American Idol 2007--Live Thread (Part I)

FOX ^ | 1-15-07

[mfccinsd]

Here's the faith side of the Chris(moppy haired guy to differentiate him from the other Chris) Sligh blog. It was an interesting read and shared a bit more of his background. I like him even more after I've read more, and I'm glad he was one of the better ones tonight. Without knowing it beforehand and with more I'd read after we found out who went through, it was interesting to find that most of my early favorites are a relatively likeminded group!

Anyway, here's the link to his blog. http://theologicaldigressions.blogspot.com/index.html

[Millee]

I'll be in the minority, but I thought Chris's comment was mean-spirited & not funny. I really like his voice though.

Hi RK btw, I'm your #1 fan.

[misterrob]

Actually, he nailed Simon right between the eyes and it was very well deserved. Simon goes overboard to insult people and act like a pompous ass yet he thrives on schlock and people should remember where he got his start.

That he sat and acted like a wounded puppy shows the measure of that man. Bullies don't like it when people fight back.

[misterrob]

http://www.myspace.com/jaimepaetz

By the way, this is Elliott's current squeeze...

[ken5050]

I recall reading here a few weeks back, some column saying that the GUYS were supposedly awesome this year...that a guy was gonna win. My God..this was just awful...I wouldn't walk across the street to see any of these guys, even if the tickets were free, let along buy a CD..How could the judges be soooo wrong this time on all of them???

[hole_n_one]

I recall reading here a few weeks back, some column saying that the GUYS were supposedly awesome this year...that a guy was gonna win. My God..this was just awful...

They were all absolutely pathetic.

Secreast is obviously heavily burdended with "gay issues" and I can't believe I wasted 2 hours watching this garbage.

[SirLinksalot]

DIALIDOLS.COM :

http://dialidol.com/asp/predictions/Predictions.asp

Sundance ( sucks big ) Head is on top ( GO FIGURE ??? ).
Chris Richardson and Sanjaya round up the top 3.

Paul Kim and Nick Pedro look to be goners.

That being said...

Tonight was a huge letdown for me. There was hardly one performance I got to enjoy. They were either bad or barely passable.

I remember last season at this juncture when we had several outstanding performances …

Taylor did LEVON, Daughtry did WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE, Elliott did IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME ( which led Simon to exhuberantly claim — Yamin was potentially the best male vocalist in the history of American Idol), and Ace Young showed off his falsetto with FATHER FIGURE.

Tonight, I am afraid, every single performance was uniformly FORGETTABLE.



BTW, I don’t know what Chris Sligh said that caused it, but I’ve never seen Simon FUMING this bad before. He was absolutely LIVID !

Was it IL DIVO or TELETUBBIES ? And what does Simon have to do with Teletubbies anyway ?

Chris Sligh is giving people the impression of being too well-research and calculating, treating this contest like a mind game, sorta like chess. That’s turning people off.

He oughta relax and just let Simon talk and let Ryan defend him the way he did with Taylor last season.

[SirLinksalot]

I did a little googling and found this about Simon’s relationship to the Teletubbies …

SOURCE : http://www.angrysimon.com/simon_bio.html

Simon Cowell Biography

EXCERPT

————————————–

Never slow to recognise a bright young talent, by 1989 BMG had offered Simon a position as A&R Consultant. It was a relationship which would prove to be hugely successful, profitable and enduring, in fact since last year Cowell set-up his own label through BMG, S Records, reflecting the success and vision he has manifested.

Simon’s roster of signing reads like a who’s who of pop success stories over the last decade (including some seemingly unlikely ones). Highlights include, Curiosity Killed The Cat, Sonia, and cornering the boy band market, bad boys of pop Five (who disbanded last year) and the global multi-platinum phenomenon, Westlife. Always pop but never predictable, Simon has enjoyed some of his most successful signings by always keeping an eye firmly on the TV world, sensing a public following and always being the first knocking on the door. The Power Rangers, World Wrestling Federation, Zig & Zag and the Xmas Number 1 smash Teletubbies moved from the small box to the airwaves due to Simon, although, he claims his biggest shock success would come in the form of Robson & Jerome.

After convincing the unassuming TV actors that they had what it takes, Cowell and BMG watched Robson & Jerome notch up an incredible string of hit singles, holding the record for being the first act to debut with 3 consecutive number 1 singles (ironically they were later to lose this record to Westlife who hold the record for 7 consecutive number 1 singles and now famously have achieved a staggering 10 number 1’s).

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Thanks to the miracle of Tivo, I zipped through all the junk and just watched the performances, and I have to say ...

... this hardly even qualifies as a horse race.

I found myself looking for *glimmers* of talent, and found a few bits peeking out here and there. But that was about it.

I actually saw something in Nick Pedro (the Robert Downey Jr. lookalike). Seems to me he suffers from a malady that a lot of singers have -- a weak voice. Not in the sense that he can't sing, but in the sense that his vocal cords seem vulnerable to abuse. His tone was furry and indeterminate, unlike the clear bell-like tones he showed in his audition, with "Fly Me to the Moon." If he can get some vocal rest and get those clear ringing tones back, and also show some confidence, he might have a future in the competition. Otherwise he's toast.

Speaking of toast, can we say Chris Sligh? Wow, way to make an enemy! He'll be fighting an uphill battle through the rest of this competition. Though he deserves it a little ... that Teletubbies remark was pretty cruel. Wait until he's Simon's age; I'll bet he'll have a few things to look back on in his career that he's not exactly pleased with either.

Blake's song was boring but he delivered it reasonably well. Possibilities there.

My gaydar went off at Red Alert with AJ's dancing and bebopping around....

Rudy Cardenas had nice tones but what a boring 70's song, and he looked totally ill at ease. Not sure he's cut out for a career on the stage if he can't look more relaxed than that. Also his voice sounds more "girly" than I personally like. (And speaking of boring 70's songs, WHAT was with nearly all of them tonight? Who told them to sing these songs????? Whoever said it was Karaoke Night at the old folks' home was right!)

Sanjaya ... oh, Lord. The first rule of Fight Club is, do not sing Stevie Wonder songs in competition. (The only reason *Stevie Wonder* gets away with his own songs, which are meandering multi-tonal messes for the most part, is because he's STEVIE WONDER and probably one of the top ten song stylists of the 20th century.)

Phil Stacey redeemed the awful beginning to his song with a great chorus, but ye gods, FIX THE DO, BRO! LOL! He DOES look like a penis head! Or actually, I thought he looked like a cancer victim, which is even worse. If he can't manage to grow some fur on that chrome dome, he needs to make wearing VERY spiffy hats his trademark (and I don't mean those wretched beanie things). Sexy he was NOT. Chris Daughtry and Yul Brynner bring naughty thoughts to mind with their non-do's. But not every guy can be Yul Brynner.

At this point, I am also predicting a female Idol this year.

[FreedomForce]

1. Blake Lewis(thought he was best by far)
2. Chris Sligh
3. Phil Stacey


4-9 unranked but I liked some better than others(Brandon, Jared, Rudy, Nicholas, AJ, Paul)



10. Sundance Head
11. Chris Richardson(I hate that type of voice)
12. Sanjaya Malakar

[Wolfstar]

Hi Jonny. Thanks for your pings. Love the humor -- a penis with ears, ROFLMAO!!! For what it's worth, I just finished watching the show and here's my take (at 12:30am):

Rudy Cardenas - meh...

Brandon Rogers - disappointing tonight. Off key the entire song. Handsome lad. Nice smile.

Sundance Head - mixed bag. Has a bit of power, but oddly weak in the quieter part of the song. Also hard to look at. Needs to ditch that ugly beard.

Paul Kim - awful. How did this guy get this far.

Chris Richardson - awful. Can someone tell him to stop that weird bouncing knee action. Ugh! It's like he didn't know whether to sing or take a cr#p. I was looking for my mallet to whack him every time he bounced up.

Nick Pedro - breathy, small, but not unpleasant voice. Handsome guy.

Blake Lewis - If this night is any indication, he's the most talented of the guys. Very good vocalist, but more importantly, a song stylist. Also a cute guy without being pretty.

Sanjaya Malakar - Another one of the affirmative action contestants this year. He is beyond awful. I can't stand looking at his girly little self. Triple ugh!

Chris Sligh - Decent voice. Decent performance. Not impressed. Don't like his attitude and can't stand the mop.

Jared Cotter - Did better during Hollywood week. Good looking guy. Not impressive tonight.

AJ Tabaldo - Cute. Makes the most of what he has, which isn't much talent-wise.

Phil Stacey - Now I know why he wore an Ace-type hat. Guy can sing, but he has zero charisma and looks ill. Too bad he couldn't take some of Sligh's hair. I mean, this guy seriously needs to grow some hair, and if his hairline is receded, he needs a wig. Or something.

Can we keep Blake and call a mulligan on the rest? If not, can we at least dump Sanjaya and Chris Robinson? They were the two worst in a bad bunch.

Seacrest says this is the best talent ever. If he really believes that, then it's all with the girls. If tonight is any guide, exactly one guy has any real talent. That means several good girls will have to be arbitrarily cut to keep five no-talent guys.

[Netizen]

My three favorites tonight were US Navy guy (Phil), Jared Cotter, and AJ, who really surprised me with his energy and projection.

He isn't the Navy guy. The Navy guy didn't make it. Phil is the guy that missed the birth of his second child for the auditions.

[Netizen]

Dialidol has new software and it has bugs. They hope to have it working next week.

[kevkrom]

And it's now time for my first review of the year. Pity it had to be for last night. The guys were... well, "bad" might be too strong of a word, but they sure as heck weren't good by any stretch of the imagination. I'm hoping it's a combination of nerves and getting used to that stage (there were a lot of pitch problems -- are they having trouble hearing the band?). Song selection was also generally a problem for most of the ones who really struggled.

1. A.J. - I can't say I'm a fan of that particular style of singing, but I give him full credit for doing the style he chose right. He looked good, sounded good, and was a refreshing change of pace compared to most of the crowd. Still not what I'd call "star quality", though. B+

2. Chris S. - For the first time all night (and he went 9th), I really found myself paying attention to the performance. Chris really doesn't have the best voice in this group, but he threw down a good performance on a bad night. B+

3. Chris R. - Once again, I can't claim to enjoy the particular style. I also wasn't fond of his bouncing up and down the whole time he sang. Still, I could actually picture hearing this performance on the radio. B

4. Phil - I thought the beginning was painful... "pitchy" and with a "pinched" sound quality. It got better once he hit the fast section, but apparently Randy is easily impressed. Also, something about his look and sound just doesn;t sit right with me.C+

5. Rudy - Diction problems but good energy. I'd classify this as good karaoke. C-

6. Brandon - Pitch problems. I also really have a hard time picturing his voice as a "lead" singer; I think he's been a background singer for a reason -- there's nothing special or memorable about his voice. C-

7. Sundance - Really, really odd song choice, and not one that helped. Major pitch issues, seemed very tight and nervous. The ending was OK, especially compared to the rest of it, but not enough to save the song. Too bad, I kind of like him. D+

8. Blake - Dull, technical sounding, and not well performed (emotionally flat and pitchy). D+

9. Nick Once again, pitch problems and a "tight" tonal quality. I think the nerves really are getting to these guys. D+

10. Jared - Bo-ring. The dude was basically counting me to sleep. Toss in diction and pitch problems, and I barely stayed awake long enough to take notes. D

11. Sanjaya - Boring, constantly flat, and very "thin" sounding voice. A really, really bad combination. D-

12. Paul - He gets an "F" simply for missing every single note in the "bridge" section. Even the in-studio audience couldn't pretend to have any enthusiasm for this dreck. F

The top four should be safe; anyone in the bottom eight should be very, very worried tomorrow night.

[Maximus of Texas]

Blake, Chris S and the bald guy who went last are the front runners, IMO. Blake would sound great singing McCartney.

[DCPatriot]

When they showed Chris' rehearsal tape and mini interview he flat out said he had a plan and strategy.

He had that statement about Il Divo and the Teletubbies ready...if not this week sometime in the future.

[twin2]

I couldn't get here last night, my husband's grandmother had a stoke on Monday. We transfered her to hospice last night. She is 95 and has lived a long healthy life, but still it is difficult. I hope to catch up on tivo and be back next week.

[EmilyGeiger]

House isn't even going to be on for 3 weeks OH NO! I hate when they do that too.

[Netizen]

Sorry to hear about your husband's grandmother, it's never easy.

[Netizen]

What do you suppose the big news about House is?