American Idol - Season 8 - Page 43

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Kara's face still looks like Al Capone. But, I liked what I saw. Enough to forgive that song? No...

I think Simon is more pissed than he was with Hicks. Will he return??

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I agree.

So does this mean he can still end up signed by AI's management company or is he free to pursue his own thing?

I hope it's the latter. I'd hate to see him end up singing cookie cutter pop fluff like David Cook.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I keep hearing how Idol is a popularity contest and I wish someone would take a bit of time and explain this complaint to me. We can't take a few words by the judges out of context. To me, AI has been transparent about what the show is about -- finding a marketable singer. Sure they throw out little reminders that it's a singing competition, but only to the degree that contestants have to be able to hold a tune.

Simon is the first person to jump all over a good singer with little personality. He did it earlier this season when Ricky Braddy sang "A Song For You". While the other judges were ranting and raving over how good the singing was, Simon almost completely focused on the lack of X factor (in his eyes). If AI just wanted good singers, they'd let the folks sing and have a panel of real experts judge the performances with no public involvement. And nobody would watch.

The gimmick to these shows is the public can choose who it wants for whatever reason it wants. Of course it's a popularity contest because people vote for who they like. The AI producers couldn't change that if they wanted to. But they don't want to. If people are voting for who they like, the theory is that they'll buy CD's from the people they like as well.

Obviously that last theory has taken a bit of a beating lately (see Taylor Hicks), so the producers are trying to steer things more than ever, but the basic premise remains the same. Let the public tell us who they like, and we'll give them that person. At no time is it, "Let the public tell us who is the best singer."

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Hey, don't forget KISS - a fake rock band on a fake singing contest. How appropriate. Who was the drummer - Chris Griffin in a black wig? Never saw his face well enough.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Of course it's a popularity contest. BFD. I mean, for the love of pete, Paris Hilton had a top-10 single.. and she can't sing worth a damn. In fact, quite a few would fit that bill. The show has always been about finding an artist that would sell. If it were really about finding people who had honest to god talent, they would be looking for singer/songwriter/musician types.

I was pleasantly happy with the inclusion of those who could play instruments this year, though it really didn't seem to matter. The show has never really focused on finding artists/talent. I haven't seen them discover the next Norah Jones/Cat Stevens/Tori Amos... or even a Kenny Rogers/Kenny Chesney/Garth Brooks type

But the show is about trying to find people who appeal to those who want to send a text message and vote and buy their largely puff music. This year,more people using cell phones willing to waste TXTs made their choice.

Fine. I personally don't see a longterm future for either of these kids. I think they will get out one or two albums, but I don't seem them has having the career skills to really make it. I think Adam could have a long career if he were to decide to go into musical theater - and I don't mean that as a slight in any way, I think he would be an incredible broadway performer, and could do that for a very, very longtime. I think the problem with a show such as AI is that it just throws everything into a pit and says "VOTE!"

I think a year ago, they tried to do this around bands and it failed miserably. I realize that there is no profit in doing it, and it would probably be less popular, but it would interest me a great deal more if they encouraged more people to perform their own original work But I don't see that happening either.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I agree. Personally, I'd venture to guess the powers behind AI are very happy this year with the result because Kris is easier to market. He has a built in audience in the 14 and under teen and pre-teen girl market. Adam's audience would be and will be much more difficult to determine successively.

Simon's proclamations and sheer looks of disgust when America gets it wrong aside, AI is not and has never been a singing contest.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Adam was the straw that stirred the AI drink this year, and the finale was no different. No past finalist could have pulled off the Kiss and Queen numbers like that, both of which were the highlights of the evening. It was like he was part of the band and not some karaoke contest winner (try and listen to Kris singing We Are The Champions as a contrast).

Even if Idol were a real singing competition, I wouldn't trust those f*cknut judges to make the right call anyway.

Simon let the cat out of the bag during the prelims when he let it slip that they were "casting" the show. So there's only a small part of the show that is actually about singing. Case in point: if Lil hadn't been hit by a tornado, she would never have made it on the show. If Gokey hadn't had readily available footage of his recently deceased wife, he wouldn't have made it past Hollywood.

Gokey not winning was victory in and of itself, AFAIC

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I had to work tonight so I saw the show when I got home...although a co-worker called me to tell me who won (I threatened to hang up on her!)

I think Simon was pissed because BOTH of his "predictions" went down the drain...first with Gokey and now with Adam.

The numbers seemed to fall into the awesome (Queen fucking ROCKED!!!) or yawnfest (Lil and Latifah...it almost sounds like the name of a sitcom, doesn't it?)

Glad we did get to see both Tatiana and Norman (but the time it took to get to them was a waste)...

When the curtain opened during Bikini Girl's performance of "Extreme Breast Makeover: Idol Edition" I thought, "My God, Mariah is stooping REALLY low to show up for this!" It was less of a surprise when it turned out to be Kara....

I am really hoping that "We are the Champions" will be available on iTunes tomorrow!

Re: American Idol - Season 8

In the HTF AI contest, only 1 of the top 4 finishers in the contest even had Kris in their top 10. I know I didn't have Kris in my top 10 just because I didn't think he had much in terms of vocal chops, but who knew he'd catch fire with the easy listening coffeehouse crowd with a so-so voice. Adam will find more fame and fortune than Kris in the long run. But yes, let's be grateful Gokey didn't slip into the top 2 this season.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Speaking of yawnfest, poor Steve Martin! He was literally wincing at times in reaction to the vocal gymnastics of Megan Joy and Michael Sarver! Yikes...

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I saw that right away!!!!!!!!

Usually, Simon is one to stand in unison with the rest of the judges.

But tonight...HE DID NOT MOVE FROM HIS SEAT!!!!!! HE TOTALLY LOOKED MADDER THAN HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I, for one, don't blame him at all.

For I am actually with Bloody Ol' Simon on this call.

I believe Adam was robbed.

Please do not be surprised if Simon later discloses that Adam was the rightful winner as he did for Melinda Doolittle two years ago.


I have to admit...Kara does have a nice singing voice.



Once again, Hanson, you rise to the occassion. When it comes to telling it like it is on THIS show...there is no one else who does it better!!!!!!!

Thanks for coming through on that great Two Bikinis portrait. THAT IS CERTAINLY FIT FOR PRINTING AND FRAMING!!!!!!

I must say...I only wish Kara had taken her dress all the way off and showed off her bod!!!!!!! After all, at her age, she does look terrific.

And I see our Bikini Girl has changed some since last summer.

It is also great to see Tatiana in action on the big stage. She really got down tonight!!!!!!!! She truly looked terrific also.

At least Nick Norman Gentle Mitchell would have been a better alternative to being the winner of Idol Bowl VIII if Adam ended up runner-up...as he, sadly, has.

So now I suppose it is on to Taylor Hicks 2.0 from Kris Allen?????????

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Congratulations to Larry*P for winning the DVD and Blu-ray Disc prize package in the HTF American Idol 9 Top Ten Challenge. Full details in the thread devoted to that contest.

We'll be back next season (January 2010) for another HTF/AI Top Ten Challenge. And look for a possible announcement regarding an HTF Big Brother #11 Top Ten Challenge (similar format and prize) sometime in June, 2009.

As always, you gotta be in it to win it!

Re: American Idol - Season 8

And also, Hanson...you are right about Adam.

Who else could have easily fell in line so easily with KISS & Queen in one full swoop?????!!!!!!

And did it well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So apples and oranges in this one.

And it is also not about singing to me...it is also about showmanship and presentation.

Adam Lambert simply made things happen as one tuned in with aniticpation as to what he was going to do next.

And, going from one spectrum to another, Adam never disappointed as I know.

Seeing him in his white suit during Standards Night and again with the Black Leather outfit had me thinking of Elvis' landmark 1968 comeback TV special, "This Is Elvis."

The confidence he exuded, to me, was simply unmatchable.

I agree with Oliver's proclamation that, without him...things may have been unwatchable.

And he stood out in that white suit as well. Not because he was the only one not dressed in black that evening...but rather because he just simply radiated strongly in ways the others just did not to me.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I also loved Randy and Simon's reaction to Katrina's new assets. I thought Randy was gonna leave his jaw on the floor. The standing O was priceless.

And, KISS may sing fluff...but, they're no 'fake' band. They write their own songs, perform themselves, market their brand like hell and have made hundreds of millions. And, they are badass in concert even if you don't like their music.

Adam killed with them in his glam-rock, sequined out look. I'm glad he finally got to let it out of the bag and go for broke. That's the Adam I hope we see in the future and it's not likely the Adam we would have seen under an AI winning contract.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

AT&T supposedly reported that 38 million votes (out of almost 100 million) came from arkansas(?):

Conway reacts to Kris' win - FOX16.com

If that is true then AI really needs to reassess their voting process. Thats just stupid.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Another variation of ballot box stuffing, anyone??????


And you are so very right about KISS, Quentin. In fact, I have grown to appreciate them and their music even more as I have gotten older and matured.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I too was hoping for Adam to win it all, but really it does not matter except in name only. It's almost certain the top 5 have or will make it on most AI shows in some form or the other. McPhee (or however her name is spelled) from the year Hicks won is now making a movie. You can bet even bikini girl has already gotten her start when she first appeared months ago as a model or whatever.

It was no real shock Kris won it all. Our local Fox network held live parties and some of the better family restaurants and they were all filled with "Tween" girls. They were all voting and had voted for Kris all this time. That was his target audience, the "Tweens", not the same market at all for Adam. So, I don't see any overlap there at all between the demographics for sells. I think both will do very well and you can never underestimate the money the Tween demographic spends. Just think of the fortune made with Miley Cyrus and the same audience.

I also hope to see Allison and Danny get a deal too. Certainly I think Allison can pull off some rather good raspy type vocals, but not so sure how much of them may be rehashed from prior hits by groups like Heart.

Anyway, I thought it was one of the best season finale AI shows they have ever done with all the variety it had. Plus seeing the old hard rock groups was the icing on the cake and they could still rock it for sure.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

You mean the live version from the show or some secret studio recording?

I was taken by surprise this year when suddenly studio versions came out after the contestants performed them on the show (when did that start?)

What a surprise to see Queen back on "AI" especially after how miffed Brian May was the last time out when he felt his words were edited/taken out of context to make it look like he was scolding that horrible Ace Young.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

When adam wore that furutristic outfit, my husband and I were wondering (hoping) that he would light up! Oh well! LOL!

Adam is an all around showman and performer. He is going to go on and do some amazing things if put in the proper hands.

I really hope to see Nick Norman get something out of this as he is funny as hell. Maybe his own sketch show or something?

Bikini girl was offered the chance to pose for some magazine (not playboy), but I don't know which mag it was or what came of it. Personally I don't think she deserves any more air time and frankly neither does tatiana.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I hope for both versions, but nothing is on iTunes as of early Thursday morning...

I believe that the studio downloads started last season. I did download a few of the studio releases this time. There was a problem earlier in the competition when a "glitch" in iTunes sales system "accidently" listed the sales ranking for several of the performers' songs. Adam, IIRC, had five songs in the Top Ten, Kris had four and Danny had one. There is a disclaimer stating they don't release that info because it could help influence voting on the show.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Eric Singer is the drummer who replaced Eric Carr after his death and then Peter Criss.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Agreed. He sang those songs so well -- Detroit Rock City especially. If anyone can go head to head with Paul Stanley as a vocalist, it's Adam Lambert.

I'm a card-carrying member of the KISS Army. I loved them since I was 5 years old. How are they not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? New album drops this fall, btw.

My wife and I were trying to figure out who Adam would duet with -- I said Cher because of his Hollywood week choice. Then he comes out singing Beth and I said "Yes, of course" and proceeded to turn the volume up and watch as KISS entered the fray as only KISS can. The highlight of the finale for me.

One thing I'd lik to point out is how gracious Adam was when Kris won. He smiled and cheered for him and looked relieved more than anything. I'm sure having to dodge questions about his sexuality were weighing on him and now that he does not have to carry the Idol mantle, he can be free to pursue a solo career that will rival Clarkson, Underwood and Daughtry.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

38 million votes from Arkansas is mind-boggling. That’s around 40% of the vote cast, and assuming anywhere from a 3 to1 to 5 to 1 ratio for Kris, you’re looking at a total blowout, vote-wise. The enthusiasm that Southern voters have shown throughout the history of Idol comes through for Kris this year, only this time around it appears they’ve figured out how to use auto-dialers. Think about it – Arkansas has 2.8 million people, or less than 1% of the 304 million people in the United States (reflecting 2008 numbers). That’s some ultra rabid voting.

The drop off in the performance finale is probably because the Gokey fans simply didn’t tune in. It turns out that they weren’t as big a factor in the final results as much as Arkansas was. I’m pretty sure that the vote difference this year is larger than last year’s 12 million vote gulf between Cook & Archuleta.

The Gokey/Adam showdown was never meant to be. Both contestants were too polarizing to make it to the finals – it would be like a presidential election fielding a hard right and hard left candidate from the major parties – any centrist could swoop in and win it.

At this point, I wonder if Kris was the top vote getter in both the top four and top three weeks. Ryan did say, “In no particular order”, but it may be that Kris was declared safe first each time because he got the most votes each time.

In the NYC area, there is a tremendous amount of Adam support, and even they aren’t that upset about Kris winning. I think we all share the same sentiment, which is that as long as Gokey didn’t win, we all won.

The last update for chops and separated at births it up (one new chop and the rest are collected from the blogs):

American Idol Season 8 Chops

American Idol Separated at Birth Season 8 Page 2

I had to split the chop page into two.

Also, two NSFW chops that aren't on the chop page (the links work now):

A parody of Adam's Entertainment weekly cover:
http://home.comcast.net/~hanson68/gokeyew.jpg

And my take on the whispers about Kris' true sexuality:
http://home.comcast.net/~hanson68/kriscoke.jpg

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Adam will be fine as long as he is selective in what he wants to do. He can either go the Daughtry/Underwood route, or sing crap like Archuletta and the winners song from last night.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Being born in Arkansas, let me remind people of this:

(1) Arkansas has NO pro team in any sport; not basketball, baseball, football.
(2) Arkansas has NO triple-A baseball, they do have a double-A squad (The Travellers) who are affiliated with the Angels.

In other words.. WTF else are you going to do? Seriously, if you're in Arkansas, you root like hell for your college teams and then you've got... nothing. For months, you've got nothing. So why not rally behind some kid on a game show.

BTW: total state population is 2.5M, according to the census bureau, and 1M voted in the last presidential:

http://news.aol.com/elections/2008/state/AR

So, good to know roughly 16 times the number that live there voted.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Hanson: I get this message on both Comcast links:

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Can't wait to see them!