# American Idol 4/5-6 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863 "2005-04-05T16:57:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/121 "2005-04-07T05:25:22Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > From what I’ve seen on other boards, Scott is perceived as the “Christian” contestant, and he has fans that are voting for him for that reason. There are more of them than you might think. His arrest record didn’t faze them a bit. It was kind of scary how quick they were to defend him. This is freaking ridiculous, although not suprising at all. But I don’t get something: Scott isn’t the only contestant who’s thanking god at every turn. Nadia, while not visibly praising the lord and making a big ol spectacle of herself during every results show, is still obviously very religious. She mentions god quite often. And of course you _know_ Carrie is a good Christian girl. So you’ve got more options than the creepy domestic abuser, dear Christians, if you’re so against seeing a godless heathen win the title regardless of how much talent they may have. There aren’t enough :rolleyes: in the world. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/122 "2005-04-07T05:27:02Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > From what I’ve seen on other boards, Scott is perceived as the “Christian” contestant, and he has fans that are voting for him for that reason. There are more of them than you might think. His arrest record didn’t faze them a bit. It was kind of scary how quick they were to defend him. What??? Bo has made Xtian comments, isn’t he as much the Christian contestant? Yeah, I guess I’ve heard reference to this. But Scott’s almost the Xtianity-as-superstition contestant; he seems to be praying for personal blessings, thinking his silent prayers & gold cross will save him. Not that I care. It’s a singing competition. I still say that he could get into the top 6, but then people will see that his talent is not that great. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/123 "2005-04-07T05:32:23Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > No, there’s two tabs. Click on “I am looking for”. I stand corrected. Anyway, Anwar read as “probably gay” to me from the beginning, so I’m not shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/124 "2005-04-07T05:32:27Z")
Both Nadia and Bo have apparently performed in Christian rock bands. Bo seems to be keeping a lid on any overt religiosity (to his credit) but I’ve seen his name mentioned favorably on Christian message boards so it looks like they _know_ about him. I can’t fathom why that crowd would single out Scott as their ambassador. Bo, Nadia and even Carrie would all carry that banner better than Scott. On the other hand, maybe the overt Jesus praising is what they like. Maybe they think if you don’t make a spectacle of yourself, you aren’t really sincere. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/125 "2005-04-07T10:50:20Z")
If there’s any evidence that Scott is the favorite of the Christian Borg, I haven’t seen it. He’s been slipping week after week as his weaknessess as a singer come to be known. This week, he was second from the bottom against another bad singer who already had demonstrated that he can’t hold a fan base, having been voted out previously. If second from the bottom against a proven loser constitutes support, I’d hate to see opposition. ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/126 "2005-04-07T10:50:53Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I think Vonzell and Nadia are kind of splitting the “black diva” category. It happens when two contestants occupy the same box. People will pick one or the other. That’s why Constantine got himself out of the “rocker” box and is trying to redefine himself on the fly as a sort of pop/theater hybrid. All of the others that are left right now pretty much have their own niches so they don’t have to worry about splitting a fan base. > > With Nadia and Vonzell, it’s Highlander time - there can be only one. But once one of them is gone, the survivor (and my money’s on Nadia) will consolidate the black diva vote and I predict she’ll have a strong finish after that. I still think it will be a Nadia-Bo final two, with Anwar and Carrie filling out the final four. Your second sentence would be more accurate had you said “It happens when two contestants _are perceived to occupy the same box, even if this perception is based solely on superficialities._” As I said in last week’s thread, in terms of song choice and performance style (but not necessarily talent), Nadia is most similar to Bo, and Vonzell is most similar to Nikko, but it seems tht no matter how dissimilar two black female contestants are, they will always be lumped together in some meaninglessly labeled “black diva” category. And it isn’t just black women for whom specious comparisons are made based on the superficial: Except for sharing a semi-geeky appearance, Anthony Fedorov is nothing like Clay Aiken; this year’s contestant most similar to Clay (with his Broadwayesque performance style) is Constantine. Constantine, however, will always be called “a rocker” and compared to Bo for no other reason except that he’s also a white guy with long hair. The two performers from this season most actually similar to Bo are the aforementioned Nadia, and the recently departed Jessica. Jessica was viewed as “occupying the same box” as Carrie, apparently for no other reason than she was a white blonde woman. I could go on, but I hope you see my point-that meaningful comparisons between contestants can only be made if one is willing to compare across lines of gender and/or race. However, if this isn’t happening on these boards (where people are smart enough to know better), I suspect it won’t be happening among the general AI voting public, either. Thank you for allowing me to rant mildly on a trivial topic. 🙂 ---
**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:** [April 7, 2005, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/127 "2005-04-07T11:02:19Z")
Nadia sang As Long As He Needs Me in a tribute to her new boyfriend, Scott the girlfriend beater. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/128 "2005-04-07T11:15:29Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > In her intro, Nadia seemed hilariously unaware that “As Long As He Needs Me” is sung by a character who is domestically abused. In fact, a line was changed to obscure this: In fact, not only was poor Nancy a victim of domestic abuse, but her abuser ends up beating her to death. It’s a beautiful song, but the message is… perhaps not quite what Nadia thought it was… ---
**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:** [April 7, 2005, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/129 "2005-04-07T12:17:36Z")
My grandma was wandering through the room last night as Mom and I watched American Idol. She’s never seen any of it before, but when she heard Scott say the G word, she just sparkled. “Oh…he’s a _Christian_!” she cooed. Me and Mom: :rolleyes: :smack: :dubious: :eek: :mad: ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/130 "2005-04-07T13:08:16Z")
I thought Scott was incoherent and rambling. I also think it’s borderline blasphemous to think God expresses himself through a Karaoke competition. Sure, he’ll let 300,000 die in a Tsunami, but he’ll stop some fat cracker from getting booted on American Idol. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/131 "2005-04-07T13:39:35Z")
My bet is good eyelashes and good lighting. Scott strikes me as just the type that the mindless “oh, I must vote for the Christian” crowd would support. ---
**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:** [April 7, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/132 "2005-04-07T14:15:46Z")
Maybe I’m in a minority, but I thought Fantasia sounded awful last night. Really screechy and downright hoarse. Basically, it was a really rough performance. Of course, what I really want is for Kelly Clarkson to get up there and do “Since U Been Gone,” and I was never a Fantasia fan, but I thought that pretty much sucked. Nikko’s days were numbered, so I’m not surprised that he was eliminated, but I thought there’d be more of a voting backlash against Scott. ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/133 "2005-04-07T14:24:26Z")
> [@Judith Prietht](#): > > Maybe I’m in a minority, but I thought Fantasia sounded awful last night. Really screechy and downright hoarse. Basically, it was a really rough performance. I can’t agree enough. After about 30 seconds, I couldn’t take it anymore and flipped over to Cinemax to watch a few minutes of National Lampoon’s Vacation until they announced who was leaving AI. Real tomato ketchup, Eddie? ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/134 "2005-04-07T14:30:01Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I stand corrected. > > Anyway, Anwar read as “probably gay” to me from the beginning, so I’m not shocked. . . . Not that there’s anything wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/135 "2005-04-07T14:36:21Z")
> [@Judith Prietht](#): > > Of course, what I really want is for Kelly Clarkson to get up there and do “Since U Been Gone,” and I was never a Fantasia fan, but I thought that pretty much sucked. Yeah, I do still love Kelly. The husband just bought me her CD yesterday and I love “Since U Been Gone”. :o Fantasia was waaaaaayyy overdoing last night. The husband hates her voice so much, I’m glad he wasn’t in the room for it or his head may have exploded–much like mine does when I hear Rachel Ray’s voice. Did anyone else think it was funny that Ruben and Kimberly Caldwell were in the audience merely to promote crappy Fox comedy they had bit parts in? I thought it hilarious that only Ruben was shown. Unless I hear Seacrest wrong, I was under the impression that Kimberly C. was there, too. Right? [Nelson Muntz]Haw Haw![/NM] ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/136 "2005-04-07T15:18:57Z")
> [@Spiny Norman](#): > > Unless he has a double out there, [it does indeed look to be true](http://love.blackplanet.com/Profile/view.html?profile_id=2855519) . He makes 50-75,000 a year teaching music to school kids?!? ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/137 "2005-04-07T17:52:37Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > He makes 50-75,000 a year teaching music to school kids?!? Some people tend to embellish their uh…monetary value on those types of websites. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Carm6773](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@Carm6773](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carm6773)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/138 "2005-04-07T22:52:36Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > He makes 50-75,000 a year teaching music to school kids?!? Could be. Some of it depends on the standard of living. Like most teachers, he probably has a second job (music lessons, etc). That could contribute to the total. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/139 "2005-04-08T01:47:08Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > Yeah, I do still love Kelly. The husband just bought me her CD yesterday and I love “Since U Been Gone”. :o > > Fantasia was waaaaaayyy overdoing last night. The husband hates her voice so much, I’m glad he wasn’t in the room for it or his head may have exploded–much like mine does when I hear Rachel Ray’s voice. > > Did anyone else think it was funny that Ruben and Kimberly Caldwell were in the audience merely to promote crappy Fox comedy they had bit parts in? I thought it hilarious that only Ruben was shown. Unless I hear Seacrest wrong, I was under the impression that Kimberly C. was there, too. Right? [Nelson Muntz]Haw Haw![/NM] I decided that I would be brave and leave the show and sound on during Fantasia’s performance, I think my ears only bled a little bit and my head didn’t explode (fortunately the song wasn’t longer). I thought she was trying to impersonate some rocker chick. If Fantasia keeps screeching like that she won’t have much of a voice left before long. Kim C was definitely on the show “on a stick”. She was the blonde chick that sang into people’s sodas (ewww) and flipped off the other kids. I barely watched it and I saw quite a bit of her. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863/140 "2005-04-08T03:54:10Z")
I hadn’t really watched the show before and thus hadn’t seen or heard Fantasia before either. I still wish I hadn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-5-6/297863.md?page=8)