American Idol - Season 6 (2 Viewers)

[Patrick Sun]

But 3 of the 5 past winners aren't "model" pretty or handsome.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Maybe not but it's not hard to see that this show is leaning more and more towards looks rather than singing talent alone and i'm simply not down with that.

And hey, looks aside, the mere fact that Blake made the top two and Melinda didn't is enough for me to drop this show.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

But you're missing the point that "Melinda Doolittle" is now a recognizable name *because* of American Idol. Without the exposure provided to her in this venue she would always have remained just a talented backup singer. She now has at least a *chance* for a career as a lead singer. And that chance would never have materialized in this society without this show.

IMO - and as already discussed here - the only reason that Melinda's not standing toe-to-toe with Sparks this week is due to she and Jordin splitting the vote of the "Over 25" demographic. And the "Under 25"'s are more adept at utilizing text messaging to register their votes. This has *nothing* to do with the way she looks or her "stage presence" - which I thought was very good. She was simply a victim of the process.

But she still got the exposure that she needed to further her career. It's up to her now to take it to the next level. And I'm quite confident that she'll have no trouble doing that.

And she'll always have American Idol to thank for that exposure!

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> Maybe not but it's not hard to see that this show is leaning more and more towards looks rather than singing talent alone and i'm simply not down with that.

Why can't you guys understand that it's the voting AUDIENCE who sent Melinda home, not the show? And voters have their own reasons for casting their votes. You don't know how many votes were based on looks vs. singing ability or anything else.

Comments like "this show is leaning more and more towards looks" show a fundamental misunderstanding of how the show works.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

 

[Hanson]

If you compared the top 24 this year vs last, or even the one before that, it would seem that they are actually getting less and less attractive. If horsey-faced Antonella Barba is the hottest this this year, it's hardly what I consider a beatuy pageant. Jordin is a big girl and Blake is a midget. You really have to bend reality a whole lot to fit them into your thesis, because neither one is going to turn heads without the American Idol exposure. I don't think either was put on the show because the judges or producers thought they were hotties.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I know it's the voting audience which is this show's major flaw, when left in the hands of America to decide they will always vote for the one who can sing and who looks good, that's just the way people are which is why, despite what some have said about the votes, Blake is still there, i'm convinced of it.

This show is just screwed up, that's the only way I can say it, Melinda going home just proved that to me, she was the best singer they had and she's gone and to me that exposes everything that's wrong with this competition.

There is the positive that Melinda is out there now thanks to AI but nothing will excuse the fact that she could sing circles around both Jordin and Blake and she got the boot, it's indefensable to me.

There's far too many kinks in the armour of this show for me to continue watching next year, I don't really care for today's music, too much hip hop and rap and judging from this one and only year of watching I don't trust the public to make a good decision as far as I can throw them.

 

[Patrick Sun]

So Katharine McPhee should have won last season, Diana Digarmo or Latoya London should have won season 3, and Tamyra Gray should have won season 1?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I don't know, I didn't watch any of those seasons.

 

[Corbin Stirn]

Melinda did not "sing circles" around Jordin. Blake of course you can make that statement a lot of the time, but Blake also took some chances and knocked a couple out of the park(You Give Love..."). Melinda was TECHNICALLY brilliant, but lacked the passion that you sensed out of the other 2. Jordin has a SERIOUS tool that interests me more than Melinda..................because she has HUGE upside that can SURPASS Melinda and even now with almost NO EXPERIENCE(17 versus 29)is neck and neck with her. Jordin and Blake gave me goosebumps a couple of times each........Melinda did not. Melinda'ers can love her for what she has.......but stop all the stupid hand-wringing about she's not there and "the show sucks", "how dare America send her home", "I'm not watching anymore".
The show did EXACTLY what it was SUPPOSED to do.............it showcased Melinda and showed America what she had to offer. She is KNOWN..............6 months ago if you had mentioned Melinda Doolittle to someone, they would have assumed she was some character in a Eddie Murphy movie. You like her and want to buy her album now BECAUSE of American Idol. You rooted for her and found out about her BECAUSE of American Idol. Let's think about this for 1 millisecond here............you won't watch AI anymore because Melinda made it to THE TOP 3, over thousands and thousands of people. She became a potential breakout star and is now well-known and has passionate fans because of AI. You won't watch NEXT year when the next Melinda-type comes along who just needs people to see him/her on AI to get that break they need in the music biz. YEP...........because Melinda didn't get screwed and is now famous due to AI and has a whole world of opportunities in front of her, you'll punish the next unknown who will be on AI in the future. Uh-huh. Whoever might need your support next year really deserved that.Way to help them out and/or enable them to be another artist you'd go out and buy.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Sure she did IMO and I will hold her exit over the head of this show until the end of time, it should have come down to Jordin and Melinda for the win.

You can jump on me all you want to but it isn't going to change the fact that I gave this show a shot and I don't trust the voting public, which will be compounded even more if Blake is declared the winner.

The mere thought of him possibly winning this thing redefines the word absurd.

 

[Bryan X]

Maybe that should read, "I don't trust the public to pick the person I think is the best." I'm just picking on you, John, in good fun.

But seriously, I'll definately give you the fact that good looks will help you in the music business (or in any business for that matter). But in that regard, I think Idol, the show, has actually gone AGAINST that trend. I wish you would have seen the first few seasons of Idol. In those seasons, Simon would actually pass on a good singer JUST because she/he didn't have 'the look'. He would very often rip on their looks, and not agree to pass them on to Hollywood. I don't think I've seen him do that this year at all. So actually, American Idol is giving those, who some would consider homely, a chance to succeed.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

It's cool, Bryan. But i'm not the only one here i'm sure who thought that Melinda was the best singer this year and shouldn't have went home, especially over Blake of all people.

As for Simon easing off, even though I didn't see past seasons I am aware of those nasty comments he used to make from radio coverage at work and from the net and your right he hasn't made any overtly negative comments about someone's physical appearance, other than wardrobe related things that is, this year.

In fact I think he's been a rather nice guy, not at all the evil SOB that I always heard about in the past, it was a nice surprise for me because I was expecting to find him atrocious but I actually like the guy.

 

[Phil Taylor]

The one with the best looks (Haley) was booted a few weeks ago because she didn't sing near as good as she looked. Melinda lost because she ceased being as interesting as Jordin or Blake. I was one of Melinda's biggest fans from the start but I saw her hit a plateau and stay there. Granted it was a VERY high plateau... but she didn't seem to keep my interest like Jordin and yes even Blake -- who kept trying new treatments of the material from which he had to choose.

Melinda will do just fine in the recording world. She didn't need to win Idol to further her career.

 

[Bryan X]

That's the sentiment I was trying to express earlier in this thread as a reason Melinda ended up going home.

The one thing that always sticks in my mind though, is WHY Melinda never became more than a back-up singer? It's not like she never had any exposure to the industry. You would think someone would have noticed her by now if. And if not, why?

 

[Corbin Stirn]

Bryan, I mentioned this about 2-3 pages ago but the Melinda'ers ignored it."Just sick and TIRED of hearing all the moaning about Melinda going...........she was a BACKUP singer for a reason people. Get her more comfortable out on the stage IN FRONT and give her some charisma............she'll be a power. But until and unless Melinda gets the afore mentioned qualities, she will be limited in her popularity; Jordin will surpass her and Blake will also have a chance to surpass what she does. It makes a difference."
There are TONS of people out there with great singing voices..................back-up singers, undiscovered talent,etc. The problem with someone like Melinda is the stage presence/charisma is lacking. Some people like to go to concerts and just enjoy the music with little interaction. I don't, nor do most people I know. If you just want to listen to music, you can stay at home or listen in your car.
A concert is an experience.......like going to a movie theater is an experience. I want someone up there who'll fire me up, who'll engage me and the audience,who'll get me excited I'm there. That is why Melinda hasn't broke out before this, and was eliminated from AI. I would go to see Blake in concert, and then Jordin. Melinda? Er....not so much. I would buy an album of hers, but not so sure I'd go to see her in concert. You have to have the complete package to be a lead singer.................great voice alone just isn't going to do it. There's a reason Diamond Dave was lead for Van Halen....and Alex was playing drums. You MUST have IT.......that nebulous quality that seperates you from the majority and makes people pay attention. Melinda as of now doesn't have that and that's why she needed AI to be seen/break through.

 

[Yee-Ming]

All this talk of lead v. backup singers, for some reason reminds me of Samantha Brown, who had a short-lived pop career in the late 80s (I think), then later was part of Pink Floyd's Pulse tour as, well, a backup singer. Which if you consder that Dave Gilmour isn't actually blessed with a great set of pipes is ironic (but boy can he play a Strat...)

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

You keep saying all that like it's a fact when in actuality it's just your opinion, to YOU she had no charisma, no power, no stage presence etc but what you seem to be failing to see is that many people thought that she did possess those things, Randy, Paula and Simon included.

 

[Corbin Stirn]

You're right John.......I don't see it.
However, in response to you and the query posed by Bryan, I'm far from the only one who doesn't see it. If she had IT, someone in the music industry would have 'found' her WAYYYYY before now. She's been a back-up singer for HOW long?!? Almost a decade?? How many music industry producers/bands/insiders has she run into during this time? HUNDREDS it's pretty safe to say. No one noticing her, calling her out, and getting her one on one says a lot. You probably think I don't like her......I do and think she has a excellent voice. I'll buy almost anything she puts out(mentioned before). But.........BUT...........evidently I'm the only person that never got that "this is a future star" vibe from her. Lots of people didn't. Else we would wouldn't have to be discussing this now and talking about whether she should be on/win AI..................she'd be on her 3rd/4th album, whether solo or with a group.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

The duration of how long Melinda was a back up singer means nothing, all it means is that no one discovered her yet, that's all.

There are obviously two camps that have formed and they exhibit very strong opposing views on her, your negative opinions of her are matched equally by my positive opinions of her.

Thus, it's over, I like her and thought that she shouldn't have left and you think otherwise...the band plays on.