American Idol - Season 11 (1 Viewer)

[Hanson]

It was just the Georgia thing I was curious about.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun /t/317806/american-idol-season-11/210#post_3926922
Pretty much everyone knows Philip doesn't have a powerhouse voice, he is cut from more of an entertainer's cloth, using both his vocals and the instruments to produce performances sung with heart and vulnerability. Philip also has his go-to growl, but it's less harsh on the ears when he goes there, and he has his own type of musical sensibility that is now his own, and people are used to it. He's been able to develop and maintain his style while performing on AI, and on a show where 90% of the contestants are still trying to find their style, he simply embraces his own style, and does his own thing, regardless of the words of wisdom that have been tossed his way.

That really sums it all up. Nobody is under any illusions that Phillip has a "great" voice, on technical singing ability alone both Jess and Josh don't just beat him but run rings around him. But what he has, he uses far more effectively and emotionally, such that he connects with the audience more. And of course he's got the guitar... WGWG principle at work!

Given that Jessica actually finished dead last a few weeks ago and needed the judge's save to keep her going, while Phillip has never finished in the bottom 3 (at least while bottom 3 was still being announced), does this mean Phillip is a lock to win? (Which, as an aside, would mean that I win the HTF AI challenge...)

 

[Phil Taylor]

Not sure how severe it is but reports are that PP is having emergency surgery...

 

[TonyD]

You forgot to i nclude what the surgery was for.

 

[Phil Taylor]

You forgot to i nclude what the surgery was for.

Report is rather vague - but maybe kidney issues?
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/american-idol-phillip-phillips-emergency-surgery-326685

 

[Hanson]

One doctor said he needed emergency surgery for kidney stones. That's not the same as "he needs emergency surgery" and is a far cry from "is having emergency surgery". He does have a serious medical issue that will require surgery once the show ends, but he's been medically cleared and this is just a sensationalist headline for publicity.

 

[Hanson]

Jessica needed to have three performances on the level of And I Am Telling You versus three Time of the Season-like numbers from Phillip to have a chance to win. Instead, buoyed by his last performance (and of all things, a coronation song that had no right to be good) and Jessica's listless performances (including the typically bad coronation song), Phillip won the night on an evening where he merely had to tread water.

The show was sooooo much better after slashing the judges' face time. Whereas people actually looked forward to hearing what Simon had to say, the current judges are like three Paulas -- no one gives a shit about their opinions because they suck. Either replace these judges (and JLo is as good as gone) or cut their screen time. It's appalling how much they ruin the show.

 

[Yee-Ming]

And so it ends with another WGWG win.

A few observations: Phillip played a different guitar on each of his three songs in the final performances.

On the finale itself, he didn't seem to participate in many of the so-called Top 12 guys performances. Perhaps his illness reduced rehearsal time during the week? Though even Jessica's participation in the girls' numbers was fairly limited as well. And her duet with Jennifer Holliday just highlighted the difference between plain loud singing, and controlled power. Comes with experience, I guess.

Highlights of the finale for me were Phillip's performance with John Fogerty, and Aerosmith. I must admit Phillip and Jessica doing Up Where We Belong wasn't too bad either. Lowpoints were JLo, Rihanna & Fantasia.

As an aside, I should point out that for Hollie, You'll Never Walk Alone isn't just a song by Gerry & the Pacemakers, but it's the 'anthem' of her favourite Liverpool FC (sung faster, though). I've been at their stadium once for a game, and hearing the crowd roar out that song is truly hair-raising. So for a Liverpool fan to be able to sing that song to such a large audience would have been really something.

 

[Hanson]

The finalists traditionally participate in just one group song. The problem is that they have to rehearse the finale numbers along with the Tuesday night performance show that week, so it's a time thing. As I recall, Scotty and Lauren were absent from most of the group numbers as well.

There's a rumor going around that the margin between the two was a razor thin .06%. There's no chance this is true. For starters, Nigel would have fed this info to TMZ on the day of the show for publicity. And Ryan would have mentioned it repeatedly throughout the show. The fact that they didn't mention the vote difference means the results were lopsided.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I didn't see much of the show. I saw J-Lo's performance, which sounded like a robot (in Hammer Pants) singing a song written by a computer. Then later I saw Aerosmith, who sounded really dry (meaning unprocessed and imperfect) and like MUSIC. It's a shame that she got to perform so much this season and Aerosmith only went on once.
Hanson, does Dialidol have anything to say about the vote margin? I agree that they would've leaked such a close call, but maybe they didn't know it until afterward. Then again, doesn't Ryan usually mention when the results were close?

 

[Hanson]

DialIdol had a 11% difference between the contestants' DialIdol "scores". The difference was within their margin of error, so it was a statistical dead heat. However, DialIdol does not account for texting -- Kris and Adam were even closer on DialIdol, but Kris destroyed him in text votes. And, oh yeah -- it's not in any way reliable.

 

[Carl Miller]

I liked seeing Phillip perform with Fogerty. Phillip seemed to genuinely enjoy it which is what you'd hope for a musician. I though Aerosmith was good as well. The Johsua/Fantasia performance was an absolute trainwreck. Did anyone here like that?

 

[Tina_H_V]

Actually, I did, Carl. I like that particular Elton John song.

 

[Carl Miller]

I like the song too, but I thought all the screaming was just hideous. About halfway into the screaming fest, my wife looked at me and asked what song they were doing because she didn't recognize it anymore.

 

[EricSchulz]

Interesting story on what the runners-up receive:

'Idol' to pay runners-up less – USATODAY.com


An interesting comparison of who wind, and REALLY won, each season:

American Idol | 'American Idol': Who REALLY Won Each Season? | Photo 1 of 20 | EW.com

 

[Jeffery_H]

I liked seeing Phillip perform with Fogerty. Phillip seemed to genuinely enjoy it which is what you'd hope for a musician. I though Aerosmith was good as well. The Johsua/Fantasia performance was an absolute trainwreck. Did anyone here like that?

I REALLY did and thought it was a nice duet. Joshua and Gospel music like that I really enjoy and thought he would win. But as a reporter on our local Fox pointed out, many times the votes for those that win don't translate to the general American society. Others that did not win have gone on to sell more records or do better overall than those that have won.