# American Idol 3/21 - the 1950s **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2006, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270 "2006-03-21T12:31:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/241 "2006-03-23T16:09:27Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Here’s my question: why the big freakin’ deal over her not knowing things that sluts and slackers know? Honestly, she’s not the one who such utterly hateful incredulity makes look bad. Maybe she just hasn’t been exposed to the MTV Spring Break lifestyle. I cannot for the life of me understand why there is nearly a jealous rage over her. And stupid? I happen to know ballsy, but I didn’t know what a minx was. I’m not stupid. Maybe she knows some things that you don’t know. Does that make you stupid? I don’t think so. And if you’re so much smarter than she, why is she there and you’re not? Stephen Hawking isn’t on there either. Kellie must be smarter than he is. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/242 "2006-03-23T16:10:51Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > She said “It wasn’t ballsy.” ??? **Diogenes the Cynic, Walter Winchell, Eleusis, YWalker,** and I heard “What’s a ballsy?” Now, I won’t swear that at some time she didn’t say “It wasn’t ballsy,” but it seems clear that she **did** say “What’s a ballsy?” and Ryan’s response to that was a response to a question, not a statement. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/243 "2006-03-23T16:12:59Z")
> [@Walter Windchill](#): > > Stephen Hawking isn’t on there either. Kellie must be smarter than he is. Certainly, she is smarter at what she is doing than he is at what she is doing. But not being Stephen Hawking does not equate to being stupid. Speaking for myself, I would be embarrassed to call someone else stupid just because they didn’t know a couple of racy buzzwords that I picked up from the street. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/244 "2006-03-23T16:14:48Z")
I heard “What’s a ballsy?” too. ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/245 "2006-03-23T16:39:37Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > It must not be your imagination. I don’t know much about Live and have never heard their version of I Walk the Line, but I said last night that Chris’s performance reminded me of the lead singer of Live! > . I guess others have pointed it out, but check out the latest Live compilation of hits. At the end, a hidden track - I Walk the Line. Chris, whom I like a lot, totally ripped it off. Apparently, the judges have not heard Ed’s version. Everyone went crazy and wet themselves from excitement over such a novel interpretation, and I just smiled 🆒. Some people can get away with these things and come out smelling like a rose. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/246 "2006-03-23T16:45:27Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Here’s my question: why the big freakin’ deal over her not knowing things that sluts and slackers know?.. Maybe she just hasn’t been exposed to the MTV Spring Break lifestyle. I don’t think that’s the issue. And I don’t think that “minx” and “ballsy” are necessarily words that sluts and slackers know more than non-sluts and non-slackers do. We’ve been over “What’s a minx?” - some here were familiar with it, some weren’t. The current discussion, as I see it, isn’t so much not being familiar with “ballsy,” but with being told it was a ballsy performance (or similar phrasing) and then asking “What’s _ **a** _ ballsy?”, as if it totally escaped her that it was an adjective, not a noun. The big deal is over someone of her age and with her life experience (neither of which is of great magnitude, but she hasn’t been totally isolated from the world and some of its complexities) is as completely clueless about so many things as she seems to be. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/247 "2006-03-23T16:46:13Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > Awww, maybe he’ll be out in time if his daughter is in the finale! Wouldn’t that be something. Did they mention what he’s in for? My life will not be complete without that knowledge. According to [Kelly Pickler Online](http://www.kelliepickleronline.org/): > [@](#): > > Her father Clyde Pickler was arrested several times in North Carolina for drunken driving, assault, and armed robbery. He’s now serving time for stabbing a man in Florida. The site also has instructions for making a Hot Pink Kellie Pickler Ribbon Lapel Pin. ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/248 "2006-03-23T16:48:56Z")
I completely reject the argument that there’s any causal link between being smart and being on television, particularly when it’s reality television. Mind you, I don’t think Kellie’s really that dumb any more than I think she’s really that blonde. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/249 "2006-03-23T17:06:42Z")
> [@beckwall](#): > > I guess others have pointed it out, but check out the latest Live compilation of hits. At the end, a hidden track - I Walk the Line. Chris, whom I like a lot, totally ripped it off. Apparently, the judges have not heard Ed’s version. Everyone went crazy and wet themselves from excitement over such a novel interpretation, and I just smiled 🆒. Some people can get away with these things and come out smelling like a rose. But he didn’t rip it off any more than any other person on the show. None of them are singing original songs. He sang a version of the song, which happened to have been done before. I fail to see how that’s different from what anyone else does on this show every week. Would people be happier if they said, “Here’s Chris singing Johnny Cash’s ‘I Walk the Line’ in the style of ‘Live’”? ---
**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:** [March 23, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/250 "2006-03-23T17:07:46Z")
The Pickler and Liberal sittin’ in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G! ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/251 "2006-03-23T17:11:50Z")
Maybe he can make a Hot Pink Kellie Pickler Ribbon Lapel Pin. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/252 "2006-03-23T17:12:46Z")
> [@beckwall](#): > > I guess others have pointed it out, but check out the latest Live compilation of hits. At the end, a hidden track - I Walk the Line. Chris, whom I like a lot, totally ripped it off. Apparently, the judges have not heard Ed’s version. Everyone went crazy and wet themselves from excitement over such a novel interpretation, and I just smiled 🆒. Some people can get away with these things and come out smelling like a rose. I don’t think that anyone, including the judges, acclaimed his rendition as one of a kind. They are, after all, in the business and have just as likely heard it as you or I. The point they’re making, as I understand it, is that what Chris does is select versions that best suit _him_, while the others just put out whatever is the most popular version — the version sung in karaoke bars. It’s ridiculous to expect that this is a music composition competition. Chris isn’t claiming to have written the versions. He just chooses them wisely. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/253 "2006-03-23T17:15:51Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > The Pickler and Liberal sittin’ in a tree > K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Was that intended to lend the argument about her stupidity anything resembling credibility? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/254 "2006-03-23T17:43:30Z")
Chris was given credit for an interpretation of the song that someone else had already done. None of us can know that Chris had heard Live’s version. If so, kudos to Chris for recognizing that it would work well for him. What bugs me isn’t that he borrowed the interpretation, but that Chris seemed to be getting “extra credit” for it. I remember when I first heard Live’s version. I couldn’t imagine an arrangement that could work anywhere near as well as the original, and I was blown away. (Just like I was when I heard Johnny do Hurt.) ---
**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:** [March 23, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/255 "2006-03-23T17:49:49Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Was that intended to lend the argument about her stupidity anything resembling credibility? That was intended as a joke. Relax, man. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/256 "2006-03-23T17:53:58Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Chris was given credit for an interpretation of the song that someone else had already done. None of us can know that Chris had heard Live’s version. If so, kudos to Chris for recognizing that it would work well for him. > > What bugs me isn’t that he borrowed the interpretation, but that Chris seemed to be getting “extra credit” for it. > > I remember when I first heard Live’s version. I couldn’t imagine an arrangement that could work anywhere near as well as the original, and I was blown away. (Just like I was when I heard Johnny do Hurt.) Well, it’s not his fault if (when?) the judges are stupid. What’s he supposed to do, correct them when they tell him they loved his version, and say, “Nope, sorry. Live did it first.” ---
**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:** [March 23, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/257 "2006-03-23T17:56:55Z")
AI threads are supposed to be fun. People get snarky, crack jokes, disagree on who is good and who is bad. Except when you get a bug up your ass, **Lib**. Talk about bringing everybody down. You like the Pickler. You don’t think she’s dumber than a box of hayseeds. That’s fine. However, your combativeness is rather annoying. You should try to tone it down or maybe open a Pit thread about the mean people who are picking on your favorite AI contestant. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/258 "2006-03-23T17:58:49Z")
> [@Gary T](#): > > ??? > > **Diogenes the Cynic, Walter Winchell, Eleusis, YWalker,** and I heard “What’s a ballsy?” Now, I won’t swear that at some time she didn’t say “It wasn’t ballsy,” but it seems clear that she **did** say “What’s a ballsy?” and Ryan’s response to that was a response to a question, not a statement. Yes, it was DEFINITELY, “What’s a ballsy?” I have it Tivo’d and just listened to it five more times. It’s clear as day. If anyone is still doubting it I can make a five second video clip and put it on the web. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/259 "2006-03-23T18:02:54Z")
I do not like Pickler; I just don’t think that people should be called stupid for not knowing certain buzzwords — which is what I’ve said about it. In contrast, your last couple of posts call me out by name and attributesto me opinions I do not hold. I don’t know what could be more combative than that. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270/260 "2006-03-23T18:20:04Z")
But she is stupid. She doesn’t know things. Not knowing things is sort of the definition of stupid. I called you out by name, **Liberal** , because this will be the second AI thread you’ve brought down with your combative attitude. I don’t start them any more because of you. You really, really need to RELAX. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-21-the-1950s/349270.md?page=14)