American Idol 2008

[Ksyrup]

They should do the AI equivalent to this one-upsmanship for Neil Diamond night!

[rjolley]

Had to look up Neil Diamond to see what songs could be in play. I'm a Believer, Red Red Wine, You Don't Bring Me Flowers, plus a few others that the name doesn't ring a bell, but I may have heard in various movies or sports programming. Has the potential to be at least interesting, especially with 10 songs total.

[Ksyrup]

First spoiler (can't confirm until the rehearsal, obviously)

Spoiler

Jason Castro - “Forever in Blue Jeans” and “September Morn” - Joan, the reliable EW popwatch spoiler (check comments) left this hint: “A teeny hint for you spoiler lovers: Jason always dons durable twill weave when taking a stroll at dawn, when the foliage is dismounting.”

[MJ4H]

Argh, Randy. Those aren't octaves, those are minor sixths. Painful.

[Mustang]

Oh. My. God.

OUt of all the Paula Abdul WTF moments, that one with Jason topped them all.

[MJ4H]

Yeah haha.

[MJ4H]

Did she just call Syesha Brooke?

[Buccaneer]

What are the songs so far?

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

What are the songs so far?

Sweet America, September America, Blue America, I'm a American..

[Drake]

heh.

[Mustang]

Very fast paced tonight.. almost to the point of distracting. Hell, just put all 5 of them out there at once to sing at the same time

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by MattJones4Heisman

Did she just call Syesha Brooke?

Ok, I wasn't the only one who heard that. My wife didn't hear it...

[Drake]

My take:

I liked Castro 1, not Castro 2.
I liked Cook 1, but Cook 2 better.
I thought Brooke 1 was a disaster, but Brooke 2 was right in her wheelhouse.
Archuleta 1 was standard Archuleta, but Archuleta 2 reminded me of a HS choir arrangement.
Both Syesha 1 and Syesha 2 were completely forgettable.

Paula's mid-show critique was by far the high point of tonight's episode.

[rowech]

Castro blows.

[Lathum]

Paula is smashed out of her mind.

[Lathum]

I thought Syesha 2 was great

[Lathum]

dola- Cook is far and away the best of the group

[Thomkal]

Only one I really liked was Syesha's first one, the rest were either average, or in the case of Jason, awful.

[korme]

How can Paula continue to have a job

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Drake

My take:

I liked Castro 1, not Castro 2.
I liked Cook 1, but Cook 2 better.
I thought Brooke 1 was a disaster, but Brooke 2 was right in her wheelhouse.
Archuleta 1 was standard Archuleta, but Archuleta 2 reminded me of a HS choir arrangement.
Both Syesha 1 and Syesha 2 were completely forgettable.

Paula's mid-show critique was by far the high point of tonight's episode.

I pretty much agree with The Drake point for point tonight...

[EagleFan]

Why is Paula still there? That was one of the oddest moments I have ever seen. Randy looked like he wanted to stop her when she first started on the second song thing but was hoping she would just shut up before it got out of control but it was too late.

[Vince]

Wow. I think the fact that no one interrupted her while she was talking just goes to show that even the people around Paula on the show aren't paying attention to her.

[JeeberD]

I thought the best part of that whole sequence was Seacrest staring offstage as if asking if someone was going to shut her the hell up...

[kurtism]

They should have seen that coming. Seriously, asking Paula Pillz to keep track of something that happened at any point more distant in the past than the preceeding 5 minutes is just begging for a meltdown. Still, I doubt they could have scripted better comedy than her "vision into the future."

[Solecismic]

The Frontier ratings for tonight:

http://www.solecismic.com/frontierblog/?p=254

Overall: After a dreadful first half hour, the contestants picked up the pace with a nice set of interpretations of very dated songs. David Cook has risen to prohibitive front-runner status.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Why is Paula still there? That was one of the oddest moments I have ever seen. Randy looked like he wanted to stop her when she first started on the second song thing but was hoping she would just shut up before it got out of control but it was too late.

They listen to rehearsal during the afternoon from their trailers, and make notes.

During the show itself, it's apparently rather difficult for them to hear in detail, so they often base their comments on those notes.

Paula, being rather addled in general, apparently confused herself over the new format for tonight, and started talking about Jason's second song, forgetting that the viewers at home had yet to hear it. She was dead on, though. I thought her criticism was more on point than usual. Which is like saying Brodie Croyle had good games and bad games this past season.

[EagleFan]

I mostly agree with Jim except I have a feeling that Syesha or Brooke will go. Somehow that Castro guy stays in the competition with women actually liking him (I still can't figure that out).

I would be okay with Brooke going as her act is getting tiresome. Syesha hasbeen one of the most improved in the group as she has seemed to get better. Castro seems to get worse each week. Cook is generally on top most weeks and should be the winner but this is about the time where he will end up losing as people start to assume he is getting votes and vote for their second favorite to try to save them (that seems to happen each year in some form or another). Archuleto (sp?) is steady but rather annoying (and boring as hell), especially the screams from the tweens that seem to like him.

[Drake]

With regards to Syesha, last week was a real eye-opener for me. I can see her going the Broadway route and being very successful. I think she has the chops to be a terrific Broadway actress/singer. I'd pay to see her, anyway.

I wouldn't pay to see a Syesha concert, though.

[Drake]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The Frontier ratings for tonight:

http://www.solecismic.com/frontierblog/?p=254

Overall: After a dreadful first half hour, the contestants picked up the pace with a nice set of interpretations of very dated songs. David Cook has risen to prohibitive front-runner status.

Heh. Jim's blog is now blocking my Firefox access because I changed my User-Agent settings to identify my browser as "Trogdor the Burninator" rather than Mozilla.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

The themes have been awful this season.

Basically 2 weeks of the Beatles, Mariah Carey, Dolly Parton, freaking show tunes last week and now did I hear right and it will be Neil Diamond?

The only theme week I liked was the year they were born one (isn't that a regular one?).

And they complain that the singers keep sounding old fashioned. HELLO, they're singing Neal Diamond songs!

[Mota]

What seems really obvious to me is that all of the singers have been exposed during all these theme weeks. Instead of catering to their strengths, the producers have forced them to step outside of their comfort zones nearly the entire season and sing songs that they probably have never heard, and almost certainly don't enjoy.

In the end it's painfully obvious that it's David Cook for the win, and everybody else is miles behind him. I'm finding it difficult to even watch the show these days.

[Ksyrup]

Words cannot describe how much I have grown to loathe Archuleta. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he's become immune to criticism. Where other contestants can perform well but get no love (Syesha), this guy goes out there and sings the same way for every song and is called "da bomb diggity" every time. How many times has even Paula called someone out for not emotionally connecting to a song, yet Archuleta goes out there and butchers (stylistically, not vocally) America, and it's universally lauded. I don't get it. He performed America like a 6 year old singing Ben Folds Five's Brick - utterly oblivious to (or flat out ignoring) the meaning of the song. Just load the track into the David Archuleta Performance Machine and hit play, baby! The spoilers at first said he was going to do I'm A Believer, and I wish he had, so this issue would have been even more obvious than it was.

Speaking of which...Brooke completely destroyed I'm A Believer. Given the Archuleta rumor (they had America right), I'm wondering if he was supposed to sing it, decided not to, and they made her sing it. Totally wrong song, way too fast, and most concerning, the tremble in her voice for the first quarter of the song was clearly evident. I was really worried she was going to lose it again. That song was maybe 2 notches above KLC's Eight Days A Week for worst performance of the season. She came back strong on song 2, though. And even better for her (off the show, obviously), Carly Simon gave her props for She's So Vain, saying Brooke sang it better than she ever could.

I thought Syesha was very good tonight, but she can't buy any love from the judges.

David Cook...first song was good, not great, but the second song was brilliantly arranged (his or not?) as SImon said, to be a hit in 2008. Sounded like a song Bon Jovi wishes he could write at this point. Interestingly, the wife and I both thought that vocally - especially on the first song - he sounded surprisingly similar to Diamond.

Castro...awful awful awful. Out of his league right now. If he stays, it will be a travesty, although I have no problem with Brooke going. She's done all she needs to do and there's no point in doing any more. Given her nerve issues, I think she can only hurt herself the longer she stays. Only reason I'd want her to stay is to see her do Smells Like Teen Spirit or Angie, Tori Amos style.

And btw, to get back to the discussion we had last week about similar styles...look at last night. Brooke, Cook, and Syesha all did something different between their 2 songs. Archuleta and Castro could have taken one song, split it down the middle, and sang both parts as their 2 songs and we'd have never known the difference.

[Ksyrup]

And now that I've written that and then looked at the Dial Idol results...wow. One huge surprise, the bottom 2 falls where I think it should.

Spoiler

Syesha Mercado 15.08 1-2 - -

David Cook 14.14 1-2 - -

David Archuleta 9.42 3-5 - -

Jason Castro 8.08 3-5 - -

Brooke White 7.39 3-5 -

__________________
M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Oh. My. God.

OUt of all the Paula Abdul WTF moments, that one with Jason topped them all.

That was the hardest I've ever laughed while watching AI. The reaction of Ryan and the contestants on stage was great.

[Ksyrup]

It was so bad, Simon's first instinct wasn't to make fun of her, but to try to get her back on track. That's what I noticed...once I stopped laughing. He tried to get past it by asking her who was her favorite of the first 5 songs. But she was too out of it/shaken by the realization of what she had just done to take his cue.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

It was so bad, Simon's first instinct wasn't to make fun of her, but to try to get her back on track. That's what I noticed...once I stopped laughing. He tried to get past it by asking her who was her favorite of the first 5 songs. But she was too out of it/shaken by the realization of what she had just done to take his cue.

Yeah, someone above posted that everyone around her was oblivious to her rant. It seemed to be quite the opposite. It seemed like everyone was trying to slow the train down without injuring anyone before a derailment occured. They honestly handled it about as well as they could have. But it was definitely THE defining Paula moment thus far. Anyone who watched an episode of her reality series last year realizes that she's really that far out there.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Drake

Heh. Jim's blog is now blocking my Firefox access because I changed my User-Agent settings to identify my browser as "Trogdor the Burninator" rather than Mozilla.

That is a great name for a Fire/Fire Dominator (or maybe even a Brute).

[rkmsuf]

I loathe Archuletta as well.


As much as Castro is seen as a weird dude I think Archuletta might be a weirder dude.

[Ksyrup]

I'll be interested to read the fallout about her flub. Already, one of our secretaries said the morning radio shows were going on about how AI looks fixed, etc. I guess most of America doesn't realize how the show is set up, that there is a rehearsal, that the judges usually listen to or watch that first, and that they can't really hear the actual live performances all that well from where they are on the stage, so they make their judgments early and then tweak them to the actual performance. Even someone last week told Brooke that she nailed her song during the rehearsal and it was unfortunate that she messed it up during the live show.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

I loathe Archuletta as well.


As much as Castro is seen as a weird dude I think Archuletta might be a weirder dude.

You know what it is...he's been doing the "pageant" scene (for lack of a better term) for so long that he's like one of those child actors who completely missed his childhood. His performances are basically nothing more than an act, a shell, with no human emotion behind them. He does the same vocal runs, the same hand gestures, everything is calculated and planned out and wooden. He's 17, but he lacks any youthful spirit whatsoever, aside from being a bit socially awkward in dealing with the sudden fame (which is understandable). But he's been groomed for so long that he is completely missing any authenticity in his personality and, as a result, his performances.

[Ksyrup]

...and here it starts. And this is from Slezak on EW.com, who I would think knows better. Maybe he does, but a story is still a story.




''Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!''

I know some of you are asking, ''What's a nice Wizard of Oz quotation doing in a TV Watch like this?'' But tonight, in the immediate wake of what will from here on be referred to as Paulagate, I'm feeling as duped and bewildered as Dorothy at the exact moment she realized the great and powerful Oz was just a sad old man, one who didn't have the power to send her back to Kansas, let alone provide her ragtag pals with a brain, a heart, and some courage.

Am I being melodramatic? Yeah, of course. But I can't help myself after witnessing the moment American Idol's loopiest judge made what is indisputably the biggest (and most credibility-crushing) gaffe in the show's seven-season history. (Yeah, even worse than Janay Castine's season 4 semifinal rendition of ''Hit 'Em Up Style.'')

At the midway point of tonight's Neil Diamond week performance episode, after each of the five remaining Idol contenders had sung one song apiece, Ryan Seacrest appeared to call an audible (perhaps the show was running ahead of schedule?) and asked David Cook, David Archuleta, Jason Castro, and Brooke White to join him and Syesha Mercado on stage. Ryan then asked each of the judges to quickly weigh in on the contestants' performances, before the Idols returned for their second numbers.

Let's roll the tape and get Paula's critique: ''Jason, the first song I loved hearing your lower register, which we never really hear. The second song, I felt like your usual charm wasn't...it was missing for me, it kind of left me a little empty. And the two songs made me feel like you're not fighting hard enough to get into the top four.''

When Randy jumped in and reminded Paula that the contestants had only performed one song at that point in the telecast, the typically bewildered ''Straight Up'' singer gasped, then declared, ''Oh my God, I thought you sang twice!''

Me? I hit the pause button on my DVR, needing a moment to catch my breath from a combination of shock, embarrassment, and outrage.

I don't for one second buy the explanation given by Paula herself, that she was momentarily confused and was reading her notes for David Cook; if that was the case, how come she changed course, seconds later, and told Cook he was ''fantastic''? And I find it hard to believe Paula's flub was simply the result of her boarding the La-La Express; her critique of Jason's performance was far too specific. (Note the use of ''charm,'' a noun attributed to the Dreadlocked Dude all season.)

Nope, as far as I'm concerned, Paula's blunder heard 'cross the nation — click here to watch a video clip and to read Adam B. Vary's report of how it played inside the Idol studio — can only be explained one of two ways:

A. Paula took notes during Idol dress rehearsals and used them (at least in part) to critique the televised live performances.

B. Paula was reading from notes given to her by the show's producers.
Either way, Idol has some serious explaining to do.


The idea that Paula, or any of the judges, would base their comments on dress rehearsals is preposterous. In my mind, Paula, Simon, and Randy should neither see nor hear the contestants' warm-ups, and even if they do, how is it that they're not explicitly instructed to give feedback only on the same set of performances the viewing public sees on their TV screens?

And if there's a chance that something more nefarious is going on, that Paula's comments are pre-scripted by someone other than her, then I've got a feeling I won't be the only Idol fan wondering if there's any way Fox can make amends and give me a reason not to walk away from the show I've loved and obsessed over for seven straight seasons.

I know, I know, a lot of you are probably shaking your heads, wondering if I'm taking my conspiracy theory a little too far. Or else you're thinking, ''We've already seen the man behind the curtain, Slezak! He's in all the ads for So You Think You Can Dance!'' But consider: Only seven nights ago, I was wondering aloud in my TV Watch column if the judges were reading off pre-written cue cards after they failed to call out Little David for forgetting his lyrics on ''Think of Me.'' At the time, I wasn't being literal.
Sigh.

[Kodos]

I agree that the Paula Abdul moment was hilarious. They really need to get someone credible in there.

It seems like Cook can adjust to just about any musical style they throw at him. On the other hand, I would love to see Nirvana week -- imagine Archuleta trying to Disneyize one of their songs.

[rkmsuf]

When is Lita Ford week?

[Kodos]

Castro could do "If I Close My Eyes Forever". Archuletta could turn "Back To The Cave" into an up-tempo, inspirational number.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I agree that the Paula Abdul moment was hilarious. They really need to get someone credible in there.

It seems like Cook can adjust to just about any musical style they throw at him. On the other hand, I would love to see Nirvana week -- imagine Archuleta trying to Disneyize one of their songs.

"I'm so ugly, that's OK cause sooooo are youuuuuu!"

[rjolley]

Syesha will never win. I've always thought she was the second best woman and the fourth or fifth best overall at the beginning behind David A, David C, Carly, and possibly Michael Johns. She doesn't get support from the judges, which may help her in an odd way, and she has improved throughout the show, more than anyone else. She's compared by people to Whitney, but I don't think she tries to emulate her now. She did early on in the contest, realized she wasn't going to come close, and started adjusting her style to fit her vocal range.

I have no idea how Brooke and Castro are still there. After 7 weeks of hearing them, they really seem like very limited singers. Brooke does not seem comfortable singing uptempo songs and doesn't have much of a range at all. The only reason she outlasted Carly is still a bit of a mystery to me. Maybe it was the tattoos, maybe it was the attitude. But in singing ability, Carly should've stayed. And Castro. What is there to say besides WHY!?!?

David A is definitely the Michael Bolton of the show. And he could make a career doing power ballads. Look at Bolton, Vandross, et al. What I'd like to see is David nailing an uptempo number and look like he's enjoying it.

David C has definitely impressed me throughout the show. I didn't think he'd last 3 weeks, but he has made smart choices and used smart arrangements for most of his songs. Whether they're his or not, he's done the best at varying his style and showing versatility.

My final 3 from here would be the Davids and Syesha with the Davids battling it out for the top spot. But the way the votes are going, I think it'll be an all-male top 3, with the Davids and Stoner Castro.


Oh, and is it just me, or is David C's head a little large?

[rjolley]

Dola, in Paula's defense, I thought Ryan said at the top of the show that the singers were going to perform twice, and the judges would comment after the second performance. Maybe he misspoke.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Even someone last week told Brooke that she nailed her song during the rehearsal and it was unfortunate that she messed it up during the live show.

I believe that was Andrew Lloyd Webber and not one of the judges, FWIW...

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I agree that the Paula Abdul moment was hilarious. They really need to get someone credible in there.

It seems like Cook can adjust to just about any musical style they throw at him. On the other hand, I would love to see Nirvana week -- imagine Archuleta trying to Disneyize one of their songs.

So, if/when Cook makes it to the final and they give him the schlocky contest winner song, would he be ALLOWED to rearrange it? I know Blake didn't rearrange the song last season, but there really wasn't a beat in that song for him to do his thing with. I'm just curious if they're forced to sing it straight or if they can do their own thing with it...

[rkmsuf]

What is the theme next week?

Perry Como's greatest hits?