American Idol

Firecracker - I was a BIG fan of Clay's during his season. I even voted for the first time. Twice! I thought that was a big deal at the time. lol.

But after the season was over, I just never really thought about him. I was happy when I heard his single a few times, but never bought his album, etc. Kinda like me and Elliott. Although I am intending to buy Elliott's album.

I hope you get Elliott's CD. I LOVE it. I just listened to it on my way to the store!

I am going to put a link in Clay's thread to download some great vids from his Gala! Anyone who downloads "the ring" vid will see why I adore this man!

This was in our little local paper........

Hey Sky, I brought that here this morning. It is on the previous page and I gave you credit! I posted at IDF I was going to borrow it from you and bring it to another site. This is the site

firecracker wrote:

Hey Sky, I brought that here this morning. It is on the previous page and I gave you credit! I posted at IDF I was going to borrow it from you and bring it to another site. This is the site

Ha! I haven't checked there yet today!!! Ooops!

Muse wrote:

Quote :

But maybe Sanjaya is pulling in some demographics that are keeping the ratings steady. It has had an opposite effect on me mainly because I see his performances as a mockery of the whole thing. Some people admire that because they think it is his way of fighting back at being used as the "no talent villain who stays too long" character in the cast. But I just can't get past it--particularly when I see someone like Gina who wanted it so badly and worked so hard to stay each week. It overshadows the whole show for me.

This is how I feel about the Sanjaya phenomenon too, I just am not into the superficial cheese-no matter how cutesey the contestant is. I felt the same way about Chicken Little. It grates on me a little that people of that caliber are getting air time.

But, I have to keep reminding myself how big and powerful the Idol machine is, and that it really is not just about pure talent-and really never was. Like that article mentioned, it is a glorified gong show. We have seen time and time again that the best singer has not usually been the winner, it has been about popularity, mass audience appleal, the power of having a voice, and lots of other emotional factors that motivates fans to vote for their favorite. It is about money and that equates to ratings, and putting out records that people buy.

OK, fc, my mom is a HUGE Clay fan and you'd think I'd know what was in your avi, and yet I sat there and stared and stared and had NO freakin' idea. I knew he looked familiar, but was way off in the direction I was going.

The reason Sanjaya is still there is because he's memorable and rolling with the punches. Nothing knocks this boy down. Nothing. He's like the nicest guy in the world and at 17, is handling all this stuff with class and style. I do agree they should have waited, but there's always one in the bunch (John Stevens?) who doesn't sing well and keeps hanging in there. I don't know if they expected him to go THIS far.

Also? Can I just say as a J-HO HATER that what is she doing coaching these kids on singing???? WHAT???? Have you guys heard her without the machinery? Bitch cannot sing. AT ALL!!!!

Now, diva training? You bet! How to demand all sorts of food for a CHARITY you'll be performing at and then leave in less than an hour without eating said food? Coitenly! Singing??? WTF!!!!!! Let your husband do the singing.

Whew. I needed that.

I think I'd be more offended and less sympathetic to Sanjaya if I was genuinely impressed with the rest of the cast. The truth is - of the seven other people left, I think only the three african-american ladies have truly impressive singing voices and only one other - Blake - has any genuine musical creativity at all. I have genuinely enjoyed Sanjaya more than I have Phil, Chris or Haley. I DON'T think he ought to win, but I'm not sorry he's still there. I more wish that we had lost Phil and Haley rather than Sligh and Gina. However, I think we have yet to lose a single person who had any realistic shot at winning the title. The AI crown still has Melinda's name on it, and I am looking forward to that.

If this were a season where I felt most of the cast was actually good, my perspective would be different.

And I'm with Green Eyez on this - I think he's handled this with an amazing amount of courage.

I like Sanjaya because we never know what he is going to do really. Or what he is going to look like. I DO wish he would sing a little better, but, yes, I still find him entertaining.

Aackkk! Gotta run up to the supermarket and return Happy Feet within the next 7 minutes. I'm the only one awake in the house. We all fell asleep at the end in the family room.

I had the daycare kids watch Happy Feet today too!

Green Eyez - I would LOVE your mom!! She clearly has great taste!

I agree with Abrahammy that this really isn't an exciting group this year and perhaps that was why it was so easy for people to attach themselves to Sanjaya for entertainment.

A long article on Blake!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/310249_blake04.html?source=mypi

How cute is this?! BFFs!!

Very cute, but alas, it is a photoshop of two pics together:

Aw bummer. I heard they were super close friends and thought they were just goofing around. I found the pic on ONTD. I had no idea it was a photoshop.

I had no idea that photoshop could be that realistic-looking. whoa! How can you believe any pictures?

firecracker wrote:

I agree with Abrahammy that this really isn't an exciting group this year and perhaps that was why it was so easy for people to attach themselves to Sanjaya for entertainment.

People have attached themselves to Sanjaya because he is the one getting the national publicity. Regardless of how he is perceived, he is the one that the public is having shoved down their throats: USA Today, The New York Times, etc. Fox has been very successful at turning the "Sanjaya is a joke" publicity into "Sanjaya is a courageous TV warrior" persona. Kudos to them for being so successful in turning a lemon into lemonade. No wonder they sit at the top of the network pyramid.

Well, that is sure true Muse. I have watched the threads at The Clack House go from funny snark on the kid to "he is so brave and handles everything so well, and he is not that bad a singer, he is quite the intertainer now, etc". I have really seen the comments change from week to week. I mean, opinions do change naturally, but it almost feels like media comments sink into their brains.

And now he has his own emoticon!

firecracker wrote:

And now he has his own emoticon!

Ooh he is a cutie!! Uh oh--Fox has infiltrated my brain---damn those tin hats

I don't think Fox cares whether they're talking negatively about Sanjaya or positively. The point is: they talk about him. This makes people want to tune in to see him. When Jimmy Kimmel starts off every monologue with an entire Sanjaya BIT, (not just a joke), when SNL is spoofing you, etc., wow! That's some free publicity right there from people who aren't even on your network!

With all the publicity thrown at him, he's become a phenomenon and that is why he was able to stay clear of even the bottom 3.

Green Eyez wrote:

I don't think Fox cares whether they're talking negatively about Sanjaya or positively. The point is: they talk about him. This makes people want to tune in to see him. When Jimmy Kimmel starts off every monologue with an entire Sanjaya BIT, (not just a joke), when SNL is spoofing you, etc., wow! That's some free publicity right there from people who aren't even on your network!

With all the publicity thrown at him, he's become a phenomenon and that is why he was able to stay clear of even the bottom 3.

Simon cares enough to have said that he would quit if Sanjaya wins. And the show dies without Simon. While I agree that the buzz keeps up ratings with people who might not otherwise tune in, they need to ultimately position that phenomenon in a positive way to avoid permanent damage to the franchise. I do believe that some of what we are seeing is being driven by other networks trying to topple Fox's hold on the time slot. So Fox is treading a fine line between milking the phenomenon and avoiding having a "William Hung" winner. The way that they do that is to mold the persona as heroic and gutsy and not ridiculous.

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Simon cares enough to have said that he would quit if Sanjaya wins. And the show dies without Simon.

Simon's girlfriend was interviewing him and she said, "would you really quit if Sanjaya won?"

He said, "I'm under contract, so no".

He was totally kidding when he said that. He also said he's gonna go back to being mean to him, because the being nice thing isn't working either.

I think the trying not to show him as ridiculous train has left the station when SNL is doing funny skits about you.

I do believe that if he won, he'd be huge. I'm sorry, but there are some "singers" out there who are really just "performers" in pretty packages. I mean, Britney, J-Lo, and any number of young singers who have come out in the past few years are little on singing talent, big on packaging. I realize it's a "singing competition" (said with an English accent) but these days, the music biz ain't nothing about singing!

Green Eyez wrote:

Quote :

Simon cares enough to have said that he would quit if Sanjaya wins. And the show dies without Simon.

Simon's girlfriend was interviewing him and she said, "would you really quit if Sanjaya won?"

He said, "I'm under contract, so no".

He was totally kidding when he said that. He also said he's gonna go back to being mean to him, because the being nice thing isn't working either.

I think the trying not to show him as ridiculous train has left the station when SNL is doing funny skits about you.

I do believe that if he won, he'd be huge. I'm sorry, but there are some "singers" out there who are really just "performers" in pretty packages. I mean, Britney, J-Lo, and any number of young singers who have come out in the past few years are little on singing talent, big on packaging. I realize it's a "singing competition" (said with an English accent) but these days, the music biz ain't nothing about singing!

I guess I will agree to disagree on this. Simon may have backtracked for reasons having nothing at all to do with kidding--like somebody reminded him about his contract obligations (wouldn't be the first time he and the producers have tangled) or he could just have been trying to sway public opinion. Re:SNL--aims at a different demographic than AI. A 12 year old watching an SNL skit might interpret it totally differently than the adult audience. While I agree that there is often a difference between a performer with packaging and a musician, for me, Sanjaya is neither.

Quote :

I do believe that if he won, he'd be huge. I'm sorry, but there are some "singers" out there who are really just "performers" in pretty packages. I mean, Britney, J-Lo, and any number of young singers who have come out in the past few years are little on singing talent, big on packaging. I realize it's a "singing competition" (said with an English accent) but these days, the music biz ain't nothing about singing!

I think that with the internet and TV being an integral part of life today, the visual aspect is especially important. Also, the music scene has changed to the point that some who have sold multiplatinum recordings don't even sing.....unless talking in rhyme is now considered a form of singing. Perhaps it is since the R&R Hall of Fame recognizes it.

IMO, Peter Noone's comment that the show is a voting competition rather than a singing competition was on point. The producers of AI made the show what it is and it's ultimately about getting the ratings and advertisers, just like any other TV program. Getting the viewers invested in the show by voting makes the show a .....voting competition. I don't see that they actually care about the contestants, other than as promotion for the show if any of the contestants become successful. The show will eventually run its cycle, but it has made its mark and has made possible dream-fulfulling careers for a few lucky ones.

If Sanjaya makes it big somewhere in the music, TV or some other part of the performing arts business, I say "good for him."

Janice! Thank you! Well-put! For us, Sanjaya is not what we'd buy, but obviously he has an audience, and they're little girls just dying to go to a Sanjaya concert. Hell, he can now go by just his first name!

It is most definitely a voting competition. When the american public gets involved, it's lowest-common-denominator time. I happen to think Carrie Underwood is vile, but the american public LOVES her. I mean, really really really loves her. I find her bland and uncharasmatic. I was actually more shocked that she did as well as she's done. I would be much less shocked if Sanjaya came off of AI and sold millions.