfully. They have their critics, but I think they deserve all their success and they are very good at presenting live, spontaneous unscripted TV - ask any producer and they'll tell you that presenters who can do this well and safely are like gold dust.
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  #32  
Old 12-27-2003, 06:27 AM
don't ask don't ask is offline
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The funny thing is the Australian media is blaming Ian "Dicko" Dickson (most think "Dicko" is a shortened version of his surname, it is actually short for dickhead) for improving the chances of the Norwegian contestant. Apparently his reference to him having "the face of a hobbit" has made him the overwhelming internet favourite ahead of Aussie Guy Sebastian.
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  #33  
Old 12-27-2003, 07:08 AM
Futile Gesture Futile Gesture is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by cazzle

Simon Cowell is a jerk. A biased, arrogant jerk.
Yeah. Doesn't he know that being an arrogant jerk is just the kind of thing to get people talking about the programme? And friction makes for more interesting TV than everyone being nice to each other? Why, this TV format could have been really popular and gone world-wide if it wasn't for his behaviour!

He's an idiot. An incredible wealthy idiot earning millions. It really must keep him awake at nights, sleeping in his millionaire mansion on piles of money.
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  #34  
Old 12-27-2003, 07:14 AM
don't ask don't ask is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Futile Gesture
Yeah. Doesn't he know that being an arrogant jerk is just the kind of thing to get people talking about the programme? And friction makes for more interesting TV than everyone being nice to each other? Why, this TV format could have been really popular and gone world-wide if it wasn't for his behaviour!
Yeah, since every country had a token jerk judge, why didn't they have all of them for the international event. I may have watched then.
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  #35  
Old 12-27-2003, 11:45 AM
GraceTX GraceTX is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by don't ask
The funny thing is the Australian media is blaming Ian "Dicko" Dickson (most think "Dicko" is a shortened version of his surname, it is actually short for dickhead) for improving the chances of the Norwegian contestant. Apparently his reference to him having "the face of a hobbit" has made him the overwhelming internet favourite ahead of Aussie Guy Sebastian.
He wasn't my favorite because he looked like a hobbit. He was my favorite because he has a helluva voice. Anyone who thinks that people are voting for him because of Dicko's comments, obviously didn't hear him sing. It sounds to me like the media would rather make a scapegoat out of Dicko than admit that the the Australian guy, Guy, didn't sing as well Kurt (aka Hobbit Boy) that night.
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  #36  
Old 12-27-2003, 12:01 PM
Mama Tiger Mama Tiger is offline
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I liked the Australian guy's personality and voice, but not his excessive noodling around the song. I'm just not a fan of that style.

I liked the South African guy's looks -- he has that pop idol bland prettiness -- but he conveyed the personality of a dead fish.

I enjoyed the Canadian guy's singing a lot; great voice, good song choice.

Loved the Arab woman's singing -- like Simon said, I have no idea if it was any good or not, but she was singing music that's popular in a large chunk of the world and I thought she had style and great dignity. I was just sorry we didn't have someone from India doing some Bollywood-style number, too; the whole world doesn't hang on Western pop music.

I thought Will Young was adorable; loved the Feliciano version of Light My Fire he did -- I'm old enough to remember the original, and recognized it immediately -- but I don't think it was a strong enough song to show if he has talent or not. What type of songs has he been releasing?

My definite favorite was the young man from Norway. I even stooped so low as to actually vote for him, in a momentary fit of madness. He has a great voice, however, and fabulous control. Way too good for such a crappy competition.

But man, that Polish judge was a freak!
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  #37  
Old 12-27-2003, 05:51 PM
Gyrate Gyrate is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mama Tiger
I thought Will Young was adorable; loved the Feliciano version of Light My Fire he did -- I'm old enough to remember the original, and recognized it immediately -- but I don't think it was a strong enough song to show if he has talent or not. What type of songs has he been releasing?
I've actually liked some of his recent releases (although not enough to buy them). As befitting his voice, he tends to stick to "lite" pop with a jazzy feel. I'd classify it as "easy listening" if it weren't for the fact that pretty much everything classified as pop these days is essentially easy listening.
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  #38  
Old 12-28-2003, 02:27 AM
VivaEuropa VivaEuropa is offline
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Peter (was that his name?) was just upsetting. All he did was a Kurt Cobain impression. Not a bad one, but nothing at all impressive. Why doesn't he just form a Nirvana cover band? Oh, wait. He doesn't play guitar (or anything) as far as I know. And he has no presence. If he wants to make rock music, that's great. But the entire point of Nirvana was that they started something completely new- the grunge movement. Whichever judge said that Peter doing an impersonation of Kurt would be Kurt's worst nightmare was right. It's been almost 10 years since he killed himself and Peter showed no respect. He could have at least made the song his own.
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  #39  
Old 12-28-2003, 11:58 AM
scott evil scott evil is offline
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Canadian guy: Ryan Malcolm.

And I'm totally hot for him.

He'd be great as the lead in TRASH!, the fantastic musical CuriousCanuck and I are writing.
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  #40  
Old 01-01-2004, 08:58 PM
Eliahna Eliahna is online now
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Quote:
Originally posted by Futile Gesture
Yeah. Doesn't he know that being an arrogant jerk is just the kind of thing to get people talking about the programme? And friction makes for more interesting TV than everyone being nice to each other? Why, this TV format could have been really popular and gone world-wide if it wasn't for his behaviour!

He's an idiot. An incredible wealthy idiot earning millions. It really must keep him awake at nights, sleeping in his millionaire mansion on piles of money.
I'm sorry, I must have used the words "idiot" and "not commercially viable" in a font that only you can see. How foolish of me, when it was my intention to question how useful his feedback was to the performers and not how entertaining he was to the audience.
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  #41  
Old 01-01-2004, 09:03 PM
Gyrate Gyrate is offline
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Given that he insulted both the first and third place finishers, one must take any feedback he offers with a large grain of salt. But he does have heaps o' money.
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  #42  
Old 01-01-2004, 09:18 PM
GraceTX GraceTX is offline
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the winner is in...

SPOILER:
And it wasn't Kelly. 1st Place - Kurt, 2nd Place - Kelly, 3rd Place - Peter
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  #43  
Old 01-01-2004, 10:05 PM
karomon karomon is offline
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What was up with the Arabic results? German "Maniac" guy scored #1? Why?
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