American Idol Season 8 - Page 10

EagleFan · 03-31-2009, 08:22 PM

lol at Kara, she tried so hard to make sure when she said "I have three words for you" that she actually had just three words...

EagleFan · 03-31-2009, 08:24 PM

Sad to say but Megan is in serious trouble after that mess tonight.

But maybe she can give me some good good lovin' first...

Easy Mac · 03-31-2009, 08:25 PM

I have it delayed, I commented after Adam's indulgent shit. Kris is probably my favorite, and I didn't even realize he hadn't gone. Kris was easily the best.

Everyone else missed most of their notes.

And why won't blindy just do Ben Folds songs only.

cuervo72 · 03-31-2009, 08:28 PM

Bah, he's no Bill Withers.

Drake · 03-31-2009, 08:36 PM

I really thought after the first few weeks that Kris was going to be a short-timer, but the stuff he's done the last couple of weeks has really made him look like a viable artist.

I don't dig what Adam does at all, but he's very sharp doing it, and easily the most professional performer in the group. I'd never buy an album by him in a billion years, but I'd catch his act in Vegas and probably have a really good time doing it.

Danny is probably still my overall favorite, but since he's going to disappear into the Christian Contemporary market (ala Casting Crowns or someone of that ilk), it hardly matters.

Scott should have John Tesh's agent on the phone right now. He's the clear heir apparent to that throne...whatever the fuck the John Tesh throne is.

It hurts me on a deep emotional level that Anoop wants the be the sort of artist that he can likely never be successful being (Usher? Really?!)

Alison should just put a hit out on Joan Jett and take over as the front chick for the Blackhearts and be done with it.

Everyone else is just occupying space for me.

Alan T · 03-31-2009, 08:48 PM

Whoever the guy that sung last and played the keyboard was, I liked him the best easily.. by a mile... a large mile.

Ajaxab · 03-31-2009, 08:54 PM

It's officially time to christen Adam as Adam "Flipper" Lambert. I cannot stand his dolphin riffs that send him beyond Axel Rose territory.

adubroff · 03-31-2009, 08:57 PM

Danny was actually my favorite tonight, even more than Kris. I just can't buy into Kris for some reason, which means he'll likely win. I enjoyed Adam more tonight too...the last two weeks he's gone into solid mode rather than trying to light the world on fire. I think that's coming back at some point, but he's smart to save it a bit. Now it will work better.

I thought Allison was good til the chorus and Lil Rounds was good once the chorus kicked in. Perhaps they should duet. Megan was ok, better than she'd been. I'm not sure there's a woman who has a snowball's chance in hell right now, but I think they'll try to manufacture one (not sure who though).

Scott was better than he's been. He probably will be fine. Callers tend to vote on a curve, and he's set the curve low. I think Anoop and Matt are likely in some trouble tonight.

Drake · 03-31-2009, 09:19 PM

The delay in posting Jim's review is exacerbating my childhood abandonment issues.

MJ4H · 03-31-2009, 09:33 PM

#1 Danny, #2 Kris (!), #3 Adam

All fairly close. The rest were a wash with Allison and Scott (!!) having reasonably good performances.

Solecismic · 03-31-2009, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drake

The delay in posting Jim's review is exacerbating my childhood abandonment issues.

Sorry. I've been on the phone. Just getting started now.

I really appreciate the nice comments.

Ksyrup · 03-31-2009, 10:19 PM

What is Studio 57, and please God tell me Kara didn't mean to say Studio 54 and got it mixed up with Heinz 57...? I didn't get the reference either way.

I didn't like Kris much, and what I did like of his performance went down the drain on the last note. Actually, he was probably better than I'm giving him credit for, and I might be reacting more to the over the top praise they gave him - as in, "You got the pimp spot so we have to hype you up like you deserved it!" I didn't think he was as good as they wanted us to believe.

WTF was Matt G. thinking - Paula nailed it by saying he went right back to a Coldplay-like song and screwed up. The goat vibrato was beyond painful at points.

I thought Scott was way better than he has been, but he still needs to go.

Aside from Carly, Lil Rounds is probably the most undeserving, overhyped AI contestant ever. As an R&B singer, all she has is a voice to impress us with, and she's simply not that good. She's not even half the vocalist Melinda Doolittle is.

The rest were at about the same level they've shown before. Meaning, Anoop needs to go in the next 3 weeks or so, and Danny, Adam, and Allison should sail into the top 5.

Solecismic · 03-31-2009, 10:48 PM

Some day, an investigative reporter will get behind the scenes of American Idol and answer all the questions we have about song choice. It's inevitable, what with major newspapers shutting down throughout the country seemingly every day.

There is a wealth of reporting talent just waiting for a good story, and with 20 million people watching American Idol every single week, these stories are begging to be told.

Danny Gokey, who apparently lost another family member this week, whined a little bit about having to sing the fifth song on his list last week. Which made me wonder how song choices work. What gets "cleared," and why? Do singers get steered toward specific songs? Why do the judges make such a big deal about song choice when the decision process is not completely in the contestants' hands?

Inquiring minds need to know. So, when The Ann Arbor News finally shuts down in July, and a myriad of reporters it once employed are ruthlessly left to fend for themselves on the mean streets of impoverished Michigan, I would personally like to send a passel of my former co-workers to Los Angeles to dig out the true story of American Idol song choice.

I need to know. You need to know. Danny needs to know, before he loses another relative (looked like his sister had the sniffles today, time to start worrying).

Meanwhile, tonight was mediocrity night on American Idol, and the contestants had to "choose" something from ITunes. I don't think it was an actual theme, in that ITunes has several gazillion songs in its library. But it allowed Ryan to say the word "ITunes" in his loud voice a few more times than usual, and that probably meant a few thousand extra dollars for the producers. Maybe they can afford a few more guards to keep those riff-raff ex-Ann Arbor News reporters from crashing the gates and learning too much.

So, in the interest of discerning truth from fiction, here are this week's Solecismic Ratings:

1. Adam Lambert. A common theme with Adam: he shows off his amazing talent for riffing in a high range that probably annoys any dog who had haplessly wandered within earshot of a television. Some of the riffs are nice, some are fairly excruciating. He presents a basic problem - am I judging the most impressive singer or am I judging who could challenge Kelly Clarkson in selling records? Adam can sing. He can not sell records. Oh, well. Best of a very poor week. Score of 88.

2. Danny Gokey. Danny has a richness in his voice that allows him to add texture to this kind of soft song. Danny succeeds in exactly the same way Anoop fails. Danny's weak in the low range, and he's still playing on his enormous popularity from the tryout shows. He also had a weird ending that perhaps reveals a weakness in song arrangement. Still, easily among the top performances tonight. Score of 84.

3. Scott MacIntyre. He recovered from a very poor start. While he still tends to over-sing to generate the required volume for an American Idol diva, he was much more consistent this week, and wasn't using the muppet voice at all. He still reminds me a lot of a Saturday Night Live parody of a lounge act, but he didn't annoy me this time. His best of the season. Score of 73.

4. Kris Allen. He said it himself in the introduction - he's trying to be memorable. The producers gave him the pimp spot, so they're trying to ensure he's memorable. He did well enough. Tonight, he convinced me that he's maybe good enough for a promotion from boy-band backup singer to boy-band backup with an occasional solo late in the concert when everyone holds up their lighters and pretends to be moved. He lost a lot of points for missing badly on the last note. Score of 72.

5. Allison Iraheta. As much as I hate to say it, she made a very bad choice of songs this week. I think the guitar distracted her, and she recovered a little after a very poor start. But she had none of the control I've liked in her in recent weeks, and the soft ballad portion of the song was a pale imitation of the original. Score of 70.

6. Matt Giraud. Matt is an excellent imitator. I'm not sure he can sing. Tonight, he imitated once of those silly modern grungy bands that all the girls think is so soulful and meaningful because of dreary lovestruck teen lyrics and dreary moody bad-boy expressions and clothing. It kind of makes you want to kick Kurt Cobain's dead ass all over again, because he was actually good, despite launching the careers of about a billion mediocre garage bands. It was a good imitation of a bad song. Score of 69.

7. Lil Rounds. Unfortunately for Lil, she hit quite a few bad notes right off the bat. When you're singing a big song like this Celine Dion ballady thing she did, you can't do that because instead of enjoying the rest of the song, the audience is cringing waiting for bad notes in the much louder chorus. And Lil is loud. She's better when she's loud. I guess they want her to stay, though, because Randy hugged one of her cute little children and she got to cry. That should be enough to keep her out of the bottom three. Score of 68.

8. Anoop Desai. Finally, the judges are starting to pick up on this frat-boy vibe Anoop gives out when he wants to "entertain." It was just karaoke for Anoop tonight, as he ushered in a new whiny era of banality. He does not have the voice for R&B, and his snotty attitude with the judges is not winning friends. I think he's safe for one more week, but another performance like this one and he'll lose his fan club. Score of 42.

9. M. Joy Corkrey. I had high hopes for her after the first few bars, but she quickly had trouble with some high notes and the performance absolutely collapsed around her. She entirely lost the melody, and was left randomly vibrattoing (is that a word?) notes. Something that may entertain her family, but did not work at all tonight. I think she has lost her momentum, which is sad, as she was my favorite right from the tryout shows. Quirky alone just doesn't cut it. Score of 37.

Expected Bottom 3: MJC, Matt, Allison.

Who Should Go: Anoop.

Who Will Go: Megan Joy.

lordscarlet · 03-31-2009, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Aside from Carly, Lil Rounds is probably the most undeserving, overhyped AI contestant ever. As an R&B singer, all she has is a voice to impress us with, and she's simply not that good. She's not even half the vocalist Melinda Doolittle is.

yes, yes and yes.

Solecismic · 04-01-2009, 12:57 AM

Just for the fun of it, lists of the best, the most overrated and the most underrated of the last five seasons, along with their average scores:

The Best:
Melinda Doolittle (AI6, 3rd) 90.
Carrie Underwood (AI4, 1st) 84.
Bo Bice (AI4, 2nd) 82.
Katharine McPhee (AI5, 2nd) 81.
David Cook (AI7, 1st) 81.
Chris Daughtry (AI5, 4th) 80.
Brooke White (AI7, 5th) 80.
Jordin Sparks (AI6, 1st) 80.

Potential from AI8: Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert.

The Overrated:
Taylor Hicks (AI5, 1st) 66.
Syesha Mercado (AI7, 3rd) 63.
Sanjaya Malakar (AI6, 7th) 53.
Anthony Fedorov (AI4, 4th) 62.
Jason Castro (AI7, 4th) 63.
Bucky Covington (AI5, 8th) 53.
Scott Savol (AI4, 5th) 66.
Phil Stacey (AI6, 5th) 67.

Potential from AI8: Anoop Desai, Scott MacIntyre.

The Underrated:
Melinda Doolittle (AI6, 3rd)
Chris Daughtry (AI5, 4th)
Brooke White (AI7, 5th)
Michael Johns (AI7, 8th)
Nadia Turner (AI4, 8th)
Carly Smithson (AI7, 6th)
Gina Glocksen (AI6, 9th)
Constantine Maroulis (AI4, 6th)

Gone far too soon:
Jessica Sierra (AI4)
Gedeon McKinney (AI5)
Melissa McGhee (AI5)
Leslie Hunt (AI6)
Mishavonna Henson (AI8)
Ricky Braddy (AI8)

Ksyrup · 04-01-2009, 06:42 AM

I still have nightmare's of Gideon's smile.

Leslie Hunt! Is that the scat chick? Gone far too soon, yes, but maybe not in the way you mean...

IrishHand · 04-01-2009, 01:14 PM

Is it just me or was last night a bit of a trainwreck? A theme night that wasn't a theme night - "iTunes top downloads" apparently means any song on iTunes, 'cause I'm pretty sure neither No Doubt nor Billy Joel have ever been top downloads in the iTunes era. Then the singing. *sigh* It kills me when they break off the mandatory "best group of singers evah" as though we're deaf (though I chock this up to the Goebbels approach - if you tell people a lie enough, it becomes truth for them - probably miscredited to Goebbels, but whatever). This Idol group just isn't that good imo and last night was their worst night of the season. Ranked on singing ability (in my admittedly ignorant opinion - I love music, but I don't pretend to understand it that way more educated people can/do):

1. Adam Lambert - has range, has power, has stage presence, but has yet to sing a song that I'd ever want to hear again. I agree that he can sing well, but I'd rather he didn't because, to me at least, he oversings everything (in addition to being arguably the most indulgent performer Idol has seen, though Simon generally ignores this for bottom line reasons).

2. Kris Allen - decent singer, smart enough not to stray outside his box. I think he's Jason Castro minus the whole stoner thing. Nice soft voice, pleasant songs, just not particularly dynamic or lasting.

3. Danny Gokey - I've decided he's Archuleta Part II, only older, more mature and with a great back story. I sort of like some of his songs/performances, but last night proved to me that (like Archuleta) while he can, and often does, sound nice, he's got a very narrow range and he lacks power. He's not in Lambert's area code in terms of singing ability. I don't doubt that he has more marketability than Archuleta for a variety of reasons, but I just don't think he's that good a singer at the end of the day.

4. M. Joy Corkrey - (disclaimer: she's been beyond brutal the past two weeks and deserves to go home tonight) Megan is the biggest mystery to me. She has a really cool voice and seems like she could/should do an awesome job with anything in the Amy Winehouse genre...and she's both hot and strikingly so...but she keeps picking (or has picked for her) these awful misfit songs, and then she goes and tanks them. Hard. I have cringed every time she's sung in the Finals. I don't know if she's screwing herself or the producers are doing it, but it seems like a shame to me.

5. Matt Giraud - there have been a couple of weeks now where I felt he did really well - good song, good performance - but also weeks where he was a train wreck. He needs to spend more time with Kris Allen and do everything in his power to stay in a smaller box. Hard to do with the odd Idol song options, but it seems like Giraud simply isn't a good enough singer to deviate from the Timberlake-Boy Band-Bluesy type stuff.

6. Anoop Desai - decent voice, but seems to lack maturity (both vocally and emotionally). Clearly can't/shouldn't be doing dance numbers (last night, the Bobby Brown song a few weeks back), but apparently that's what he wants to do. If so, he'll be gone soon and rightly so - though to be fair, he never had a chance to win this show.

7. Allison Iraheta - I don't quite get why many people like her or her voice. Yes, she clearly has raw talent...but right now she's just not ready for Idol or making marketable music. Check back in a few years maybe. Every song she sings there are parts where I think "that was good, she has talent", but most of the time I think she's whatever.

8. Lil Rounds - the mini-Iraheta. Seems to have talent, but can't put it together due to a lack of coaching and/or experience. I thought she was a darkhorse contender out of the round of 36, but she's been below-average basically every week since then imo.

9. Scott MacIntyre - sorry, if he wasn't blind, he probably doesn't make it to the Finals in the first place. I love Billy Joel and that was not good. To me, Scott is clearly (relative to what I consider a weak group) below-average and should have been voted off already.

Ksyrup · 04-01-2009, 02:34 PM

Next week - songs from the year they were born.

Adam Lambert - January 29, 1982
Allison Iraheta - April 27, 1992
Anoop Desai - December 20, 1986
Danny Gokey - April 24, 1980
Kris Allen - June 21, 1985
Lil Rounds - November 14, 1984
Matt Giraud - May 11, 1985
Megan Corkrey - August 5, 1985
Scott MacIntyre - June 22, 1985

Hopefully this means we won't have an 80s theme week, too.

wade moore · 04-01-2009, 02:46 PM

Boy, Gokey must have barely made the cutoff - right?

Ksyrup · 04-01-2009, 02:50 PM

Is it 28 or 29 now? I think they keep stretching it and I've lost track.

Pumpy Tudors · 04-01-2009, 02:55 PM

The name "Lil Rounds" still makes me want to punch her in the face. I don't care if it's her real name. It sounds like the stage name of a chubby midget porn star, and I would totally want to punch him or her in the face, too.

Thomkal · 04-01-2009, 03:05 PM

Lil has the same birthday as me, guess I'll have to vote for her now.

Lathum · 04-01-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Next week - songs from the year they were born.

Adam Lambert - January 29, 1982
Allison Iraheta - April 27, 1992
Anoop Desai - December 20, 1986
Danny Gokey - April 24, 1980
Kris Allen - June 21, 1985
Lil Rounds - November 14, 1984
Matt Giraud - May 11, 1985
Megan Corkrey - August 5, 1985
Scott MacIntyre - June 22, 1985

Hopefully this means we won't have an 80s theme week, too.

I feel old

Alan T · 04-01-2009, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lathum

I feel old

You are old!

GrantDawg · 04-01-2009, 07:53 PM

I think Megan is having the same problem Matt G is. They do not like the kind of music their voice is actually suited for. Megan would blow a Whinehouse/Duffy/Adele kind of song out of the water, but she wants to be this interesting rocker chick, and she can't pull that off. Matt wants to be the next Chris Martin, but he should be trying to be more a Justin Timberlake (soul/r&bish pop). But then if you really don't like the music, you'll never really succeed. And neither of them ever will succeed.

Easy Mac · 04-01-2009, 08:43 PM

when did kirk cameron go blind?

Pumpy Tudors · 04-01-2009, 08:56 PM

CAW CAW

Easy Mac · 04-01-2009, 08:57 PM

that girl is fucking nuts. And not in the "nuts, but crazy in the sack nuts". She is just batshit insane. Boobs or no boobs, she is crazy.

MJ4H · 04-01-2009, 08:58 PM

She appears to be on something. Seriously. This is disturbing.

Easy Mac · 04-01-2009, 09:02 PM

I think I would have done tatiana before I did megan, that's how whacked the girl seemed

Thomkal · 04-01-2009, 09:08 PM

not sure which performance I disliked more there-Megan's or Lady Gaga's. I could just hear Simon saying "What the hell was that?" after Lady Gaga's performance. That was just really bizarre.

Glad Megan is gone, she didn't really care if she won or lost I think, so rather the winner be someone who wants it more.

MJ4H · 04-01-2009, 09:11 PM

I was wondering if I was the only one wondering wtf that was

Thomkal · 04-01-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I was wondering if I was the only one wondering wtf that was

It was so bad and odd I was wondering if it was an April Fool's joke cause I've never heard of the band or the song.

Raiders Army · 04-01-2009, 09:14 PM

Yeah she was crazy. We watched last night's show and then tonight's show tonight. Did anyone else think the mixing was off in the beginning of last night's show? It seemed as if the music and backup vocals overwhelmed the Idols.

Pumpy Tudors · 04-01-2009, 10:51 PM

Tonight was the first time I liked Megan, probably because she was so crazy. The "caw caw" shit gave me a boner the size of Altoona.

Lathum · 04-01-2009, 11:50 PM

WTF is Lady Gaga and WTF was that shit???

Can we vote her off the show, that is 4 minutes of my life I will never get back.

USFLTecmo · 04-01-2009, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lathum

WTF is Lady Gaga and WTF was that shit???

Can we vote her off the show, that is 4 minutes of my life I will never get back.

One of the moments I'm glad we DVR the show and start watching it a bit later. Bye bye commercials, bye bye Lady Gaga.

Lathum · 04-02-2009, 12:20 AM

I was all about Megan until this week, she went from totally hot to totally insane really fast

Mustang · 04-02-2009, 12:23 AM

Ok.. I'm officially getting old. What the fuck was that Lady Gaga?

Although, I've seen that before in the form of one Dale Bozzio.

Lathum · 04-02-2009, 12:29 AM

What would the demon spawn of Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert be like?

Arles · 04-02-2009, 12:43 AM

The only redeeming quality in tonight's episode was the unintentional comedy of watching Scott try to lip-sync the group performance. Made the 15-minute DVR-aided session well worth it.

Raiders Army · 04-02-2009, 06:26 AM

Megan really hurt herself last night by acting like a fool. You give someone a little bit of fame and they go whacko. No record company is going to sign her for fear of her not wearing any panties when partying, etc.

Best line of the night by Cowell: "You didn't care about us, so we don't care about you."

Eaglesfan27 · 04-02-2009, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Best line of the night by Cowell: "You didn't care about us, so we don't care about you."

Yep. Great line and I like that they didn't pretend to deliberate when you knew there was no chance of them saving her.

Alan T · 04-02-2009, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomkal

not sure which performance I disliked more there-Megan's or Lady Gaga's. I could just hear Simon saying "What the hell was that?" after Lady Gaga's performance. That was just really bizarre.

Glad Megan is gone, she didn't really care if she won or lost I think, so rather the winner be someone who wants it more.

Haha, I pretty much turned to my wife and said the worst performer on the stage was this Lady Gaga person. Evidently my wife told me that I just wasn't hip since she had heard of Lady Gaga and I hadn't. I told her that I am not sure that is something that she should admit to.

Ksyrup · 04-02-2009, 07:03 AM

I've heard the name Lady GaGa, but never dreamed it could be something that horrendous. How is that popular...seriously? I mean, I can understand the popularity of a bunch of stuff, but that...no.

A guy on another board who gets paid to write Jim-like recaps of the shows posted the other night that he hoped Scott wouldn't pick Don't Stop Believin' as his song - and then it ends up as the GroupSynch. Ha!

I'm finding the attitudes of the people who know they are going home a bit refreshing, actually. I may be totally off-base, but after what happened to Alexis, I think Sarver and Megan's reactions to going home are a bit of an "F You" to the judges/producers over the introduction of the save. I think after Alexis was crushed when it looked like they might save her, and then everyone realized they were going to pull the same shit every week unless one of the REAL favorites was on the block, now they are completely blowing it off. And I love it. Sarver was in a good mood and didn't give a shit because he knew he was gone, and Megan bascially told them not to bother. I seriously think this is their way of ruining this extra "drama moment" for the show.

At least, that's my hope.

Ksyrup · 04-02-2009, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mustang

Ok.. I'm officially getting old. What the fuck was that Lady Gaga?

Although, I've seen that before in the form of one Dale Bozzio.

+

lordscarlet · 04-02-2009, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomkal

not sure which performance I disliked more there-Megan's or Lady Gaga's. I could just hear Simon saying "What the hell was that?" after Lady Gaga's performance. That was just really bizarre.

Glad Megan is gone, she didn't really care if she won or lost I think, so rather the winner be someone who wants it more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I was wondering if I was the only one wondering wtf that was

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomkal

It was so bad and odd I was wondering if it was an April Fool's joke cause I've never heard of the band or the song.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lathum

WTF is Lady Gaga and WTF was that shit???

Can we vote her off the show, that is 4 minutes of my life I will never get back.

+howevermany

She has had 2 consecutive number on hits on the Billboard Hot 100. It makes no sense.

Solecismic · 04-02-2009, 11:32 AM

I like unusual acts, and kind of enjoyed Lady GaGa. That song is in heavy play on the radio, and is rather monotonous, so the "live" version was a welcome change. Don't think I'd ever pay to go to a concert, though.

While Megan thoroughly deserved Simon's slam, it did illustrate the idiocy of this new "sing for the save" paradigm. It's there to protect a producer favorite who has a bad week, or some bad luck.

The fact that they sing for it makes it even more ludicrous. You know that they were tempted to save Alexis, because they like her image. But she was so bad the week she was voted off that they knew they couldn't use it.

What's the point, then? If they do use it, they have to admit what it is - an artificial end-run around the voting. And if they don't (and by now Michael and Megan have figured it out) there's no point to the charade in the first place.

I'm fairly certain the save will be gone next season. The decision has probably already been made, and unless one of the holy trio (Danny, Adam, Lil) is last unexpectedly in the next three weeks, what we'll hear is the following:

"We didn't use the save this year. America got it right. We don't need to change such a successful formula."

Ajaxab · 04-02-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solecismic

What's the point, then? If they do use it, they have to admit what it is - an artificial end-run around the voting. And if they don't (and by now Michael and Megan have figured it out) there's no point to the charade in the first place.

It would be great to see someone with the stones to refuse singing for the save.

Lathum · 04-02-2009, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

It would be great to see someone with the stones to refuse singing for the save.

I sure there is some contract somewhere they have to follow. If they don't they probably risk getting kicked off the tour

03-31-2009, 08:28 PM	#454
cuervo72 Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maryland	Bah, he's no Bill Withers. __________________ null

03-31-2009, 08:36 PM	#455
Drake assmaster Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Bloomington, IN	I really thought after the first few weeks that Kris was going to be a short-timer, but the stuff he's done the last couple of weeks has really made him look like a viable artist. I don't dig what Adam does at all, but he's very sharp doing it, and easily the most professional performer in the group. I'd never buy an album by him in a billion years, but I'd catch his act in Vegas and probably have a really good time doing it. Danny is probably still my overall favorite, but since he's going to disappear into the Christian Contemporary market (ala Casting Crowns or someone of that ilk), it hardly matters. Scott should have John Tesh's agent on the phone right now. He's the clear heir apparent to that throne...whatever the fuck the John Tesh throne is. It hurts me on a deep emotional level that Anoop wants the be the sort of artist that he can likely never be successful being (Usher? Really?!) Alison should just put a hit out on Joan Jett and take over as the front chick for the Blackhearts and be done with it. Everyone else is just occupying space for me. Last edited by Drake : 03-31-2009 at 08:38 PM.

03-31-2009, 08:48 PM	#456
Alan T Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mass.	Whoever the guy that sung last and played the keyboard was, I liked him the best easily.. by a mile... a large mile. __________________ Couch to ??k - From the couch to a Marathon in roughly 18 months.

03-31-2009, 09:33 PM	#460
MJ4H Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hog Country	#1 Danny, #2 Kris (!), #3 Adam All fairly close. The rest were a wash with Allison and Scott (!!) having reasonably good performances. __________________ My YouTube channel My Twitch channel My Sharona

03-31-2009, 10:19 PM	#462
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	What is Studio 57, and please God tell me Kara didn't mean to say Studio 54 and got it mixed up with Heinz 57...? I didn't get the reference either way. I didn't like Kris much, and what I did like of his performance went down the drain on the last note. Actually, he was probably better than I'm giving him credit for, and I might be reacting more to the over the top praise they gave him - as in, "You got the pimp spot so we have to hype you up like you deserved it!" I didn't think he was as good as they wanted us to believe. WTF was Matt G. thinking - Paula nailed it by saying he went right back to a Coldplay-like song and screwed up. The goat vibrato was beyond painful at points. I thought Scott was way better than he has been, but he still needs to go. Aside from Carly, Lil Rounds is probably the most undeserving, overhyped AI contestant ever. As an R&B singer, all she has is a voice to impress us with, and she's simply not that good. She's not even half the vocalist Melinda Doolittle is. The rest were at about the same level they've shown before. Meaning, Anoop needs to go in the next 3 weeks or so, and Danny, Adam, and Allison should sail into the top 5. __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

03-31-2009, 08:22 PM	#451
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	lol at Kara, she tried so hard to make sure when she said "I have three words for you" that she actually had just three words...

03-31-2009, 08:24 PM	#452
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	Sad to say but Megan is in serious trouble after that mess tonight. But maybe she can give me some good good lovin' first...

03-31-2009, 08:25 PM	#453
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	I have it delayed, I commented after Adam's indulgent shit. Kris is probably my favorite, and I didn't even realize he hadn't gone. Kris was easily the best. Everyone else missed most of their notes. And why won't blindy just do Ben Folds songs only.

03-31-2009, 08:54 PM	#457
Ajaxab College Benchwarmer Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Far from home	It's officially time to christen Adam as Adam "Flipper" Lambert. I cannot stand his dolphin riffs that send him beyond Axel Rose territory.

03-31-2009, 08:57 PM	#458
adubroff High School JV Join Date: Nov 2006	Danny was actually my favorite tonight, even more than Kris. I just can't buy into Kris for some reason, which means he'll likely win. I enjoyed Adam more tonight too...the last two weeks he's gone into solid mode rather than trying to light the world on fire. I think that's coming back at some point, but he's smart to save it a bit. Now it will work better. I thought Allison was good til the chorus and Lil Rounds was good once the chorus kicked in. Perhaps they should duet. Megan was ok, better than she'd been. I'm not sure there's a woman who has a snowball's chance in hell right now, but I think they'll try to manufacture one (not sure who though). Scott was better than he's been. He probably will be fine. Callers tend to vote on a curve, and he's set the curve low. I think Anoop and Matt are likely in some trouble tonight.

03-31-2009, 09:19 PM	#459
Drake assmaster Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Bloomington, IN	The delay in posting Jim's review is exacerbating my childhood abandonment issues.

03-31-2009, 10:48 PM	#463
Solecismic Solecismic Software Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Canton, OH	Some day, an investigative reporter will get behind the scenes of American Idol and answer all the questions we have about song choice. It's inevitable, what with major newspapers shutting down throughout the country seemingly every day. There is a wealth of reporting talent just waiting for a good story, and with 20 million people watching American Idol every single week, these stories are begging to be told. Danny Gokey, who apparently lost another family member this week, whined a little bit about having to sing the fifth song on his list last week. Which made me wonder how song choices work. What gets "cleared," and why? Do singers get steered toward specific songs? Why do the judges make such a big deal about song choice when the decision process is not completely in the contestants' hands? Inquiring minds need to know. So, when The Ann Arbor News finally shuts down in July, and a myriad of reporters it once employed are ruthlessly left to fend for themselves on the mean streets of impoverished Michigan, I would personally like to send a passel of my former co-workers to Los Angeles to dig out the true story of American Idol song choice. I need to know. You need to know. Danny needs to know, before he loses another relative (looked like his sister had the sniffles today, time to start worrying). Meanwhile, tonight was mediocrity night on American Idol, and the contestants had to "choose" something from ITunes. I don't think it was an actual theme, in that ITunes has several gazillion songs in its library. But it allowed Ryan to say the word "ITunes" in his loud voice a few more times than usual, and that probably meant a few thousand extra dollars for the producers. Maybe they can afford a few more guards to keep those riff-raff ex-Ann Arbor News reporters from crashing the gates and learning too much. So, in the interest of discerning truth from fiction, here are this week's Solecismic Ratings: 1. Adam Lambert. A common theme with Adam: he shows off his amazing talent for riffing in a high range that probably annoys any dog who had haplessly wandered within earshot of a television. Some of the riffs are nice, some are fairly excruciating. He presents a basic problem - am I judging the most impressive singer or am I judging who could challenge Kelly Clarkson in selling records? Adam can sing. He can not sell records. Oh, well. Best of a very poor week. Score of 88. 2. Danny Gokey. Danny has a richness in his voice that allows him to add texture to this kind of soft song. Danny succeeds in exactly the same way Anoop fails. Danny's weak in the low range, and he's still playing on his enormous popularity from the tryout shows. He also had a weird ending that perhaps reveals a weakness in song arrangement. Still, easily among the top performances tonight. Score of 84. 3. Scott MacIntyre. He recovered from a very poor start. While he still tends to over-sing to generate the required volume for an American Idol diva, he was much more consistent this week, and wasn't using the muppet voice at all. He still reminds me a lot of a Saturday Night Live parody of a lounge act, but he didn't annoy me this time. His best of the season. Score of 73. 4. Kris Allen. He said it himself in the introduction - he's trying to be memorable. The producers gave him the pimp spot, so they're trying to ensure he's memorable. He did well enough. Tonight, he convinced me that he's maybe good enough for a promotion from boy-band backup singer to boy-band backup with an occasional solo late in the concert when everyone holds up their lighters and pretends to be moved. He lost a lot of points for missing badly on the last note. Score of 72. 5. Allison Iraheta. As much as I hate to say it, she made a very bad choice of songs this week. I think the guitar distracted her, and she recovered a little after a very poor start. But she had none of the control I've liked in her in recent weeks, and the soft ballad portion of the song was a pale imitation of the original. Score of 70. 6. Matt Giraud. Matt is an excellent imitator. I'm not sure he can sing. Tonight, he imitated once of those silly modern grungy bands that all the girls think is so soulful and meaningful because of dreary lovestruck teen lyrics and dreary moody bad-boy expressions and clothing. It kind of makes you want to kick Kurt Cobain's dead ass all over again, because he was actually good, despite launching the careers of about a billion mediocre garage bands. It was a good imitation of a bad song. Score of 69. 7. Lil Rounds. Unfortunately for Lil, she hit quite a few bad notes right off the bat. When you're singing a big song like this Celine Dion ballady thing she did, you can't do that because instead of enjoying the rest of the song, the audience is cringing waiting for bad notes in the much louder chorus. And Lil is loud. She's better when she's loud. I guess they want her to stay, though, because Randy hugged one of her cute little children and she got to cry. That should be enough to keep her out of the bottom three. Score of 68. 8. Anoop Desai. Finally, the judges are starting to pick up on this frat-boy vibe Anoop gives out when he wants to "entertain." It was just karaoke for Anoop tonight, as he ushered in a new whiny era of banality. He does not have the voice for R&B, and his snotty attitude with the judges is not winning friends. I think he's safe for one more week, but another performance like this one and he'll lose his fan club. Score of 42. 9. M. Joy Corkrey. I had high hopes for her after the first few bars, but she quickly had trouble with some high notes and the performance absolutely collapsed around her. She entirely lost the melody, and was left randomly vibrattoing (is that a word?) notes. Something that may entertain her family, but did not work at all tonight. I think she has lost her momentum, which is sad, as she was my favorite right from the tryout shows. Quirky alone just doesn't cut it. Score of 37. Expected Bottom 3: MJC, Matt, Allison. Who Should Go: Anoop. Who Will Go: Megan Joy.

04-01-2009, 12:57 AM	#465
Solecismic Solecismic Software Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Canton, OH	Just for the fun of it, lists of the best, the most overrated and the most underrated of the last five seasons, along with their average scores: The Best: Melinda Doolittle (AI6, 3rd) 90. Carrie Underwood (AI4, 1st) 84. Bo Bice (AI4, 2nd) 82. Katharine McPhee (AI5, 2nd) 81. David Cook (AI7, 1st) 81. Chris Daughtry (AI5, 4th) 80. Brooke White (AI7, 5th) 80. Jordin Sparks (AI6, 1st) 80. Potential from AI8: Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert. The Overrated: Taylor Hicks (AI5, 1st) 66. Syesha Mercado (AI7, 3rd) 63. Sanjaya Malakar (AI6, 7th) 53. Anthony Fedorov (AI4, 4th) 62. Jason Castro (AI7, 4th) 63. Bucky Covington (AI5, 8th) 53. Scott Savol (AI4, 5th) 66. Phil Stacey (AI6, 5th) 67. Potential from AI8: Anoop Desai, Scott MacIntyre. The Underrated: Melinda Doolittle (AI6, 3rd) Chris Daughtry (AI5, 4th) Brooke White (AI7, 5th) Michael Johns (AI7, 8th) Nadia Turner (AI4, 8th) Carly Smithson (AI7, 6th) Gina Glocksen (AI6, 9th) Constantine Maroulis (AI4, 6th) Gone far too soon: Jessica Sierra (AI4) Gedeon McKinney (AI5) Melissa McGhee (AI5) Leslie Hunt (AI6) Mishavonna Henson (AI8) Ricky Braddy (AI8)

04-01-2009, 06:42 AM	#466
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	I still have nightmare's of Gideon's smile. Leslie Hunt! Is that the scat chick? Gone far too soon, yes, but maybe not in the way you mean... __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

04-01-2009, 01:14 PM	#467
IrishHand Mascot Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Annapolis, MD	Is it just me or was last night a bit of a trainwreck? A theme night that wasn't a theme night - "iTunes top downloads" apparently means any song on iTunes, 'cause I'm pretty sure neither No Doubt nor Billy Joel have ever been top downloads in the iTunes era. Then the singing. sigh It kills me when they break off the mandatory "best group of singers *evah" as though we're deaf (though I chock this up to the Goebbels approach - if you tell people a lie enough, it becomes truth for them - probably miscredited to Goebbels, but whatever). This Idol group just isn't that good imo and last night was their worst night of the season. Ranked on singing ability (in my admittedly ignorant opinion - I love music, but I don't pretend to understand it that way more educated people can/do): 1. Adam Lambert - has range, has power, has stage presence, but has yet to sing a song that I'd ever want to hear again. I agree that he can sing well, but I'd rather he didn't because, to me at least, he oversings everything (in addition to being arguably the most indulgent performer Idol has seen, though Simon generally ignores this for bottom line reasons). 2. Kris Allen - decent singer, smart enough not to stray outside his box. I think he's Jason Castro minus the whole stoner thing. Nice soft voice, pleasant songs, just not particularly dynamic or lasting. 3. Danny Gokey - I've decided he's Archuleta Part II, only older, more mature and with a great back story. I sort of like some of his songs/performances, but last night proved to me that (like Archuleta) while he can, and often does, sound nice, he's got a very narrow range and he lacks power. He's not in Lambert's area code in terms of singing ability. I don't doubt that he has more marketability than Archuleta for a variety of reasons, but I just don't think he's that good a singer at the end of the day. 4. M. Joy Corkrey - (disclaimer: she's been beyond brutal the past two weeks and deserves to go home tonight) Megan is the biggest mystery to me. She has a really cool voice and seems like she could/should do an awesome job with anything in the Amy Winehouse genre...and she's both hot and strikingly so...but she keeps picking (or has picked for her) these awful misfit songs, and then she goes and tanks them. Hard. I have cringed every time she's sung in the Finals. I don't know if she's screwing herself or the producers are doing it, but it seems like a shame to me. 5. Matt Giraud - there have been a couple of weeks now where I felt he did really well - good song, good performance - but also weeks where he was a train wreck. He needs to spend more time with Kris Allen and do everything in his power to stay in a smaller box. Hard to do with the odd Idol song options, but it seems like Giraud simply isn't a good enough singer to deviate from the Timberlake-Boy Band-Bluesy type stuff. 6. Anoop Desai - decent voice, but seems to lack maturity (both vocally and emotionally). Clearly can't/shouldn't be doing dance numbers (last night, the Bobby Brown song a few weeks back), but apparently that's what he wants to do. If so, he'll be gone soon and rightly so - though to be fair, he never had a chance to win this show. 7. Allison Iraheta - I don't quite get why many people like her or her voice. Yes, she clearly has raw talent...but right now she's just not ready for Idol or making marketable music. Check back in a few years maybe. Every song she sings there are parts where I think "that was good, she has talent", but most of the time I think she's whatever. 8. Lil Rounds - the mini-Iraheta. Seems to have talent, but can't put it together due to a lack of coaching and/or experience. I thought she was a darkhorse contender out of the round of 36, but she's been below-average basically every week since then imo. 9. Scott MacIntyre - sorry, if he wasn't blind, he probably doesn't make it to the Finals in the first place. I love Billy Joel and that was not good. To me, Scott is clearly (relative to what I consider a weak group) below-average and should have been voted off already. Last edited by IrishHand : 04-01-2009 at 01:15 PM.*

04-01-2009, 02:34 PM	#468
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	Next week - songs from the year they were born. Adam Lambert - January 29, 1982 Allison Iraheta - April 27, 1992 Anoop Desai - December 20, 1986 Danny Gokey - April 24, 1980 Kris Allen - June 21, 1985 Lil Rounds - November 14, 1984 Matt Giraud - May 11, 1985 Megan Corkrey - August 5, 1985 Scott MacIntyre - June 22, 1985 Hopefully this means we won't have an 80s theme week, too. __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

04-01-2009, 02:50 PM	#470
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	Is it 28 or 29 now? I think they keep stretching it and I've lost track. __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

04-01-2009, 02:55 PM	#471
Pumpy Tudors Bounty Hunter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	The name "Lil Rounds" still makes me want to punch her in the face. I don't care if it's her real name. It sounds like the stage name of a chubby midget porn star, and I would totally want to punch him or her in the face, too. __________________ No, I am not Batman, and I will not repair your food processor.

04-01-2009, 03:05 PM	#472
Thomkal Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Surfside Beach,SC USA	Lil has the same birthday as me, guess I'll have to vote for her now.

04-01-2009, 07:53 PM	#475
GrantDawg World Champion Mis-speller Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Covington, Ga.	I think Megan is having the same problem Matt G is. They do not like the kind of music their voice is actually suited for. Megan would blow a Whinehouse/Duffy/Adele kind of song out of the water, but she wants to be this interesting rocker chick, and she can't pull that off. Matt wants to be the next Chris Martin, but he should be trying to be more a Justin Timberlake (soul/r&bish pop). But then if you really don't like the music, you'll never really succeed. And neither of them ever will succeed.

04-01-2009, 08:43 PM	#476
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	when did kirk cameron go blind?

04-01-2009, 08:56 PM	#477
Pumpy Tudors Bounty Hunter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	CAW CAW __________________ No, I am not Batman, and I will not repair your food processor.

04-01-2009, 08:57 PM	#478
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	that girl is fucking nuts. And not in the "nuts, but crazy in the sack nuts". She is just batshit insane. Boobs or no boobs, she is crazy.

04-01-2009, 08:58 PM	#479
MJ4H Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hog Country	She appears to be on something. Seriously. This is disturbing. __________________ My YouTube channel My Twitch channel My Sharona

04-01-2009, 09:02 PM	#480
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	I think I would have done tatiana before I did megan, that's how whacked the girl seemed

04-01-2009, 09:08 PM	#481
Thomkal Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Surfside Beach,SC USA	not sure which performance I disliked more there-Megan's or Lady Gaga's. I could just hear Simon saying "What the hell was that?" after Lady Gaga's performance. That was just really bizarre. Glad Megan is gone, she didn't really care if she won or lost I think, so rather the winner be someone who wants it more.

04-01-2009, 09:11 PM	#482
MJ4H Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hog Country	I was wondering if I was the only one wondering wtf that was __________________ My YouTube channel My Twitch channel My Sharona

04-01-2009, 09:14 PM	#484
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	Yeah she was crazy. We watched last night's show and then tonight's show tonight. Did anyone else think the mixing was off in the beginning of last night's show? It seemed as if the music and backup vocals overwhelmed the Idols.

04-01-2009, 10:51 PM	#485
Pumpy Tudors Bounty Hunter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	Tonight was the first time I liked Megan, probably because she was so crazy. The "caw caw" shit gave me a boner the size of Altoona. __________________ No, I am not Batman, and I will not repair your food processor.

04-01-2009, 11:50 PM	#486
Lathum Favored Bitch #1 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: homeless in NJ	WTF is Lady Gaga and WTF was that shit??? Can we vote her off the show, that is 4 minutes of my life I will never get back.

04-02-2009, 12:20 AM	#488
Lathum Favored Bitch #1 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: homeless in NJ	I was all about Megan until this week, she went from totally hot to totally insane really fast

04-02-2009, 12:23 AM	#489
Mustang Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Wisconsin	Ok.. I'm officially getting old. What the fuck was that Lady Gaga? Although, I've seen that before in the form of one Dale Bozzio. __________________ You, you will regret what you have done this day. I will make you regret ever being born. Your going to wish you never left your mothers womb, where it was warm and safe... and wet. i am going to show you pain you never knew existed, you are going to see a whole new spectrum of pain, like a Rainboooow. But! This rainbow is not just like any other rainbow, its...

04-02-2009, 12:29 AM	#490
Lathum Favored Bitch #1 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: homeless in NJ	What would the demon spawn of Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert be like?

04-02-2009, 12:43 AM	#491
Arles Grey Dog Software Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Phoenix, AZ by way of Belleville, IL	The only redeeming quality in tonight's episode was the unintentional comedy of watching Scott try to lip-sync the group performance. Made the 15-minute DVR-aided session well worth it. __________________ Developer of Bowl Bound College Football http://www.greydogsoftware.com

04-02-2009, 06:26 AM	#492
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	Megan really hurt herself last night by acting like a fool. You give someone a little bit of fame and they go whacko. No record company is going to sign her for fear of her not wearing any panties when partying, etc. Best line of the night by Cowell: "You didn't care about us, so we don't care about you."