The Smiley Smile Message Board

You know you watched it.

Nobody has blown me away so far.  That Pickler girl certainly didn't live up to the hype, but it's still early.

The little kid who looks like he's 12 was actually better than I thought he'd be.

Ace didn't annoy me as much as I thought he would.

Actually, Joel, I have puposely avoided that show from the beginning. Of course bits of it pop up here and there so that I can't be totally unaware of it, but what I know of it is all second hand. As far as I can tell it's nothing but a glorified karaoke contest. I stay away from those too. That's all I know about American Idol and more than I ever wanted to know.

Of course its a glorified karaoke contest.  That's why its fun to watch.  I don't expect great art from it; just good entertainment.

I guess it's a matter of personal taste. I don't find that sort of thing entertaining. Of course my taste is a bit off. I don't care for the American male trilogy of Guns, Cars, and Sports. They don't do squat for me.

Back on topic: if I want to hear lame musical performances, I can just grab a guitar and do my own.
I'm not saying people shouldn't watch what they like, I just don't like it myself.

I'm with you on the guns and cars, but I will watch a football or baseball game if a team I care about is playing.  I always thought the trilogy was beer, cars, and sports, and preferably all at the same time.  Perhaps thats just in NASCAR states.  ;D

Paris is my fave ....she did a great version of  "Midnight train to georgia"......that kid who sang copacabana was hysterical !!!!.really over the top....and when Randy was critiquing him, he answered like he had no clue or he was purposely being cheesey. he answered ..yes thats what Barry does....Barry has the #1 album ???Weird .....

I'll ramble some off the top of my head.  BTW, just for the record, I'm easily amused and find something of value in about any musical performance.... as long as it's real and not manufactured emotion.  More on that in a minute, lol.

I love the Pickler girl.  Part of that is I live in Charlotte, she lives in Albermarle 20 miles away.  :)  EVEN BEFORE I knew that, though, I appreciated her honesty.  I don't think she's the greatest singer there by a long shot, but I think she is a sincere person and I wouldn't mind seeing sincere people do good in whatever they attempt.

The little kid who sang the Brian McKnight song, I like him for the same reasons although he's not my favorite and I don't expect him to be around for long.  I figured he'd be pretty bad based on what they showed from Hollywood, but he did a decent job with it.

I think the guy Ace will probably go pretty far.  He has a good voice and knows how to work the women.  Randy made an interesting comment... a lot of guys work the women on the show, but usually they're just faking it... this guy actually knows that every woman in america wants him, so even him preening for the camera is pretty sincere, lol... because it's the truth.  When someone like say, Constantine did it, half of the women loved it, but half were like 'oh god what a loser'.  Not with Ace. 

Of course it's hard not to love the blues guy, I believe his name is Travis.  I would like to see him win.  I don't think he will, though, but maybe he'll make it to the final 2.

Paris is great.  I didn't care for the Midnight Train to Georgia she did.... I love that song but didn't think her version was anything special.  Her two performances before that, though, I loved and I think she'll do great.  She may win because she has just a lot of polished talent.

While she has polished talent, Elliott has raw talent.  That's the guy who's pretty ugly and looks like he might have just got out of prison for grand larceny or something.  My brother was talking crap about him, but I could tell from the Hollywood week that the guy was good.  After last night and that Stevie Wonder song, I think he's really, really good.  Some people just have it, and he just has it.  Very good voice.

The Rocker guy (don't know his name) will probably do very well in this contest but I don't think he's really that great, to be honest. 

Bucky was cool, another NC guy who sang Simple Man and did it justice pretty much.

Those were the standouts for me, there's one more girl who was the last girl on the first night who's very good, but I don't know her name.

I'm picking, right now, either Paris, Kellie Pickler, or Travis to win.  I'll even go out on a long shot and guess that Kellie will actually win the entire competition. 

I didn't see the first season, but in the second season, I picked from about 10 shows out that Ruben would win, then I picked in the third season from about 10 shows out that Fantasia would win, and last season, I picked from the 12th show out that Carrie would win. 

I vote twice for whoever my favorite is.  Since the girls and guys are seperate right now, I called tuesday and voted for Kellie, twice... the line was busy, but I called back about 11 p.m. and got through twice to vote for her.  Wednesday, I called to vote twice for Travis.  I called several times, the line was busy, and I even called at 12:30... the lines were still open, and still busy.  I never did get through, but He must be getting one hell of alot of votes. 

Dude, where's the women?  The American Trilogy is Women, Beer, Cars, Sports, Guns... and you pick your favorite two besides women.  For me, it's Women, then the two wildcards of Cars and Guns. 

Count me in as another non-fan of AI. I watched the finals of one of the seasons, though and I came to the conclusion that no one in my record collection except for maybe Paul McCartney would have stood a chance on that show.  That realization just depressd the hell out of me.

Man, the women are a given. 

Women aren't an interest.. they're a need.

Ok, in this order: Music, Women, and WEED!   ;D

Until they start doing an American Idol with people singing their own damn ORIGINAL songs, I ain't interested.

That show and everything it represents is the very antithesis of rock 'n' roll.

It's amazing that the show is so popular, at least to me. That one and "Skating with Celebrities" or whatever it's called.  They're like something from the '50s, which is not a put-down.

I'll get all philosophical for you.  I think that in today's ergh, 'culture' or whatever, a lot of entertainment on televison is violent or offensive or not totally fit for a large majority of the population, and that was o.k. for a while... but I think there's a serious 'family values' revolution on the cusp here and shows like American Idol are tame enough that adults like watching it with their kids, and feeling good about letting their kids watch something the kids see as 'cool', but at the same time the parents see as harmless.  Nearly every family I know watches it and shows like 'dancing with the stars' every week now.  "Extreme Home Makeover" is another example.  They're on the verge of something huge, imo.  Everything's cyclical, society today isn't finally getting liberated after thousands of years... it's been liberated in the past, got more conservative, got more liberal, etc. back and forth since the beginning of time.  Just my opinion.

I really liked Travis' version of "Levon" - he is awesome. The "Copacabana" guy was awful, and so was the kid that did "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". He was extremely awkward. I can't begin to make a guess as to who will win - but honestly, I don't think Kellie has got the voice of Carrie. And I was not really a Carrie fan.

just as the Real World deliberately puts people together who are destined to clash, AI deliberately includes people who can't carry a tune in a pick up truck; Should NOT have gotten started on this Topic, tryin to keep my blood pressure down.

Ron: I'm totally not a big, y'know, "family values" guy or anything, but I totally agree with you. What's great about American Idol is that its family entertainment in a very real way -- you can watch the show with your kids of all ages, they get into it, its fun, people sing, there's nothing at all violent or sexual or whatever, its just harmless fun.

That said: there isn't a living soul this year that I care about.

What's BAD about the show: the payoff. I got really into Bo Bice last year -- I think, still, that he has a REMARKABLE singing voice. But the album he put out? SUCKED SO BAD. There's no payoff unless your last name is "Clarkson!"

I still say that Paris girl has the goods...maybe not as a pop star...But her audition was the best i have heard ever on American Idol !

I honestly don't know why there's all the hatin' going on. Idol puts the spotlight on some good music and songwriters. They've featured Bacharach, Sedaka, the Bee Gees, and didn't they also do a BB medley last year? It keeps some of those classic songs alive. Also keeps a certain style of entertainment alive. The fact that they sing cover songs is not important to me. Just because it's not some grungy guy with a guitar, incoherently mumbling an "original" song, does not mean it isn't worthy.

Exactly. It's fun! People sing! How bad can that be?

If everybody has such a problem with the Karaoke-ish nature of the thing, then my theory is YOU SHOULD GO TO KARAOKE MORE OFTEN. I go every week.

I can attest to the family value.  My daughter now watches a performance and says, "Yes or No?"  And if she likes a song she dances her ballet to it.  Totally safe (as long as we can distract her from some of the awful commercials that run nowadays, and by awful I mean violent and bloody ads for TV shows that run later than 9).

I hate the news too.

 :D :D

So I thought that the voters pretty much got it right last night, with the exception of the guy who sang "Come to My Window."  I thought he had some potential.  I also would have liked to see Brenna go.  She just gets on my nerves.  I don't think her "attitude" is the slightest bit interesting, or entertaining.

I thought that guy was decent too, but he didn't show a lot of stage presence. I thought the guy that sang Queen should have gone. The girls were just so much more forgettable to me, except for a couple of them. Stevie deserved to go, and probably Brenna too.

that Lisa girl can also sing and she should advance far.....i like the guy with the salt and pepper hair...he will go far too.

Last night they sang Stevie Wonder song's.....can't believe that kid who sang Higher Ground didn't know
it was a Stevie Wonder song ???. ....in fact a lot of these kids didn't know Stevie Wonder's music ?

My wife watches the Idol. I go in the other room. I’m just not interested. Clarkson has proven herself worthy with a superb voice, but the rest, since then, have been pretty useless.

I don’t think we need more singers. I think we need more songs. They should have a song writing contest instead and pull the industry out of the toilet.

One singer had caught my interest this season. As I walked through the living room, I caught a little bit of  Gideon’s performance and said, “That’s it! He’s the winner! This contest is over”. Sure enough, he gets booted a week or so later. The public are fools. He was the one, and they blew it.

My brief interest in the show was gone, so I went back into the other room and put my headphones on.

Kellie Pickler most Definetly has a future in PLAYBOY magazine! I'd pay to see that.
Bri

I hardly watch anything from Fox networks. The Simpsons and Seinfeld are about it. Some of the shows that station pumps out are just a test on how dumb the average watcher must be. Not to insult anyone who watches these shows, but it's plain to see that they're pushing the stupidity line through the roof.

Don't like it.  I'd rather watch Sienfeld reruns.
Hate "reality" programming.  Generally can't stand programming aimed at anyone under 30 >:(

Is it just me, or is there like 3 hours of Seinfeld on every day?

A bit too much. I miss the 6pm Simpsons. 7:30 is Jeopardy time and my wife won't let me watch the Simpsons.

So I watch an hour of Seinfeld, an hour of Rachel Ray (Why does she watch Rachel Ray? SHe never cooks anything for me at home!), and then we split up once her 8 pm Bachelor, Reality Show garbage comes on, although we do watch "Deal or No Deal" together, but it's only a matter of time before that show gets run into the ground.

Wife-swap, the Nanny, and Home Makerover makes me want to reach for the gun.

At least American Idol is family friendly, and for that I am grateful...although I still don't feel compelled to watch it.

The girl Katherine did a good job with Wonder's song.  It was actually interesting to watch.

Taylor was unbelievable.  I think Simon's characterization of him was perfect.  He said Taylor reminded him of every dad that ever got drunk at a party and decided to sing, except Taylor actually CAN sing.  I think that dead on nails the guy... he was dancing, jumping, groaning all across the stage, singing "Nightime in the city" or whatever that Stevie song is called "for the city"... whatever.  It was great.  It was so good I would pay money to see that performance. 

The rest were just hohum in my opinion.  Some were good but not great, like Paris, Chris, etc.

Taylor is a bright light amongst the 12, er, 11 finalists.  The song BTW is "Living for the City".  Good song choice for him, as just last week he did an awesome "Takin It To The Streets", which has somewhat of a similar subject.

I think they cut the wrong person. That geeky kid, Kevin,  needs to go in a hurry. He couldn't hold a note if it was stapled to his hand.

It's not that he is bad, per se, but Kevin is definitely out of his league here.  Even he can see that; notice how he referred to himself as a "sex symbol", and proceeded to sing..."Part Time Lover"???  (Rather unsexily, IMO.)  This is just his way of awkwardly constructing a connection to anyone in the viewing audience who is willing to bite, ie. 11 year old girls and their respective grandmas.  To me, it was 'sadhilarious' to watch him.

Plus he's turning into a little bit of a smart a*s which is getting annoying quick.

Crazy how 'ace' was in the bottom 3, along with Lisa.  I think Lisa is being to cutesy, it's hard for her to shake the child image, and I think Ace is just annoying.  I guess even the women can look past his good looks and see that he's really pretty blah.  I allllmost threw up when he decided to sing an entire Michael Jackson song, falsetto and all, a couple weeks ago. 

Sir, I don't mean to call you out, but "sadhilarious" is not a word.  The correct and prefered word would be "hilariawful."  Sorry about the public humiliation I just put you through, but I just thought you needed to know.

The kid got the boot this week.  I actually kind of felt for him, I was probably just like that when I was 16.  He's just out of his league.

I wasn't into Taylor's buddy holly this week.  It was alright, nothing special.  He should have done "Well Alright" would have been much better.

Question: can anybody else tell if Barry Manilow's lip synching now?  My brother and I have been arguing about it for a couple months.  He was on some other show a while back and both times it looked like he was lip synching, but then again he looks and acts pretty weird when he's talking too, so maybe it's just his manerisms. 

Howdy pardner: I was tempted to use that, but it seems so typical, so I figured I would make up a word.  (That's why I placed it between itty bitty quotes.)  So, it's okay, I don't feel humiliated...I feel 'amicompunctiousable'.

...Either way, the vibe got through: the kid got the boot.

I have a question.

If a scrawny, pimple covered, one legged, one armed boy went on the show and had the singing power of Tina Turner, would he win?

Would he get that album deal or whatever it is, marketed to the 13 year old girls? Posted all over MTV's fat ass?

Hate to break it to you, but that neologism's been around for a good while, amigo; Google it and see what I mean.  Maybe you were the one being sarcastic.  I just can't tell amid this here fiendish Internet thingie! :)  But, don't worry, I'm not going to hamph because you act like a hardy-dardy, fleenering, airwo-fearing  phobosopher!

Come on.  What a silly question.  Pretty much the only ugly people who ever got a record contract were Del Shannon and ... well, Del Shannon is pretty much the only ugly person to ever get a recording contract. 

How about Edgar Winter? Does he count?  :lol

Johnny Winter would be included in that package, I would assume...?

Well, I was surprised to see Katherine in the bottom three. I find her voice kind of irritating at times, but she is not a bad singer. Anyway it looks like that dumb blonde is going to sail through to the finale......America, get a clue.

Yes, Katherine is very good, I was pissed she was in the bottom 3. 

American idol sucked last night !!!..those Queen song's are hard for anyone to sing except Freddie Mercury. It was not the best band to have on this show. Brian may also told that Ace kid that he wouldn't change the arrangement for "We will rock you"....May really seemed pissed/ offended that the kid wanted to change it up.
The show really should stick to the Manilow type singer/arranger for these show's ...someone a lot more sympathetic to the singer.
I wonder if Prince will appear , they have approached him.

I see someone sang Innuendo. Cool song, how did that go? I don't watch American Idol, but I heard that they did Queen songs from the Queen website.

Yep. All I could keep on saying was "Major suckitude" and variants thereof while watching. When Pickler is nominally the best of the night, you know you've got a real stinker of a show on your hands. All that's really left is the 'Take A Drink When Paula Says Something Unintelligible, Crazy Or Wasted-Sounding' game, and my liver is starting to give out.

Innuendo was by Chris, who has but one style, one emotional level and one trick. It was competent is all.

I hadn't heard about Prince - that'd be more the mark for this show, I think. I just can't see him making the patronizing comments about the contestants the way that Not Kenny Rogers did.

Anyways - Final Four: Katherine, Elliot, Chris, and (God help me) Pickler.

I hadn't heard about Prince - that'd be more the mark for this show, I think. I just can't see him making the patronizing comments about the contestants the way that Not Kenny Rogers did.

Anyways - Final Four: Katherine, Elliot, Chris, and (God help me) Pickler.

From what I hear, Prince is a done deal and will be on in the next few weeks. His people have explained to him that he is almost irrelevant and he needs to appeal to the new fan base.

I think Taylor will make the final four over Elliot. Taylor has real soul; Elliot sounds artificial. You just have to close your eyes and listen, not watch!

I like Taylor better too; I just don't think 'The Wild And Crazy Guy" persona will carry him through. I've heard some of his own songs (posted as mp3's on his site) and I quite like them, but unless his plan is to show that side of himself when things get a little more winnowed down (thereby 'blowing us away'), I don't see him sticking around much longer. I thought he could have killed during country week, but instead he did a goofy version of a Bob Marley song. I also am not crazy about his tendency to take liberties with melodies; he does it pretty well, but you gotta pay your dues before you start with that, I think, especially when the people who wrote the songs are appearing on the show.

It's a "No-Brainer" as to why Queen was on AI.....they're in the middle of a U.S Tour and AI is tons of exposure!! Not that Queen needs any. LOL
I thought Kellie Pickler did a pretty decent job with "Bohemian Rhapsody".And Chris surprised me with doing "Innuendo".That's a great song from a great LP.
Taylor did not do a good job on "Crazy Little Thing"...in fact,he screwed up the lyrics royally.
Brian

Taylor didn't do a bob marley song country week, he surprisingly did "Country Roads" by John Denver.  It was horrid. 

Here's what I don't understand, somebody clue me in.  Why do they always try to outsing like some of the greatest singers of all time?  Say what you want about John Denver but he had a simply beautiful voice, if you're going to sing the song the same way with a similar arangement, you're going to get clowned by the original because it was at least 5 times better.  And I LIKE Taylor.

O.K., last night Taylor did "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", I thought it was alright, nothing special but not horrible or anything.

Kellie is not a very good singer.  O.K. voice, and she's stupid as a rock.  However, she pretty consistantly does pretty much as good as she possibly can, each week.  For instance, she did Bohemian Rhapsody last night.  It wasn't GREAT, but it was pretty good and probably near the top of her ability.  She is going to do very well, and may even WIN the entire competition because of that...What bit of talent she has, she uses every week.  The others are hit and miss, and some think they're much better than they actually are.

I agree about Chris wholeheartedly.  What pisses me off about him (and modern radio-rock in whole) is that it's manufactured emotion.  He's not REALLY mad, he's just acting mad on stage. .. and he's not really hurt, he's just acting hurt on stage.  I do not get the sense that he feels or has been through what he's singing about.  That is such a load of crap, you can hear it in his voice, and you can see it in his face when he's singing.  Sure he's probably got a great voice, but how much longer is he going to put the same spin on every friekin' song?  He thinks he's just the greatest fucking thing ever, and in reality he's just a fake.

Elliott oversings, in my opinion.  He just cannot resist putting little runs and things in everywhere he possibly can, it's the same fault that Christina Aguilera has.  Both good singers, but they overkill it.  Elliott won't win because ultimately he doesn't have much charisma.

Paris did o.k., nothing special.  I agree with Simon, she's so young and cute that it's kind of scary or weird seeing her play dress up and trying to look 30.  The week she sang the Beyonce number was almost sad, she's trying to shake her butt on stage and things when she's just a little 16 year old girl.  Great voice, though. 

I like Katherine, but she strays off key a lot.  Great voice, but she doesn't control it much in the higher registers.  Very beautiful girl, too, she'll probably get a recording contract regardless of if she wins this thing. 

Bucky is pretty bland, he'll be gone in a couple weeks.  I hate how he puts such a strain in every song he sings, he should try singing things more pure every once in a while and see where that goes.

Ace is disgusting to me, lol.  I predict he'll get voted off tonight.  I don't think his problem is 'manufactured emotion'.  I think he really is that big of a sensitive wet noodle.  I can't understand why everybody keeps acting like his falsetto is nice, it's not.

Oh, and I agree with Brian that he shouldn't change up his song for Ace, it's not neccessary.  What he was thinking trying to sing that I'll never know anyways, but I guess Kellie pulled nearly the same thing off, so whatever.  In the end, the only one who even tried to do justice to Freddie Mercury's incredible voice was Katherine, and like I said above she has trouble staying on tune (maybe she can't hear on the stage). 

All in all,Kellie Pickler definetly has a future in Playboy or Penthouse.
She's SO naive that Mr. Hefner should have Nooooooooooo problem selling her on a spread!!
B-man

Did anyone see Kellie sing Fancy by Bobbie Gentry a couple weeks ago....i actually thought that was her best performance.

I didn't know Bobbie Gentry sang that, I thought she was doing the Reba version.  Yeah, I saw it, I thought it was pretty good although I don't really like the whole message of that song, lol.  Kellie's not incredibly talented but she has had several decent performances, and I haven't seen anybody on the show who's consistantly much better than her.  Taylors great from time to time, Paris is, Elliott is, etc. but every week?  Just about every week Kellie gives about an 8 out of a 10, some weeks Taylor gives a 10, some weeks he gives a 5.  She's much more consistant, although she's never going to be great. 

Heh - I didn't know Reba did it at all. I guess I'm missing something with Pickler. Her 'Fancy' was OK in that she was almost able to put some feeling into the verse, before destroying the mood in the chorus. No doubt I'll have a few more chances to get used to her, since she's not going anywhere for awhile (could win it all, if I'm any judge - and I'm not.)

Taylor needs to find tunes that mean something to him, and stick with those. Him and Katherine are the only ones I'd want to see win at this point.

Taylor should win, period.  But, then, I am always for the underdog.  Paris will probably win, unfortunately.  It might be just me, but her style is almost robotic.

Paris will not win.  She's great at jazz; that's her calling.  If she would sing jazz on the show, I'd love all of her performances... but instead she's singing the r&b type stuff that's on the radio now and it won't win her the show, I dont' think.

Chris may win, Taylor may win, and Kellie may win.

I would LOVE to see Katherine win.  She's got a wonderful voice, seems to understand what makes a good song and looks great.  She gets off key a little bit but that's something she could work on.  I think she's the most talented of them all.

If I were going to guess who I think will win, I still pick Kellie as the winner.  I think for the AI audience, she will win.  She looks good, she has a good story behind her, her stupidity is cute (sometimes), she puts a lot of effort into her performances, and she's a good enough singer that she can at least get through a song vocally.  These people aren't looking for the best singer, they're looking for the singer who will sell the most records.


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That's another thing.  Whoever thought this show up, is a genius.  Not only is it the most watched show on t.v.... but they're basically holding a huge survey saying "if we make an album for one of these people, which person will you buy the most of?"  With 25 million people watching EACH NIGHT.... you're guaranteed a double platinum album out of whoever wins.  Everybody says they rig the show.. no they don't!  They just let whoever people vote in (no matter how horrible or how talented) win, and then simply release a cd by that person and make a fin' fortune off of it!  It's brilliant!

Article I found, it is from a few months back, but I feel it still applies:

Paris Bennett, Will She Live Up To The Hype?

Paris Bennett wowed not only the judges during her American Idol 5 audition, but also several entertainment writers.  Entertainment Weekly raves about Paris and says she “threatens to end this competition before it even gets underway.”  The New York Post calls Paris Bennett a “probable winner” and says her audition “might have been the most successful in the show’s history.”  People Magazine calls Paris an “early favorite.”

Paris Bennett is only 17 years old and is from Fayetteville, Georgia.  Paris is the granddaughter of Ann Nesby, who was the lead singer for Sounds of Blackness, a group that won three Grammy Awards.  Paris sang “Cowboy Take Me Away” by the Dixie Chicks and “Take Five” by Billie Holiday for her American Idol 5 audition.  Paula Abdul called Paris “phenomenal,” while Simon Cowell called her “unbelievable.”  Paris advanced to Hollywood by a unanimous yes vote from the judges.  After her audition, Paris was so overcome with emotion that she broke down in tears of happiness when telling her grandmother the news.       

There are two things that could negatively impact Paris Bennett’s chances.  By setting the bar high during the auditions, viewers will be expecting something spectacular every time that Paris takes the stage.  Because so many news organizations are calling Paris the early favorite, viewers will have high expectations and will likely hold her to a higher standard.  When people expect the world, one slip-up or bad performance can be enough to knock even a great singer out of the competition.

Another thing that could hurt Paris Bennett is that many viewers are likely to question if she really needs American Idol.  She is a very talented and attractive young girl with a Grammy winning grandmother, who likely has numerous connections in the music industry.  Paris could probably get a record deal without American Idol.  In fact, she could probably negotiate a more lucrative deal for herself by not limiting herself to being bound to the American Idol contract.  However, the perception of how easy it is to make it in the music industry and the reality are often two very different things.  What better way to launch the career of a new artist than by appearing on a TV show with 35 million viewers?

 I like Katherine or the brunette girl alot.  AI is a bullshit show that rarely has any talent on it.  It is like kareoke with humiliation. Or like Simon gets the chance to say everything you ever wanted to say to weak ass singers.  I think Kelly Clarkson is horrible as well as the fat black guy who beat Clay Aiken(Reuben stinks as an entertainer).  Clay Aiken is perhaps the most talented vocalist to emerge from AI but is lame and passe as a creative entity. AI highlights to unparrelelelled success everything that is wrong with American music as well as what is wrong with the way it is foolishly marketed.  Looks and gang-affiliation are the KEY to success in america.  I give AI props in one respect however..They do not accept Rap or hip-hop as music. Because it isn't music and takes zero talent to produce it. Period. America is starving for talent, yet looks and image and finance are all that propel the biz. American artists like Fiona Appel and Nora Jones are true talents.  If they were gang members they would probably be bigger, since we as a nation glorify murder and crime as worthy of fame. American music execs have alot of blood on their hands as well as tobacco companies. Music execs love to drink from their little vomit bowl.

Kelly Clarkson ella es bonita y talentosa!  The rest of the AI winners don't chalk up to her, as far as ability and versatility goes. 

Yeah, I don't understand why someone would feel Kelly Clarkson isn't talented.  Everything from her lyrics to her voice to her face is a.o.k. with me. 

Yeah, and - is this just a coincidence - she is definitely one of the more credible pop singers out there.  Who knew?

My mom think Clay Aiken was the best thing that was in AI. Because of that I was forced to see him twice in 2004  :P Now he is releasing a new album and I think the torture will come back  :-\

I agree that Clay was the best singer out of A.I.
Now,last night was actually pretty good!
Paris blew me away with her very competent "Billie Holliday" style of singing.As one of you posted previously,she will have No problem getting signed and having a career in music.She's that good.
My favorite "future Playboy centerfold" Kellie Pickler BLEW IT last night......soon to be gone.
Chris Daughtry and Kathryn McPhee did a fine job.
R.I.P Pickler...you're goin' home tonite,or at least to the Playboy Mansion.
Bri

Well... you obviously don't know what you're talking about.

Kellie isn't getting votes because of her singing, I figured people understood that by now?  She could screw up every night and still pass through. She's not the best singer in a contest that it doesn't really matter how well you sing.  She did pick a horrible song to try and sing, though, totally out of her area.

I hope Katherine wins, she's the most credible of all of them and has the looks and personality for it too. 

these kids actually did a pretty good job singing the Standards. Who really sucked in this format was Rod the Mod!!!
Jesus he is butchering some of the greatest songs ever written !

While I do agree that American Idol is everything that is wrong with the music industry today and the reason that true artists arent getting the recognition they deserve, part of this argument is ridiclous.  Rap and hip-hop  not music?  I beg to differ!  While most of the stuff that is spoon-fed to us by MTV/Top 40 radio is thoughtless garbage, there is some increadibly intelligent musical rap and hip-hop out there.  You are either not looking for it or you have a pre-formed opinion that will never change if you hear it or not.  Your loss.

I am all for hating on AI for the fact that it is giving us more and more disposable pop stars and music that wont last and killing artistry in music by bringing Kareoke stars into mass media attention.  Remember when music was about talent?  A decent voice adn pretty faces arent the only things that go into true musicianship!  Things like this are the reason that unless there is a huge change, we will never have another Bob Dylan, Beatles, or even Brian Wilson with big mainstream success.  Thank God for underground independent music that isnt so demographicly minded and chasing the almighty dollar!!  That being said, good songs are good songs and Kelly Clarkson has had a couple of great songs written for her.  Since you've been gone and breakaway are both quality tunes.  I'm sure I will get flamed for this, but I really dont care.  Truth hurts.  I still respect your opinions!

Agreed.  She has also (reportedly) written about 40 new songs since her last album came out.  (!!!)  She is definitely working to set herself apart from just being a teenybopper.

Thats encouraging.  I am glad to hear that she is doing something creative and not just sitting back and counting the $$$.  She has a great voice and if she can break from the AI-teenybopper image, I think she has a bright future and may not fade out like the rest have/will.  As much as I hate the AI thing, I cant deny her immense talent.

I figger that one of the things that the show is selling is the myth/illusion that all of those participating just showed up after singing in the shower for a lifetime total of five minutes, open their yaps, and then have these big, beautiful voices pour out. We know it's not the case, right?

One of the reasons I like the show is to be able to pick apart the performances (and granted, I cannot sing.) For example, I thought that Katharine's performance of the other night was technically spotty/weak; but somehow she was in a class by herself or something. What the hell do I know? Pickler's still there, which tells you everything about the contest aspect of the whole thing.

My rule of thumb is this: if I can't stand any of the remaining contestants, I'll stop watching.

A prediction: I don't know who will win this year's contest, but I am sure that Pickler will someday be one of the celebrities/stars/personalities on Hollywood Squares.

Do you ever think how awful it'd be if Brian was on there...I'd love to see them interact with him though!

MP3: KELLIE PICKLER - "UNCHAINED MELODY" (LIVE ON "AMERICAN IDOL"):

http://idigworms.blogspot.com/2006/04/mp3-kellie-pickler-unchained-melody.html

Pretty horrible performance by her, and some of the others.  I still don't think she'll go home this week, though.  I doubt she'll win now, though, she's just making horrible, horrible, insane song choices every week.  I don't understand why she keeps choosing songs that have absolutely no meaning to her.  Then she just half-ass sings them and that's supposed to win the competition?

I agreed that Katherine's Whitney cover was weak.  She's got a great voice, but come on, why even TRY to sing "I Have Nothing" ?  Who could do that?  I don't even think there's more than 2 or 3 professional singers around that could handle that song.  Somebody needs to be a friend to these girls and just tell them "honey, you're not Whitney Houston, you're not Mariah Carey, You're not Celine Dion, why don't you try a nice Cher song?"

I can't stand Chris. 

Paris was alright, nothing special.

Taylor was boring.

Elliott is very talented, but I'm not really into that style of music with all the runs and things on every single phrase of the song. 

Pretty boring show for me right now.

Yeah, it was a weird show. Paula seemed totally unhinged. Kellie was horrible, but will sail through to next week. I think everyone on that panel knows she should not be there. And Kellie's "I'm scared and nervous" bit is wearing very thin.

I was honestly embarrassed for Andrea Bocelli, though he seemed to take it all in stride. Some of those moments with the celebrities and the contestants are just so cringe-worthy. They are really fascinating though.

David Foster seems like a total a**. I LOVE him.

 

I don't know that 'Whitney Houston' song (I'm assuming she didn't write it) that Katharine sang. I thought that it was pleasant, and good on its own merits. I couldn't believe the judges' reactions to it. Honestly - I almost think the producers want one of the guys to win. For what that's worth.

Anyways, the whole show was not great.

Download the Whitney version, and you'll see why they were kind of unimpressed.  I like Katherine, I think she's the best of the group.  She was flat out of her league though on that one.  Of course Whitney did it in the studio, I'm not sure how good she used to do it live... it's called "I Have Nothing" and it's on the bodyguard soundtrack.  Whitney's voice was so powerful, and where Katherine barely hit or had trouble with the high notes, Whitney just breezed through it singing a mile above herself.  A lot of people don't like her stuff because much of it is oversung, but that song in my opinion is one of hers that is just unbelievable. 

I'll bet Katherine can't smoke as much crack as Whitney either.  No talent . . .

(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Joel5000/whitney_3.jpg)

Brilliant!!!  You are my new favorite!!

 ;D

Yeah, I saw a kid at the grocery store today with Downs Syndrome.  I laughed and pointed.   ;D

Huh?  That's cold, man.

I think he was trying to draw a comparison between people who are addicted to hard drugs and people who are born with chromosomal abnormalities.

Big difference there...nobody chooses to be born with chromosome abnormalities. 

Pickler should be gone after tonight, if America has any clue what it's doing.

I didn't say he drew the right comparison.

You were right (and I definitely anticipated it, as well) - Kellie Pickler is out.

Not that I'm complaining in the least, but wasn't it a bit odd that they didn't have her sing at the end? 

Quite a relief, I say. :)

Oh give me a break!  Holier than thou a bit?  Whitney chose to be a crackhead!!  I have no sympathy.  Her music is terrible as well.  She may have a nice enough natural voice but just like all of the "Divas", she oversings everything. 

I couldn't agree more. Whitney not only chose to be a crackhead, but she could afford the best rehab centers in the world. She just likes smoking crack.

Anyways, ding dong the witch is dead, etc. Who should be the next to go, and who will be the next to go? Paris or Taylor, and Paris, I'm thinking.

All of you missed the comparison, of course Whitney chose to be addicted or chose to do crack or whatever's wrong with her life, and I wasn't comparing her self-inflicted problems to someone born with a chromosomal abnormality.

My complaint is that it's not funny and it's not humourous to watch somebody destroy their life.  It's a lazy joke.  If you truly were good at being funny, you wouldn't take the easy way out and point at somebody who's a total wreck and laugh... because anybody alive can see where there's something wrong there.  It's the equivalent of a fart joke... there's nothing clever about it and for someone to say "Brilliant!" is just amazing to me.

Laughing at someone who obviously is messed up is similar, to me, as laughing at someone with downs syndrome would be.  It's 2nd grade humour. 

Brilliant Ron.  Hopefully someday I'll be good at being funny.  Just like you.

Right on Joel!  I say that you and I start an alliance for the un-funny and take on the world of genious comedians such as Ron with our bland and un-funny banter.  What do you say?  Will you join me?  This board, better yet this WORLD, needs us!  Things are getting to funny around here and some tasteless, "easy" fart and crackwhore jokes are just what the doctor ordered to settle things down a bit.

Ron, are you giving lessons at being "good at being funny"?  If so, sign me up!  The way you turned our statements around with that joke about making fun of handicapped people really put me in my place!  It was hilarious!  Well played my good man. 

(http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5132675,00.jpg) 

"MMMMM......Thats some good crack!!"

1) One chooses to use; one does not choose to become addicted. Some substances have a nasty way of re-wiring the brain - tough or at times impossible to straighten out.

2) If you can't make fun of Whitney Houston, who in the foda can you make fun of?

(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Joel5000/whitney-houston-crack.jpg)

WOW!!!

wheres Kevin Costner when you need him?

(http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/cp/entertainment/20060426/e042624a.jpgl)

last night was ELVIS night .......and the final 4 wannabe's totally destroyed the Kings song's. Last night was probably the worst Idol yet !
just seeing that bald headed kid get out of the Happy Van at Graceland made me wanna puke.

Yeah, it was pretty disgusting.  I think Taylor did a good job at "In The ghetto", though. 

We can only hope.  I just farted, by the way.  HA HASAH AHAHAHA HAA

YEAH! I thought so too.  That was my whole bit, I thought a kid with downs syndrome was funny.  HAHA HAHA~!!! Isn't that great!!!???!!!!

ugh... on second thought, do me a favor and re-read what I wrote.  You still didn't get it. 

How about you, or me?  Somebody with their mind left.  Are you the type of person that beats up homeless people, or do you show them a little mercy since they're obviously having a bad time?  It's just not funny, it's easy.  Instead of using your mind to make something good, you just say the obvious about somebody that's obviously messed up.  That's not funny, it's easy, a 5 year old could make that joke. 

"Whitney Houston does crack! look, she looks funny, too! Look!" what the f*** is that?  How you can laugh at that is beyond me.  She'll probably be dead soon, and she's got kids growing up in a house with a crackhead and a dad who beats the crackhead up in front of them.  that's really fucking hilarious. 

There were some cringe-worthy moments. I must say both of Katherine's performances were a complete mess.

Who can I make fun of, effectively? No one, it would seem. Not to sound like a complete whining asshole, but I must protest that I did not make fun of the person in question - I merely posited whether or not it was appropriate to make some juvenile crack about her. I imagine you would say, "No." Resoundingly.

Would you at least agree with my first statement, which to me is the important one?

Anyways, let's talk American Idol. That Paula Abdul - she real crazy, right?

Actually, I did get your lame attempt at sarcasm.  No, I didnt really think that you thought a handicapped person was funny.  I understood it all only problem is, it was not very funny!  

Now then, that last post you made about you farting, SOLID GOLD!!!  Way to go!  And all this time I thought you were the one giving lessons on being funny!  You are on the right track.  Not quite ready for alliance membership yet but keep on truckin'!

Actually Ron, I do beat up homeless people but after I am done, I throw them a few bucks and any loose change in my pocket.  Good comedy is good comedy but I have a heart of gold as well!!  Give me a break!  ::) 

By the way, just to keep this in line with the thread title, American Idol still sucks.  I bet when they are performing, at least one of them have let a little fart!!  Tee Hee  :lol  :lol  :lol

Love and Farts,
CosmicDancer

If it doesn't have melody nor harmony it ISN'T MUSIC.  Hip hop has neither.  However Music is coming back AI is garbage and Kelly Clarkson is ok but not star material.

 ::)

 :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

That's GOLD, Ron!!!!  GOLD!!!!!!!!

mandisa was the best singer.

Oh yeah?  Ever heard of Arnold Schoenberg?  Or Charles Ives :)

I am listening to the Season 5 CD...and it's quite good, I am surprised to say.  This might sound a little obvious or trite or whatever, but the best track is definitely Taylor Hick's version of "Takin' It To The Streets".  Almost better than The Doobies...just the excitement he generates as a live singer, I dunno.  Whereas the rest of the tracks, though pretty good, don't have that same live captured feel...sort of forced.  Case in point: Lisa Tucker's version of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" - she's on cruise control for most the whole song, and her high notes sound forced.  IMO.

I'm listening to a rap song with a nice melody right now. :)