This morning I talked to Katharine McPhee, who did not watch the audition shows this week but heard about the controversy on "The View." On the subject, she told me, "There crosses a point I think where you start actually being mean about people's appearances and I think that kind of really is just wrong. I've never liked that part of the show. So, that's why I don't really tune in for the early part of it."
For the rest; It's entertainment. Not everyone in the world has a right to be not offended.
Some of you sound like a bunch of libruls, "I'm so offended and my feelings are hurt". Geez!.
:)
PS: I thought "Red" could be the next unibomber too.
(And here I am posting on an American Idol thread....[sigh]).
jonathan didn't seem mentally challenged to me, given the string of four-letter words he let off.
The other did see a bit slow, but I felt they were rather gentle with him.
The writer is overprotective and a bit of a drama queen, but Wednesday night's show did indeed go too far. I have no problem with how they handle the truly deluded, attention whores, and "over-self-esteemed" brats, but two of the contestants that night appear to clearly have real mental health problems. Not the borderline/excuses like ADD, but more serious and limiting problems. There is no humor in ridiculing the retarded or insane to their faces, they can't help how they were born and often honestly can't recognize how they come across or non-verbal feedback. The heavyset guy of the duo (Jonathan, I think) likely has mental health problems (though I admit to snickering at Simon's initial "Did you borrow a pair of Randy's trousers?"), which is why the judges were much more careful and nice with him as his condition seemed to become more obvious while they were talking to him. Note how Simon kindly whispered to him, "Use the right door" as he was leaving, to prevent him for falling for the show's running sight gag of bumping into the other locked door. I blame the producers for that one, they should have not included him. Did you see the suitcase Jonathan was dragging around in some of the shots? He had brought it to the audition thinking that they would send the winning contestants to Hollywood that day.
The computer kid from Utah, the one with the wide-eyed stare who sang 'Unchained Melody', likely has a form of autism. Google 'Asperger's Syndrome', he displayed some of the signs that would explain his behavior. I sure hope that his coworkers who 'encouraged' him to go on AI did so out of a sympathetic attempt to be nice, rather than cruelly setting him up. A shame that the judges didn't recognize his condition, but a lot of people are not aware of some of these conditions and sometimes it isn't readily discerned in just a minute or two of interaction. But there is no way that this wasn't pointed out to the producers, who ran with it anyway. Heaven forbid that they actually show us all of the contestants who won that day, rather than mocking the retarded.
I'll probably skip AI until they start the Hollywood rounds.
I have always thought the nerd contestants were kind of picked because they also know they are bad. If you watch some of them, they couldn't pass a talent contest anywhere. I figured they contestant knew this, and chose the limelight with all the baloney that goes with it. After all, they are on TV. They surely know what is coming.
Really , the first time I ever watched this was at the end of last season, but you see some of the earlier (talent?) hear and there.
The early part looks like a Jerry Springer type thing.
Anyone who tries to make it in the entertainment business is going to have to deal with harsh critics. I actually appreciate Simon because he doesn't sugarcoat his comments.The contestants know exactly how they stand from the beginning. Thus, people without talent don't get the idea that maybe they can make it.
I find Paula's comments rather pointless. She's so afraid of hurting somebody's feelings that she spews pablum.
Any Country fans here? I tuned into a program - actually I taped it and watched it later - on the USA network called Nashville Star. They do it differently. They do not do the audition crap. They get people - men and women - who are already on the bar/club circuit. They also send in videos about thier lives. The contestants can sing, songwrite, and play instruments. Pretty good program and good music - if you like country.
Does this idiot have even the slightest inkling of how hypocritical this sounds coming from someone employed by "Access Hollywood"?
My mum kept saying that Kenneth - the one Simon called a bush baby - looked like Peter Lorrey. I guess that's a downright compliment compared to what Simon called him!
Paula seems to be moving towards the freak stage....she had an episode on a local Seattle station that she was definitely wasted on. I saw that video on youtube and there is no way you can tell me she was NOT wasted.
I've never watched the show more than a few seconds once and a while.
But just in those bits and pieces, and all I can say is...
Even the good singers can't sing.
Yelling is now taken as 'singing'.
American is full of talentless clones if this any indicator.
What's the point?
And yeah, the meanness was the #1 reason I never started watching it.
Remember last year at the finale where they had some of the bad singers back to sing on the live show?
I think some bad singers have this in mind.
15 minutes of fame isn't enough....they're shooting for 30.
I am always amazed at what stupid people will do for attention.....
In any case, I avoid the so-called "American Idol" crap due to my opinion that it's farcical garbage, dressed up as entertainment.
Other than Paula Abdul (who might be fun for a roll in the hay) and her borderline idiocy, the other two dudes are not more than gasbag never-weres.
It is nothing more, nothing less than a monument to the out of control self-esteem movement gone completely mad in this country. There is no doubt that there are some clearly mentally ill folks who are in this contest and the producers may not recognize that -- but the vast majority of the folks who are just awful singers have never ever been told that in their lives.
Some even had "vocal coaches" who clearly pocketed wads of cash and kept their mouths shut when they should have told their clients that their talents lay elsewhere.
It is so clear that most of these kids have never in their lives been told "NO" and it is a shock to their system to have real life, the cold cruel world, wake them up to reality. Some delusional kids even lashed out at the judges, continuing to externalize their reality....completely unaware that they had been sold a bill of goods by a whole host of folks for a lot of years prior to the intrustion of reality.
Sure, I'd like to be an astronaut or a supermodel or play for a pro sports team -- but you know what? It ain't gonna happen. So rather than cry over that, I would think that spending one's time finding what one's God given talents are would be a far more worthwhile pursuit.
It is one thing to criticize the singing but to poke fun at one's physical appearance is another.
Okay, as a Seattle resident, I'm qualified to say this... the Seattle portion of the show looked like the city managers had driven through the streets, picked up all the functionally mentally ill, and dropped them off at Key Arena to audition.
No joke.
What you saw was the moonbat fringe of Seattle on display. These are the folks who ride my bus.