American Idol 2006--Live Thread (Part III)

Fox ^ | 5-8-06

[silent_jonny]

always for Tammy

[StrictTime]

LOL! "Invisible"! We bought that one on Itunes after we heard it on Glenn Beck's radio show and almost wet our pants laughing at the opening phrase, "What...'cha doin' tonight?". Just thinking about it makes me LOL, it's so bad!
BTW, we JUST play that opening phrase over and over again. I've never made it through the whole thing.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Re Meatloaf's stagefright:

(Hopping up on my soapbox for just a minute here ....)

An occasional bout of stagefright can happen to even the most seasoned performer, but when it becomes regular and predictable in certain situations, it has another name: Panic disorder. Just wanted to do a little educating here since many people somehow think this is a moral lapse, or that people who have this are "chicken." Actually, recent twin studies indicate that panic disorder (and its cousins, generalized anxiety disorder and OCD) are genetic in origin, and that about 30 percent of the population has some level of this disorder. (Get sweaty palms and a sick stomach when you have to give a speech? Do long bridges or high towers routinely make you nervous? Guess what, you're in the 30 percent.)

I know all this since I have both panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and I've struggled with them for about 15 years now. I have a lot of sympathy for Meatloaf since my own anxiety disorder wrecked what I hoped would be a career on the stage. (I'm not gorgeous and this isn't a tragedy to anyone but me that I was stymied in my career -- but it threw years of study out the window and made me feel that I was totally worthless for a long time.) Panic can be an odd bird, showing up in some situations but not others. For instance, Meatloaf might be fine in the studio and on stage live, but you put cameras on him and somehow that's too much. However, I hope he gets some treatment for this since anxiety tends to advance, moving from just one particular situation to all parts of your life.

In my case, there is a partial happy ending, since I finally found treatment last year that was effective. So now I can do about 80% of what other people do without worrying about it. I even managed to sing karaoke -- a triumph for me to even get back up on a stage without freaking out. I can now drive over some bridges (I'm getting ready to go over the Golden Gate in a little while here) and do many of the activities I couldn't do before.

Anyway, I just wanted people to realize that this is not a failure of the will, or a moral lapse, or what have you. (I have to admit though, that if Meatloaf *knew* he would probably have a panic attack in this situation, accepting the gig was not a very responsible thing to do.) It is an actual disorder, and while there is some effective treatment now, it apparently is not widely known since so many therapists don't know about it. (If you are in the SF Bay area and want details on the treatment program I went through, just Freepmail me. It was cheap, pretty easy, and it changed my life!!) I'll be out of town this weekend but if anyone has questions or whatever, you know where to reach me.

Thanks!!

(Hopping off soapbox now, trying not to turn ankle ....)

[misterrob]

If he finally releases his long-overdue 2nd album, and his single is good, it will get airplay.

Again, not in my house!!!! :-)

[Netizen]

However, I'll bet radio's willingness to play top AI alumni is there now. AI was still an unproven thing back when Clay's first album was out. If he finally releases his long-overdue 2nd album, and his single is good, it will get airplay.

I think you're right. The numbers look good for Taylor, though! :)

[StrictTime]

I'm not gorgeous and this isn't a tragedy to anyone but me that I was stymied in my career

That is probably the saddest thing I've read all day, Hetty : ( It makes me cringe when I hear of people who have a passion for something give it up because they don't fit into some producer/agent's vision of what is "palatable" and "marketable". That is precisely what is WRONG with pop culture today. With any luck, Taylor Hicks will help change that notion of what constitutes "talented".

And another thing: "The Shining" was on cable a couple of weeks ago. If they remade that movie, do you imagine any actress being able to do the Shelly Duvall part? Any actress that exudes the kind of character that she did in that movie BECAUSE she was not pin-up beautiful would not even be considered. All the producers would want would be Jessica Alba or Angelina Jolie.

[Wyatt's Torch]

"The conventional wisdom is that Katharine is stereotypically the easier to market," says Newman. "She's 22, she's pretty, she can sing, you know, she can be fairly more malleable."

At a time when record sales are in a slump....."

The opinion of the former begets the latter.....IMHO

[SirLinksalot]

Clay should have been bigger but he seems to be touring more and involved with other stuff than making records

According to the New York Post...

* Clay Aiken's first album sold 2.8 Million Units.

* Clay Aiken's Christmas Album has thus far sold 1.5 M units and WILL ALWAYS SELL EVERY YEAR !

* Clay Aiken is the most successful SOLO concert artist of ALL idols ( Kelly Clarkson included ). His Concert tours ( including the Christmas Joyful Noise Tours ) have grossed $27 Million dollars ( as opposed to Kelly Clarkson's $24 Million ).

Not bad for someone the radio stations have generally snubbed.

EDIT TO ADD --- I still hear "This is the Night" and "Invisible" being played on the LITE-FM stations here in New York City/Long Island. So it is not a total snub.

[Netizen]

And another thing: "The Shining" was on cable a couple of weeks ago. If they remade that movie, do you imagine any actress being able to do the Shelly Duvall part? Any actress that exudes the kind of character that she did in that movie BECAUSE she was not pin-up beautiful would not even be considered.

It was remade and Rebecca De Mornay played Duvall's role.

[Wolfstar]

:)

[Wolfstar]

Although those are very early pre-release numbers, they look great for Taylor. :)

[EmilyGeiger]

[Netizen]

* Clay Aiken is the most successful SOLO concert artist of ALL idols ( Kelly Clarkson included ). His Concert tours ( including the Christmas Joyful Noise Tours ) have grossed $27 Million dollars ( as opposed to Kelly Clarkson's $24 Million ).

Too early in Carrie's career to rule her out.

[Wolfstar]

Super WooHoo :)

[EmilyGeiger]

Didn't Donny Osmond suffer from the same type thing? He finally pushed himself to be in the musical Joseph and the technicolor coat(which I have a copy. :)) Said that it was very hard to go on stage. I'm glad he did though because he did a really good job in Joseph. I love it.

[EmilyGeiger]

I am sad to hear you suffer from it. :( Glad to hear you are doing better. :) Best wishes.

[Netizen]

Why Taylor Hicks is 2006’s American Idol

http://news.inq7.net/entertainment/index.php?index=1&story_id=77116

First posted 00:01am (Mla time) May 27, 2006
By Nestor U. Torre
Inquirer



Editor's Note: Published on page A3-1 of the May 27, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

LAST Thursday, the hugely popular “American Idol” singing tilt finally announced this year’s winner -- Taylor Hicks. The prematurely grey-haired unknown got a clear majority of the record-setting 63.4 million votes cast in the grand finals, enabling him to trounce the also gifted and charismatic Katharine McPhee.

Instructive tale

Katharine is a great combination of talent and beauty, so why did more viewer-voters dote on Taylor, the Hick? Therein lies a pop-instructive tale:

When Taylor first auditioned for “American Idol,” judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul found him refreshingly original and feisty, but the chronically ornery Simon Cowell predicted that he wouldn’t survive the next round.

But, wonder of wonders, Taylor did survive. More than that, he was soon attracting a lot of fans who liked his “soulful” approach to performance, and promptly billed themselves as his Soul Patrol.

In time, even the haughty Simon would apologize for scathing disdain for Taylor, and even cited him as one of his top three bets to win the tilt.

For her part, Katharine was also bowling them over, but in a quieter and more gradual way. To be sure, she occasionally came across as nervous and insecure, but there was something “stellar” about her that started to excite viewers, especially after astute packaging enhanced her beauty and appeal, complementing her exceptional singing voice.

In time, Taylor and Katharine emerged as a study in instructive contrasts: He was a down-home original, she was a star in the making; he was all heart and energy, she was the epitome of cool and sophistication.

Idiosyncratic

By rights, the new American Idol should be a star, so that would tip the tilt in favor of Katharine. But, idiosyncratic Taylor excited viewers more, possibly because they could relate to him, and felt that he sang for them.

Taylor’s experience also worked in his favor. At 29, he was the most senior singer in the finals, and the youth-oriented recording industry may have considered him too old to make it as a recording and competent star. But, the show’s viewers obviously disagreed, and with their millions of votes, made him their star, their way.

It was their way of reminding record and concert producers that “manufactured” and “prepackaged” stars are OK, but the talents who really excite the viewing and listening public are those who effect a personal connection with their audience, a “key connect” that makes factors like looks and age irrelevant.

Votes

The huge number of votes cast in this year’s grand finals indicates that Taylor and Katharine’s respective armies of fans went all-out to support them. The fact that Taylor won proves that more people voted from the heart, from America’s Heartland. And that’s uniquely right, because Taylor Hicks is -- all heart!

[StrictTime]

(Remade for TV...! I'm talking big budget Hollywood release)

[Wolfstar]

It was their way of reminding record and concert producers that “manufactured” and “prepackaged” stars are OK, but the talents who really excite the viewing and listening public are those who effect a personal connection with their audience, a “key connect” that makes factors like looks and age irrelevant.

Great article, Netizen. Thanks for posting it. I wholeheartedly agree with the author's paragraph above. Glad to see an entertainment reporter actually write that in our time -- an era in which rap is actually considered music.

[Netizen]

A lot of the remakes aren't very good and I'd rather have a big budget NEW IDEA instead of a remake! :)

[Netizen]

I'm kind of anxious to see if Taylor's success on AI will bring forth some other talented people to give the pop crap a run for their money on AI!