American Idol March 13-14

Cafe Society
141

And then “Miss Ross” had the nerve to call her that as her name. My mom has a lot of endearments for me but I wouldn’t expect a stranger, even a superstar stranger, to adopt one of them, especially when talking about me to others. :confused:

My favorite part:

Should I use the mike stand?
Hmmm, ponderous thought and reflection about how smart the question was–Yes, you should.

And then she doesn’t use the mike stand! :smack:

That being said, I agree with the others who said LaKisha’s song fit her better than Melinda’s did her, and I actually liked her better. She sang effortlessly and that’s a nuanced song. I was surprised she had never heard of it.

Was I mishearing or did Randy call Haley “Amy”? Was that why Simon pronunciated* her name so clearly, or was it because he was proving he knew who she was after her OK performance?

And I can’t begin to talk about the guys. So sad. Sanjaya is pure karaoke/talent show, no feeling or artistry at all. At least no “Stop! In the Name of Love” which I was afraid Blake would beat box to. I liked Chris Sligh’s attempt at Endless Love; it felt more like his style and his rich voice did come through. The newly-tamed hair can go though.

*It’s a word, it’s just rare. So rare only superstars use it. :wink:

142

I thought they looked pretty saggy already; of course, she was sitting hunched over on that stool at the time. And I’m a straight female, so who cares what I think anyway.

143

I’m sorry to say I missed Melinda and Chris S. I’ve already pegged this AI The Melinda And LaKisha Show, with some Blake and Chris S. thrown in.

As for the others:

Brandon – I’ll be surprised if he survives after tonight. Really. It’s a toss-up between him, Chris R., and Sanjaya as to who performed the worst overall. Cuteness does not make up for a lack of pitch.

Phil surprised me. Not his greatest performance, but it was solid.

Haley, I’m not so sure. She’s cute and can sing, but, like Sanjaya, she needs a lot more “oomph” to truly shine. A revealing dress doesn’t count.

I like Gina. Too early to say if she’ll be a serious contender, but she’s got the basics down. I’m not sure if I agree with Simon about the “yelling” because, to me, it didn’t sound like she yelled.

Stephanie blends too much into the woodwork.

Jordin reminds me too much of Mikeala. I don’t think she’ll be around much longer.

I didn’t think much of Blake’s rendition, but hey, give him credit to try something novel.

Did anyone notice that Paula seemed calmer than usual? She actually said a couple of intelligent things. Overall, the judges’ comments seemed more intelligent. I liked it!

144

Last week, he told her, “I don’t even know your name.”

He was makign up for it.

145

OK, everybody pretend to care about my opinion for a second - it will raise my self esteem :smiley: .

From best to worst
Lakisha Jones (actually beat Melinda, but I think that had a lot to do with song choice)
Melinda Doolittle (Agree with the Gladys Knight comparison. These two remind me of season two when Clay and Rueben were the obvious finalist from day one.)

Medium sized gap, then:

Jordin Sparks (solidly in the Kim Locke position after the big two)

Big gap:

Stephanie Edwards
Haley Scarnato (First time she really registered with me)
Chris Sligh (I actually thought the arrangement was refreshing, and a good difference from everyone doing a Diana Ross Imitation. And Randy, the cribbed Coldplay song was Clocks, not Speed of Sound - It was almost a mash-up).
Gina Glockson (Good, but her voice doesn’t have enough edge to carry the “rocker chick” mantle).
Blake Lewis (Changing the beat wasn’t enough to fix the singing issues, but points for trying.)
Phil “Midnight Oil” Stacey ( I just don’t get the love)

Gap:

Chris Richardson (Still too boy band, and the runs make me think he can’t sustain the note).
Brandon Rogers (Man, he was supposed to be somewhat professional)

Grand Canyon chasm:
Sanjaya (A cosmic Idol joke, should be replaced by William Hung)

Who shold go home - Sanjaya or Brandon
Who will go home - Brandon, Stephanie or Gina

As to the re-arrangements - I give Chris R, Chris S and Blake some extra points for bold creativity. Every week the judges say crap like “make the song your own”, “Don’t be boring”, “that was Kareoke”, “Forgettable”, and “you can’t compare to the original”. THen they try to change the song and it’s like their dancing on a saints grave - come on judges, be consistant. You either want a note for note rendition or you need to give props for uniqueness.

That isn’t to say an arrangement can’t be bad, its just that the criticisms last night were less “Not a great arrangement, but good on you for trying” and more “how dare you spit on the sacred icon”.

146

“Love Hangover”, one of my favorites of the disco era. Stephanie made the right call, though; at the point she cut it off, the song just goes into an up-tempo disco groove, with some vocal ad-libs, but no melody. Hard to pull that off onstage, live.

It looks like Sanjaya will be the fly that America pulls the wings off for its sadistic amusement, this year. Sux.

I never liked Diana Ross, btw; inventor of the diva personality, and owes a lot of her fame to sleeping with the boss. And her commentary was all “feel it in your heart”. :rolleyes: Except for Chris Sligh, where she gave him the stank-eye and said don’t @#$ with my song.

And my favorite version of You Keep Me Hangin’ On was Vanilla Fudge’s.

147

Awesome version of that song!

148

That’s what bugs me. “Dawg, you have to make it your own or it just sounds like a pale imitation.” “Dawg, these are classic songs and they don’t need to be messed with.”

What’s a poor Idol competitor to do?

149

Couple of Qs:

How much do the contestants participate in the arrangements?
What if the voting was for the person to boot rather than who to keep?

150

Thanks! I now feel enlightened.

151

I was surprised how many people chose duets last night. I know they come across well sometimes, but I’d have gone with something that was familiar as just a single singer. It’s too hard to break the audience’s memory of the song as a two-singer thing.

152

To the person who wrote that people in India must be getting up early to vote for Sanjaya (not the exact words, I know), only people in the US are allowed to vote.

153

Just finished watching TIVO early this afternoon, so late, but here-goes.

I thought all of them were a bit off. Granted, it’s hard to sing songs that are so tied to a person and a “living legend” (even if she is MoTown’s Norma Desmond- I wouldn’ t be surprised to find her living in a run down palace with a tuxedo clad butler named Berry referring to the Alaskan oil fields she owns that are “pumping…pumping…pumping…!” while working on her “return” vehicle-“I star as Josephine Baker… what a woman, what a part… I play her from fifteen to twenty-five… what sign are you?”)

Sorry, got off on a tangent. My brief opinions:

Phil Stacey (anybody seen his wedding day pic incidentally?)- best of the men, but that’s not saying much. Sligh and Blake were misfires (though even Blake’s misfires are enjoyable to me- he’s the first contestant they’ve had in years who deserves the adjectives “interesting” and “innovative”- I’m not that big a fan of his music even but I think he’s a real artist, even if he does look like the bastard son of Ryan Seacrest and Robin Williams.)

Melinda- made a great move by taking a much lesser known song. Still, I’m betting she’s the only one who could have sung almost any Diana/Supremes standard and made you forget the original version. She doesn’t need this comp- she’s ready to go now. (I wish Simon would stop gushing- she’s gonna lose the very humility he praises- and she only reminds me of Gladys Knight in looks- her voice is even better than GK’s.)

Lakisha- I’m just not as crazy about her as others are and don’t put her in the same league as Melinda, though she is good. Hated the Vestal Virgin outfit and wondered when she was going to kill the goat. Also didn’t think she really understood the lyrics or context of the song she sang. Still, she was second only to Melinda and with no close third.

That rendition of Lovechild was- oh my god— I’m blonde, blue eyed, own every recording of GYPSY on CD and even I’m not that much of a middle class WASP. It’s probably better than if Sanjaya sang Ol’ Man River but that’s about as far as I’ll go. I didn’t think Simon panned it half as much as he should have.

(Speaking of Sanjaya- do you think he’s getting the votes because he’s so bad or because he’s so popular with tween girls? Actually he has a beautiful voice- he’d be great on Broadway when he’s older, probably- but he is NOT pop or even close to the mark, he makes John Stevens look like Axl Rose. And I’m convinced that just a few years after Seacrest and Williams made Blake, Barack Obama and an unnamed 90210 actress made Sanjaya- cool name though.)

154

I’ve wondered this myself. And what if voting for the most craptastic singer catches on and he actually wins? Does a studio have to honor something that is so blatantly bad?

155

Thank you. I was trying to figure out what bothered me about her performance but you nailed it. Quite humorously, in fact.

156

I’ve wondered this myself, ditto. I mean, the producers have a financial interest in the winner selling albums. Would they manipulate the results to avoid a disaster? Then again, maybe Sanjaya sounds better in the studio than on stage… After all, just because he has as much stage presence as a cod on codeine doesn’t mean a producer can’t make him sound pretty.

157

Well, Sundance was the men’s VFTW and Antonia was the girl’s VFTW-- and they both got voted off. I think VFTW influence is dead.

As for Sandy’s popularity-- he’s adorable and very non-threatening, exactly what tween girls love-- just ask Tiger Beat and all their smooth skinned, body hairless heartthrobs.

158

Paris Fucking Hilton can attest to that!

159

Once I get to these threads, they’re too far gone, but I just, for once, wanted to throw in a couple of commetns.

  1. Why the love for Gollum (Phil)? He looks weird, has no charisma and sings like someone forgettable doing work for a commercial (Joe Rizza Ford - a dealer you can trust).

  2. I get why everyone love LaKisha, but can she do anything but really big ballads? She’s a natural for big dramatic songs, but how would she fare doing 1999?

  3. Melinda - small furry animal caught in the headlight. She’s a great singer, has an endearing personality, but I think she gets a lot of sympathy votes. Maybe the same way most people go “aahhww” when they see a widdle puppy.

  4. Chris’ cocky 'tude is catching up. He’s looking more scared every week.

  5. Phil is… Phil. And that’s not very interesting.

  6. Gina is great but in the wrong place. Rock Star is auditioning, isn’t it?

  7. Jordin has a very good but bland voice. When come back, bring more personality.

  8. Sanjaya. Another small furry animal getting caught in the headlights. Gets sympathy votes.

  9. Brandon - who dat.

  10. Haley - who dat.

  11. Stephanie - her Nina Simone schtick is wearing thin. She’s good, but this is not her thing.

  12. Blake. He’s a bit annoying at times. The beatboxing should be kept at a minimum. But the guy actually tries to do something original (and fails at times, as he did last night, IMO). If I were working as an A&R, he’d be the first guy I’d sign a development deal with. By far the biggest potential. All the others try to sound like someone else. Blake tries very hard to be Blake and make that a winning formula.

160

See, this is the kid of thinking that gets the contestants in trouble. They think they can, basically, cheat: they think that if they can figure out what the hard and fast rules are, they can win. And they think that what the judges say constitutes these rules.

But that’s just not the way it works.

Randy’s criticisms, while not overly eloquent, are opinions about THAT particular performance, at this particular time. When he says, “you need to bring a little of yourself into the song, make it your own,” he’s reacting to a performance that was too karaoke, too boring, whatever. He’s not saying “any change, to any song, at any time, will always be better.”

So when he reacts to Blake’s mashup last night, he was not in fact contradicting himself: he was criticizing this particular performance and arrangement. He was basically saying that, while putting your own stamp on a song can be a good thing–if done well–this time, your changes served more to lessen the impact of a great song than to increase it. He was saying, on THIS song, this particular classic that has proven the test of time, you would have done better to have used it to showcase your singing; this was the WRONG song to show off your mashup skills, because as skillful as you are, you’re no [whoever the Brillers were who wrote the song].

Such criticisms are always valid, and only by hearing them as some sort of “rules” do they sound contradictory. They’re not.