American Idol

Sigh. I know everybody in the universe is praising David Cook to the skies, and I'd be able to get on board with that if he'd just sung the first verse in tune. It's like acing 2/3rds of an exam and getting the extra credit - but in the first third of the exam you missed every single question. I recognize his potential but I just can't forgive how off-key he was for how long. Really good rock singers are quite capable of being in tune, even if they are screaming. Hell, Carly did it. I don't think either Bo Bice or Daughtry ever missed a note. (Although Constantine did a number of times.)

I do think David - actually, probably both Davids worthy of discussion - were dealing with getting used the big stage. A lot of them were.

And I was snarky for comedy, but I did like much of what I saw last night. I thought Brooke was amazing. Jason is one of my favorites, although he missed one or two notes. Chickeze was shockingly good. Ramiele was pretty - just dull. Carly was doing great - a solid B+, and then the judges overpraised her and I rolled my eyes at the pimping. Amanda was better. Not wonderful, but better.

This is as good a cast as last year's was putrid. I do not agree that any one of these people would stand up to any top 3 from any other year (Kristy and Hernandez ain't intimidating the Ruben/Clay/Kim juggernaut) but I do think this group may produce the best F6 ever. Maybe even the best F7.

Oh good! I am glad you enjoyed most of it! This season will be WAY better than last! I think it will be an awesome final 6 or 7. I enjoyed David H. until last night. I think the man has a really good voice. I'm not sure he has any real "X Factor" though. Kristy will not be missed by me at all when she goes Iyesa (sp? I swear I try to remember how to spell her name) is just so forgettable that I won't miss her either. Jason, I am losing interest I'm afraid - he is a sweetie and a cutie, but the vocals have been lacking in most of the performances. He may be more of a musician than a singer you know? Which is cool. But mostly I am enjoying the heck out of this group!

I know you felt Carly was over praised Abrahammy, but honestly for me when she was singing last night I did compare her in my head to Kelly Clarkson (one of my very fave female vocalist of all time) I love Carly's voice that much! Not sure if she has the overall appeal of a Kelly or a Carrie though, but I do think she has one hell of a voice!

I know this will start out sounding corny, but I found something really good in every performance tonight. Maybe its because I'm just in love with the music they used? I don't know, but this is one very good Top 12. I even enjoyed parts of Kristy Lee's song tonight. I also felt backly for David A. forgetting the lyrics. Why in heck did they leave him in the final spot?

My favorites were Chikezie and David Cook for the boys and Carly and Amanda for the girls.

Its going to be hard seeing any of these people leave. IMO it could be between Kristy, David H. and Syesha. Maybe Ramiele also.

Will be interesting to see how many itune downloads David C's Eleanor Rigby gets. Or Chikezie's She's a Woman. Wonderful surprise to hear the change ups on those songs. Great job.

It was a really good night for the most part, especially considering this:

---

Quote :

Byrd called into WKSE Buffalo abut 20 minutes ago.



Most of the cast has been sick this week. Carly was so ill she couldn't
even stand up during rehearsals. Kristy Lee was so ill she slept with a
heating pad. Asked to predict, she said she thought Kristy Lee was
going home. It was Kristy Lee's own idea to sing the Lorrie Morgan
version of her song, which Byrd pointed out was not a hit for Lorrie
Morgan.



The Dj kept dissing "Discount Daughtry" David Cook. Byrd really
took exception to that, but to counter only offered when the DJ dissed
David C.'s hairstyle "I don't like that flat iron look", Byrd said that
DC told the hairstylist "I only have fourteen hairs left and I want to
keep all of them."

Byrd said that Daughtry should have won his season on AI. She likes both David Cook and Daughtry.



She didn't think that D. Hernandez's arrangement worked for him.
Chikeze originally rehearsed "Help" but Byrd told him he wasn't putting
himself into his rendition. He came back the next day with a new song
choice and described how he wanted the style of "She's a Woman" to
sound, beginning with banjo & fiddle. The result, which they played
on air during the interview, was a hit.

Quote :

Chikeze originally rehearsed "Help" but Byrd told him he wasn't putting himself into his rendition. He came back the next day with a new song choice and described how he wanted the style of "She's a Woman" to
sound, beginning with banjo & fiddle. The result, which they played
on air during the interview, was a hit.

Now I am even more impressed knowing this was Chikeze's artistic choice on the arrangement.

I liked David Cook's performance, but was not wowed like some of you. I have to agree with Abrahammy that some of the pitch problems bugged me. I do think he is very talented. His looks detract from his presence a little for me. *runs out to avoid getting egged*

No egging here, Luca. I tend to agree with you. But, think of it this way, if he's a 'Rocker'.......I guess he'll fit right in! They aren't all 'pretty'.

Sky wrote:

Quote :

No egging here, Luca. I tend to agree with you. But, think of it this way, if he's a 'Rocker'.......I guess he'll fit right in! They aren't all 'pretty'.

You are so right about them not all being pretty, nor would I want them all to be-how boring! But, the stylists on AI somehow try to either make grungy rockers more palatable by toning them down or something,or trying to make them into something they are not. I would rather they just let David Cook be more himself. The AI packaging attempts just are'nt working for him IMO.

I just Danny on Ellen , I watch her everyday. I think he is a living doll. He is just being himself and I love that. I'd not seen him perform before but he has a really nice voice.

I listened at Rickey and I still like Jason C and I liked David C. this week and last week. I really like Brooke's sound a lot.

Oh no! I missed Danny I bet it will show up on You Tube.

I think David Cook has an excellent rock voice but I don't get the way some people are drooling over how sexy he supposedly is. He does have a sense of humor about himself though since he snarks about the "fifteen hairs on the top of my head". He's in a tough spot sartorially because the hair doesn't look good but if he shaves it off, he'll be accused of trying to be Chris Daughtry even though Daughtry isn't the first or last balding man to shave his head.

From just the audio last night I really was blown away by David C's performance. Forgot it was an audition, just got blown away by a song I love done brilliantly.

WHen I watched the video of it today it sounded more off key than the audio, but I still loved his interpretation.

THe video of Chikezie was even MORE fabulous than the audio. SO I take it back. I WOULD spend money on him if he keeps doing things like that one!

p.s. I don't care at all what either of them look like.

I got to see Danny on Ellen! He is a living doll Aerwin! I always thought so too. Anyway, anyone who wants to see it can watch it here!

http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=7f80cb49-2690-4244-a5f2-a980f90cb179

Oh, look. Nigel and Simon and all the other folks at Homophobes R Us managed to get rid of the two gay controversial contestants, one right after the other, as soon as the scandals broke. What a coincidence. What are the odds?

Yeah, if that wasn't pretty darn obvious Even my 78 year old mom figured that one out. Called me right away and said "I suppose AI didn't want anyone gay in the top 10" I suppose it is possible that David "could" have had the least amount of votes. It was not a great performance last night, but it sure does look odd Danny seemed pretty popular too and DI did not have him last. Of course DI hasn't had a good record this year. They had Syesa last and she was sent back to the safe seats. Well, at least there are still a lot of good people left for the tour.

You know, it's a good thing AI isn't fixed. I'd be really upset if it was. I mean, you know, if I saw a pattern or something.

Uh oh.

Here's something kind of scary and upsetting. There are things I could snark about, but it''s really not that funny. This from ET:

Was there more than just nerves behind 17-year-old DAVID ARCHULETA's shaky performance on last night's "American Idol"?

The early favorite was definitely off his game and even forgot several lines during his version of THE BEATLES' "We Can Work It Out." Sources are telling ET the singer may be feeling the pressure from his "stage father" JEFF ARCHULETA, who reportedly yelled at David during a recording session Monday. Sources say Dad wasn't happy with his son's singing -- and even brought him to tears. Neither Jeff nor reps for "American Idol" would comment on the alleged incident.

Update: LYNN and ALEX, writers of entertainment blog www.laragmag.com tell ET that this may not be the first time Jeff has lost it -- they tell us that he was banned from the set of "Star Search" when a 12-year-old David competed on the program. The writers explain that there were rumors that Jeff had allegedly harassed a girl named TIFFANY who was David's competition in the contest.


They finally get a teenaged boy who has the chops to be on AI... and he's in this situation?

I forgot. I read it on Rickey and was going to post about it. Sounds like we've got another Culkin dad on our hands.

Countdown to someone vehemently denying this...

I saw that on ET last night before the show. I have learned to not give too much trust to these sort of reports, though ET does seem to try and make sure reports are fairly credible before running them. I would have to hear it from Ken or Nigel or someone high up at AI before I would totally believe it. If it is true, then one would think his dad would be removed from rehearsals, for everyones sake. But I do not know how the law works with minors. Perhaps they cannot force his dad to stay away from his own kid? I just hope if it is true that his dad learned a lesson, considering the performance that poor David had

I am reading at The Clack House that next week is all Beatles' songs again? Good Lord let this not be true All the songs in the world - can these kids not do more current songs??? Nigel is clearly as old as Clive

Apparently AI is more interested in showing off the fact that they have these songs than they are in showing off their cast, or even showing us an interesting program with a lot of variety. Once again, they have lost focus of what they are supposed to be doing as they pander to corporate interests. And yes, from what I've heard, it's the Beatles again next week.

I think you hit that nail smack dab on the head! Look at how cool we are now! We got the rights to the Beatles!! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah......

Good grief..........Beatles again next week? I had a hard enough time this week getting through the songs..............

Now, let me think. Who was actually well served by this theme? It tore Archie apart. It made Kristy look foolish. It's too tame for Amanda.

Brooke, maybe. Well, I like Brooke.

I LOVE Brooke! She was amazing this week too! It also worked well for Carly - who is a fave of the judges and TPTB. It worked good for David Cook. I would like to see how he rocks out another song. It could work for Jason if he can get the vocals less thin and weak. Chickadee certainly had a great week with a Beatles song. So they must want Christy gone (well, most people seem to want Christy gone) and I think Simon made it clear he might want David Cook to overtake David A. you know, "the talent over popularity" comment. But really, for the sake of entertainment, which I think the show is suppose to offer, I would sure like more current music. That was one thing about RockStar and Nashville Star. Lots of current songs and no ding dang themes!

Oh, I hate these themes too. Let them sing what they want to sing, at least then you'd find out exactly how well they sing when they're comfortable with the song. I know they say they want to see how well they do singing all different kinds of music, but honestly they aren't going to make a country singer record Blues, Hip Hop or Pop, etc. On second thought, maybe they would.

Anyone hear the studio recordings of the songs this week? Amazing.....at least the ones I've wanted to hear.