Chris has his good points. He has his audience. But his greatest value is as an index of just how out of it the judges are. Chris’s schtick hasn’t been original in 15 years. All he does is run every song through a Pearl Jam filter. And he gets points for it because the judges are so stuck in their narrow zone they think it’s fresh. Still, it was his most original so far, but only original in that I’ve never heard anyone else run that particular song through a Pearl Jam filter.
Mandisa owned the night. Katherine is amazing. Bucky sucked, but I’d still do 'im. Kevin needs to sent. The fuck. Home. Poor Lisa. She started out amazing, but grows more boring and amateurish every week. I mighta voted for that performance at a highschool talent show, but not last night. Ace can curl his lip at me any time, as long as he doesn’t sing. On second that, that lip curl is chillingly contrived, so I know I should feel cheap and used for falling for it. So I feel cheap and used. Use me. Use me up.
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!
Saw American Idol for the first time last night, I wanted to check out Chris since he lives/lived about 20 miles from me. He was good, I think he’s going to go far. I’ve seen lots of bands around here, but I don’t think I’d ever seen him before.
Man the judges are annoying though. Randy with his dog this, dog that, “I love you man.” Paula who can’t say anything bad about anyone and seems to be on drugs. Actually Simon seems to critique the best, but he’s not consistent. He told one contestant their performance seemed like a Karaoke performance (and I agreed), but then gave a good review to someone else that basically did the same thing.
Setting aside the fact that Chris’s voice is distinctly different from Eddie Vedder’s, it seems remarkable to claim that people involved day-to-day in the very bowels of the music industry are somehow fifteen years out of touch.
For those who say Chris is out of date: who on this show is fresher or more current? Who up there is doing something unique that hasn’t been done before? In my opinion, no one.
I do think that Chris is the most current of the group. Why? Listen to the radio sometime. Other than rap, his style of rock is what’s in right now. If Chris wins, he’ll sell records. His might even be the first American Idol album I actually buy (sorry, Bo).
Okay…I agree with this, but damnit…so what if she sounded too mature in her first appearances? She did it well. Now that she’s trying to “sing her age”, her style is stifled. They should have taken her performance style for what it was and left her alone to do what she does best. She’s *self-conscioused * herself into an uncomfortable zone. I hope she realizes it and goes back to her original “big-girl” sound.
I agree with this. Chris is the most current and none of them are original. Even Taylor ,who is very unique for AI, is compared to Joe Cocker & Ray Charles. I constantly hear these comments about Chris’s goat singing and I just don’t hear it.
I just realized that it seems we are as split on him as people were about Fantasia. I could not stand her or her voice, so if Chris wins then I will feel like I finally got payback for Fantasia winning. I’m curious, how many Chris haters were Fantasia lovers?
On the performances, in order of my preference:
Paris - Best of the night. Yeah, the song is a bit old for her but she does it well.
This is the Paris we have been waiting to see from the first auditions. It was probably a smart move to hold back the reigns a little instead of breaking too fast out of the gate and using all her speed at the outset, like Lisa.
I just realized I did a horse-racing analogy. I must have been infected by Paula’s thoroughbred comment, was it Mandisa or Katherine that she compared to a horse?
Chris - I liked it. Someone else did it that way before? Do I care? No. See above comment.
Mandisa - I think this was her best night. And she finally was styled beautifully, she looked gorgeous. I don’t know if Simon was intentionally being nice (does he ever do that?) but it was very nice of him to comment on how sexy her performance was.
Katherine - Good singer, but no wow factor. I still think her dress made her look preggers.
Elliot - Good singer but I agree he is very dull. I just can’t work up caring for him. When Kevin sang and I saw he was number 8 I could not remember who the last 3 were, it took a few moments to remember him.
Taylor - I like Taylor but this was not his best performance. The song was not right for him and it was too repetitious.
Kevin - Like others I don’t think he’ll win but I think he’ll be safe tonight with that performance.
Lisa - She has a lot of potential but she didn’t even seem to be trying anymore, I think she wants to go home. It was dull and all over the place. She peaked too soon. She probably does have a music career in her future but not for a few more years. Have some fun, Lisa, grow up later.
Bucky - Karaoke and dull.
Kelly - I blocked this one out, I don’t think I wanted to hear her hillbillyize Patsy Cline (yes, I know Patsy was considered a country singer but she was not a cornpone twangy country singer). I don’t want another American Country Idol, I want her to go soon. On a side note, Kelly’s daddy is in prison here in Florida so the “news” had to do a special piece on him and how he watches her with his prison buddies but he can’t vote for her. So they let guys in prison pull phone scams but they can’t vote on AI?
Ace - I was in the room, the show was on but I blocked this one out even more than Kelly. I have a vague recollection of some suckiness.
Bottom three is likely to contain Lisa, Bucky and Ace or Kevin but Lisa or Bucky will go home. Lisa will probably go home tonight unless enough people saw how sad she looked and gave her a lot of sympathy votes. Since Simon was somewhat nice to Kevin, maybe they’ll forget to give him all their votes?
I think Buckey needs to go! As Simon said, it was a bad karoke performance! I really like Chris, Taylor and Mandisa. But i do agree that it was not Taylor’s best performance. I liked what Chris did with Walk the Line. I like how he personalized! Wasn’t my favorite this week but was still really good and challenging.
I agree, it’s mind-bogglingly remarkable. But Chris has shown the judges to be extremely out of touch. Next Chris performance I expect Simon to say something about “the Rock and the Roll” or something.
Overall – I like that the contestants this year are often going for less known songs. I also think that there is a clear top 3 for me, there is enough talent in the others to make it a competition, unlike the last few years where the top 2 or 3 were classes above anyone else.
Barry – wow, he was actually helpful, and his touches actually influenced the performances. He loses points for his “Who is Patsy Cline” act. If he doesn’t know, he really needs an education. If he does, shame on him for jabbing at a clueless teenager who didn’t happen to be familiar with Stevie Wonder. (All Pickler said last week was that she didn’t have any Stevie Wonder albums and didn’t know many of his songs. Thaat isn’t a crime, nor is it that unusual for someone her age.)
My rankings:
Mandisa- Very Good, still hers or Chris’ to lose.
Katharine- She does “sultry” very good. In my top two for the first time ever.
Chris- Still great, but not as great as the past few weeks. I think Simon’s got it wrong, though – he needs to show some range.
Kelly - I still like her vocals, but she was lectured on letting the meaning of the song inform the performance, and still sang it like she didn’t get it.
Elliot- OK, but only OK. Not as good as he has been, and never dis the guest star, especially if that guest star actually seems to be helping people rather than just showing up to plug an album.
Paris- I still am not a fan and don’t know why. I would say her performance was “workmanlike
Lisa- Why is she always so forgettable? Sadly, she would have been a contender 2 years ago.
Taylor- the love is gone. Sure, he looked like he was having fun, but so does a dog chasing its tail. It didn’t help that his greatest vocal moments last night were overshadowed by Alton Brown playing the sax.
Bucky- Not good enough, I think it may be the end of the road for him. He won’t be missed, his limited talent has taken him as far as it can.
Kevin- What the - - ? Kevin is not the worst tonight? Has the world ended? Well, he was flat, but he was consistently flat, but for once he sang the song like it had some meaning for him. He still needs to go home soon.
Ace – As Perot would say “that giant sucking sound you hear . . . “
This is what cracks me up: Chris is the only who “has refused to compromise” because he’s copying CURRENT trendoids. While the others who are harkening back to older influences are “compromising.” What. Ever.
Chris is like a little kid who traces over a Leonardo DaVinci drawing (or, to be more precise, a Thomas Kincaide painting) and shows it to a grownup who’s never seen the original. The grownup is like, “That’s beautiful, you’re so talented!” and the kid is too thrilled–or dishonest–to own up to the deception.
I’d have a LOT more respect for Chris if he went, “Actually, I was just doing a grunge parody, ya geezers.” I’d like to see him move outside his comfort zone. Unfortunately, the judges like him just where he is.
Watching the judges react to Chris is like watching my grandparents discover rock’n’roll. Funny and pathetic.
Has anyone noticed that Kelly Pickler’s face NEVER changes expression when she sings? It’s like she’s had total face Botox or something. Man that’s eerie.
That’s actually one thing I liked about Chris this week. I thought he did show some range, and I don’t mean just melodically. That arrangement, to whomever it may be attributed, was extraordinarily mellow.
That’s not a good analogy. Unless he’s lip-synching, it’s him singing up there. Just because he sings in an already established style doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. There’s not much new, all bands/artists are influenced by their predecessors.
It was the rendiiton of the song I had trouble with. It lost the driving rhythm of the song so the singer can emote all over himself. That’s what I thought, and I really don’t give a damn if you find my opinion “insipid” and “boring” compared to your own enlightening commentary. If you want to be the only one entitled to an opinion and not encounter other people’s boring and insipid opinions, start a blog.
But didn’t you just say a page ago that he’s, like, so 15 years ago? Now he’s copying the current trend? Sheesh, make up your mind! Oh, and if you don’t mind my asking, how did you feel about Bo last year? Did you find him original? (I’m not trying to get your goat snerk or anything here, I’m honestly curious.)
My point was simply that Chris has the most current sound, and will sell the most records if he wins. He’s smart for not “compromising” who he is because that’s what’s popular. I don’t see what’s wrong with that. Him singing a song by Stevie Wonder in the style of Stevie Wonder would get him nowhere. So he sings it the way he knows how and does it well, and makes us stand up and notice because it’s different from everyone else on the show. I always think it’s silly, with such a broad variety of singers, when they’re forced into small areas of music. Stevie Wonder week compared to this week is a good example. With Stevie Wonder week (which I thought sucked and didn’t really showcase anyone very well), we had a broad range of singers trying to sing songs by one artist, who is extremely recognizable and stylized. And for a rock-style singer like Chris, or a country guy like Bucky, it’s way more difficult to pull off than it is for Lisa, Mandisa, Paris, or Elliot. I mean, would you expect any of them to do well on Pearl Jam or Metallica week? Right. That’s why we don’t have those weeks. This week, I thought the singers did much, much better because they had so many more choices. Just about anyone could find a song they could sing well from a category as broad as the 1950s.
Well, if nothing else, you made me laugh out loud. Very funny line, that!
Oh, and if you don’t mind my asking, how did you feel about Bo last year? Did you find him original? (I’m not trying to get your goat snerk or anything here, I’m honestly curious.)