# American Idol: 4/6-4/7/11 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474 "2011-04-07T00:21:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/81 "2011-04-08T15:50:37Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Then the judges shouldn’t act so damn surprised, and even angry, at the results, followed by “This is why it’s so important to vote!” Unless they limit the number of votes people can cast, then the results are pretty meaningless except to determine who is the most attractive to 15 year old girls. I think they still get annoyed because they understand who the best singers really are. Also, don’t forget, like’em or hate’em we’re down to 10 very very talented singers here and only 1 can win. Every week when someone gets voted off the judges are going to throw their hands up in the air and mumble “WTF?” as the crowd boos the decision. Also, another thing you have to remember, often times with AI, the people in spots 2-10 do better then 1 over the next 10 years since #1 get’s locked into a strict contract with AI. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/82 "2011-04-08T18:19:03Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Nah. Pia was boring as hell. There are tons of people with great voices who don’t become pop stars because they lack an “x” factor. Pia is one of them, I’m afraid. She’d belt out a tune like a pro, then just listen to the criticism and nod and smile, nod and smile. Zzzzzzzzz. There was nothing special about her that would have spurred me to pick up the phone or fire up the laptop in order to cast a vote for her. Honestly curious: Did you cast a vote for her? > > Me, I didn’t vote for anyone, because I DVR the show and watch it the next day, after the voting window has closed. And that’s an issue with shows like AI that rely on people watching live. I rarely watch any show live anymore because of the commercial fillers; AI is worse because half of their content is filler! If I can condense a 1:30 show into :45 minutes, no way am I going to watch it live, even if it means missing the 2 hour voting timeframe. > > Which brings me to problem #2 with the whole AI process. Early in the season, I did vote once, via the internet. After I selected a contestant, there was a prompt asking me if I wanted to vote again. Rinse & repeat. After a dozen votes, I got tired of selecting names and logged out without ever being told that I’d exhausted my votes. > > What kind of bogus system allows voters to cast umpteen ballots? Do you know who has the spare time to cast vote after vote? Teenagers. I can’t imagine very many 35+ year old viewers have the time, inclination or patience to vote more than once or twice for their favorite. So that ultimately means that singers who appeal to 15 year old girls are going to win. > > Which explains why Pia is gone and Stefano is still in it. Pia was boring? Have you forgotten the winner from two years ago? The kid who beat Adam Lambert? You know, that guy… the one with the.. face… and stuff. How that blank spot on the TV screen survived to the end and actually won the competition is completely beyond me. Same for last year, too. Pia, on the other hand, has the two most important tools for a modern singer – a magnificent voice and major hotness. She can learn to be more interesting on the stage and will certainly be able to fake it in videos well enough to send any number of albums to platinum-level sales IMHO. Did I vote? No – I’m in Canada, so I’m not able to. ---
**Author:** ![Barrett\_Bonden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Barrett\_Bonden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrett_Bonden)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/83 "2011-04-08T18:41:53Z")
> [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](#): > > Pia was boring? Have you forgotten the winner from two years ago? The kid who beat Adam Lambert? You know, that guy… the one with the.. face… and stuff. Kris Allen. Actually he was pretty darn charismatic, almost too likeable, and had great instincts when it came to arrangements. His Man in the Mirror was fabulous and should make Jacob quiver with shame. Pia was boring. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/84 "2011-04-08T19:00:22Z")
I like interesting voices better than technically perfect ones, which in this case means I greatly prefer Paul over Pia. I understand that Celine Dion, for example, has a good voice, but I can’t stand her. Give me Janis anytime. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/85 "2011-04-08T19:30:17Z")
> [@Barrett\_Bonden](#): > > Kris Allen. Actually he was pretty darn charismatic, almost too likeable, and had great instincts when it came to arrangements. His Man in the Mirror was fabulous and should make Jacob quiver with shame. > \ I think looking at the man in the mirror makes Jacob quiver with shame (I am starting to think he’s deeply in denial about his homosexuality). Speaking of buying albums, we have bought a David Cook, an Adam Lambert, two Jennifer Hudson, and two Kelly Clarkson albums - two winners, a second-runner-up, and a booted way too early. We will probably buy a Pia Toscano album when it comes out - **Dread Pirate Jimbo** does love his girl singers. 🙂 ETA: Forgot to say, I think Randy was holding his head because he was realizing that they used the save way too early. Stupid, stupid, stupid! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/86 "2011-04-08T20:08:20Z")
I was sad to see Pia go. She’s not the most interesting but she is stunning and a beautiful singer. Certainly more talented than Stefano. When he performed on Wednesday night, I was like, ‘‘Wait, _he’s_ still here?’’ And then they closed the show last night with her sobbing in the arms of the other contestants. Kind of bleak. I’m still loving Casey. Something about that style of music and the way he sings… if he produces a solid album he could easily become one of my favorite music artists. And Haley would make a great rocker chick. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/87 "2011-04-08T20:31:03Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Or the doctor on Arrested Development. I’m very sorry, we’ve lost him…no really, we have no idea where he went. Doctor Spaceman on “30 Rock” - “I don’t know how to say this - you have…die-a-bettus? Die-ab-uttus?” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/88 "2011-04-08T21:30:49Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Pia was boring as hell. There are tons of people with great voices who don’t become pop stars because they lack an “x” factor. Sounds a lot like what people said about Carrie Underwood when she was on Idol, and she seems to have done pretty well. What is her X factor? ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/89 "2011-04-08T21:34:26Z")
Carrie wasn’t boring. Pia just is, to me at least. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but some people just have that X factor. Casey isn’t good-looking, but he has it in spades. Steven Tyler oozes it. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/90 "2011-04-08T22:07:49Z")
> [@Barrett\_Bonden](#): > > Kris Allen. Actually he was pretty darn charismatic, almost too likeable, and had great instincts when it came to arrangements. His Man in the Mirror was fabulous and should make Jacob quiver with shame. > > Pia was boring. > [@Brynda](#): > > Carrie wasn’t boring. Pia just is, to me at least. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but some people just have that X factor. Casey isn’t good-looking, but he has it in spades. Steven Tyler oozes it. I found Kris to be singularly unremarkable, with one or two solid performances mixed in along the way. I didn’t see any of his supposed charisma. Casey definitely has some if “it.” On the other hand, the judges burned their save on him because his “it” wasn’t enough to keep him out of bottom spot a couple weeks back, so I’m not entirely sure that’s a real factor for this competition. I didn’t find Pia to be boring, but I find a great voice to be mesmerizing, regardless of whether it’s coming from someone with great stage presence or not. YMMV, obviously. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/91 "2011-04-08T23:32:13Z")
Guess I wasn’t the only who noticed the problem with the voting on AI: [http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=640159>1=28103](http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=640159>1=28103) ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/92 "2011-04-08T23:39:33Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I suppose to the young, a New Janis Joplin is quite the novelty (as if the world is crying out for a New Janis Joplin - well, what do I know, maybe they are). Not even close. Just pathetic. The screeching was so artificial and soulless. Travesty. > [@](#): > > God, are those judges totally in love with each and every contestant or what? It’s a love fest, week after week. I read a quote from Cowell saying the singers should be very glad he’s not there anymore. I thought Cowell had a very limited range in terms of expressing himself, making him a lot less interesting than most people found him, but he was certainly a lot more willing to challenge the contestants. I happen to love Steven Tyler and find him generally more entertaining to watch, but his relentless supportiveness is kinda boring. > [@Jman](#): > > As much as I hate country music, and would never in a million years buy an album > Of his, Scotty is the most talented this year. He always nails it, is set up perfectly for performance NOW. He’s going to be a big star, very likely for a long, long time. Completely agree. I pretty much hate country music, especially the hardcore kind, and Scotty is hardcore. But for my money he is the only absolute slam-dunk for this season. I simply cannot imagine how he could fail to have a huge country career. The audience went batshit for him, and rightly so. > [@Tangent](#): > > Holy cow–Iggy Pop performing (shirtless, of course) on the American Idol stage. This is kind of surreal. Very. > [@BigBertha](#): > > If only once someone would punch Ryan in the stomach for pulling that shit. “You are leaving us”…“to go sit on the couch.” I dont’ think that’s his decision. > [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > I’m actually shocked that it wasn’t Jacob–not because I think he’s bad, I actually like him–but because of his whole “If I go home, it’s because you can’t look in the mirror.” That was really weird. I can’t believe they used that for his intro, that someone didn’t explain to him how that came off, which is not the way he meant it, I’m certain. I’d like to know what he DID mean… > [@](#): > > Pia looked smokin’ hot tonight, even more so than usual. Amazing rack. Spectacular. She looked perfect. If I was a man I’d be drooling. Beautiful girl, gorgeous figure. > [@](#): > > I’m calling it now–Scotty McCreery is your next American Idol. I’m leaning in that direction. > [@notfrommensa](#): > > Now for a dose of reality, Iggy Pop will be 64 yrs old in a couple weeks. He looks fan-fucking-tastic, god love him. I liked the little rest he took… > [@Sateryn76](#): > > I’m glad to see Pia go I was chanting “Pia Pia Pia…” can’t stand her. BOOOOOOOOOOORING. > [@](#): > > I also attribute 50% of the loss to that horrid cow-suit thing Stefani had her wear. It was really bad. I felt sorry for all the girls, I think Stefani’s clothes were dreadful. > [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](#): > > Bouncing the woman with the best voice in the competition – possibly the best voice AI has ever had – is conclusive proof that the average American Idol voter is spectacularly stupid. > > On the upside, Pia now has several weeks to do nothing with her waking hours except prepare for the upcoming AI tour, develop her stage presence, polish her songs, and absolutely dominate every concert the group does this summer before going into the studio and taking over Celine’s place as Mega-Selling Über-Balladeer of the Universe. I predict that she fades away completely. You would be stunned to know how many extraordinary voices there are in the world that never make it anywhere. Because perfect is generally boring as hell. Some of the greatest singing stars of all time have voices that are barely adequate, in terms of being able to sing every note flawlessly. I think the only reason she might actually end up with a serious career is because she’s so gorgeous. > [@DMark](#): > > At this stage of the game, it doesn’t really matter who gets booted. > As past years have shown, the winners do not necessarily have a great career and many “losers” go on to do quite well. Depending on how you measure it, I think Jennifer Hudson might be the biggest, most accomplished star to come out of AI, and she went out 7th, I believe. Daughtry went out around the same, and he’s had a pretty ginormous career. Among the actual winners, the only ones that really stick out in my mind as having really giant careers are Kelly and Carrie. > [@](#): > > Pia is good - granted, I think she has the personality and charisma of a dial tone, but her voice is quite nice and lack of personality and charisma hasn’t hurt Celine Dion I absolutely cannot stand Celine Dion, she gives me the willies. But I would never say she hasn’t got any personality. She has plenty, and I find it 100% grating. > [@](#): > > Slightly off-topic, but last year’s winner of America’s Got Talent, Michael Grimm, just recently performed one night at a local’s casino here in Las Vegas (Green Valley Ranch), in the ballroom - tickets started at $29. Not exactly a rip-roaring start to a career. I don’t think ticket prices define it, the number of tickets sold do. Either way, I find him completely adorable and I love his style. I kept seeing all these ads for\*\* The Voice,\*\* and it wasn’t until the last day or two that I realized the gimmick, which I LOVE: the judges are not going to see the singers until after they heard them. I hope they do their judging or decision making before they see them, otherwise it’s a pretty weak gimmick. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/93 "2011-04-09T03:38:09Z")
Something else that’s been sticking out to me the past couple of weeks with the new voting measures – Dial Idol is kinda screwed, aren’t they? They’ve been very hit or miss – correctly predicting when Casey was the low vote-getter, but also predicting Pia was one of the top vote-getters this week. And all along, there has been Scotty in the #1 nearly every week, sometimes with a ridiculous margin. So that got me thinking – the only thing that Dial Idol tracks are phone-in votes (but not texts or web voting). So is Scotty really _that_ much of a front-runner, or are his fans more likely to not have/use web and/or text voting? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/94 "2011-04-10T21:06:39Z")
Pia will probably wind up with the biggest career of the lot. I don’t know if you guys have heard, but Jimmy Iovine signed her to a record deal with Interscope the _same night_ she was booted off the stage. By the next day, he had already lined up top songwriters and producers to make an album, and she’ll probably be in the recording studio within a week or two. They’re going to play this controversy up as much as they can. They’ll have her album out either before this show wraps for the season, or at least before the summer tour. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have her back on the show as a guest performing ‘her new hit single’ during this season. One problem Idols have always had is that their popularity peaks while they’re still on the air for the season, but they don’t get their first CD’s out for months or even years afterward, when they’re already forgotten. Casey James still hasn’t released his CD. Another problem the ‘serious’ artists have is that if they want to get their CD out early, they’re pretty much at the mercy of the 19 Entertainment song machine, which means lots of dreck songs from the likes of Kara Dioguardi and other house songwriters. So they perform all these great, classic songs during the season and everyone gets all hyped up about them, then when their music comes out it’s a collection of bland formula songs hastily produced and which sound like crap, and they blow their one shot to cement their reputation. I don’t think that really applies to someone like Pia. She’s not going to make or break her career on great songwriting. She’s like Mariah Carey - no one cares much about the actual songs, because her voice can carry just about everything and she dresses hot and puts on a good stage show. You can bet Pia is already getting intensive training in performance and stage craft. Anyway… I had her picked to win, so I’m screwed in the SDMB pool. I was traveling on business this week and missed the performance show - I have to go back and watch it on the DVR. But it’s becoming a chore to even bother - there’s no one left on this show that’s particularly interesting, unless Casey stepped it up a notch. I also agree about the judges - I like them all, but they’re sucking the life out of this show with their constant praise for everyone. I wonder if they’re somewhat at fault for Pia getting the axe? When you’re nice to everyone, you’re not doing the really good ones any favors, and you’re not helping the public sort out the good from the bad. The role of the judges at this point in the competition is to give the viewing audience some advice and insight from the ‘insiders’ perspective to help them pick the right people. Simon was good at that. These judges? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/95 "2011-04-10T22:17:13Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I also agree about the judges - I like them all, but they’re sucking the life out of this show with their constant praise for everyone. I wonder if they’re somewhat at fault for Pia getting the axe? When you’re nice to everyone, you’re not doing the really good ones any favors, and you’re not helping the public sort out the good from the bad. The role of the judges at this point in the competition is to give the viewing audience some advice and insight from the ‘insiders’ perspective to help them pick the right people. Simon was good at that. These judges? Not so much. That’s because Tyler and J-Lo think like performers. They always play to the crowd, and they’ll never do anything that might get them booed. That’s why they were so much meaner during the early stages - they didn’t have an audience. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/96 "2011-04-10T23:02:23Z")
That’s a really good point. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/97 "2011-04-11T00:31:43Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Pia will probably wind up with the biggest career of the lot. > > I don’t know if you guys have heard, but Jimmy Iovine signed her to a record deal with Interscope the _same night_ she was booted off the stage. By the next day, he had already lined up top songwriters and producers to make an album, and she’ll probably be in the recording studio within a week or two. > > They’re going to play this controversy up as much as they can. They’ll have her album out either before this show wraps for the season, or at least before the summer tour. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have her back on the show as a guest performing ‘her new hit single’ during this season.\ I hadn’t heard, but I’m not even a little surprised. Scotty will see the same treatment for a country album - I’d bet serious money on it if I were a bettin’ woman. > [@Alessan](#): > > That’s because Tyler and J-Lo think like performers. They always play to the crowd, and they’ll never do anything that might get them booed. That’s why they were so much meaner during the early stages - they didn’t have an audience. That is a good point. Maybe they need to tweak the show a little - have the judges give them private judging sessions before the live show or something that get aired after the performance. But then J. Lo and S.Tyl don’t get live face time on tv… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/98 "2011-04-11T01:28:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve been out of AI for awhile but watch again the last few weeks. Am I the only one who noticed Paul can’t actually sing? No, he’s been the designated choice at VOTE FOR THE WORST for a good while. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474/99 "2011-04-11T21:02:58Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > No, he’s been the designated choice at VOTE FOR THE WORST for a good while. He never really sang, just whispered and sometimes only mouthed the words. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-4-6-4-7-11/577474.md?page=4)