# American Idol: 2/1 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930 "2005-02-02T03:38:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/1 "2005-02-02T03:38:30Z")
Well, since nobody else has started a thread… I liked the James Brown guy and I don’t get why Simon was being a dick about it. I thought it was really supercool of LL Cool J to get up and give that one girl a hug, It seemed genuine and kind and it got a big “awww” from Mrs. Diogenes. Phantom of the Opera girl seems to have chops but I would have liked to hear her sing something more pop or rock. Kung fu girl was pretty good. Farm boy sang ok but annoyed me with his “hipness.” Son of Clay looks better than Clay but I didn’t think his voice was quite as good. My favorite Simon line was when he told the girl who said she had a musical theater background, “You should do plays.” ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/2 "2005-02-02T03:57:01Z")
My favorite bit was what the team told the mime. And Simon being an ass is his schtick. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/3 "2005-02-02T04:01:53Z")
The James Brown guy (Desmond) is a friend of a friend. 🙂 I already knew he was gonna get in, but my friend didn’t tell me about Simon… What did they tell the mime, other than hers was one of the best performances they have had? And while I liked the group hug… why did it happen? ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/4 "2005-02-02T04:10:50Z")
It happened because the woman was a good singer, but she was overweight, and not Hollywood attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/5 "2005-02-02T04:12:24Z")
oops. I may have been thinking of the wrong singer. The group hug was for a woman whose sister didn’t make it, she was crying and then she didn’t make it either. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/6 "2005-02-02T04:22:59Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > What did they tell the mime, other than hers was one of the best performances they have had? She held up a note that she was going to sing Aerosmith and then she started miming like she was singing a song. LL leaned over to Randy and said. “Isn’t that the song from that movie…Armageddon?” Then they all started sort of playing along with it and when she stopped. Simon said. “Honestly, that’s the best we’ve heard all day.” ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/7 "2005-02-02T04:27:14Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > It happened because the woman was a good singer, but she was overweight, and not Hollywood attractive. Which is total bullshit because that one guy (the one in the teaser, “You won’t believe his voice!” or whatever; he had to prove his dad wrong\*) wasn’t “Hollywood attractive” either, but he got a pass. I liked Desmond, too. LL Cool J is sexy, too. I like the word too, too. And commas, too… \*Anyone know who I’m talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/8 "2005-02-02T04:30:35Z")
Scott Savol. Your point is right, but apparently its more important for women to be attractive than the guys. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/9 "2005-02-02T04:32:42Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > oops. I may have been thinking of the wrong singer. The group hug was for a woman whose sister didn’t make it, she was crying and then she didn’t make it either. They did tell both girls that they should try again. The first was told that she had a good voice but she needed more “stage presence”. I don’t think they were referring to her weight, she really had no pizzazz in her vocals. The second wasn’t told as much but at least Paula did tell her to work on it and try again next year. I think they second sister didn’t sing as well but she was also extremely nervous and already crying because her sister didn’t make it. And amazingly no one actually came out and said they were fat. Surprisingly, Simon was the one who suggested they all hug her after LL started hugging her. James Brown guy didn’t seem that bad, he should have sung something else though. Sometimes the judges will put blinders on, even if someone can sing well, they tend to judge just on song choice. I really liked Anthony Federov (Little Clay), he was cute as a bug. I thought he looked like Doogie Howser. He did have a good voice but I wonder if he has the vocal strength to make it to the finals. We shall see. Weird, I never use the phrase “cute as a bug”. Florida bugs are most decidedly not cute. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/10 "2005-02-02T11:37:45Z")
I said in my journal that we’ve got the new winner. Son of Clay has boy band looks and a boy band voice and that cool confidence pre-teens think is cool. Those girls will be burning up the phone lines for him. I bet some of their moms will be too. I thought Phantom of the Goth Opera was a joke. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/11 "2005-02-02T12:32:32Z")
> [@Silver Fire](#): > > Which is total bullshit because that one guy (the one in the teaser, “You won’t believe his voice!” or whatever; he had to prove his dad wrong\*) wasn’t “Hollywood attractive” either, but he got a pass. I liked Desmond, too. LL Cool J is sexy, too. I like the word too, too. And commas, too… > > \*Anyone know who I’m talking about? I thought the obese girl with the great voice should have gone through because she had the talent, and the looks are fixable (although they shouldn’t have to be.) Put her on a low-carb diet and send her to the gym, she’s be significantly reduced by the time they got to the live shows. And I think the guy with the mean dad is actually quite attractive, he just needs to lose some weight and dress better. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/12 "2005-02-02T13:57:01Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I thought Phantom of the Goth Opera was a joke. That’s the girl who is a friend of my niece. My niece just told me to watch out for a girl named Bree who is “unconventional looking.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/13 "2005-02-02T14:04:22Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I said in my journal that we’ve got the new winner. Son of Clay has boy band looks and a boy band voice and that cool confidence pre-teens think is cool. Those girls will be burning up the phone lines for him. I bet some of their moms will be too. **Biggirl** , you keep an American Idol journal? Hmmm. Not a bad idea. I’m with you about Son of Clay. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/14 "2005-02-02T14:07:31Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > I thought the obese girl with the great voice should have gone through because she had the talent, and the looks are fixable (although they shouldn’t have to be.) I agree. I thought her voice was better than that of **FarmBoy** who was too warbly for my taste. And I sure did love her attitude. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/15 "2005-02-02T14:19:26Z")
Randy seems to have gotten over calling everyone, “dawg”, but now can he stop saying, “you can really blow.” That’s getting older than the skinny, no-ass, black chick coming in and singing Whitney while waving her hand up and down. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/16 "2005-02-02T14:41:19Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > **Biggirl** , you keep an American Idol journal? Hmmm. Not a bad idea. > > I’m with you about Son of Clay. Livejournal. Just regular ole Livejournal. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/17 "2005-02-02T15:36:00Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > … you keep an American Idol journal? Hmmm. Not a bad idea. I keep an American Idol journal, but only once the voting begins. I write down each contestant, his/her song, and several adjectives to describe what I thought of the performance. It’s sometimes no more than “meh” or “wow,” but it helps me decide how I’m going to vote. I also assign each one a number after his/her performance, ranging from one to 10. The person with the highest number that night gets my vote(s). Last year was the first time I did this, and I liked how it kept me voting for the best performer that night. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/18 "2005-02-02T15:46:08Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > I thought the obese girl with the great voice should have gone through because she had the talent, and the looks are fixable (although they shouldn’t have to be.) Put her on a low-carb diet and send her to the gym, she’s be significantly reduced by the time they got to the live shows. > > And I think the guy with the mean dad is actually quite attractive, he just needs to lose some weight and dress better. What they told her was the truth though. You can’t succeed as a female pop star if you have zero sex appeal. That woman looked 35-years-old, and was dressed homely and just appeared to have no personal pride in her appearance at all. She didn’t even attempt makeup or a nice outfit. I can see why they said no. Talented singing is really the least of it when it comes to being a “pop” star. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/19 "2005-02-02T16:38:52Z")
Has anyone been to these auditions that they have? I see that thousand of people show up but I’ve heard that the Simon,Paula,Randy group only see about 50-60 people a day. Are there a bunch of pre-screeners that filter the applicants? Do they send the most talented on to the S,P,R group for auditions along with some simply terrible ones just to keep it entertaining? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930/20 "2005-02-02T16:46:57Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Has anyone been to these auditions that they have? > I see that thousand of people show up but I’ve heard that the Simon,Paula,Randy group only see about 50-60 people a day. > > Are there a bunch of pre-screeners that filter the applicants? Do they send the most talented on to the S,P,R group for auditions along with some simply terrible ones just to keep it entertaining? From what I’ve read, there are two initial screenings of applicants. First, production assistants winnow down the applicants into manageably sized groups, who then see the show’s producers, who sort out the very good and the very bad, who then go on to see the Unholy Trinity. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-1/287930.md?page=2)