American Idol Season 9

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Tim turned a great lick that is blatantly and unapologetically about a Man who is emotionally abusive towards a Woman into a cutesy reggae song. I can't believe the judges didn't call him out on that.

It was pretty damn ridiculous, but I wasn't personally offended by it since I've never been a huge Stones fan. If he's around to butcher a Beatles song and turns Run For Your Life or Norwegian Wood into a polka song (the functional equivalent of what he did yesterday, IMO), however, Simon better use the trap door in the new stage that leads directly to a pit of hungry Tatiana Del Toro's, or else I'll be severely pissed.

[Solecismic]

There are people who listen to music for the melody and the tone, and there are people who listen to music for the poetry and the interpretation.

And there are people at various points in between. I lean toward the former, as it's often hard to make out the lyrics with all that noise going on.

Also, not particularly liking The Rolling Stones, I find the variations more interesting, and refuse to come to their emotional rescue.

[Autumn]

I was really surprised that a guy did Under My Thumb. My wife and I were making some guesses, or suggestions, and I was saying that only way it would be on the show was if a woman did it. The judges would love that, it'd be "edgy" and not offensive. However, I overestimated the AI cast I guess.

And I really thought Crystal should have done Honky Tonk Woman. That would have been great.

[MJ4H]

I have to say, even though I disagree with some of you guys about American Idol occasionally, those disagreements are usually pretty mild. I can usually at least understand what you are thinking. Jesus Christ, the American Idol thread on OOTPD makes me want to pour bleach into my ears to try to cleanse my brain. Those guys are fucking clueless.

[Drake]

Link?

[MJ4H]

OOTP Developments Forums

[Drake]

You're awesome. Thanks!

[MJ4H]

what the hell was that song oh my god

[CrimsonFox]

Here we go! The competition has started. It's Siobhan vs Crystal! Who will win?
No one else matters.

[Ksyrup]

I don't know what a kesha is, but damn AI for putting her on so late in the show that we had already FF up to that point and couldn't skip past it (we did mute it, though). That was so bad, I was wishing for Lady Gaga to come back.

[PraetorianX]

Yeah, I've never cared much for Lady Gaga and always thought her music wasn't particularly good. But whoever that was, she was like a really really poor imitation of Lady Gaga. Honestly I would have preferred Sanjaya make a come back.

[Autumn]

It was especially ironic to have that kesha on AI, since even if you like her song or consider her a pop star, the girl can't sing at all. Not a bit. She wouldn't even pass auditions on AI.

Frankly I felt like I was watching a public access station all of a sudden, or maybe a college talent show.

[CrimsonFox]

I call her "ketchup"

[jbergey22]

I was just watching some past youtube footage when Clarkston and Underwood won this . There isnt anyone close to that kind of talent in this years field. They would put on a great performance every time out while this group is inconsistent at best.

Underwoods remake of Heart was a great performance.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

12. Andrew Garcia. His dad cried again. The audience should have cried, too, as his pitchy rendition of "Give Me Shelter" sounded more like he was making fun of the show than anything you'd ever want to hear on the radio. If the judges make one more reference to "Straight Up," I think Paul Abdul should come back from the undead, walk on stage, and give Andrew a wedgie. It might improve his tone. Score of 45.

Who Will Go: Lacey.

WOW! Paula's behavior makes total sense now. SHe's REALLY a man and the hormone therapy is doping him up!

[Ksyrup]

Saw this exchange on another board:

Gaga is a slut from outerspace.

Ke$ha is a slut from the Hills.

Who would YOU do first?

At least they're already working on a cure for HIV. Lord knows how long it will take to stop space aids.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Lady Gaga >>>>>>>>>>>> Ke$ha

[Danny]

I actually think this a pretty strong field overall and they did a good job this week. I like pretty much all of them to some degree. My least favorites are probably Paige and the 17 year old girl (cant think of her name). My favorite is probably Lee although I think he can still do much better and understand the judges asking for that wow moment.

Siohban was the best this week.

[Danny]

Oh, and while I liked him initially, Andrew really needs to do something that isn't total crap like the last few weeks.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

1. Siobhan Magnus. Siobhan took the dramatic song "Paint it Black" and tried about 100 things with it, building into her trademark scream. That scream is about all I'd expect any more from Siobhan, the rest is memorable and different. She is forcing us to take notice of all the things she can do with her voice - from the screams to the rich lower tones to the perfect register changes. She is an extraordinary talent with no defined direction. Score of 94.

For all of the love she gets, I thought it was a uneven performance including obvious off moments. The Lambert comparisons I think ring true though. She's the quirky singer who can belt out the high notes and that's what people latch on to.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

3. Didi Benami. Together with Crystal and Siobhan, Didi makes up the most talented group of women Idol has ever thrown on stage. It would be a shame if they aren't the final three. Of course they won't, that's not how the voting works. Didi, like Crystal, tries hard to interpret her songs. Her version of Play with Fire was restrained and ballady. She has a quality voice, but the song didn't give her the opportunity to explore its richness. She did very well with a tough theme for her talents. Score of 85.

As much as I like her, it was another case of showing just how far some of these people are from being professional singers. Just like Siobhan, there were obvious off moments.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

11. Katie Stevens. I know they're trying to save the robotic teen, because she looks terrific. She also wants to put Connecticut on the map. I hate to break it to her, but Connecticut has meant a lot more to the union than a likely 10th-place competitor on a reality show. Even a popular reality show. Katie had major pitch issues. I think the robot needs oil badly, and not even wild horses can keep her around much longer. Score of 52.

I still think The Sundays own that song once they covered it, so it's basically impossible to cover. I still think Katie really needs to spend time being a singer in a bar band learning the trade. She will likely still be forever made for adult contemporary style of songs, but I think it was actually from start to finish a better performance than a number of people who were deemed better.

Oh, and not only does AI hate people posting clips of performances, their own video player sucks. Nothing like clicking on a different performance and having it still play another one in the background on top of what you want to hear.

[Mustang]

I'm not sure how much more of this season I can watch.

That Paige is in the top 12,000 let alone top 11 is a joke. I'm not sure I can remember a performance that bad this late.

[Danny]

Can we please get rid of both Andrew and Paige, they haven't had anything even decent since the top 24 started.

[Solecismic]

Sometimes, people have too many choices. After the last two weeks brought hopes that this might be the most entertaining version of American Idol since the beginning, tonight brought out the worst in the performers.

Simon called everyone out at the end of the show, saying all but Crystal stunk so badly that he was inclined to take his Idol retirement early and spend the next year fishing for talent of an entirely different species in the North Sea.

Tonight was Billboard's number-one songs day, which apparently includes everything recorded since before most people had radios. Or before Ellen Degeneres' act became stale. Whichever came first.

I agree with Simon. It was an awful night, and I think even TiVo agreed. I had it set to record five minutes past the scheduled ending, and, unlike last week, it recorded the entire recap. All eleven of them. Every bum note and bizarre arrangement.

I have to blame Miley Cyrus, even though she's been on the scene longer than Ellen. She's about as innocent and fresh as a dozen long-stem roses shipped by Pony Express from Thomas Edison's original music lab in New Jersey to the Idol stages in Los Angeles. She had nothing to say except to encourage everyone to make a fool of him or herself with lots of big notes.

And then she hugged everyone. Well, everyone except Siobhan, who is stuck in that '80s sitcom about a high school that featured Sarah Jessica Parker and a cast of thousands of teens who had every problem except acne. I think she gave them cooties. Then she chomped her gum and laughed at everyone who followed her advice. Yep, that's less competition for Miley down the road.

Big Mike tried to pick her up and squeeze her, which was entertaining because you just know there were three bodyguards just off camera who were completely afraid to protect her in her time of need. To her credit, the only damage was to her sense of music.

With that exception, the hugs were more than a little strange. Miley wasn't going anywhere near the contestants. It was like me asking out Michigan's head cheerleader on a coffee date (she and I were in the same math class) my senior year in college. You know, when one person bends forward from about five feet away so there's absolutely no chance of any body contact.

Hopefully the cooties aren't permanent, and we can get on with the real show next week. In the meantime, here are my rather depressed Solecismic rankings for the week:

1. Crystal Bowersox. No controversy here. As Simon said, she was in a different league tonight. One where Albert Pujols hits a lot of home runs and Alex Rodriguez no longer takes performance enhancing steroids. She channeled her inner Janis Joplin and went on some great runs toward the end of the song. She is very confident in her pitch and tone, and this was an excellent bar song. It was a little easy and dull at the beginning, which prevented a higher score. But it was as easy a victory for the evening as I've ever seen on the show. Score of 88.

2. Siobhan Magnus. This would not be a second-place finish in a normal week. What makes Siobhan special is that she can hit all kinds of weird notes. And while she was in pitch, this was not a performance. This was just Siobhan showing she has unusual range and tone, and is willing to scream on cue every week. Stevie Wonder is not what she should be singing. Score of 74.

3. Lee DeWyze. His W was capitalized this week. It hasn't always been, perhaps because he looks a lot less like our last president than fellow competitor Aaron Kelly. Lee was a bit odd this week. He has great tone at times, but he doesn't know how to make the most of a song. He changed styles throughout the performance, perhaps because he was uncomfortable showing energy. He was a bit fast and breathy. Still, he sounded like someone who has a potential career in this business, which escaped most of the competitors this week. Score of 70.

4. Michael Lynche. Maybe the 17-year-old girls, like Miley, who narrowly escaped broken ribs from that hug, fall for this schlock. I thought his rendition of "When a Man Loves a Woman" was cloying and gospelly and anything but a love song. He was good, but cheesy and unconvincing. Score of 67.

5. Casey James. Casey tried a thoroughly mediocre Huey Lewis song, throwing it into a higher register than he should be in. This resulted in a rangeless, tuneless performance that was competent, but dull and a bit nasal. It was his weakest showing of the season. Score of 65.

6. Aaron Kelly. The goat boy has a crush on Miley. Which is awfully cute, but a tiny 16 year old simply isn't going to appeal to a 17-year-old who has been world-wise for at least a couple of centuries. The late George Burns would have a better shot at nailing the female Cyrus. The highlight of the evening was Miley's horrified head-shake when Ryan hinted Aaron should ask her out. He sang Aerosmith tonight, which was a good choice simply because he didn't sound like a goat. But his voice is flat when he's singing softly and the performance was ordinary at best. Score of 61.

7. Didi Benami. Didi sometimes misses a note, but her Linda Ronstadt rendition was off-key in many places. The song was simply too hard for her, and her focus on acting the song out, therefore, was a bit painful to watch. This simply isn't her genre, and the person who advised her to go so far out of her comfort zone did her a huge disservice. Score of 55.

8. Katie Stevens. Sadly, Teen Robot's programming now includes a mode where every single note is a tiny bit sharp. Her voice simply isn't good when she tries to sing loud, or how the programming perceives she's supposed to sing to win contests. She has lost pretty much everything that made her interesting in the early part of the show and is regressing from week to week. Score of 49.

9. Andrew Garcia. The backup singers were the best part of this horrific take on Marvin Gaye. There's nothing interesting about Andrew any more, except his remarkable resemblance to Kim Jong Il in the button-up coat he was wearing tonight. It was a bad lounge act. Miley told him to lose the guitar, which he did. She would have been more useful had she told him to move to North Korea and help out with the space program. Score of 39.

10. Tim Urban. If you're going to choose the ultimate karaoke song of all karaoke songs, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," then you have to go in an interesting direction and sing the hell out of it, as Freddie Mercury did. He was trying too hard to be cool and lively, and ended up sliding around on the stage and giving high-fives to the audience. But it was awkward and rather laughable. Score of 37.

11. Paige Miles. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. That's from Robert Frost, who was writing poetry around the time Billboard opened its doors. Paige tried out some Phil Collins, and she not only missed every note, she missed it badly and lost the melody entirely. Judging her is getting more difficult, because it's so much like an umpire trying to call the pitches from someone with Steve Blass disease - after a while you just assume if it's close to the plate it's an accident and you call it a ball anyway. This was excruciating. Score of 18.

Summary: Just a horrible night. It would be nice to send four or five home. Only Crystal was on. Even Siobhan, rewarded for the second time with the coveted final position, struggled.

Expected Bottom Three: Paige, Andrew and Tim.

Who Should Go: Paige.

Who Will Go: Tim.

[Lathum]

If anyone but Paige goes home Simons head may explode and mine may follow.

[Ksyrup]

That was the worst night of AI I've ever had the misfortune to sit through. At least 5 times, I yelled "YOU people picked these idiots, so quit yer bitchin'" at the judges. It's not just song choice - several of these people are legitimately bad singers and even worse performers. Perhaps they need to revamp Hollywood Week to get a better feel for how these people will hold up on a big stage in front of millions of people. Assuming they actually care about the talent and aren't just casting people.

At this point, my guess is they've stolen a page from Hell's Kitchen/Bachelor and have purposely put through 6-8 people who they know have no business winning, mixed in among 3-4 people they want to win, and they hope that by comparison, America will buy that the "chosen ones" are really stars because they are so much better than the fodder. I think that's probably been the case in past seasons, but it seems even more obvious this year.

I'm disappointed Jim gave Paige a score higher than -2. The Steve Blass comment was on point, though - I told my wife she was singing as if she had completely forgotten how to sing. The part where she was mumbling/singing (badly) in a quiet voice and then bizarrely/awkwardly switched to off-key screaming/power singing, was just weird.

To top off a shit night, Lee DeWyze starts the show with a song made popular by the recently-departed Alex Chilton, one of the most influential rock artists of our time, and neither he nor any of the judges made mention of it. Fuck this show.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Lathum

If anyone but Paige goes home Simons head may explode and mine may follow.

Same here. Paige's performance was the worst at this stage in many years. She needs to go. Tim is the only other possible acceptable choice.

[Autumn]

Paige's performance was so bad ... I had to assume there was something wrong with her voice that night. If she had sounded like that when she was practicing I can't imagine she would have actually gone through with that song. She had to know it was bad, right?

I liked Siobhan's song, but if she sticks to the end with a scream schtick again she's going to get a lot of backlash for it I think. She should be the clear #2 in this competition if she doesn't shoot herself in the foot.

It was rather amazing how poorly people chose songs with that sort of theme. This is your chance to sing one of the best songs ever, as Crystal wisely did (and one that fit her voice perfectly obviously). People were just getting too cute. Picking Huey Lewis? Even if you sing the shit out of it you're not going to compete with someone singing Me & Bobbie McGee. It's just silly.

[MJ4H]

1. Siobahn was great.
2. It's a joke that Lilly isn't still here with this group of clowns. Anyone that voted for Paige over Lilly needs to have thier ears surgically removed and run over with a dump truck.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Autumn

It was rather amazing how poorly people chose songs with that sort of theme. This is your chance to sing one of the best songs ever, as Crystal wisely did (and one that fit her voice perfectly obviously). People were just getting too cute. Picking Huey Lewis? Even if you sing the shit out of it you're not going to compete with someone singing Me & Bobbie McGee. It's just silly.

I'm not sure we'll ever hear the truth, but my guess is the producers are heavily influencing/directing certain song choices. If you notice, the last few weeks have had a "theme" to them loosely based on instrumentation. Last week was orchestra, this week was big band. I think the song choices are being determined in part by which songs can be arranged to fit with the featured musical accompaniment. Hence, the jazzed up cover of The Letter, Power of Love, You're No Good, Grapevine, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, etc. I'm almost certain of it.

As always... we don't get to see what goes into song choice (as we did on Rock Star), so that means they don't want us to see the sausage getting made. And based on comments over the years from departed contestants, the song choice is usually not there's to make alone.

[lordscarlet]

So, we have to assume they don't ACTUALLY get to choose from EVERY #1 hot hit, right? Right?

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'm not sure we'll ever hear the truth, but my guess is the producers are heavily influencing/directing certain song choices. If you notice, the last few weeks have had a "theme" to them loosely based on instrumentation. Last week was orchestra, this week was big band. I think the song choices are being determined in part by which songs can be arranged to fit with the featured musical accompaniment. Hence, the jazzed up cover of The Letter, Power of Love, You're No Good, Grapevine, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, etc. I'm almost certain of it.

As always... we don't get to see what goes into song choice (as we did on Rock Star), so that means they don't want us to see the sausage getting made. And based on comments over the years from departed contestants, the song choice is usually not there's to make alone.

My wife and I talked about this a lot last night. The judges commented on one or two contestants that they were very "loungy". The whole night was. There was a LOT of emphasis on the horns.. they were at the front of the stage, they were up in the balcony, they were in every song. This night clearly focused a certain style for the band for some reason. Why didn't they just come out and say it?

[Ksyrup]

Like I said, this wasn't the only week they did something like that. Wasn't it last week that they featured the orchestra? I remember asking my wife during the opening of Lacey's Ruby Tuesday if this was the Eleanor Rigby version. It's almost like the song selection is based in part on economical considerations - "Well, if we're gonna use horns on a couple of songs, might as well work them into as many as possible. Those guys ain't cheap, so we need to get our money's worth!"

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

So, we have to assume they don't ACTUALLY get to choose from EVERY #1 hot hit, right? Right?

My understanding is that there are some singers/groups which have not given AI the rights to have their songs performed. How large that group is I don't know.

[Ksyrup]

Some former constestants have said they were given a choice of as few as 3 songs to choose from, and even then, the choice wasn't theirs. I don't know how often that happens or how many of the contestants that happens to, but I thinnk it's all in keeping with the idea of casting some of these people are buffoons and others are legitimate stars in the making.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Like I said, this wasn't the only week they did something like that. Wasn't it last week that they featured the orchestra? I remember asking my wife during the opening of Lacey's Ruby Tuesday if this was the Eleanor Rigby version. It's almost like the song selection is based in part on economical considerations - "Well, if we're gonna use horns on a couple of songs, might as well work them into as many as possible. Those guys ain't cheap, so we need to get our money's worth!"

I didn't notice it in previous weeks, but I will definitely keep an eye on it for the rest of the season.

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Some former constestants have said they were given a choice of as few as 3 songs to choose from, and even then, the choice wasn't theirs. I don't know how often that happens or how many of the contestants that happens to, but I thinnk it's all in keeping with the idea of casting some of these people are buffoons and others are legitimate stars in the making.

That's pretty crazy, if true, given how much they rip people for their song choice. But it would be in line. It drives me crazy hearing them rip contestants for doing something that they've been encouraging them to do in past weeks. Or like last night, Kara telling Andrew that she thinks maybe his success with Straight Up is messing with his head. Do you think maybe that's because every single week you bring up how great that was and how he has to reproduce it?

Still, it's hard to believe that the show really wanted someone to do a version of The Power of Love.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Autumn

Still, it's hard to believe that the show really wanted someone to do a version of The Power of Love.

Casey could have at least done Marty McFly's version of that song.

[Ksyrup]

I don't know. It had horns + guitar + a pretty spot-on Huey Lewis vocal impersonation. Casey James ain't winning this competition. He knows what he is and is playing to that crowd and to his strengths every week. He's not going to go all Constantine on us and go from faux-metalhead to Broadway in the blink of an eye.

[MJ4H]

There are 3 pretty clear (to me) tiers of performers on this show.

The future stars tier:
1. Crystal
2. Siobahn
3. Michael
4. Lee

The potential to be solid or more tier:
5. Casey
6. Aaron
7. Katie
8. Didi

The lol tier:
9. Andrew
10. Tim
11. Paige

Note that Andrew is dropping like a rock each week. He was probably in tier 1 at some point.

[Ksyrup]

I haven't seen anything in Katie to make me think she's anything special. Even looks-wise, she's just... I don't know, maybe she's just too young. She's pretty, I guess, but not attractive. Her performance skills are terrible, but really, her voice isn't all that great, either. Last night she was really, really bad and the judges gave her a pass. That vocal was terrible, though. It wasn't Paige Brand Awful, but it was not worthy of the positive comments they gave her. I'd put her in Tier 3. I guess I'd leave Aaron where you have him, but he's got way too much of an Archie thing going on for me to objectively rate him.

Lee and Michael I'd drop to Tier 2 - Lee because someone called him an introverted Taylor Hicks and they probably aren't too far fro mthe mark, and Micahel because he's just too cheesy to take seriously. We've already had a Ruben Studdard.

[Autumn]

Yeah, I think Michael only stands out because they don't have another singer like that out there. But from what I've seen (which admittedly isn't all this stuff on here) he's not good enough to make it on the radio. Lee's schtick is pretty one dimensional but the radio loves singers like him lately. Casey and Aaron I can see selling some albums if just for the tween fan base.

[Ksyrup]

I think Casey's got more of a cougar fan base. He's like a combination of Sawyer from Lost and Bucky Covington (who's had a fairly decent country career post-AI, believe it or not).

[Solecismic]

Lee has an amazing voice, he just isn't using it. Last night he started experimenting, which is a good sign.

Agreed on too many Daughtrys on the radio these days. The question is whether Lee can be relevant without adjusting his voice to sound like a Daughtry clone.

[TexasT]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

1. Siobahn was great.
2. It's a joke that Lilly isn't still here with this group of clowns. Anyone that voted for Paige over Lilly needs to have thier ears surgically removed and run over with a dump truck.

+100!!!!!

[k0ruptr]

this season is really awful, has to be the worst season ever. I don't understand how so many millions can keep voting when it just sucks.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by k0ruptr

this season is really awful, has to be the worst season ever. I don't understand how so many millions can keep voting when it just sucks.

The early seasons has some very rough top 10's. I think this group is still way ahead of season 2 in particular.

[MJ4H]

I think this season is pretty comparable to most past ones. Season 3 is the worst one, not season 2. Season 2 is the one with Clay and Rueben, which I think is one of the better ones. Season 3 was Fantasia and Diana (wow).

[mtolson]

OK, call me crazy but didn't Paige just sing that song 1000% better tonight ? Randy seemed to be completely confused by what he was hearing and kept throwing his hands up in the air. I do believe that if Simon would have let her sing before declaring her out they would have probably saved her.

[MJ4H]

No chance. It was a different song than she sang last night I'm pretty sure, and yes it was better, but, no it was not very good. And even if it was spectacular, I don't think they would've saved her.

[Mustang]

There was 0% chance of them saving Paige (or probably anyone for that matter). They need 10 on the tour and the following week after a save they send 2 home.