American Idol 2006--Live Thread (Part III)

Fox ^ | 5-8-06

[silent_jonny]

always for Tammy

[Netizen]

Oldest 'Idol' can translate into success
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060526/ap_en_mu/idol_hicks_future_6


By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer Thu May 25, 11:18 PM ET

NEW YORK - Despite his Jay Leno look, a soulful voice that recalled another era and a manic, rhythm-less dancing style, Taylor Hicks beat the odds (and a comely Katharine McPhee) to become this year's "American Idol."
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Hicks emerged as the clear favorite in what was perhaps the nation's most watched (and hyped) competition outside the Super Bowl. But while there may be millions of fans in the "Soul Patrol" — the frenzied fan base of the Alabama native — Hicks faces a more difficult challenge ahead as he tries to make the leap from reality television sensation to established hitmaker.

Even Clive Davis, the record mogul and legend who has guided the careers of previous "Idol" winners
Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia,
Ruben Studdard and Carrie Underwood, says the transition is not as simple as it seems.

"They then enter the world of making records," said Davis. "It's a totally different world."

The very things that made Hicks so endearing and engaging to a television audience might be a hard sell in the pop world.

First of all, there's his advanced age — well, advanced for "Idol." At 29, he's the oldest winner, and while the pop world has recently become less youth-centric — James Blunt and Daniel Powter are two recent acts to make a splash despite not being part of the Clearasil set — Hicks' soulful voice, which perfectly suited classic soul records, may not translate easily on pop radio.

"I think his personality and his sound is a little bit mature," says Devo "Springsteen" Harris, a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer who has worked with Kanye West and John Legend.

"I just don't see Taylor Hicks sound right over hard drums or bright production, which I think are prevalent in pop music."

Then there's his herky-jerky dancing — clearly he might need
Paula Abdul's help on the choreography side.

And don't get us started on the outfits.

"I didn't like his clothes and neither would you," says Steve Stoute, a former music industry exec whose company, Translations Marketing, links A-list music stars with commercial products.

"If your favorite recording star had those clothes on, you wouldn't even go there."

But Stoute is quick to add that he believes Hicks will make the successful, platinum jump from "Idol" like his predecessors, thanks in part to Davis, who has molded superstars like Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys and jump-started the careers of veterans including Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart and Aretha Franklin.

"He's definitely, definitely got the vocals to compete on the big stage, which is the recording industry," says Stoute. "I believe Clive Davis can fill in the gaps."

Davis, who plans to sit down with Taylor very soon to map out his debut album, says Hicks, like past "Idol" winners, has charisma and a unique singing style that will help him establish his pop audience.

"He definitely has his own sound," says Davis. "He does have that gift, you know who it is when you hear him."

John Shanks, a Grammy-winning producer of the year who has worked with artists ranging from
Sheryl Crow to Bon Jovi, says the material that Hicks picks for his CD, due out in the fall, will be the key.

"It comes down to the song, and it's how you produce that song. As long as your showcasing his voice, you have something that people can connect to, that's gonna work," he said.

Stoute echoed that sentiment.

"Now that we've gotten beyond him singing covers and other people's hits, it's time to see how he takes an original song, owns it and makes it his," he said. "That's going to be the true test of how he does in the recording industry ... how well he embraces new material."

And what will that material be? Adult contemporary? Pop? R&B? Classic soul?

*****Davis says that can't be determined until he talks with Hicks and sees what kind of music Hicks prefers, and whether he plans to contribute in the songwriting process.*****

And Shanks says the combination of Hicks' quirks — and his talent — may be what makes him the next pop idol.

"I think people relate to him because he was willing to put himself out there very honestly, and people want someone who is maybe a little left of center; they want a variety," said Shanks.

"Here's this guy, gray-haired, 29 years old, an underdog — until he opens his mouth," he adds. "It's nice when talent shines through."

[floridaobserver]

'Idol' Reject Peddles CD
Corey Clark

May 26, 1:15PM ET) -- 'American Idol's' Taylor Hicks is on top of the world right now. But he shouldn't get too big for his britches just yet -- they could find themselves peddling CDs on the streets of LA just like one of their predecessors.


As Hicks was winning 'Idol' finale, just a few blocks away 'Idol''s second-season finalist Corey Clark was outside a Coffee Bean on Sunset Boulevard selling his rock CD, titled 'Corey Clark.'



Even before Tuesday night, the Hollywood hopeful has been seen numerous times in the area peddling his CD -- even in crosswalks. Corey and his friends carry a box of CDs, along with a boombox and posters with the CD cover on them in hopes the public will take interest.


The aftermath of Clark's success on 'Idol' -- and even an alleged affair with 'Idol' judge Paula Abdul -- has left the 'Idol' contestant down on his luck, still in hopes of finding fame and fortune.


http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=1&pmmsid=1653894


I wonder if Paula will buy a copy of Cory's CD?

[Netizen]

And here's a snip from Kat's post-show interview from MTV.com.

About Taylor Hicks, "He definitely knows how to get a crowd going, and that was something I knew he had from the very beginning. There's something very exciting about him when he performs, and he's kinda got the American dream story. He's like the guy who sung in a bar and has gray hair and he's 29, but he looks like he's 39. It's somebody you wouldn't think would be an 'American Idol' � and then he suddenly gets to win and he's got a huge career in front of him.

Wow. I'm glad he suddenly gets to win, without working for it, or deserving it or earning it.

Taylor Hicks Interviews, his thoughts on Kat.

She's such a beautiful young lady and wonderful entertainer, and she's going to have a bright future in whatever endeavor she chooses."

[Netizen]

LOL @ Clark. Had he won he might have been promoted better, but I think his little smear campaign on Paula backfired and he's history.

[Netizen]

I see Michael Jackson is getting an award in Japan and planning a new album for 2007.

Float or Sink?

[tina07]

Thank you!

[Jessica24]

Yeah, Katharine has not come across terribly well in some of her interviews. I'm only giving her the benefit of the doubt because they haven't slept in three days.

But more importantly, and I'm going to phrase this like junior high girl gossip, but... I read on TWOP that someone posted an article on Gray Charles where Taylor said Bill Clinton was one of his favorite presidents. Has anyone else seen this? The sad thing is, it literally made my blood run cold. I don't think I should be having that strong a reaction to either man, but there ya go.

I hope it's just because he plays the sax or something, but after singing like ten social consciousness songs on idol, I highly doubt it. Sigh.

[SirLinksalot]

people want someone who is maybe a little left of center; they want a variety,"

Who Woulda Thunk that Taylor would immediately be adopted by the leftist crowd as their own ??

[Netizen]

Well, I think that interview is old, so it wasn't said after three days of no sleep.

I haven't seen or read anything to indicate Taylor's political affiliation. One of his fan sites made it very clear they wanted to keep Taylor's political beliefs separate from AI. An arguement could be made either way, based on that. I think we probably know Kat's.

[Sue Perkick]

I think we probably know Kat's.

L. Ron Hubbard says.....

[Netizen]

LOL She says she's not a Scientologist, though. She went to a Catholic school, but that doesn't mean anything I guess. Least
I think Notre Dame High School would be a Catholic School.

[Sue Perkick]

I know Nicole Kidman was Catholic before she married Tommy boy. I have heard K Mack went through the Scientology "Purification Rundown". Years ago I attempted to read that one book. Well make that several pages. LOL. Over & over it would read "L. Ron Hubbard says..." I tossed it and never looked back. Seems to be popular in Hollywood. Guess that explains a lot. LOL.

[SirLinksalot]

SIGMUND FREUD, LOUIS RUKEYSER and TWILIGHT ZONE's ROD SERLING, REVIEW SEASON 5's AMERICAN IDOL FROM BEYOND...

---

http://mediafiends.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=7740

American Idol: Reviewing the highlights of Season 5: The Roundtable From Beyond

As I did at the end of last season, here's a short analysis of some of the key points of this season of American Idol. Forgive me if I miss anything.

By DaHouster


To assist me in this, as I pull the great Ouija Board connecting me with - The Afterlife - as Prince would say, is the great doctor who first discovered how reverse psychology works. No, not Simon Cowell, but my good friend, Dr. Sigmund Freud.

With him is the REAL creator of "Idol", the greatest science fiction screenwriter of all time, Mister Rod Serling.

And newly added to the roundtable this season, someone who knows the business end of things and who recently entered the great beyond, the legendary host of PBS's "Wall Street Week", Mister Louis Rukeyser.

Welcome, Gentlemen.

Hi!

Can we get this out of the way? Did you all enjoy last night's Grand Finale?

The Group: We watched it in Rock and Roll Heaven with Bobby Hatfield and a lot of others, and even Frank Zappa and Jerry Garcia joined us. It was great fun, especially watching singers who we think are soon coming here, like Meatloaf and Dionne Warwick. Even Frank and Jerry liked some o it. But Jerry was disappointed that Taylor didn't sing "Touch Of Grey."

Lou: I think the show is trying to win an Emmy. That Clay Aiken extravaganza was very entertaining and good business.

Lets talk about manipulation. Sigmund, you are the expert on that.

Sigmund: Actually, this season was quite refreshing, because the public, all in all, didn't fall that much for the usual attempts by the show's producers at manipulation. For example, no matter how much they tried to push Kellie Pickler into that Kodak Theater, the public finally screamed enough! And booted her.

And no matter how much the show tried to make Chris Daughtry the American Idol, with smoke machines, talk of fanclubs, singing in the final slot, the public didn't buy it. Instead, they picked one of the more unlikely candidates. Shows that the public had its thinking caps on, at least part of the time.

Well Sigmund, how do you account for the run of Katharine McPhee?

Sigmund: Well, unfortunately, it looks like part of it was the theory of reverse psychology working to a tee for Kat Pee. Moe would trash her, especially when it was justified, sometimes Kat would cry, and people responded. Moe knows what he was doing. On Tuesday night, Moe was very, very careful to "soft pedal" the negative comments on Katharine, so as not to unleash the reverse psychology vote.

Lou: Well, Sigmund, you have to admit that Katharine is a very beautiful product. Nice packaging, too. No wonder her stock is stil pretty high.

What about Elliott Yamin?

Sigmund: Ah, my Lantzman! I am so happy that people used their brains and ears. Sometimes, psychology is not needed when talent is involved.

There were certain other psychological factors working during part of the season. I think the Brittenum Twins were a smokescreen to mkake sure the audience wasn't influenced too early by any single contestant. Also, in the earlier stages, there seemed to be some repressed class envy between those who voted for Ayla Brown and those who voted for Melissa McGhee. Sure, Ayla took a big risk with her last song, but some of it had to do with Ayla's parents being so prominent and wealthy, while Melissa was a blank slate.

But Sigmund, when I went on the internet, most people liked Melissa because of her boobs.

Sigmund: Forget everything I just said. You are right, its the McBoobs!

But the other combination, Chicken Little vs. Will Makar vs. Gedeon McKinney. Fascinating. Gedeon was clearly the superior singer, and yet he had an off-putting personality on camera and smiled a little inappropriately. Will was sweet, but bland. But High Schools across America are filled with Chicken Littles, and it looks like the disproportionate female audience was very taken with him.

Lou: Can I interject? I think Sigmund is on the right track, but in terms of business, who is likely to be the more popular "stock"? People tend to support the most familiar product, with the lowest potential for harm. Gedeon simply did not appeal to the majority of the audience, personality-wise. Too many Will Makars in America would make a better prom date than an "Idol", but the geeky-looking stock that everyone wants a piece of? Its no wonder that Chicken Little did best of those three at the initial Idol Public Offering.

Rod, how do you feel about this season? I know last year, you pulled off a huge coup with a complete robot installation in a blonde girl that you named Carrie Underwood.

Rod: Yeah, and we've added a lot more advanced software to her module over the past year.

Actually, I was able to take it a little easier this season. The show needed me to create only one full bot. I just used modules in the rest. We did this in Hollywood by having my guys, especially Greg Morris, "Barney" on "Mission: Impossible", sneak into the kids' hotel rooms while sleeping, knock them out with chloroform, and install the proper module.

For example, we put a "spring" module in Chicken Little's a**, because he couldn't move at all. This way, he was able to dance like a complete dork into the hearts of America.

But no other work was needed on Kevin. His great response to Moe when he made the final 12, "I wasn't expecting much from you anyway", is totally becaue Kevin is a New Yorker, and knows how to face down a sarcastic Brit.

We added a little sliding clothespin to Lisa Tucker's eyebrows.

We tried to fix Mandisa, but she had no expansion slots left in her module.

In Bucky, we placed a toggle switch. Country crooner, and nassaly rocker.

What happened to Bucky last night, Rod?

Rod:The toggle switch malfunctioned, so he had to be just Bucky when he sang "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head."

The only adjustment we had to make to Ace Young was after he developed that flesh-eating bacteria. The shop has no meathead modules. And the shop would win a Nobel Prize for engineering if we had developed Kellie Picker software. We don't have an "I'm With Stupid" model.

We did have to put a few modules in Paris Bennett. Anyone could tell that.

Here's my biggest secret of the year: Chris Daughtry was a bot.

Sigmund and Lou: NO!

Rod: Its true. He's from the great beyond, The Twilight Zone. And it was so easy to make him. All I did was design a loop tape with the scientific formula for "90's alternative rock." Voila!

Oh, and Katharine McPhee -- we had her at Universal Studios. She was a Mannequin in that Department Store that was played in that movie by Kim Cattrall. She was even easier than Chris to make. We had a "generic standards and ballads singer" loop tape put into her.

What about Elliott Yamin?

Rod: He's a real human being. It would take me a decade to create a bot like that! By the way, I really wished they had a disco night, so someone could sing that song "The Twilight Zone."

How about you, Lou? What are your thoughts?

Well, the earlier rounds were not a surprise. Melissa McGhee, drop-dead gorgeous, was not given any kind of ad campaign at all, so the product failed.

I think we call it "lack of pimping", Lou.

Lou: Okay. Chicken Little just couldn't score with the voters who vote exclusively on talent. Or maybe they just couldn't stand the sight of him! And Mandisa was easy. Young women are just not going to vote for a large woman who looks like their school crossing guard. And the fact that young women disproportionately watch this show explains Ace Young's placement.

The turning point of the season had to be the ouster of Chris Daughtry. To what do you attribute it, Lou?

Lou: Its all a matter of appealing to your customer. First of all, Paris Bennett got booted the week before, and it was a tough sell for Chris to pick up the support of her fans. If you bought Chris's stock in March, you might buy more shares in May, but if you didn't buy his stock at first, chances are you wouldn't have liked it later. But more to the point, I doubt that a lot of customers who vote on this show like straight up pop-rock or 90's style alternative. Chris made the major mistake of not knowing his market. And on top of that, he got a lot of swing voters mad at him when he sang that Live alternative cover to the Johnny Cash song, then later on sang that loud Creed song. So Big H, you may have loved Chris, but there was no way he was going to win and have his stock split.

And to top it all off, Chris sang a lot of obscure rock songs that the target market never heard, like that Shinedown song. He had a similar problem as Elliott Yamin, obscure songs.

Its actually a testament to their talent that Chris and Elliott finished as high as they did.

How do you explain Taylor Hicks?

Rod: I wish I created him, but he's a natural. I could never create a character like that. We didn't even make a "Soul Patrol" Loop Tape.

Sigmund: Taylor is a master strategist. He went from a dorky, dumpy, harmonica-playing roots/blues singer, to a soulful pop/rock/blues singer in a matter of a few months. He made adjustments just at the right times. And in the Finale on Tuesday, he sang songs he had sung many weeks ago, unlike Katharine. People like hearing something relatively fresh.

Lou: Taylor is a master strategist. He adapted his product, singing/songwriting, to the target audience, showing some versatility and a lot of growth. And he added tons of cheesy personality that he had to know would be a hit with the target audience.

I think as we hear more from him and more of his music, Taylor's stock will show steady growth with lots of dividends in the short-term. No wonder Taylor's stock is at an all-time high tonight on the American Idol Stock Exchange. He's on my "Buy" list.

Whose on your sell list?

Lou: Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice (sellout!). By the way, Kelly Clarkson's stock is in my IRA's and 401K's -- she's a great stock for long-term investment and growth potential.

And I have to give credit to the show, for getting a Top 5 who are just plain great products. Big H, buy some stock in News Corporation. But sell it next year if the show doesn't improve the lousy themes of this year, which seemed more to be promotional vehicles for artists with new albums out, it could lose its lustre. Go back to the 60's, 70's and 80's type theme nights. And make sure there's lots of talent in the Top 24, and maybe a little less "distinctive" personality.

[Jessica24]

With permission to be bitchy... More fun with Kat!

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but I was hyperventilating by the end of it. I'm evil that way.

A play-by-play of Kat's rally Wed night (I have no idea how to to URLs on here. Sorry):

http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/american_idol/002190.php

Embarrassing admission: I totally love "Do I Make You Proud." Yes it's completely cheesy, but I don't care. It's been stuck in my head for days.

Also, I haven't cared about the Dixie Chicks in years, but watching them insult their entire fan base, the legendary Reba McEntire, AND piss off the harpies at The View has been hilarious. Keep up the good work, girls!

[floridaobserver]

Do you only music that was produced or written by Republicans? I am pretty sure Burt Bacharach is a Democrat, so you will have to stop listening to his songs.

[Jessica24]

Oh. Apparently THAT'S how you do URLs. Never mind :)

One more then. Here's the cover of Taylor's single.

http://www.americanidolmusic.com/store/index2.html

[Netizen]

I know Nicole Kidman was Catholic before she married Tommy boy.

I'm not sure she changed. Seems I read that she was NOT into the Scientology thing at all.

I have heard K Mack went through the Scientology "Purification Rundown".

Yeah I read that she said she dated a guy that was a scientologist, so she went a couple of times or something but that was it.

Years ago I attempted to read that one book. Well make that several pages. LOL. Over & over it would read "L. Ron Hubbard says..." I tossed it and never looked back. Seems to be popular in Hollywood. Guess that explains a lot. LOL.

What little I have read or seen about it, was enough to cure me of any interest in it, of itself. I am curious though how people that you would think sane, can get involved with it?

I think its going to be a sticking point with Katie Holmes and her parents and Tommy boy.

[Jessica24]

Of course not. I was being melodramatic. It just surprised me that politics were brought up at all. Forgive me.

[EmilyGeiger]

You know, I'm more than willing to purchase his stuff, just to get these jerks that are so enlightened to shut up. I'm sick of their garbage..... rant over. Sorry but it really is nauseating.

[Netizen]

This is good!

That read is hilarious!