EF27: Yeah, she was pretty surprised when told she was in the bottom 2...as was everyone in this household.

I think it was an equal amount shock that Brooke didn't go, but also the realization that she just gave what was probably her best performance of the season, and it still didn't keep her out of the bottom two. That said, I wouldn't underestimate the power of performing first. That has been the death spot this year, even more than usual. And not just in going home, but bottom three as well. I remember several weeks back, Brooke ended up in her first bottom three performing from the #1 spot. It's a huge disadvantage.

This is a fairly humorous review of the 20 songs up for the AI songwriting competition:

hxxp://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/04/we-listened-so.html

well have to say that was a shocker, not so much Carly going home as the fact that neither Jason or Brooke were in the bottom 2 when they clearly deserved to be. Sad to see Carly go, for as much as she shouts at times, I like her, and thought her the most likely to make the final 3 with the two Davids.

Nah, Carly had too many things going against her to make it very far. Between her pro background, being Irish, the tattoos (both hers and her husbands), the fact that she didn't live up to the hype, her "demon possessed" look on any songs requiring emotion or range, etc., I'm somewhat surprised she lasted this long. But I guess this is as good a time as any. Castro is going to go (already has gone, IMO) beyond what he should on looks alone (as hard as that is for some/most of us to believe). I think girls like his look, his blue eyes, and mistake his goofiness for some sort of shy charm, when in fact the dude is jus awkward and bizarre. Some guy acted like he does and came up to a chick in a bar, they'd be looking for a protection order. On AI, he's a star. Go figure.

I disagree. It sunk Blake last year, but Cook - as annoying as he is - can actually sing. I think he'll do fine with the schloppy song.

My wife is one of the Jason Castro fans, and she told me that his goofiness on stage reminded her of me. I don't know what I did to deserve that slap, but oh well. Let's see what she says when I grow dreadlocks and plow her in the bleachers at a Pirates game. She won't be doing a lot of talking after that.

Castro is a turd.


Anyone notice Andrew Lloyd Webber's weird facial expressions right at the end of his interview with Seacrest? Right before the commercial he starts these strange contortions. I busted out laughing.

Needless to say, I wasn't surprised that Carly is now gone.

It's not whether he can sing it, it's whether it works for him. That crap song Bo Bice had to sing didn't work for him, either. Particularly if he wants to be a rocker, a lot of it is about credibility. David A. may have an "amazing" time singing such a "crazy" song (anyone notice these are the only adjectives he uses?), and I'm sure Cook will give a good effort, but it will be embarrassing for him to have to sing such slop.

I'm not really sure what to make of this particular bit of information:

Michael Johns is going to be ESPN’s guest at the White House Correspondents Dinner this weekend.

I thought the results were crap. How Castro and Brooke weren't in the bottom 2 is beyond me. It seems AI is just a stupid popularity contest -- not based on actual performance.

thank you Captain Obvious

Brooke surprised me - I don't think that many people would give her the pity vote - but Castro disappointed me. He's got a strong female following, so not being bottom 2 didn't surprise me.

And yeah, this is mostly about popularity and not talent. In that way, AI closely resembles the Billboard charts, no? What makes this a uniquely AI problem?

Well, this is the first season I've semi-watched. I was hoping talent would play a bigger role. They should replace Paula with someone qualified, and then have the judge's opinion weigh in to some degree to stop the Castros of the world from advancing based on an idiot fanbase.

I don't listen to the radio anymore, so I don't know a thing about today's Top 40 artists. Other than they are crap.

Part of the success of this show is that it is totally voter-driven. Other reality contests allow the judges' input to matter in some respect, but not AI (although I still wonder abut how much influence the producers have in giving face time during auditions, song choice, who makes the bottom 3, what spot they sing in, etc.). When you do that, and all of the input/influence the show has is somewhat indirect, the show devolves into what pretty much any other vote becomes...a popularity contest.

Paula is there for a reason - each of them plays their part. They don't want another "qualified" judge. She's the good cop to Simon's bad cop.

But couldn't the good cop not be ... so... uh.

Your hair looks ... really... GOOOD! I think you're wonderful.

Paula has a hard time criticizing anyone. When she compliments their hair or clothes, or takes 20 seconds to utter a word, that means they sucked and she's trying to figure out how to say it without really saying it.

If you think she's bad this year, you should have watched last year. She's actually making a lot of sense this year compared to last year.

Paula has a hard time speaking in complete sentences. And english.

I am surprised Brooke is still around as I wouldn't think she would get the pity vote either. But that being said, her stops and starts add to her 'authenticity.' She seems to be much less of a wind-up David A. doll. Her screw-ups make her come across as more human and less of a puppet. I could see this being important to a lot of voters out there.

Ironic, since David A. actually flubbed the second version this week and no one seemed to notice or care. And to Paula, his performance was "perfect." I read in more than one review the skepticism about the fact that the camera quickly switched off of his face so you couldn't see his screw up, and with his mumbling through it, it wasn't as noticeable as his screw-up several weeks ago.

Mistakes are fine. They happen. Stopping a performance and restarting is absolutely unforgivable. The epitome of amateurish. Brooke has done it twice. Crush or no, she has got to go.

Eh. I agree she should be gone (both because she deserves to and because it would be best for her), but I don't think what she did in either instance was "unforgivable." It's one thing to stop halfway through a song; it's another to get 5 seconds in, realize you screwed up, and start over. I've seen professionals do that. Paula was just flat-out wrong - particularly since she thought Brooke was right to do it the first time.

'Idol' ratings dip exposes feet of clay

By Gary Levin, USA TODAY

It had to happen sometime: American Idol is showing signs of mortality in its seventh season.

Ratings for TV's top show are down 7% to an average 29 million viewers for regular episodes and down 10% among adults ages 18 to 49, the main currency on Madison Avenue.

That marks Idol's first significant year-to-year decline, and it echoes similar falloffs for some other long-running reality series: CBS' Survivor is down 10%.

Fox isn't panicking. For the season to date, Idol still towers over the competition and remains bigger than it was in 2005. Because of it, the network will win its first season among total viewers, and its fourth among young adults.

But the show has been on a steady ratings slide in recent weeks. It lost 6 million viewers from the first top-12 episode March 11 to last week's low 23.7 million, which marked its weakest Tuesday since 2004.


"There are many shows that would actually kill for half those ratings," says Idol executive producer Ken Warwick. "I know very few modern-day television shows that are in their seventh (season) with ratings in the 20s-plus. It's unbelievable, really, so I'm certainly not losing any sleep over it."

Yet the effect of its eventual decline will be felt more sharply on Fox, which programs just 15 hours a week to rivals' 22.

Audience defections are most severe among women ages 18 to 34 — the core reality-TV viewer — and kids: Both groups are down 19% this season. Men are staying more loyal to the show than women, though fewer watch. And viewership among those ages 50 and older is stable, down just 1% after increasing last season.

The cause, say analysts and TV industry executives:

•Fatigue Every show declines over time, and younger viewers are especially fickle. Viewers might simply be growing bored with the contest, starting with the stretched-out four weeks of audition episodes, which are in line for a revamp. "It's like gravity in a way with TV shows — they all come down," says Carat ad buyer Andy Donchin.

•Competition. The writers' strike led Fox's rivals to use reality shows against Idol, which siphoned off a more similar audience. NBC's The Biggest Loser nicked Idol and ABC's Dancing With the Stars. With Loser gone, both shows improved Tuesday: Idol gained 1 million viewers and Dancing's results show hit a season high.

•The music. Fewer contemporary artists and a rigid, predictable format may be chasing away younger viewers. Recent song lists: Andrew Lloyd Webber, the '60s, The Beatles and Dolly Parton. Next week: Neil Diamond.

•Lack of controversy. This season's Idol also lacks the scandals that tainted the show in past years but may have boosted ratings: no nude pictures of finalists circulating on the Internet, and no train wreck such as Sanjaya overstaying his or her welcome.

hxxp://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-04-23-idol-ratings_N.htm?csp=1


I think a lot of it has to do with the older music and the fact that the show bogs down once they get the top 12. I think they ought to consider a shorter season next year and continue to eliminate 2 people per week up until the final 2.

But mainly, they need to inject some music that's from the last decade at least into the show. I'm shocked at how old the music has been this season, even by AI standards. After Neil Diamond, there are 2 weeks before the finale. I have to assume those weeks will have current/relevant music themes. They haven't had one week this season that I can recall where the theme was centered on something or someone current. Even Mariah was basically 90s R&B night.

I agree, while people like hearing music they recognize and enjoy, it is important for the contestants to be able to sing songs that they know.

They have also made the themes too specific. It used to be country week or show tunes or R&B, which gave everybody a bigger book to choose from. Even those who enjoy country music may not like Dolly and not want to watch a whole show of her songs, same for the other themes. And the Beatles 2 straight weeks?

It has to be the writer's strike. Every program's ratings are down.

During a time of the year when people were used to watching network television, it was on hiatus, like the summer. So they turned their attentions elsewhere.

Many of those people still don't know or care that network television is back. They've found alternatives, and might not ever return in full. But certainly, during the strike, there was less of a pie for Idol to consume.

Comparing year-to-year ratings this year is only relevant if you factor in the overall audience decline.

I hope the Idol people don't take out of this that they need more Sanjayas or have to manipulate the voting more than they already do.

:cool:

I think the overload of reality shows hurt AI, too. I know we were pulled in multiple directions, particularly on Tuesdays, which were ridiculous - AI, Dancing with the Stars, Biggest Loser, Deadliest Catch, Hell's Kitchen, and Beauty and the Geek were all on between 8 and 10 on Tuesdays at one point...and a couple of those were more than an hour long, too.

Speaking of Hell's Kitchen, is it just me, or are all of the "cooks" not good enough to be Top Chef rejects?

It's not just you. That show is set up where there are only a couple legit people, and the rest are there to look like idiots so Gordon can yell at them. This year they lowered the standards to a whole new level.

I figured there would be a few good cooks and the rest are fodder...but who are the good cooks this season? Jen? Umm...and Jen?

Can those of you who watch the cooking shows please explain their appeal?

You can't taste the food on television... yet. How in the world do you get a feel for who is good and who isn't?

What exactly has Jen done to make you believe she's a good cook? Tell you she was?

Jim: For Top Chef, the dishes look good. A lot like watching shows on Food Network. For Hell's Kitchen, it's about the drama of watching them flop around the kitchen like they have a clue.

Matt: Nothing other than lead her team to victory and get complimented by Ramsey more than the others. She'll probably be gone next week.

HK isn't about cooking. I just like seeing idiots get embarrassed.

TC is a quality cooking show. Because I know pretty much all of the chefs are good, I don't really care about taste. It's just interesting to watch how they put together dishes within the confines of the show. I rely on the judges to tell me whether they were successful at it or not. I don't know why taste matters - that could be said of any cooking show on TV, reality or not. I can't taste those dishes, either.

We make some of the things from Top Chef from time to time. The recipes are published on bravotv.com.

I watch TC even though I have no idea what they are talking about half the time. When they did the "Tailgate" show, and they made things that should have been relatable (Ribs, Wings, Burgers, etc.) they still managed to use some French style, Asain style, fancy something or another on each dish to make me say "umm...what?" But it is the truth that there has never been a contestant on Hell's Kitchen that would have ever qualified to be on TC. TC is for chiefs that have a proven talent and want to take themselves to the next level in the proffesion. None of them would subject themselves to Ramsey's making a fool of them on national television.

The breakdown is:

1) The hottest looking chick.

2) There is no 2, if there is not someone to qualify for number 1 than number 2 is looking to see what else is on.


:D

That's the one thing missing from this season's TC...there's no hot chick. The quality last season, in that regard at least, was much, much better.

Mmmm, Casey.

Along the lines of what we were discussing last week about the song selection this year, look at this:


Quick: What do Dolly Parton’s “Travelin’ Thru,” Fantasia’s “I Believe,” Martina McBride’s “Anyway” and Our Lady Peace’s “Innocent” have in common? The obvious answer is that all are songs performed by the current “Idol” contestants. But there’s more to it than that. They also happen to be season seven’s only songs released in the last decade.


FOUR SONGS!!! Four out of how many have been performed this year? Unbelievable. I knew it was bad, but not that bad.

Psst. Nobody watching *knows* any songs from this decade. :D

One issue thus far is that the show seems to be catering theme weeks to specific mentors and I guess that would mean they program based on who agrees to be on the show. Gotta wonder how many current stars would be that keen to be a mentor in that sense.

I suspect though that there'll be a format change next year, since Idol ratings have been slipping, and the producers realise they need to make it more current.

The themes have been awful this season.

Basically 2 weeks of the Beatles, Mariah Carey, Dolly Parton, freaking show tunes last week and now did I hear right and it will be Neil Diamond?

The only theme week I liked was the year they were born one (isn't that a regular one?).

Last year they had mentors almost every week, and a couple were semi-relevant as I recall. This year they scaled that way back, with only 4 mentors. Four old, crusty mentors. But the other theme weeks have all been old - 2 Beatles weeks, 70s week, 2 80s weks (one by itself, and the other was songs from the year the contestants were born), etc. Usually they do something to get some current songs in the mix. I suspect after Neil Diamond, they'll make the last couple of weeks more current. I think the final 3 get to choose a song they want (in the past they have), so that would allow someone to do something current. I know there were a few current songs performed during Hollywood Week that AI couldn't get clearance for, so maybe that isue was more widespread than they let on. Who knows.

What I would like to see is the final 12 be allowed to select 12 songs to perform, which they can re-work and choose the order in which to perform each week. Obviously not everyone gets to sing 12 songs but it's akin to the contestants performing a CD that they would put out if they were the winner.

If they couldn't sustain interest in their music over 12 weeks, they would then lose votes and probably get eliminated. This probably means a contestant couldn't do the same thing each week, which is realistic since most CDs have a mix of songs in there (not so much genres but the way songs are done).

I would love to see Cook do Holly Holy. I imagine Archuleta will do something schlocky like You Don't Bring Me Flowers or Love on the Rocks. If they go early to mid with the Diamond, then it would be worthwhile.

Two songs each tonight.

doesn't get any better than that

Three songs each would top it.