for Tammy
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Posted on 01/16/2006 4:00:11 AM PST by silent_jonny
for Tammy
Missed the show ... *sigh*
In Clay news:
SIGHTINGS
. . . CLAY Aiken, traveling in Europe after being "outed" by the National Enquirer, at Candyshop, a gay club in Prague.
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/pagesix/pagesix_u.htm
There goes my breakfast :o
:)
I know--he's this year's Mikalah. Hopefully he'll get the boot next week.
He should just come out. It's like Donald Trump's weird hairdon't. Who do they think they are fooling? We all KNOW what they are trying to hide.
Did you go through all of Page Six today and see the picture of "The Cat Woman"?
The horror.
The horror.
You would think with all that dough she could find a more natural looking wig.
Would you really buy a Kevin CD?
Isn't is terrifying?? Who could do that to themself? It goees without saying, she has issues.
A little recap of last night's elimination process...
Well, we all know the results by now.
HERE ARE THE SURPRISE RESULTS :
Ace, the hot-looking John Travolta look-alike golden boy and one-time fav to win is in the bottom three !!
Kevin, the bespectacled, nerdy little choir boy, with more chutzpah than vocal talent, is safe.
And on cue, the audience starts booing. TPTB are playing this up again.
Kevin--who has been cast as the foil and the boy-who-stays-too-long in a sitcom that involves singing--was put right to work fulfilling his appointed role in this particular season of AI ( as I said before, every season must have it's John Stevens and Scott Savol ). I know, I know, most of you are now disliking the kid, but PLEASE DON'T.
He's just doing what he was "hired" to do and relishing it all ( script and all ).
And despite his what-duck-walk-was-he-doing performance last night (or maybe because of it?) he's playing his role it quite well, if I sau so myself.
So chill out folks and settle down.
But let's all be realistic...
Ace Young in the bottom three isn't exactly the big surprise it's cracked up to be anyway. Ace has had only one really good performance since the start of the semis, George Michael's --"Father Figure." ( I told him to sing another WHAM song -- CARELESS WHISPER, but he isn't listening to me ). And the last two weeks, he's been performing as if he was just coasting through.
Personally, I thought Ace was over-hyped from the beginning. Now, I think the American TV watcher is seeing through the pimpage. If Ace wants to stay in the game, he's going to have to step it up, period. Not surprisingly, he was the first to sit down. He dodged a bullet. Now he has to change his strategy.
I believe Ace is capable of a good performance--he just needs to choose better songs. You know, the ones that fit his range and style. Stevie Wonder's intricate key changovers are a bit much for him. At this point, though, I think Ace is strictly middle of the pack. If he leaves in 5th place that will be very good for him. As I said before, this is a singing competition and LOOKS can only get you so far.
And why should we be surprised at the next one --Melissa McGhee ? Were you underwhelmed as I was ? Who didn't see that coming? Not Melissa herself. Who already seemed to have a premonition ( the word she failed to sing in her song ) that it would be her on that SEAL.
Now here'a a big surprise to most fans but not to my trained, critical eye/ear ---- LISA TUCKER.
For those who have been paying attention, I remember one of you telling me that Lisa should not be in the bottom anything and I said I begged to differ. I SAID THAT LISA's LAST FEW PERFORMANCES HAVE BEEN FORGETTABLE AND IS IN *VERY* GRAVE DANGER OF BEING ELIMINATED ( outstanding pre-final auditions exempted ). I WAS RIGHT ( as Simon would say ).
Therefore, Lisa Tucker's appearance in the bottom 3 didn't surprise me either. She's a beautiful, poised young girl who definitely has talent, but hasn't done much to distinguish herself in the competition. Her performances are COMPETENT, but FORGETTABLE. I don't sense much buzz around Lisa. Contestants who don't ignite passions in either direction are usually the first to go. I don't think she'll place higher than nine. At this point, I don't see how Lisa could improve her game quickly. Lisa needs a few more years to mature, to grow, to really get into it ( like for example, Kate Mcphee who is 21 ).
REMEMBER -- THIS IS AS MUCH A MARKETING/PR GAME AS A SINGING COMPETITION. In this sense -- Taylor and Chris Daughtry already win a lot hands down. Kevin Covais will stay longer simply for the NOVELTY UNTIL IT WEARS OFF and we should expect it. SO STOP WHINING ( especially those who have seen this series since season one. It has happened many times before and it'll happen again )
For the girls, the following 3 are really good and if you really make a comparison of SINGING + PERFORMING Talents, Kate Mcphee, Mandissa and Paris Bennet are leagues above the rest.
For the rest of the ladies, My bottom three ( from top to bottom would have been )...
LISA TUCKER
MELISSA McGHEE
KELLIE PICKLER
I think its important to ask why and think for yourself as opposed to just listening to the judges.
LISA - she picks songs that have a much higher range than she is able to handle. She falls just a tad short of hitting the notes that are high. she has a nice lower register, but struggles big time ( there's Dick Cheney's influence right there) with the upper register. if she learned to pick songs that work within her range, she would do much better. The judges are giving her too much credit. Also, she has the penchant and affinity for slow ballads. She tried to crank it up last night but it only seemed to highlight her limitations. Besides, she's the youngest girl in this competition ( as young as Jasmine Trias was when she started ). She needs a lot of seasoning but she'll go far.
Comparing her to the other precocious 16 year old from season 3 --- Diana Degarmo, Lisa loses ( BTW, Diana is now a celebrated star on Broadway in the hit -- HAIRSPRAY. In fact, her name alone is drawing crowds ).
Melissa - she forgot the words in to Stevie's song. Stevie caught it, so did I. Not in just one but 3 SECTIONS !!
I'm positive because I can sing the song in my shower. This is of course quite frustrating because the judges gave her way too much praise on this.
The performance really was a disappointment and I was rooting for her to do well ! she has a nice, unique raspy voice that would have distinguished her. Like Ayla, she's a hard worker but really, between Ayla and herself, Ayla should have been here instead of her ( just as Gedeon should have been here instead of Kevin. Now that's a thought --- Gedeon would absolutely have done justice to PART TIME LOVER ).
Melissa is a tragic case of nerves getting the better of talent. The evil Simon, learning his lesson like a cunning Abu Al Zarqawi ( who knows he can't win militarily, therefore, he strikes at the WILL of the American Public and a pliant media ), gave her praises instead of telling her to take a ticket home and IT WORKED. Simon knows how to counter the stick it to him campaign.
KELLIE - One word to describe her in Stevie Wonder night --- monotomous. It was neither here, there nor anywhere ( now that's an idea for a song -- are you listening, Paul ?). There was no texture or dynamics to this performance. She is totally getting by on her country bumpkin personality. You can get by on beauty pageant charm for a while, but ultimately this is a singing competition and YOU HAVE TO BE VOCALLY STRONG TO SURVIVE.
But folks, how can you not help but think that she's taking us for a ride ? Already you can see something not kosher about her compared to say --- BUCKY.
Notice this --- ONLY SHE AND ELLIOTT actually cried tears of joy when they met the legendary Stevie Wonder. Elliott is understandable as he patterns his style after Wonder himself. But Kellie ??? She claims never to have heard of him in her intro and here she is WEEPING and OVERWHELMED when she meets him !!! What fools we are to believe this soap opera !
Therefore, we aren't surprised to learn that poor un-pimped Melissa is eliminated. But she's a plucky one who fought hard to stay in it. Her farewell video ended with a clip of her singing "Lately" (not forgetting the words) and Simon telling her afterwards that it was her best performance ever. Ahhh...so there you go. Well played REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY Simon! Bravo.
HERE IS THE CONCLUSION TO THE MATTER :
Poor Melissa was barely given 30 seconds to sing. And since she finished 12th, she's still signed to the draconian Top 12 contract, but won't be included on the summer Ai tour--where the kids finally get to make some real money for their efforts. Bummer. LIFE's NOT FAIR.
Some thoughts: The Ford commercials featuring the contestants are usually some good cheesy fun. But is anyone buying a FORD nowadays ? All I see around my neighborhood are Japanese, Korean and German cars.
OK FOLKS, HERE IS ANOTHER THING FOR ME PERSONALLY TO WHINE ABOUT.
I think I lost my attention half-way through Stevie Wonder's guest performance.
Not to dish the legend himself, but Stevie's early stuff were absolute classics, but he hasn't produced any interesting music for the past 5 years.
This particular tune was pretty much the same old same old. There used to be a time when artists really produced GREAT MUSIC. That was long ago when I was still in high school and college. Now, we have untalented kids who dare call themselves artists and winning OSCAR FOR BEST SONGS for such banal songs as "IT's HARD TO BE A PIMP" ( or something of that nature). Can you imagine singing that in karaoke ??
Barry Manilow has all but quit writing Middle of the Road hits because young ones don't appreciate them any longer, prefering to ( like Chicken Little himself ) groove to an untalented thug like Kanye West or P. Diddy who celebrate decadence instead of goodness. So what does Barry do to get to be number one on the billboard ?? HO HO HO, he makes an album that CELEBRATES THE SONGS OF THE 1950's !!!
It goes to Number 1 without much radio airplay !!! Let's celebrate the power of the internet and alternative media.
My Hollywood friends tell me that Barry is coming back to AI next week when the theme is -- the GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK ( be prepared for a surprise appearance of someone with a raspy voice too <--- no more spoilers ).
That graphic is SO my house during Spring Break (this week.)
One of them, took a picture of theirs after they put them on a wall and put it online at Any soldier. When I got a card back from them thanking me, I took it over to the school and gave it to the art teacher and showed her how to get to the website, so she could show her students the next day, how some of their fellow students art work wound up in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Khazakstan (sp) etc.
The teacher was so excited.
I do too. I think you're right about Simon. Earlier, I thought they took turns being good judge, bad judge. But, as the season has progressed and Paula has become less coherant, I think more falls on Randy and Simon.
hat tip to Glenn Beck, he was making fun of Kevin's lisp. I thought I was the only one that noticed it but after he talked about it I figured everyone else heard it too. :)
If I was told I had to buy a CD of either Kevin or Elliot. Yes, I would buy Kevin's. I would buy Kevin's over Pickler (I don't like her). I would buy Kevin's over Paris, because I don't care for her either. I'd buy Kevin's over Ace.
If a contestant wants my vote, they have to earn it. Once Kevin is out, I will vote for Taylor, Mandisa and Chris. So, my voting for Kevin, becuase I think he is better or I prefer him over others at this point isn't taking anything away from people like Elliot, Ace or Paris. They wouldn't be getting my vote anyway.
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