American Idol 2006--Live Thread I

FOX ^ | 1-16-06

[silent_jonny]

for Tammy

[kevkrom]

If she's as good as she is at 17, she'll go places - with or without AI. Why take up a slot on AI? I just don't understand. It's not like her family are unknown has-beens.

Publicity and exposure.

[silent_jonny]

Out, out, damned Cox!

It's not often we get Shakespeare reference on the Idol thread--well done! :)

(Stevie) don't give me this pretentious "trained in opera" thing. It's a completely different approach to music, and probably won't help you at all in pop

As she proved last night. That was horrible. Very disappointing.

The Gherkin - Really not impressive on any level. Breathy, unsupported singing with weak low notes. Blondes like you are a dime a dozen, Kellie.

Ouch! "The Gherkin"--LOL! Looks like that nickname is gonna stick :)

(Ayla) I'd actually LIKE to hear more of her, which I can't say about most of them tonight.

Me too!

Kinnik - There's a certain suspicion about her being, ahem, post-operative

Her lips?

[silent_jonny]

I am up and out early today for jury duty

I hope you don't get sequestered! :)

[silent_jonny]

Katherine - One of the best, if not the best, vocals of the night

I agree! As for her being stiff and emotionless, I'll cut her some slack, this being her first live performance.

Kellie - If you're going to try and impersonate Carrie, you should at least be able to sing well.

ROFL!!! If it's that obvious to us, I wonder what the rest of the audience is thinking.

Stevie - I really, really wanted to like her

Me too. She was the biggest disappointment of the night. Maybe she'll survive this week and get another chance.

[silent_jonny]

Sorry I left so abruptly last night. My head was about to roll off my shoulders :)

Have a great day--and I hope to "see" you tonight.

[silent_jonny]

My husband brings home his projector and we plug in the dvd player and stereo to it and we have our own theater.

Sounds nice :)

[Wyatt's Torch]

My non-profesional, music loving opinion of last night:

Mandisa - Started the show off with a bang as she did a very good version of Never from Heart. She might have missed some notes but it was a good performance and she has a very good voice and is likable.

Kellie - Not good enough. Sweet story but the song was uninspiring and just not good enough. She'll be saved tonight though

Becky - The girl is H-O-T but cannot sing at all. She butchered the Patti Smith/Natalie Merchant classic and should be one of the first cut. She might make it through because she is absolutely beautiful.

Ayla Brown - very, very good vocal. I'm not a Christina Aguilera fan but she sang a tough song well. One of the 5 best IYAM

Paris - Not sure why people find her annying. She is a performer with a huge voice. A bit overdone, perhaps, but the first performance I really enjoyed. She's very good. It will be interesting to see how she handles other genres. I'm not sure she's versatile enough.

Stevie - Absolutely dreadful. Awful. Terrible. She could easily be the first one out. She just murdered a great song.

Brenna - Horrible attitude with a worse voice. I hated that song anyway but now have more reason. Dreadful. I have no idea how/why she made it this far.

Heather Cox - Sang a bad song poorly. She's cute but can't sing.

Melissa McGhee - Not good enough. She has a cute and bubbly personality but is not nearly the best singer or performer on the show.

Lisa Tucker - I thought she was excellent, Sang a very big song and did a very good job. She also has a big voice.

Kinnik Sky - She just murdered that song. My wife, who is a singer, literally screamed in the middle of the song to mute it because she was missing notes so badly. Not good at all.

Katherine McPhee - made me like a Barbara Streisand song. She was brilliant. One of the top 3 easily.

All in all there were 3 distint groups:

The "very good" were Paris, Lisa, Mandisa, Katherine, and Ayla.

The "need a lot of work" were: Kellie and Melissa

The "shouldn't even be here" were: Becky, Stevie, Kinnik, Brenna and Heather.

I was a little bored with most of the song choices. I'd love to see it spiced up a little. I was a fan of the show "Rock Star INXS" and that format. There were great performances every night and it wasn't necessarily about who sang every note in tune. Idol is not a "singing competition". It is a "singing and MARKETING competition." Problem is, it's too formulaic and way too predictable in my opinion. Just my cross to bear on this show I suppose.

[retrokitten]

(And what was with that awful outfit? Her abdomen looked huge, like she was Mama Alien ready to birth a litter or something! Eek.)

LMAO!!!

[retrokitten]

There's a certain suspicion about her being, ahem, post-operative, but aside from that, I liked her performance.

I hit post too fast!! You must expand on this some more!! She's a MAN!!!!

[EmilyGeiger]

Absolutely spot on with your assessment! :) Exactly my thoughts.

[LA Woman3]

http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/american_idol_5/2006_Feb_22_cingular_text_votes

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

American Idol text message votes from non-Cingular phones are not counted

That Cingular Wireless is a sponsor of American Idol is no surprise; after all, the credits say “promotional consideration paid by” Cingular, Ford, and Coca-Cola. In addition, the company’s logo appears alongside every set of phone numbers and text messaging numbers on-screen. But the company also gets something else out of the deal: its users are the only ones who can vote via text messages.

During last night’s performances, Ryan Seacrest read 12 phone numbers and 12 text messaging numbers, one for each female performer. Three of those 12 times, he mentioned that it is “Cingular Wireless subscribers” who can text their votes. The show’s FAQ mentions this, noting that “Cingular Wireless subscribers may text the word VOTE,” but it also says, under the “Who can vote?” question, “Anyone calling or Text Messaging from within Continental US, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico can cast their vote for the next American Idol.”

But they can’t, unless they have a Cingular phone; other text messaging votes are discarded. A Fremantle executive pointed this out at a conference I attended a few weeks ago, noting that the other cell phone companies were probably thrilled about this, since they get to charge for those messages.

Obviously, the show isn’t being completely deceptive, since, again, Ryan Seacrest noted three times that text voting is for Cingular customers. But he never said that non-Cingular votes wouldn’t count, nor do any on-screen messages. More significantly, 75 percent of the time, he failed to mention that, instead instructing viewers to “text the word ‘vote’ to 57##.”

[kevkrom]

Becky the Beautiful: Step it up, girl, if you can. That performance certainly did not prove that you can sing.

She needs to watch tapes of Nadia from last year. Her performances should emphasize the sensual, because voice-wise, she can't compete with the top 5 or so females, but she can work on delivering a better "package" by keying on the performance aspects.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Well... I am torn between the love of making a good snide comment, and not wanting to start an ugly rumor on the Internet (because I really rather liked Kinnik, though I doubt she will make it into the top 12). But Kinnik does have that "she-male" look, doesn't she? If I saw her in some movie or on some fiction-type TV show instead of AI, I'd say, oh, there's a female impersonator.

I do not *honestly* think she is post-op. I think she's just tall with big bones and a receding hairline. But it all adds up to a certaiin look, doesn't it?

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Stevie - I really, really wanted to like her; a possible early "dark horse".

I've seen similar comments about Stevie from several people on this thread, and while I understand your viewpoint, I couldn't disagree more. She and Kellie both seem to me to be shining examples of what I thought of as "fakey girls" in school -- the ones who would be oh-so-sweet in front of a teacher, or even to your face if they thought they could get something out of you -- and then do the nastiest and meanest things possible in private. I can't wait to see the last of her and Gherkin on this show.

Contrast them with someone like Lisa Tucker, or like Carrie Underwood. I also knew girls like Lisa and Carrie in school, girls who really *were* as sweet as they seemed, nice all the way through instead of just on the surface.

At least Brenna makes absolutely no bones about who and what she is. Something a little refreshing about that! (Though it didn't help her at all last night!)

[kevkrom]

I've seen similar comments about Stevie from several people on this thread, and while I understand your viewpoint, I couldn't disagree more. She and Kellie both seem to me to be shining examples of what I thought of as "fakey girls" in school... Contrast them with someone like Lisa Tucker, or like Carrie Underwood.

I don't get that "fake" feel from Stevie, but I do think that much of Carrie's persona is an act -- I think she probably really is sweet, but the naive country girl stuff was clearly an act.

Ah well, to each their own. It's not like Stevie will be around long enough to worry about anyway (and "the Gherkin" might not be far behind her).

[retrokitten]

I think she's just tall with big bones and a receding hairline. But it all adds up to a certaiin look, doesn't it?

Being as I am 5'10"-5'11" and not fine-boned I would have to disagree. (But my hair line is also not receding, either. LOL)

[Ciexyz]

I hope the fat girl who was "01" last night, makes it through. That will annoy Simon no end.

[Ciexyz]

I also hope the 28-year-old black girl makes it through, the one described as having a cabaret act. Just to show the 16 year old that the older ladies can still rock!

[Ciexyz]

Simon was being unusually gentlemanly last night, don't you think? Or at least, not as obnoxious as usual.

[Ciexyz]

I hope the chick from CA gets votes off, she seemed like a total fake