American Idol 5/18 to 5/19

[cactus waltz]

Originally Posted by Drain Bead

The more I think about it, the more pissed I get about the blatant manipulation regarding Lee. He was good, could have been great if it were less bombastic and he didn't have an epic fail of a falsetto, but it didn't give me chills even though the whole thing was clearly designed to. It was a manufactured moment, which is really no moment at all.

Yeah. I sort of hate the expression "have a moment" on this show anyway. These are the kind of people who would sell children's hopes and dreams if there was a market for it.

And that Hallelujah scenario was so carefully labored that I couldn't really enjoy it regardless. "Moments" should be a thing of inspiration and spontaneous genius.

[Sam Stone]

Something I thought of tonight while watching the travesty that is American Idol Season 9: I wonder if the judges were pimping Lee because they want Crystal to win? I wonder if they figured that if Lee left, Casey would pick up Lee's votes and possibly beat Crystal, but if Casey left, his votes were more likely to go to Crystal because they're both better than Lee and are both authentic 'classic rock' types. And Casey was much more likely to come out with a couple of performances that would legitimately blow people away, just in time to launch him into the winner's circle.

Lee probably doesn't have that capability. But we'll see soon enough - we'll know if the jig was up for him if next week suddenly they turn all effusive on Crystal and lay into Lee for doing pretty much what he's been doing all season.

[Drain Bead]

That's my hope too, but my guess is that they know Lee is more malleable than Crystal, and her diabetes is a liability.

If Lee wins, he will be the worst winner they have ever had.

[Salem]

I really wonder if Casey already got picked up by a record label (is that term still used even though records have gone the way of........most of my childhood things?). Anyway, if he already got signed, or offers to get signed and didn't WANT to be tied into the whole AI thing. He could have dialed back his performances (and who knows, the judges may have helped him out of it) so that he could walk away clean into a much better deal that was more suited for him.

In that vein, it wouldn't surprise me if Lee won. Of the three left, he is the one who needs the support the most. Career-wise, Crystal will be better off losing.

[Rachael Rage]

Originally Posted by Salem

I really wonder if Casey already got picked up by a record label (is that term still used even though records have gone the way of........most of my childhood things?). Anyway, if he already got signed, or offers to get signed and didn't WANT to be tied into the whole AI thing. He could have dialed back his performances (and who knows, the judges may have helped him out of it) so that he could walk away clean into a much better deal that was more suited for him.

In that vein, it wouldn't surprise me if Lee won. Of the three left, he is the one who needs the support the most. Career-wise, Crystal will be better off losing.

This is a common misperception. The entire top 10 is beholden to the Idol contract through the end of the summer tour. Also, as I understand it, the Idol company (19E) has the right of first refusal for ALL contestants through the top 24, which keeps any of them from making agreements with ANY label until their Idol contracts expire. Last year 19E snapped up the top 1, 2 and 4 contestants immediately (Kris, Adam & Allison Iraheta). Later on there was a burst of "let freedom ring" tweets from folks like Junot Joyner and Alex Wagner-Trugman (top 36 contestants who didn't make the finals) when their Idol obligations expired. I can't remember when this was - maybe August? I believe shortly after that the 3 and 10 placers (Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver) signed with their non-Idol affiliated country labels.

The point is, once you sign up for Idol, you're part of the Idol machine for at least a full year. So sandbagging yourself in the finals does nobody any good.

ETA: This got me wondering if idol will even bother signing ANY of the finalists. I mean, they have to sign the winner, so they will do their best to pimp the winner they think has the most commercial potential. I have no idea if they think that's Crystal or Lee, but whoever comes in second, I wonder if they'll even bother offering them a contract.

[Drain Bead]

Once you make the top 10, you CANNOT sign with anyone else. 19E gets rights of first refusal, and they make you wait until after they sign the winner.

[Rachael Rage]

Too late to edit again, but just to clarify, I think Idol has signed the top two finalists - at least - to recording contracts every season going back to Season 5 (the three last year, the Davids the year before, Jordin & Blake in Season 6, Taylor & Katharine McPhee AND Chris Daughtry in Season 5...). Before that I didn't follow the show much, but even in Season 2 didn't both Clay and Reuben get signed? I'm just not sure there's any evidence that there's a sufficient fan base to support whoever of the two finalists this year doesn't win. I think if they had a way out of it they'd not bother signing either one of them and just try to forget this season ever existed.

[Drain Bead]

A whole season, and I finally realized that Lee DeWyze and Adam Richman were separated at birth.

[Salem]

Well, there goes THAT theory!!!

Thanks for the info, I really thought it was only the winner that was tied. Is the winner's contract longer than the others?

[Pleonast]

Casey looked genuinely happy during his sing-out.

[Cat Whisperer]

Happy, relieved - tomayto, potahto.

[PunditLisa]

I didn't see the show but it comes as no surprise who was voted off. I think giving him "Daughters" played into Casey's wheelhouse but after hearing the judges bleat on all season that Casey didn't "stretch" himself, how freaking hypocritical was it to give him a song that is basically background music. Of course, Song #1 was completely on him but the whole point of having judges pick the song is to leverage their expertise and give some direction to kids who are green.

My biggest criticism about Casey is that he's not a great arranger of songs. He plays them well straight up, which makes sense given that he probably played in a cover band for years, but I have no idea if he can write songs. Artists can make it on their own without writing their own material but it's not easy. FYI, I don't think David Cook was a great arranger of songs either, but he at least knew how to get on iTunes and copy alternate versions to make it appear fresh.

Nonetheless, I do think that Casey has a future in entertainment, whether it's as a straight up Keith Urban kind of artist, or doing something more commercial to get his face in front of the camera. He was blessed with good looks and height and he's got swoonworthy talent to boot, so that should take him far if he connects up with the right producers. Kudos to his mama, a single mom, for turning off the t.v. and giving her kids the gift of music.

I don't dislike Lee at all and it was fun to see him come out of his shell and gain confidence, but he's yet to give me a "Me and My Bobby McGhee" moment like Crystal. I completely agree that the judges had predetermined that Lee's "Halleluia" was going to bring chills, and it was confusing and fake that they laid it on soooo thick. Maybe it was chill inducing in rehearsals, but what I heard was a so-so singer being completely drowned out by the band and the choir. His voice broke at times and he seemed out of breath. So I agree with Drain that it was manufactured and that makes me wonder what their agenda is.

I'm going to vote for Crystal next week because I don't think someone should be penalized for being rock solid every week instead of meh in the beginning and then good at the end.

Another stupid question: I have Verizon. I've always assumed that I couldn't text in my vote because I don't have Sprint (or whatever the carrier is). Am I completely off base?

[Cat Whisperer]

I think to have a "moment" with Hallelujah at this point would take something extraordinary - the song has been covered so many times, by such excellent performers in many different styles, that just a competent version of it is very much "so what?" The judges needed to dig a little deeper than they did (and John Hyatt would indeed have been an excellent choice for Lee). Or somebody like Chris Rea.

[Rilchiam]

I thought the carrier was Verizon. At least it was in previous seasons when I voted. Anyway, yes, you can vote using any carrier. Though I think you can't text your votes without the right carrier.

[OpalCat]

I'm pretty sure the carrier is Sprint at least for the past several years. Obviously you can call in votes from any phone, but I'm pretty sure you have to be on Sprint to text them.

[Drain Bead]

The preferred carrier is AT&T, actually.

I have an iPhone, so text-voting here I come.