American Idol Season 8

[Danny]

This could be a very bad night for AI, If something like Danny and Adam going home happens.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Danny

This could be a very bad night for AI, If something like Danny and Adam going home happens.

Two ways to look at it from their point of view. If someone gets kicked off, people will take more of an interest. Or...do they manipulate the decision to make sure they stay on. If you never have checked out the disclaimer on the show, you owe it to yourself to. They can change the voting whenevery the deem it appropriate.

[Arles]

As someone who has watched every season, I would rank the top 7 remaining as (in order of best to worst):
5
8
7
4
1
6
2
3

Season 5 was the best at the top 7 (5 have gone on to have fairly successful careers). This season is probably next. People forget how unbelievably dreadful season 3 was. Hudson was "ok", but left fairly early. Jasmine, Latoya, George and John were not good at all. Diana was runner up and would rank 6th in this group and Fantasia was easily the worst winner (edging out Taylor and Ruben). Season 1 was also real light outside of Kelly and Tamyra - the rest were not very good.

As to watching it in the future, I certainly will. Tivo has made this show watchable and you can get the full experience (if you remember to add 4-5 minutes to makeup for the crappy production accuracy) in a half-hour block for Tuesday and a 15 minute block on Wed. That's not a ton of time to devote to a show with decent entertainment and a large amount of unintentional comedy.

[IrishHand]

Originally Posted by rowech

Or...do they manipulate the decision to make sure they stay on. If you never have checked out the disclaimer on the show, you owe it to yourself to. They can change the voting whenevery the deem it appropriate.

Link?

I know that they claim to monitor and ax the votes of 'power dialling' votes (at their discretion)...are you referring to something else? I couldn't find anything on their site.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by IrishHand

Link?

I know that they claim to monitor and ax the votes of 'power dialling' votes (at their discretion)...are you referring to something else? I couldn't find anything on their site.

Record the episode tonight and when they roll the final credits, there will be a disclaimer. Pause and read. Unless they've changed it, it basically says the results can be adjusted if the producers feel it's better for the show to go a certain way.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by rowech

Record the episode tonight and when they roll the final credits, there will be a disclaimer. Pause and read. Unless they've changed it, it basically says the results can be adjusted if the producers feel it's better for the show to go a certain way.

Ummm, no.

"Production will have in place weekly monitoring procedures designed to prevent individuals from unfairly influencing the outcome of the voting by generating significant blocks of votes using technical enhancements. The producers reserve the right to remove any identified ‘power dialling’ votes. "

[Eaglesfan27]

The actual wording is that the producers reserve the right to remove identified "power voting."

Edit: What Jeeber said.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Ummm, no.

"Production will have in place weekly monitoring procedures designed to prevent individuals from unfairly influencing the outcome of the voting by generating significant blocks of votes using technical enhancements. The producers reserve the right to remove any identified ‘power dialling’ votes. "

They have certainly changed the wording if that is what it looks like in it's current form. Previously, it gave producers the right to change the voting. I wish I remembered what the exact wording was but that wasn't it. This was probably three years ago so it very easily could have been changed.

[Mustang]

Quick ax right off the bat.

[mauchow]

Wow, the producers got it right.

[Raiders Army]

Glad to see the minorities are kicked off!

Seriously, there's still a girl and gay left in the competition.

[Drake]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Glad to see the minorities are kicked off!

Seriously, there's still a girl and gay left in the competition.

I thought girls were the majority in this country.

[Ksyrup]

I'm shocked at how badly DialIdol has flubbed with Lil, two weeks in a row. I wonder if a disproportionate number of Lil voters use the DI software.

[Arles]

I always thought the "public" piece of DialIdol is flawed. If you are an Adam or Danny fan, chances are you won't care about DialIdol. On the other hand, if you're rooting for Lil, Matt or Anoop, I'm guessing that site has more interest. It just stands to reason that fans of a potentially "axed" victim would be more likely to check via the site.

At this stage, you only have a handful of options for leaving. 4-5 weeks ago, any of 6-7 people could be going so you probably got a little better sample. This week, it was pretty much between Anoop, Lil, Matt and to a lesser degree Allison for 2 slots. Next week, the odds are almost entirely Matt or Allison leaving. IMO, DialIdol stops being useful between the final 8 and the final 2-3.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, but DialIdol has done amazingly well in the past, regardless of week. This season has been a trainwreck for the most part.

[Ksyrup]

Next week's theme...plus Taylor Hicks comes back! Woo-hoo.

Next week, the Top 5 finalists – Kris Allen, Matt Giraud, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert – take the stage again Tuesday, April 28 (8:00-9:01 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) to perform standards made famous by members of the original Rat Pack, a group of legendary performers that included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

[Ksyrup]

Couple bits of trivia, from MJ's blog. I mentioned to my wife about Anoop going home after having the pimp spot, but I had no idea he was the first.

Anoop Desai is the first contestant to be eliminated after performing in the pimp spot in a single-song episode of Idol. Melinda Doolittle was eliminated Season 6 in 3rd place after performing last and Anthony Federov in 4th place Season 4. Both the Top 3 and 4 feature the Idols performing multiple songs.

Season 8 is the first season the Top 5 is without an African American female R&B singer.

[Solecismic]

Dialidol is claiming a perfect prediction with this one. I'm thinking this is a perfect example of how technical knowledge of how statistical confidence intervals work does not necessarily equal field knowledge.

[Ksyrup]

I think the smiley face looks awfully embarrassed.

Am I missing something, or did they essentially have this covered (according to them), regardless of who was in the bottom 3?

[sabotai]

Pretty easy to be right when you essentially predict everyone to place anywhere from 1st to last...

Seriously, everyone on there was predicted to place as low as 6th or 7th, so no matter who went, unless it was Lil' and Adam who went home, they can claim they got it right.

[Ksyrup]

Even if Lil and Adam went home, they could still claim they got 1 of those right, because one of them would have had to finish in 6th.

[Solecismic]

I've been working on my draft preview for Saturday. About half-way through the list now:

Matthew Stafford 1-32
Jason Smith 1-32
Eugene Monroe 1-32
Aaron Curry 1-32
Michael Crabtree 1-32
Malcolm Jenkins 1-32
Andre Smith 1-32
Jeremy Maclin 1-32
Knowshon Moreno 1-32
Tyson Jackson 1-32
Michael Oher 1-32
Brian Orakpo 1-32
Aaron Maybin 1-32
Mark Sanchez 1-32
Darius Butler 1-32
Brian Cushing 1-32

[Ksyrup]

Ha!

[Thomkal]

:sighs: at the theme for next week. It's time really to get rid of some of them and let them sing more current songs from artists the contestants might have actually heard of before.

[Mustang]

MBBF own dialidol?

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

:sighs: at the theme for next week. It's time really to get rid of some of them and let them sing more current songs from artists the contestants might have actually heard of before.

And not set Adam Lambert up to win?

In all seriousness though, what is the point of doing all these genres? It's silly. None of these contestants are going to make an album like that. Why try and see if they can sing it?

[Alan T]

I guess I am the only one that likes all of these genre, but that probably figures since I don't really listen to music these days and would get extremely tired of listening to Adam singing songs that would be on his record every single week.

Considering I wouldn't get any music from any of these final five (or final 12, or final 36, etc), I'm probably not the target audience however.

[Ksyrup]

I think having all these genres/themes is the way they justify dragging the season out so long. If they just did variations on the same thing every week, people would get bored as hell. Plus, at least with theme weeks, we have an increased chance for a trainwreck or three.

[Ksyrup]

American Idol throwing us (or at least me) a frickin' boon with this:

Slash, guituarist for the bands Guns and Roses and Velvet Revolver just tweeted the following:

American Idol has asked me to do the mentor bit for Rock Week. #fb

That’s probably next week for the Top 4, as Top 3 is typically reserved for hometown visits and the judges/producers choice.

Hopefully will be Adam Allison, Kris, and Danny. Have no interest in listening to Matt bleat his way through a rock song.

[Ksyrup]

Also, Natalie Cole this week and ppossibly Daughtry rock week as special guests. Or, as we like to call them - the FF VIPs.

[Ksyrup]

Tonight's mentor is Jamie Foxx. Um...OK? No solid word on whether they will be doing 2 songs each, although with the production issues, if they do it I hope they expand to an 80-90 minute show.

[Mustang]

Interesting -

hxxp://www.nypost.com/seven/04282009/tv/idols_itunes_shocker_166567.htm


Rat Pack week? ugh... I just hate that kind of music. And they should only sing 1 song this week (top 5). 2 next week (top 4) and then 3 each (top 3, finals).

[Ksyrup]

Danny clearly peaked too early. Would not shock me at all if either Allison or Kris ended up in the top 2. Matt's the only one left I don't think even has a shot at top 3.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Danny clearly peaked too early. Would not shock me at all if either Allison or Kris ended up in the top 2. Matt's the only one left I don't think even has a shot at top 3.

Possible Allison goes tonight given the genre. Matt should do ok with it so I think either him or Allison goes tonight with the other the next week.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Possible Allison goes tonight given the genre. Matt should do ok with it so I think either him or Allison goes tonight with the other the next week.

Agreed...I'll be really impressed if Allison can stay after this week.

[rowech]

I wonder who the producers want to win?????

[Easy Mac]

I hated Adam's performance. It was a little theatrical? It's like he butt fucked a crappy musical. It was grating on every level.

[Drake]

At this point, I really have to think that Adam needs to lose if he wants any sort of career. He's clearly a Vegas/Broadway talent both in skill set and presentation. He is not a recording star...unless he ended up in some bizarre metal fusion band that would be the rough musical equivalent of a lovechild between My Chemical Romance and Queen.

Which, now that I think of it, could rock really hard if they had interesting song writing to back it up, but I digress.

If he wins, he's going to put out the obligatory AI album that will be absolutely horrible because no one knows what to do with him. The album will be to the recording industry what E.T. The Extra Terrestrial was to the Atari 2600, and it will completely ruin any career he might have had.

Come in second. Sign a contract with one of the strip hotels in Vegas or a get a deal with the hot show of the season on Broadway and watch the money roll in.

[Solecismic]

Hello, and welcome to Rat Pack week. Our American Idol contestants will be crooning standards made famous by men like Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Did you know, by the way, Mr. Roper himself, Normal Fell, was once considered a member of the Rat Pack? Yeah, a sitcom guy.

In honor of Fell, since his death in 1998 precludes him acting as a celebrity mascot this week, another sitcom star, Jamie Foxx, will provide the mentoring. That's right, rapper Jamie Foxx.

But first, we're going to do something we've never done before on American Idol. We're going to treat you to a full commercial break before anyone sings. Why? Because we've decided, for the first time as well, to have everyone only perform once in the round of five. In the past, contestants always sang twice once there were only five remaining.

Hey, we had to keep it lighter for Jamie, you know. Why overwhelm him when he's doing this as a huge favor, since Mrs. Roper, Audra Lindley, was unavailable as well (OK, she died before he did, but you could always knock on her door if you needed a favor).

By the way, who was the better replacement for Chrissie? Jenilee Harrison or Priscilla Barnes? I always thought Jenilee was underrated. Maybe she'll sing tomorrow on the results show. She can't be as bad as that train wreck of a former disco artist they had last week who not only missed every single note, but apparently she broke the giant mirrored disco ball they've meticulously shined and maintained at the studio since 1977.

Since Don Knotts is dead, too, and you should shoot me if I start telling deputy jokes, I'll continue with the Solecismic ratings.

For the first time in five years doing this, I'm not going to declare a winner for the night. I thought there were three decent performances, but each had significant ups and downs. And each was flawed enough that I would consider it the worst winning performance of the season if I chose it. Maybe the worst since I've started writing these wrap-ups.

Maybe that's inevitable when the producers cut half of the regular show. So far this season, we've seen 114 songs performed. At this point in a normal season, we've seen 133. That's 14% less Idol at the same cost - well, a few more commercials and an extra judge we needed like we need a sixth toe on our feet.

1A. Allison Iraheta. Allison sang a standard called "Someone to Hatch Over Me." I'm not sure that was the intended title. But she wore a strange poofy dress that made her look a little like an ostrich, and the refrain certainly sounded a lot like she was singing "hatch." So perhaps that was Allison making the song her own in her own special little Allison way. Oh, never mind, Paula doesn't do that rambling thing so much any more. I'm mixing my parodies. Allison's enunciation was terrible. And her tone and control weren't as good as usual, but she was trying to play true to the genre. As much as she wanted to rock out, she didn't. Score of 76.

1B. Danny Gokey. Danny, on the other hand, didn't try as hard to stick to the Rat Pack genre. And I don't blame him. It appeared Jamie Foxx has a serious crush on him, with all that in-your-face talk about minty breath and poor Danny hadn't even had a chance to find a new pair of $500 designer glasses for the mentoring session. Danny livened up the song with some revival work toward the middle and end. I thought it was out of sync with the song, but he did a decent job with it. He's still definitely in a higher class than Taylor Hicks. While not a compliment, it's something. Score of 76.

1C. Adam Lambert. Tonight, Adam had some trouble modulating his voice, and he missed more than his share of notes, which is quite uncharacteristic. He went straight back to Broadway, as he always does, with his song. Randy was right - even though Adam is usually theatrical, and it's OK, tonight we got too much of it - especially with that long, screaming last note. As an aside, one the worst-kept secrets on the show is that the closing song roundup is based on the rehearsal, not the show itself. You can definitely see that with the end of Adam's song, in that he added an extra note and a weird simpering face at the end of the long note in the roundup, something he didn't do on the show itself. Score of 76.

4. Kris Allen. I thought Kris didn't connect at all with the song. He chose an uncomfortable high register, the arrangement featured a pointless higher-tempo run, and his riffs seemed random. He completely missed the last falsetto note. The look on the pianist's face was hilarious as he tried to match that note with his playing. Score of 71.

5. Matt Giraud. Simon raved about this performance, and I thought it was just dreadful. Maybe it's only fair what Simon said, because Foxx's advice about moving it to a lower register was criminal at best. Matt couldn't really sing in that register, he sounded strained, and it ruined the bigger higher notes he was leading into. Matt was also hopelessly out of key for long stretches. It wasn't a good "My Funny Valentine" at all, but it was kind of funny for this late in what's supposed to be a serious singing competition. Score of 59.

Expected Bottom 3: Matt, Kris, Allison.

Who Should Go: John Ritter's dead, too. That sucks. Well, Matt, I guess. He was bad tonight, and I still hate that silly save rule.

Who Will Go: Matt.

[Arles]

I'm a little different than some tonight it seems. Here's my take after watching the show:

1. Danny - Back to what we liked in the beginning. Laying it all out on the line and trying to win it. At this point, I'm going on chances I (or someone similar) buy their record - and Danny did the best tonight.

2. Matt - Jaime did give him great advice and this is the first performance in weeks I actually enjoyed from Matt. There's now a decent chance I would buy his record if he can stay on the notes and not freelance too much in inopportune moments. Easily one of his better performances.

3. Kris - Not quite as strong as the other two, but he did perform the song well and his tone was nice. I could maybe see myself buying a record, but it's not a slam dunk.

4. Adam - I was waiting for him to rip off a clothes and have a CATS suit on and start prowling and prancing. He did the song I probably like the most, but it was pretty over the top (even for Adam). I can't see myself ever buying his record, but I can atleast appreciate why some would like him. Still, this is like having world-class 100 meter sprinter in the Boston Marathon. He's good at what he does, this just isn't the right competition for him.

5. Allison - Simon should have brought out the "self-indulgent" card because she earned it. She's basically a less polished version of Melinda Doolittle without even her mediocre level of stage presence. She sings a song like she thinks people want to hear, but her style is very tiresome. She's like a 12-year old trying to sound all grown up when talking to a crowd of adults. She may be good in 2-3 years, but she's nowhere near as ready/polished as even Jordan and the other young girls have been. Honestly, she's the one person I have no interest in hearing perform as I know exactly how it will go - no chance I would ever buy her record.

I think people get way too caught up in "technical singing" - which is why Adam and Allison have done well of late. I think Jaime Foxx was good for this show as he wasn't some award-winning composer or 30-year performer. He was just a guy who knows what good music sounds like and tried to get each person to perform in a way that could actually be marketed to the masses. This was one of the better shows in a while and even the worst performance (Allison) wasn't dreadful and the top 3 were very good.

[rjolley]

Just would like to point out that Jamie Foxx isn't a rapper, he's an R&B artist.

Not much to add about the show. The 3 I heard, Allison, Danny, and Matt, were good, good, and not so good respectively. My wife said Adam is either a girl dressed as a guy or used to be a girl after he performed. Since I didn't see it (end of the Bulls/Celts game was on), I'll have to guess it was sung in an extremely high register, as that's what she says when he sings that way.

At this point, I don't really care who goes or who stays, but if I had to guess, I'd say Matt is put out of his misery this week, Kris next, then it's a toss up.

[miked]

Yes, he's also a classically trained pianist and apparently went to school for classical music and composition. So I guess he's not a rapper...

[Ksyrup]

I had no idea Jamie Foxx had any musical talent/ability until last night. I'm not sure I actually believe it, but in any event, I never knew he even released a song/album or had a music career of any kind. I think the last time I saw him was on In Living Color (although I am aware he played Ray Charles in that movie, but I never saw it).

Last night was the suckiest show that ever sucked. Boring shit, and I can't believe Simon complimented Matt after that disaster.

[Ksyrup]

I'd say based on DialIdol, anyone could go home. This could be Adam's escape. Didn't Daughtry leave at top 4 or 5?

[Solecismic]

Since I only knew Jamie Foxx from the sitcoms and was surprised they were talking about music, I Wikied him. He has grammy nominations in both Rap and R&B.

[rjolley]

Ah, I see. Those songs were done with rap artists.

When Jamie first came out as a singer after In Living Color, people thought his music would be like Eddie Murphy's (not good). However, he has a good voice. If you like R&B, you should check out Unpredictable. It's a good album.

[mtolson]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Since I only knew Jamie Foxx from the sitcoms and was surprised they were talking about music, I Wikied him. He has grammy nominations in both Rap and R&B.

Most that haven't followed his career are surprised. Jamie is by no means a rapper, although a few of his songs did have rappers appear in them and vice versa. He has studied the piano for more than half his life.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I had no idea Jamie Foxx had any musical talent/ability until last night. I'm not sure I actually believe it, but in any event, I never knew he even released a song/album or had a music career of any kind. I think the last time I saw him was on In Living Color (although I am aware he played Ray Charles in that movie, but I never saw it).

Last night was the suckiest show that ever sucked. Boring shit, and I can't believe Simon complimented Matt after that disaster.

He really is outstanding in Ray.

[Danny]

I thought it was a strong week and enjoyed to some degree all the performances. I like Kris a lot, but I was hoping for a more soft and heartfelt performance from him. I'd probably rank them Danny and a 4 way tie after that.

[Danny]

I wish both Adam and Kris had sung the song like they did in front of Jamie.