American Idol 2006--Live Thread (Part III)

Fox ^ | 5-8-06

[silent_jonny]

always for Tammy

[Lil'freeper]

I hope Katherine mellows with maturity; she's beautiful and talented and loses nothing by being gracious and generous

I mean this to be nice, but Kat could benefit greatly from a good southern CHARM SCHOOL. Seriously. They'll teach her to stand up straight and smile - two things that go a long way toward getting people to give you the benefit of the doubt.

[Sue Perkick]

Exactly. It's like ice cream. Most people like it. But even Ben & Jerry understood that not everyone wants chocolate, vanilla & strawberry. Some people want chunky monkey. Music is the same way. It is saturated with too much of the same thing. Enough is enough & it's time for a change. Taylor fits that. To a "T". ;)

There needs to be something out there for everybody. Not all of us are part of the "hey-a-ho-o" crowd.

[Sue Perkick]

One thing she needs to learn is that the world does not revolve around her. McDaddy may burst into tears at the way she chews her food but the rest of us live in the real world.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Not think of anyone better than a guy with a 20 word vocabulary?

All by design. They knew what they were getting with Randy. He's a cartoon. They wanted the judges to be as much a part of the appeal as the contestants. It's a 3-ring circus. There's always something worth watching-- even if you're just laughing at Paula and Randy.

The most popular sports radio talk show in the whole country is on WEEI in Boston: "The Big Show."

You can read about why it's so popular here and the same things apply to AI.

[floridaobserver]

Katherine was on Larry King with Taylor and Randy and Ryan Seacrest. Towards the end of the show, Katherine interrupted Taylor as we was going to answer a question, and Katherine blurted out, "Taylor has really turned in a real jerk!."

It went over like a lead balloon, and so then Katherine put on her big smile and pretended it was all just a joke.

Tacky!

[Sue Perkick]

Good grief. I have a feeling she's not going to have the career that she thinks she deserves. I bet Taylor just smiled or pretended to ignore it.

[floridaobserver]

I think she will do fine. . She has an amazing voice and stage presence. Supposedly, Andrea Bocelli has offered her the opportunity to tour with him after the Idols tour.

She was at the top of her game on Wednesday .. Meat Loaf aside.

By the way, did ANYONE enjoy the Meat Loaf - Katherine duet?

[Wolfstar]

Netizen, thank you very much for finding the clips for me. You're very kind. Have a great holiday weekend! :)

[SirLinksalot]

WELL, WE HAVE A REAL MUSICIAN WHO IS A FAN OF TAYLOR HICKS.

---

Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice is a Taylor Fan !

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1198331,00.html


Thursday, May. 25, 2006

Taylor Hicks' Biggest Fan?

Condi Rice was among the millions who watched the American Idol finale — and her man won

By ELAINE SHANNON/WASHINGTON

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took time out from matters of war and peace to catch this week's finale of American Idol. Unlike many adults who claim they watch the show only because their kids commandeer the TV, Condi is an unabashed fan.

Rice was rooting for fellow Birmingham native Taylor Hicks and will soon send him a congratulatory letter, says a State Department official. The Alabama connection helps explain why she has long been glued to the show: last year's runner-up Bo Bice is also a 'Bama boy, as was the winner of the second Idol competition, Ruben Studdard. But Condi is also part of nationwide Idolmania, as Tuesday night's competition drew some 32 million viewers — the biggest audience of the show's five seasons.

According to the State Department official, Idol isn't the only junk food on Condi's TV diet. She also watches Law & Order and was a fan of The Bernie Mac Show before its cancellation. But while there are no plans at the moment for a Condi-Taylor duet, Idol fans cast a total of 63.4 million votes Tuesday night — which host Ryan Seacrest pointed out was "more than any President in the history of our country has ever received." And since 35% of American Idol fans believe the votes cast in the singing competition count as much or more than in a Presidential election, maybe those itching for Condi to run in '08 will try to get her a guest appearance on the show.

[StrictTime]

From your keyboard to God's ears!

[b9]

Wow. I assumed the general consensus on FR was that Clinton is a pig.

I see Taylor ripe for being used by the Clinton campaign, and it scares me to the bone.

What scares me even worse is seeing that as perfectly acceptable here on FR.

[Jen]

http://www.thebounderground.com/blog/index.php?itemid=190

Good article from The Bo Bice Underground

Taylor Hicks: Takin' It to the Streets, Stickin' It to the Show

Taylor Hicks had a strategy for winning "American Idol," and he's going to write a book about it. As a long-time "Survivor" buff, the strategy was apparent to me from the beginning: the "harmonica walk"; the mention of planning specific songs as "bullets"; the early identification and frequent acknowledgement of his fanbase. To continue the "Survivor" analogy, Taylor's alliance was the Soul Patrol, a huge and devoted fan group that connected with him at his audition and voted obsessively throughout the competition. The other tribe, consisting of Simon Cowell and the rest of the Idol brain trust, didn't stand a chance. "Simon, the tribe [America/Soul Patrol] has spoken." Interestingly enough, once Simon was seated on the jury, he cast his vote for Taylor. I was reminded of the first season of "Survivor," won by Richard Hatch, when a fellow contestant remarked, "We were playing checkers, but he was playing chess." Taylor played chess. Checkmate, Simon.

Not that there weren't some challenges in implementing the strategy. The night Taylor sang "Just Once," having been denied his first choice of "Try a Little Tenderness," he turned in a lackluster performance and looked defeated. It seemed that a steady barrage of "drunken father at the wedding" comments from Simon had finally gotten to Taylor. Then something happened. At the wonderful graycharles blog, it was described as "the tipping point." Taylor decided to forget about pleasing Simon, an obvious impossibility, and would present "the Taylor Hicks show" for the rest of the competition. He cut loose on "Play That Funky Music, White Boy." Simon repeated his "drunk" comments. The audience drowned him out. The Soul Patrol drowned him out. The rest is history.

more...

[Netizen]

You have a great weekend, too! I know that one clip doesn't really show much of the confetti falling, but, I'm guessing they had to wait on it because of the sparks! Who ever made the clip must have figured that people wouldn't want to see the credits, so poof, there went the confetti scenes, too.

[Netizen]

Yep, that's a great article. I really think that had Taylor not decided to just be himself and forget about Simon, that he would have been voted off very shortly after that Love Songs Week.

He must have been paying attention, too and knew that it was do or die and just went for it!

[Netizen]

Updated American Idol Live Schedule Announced 5/27/06
http://www.celebrityspider.com/news/may06/article052706-5.html

[Fritzy]

Nice post..at this point everyone is trying to tag on to the Idol.. including Dr. Rice?? ..it is a hot item.. several thoughts.. first, why so hard on Katherine? She is a 21 year old.. raised under the watchful eye of Mom and Dad.. championed by her family - isn't that what we want for all our children? So she lacks the maturity of a thirty year old.. says things off the cuff..giggles at some inappropriate times.. I have 18 - 24 year old sons and daughter with the same issues.. however, she has a wonderful voice, just close your eyes and listen..
OTOH.. Taylor appears to be an overgrown party boy.. certainly a great musician, has a unique way with lyrics and interesting physical moves..dedicated to himself and his career.. but I suspect a real opportunist.. his social conversational words are empty.. at least on the Leno and King show.. As a Southerner, I can point blank say that Taylor does not represent the class and social skills I expect from a man of his age.. perhaps he has not had educational or social opportunities to help him develop his social skills.. he is certainly NOT Elvis.. who was also uneducated, came from a dirty poor family - but went on to give us a voice of the ages.. all the time caring for his family and friends.. valuing other people and listening to the opinion of others with grace and honor..
OK at this point, I suppose I am the one lone rider here.. however, I actually liked several others in the competition better than Taylor or Katherine..but they are all winners..
Now back to the Rice connection.. the world is coming apart at the seams.. Rice talks big but her Dept of State delivers nothing..now she gives a comment on the Idol? Then we put value on the crazy over-grown bar singer's political statements.. get a grip! This is insane...
I am not just taking FR comments to the wood shed.. this is actually pointed toward the media and our (yours and mine) taking a TV show, as much fun as it is, to the level of "Idol" worship and actually listening to political "pearls of wisdom" from someone who can't possibly have a clue as to the status of the world...
My point: let's enjoy Kat, Taylor and the "gang" for what they are.. entertainers who are looking for the big bucks and to secure their place in the spotlight.. let's just keep them in their own pew... by the way.. while your eyes are closed, listen to Mandisa!
Cheers

[b9]

Pinging you to the above comment about the Taylor/ Clinton effect.

[Jen]

I wonder if the bit about Taylor writing a book is true? Hope so! I'll buy it! I'll even pre-order it! I've turned into such a fangirl! Squeeeeeeeeeee!!! hahahahaha

Got the tickets to the AI tour today! Now I need a T-shirt. Guess I need to go shopping at Taylor's clothing store now. I wonder if this is really his "official" store? If so, he's got some marketing smarts and is not wasting any time!

[StrictTime]

Maybe Clinton was Hicks's favorite president in the way that Clinton was one of Rush's favorites...to make fun of and to be amused by! ; )

Seriously, does anyone expect an obviously SHREWD person like Taylor to make a political statement that could p*ss off people? After the Dixie Chicks debacle? I hope he stays good natured and non-political.

Besides, I bet a young man like that doesn't know beans about politics. Like the vast majority of people his age, he probably doesn't follow either Free Republic or the DUmpster. He's probably pretty non-involved in politics, since music seems to be his life.

[StrictTime]

I only bought part of the CD on Itunes. I skipped Lisa, Ace, Paris, Katherine Kellie and Kevin. Liked Bucky's and Melissa's the most. Really like "Under the Radar" and play it a lot.