You can read that interview any way you want, and make it sound cocky or confident. Did you hear the interview?
He answered some of the same questions in some of the same ways on AI Extra last night, which I watched. Yes, he thought he had a real good shot at winning and did not think he would be going home yet.
He said initially he didn't think he'd go very far, but the longer he was in the competition and the more he was complimented, the more he thought he "had a shot" at winning.
It WAS NOT "cocky". It was confidence. He was shocked when Ryan announced he was leaving, as were most of the audience and the judges. Randy and Ryan both said they were shocked, and Simon, being Simon said he wasn't shocked, but was "dismayed".
Don't "read" more into the words than were there. He was gracious and appreciative of the opportunity he'd been given.
He's already gotten one offer (which he cannot officially talk about) and will probably get many more offers.
I am going to follow the pattern the great Economist and Author, Thomas Sowell established by writing some of my random thoughts about this interesting sociological phenomenon called American Idol. Here goes....
Simon originally conceived of American Idol in the mold
of the hit British show, Pop Idol. He did not expect it to go beyond 2 seasons.
His original intent was to find the next pop star he could market. Never in his mind did he imagine the show to morph into what it has become today...
Who was the one who started the ROCK trend in American Idol ?
The answer is an obscure guy named Patrick Lake in season 2. In his audition, he said he wanted to bring a "rock" edge to the show...
Even then, Paula and Randy were insightful enough to let Patrick go through. SImon of course said, NO.
Unfortunately, the format then was different. It did not allow for the top 24 to be judged by the public. When Patrick performed in the top 24, the judges were the ones who voted and Pat, instead of choosing a rock song, compromised and mellowed down.
Simon said allowed that putting him through was a big mistake and he was not chosen to continue.
We never heard of Patrick Lake since then ( anyone with any news, please tell me.... ).
We had to wait till Season 4 for Bo Bice and Constantine to come to the picture. Constantine had a unanimpus YES from all 3 judges in the pre-Hollywood phase, while Simon had his doubts about Bo, but let him through anyway.
During the Hollywood auditions, Bo and Connie rocked to the great song -- THE LETTER,and the rest was history.
Come season 5 and now we have a REAL ROCKER with a powerful voice ... Chris Daughtry. Simon said NO in the pre-Hollywood auditions while Randy and Paula, again, insightfully said yes.
It is interesting to note that Simon also said NO to Taylor Hicks (now a favorite to win ) because his objection was he cannot be "commercial".
What are we seeing here ? Let me remind everyone of a phrase that the great economist Joseph Schumpeter used to characterize dynamic capitalism.
Schumpeter characterizes capitalism with the famous phrase "creative destruction" in which old ways of doing things are endogenously destroyed and replaced by the new.
What you are seeing folks, is the business of American Idol RE-INVENTING ITSELF, destroying its old bubble gum pop model to accomodate MORE DIVERSE musical tastes -- ROCK ( Southern and Alternative), SOUL, COUNTRY, catering to the Boomer crowd.
In this sense, I have to say that Simon is the hold-over and Paula and Randy are more far-reaching in their vision for the show. The later two saw where the market was going and promptly decided for CHANGE. Simon, like the Democrats of today who still insist on the old failed Keynesian model, was the major holdover.
Who knows what American Idol would have become had Bo, Constantine, Chris and Taylor not appeared ? My feeling is it would soon DEVOLVE into the same old, same old and lose
viewers.
Will we see more "creative destruction" in season 6 ( e.g., accomodating rap, hip hop and the likes ?). QUE SERA SERA. Let the market decide.
Why did Chris Daughtry, a real favorite among the talking heads and the online futures markets ( AKA Gamblers) reach only as high as the 4th spot ?
I have one additional theory to present other than what was already presented by others....
It can be summarized in the following sentence :
AMERICA CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH ANGER, RAGE AND RESENTMENT.
What do I mean by that ?
Don't get me wrong... Chris is a good guy in his real life. But his rock persona represents --- rage, anger, resentment, depression, rebellion, not conforming, being anti-establishment, Desperation, Suicide, etc.
Just look at the lyrics to the songs he chooses ( when the themes don't prevent him )...Hemmorage, Wanted Dead or Alive, Innuendo, Renegade, I Dare You. It's all varations on the same depressing theme.
Of course we can all emphathize with these songs one way or another, but up to a point, how many of us who watch the show to escape the dreariness of life want to remind ourselves of the depressing fact once again ?
And Chris' fans don't give him a break.... when he switches gears to deliver for us a pleasant change -- WEHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD -- they promptly boycott him, sending him to the bottom 2.
What does Chris' unexpected exit reveal about America ?
I believe, at heart, we are still an optimistic nation that believes in Reagan's Shining City on a Hill. Yes, we know that there is misery in this world, but we believe that we CAN overcome it with our efforts.
Chris' fans are like the Howard Dean wing of the Democrats... they like their man the way they want him to be. The moment he tries to moderate himself, they quickly abandon him.
On the other hand, look at Taylor Hicks... why is he still around ? Simple -- HE GIVES US CAUSE TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT OURSELVES, OUR PAST, OUR FUTURE. He does not take himself or Simon's remarks seriously ( how many times did he just laugh his remarks off ?). Taylor sings about the joys of life, music, love, America... and when he sings about poverty ( IN THE GHETTO, TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS) and jail ( JAIL HOUSE ROCK), he isn't acting crazy or angry or in your face about it ( the persona that Chris presents ). He simply presents these as facts to be dealt with and sings a song to encourage his fellowman to help ( IN THE GHETTO ).
These are the two contrasting faces of America shown in this show.... I am NOT SURPRISED why the optimistic face is still around and why the pessimistic, depressing face went only so far....
Now, some fun...
We have had over 150 songs sang in this show since the top 24 were presented to us. Here are my top 20 performances, which if I could get a full length CD, I'd like to compile ( inno particula order of preference ) :
1) LEVON -- The coming of age of Taylor Hicks. The performance that caused Simon to change his mind and apologize for being an ass.
2) I'M CHANGING --- Lisa Tucker. Her one wonderful performance that showed her emotion. Simon was right when he said - "If we look back, we will say that this song defined the coming of age of Lisa Tucker"
3) THESE FOOLISH THINGS -- Paris Bennet. Holy Guacamolie ! Did Billie Holiday just reincarnate in another body ? INCREDIBLE AND ELECTRIFYING. One of the best ever on the show.
4) THUNDER ROLLS -- Bucky Covington. I was willing to write Bucky off OUT of the top 12. This performance caused me to reconsider. It Fit him and his persona to a "T".
5) WALK THE LINE --- Chris Daughtry. If you could perform a classic and make me forget the original, that says a lot about your performance ( of course, it caused some controversy as he failed to acknowledge LIVE's arrangement, but what the heck, it was still THAT GOOD !).
6) SINCE I FELL FOR YOU --- Kat Mcphee. The prototypical style that Kat should be thriving in. The song that made me realize that -- not only is she going to the top 10, she'll be going deep into the competition.
7) IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME -- Elliott Yamin. Stevie Wonder has always been a disaster for anyone from season 1 to 4 who dared attempt his songs. Elliott Yamin broke the dreaded curse and made Simon remark ( without hyperbole I might add ) : "You have potentially, one of the best voice we've had in all 5 seasons."
8) SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME -- Kat Mcphee. If you can remind me of the girl, Rowena who sang that longing song in the film --- MR HOLLAND's OPUS, you've come of age.
9) I'M EVERY WOMAN -- Mandissa. Made her an early favorite in the competition. If we only had themes that played to her strengths, we would be seeing her still. Still one of the classiest performers and ladies ever.
10) YOU SEND ME -- Taylor Hicks. Who woulda thought that he could turn this classic into something fresh and new with his own unique SOULFUL ending of the song. A very innovative and surprising arrangement.
11) HEMMORHAGE -- Chris Daughtry. WOW ! This is a defining grunge/al-rock performance. THE SONG THAT MADE *FUEL* TAKE NOTICE AND INSPIRED THEM TO CANCEL ALL AUDITIONS FOR LEAD SINGER AND OFFER HIM THE POSITION. INCREDIBLE !
12) WANTED DEAD OR ALICE -- Chris Daughtry. As good if not better than Bon Jovi himself. 'Nuff said.
13) MOODY's MOOD FOR LOVE -- Elliott Yamin. Still his BEST and MOST MEMORABLE effort ever. I don't know how he can top that. In the finals maybe ....
14) FATHER FIGURE -- Ace Young. First impressions last. This performance might have given him 5 more weeks of survival, causing people to forget many of his weak performances from then on. He raised the bar for himself on this one and never reached it again.
15) IT HAD TO BE YOU --- Eliott Yamin. Better than Michael Buble, Better than Harry Connick. Should be on his next CD.
16) A SONG FOR YOU -- Elliott Yamin. So moved Judge Paula to tears and incoherence that she might have been prophetic when she babbled : "You are the American Idol !!".
17) FEVER -- Paris Bennett : One of her performances that truly deserved the UNANIMOUS rave reviews by the judges. She is Peggy Lee personified at this tender age.
18) TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS -- Taylor Hicks : Must be SEEN to be appreciated. Sounded like the reincarnation of Michael Mcdonald and garnered one of the longest non-stop applause ever im American Idol history. The producers were so scared that the applause wouldn't die down and the judges could not get a word in.
19) IN THE GHETTO -- Taylor Hicks : If you could sing an Elvis classic and actually make me FORGET Elvis sang it, you've owned the song. Randy is right, Taylor should record this and dish the AI arrangement and replace it with a simple acoustic, un-plugged version. This is a hit waiting to happen.
20)TEACH ME TONIGHT -- Elliott Yamin. One word -- FANTASTIC. The phrasing, the delivery, the jazzy feel. Heck, who woulda thought Mr. Tumnus would encourage me to make love to my wife after the show ?
Tally of top 20 great performances :
Elliott Yamin 5
Taylor Hicks 4
Chris Daugtry 3
Kat Mcphee 2
Paris Bennett 2
Bucky Covington 1
Lisa Tucker 1
Mandissa 1
Ace Young 1
