# American Idol: Quarterfinal 1, Feb. 4 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840 "2003-02-05T02:07:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/41 "2003-02-06T03:17:44Z")
I can not believe Charles made it. The kid’s got no projection. For my money I like someone who can belt one out, like…Kelly Clarkston! BTW, is she ever going to have an album, or at least another single? I know she was busy making a movie with Bob, but, c’mon already. Happy ---
**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:** [February 6, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/42 "2003-02-06T03:18:20Z")
I’m on the West Coast so I havent’ seen it, I shoudln’t have opened this thread. But I don’t think anyone from the first ten is going to be around in the last 5. Unless Charles just keeps getting better. Making Kim a wildcard would be stupid. I think America was clear as a bell last night…the woman can sing but she has WAY too much attitude to be tolerable. I’ll say here and now that a large part of the reason Kelly Clarkson won last time is because she was humble and accessible. America is happy to hand wealth and fame to people who seem like they’ll be nice about it. But Kimberly looks like she’s been practicing at Divahood for years already. And while \*\* Rickjay \*\* may have a point about how editing can cast a bad light on people, it can’t make people behave in way they are not. Kim dug her own grave, even if the producers handed her the shovel. ---
**Author:** ![Realhoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Realhoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Realhoops)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/43 "2003-02-06T03:34:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Realhoops \* > The problem I had is that I thought Julie, Charles, and Kimberly all should go on. I’d really like to see Charles go on out of this group, and I guess one of the other two. I didn’t care for Kimberly before now, so I’ll say I hope Julie moves on and hope she steps it up a notch next time. :eek: Sorry, but I’ve never in my life been even remotely accurate in predicting things like this, let alone having the very three I thought deserved it be the top 3 and the very two I hoped would move on be the correct 2. Was anyone else shocked to hear that both Randy and Paula thought America was going to vote for Patrick to advance? Based on their comments to all the contestants last night I didn’t see anything that would have indicated to me that they thought Patrick was going to move on. At least Simon told the Presidents’ Heir that he looked like who the American Public would like to be the AI. I think Kimberly has a pretty decent shot right now of getting a chance for one of the wildcards, especially since all 3 judges predicted she’d get voted to move on and all 3 thought she was the most deserving in this group. Apparently they aren’t expecting to give anyone else from this group a shot, however! ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/44 "2003-02-06T03:40:59Z")
Maybe they thought Patrick would get the sympathy vote, since they really just picked on his clothes and “look” in the critique. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/45 "2003-02-06T05:10:05Z")
Yay, Charles. Sorry, Patrick. Kim, go away. Boo, Julia (no _way_ those are real). Hmm, the judges wanted J.D. to go on - but there’s only 2 wildcards and he may not. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/46 "2003-02-06T05:34:22Z")
Damn, I’m shocked Kim didn’t go on… though it was probably because of the editing job that showed her as a bitch (how true that is none of us know). No worries, because the judges LOVED her the best of all (I thought). She’ll get the judges WC. ---
**Author:** ![Alzarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@Alzarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alzarian)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/47 "2003-02-06T05:45:17Z")
Kinda shocked that Trenyce didn’t do better, but then it seems to me that those contestants who were fortunate to be focused on in earlier episodes have a huge advantage, (which I guess can also be seen as a disadvantage in Kimberly’s case). I thought Trenyce gave the strongest all-around performance though. Would have liked to have seen more. Charles actually got the most votes? I agree his voice was pleasant enough, and he didn’t have the strongest competition, but he really needs to work on the look… Oh, and what’s this about the phone lines staying open AT LEAST two hours after the show. Couldn’t FOX just keep them open till the two people they like most advance? Then again, it still perturbs me that we never got the actual vote totals for last year, even after the competition was over. I would be really curious to see how they all did last year, week-by-week. I can understand keeping it a secret during the competition, but after its all over, would be interesting to study… ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/48 "2003-02-06T05:53:59Z")
If they allowed you to see it, then you’d be able to see how rigged it was ;). ---
**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:** [February 6, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/49 "2003-02-06T06:52:42Z")
\*\* Alzarian \*\* makes an excellent point about people who got a lot of play in the very beginning. The producers subtly influencing the vote, perhaps? Then again, I think this year’s audience is smarter. Last year they got suckered by the deaf-parents guy, and I think that’s what the judges were thinking when they predicted that Patrick would go on. I’m very glad to see that they split up Frenchie and the other gal so they won’t be competing against each other. The other gal (whose name I can’t recall) will be on next week. So will Clay Aiken. If they pull it off, I’d like to see the two of them go forward. And there I go, focusing on the ones I knew and liked from the initial tryouts! Shame on me! ---
**Author:** ![EhhMon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@EhhMon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EhhMon)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/50 "2003-02-06T08:08:06Z")
The whole idea of Kim being the bitch was all in the editing. For anyone who recorded the episode between Kim and Julia, I suggest you go back and watch the tape again. Listen carefully to what Kimberly says to Julia. She says, "I’m going to my room for a few minutes and _ **will “WAIT” for you there"** _. Something to that affect. The camera then pans to Julia who is distracted by someone else to her side when Kim is talking to her…because of the distraction Julia doesn’t clearly hear what Kimberly says. The whole thing was a misunderstanding…NOT on Kimberly’s part but Julia. She evidently heard Kimberly say she was going to her room, but she didn’t hear the part about Kimberly going to wait there for her. Whats makes me cringe was how FOX potrayed Kimberly as being the BITCH, then SIMON trying to rehash the whole ordeal. Because of it, you saw a big backlash against Kimberly. Sure she did good enough to be in the top 3. But everyone I watch it with agreed that of the whole group, Kimberly Caldwell was the clear winner. As for Julia, I’ve heard her sing better in other auditions, but that night she was mediocre. I’m glad Charles made the final two, he was very good. I also agree with Julia making the cut too, but I also think that Kimberly deserved the TOP spot. There’s no doubt that one of the two wild card spots will go to Kimberly only to help FOX build up the rivalry between Julia and Kimberly. Now on to next round. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/51 "2003-02-06T13:17:14Z")
I’m not certain Caldwell will get a wild card. She was the best of that group (by a country mile) and was basically beaten by FOX’s editors and a lot of very gullible voters, which is unfair, so you’d think she’d get the nod. But the rest of the groups are far more talented, IMHO. It seems to me this was the weakest quarterfinal. The next group has at least four people who might be better than anyone this week, so the competition for those wild cards is potentially very nasty. ---
**Author:** ![stuckinthemiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@stuckinthemiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuckinthemiddle)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/52 "2003-02-06T16:06:57Z")
Gee, I admit I was distracted a lot by my 2 year old son while we were watching (gotta let Mom have her TV time), but the impression that I got was that Julia was an irresponsible, stuck-up little rich girl. I was on Kimberly’s side, but then maybe I missed something important. Also I agreed with the Judges that Kimberly deserved to go on, and I cannot fathom why people would pick Julia over her. Perhaps most of the people who voted were not familiar with Melissa Etheridge’s music. ---
**Author:** ![stuckinthemiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@stuckinthemiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuckinthemiddle)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/53 "2003-02-06T16:14:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*And what’s the deal with letting the American public choose now that we’re in the home stretch? The American people have demonstrated time and again that they have no fucking idea about anything, especially when it comes to entertainment talent. They should have let the people vote in the early rounds, when it was so fucking obvious who had talent and who didn’t. Now that they are down to 30-odd people, they should leave it to the pros, IMHO. > > But i s’pose i’m asking too much from what is, after all, little more than a one-hour commercial for AT&T. \*\* Ah, but you see, the American public, as moronic as they are, do a little thing called “purchasing records.” So you see that even though they may not know what talent is, they certainly know what they like. This explains the existence of a lot of assaults on our sensibilities. ---
**Author:** ![stuckinthemiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@stuckinthemiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuckinthemiddle)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/54 "2003-02-06T16:28:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stuckinthemiddle \* > \*\*Ah, but you see, the American public, as moronic as they are, do a little thing called “purchasing records.” \*\* Boy, I’m showing my age. For those of you who are too young to remember those black vinyl things that spun around and transmitted the sound through a vibrating needle, just assume I meant to say, “purchasing CDs.” ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/55 "2003-02-06T16:32:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > \*\* > I’ll say here and now that a large part of the reason Kelly Clarkson won last time is because she was humble and accessible. America is happy to hand wealth and fame to people who seem like they’ll be nice about it. \*\* I agree, Kelly is (or played well) the sweet, humble girl with gobs of talent. Who wouldn’t want some one like that to succeed? I don’t see that combo yet in any of the others. And **Diogenes** , yea, Julie is just not my type I guess. She just looks sloppy to me (big, sloppy breasts, sloppy attitude). My opinon of course. And I admit, I like her voice. (I still will miss Kim though, Bitch or no.) ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/56 "2003-02-06T16:40:35Z")
I thought they both acted bitchy, but didn’t let it cloud my judgement of their singing. They both sing great! But for some reason Kimberly wasn’t as good in her last performance, maybe it was the song. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/57 "2003-02-06T17:03:39Z")
I think it was the song that did Kimberly in. She just didn’t sound good singing low like that (IMO). ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/58 "2003-02-06T17:17:19Z")
By some mysterious fluke I was awake Tuesday night, and saw my first and only episode ever of this series. I have to say that most of the ‘singers’ were just vocal masturbaters, with the exception of Charles and Julie. I’m just wondering why anyone participates in this kind of show. It’s not like anyone ever actually gets a career out of it. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/59 "2003-02-06T18:12:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Barbarian \* > \*\*It’s not like anyone ever actually gets a career out of it. \*\* Sure they do. Last year’s winner won a recording contract and is currently making an album. That’s technically a career, but if she sucks then I imagine her career will end as quickly as it started. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840/60 "2003-02-06T18:17:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by okielady \* > \*\*No, Ejay was brought in when they kicked some other guy out for lying about his age. RJ was the wildcard that the judges chose. I remember being surprised that they chose him, because Simon always stated that he found him boring, and he wasn’t Idol material. \*\* Ah, yes, you are right. Thanks! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-quarterfinal-1-feb-4/152840.md?page=4)