American Idol 2005--Live Thread

3-15-05

[silent_jonny]

AMERICAN IDOL 2005
LIVE THREAD

[kevkrom]

An interesting night, pushing a lot of the contestants out of their safe zones. Nonetheless, I was surprised at how well, pretty much across the board, everyone did with adapting and modernizing their song choices to their styles. (This isn't to say whether or not I'm fond of those styles, but rather that I recognize and appreciate what they did.)

My scorecard from last night...

1. Naida -- Wow. With the exception of the very end, where she was exposed on that last note, the best she's ever sounded. A nice, "smoky" jazz style, and most of all, she "sold" the performance.
2. Constantine -- I know, we all hate "Lt. Dan", but let's give him some credit here, this was a good performance -- the best he's done by a long shot. Like Nadia, a weak last note was about the only issue I had.
3. Bo -- Looks like he forgot some of the words, or had a serious lapse in diction. Still not the best voice in the competition, but did a good job with performing the song and adapting it to his style.
4. Vonzelle -- This whole 4-7 range was a toss-up for me. I'm giving Vonzelle a little more credit because of the difficulty of the song she chose, although it was a bit rocky from a technical perspective, especially in transitions from high to low registers, and vice-versa. If she had 3 or 4 more days to prep this one, it could have been really, really good.
5. Carrie -- A very average performance, and the biggest exception to my broad compliment about adaptation. Not a great challenge, and a bit shaky at times. Still, a pleasant voice (and easy on the eyes!)...
6. Nikko -- Hard to judge vocally, because he never stays on a note long enough to determine its pitch; the style seems a little too affected and forced. Nice choice and interesting adaptation, just could have been a bit more natural in execution.
7. Anwar -- He finally started and finished at the same level, but that level was at best average. This guy is turning into a major disappointment.
8. Anthony -- Speaking of major disappointments... Good vocal, lousy presence as usual. And "ford every dream?" At least he covered the lyrics screw-up well.
9. Scott -- No stage presence at all, vocal was OK, as in on-pitch, etc., but like last week, the tone was weak and thin. Not good enough for this competition.

I think the voting audience might actually agree with me this time around, as far as the bottom 3 are concerned, and "Slingblade" Scott will be sent back to Cleveland.

[EmilyGeiger]

Amen! I loved L&O, had to watch every episode, but when Waterson and some of the others came on it became political. And Sam never loses a case!

[kevkrom]

If Mykala was still on..she could have sung "Tits and Ass" from A Chorous Line

That's "Dance 10, Looks 3". Although in Mikaya's case, it'd be "Voice 3, Looks 10".

[ken5050]

Thanks..Hads to check my CD to se if you were correct..that IS the right title...BTW.. we both concur in our assessment of Nadia..

[kevkrom]

Randy has a lead ear. Many times the singers have been flat out off-key (like the rocker from before, the other whatshisface) and Randy foes nuts. I think Randy can't hear flat notes. He picks up on sharp, but not flat.

I don't trust Randy's comments at all with regards to pitch. Someone who's dead-on, he'll call "pitchy", and someone who can't find a note, he'll compliment. I think he confuses tonal quality with pitch, and when something just rings wrong with him, for whatever reason, he calls it "pitchy".

[silent_jonny]

Sorry for veering off the AI topic, Jonny.

Oh you've done it now! I'm calling the mods!

Kidding--talk about whatever you like :)

[kevkrom]

I could take or leave Fantasia until she sang "Summertime" last year. That was one of the best performances I've ever heard.

Yeah, but she tried doing it a couple of more times, and it never came out as good as the original. I thought Diana and LaToya were much better singers.

[Lee'sGhost]

House rules.

[Lee'sGhost]

"If Mykala was still on..she could have sung "Tits and Ass" from A Chorous Line"

Now I'd actually pay to see that. What a loss for guys that love . . . oh, never mind.

[Samwise]

There was only me and one other freeper last year that didn't like Fantasia.

You weren't the only ones.

[Lee'sGhost]

FWIW. What we hear on TV is very different from what they are hearing in the studio. The judges have commented several times about how they'll listen to the taped version of the performance and what they hear is totally different.

I mean, last night night Scott sounded like a wailing cat and the judges said he sounded great. Puke a rama.

[Lee'sGhost]

"You weren't the only ones."

Amen. I thought Fantasia Barfrino was the best at carrying a tune, but she has the WORST voice. I'm glad they warned us that she'll be singing tonight, although her stupid Baby Mama song would be worth seeing for the comedy aspect.

[silent_jonny]

Good scorecard!

I agree with your bottom three--Anwar, Fedorov and Scott. Scott tries his best, but his personality (or lack of one) is his biggest enemy. It's either going to be him or Fedorov leaving tonight, though I would be happier if Anwar was shown the door.

I thought last night's show was dull. I didn't like the music category and the performances were lethargic.

I miss the celebrity judges and the shows that were dedicated to one specific artist, like Elton John, Billy Joel, etc. They gave the shows character and provided much needed suspense, IMO.

[kevkrom]

FWIW. What we hear on TV is very different from what they are hearing in the studio. The judges have commented several times about how they'll listen to the taped version of the performance and what they hear is totally different.

I've been saying since last year's finals (I only started watching last year) that they need to feed the judges the "air" mix, not the "house" mix -- the acoustics in that hall really aren't that good, apparently.

[Samwise]

I disliked her voice, her performances, her demeanor, and her attitude.

[twin2]

Hey jonny, sorry to miss last night's thread. Family visiting and I couldn't ignore them for the AI discussion. Now that I've read everyone's comments, I have to watch the show. I'll see you tonight ready and caught up.

[TonyWpi]

In this show, looks don't matter when it comes to the "girls."

The hottest girls have been voted off already. Carrie is the best looking as of now. But she's "cute" and doesn't over do it. I think the girls who vote for them don't take well to the girls who seem too "hot."

As for this week....I think it's time for a guy to go.
Bottom 3:

Scott, Nikko, Anthony with my money on Scott leaving.
(I wonder if he'll try to beat up Seacrest?)

[colorcountry]

Please add me to the Idol ping

[dc27]

Simon got what he wished for with Fantasia. Her sales are very low compared to the previous idols and runner-ups.

[ken5050]

Check this out from today's NY Post.."Idol's Extreme Makeover" I did not see that season of AI, but this is a very scary makeover...

Catch you all tonite..