American Idol

I thought 2 and 4 were the best seasons. 3 and 5 were okay and 6 was kind of boring. I only saw the finale of Season 1 plus the AI Rewind of that season, so I can't really judge.

Nigel has to keep up with this nonsense because otherwise he'd have egg all over his face. He can't say, "well, last season was the worst crop ever with not one superstar in the bunch". When the winners aren't really winners and a guy who didn't even make the top 3 being a success and the winner falling into oblivion, he feels he needs to keep saying stuff that just isn't true. As if we've forgotten. As if we don't have eyes and ears and know that nobody did well from last season. That except for Kelly and Carrie, the winners haven't been hugely successful. Jordin is lovely, but if anyone remembers her 5 years from now, I'll eat my hat.

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He can't say, "well, last season was the worst crop ever with not one superstar in the bunch". When the winners aren't really winners and a guy who didn't even make the top 3 being a success and the winner falling into oblivion, he feels he needs to keep saying stuff that just isn't true. As if we've forgotten.

GE, you are cracking me up here with the "Crop" and all...I read that the first time as meaning crap, but with the English accent!

Must go back to Jim Carey in "The Grinch"... He was seriously robbed of an oscar for that role. And I have only had two glasses of wine, really I swear !

Of all of Idol, the only ones I thought would be successful are Clay and Daughtry.

I only really noticed Kelly Clarkson when I saw her on Saturday Night Live asd thought she was phenomenal.

Carrie Underwood's sucess took me completely by surprise.

I was not personally fond of Daughtry's persona, but I really thought he was amazing as a singer and performer.

If Constantine (and Athan and Giddle) not been so personally available, I doubt I would have given him a second thought.

It's funny Luca, because when I would re-read it, I would see "crap" to and it struck me as funny. If I was going to say "crap" with an english accent, I'd write it as "crahp". OK, now I'm cracking up.

It's funny with "Grinch" because when he'd act goofy I could see it was him, but when he would act weepy, I couldn't see him in it at all.

Carrie took me by surprise as well, Frazz, since I thought she was a totally sucky performer and had nothing new to offer the music world. A poor imitation of much better performers.

I loved Daughtry from the time he auditioned. It is really weird that Simon almost didn't take him because at the beginning, he had the same problem Carrie did: no facial expressions. Yet, I still loved him because he didn't have the no facial expression thing when he WASN'T performing, like when he came out to hug his wife. With Carrie, I thought she always looked plastic, no matter what she was doing.

I saw Kelly live and loved her.

GB had me at hello too, I'm afraid. Wow. That was one where I want to go back and bonk 2005 me on the head and tell me to root for Bo.

Oh for god's sake Nigel says the same bloody thing every year. Yeah Nigel we will see. I thought season 3 blew and last year was not so hot either . I did not even watch the finale. But I did think Blake was a breath of fresh air. I think the days of this show making any huge superstars are over. You know a lot of ppl root for a contestant then they are onto the next bunch.

I agree with you aerwin, about Nigel saying the same thing every year AND that Blake was a breath of fresh air from all the cookie-cutter divas it usually comes down to.

I still think they can make someone big, if that person is smart, like Daughtry. The thing that makes me laugh, like I said, is that they still act like actually "winning" the competition means anything. Everytime I see steam coming out of Simon's ears when anyone dares to suggest it, despite NUMEROUS examples to the contrary, it makes me laugh.

Well Y'all will be very happy to know that there is an interview with the idol judges in TV Guide that they say this year is the BEST group of contestants ever. We will be bown away!! Also Simoin is still in a snit about contestants thinking thay don't have to win. Well Simon let's talk to Jennifer Hudson , Clay and Chris. Even Bucky and Kelli Pickler.

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Also Simoin is still in a snit about contestants thinking thay don't have to win

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Pop Quiz:

Who had the #1 album of 2007?

Who are the two platinum selling male contestants in AI history?

Which of them won?

How many female winners did each of them outsell?

How many non-winners have roughly matched or outsold the winner of their year?

Did the AI brass ever make this happen on purpose?

Has any non-winner ever won a music award?

Has any non-winner ever won an Oscar?

Do you need to win AI to get a career in show business?

Does winning AI guarantee a career in show business?

Who had the #1 album of 2007?

Daughtry

Who are the two platinum selling male contestants in AI history?

Clay
Daughtry

Which of them won?

Neither

How many female winners did each of them outsell?

Probably all except Carrie and Kelly. Last year? Obviously all.

How many non-winners have roughly matched or outsold the winner of their year?

Let's see...everyone except Kelly and Carrie.

Did the AI brass ever make this happen on purpose?

Yes.

Has any non-winner ever won a music award?

There have to be. Clay did, right? I know we can't count Hudson, because she won an academy award.

Has any non-winner ever won an Oscar?

Ahhh...answered with last answer. Jennifer Hudson.

Do you need to win AI to get a career in show business?

No. It's better if you don't. Then you're not branded as much and have more freedom.

Does winning AI guarantee a career in show business?

Ask Taylor.

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On the eve of the premiere of the seventh season of American Idol, one of the show’s most famous losers, Chris Daughtry, says that the Idol franchise is starting to lose its luster. “I feel like it’s definitely lacking some credibility at this point,” says Daughtry, who came in fourth place on the 2006 season but went on to sell 3.6 million copies of his debut record and be named one of Nielsen’s top ten selling artists of 2007. “It’s in a state of decline and if they don’t do something about it, it’s probably not gonna last too much longer. I’m sure that’ll be used against me, but that’s the truth, you know?”

Daughtry has some numbers on his side: last year’s “American Idols Live” tour played to 68 percent capacity crowds, while the 2006 version was 96 percent sold out. Three top Idols — Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee — have recently lost their record contracts due to poor sales. Ratings also went down one percent last year, marking the first decline in the show’s history. Daughtry blames the show’s woes partially on its emphasis on untalented singers. “People get tired of seeing people that suck,” he says. “It’s funny at first, but come on. They spend three weeks on people that can’t sing, and that’s what they’re banking it on. [They should] find some people that you can really invest in.”

Idol plans on making some minor adjustments this season: contestants will be able to play an instrument in the early rounds and celebrity mentors will be de-emphasized to create more time to tell the contestants back stories. Still, Daughtry, who is currently recording his band’s second album, worries the show faces a more fundamental problem: “After going for so long, who else is out there that still wants to get on the show?” That question, and a host of others, will be answered when the show’s seventh season premieres tomorrow night amid the ongoing Writers Guild strike — it’s a TV climate that experts predict will give Idol a ratings bump.

I can't help it! I am still excited for the new season to begin! Not so much the bad auditions, but from the Hollywood rounds on. I still enjoy seeing new talent. I just hope they have a better crop this year and don't have some poor teenager who sucks that Simon can rip apart every week

Here is a You Tube of this guy David who is suppose to be in this year's top 24. This is when he was about 10, singing to the finalists of season one. He was simply amazing!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8SJXDPE_sQ&mode=related&search=

Here is his My Space where you can listen to some new performances. He is a cutie.

http://www.myspace.com/davidarchuleta

OMG, that Temptress had me balling I know she wanted to do that for her sick mom and I can so relate to that

Firecracker, David is a former STAR SEARCH junior singer grand champion. He also appeared in the show's final season although he was eliminated before the grand finale show. I do remember him being very good but obviously quite young. The little boy who did win that year was also good. I won't be surprised to see him auditioning in a few years either.

I thought they had some good singers tonight but no one that really stuck out as obvious top 24 material.

I agree with you about no real stand-outs. I did like Angela from Chicago with the little girl with "issues". The first guy had a very nice voice, but no real star quality. That one really pretty blonde who sang Amazing Grace was probably the most "Idol like" so far. I thought the girl with all the glitter who ranted and raved FOREVER was a bit much I wish they would cut down on that on the show. That whole bit with her was just horrible. If she was for real than she has some major problems and I hope she gets help. Otherwise she was one big phony.

I look forward to David. I think he may be on tomorrow night. I think someone I saw in the previews was David, but not sure.

I hope this is going to be a season full of good singers! I'm excited.

There was a guy towards the end who was quite handsome - the one with the dreadlocks and sang pretty well too. He'll be nice eye candy!

I felt bad for the girl with the sick mama but she really could not sing.

Oh yeah, I liked the guy with the dreads too! He has star appeal along with a really nice voice. I hope he does well!

The guy with the dreads was cute. But otherwise it was SOS . I agree with what Chris Daughtry said. I'm tired of the really bad ones. How many really good ones are not let through to make room for the horrid ones?

Interesting:

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They're all pros: Kristy Lee Cook, Milo Turk, et. al.
By Daniel Fienberg
January 16, 09:30 AM

After seven seasons, I guess I should stop being disillusioned at the reality that very few of the people being discovered at the American Idol auditions are actually unknowns and that only a few of the freaks and geeks are truly unaware of their awfulness.

But I have to say that my pleasure at "discovering" 23-year-old horse-raising, kick-boxing hottie Kristy Lee Cook on Tuesday (Jan. 15) night has been somewhat diminished by the reality that she was previously "discovered" by Britney Spears.

The springy-haired blonde, whose version of "Amazing Grace" wasn't quite as good as the judges said, but was still plenty good enough to build my infatuation, wasn't just under contract to a little indie record label back in the day. No, known as Kristy Lee, she was signed to Arista Nashville and the first artist affiliated with Spears' Superstar Spears production company. You can track down her album, Devoted, at a variety of online venues and she pops up in several YouTube and Google videos.


I'm not going to abandon my crush on Kristy Lee just because she isn't a true amateur, but I'd be lying if I said I'll ever look at her the same way again. After all, Idol made such a big deal about Kristy Lee living in an Oregon log cabin and working with horses, but nobody thought to emphasize that those things were all in the past tense, since her management company's bio says she moved to Texas several years ago to advance her musical career. And was the story about her selling a barrel horse to come to Philly a lie?

Kristy Lee's management bio ends with the not-so-subtle come-on "Here's the REAL American Idol!!!!" Fortunately, the page also features many fetching pictures of Kristy Lee and ponies.

But it isn't just the high quality performers who have professional experience. It turns out that more than a few of Tuesday night's worst auditioners are actually comedians who used the Idol showcase to get the word out on their own particular brands of hilarity.

Milo Turk, who got in to sing his pro-abstinence anthem "No Sex Allowed," can be easily found on his MySpace page. I didn't actually find Milo all that funny, but he's a comedian and he's been on Jimmy Kimmel.

Paul Marturano, whose stalker anthem to Paula produced several real laughs, is also a comedian. Actually, that'd be selling him short. His website says he's a "musician-composer-actor-author and musical comedian." Good for him.

It used to be that comedians using poor Idol auditions for exposure were the exception, rather than the rule. Remember Chris Wylde's rapping audition a couple seasons back?

Now obviously the Idol rules just say that you can't be under a record label contract at the time of your audition, so since Kristy Lee is no longer affiliated with Arista Nashville (she appears to have been dropped while she was still a teen), it's hard to be bothered by the extent of her professional experience. She's no diamond in the rough or anything, but she's not breaking any rules.

My question is whether it takes anything away from your enjoyment of the poor auditions knowing that many of them aren't just civilians off the street, that they're using Idol as a stepping stone for a different kind of entertainment stardom.

Do you miss the humble suckiness of William Hung or is "funny" still "funny" even if they do it for a living? And have you found any other pros from the Philly auditions? Let me know...

Well, this is interesting.

I did not watch American Idol yesterday. I watched the Democratic debate and the Republican election results. Since we were also Tivo'ing the election stuff in the certain event that issues relating to caring for our kids would tear us away from the TV, we did not record AI.

Today, after my evening workout, I turned on AI in progress. The judges were speaking to a gawking looking red-head. Paula's vote would send him to Hollywood or turn him down.

This is what Simon said to him. "Are you going to be like Clay Aiken and do weird things with your hair and wear a red jacket?

"Oh, no sir!"

"Are you going to sing Grease is the Word?"

"Oh, I wouldn't do anything like that?"

"Welcome to Hollywood!"

My first glimpse of American Idol's new season, and the very first thing I got hit with was a nice little package of insults hurled at Clay.

I turned it off.

It wouldn't be American Idol Auditions if the 3 stooges didn't take a swipe at Clay

I enjoyed the nerdy guy with the tie.

So did I! He was actually kind of cute and had a very nice voice. Seemed like a sweetie too.

I liked his voice and I LOVED his non-sob-story story.

I watched Tuesday night. I liked how they didn't show as many of the bad auditions and did a little better introducing people who might make it through. I think the producers realize they overdid the crazy ones the past two years.