…am curious as to what y’all think about the winner last night. Worthy? Up there with best “Idol” winners ever? Likely to have an actual career? Ultimately to be a footnote?
Having heard some recordings he made with his band pre-AI, I think he’s quite talented. This was my third season watching, and I think the right person won twice and last year was a travesty of justice! (Yes, I’m a bitter Bo fan.)
I’d never seen the show either until this season, specifically the episode where they were going to sing songs by Queen. While not awful , I can’t say that I’d stop to listen to any of them, and I certainly wouldn’t pay to see them. Taylor Hicks has a pleasant enough voice, I guess, but I just can’t see much else. I was thinking it was the song choices that he made / were made for him; that maybe covering songs made famous by others was going against him. Then I heard the glurge that is his first single, “Do I Make You Proud” (I thinks that’s what it’s called) and I just lost all interest. I don’t know if he wrote it, but if so, he sucks at that particular activity (in my opinion), I haven’t seen him play an instrument, he’s pleasant enough to look at, but certainly not sexy or charismatic. I guess I don’t see why he’d be successful in the “real world” where he’d be in competition with people far more talented than he.
Meh. AI isn’t any kind of guarantee of stardom or even talent. The most successful winner so far was Kelly Clarkson. Yes, you’re going to say Clay Aiken, but the thing is, Clay didn’t win that season! Reuben Studdard did. Where’s he? Exactly.
I can’t say that I’ve ever even heard a song from either Fantasia or Carrie Underwood on airplay, and I listen to a Top 40 station. Kimberly Locke (non-winner) had a hit with 8th World Wonder, but I can’t say she’s stood out since then to me.
They were really advanced robots, not aliens. So were the rescuers in the Spielberg movie.
Ha, I thought AI must have been a new series based on the Spielberg movie… was surprised to learn it’s some sort of contest.
While I have very little trouble believing this of the usual bunch of American Idol contestants, I have a feeling this was not the thread you meant to post in… 
Gah, never mind! I been whooshed! sigh
How was the vacation on Mars?
I think I just got whooshed.
Two whooshes in the first ten posts. blissful sigh
Can I start a thread or what?
You’re not listening to country stations. I have to listen to that crap all the time, and Carrie Underwood is VERY popular.
America has finally found someone to step into Michael Bolton’s shoes when he retires.
That explains it. The only time I listen to country is if I’m being held under restraint and undergoing a hostile interrogation…
Hm, I see good times ahead at Gettysdope this year… 
Taylor is very good at a very particular (limited) type of music. He is a Joe Cocker type, and could be as successful as Joe is, but I don’t see him as popular as either Kelly or Carrie.
Worthy? Yeah, but most of (or at least 1/2 of) the top 12 are “worthy”. But I think only 1 or 2 have a style that, with proper management, could produce a long term career.
Ace, Katherine and Paris could have had (and still could have) Pop music careers. Yes, I said Ace, because in Pop music, style and looks often is more important than skill or talent.
Kellie Pickler and (less likely) Bucky could do well on the Country charts. Country seems to be more receptive to “Game Show Winner” musicians. Carrie and Josh Gracin, an also ran from a few seasons ago, have had fairly successful careers on the Country music charts, and a couple of Nashville Star winners (Miranda Lambert(?) and Buddy Jewel) have done well. I think Josh Gracin has outsold most of the people that placed higher in the AI finals than him.
Chris could have a lot of staying power, but only if he is part of a talented band. He is not really a solo artist.
Mandisa could have a good shot on the Gospel or R&B charts.
Any of them, with the possible exception of Chicken Little (sorry, his name escapes me right now), would be a draw on Broadway.
But it all depends on the next move? Is the album going to come out soon, while the iron is relatively hot, and is it going to be a big pile of steaming crap. The relative talents of Fantasia and Ruben didn’t sink them, it was their crappy albums. (“Sorry for 2004” is really the single you want to push Ruben? Really?)
If it is good, Taylor may be around for a while, if it sucks, he will be appearing at your local county fair before too long.
Meh, I mostly quit watching after Ace was booted, completely quit after the last hottie was booted. What can I say, I only watched it for the cute boys.
First off, let me say that I’ve never cared which of the remaining two contestants won. I mean, once you’ve made it that far, does it really make any difference career-wise whether or not you’re tied up by that blathering Brit for a year? IMHO, it’d be much better if the eliminations ended at a higher number (preferably 7 or 8, 4 at the very least) and America picked the winner from that group. The whole purpose of eliminations should be to weed out the junk; killing all the drama strikes me as really counterproductive.
As for Taylor Hicks…I dunno. Remember that a lot of his appeal is sympathy due to the ridiculous (and grossly overdone) backlash, and a lot of Americans for whatever reason didn’t want Elliott Yamin and Katharine McPhee to win. That and his circus antics added life to AI’s incredibly boring song selections (I don’t care what anyone says, if my dad loves it, it does not belong on a prime time TV show in 2006.) and made him stand out. He milked every advantage he had, and it paid off.
Now that he’s won the contest, he has to sit still and record at least one audio CD which shows none of his antics, look nice for the CD cover, do promo work for the music label, all the things that come with being a professional singer under contract. His singing ability, marketability, and willingness to do what the label says all matter now, and he will be expected to sell CDs and produce at least one big hit.
He’s a performer. He needs to perform, not be cooped up in a recording studio where no one can see him. The manufactured pop-idol mold just doesn’t seem like a good fit for him.
I’m not begruding his victory…he played his heart out and deserved it as much as anybody. But it’s way, way too soon to declare him the one who should have won.
Who’s Al?