American Idol Season 8

[Flasch186]

to me it sounded like someone with some natural ability who spent 3 weeks rehearsing with a brother who's experienced this all once before. meh

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

what do you all think of Jason Castro's brother making it through to Hollywood? Are we really supposed to believe he only practiced for 20 days before the audition? I'm not sure I would have passed him on to Hollywood without the Castro connection as his voice wasn't that good. Better than I espected though.

He was definitely one cocky son of a b....

[Lathum]

So far the auditions arent as bad as in the past.

You can definantly see they are going for good stories and backstories. There also seems to be alot less of them making fun of mentaly impaired / really really stupid people who don't know any better.

There also seemed lees of the people who knew they had zero shot and were doing schtik to get on TV.

My favorite people are the ones who think they are good because their family/ friends don't have the heart to tell them they stink. I looked at my wife last night and told her to please tell me when I am terrible at something, except sex.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

On an Idol note. I can't figure out Kara. Sometimes she looks so-so and other times she looks smoking hot.

Agreed. I also thought she only look so-so in most of the pictures from before she came on the show. I think her hotness is partially a product of the right TV lighting and makeup. But when she looks hot, she looks very hot.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Agreed. I also thought she only look so-so in most of the pictures from before she came on the show. I think her hotness is partially a product of sitting next to Paula Abdul. But when she looks hot, she looks very hot.

fixed

[Drake]

Agreed. I also thought she only look so-so in most of the pictures from before she came on the show. I think her hotness is partially a product of the right TV lighting and makeup. But when she looks hot, she looks very hot.

On a completely unrelated note, you just perfectly described my take on Tina Fey.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Anthony

by "eat yourself" do you mean you want him to eat his own flesh, or are you insinuating he has a pussy and he should perform cunnilingus on himself?

excellent question sir

in this case he definately has a pussy but I wouldn't want to see him receive pleasure from eating himself "out".

eating himself here would involve enjoying his own flesh as a meal. if he eats his pussy in a painful way I'd be for that too.

[Raiders Army]

Why were they in Puerto Rico? This ain't Puerto Rican Idol. Bad enough they get U.S. citizenship and voting rights when they're in the U.S. They wanna have their own Olympic team and World Baseball Team? They get all the benefits of being in the U.S. but play the sovereignty card when it's convenient.

That being said, some of the people from NY and Puerto Rico were bad. The girl with the "cute" brother had a fat neck.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

That being said, some of the people from NY and Puerto Rico were bad. The girl with the "cute" brother had a fat neck.

Yes she did and I didn't think her voice was that good either. I didn't hear any really impressive singers tonight.

Kara on the other hand was looking very good a night or two ago.

[Scoobz0202]

Now I can start watching. I watched the first couple of episodes of auditions, but like every season I have to stop watching until Hollywood. I can't stand how 80% of the audition episodes focus on the negative, and they will occasionally throw in a good audition.

[DrAFTjunkie]

Loved the girl who mispronounced trachea. She was singing from the wrong rectum...

[Thomkal]

I didn't think the girl with her brother was good enough either. give her a year or two with some training and I think she might be, but not now. Overall I wasn't that impressed with the talent they sent on to Hollywood, but I think the eventual winner will come from the Salt Lake audition.

And Scoobz, they did make the effort to concentrate more on the good than the bad this season which was a relief. I would say it was 60% good to 40% bad.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Kara on the other hand was looking very good a night or two ago.

Yep yep.

[Mustang]

Someone needs to take Tatianna out back and put a bullet in her.

Thankfully the 'bikini girl' is gone. She was a vile human being.

[Pumpy Tudors]

need more bad auditions pls thx

welp guess ill go back to watching penguins hockey because thats as bad as it gets these days

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Someone needs to take Tatianna out back and put a bullet in her.

Thankfully the 'bikini girl' is gone. She was a vile human being.

Yeah, both of them needed to be gone, but getting rid of 1 of them is good enough for now. Hopefully Tatianna doesn't last much longer.

[Thomkal]

yeah I'm with you. Both Tatianna and Bikini Girl shouldn't have made it toHollywood. Neither has that great a voice. They are only there because of the drama. I was surprised that the Osmond guy didn't make it to the final round of cuts and an earlier cut, the blonde girl with glasses who was the caretaker for her grandmother.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

the blonde girl with glasses who was the caretaker for her grandmother.

That girl is destined for greatness.

And by greatness I mean fatness.

[Danny]

Quite a few male singers I like so far and a one or two females. I actually knew a contestant this year, Frankie Jordan worked at a restaurant I would eat at sometimes.

[Thomkal]

Ugh looks like we're going to have to put up with Tatiana a while longer.
Surprised they split up the best friends, but I think Danny's going to go a long way. Surprised they took Nathaniel-the weird dressed and hair kid over the other guy in the sing-off. The guys have more potential overall than the girls at the moment I believe.

I wish though they would stop with the BS where they say something like-"And then there was the last two hopefuls, it's 8:30 at night....blah, blah," and then when they come out after they find out they both made it, half the group is stil there waiting to find out if they made it or not. So they obviously were not the last two hopefuls. I'm glad that one guy made it through though of those two, Michael I think his name is. I think he has a country music career in the making already.

[Scoobz0202]

Putting Tatiana's annoying attitude aside, is she really a good singer? I haven't been impressed with her at all, and then you throw her image in there and there is no way in hell I would have her in the top 36... let alone the top 72.

Why the hell is she still in there?

[MJ4H]

She's alright. Average for this competition at this stage.

[Lathum]

It's absurd that the guy who walked off the stage during hollywood week made it while both best friends didn't

[Lathum]

and Norman/ Nick made it through. Fucking joke

[Lathum]

Predictable ending.

Danny Gokey is by far my favorite. I can't imagine what that poor kid is going through having just lost his wife. You can see the emotion on his face everytime he sings,

[Danny]

It's Danny Gokey which is a much better name than David. He's also my favorite so far although quite a few of the guys can sing well. I haven't really seen much of the girls so far.

[Solecismic]

The comic guy doesn't bother me at all. He can sing. He'll be out rather quickly if he goes with the annoying persona.

I'm not as happy about the format as I thought I would. Seems like there's less of a chance of a decent, but not immediately eye-catching performer going through.

I know the judges get three lifelines, but I'm thinking it's going to very difficult for a Jordin Sparks type to break through. Much more dependency on a positive spin backstory than in the past.

I'm worried the crying/screaming Tatiana Del Toro train wreck has a chance, though she's definitely in the toughest bracket, which will go next week.

Breaking news on the plant front. Everyone's favorite experienced-beyond-all-comparison plant, Joanna Pacitti (brunette with those gorgeous eyes), has been ruled ineligible. Felicia Barton replaces her in the top 36.

American Idol

Apparently, there were too many personal ties to the group that produces Idol. Ugly story that the Star, of all papers, broke last week. I guess they had already taped today's show at that point.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Putting Tatiana's annoying attitude aside, is she really a good singer? I haven't been impressed with her at all, and then you throw her image in there and there is no way in hell I would have her in the top 36... let alone the top 72.

Why the hell is she still in there?

Going to disagree. She's annoying as anything but she can flat out sing.

Overall, it's apparent that they are choosing people with good stories to get people interested. The friend of the guy with the dead wife should have been in there long before some of the ones I've seen. This is has been by far the worst season so far.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by rowech

Going to disagree. She's annoying as anything but she can flat out sing.

Overall, it's apparent that they are choosing people with good stories to get people interested. The friend of the guy with the dead wife should have been in there long before some of the ones I've seen. This is has been by far the worst season so far.

I agree completely on your point about Danny's friend. It made no sense to cut him and keep some of the people they did. But as for your last line, come on. That is the same thing said every season, along with someone else saying this seems to be the best season.

I'll say I see a lot of potential so far, and Danny has to be the odds-on favorite right now. I've never felt that way about someone this early before. Of course, early flames burn out quickly in this show, and quite often someone unexpected suddenly learns to sing about a month in and starts stealing the show (ala David Cook). I do agree the guy's side is the strongest thus far, even though I usually learn toward the girl singers (much prefer hearing a girl sing over a guy). There are a few girls I'll be interested in seeing how they'll do, but there were a few cut that I wish had been given a shot.

Tatiana hopefully will not be voted off, but in a surprise twist actually be voted to be shot in the bag of the head and dropped in a river.

[Thomkal]

Not sure I like the format for getting to the top 12. Top Male and Female from each group plus the next highest vote getter. Then the judges pick their favorites to come back and participate in a wild-card round where the top 3 go from there apparantly. Seems like too little from each group will get in. The guys side of Group A is packed, and that's unfortunate

[Thomkal]

Oh and another thing I'd love to see gone from AI-that stupid dancing they have the people do when they show the group that's going to participate next

[Eaglesfan27]

Danny is good, but my favorite to win it at this point is the guy who they accused of singing too theatrically, Adam I think. I think his image will work with the young girls that vote and he has a great voice.

[MJ4H]

Glad to see you guys like Danny. Easily my favorite so far. Maybe we won't have any of those old arguments this year.

[Ksyrup]

I see no one has picked up my slack in posting spoilers from back in November until now...top 36 was nailed 100% correct a couple of weeks ago by VFTW and Joe's Place. Last night's ep was filmed in mid-January, so the top 36 has been out there for some time.

Just some quick (or not!) thoughts before I slip back into the oblivion:

1. I'm glad they dumped Pacitti. Her extensive background and current ties to all things AI made Carly Smithson look like Pickles by comparison. Among other things that have come out, it turns out she is currently dating Mark Ballas of Dancing with the Stars, who (unbelievably) has a band with Derek Hough (also of DWtS), and they have a new album coming out with one or more songs written by...wait for it...Kara DioGuardi! And the way she kept posturing herself as being so surprised she was advancing every time just rubbed me the wrong way. They did their best to avoid the Carly backlash by acknowledging her past up front, but her ties to 19 Management were above and beyond inappropriate.

2. Ratings are really taking a tumble this year. Tuesday's show beat CBS in total viewers by 100,000. AI used to dominate, but it ain't happening any more.

3. It appears the route they are taking this year, with the addition of 12 people for the live shows, is to fill those spots with entertainment/drama-backstory/controversial "characters" who seemingly (hopefully) have no shot at winning or even making the top 12. Nate, Nick/Normund, Scott, Tatiana, even someone like Von Smith who could either be a train wreck or perhaps squeak by, are all positioned to be "one and done" contestants, IMO. I've been underwhelmed by the blind guy (Scott) and think he's only on there because of his disability - his solo performance was decidedly mediocre (vocally, anyway, I thought). More importantly, can any of these people be legitimate candidates to win, given their appearance/talent/"intangibles"? I think not.

4. Tatiana...she deserves her own bullet point. And perhaps her own bullet. This chick is a joke. Speaking of legitimacy, given the way they have "featured" her, she has no shot. They've made her out to be a narcissistic head case, very possibly mentally unstable, with an annoying personality and laugh...so how could they rehabilitate THAT, even if she's great? Impossible. She is the controversial choice, to spark outrage and get people talking/watching.

I think what they're doing with her is taking one of the audition tricks - bring in a moron who has no clue they can't sing and pull the rug out from under them, then film the carnage - and bringing it to the live show. Except in Tatiana's case, she can sing a little, but she lacks the ability to understand how to use her voice. Her performance on solo day (day 4), the one where she came off the stage beaming about how great she did, was absolutely horrid. To borrow a phrase from Simon, it was "indulgent nonsense." Her singing was mediocre-decent for most of it, but her attempted runs and the warbling shit was completely lacking in musicality and demonstrated a basic misunderstanding of vocal technique. In that way, I think she's like the clueless bad singer auditioners they make fun of every year, the ones who think if they sound like what they hear on the radio, they must be good. Her singing technique and musicality are the equivalent of a Slayer solo (for the 1.5 of you who understand that reference). When she sense the judges didn't like something, he first instant is to break out a snippet of a warble as if that will cure her inadequacies - completely clueless. I'll give them credit, though, they certainly picked the perfect polarizing candidate. I just think they completely turn this competition into a joke if she makes the top 12. Not that AI is the standard-bearer for legitimate music competitions, but what would it say if she made it through - unless this has all been an act and she comes to the live shows with a sane attitude and better vocals than we've been lead to believe?

5. I thought last night's show was unnecessarily cheesy, with the "sing for your life" crap. I have no doubt they had already decided which of those pairs made it, and they were just trying to have more of the drama they had in previous seasons at the end, when they got down to the final 2 guys/girls. That's fine and all, but you know what that did? It robbed from the person who made it the opportunity to really enjoy the moment. I felt bad for every one of those people who couldn't act excited because they had to walk out of there with the other person who got crushed. They almost felt embarrassed, and certainly felt awkward. I thought that sucked.

7. Jackie Tohn/Jessica Langseth appear to be vying for the Amanda Overmeyer vote this year. Can't stand Langseth's affectation in her voice. By the way, she's not a nobody - she's Jonny Lang's (Jon Langseth Jr.) sister.

So anyway, we'll see what happens. Guys seem to be stronger, for sure. I figure I've got 2 more weeks and then this show will start to get boring for me, as always. The pre-show, choosing the contestants, and then the initial performances are always my favorites. After that, listening to the same people sing bad songs week after week tends to wear on me, and I get less interested the longer it goes.

Later!

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Danny is good, but my favorite to win it at this point is the guy who they accused of singing too theatrically, Adam I think. I think his image will work with the young girls that vote and he has a great voice.

And he has a built-in audience from his extensive performing background (mostly stage stuff, obviously) who will no doubt be voting for him from the beginning.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Glad to see you guys like Danny. Easily my favorite so far. Maybe we won't have any of those old arguments this year.

Danny's decent, but the fact that he's a dead ringer for Robert Downey Jr. bugs the hell out of me and the wife.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

5. I thought last night's show was unnecessarily cheesy, with the "sing for your life" crap. I have no doubt they had already decided which of those pairs made it, and they were just trying to have more of the drama they had in previous seasons at the end, when they got down to the final 2 guys/girls. That's fine and all, but you know what that did? It robbed from the person who made it the opportunity to really enjoy the moment. I felt bad for every one of those people who couldn't act excited because they had to walk out of there with the other person who got crushed. They almost felt embarrassed, and certainly felt awkward. I thought that sucked.

True. Evidence being that when they replaced Pacitti, they did not choose one of the women eliminated in a sing-off.

I'm just glad they resisted the urge to put Gokey against his best friend in a sing-off.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I'm just glad they resisted the urge to put Gokey against his best friend in a sing-off.

My wife and I were afraid of that. If that had happened I may have been done with the show. Would have been an insanely classless move.

FWIW I am also not a fan of the sing offs, I thought they were pretty stupid.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Danny's decent, but the fact that he's a dead ringer for Robert Downey Jr. bugs the hell out of me and the wife.

My wife and I think he looks more like Seth Rogan

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

5. I thought last night's show was unnecessarily cheesy, with the "sing for your life" crap.

What better, sing for your life or dance for it?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Lathum

My wife and I were afraid of that. If that had happened I may have been done with the show. Would have been an insanely classless move.

FWIW I am also not a fan of the sing offs, I thought they were pretty stupid.

Yes, that would have pissed Mrs. E and I off as well. I'm glad they resisted that urge and surprised that his friend didn't advance on his own merits. I thought he was a final 12 contender.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Yes, that would have pissed Mrs. E and I off as well. I'm glad they resisted that urge and surprised that his friend didn't advance on his own merits. I thought he was a final 12 contender.

I think the producers were worried the combination of the 2 would go really far because voters wouldn't want to split them up. I think alot of times in these shows people vote on the best stories, not the best singers.

[AgustusM]

I hate the fact that I resisted this show for the first 5 seasons, but my wife sucked me into watching the last 3 and now even our older kids (age 10,9,8) watch it too.

my random thoughts.

1. I have had it with the manufactured drama, worst part of the the show. Seems worse this year in years past, but that may just be my faulty memory.

2. TV has not kept up with the Tivo age. They tease everything over and over and over which was less annoying in the days when you would miss large parts of a show because you dropped in late or the phone rang. Now with watching the entirety on our time line the constant "coming ups" are annoying at best and ruin any suspense at worst. Really was their any chance the blind guy they showed 400 times before he auditioned not going to make it? AI is not the only show that has this problem, but it is one of the worst examples.

3. I am also annoyed by the constant "this will change MY life" Really? Just you huh, the other 300 people are already independently wealthy and are just doing this to keep themselves busy. I didn't realize that you "really, really, really wanted this." I really, really want to win the lottery and I am pretty sure it would change my life - but I don't go crying to the 7-11 clerk.

4. We were all disappointed that Jamar Rogers was cut. As likable a guy as they have ever had on the show. I don't think he was good enough to win, but I do think he was much better than half the others they let through. Plus I was really surprised they cut him considering the story, his image and his likability. It seems others made it through for no other reason than the "good Tv" they provide and he and Danny's story was one of the few good parts of the show so far.

5. I really like: Lil Rounds, Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud, Michael Sarver, Jasmine Murray & Brent Keith. These talented people are the only thing that keeps me watching.

6. Nick, Norman, whatever the guys name is, is very funny but it is absurd that he is still on the show. Only encourages all the idiots to make fools of themselves during auditions.

7. I despise with a passion Nathaniel Marshall & Tatiana - both annoying clueless drama queens that they kept only because they both provide lots of annoying footage. I worry that one or both will be this years Sanjiya that gets votes every week from the people who hate the show and think it is funny to keep alive the train wrecks. It has gotten to the point that they are both automatic combination of mute button and fast forward.

8. Probably the one positive thing about the show for me is how many teachable moments it gives me as a parent. When people act self indulgent, self righteous and just plain moronic we always pause and talk about it as a family. Likewise for those with positive attitudes, humility and good perspective. This is really the only reason I let our kids watch.

[Eaglesfan27]

I also despise Nathaniel and Tatiana, and I suspect many others do as well. However, Nick/Norman is actually a good singer, who probably would have been too boring and not advanced due to "not standing out" if he had played it straight. I think he was very smart with his choices. I still wish he hadn't advanced instead of Jamar.

[sabotai]

I hate shows like last night's. They split them all into rooms, tell one that it's over, and the other 3 that they get to move on. And then without any more singing (except for the exceptionally lame sing-offs), meet with them individually and tell some of them "On second thought, get the fuck out."

To also borrow from Simon, shows like last night are "indulgent nonsense."

And I also really hate Nathaniel and Tatiana. I don't find Norman all that funny, but he can sing as well as a lot of the other guys they put through.

And lastly, Swing Kids is a good movie.

[Mota]

I'm in since AI1. But so far this season is coming across as a joke.

They've given Vote For The Worst readers perfect ammo this year, tons of high drama / low talent people that are SUPPOSED to be cannon fodder in the first round. However when this many people are singing and the fan bases aren't defined yet, it's easy for VFTW to sway the votes and put someone like Tatiana in a prime spot.

Very sad. I know that they want to make good TV, but it also tarnishes the franchise which is obviously quite damaged already based on the dropping ratings.

[Danny]

Jamar definitely should have been in the top 36, I can't believe they booted him.

[law90026]

I think Danny must be a frontrunner. He's got the back story, a good voice, cleancut looks.

And yes, it does look like they're deliberately keeping crappy pple in for drama/debate.

[Thomkal]

I've been meaning to ask did the group they moved Tatiana from when they split them up into four groups go home or not?

And Agustus I like some of the same guys you do-and it really sucks that three of them are in the first group together meaning potentially only one of them gets to the round of 12.

[JeeberD]

My "I can't believe they kept..!" is the blind guy. Great story, bad voice. There was no reason for him to go through...