American Idol 2006--Live Thread I

FOX ^ | 1-16-06

[misterrob]

My understanding is that the men have all been very suportive of one another and that since the twinds didn't make it everyone was pretty happy. I know that Elliott was pretty bummed abour Sway losing as they had become good friends.

Women seem to get pretty catty when they compete for stuff.

[TonyWpi]

Hey...I have an idea!

Let's have a female "Idol" mud wrestling competition!

Man, I'd love to see Kellie May and her roommate Katherine go at it!

As Glenn Beck would say.....awwwwww yeaahhhhhhhh!

[misterrob]

I was thinking some things when they were hugging each other when they won....

Let's just leave that one alone.

[SirLinksalot]

OK Folks, let's look at my powers of prediction. IN A WORD --- NOT BAD. I PREDICTED 3 out of 4 OF THOSE WHO WOULD BE VOTED OUT.

Let's recap :

For the girls, I said :

---

WHO SHOULD GO : Kinnik ( sure thing ) and Ayla
WHO WILL GO : Kinnik and Melissa.

---

I was right in WHO SHOULD GO. What I did not forsee, was HOW MUCH MOST OF AMERICA FELT ABOUT SIMON's OUTRAGEOUS REMARK ABOUT MELISSA, WHO DID ( WHAT I ARGUE ), WAS A MORE INTERESTING PERFORMANCE THAN Ayla or Lisa.

We cannot question the decision to let Kinnik go home. She was in most parts, OFF KEY. Kinnik is a classy maturelady and we wish her well. Nothing more will be said of her. Heck, If it were me, I'd be happy with the experience and quietly go back to doing software ( what I do now ).

However, Melissa is improving every week and people relate to that. Of course poor Ayla is a victim of the anti-Simon backlash ( and there will be more believe me ). If Simon is right about one thing it is this --- Ayla is an OVERACHIEVER. She INSISTS on doing everything well. And here's her problem -- MOST OF AMERICA IS MADE UP OF COMMON FOLKS, not straight A athletes who were born with silver spoons who have basketball scholarships and whose parents are big shots.

What was Ayla's stated goal in life ? Look at the Official Idol website. It says :

---

If you don't make it on AMERICAN IDOL, what will you do?

Continue to play basketball at Boston College.

What are your personal goals in life?

To be a role model, to live a healthy and happy life, to continue to have a successful career in basketball.

What has been your proudest moment in life so far?

Being one of the few people in MA to be a 2000 point scorer.

If you couldn't sing, which talent would you most like to have?

To be a professional basketball player.

What is your definition of an AMERICAN IDOL?

To be a role model for their community, work with young people. Leading by example.

What's been your toughest obstacle in life?

Overcoming people's incorrect assumptions about me.

---

Think of it this way --- when you were growing up, did you ever hear your mother tell you how great your friend's kid is compared to you and then ultimately asking you that BANAL question that has been haunting you since then ----- WHY CAN'T YOU BE LIKE HER ?

And here's the rub -- TO MOST OF THE AMERICAN IDOL VOTING PUBLIC --- AYLA IS *THAT* OTHER GIRL !

On the other hand --- let's look at Melissa for a moment.... Melissa is that girl from Florida. Melissa is a music educaton teacher whose dream in life is to be a recording artist ( if she can ), Her stated goal is :

"To succeed in the music industry, have a beautiful marriage, and stay on the path with God."

Some other questions Melissa answered in her interview :

Most embarrassing moments?

My most embarassing moment was when I was competing in a beauty pagent and I broke a fire alarm sprinkler and flooded 2 floors and stopped the pageant.

What has been your proudest moment in life so far?

Where I am in my life right now, I have overcome so much.
What is your definition of an AMERICAN IDOL?

Someone America can identify with.

Who is your favorite judge and why?

Simon because he is honest.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

That I have had a very difficult life.

---

THERE YOU GO MY FRIENDS -- the last response says it all.

You have a woman (age 21) who has had a tough life versus a young girl whose main obstacle in life is to overcome people's incorrect assumptions about her. You also have a 17 year old with everything to look forward to, against a girl who spent her own money to fly from Florida to Denver just for a chance to get this far.

WHO WOULD MOST OF AMERICA RELATE TO ? And after Simon's unusually harsh ---- BOOK A TICKET HOME TO FLORIDA --- remark to Melissa ( who I argued gave a good rendition of her song ), WHO HAS THE SYMPATHY VOTE ?

So folks, let us not be surprised. FAIR OR UNFAIR, this isn't a purely singing competition. Unless your talent surpasses your competitors by a wide mile, when it comes to a neck and neck competition between two good singers who sing well, PEOPLE,(AKA THE MASSES) WILL :

A) Vote for the underdog ( Don't discount the sympathy vote. It's been proven to work EVERYWHERE In God's green earth ).

B) Rebel against TPTB when they make snotty and harsh remarks.

SO -- TO SIMON COWELL ( that British Twit who makes 1776 necessary ), LEARN A LESSON FROM THIS.

You inadvertedly sabotaged one of the best singers in Season 3 ( Latoya London) by telling Jasmine Trias to go home at number 4 ( after a valiant effort on her part to stay in the game), causing her to weep and thus winning the sympathy vote. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN ?


In this sense Ryan is right about his so called dream about Simon. WHAT SIMON LACKS IS THE ABILITY *CONTRUCTIVE* CRITICISM. Being honest has it's merits but being BRUTAL and HARSH will cause a voter backlash. That's essentially what happened.

So, in the tradition of Casablanca , let's say that I am shocked, SHOCKED, to see Ayla going home. Melissa deserved to be in the Top 12. She worked her as s off ( note the deliberate mis-spelling) . And I think Ayla did, too. They both tried really hard. And, at the end,when it was just the two of them standing there, I felt really sorry for Melissa, because it just wasn't fair. Then I felt horrible for Ayla. Because she was the designated victim due to just one off night ( after two good performances ).

I agree entirely with my wife who said to me that it's probably the first time she's ever failed - she was so clearly stunned. Hope she got a BIG hug from her parents when she left the stage, and kudos to her for pulling it together and getting into her song during the sing-out. I refuse to believe that being a senator's daughter has not opened doors for her that no one else had a shot at.

Sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you work or whose daughter you are, you still lose. Better to learn the lesson now. I never felt she really sang the songs, or had any feelings behind them the way say Taylor Hicks ( who really busted his buns doing music all of his life ) has.


TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT --- THE VOTE FOR MELISSA TO STICK IT TO SIMON CAMPAIGN WORKED !!

---

And now for the guys ....

Here were some of the predictions :

---

WHO SHOULD GO : Kevin and Will
WHO WILL GO : Will and Gedeon

Three guys most in danger of leaving:

Bucky( Doesn't have the "cuteness" appeal that the other two have going for them. Bet he's gone.)

Will(Actually has a nice voice. He's a bit dull though. Too bad he wasn't from the Donny Osmond era. I could see him on the cover of "Tiger Beat" from the late 60's-early 70's. Think he's probably gone.)

Kevin(Idol has been ragging on him pretty bad the past couple of weeks. I think it's going to have stirred up enough sympathy vote to keep him on especially if he gets teased again tonight. If someone is kicking a puppy, the puppy is going to be defended even if the puppy is goofy looking.)

---

Will Makar is really a given. I mean there are several reasons working against him :


1) He's a young white boy from America's leafy suburbs.

2) He's competing against a young white boy from another American leafy suburb who had the sympathy factor going for him ( there you go, I said it again).

3) He's a pretty boy competing against a pretty young adult (Ace). A demographic he can't win because people WILL CHOOSE the adult over the kid most of the time.

4) He isn't anything fantastic. To stay in the game, you have to be OUTSTANDING, not simply good, unfortunately, Will was just that --- ordinarily good and I said this already --- you can find hundreds of good-looking, talented teens like him all over the country.

5) Girls tend to mature faster that guys MOST OF THE TIME. Will Makar was not cultivated to be a TV performer since childhood the way Lisa Tucker and Paris Bennet are. Heck Paris' pedigree is something few people in the USA can match.


You can already see the absolute contrast between Will Makar and the A team of the males in this competition by simply watching the group song performed by the guys in this competition ( they sang the Eagle's TAKE IT EASY ). WHO STOOD OUT ? Answer : Taylor, Chris, Elliott and Ace. In fact after Taylor's short but soulful verse of "WE MAY LOSE AND WE MAY WIN !", Will Makar's next verse paled in comparison and he had to be covered by Taylor in the duet, and even in the duet, you already see a MARKED CONTRAST between a guy who has been singing most of his adult life and a spunky youth who is just starting out.

Poor Will. He had the talent, but no clue about how to aim and fire it. He went out with class. And that's too bad.


Will Makar NEEDS TO BE THE BASKETBALL EQUIVALENT OF LEBRON JAMES to play in the big leagues. Instead, he turned out to be A Sebastian Telfair (of the Portland Trailblazers). Passable, but needs MORE SEASONING to be a star. 'Nuff said.

Now here is my raging remark on the other dismissal .....

BS on Gedeon's dismissal, too. How ?

Yes, Kevin is as cute as a newly-fuzzed peach, But there is no way in Hell he deserves a Top 12 spot more than Gedeon, or near anybody, Will included. Will was the more polished performer of the two and this can already be seen in their group RAT PACK audition when they ( together with David Radford ) performed Tony Bennet's FLY ME TO THE MOON ( IN OTHER WORDS ). I thought Will Makar was the best of the 3 who survived.

But we only have 6 positions to fill and Kevin (although he of all people deserved to go ), got .. what else ?? THE SYMPATHY VOTE. As early as last week I predicted the CHICKEN LITTLE monicker they gave him will come back to haunt American Idol and Paris Bennet's chicken dance will garner more AWWW votes from the Mommies, Sis and Aunties out there. I WAS RIGHT.

Unfortunately, Gedeon (who performed Percy Sledge MASTERFULLY ) was the unfair victim of it all. Suffice it to say that Mr Potato head HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD OF HIM. He has a bright unforgettable smile, is a straight A student, has both parents intact ( rare for a black boy ( and that my friend is the statistical truth ) ), with talent to boot. At 17, his voice has surprisingly already sufficiently developed to be a good recording singer. But then, I wonder why Gedeon reminds me of someone who always is MAKING A PUBLIC SPEECH when he open his mouth to talk. Is it because he took too many classes in public speaking ? An inquiring mind wants to know....

I'm sorta glad Gedeon's going home. He needs to grieve properly for his father, and if I recall, he hasn't seen his mother since January. I think they'll both be glad to be reunited. He, too, is still a child, and I give him TONS of credit for persevering and putting on a brave face in light of all he's been through recently. I don't think he would have won, but boy, he probably would have been terrific on the concert tour! I hope he can make a way for himself in the world of music - I can see him becoming a huge gospel star - he's quite charasmatic and underneath it all, he can sing. His mentioning his faith in Jesus in his farewell speech gained tons of admiration from me. You realize that his absolute faith in Jesus will get him through fine - he really does feel glad to have made it so far.

I was spot on though when I said this of Kevin ...

---

Kevin IMHO is the one EXPECTED to be voted off tonight BUT STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED. The cute and cuddly factor does amazing things to the mothers, fathers, older sisters, unles and aunties who watch the show and THIS ALONE MIGHT GUARANTEE THAT HE WILL BE THE NEXT JOHN STEVENS. MARK MY WORDS !!

I won't be surprised if HE DOES NOT MAKE THE BOTTOM 3 TONIGHT ( Again, Mark my words ).

---

Kevin is destined to be the John Stevens of the competition. People will keep him simply because they want to see what he'll be doing next and then eventually say ---ENOUGH ALREADY, and send him back home to Levittown ( which will give him a Sunday parade ) sometime on April.

I am happy for Bucky, though. I voted for him, before I posted until the lines closed. The first time I ever did that, and I can't explain why to this day. He grew on me.

I want to see him shackled to 19E, eternally. When he was standing there, with Gedeon, it almost broke my heart. Honestly. You could see him fighting back the tears, trying to take it like a man, and I felt horrible. I actually care about this one. And that's why he's on the show. He got under their skin, and they though he might get under ours, and make us care, even though we swore never to, again. Mission accomplished. I wasn't as happy for him as he was for himself, but... I hope he can survive to give us one more week.

IF ONLY BECAUSE I'M CURIOUS TO SEE HOW GARTH BROOKS WOULD SING A STEVIE WONDER SONG....

ONLY IN AMERICAN IDOL FOLKS !!

AND NOW FOR ONE MORE COMMENT :

The BRITTENUMS WERE IN THE AUDIENCE ! Out of the joint and dressed like angels. WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY DOING HERE ? THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SINGING IN JAIL !! DID THE SHADY GUY MO THEY'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE OTHER TWO TWINS TO CONTACT, HELP THEM OUT ?

NOW FOR MORE PREDICTIONS FOR THE TOP 12 IN THE COMING WEEKS :

Kevin, Melissa and most likely Bucky are going to be the villains/targets, out of the gate.

[SirLinksalot]

I have to say something about the performance of Taylor Hicks the other night...

Some people call his dance awkward and I totally agree.

BUT NOTE --- Some of the most iconic stage moves are "not natural"; i.e., practiced: Chuck Berry's duck-walk; James Brown's fall-down-and-get-the-cape bit; Elvis' leg gyrations; Jerry Lee Lewis' foot-on-the-piano-keys, etc...

From some of my friends who live in Birmingham ( and yes, I am a New Yorker who has Alabama friends), people who have seen pre-AI Taylor say this IS HIM, for good or ill.

Taylor is unlike someone like Katharyn or Ayla. You can see from this ladies that they're voices are TRAINED. From the inflection to their ability to control and sustain notes, you can see that they have had voice lessons for years. NOT SO TAYLOR. This man is different.

I was a fan of Taylor's from the moment a 29-year-old kid with gray hair walked into his American feaking Idol audition and told Simon he was there to have his voice heard and Randy laughed in the background.

He starts with ....

"I was boooooooooooooorn by the river..."

Paula's initial reaction is something I still replay. Then, 20 seconds of Ray Charles later, Randy couldn't contain a smile.

This is someone you root for in life. Someone who isn't trained but let's the music POSSESS HIM.

I was disappointed last week with the "woos". I was hoping against hope he'd bring it tonight.

But....Holy Moses ! he leveled the place. I'll tell you the exact moment I knew the rafters would end up as toothpicks -- the second verse, "I was raised here in this living hell", in the pause afterward he took a GULP. Not a nervous gulp, but a this-whole-song-is-inside-me-but-it's-too-early-to-let-it-out GULP. I heard myself say "HOLY SMOKE". You could feel the anticipation, the energy building and building.

This wasn't a vocal, it was a PERFORMANCE.

And the LOOK at the end. The same rifling glare we saw after Ain't No Sunshine brought him to his knees. We finally saw it and WOW. That was Pacino saying "I'll take a FLAMETHROWER to this place!"

This is why I watch this show.

This is someone I root for.

He is like nothing else I have ever seen. He's why I love music. I have bemoaned the fact that music has gotten way too neat since MTV, too polished, too painted. Give me Taylor and his passion and his messiness and awkward dancing any day of the week over the crap we see currently.

And oh yeah, regarding his first job as the Easter Bunny --- that was one of my jobs too at Six Flags years ago. Believe me, you earn every penny of it -- THOSE THINGS ARE HOT AND UNCOMFORTABLE INSIDE. And you make kids happy doing that ! Taylor was born to entertain and that's why I watch TV.

[Wolfstar]

I wish I understood everyone's hang up about Ace! I was too mad to comment last night, but he really does have talent, and not just because Paula says so!

Although they seem to be written for everyone, you directed your comments about Ace to me. So I'll answer for myself and not anyone else.

I don't have a hang up about Ace. In fact, from the beginning of this season I was pulling for a good-looking guy with a good voice to make it into the finals. I've been saying all season that the girls are been-there-done-that for me.

I also don't have a problem with Ace's sexuality, whatever it is. In fact, last week I posted the news that he has a long-time girlfriend. He is a great-looking guy with an absolutely killer smile and a kind of shy quality to him. What female heart wouldn't go ker-thump when he smiles.

However, I do not like very high-pitched girlish singing voices on men, and I really don't like falsetto singing. I like a full, round, warmer, richer and more masculine tone in male voices. To each their own, right? Heck, I don't even like ultra-high-pitched female singing voices. Think Sarah Brightman and even some of what Mariah Carey has done in her latest album. Not my thing at all.

Part of the fun of watching AI is to rank the singers week to week. I try to do that just on the present week's performances. At different times I have rated Ace #1, but as he's moved more into greater reliance on falsetto, he's dropped down my list.

On the other hand, I also mentioned last night that light, high-pitched voices are what sells in the pop genre these days. Seems to have been the case at least since Michael Jackson's heyday, if not before. Contemporary male singers with voices I prefer are relegated to the country and adult contemporary genres these days, or to Broadway musicals. If the goal is to pick someone who can succeed in the modern pop genre, Ace is it.

[Wolfstar]

Could you explain to me when they show AI in California, please? When they do the live shows, do you guys watch it at 5 pm? When are the taped shows aired? Inquiring minds want to know!

All of the shows are taped when they are on in the Pacific time zone. They all come on at 8:00pm Pacific time. We never see a truly live show. Thanks to the internet, those of us in the Pacific time zone who wish to know the results in advance can find out three hours early.

[ChandyB71]

[I'm ALL Right!]

Carrie is engaged to whom?

[Wolfstar]

Just a wonderful post...many thanks...are you a musical historian, perchance?...

Good morning, Ken. (The hard drive on my PC at home blew out last Saturday and I'm still waiting for it to be repaired at CompUSA. So I had to wait until I got to my office this morning to respond.)

You're welcome. No, I'm not a musical historian, or a historian of any type for that matter. But I am both very, very widely read and a big fan of the old Broadway and Hollywood musicals.

Yep, Marni got a small singing role as one of the nuns in "The Sound of Music."

BTW, another example of someone with a wonderful voice who never really became a big star is Allan Jones, father of singer Jack Jones. I love Allan Jones' voice. Are you familiar with that famous old clip of Dennis Morgan singing "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" in "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936)? That was actually Allan Jones singing. Jones did get a number of leading man roles in the 1930's, but never became a big star. In fact, he became a dentist later in life as his show biz career dried up.

But Allan Jones made his mark on Hollywood musical history by playing Gaylord Ravenal in the first screen musical version of "Show Boat" in 1936 opposite Irene Dunne. (There had been a silent screen version 1929.) Ms. Dunne did have a wonderful singing voice and sang her own numbers in "Show Boat." Unfortunately, despite his magnificent voice, Jones had limitations as an actor.

In my opinion, the 1936 version of "Show Boat" is FAR superior to the version shot in the 1950's. The 1936 version had a spectacular cast that included Helen Morgan as Julie. Ms. Morgan had originated the role on Broadway, and her rendition of "Bill" is vastly superior to any who have done the song since.

The cast has Paul Robeson as Joe. Politically, he was a scummy Communist, but there is no denying his talent.

The great Hattie McDaniel played Queenie. She and Robeson do a charming duet of "Ah Still Suits Me" that was cut from the 1950's version, unfortunately.

[Wolfstar]

ROFLMAO!!! Is that a real photo or a Photoshopped one?

[EmilyGeiger]

The men do seem more tight and supportive group. I hope a man wins this year, because they are a much talented group. IMO. "Women seem to get pretty catty when they compete for stuff." How very sexist of you. :) Really I think it depends on the woman.

[misterrob]

I think Mandesa wins. She's simply just better than everyone else. She can do jazz, blues, R&B, some rock and country if she doesn't over sing it. Gospel? Everyone can say "good night" and go home. I see Chris as the only man with any real stage presence and he's rather unidimensional. Taylor is too spazzy and WFT is going to vote for Ace besides the teeny boppers?

Plus, Mandesa just looks and sounds like a "real people" type.

[Sir_Ed]

Paris looked like Princess Leia with that goofy haircut.

Why does AI let those girls make such horrid style choices??

Ed

[misterrob]

Ever look at what girls are wearing today?

Not really any different.

[Ciexyz]

Gedeon is warming up as we speak.

Is that the Geiko Gekko's date?

[Ciexyz]

What is it with Ace's stocking cap? For some reason it makes me think that he looks like Colin Ferrell, but not sure why.

[Ciexyz]

I was surprised that Ayla is booted off. I thought her voice was very strong. However, she's tall and stocky (a basketball player's physique) and that image may not appeal to some voters.

[Ciexyz]

So, when can we win a dream date with Constantine? hehehe

[Ciexyz]

Um, did we really need to see that photo of Simon and Ryan in underwear?