I’ve not been a regular watcher of AI in the past but have seen the last 2 nights and it seems to me, and maybe I’m just too sensitive or something, that a fair number of the “shitty” or “wacky” or “odd” tryouts they are showing are clearly mentally deficient people. Maybe not full blown retarded but close enough to where it seems lowclass to be shitting on these people for laughs.
They also dug into a transgendered (transvestite?) boy tonight and it seemed like a cheap way to get laughs at someone elses expense. They kept building up the segment all night long like it was some giant freak we were going to see and it turned out to be this otherwise seemingly normal kid.
It’s one thing to shot on someone for thinking that they are a great singer when they suck, but if the person is mentally deficient then it seems that making fun of them for thinking they can sing is probably not very cool.
Like I said in the other thread, I don’t get the transgender/vestite feller. He wears girl jeans, a baby doll, and heels, and then seems offended when people naturally wonder what’s up. If he wants to be a boy, he needs a wardrobe change. If he wants to be a girl, hey - live and let live. But he seems to want to dress, act, and look like a girl, but be regarded and treated like a boy. I don’t understand how it’s supposed to work.
As for the show in general? It does seem a little harsher this year, but I have a hard time feeling too sympathetic for these kids. If Simon was going door to door hollering at people, maybe. But this is the fifth season of American Idol. Everyone who wants to have anything to do with the show has seen it by now, and they should know what they’re getting into.
I agree with **Slacker[/b[ in that, after 4 years, it’s difficult to feel sorry for some of those auditioning. I chalk it up to being famewhorish enough to do almost anything to get on TV. Or maybe they’re seriously, truly deluded.
The ones I tend to feel sorry for are those who seem to be making a sincere effort, only to get shot down. It’s usually the younger and/or more inexperienced. I think it was one of last season’s audition episodes where Simon, Paula, and Randy gave a huge 'ol group hug to a young girl right after they rejected her. Now that was touching.
As for this season…eh, I’m almost there with Simon: Get’s get this over with and start the competiton!
I like watching the truly suckworthy, just because it’s funny. I always picture them singing in the shower with a hairbrush microphone and thinking to themselves that they can step directly out of the tub and onto the stage. But I can see right through the ones who are just there to be on TV.
I didn’t like the bit with the boy who dressed like a girl either. I’m sure we’ll hear hear more than a few loud protests regarding the panel’s obvious amusement.
And more than a few loud guffaws too. The guy couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, had zero star-quality charisma, a wimpy cry-baby personality, and no sex appeal — and that’s why he was rejected. One possible reason that he is so wimpy is that his mom, with her 1968 white lipstick painted on clown-style, has enabled him into blaming everybody but himself for the quite natural perceptions of him. Rather than dress, look, and act like a boy, he blames his perceived plight on the prejudice and myopia of others. On the other hand, if he wants to be perceived as a girl, then he’s getting what he wants. So why is he complaining?
I had to wonder why his supposedly loving family would allow him to do this. Obviously the boy himself is seriously muddled, but don’t any of his relatives have some grip on reality?
Um, pardon me if I’m wrong, but don’t male transvestites generally want to be taken and treated as male (that just happen to like to dress in skirts and wear makeup)? From what I know (which is all and solely from Eddie Izzard), he probably wants to be treated as a man, he just also happens to like women’s clothing. Just because he wears heels doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to be a woman.
'Course, it’s understandable that most people would treat him strangely. We do tend to react negatively (however innocently; I don’t think there’s a lot of malice behind it initially) to someone that differs from the norm.
I thought it was mean-spirited to showcase that young (man?) the way they did, it left me wondering what he’s doing today. They picked on several other effeminate men, too.
I agree that he sucked, entertainment-wise. I think the hard-on will be with American Idol for having a laugh at his obviously off-the-mainstream look.
They didn’t choose him because he sucked…but what if he didn’t? My guess is he wouldn’t have made it anyway because they go for mainstream appeal. They would have been smart to cut the whole little chuckle from the program.
I was just having this conversation with my daughter last night. The show is mean, period. It’s just mean-spirited to drag people out on stage only to insult them.
Sure, these friggin morons have to know what they’re getting into, but that’s not the point. Who sits around waiting to watch other people fail miserably & get insults hurled at them from a panel of judges? Who considers that entertainment?? They’re not very nice people, that’s for sure.
You could be right, and I suspect the same thing. The show seems to follow, rather than set, trends — which I guess makes sense, since after all, they rely on other peoples’ votes to determine winners.
But still, that guy didn’t come across to me as a transvestite who wanted to be perceived as a man. His voice. His mannerisms. Even his song-choice were all screaming, “I’m a girl!”. I mean, damn.
I had a brainstorm for a new reality show. Female Impersonator Cabaret-type Idol. When done well, its some of the best entertainment around. This particular kid wouldn’t have made it in one of those shows, either, but at least he wouldn’t have felt like an outcast.
Hmmm…I may have to pitch this to the networks.
What did everyone think of that little Cowboy Kid? I think with a little coaching, he may have some staying power on the show.
I’m not sure how the whole audition process works, but i’d assume that out of the thousands that show up to try out only a sampling get to go in front of the Big 3.
The other folks behind the scenes are weeding out the hundreds of mediocre people and sending them home. They are looking for the truely talented singers and the absolute worst to push to the big room. And not the bad ones that are there for kicks, but the horrendous ones that take themselves seriously.
I think if we saw a true random sampling of contestants we’d be bored out of our minds cause they’d all sound very average.
That’s what tv viewers want to see, spectacle talent and trainwrecks. Anything in between is a waste of air time.
I haven’t watched the show this season, but my mom tells me that our pastor’s daughter auditioned for A.I. She said A.I. came and interviewed our pastor for a segment so I would assume that she makes it at least to Hollywood. My mom didn’t say which daughter, but I think it’s Caitlin.
I think Simon was being pretty bad. The worst was when he told a serial auditioner (the guy took singing lessons and changed his hairstyle, just as the panel told him to before) that next year he should shave his face and come in a dress.
Then again, he did wait for the fat girl to leave before he started insulting her.
As I said in the other AI thread, I didin’t feel too sorry for Zachary. I’m sorry, but if you don’t want people to mistake you for a girl, then don’t dress like one. It wasn’t that he had particularly girly features, after all. It was that he was dressing in girly clothes and had a girlish hairstyle. (Granted, it’s not that his hair was longish. It was how he had it styled. I don’t think anyone would have mistaken Constantine or Bo for ladies last year). If he wants people to know he’s a boy without having to ask, he should dress like one. Otherwise he should get used to the questions. I could be wrong, but he kind of smacked of someone who went into the audition planning to use the “the judges are prejudiced against people like me” card.
I thought Simon’s comments about the overweight girl (the one-name woman) were a bit over the top, however. I also thought it was worse, not better, that he chose to do it once she’d left the room. If you’ve got something to say to a contestant, say it to their face. Saying it behind their backs seems cowardly. It was like he was fishing for something terrible to say about her. She wasn’t that fat, I didn’t think. Certainly no fatter than many of the people we’ve seen audition, and he hasn’t made such comments about them (or maybe he has, and they haven’t been shown).
Actually, I LIKED the fat girl! She was a breath of fresh air as far as I’m concerned. She had style, personality, and she was cute! I’d love to see a little more “broadway” and a little less “pop radio you’re boring me to fucking death”.