So…did anyone else scream at the TV last night when Simon told that red-headed girl she needed to lose weight? I seem to remember some big ol’ guy who got through in Hawaii who never heard those words. Oh, and some guy named Ruben.
I like Simon but that sure does piss me off.
They aren’t engaged; Simon says he has no desire to get married. Unless things have changed in the past few months and I haven’t heard about it, which is entirely possible. But he does have a serious girlfriend, Terri Seymour. She’s a model and a TV personality (I think she works on the show “Extra” or something like it.) Yes, she’s British.
I think people say he’s gay because he does have an effeminate side to him. He’s not overly laden with testosterone. He has said before that being gay is nothing he would be ashamed of, and if he was he wouldn’t deny it. I have a tendency to believe that about him. He has no problem playing the asshole on the show (and yes, I do believe he’s like that in real life, maybe not to that extent, but I don’t think he’s a pushover) so I don’t think he’s really bothered by what people think of him.
Wait—it was on last night? I watched '70s Show, then turned it off because I’d seen the second episode already, and I thought 9-10 was Big Fat Fiance. Don’t tell me I missed more auditions!
Mongoloid?
A. It’s called Down’s syndrome–“mongoloid” is out.
B. You need to learn the difference between people with Down’s and Asians. Hint–people with Down’s lack the mental capacity to study civil engineering at Berkeley.
Yeah, Rilch, they showed us some of the ones who made it last night. It’s on again tonight at 8 and Wednesday at 8:30.
Of all the people who auditioned, she is not the one who needed to lose weight. I’d say 50% of the contestants could stand to lose a few pounds, she was certainly not the worst.
I hate to say it, but do you think he’d say that to a black girl? I don’t.
Yeah, that kind of bugged me too. Two of the top three contestants last season were overweight, so I don’t know why Simon was ready to reject her right then and there. I thought she looked pretty good, and she has a nice voice too.
I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see Edgar sing this year. Although he can’t hold a candle to the “SHE BANG! SHE BANG!” guy.
I had to shake my head over all the people who were rejected saying “I’m going to be famous, and they’ll wish they’d picked me!”. It must be nice to be that delusional.
Wow…Simon was a little bitch last night. I still like the guy, but now I can see why people might hate his guts. The comments he made to the redhead about her needing to lose weight puzzled me, since I haven’t seen him make similar comments to heavyset men or female singers with with similarly generous figures. It almost sounded to me like he disapproved of her comparatively slovenly attire, and how she didn’t show off her curves the way a pop singer is expected to, or maybe he was feeling particularly nasty that day. Who knows. If I were in Paula’s shoes, I probably would have stormed out of the room the first time too, but not before slapping Simon around a bit.
Well, I believe he did tell Kimberley Locke she needed to shed a few pounds. Locke is black.
Simon may be naturally pissy, but I think there’s a little more to that successful high-level music-industry guy. Seemed to me that he’d only do that to contestants after both Randy and Paula had already said Yes, putting them into the next round, and only to singers who were good enough to be plausible finalists. He may simply have been probing their ability to take criticism (both constructive and not) and even simple rejection, which is a big part of suceeding in show biz. Some of them seemed to understand that and took his sniping calmly, and those who didn’t got a quick lesson in reality just in time to use it in this competition. The zingers he gave out may not have been derived from a Platonic ideal of a pop idol, but simply the first thing that came to mind when he decided that somebody needed to be zinged for their own good.
I think that Simon is more likely to suggest weight loss if someone is only a few pounds overweight and trimming up is a realistic goal. He didn’t bother with Ruben or Frenchie because they were too big for that to be a quickly attainable goal. He’s just trying to tell them what they can which would be helpful, especially if they’re only borderline on the vocals. Like he told that girl last night, he’s only telling them what any record company would suggest. That girl was not that much overweight and she was only a so-so singer. Losing a little weight would give her a better chance. Slimming up was a reachable goal for her and it would have made her a better candidate to be a pop idol. Does anyone think that Mariah Carey or Janet Jackson don’t get pressure to get in shape before they go on tour or make a video.
How the contestants take criticism is also something I think that Simon pays attention to. Remember that Clay always listened to Simon without taking it personally, took many of Simon’s suggestions to heart and made himself a better performer. Simon ended up praising Clay near the end of the season for his ability to take constructive criticism with good grace.
I think Simon’s opinions carry weight with voters when it comes to the finals. He usually is not so subtle about who shou;d go next or who should make it to the top two or three. No matter what the Simon haters say, I really think that his opinion is the one that people feel is the definitive one. Winning his praise is far more validating than the predictable fluffy praise from Paula Abdul, that’s for sure.
Am I the only one who thinks AI theme song sounds like Kurtis Blow’s White Lines?
I’m a bit confused by the way contestants are being weeded out. Last night there was a guy who sang “Old Time Rock 'n Roll.” Simon asked him to do “A Whole New World” and he complied. Both songs were very good, but Simon told him that singing the ballad made him look like a fake. Now, isn’t being able to adapt to different styles most of the competition? Simon chewed on the guy for doing exactly what contestants have to do to win! I don’t get that at all.
Then today we had the songwriting competition. It did weed out some of the people who weren’t taking things seriously, but it didn’t seem really relevant to the rest of the show.
This is my first time watching the audition stage of the program, so maybe I’ve just missed this previously. From the competition standpoint, it just isn’t making sense to me.
Okay, that’s weird. Just reviewed the hard drive on my DVD burner, and in fact, I did not record '70s Show last night, because it wasn’t on. Well, at least I didn’t miss AI…but what was up with that?
I don’t think anybody got it, Astra.
Well, as far as I can tell, they haven’t sent home anyone I cared about yet. I couldn’t believe they let “Gay Simon” girl stay. And as for Scooter Girl…a sense of humor is fine, that’s not the problem. I think my problem with her is she thinks she’s a card. It’s gotten real old, real fast. The two who were in the pool can go home too.
I was a little worried when the red-headed boy messed up his song, but I’m glad he’s still in. He won’t win, but I would like to hear him a few more times.
Originally posted byDiogenes the Cynic
You got it. I just finished reading Simon’s book and he pretty much said the same thing. Ruben or Frenchy couldn’t have lost enough weight in time for it to count for the show, but the ones he talked to about it could.
I was sad to see Scooter Girl go. I kind of liked her. She seemed bright and had some wit.
OTOH, I was elated to see that unctious clown, Alan, get his walking papers. My god, what a narcissist.
I still can’t really see any standouts. There’s no obvious front runner yet.
I kind of like the butchy girl, Briana. I’m amused by her attitude.
I laughed when the twins were talking about not letting each other win and the one brother said he would cut the other brother’s throat if he had to.
I like black Elvis too, and I like the big Hawaiian guy but I don’t really see any superstars yet.
I was bummed they let Scooter Girl go–I was hoping to see her in the top 10. The college football bear with the golden throat is still, so that’s good. I like the redheaded kid, although I don’t see him getting much farther. Maybe top 10, but cut early.
Did the “you’re gay, Simon” girl go through?
The girl that told Simon he “must be gay” was named Kiira. I wasn’t sure if she made it but the boards at TWOP say she got cut.
I actually think it was her attitude towards Randy and Paula ("…that’s ok, you can buy the single…") that hurt her more than her remark to Simon. I honestly don’t think Simon cares when the contestants insult him. It was her inability to listen to constructive criticism that hurt her.
I’m betting that Scooter Girl will be back as a wild card. Her singing in the group trials was spot on tonight. I’d like to see her back.
I’m annoyed that we’ve been following the same few people the last couple of nights. I don’t want to keep watching the twins. I don’t really care about the Sarah girl who reminds Simon of Kelly Clarkson. And I certainly don’t give a dang about Bikini Girl and Model Boy. I want to see Brie sing. Especially before the nation decides she isn’t cookie-cutter cute enough to stick around.
Incidentally Brie, if you’re reading, wanna get married?