American Idol - Season 5 (1 Viewer)

[chuck_b]

If the contest this week was based on singing, song choice and performance, Taylor would easily be in the bottom three. It is however based on the fingetips of those willing to spend two hours a night dialing the phone. I think he is interesting, talanted and an okay singer, but I do not get it.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I just heard the news...

Mandisa got voted off?!

How the F** does that happen?! She
is one of the best vocal talents on
the show.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of AI, but I will go on record as saying that although I really like Mandisa, she sucked in her Country performance. That surprised me since she seems pretty versatile to me. So, while I'm sad to see her leave, especially when folks like Bucky are still there, I can't really muster up any outrage.

Anybody who approaches these theme weeks with anything other than, "What's the best ______-type song I've ever heard that we can get clearance for that I think I could sing well?" is doing himself or herself a disservice.

I don't listen to country music, but there are tons of nice country songs I've heard over the years. I realize sometimes the artists are just shackled by their experiences. I mean, if you really have never listened to country, it's difficult to pick a "good" song when you see a bunch of song titles staring at you in black and white.

If someone has trouble with country, s(he) could get away with a song like, "I Will Always Love You," which after all was written by Dolly Parton. Would Mandisa not have done a better job with that? Oh well.

 

[DaveMcS]

Makes me wonder if they should change the one a week vote-off. Maybe rate each performer over a 10 week period and the best over that time gets the Idol Title. Just b/c Mandisa tanked with country music...doesnt mean she's not Idol-worthy. Likewise Latoya London who was argueably the best of the previous season was voted off after a weak performance. It's just that one "weak week" should not doom your chances.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

But would that help ratings?

Queen *and* Prince in the same season would be a real kick. I was psyched to see the kids rehearsing with Taylor & May. Assuming they'll perform next week, I wonder if Paul Rodgers will be there or whether they'll do a song with one of those two on vox.

 

[Hanson]

On the contratry, Mandisa was arguably the worst performer for the past two weeks, both the Country week and the Music of the 21st Century week, where she "sang" a gospel tune and, oddly enough, shrieked and warbled off key. She was also bad during Stevie Wonder week.

Mandisa lacked versatily and the ability to do anything other than sing at "11". I didn't think Mandisa was a top four contender, although I was surprised to see her go this early (especially with Bucky sitting safe).

The bottom line is, you can't allow people to take a pass any week. You have to bring it every week, and you can't make excuses about the genre -- Mandisa chose an awful song and sang it terribly and that's the end of that. I think if Ace and Bucky weren't still in it, Mandisa leaving at this point would not be that much of a surprise.

The final analysis is, Mandisa was a one trick pony, and she was either going to fatigue the audience by yelling every week or try something different and fall on her face because she didn't have the chops for it.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

You know, I hate to harp on this, but it just
doesn't make sense....

Mandisa was one of the strongest and most
talented vocalists by far. If AI was purely being
judged on singing and not an "image", I would think
she would easily have become the next American Idol.

Sure she had a bad two weeks. So did everyone else.
The past two AI shows were horrible. The only reason
that Kellie or Bucky managed to come
out unscathed was because of their Country roots.

But to say that Bucky deserves to stay and
Mandisa needs to go?! Are you friggin' kidding
me or what?!

I am sorely disappointed in this show. Winning
is obviously based on other factors other than talent.
Then again, just look at the recording artists of
today and you could probably say the exact same thing.

 

[Hanson]

I'll give you the former, she could really belt it out and pump out the volume. But I didn't think she had much more than that, and if you can listen to an entire CD's worth of loudness, more power to you. Whenever she went low either in volume or range, she cut out badly.

Mandisa as a singer is like a guy with a big d*ck who can't f*ck. The size of the boat can be impressive, but the motion of the ocean is more important.

 

[Jed M]

After watching 4 seasons of AI, Mandisa going home does not surprise me. Its called American Idol, not American Singer. Even though Simon will remind the contestents that this is a singing competition, he and we all know its just as much a popularity contest as it is a talent contest. How do you explain people like Ace and Constantine? Guarantee if they were both 150lbs overweight neither of them would have made the top 12.

 

[ChristopherG]

I'm sorry but giving the "suck" factor of AI lately, the only entertainment has been the "tension" between Ryan and Simon. My wife and I find that to be the most enjoyable part of the show right now.

Hysterical!

 

[teapot2001]

I don't know how old that IMDB news is on Prince, but the Nigel producer was on one of the entertainment news shows last night and said they wanted to get Prince on the show but he turned them down.


Lots of people have made it far based on singing talent, such as Ruben and Clay.

~T

 

[Patrick Sun]

I can't blame Prince for not wanting to hear his songs butchered on national TV, so props to him for not going for the cash grab that his presence and participation would have garnered his bank account (via uptick in CD sales following such an appearane on AI).

I've said it all along as well, Mandisa sang well loudly, but couldn't deliver nuanced, subtle vocals for the bridge sections of songs. She had "holes" in her vocal repetoire. I'm am still amazed that she was sent home before Bucky, though. Now that is a mystery.

 

[Albert_M]

Mandisa is talented, but it's no surprise to me. The superficial aspects and the tv BS has propped up Kellie and luck has propped up Bucky, but that's just the way it goes. My favorites are Talor and Katherine, but I don't expect them to win and part of me would rather see them go soon and get a better deal than the AI deal that will totally suck the soul out of them and force them into doing their bland ballads. Ugh.

As fro Simon and Ryan. The banter is so fake and contrived. I'm sure that some of it is done as it goes, but it's fake and lame.

 

[todd stone]

Ron I disagree. I find Mandisa to be AVERAGE at best, all she had was a big sounding voice, nothing special.

Catherine needs to GO, she is way too cocky for my liking.

 

[Scott-S]

Wow, Katherine is not nearly as cocky as Paris. Plus she is much better to look at

 

[Albert_M]

What has Katherine said that has been cocky?

What? "Simon you just don't like country music." To which he agreed.

 

[chuck_b]

As a fan of Queen from their very first album, I am not really looking forward to next week. This will either be a big surprise or the worst idea in Idol theme week history, including Gloria Stephan week.

There was a time when Freddie and boys would have told AI to get lost, but much as changed over time. With the exposure and mass audience available, I guess Brian May and crew saw the financial possibilities. Does this mean we see Queen on the idol stage next Wednesday? Times have changed...

 

[Josh Dial]

I think believing that Mandisa was voted off because of her image and not her utterly terrible singing the past two weeks is the easy way out.

It's clear that since she has never been in the bottom 3 before this week, that the voters are definately willing to judge based soley on musicality, and not appearance.

While it's true a lot of the contestants put out less than stellar performances, Mandisa's was aweful. To quote above, "she's a one trick pony".

Song choice is also another "skill" that is being tested and judged. At some point in an artist's career, they hope to get to choose the songs they perform. Choosing a song "because you like it" is holey different than because "you sing it well" and CD sales will reflect this. A few bad singles in a row can kill a career. Likewise a good single can start or resurrect one.

On the flip side, sometimes artists have the songs they sing basically chosen for them by the label et cetera. Not being able to step up and sing something out of your element can also kill the career quick.

Bottomline, Mandisa was horrible two weeks in a row, not just passable. You just can't be that bad and win.

cheers!

Josh

 

[Jon Martin]

Nigel went on to say the reason was because Prince didn't want to have to meet with the contestants. He was fine with his music being used, just is rather anti-social I guess.

Nigel also said that the week before, when Shakira performed on the results show, she came on, sang, and left and didn't even bother to go and say Hi to the contestants. Just wanted the TV time, and didn't care about the people.

It was all from Ryan Seacrest's radio show, Nigel called in and told those stories. Access Hollywood played it last night.

 

[Hanson]

Absolutely a great point. Mandisa skated to the top 9 -- if her appearance was a factor, she would have been voted off before the top 12 cut.

I wonder where her votes are going? I figure it's either Katherine or Paris. Either of them would do themselves a huge favor if they sang something real big and loud next week to attract their voters, but it's going to be tough with the Queen theme. Maybe Somebody to Love?

My guess is that either Bucky or Ace will sing Crazy Little Thing Called Love, as it's probably the least challenging vocally. Chris could growl through We Will Rock You.

My Best Friend for Taylor? Probably my favorite Queen song. Either that or Under Pressure

The biggest mistake would be for anyone to pick Bicycle Race. No one wants to hear, "I want to ride my bicycle" ad infinitum.

And I guess this means we won't be hearing Mandisa's rendition of Fat Bottomed Girls after all