American Idol (3/18): Movie Night

Cafe Society
#1

In order of preference:

  1. Ruben: Excellent song choice. The only thing is that his breathing makes him sound like he’ll die any second.

  2. Trenyce: It takes balls to tackle Whitney but she was really good.

  3. Josh: Even though he turned it country, I think he did great. It mixes it up a bit and if Clay can get praise even after Broadway-fying his songs, I don’t see why country is bad. Plus, it sounds good from him.

  4. Rickey: I hate him but he did well.

  5. Clay: I don’t like him at all either and he looks freakish and I hate his lame audience wave when he steps out (You go, girl!) but everybody else sucked.

  6. Kim C: Sucked but had stage presence

  7. Kim L: She has a major Wizard of Oz fetish. Better than last week but still boring.

  8. Charles: Sweet voice, awful everything else.

  9. Carmen: Yo-del-ey-ee-yo-de-ley-ee!!

  10. Julia: Um, no. Her voice isn’t half bad but she can’t do anything on stage.

  11. Corey: That was mind-numbingly bad.

Dear Kelly Clarkson - Please stop yelling.

#2

Corey–Gasp! I wanted someone to sing “Against all Odds” and I knew someone knew(I was expecting Clay), but COREY!!!111 Give me a break! Way to filter out all of its power, Corey! Blegh. My ears melted at the falsetto parts. I’m with Simon. Painful. However, I think he’s “safe” as people seem to like him.

Reuben–The “205” stuff is getting old, cuddly one. However, with a voice like his, he didn’t need to do much at all. Impressive. He is most definatly safe.

Trenyce–She looked absolutly beautiful! WOW! Just WOW! She was a little breathy at first, but she got over it pretty quickly! She does indeed have a great, commanding stage prescence and the voice to back it up 100,000%. Not only does she have my vote, I am absolutly certain that she is safe and I’m also certain that she’s either in first or second.

Clay–Well, fairly good. Weak ending though. He certainly wasn’t awful, but nowhere near as good as Reuben and Trenyce. Better thah Corey though. In fact, better than most of the others who went after him. But, I really HATE the song he sang, so that didn’t help at all. He’s safe, most definatly.

Kimberly C–Oh my! Sounded awfully flat…She looked nice, as usual, but I think she dropped the ball this time. She DID have great stage prescence, but that alone is not enough. I’m with Simon. Did you notice Gladys being a bit subtle towards Kimberly? HEHE.

Joshua–He belongs on “Nashville Star”. Not too bad, but I’ve seen better. I agree that it’s the perfect song for him, but I don’t think he was as strong as the others. I don’t think he’s “safe” this time. He’ll end up at the bottom three, but not eliminated.

Carmen–Didn’t do anything for me. Not awful, but compared to the previous performances, weak. Yea, she belongs on “Nashville Star” too, but she’s not good enough to be the “next American Idol”. She’s just not good enough. I think she’ll end up in the bottom three too, but also not eliminated.

Charles–Best I’ve seen him perform! Had more enthusiasm and energy than in previous performances. Still not a strong performer, but at least he improved enough to impress me. However, like Carmen, not good enough. He’s safe though, I’m pretty certain of that.

Ricky Smith–Not too bad. I liked it. Yea, Paula is right. He DOES know how to pick the songs that suit him. He’s not as powerful as some of the others, but he holds his own. He should last for a little while longer. He’s safe.

Julia–I love her look, but she was otherwise very disappointing. She completly diluted the song and made it meaningless. Too bad. I think her elimination is imminent.

Kimberly Locke–(I was half expecting her to sing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” again, but I’m glad she didn’t). I’m not surprised she picked a song from “The Wiz”. Great choice though as she wowed me! Well done and very passionatly sung. I’m with Randy. Very good. This time, she is safe and I’m glad! :smiley:

#3

I’ll play:

  1. Ruben: I just love him, I really do. I think it’s hilarious how he tries to look all bad-ass and then breaks into his goofy grin. And his voice is just flawless.
  2. Clay: I wish he hadn’t done the high-pitched “truuuuue” at the end but the rest was lovely, strong but understated.
  3. Trenyce: Great, great job. She has such a powerful voice, and she has impeccable control. I hate to say this, because it’ll make me sound like an ass, but she needs a little support on the girls, if you know what I mean.
  4. Rickey: yeah, he’s a little golly-gee-whiz but I thought he did well, and I can’t help liking the little dork.
  5. Josh: I think he exaggerated the twang a bit, but he did a good job with the song.
  6. Kimberly L: I wish she would do an uptempo song. She obviously has a great voice but nothing she’s singing is grabbing me.
  7. Corey: I didn’t think he was horrible – he sounded better towards the end – but he seems really, really nervous.
  8. Charles: I wanna like him; as you said stylize, he has a very sweet voice, but lacks projection and some spark.
  9. Kimberly C: She sounded a lot like Cher. I don’t much like Cher.
  10. Carmen: eh. The vibrato is becoming more pronounced and is more distracting. Why does Cowell like her so much?
  11. Julia: BORING. She looked good though. I dunno, for some reason I just don’t like her.

So, who’s with me to see From Justin to Kelly as soon as it comes out?!

Yeah, me neither.

#4

What did they do to my Kelly! Yucky dark eyeshadow, ugly hair, unflattering outfits. Damn them! Plus her singing wasn’t as good either, although I’ll admit I was digging that song, dawg. A little.

As to this year’s contestants:

Liked: Clay, Ruben, Trenyce and Josh (though he would get killed on Nashville Star).

Painful to Listen To: Corey, Rickey (yuck with the falsetto), Carmen (although she is unique)

The rest? Meh. Don’t care.

The overarching mystery, to me, is how the judges can love Corey so much. Even though the new hair is better than the old hair, I still cringe everytime he sings. And they love him!

#5

I wonder if they draw straws to determine the performing order for each show. If so, they really loaded the front end of the show with the good performances. Which left the last hour as kind of Squirm Time in the annieclaus household.
Ruben is my new absolute favorite. There is something so warm and cuddly about him! And the man can sing!
I do like Clay as well. He is unique and there is tremendous talent in that strange little body.
My heart is pulling for Corey because his exotic face melts my butter. But I don’t like the cornrows. . . and his singing is not up to par.
Trenyce still scares me, but she seems to have toned down the histrionics somewhat. She looked elegant tonight.
The rest of them are expendable. Julia has been an enormous let-down after her nationwide talent search build-up. Carmen is out of her league (felt bad for her defending the make-up she did not choose or apply, however). Still cannot abide Kimberly Caldwell; she’s still channeling Kathie Lee Gifford IMHO! Other Kimberly was better in the preliminary rounds than she is now. Charles, Ricky. . . eh. And it seems weird to me that while thousands of US Armed Forces members are camping out in the desert, Marine Josh is twanging through country ditties here on AMERICAN IDOL. The timing couldn’t be worse for him!

Now, a wonder: If WAR breaks out tomorrow at 7pm, what does that mean for the LIVE AMERICAN IDOL selection show???

#6

No order for me - just copying the OP to save some typing. :smiley:

  1. Ruben: Good stuff. I noticed the breathing thing too though.

  2. Trenyce: Good, but not great. Hated the dress.

  3. Josh: Good as well. Strange transformation from last week, and it sounded like an impression of a country singer more than just his natural way of singing.

  4. Rickey: Did fine. Didn’t say “Hercules.”

  5. Clay: Decent singing, but I don’t like him.

  6. Kim C: Not bad! I thought she did really well. Looked great too.

  7. Kim L: Her singing was still so-so, although she looked a lot better than last week. Will most likely be in the bottom three again.

  8. Charles: I forgot his performance already. Not a good sign.

  9. Carmen: I know that she doesn’t do her own make-up, but why then aren’t they butchering anyone else like they are her? Singing was just ok. Bottom three tomorrow.

  10. Julia: Yikes. Look sucked, singing sucked.

  11. Corey: Are we in the same universe as the judges? I hate him more every week. He sucked as usual.
    Other stuff: They got to go on a Hollywood shopping spree! To… Old Navy? Wha? They probably each got about 60 bucks worth of stuff. Way to spend, Fox. Come on, cut the kids a piece of that product placement cash!

I cannot even fathom the terror that will be Justin to Kelly (something like that). They thought Simon was tough? Wait till Mr Cranky gets a hold of 'em.

#7

And by the way, whoever gave Clay the okay to sing “Somewhere Out There” needs to be shot. If there was ever a song that screamed “Lil’ Miss Georgia Pageant 1988” more than that song, I don’t think we’ve found it.

Worst song choice in history.

#8

Favorites: Clay and Ruben. I never cared for Ruben before tonight but he did a heck of a job. Clay is starting to appear to me as the class of the competition (I happen to like the song he sang tonight so that helps I guess, still think he’s good though).

Didn’t like: Corey and Kim L. I’ve never liked Corey and he hasn’t impressed me at all yet. I have no real reason why I didn’t like Kim, just didn’t feel it.

Julia’s out. I liked her at the beginning but she wasn’t all there tonight (or last week).

#9

Right now, the contest is only to decide in what order Ruben, Clay, and Trenyce will come in the top three. Everyone else is out the door. I love Josh’s voice, but his decision to go country has effectively lost him the contest. Everyone else might as well give up because they have no chance against the top three.

I hope Corey, Julia, and Charles get booted next in about that order. They were all not very good (to be accurate, Corey stank on ice)

#10

Can someone recap what songs they sang? I fell asleep after work and missed the show.

#11

I’ve been big on Reuben since the beginning, with Clay just a smidge behind him. After tonight though, Clay just passed Reuben for me. It’ll be back and forth between them for the rest of the contest.

Right behind them is Josh. I LOVE his idea to go country. Let’s show these boys what a twang is about! It might kill him with pop-nation though.

Trenyce was impressive tonight. Kimberly C has IMMENSE potential, but she really isn’t showing it in her song choices. Her best singing was in the opening rounds, IMO. I think if Carmen finds the right song, she could kill.

Corey is the PITS! How come he didn’t get kicked off last week? Oh well… I’d be happy with either him or Julia out.

#12

Somebody needs to tell Kimberly C. that the 80’s were NOT a high point in fashion history, and while they’re at it they can tell her that songs should be sung not yelled.

Trenyce gets better with each show. I was distracted by her boobettes, it took me awhile to realize that her dress was glued to them to prevent escapeage.

Kimberly L. kicked ass, and looked so much better with the hair and makeup.

Reuben, Josh and Clay…great as usual.

I think after Julia’s close call last week, she’s giving up.

Corey is pure EVIL. Oh sure, he looks cute and sweet, but that’s just so Paula will look into his eyes. Then he uses his mind control powers to make her think he can carry a tune.

Rickey, Charles and Carmen…boring, boring and boring.

#13

  1. Ruben: Aladdin

  2. Trenyce: I Have Nothing (The Bodyguard)

  3. Josh: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Armageddon)

  4. Rickey: It Might Be You (Tootsie)

  5. Clay: Somewhere Out There (An American Tale)

  6. Kim C: Shoop Shoop Song (Mermaids)

  7. Kim L: Home (The Wiz)

  8. Charles: You Can’t Win (The Wiz)

  9. Carmen: Hopelessly Devoted To You (Grease)

  10. Julia: Flashdance What a Feeling (Flashdance)

  11. Corey: Against All Odds (Against All Odds)

I loved Clay, Ruben and Trenyce this week. Poor Julia didn’t do so well this week. I agreed with Simon that both her and Kimberly C perfomed like they were at a theme park.

#14

Oh, Ruben sang A Whole New World from Aladdin.

#15

Just to be different, I’m going to list people in the order they sang. Oh, and to help Grace out, I’ll include the songs they sang, courtesy of the show’s web site. (Crap. On preview, I see monster has already done that. Too bad, I’m leaving it in)

Corey (sang “Against All Odds”): Like everyone else, I have no idea what the judges see in him. At least Simon seems to have broken Corey’s evil spell. I thought he sucked last week, and he didn’t get any better this week.

Ruben (sang “A Whole New World”): Wow. Perfect song for Ruben. My personal favorite from this show.

Trenyce (sang “I Have Nothing”): She’s a good singer, but something about her bugs me. Maybe it’s the fact that she’s dropped her last name. You’re not a star yet!!

Clay (sang “Somewhere Out There”): I like Clay, and he did well, but not as well as he has in the past. I thought Ruben outperformed him this time around.

Kimberly C. (sang “Shoop Shoop Song”): I agree with Simon. That was a pretty generic performance. I also get the feeling that she’s acting the whole time she’s on camera, which turns me off. She screams “Phony” every time I see her.

Joshua (sang “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”): He sang well, but I agree with gobear that deciding to emphasise the country twang is going to hurt him.

Carmen (sang “Hopelessly Devoted To You”): Not bad, but she’s out of her league. I think Simon is being easy on her since she was his wildcard pick.

Charles (sang “You Can Win”): Charles is a competent singer, but he’s too boring. He’s the melba toast of the competition.

Rickey (sang “It Might Be You”): He sang well last night, but he’s not up there with Ruben, Clay and Trenyce.

Julia (sang “Flashdance! (What A Feeling)”): Probably the worst of the competition last night.

Kimberley L. (sang “Home”): She improved alot over last week, but she’s still not as good as she was in the prelims.

My top 3: Ruben, Clay and Trenyce. Again, I have to agree with gobear that these will be the top 3. Everyone else is competing for 4th place.

My bottom 3 predicitions: Carmen, Julia and Kim C or Charles. Julia gets the boot. Corey should be in this group, but I think people like him for some reason.

On another note, I’m baffled that someone would make a Justin/Kelly movie. It looks like a 90 minute music video so far. Is this thing actually going to be released in theaters, or will we be spared, and just have it go direct to video? I didn’t watch the 1st American Idol series, but as much as I like many of this years contestants, I wouldn’t go see them in a movie.

#16

My top three are Ruben, Trenyce and Clay this week. Honestly, I think Trenyce performed the best, but there is something about Ruben that just gives me goosebumps. What a wonderful voice he has and what a great song for him! I agree that Clay should have skipped that high note at the end, but otherwise he was terrific.

I agree, too, that Julia seems to have given up. I hope she’s put out of her misery tonight.

#17

Corey–Can someone please shut him up? I can’t believe how terrible he is. Does he have the judges brainwashed? WTF?

Reuben–I get chills every time this man opens his mouth. What a voice! And I love that song. Amazing.

Trenyce–I just don’t like her voice. She’s powerful, and has excellent control, but she’s so chesty (vocally, not actually), that she always sounds slightly flat to me. And I didn’t like her look - that dress made her boobs look like flat little purses. She’s just a baby - her boobs should be better than that! (Why am I focusing on her boobs? Beats me - must’ve been the dress.)

Clay–Really good, though I didn’t like the last note. I don’t agree with Simon’s assessment that he’s the one to beat - I think that’s Reuben. However he was better last night than I’ve seen him in the past. Not as Broadway.

Kimberly C–Pretty boring. Pretty girl, boring voice.

Joshua–Just OK. The country thing works well for him, but I don’t think he’s great. The people on Nashville Star are much better!

Carmen–I can’t stand her vibrato. She must go.

Charles–I felt as though I couldn’t hear him! Where was his voice within all of that music? He worked the audience well, though, and I really like him. Sweet guy, decent voice, but I don’t think he will go all the way.

Ricky Smith–I was impressed. I haven’t really liked him in the past, but last night he really sounded well. Solid.

Julia–Horrible!!! Bad pitch, looked very scared, and what was up with her hair? And was the ripped sweatshirt necessary? We’ve all seen Flashdance - no need to try to dress like that. Yucko. I think she’s gone tonight.

Kimberly Locke–Sounded great. She’s a little arrogant - but she can sing. I liked the dress, not crazy about her hair.

Kelly Clarkson - Wow! What an amazing voice. I liked how she looked, and I sort of liked the song. Looking forward to her next appearance.

Most horriffic moment: Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson’s kiss! Made my skin crawl - Mr. Elf and I looked at each other in horror - it was like watching a brother and sister kissing. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!

#18

Ranking them in the order I liked them:

  1. RUBEN STUDDARD. I agree, the “205” jerseys are getting old; he’s got maybe eight weeks to go, and it might be time to do something else for a shirt. But the man has a voice of gold. Just velvet.

  2. CLAY AIKEN - Terrific performance in every way. Again, could use a little variety in his look, aside from just “another silk shirt and black pants.”

  3. TRENYCE - Very good Whitney imitation, but I still haven’t heard quite as much of her own personality as I would like. But she can sing.

  4. RICKEY SMITH - One of two “high pitched dude” singers in the competition, along with Corey Clark. The difference is that Smith can actually sing.

  5. KIMBERLEY LOCKE - I still don’t like her presentation or her song choices, but she has the raw talent to really move up.

  6. JOSHUA GRACIN - How is this guy getting all this leave? What kind of Marine unit is he in, anyway? Anyway, he’s a decent singer, but I hate the twang. And he needs to stop hunching over on stage. Could still win it.

  7. KIMBERLEY CALDWELL - I like her style, but she doesn’t have the voice for this sort of competition. Could be a rock star if she knows anything about music. She was not good last night.

  8. CHARLES GRIGSBY - A nice kid with a pleasant voice, but he has absolutely no power whatsoever. He lacks the “belt” a true pop star has.

  9. COREY CLARK - How this moron has lasted this far absolutely baffles me. I’m inclined to believe there’s something of a fix in by the judges to keep him alive to maintain some sex appeal, presumably because Aiken, Studdard, and Gracin are all not especially handsome.

  10. CARMEN RASMUSSEN - A high schooler, singing a song about high school, and boy, did it fit. She should be doing high school musicals; she just doesn’t have the technique or skill yet. I’m amazed Simon made her his wild card pick, but again, there’s probably a deliberate fix on to keep two pretty blondes in the running. I’d just like to add that the people who voted for Carmen over Vanessa Olivarez are either deaf or insane.

  11. JULIA DEMATO - Of the nine contestants voted in from the semifinals by the fans, DeMato was the worst choice by a country mile. And boy, oh boy, did it show last night; she was atrocious. She look scared and unsure of herself; I think being in the bottom three last week really demoralized her. The contest will not miss her. The torn sweatshirt was a nice touch, though, given the song she was singing.

Other Notes:

  • Josh Gracin should have sung “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head.” Would have been perfect for him. And Ruben should have done “Shaft.” If Patrick Lake was still in the competition, he should have done the hard rock version of “What Would Brian Boitano Do?”

  • I heard at least five performances this week that were worse than what Vanessa Olivarez would have done. Why, oh why was she voted off?

  • Ruben Studdard - dude, you can sing, learn some moves other than just reaching out with one hand and then the other.

  • The Justin and Kelly movie could very well be the worst movie ever made.

  • Did it make anyone else nervous to hear that Gladys Knight is playing Vegas? I hope her manager doles out the spending money. Gladys and Vegas is not a combination you want to hear about.

  • If they’re only eliminating one idiot a week, that leaves - God almighty - nine more weeks. Are they going to have themes every week? And if so, aren’t they gonna run out of themes soon? What else is there?

50’s Music
Broadway
60’s
80’s
Disco (That’s next week)

What else? You could create subcategories - have a Canada Week, where all the girls have to do Celine, Shania, McLachlan and Kimberley Caldwell can do an Alanis song, while the guys do Barenaked Ladies, Rush, and Bryan Adams? That would be challenging. And agonizing.

#19

I think Kim L. will be kicked out. People just don’t like her for some reason.

#20

I’ll give you Reuben–the man is not attractive. Clay has potential; he just needs to gain some muscle mass and do something about his hair. But, Josh–how anyone cannot see the masculine hotness of Joshua Gracin amazes me. The man is gorgeous*!