American Idol - Season 3 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

According to Paula Abdul, next week's theme is going to be "Big Band".

 

[Steven L]

What you're saying is that the good singers are splitting the vote which is allowing the poorer singers who have a base following to stay in the competition. That appears to be the case, but as the competition continues and the number of contestants gets smaller, this hopefully won't be a problem as the better singers will get higher percentages of the votes.


I think this show is all about being a popularity contest, and I can't argue with that. They want the winner to be the person who people like the most, whether it's for singing ability or something else, because the more you like someone, the more you're likely to buy their CD. And don't kid yourself, AI is all about finding the person who will create the most money (i.e. sell the most CDs and concert tickets); it's not necessarily about finding the best singer - again I don't have a problem with them making money.

The show is called American Idol, and an idol's popularity doesn't always have much to do with talent and ability.

 

[Citizen87645]

Maybe I'm using a dated model or moniker, but if Joe Blow asks me what kind of music I like I'm sure I'd get a funny look if I said "Adult Contemporary."

In my mind pop simply means music that has a melodic hook. Obviously some people write that hook better than others and some of the best never make it on the Top 40 (e.g. Aimee Mann).

 

[Patrick Sun]

Didn't Aimee make it to the top 40 with Till Tuesday?

 

[Yee-Ming]

Hmmmm. This actually suits Red's vocal qualities (relatively speaking of course, ie he can do this better than, say, rock). So by that reasoning, next one off could be Camille or Jennifer; Red survives to sing another day.

Don't get me wrong, he strikes me as a nice kid, modest etc, but he's not a good singer, at least not for the purposes of this competition.

Anyone else get the impression that George, who is similarly a nice, modest fellow, is growing into this? (I think someone commented on this earlier.) One of the judges did say that he was getting better each week, and he certainly seems to be. I think Simon (who picked him!) said earlier that whilst LaToya knew she was a good singer, George didn't really know himself how good he was, and I think he's now starting to believe that, and the added confidence makes him a much better performer. Way to go George!

 

[Patrick Sun]

What's amazing is that George wouldn't be on the show if that other guy, who got into too much partying and was arrested, didn't get booted from the competition among the final 32.

 

[Citizen87645]

This is true - "Voices Carry" being the song. But I don't believe the band or her subsequent solo work has been a blip on that radar since. I could be wrong as I haven't seriously listened to Casey Kasem or Rick Dees since high school. The best Til Tuesday album "Everything's Different Now" is a great pop record - great hooks, great lyrics.

 

[Kevin Porter]

This year is really ticking me off. Every time I see John Stevens I want so badly to smash his face in. Wretched voice. Classical? No. The worst part is his multi-faceted personality. I could put together a short film called "The many faces of John Stevens" and it would last about 3 seconds. Same one note expression every time the camera's on him. Diana is my favorite this year. In my opinion an excellent all around entertainer.

 

[Karl_Luph]

I'm looking forward to next week's show with the big band genre.It's going to be alot of fun for all the singers and I think they will all do pretty good with it. Take notice to watch the audience next week. Big band sound has an impact like no other kind of music and it affects people of all ages. Something about all those phat horns, drums, and walking basslines,lol! It is what dance music and romance is all about.

 

[PhilipG]

I see your point, however the fanbases are quite small at the moment. Here's an example to illustrate my argument:

2 singers:
35% love Singer A, 50% indifferent, 15% hate
40% love Singer B, 10% indifferent, 50% hate

On paper, Singer B wins in AI. But which would the record companies prefer to sign? I would imagine they would prefer Singer A, because A has a bigger potential to sway the indifferent voters.

In the case of concert promoters, I think they'd rather have A too because it'll be easy for them to sell tickets if other acts are playing too.

In the case of TV stations like MTV, they want people to stay tuned, so they want good but inoffensive singers at prime time.

That's why having negative votes is a good thing IMHO, but perhaps they should be weighted down (e.g 1 "for" vote = 2 "against").

 

[Michael Hughes]

Aimee Mann did the entire soundtrack for "Magnolia", she is widely recognized as one of the best woman singer songwriters working today. There is indeed hope once you escape the confines of a record lable/producer who wants to pidgeon you into a bland genre that you have outgrown or do not belong. It took Aimee quite a few years to do that.

Pop music has changed, you see Norah Jones selling millions, you see John Mayer selling millions, these are not bubble gum boy bands, the public wants to see a spark of something and they will eat it up, a marketing machine can only get you so far.

I would like to see them mix it up with a vote out attempt next year. Otherwise the show may get very stale in Season 4. John Stevens could help drive a stake into the beginning of that end.

But with some great ironic justice maybe it will be Big Band, Stevens supposed wheelhouse genre, that will do him in for good. How sweet would that be?

 

[ThomasC]

I was going to mention that, but Magnolia wasn't and isn't exactly a popular film, per se.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Last season, there were 2 "popular" singers, so the producers signed both singers (Ruben and Clay), even though only one was "crowned" the American Idol. The producers would love it if they could find 4 good marketable singers in any given season of American Idol, not just one or two.

 

[Alex-C]

A night devoted to Grindcore ! pass the popcorn...

 

[teapot2001]

Amy Adams was on Leno last night and performed "Dancing in the Street." They joked that she was Leno's daughter.

~T

 

[Luis Esp]

Just heard on the entertaiment report on Chumfm that Extreme Makeover is looking to give William Hung a dental makeover worth over $30,000.

I'd do it in heartbeat if I didn't already wear braces as a kid.

 

[danak]

It seems that this season has its share of bad singers, but Seasons 1 and 2 had their share of badness and train wrecks as well. There were a few contestents I didn't like in Season 1, with Justin G. high on that list even if he did get 2nd place (I can't remember the others I didn't like). Last year, I thought Josh Gracin was so-so, Carmine was terrible, and Kimberly Caldwell and Ricky Smith weren't so hot either. It seems the bad ones remain for awhile, probably propped up by the teenage set, until the older viewers wake up and start voting.

Dana

 

[Kenneth_C]

Voting for who you want OFF the show would only make it worse, imo. Fans of weaker singers could gang up on the stronger ones in order to eliminate the competition, effectively turning AI into Survivor.

Just think how that would have played out last year. The judges sing Ruben's praises. Best of the night, dawg! Since that makes him the biggest "threat", all the Clay, Carmen, Josh, Kim C., Kim L., etc., fans vote him off. Then, the next week, Clay knocks one out of the park. Same scenario ensues. Then, say, it's Trenyce's turn. And so on and so on...

 

[Corbin Stirn]

So...who thinks that either Camille or Hudson will be gone this time? Camille, as I stated before, looks nervous as HELL and I don't see her suddenly changing after 4 straight weeks of dismal performances. Or does anyone think that Hawaii will go pedal to the metal voting for her again, knowing that she is and has been in major trouble?(still absolutely shocked she was NOT in the bottom 3:frowning: ) I'm also wondering if the fact that Amy got booted will cause people who may not have paying attention and/or voting to sit up and take notice. Any opinions......?

 

[Patrick Sun]

I'm fairly confident in saying that performances for the next 4 weeks won't mean much in terms of trying to predict who'll be in the bottom 3 vote-getters. It's all about popularity and a mobilized fanbase.

According to the AI webpage, Tuesday is going to be a night of Elton John songs (earlier it was reported to be Big Band night).