American Idol - Season 8 (1 Viewer)

[Josh Dial]

Added to that is the fact that often, the contestants are given lists (albeit long lists) of songs to choose from, so the producers aren't left scrambling for rights. That's why on, say, Brian Adams night, people aren't really choosing from EVERY song he has ever done, bur rather a song from a list of 25.

 

[Michael Henry]

I would be in favor of a pre-screen audition before they get to the final 4 judges...

Weed out the idiots...

If there is a glimmer of talent, push them through and let us see if they can do it at that point...

The idiots really need to go.

 

[Hanson]

They already pre-screen to get the idiots on. The throng of people in the audition footage do no more than sing in front of producers and assistants. They are cut down and selected to sing in front of the judges later, and half or more of them are specifically chosen in the hopes that they will make good TV in a bad way.

A couple of years ago, they had the prelim auditions at Giants Stadium, but the judges part was held at Chelsea Pier.

 

[Josh Dial]

Exactly. Also, all contestents, even the ones that don't make it past the pre-lims, are asked to sing a specific song (usually some pop crap like Britney). This is then used in a montage of everyone sining the same song in promos/end of episode recap/etc.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

I disagree. It's not about trying to sound like the other performer, or being able to sing country, rock, and show tunes (even if some of the performers think it is). It's about being aware of what you do well, and finding a way of using the restrictions of the theme to your advantage and finding something in a song you might otherwise never consider that demonstrates who you are. For example, I really was not a fan of Blake Lewis, but his performance of "You Give Love A Bad Name" was brilliant, and never never never would have happened if they didn't force people to look outside their comfort zones.

That said, I'm generally not a big fan of the "songs by one artist". Partly because it's just silly having six guys singing Mariah, partly because I think a lot of artists have too little variation in their songbooks to really allow people much actual choice in finding a song that suits them. There are the exceptions - the Beatles, for example - but mostly I think themes work better than single artists.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

What do you mean by "the same kind of contestants?"

I like the theme nights, except when the theme is the same sort of pop drivel that dominates non-theme nights. When they do something like Queen night or Neil Diamond night it's nice to know that most of the songs won't suck for a change.

 

[RAF]

A question for the "regulars" here:

I realize that AI8 is about to start and I'm planning to do an HTF AI8 Top Ten Challenge with the same basic format as in years past (along with a prize for the winner.) With some of the changes listed here in format, judges, etc. I was hoping to be able to close entries when we are down to something between 12-16 contestants remaining. For scoring purposes I'm hoping to be able to reach a point where one person a week is (usually) voted off barring some unusual circumstances.

My question is, based on the format for this year's show, what will be a good cut-off point? Will there be a "final 12" or a "final 16" or something else? Somebody mentioned AI8 bringing back a contestant voted off and I'm wondering where in the cycle this would occur as it presents possible scoring problems for the contest. Any advice on all this from those of you who follow this a lot closer than I do? Also, if anyone could provide some projected dates as to when we are out of the audition process and into the meat of the competition this would be helpful in setting up a timeline for the Top Ten Challenge. As soon as I have some idea of what's what I'll be posting an Official HTF AI8 Top Ten Challenge thread as a sticky. Same rules as always and similar to the recently concluded Survivor Gabon Top Ten Challenge (which I've left up at the top of this section for now as a matter of reference to those new to these competitions.)

Thanks in advance. Remember, you've got to be in it to win it!

 

[AnthonyC]

From what I understand, it's a top 36, and then a wildcard round before the top 12. So maybe once we know who's made it through to the 12 and then find out who the wildcard contestants are (since we'd presumably have heard them sing in earlier weeks), we could do our top 10 lists.


In most cases, I totally agree with you (like that punk rocker girl last year who was so unnaturally over the top after getting rejected, or that girl who "slipped" and made a big deal insisting it wasn't planned), but I actually appreciated the Leia guy just because he didn't even pretend that he wasn't just trying to get on TV. The fact that they actually aired it is more of a sign of how much of a joke the show itself is than the guy making a mockery of the auditions.

 

[RAF]

Thanks for the information. If that's the case, then I guess that picking a Top Ten from the Final Twelve is the best policy for our contest this time. Does anyone have an idea what the date will be when the "Top 12" is announced? I would like to have an idea of how much lead time I have for setting up and publicizing the HTF American Idol 8 Top Ten Challenge.

 

[Bryan X]

With four judges, apparently when there is a 2-2 tie, Simon Cowell gets the tie breaking vote. That should create some interesting conflict among the judges.

Edit: Kara is hot.

 

[Chris Souders]

Awesome... high five the blind dude Ryan!
Awkward awkward awkward.

 

[mattCR]

Way to go Ryan...

 

[Patrick Sun]

Looks like March 10th is when the top 12 will perform.

I wasn't wowed by any of the ones that got a yellow ticket to Hollywood so far.

 

[Will_B]

Be sure to buy Kara's Platinum Weird album where she does the vocals and David Stewart (from the Eurythmics) does the rest. It is fantastic album, and since no one knows of it, it usually sells for only a buck on ebay. The band is "Platinum Weird", the album is "Make Believe".

If you're really lucky you'll find the 2-disc edition that was exclusive to Best Buy a few years ago (don't bother looking at Best Buy now). Twice as much, twice as good.

Platinum Weird - SoundUnwound

 

[Will_B]

He's got 2 degrees of sight. There was a 2 in 180 chance that the dude would have seen Ryan's hand up.

Never tell Ryan the odds.

 

[EricSchulz]

RE: Theme Weeks
I believe that last week I read somewhere (Billboard.com?) that the majority of the competition was going to focus on Top Ten Billboard hits from 1958-present.

Proving that the recording industry is just suicidal in its decision-making:
Amazon.com: Dancing to the Music In My Head - EP (Amazon Exclusive): MP3 Downloads: Sanjaya Malakar

Dancing to the music in my head, indeed....

 

[Hanson]

The blind guy looked like he reached for a comb but ended up using a lint brush on his hair.

Bikini Girl made horrible faces and extremely mannered head shimmies when she sang. That turned me off more than her voice.

Emily's mom sacrificed her own singing career to devote her time to raising her child. Judging by tats, face piercings, and instant resolve to toss her band members under the bus, I'd say her mom probably could have spent time working on her singing career and, say, dealing meth and it wouldn't have really mattered in the end. Oh yeah, I was totally unimpressed by her voice, which had little rock quality to it. She's Gina Glocksen 2.0.

The only singer that seemed worthy of the finals was the girl who sang to old people. Other than that, the talent seemed really thin.

Two best Ryan moments:

1) As mentioned, attempting to high-five a blind guy
2) When Bikini Girl planted one on him, they played "I Kissed a Girl" in the background.

I thought Kara fit in really well and is already a better judge than Paula and Randy. She's a much better addition than, say Dennis Miller or Tony Kornheiser on MNF. She reminds me of a young Mercedes Rhuel.

 

[Quentin]

High fiving blind people FTW!

I agree with Matt re: theme nights. I like to make them think outside their comfort zone. That is, as long as they address all comfort zones! I also like being able to compare the singers within a genre. Sure, a certain theme may not fit a certain singer but it makes for an even field of judging one against the other.

The only singer who I thought has a chance is Stevie. Nice voice. Though, I think Barracuda girl and/or the smokey voiced girl with no family there may have a chance at top 24.

 

[EricSchulz]

Hanson:
This is completely off-topic, but two of my friends have already asked THE most important question regarding Season Eight: "When is that guy gonna start doing the Separated At Birth pictures?"

 

[Greg_S_H]

Talent was pretty thin on the ground. I liked the blind guy. I would have passed the nursing home girl based on the fact that she's 16 and can improve, but I wasn't real impressed with her or anyone else.