American Idol Mar. 14

Cafe Society
1

Well, here I go again. :slight_smile: (Seriously, Whitney Houston would’ve been furious if she knew. Absolutely furious.)

Not really much to say about Birth Year Week. The problem, simply, is that these kids don’t have a lot to work with. They don’t know what was cool, or fresh, or radical, or noteworthy then, so they’re stuck with predictable overbaked pop mush. I’ll just pick out a few who stood out for whatever reason:

Hollie Cavanagh - Taking on Celine Dion is, as it always has been, a double-edged sword. I thing she did all right. Actually, I’m just glad to hear something besides the Titanic theme or A New Day Has Come for a change. Damn, and I thought I Will Always Love You was overrated…

Heejun Han - I had a feeling he would crash and burn, I just didn’t expect it to be this soon. My god, that was dreadful. He could barely stay in tune half the time. Even so, it’s early, and you can never predict. Remember, all he needs is ONE person to get ever so slightly less support than him…and with this many remaining, it’s easy to overlook someone…and he’s free and clear. (Dangit, I was hoping I could go a season without saying “rock bottom plus one”… :stuck_out_tongue: )

Erica Van Pelt - You’re not fooling anyone, sister. That was the DJ Sammy-ized girlified version…the Candlelight Mix, I think. If you wanted something girly, you should’ve chosen something girly. Yeesh.

Jessica Sanchez - Aaaagh. She’s a heckuva singer. I can sense it. I can feel it. And she goes from super-worn out R&B standard to super-worn out disco standard. Look, I don’t have anything against disco, but it’s not a genre for highlighting singing ability. Just once I’d like her to take on something complicated, something melodic, something that only a really good singer could make sound good. Please, please, please get it in gear so Skylar Lane doesn’t run away with this. That would be too depressing for words.

2

Almost all the contestants were off last night, but Joshua was amazing. Deandre and Heejin were such a disappointment. I love them both, but their performances were really so-so. Erika looked 1,000 times better wearing a bra and with her back fat covered. The really tall girl has the worst outfits in the history of the show.

I felt sorry for Jermaine but he shouldn’t have lied. When the producers said they would have helped him, I was wondering if they meant they would have paid his fines so the warrants would have been cancelled.

3

Joshua was really good last night, and I really, really dislike that song. No other real stand-outs for me. I do wish that Heejun were a better singer.

Can you believe Skylar is only 18? She looks way older than she is.

That business with Jermaine should not have been aired.

4

Agree - why kick a guy when he is down?
OK, so he wasn’t forthcoming with everything and had a few arrest warrants - fair enough to drop him from the show. Plus, my guess is a good lawyer could get him off with a fine and community service - it wasn’t like he killed somebody or was a pedophile.
But to show him getting the boot and airing his dirty laundry on-air - essentially ruining his career? Not cool.

5

yep they were mean to Jermaine, but with all the competition from the Voice it’s all about ratings for AI. Desperate.

As for the theme, “Songs from the Year You Were Born” theme gave us David Cook’s great “Billie Jean” performance in AI 7

6

I was thinking the same thing last night. She looked like she should be singing to senior citizens on a Carnival cruise ship.

7

I didn’t catch all the performances, but from what I saw, Jessica was surprisingly weak (with a weak excuse - “I didn’t have many songs to choose from for 1994/5 {I can’t remember which year}.” That is a bullshit excuse, and I lose respect for any contestant who says that.

Heejun was also surprisingly weak - I usually love his voice, and his performances are delightful, but that was a breathy mess.

I thought Shannon Magrane killed the song she was singing - she seems so eager and cheerful, I just plain like her. :slight_smile:

8

Oh, for the love of…I taped the last hour, and it taped without sound. I’ll be back after I go look up the videos (that I can actually watch in Canada).

9

Okay, Colton Dixon - he’s not doing anything that wasn’t done much better by about 300 bands in the 80’s.

Hollie Cavanagh - why bother doing a note-for-note imitation of Celine Dion? There is NO chance that you’ll do it better than she did.

Skylar Laine - of course she picked a song she could countrify the shit out of. Ick. I cain’t tell if she’s a good sanger or not, because all I hear is her stupid overdone country accent.

Elise Testone - I like her duet with President Obama. :slight_smile: I didn’t hate her version of “Let’s Stay Together,” but I didn’t love it, either. The end melisma was very weak.

Joshua Ledet - that was pretty good. A little raspy growl goes a long way, though - you don’t need to start every phrase with it.

Deandre Brackensick - I think he did a very nice job; I also think his performance suffered from trying to do a very well-known duet as a single performance. It was a pretty, bland performance.

Erika Van Pelt - well. That was a mess.

ETA: The best performance of the night for me was Shannon Magrane.

10

I loved Elise. Thought it was one of the best performances of the year, even though she was laughing at the Obama duet when she started. She has a really interesting voice, and is the only contestant so far who I would consider buying anything from, with the possible exception of Phil2.

11

Okay, since it’s going to be a while before a lot of posters read this, spoiler box:

Shannon is out. Judges gave her one final chance to convince them to save her; they didn’t.

I won’t speculate as to whether anyone knew that Jermaine Jones had dirt on him and the only reason he got a second chance was to drum up ratings. They might have, but it’s equally likely that they didn’t know and just saw an opportunity. I didn’t like it; it was a completely classless move and is going to scare off future hopefuls.

I’m very glad I didn’t predict that Heejun would be going, because that would’ve been a lead pipe cinch that he wouldn’t go. Of course, he didn’t go anyway, but at least I was spared frustration, which I really don’t need right now, thank you. Heejun…intrigues me. I’m thinking he could actually be this season’s Scott Savol, getting a lot of support from rebels wanting to mess with the system, who then promptly drop him like a bad habit as soon as the contest is over. I hope he doesn’t last much longer. He looks very awkward out there and deals with performance pressure very badly, exactly the type of person who has no hope of winning this thing.

On a related note, given that the tour has become so enormously important (arguably more important than winning it all!), I think it’s immensely cruel to have a 12th and 11th place, consigning two impressionable young people to soooooo clooooooose status. It’s like finishing 4th in the Olympics, the difference being that a 4th place finisher in the Olympics misses out on a few thousand bucks, whereas 11th place in AI can miss out on a career-building opportunity. My idea: after send 24 to the big dance, have them compete for two weeks, and then cut it down to 10. This would reduce the trauma considerably and at the same time give a chance for someone who stumbled a little in week 1 to recover.

I’m just a wee bit disturbed that the bottom 3 were all female. I don’t see any standouts among the guys so far; at least one of them should have had to sweat it. If this keeps up, I think the show will eventually have to split it into a male and a female competition. Let’s face it, they’ve tried every trick and gimmick and ploy to end the male domination, and it’s just not happening. The moms and fangirls can have their star and the rest of America can have theirs. It’s only fair.

Don’t like “Will-I-Am” or whoever that so-called expert is; really don’t like that he gets to ramble uninterrupted for as long as he damn wants. Look, pal, I don’t like the stupid bleating mob any more than you, but if you dish it out, you take it. That’s how it works. If an above-it-all snob like Simon Cowell could take his lumps from beginning to end, there’s absolutely no reason you should get a free ride. In fact, I’m starting to think that this whole show is getting way too talky. I don’t need 30 minutes of labored analysis each episode, especially since it all gets shot to hell the moment the phone lines open.

12

Erika: Might be losing her way. Blew it on a very cool, pleasant pop tune.

Jessica and Hollie: Super precociously talented, but maybe too young to consistently bring it each week.

Elise, Heejun, Deandre: god no. Next.

Phil Phil: Entertaining entertainer with quirky quirks. Could surprise everyone like Kris Allen.

By the time the broadcast got to Colton, even with fast forward, I couldn’t take any more. Awful, torturous, unlistenable. Outrage heaped upon outrage. And finally Colton’s stupid ass. Make it stop.

But when I tried again later, lo, the outlines and the promise of the New Land had brought lustre to tired eyes and fresh courage to flagging spirits. Hail Joshua! Joshua’s in it to win it! Holy balls, that’s entertainment. Diabolical eldritch sick talent. Those red rimmed eyes are witness to the Gifts of the Spirit capering within this PK. I agree with whichever judge that said he takes you to church. Passionate with the delivery, preternatural with the pitch, and humble with the demeanor.

Gotta get some boiled crawfish for my own self. Hot damn and lawda mighty.

13

I was sorry to see that person go home. They had a lot of potential–much more than some of the people still in it.

I’m not a fan of Josh’s style of singing. I recognize that he’s very talented, but his singing just seems SO overwrought.

Hollie was awesome.

Phil made me a fan. He’s effortlessly good.

I didn’t think Heejun was *that *bad. He appears to have a fanbase.

Erika really screwed that song up.

I like Elise, but she needs to pick songs that are more popular to get the audience on her side.

Deandre can go home anytime.

I hope Skylar goes soon. I like some country music, but she’s just too twangy for me.

Showing the Jermaine Jones meeting with the producers was in really bad taste. I expect nothing less from American Idol. :wink:

14

Agreed, a very surreal scene. Especially strange was the “if you just would have disclosed…” approach.

Nigel Lithgoe: "Jermaine, we would have been fine with you shivving the six cops distracted by the firestorm you set off after molotoving the Louvre, we could have spun that and supported you on you journey to fame if you’d just told us when you were a faceless nobody. But now, after everybody loves you and you’ve shown incredible talent, as producers with all the power in our hands to rule this show at a whim, we just can’t do that. Our hands are tied. Sorry. "

15

I think Heejun is about one turn in the bottom three away from a complete breakdown. I’m intrigued by him, too, but I’m afraid it’s more of a, “When does he finally crack?” kind of fascination. I do like his voice, though. I just don’t think a high-pressure singing career is for him.

Dammit, my favourite singer from this week gone. Boy, can I pick 'em! :slight_smile:

16

I’m not seeing the hypocrisy in their decision. (Airing it during the show, I’m not sure about.) It’s not the nature of the crime (necessarily). What the producers can’t allow is outstanding warrants. Probably there are legal reasons, but there are some practical ones as well. Contestants have to work a very demanding schedule, and everything else in their life has to come second, or more likely be left out altogether. But court cases can’t come second, and that’s how Corey Clark got busted: called to a court appearance during the finals. Then there’s the tour, for those who get that far. If someone had to go to court, or do community service or serve time during the tour, they’d be in breach of contract. So the producers must be told about outstanding warrants. And if Jermaine had told them earlier, they presumably would have dismissed him earlier.

However, an arrest record is not an automatic DQ, if the cases have been resolved. In season 4, Bo Bice and Scott Savol both had arrest records. (Not together. :p) The public didn’t find this out until Smoking Gun posted their mug shots halfway through the finals, but they stayed on the show, and nothing was said on the air. Because they had both disclosed this early on: if not at the auditions, at least before the end of Hollywood week. But since they’d resolved their cases, and done community service or whatever was called for, the producers didn’t see it as a problem. It wasn’t going to cause scheduling conflicts, and the charges* were not horrific enough to have to be spun. I don’t know how bad a resolved crime would have to be for the producers to veto someone. If Jermaine’s charges had already been settled, he probably would have been treated the same as Bice and Savol. But they weren’t, so he wasn’t.

*Bice: cocaine possession, marijuana possession. Savol: domestic disturbance/violence/dispute/whatever you call it when a guy throws a phone at the wall during an argument with his wife.