American Idol - Season 8 - Page 2

Re: American Idol - Season 8

And that's when I stop. Color us the Spratts.

For me, and as it's so popular a show, I'm sure I'm in a minority. But the sole charm of AI is in those early days when people are coming in cold and you have no idea if they're gonna be a wreck or an inspiration until they open their mouths and actually sing.

When they're all a bunch of semi-talented singers getting shoved into genres, it all descends into a boring cruise ship audition.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

The problem is that the public has figured out that the way to get on TV--if you have no legitimate shot at all--is to be absolutely terrible. And so, there are those who go in with a plan to be over-the-top horrible. It's not so fun when it's planned. It's kind of like the mondegreen sites. It's funny when my friend really thought the Pina Colada Song said "if you like bean enchiladas and getting caught in the rain" when he was a kid. It's not so funny when a guy claims to think Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" says "eat chunky butt love." Or, to bring it back to the show, it severely pissed me off that AI would air that idiot in the Princess Leia slave bikini.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

The problem with this show is forcing them to sing whatever the weekly theme is. Every year the best episodes are when they pick their own stuff, not from some list of a paricular artist or song writer. Sorry, but I don't want to hear 10 Maria Carey songs, half of which sung by men.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

That big guy singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot definitely fit that category. I really think he was convinced he was going to go to Hollywood. Of course, the problem there is that I feel bad for the guy.


I haven't watched the show long, but I understand that contestants used to be allowed to pick their own during the Top 24 stage of the show. That is only fair. When we're getting to know a contestant, let them show off their strengths. After we establish a baseline, we can judge their versatility by making them stray from their comfort zone. The new way of forcing categories early on is going to kill the show much more than not having a fourth judge.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I've said it before, but it bears repeating -- I completely agree. I was disappointed last season to see they moved themes up to the Top 24 portion of the show. So there was little opportunity for the artists to showcase themselves singing their favorites.


To a degree, I think that attempt to show versatility is overrated. If I go see (or just listen to) Faith Hill, I don't expect to see Shaka Khan or Barbra Streisand. Do what you do, and do it well is generally a better formula than trying to be all things to all people.

I almost stopped watching last season when I saw they were forcing themes. However, there were still a few performances I enjoyed, such at the first time David Archuletta did Imagine. I don't think more themes will kill the show, but I'm totally against doing it. I just went back recently and watched Bo Bice performing Whipping Post, Drift Away, and I'll Be. All Top 24 performances when the artist got to pick what he wanted to sing with no restrictions other than whether AI could get the rights to the song. Those were the golden days. Almost every performance I've saved came from that stage of the show. Truly moving musical performances (for those such as myself who can be moved by performances on a show such as AI).

Re: American Idol - Season 8

At first (first two seasons) the bad auditions were amusing, now they are just annoying. I can do without.

I would love to see AI change it up a bit more and allow people to perform original songs. They have already allowed people to perform playing instruments, I think it would be great to let them put their song writing skills to the test. I think that is why I enjoyed Rockstar over AI, those people were actually musicians in their own right, whereas most of the contestants on AI are just singers who are trained to sing certain songs and are molded to fit a certain ideal.

I am not sure if I am going to watch AI this season. I'm sort of burnt out on the same old crap they keep churning out year after year. I really would love to see them change it up and stop picking the same kind of contestants.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

All these people want to end up in a certain genre of music, so why not let them show off that the entire show, not pigeon holing them in some other genre they suck at. Like others have mentioned, some of the best performances are the top 24 when they just pick whatever they want to sing. If you are going to have a theme, let it be 80s or 90s, not Queen's greatest hits.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I have a feeling that the reason they do theme nights is to have a pre-cleared set list. I assume when the AI producers call to get the rights to a song not already cleared, they have to pay a premium, so they discourage the singers to go off the list (it is also a problem if a singer practices one song, can't get it cleared by showtime, and then has to scramble to learn a new one). The question routinely asked in the pre-top 12 shows is, "why did they pick that song?" And the answer to that is, the producers pretty much forced them to. That's also the answer to the question, "why are they singing such old songs?"

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

IIRC, on Next Great American Band, each group would do one original and one cover each week. Shame they killed that show.


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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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!

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Way to go Ryan...

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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....

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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?"

Re: American Idol - Season 8

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.