American Idol 2006--Live Thread (Part II)

FOX ^ | 3-25-06

[silent_jonny]

still for Tammy

[Netizen]

Do you have a link for the first section?

[SirLinksalot]

Could you clarify what you mean by "first section" ?

[Jrabbit]

Thank you....she is doing very well. The words to Sarabeth really describe a lot things she went through....and her name being Sarah Elizabeth....just eerie.

[Netizen]

Yeah, the first part of your post.

I just want to share with everyone a post made on the Idol Boards by Sean Hicks, Taylor’s brother …..

[SirLinksalot]

I got it from a post on this site :

theofficialsoulpatrol.com

[Netizen]

When I go there the forum never opens anything up. It's mostly blank, with only some ads in the left sidebar.

[grania]

Paris? Who knows... I'm still trying to figure out who or what she is. Until she develops her own style, she's not going to really get any kind of following

She's young, she's got great voice and enthusiasm, and grandma and mom must be helping her with clothing and song selections....she's more than a cut above the rest on both.

There is a place for her, a huge gap that was filled by Tina Turner, Cher, and Stevie Nicks (still worth seeing). She can also do movies about the '50s and '60s. That wonderful performance in the yellow dress was really authentic, a real time-machine experience.

[Wyatt's Torch]

You hearing anything about Taylor's song selection for the night being scrubbed late in the process and him "settling" for the one he sang?

[retrokitten]

That could very well be. I'm really looking forward sleeping in on Saturday morning.

[Texas2step]

Neither would Kellie.

I don't know. I'm not crazy about the female top 5 (3 of which have already been voted off). Females were kind of weak this year on NS. I probably would have had Kellie as the #2 or #3 female on NS. The guys on NS this year are stout.

[Texas2step]

someone posted an article that says that the contestants don't have much of a choice at all about what they wear.

Fox Reality has a "behind the scenes show" where they interviewed the "wardrobe" advisor. Some of the contestants do their own thing. He mentioned that he was working with all of the girls, but that Chris and Ace were "doing their own thing". (I think it was Chris and Ace, but it could have been Ace and someone else.)

Based on the way the interview went, it seemed like he was just there to make suggestions and provide options, if it was desired. It didn't sound like they required them to wear anything specific.

[Wolfstar]

But I still don't believe that the Gherkin is getting that many votes.

Unfortunately, I do, Jonny. I think she's got a good chance to win. As an adult woman, I'm immune to her cute look, and I think she is THE most limited of the leading contestants in the 5-yr history of AI. There are a whole bunch of non-winning women from other seasons who could sing rings around the Pickle. Diana DeGarmo, Kimberly Locke, Tamyra Gray, Nadia Turner, and Jennifer Hudson come most quickly to mind.

As for the three women who did win AI, Pickle is so far removed from them in talent that it's like Minnie Mouse trying to measure up to the young Judy Garland. (Garland has been widely named as the greatest all-around entertainer of the 20th Century, and her song 'Over The Rainbow' tops multiple lists as the greatest pop song of the last century.)

The one thing Pickler has going for her that none of the others except Taylor have is that she's entertaining. Even Taylor has lost his entertaining ability the last couple of weeks, leaving the Pickle to shine alone.

[Dashing Dasher]

I just found out they voted Mandisa off....

I loved her!



Sniffle.

(I need to stay in the loop better...)

[b9]

That wonderful performance in the yellow dress

Paris looked stunning in that outfit and hairdo.
The only time she didn't look like an overfrosted cupcake, imo.

[Wolfstar]

Seriously, how redundant can you get? This line immediately followed the previous section I quoted.

You're expecting 'The Sun,' one of London's more, umm, colorful tabloids to observe the Queen's English rules in their writing? ;-)

[Wyatt's Torch]

If she wins then it just confirms the suspicion that AI is a complete joke..... Either that or American's truly are incredibly stupid.

JMHO of course...;-)

[retrokitten]

I know what you mean. It was absolutely silent in the auditorium when they announced she was going home. She will definitely be missed.

[SirLinksalot]

You hearing anything about Taylor's song selection for the night being scrubbed late in the process and him "settling" for the one he sang?

Yes, I got it from various boards as well. That was reported by his keyboardist in a FOX interview. Apparently Taylor's first choice could not be approved ( by TPTB or by the original artists ). So COUNTRY ROADS had to be his second choice. And yes, he looked quite un-enthused by the song.

The thing you have to understand about Taylor and even great singers like the dearly departed Eva Cassidy is they are close crowd performers. They sing in very informal settings like a bar, a club or a blues alley where you don't have more than 50 people listening to you.

The power of their attraction lies in a slow crescendo to a climax. It's a story they want to slowly spin and build until it reaches a soaring conclusion.

Listen for example to Taylor's outstanding version of GEORGIA... it was close to 7 minutes long with long guitar riffs in between that started slowly and then climaxed into an outstanding burst of bluesy passion.

Most of Taylor's songs in his CDs are like that. They last close to 4 minutes long.

One other singer who performs that way (similar to Taylor Hicks ) is the now departed but glorious singer -- Eva Cassidy. Just listen to her versions of say, FIELDS OF GOLD and SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW ( which has been emulated in AI by Tamyra Gray and Kim Locke)... it's the same. They start slowly and then build into a climax in the end. Her songs are seldom less than 4 minutes long.

Why am I saying this ? Well, to simply tell you that a venue like American Idol cannot do justice to the delibarate styles of guys like Taylor Hicks or maybe Eva Cassidy. A 90 minute song hardly lets you build on it before you already have to end. Notice the version of Taylor's TROUBLE.. it was building momentum and then ended in an anti-climax. Hence, the understandably tepid response from Randy, who was expecting more.

Well, what can I say ? If you want to see the real talent of guys like Taylor, you have to give him TIME to perform.

One of the reasons ( among others) why Country Roads was a certifiable disaster for Taylor was simply because of the rush to finish. It ended before it barely began.

[SirLinksalot]

I absolutely agree with this assessment I got from another Idol board poster :

Mandisa's boot seemed predictable for three reasons:

1. The producers have been subtly de-pimping her: Simon has been on record stating strongly that she couldn't win. She hasn't gotten a pimp spot or extra camera time in a while. This show is about glamor as well and her (how do I put it gently), Girth, inspite of her beautiful face and class act, did not help.

2. She's had two mediocre outings in a row accompanied by harsh criticisms--particularly by Simon.

3. The controversy over her association with Christian author Beth Moore ( who is opposed to gay marriage ) probably cost her some votes. While this story didn't hit the mainstream press in a big way, the Advocate and the TV Guide both covered the controversy.

My Hollywood friends tell me that this association caused quite a Hollywood backlash. You don't get support from a community where you live, that gave us among others --- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.

I think it reached enough people to have an impact. If she had a base of Gay voters initially, I imagine many stopped supporting her as the news broke.

Be that as it may, I'm sure we'll be hearing more from Mandisa in the future. I'll be looking forward to her gospel album. George Huff did quite well with his. I see no reason why this won't happen to Mandisa.

[Netizen]

What really goes on inside ‘American Idol’
By KAYE VILLAGOMEZ, Manilla Bulletin Online

_Fashion help. Contestants get fashion help from the show’s production staff. Confined to their respective close door practices, the contestants are given few choices on what to wear, what to look like and how to wear their fashion. There are at least two stylists on board. So when Simon Cowell bickers on a hopeful’s fashion sense, he or she is not much to be blamed for it.