American Idol 2007

[Ksyrup]

Maybe that's what I'm thinking of. Or maybe I'm confusing AI with Dancing with the Stars - I know they've done carry-over votes before.

It does seem a bit strange, though, to do it all in one show. Maybe that's the only way they can ensure this doesn't fall flat on its face - tie it to the vote-off to make sure people watch.

[Solecismic]

I can see one reason they'd do it on the fly, though. If you believe DialIdol, Melinda is in some danger tonight (a close 5th). Now DialIdol is clearly not as accurate as in past seasons because some changes have been made to the way the phone lines work, but if Melinda were to go this early, it would call the integrity of the entire concept into public question.

Which better: seriously piss off the audience temporarily or lose the best singer in the round of 6?

[Ksyrup]

I think Dialidol's been pretty accurate the past few weeks. A couple of them they didn't predict were very close to others bunched at the bottom. Haley was the only real misstep, and even those numbers are pretty close.

But you're right, that was the surprise I was referring to earlier. If you believe their numbers, she's been trending lower for 2 weeks. Last week they had her at #4.

[Ksyrup]

It's been a few weeks...we need a new scandal. It's from perezhilton, so take it with a grain of salt:


Sangina's Shocking Drug Scandal!!!!
Filed Under: Drugs > Gay Gay Gay > Legal Matters > Sangina

No wonder he's always sooooo chill. He's probably a stoner!

The National Enquirer has unearthed legal records that show that Sangina Malakar is hiding a deep and dark family secret. And it's not in the closet! Wink wink.

Sangina's mother was sent to jail for running an indoor pot-growing operation out of her garage!

HOTNESS!!!

Malakar's American-born mother, Jillian Blyth, was busted in Pierce County, Wash., in February 2005 after neighbors reported smelling marijuana and noticed a large vent on the garage roof, according to court records obtained exclusively by The
Enquirer.

Cops discovered 310 marijuana plants, growing lights -- and Sanjaya's then 17-year-old sister Shyamali!

Shyamali told officers that her mom was at another location in nearby Federal Way, Washington, and when the cops got there, they found a second marijuana-growing operation!

That bitch is hardcore!

Sangina's mom pleaded guilty to one felony count of unlawful manufacturing
of a controlled substance. She faced up to five years behind bars, but
was sentenced to just 30 days.

"She's very lucky," said a local law enforcement source. "The judge
obviously went easy on her because of her kids and the fact that she had
no prior record."

While his mom - seen rooting for her son in the "Idol" audience in a low-cut T-shirt emblazoned "Momjaya" - was in jail, Sanjaya lived with
an aunt.

"In interviews, Sanjaya has said that he went to live with his aunt because his mom moved to Federal Way and he wanted to stay near his school friends," said a source. "But that's only half the story. Sanjaya had no choice but to live with his aunt because his mom was behind bars. His mom's arrest was heartbreaking enough, but having her go to jail was devastating. Sanjaya has covered up his anguish ever since. Despite everything, he still loves his mom dearly and trusts her."

Posted by on April 25, 2007 1:54 PM | Permalink

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

if Melinda were to go this early, it would call the integrity of the entire concept into public question.

I doubt it, since based on the vote, the majority of people would agree that she should go. Y'all have to remember -- this not an entertainment contest (which she loses), it is not a singing contest (which she wins), it is simply a popularity contest (which she loses). I'm not sure you can ever lose integrity for a popularity contest.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, but then Peter Noone will have pwned Simon Cowell.

[Solecismic]

It's a popularity contest skewed by the fact that individuals can vote up to 400 times.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

I agree, and if the 400-voters like Blake (or Chris for that matter) instead of Melinda, then it's see you later Melinda. I think we can all agree that Taylor Hicks was the perfect example of this.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The dialidol.com results are pretty surprising. There's also a thought out there that between the spirit of tonight's show and Ryan's comment about some sort of surprise end to the show, that no one is actually going to be voted off tonight. The thinking is that with the charity thing going on, it would dampen the mood to axe someone in the end.

If they did that, I guess they could either have a double elimination one week, or have 3 finalists.

You called it.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I can see one reason they'd do it on the fly, though. If you believe DialIdol, Melinda is in some danger tonight (a close 5th). Now DialIdol is clearly not as accurate as in past seasons because some changes have been made to the way the phone lines work, but if Melinda were to go this early, it would call the integrity of the entire concept into public question.

Which better: seriously piss off the audience temporarily or lose the best singer in the round of 6?

And I bet this is the reason why.

[Ksyrup]

When did Kelly Clarkson turn into Valerie Bertanelli?

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

When did Kelly Clarkson turn into Valerie Bertanelli?

Conversation with my girlfriend during the Kelly Clarkson performance

Her: "God, Kelly Clarkson got fat."
Me: "Yeah, but I'd still do her."
Her: "You're such a freaking pig. Of course you'd say something like that."
Me: "Oh come on, you'd still do her too and you know it."
Her: "Yeah, you're right."

[Ksyrup]

Sorting through some ROIOs on my favorite site, and I came across this. Too bad this predated the Sanjaya phenomenon - if he had joined them on stage, the world would have ended and we would have been spared Idol Gives Back:

Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas w Ace Young (American Idol) 12/05/06 Las Vegas DAT Master

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Conversation with my girlfriend during the Kelly Clarkson performance

Her: "God, Kelly Clarkson got fat."
Me: "Yeah, but I'd still do her."
Her: "You're such a freaking pig. Of course you'd say something like that."
Me: "Oh come on, you'd still do her too and you know it."
Her: "Yeah, you're right."

Seriously, is she pregnant? My wife said that her dress made her fat, but then I pointed out how thick her arms were. And with the parted hair, she gave off a mid-80s Bertanelli vibe that helped to erase the picture of the blimp version of Valerie I saw on the cover of some mag last week at the grocery store. That was definitely the highlight of the night, by far.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

And I bet this is the reason why.

I refuse to believe that conspiracy theory for even a nanosecond. It would make sense though because of the "charity" nature of tonight's show. I have no idea why you guys think the show's producers would be gunning for a Melinda win or even second, if she can't even get past the final 6. She is simply not that marketable. I'm guessing they are way more interested in some of the others, like Blake, winning the thing.

[Thomkal]

Pretty disgusted to sit through all that and find out no one was being eliminated. If the show really was all about charity like they said, they should have told them they were all safe at or near the beginning and let everyone enjoy the music. Or they should have told the contestants before the show and let them enjoy it, and then do the "we're not eliminating anyone bit" at the end so people would watch the whole show and make donations.

[JeeberD]

Did it looks like Jordin was worried when she was the last one left? I'm almost certain the contestants knew beforehand that none of them were getting cut...

[Ksyrup]

There's no way they didn't know they weren't going home. They have dress rehearsals for these shows. Do you really think they were going to eliminate one contestant, then have that person still sing that last song with the remaining 5? That would have been beyond awkward. No, this was planned out.

As far as the conspiracy re Melinda, there are competing interests here - having a marketable winner and giving the public a competition between the "best contestants." Even if Melinda makes the finals but doesn't win, they can always bury her like Bo Bice - he didn't win, and he's just an after-thought these days. If Melinda leaves too early, though, it calls into question whether the basic premise of the show works. Yes, it's up to the public to decide who wins, but if the public votes off the unquestioned best vocalist this early, then AI starts to look like the all-star game voting process - a complete joke. So even though AI has the standard "you did this, America" response to her getting voted off, it's not like she's one of 4 or 5 qualified contestants - aside from Jordin, she's about the only one who is worthy of winning (I'm starting to sour on Blake). It would cause damage to the show if she left this early.

That's not to say I think they saved her from going home tonight, but it would hurt them if she did (or if she goes next week), from a competition standpoint.

[Pumpy Tudors]

My clue about the contestants knowing the "surprise ending" was Jordin's family. When Ryan said that Chris was safe, they showed Jordin's family, and there were no signs of sadness or worry. They just sat there emotionless, as if they even knew that Jordin wasn't going anywhere.

I do think it's terrible that they jerked the viewers around on this one. I'm with Thomkal. If they're not eliminating anybody, just say so the night before. Of course, then maybe not so many people watch the entire show, I guess. I guarantee you that I wouldn't have watched if I'd known that nobody was being eliminated. I understand that the show was trying to raise money for important causes, but they fooled me into thinking that last night's episode had something to do with the competition, and it turned out to be a two-hour telethon.

Also (and maybe this isn't a cool thing to say), I wonder how much money it cost to do that shit with Elvis Presley. Somebody somewhere made some money off of that, and perhaps that money would have been put to better use as a donation. The special effects were really unnecessary.

Soooo, have any of you guys rushed to iTunes to download that "piece of television history" yet?

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Also (and maybe this isn't a cool thing to say), I wonder how much money it cost to do that shit with Elvis Presley. Somebody somewhere made some money off of that, and perhaps that money would have been put to better use as a donation. The special effects were really unnecessary.

Along those lines - and this isn't just directed to AI but any of these telethon-type situations - when they were showing the dying boy with malaria and the camera crew was there, but sadly, they couldn't get him to the place to get treated, and then they kept holding up these packs of tablets that supposedly cure malaria and talking about how we could save 20 kids with $10, I was trying to understand why the freaking camera crew couldn't just give the damn mother the medicine she needed to keep her kid from dying. Are they supposed to just sit there as neutral observers so they can obtain footage to guilt us into giving money, or can they step in to help when possible? That whole sequence stuck out for me last night and is still somewhat bothersome.

The Elvis thing would have been cool had they not needed a stand-in on the stage. I want to see a 100% teleported Elvis, or no Elvis at all!

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Along those lines - and this isn't just directed to AI but any of these telethon-type situations - when they were showing the dying boy with malaria and the camera crew was there, but sadly, they couldn't get him to the place to get treated, and then they kept holding up these packs of tablets that supposedly cure malaria and talking about how we could save 20 kids with $10, I was trying to understand why the freaking camera crew couldn't just give the damn mother the medicine she needed to keep her kid from dying. Are they supposed to just sit there as neutral observers so they can obtain footage to guilt us into giving money, or can they step in to help when possible? That whole sequence stuck out for me last night and is still somewhat bothersome.

The Elvis thing would have been cool had they not needed a stand-in on the stage. I want to see a 100% teleported Elvis, or no Elvis at all!

Agreed re: the kid with malaria. I kept asking myself all night long, why they didn't have supplies with them to treat the problems they were seeing. They couldn't have saved the people dying from AIDS, but I imagine there was a decent chance they could have saved the kid with Malaria. It angered me.

[Buccaneer]

Some of you still believe that this show is a democracy?? It is so heavily over-produced and over-edited that you really do have no definite idea of what, where or when anything take place. There is so much ad revenues at stake here that many, many hours go into the production (and post-production) of each show to make sure they get the product they want on the screen. Public voting does play a role but with many millions of votes cast for each contestant, whether for good or bad, they all come within a margin of error. With plently of back-room negotiations going on (e.g., Chris Dougherty), even the contestants and their representatives play a role in the decisions in keeping the show peaking.

[rkmsuf]

yeah this thing is turning into kind of a farce

I liked the one they had on a few years ago with the people that thought they were good but were really bad and the judges kept telling them they were good. The contestants thought the best one would win but in fact the worst one would win.

[Ksyrup]

Couple other quick thoughts on last night:

-Chris Richardson wearing a hoodie underneath his white suit. Not even Belichick would have gone there.

-Teri Hatcher looked eerily like Michael Jackson. Really, REALLY bad makeup and tussled hair. i couldn't tell if she or Rob Schneider were fresh from a rehab stint.

-Did anyone see what they rigged to make Paula's chest as noticeable as it was?

-Who showed more chest - Paula or Simon?

-Quincy Jones' song - half We Are the World, half Circle of Life, All Suck (Sorry, I don't do shmaltz very well)

-Madonna continues to piss me off with her British-by-way-of-fucking-DETROIT!- accent

All in all, I'm glad I watched. Actually, I'm glad I DVR'd it, because I think my 7-year old needs to see what poverty looks like. Particularly since they highlighted poverty about 150-200 miles from our house.

[rkmsuf]

I turned it on when they were doing this touching piece on the kids and at the end it jumps to Seacrest and Paula's tits on stage. Please give, I'll flash my tits. Jerry Lewis could learn something from this approach.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I had forgotten about Teri Hatcher thinking she was in a Michael Jackson lookalike contest. I couldn't stop laughing whenever they showed her.

The "Staying Alive" thing was painful. I mean, what are we supposed to get out of that? Really, the only people in that whole bit who entertained me were Hugh Laurie and Hugh Grant. Maybe it has to do with them being British, or maybe it's because they're named Hugh. I don't know. Maybe they should have gotten Hugh Downs there, too, so I wouldn't be haunted by this question.

[Eaglesfan27]

I also thought the "Staying alive" was terrible. Some people (Lisa Kudrow comes to mind) weren't trying to lip sync or be funny. They were just standing there - annoying. Really, the whole thing was annoying and Hugh Laurie was the only funny bit in it.

As an aside, I thought this week's House was one of the best this season.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I think American Idol should've gotten Conraid Bain to join in on "Staying Alive." He's at least as relevant as David Schwimmer these days.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Maybe they should have gotten Hugh Downs there, too, so I wouldn't be haunted by this question.

This is completely off-track, but I was flipping around channels the other day and saw him hosting what appeared to be a weight-loss infomercial in a 20/20-like studio setting. That's the equivalent of Wilford Brimley shilling for pop-tarts or something. I couldn't believe it.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

This is completely off-track, but I was flipping around channels the other day and saw him hosting what appeared to be a weight-loss infomercial in a 20/20-like studio setting. That's the equivalent of Wilford Brimley shilling for pop-tarts or something. I couldn't believe it.

You have got to be kidding. That's terrible.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Oh, and since Ksyrup brought up Wilford Brimley's name, the word for the day is...

DIABETUS

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Oh, and since Ksyrup brought up Wilford Brimley's name, the word for the day is...

DIABETUS

Exactly. DIABETus is the new "it's the right thing to do!"

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

You have got to be kidding. That's terrible.

I found it:

hxxp://www.infomercialblog.com/?p=100

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

If Melinda leaves too early, though, it calls into question whether the basic premise of the show works. Yes, it's up to the public to decide who wins, but if the public votes off the unquestioned best vocalist this early, then AI starts to look like the all-star game voting process - a complete joke.

I disagree with this. In season 1, Tamyra Gray was easily the best singer in the first 7-10 weeks of the show. Yet, she didn't make the final 3 (Kelly, Justin, Nikki). In fact, Kelly and Tamyra match Jordin and Melinda almost to a tee so far. In the first 7-8 "vote offs", the judges were falling over themselves to compliment Tamyra. Then, Kelly got on a bit of a roll and Tamyra got voted off with 3-4 weeks left and the judges were all stunned.

I would say any of these 6 could win if they do well and I don't think it would be a joke. Once Sanjaya left, the chance for that pretty much went out the window. I don't think anyone left is on a Kelly/Daughtry/Carrie level, but there's a chance a few could get there (prim Jordin and Blake). That said, if Chris or Phil got hot in the last 4-5 weeks and ended up winning, I don't see either of them being any worse than Taylor.

[Arles]

Dola, and if any of you with DVR capabilities don't use it on AI - you are wasting a good 30 min to 1.5 hours of two nights a week. I DVR both shows and it takes about 20 min to watch the hour and 10 min to watch the "vote off" each week. For some reason, I don't really feel like I miss anything when I fast forward through 30-40 minutes of commercials or other pandering to sponsers that make up most of AI.

[Ksyrup]

I think Taylor's a competent singer in his style, and that style definitely doesn't translate to AI. So far, Chris has not proven that he's actually a good singer and appears to be kept afloat by the same group of voters that kept Constantine and Ace Young in the competition long after they should have left. And Phil seems to be trying to reinvent himself as a country singer, but so far has only done 2 country songs, only one of them really in a country style. So the jury is still out on him. They both have too many detractors and negative qualities to win. Even people who may not have liked Taylor were probably won over by his personality and enthusiasm.

As far as the Season 1 comparison, I don't think that's fair because the show was brand-new and no one was expecting anything to come out of it at that point. They were lucky the public chose Kelly over the rest, or we may not have this glorious thread right now!

Just my opinion, but if anyone other than Melinda, Blake, or Jordin wins (I'm going to guess 1 - and possibly 2 - of them doesn't make the final 3), that person will make Taylor look like Bono by comparison. LaKisha is a poor woman's Fantasia, and in a competitive season, Chris and Phil are already gone.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Arles

Dola, and if any of you with DVR capabilities don't use it on AI - you are wasting a good 30 min to 1.5 hours of two nights a week. I DVR both shows and it takes about 20 min to watch the hour and 10 min to watch the "vote off" each week. For some reason, I don't really feel like I miss anything when I fast forward through 30-40 minutes of commercials or other pandering to sponsers that make up most of AI.

Yeah, AI has convinced me that DVR is a nice thing to have. We don't use it for much, but now that we have it, we use it on AI and don't even bother watching AI even when we're not busy - we just fast forward through the crap. It was particularly nice last night to fast forward through Rascal Flatts. I had to watch Josh Groban to believe what I was seeing. I wish they had done a Groban/Buble duet.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Just my opinion, but if anyone other than Melinda, Blake, or Jordin wins (I'm going to guess 1 - and possibly 2 - of them doesn't make the final 3), that person will make Taylor look like Bono by comparison. LaKisha is a poor woman's Fantasia, and in a competitive season, Chris and Phil are already gone.

IMO, you could have said the same thing at the final 6 last season like this:

"If anyone other than Chris, Elliot or Paris wins, this contest is a joke. Pickler has been skating by for weeks and is getting by on good looks, Taylor is just doing this same Michael McDonald-schtik that is tiring and McPhee hasn't really had a great performance yet."

Yet, McPhee and Taylor were in the final two and it went on just as popular this season.

[Ksyrup]

I guess where I disagree is that in no way would I compare any of the remaining people outside of Jordin as being as marketable as Chris D., and only Melinda is as good a singer as Kat, Paris, or Elliot (just pure vocal ability). I think the depth of the competitors is where the difference between this season and last is.

What I think you're confusing is talent level and pop accessibility. I tihnk the talent level of last year's top 6 far exceeds this year's. But, I also recognize that pretty much all of them had limited audiences, so we haven't seen that translate to popularity or sales. I'd say Melinda is this year's Elliot - undeniably gifted singer who has a limited and defined audience, and is held back by looks.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Arles

Yet, McPhee and Taylor were in the final two and it went on just as popular this season.

BTW, I didn't say the show would suffer, I said the winner would make Taylor as the AI winner look good.

[Ksyrup]

Kelly Clarkson on stage with Metal Skool, drunk off her ass.

Extremely NSFW - language, no nudity!

[Arles]

I was more talking about talent/appeal in relationship to the other competitors, not talent between seasons. If you look at the relationships (not the talent), there is a bit of a parallel to last season:

There's a top three that's been fairly consistent favorites in the judges eye (Chris/Elliot/Paris vs Melinda/Blake/Jordin). So you were left with a bottom three dynamic of Taylor/Cat/Kelly vs Chris R/Lakisha/Phil. IMO, the bottom three in this season has a much lower appeal, but I could see someone like Phil getting a broad spectrum of voters to stay until the finals. Also, if Blake were to get voted off, I think Chris R could get a bump because they are splitting the "hip young guy" vote (kind of like the Cat-Kelly attractive girl vote).

[Ajaxab]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Agreed re: the kid with malaria. I kept asking myself all night long, why they didn't have supplies with them to treat the problems they were seeing. They couldn't have saved the people dying from AIDS, but I imagine there was a decent chance they could have saved the kid with Malaria. It angered me.

The entire night seemed something of a contradiction. Admittedly, I was flipping around between Idol, hockey and basketball, but it struck me that many of the performers were in some way affiliated with the Idol money-making machine whether they be former idols, groups that Simon Cowell has a direct hand in profiting from or the corporate donors who buy some cheap advertising time.

Additionally, to see these kids with malaria, AIDS, no parents, etc. staring death in the face and then cut to a commercial where the frizziness of one's hair or the length of one's lashes is a serious problem needing a product to fix it cheapened the entire production. There's a reason why telethons do not have commercials.

Ideally, I would have liked to see a commercial-free one hour show with performances from non-Idol affiliated musicians. Of course, then one could make the case that it wouldn't be Idol anymore. But I guess that would be precisely the point. I side with Bucc on this one. Even an "Idol Gives Back" turns into an "Idol Stuffs its Pockets" show. It simply can't help but be anything else.

Another thing that saddens me is that we seem to be more angered about the fact that no one got voted off than the fact that these kids are dying. I am no different and the reaction to the show forces me to look in the mirror.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Two things. First, I refuse to watch Idol (performance or results show) without the DVR. It's painful without it. I mean, I could not care less about Chris's answers to viewer questions or the billion commercials. Second, I was on the fence before with Kelly (if you know what I mean), but after that youtube video, I'm ready to go now.

[Ksyrup]

I'd love to catch a Metal Skool show. They're a "real" 80s hair band spoof - they do originals as well as covers, but their originals are hilarious (if not a bit sophomoric) and are dead ringers for the typical hair band sound. They were Danger Kitty in those credit card commercials a few years back. They've become so big in LA that they always seem to have someone famous show up and join them on stage. I bet it would be a great show to see.

[EagleFan]

Am I the only one who thought the best part of that show was the Simpsons? Not that I saw a lot of the show but I loved the parody they did on Paula. She's either one hell of a good sport about it or too looped out of her mind to know she was being slammed.

[Ksyrup]

A few bits and pieces of info for tonight's show and in general, gathered from MJ's Big Blog:

Jon Bon Jovi is mentoring the kids this week for Top 6 Part Deux. Idol arranger, Michael Orland spills the beans in Entertainment Weekly. He says the kids will select their songs from a pool of Bon Jovi tunes. Michael thinks the theme will be easier for the guys than the girls. But, of Jordin Sparks, he says, ”…the second it was announced we were doing a Bon Jovi week, she requested her song early. She knew exactly what she was going to sing. ”


He [SIMON] admitted that he does not pay attention during contestant’s performances because he’s already heard the performance in dress rehearsal, where there are no distractions. In other words, his mind is pretty much made up after dress, allowing him to spend time during the televised performance chatting with Randy Jackson and torturing Paula Abdul. Ellen ran a clip from country night had Simon pulling on Paula’s nose while Phil Stacey sang his number.


According to Slate Magazine, Shrek the Third producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was in the audience with Shrek star Antonio Banderas, was supposed to deliver Justin Timberlake, who plays a young prince in the movie, to Idol as a mentor. The official reason Justin’s appearance fell through, was that his touring schedule changed. But it turns out, Justin was in Scotland with his family last week.


This interview with Ken Warwick is stale, but it does offer up a few interesting tidbits worth noting. For instance, the producers tried to get Beatles producer George Martin as a mentor for a Beatles week, but Martin could not fit an Idol appearance into his schedule. Plus, there’s quite the lengthy discussion of how the mics are set up in the studio vis a vis “eyeroll gate”. The interview is a very complete transcription of Ken’s teleconference interview with reporters last week.

[Mike1409]

I guess that Idol fame only lasts so long!!!


http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/01/Ta...taken_id.shtml

[Ksyrup]

The name's familiar, but I swear I don't recognize her at all. She's the mayor's niece, btw. Some guy was arrested in Nashville for stalking her, too. Strange goings on.

[Ksyrup]

I haven't seen a comprehensive spoiler list for tonight, but if Chris R. is singing what he's rumored to be singing, I think he's guaranteed to go home tomorrow.