American Idol Season 8

[Ksyrup]

Paula was useless last night, but she has actually been less useless in her comments this year than in past seasons. She has actually been on point with a few comments this year, when she's not too busy giving platitudes to Scott, playing around with Simon and losing her concentration, or completely speaking off the cuff. I have no doubt she comes up with most of her comments from the rehearsal, like she famously goofed on last season.

[IrishHand]

I don't disagree that she's been less useless this season and there were actually one or two moments in weeks past where she interrupted an undeserved flow of platitides from Randy and Kara to sort of criticize, but that doesn't detract from the (undeniable, imo) fact that you could drop her from the show and immediately improve both the quality and production of it.

Don't get me wrong, the producers are atrocious - especially given the popularity of the show and money they have/make - but Paula has got to be their biggest enemy. I'd love to see a breakdown of how much each judge has spoken as a percentage of air time. She's got to be 50% more than any of the others despite her generally unintelligible gibberish.

[Ksyrup]

Taking everything into consideration, including criticism, I think Paula is third in line for judges who need to go. I'd dump Kara and Randy first. I was really hoping Kara would be a more no-nonsense, straight-talker - kinda Simon without the ego/attitude, but with industry/songwriting knowledge. Instead, she's utterly worseless, basically the producer's mouthpiece. At least the last couple of weeks she's hidden her ears.

The guy I'd like to see do this show, but with Simon the egos wouldn't allow it...David Foster. He's kinda what I hoped kara would be, except without the ego and name recognition. I liked him on that celebrity singing show he judged a few years ago. They could dump Randy and Kara and let Paula deal with 2 big ego guys, and easily create a new schtick for the show.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

I get the feeling Kris might stay around longer than people think (like top 3 or even top 2).

Apparently the teeny-boppers love him. Has he even been in the bottom three yet this year?

He was in the bottom 3... 2 weeks ago I think?

Kris happens to be my favorite fwiw, but I understand why people like some of the others more.

[MJ4H]

I like Kara way better than Paula.

[Ksyrup]

I guess it's all about expectations. I think Kara sucks because she is a corporate mouthpiece who adds nothing to the show, despite her qualifications. Paula brought very little to the show to begin with, so my expectations for her are quite low.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I like Kara way better than Paula.

Ditto.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by wade moore

He was in the bottom 3... 2 weeks ago I think?

Kirs hasn't been in the Bottom 3 yet. The wiki page keeps track of the results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idol_(season_8)

[Ksyrup]

Paula says next week is disco and she's choreographing the group number. Weeeeee!

[Arles]

Unless it's Anoop, can anyone see the judges not saving the voted off person? I guess they could let Matt go, but he seems to be a favorite as well by some.

As to the show last night, it took me about 20 minutes to watch the show and I still needed to have a 2-3 minute buffer on the recording to catch the final comments. That's pretty ridiculous. With about 18-20 minutes of actual performance plus comments, there's no reason they should be going over. And eliminating Simon's comments is like the Super Bowl ending after 3 quarters just to make sure they can fit in an extended halftime show - it doesn't make much sense for the audience.

Honestly, this is about the least interested I've been in the Idol winner since the Fantasia season. Outside of maybe Danny or Matt (with a lot of polish), I can't see myself buying any of these guys and I really don't find them all that interesting. Adam is somewhat interesting, but his vocal gymnastics with every song (regardless of the content) is growing tiresome and indulgent. I'll finish watching, but it's going to be in the 20-25 minute "Tivo" burst like I watched last night.

[Raiders Army]

On the show's next-to-last episode this season they should make the judges state their case why they should be back next season and have America vote for who stays.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Arles

Unless it's Anoop, can anyone see the judges not saving the voted off person? I guess they could let Matt go, but he seems to be a favorite as well by some.

As to the show last night, it took me about 20 minutes to watch the show and I still needed to have a 2-3 minute buffer on the recording to catch the final comments. That's pretty ridiculous. With about 18-20 minutes of actual performance plus comments, there's no reason they should be going over. And eliminating Simon's comments is like the Super Bowl ending after 3 quarters just to make sure they can fit in an extended halftime show - it doesn't make much sense for the audience.

Honestly, this is about the least interested I've been in the Idol winner since the Fantasia season. Outside of maybe Danny or Matt (with a lot of polish), I can't see myself buying any of these guys and I really don't find them all that interesting. Adam is somewhat interesting, but his vocal gymnastics with every song (regardless of the content) is growing tiresome and indulgent. I'll finish watching, but it's going to be in the 20-25 minute "Tivo" burst like I watched last night.

I don't think they would save Lil'

[Eaglesfan27]

I don't think they would save Kris either, at least not if it really has to be unanimous.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Arles

And eliminating Simon's comments is like the Super Bowl ending after 3 quarters just to make sure they can fit in an extended Emmitt Smith commentary.

Fixed.

I caught about 5 minutes of last night's show, enough to hear Paula ramble on about some nonsense which Simon then followed up with "I have no idea what you're talking about."

[MJ4H]

Ludicrous. Waste of a week.

edit: what they apparently missed also was that he was the correct one to send home based on last night's performances.

[Danny]

What happened?

[sabotai]

They saved Matt. 2 people go home next week.

Prediction: Adam, Allison or Danny will be in the Bottom 2 next week.

[Danny]

I could definitely see this backfiring on them as Sabotai pointed out.

[Danny]

Still, I understand it. As a recording artist, Matt has a lot of potential. He just needs some help with putting together songs and arrangements that suit him.

[Raiders Army]

meh. 'N Sync doesn't sell many records now.

[Thomkal]

Well with Disco week coming up, I would have saved the save for it. And can we just get rid of disco week please? Say what you will about Simon, but I agree with his assessments more often than not. He's right about Matt-no way he's going to win unless he somehow finds perfect songs and arrangements and doesn't go overboard on his riffs. That's not going to happen, so I hope it doesn't backfire on them.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Mustang

I still stand by my prediction..

Bravo, sir. Nicely done.

The decisions being made on how this show progresses continue to amaze me. If you are going to use the save - for fuck sake, if you're going to HAVE a save - why would you precede using it on someone by stating that they have no chance of winning the competition? How does that make any bit of sense?!

Bottom line - which Mustang apparently figured out from the start - is that the save was always meant to be used so they could have a week where no one went home, followed by a "shocking double elimination episode!" That's all it was. Sure, I guess if Adam or Danny found themselves in last place in week 8, they'd probably have used it. But outside of extraordinary circumstances, the save was nothing more than a drama device. It basically replaces the Idol Gives Back week, where no one goes home, but they make up for it with 2 cuts the next week.

Also, something is very fishy about the fact that DialIdol has had Kris dead last 2 weeks in a row, yet he's not even been bottom 3. DialIdol has never been that far off, that I can recall. Either the numbers are just too bunched for it to be accurate and Kris has coincidentally benefited (while Lil has been adversely affected), or there are some shenanigans going on.

[Ksyrup]

BTW...I'd pay good money to see Adam do It's Raining Men for disco week. I mean, he's danced all around it, so why not? No one seems to care - even Bill O'Reilly couldn't energize the homophobic crowd against him last week.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

BTW...I'd pay good money to see Adam do It's Raining Men for disco week. I mean, he's danced all around it, so why not? No one seems to care - even Bill O'Reilly couldn't energize the homophobic crowd against him last week.

Adam = Stayin' Alive

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Bravo, sir. Nicely done.

I'd take more credit, but I phrased it wrong. Meant the week of 7 which would have been this week. I think next week is technically week 7... (I think.. I'm all screwed up)

Regardless though, was pretty evident what they were trying/wanting to do. I equate my prediction to Nostradamus coming up with a quatrain to prediction the sun rising.

Generally, dialidol has been pretty good this year, but they've had a few obvious misses. I believe you need people to use their program to vote so, could it be thrown off by not enough people using dialidol to vote for Kris which throws the numbers off.

[Mota]

With two people being eliminated next week the chances of one of their precious people being voted out is way out of whack. Makes no sense since the voters have said that they do not want him in anyways.

It undermines Americas vote. Sad.

[IrishHand]

Mustang: Well done sir.

Idol: wtfstupidirrelevantgimmickysave?

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Well with Disco week coming up, I would have saved the save for it. And can we just get rid of disco week please? Say what you will about Simon, but I agree with his assessments more often than not. He's right about Matt-no way he's going to win unless he somehow finds perfect songs and arrangements and doesn't go overboard on his riffs. That's not going to happen, so I hope it doesn't backfire on them.

Come on, man - I *like* disco!

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Come on, man - I *like* disco!

oh poor poor cuervo....

[Ksyrup]

From MJ:

(If you haven’t heard: David Archuleta sings “A Little Too Not Over You”, plus disco icons Harry Wayne “KC” Casey, Thelma Houston and Freda Payne perform on the results show.)

[Mustang]

They are going to go over again. 8 seasons in and they can't figue out how to produce this.

Paula.. shut. the. fuck. up

[Easy Mac]

Seriously, the judges are rusty-tromboning that Adam performance? Yes,that was original... original in it shitaculousness

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Seriously, the judges are rusty-tromboning that Adam performance? Yes,that was original... original in it shitaculousness

Agreed. Allison was equally bad and Anoop was the worst.

Kris' performance was the best and showed a lot of shrewdness considering two will leave this week so if you're going to do well, do well this episode.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Agreed. Allison was equally bad and Anoop was the worst.

Kris' performance was the best and showed a lot of shrewdness considering two will leave this week so if you're going to do well, do well this episode.

I hated Kris' performance completely. I didn't like Lil Rounds either, hated Anoop, I don't even remember Adam's performance hardly at this point.

Danny and Allison I thought both were ok, the only one I liked was probably Matt which is funny all things considering.

I don't really listen to music much though, this may be why

[Ksyrup]

Anoop and Lil were the worst for me. What I didn't like about Adam's was the arrangement - the only thing memorable about that song is the syncopated rhythm of the chorus, and he lost that completely. Plus, you knew when you saw him in a suit he'd be doing a ballad. I guess he's going to alternate manic/heartfelt every other week.

I thought Kris' was the best, and although I don't really like him all that much, I respect that he's just going out there, doing his Mraz thing each week, and if he goes home, so be it. That's what he wants to be, and there's no sense singing a glory note song just to please the judges. He's pretty much what Castro was supposed to be last year, except this guy is sober and can sing.

[Arles]

Kris and Danny were the best. The "second tier" was Adam and Matt with Allison at the bottom end of it. The worst were easily Anoop and Lil (despite looking quite yummy).

I really can't get this Adam thing - everything is like the old "Paul Bearer" from WWF fame singing. I get the vocal gymnastics, I just don't get the appeal. Kris really has a chance now and I think Danny's going to need some top performances down the stretch to leg him out as the normal octave foil to Adam in the finals.

[Solecismic]

Disco was king when I first started listening to music. At least music more mature than the wistful stylings of Fred Rogers and the Neighborhood. So I have a soft spot for Disco Week on American Idol.

Unfortunately, disco is about dancing and harmony and energy. Idol's backup singers and band are better suited for '60s music. At least they were in the past. This year, I don't know what they're suited for. Maybe still '60s music - music of the 1760s. Maybe there's a good harpsichordist in the group. Maybe they'll come out and shine on American Independence Week.

This week the backup singers worked hard to drown out the Idols. And the band worked hard to find arrangements that baffled the mind. At least from a disco perspective.

Many of the contestants tried slowed-down versions of disco standards. I was left not-so-eagerly anticipating some hapless singer arranging the Village People and "Y, uM, beCAuse we like you."

The results were just OK. Only one singer really bombed out there, but it wasn't a tremendously enjoyable evening.

The band is now queuing up Donna Summer's "Last Relatively Moderately-Paced Stroll" so I better get back to this week's Solecismic Ratings.

1. Adam Lambert. Adam came out with a nice, controlled and very ballady version of a classic from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. At one point, he felt the need to let out one of his patented Broadway Screams. That scared people a little. In fact, it's quite possible that tens of thousands of viewers at home saw their dogs suddenly leave the room, vowing to leave a little present on the master bedroom floor. But Adam's a professional singer amongst a group of relative amateurs, so I will only deduct a few points for the scream. Score of 88.

2. Danny Gokey. We're already down to mediocre. It wasn't like I enjoyed Danny tonight. He started out with a real karaoke tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire. And the rest of the way he was fighting out-of-control backup singers. But underneath all that mess were some very nice runs. I'm not sure, but I think there was some actual singing going on there from about 15 seconds in until about 15 seconds from the end. Score of 79.

3. Allison Iraheta. Tonight, Allison was back in her niche, and belting out quality rocker notes. She kept it slow, and it didn't sound like something from the disco era. I thought she started to get out of control toward the end, and the whole performance was a bit gimmicky. Not good enough for top three in most weeks, but she had very good tone and it's obvious she has quite a future in music. Score of 78.

4. Kris Allen. So much love from the judges, I thought they were going to build a statue on the judging stand to worship this Idol. Kris turned out a jazzy/folky/poppy slowed-down rendition of something Donna Summer once performed. I was bored, though I could finally hear Kris' guitar work. He didn't have any connection to the song, but he did have a very nice sound this week. I think he benefited significantly from singing right after the Lil disaster.

5. Anoop Desai. Anoop got the pimp spot at the end of the rotation this week, which will probably save him from going home. He's definitely lasted a lot longer than he should. Anoop belted out a boy-band bleating version of another Donna Summer song. He didn't show any range. And he definitely sounded a lot like a wedding singer. He's just not good enough to compete at this point. He didn't screw up at all, he's just out of his league. Score of 65.

6. Matt Giraud. Matt was the beneficiary of the judges' save last week. It's the new gimmick where Simon and his band of merry critics hold up their middle fingers to the millions of mad-dialing teenagers who supposedly make the decisions. I'm still not understanding the logic of this new rule. One of two things can happen. Either Matt goes home this week anyway, no harm done. Or two people not named Matt go home, in which case fans of the second-lowest vote-getter this week will be furious that Mr. Last Place from last week is still in the running while their favorite is gone. Matt, for reasons known only to the Golden Muse of Irony, chose to sing the Bee Gees' standard Staying Alive. It came out at a frenetic pace, with Matt's odd occasional homage to the falsetto breaking up a weird and pointless arrangement of the song. As usual, Matt showed off every one of his 100 different singing styles, which is hard to do in the space of two minutes. I was reminded why he should have gone home last week. Score of 64.

7. Lil Rounds. I think Lil gave up a month ago. She's a screamer with no low range, and she hits so many bad notes it's hard to tell where the melody begins and Lil ends. Tonight, she murdered Chaka Khan. Her energy level was low, so we heard the backup singers. The backups were a lot better. This was a performance song, so her lifeless interpretation fell flat more than usual. Simon made a huge mistake telling people she will go home. That will rally her fans. Score of 47.

Expected Bottom Four: Matt, Kris, Allison, Anoop.

Who Should Go: Anoop and Lil.

Who Will Go: Matt and, in a shocker that will have them regretting using the save last week, Allison.

[Ksyrup]

DialIdol discussion in the spoiler:

Spoiler

I firmly believe Lil is getting 100% of the black/R&B vote right now. It's the only thing that can explain where she keeps landing. Last week DialIdol had her much higher and she was still bottom 3, but since she didn't go home, I'm not too sure about that. The results are so bunched up it's going to be impossible to determine who's going home. Allison is at the bottom, separated by 2 points from Kris, Anoop, and Matt, who are all within a half-point of each other. Danny is 2 points ahead of them, and then Lil and Adam are separated from the pack at the top. Very bizarre.

If Allison goes, that would be a big loss at this point. I simply don't want to hear Anoop, Lil, or Matt ever again.

[rjolley]

As much as I like her, Lil needs to go. She hasn't performed well since the Top 11 I think it was, and is obviously getting extremely frustrated with the judges. They want her to sound like an R&B artist and that's it. She's trying, and failing, to sound like she can sing different styles. Add that with she hasn't been very original in her arrangements, and she's come across as karaoke.

Anoop struggled, Danny and Matt were basically interchangeable and average at best, Adam and Allison were good, and Kris turned in a very good performance.

Not the best week by any stretch. If Lil gets saved again, it's a shame. Did Matt and Danny rehearse together this week? And who picks the arrangements that are used? It seems that everyone except Lil changed their song a bit. Is that done by the Idols, or is there someone else pulling the strings on that?

[IrishHand]

Randy obviously believes that if you tell America a lie often enough, they will eventually believe it. Seven great singers? Best evah? Um...yeah...not close. Thanks for coming out though.

I enjoyed Kris' performance and felt the others ranged from average (Adam) to awful (Lil, Anoop). I thought it was funny that only three of the performers actually did disco songs (meaning endlessly repetitive dance songs) and two of them (Lil, Giraud) got ripped for the arrangement. Giraud goes out and does the ultimate disco anthem and you don't like how it's done? I suppose he was supposed to make it a ballad (and, um, not a disco song) like most of the others? Gokey did a straight disco song poorly, imo, but got fellated as per usual because he's Archuleta II.

It's just become so formulaic to me. They have their favorites early, they puff them every chance they get, the others are just disposable window dressing. My wife and I were discussing this last night, but I would guess this is our last year watching Idol minus some pretty substantive judge/format/production changes. DWTS, for instance, is a far better show imo.

[Ksyrup]

Considering he did a fairly disco arrangement of a disco song, Matt would have been better if he had left out the falsetto runs. That dude will be the ultimate CD artist - stay away from his live performances, because that gravelly vibrato voice teeters on grating/out of tune on nearly every note.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by IrishHand

Gokey did a straight disco song poorly, imo, but got fellated as per usual because he's Archuleta II.

Originally Posted by IrishHand

DWTS, for instance, is a far better show imo.

Basically, I don't think I could disagree with those two things more. Gokey did not do the song poorly, is barely anything like Archuleta, and Dancing with the effing Stars??

Guh. Maybe I just hate dancing.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Considering he did a fairly disco arrangement of a disco song, Matt would have been better if he had left out the falsetto runs. That dude will be the ultimate CD artist - stay away from his live performances, because that gravelly vibrato voice teeters on grating/out of tune on nearly every note.

Pretty much right on. Randy kept saying "you can really sing." Yeah, well, so can my mother. No one wants to listen to her either, though.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by IrishHand

Randy obviously believes that if you tell America a lie often enough, they will eventually believe it. Seven great singers? Best evah? Um...yeah...not close. Thanks for coming out though.

Ok so, well name the season that has had the best top 7 then.

For as much as some of you bitch about the show, you still keep watching. If I dislike something, I pretty much avoid it.

[IrishHand]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Ok so, well name the season that has had the best top 7 then.

For me, season 5 was the best season in terms of the performances we got on Idol. I also think season 6 was better than the current season. Obviously, both those seasons had some crap in their top 7s...but they also had top-end talent that's completely lacking from the present season imo.

To me, the most obvious indicator is the dearth of "wow" performances. I remember in seasons' past when contestants like Daughtry or Doolittle (or even people I didn't like - say McPhee or Underwood) would go out and give a performance where I'd turn to my wife and say "wow, that was really, really good". It seems like that used to happen every 2-3 weeks. I haven't had one of those moments yet this season and we're over half-way done the season.

Originally Posted by Mustang

For as much as some of you bitch about the show, you still keep watching. If I dislike something, I pretty much avoid it.

It's like a bad college relationship. Objectively, the time and emotion you put into it in the past is irrelevant, but you still hang on hoping for the magic to come back. Same reason I watched "24" for two seasons past season 2 and West Wing after Sorkin left.

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Basically, I don't think I could disagree with those two things more. Gokey did not do the song poorly, is barely anything like Archuleta, and Dancing with the effing Stars?

I didn't say that Gokey did it poorly, only that he in no way merited the "omg awesomeness" feedback that he got. I thought Gokey was average, as he's been for several weeks imo. And the Archuleta analogy isn't a "they're similar singers" thing...it's because they both sound nice the first time or two you hear them, but then after a while, you realize that all their performances are basically the same. Limited range, not dynamic...they go out and sing well and that's it. Hey - I don't take issue with people who really like Gokey any more than I take issue with people who really like Nickleback - personal preference. I just don't get the wholesale love that Gokey regularly gets from the judges even when it's not warranted. His "Hero" was very good - what he's done since then has been pretty consistently average imo.

As for DWTS...to me, it's a much better show. The judges offer coherent and moderately thoughful/critical/defensible comments. The production is much better (esp. when you consider the disparity in resources vis a vis Idol). The storylines seem far more legitimate and engaging and far less contrived. I'm not a fan of dancing per se, but I enjoy the interesting dynamic of these professional dancers getting celebrities to perform at a high level (or not) doing challenging latin/ballroom dances.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, the judging on DWTS looks like master thesis work compared to what we get on AI. I think that's probably because AI is so shamelessly looking for a recording artist that, like the process of creating a pop star, the "criticism" has less to do with technical ability and more to do with personality, performance/wow factor, and a healthy dose of hyping the contestants the producers want to make the finals. All of it makes the judging feel less like critique and more like cheerleading.

[lordscarlet]

Season 1
1 Kelly Clarkson
2 Justin Guarini
3 Nikki McKibbin
4 Tamyra Gray
5 R.J. Helton
6 Christina Christian
7 Ryan Starr

Season 2
1 Ruben Studdard
2 Clay Aiken
3 Kimberly Locke
4 Josh Gracin
5 Trenyce
6 Carmen Rasmusen
7 Kimberly Caldwell

Season 3
1 Fantasia Barrino
2 Diana Degarmo
3 Jasmine Trias
4 Latoya London
5 George Huff
6 John Stevens
7 Jennifer Hudson

Season 4
1 Carrie Underwood
2 Bo Bice
3 Vonzell Solomon
4 Anthony Federov
5 Scott Savol
6 Constantine Mouralis
7 Anwar Robinson

Season 5
1 Taylor Hicks
2 Katharine McPhee
3 Elliott Yamin
4 Chris Daughtry
5 Paris Bennett
6 Kellie Pickler
7 Ace Young

Season 6
1 Jordin Sparks
2 Blake Lewis
3 Melinda Doolittle
4 LaKisha Jones
5 Chris Richardson
6 Phil Stacey
7 Sanjaya Malakar

Season 7
1 David Cook
2 David Archuleta
3 Syesha Mercado
4 Jason Castro
5 Brooke White
6 Carly Smithson
7 Kristy Lee Cook

Season 8
Kris Allen
Anoop Desai
Matt Giraud
Danny Gokey
Allison Iraheta
Adam Lambert
Lil Rounds


Season 5? Really? Randy is talking about the full 7, not the top tier isolated.

And I wouldn't compare to DWTS. If you want to compare it to SYTYCD, sure, but not DWTS. SYTYCD is also put together much better.

[IrishHand]

(2-3 quality singers) + (4-5 below-average singers) > (7 average singers)

At least with the former, I get a pleasant blend of good and crappy performances, as opposed to the attrition-by-mediocrity I feel like I've gotten this season. *shrug* Maybe I'm just getting old and crotchety.

In retrospect, I think seasons 1 and 3 were very weak, seasons 2, 7 and 8 were average and seasons 4, 5 and 6 were good. So saying, the early seasons were more interesting because of the novelty of the show/concept and, imo, they weren't as blatantly manipulative ("cheerleading", as Ksyrup described it).

Who in the current group am I going to remember in a year or two - either because they're commercially successful (Clarkson, Sparks, etc) or because they stood out during their season (Taylor, Bice, Blake Lewis)? I just can't find any reasonable metric where I'd say "this is the best top 7" (given my indifference between average and below-average singers).

[Danny]

Favorite was Kris again this week. I also liked Danny and Adam though neither was great. Allison and Matt were ok, and Anoop and Lil I did not like.

Overall, I still like the group of 7 we have better than most AI seasons. So far in idol history there have only been a couple artists I have or would possibly buy albums from (Daughtry, Cook, Bice, Underwood and that's about it although I liked Blake's live performances). Bice's album sucked and fortunately I never bought it. I'd consider buying Kris, Danny and probably Matt from this season (his studio versions are better than his live performances).

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Danny

I liked Danny

Huh. Go figure.