Buh-Bye, Carmen. It’s about effing time.
I’m glad that Josh was in the bottom three for once. I was kid of worried that he would coast to the end on the patriotic vote. I think that what seems to be the SDMB consensus (Ruben, Clay and Kim as the final three – Ruben as the winner) will hold true now.
I think I can safely predict the elimination order the rest of the way:
Josh
Trenyce
Kim
Clay
Ruuuuuben!
Carmen is gone! Yes!!
There IS a God! The Undead is departed! Praise Be!
Well thank god for that. Jeez.
I feel compelled to comment on two things:
First, I totally choked on my prediction for the night. To my surprise, Josh was actually in the bottom three. I guess if you are bad enough, even the patriotic/teen girl crowd will abandon you. Kimberly was not part of the bottom three, but you can’t blame me for wishful thinking, can you?
Anyway, the point is I WAS WRONG! You can now safely disregard everything I have to say or have ever said.
Second, and maybe this is just me, but how can so many talented people sound so bad when they are all singing together? Those group songs make me cringe. I don’t think I have heard one yet that was good, with the possible exception of the one they did in the studio.
Just thought I would share. We now return you to Wanda at Large.
Oh shoot I forgot to watch Wanda At Large. Oh well.
Finally, Carmen is gone! She dodged the bullet so much in the past she could have been in the next Matrix sequel.
Although, if it had been Josh sent home tonight that still would have been justice, he was sooo bad last night. I guess patriotism won out over the sympathy votes.
While I am glad that Carmen got the boot, I still felt bad for her being treated so rudely by both Randy and Simon. There are ways of criticizing a performance without being so cruel.
She’s not really a bad singer. If Carmen had a vocal coach who could teach her to use the vibrato better and to hit the notes instead of wobbling in and out of key as she does, she’d do well as a backup singer perhaps.
Diogene the Cynic:
“Josh
Trenyce
Kim
Clay
Ruuuuuben!”
Well, that’s my ideal top five! EHEEHE!! Flip Trenyce with Kim and that would be my ideal top three. EHHE! Course I like Kim L too, so either way is perfectly fine!
I accept the fact that Trenyce will most likely go no higher than fourth, but so long as she at least made the top five, I’m happy!
The best singer is Clay, by a wide margin. He just stomps the rest, I don’t think he’s ever hit a bad note.
That said…it’ll probably be Ruben. Which I can get behind just because he’s representin’ the big folks (In Frenchie’s stead…sigh).
Can’t wait to see Josh booted out of there. I can’t stand the way he looks either, though, to be fair, I think it’s outside his control. His mouth is just shaped weird.
I don’t understand what everyone is talking about re Kim’s supposed “attitude”. I think you’re imagining things.
I couldn’t believe that Simon was so honest about it not mattering whether Carmen, Josh or Trenyce got kicked off tonight, since none of them are going to make it to the top three anyhow.
I guess the increase in meaness by the judges has something to do with the fact that they have to make the show interesting for the next four weeks somehow until Ruben wins.
It mattered a whole lot to me. I did not want Trenyce going before Carmen. I’d rather Josh go before her too, but NOW, it’s not going to matter too much, but I’ll still be voting for her over Josh or anyone else(except for Kim).
I just want to take this opportunity to thank all you people who watch the "who-will-be-kicked-off-tonight show. I’ve tried, but I just can’t–it’s not that it’s so cheesy, but that it is mind-numbingly stupid cheesy, and I have no one to help me make fun of it as it airs (or errs as the case may be). I love the performance show, and, as I’ve said, I want Ruban to make an album so I can buy it (I’d buy Clay’s album as well, and maybe Kim’s–depending on the songs), but the Wednesday night show is beyond my endurance. So it’s good to know I can come here and get a rundown on everythign that happened.
Fighters of ignorance, the ignorant salute you!* Keep up the good work.
*We don’t actually know how to salute–that whole how many fingers, palm up or down, elbow in or out thing–way too confusing, but the thought is there.
I was really hoping that Carmen would somehow manage to stay on. Hell, I was hoping that she would win the whole damn thing. I just would have laughed my ass of when, after all the crap she took from Simon and Randy, they are forced to offer her a contract and then to promote it. Not for the benefit of Carmen but just to humble Simon a bit.
That would be such a waste of raw materials though. Think of all those wasted CD’s joining the AOL and other ISP’s CDs down at the dump. For the sake of the environment, it’s better that that did not happen.
Let’s face it, without Simon there would be no show. He is what makes it work. Would anybody want to see three Paula Abduls?
As brutal as Simon can be with his criticism, he can be be equally expansive with his praise. He’s honest. he’s not going to act like somebody’s aunt on Thanksgiving (“oh, that was wonderful”) if someone doesn’t have any talent. He’s not going to shine them on if they have no chance to make it in the industry… Frankly, I wish the rest of the judges (especially the guests) would be as honest as he is.
Basically Simon says what most people are thinking but are too polite to say themselves. Publicly they boo him when he says something nasty, privately they are thinking “right on!”.
Granted he could phrase it a little better but his nastiness is what gets people watching. It’s just unfortunate that when he does offer constructive criticism in the nicest way possible (for him) it’s booed because he’s just looked on as “being mean for the sake of being mean”. He was right on when he said Ruben needed to expand his range but he was booed because god forbid he say something not so nice about the frontrunner.
It’s too bad that Randy can’t fill that gap of offering constructive criticism in a nice way, but he’s either just as nasty as Simon or just as nice as Paula or he just says “dawg” a lot.
It does appear that whether Ruben wins or not, there will be a niche open to him soon in the pop/R&B/Soul music universe. I read this morning that Barry White is in need of a kidney transplant and Luther Vandross is in critical condition following a stroke. (By the way, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY said last week or so that Vandross was supposed to be the guest judge on May 6. Talk about a gimme for Ruben! I don’t think he’s gonna make that engagement.)
What I get tired of is the inconsistency with the criticism from the judges. For instance, Clay is WAY more “animated” in his performances than Ruben, but Paula has told Clay several times that he needs to dance or move around more. Well all Ruben ever does is stand in one place stretching alternating arms out. Heck, he doesn’t even sway side-to-side or shift his weight. At least Clay does dance-type motions with his arms and hands. Why has no one ever told Ruben he needs to MOVE?! He BORES me. I’d sure buy a CD by him, but I’d NEVER go see him in concert!
I was glad when Simon finally told Ruben he was becoming “one-note” and predictable with his Barry White schtick. But his “style” is no more POP artist than Clay’s supposed Broadway style. In fact, I think Clay has more potential to move his style to pop-ish than Ruben does. Ruben is a great R&B performer. His voice is smooth and he can certainly carry a tune. But can he entertain? I certainly don’t think so! I think Clay has him beat in that regard hands down.
Aside from one bad choice at the end of “Somewhere Out There”, Clay hasn’t missed a single note and he avoids that whole run thingie that Ruben seems to like to rely on so heavily. If you go listen to the audio of Ruben’s performance from Tuesday at http://www.idolonline.org/ (Scroll down and look on the right-hand side for “THIS WEEK’S MEDIA”) you’ll hear him wind and whine his way through notes like he can’t find one he likes and stick to it. It reminds me of when I was a little kid and my mother would have to tell me that “mom” was a one-syllable word, not mooOOOooooOOOOOoooM! Clay is a better singer and a better performer than Ruben, but Ruben is never called on it.
Clay and Ruben are criticized for picking one style and sticking to it, but Trenyce is told she needs to pick a style because Simon “doesn’t know who she is” and Josh is told to stick to his country thing and is criticized when he tries to go outside that box (even though he’s never successful).
Kimberley should lose a few pounds because she “doesn’t look like a pop idol”, but Ruben’s look passes scrutiny? There’s nothing wrong with either of their weight, but why criticize one because of it and not the other?!
Josh makes the most hideous faces I’ve ever had to endure from a performer. He looks seriously constipated and it’s extremely unappealing. But his horrifying facial expressions have never been commented on, but Clay’s (which aren’t even in the same league of awful as Josh’s) are.
So which is it? Should they move around more, or is standing still in the middle of the stage ok? Should they find the niche they’re good at and excell at that, or should they take more chances and show more range? Are facial expressions important or not?
If I were these kids, I’d be clueless as to just what the heck these judges are really looking for!
Well, at least America got it right this week and we don’t have to suffer through Carmen anymore. But that brings me to the question of why not one single judge ever said a single word about her vibrato? Not one – ever. That’s the worst thing about her voice, but it seems no one ever bothered to even try to coach her out of it!
I hope Clay wins this thing. Ruben is #2. Kimberley and Trenyce have each had horrible performances and really good ones. Either one of them could end up in 3rd place depending on what they do from here on out. Josh simply has to go next.
Yup. I agree with that 100%, Shayna. But, I want by huggy bear Rueben to win. Course my mom thinks Clay would win because she thinks Ruben is “nothing special”.
Shayna has it right.