American Idol - Season 8 - Page 44

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I got the 2.8 mil figure from Wiki, but whatevs. It's still little. Like Kris. BA-ZINGA!

The Taylor Hicks potential is looming on Kris' horizon -- Idol assumes some correlation between voting and popularity to gague record sales, but when the turn-out is that topsy turvy, you going to find that the record buyers have no correlation to the vote totals.

ETA: I fixed the links to the pictures. I originally used the wrong extension. DUH!

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I agree about Nick/Norman and think he will end up not too long from now with some sort of comedy/variety type act. Heck, I would even give him a shot at a late night talk show. Everything on now late night is the same old routine night after night and I have given up watching most of them. At least it would be something new.

For "bikini girl", I think she will either end up being a good model or taking the cash and doing some porn (no I don't mean Playboy) while she can get the bucks from her semi-fame on AI.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Some random thoughts from the Old Dude:

• I had originally planned to pull a DVR "zip-zip" during the results show as is my usual practice because the fluff doesn't interest me. However, I have to admit that the line up that was presented in the two hour finale (which ironically ended on time even though they promoted that it wouldn't) kept my interest throughout - with a few minor exceptions. What a wonderful assemblage of stars! Definitely worth the time investment to me.
• After the battle of the Davids last year, nothing surprises me any more. If anything I thought that last year's result was a bigger shock with David "Cooking" Archie.
• What up with Rod Stewart? Is he on medication (prescribed or otherwise?) That was one of the few disappointing "star" appearances to me. Probably my next least favorite was Queen Latifah and I usually like her (as well as Rod Stewart).
• Adam is definitely the better singer but Kris is the better musician. I expect to see more of Adam but only because I attend a lot of shows in NYC. I'm fine with the results. It just proves that "It's a singing competition" is B.S. as far as Idol is concerned or the results would have been different (I would have been watching Allison vs. Adam in that case.)
• Winning American Idol doesn't guarantee success. Neither does coming in second, third, fourth or lower mean that you will fail. The number of examples of this continues to grow after eight seasons. Just ask Jennifer Hudson and other obvious examples. I just picked up the excellent Blu-ray disc of Chris Botti in Boston (highly recommended for great performances and demo quality sound!) and was pleasantly surprised to see how far Katherine McPhee has come since Idol. I'll probably be buying lots of her music in the future.
• Our HTF American Idol #08 Top Ten Challenge Contest was an exciting success. We'll be back in 2010 for the next edition for those interested. (See the related thread for details). In the interim we are looking at probably offering a similar contest for Big Brother #11. Details to follow in an announcement. The show starts in early July, 2009.
• Hanson Yoo is still Da Man! Thanks for the memories.
• And thanks for the mammaries, Bikini Girl.

To paraphrase the little hosting guy, "RAF...out!"

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Idol ended in the best way for the show and the top 2.

Kris will have a better chance at success (still not a given, given the track record of some winners - but that has more to do with putting out bland crap instead of music)

and Adama did not need to win. There's still a chance that he will put out a bland album too if the producers do their usual un-magic, but both have a better chance with this set up.

And AI will promote the "anything can happen" rhetoric making the show "not boring"

It's a win win for those 2 and FOX.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Apparently, Scott's big moment was supposed to be a duet with Billy Joel. But Joel cancelled so late in the game they couldn't arrange for a new duet, which is why Scott never got any face time. Also, Adam and Allison are generating the most buzz -- songwriters and producers are lining up to make their debut albums.

And as hot as Kara was in a bikini, unless she's willing to judge wearing a bikini with a bag over her head, I don't want her back next year (actually, the bag and bikini thing will grow old quickly, so just get rid of her regardless). The thing about Paula that I realized is that she's innoccuous -- no matter what she says, you can't take her seriously, and as a result, you can't really get mad or hate her (this is how Kris won Idol). But Kara says very specifically wrong things all the time, and that's why so many people simply despise her -- I'm constantly dropping F-Bombs at TV when she talks. Plus she makes the show run overlong with her bloated critiques.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I saw this segment while in Best Buy over the weekend, and McPhee needs to stay in the classy/jazzy/big band arena because she does well with the standards. She was never going to be a pop music artist.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

RE: KISS

It appeared to me that Gene wasn't playing the bass. He was "playing", but the notes I heard didn't correspond to his hands.

My 02.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Adam definitely had to sing down to allen's level when trying to harmonize Queen. To his credit he did manage to harmonize their voices in a way I didn't think possible. It was a good performance.

ATT is now denying that they ever stated that 38 million votes came from arkansas.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Now that iTunes can post sales, Kris has seven songs in the Top 100, Adam has nine and Danny has one; Adam & Allison's duet is also in there.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Yes, but is this going to last without the weekly exposure from Idol? I'm sure Taylor would have had multiple songs in the top 100 if iTunes was as big back in the day (and considering Idol itself was more of a juggernaut back then). How's Cookie doing these days?



ETA: AT&T is denying that there were 38 million AR votes. They have no idea how that number got out. Frankly, I find it difficult to believe a state with under 3 million residents could cast 38 million votes. But it's a fun story...

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Random thoughts:

Kiss? Fake? Um. . .riiiiiiiiight.

Last night's show was 100x better than the performance show the night before, which consisted entirely of zero-energy numbers. Even the lame performances last night were more entertaining. Kiss and Queen were great (aside from Kris' valiant but failed attempt to sing We Are The Champions) and just what the show needed.

The band show last year was The Next Great American Band, from the same producers as Idol. It was so much better than Idol in every way, I'm afraid I'll break down and cry if I attempt to talk about it any more. They stuck it in a crappy time slot and never seemed to have any intention of keeping it around.

On the one hand, Bikini Girl kinda asked for what she got; on the other hand, it was awkward to the point of not being that entertaining. IMO it would have been better if they'd worked out the duet with Kara ahead of time instead of simply springing it. Then it could have been funny instead of just mean.

And "not fat" is not the only criterion for looking good in a bikini. Sorry, Kara -- at least some charity's getting a few bucks out of it.

The Tatiana bit was rather awkward too. I assumed it was a put-on but I'm not 100% certain.

I'll be curious to see what sort of stylistic direction Adam takes on his album. Kris, not so much.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I agree 100%, Aaron. There were a number of bands (Sixwire, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, The Clark Brothers, to name a few) that I thought were simply amazing, week after week. It's a damn shame that FOX canned the show--they should have moved it to the summers, and put it on So You Think You Can Dance's off-nights. FOX could have virtually every night of summer viewing locked up, IMO.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I hate to burden Hanson, but can we get a before and after shot on Katrina? I guess she felt she needed a boost to the bikini modelling career...

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Too bad her hair is covering her assests (or lack thereof) in the before picture.

Pickler got a boob job and now her album is racing up the country charts. So never underestimate the public's desire for quantitty over quality. I personally find it aesthetically unpleasing, but YMMV.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

At least she didn't "Supersize her order" and get ridiculously huge ones. They looked nice IMHO.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Here's an interesting article on some of the reasons No Boundaries was so jaw-droppingly bad and why the Idol coronations song are so bad in general:

Did Kara DioGuardi pull a fast one on American Idol with 'No Boundaries'? - Idol Chatter - USATODAY.com

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I'm with you guys. Great show. I miss it.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I miss "Rock Band". Adam would have kicked ass on that show. Unfortunately, the show just doesn't work without a name band looking for a singer...and there aren't many of those (though, obviously Slash could use a singer...).

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Supposedly Queen has some interest in Adam. I'm not sure that would be best for him since his musical range exceeds what they do and the comparisons to FMercury would be unrelenting. You can't follow a legendary quarterback and not be constantly ridiculed...just can't be done (ask steve young).

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Yeah, my mileage definitely varies. I wouldn't have noticed the change, though, without you guys mentioning it. And yeah, the whole Kara/Bikini Girl thing just seemed weird to me. During the show, the "breakout" looked nice, but when looking at still caps, Kara just looks skinny (as Aaron mentioned, there's more to it than just being skinny). If we were going to see Kara perform, I'd have enjoyed it more straight up, and not "See, I am better than you." I never did understand why she had it in for Bikini Girl so much. Yes, she was all gimmick, but so what? So was Norman Gentle (yes, I know he can sing, but honestly with what we got on AI, his singing was pretty much besides the point). Don't take it personally, Kara.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I enjoyed KISS thru 'Love Gun', and that's where it fell off. To this day, I can still jam live on bass guitar to any song on those albums. They established themselves through larger-than-life pyro and staging, 'Ace' was the metal equivalent of Chuck Berry in terms of his solos, and all the lyrics were about sex (what else could teenage boys see in a rock band), but the band 'sold out' (if that's even possible by comparison) thanks to that collosal piece of Hanna-Barbera cheese, "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" (not until "To Justin With Kelly" would there be such a vapidly empty exploitive movie). Didn't pay any close attention to them again until "Unplugged". They have a great back catalogue, and are entertaining, and heck, some fast food places make great hamburgers.

KISS was perfect for 'Idol' because Simmons is a prime example of marketing genius. I might travel a couple of hours to see a show, but I don't carry my KISS Army badge on my sleeve.

Kiss were doomed and would have disappeared if it hadn't been for "Alive!", which was mostly redone in the studio anyway, and the repacked 'Originals'.

Adam suits the theatricality that is KISS (and Queen, for that matter) very well.

I'll say this much - KISS is the best 'KISS tribute band' going.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I thought Queen merged with the guy from Bad Co.


Mcphee is already in at least one movie, she was in House Bunny.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Shocker of a result, but as the in-depth analysis here reveals, upon thinking about it, not so surprising after all.

Oh well, as already noted, not winning doesn't necessarily hamper Adam's career, if anything he won't be forced into the lightweight fluff that is typical for winners.

Kudos to both Kris and Adam. Kris appeared to be genuinely shocked and surprised at his victory, and humbly confessed that Adam deserved it, Adam was a most gracious loser and looked genuinely happy for Kris, and got out of the way to leave centre-stage for Kris to enjoy the limelight.

Simon looked really pissed off. He really should have been more gracious and stood during the 'crowning', but Simon does what he wants, and I suppose that would detract from his conferring a standing ovation on Adam as his non-verbal comments a few weeks ago.

Do non-winners have any commitment to sign with 19? Or does 19 at least get first dibs? I suspect not, IIRC the only obligation of non-winners is that they cannot release an album before the winner's album comes out. Still, I would expect 19 to do their level best to sign Adam as well, even if they have to offer him better terms than the ones Kris is forced to accept as winner. Which would be ironic, and would once again show that winning
AI is not always the best thing for an artiste.

I must say, the finale was the most entertaining (and I deliberately use that word) finale I've seen in all six seasons I've followed AI closely (didn't watch S1 at all and only bits of S2). The guest music acts were mostly great, Idol awards were hilarious and Kara's showgirl number was, well, a real surprise! I'm wondering to what extent it was scripted, since Bikini Girl seemed rather surprised and at a loss when it all happened, as compared to Nick/Norman and Tatiana, who obviously knew what they were supposed to do.

KISS and Queen the standout moments for me, with Adam showing that he could have a great career as frontman for a rock band. If Queen are really interested in working with him, I'd really look out for that.

They've been working with Paul Rogers, but always as "Queen + Paul Rogers", not as "Queen" per se. Their way of saying, we (Brian May and Roger Taylor) continue to make Queen-like music, with a good singer, but no one can truly replace Freddie. If I remember their explanation correctly...

So we may yet see "Queen + Adam Lambert". I'd buy that.

Lionel Richie's All Night Long was great, even if with Gokey (whom I don't dislike as much as Hanson obviously does...) Shame about Scott and Billy Joel, that would have been interesting as well. Megan once again demonstrates what a trainwreck her singing is. Allison & Cyndi Lauper were surprisingly very good together, even though I don't much care for Time After Time or Lauper's vocals generally.

I felt for Anoop and Alexis though, their number with Jason Mraz made them seem almost like afterthoughts after their intro, as there seemed to be very little effort to make it a tri-et (what's the three-person version of a duet called?) with Mraz hogging everything, unlike for instance Richie and Gokey. Or Adam and Kris's duets.

Uniquely for this season, I haven't deleted the show from my DVR yet, I might rewatch parts of it again.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I thought Cyndi Lauper sounded better on the 30 Rock season finle.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Queen + Paul Rogers split. That sort of collaboration would be the only thing that could interest me in an Adam Lambert release.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Solo, Duet, Trio, Quartet.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

That is correct, only the winner has a guaranteed $1 million contract. For the rest, 19E has first right of refusal (Adam, Allison, and Gokey already have contracts waiting for signatures). Interestingly, this extends all the way down to the auditioneers -- if they want to get before the judges, they have to sign a contract that gives 19E the first right of refusal, the rights to use their likenesses in perpetuity, and are technically under contract until 90 days after the finale just like the finalists. From what I understand, 19E will typically let those contestants out of their 19E contract if they line up their own record deal and 19E doesn't want to sign them.

I agree with you and RAF -- that was not only entertaining, it was uncharacteristically rewatchable. I think Adam had a huge part in that.

Yeah... I skipped that (I also skipped Kris & Keith Urban and only watched half of Lil & Queen Latifah). And while I may dislike Gokey more than anyone else on the HTF, there are a lot more people on other boards who would spit on him if they saw him. If he died in a fiery car crash, they would laugh and celebrate. I mean, they hate him. But I have to give Gokey his props -- he and Adam were the villain/hero yin yang (flopping roles depending on your tastes), and the season was more dramatic as a result.

I loved Megan, but I swear she was high. Aside from the Joe Cocker-esque dancing (she was more like Megan Joey Cockery), she almost fell twice -- not while she was dancing, but as she was STANDING. Once on-stage behind Fergie and then again on the riser behind Queen. If you're stumbling and you're not even moving -- TWICE -- then YOU ARE HIGH.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I wish AI only allowed two votes from each phone number.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

She also utterly wrecked Steve Martin's performance. Wrecked as in if his mother were watching, she probably turned to the rerun of NCIS on CBS. There was a busker outside the Calgary zoo this weekend that sounded better than she does even on her "good" nights.