American Idol 3/14

[Postal Dude]

Wildly varying quality tonight...but I have to say Kevin is gone. Shame, he seems like a nice kid who has his head on straight...but he was bad tonight. Industrial-strength bad.

[Captain Caveman]

Don't underestimate the "vote for the worst" movement. I predict Kevin survives!

[RunningMn9]

Vote for the worst can only save one contestant. Pickler or Covais is gone.

Most of the contestants were pretty bad IMO. I though Elliot was going to blow it out - but his timing seemed off, and he seemed nervous.

Taylor. Dude. I don't think I've ever seen anyone that loves what they do more than you do.

I was actually a little disappointed in Chris. Not that he didn't do a good job. He did. But I think he copped out of the spirit of the competition by doing a Chili Peppers song (basically). I would have been a lot more impressed if he surprised me with a non-rock performance that was lights out.

No one likes a one trick pony - even if he's really good at his trick. It gets tired and boring.

[Captain Caveman]

I was actually a little disappointed in Chris. Not that he didn't do a good job. He did. But I think he copped out of the spirit of the competition by doing a Chili Peppers song (basically). I would have been a lot more impressed if he surprised me with a non-rock performance that was lights out.

No one likes a one trick pony - even if he's really good at his trick. It gets tired and boring.

I was thinking the same thing. Hearing all three judges praise him for "making the song his own" made me think they had never heard the Chili Peppers version.

[Grievous Angel]

Considering that 50% of the songs sung at auditions and semifinals were Stevie Wonder songs, I'm not sure why the guy needed a theme night all his own. There were only about 4 performances on this show that I liked (Taylor, Paris, Bucky, Chris). Chris' performance may not have been all that original, but I thought it was the best of the night.

[YellowKing]

Ace Young: I thought he did a pretty good job, but that's probably because I didn't expect much out of him tonight.

Bucky Covington: I like Bucky. There's no way in hell he'll ever win, and I'd never buy a Bucky album, but I like him. Unfortunately for him he doesn't have the star power to take him very far in this competition. His performance was decent, but then again I wasn't expecting much on Stevie Wonder night.

Chris Daughtry: He did a great job, but I agree with the one-trick pony thing. He's clearly got talent, but doing "Higher Ground" felt like a real cop-out. With the judges stressing originality, I was surprised they gave him such praise. Hypocrisy.

Elliott Yamin: Ironically enough the best Stevie Wonder singer has his worst performance on Stevie Wonder night. Go figure. I don't think Elliott has the fan base to take him to the end. He'll get booted, but it will be the quirks of the voting system, not lack of talent, that does him in.

Katharine McPhee: Fantastic performance, best I've seen her do so far. She keeps getting better and better. That dress made her look really fat though.

Kellie Pickler: She's gone from cute to "I want to strangle that bitch" in record time. The Loretta Lynn aw-shucks country hick persona is getting REAL old, REAL fast. The difference between her and Loretta Lynn is that Loretta Lynn wasn't a goddamn fake.

Kevin Covais: Pleath, thomeone get thith kid off the thow! He can't thing! Horrible. Stevie Wonder is rolling in his grave (seriously - he dropped dead after hearing this version). Incidentally I thought it was hilarious they had a commercial for the Chicken Little DVD during tonight's broadcast.

Lisa Tucker: Something about Lisa just doesn't tiggle my diggle. She's got talent, she's cute, but meh..... I think she reminds me of the kids in high school who always got honor roll, participated in every club, excelled at every sport, and found time on the weekends to help the homeless. Gag.

Mandisa: I don't know what Simon was smoking. I thought she was horrendous. I thought she was offkey for most of the verses. Sure, she's a power singer. Fat chicks can belt tunes, that's no surprise. Thought this was her worst performance to date.

Melissa McGhee: I can't believe she was so easily let off the hook for forgetting her lyrics. Unforgiveable. She's a bubble contestant anyway, it will be interesting to see if America is so forgiving. I highly doubt it.

Paris Bennett: After what I perceived as a downhill slide, Paris is back. I thought it was a great performance.

Taylor Hicks: I'm a big Taylor fan. The guy's the real deal. I was afraid he'd be a bit too odd for America's taste, but his performances have been so strong that I don't think he's in danger of going anywhere anytime soon. Another brilliant song choice. I just wish they'd let him whip out the harmonica once in awhile.

[Cigar Dan]

Wildly varying quality tonight...but I have to say Kevin is gone. Shame, he seems like a nice kid who has his head on straight...but he was bad tonight. Industrial-strength bad.

Kevin shouldn't have been so mouthy to Simon. He came across as a smart ass. That immaturity greatly tarnishes his "cute kid" factor.

I think he's gone. If not him, probably Melissa. Kellie wasn't good, but dumb as she is, she's got a lot more of the likability factor going for her than Melissa.

[Postal Dude]

What did Kevin say to Simon, exactly? I missed it.

[Freezer-TPF-]

I happened to catch a little bit of the show tonight and luckily saw Katharine. She really lights my candle. She needs serious help in the wardrobe department, though. I suggest she stick to low-cut black dresses.

[lildrgn]

I happened to catch a little bit of the show tonight and luckily saw Katharine. She really lights my candle. She needs serious help in the wardrobe department, though. I suggest she stick to low-cut black dresses.

QFT!!!

She completes me. I had to watch her again and couldn't stop smiling. Love her.

[gameoverman]

Kate was great, but the stylists are doing her no favors. Too much makeup and it looks like they gave her Mandisa's dress by mistake.

Some of them were bad, most were boring. Kevin and Ace belong in the bad category. Pickler is a prime example of the boring side. Taylor...well the thing that gets me was that yeah he sounded good but damn, does he even know what that song is saying? No connection to it whatsoever.

Chris, haha, Bucky did what he does far better than Chris did what he does tonight. The judges were really trying their best to get the voters pumped for Chris though.

[Jeff V]

No one likes a one trick pony - even if he's really good at his trick. It gets tired and boring.

??? Everyone likes a one-trick pony. They don't like it when someone sounds like Cher one album, Marilyn Manson the next, Celine Dion on their third and Ozzy Osbourne on the next. Singers (or bands) get famous for their particular "sound" and often jump the shark when they try to move beyond these bounds. Very few singers succeed across multiple styles as soloists, their repertoire is usually narrow and focused (and this applies to areas outside of pop - opera stars too, for example, can't just sing anything).

This is why this part of the competition is unfair bullshit. A singer that can't sing Stevie Wonder is not going to automatically have a failure of a career as long as he or she makes a point of not attempting to sing Stevie Wonder songs.

A far better guage of talent would be to have them singing original songs at this point in the competition (if not their own compositions, then songs written to take advantage of their talents).

It's hypocritical of them to accuse the singers of "kareoke" or "wedding singing" when that is exactly what they are pushing them to do. In college, I once had a worthless composition class (required) where the teacher would one day ask us to write like Hemmingway, the next like Vonnegut, etc. Every week it was Simon Cowell-like criticisms ("Jeff, that's the worst Fitzgerald imitation I ever read!") until I finally had a meeting with her and explained my writing style had been set for years and wasn't about to change because she found such exercises amusing. She admitted that I was the best writer she ever had in class, stopped trying to change me, gave me "A"s the rest of the class, and got one of my essays published. This is not unlike American Idol, where they will cheerfully bash someone for struggling out of their element but happily keep their hooks in them even after they are rejected since at this point, all of them do have the talent to do what they do well.

[Sam Hell]

Chris rocked, as usual. And Bucky keeps on impressing me.

As far as Chris taking a cop-out with Higher Ground, thats pure bullshit. I, along with a million others, knew he would do that song. And he did. And he did it great.

He's a rock singer.
Let's ask Stevie to do some Slayer for us.

Oh, and for you Tivo-less souls out there Here's last nights clips

[RunningMn9]

As far as Chris taking a cop-out with Higher Ground, thats pure bullshit. I, along with a million others, knew he would do that song. And he did. And he did it great.

He's a rock singer.

As I've said all along - unfortunately for Chris (and us), this isn't Rock Idol. I suppose I can appreciate his performance if he isn't bothering to try and win, but just wants exposure for himself. In that case, he has to rock out every night. But if he wants to win - he doesn't have any choice. He is going to have to realize that this is a singing competition and not a rock star competition. Doing a cover of a Chili Peppers cover of a Stevie Wonder song is NOT making it your own. Please.

But a surer sign of talent than being a one-trick pony is being able to diversify. I no longer think that Chris is capable of diversifying. And I *know* you didn't just disrespect Stevie Wonder by a) comparing him in the same sentence with Chris; and/or b) implying that Stevie Wonder couldn't do Slayer. Stevie Wonder is the shit.

I like Chris. But I don't like the fact that he refuses to get outside his comfort zone. The truly talented singers can do that, and not completely suck (SEE: Bo Bice). I hoped that Chris could do that. But last night he admitted that he can't.

[RunningMn9]

??? Everyone likes a one-trick pony. They don't like it when someone sounds like Cher one album, Marilyn Manson the next, Celine Dion on their third and Ozzy Osbourne on the next. Singers (or bands) get famous for their particular "sound" and often jump the shark when they try to move beyond these bounds. Very few singers succeed across multiple styles as soloists, their repertoire is usually narrow and focused (and this applies to areas outside of pop - opera stars too, for example, can't just sing anything).

First time watching American Idol?

Every year, they have managed to find multiple singers that are capable of singing almost anything. A good example of a lesser talent being able to do a better job of staying himself even while doing a Stevie Wonder song was Bucky.

Chris is a good one trick pony, but he isn't a particularly interesting or unique one trick pony.

I generally don't like the theme nights exactly because they sometimes cater to one singer's strength and not the others. But like it or not - that's the competition. If you aren't going to do it, why bother auditioning?

I'll give Chris credit, he actually makes me look forward to "Showtunes" night to finally see if he can do anything else.

Maybe I've become too much of a Bo Bice fanboy, but that mo-fo was able to do his thing every night, whether it was the Allman Brothers, the Ides of March, the O'Jays, or Elton John - it didn't matter. Bo did it, and did it phenomenally well. He didn't try to turn every song into a Lynard Skynrd song.

[Sam Hell]

I may be biased in my praise of Chris because I just absolutely love his voice and his style. Crucify me if you will, but I cannot say the same for Mr. Wonder.

[Jeff V]

First time watching American Idol?

No...first time reading my rants about the BS parts of the show? Just because they do the same shit year in and year out doesn't make it good shit or the best shit it could be.

I almost threw a brick through the TV this morning when the news monkey uttered that other phrase that pisses me off about the show: "tomorrow we'll have on the singer who is voted off." NOBODY IS VOTED OFF! It is a popularity contest, not entirely a singing contest - the person with the fewest votes leaves. For someone to be voted off, they would need to do something else that makes more sense: ask people to vote for the shittiest performance and kick THAT person off.

[dedewhale]

did anyone catch the Kelly interview where she stated that she really did not know any Stevie Wonder songs...then when later in the show the staged their first group meeting with Stevie she was acting like she just saw god himself and started cheering and whooping it up.

Either she is a complete idiot or the show is so edited and contrived.... re-inacting the meeting and editing so everyone is so humble and likeable. the show is now high on the horseshit meter. Obviously Stevie needs to promote a new album and the show was a 120 minute commercial.

[cheeba]

Chris' song was definitely just a Peppers cover. However it was a pretty good cover. The judges obviously didn't know about the Peppers' rendition or something, because there was nothing original about it.

Pickler - I don't know what it is about her but I might find her hotter than Becky. I just get a feeling she would be total buck wild in bed. However, she was awful last night. I think she might be gone.

Katherine was very good. I liked seeing her all made up like that for a change. The dress was awful and made her look pregnant.

Bucky - I don't understand why you guys liked that so much. Superstitious may be Stevie's most rocking song, and Bucky could have easily rocked out with it, but he didn't. It was disappointing.

Taylor - rocks.

Paris - finally she showed up.

Lisa - I think she is going to be this year's really good contestant who shocks everyone when she gets voted off unexpectedly because she's boring and doesn't inspire people to vote for her.

[JonathanStrange]

Another county heard from...

Pickler: Although she is attractive and I like Southern girls, I don't see her as having outstanding vocal ability. Good but not great. That wouldn't necessarily stand in the way though if the girl were to get some great songwriter. Bottomline: a great girlfriend but not I think the AI winner.

McPhee: My favorite - I think when's she's not all "made up" she's very attractive - and surprise to me (since I really don't care who wins, I just like seeing the babes) she can sing. Boringly, maybe, but she can sing.

Mandisa: I think she's the best of the women singers although last night was not my favorite performance. Even so, she was more interesting than most.

Really, I thought IMHO all of them were competent but I saw nothing really with that WOW! Certainly, there were moments though of potential.

I have to say about the former winners - who I never paid attention to once the contest was over except for the Clay Aiken jokes made by Kathy Griffin - my girlfriend has the Kelly Clarkson CD (I don't recall the name of it) and it had quite a few good tunes. Apparently I'd heard them and liked them before without knowing it was Kelly. Until then, I'd thought any AI would just be a novelty act, but Clarkson was aaaight.

[Musebay]

Chris rocked, as usual. And Bucky keeps on impressing me.

As far as Chris taking a cop-out with Higher Ground, thats pure bullshit. I, along with a million others, knew he would do that song. And he did. And he did it great.

He's a rock singer.
Let's ask Stevie to do some Slayer for us.

Oh, and for you Tivo-less souls out there Here's last nights clips

Thanks for linking me. I'll be posting video clips for TIVO-less people here. So Keep coming back http://www.musebay.com

Chris was great!

[YellowKing]

I am not ashamed to say the latest Kelly Clarkson album is really, really good. She's definitely come into her own.

Incidentally, Carrie Underwood is the featured concert this year at our annual North Carolina Azalea Festival. I usually try to go to the concerts since it's about the only time each year when a "big name" comes to town.

...I'll be skipping this year's concert.

[Sam Hell]

Chris rocked, as usual. And Bucky keeps on impressing me.

As far as Chris taking a cop-out with Higher Ground, thats pure bullshit. I, along with a million others, knew he would do that song. And he did. And he did it great.

He's a rock singer.
Let's ask Stevie to do some Slayer for us.

Oh, and for you Tivo-less souls out there Here's last nights clips

Thanks for linking me. I'll be posting video clips for TIVO-less people here. So Keep coming back http://www.musebay.com

Chris was great!

Wow! Small internet
I found that link on the Official American Idol boards. Nice job with it, btw!

[The Divider]

Taylor Hicks is my new god.

That is all.

[Toe]

Kevin shouldn't have been so mouthy to Simon. He came across as a smart ass. That immaturity greatly tarnishes his "cute kid" factor.

I disagree. I thought it was a good move for him to stand up (i.e. be a smart ass) to Simon. The crowd loves it when Simon gets put in his place and who better to do it than a nice, little boy?. That move probably secured him for another show or two. Kevin is playing the game well even though he is one of the worst vocally at this point in the competition.

I was not too impressed with Chris's performance. He said he was trying to blend Stevie's version and the Chi pa's version, which really is not a good idea imho. He should have just rocked it out as its not that difficult a song vocally. Once again I noted how much better the house band rocked compared to previous seasons.

I thought Taylor had the best performance of the night. He continues to deliver every week and it seems the fans are eating it up. While audience enthusiasm does not translate directly into votes, I think it does give you a decent indication of who is doing well. No one seemed to garner the applause more than Taylor did last night.

Pickler is definately overplaying her stupid hick act. It started out as cute but has definately moved to the annoying stage for me.

McPhee is actually also starting to annoy me (although I enjoy her singing). It seems like she is trying to counter Pickler's act with an excessively bubblely act which seems contrived and fake. I think I liked her better when she had the snobby attitude. At least it does not seem fake.

[tjg_marantz]

First time watching American Idol?

No...first time reading my rants about the BS parts of the show? Just because they do the same shit year in and year out doesn't make it good shit or the best shit it could be.

I almost threw a brick through the TV this morning when the news monkey uttered that other phrase that pisses me off about the show: "tomorrow we'll have on the singer who is voted off." NOBODY IS VOTED OFF! It is a popularity contest, not entirely a singing contest - the person with the fewest votes leaves. For someone to be voted off, they would need to do something else that makes more sense: ask people to vote for the shittiest performance and kick THAT person off.

Did they ever do it like that? Vote for who to kick off? Anyone know why they don't do it like that? I am guessing they wouldn't get as many people calling in so less money. Actually, yeah, nevermind, I'm sure that's it.

[YellowKing]

You know what I find most frightening about American Idol? It's blatant marketing - they don't try to hide it. They have the idols dancing around a Ford Focus with Pepsi in their hands, flashing ads - there is no subtlety. They make no bones about how they are grooming these kids for stardom - from the look, the wardrobe, etc.

It is a completely manufactured process, laid bare for all to see, and we not only ACCEPT it, we EMBRACE it. The show consistently gets fantastic ratings.

Is it any wonder why pop music is so corporate today, so mechanical? We, as the public, eat it up. What do they care? At the end of the day, there are plenty of 12-15 year old girls to buy the CDs, and if any other demographic wants to pick some up then hey, that's just gravy.

This show should be called American Idolatry. It is a perfect example of how we worship at the altar of consumerism.

That being said, I can't wait for tonight's results show.

[RunningMn9]

I have to say about the former winners - who I never paid attention to once the contest was over except for the Clay Aiken jokes made by Kathy Griffin - my girlfriend has the Kelly Clarkson CD (I don't recall the name of it) and it had quite a few good tunes. Apparently I'd heard them and liked them before without knowing it was Kelly. Until then, I'd thought any AI would just be a novelty act, but Clarkson was aaaight.

I think that she is the only one of the winners that actually planned on having a career after winning. The word on the street is that she showed up to that first album with a 25-year career plan. Home girl is interested in longevity, in a big way.

More power to her. Since then, the winners seem content with whatever bullshit gets thrown their way by Clive Davis.

Bo Bice = worst. idol. album. ever. They ruined him.

[Freezer-TPF-]

This show should be called American Idolatry. It is a perfect example of how we worship at the altar of consumerism.

Nicely put! Maybe they can have the contestants come on stage riding a big golden calf. Then Bucky can upturn the judges' table as he sings a selection from "Jesus Christ Superstar" during showtunes week.

[Steron]

Honestly, I thought all the performances stunk last night. But that could be because I don't find Stevie Wonder to be the musical genius that most people say he is. I think his music is boring and meh. Simon and company commented about a lot of them being out of their element. Well thank you captain obvious. Did they honestly think Pickler or Chris would be comfortable singing Stevie Wonder? Wasn't that the point? To take them out of their comfort zone?

Anyhow, I think Kevin might finally be finito.

[tjg_marantz]

I'll be laughing my ass off if chicken little is still in. Not that I am not already laughing my ass off at this show. My wife has threatened to stop watching it with me... oh nos!

[rittchard]

What did Kevin say to Simon, exactly? I missed it.

He said he wasn't expecting much from him (Simon) anyway. I believe Kevin's attitude was actually more justified than people might think - apparently the night before Simon was on one of the late night shows and made some reference to the show being much better if they would get rid of the kid with the glasses. I didn't see it so I'm just paraphrasing what I heard. In any event I know Kevin has no chance but I'm rooting (and voting) for him anyway! He reminds me of Harry Potter blended with a hobbit and I love his sad little blinking thing. I'd like to see him get into the top 10 which is plausible with the sympathy vote.

Who's going to win or make the final 4 this year? I loved Katharine McPhee (again), I thought she had no chance in previous weeks but now it looks like she is stepping it up a notch and gaining in popularity. I can't stand Taylor or Bucky but it looks like Taylor has a pretty big fan base. I think Bucky looks like a freaky vampire, so I don't think he'll last too long. Mandisa can sing but she faltered last night, signs of weakness? I still say she'll go pretty far. Chris is as you all said a one-trick pony, I think he can go far but not win. I thought Kelly was a strong contender, but last night made me think twice. Ace is a pretty boy who will last on his looks a bit longer but he has to go. Melissa needs to go soon, she should have been out last week. I like Lisa but she doesn't stand out for me much, I think Paris will go much further. I thought Elliott was really good early on but the last 2 weeks I've been unimpressed and if it's a battle of 2 bald guys, Chris should win.

All that said, I'm unable to pick a final 4, so I'll go with a final 6 first:

Kelly, Paris, Mandisa, Katharine, Taylor, Chris

Of all these, I'd love to see Katharine win but I have doubts she can do it mainly because people I like generally get voted out (e.g. in Survivor). Mandisa has the best belt it out voice by far but the themes may limit what she can do as it did last night. Same goes for Chris. Kelly has the cute Southern blond chick effect (see Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood) so I still say she has a good chance as long as she doesn't mess up. I don't think Taylor can win, there's got to be enough people like me who he just irritates with his spastic dancing and "I'm so filled with soul" attitude. So all that said, I think Paris has a really good shot. She's reasonably cute, has good singing chops and versatility in singing styles, and looks comfortable and consistent on stage shaking her booty.

[RunningMn9]

Kelly ... has a good chance as long as she doesn't mess up.

That's all she does. She's friggin' atrocious. Kelly and Melissa are the bottom two (knowing that "vote for the worst" is backing chicken little will keep him safe for a few weeks), with Kelly getting tossed.

I am THIS close to starting to refer to her as "that annoying C".

As a whole, this was easily the worst set of performances I have ever seen on an episode of Idol.

[Freezer-TPF-]

I've got a fever, and the only cure is more Katharine McPhee.

[PR_GMR]

I didn't see all the performances last night (I TiVo'd the show and watched about half of it), but I thought Bucky didn't do a great job with Superstitious. It seemed like he spaced out during the middle of the act and didn't give it his all.

There were some really bad song choices. Slow Stevie Wonder soul ballads didn't do a damn thing of good for Melissa McPhee and Kelly Pickler. Pickler doesn't do a thing for me, but I think Melissa can sing and is very attractive. Don't think she'll make to the end--Damn girl forgot the lyrics last night. If she gets voted off, she can be 'my' American Idol. hehehe.

Ace--Just a pretty boy. I think he's skating by on looks. He's not a memorable singler.

Elliot--Didn't do that well last night. And people are saying he's too 'ugly' to win. I wish he could buck that trend though.

Mandissa--Not her best last night, but I've seen her in the past and she should make it to the final 6, as rittchard posted.

Kevin Covais--I like the damn kid, but he doesn't have what it takes to be an Idol. I did think he gave it his all last night doing Wonder's 'Part Time Lover', which is a hilarious choice coming from a-sure-to-be-virgin barely 16-year old kid. Kevin just needs to mature. I think he could be a good Broadway Musical type actor in about ten years.

I need to catch Chris, Paris and the rest performances on my TiVo tonight.

[ATB]

Eliott is my favorite but he's not bringing it. He's so good, but is just being average.

He needs a homerun next week to boost his cred.

[cheeba]

You know what I find most frightening about American Idol? It's blatant marketing - they don't try to hide it. They have the idols dancing around a Ford Focus with Pepsi in their hands, flashing ads - there is no subtlety. They make no bones about how they are grooming these kids for stardom - from the look, the wardrobe, etc.

It is a completely manufactured process, laid bare for all to see, and we not only ACCEPT it, we EMBRACE it. The show consistently gets fantastic ratings.

Well the marketing and product placement have always been blatant in the show. I don't mind it so long as they're blatant and not trying to hide it. Sometimes they do try to sneak it in there and that's when I roll my eyes.

As for manufactured process, I agree to a point, but then if you look at the winners, I think every one of them is a talented singer. This is more than I can say for most of the people who are manufactured pop stars.

[Postal Dude]

Kevin should be on his knees thanking God he's still on that show. I don't BELIEVE he didn't get kicked.

[godhugh]

Damnit, Damnit, Damnit!

Why do the girls with the nice smokey (as in low, not necessarily all cigaretted-out for you cig-nazis out there) voices always get voted out so damn early?!

And will someone please tell me what the fuck Kevin is still on this show for!?! He's a stupid joke on this country!

[Baroquen]

Yes, he's really really bad. At least I have someone to root against. Haven't really picked any favorites yet though.