American Idol

Something I like about this board..

Something I think is really, honestly true about this board...

Here, on Wizened Women, saying "I disagree with you passionately!" is NOT in any way a veiled way of saying "Shut up you stupid little twit!" We've all been to boards where that was the case, but here, we are allowed to speak our minds without being at war with each other.

I LOVE it.


I think most AI seasons come and go without finding anybody who is truly world class, and since we've been doing this for a long time now, they are draining the talent pool. Hell, two of our better contestants this year are imports. I agree that Chickeze's I've Got a Woman was a surprise brilliance that came out of nowhere, and I think folks would think he had "a moment" if he'd been considered a main contender rather than low-level cannon fodder. (I think there are some people who may, at first, have seen him as "second-rate Ruben who stole Danny's spot". That was certainly my thoughts at first.) I don't know if he'll be able to do it again.

Actually, I think this really is an exceptional cast. I guess they learned from last year that you CAN'T find the girl you want to win, throw in two other good singers who look middle-aged, cast a bunch of junk, and expect to have a good show. We've got semifinalists (Danny) who could have made the final five last year. While I haven't found any one person who really sparks my personal image in this top 12, there are more people I look forward to watching than people I consider a bathroom break, and that's unusual.

I also think AI may have had as many as four "moments" already this year.

1. Imagine (this evaluated by popular reaction to it; I know his interpretation was immature, but he sure sounded pretty.)
2. Halleluia (made obscure cannon-fodder into a top 6 prospect. Hey, local boy, ya done good!)
3. I Got a Woman (OK, man gotta earn this top 12 spot! Danny, man, ya didn't go home in vain!)
4. Let it Be (what a lovely, honest performer she is!)

Those really were 4 great moments this season! I think this group will bring many more!

Story on David Cook.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080315/ap_en_tv/tv_idol_cook;_ylt=ArlSrZRSjto0glgehZLNqn6s0NUE

Some David H. exit interviews! The boy is about to get a major wake-up call. It is rather sad.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007164_20171835_20184107,00.html?iid=top25-20080314-%27Idol%27+exit+Q%26A%3A+David+Hernandez

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1583363/20080313/index.jhtml?rsspartner=rssFeedBurner#

I am also glad people feel they can be honest and express their opinions here -even if it gets emotional. The rest of the board here lets them work it out like adults and stays out of it rather then taking sides and causing permanent divisions and resentment to grow. Very civilized indeed!

Abrahammy wrote:

Quote :

I also think AI may have had as many as four "moments" already this year.

1. Imagine (this evaluated by popular reaction to it; I know his interpretation was immature, but he sure sounded pretty.)
2. Halleluia (made obscure cannon-fodder into a top 6 prospect. Hey, local boy, ya done good!)
3. I Got a Woman (OK, man gotta earn this top 12 spot! Danny, man, ya didn't go home in vain!)
4. Let it Be (what a lovely, honest performer she is!)

It is proof that this year does have an exceptionally high level of talent considering we have already had 4 "moments" so early on in the competition.
Oh, and minor correction...the name of the tune is "She's a Woman".

Green Eyez wrote:

Quote :

I hadn't thought of the tweens. If they are the ones voting and they don't really know The Beatles or listen to the original recordings, they may have a chance.

Those who know The Beatles a bit better, may get upset at AI contestants butchering their beloved classic songs. Many people got REALLY upset when Michael Jackson (who stole The Beatles catalog right out from under his "friend" Paul McCartney's nose) sold "Revolution" for a Nike commercial.

That was underhanded of Michael. Especially considering Paul and he had the beginnings of a friendship or collaborative relationship going. I don't think Michael knows how to be a real friend or have "normal" relationships....duh!.

Anybody that watches AI is use to contestants butchering classics. But, I agree that if you truely love a song and it is butchered...it is like nails on a chalk board to the enth degree and I have to walk away. But, then come back when something good happens. I do think more of the next generation is turning to old music. Led Zeppelin has an entire new generation of fans, so do the Stones, Bowie, and other legends of rock that we all know and love. I have to believe that the movie Strawberry Fields and the Cirque du Soleil tribute show is causing tweens and kids all over the world to become appreciators of the artistry of Lennon/ McCartney. And I love that.

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I have to believe that the movie Strawberry Fields and the Cirque du Soleil tribute show is causing tweens and kids all over the world to become appreciators of the artistry of Lennon/ McCartney. And I love that.

It's funny, because my friend has a teenage daughter and we went to karaoke. She gets up to sing and we see "My Eyes Adored You" and my friend and I both thought the KJ cued up the wrong song. Turns out they were right. She had just seen "Jersey Boys".

I was on my lj talking to a few TwoP people and we agree that the rules over there are so stifling, you can't hash anything out and disagreements just fester in silence. Also, like Abrahammy said, when they disagree with you, there's an air of "I liked it so you should really shut the hell up that you didn't".

Funny you should mention Led Zeppelin Luca. My 17 year old listens to them constantly now. He even has a cap with a Zeppelin emblem on it and wears it out all the time!

My 19 year old got into Ozzie and Black Sabbath. Boy wouldn't it be fun to see what the AI kids could do with some of those songs!! I would have killed to see Danny perform "Fairies Wear Boots" and see the look on Simon's face!

Here you can catch up on several past Idol contestants!

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/feature/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003725837

I saw where Rosie put a video up showing Danny and his cousin on the cruise! Hope he is having a blast. Ross the intern is there too! What I wouldn't give to be able to have a conversation with the two of them! What a riot that would be!

I just love Ross the Intern.......................

Sky wrote:

I just love Ross the Intern.......................

Me, too. He's clever in the way he developed this character and it keeps going on and on!

Hopefully Ross will bring some footage back to the Tonight Show of the cruise.

When Ross in on I am grinning from ear to ear! He is both wickedly funny and totally adorable!

I don't watch the Tonight much anymore. I loved it when Ross went Skydiving......OMG it was so funny. Is there a site that would tell me when Ross will be on beforehand? I would watch it just to see him.

He used to have a daily blog. If he still does my guess is he would mention he was going to be on so his fans could watch. I'll check and see what I can find out!

Oh, since this is the AI thread and we need to get back on topic - It's on tonight! How's that?


ETA: Here is the link to Ross's Blog!

http://blog.nbc.com/ross_blog/

EEEK! David A was David Awesome!! That was so beautiful I was in tears! He looked totally adorable too!

ETA: David Cook is just the bomb for me!! I fell totally in love with him tonight!! God I want a CD from him NOW!

Remember how hard I was on David Cook last week? I thought he was terrific this week and I totally didn't get the judge's criticism.

Well, it was only Simon who really was negative and he can bite me!!! I would buy that song, well any freaking song, by David Cook in a heartbeat!!!! I am so glad you enjoyed him tonight!

Most of the others have been pretty bad Simon was right - a second week of Beatles was a bad idea. It went so well last week and now people are having bad performances.

Carly - love her voice but didn't like that song at all. I didn't even know it was a Beatles song

I liked Chickadee more than Simon. Brooke too. Simon did not take his happy pills today

I thought it was a meh week for most of them with the exception of David Archuleta and even he was only good.

Thank you FC for the link.

It was not a good week...........

I liked Brooke and Carly and of the guys, I liked David Cook, Michael and Jason. I know David A. has a great voice, I don't like watching him sing. Michael has to 'bring it' and choose the right song! Jason I thought just had fun with a song that wasn't the right one for him. I am really into David Cook and Jason.........and waiting for Michael................

I enjoyed the songs, some of them were some of my all time favs.
I thought Simon was extremely tough on most people tonight, some of it deserved, some of it not.

My fav top five perfomances this week:

1. David Cook: Ready for the big time for sure. Not crazy about the lengthy Framptonish wah-wah guitar effect,...but overall thought his performance was top notch. He is quite a decent guitarist and his voice was spot on. Definitely agree with you all that I don't get what was up Simon's ass about this performance.
2. David Archuleta: Very nice performance and excellent song choice for him. Thought he played it a little conservative, but sometimes that is good too. I don't always enjoy watching him perform either...something about the shape his mouth goes into when singing is weird.
3. Carly: She is something special and so unique. I don't think she will win because she is too edgy and not mainstream enough. Loved this performance though, perfect song choice for her. Again, Simon needs to pull whatever was up his rear when listening to this performance out...
4. Michael: I really like this guy...the song was almost impossible for anyone to completely pull off- I will agree that it may not have been the best choice, but I loved that he tried and partially succeeded. I thought he sounded on key for most of it and that it did showcase his vocal talent. He may be too artistic to make it to the end of the competition. And dayum he is handsome...drool!
5. Sheisa (sp?): Very beautiful, emotion packed performance. She brought it. Uh-huh.

Who I think may go:

1. Country girl , Amanda .. or Jason . He is cute, but he really sucked this week. I did'nt even watch Amanda's performance, but from what I saw at the end, I wanted to club her in the head to make her STFU.
I am sick to death of her already.

Intermittently I went to rickey.org and listened to the vocals. (Mostly I was watching Biggest Loser, looking for inspiration).

I must say, not watching the show live, and missing the back stories and judges comments, greatly enhances my enjoyment of the show.

Based on the ricky audios, I thought nobody did a version of any of the songs that would be a keeper (whereas both Chikezie and David Cook did last week) I thought they all have lovely voices, and in a group concert iIwould most likely stay to hear all of them (except Kirsty Lee Cook (if that is not her name, forgive me)).

I REALLY wanted Chikizie to do another mind blowing rendition. He didn't, but I do think if he has a brilliant arranger, he might make a fiddle/banjo/Beatles album I would buy in the future.

If you gonna do the Beatles, do something way different, is my take (why I loved Joe Cocker in the 60s).

**** since I posted Luca posted:

i agree about Amanda..I like that she exists, but am sick of her.

Jason..I hope that in the next several years he gets a bit more edgy, both vocally and mentally. Just too soft for me, even though his rendition of What a Day for a Daydream song was my fave of all of them so far.

Carly. I continue to admire the luxurious wonder of her voice..but i continue to not give a shit about her interpretations.

Carly remains the one I would pay big bucks to to sing something for a movie score.

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If you gonna do the Beatles, do something way different, is my take (why I loved Joe Cocker in the 60s).

That seems to be what it takes for the songs to seem fresh when non-beatles, not very edgy people try to do their music. Sometimes a beautiful voice, with enough emotion can pull it off, but does'nt necessarily make it memorable.

Wonder what next week's theme will be....

Yep, Simon was a real jerk last night. I think the only contestant that got raves was David A. I think he deserved the raves (love him) but others did too. I think Simon wants David A. to win for sure. If DialIdol is right - most of America wants David A. to win. That kid is so far ahead of everyone else on that site.

Personally, David Cook (who is high up on DI also) would be my choice to win, with David A. second. I could live with that I know I would be first in line for a David Cook CD. I find him a 100 times better than Daughtry! I think he would get plenty of radio play with the way he does the songs.

I love Carly too. Her and Brooke are the female faves. Brooke is so adorable and pretty! I wish Carly would wear longer sleeves and cover up the big ass tattoo. For some reason it just doesn't go with her beautiful face and gorgeous voice

I had high hopes for Michael. Such a gorgeous man with a really good voice, but I do agree with Simon on this one - he needs to pick songs that showcase his voice more. Also, he just seems so much older than all the rest for some reason. I know he IS the oldest, but with this group he just really seems so much older that I think he will be overlooked by the teens who vote. They have too many younger cute guys to vote for. I don't think he stands chance to win.

Sadly for me Jason just brings the cute. I don't think he is impressive vocally at all, especially with the vocals many in this group have. I think if he were not so cute and personable he would be a goner.

If Dial Idol is right then most people will be happy and either Kristy or Amanda will go. I like having a rocker chick in the group, and for the sake of the concerts having some diversity, I hope it is Kristy who goes. I think Amanda would bring something fun and interesting to the concerts compared to Kristy - who really is forgettable as Simon says.

I really enjoyed Chickadee again this week. He is near the bottom on DI, but I really hope he makes the tour too. I think he will bring a lot of fun to the show!

I listened at Rickey . I still like David C, Jason C and Brooke. I saw Simon on Oprah and he said he thought David A. should win. Well why even have the competition?? Oh I know ratings and money. Simon is still miffed about Taylor winning. I still predict this years winner will suffer the same fate as the past two seasons. People move on . I mean Clay's fans have stuck with him,and Carrie I think made new ones. But where are the rest of the "winners"? Except for Kelly they disappear.

Overall very disappointing evening. The show is becoming just like other seasons now. The cream is rising to the top and already the rest are becoming forgettable.

I will say horray for David A. - he salvaged the night for me. Very fine rendition of "The Long and Winding Road' and that's not even one of my favorite Beatle tunes.

Simon must be worried about Chikezee's increasing press - I thought he did okay.

Amanada might be in the bottom 3 tonight - the one trick pony is getting old.

And please, Jason, did you have to be so nonchalant (sp?) on your song? You wrecked it.

David C was good but those special effects - no good.

I agree that Simon was a pest last night - Carly's remarks back to him put him in his place very, very nicely. I just hope she doesn't pay a price for saying them.

FC, do you have "Hello" by David yet? You can find it and more here.

http://www.david-cook.org/American-Idol-Audio-and-Video-f11.html

Thank you so much Sky!!

I joined the site and downloaded "Hello" and "Daytripper"

I just LOVE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are a doll for finding that site!!!!