# American Idol 3/9/04: Wild Card Round **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388 "2004-03-10T01:28:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/21 "2004-03-10T15:16:48Z")
This is the time when I’d _least_ like to be one of the judges. I don’t think _any_ of the eight people who were on last night deserve to be in the final twelve. Yet the judges must pick three. Yikes. I was pulling for Katie Webber, who was my favorite in group 1, but she failed to impress me last night. She was weak. They all were weak. Well, Jennifer was strong, but I dislike her vocal styling. I still say it’s too bad Michael Keown didn’t advance further than he did. His initial performance singing Unchained Melody was terrific. Alas, the attitude he displayed later on probably did him in. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/22 "2004-03-10T15:22:50Z")
> [@annieclaus](#): > > But the final group will be a group of 12. I don’t think it’s any big deal to add four more call lines. They’ve got to have them in place for the start of the real competition anyway. I think all 12 should have sung last night. > > And tonight’s show is an hour!!! Holy cow! What are they going to do to fill an hour??? I was joking, Annie… I wasn’t serious about the contestants being able to hold up 11 fingers, either! I do think there’s a bit of an issue with how we all know it’s 1 866 IDOLS #, so the 10-12 candidates would have some other number that hasn’t been learned by the voters (the IQ of which I suspect, present company excepted), so I’m curious what they do in the first finals round. They’ll have Ruben sing a few songs… maybe watch Leah go into a hissie fit because she doesn’t make the cut. Yawn. Glad I made other plans, or I’d end up watching it. ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/23 "2004-03-10T15:38:39Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > I was joking, Annie… I wasn’t serious about the contestants being able to hold up 11 fingers, either! DOH! :o ---
**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:** [March 10, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/24 "2004-03-10T15:42:41Z")
Yeah, I thought it was both cruel and a waste of time to do that cutting business. If they cut out that whole bit of showing the judges watching the rehearsals and commenting on them and cut out a bunch of Ryan’s crap and the recaps, all 12 could have performed. And as said above, they could have had 12 phone lines set up. I won’t recap all, I think the best were Suzy Jennifer and George (I didn’t like his last performance much but I think this one went well) Jennifer does still need to work on her facial expression and the “gospel mouth”. Her outfit was indeed unfortunate. How good a friend could that have been if she doesn’t know his last name? Next time, don’t worry about hurting your “friends” feelings and decline the outfit that makes you look like you fell into a cotton candy machine. I liked Matthew and not because he’s cute. I thought he started out well and you really were expecting it to go somewhere but he just didn’t have the “oomph” to carry it off. Can he get that “oomph”? Not sure but it might be interesting to watch him try. Who was the chick that sang “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”? She started out okay but then she went into this high-pitched shrieky thing that had me wincing. And then Paula says that was a good version of the song? _shudder_ Maybe Paula can’t hear anything that high-pitched? It’s a good thing there were no dogs around. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/25 "2004-03-10T15:47:22Z")
I think America hates Leah LaBelle, which means, as others have astutely pointed out, one of the judges will probably pick her. I thought her outfit was worse than Jennifer’s, if that can be believed. Matthew Metzger’s rictus of death made my jaw hurt, and to paraphrase a Simon Cowell criticism, he’s like one of the lesser members of a boy band. Like Chris from N’Sync, or Kevin from Backstreet Boys; he looks good and all, but only sings harmony and doesn’t get the big lead vocals. I’m going to refrain from prognosticating since I’ve sucked at it in the past, but I’d like to see George, Jennifer, and Suzy go through. I can’t bring myself to care about anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/26 "2004-03-10T16:35:30Z")
Agreed, Jennifer is in by vote (and will go far), and George, Leah, and Suzy (maybe Matthew) will be picked by the judges. But don’t fret; that’s the last time they get to overrule us. The people who should be in the finals mostly _are_. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/27 "2004-03-10T16:50:57Z")
> [@annieclaus](#): > > And tonight’s show is an hour!!! Holy cow! What are they going to do to fill an hour??? You’ll find out…_after the break_! 😛 ---
**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 10, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/28 "2004-03-10T17:23:33Z")
Jennifer, Suzy and George are who I liked. Can’t pick a fourth. I did miss Jon’s performance. Did he dance around a lot? ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/29 "2004-03-10T18:19:20Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I did miss Jon’s performance. Did he dance around a lot? He didn’t dance as much as he pretended to mop the floor with sponges tied to his feet. It was cute, though. I think that Matt would have been a sure thing if he’d just eye-f\*cked the camera a little more and been a little less Gracinesque in the mouth area. Boy is fine!! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/30 "2004-03-10T19:31:45Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > If there’s another series of this, there should be a sign, or several signs, at the auditions, proclaiming “NO WHITNEY”. Amen, brother! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/31 "2004-03-10T19:39:52Z")
I hated Jon Peter Lewis. He looks like Alfred E. Neuman, he can’t dance, he obviously can’t dress, and if you’re going to take on Elvis, you better have a lot better chops than that. He looked like a fratboy whose prank has gone on far longer than he expected. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/32 "2004-03-11T03:36:45Z")
Paula should be bitch-slapped for inflicting Leah on us. She was awful tonight–even worse than she was last night. I am glad Geaorge and Jennifer made it, though. I liked them both from the first round. Penboy is growing on me. Certainly his Elvis song was his best performance yet. ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/33 "2004-03-11T03:45:16Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Paula should be bitch-slapped for inflicting Leah on us. She was awful tonight–even worse than she was last night. > > I am glad Geaorge and Jennifer made it, though. I liked them both from the first round. Penboy is growing on me. Certainly his Elvis song was his best performance yet. Couldn’t a said it better myself!!! And was Ruben (Reuben???) lip-synching??? Let the games begin! ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/34 "2004-03-11T04:35:31Z")
They didn’t show it here because of boys hockey tournaments (it’s Minnesota, hockey pre-empts all else). So who picked whom? Did George win the vote? Did Leah cry? Did Randy pick Jennifer? Does that mean Simon picked Jon Peter? Or did Penboy win the vote? ---
**Author:** ![okielady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/fbc32d/32.png) [@okielady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/okielady)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/35 "2004-03-11T04:51:45Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > They didn’t show it here because of boys hockey tournaments (it’s Minnesota, hockey pre-empts all else). So who picked whom? Did George win the vote? Did Leah cry? Did Randy pick Jennifer? Does that mean Simon picked Jon Peter? Or did Penboy win the vote? IIRC, Randy picked Jennifer. Paula picked Leah. Simon picked George. And America’s vote went to PENBOY? _shrug_ Well, Bush got elected somehow so I guess penboy shouldn’t surprise me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/36 "2004-03-11T04:55:39Z")
> [@okielady](#): > > IIRC, Randy picked Jennifer. Paula picked Leah. Simon picked George. And America’s vote went to PENBOY? _shrug_ Well, Bush got elected somehow so I guess penboy shouldn’t surprise me. > 😃 Yeesssh. That’s what happens when little girls have phones with instant redial. On the other hand, it’ll be funny to see him every week. I wish they would cut four or five from the first week. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/37 "2004-03-11T05:36:31Z")
I bet ya Leah is gone the first week. MAN, does she suck. It was like listening to a train wreck tonight. Liked George and Jennifer going through (knew they were going to). Didn’t mind Penboy. As long at Matt wasn’t picked (yay… let’s pick the guy who looks good and can’t sing!), I don’t mind. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/38 "2004-03-11T05:39:49Z")
JON PETER LEWIS WAS AMERICA’S CHOICE?!? Bleah. I truly do not see what anyone sees in that guy. He has absolutely nothing going on for me. I just want to slap that cocky smirk off his face. And Leah? Did someone not tell Paula that she was supposed to pick the _best_ singer, not the worst? So as to not be completely negative, I like George. That is one charming dude, with a great voice and performing skills. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/39 "2004-03-11T06:12:21Z")
Hey, I like JPL! He’s got that Samwise quality, yanno! And that was a great faint! I thought Simon didn’t like George: always telling him he was too old. Or was that another brother? Leah: GMAFB. Why not Suzy? Not saying she was **all** that, but better than Leah! This is gonna be awesome! Apart from Leah, there really isn’t anyone in the final twelve I **don’t** like! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388/40 "2004-03-11T12:53:20Z")
I think Jon Peter is cute. He’s not great and he won’t win this contest. But I’ll be interested to see his performances. On the other hand, George leaves me absolutely cold. There’s nothing wrong with him, he just sounds like singers I’ve heard before. We won’t be getting any originality out of him. “Lean On Me” is just what I would have expected. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-3-9-04-wild-card-round/233388.md?page=3)