American Idol 2006--Live Thread (Part II)

FOX ^ | 3-25-06

[Wolfstar]

I think that Kat's base is comprised of: Shallow men who vote for her boobage, Older people, The Girl Power bloc

Misterrob, I am SO glad you posted that. Thank you.

[misterrob]

When I first heard her sing on opening night of the women's competition I thought to myself that she could be a finalist. However, over the course of the past several weeks I have seen her limitations that you have done a wonderful job of providing color commentary on. I think that she has talent and that with some additional coaching (from someone else than Mom and Dad) she could do okay but I simply don't see what the fuss about her is.

Hip people are voting for the men. They each seem to have a good following and while I would put Taylor and Chris ahead of Elliott in terms of experience, he has come really far these past few months. Elliott is scoring better with older people and women, Taylor does well in the boomer class and Chris is the late Gen X and twenty somethings. (Plus the shallow women who drool and say Yummy when he sings just like the guys who love McPhees cleavage shots).

The board wasn't as good without your comments this week. BTW.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Interesting entry in MJ's Big Blog:

Money, Money Money

Oh, yeah, I love me some Elvis and look forward to the Elvis theme this week. However, Gray Charles has astutely pointed out that the man who owns Idol has a big financial stake in the lucrative Elvis business, which includes Graceland tours, onsite retailing, and licensing. This explains why the kids are flying down there this week to tape a segment--in order to promote Graceland and its associated enterprises:

"The man who bought Elvis is Robert F.X. Sillerman, 57, a Wall Street operator with a long history of minting money in the media business. In 1989 he sold a group of radio stations to Westinghouse (now Viacom) for $389 million. Eight years later he unloaded a bunch of stations to Hicks Muse for $2.1 billion. In 2000 he sold a company that owned concert venues to Clear Channel for a reported $3 billion.

Sillerman's latest publicly traded corporate incarnation is called CKX. The CK stands for "content is king," while the X is a reference to one of his middle initials (they are F.X., and he won't tell anyone what they stand for). Besides buying Elvis Presley Enterprises from Lisa Marie Presley last February, Sillerman and his lieutenants have purchased the smash-hit TV show American Idol and other properties from a company called 19 Entertainment, which was owned by British pop impresario Simon Fuller.

Though the Elvis business isn't that big yet, it gives us a window into how Sillerman operates. First, understand that Sillerman actually owns very little of Elvis's music. Elvis's legendary manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker (a.k.a. Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk), sold the rights to RCA--now part of Sony BMG--decades ago. What Sillerman bought was Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), a company that gets its $40 million in annual revenue from Graceland tours, onsite retailing, and licensing--each contributing a bit less than a third of the total--with the balance derived from an apartment complex and the Heartbreak Hotel."

So there ya go. There's always more to the story. Thanks Gray.

[misterrob]

Naaah. They are going to Graceland so that Tommy Mattola can mac on Kat.

Who wants to bet that Kat and boyfriend announce that they are done after this week?

[MarMema]

I'd be in if you or someone hadn't said he was Greek.

[Netizen]

I meant to say I'll be voting for TAYLOR and Elliott from now on.

Cool! I was hoping that was what you meant. :)

[Wolfstar]

The board wasn't as good without your comments this week. BTW.

That's so very kind of you to say. Many issues at work. Will Freemail to explain, just FYI. I didn't watch the show this week due to late working hours.

Hip people are voting for the men. They each seem to have a good following and while I would put Taylor and Chris ahead of Elliott in terms of experience, he has come really far these past few months. Elliott is scoring better with older people and women, Taylor does well in the boomer class and Chris is the late Gen X and twenty somethings. (Plus the shallow women who drool and say Yummy when he sings just like the guys who love McPhees cleavage shots).

I think you're absolutely right. :)

[SirLinksalot]

ATTENTION ALL ...

NEXT WEEK IS ELVIS THEME NIGHT.

Sorry, I have no link, but, I heard that Dr. Hicks ( Taylor's dad ) relayed in an interview that only original Elvis songs are allowed, no songs by others that he covered. So, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, etc. songs is out.

That means we don't get to hear Johnny B. Goode :(

[silent_jonny]

I am surprised I have not seen it mentioned on any other forums.

Maybe because it wasn't the scandal that you seem to think it was.

It was just an innocent comment. Nothing more.

[Col. George Rains]

BTW, thanks for your service.

LOL, I only just got what this meant, (I thought it had something to do with the Brenna pic. I've never been in the military, Col. George rains is from The Guns of the South.

[Col. George Rains]

And now I realize I made two spelling mistakes by not checking the preview all that much.

[MarMema]

Ah but since then I did find some truly fascinating commentary on other forums about it, and especially about seacrest and his obsession with sweat.

[Purrcival]

D'OH! Of course, I never read it and was not familiar with it at all. My bad.

[misterrob]

For anyone who thinks that Fox News Channel is Fair and Balanced:

From the AI Message Boards....


Posted: 5/4/2006 5:03:00 PM PST

ELLIOTT FANS WERE 100% RIGHT ABOUT THE FOX MARKETING MACHINE PIMPING A FEW AND IGNORING OTHERS COMPLETELY!!

Earlier today, On Fox Report with Shepard Smith, Mr. Smith "forgets" Elliott Yamin's name, twice in a row. He refers to him as "the other guy."

It's pretty obvious he knew who Elliott was but he completely ignored him and decided to put him down by calling him "the other guy". Elliott fans emailed him about it and this was his reply on air just a few seconds ago

"He said " the G block doesn't care if you like Elliot. The G blocks thinks he's the next to go"... and then he slammed down his laptop cover."


Since I work during the day I don't keep the TV on but if he said that, DAMN

[misterrob]

Another Posting from the AI Board:

Posted: 5/4/2006 2:52:00 PM PST
Hey all,

I am nervous about posting this here, because I fear the wrath of all the fans of Kat, Chris, and Taylor, but I just wanted to share this comment I sent to Fox today. I want to make it clear that I respect all of the final four; I just think that Fox's marketing manipulation is so blatant, it's insulting. I realize this is probably obvious to some of you. I may be a bit naive, but more than that I'm just idealistic. I really think it is acceptable to ask that Fox play fair in this contest.

Dear Fox Broadcasting,

I have been an American Idol fan for the past 3 years, and I am writing to say how disappointed I am by the network's obvious favoritism in this supposedly fair contest. It is very clear that the network is favoring three of the remaining contestants over the fourth, Elliott Yamin, who perhaps is not considered as marketable by your management:

1) A TV Guide article showcases only three of the contestants. No Elliott Yamin.

2) Continuing the trend throughout this whole season, those same three contestants start out leading the group number on last night's broadcast, and get the most time in the AI Ford commercial.

3) On Good Morning America today, judge Simon Cowell does not even mention Elliott Yamin, while discussing the other three.

4) On Fox Report with Shepard Smith, Mr. Smith "forgets" Elliott Yamin's name, twice in a row. He refers to him as "the other guy."

This seems unlikely to be a coincidence (!). Isn't this supposed to be a fair contest? With your media machine so obviously favoring some contestants over others, I really am losing respect for the integrity of your show. It is cynical and insulting to the American Public.

Please let the American public decide who the next Idol is based on TALENT, without such blatant media manipulation. Play Fair! Isn't that a good value for an "American Idol"?

Sincerely,

[Palladin]

Yeah, Shep Smith said that. I think he was a little drunker than usual this evening.

[Palladin]

Fantasy....Taylor spazzes out on "All Shook Up" and Simon has a heart attack. Then, he does "Don't Be Cruel" and Paula melts right before our very eyes. And Randy laughs for 2 consecutive days. <^..^>

It works for me!

[misterrob]

What a load of BS is my opinion. It's a TV show but then again it's on his company's national broadcast network. To behave that way is rather poor.

There have been plenty of Taylor fans who hang out on the AI website board that have expressed some displeasure with what he did and have complained to Fox. I suspect that if E does leave this week his people will throw their support behind Taylor big time.

[Palladin]

I will definitely support Taylor if Elliott leaves. Those two are real gentlemen. It shows in how they have treated the contestants who had to go home.

I'm sure Chris is a nice guy, too, but I can't stand that caterwauling that hard rockers call singing.

Kat--fuggedaboudit!

[MarMema]

I'm afraid the signs are all quite easily read at this point. If he survives next week I will be astonished in a very pleasant sort of way.

Right now I just want him in a recording studio somewhere. I was watching his encore of On Broadway today and I find that little "yeah" he adds in with a sort of click to be extremely endearing. Doesn't hurt to be able to watch him do it either.

He has a special gift which I am truly grateful to have been able to witness coming together.

I'm not sure that all the text votes in China could pull him past next week, but I pray that someone records him and makes him available now that the big guys have apparently rated him as too geeky to be an idol.