American Idol - Season 8 - Page 30

Re: American Idol - Season 8

It's a shame if black viewership is dropping faster than other segments due to lack of viable representation. I'd have preferred Ju'Not to go on, but America voted him off, not the judges. I think he'd have stayed around longer with a different format, but others were affected by the format change as well. Did the judges/producers simply not give enough representation even in the Top 36? I happen to think they did the best they could based on their instincts. After all, the panel does have Randy (black) and Paula (effectively Black). I don't see any obvious bias there.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Ryan Seacrest is normally pretty quick on his feet, but he totally misses why Paula asks him if he liked carrots as a kid, all while his rabbit-toothed childhood pic is displaying. Apparently he thinks she's talking about skin color as he replies, "That's my natural color."

Danny Gokey - Stand By Me - I liked the intro. Nowhere near enough singing for me, it was a song full of riffs. I could have taken a whole song of the intro.

Kris Allen - All She wants To Do Is Dance - Functional

Lil Rounds - What's Love Got To Do With It? - Suicide for me that she selected this song. I mean, you want songs the public likes, which is usually by singers the public likes, but do you really want to try to redo Tina Turner? OK, that's the bias. The reality? Pretty much as expected.

Paula: "That's what I said!"
Simon: "But I make more sense"

Anoop Desai - True colors - Just weird for me. I like Cyndi singing it, but I'm not sure I've ever heard a male rendition that I like. Didn't do it better than cyndi, and didn't add anything to it for me. I think I'd just call it... pointless.

Scott MacIntyre - The Search Is Over - The song didn't grab me, the guitar seemed unnecessary, but I liked some of his vocals.

Allison Iraheta - I can't Make You Love Me - Consistently good. Enjoyable. Interesting to see personality comments as I have some concerns in that areas as well. She's very young and sometimes people just don't know the appropriate way to get themselves across, especially when young and nervous. After she did "Alone", the way she posed in front of the judges came across as incredibly self-satisfied. Almost as if she knew she was better than everyone else and the judges couldn't possibly have anything to add to what she did. That said, my attempts to at correspondence mind reading courses have all failed to date, so I can't be sure of my attempts to read her mind (or personality). At times, I get the vibe that she's never been told she's anything but incredible, and somewhere beneath the surface, that's shaping her. It's something I've been keeping an eye on.

Matt Giraud - Part-Time Lover - He had a nice funky groove, and I liked how it started out, but ultimately I didn't like it as much as the judges.

Aam Lambert - Mad World - I'm not familiar with the song even though I own the movie on DVD, but it doesn't matter. Adam makes me like songs the first time I hear him sing them. Really? There are still people not sold on Adam yet? This is how bad it is for me. I'd like folks pick any Adam performance so far and I'll put it up against the best of the rest, and I still think Adam would place in at least the top 3. I listened to it about 5 times. By the time I was done, I knew the lyrics and melody by heart. Great job. OK, I have to ask... Someone really heard screaching/screaming at the end of that song? I just heard sweet falsetto with incredible range.

Kellie Pickler coming back again on the results show? We've talked about it before in AI threads, but I just can't help but thinking she's a perfect example of someone who is easy to work with, hard working, motivated, and strong in spirit making a career where people with more raw talent falter. She really should be a case study in the entertainment industry for folks to study if they're interested in getting into that business. She was far from the best singer in her season, but she's still around.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Why didn't someone tell Paula her lipstick was all over her front teeth?

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I feel like I am the butt of an extremely long April Fools joke.

Adam, singing the song in that shrill upper register, was a joke right? There is no way that deserved a Simon Standing O. I felt like I was watching Stewart from Mad TV singing. Look what I can do!

I think they might be making a bigger tie-in to Fringe than the bald guy. Maybe we will find out that the judges are being manipulated by a new virus, or a drug or brain waves or something and Olivia and crew will eventually get to the bottom of it.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

She's still around because she is moderately cute, gives off the I am extremely stupid/naive vibe and now, has big tits.

That sums up your case study!

Re: American Idol - Season 8

BTW, if you watch the end of Adam's performance (which I enjoyed) and watch the recap at the end of the show where they give a tiny bit of each singer's performance, you will notice that the recap is not the same as Adam's live performance.
It was from a different performance for sure.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I am pretty sure this has been common practice at AI for years. Many of the clips in the recap montage are taken from dress rehearsal performances.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I agrre and while he does have talent, but it's not worthy of such praise that he constantly gets from the judges. They couldn't be pushing him any more.

How many last performance of the night is it for him?

He'll do fine on Broadway doing his thing, but as usual I await for his performance to end.

Frankly the darlings of Danny and Lil are falling apart too.

He was incredibly boring - it way too repetitive and she even started walking on stage like Tina Turner and vocally was all over the place.



It's the dress rehearsal - that's what they always replay for that segment.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

You summed up my thoughts, too.

Adam is a tenor, who is desperately trying to be a high tenor.

My guess is that it's so he can sing the Christine part in Phantom.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

According to Wikipedia (which certainly is faultless) this is the first time Adam has performed last in the finals. Is that true? I know he performed last one night in the semi-finals.

Whenever and wherever he performs, he knocks me out. My partner is a professional, classically trained opera singer, so I pretend to know a thing or two about good singers (but really just rely on his opinion and co-opt it ). That said, I think Adam is fantastic, especially when he shows restraint as he did this week. I'd like to see an Adam/Allison final.

People seem to like to make some obvious and offensive jokes about him, calling him "Liza" etc. This irks me but I guess it's because there isn't much negative criticism one can lodge about his vocals.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I'm surprised at all the Adam hate here.

Hey, I'm the one who first called him "Ethel Merman". I do think he's over-the-top theatricality most of the time. I think he hits the high notes for attention rather than effect, and frankly I think he'd make a better female impersonator doing 'Cabaret' on Broadway than as a pop star.

But, he's also very good. That was not 'shrill' by any definition of the word. And, IMO, it was possibly the smartest song choice I've ever seen ANYONE make in the history of the show.

First of all, "Mad World" is one of my all-time favorite '80's songs. So, I'm biased. But, it is a great, great, moody song.

Second, it is a big-time 'emo' anthem. He sang it with the appropriate amount of angst combined with some theatricality. I guarantee millions of Twilight-reading, twittering, tweenie/teen girls ate that performance up. And, he's smart enough to be the only 'emo' contestant on the show this year. Those teen girls may or may not realize he's gay. But, they don't care either way.

Third, it is a song about isolation and being outcast. So, it's really a perfect song with an underlying message about his homosexuality. I thought it hit the perfect note on that level.

And, last - while I dread the inevitable moment that he will pull out the big high notes, I immediately noticed that I am in the minority. As soon as he pulled the song out of its normal range all the girls in the audience screamed. Not only do they love it, they're WAITING for it. ANTICIPATING it.

It was a tour de force performance on multiple levels. Simon's standing-O was icing on the cake. I think he's a shoe-in for the winner. It's not even a contest any more. If you don't buy that - consider this: MILLIONS of homes lost his performance on TIVO because the show ran late. Yet, he's still the top vote getter by a mile.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

The range of notes he has hit so far this season are C3->A5/B5 (ignoring "head voice" notes) which places him as a pretty rare countertenor. He doesn't have to try to be it...technically speaking he is it. Not sure about playing Christine as that requires a soprano. Freddy Mercury had a similar range although he could go slightly deeper than we've seen adam go.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I've seen Freddie Mercury, and Adam is no Freddie. Freddie could go deeper, more soulful, stronger, and richer. Adam is much thinner. I still say he's closer to a Sebastian Bach.

Hanson is right - Adam is great, but Allison has the best voice in this competition. I look forward to her future. Unfortunately, at this time she does not have the presence, confidence, charisma, or theatricality of Adam. She's 16 - she still needs to figure herself out.

Oh...and, Hanson - those Scott photos are LOL hilarious!

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I'm not one to think that Randy or Paula really has all that much say (they certainly don't have 25% or 33% of the input). Any appearance to the contrary is probably for show. It's probably all Simon and the producers. I would say that having 4 black singers out of 36 to begin with was incredibly short-sighted and incompetent. They even had to shove Jasmine into the top 13 as a wildcard. Someone was not paying attention when they drafted the top 36, and the show is paying for it dearly.

Pimp spot by week (since top 13):
1. Alexis
2. Matt
3. Allison
4. Kris
5. Adam

Yes, Adam did have the pimp spot in his semi round, as did Gokey and Lil respectively. If you count that, Adam has had the most pimp spots.

I don't understand the Adam hate -- well, I understand some of it -- *wink* -- but as far as assessing him as a singer and artist, he delivers in ways Gokey absolutely fails at. The only one in the competition who comes close is Allison. Everyone else is already an also ran. He may get overpraised, but it's not like there's a total disconnect between his performances and the amount of praise it engenders. He clearly deserves most of it.

How the f*ck did I miss that? Was this throughout the program or was it especially noticable during one performance? I must know.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

For those who missed it due to the show running long - here's Adam --
YouTube - Adam Lambert - Mad World (HQ VID)- American Idol Top 8

Adam's "inspiration" version by Gary Jules --
YouTube - Gary Jules - Mad World (live)

And for contrast the early 80's original from Tears for Fears - WOW - LOL ---
YouTube - HQ - Tears for Fears - Mad World - Top of the Pops 1982

Adam improved on both versions IMHO.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Gilley's version was actually very well known. It also sounded absolutely nothing like Danny's rendition. Which, I guess, is your point: he tied himself to Gilley's version as an excuse to do the song. I thought he did a terrible job and felt like I was in the Twilight Zone with the judges' praise.


Why is that a LOL? Because it's different? Is Derek and the Dominos' Layla laughable because EC later slowed it down?

Re: American Idol - Season 8

The hairstyles - the dated techno nature|posing - the "wireless" "mic" - the audience with tin hats ROFLMAO! And I was a part of that era.

TfF/AL vs. EC/D&tD = apples and oranges... sheesh! If ya can't see any humor in the TfF version ... oh nevermind ...

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Hanson;

I don't agree that race should play any part in deciding who will be in the top 36. It should be based on the best singers.

You also seem to be saying that less people will watch Idol if there is no diversity. I hope that is not true.

I will say (hypocritically) that I am sorry that this year has no eye candy left. I much prefer female singers and although Allison is a great singer, she is too young for me to see her as eye candy.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Not around my parts (NY/NJ area) The only reason I even know Mickey Gilley's name is because of the namesake bars with the mechanical bulls that were the feature attractions.

Picking a cover version that satisfies a minor condition of the theme night is always frowned upon by me, but I usually understand that there are limited songs, and sometimes you take what you can get. But Gokey had the 1980 song list to himself! That's what he chose?

He probably took it because he's sung it a million times at his church.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

The Gary Jules version of "Mad World" was also featured quite prominently in the commercial for the video game "Gears of War." I don't think you could go an entire episode of any show (if you don't FF through the commercials) without seeing the ad.

I found the Jules version to be haunting (in a good way), while Adam's version was *almost* there, but ultimately left me feeling creeped out (though I suspect the lighting had something to do with this).

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I think that's a bit simplistic for two reasons:

1) There are probably only a handful of really top level talent every year. Then there are dozens of singers all around the same level with very little to separate them in the way of talent.

2) The producers like to cast certain types, and that really stacks the deck against black contestants. They like to have a nerd make it, but there aren't a lot of black nerds trying out for Idol. They like to have a couple of country girls and boys, and yet there are almost no black country singers trying out for Idol. They like a few rockers in the mix, boy and girl -- most of the black contestants drift to R&B. Meanwhile, there are many white contestants who do R&B and Aretha/Whitney style singing, so there's going to be an imbalance. The Idol producers seem to be courting the Latino community by having more latinos on the show, but this seems to have cut down on the number of black contestants.

So if the playing field is inherently not level and there precious little separating the contestants talent-wise, then casting by race (or more accurately, by demographics) is just as valid a factor as anything else. I see nothing wrong with it.

Well, how else are the producers going to realize they've f*cked up? It's really the only wake-up call anyone in broadcast TV listens to.

On a different note, I still like the Jules version of Mad World more because a) it's the one I first heard (and Danny Darko is one of my faves), and b) like Josh said, it's more haunting, but precisely because it sounds creepier.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Paula's lipstick was messed up probably during the last 10-15 minutes before the hour was up (not the run-over 6-7 minutes that I didn't see due to my DVR stopping at 61 minutes).

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Anybody notice Paula cozying up with Simon during during the wide shots of "Part-Time Lover"? Those two surely are doing it part-time - no doubt.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I'll be on the lookout.

I always record for two hours anyway, so I've never gotten Idol cut off EXCEPT for the Season 6 finale that ran over so long that my 6 minute padding was inadequate. So last year, I upped it to 30 minutes.

When the wildcard show ran overlong, my friend called me frantically to see if I still had it because his DVR cut off. All my recordings are via HDHomerun and handled by Windows Scheduler, so I patted myself on the back for having a non-DVR system (even though it was really only because I was recording Hell's Kitchen anyway). Then I watched in horror as Hell's Kitchen cut off before Ramsey sent someone packing.

I never did get to see Colleen's shocking boot.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

That explains why Adam got no chat and only one judge commenting on him.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Not sure where you were back then, but Mickey Gilley's version was not "little known" - it was a big hit from Urban Cowboy. Not that you ever let facts get in the way.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

I've always been a big fan of the Jules version (in fact its the only reason I keep a copy of the Gears of War promo on my 360 ;p). However, Adam's version was even better. Why? While Jules kept an even melancholy, haunting tone throughout his version, adam took took those same qualities and vocally nuanced it with deeper levels of despair, loneliness, desperation and angst at very appropriate points within the song. And, he did all that for a live performance that he had like 5 days to prepare for (not a slicked-up, editted production). Amazing.

I still also slightly prefer adam's RoF but I've only downloaded 4 AI songs total from itunes and adam now has three of them (DC's Billie Jean being the other).

Re: American Idol - Season 8

A little before my time probably, and I've never watched Urban Cowboy, but I never knew Mickey Gilley had covered that song until reading this thread.

Re: American Idol - Season 8

Sorry, Oliver -- Adam's sexuality doesn't matter to me and I don't think it's inherently funny. I was just using it (the perception of it, anyway) as part of the joke. No offense intended.

The artistic comparison to Melinda was meant to be silly. IMO they're probably the two most talented contestants ever to be on the show, but beyond that there are no noticeable similarities (thus my attempt at humor).

Re: American Idol - Season 8

That version may have been a hit in 1980, but the song is far better known in its original incarnation (not sure if Ben E. King re-recorded it for the later movie). IMO that makes it a pretty lame choice for the theme. I think the intent of the theme is to reflect the music of the day, not remakes of music from an earlier time that just happened to feature in a movie that year.

Now, if it were a New Wave styled version, that might have fit better.