American Idol Season 8

[Danny]

Watching it now. Adam was awesome and great advice from slash. If he made an album like that I would definitely buy it.

[Ksyrup]

I've been saying from the start that Adam beongs in a hard rock/metal band. Still a bit disappointed he didn't take on a Queensryche song. I Don't Believe In Love or Eyes of a Stranger would have been nice.

Looks like this will be a fight between Kris and Allison to go home. Might be a toss-up.

[Danny]

Wasn't hard to see who would shine this week. I think both Danny and Kris made the mistake of trying to rock with Adam and Allison. They should have taken a rock song and changed it to fit their style. Of course, they probably would have been embarrassed in front of slash, but at least not on the AI stage. Kris and Danny are still my overall favorites , but only if they are doing their own style.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I've been saying from the start that Adam beongs in a hard rock/metal band. Still a bit disappointed he didn't take on a Queensryche song. I Don't Believe In Love or Eyes of a Stranger would have been nice.

Looks like this will be a fight between Kris and Allison to go home. Might be a toss-up.

I much prefer Kris overall, my favorite studio performance for anyone out of the season is Kris' Falling Slowly. But yeah, if Adam goes into a hard rock band he would be exceptional.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Danny should be shot for the warbling he shit all over Renegade. Lordy that was horrible.

I wouldn't go that far, but he should go home tonight based on his 2 performances.

My order is the same as most:

1. Adam - incredible performance, my favorite of his.
2. Allison - solid solo, great duet.
3. Kris - lucky Danny was horrible.
4. Danny

[IrishHand]

It amuses me that the judges have already wasted most of their standard over-the-top superlatives on Adam, so now they're reduced to laughable statements like "you aren't a rock star, you're a rock god". Really? Adam Lambert is in the same conversation as Bruce Dickinson, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Mercury, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant?

Don't get me wrong - he did very well last night, but c'mon now...

I actually expected last night to be a lot better than it ended up being. Allison needed to hit a home run and didn't. Kris and Danny were poor. Why did they pick this week to stop ignoring the theme and doing their own thing?

[Arles]

Originally Posted by IrishHand

Why did they pick this week to stop ignoring the theme and doing their own thing?

Quite honestly, I think they were all intimidated by Slash. It was pretty obvious that he only liked Adam and thought the other two guys were "pretty boys". I'm guessing if Kris tried his Mraz gig (and maybe he did at first), Slash would have laughed him out of the studio (same goes for Danny).

To me, there was a stark contrast in the mentoring for the past two weeks. Foxx came in and tried to have the candidates adjust the theme to their sound and we had some solid performances. Slash came in and tried to shoe-horn all 4 into up-tempo rock songs and the results were disastrous (outside of Adam, as this was his wheelhouse).

[Ksyrup]

I think they were forced to keep these songs as close to the originals as possible. I also think they were stuck with "classic rock" songs, so they couldn't choose a newer rock song that might fit them better. I don't think Slash had much to do with that.

I'd also like to point out for Kara's benefit that Cryin and Crazy are NOT "early period Aerosmith." Dream On is like 20+ years older than both of those songs. I can't tell if she misspoke or is genuinely that stupid.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'd also like to point out for Kara's benefit that Cryin and Crazy are NOT "early period Aerosmith." Dream On is like 20+ years older than both of those songs. I can't tell if she misspoke or is genuinely that stupid.

My wife was just going nuts about that.

And, if your assumptions are correct (which they probably are),a nd on top of that, Kara did mis-speak, that's more crap from teh judges. They can't sit there and say "You should have done earlier Aerosmith" if those songs were not available. It just makes the contestants look bad.

[lordscarlet]

dola: that is, she said something as soon as Kara said it -- and she just sent me a quote from the Washington Post about it.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I think they were forced to keep these songs as close to the originals as possible. I also think they were stuck with "classic rock" songs, so they couldn't choose a newer rock song that might fit them better. I don't think Slash had much to do with that.

But they could have taken a slower tempo classic rock song and "made it their own". Just in the Beatles arena, people have done that before with songs like Paperback Writer, Day Tripper and Get Back. There are a ton of opportunities with other songs as well. IMO, there's no way Slash would have allowed that as it would have desecrated an old classic rock song - even though it would have been in Kris' best interest to do it.

Again, it seemed Slash's interest was in staying true to the "classic rock" theme even to the detriment of the contestants.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'd also like to point out for Kara's benefit that Cryin and Crazy are NOT "early period Aerosmith." Dream On is like 20+ years older than both of those songs. I can't tell if she misspoke or is genuinely that stupid.

I had a good laugh about that as well. She seems to mispeak a lot, or at least, change what she wants to say in mid sentence, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, but she is pretty much a horrible judge. Not only because she misspeaks, but for the over the top things she says, like the already mentioned "Rock God" comment (which I also had a good laugh over)

[Schmidty]

I can't understand how people actually like Kris at this point. He has zero personality, and his singing is bland. Then again, I actually like Danny a bit, but mostly because I think he's goofy, not because of his singing.

If Adam doesn't win, it's only because of his sexual preference, because he is money.

[Arles]

Last night really made Adam the clear favorite. He knocked the Zepplin song out of the park and really towered over the other contestants. I still think Danny could win with a few real strong performances, but I think Adam's the favorite.

[MJ4H]

I agree that Adam could be the most popular now over Danny. Until last night, I think Danny had a clear advantage. It could be the other way now. I still think Adam is too grating for a lot of people, though, and he has to be careful if he wants to hold onto it. Pretty clearly going to be Danny-Adam finale, though (as has been clear for awhile, I think, really).

[Ksyrup]

I'd love to know what the male/female voting percentages are for AI. I imagine they are something like 80/20 female, which would, by itself, explain Kris' popularity. And after Jason Castro last season, Kris looks like a legit musician by contrast.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I think they were forced to keep these songs as close to the originals as possible. I also think they were stuck with "classic rock" songs, so they couldn't choose a newer rock song that might fit them better. I don't think Slash had much to do with that.

I'd also like to point out for Kara's benefit that Cryin and Crazy are NOT "early period Aerosmith." Dream On is like 20+ years older than both of those songs. I can't tell if she misspoke or is genuinely that stupid.

That song was re-released when Aerosmith did an unplugged album for MTV. Because of that, people thought it was a new song. In fact, if I remember right, that song recharted in the top 10 upon it's re-release.

[Ksyrup]

Then that means Kara is a certified fucking dufus.

[Ajaxab]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Then that means Kara is a certified fucking dufus.

I thought that was pretty clear long before last night. She presents herself as someone in the know by talking to the contestants as though they're kindergartners, but it's all hot air. At least Paula doesn't try to pretend her comments have any substance...

[Ksyrup]

True, but that was worse than when Simon had no clue Daughtry's cover of Higher Love wasn't original and was really the RHCP version.

[Fighter of Foo]

Is this Adan Lambert guy definitely winning or should I be hedging my bet and putting a small amount on the field?

I don't watch the show, but have $$$ on Lambert winning.

Would appreciate any 3rd, 4th & 5th opinions

[lordscarlet]

I would definitely say he's the likely winner, but you never know. There's certainly not a clear #2 person. I think it's assumed he will be in the finals. Maybe with Allison. Maybe with Danny. Probably not with Kris.

[Mustang]

Danny has never been in the bottom 3. Historically when that happens, that person wins. Hicks, Underwood, Clarkson and Cook were never in the bottom 3.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Danny has never been in the bottom 3. Historically when that happens, that person wins. Hicks, Underwood, Clarkson and Cook were never in the bottom 3.

He will be tonight (unless Adam's votes disappoint).

[Ksyrup]

They ordinarily don't have a bottom 3 with 4 left. Of course, that didn't stop them last week, but that was just to make Adam look like he might go home.

[sabotai]

Not sure they will do a bottom 3 tonight since there is only 4 left. In fact, this is the first year they did a Bottom 3 in the Top 5 round. They used to just do a bottom 2 in the last few weeks leading up to the Top 3 (except last season where they didn't do a bottom 2/3 starting at the Top 5 stage, based on the wiki page)

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

My wife was just going nuts about that.

Mine too. Of course, she has hated Kara all year long.

[IrishHand]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

Is this Adan Lambert guy definitely winning or should I be hedging my bet and putting a small amount on the field?

I don't watch the show, but have $$$ on Lambert winning.

Would appreciate any 3rd, 4th & 5th opinions

In an interview last week, Cowell said he'd be surprised if Lambert won due to the conservative voting base. If you think about it, it makes sense. Lambert's hugely more popular than any of the others individually, but as the field thins out each week how are the eliminated contestant's votes being distributed? I've got to think that due to latent biases, a disproportionate number of those now "free" votes go to non-Lambert contestants.

Even if Lambert has a 40/20/20/20 lead on the others (and I'm reasonably certain he's not holding 40% of the overall vote), he'd still need to "convert" 10% of those not supporting them now - and given that he's clearly been the best vocalist for, well, the entire show...if they aren't supporting him now, there's a pretty good chance it's for reasons that make it unlikely they'll support him ever.

I still think Lambert's a finals (top 2) lock, but I'm not as sure he's going to take it despite (quite possibly) garnering the most votes in every previous week.

[MJ4H]

Well, except that he hasn't since he was in the bottom 3 last week.

[MJ4H]

uh oh

[Ksyrup]

Allison is going home. No surprise yet, really.

[Ksyrup]

Pretty obvious. Set up Danny as a possible cut, when it was actually between Kris and Allison.

[MJ4H]

They stressed it was in random order.

[Ksyrup]

You know, that Daughtry song sucked, but at least he went out there and sang without trying to sound like R2D2. So, props to him for that, I guess. Maybe they'll let me sing if I can do the autotune thing.

[Ksyrup]

No 3 songs next week. Apparently having 4 judges is more important that allowing singers to, um, sing for their competitive lives.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

You know, that Daughtry song sucked, but at least he went out there and sang without trying to sound like R2D2. So, props to him for that, I guess. Maybe they'll let me sing if I can do the autotune thing.

I'm pretty sure he was actually singing, too. Unlike Paula.

God, Paula's "performance" tilted me so much.

[sabotai]

I think they are more concerned with how many ads they can run. Seriously, I record AI every week and sometimes it still feels like a normal length commercial break when I fast forward through them at the fastest speed.

[Landshark44]

who got kicked off?

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

They stressed it was in random order.

Amazingly, they went from right to left exactly.

Random my left nut.

[MJ4H]

Of course, that is one of the iterations

[mauchow]

allison`

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Arles

Quite honestly, I think they were all intimidated by Slash. It was pretty obvious that he only liked Adam and thought the other two guys were "pretty boys". I'm guessing if Kris tried his Mraz gig (and maybe he did at first), Slash would have laughed him out of the studio (same goes for Danny).

To me, there was a stark contrast in the mentoring for the past two weeks. Foxx came in and tried to have the candidates adjust the theme to their sound and we had some solid performances. Slash came in and tried to shoe-horn all 4 into up-tempo rock songs and the results were disastrous (outside of Adam, as this was his wheelhouse).

My thoughts exactly.

[IrishHand]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Well, except that he hasn't since he was in the bottom 3 last week.

Idol has been pretty clear/consistent that "bottom 3" is a theatrical/entertainment distinction, not the three people who received the fewest number of votes. I would propose that there is a 0% chance that Lambert had the 2nd fewest number of votes last week given the evidence at hand (iTunes sales, offshore betting).

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by IrishHand

Idol has been pretty clear/consistent that "bottom 3" is a theatrical/entertainment distinction, not the three people who received the fewest number of votes.

Umm, no it hasn't.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by IrishHand

Idol has been pretty clear/consistent that "bottom 3" is a theatrical/entertainment distinction, not the three people who received the fewest number of votes. I would propose that there is a 0% chance that Lambert had the 2nd fewest number of votes last week given the evidence at hand (iTunes sales, offshore betting).

I think you are confusing the order in which people are made safe with the bottom 3. Yes, there have probably been some shenanigans with sending someone back to safety to create drama, etc. I don't think there is any evidence or reason to believe that when they say "bottom 3" they mean anything other than "bottom 3." I'm pretty sure there are regulations about that kind of thing.

The place where it can be confusing is if there's a bottom 3 and they send x contestant back to the couch. That doesn't mean x contestant was not next-to-last in votes. They never explicitly say anything of the sort. The bottom 3 is not (and as far as I know cannot be) manufactured for drama like other points in the show without legal repercussions.

[Kodos]

I think Allison got hosed. Either of the other two (Danny or Kris) deserved to go, although I thought Kris should have been the one.

[wade moore]

As a Kris fan - I don't think you base voting on just one night anymore. You have to take the whole competition into consideration. In that respect, I like Kris over Allison.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I think you are confusing the order in which people are made safe with the bottom 3. Yes, there have probably been some shenanigans with sending someone back to safety to create drama, etc. I don't think there is any evidence or reason to believe that when they say "bottom 3" they mean anything other than "bottom 3." I'm pretty sure there are regulations about that kind of thing.

The place where it can be confusing is if there's a bottom 3 and they send x contestant back to the couch. That doesn't mean x contestant was not next-to-last in votes. They never explicitly say anything of the sort. The bottom 3 is not (and as far as I know cannot be) manufactured for drama like other points in the show without legal repercussions.

I disagree, although obviously there is no evidence (since they hold it all). No one will ever be able to convince me that they don't mess with the bottom 3, at least in some weeks. I still believe they vote off the lowest vote-getter, but I don't buy that the other 2 are the next lowest vote-getters every week.

I don't know the legalities of it, but how would fabricating a bottom 3 while still faithfully voting off the lowest vote-getter affect the legitimacy of the competition? Especially since being in the bottom 3 has actually helped some contestants, by rallying their fans to vote for them in coming weeks. If one person gets voted off, and they follow the rules for that person, the rest is just drama and window-dressing for entertainment purposes, isn't it?

[Arles]

For this week Allison was better, but for the bulk of the competition Danny was better, IMO. Allison had an argument with Kris and I think they were comparable over the season (and Allison was much better this week), but that was also a coin flip. I think the final four were (for the season):

1. Adam
2. Danny
3a. Kris
3b. Allison

So, if Allison or Kris went home last night, I think it was the right call.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by IrishHand

Idol has been pretty clear/consistent that "bottom 3" is a theatrical/entertainment distinction, not the three people who received the fewest number of votes. I would propose that there is a 0% chance that Lambert had the 2nd fewest number of votes last week given the evidence at hand (iTunes sales, offshore betting).

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I disagree, although obviously there is no evidence (since they hold it all). No one will ever be able to convince me that they don't mess with the bottom 3, at least in some weeks. I still believe they vote off the lowest vote-getter, but I don't buy that the other 2 are the next lowest vote-getters every week.

I don't know the legalities of it, but how would fabricating a bottom 3 while still faithfully voting off the lowest vote-getter affect the legitimacy of the competition? Especially since being in the bottom 3 has actually helped some contestants, by rallying their fans to vote for them in coming weeks. If one person gets voted off, and they follow the rules for that person, the rest is just drama and window-dressing for entertainment purposes, isn't it?

KSyrup's post is why I kept my response to IrishHand short and sweet.

Some do speculate that there are shenanigans (we've fought about it here before), but to say, "Idol has been pretty clear/consistent that "bottom 3" is a theatrical/entertainment distinction, tnot the three people who received the fewest nubmer of votes." is just false.

For the record - I believe the bottom 3 are the bottom 3 vote getters.