American Idol, part III

Cafe Society
61

I thought she was pretty good too. She certainly had a good voice, and being “over the top” is something that I’d think could be easily changed.

I’m also really glad “Marvin” got through. He’s got a nice, rich voice, and I think (hope) he’ll do well.

I’m surprised the ballet guy reacted as badly as he did. If he’s a proffesional dancer, you’d think he’d have learned to deal with rejection by now. He did have a half decent voice, but he was about 10 times more “Broadway” than Clay ever was.

Nothing out of the ordinary for Simon - he just told the guy he couldn’t sing worth a damn. Randy got up and left before the water-throwing incident. Both Simon and Randy were trying to suppress laughter during his audition, so maybe that’s what set him off.

62

This was the first season of American Idol I’ve watched. I tuned in to see what all the fuss was about. I probably won’t watch much of it past the auditions.

A few observations:

Though the people they’ve had on so far are probably not an entirely representative sample of those who auditioned, I couldn’t help but notice that the people who auditioned who were from countries outside the U.S. tended to accept the criticism of the judges–especially Simon–more graciously than those who were from the U.S. I think I either read or heard somewhere that Simon commented that people from Europe were better about accepting his often harsh criticism than people from the states. Certainally that seems to be the case with the Kenny G. from Kosovo and the manly-voiced woman on Monday’s episode. Kenny G. from Kosovo not only took his rejection graciously, but conceded to Ryan Seacrest afterward that maybe he should stick to acting instead of singing. The manly voiced woman was also a good sport about it, and even joked afterward with the judges about people mistaking her for a man over the phone.

Contrast this with most of the Americans who auditioned (though in truth, they probably showed only the most extreme reactions, so my assumptions could be totally off base), and the Americans come off as poor sports. Many of those they showed seemed to feel a sense of “entitlement”, that they deserved to be on American Idol just by virtue of showing up and belting out a few tunes. Like other posters, I was amazed at the level of self-delusion displayed by those people, even though they probably made up only a small portion of those who showed up and were rejected. (Mild reactions don’t make for exciting TV, after all.) I was especially amused by the ballet man’s reaction of “they shouldn’t have said anything nice at all unless they were going to accept me.” I guess that even trying to soften the blow of rejection with compliments isn’t good enough for some people. :rolleyes:

Am I the only one who didn’t think Scooter Girl was that annoying? No? Well, she’d probably start wearing on my nerves if I saw more of her, but so far I’m not really feeling the Scooter Girl hate.

63

That was so faked. That guy was grinning from the time he entered the judge’s room, throughout his song, and up to and including throwing the water at Simon. He wasn’t angry. He was just a pathetic little attention-whore who probably planned his little stunt as a way to get on tv.

64

I was baffled by that guy. The guy was told explicitly that he would do well in Broadway by one of the judges and that he should move to New York. Even people who are good but still get rejected don’t get that sort of advice. WTF?! Didn’t that guy get the second best possible response from the judges?

I’ve written a play in one act to illustrate what I think I saw: The Ballerina

Contestant faces two judges.

Judge: You should go to Broadway; you will do well there.

Contestant: Fuck you!

Curtain.

Thank you.

[storming out of room] Where’s my effin’ Tony?! [/storming out of room]

65

I agree with those that say it is just INCREDIBLE that some of these people think they can sing. I mean, some of these people are very successful in other fields, but yet think their goal of being Kelly Clarkson is within reach, even though cats come running when they open their mouths in song. The women who sand in the bar and in the mall really did get their comeuppance and were shown that, yeah, they really did suck. These people don’t realize that most of the listening public is MORE HARSH than Simon. Simon just says it to their faces.

66

She’s a friend of mine’s daughter. If she wasn’t, I’d probably be unaware of American Idol.

I’ve heard a lot more of her than has been on that show, and I think she’ll do well ultimately. Whether or not she can sing isn’t my point.

Her parents started helping her take the first steps toward singing as a career about a year ago. Amongst other efforts the long process of getting on Idol has been an ongoing part of the last year. All during this time, I’ve heard my friend remark often on the ridicule anticipated.

I didn’t watch the show, but I did see a videotape of her appearance. I thought she handled herself OK for a (then) 16 year old getting some bizarre slams from a couple of big shots while under the lights.

But what we think was the best part was that Simon and Paula got pissed and stomped out. It was truly strange to watch. That left Randy, who said (paraphrased), “Well, they’re gone, so it’s my call. You’re going to Hollywood.”

And that little “anger of the gods” episode apparently made her appearance stick out in some people’s minds. She’s been getting a good bit of buzz from TV and radio stations here in Houston, with more to come.

And that can’t hurt at all. We think of it as the “it doesn’t matter what you say about me, just spell my name right” effect.

67

I thought she was affected. She was especially so in the way she talked to the judges and kept putting on these really practiced facial expressions. The hurt little girl look was particularly annoying. She was phony to the core, even more so than Kimberly Caldwell. Did you notice how she dropped the affectation as soon as she was out of the room? She wasn’t even anything special as a singer. And she’s stupid too. She didn’t even know what “affected” meant.

Since Simon and Paula both hate her I’m sure she’ll get bounced in the next round, though and good riddance. Of course, it seems like the ones I take an immediate dislike to are the ones who hang around and around.

68

Rejecting the guy who sang “Isn’t She Lovely” (and quite well, IMO) because he gave the “wrong” answer when asked what he’d do with a million dollars? What the bloody hell does that have to do with his singing ability? Okay, maybe they were thinking about the long haul: not just the kind of singer, but the kind of person who would be a good choice for the final 12. But jeez, worry about that when you get to Hollywood! Don’t cut someone based on some left-field personality test, especially after you’ve been griping so much about everyone else who’s been auditioning!

I was glad to hear someone sing “Just Once”. That’s another of those songs that’s awesome if done well, but extremely difficult to do well. It has some tough changes, and really requires the singer to act as well as sing, and that guy pulled it off.

I feel pretty bad for Missy^H^H^H^H^Victoria Elliot: the one who auditioned last year, then cut her hair and hired a voice coach. Whatever she paid him to train her, she might as well have flushed it down the toilet. If he was any good as a voice coach, he would have told her to stop packing it through her nose like that. And goading her into seeking further humiliation was just wrong.

And what was that supposed to mean when Simon said the cheerleader was “nice girl, pretty girl, good singer, good dancer…can’t possibly win this competition”? I don’t follow that logic at all. First, it took a lot of guts for her to do a Whitney Houston song. Very few people have that powerful a voice, but she does. And the way he phrased it sounded like “She can’t win because she’s good.” Make up your mind, man: you don’t like the people who are clearly bad, but you don’t like obvious contenders either?

As far as that goes, the one I predict won’t get past the next round is the one who wore all pink and waxed rhapsodic about how she wanted a pink Thunderbird. I can’t remember what she sang, but it doesn’t matter, because they clearly picked her because she was cute and adorable. She could sing okay, but nothing outstanding. IMHO, of course.

69

Does it seem to anyone else that there is a disproportionate number of Asian guys who can’t sing auditioning with wildly inappropriate songs this year?

I still can’t erase that version of “She Bangs” from my brain.

70

I think that the Isn’t She Lovely guy was borderline, and Simon was looking for something that might tip the scale. Recall that he had been impressed with the woman who said she’d buy a Thunderbird if she won the money. “Honest answer,” he told her. Now, he hears this guy sputtering on about “I will give a tenth of it to charity, invest 2 grand, and then give more to charity.” I guess Simon reasoned that the sort of character that would give an honest answer might also give the kind of honest effort that is required to improve beyond borderline.

Incidentally, going back a couple of weeks, that has to be the most beautiful version of Unchained Melody I’ve ever heard. That was an Elton John quality voice. What was that guy’s name?

71

I really liked the football player (the one whose equally cute brother was listening outside the room). Good voice, great personality.

I think Simon regretted the question; as soon as he asked it, he seemed to realize he was just wasting time. When the guy had finished singing, Simon said he was okay, and the guy said something like, “Okay? C’mon!” In other words, he was just too cocky, and that’s where he screwed up, IMHO.

It was a shame, because she actually had a decent voice, but she was what they call affected. With all that grunting and gasping, she sounded like she was performing while sitting on the pot. And if you want to convey deep, heartfelt emotion through song, “Doo Wah Diddy” is perhaps not the best choice! She slaughtered it. She also had a bad attitude.

72

She Bang! She Bang! OO Baybee! She move! She move!

73

I’m pretty sure his name is John. I made an effort to remember him because I think he can go deep into this competition. To verify my unreliable memory I searched online, but all I can find are references to “that hot guy who sang Unchained Melody”.

74

You left out “fuh-LAM-ing!” in that sentence. I swear, there must have been a sign, “You must be so nelly you make Richard Simmons look butch to audition.”

75

I think you answered your own question, Rilchiam.

The conversation between Simon and girl with the pink flowered dress went something like this:

Simon: What would do with the money?
Pink Girl: I think I would buy a Thunderbird, vintage model, convertible. But I want it in pink. I would look so cute in that.
Simon: Honest answer. I like that.

In comparison, the conversation between Simon and the “Isn’t She Lovely” guy went something like this:

Simon: That was good.
ISLG: Simon, that was great… (random bullshit ~ BIG mistake)
Simon: (put off now because ISLG wasn’t humble about the praise) No, it was good. Not great, good.
ISLG: (more random bullshit)
Simon: (sniffing for trouble) What would you do with the million dollars?
ISLG: I would give 100 000 to charity …
Simon: (thinking, bullshit but that’s the standard 10%, give him a chance)
ISLG: Then I would take 200 to put aside and live … (presumably off interest, which wouldn’t pay that much)
Simon: (thinking, not only is he a bad bullshitter, he’s dumb)
ISLG: Then I would take some more and put in charity.
Simon: (thinking: Ok that’s it) NO!

The guy can’t think on his feet. If I were investing in someone, he’d have to show me some kind of business sense. He was “good”, not great. Could have been great with time. But just not smart enough for this cut throat business. Pink Girl didn’t have to think on her feet so much, cause she was honest. Probably not smart for a cut throat business either. But in this case, it wasn’t a question that warranted a huge fabrication.

ISLG said as he was walking out of the building, “That question’s gonna haunt me for the rest of my life.” He’ll be searching and searching for what the RIGHT thing was to say. In fact, the RIGHT thing to have said was right after Simon said, “That was good.” And the RIGHT thing to say at that point was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except “Thank you”.

As for the cheerleader, “nice girl, pretty girl, good singer, good dancer…can’t possibly win this competition” I think I know where he’s going with this. Usually someone who is good at everything is great at nothing. And usually someone who is great at something, really sucks at something else. But the same seems to apply to Scooter Girl, yet she had practically a whole segment dedicated to her.

76

Follow up post regarding the guy who sang Unchained Melody. This recap on idolonfox.com seems to indicate that the guy’s name is Michael Keown. It’s the red headed crooner who is John. But the recap is ambiguous.

77

Favorite bits from last night:

  1. The lady who sang so badly that the dog she she brought with her to the audition started whimpering and tried to leave. Poor pooch.

  2. The angry father who, while his wife held their sobbing daughter, growled into the camera, “Simon doesn’t like young girls!”

  3. I liked the ex-football player, even if he did sort of seem a bit full of himself, because he seemed to have a good sense of humor and sang very well. I also liked the girl in the pink dress who gave an honest answer as to what she would do if she won the cash prize in American Idol.

  4. The surfer kid just cracked me up.

78

Is it just me, or did that guy look and sound like a living Asian stereotype?

79

The guy that sang Desperado gave me chills.

80

That is exactly it. Simon has gone on the record saying how much he detests Clay Aiken working American Idol like the Miss America pageant, and introducing autism as his “platform.” He thinks Clay’s a big fake, and I think Simon was looking for someone to be honest about why they wanted money, à la the pink Thunderbird girl. This show isn’t about finding the best singer – no matter what they claim – it’s about finding someone who’s a pretty good singer and who can be easily molded into the pop star they want. Of course, they missed out with the “Isn’t She Lovely” guy, who probably would have stood on one foot and clucked like a chicken if they’d asked him to.

I totally want to create a fan site for the “She Bangs” guy! I loved him!