American Idol - Season 5 (1 Viewer)

[Jon Martin]

That is the thing, she would be doing that even if she didn't do IDOL. Her family wanted them to record with them, but she wanted to go off and do her own thing. She finally gave in and did IDOL to get them to stop, and she made it.

So, she would have a career even if she were voted off 5 weeks ago. She doesn't need it.

I do like Elliot, he has been consistently the best, but his song style isn't for everyone. While I liked his vocals this week, I didn't like the song, and would never buy an album with that style of music.

 

[Jed M]

Is Taylor the only one who has not been in the bottom three yet? Maybe he has been and I forgot?

Kellie was the right one to go. Although I disagree with some peoples opinion of her personally, I definitely agree she didn't have the pipes to go any further. Even though I think any of them could win, now that Kellie is gone, my rankings vocally would be:
Elliot
Paris
Taylor
Katherine
Chris

My rankings for stage performance would be:
Chris
Taylor
Katherine
Paris
Elliot

Personally, I would like to see Taylor or Chris win it all. Taylor is the first AI contestant I would even consider buying an album of.

 

[Greg_C_T]

"Plus, if he is going to do stupid things like steal other bands arrangements of songs (like he did stealing Live's version of Johnny Cash's song) and not giving credit until forced to the next week by Ryan"

Wow, so what's it like being backstage at the A.I. production rooms?

You're so sure he purposely neglected giving credit to Live? Or perhaps it was just cut out of his pre-performance interviews by the editors/producers?

 

[Tommy G]

That is correct but I wouldn't assume he's safe. Kellie was never in the bottom 3 before this week either.

 

[Scott-S]

I don't doubt it. But with her family background she was always going to get record deals. She doesnt need this competition. She has a family in the biz.

She was born and raised to be exactly what she is. Sort of like genetically engineered to be on stage. The problem is, she doesnt have and personality other than the stage one she was conditioned to have. It is like someone built a robot that can perform. Sure it does a good job, but it lacks the emotions behind the music for it to move me. Watching her is like listening to a self-playing piano. Yes, it hits all the notes, but it isn't the same as a person playing.

 

[Hanson]

Taylor is the only one left who hasn't been in the bottom three -- as a matter of fact, Kat, Chris, Elliott and Paris have all been in the bottom two (although Paris probably flirted closer with getting tossed off than the other three).

I am through with predictions, though. You can't predict how well the performers will sing, and that's more important at his stage than fan bases and voting blocs. I now swear off any speculation until after Tuesday night's show.

BTW, new Separated at Births. Yes, there's sort of a repeat and a couple are real stretches, but I did serve up eight to make up for the two week lay-off.

Here's two of them:


BTW, that's Phantom Lady to the left of Kat.

 

[Robert Crawford]

She is barely 18 years old so I can't understand how you can make that final judgement about her stage performances when she becomes an adult performer. The experience she got from appearing on this show will go a long way in furthering her development as a singer and person.

If you want to talk about somebody that doesn't have any personality then don't look too far from the favorite in this competition Katherine. She has a nice singing voice, but she is more robotic in her movement and emoting than Paris ever could be.

 

[Hanson]

Yeah, that's exactly how the industry works. Like for Kevin Federline.

 

[RyanAn]

Thought I'd let you know if was not already know that some contestants have myspace's and some have songs available to download.

http://myspace.com/ElliottYamin - an interview on his, and has Ace and Ayla as friends.

myspace.com/ryanan

 

[todd s]

They had an interview with her. It said she also really never wanted to be a singer. She didn't have the drive that the rest of her family does. She was looking to become a Vet. But, figured she would give Idol a chance, more to appease her family.

 

[Sean*O]

The thing with Chris D. supposedly sneaking that 'Live' song by everybody on the show..

What is more likely to have happened: Chris, a singer who probably also plays some guitar, sits down with the Idol band and instructs everyone on how to play their individual instrument parts.. Or, Chris or the AI producers, etc. gave the band audio copies of the 'Live' song and possibly some sheet music as well to learn the song?

The guy working with Chris D. and Manilow on that episode was pecking away at it on the piano.. did Chris teach him too?

 

[danak]

Does anyone have any idea when MTV's TRL (Total Request Live) has the ejected Idol on? They don't seem to have anything on their website about Idol appearances; I heard Ace was on sometime this past week I think.

I believe this is the strongest top 5 the show has ever had (though they all have their weaknesses). It's going to be pretty hard to choose between them and equally hard to lose any of them.

Kellie's appearance on The Tonight Show last night was pretty funny. I think she has a bright future in comedy.

Dana

 

[Patrick Sun]

Kellie would have been perfect for Hee-Haw if it were still on the air nowadays.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

One thing American Idol really points out is how important song selection is.

I really liked Elliotts "Moody's Mood For Love" and "If You Really Love Me". if he were doing songs like that, I'd buy it. Strangely, despite his atypical Idol looks, I'd buy it even more if it were on DVD and I could see him singing. I like his passion for singing, song, and sound. I've seen some comments here about the vocal dynamics he does, but to me it just feels like he doesn't believe in dead or throwaway notes and he feels each one has to do something and stand as interesting on its own. Some artists you can just feel they have anticipation to get to the "good part". Elliot tries to make the whole song the good part. I've decided that in my heart, I want him to win, though I wouldnt' be disappointed by anybody, and certainly not surprised if he were voted off at any point.

For me, Paris never surpassed her audition, though I like her. I liked her singing Gladys Knight, but not the frantic dancing that went along with it. I might buy her CD if she were doing more jazzy type songs rather than pop. I don't think she's settled into herself yet, but there've been other successful young artists and I guess their teams help get them there.

I enjoy Taylor as cruise entertainment, but I don't think I'd buy a record. There's something very... calculated about the way he performs whereas early on we all took his mannerisms as "felling it". Still, when all is said and done, when I just listen to his voice, I like it. Again, I'd buy a DVD of him singing as I enjoy watching him perform (tics aside).

I can't say much about Chris. I don't think I'm his target audience. Bo was the kind of "rocker" I can relate to, which I guess would be defined as soft rock. I knew the songs he picked, and I thought he did them well and with passion. I find myself wondering how he'd sound on songs I know better. For love songs week (for instance), "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" from Armageddon. Not the best song ever written, but it's a "rock" song everyone would know. Still, I leave him to the rockers to grade.

Katharine is this year's Carrie for me. I see why so many like her, but I have no interest in her as a singer. She's cute and I even found her tics endearing early on. But what would she sing that I'd buy? I can't really picture it. None of that is to say she isn't a good singer. She is.

As an honorable mention comment, Kellie Pickler had something to her voice and I don't think she was anywhere near "bad" as a singer. I resented her because of how she was pushed on us and given what I feel is preferential treatment. I feel her looks had a lot to do with that, and that disappointed me. It didn't hurt me to listen to her and I'd listen to her if she were singing somewhere. I just wouldn't buy her CD.

2nd Honorable Mention... Mandisa should still be there at least until this point.

 

[Jon Martin]

For me, after seeing Chris' version of "Walk the Line", I was blown away. Thinking that the arrangement was amazing, how he had really made the song his own, etc.

Then, when I heard it was the Live version, I felt duped. It sounded like he was just copying a Live song. His vocals were just like the lead singers. He wasn't making it his own, just copying another version.

 

[Ralphie_B]

Yeah, it was a sort of 'stealth karaoke' move.

 

[Dan Keefe]

Now that vote for the worst has picked taylor, I think he will make top 2 or 3...he has his fan base voting and he also has the vote for the worst gang....that has to be a big block of votes IMO...plus performance wise I think he SHOULD be in the top two

 

[danak]

I'm a little confused about something with regards to Chris. From what I heard, Chris has a Christian band. Do they normally sing Christian rock songs, alternative rock songs or what? If he wasn't normally singing alt-rock with his band, why did he come on the show and box himself into a corner as an alt-rocker? Was he trying to fulfill a desire to do alt-rock that he had to put aside when he got married?

I think Taylor's fans are pretty riled up now that we know that the producers messed with him on his song choice for this past week (and possibly in weeks past). There will probably be a lot of people who will vote for him to stick it to Idol and Simon. The thing is, he has to bring it performance wise no matter how he's been screwed over or he won't get the vote from casual viewers. I have to say, when Taylor's off, he's really off. It's like he was phoning it in and was disconnected during the first half of his song last Tuesday. But, to be fair, others have done the same thing. Katharine was pretty disconnected for her performance in the 2nd week of the semifinals.

I'm still trying to decide if it would be better for Taylor career-wise to win this thing or go out no higher than 3rd. I read an interview with the guy who works on the albums for AI winners and others. It sounds like the winner's first album is rushed due to time constraints. However, from what the guy said, the second album would be better because they would have more time to work on it and mold it to the singer's personality. Since there's no guarantee that Taylor would get any offers if he didn't win, it sounds like winning would be better in the long run, with the understanding that the winner would have to hold their nose and get through the first album (though Carrie seems to have had a good first album) and just wait for the second album in order to really produce the magic.

Dana

 

[chuck_b]

Taylor's fans have been riled up from the start. I am not sure how much riling can be had from a remote news story about Taylor's last minute song changes. Other contestants have had last minute changes and I do not see how this will mobilize anyone beyond the Taylor fans who have stuck with him from the start. I also do not think the "stick it to Idol and Simon" voter block is that large. It takes effort to sit by the phone and dial for several hours and I think it takes the desire for someone to win as opposed to lose or get back at a couple of multi-millionaires who could care less.

 

[danak]

Kellie will be on MTV's Total Request Live on Monday (it's normally shown at 3:30pm Eastern Time)

Kellie will be shown on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday as well. I've also heard that executive producer Nigel Lythgoe will be on Tuesday and judge Randy Jackson will be on Wednesday

Dana