American Idol 4/18-4/19: The Sounds of Seven Singers

Cafe Society
101

[QUOTE=scotandrsn]
…

Now, De Gustibus, etc. Neither the singing styles or the song choices any week are going to be to everyone’s taste, especially in this genre. You are all entitled to your opinions, which are at least as valid as my own, if not moreso.*

That said:

You are all on crack. Kat was transcendant.
*Hell, I’ll even drag my sig out of mothballs!
[/QUOTE]

I happen to like the genre just fine. I think the majority of the performers did great. I think Katherine has a good smooth voice and is technically good and I don’t mind listening to her. But that’s all, she’s just not interesting to me. I wouldn’t rush to change channels if a song of hers came on the radio but I wouldn’t go out and buy a cd of hers either. Heck if someone gave me one I doubt I’d even listen to it. I think she has a great career ahead of her singing Disney ballads.
Right now the only two performers that I might buy a cd of their songs are Paris and Chris. Heck, if Paris had an entire cd of that genre I’d run out and buy it right now.
And I don’t do crack.

102

[QUOTE=Wile E]
And I don’t do crack.
[/QUOTE]

Crack is whack!

103

Okay, time for everyone to pretend to pay attention to my thought. (I can’t even get my kids to listen to my wisdom)

Very good night for all involved. Even the worst did vary good. You just can’t go wrong (usually) with good singers singing the classics.

Best-
Katherine - I know there is a lot of trashing of her in these threads, but she is wonderful and in her element. I wonder what she was going to sing that Rod Stewart prohibited bacause he is going to sing it tonight. I would have loved to hear her sing “Misty”.

Excellent
Paris - I finally see what others see in her. It’s tough to do justice to a Holliday song, and she did great. I would still put the “boring singer” label on her instead of Kat, though (based on previous nights). And her speaking voice annoys me far more than Taylor’s mannerisms, Pickler’s stupidity and Ace’s smarm combined.

Chris - Wow, he really is talented, but he went overboard on the vibrato a few times. He’s still my pick to win it all. But what do I know, I pegged Mandisa as #2.

Elliot - Good job on a generally good night. The most forgettable, though.

The below average
Ace - He should have been dropped weeks ago, but he wasn’t the worst of the night. I would still want him to go home based on everything he’s done to this point.

Taylor - He sucked the life out of a classic Sam Cook song. And I’m sorry, the okay last 20 seconds doesn’t make up for the rest of the song any more than the good notes make up for Pickler’s flat notes.

The bad (relatively)
Pickler - By far the worst of the night, but not as bad as the judges made it sound. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t exactly the coming of the anti-Christ. There is no way she is going home tonight, though. She has never been in the bottom three, so you know she has a voting fan base, and she was the only one trashed by the judges. She might make the bottom three, but I bet she had a very energized fan base voting all night.

104

[QUOTE=Walter Windchill]

A bottom 3 of Ace, Chris, and Kellie would be a dream come true.
[/QUOTE]
From your mouth to Og’s ear!

I thought this was the most enjoyable week of the season so far. Amazing the difference singing a really good song in a really good genre will make.

I know most here will disagree with me, but I absolutely hated Chris’s phoney performance. He looked atrocious with those short sleeves and vest and chain hanging on his hip. And his singing is so weak, it’s a joke. If he isn’t scream-scratching his voice, it’s either too soft or it shakes like a goat because he simply cannot properly hold a note. He’s gorgeous (reminds me a lot of Billy Zane), but that’s about all he brings to the table IMO.

Paris, Taylor, Elliott and Katharine all brought their absolute best to the stage last night.

Paris was totally in her element. If she put out an album of songs just like that I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Exquisite.

Elliott was charming and adorable and technically perfect. His voice is like butter and I could listen to him all day. I cannot wait for his CD. It would be a crying shame if he left the show this early, but I have no confidence in the voting public.

Taylor just rocked. I love his voice, too, though I haven’t been impressed with several of his performances. This one, however, was brilliant.

Katharine was really, really good, though I thought she overdid some of the vocal gymnastics. I was impressed with the vulnerability she showed.

Ace wasn’t as bad as I thought he’d be. That’s not saying much, but at least he didn’t totally bring the suck like Kellie. She was just horrid. Whiney, screechy, off-key, not with the music. Painful. But she had great shoes. :rolleyes:

I loved Rod Stewart’s humor and interaction with the kids and overall, it was a very entertaining show.

My ranking would be:

Paris
Elliott
Taylor
Katharine
Ace
Chris
Kellie

I would love to see Kellie go home, but I’m afraid the American public are idiots and Elliott will get the undeserved boot. :frowning:

105

[QUOTE=jsc1953]

Record producers are going to picture Katharine’s face on album covers, and her voice on the inside, and line up to sign her. And laugh hysterically at the people who say she has no “personality”.

[/QUOTE]

Testify!

DJ Tami Heidi, late of Boston’s WBCN and LA’s KROQ, now announces the “Jacktivities” on LA’s JACK station. Yesterday morning, they were announcing the availabilty of tickets to last night’s taping of Idol, which she referred to as, “American Idol: The TV show that taught people to listen to music with their eyes!”

Sorry if my earlier post did not come across as lightheartedly sarcastic as I meant it. I was surfing the net while “watching” the show late last night on TiVo, so I did not have the pleasure of whatever of Katharine’s mannerisms are bugging people so much. I only heard her voice, and I thought her interpretation of the song approached perfection. I also heard the reaction it got from the studio audience. She’s got nothing to worry about this week.

106

Katharine was my favorite last night. Except for her makeup. From a couple of the camera angles, she looked like she had spray-on tan on her cheekbones (way too much spray-on tan). kaylasmom and I would have been delighted to have heard her perform “The Way You Look Tonight,” but we were also happy with “Someone to Watch Over Me.” I liked her stage presence; she reminded me of the girl singer for a Dorsey-era Big Band. I thought she should have had one of those old timey radio mics that hangs from the stand on little elastic loops.

Paris was exquisite, too. She was talking like Blossom Dearie, and singing like Dinah Washington, and carrying herself like Ella.

Chris did a creditable job with “What a Wonderful World,” although he could have dressed better for the evening.

Ace floored me with his outfit and his coif. Unlike some here, I liked that Aaron Neville-like flip into the high register toward the end.

Elliott took a song that my wife hates (“It Had to be You”) and hit it mostly just right, especially at the end. Both of us prefer the song more ballad-y and less coo-coo swingin’. And while his outfit at first glance looked a little “dressy-casual,” I didn’t care for the fact that his trousers were jeans.

I’m sorry, but Sam Cooke doesn’t count as “the Great American Songbook.” Taylor can blame Rod for putting it on the CD, but he can only blame himself for the uncontrolled antics he indulged in.

Kellie and “Bewitched.” Terrible on all levels. And the fact that she’s a “country singer” doesn’t excuse her. Patsy Cline could have carried it off. So could Tanya Tucker, LeeAnn Rimes, Ann Murray, Martina McBride, or even Olivia Neutron-Bomb. Kellie could maybe have given herself some credibility had she, instead of standing like a mannequin behind the microphone stand, taken the mic in her hand, and wandered around the stage, at least looking like someone singing from her heart.

I want Kellie or Taylor gone tonight, for booting the evening. I fear that Elliott will be the one to go (>sniff< Just because he sang “Moody’s Mood” once, he should be allowed to stay for as long as he wants, IMHO).

107

[QUOTE=kaylasdad99]
I fear that Elliott will be the one to go (>sniff ( Just because he sang “Moody’s Mood” once, he should be allowed to stay for as long as he wants, IMHO).
[/QUOTE]

I liked Elliot from the beginning and wondered where they hid him during the non-voting part of the show but when he sang Moody’s Mood, well, that’s when he became my dark horse favorite.
If all goes well tonight and either of the two worst are gone, then I’ll thank America for saving my TV because if the final are Ace, Kellie and Kat, I was gonna shoot it.

Yes, Kat has a good voice. I just don’t like her.

108

Kellie, go home. Please go. Do me a favor and don’t wait for the sympathy votes from Grandpa and his legions.

Sigh. I have a feeling it will be Ace or Elliott instead and we’ll be stuck with
Puke-ler for at least another week.

109

Well that was a pleasant surprise. What Kenny Rogers is to Country, Rod Stewart has become to . . . well, to music in general. How so much suckitude can find its way to one person I just can’t figure out. Between him and Phil Collins I just don’t know who should be executed first for crimes against humanity, music-wise.

Anyway.

Obvious first: Kellie sucked. Hard. I hated her the most to start with, then she started growing on me. Now, not so much. The redneck-retard routine worked for a while, now it’s just obnoxious.

Chris has proven himself the most boring of the remaining singers. Turns out when he’s not stealing, he’s got nothing left.

Paris got tired for a while, but she’s back in her element. Nice.

Ditto Taylor.

Ace sucks worse every week. First of all he’s way too big a Michael Jackson fan. And he thinks that nasal whine he stole from the recent round of boybands is good singing, when it’s just amateur. Blech. The gay caballero look did NOT help him any.

Katharine and Elliott are the best singers left. So they’ll probably be the next to go. Kellie was so just awful that she should get the lowest number of votes this week, except she has a pretty solid fan base, is my impression, who will probably have been even more motivated by her bad performance to keep her going.

I predict Ace will go, if there’s a god. If not, Elliott will go, being too sophisticated for the multi-voting demographic.

110

Well if DialIdol is any indication then it seems that Ace is toast…finally.

111

Ace’s hair drove me nutso, I kept thinking he had an old lady bun. The boy can definitely bring on the smarm. He strikes me as the “good looking enough to have girls drop panties around him enough to go to his head, but not nice enough to get a second date.”

I adore Taylor, but I didn’t really enjoy his song, it was probably good for him to slow things down a bit, but that’s just trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

Paris didn’t do much for me, although I thought she looked great and finally not like a little girl raiding mom’s closet. It may have just been the song, because I do think she did very well.

ElliotElliotElliot, I closed my eyes during half of the song and enjoyed it much more. He needs to chain smoke or hang out in dirty bars a few more years to get the voice with enough depth to do that song justice. I think he is awesome, I just don’t particularly like to see him perform, I think it’s his mouth. Whatever it his, his face doesn’t match his voice.

Kellie-She gets major props from me for two things:
a. Telling a famous rock star who has a penchant for large breasted blondes that he “took a load off her chest.” Kudos for Rod for not having to voice what went through all our heads. She may not survive Idol, but she may be the next Mrs. Stewart.
b. Saying that she respected the judges opinions. Sweet baby gherkins, she has to be the first contestant to ever say this. The little twit Kevin Corvais immediately lost my support for his arrogance to the judges.

Kathleen: such a pretty girl, sadly, when she stood up, she reminded me of Dear, Departed Bucky, who was banished the week he sang “fat bottomed girls.” Which, as far as I am concerned, is a crime against humanity. Love her, sorry.

Can Ace go home? Pretty please? I’ll stop flirting with the cute country boy who comes in to my work and swears his heart would be true to a girl with a bass boat (but would happily make an exception for me). I’m not sure when my penchant for nice, southern boys reared it’s ugly head, but it’s here, and Bucky was my candy. So get the hell out Ace! Take yer smarm with ya! And your bun!

112

[QUOTE=Biggirl]
Perhaps Pauler needs to be slammed up against a wall every week (yes, I read the gossip mags).
[/QUOTE]
I actually hoped for her sake this was something sexual, but no. Poor Paula.

113

[QUOTE=Walter Windchill]
The best performances were Paris and Katharine, the worst were Ace and Kellie, and everyone else was in the middle. Ace will go home.

It actually wasn’t a bad episode. Nobody sucked that much, and I though Rod Stewart had a kind of Austin Powers charm.
[/QUOTE]
Um, ditto?

114

More to the point. Rod was Rod. Rachel Hunter’s replacement is kinda cute. Paris was in the lead until the end, when Katharine blew everyone away.

115

Holy shit! Rod sounds terrible. He sounds worse than Ace! He shoulda let Kat have that song.

116

Given those two groups, it’s got to be Elliott, Kellie, and Katharine in the bottom three. Asking Taylor to pick which group he thinks is which is kind of dickish.

117

So says El Perro Fumando - “If I was Taylor, I’d walk down and sit on the judges’ table. Because I know that group of three is safe to come back next week!”

118

If Ace doesn’t go, I may throw something through my TV.

119

Yay! Rejoice! Sing a song of Sixpence!

120

Yes!

Both Paris and Chris in the bottom three – that’s a surprise.