American Idol 2008

[Ksyrup]

Looks like McPhee was moved up to perform live tonight, and Reuben is no longer performing the buh-bye song, but it will be premiered tonight.

And they're doing another songwriting contest. I'm working on one right now, tentatively titled The Air I Breathe (You're My Everything).

[Pumpy Tudors]

I guess I feel like Simon does. I find this season to be completely boring. I'll stick it out for a while longer, though.

As for last night, I really didn't love any of the performances except David Cook's. Then again, I'm not really into the music that they were singing last night. That probably makes me some kind of heathen or something, but I just don't really care for that stuff. Honestly, though, I don't really like any of the contestants except David Cook. For the most part, the girls are OK, but they all put me to sleep except Amanda (who could sleep while she's screeching?).

Once David Cook is done, so am I, unless David Hernandez offers me a lapdance. Rawr.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I guess I feel like Simon does. I find this season to be completely boring. I'll stick it out for a while longer, though.

As for last night, I really didn't love any of the performances except David Cook's. Then again, I'm not really into the music that they were singing last night. That probably makes me some kind of heathen or something, but I just don't really care for that stuff. Honestly, though, I don't really like any of the contestants except David Cook. For the most part, the girls are OK, but they all put me to sleep except Amanda (who could sleep while she's screeching?).

Once David Cook is done, so am I, unless David Hernandez offers me a lapdance. Rawr.

WELCOME ABOARD PUMPY!

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

I pretty much agree with everyone above. I wish MJ4H would have addressed the David A performance, though.

Eze really surprised me this week. His #2 spot hurts him in rankings, I think, because there were a lot of very good performances after him. After loving it when he performed it, I think it dropped to #4 or so on my list. I also loved Carly, David Cook and Brooke.

Why? I agree with pretty much everyone else. It was bad. I mean it wasn't slit your throat bad like Kristy, but it was bad.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

WELCOME ABOARD PUMPY!

Nonono, it's not quite like that yet! I'm not particularly sick of the concept or anything. It's just that this year's group is so forgettable. In fact, when all 12 contestants stepped onto the stage at the beginning of the show last night, I said to myself "Who's the black chick?" even though Syesha is the only black girl left.

I'm pretty sure that in a year or so, the only thing I'm going to remember about this season is Amanda's multi-colored bush.

I mean hair.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Nonono, it's not quite like that yet! I'm not particularly sick of the concept or anything. It's just that this year's group is so forgettable. In fact, when all 12 contestants stepped onto the stage at the beginning of the show last night, I said to myself "Who's the black chick?" even though Syesha is the only black girl left.

I'm pretty sure that in a year or so, the only thing I'm going to remember about this season is Amanda's multi-colored bush.

I mean hair.

If I may shit in everyone's cheerios for a minute, who exactly isn't forgettable over the run of this show? It's no different now.

I'll give you Kelly Clarkson. She was the initial winner and is something of a sustained hit.

Now who? Let's go through them...tell what tremendous, memorable talents we get for the trillions of votes and intricate analysis:

Ruban Studdard
Clay Aiken
Kimberly Locke
Corey Clarke - ok he's memorable because he was fucking paula
Fantasia
Diana Degarmo
Jennifer Hudson - Ok, I'll give you her too. Yet she didn't even come close to winning.
Carrie Underwood - highly debatable. she's terrible but has a good songwriter
Bo Bice
Contantine
Taylor Hicks
McPhee
Elliot Yamin
Daughtry - meh, I guess
Kellie Pickler
Ace Young
Jordan Sparks
Blake Lewis
Doolittle
Sanjaya

Insert all the rest of the floatsum and jetsum.

I guess I missed all these interesting and non forgettable people normally flooding this show.

OK, done shitting. Resume analysis.

[Ksyrup]

"Forgettable" is being used in the context of each show.

I don't know how many times I have to explain that the show and the talent are two mutually exclusive things to me. I enjoy the show as entertainment; when I say that Syesha was "forgettable" last night, I'm talking about the performance she gave, not in some metaphysical/astronomical sense. I don't give a crap about the careers of any of these people... I have never purchased an Idol-related CD, and have in fact only voted once - when Bo Bice did that Badlands song, and that was more to reward him for knowing who Badlands is than the actual performance.

I enjoy the show. Period. I hate most of the music they perform and have no interest in their careers, even the ones who are ostensibly rock. Daughtry is the next Creed, Bo Bice was a poor man's Lynyrd Skynyrd rip-off (if you ever heard the "original" music he wrote before he was on the show), Constantine was a joke, etc. They mean nothing to me. I haven't heard Chris Sligh's new album, but I suppose I might like it if I cared enough to check it out (at least going by his pre-Idol stuff). But I don't.

Does that clarify it for you? You seem to want to attach more cultural importance to this show than many of us are willing to give it. I think you should take your posts over to a REAL, live-and-die-by-Idol board, and then post over here some of the responses you get. That, my friend, would be highly entertaining.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Eh, I just mean "forgettable" in the sense that I probably won't even remember these people's names or faces in a year or two. I would recognize Elliot Yamin. Hell, I'd even recognize Ace Young. Young wasn't all that talented, but at least I see the name and can remember him. Next year, if someone mentioned Brooke White to me, I'd respond with "What?"

Regardless of what these people do (or don't do) with their careers, I tend to have a pretty good memory for people I see on television several weeks in a row. These people aren't going to stick with me at all.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I enjoy the show. Period. I hate most of the music they perform and have no interest in their careers, even the ones who are ostensibly rock.

this is fascinating to me

[Eaglesfan27]

McPhee certainly isn't forgettable, at least not for me.

Edit: Actually, I think there are 1 or 2 memorable singers every year and I think that will be the case again this year before it is all over.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

this is fascinating to me

If you think of it as a TV show and these people as actors...I may watch Lost, for instance, but I don't give a shit what Matthew Fox does after the show ends. What they are doing on the show has no relevance to me when the show ends. And I'll admit, the music makes it hard for me to watch several weeks a year. I don't want to hear any more disco or Barry Manilow songs. The net result is...I won't enjoy that week as much as others. Same as if my favorite show focuses on a storyline I don't really care about.

In the end, it's just a TV show like all the rest, except that when the ride ends, they've got one of those booths selling you momentos as you leave. I choose to walk past, rather than grab up all the Diana DeGarmo and Kellie Pickler CDs I can find.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

If you think of it as a TV show and these people as actors...I may watch Lost, for instance, but I don't give a shit what Matthew Fox does after the show ends. What they are doing on the show has no relevance to me when the show ends. And I'll admit, the music makes it hard for me to watch several weeks a year. I don't want to hear any more disco or Barry Manilow songs. The net result is...I won't enjoy that week as much as others. Same as if my favorite show focuses on a storyline I don't really care about.

In the end, it's just a TV show like all the rest, except that when the ride ends, they've got one of those booths selling you momentos as you leave. I choose to walk past, rather than grab up all the Diana DeGarmo and Kellie Pickler CDs I can find.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time but I found it interesting. It's like watching Lost when you hate all the characters.

Or like the Price is Right when you can't stand any of the games.

Although I watch Idol a fair amount so, um....ok bite me.

[Subby]

The individual performances are memorable to me. Bo Bice doing Whipping post. Fantasia doing Summertime. LaToya doing All by Myself.

I'll follow what happens to these guys after they leave the show, but I have never been all that invested in it.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

I'm not trying to give you a hard time but I found it interesting. It's like watching Lost when you hate all the characters.

Or like the Price is Right when you can't stand any of the games.

Although I watch Idol a fair amount so, um....ok bite me.

Ha! Funny thing is, I do watch Lost, sort of...my wife watches it, and I end up watching just because she does. I don't really like it at all, and make a point to not ask questions about stuff I don't understand. Which is OK, because the point of the show seems to be that nothing makes sense anyway, so I think my wife and I have the same level of understanding when it comes to that show.

But anyway...

[Pumpy Tudors]

I only care what Gina Glocksen is doing right now. Well, let me clarify that. I only care what she's doing if she's naked in my bed. She isn't. So I really don't care.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Subby

The individual performances are memorable to me. Bo Bice doing Whipping post. Fantasia doing Summertime. LaToya doing All by Myself.

I don't remember a single one of these. From last year, I remember Blake beat boxing on a Bon Jovi song and Sanjaya doing You Really Got Me. Couldn't tell you anything else about any other performances. I can't even place the songs Summertime and All by Myself, let alone as performed by these people.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I only care what Gina Glocksen is doing right now. Well, let me clarify that. I only care what she's doing if she's naked in my bed. She isn't. So I really don't care.

Did you see my posts from last year from the guy at another board who knew her? I should put you touch with him.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Did you see my posts from last year from the guy at another board who knew her? I should put you touch with him.

Oh, yes. I do remember. Yes.

Uhhh, if I were to contact this guy, he wouldn't end up naked in my bed, would he?

[MJ4H]

If you contacted me, I would. Well, if you contacted me in the right place, that is.

[Ksyrup]

It's always about sex with you two...

[Pumpy Tudors]

I don't recall anyone mentioning sex.

[Ksyrup]

It's always about sex with us three.

[rkmsuf]

[Subby]

That said, there were probably five performances on the last season of RockStar that I thought were better than almost anything I have seen on the five seasons of Idol I've watched...

[rjolley]

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Subby

That said, there were probably five performances on the last season of RockStar that I thought were better than almost anything I have seen on the five seasons of Idol I've watched...

I can't say I remember anything about Rock Star, either, except 2 things:

The chick Hurst2112 knew singing that Bowie song, and the horribly garbled delivery of the guy who won the Tommy Lee season.

That said, I remember the performers as a whole being much better, but a lot of that I attribute to me wanting to listen to rock and being way more interested in singer/songwriter/musicians than just vocalists. So I think that's more a vote for what the show was about than about the talent itself. Truthfully, most of the RockStar talent was probably the functional equivalent of the AI talent in their respective genres. It was just a more interesting show to me.

[MJ4H]

I couldn't stand Rock Star. I actually thought it was one of the worst things I'd ever seen.

[korme]

As nuch as I think that Ksyrup is very weird for not liking the music or anything but just watches for the entertainment... I realize I'm in his same boat. I have no AI-person CDs, most of the music I wouldn't be seen listening to, but yea, I'm there every Tues/Wed. :-X

[Easy Mac]

Did David Cook rip off his version of Eleanor Rigby?

He sang it far better than the linked clip, but still... I hate the kid, but damn if I didn't respect his understanding of music and his shaping of songs.

http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_audio/031208_doxology2.mp3

[MJ4H]

Very few of these contestants write their own arrangements. I mean, maybe Blake last season, and that is only a maybe.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Did David Cook rip off his version of Eleanor Rigby?

Hold off right there. Just like with Daughtry and the "Live" version of Walk the Line, any "making their own sounding take" on older songs almost certainly has been done by another group at some point. I've heard atleast 2-3 rock-like versions of Eleanor Rigby over the past 30 years.

It isn't about how original your arrangements are, it's about how good you perform/sing that arrangement.

[Drake]

Hello, Cat McPhee! I really missed your legs.

[MJ4H]

CHRIST ANYONE THAT THINKS TAYLOR HICKS SHOULD'VE WON OVER THAT IS NUTS IM TALKING TO YOU MY WIFE AND HER BEST FRIEND

[Drake]

She was a very good AI contestant, but it is amazing what a year of professional polish will do for an artist.

[MJ4H]

hahaha did you see Brooke tell David A to "Go sit down."

haha I don't even know why that was so funny, but it was.

[Subby]

Really sorry I decided to skip the season McPhee was on.

Holy effing crap she is hot. Now I see why kurtism slobbers over her so much.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Subby

Really sorry I decided to skip the season McPhee was on.

Holy effing crap she is hot. Now I see why kurtism slobbers over her so much.

Quoted for hell yeah.

[rowech]

Rigged

[kurtism]

Originally Posted by Subby

Really sorry I decided to skip the season McPhee was on.

Holy effing crap she is hot. Now I see why kurtism slobbers over her so much.

you will learn not to question my wisdom

[korme]

First time I've ever seen McPhee and wow is she ugly in NUMEROUS ways. I was looking for one hot thing about her but kept missing.

[MJ4H]

Welcome to my ignore list

[mauchow]

Brothers til the end of time!

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

First time I've ever seen McPhee and wow is she ugly in NUMEROUS ways. I was looking for one hot thing about her but kept missing.

Dude that was David Foster.

McPhee was the one singing.

[saldana]

i guess i am the only one in america that finds brooke white boring and unimpressive...she has NO range....not saying that she needs to go all Whitney Houston every week like Syesha tries to, but every song she sings has no more than 2 registers, and she still has at least 3 or 4 spots that she has to drop a note down an octave to keep it in her reach. considering how many times we have heard the judges say "that was a safe choice", or "i was bored to tears" about other people, who i think demonstrate a lot more vocal ability, but every time casper the bugeyed railroad tie gets up there, they gush over her monotone dirge.

[saldana]

dola, and i cant believe that no talent hack, the bride of frankenstein, doesnt even go to the bottom 3!!!, you gotta be kidding me... i love when the do the medleys at the beginning of the results show and she always has to sing by herself for 2 lines because she sucks so badly she cant be with anyone else.

also, i agree with whomever it was that thought David H. kind of dumped on purpose...he was a lot better during 70s week than he was tuesday..he has a ton more ability than we saw.

[Ksyrup]

I repeat my claim that David H. was essentially shown the door.

Saldana, your criticism of Brooke would be spot on if she was one of the other girls. But she's not - this is what she does and why I said she doesn't belong on the show. I completely disagree that her kind of performance is boring, since I quite enjoy it and absolutely detest the warbling/melisma of most AI contestants and pretty much anyone on the radio these days. But you're right that in the context of this competition, her vocal range and singing style are at odds with the others and what the judges are usually looking for.

If I had to choose 1 contestant whose music I would check out after ths year's show, though, it would be her. I just don't know if her original stuff is worthwhile, which is all that really matters to me. I have no interest in listening to covers.

[Ksyrup]

I thought McPhee was much sexier back on AI when she wasn't trying to look much older than she is. Must be the fact that she married a 40-something guy a couple of months ago. She didn't fair as badly as Pickles did when she came back with that 1950's country beehive hairdo, but she seems to have lost a lot of her youthful beauty. The makeup and 20-year reunion dress detracted from her natural beauty.

She's still hot, of course, but I had to look past an awful lot of crap to see it.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Subby

Really sorry I decided to skip the season McPhee was on.

Holy effing crap she is hot. Now I see why kurtism slobbers over her so much.

Yes, she is. It was good to see her back.

Anyone else see David H mouth "wow" like he couldn't believe it wasn't Kristy going? He had good reason to think so, but I still thought that reaction was funny.

Also, I thought Kristy was deliberately being a bit more sexy last night, baring a bit of midriff, and I'm sure she thought she was gone. It will be interesting to see what she does next week.

[rkmsuf]

Any lesbians left in the competition should be nervous.

[Ksyrup]

Agree on the David H. thing, and with Kristy - not just the midriff, but I thought she purposely "shook it" a bit more during her performance. At least she was a good sport - the "where's my mic?" comment was pretty funny, considering AI trying to wring every last ounce of drama out of that bloated mess of a show that should last no longer than a state lottery drawing, and she effectively short-circuited it.