Posted on 05/08/2006 4:22:13 AM PDT by silent_jonny
That's very kind of you, thank you :)
I don't think I'll start any new threads for a while. I made the mistake of starting a thread for Fox's Dance show last summer--and I promised myself I would never do that again, LOL :)
But you're welcome to post here any time.
HERE IS A VIDEO OF THE IDOLS IN GRACELAND WITH PRISCILLA PRESLEY AND A HUGE CROWD, COURTESY OF ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT :
http://images.thevoiceinstitute.com/idol_memphis.wmv
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-05-08-idol-coaches_x.htm?POE=click-refer
COACHING THE IDOLS : THE FINAL FAVORITES TO WIN IT ALL
The final four come under the scrutiny of our American Idol coaches —Rich Martini, Don Waller, Gene Sculatti and Rona Elliot. Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee are top-seeded on their ballots, while Elliott Yamin and Chris Daughtry sound a little seedy to the panel.
No. 1: Taylor Hicks: Something int he way he sings
Martini: Taylor's baaaack. It was fun to see him pull out the stops and knock at least Something out of the park, and have a solid double with his funky-white-boy version of Play That Funky Music. Let's face it, Taylor is a funky white boy, and has the most memorable voice, from an iPod POV, of any of the remaining Idols.
He has a bit of the best of Bill Clinton in him: Southern charm, sense of humor, and he's the guy most likely to garner a crowd while he rolls up his sleeves for the chicken and grits at the table. And he's probably the guy who will be elected to the highest office in the land, the Idol office that is, if he keeps up this enthusiasm and singing ability.
His choice of one goofy and one solid-gold tune was right on the money; and even his back flop with Ryan Seacrest will endear him to the Idol denizens.
A trip to Graceland will be like going home for him — being an Alabama boy, his roots are the same as the King from Tupelo. Velvet paintings aside, a Hicksville version of Hound Dog might be a natural fit for Taylor, but then so would Jailhouse Rock or Burnin' Love.
Waller: Solid vocal on Play That Funky Music, but his vaunted dance moves were more enthusastic than inspired — and all too familiar, especially at this stage in the contest. (If he was in the James Brown band, he'd have been fined a week's wages for that performance alone.)
Considering George Harrison wrote Something with Ray Charles in mind, I expected "Grey" Charles to get a little closer to downtown soulville than he did.
I'd prefer he went straight to the blue-eyed soulful side of Elvis (Suspicious Minds is the obvious choice) and kept the clownin' to a minimum. But if he has to do something uptempo, he'll be fine — providing he tightens up his choreography.
Sculatti: Say what you will about his asymmetric dancing or his energy surplus, he's the sole singer here with any real personality. None of his co-finalists would've clowned it up as he did on Play That Funky Music, but it's unlikely any of them would have delivered George Harrison's Something (easily the night's classiest piece of material) as coolly, since, as vocalists, all three hold lifetime memberships in Overheaters Anonymous.
Taylor held his ground, and I wouldn't discount his "real-ness" and natural affability as crucial assets in the final weeks.
Elliot: Taylor is the guy who keeps this race about something other than just musical talent. It's not that you don't need the musical talent, but Taylor also has charisma, an undeniable and certainly most mysterious and elemental component of stardom.
People love Taylor and relate to his obvious joy. Which is not to say there aren't Idol fans out there tired of his grin and performing antics, but I'd say most folks are on his side, because he's still in the game and there are only four people left. His singing style alone, I believe, would not have gotten him to this point.
Personally, I would have preferred to be in an altered state, which I wasn't, while Taylor sang Play That Funky Music, not so I could have partied hard with him, rather that I wouldn't have had to deal with his version of the song. The original tune was perfect, and all of his dancing and funky-chicken movements did nothing to enhance the original or make me forget it. Taylor was cute and obviously had fun with the song, but it was not Idol-esque. It was not going to get him crowned the victor in this race.
Something, by George Harrison, was better — a more beautiful song may not exist for me. Taylor delivered it with soul and restraint, the restraint part being unusual for him, but it was convincing. He also showed the power of his singing, which is often overlooked and overshadowed by shtick.
So Something was a good choice for him, and undoubtedly pulled the heartstrings of other boomers besides me who picked up the phone to vote.
It's universally thought that Taylor has an advantage with this week's Elvis tribute because Taylor is in his own territory. The blue-eyed soul and the Southern-roots thing should be a slam-dunk for him. Taylor's challenge then will be to find a song and not make a caricature of it. He needs to make it burn and make people forget Elvis' version, not an easy task, because people will be comparing the two, fair or not. Yes, keep the joy and fun thing going, Taylor, but get inside the song so we momentarily forget how the King did it. Deliver us with soul!
Taylor's likability factor is so strong that the final weeks in this race could turn on it. But Taylor, imagine yourself in some big arena with 10,000 people watching your every move; what is going to distinguish your performance? Personality alone will not cut it. You need the whole package.
No. 2: Katharine McPhee: No power ballads, please
Martini: McPhee on her knees was quite the tease. Against All Odds is an apt title for Katharine's journey to the final four, from a tentative debut to the rockin' version of Black Horse and the Cherry Tree that she knocked out of the park. I wasn't alone in predicting her chops would allow her to sail under the wire and through to the end, but she's going to have to continue to create a diversion to stop the Chris/Taylor juggernaut. At this stage, the audience's judgments seem to become a personality contest, with people voting for their favorite smile, rather than their favorite singer, so the more fun she has onstage, the further she'll go.
Katharine can wring emotion out of a simple song, and she has been busy taking elaborate tunes and proving she can hit almost all of the notes. My choice for her would be to take a simple heartbreaking love song and give it all she's got. In this case, Love Me Tender and Are You Lonesome Tonight are two songs she could score with, but in light of her playful side, Hard Headed Woman would be an apt but coy choice.
Waller: You wouldn't have thought it was possible, but that version of Against All Odds featured more obviously blown notes than gratuitiously inappropriate smiles from the odds-on choice to play Shannen Doherty's role when Hollywood decides to remake Heathers. And while Black Horse and the Cherry Tree was certainly a left-field choice of material, her vocal kept slip-sliding around with all the grace of a gazelle on snowshoes. Of course, when you're crawling around the stage with all the dignity of a legless pole-dancer, how many people are going to notice?
She can't move convincingly enough to sell a flat-out rocker a la Wanda Jackson's 1960 hit cover of Elvis' Let's Have a Party, but almost anything from late-'60s Memphis-era Elvis (Suspicious Minds, for example) would work. And please — please — PLEASE, don't indulge your taste for inspirational power-ballads (If I Can Dream).
Sculatti: Unlike Paris, Kat this week showed a fresh side. The knee-pads and box drums helped, but it was her loose, fun run through the Tunstall tune that did it. Finally, she chose — and sang — a song that seemed like it went with her perpetual smile. The performance trumped her apprentice-like take on Phil Collins' Against All Odds.
She's now, belatedly, moved up to real contender status, but she'll have to be at least this impressive next week.
Elliot: It's almost hard to forgive Katharine for her choice of Phil Collins' predictable power ballad Against All Odds from the year of her birth. Despite my intense loathing of Phil Collins' ballads, (which I sing along with anyway), I forgive her anyway; I can't help it. This young woman has the whole package — the charisma, the voice, the soul, the presentation — that I believe sets her apart from her competitors.
So despite her just OK interpretation of the ballad, she not only acquitted herself but redeemed herself completely with her delivery of Black Horse and the Cherry Tree against all odds. This oddball hit, delivered on her knees accompanied by handsome hunky men with drums, was a home run. She was sassy, sexy, soulful, playful, gorgeous and laughing at herself. She showed she could get out of the long gown thing and get down, literally. She needs more of that.
Katharine needs coaching to pick less-predictable ballads. She's shown over and over she can sing them until the cows come home. Now, it's time to pick some more subtle, personal and meaningful songs that show her strength but also show her personality.
With Elvis on the loose this week, Katharine needs to pick something a little sly, too, that allows her natural sensuality to couple with her powerful delivery. That's one of the things the King had going on and look where it got him.
Katharine is usually in command on stage, which is why her performance on her knees was such an unexpected and delightful surprise: She let go and you saw it. She needs to find an Elvis tune she can belt from a woman's perspective and invigorate it with all the qualities and commitment she's shown she can bring to a song, and make you forget about everyone else.
No. 3: Elliot Yamin: Where's the wow factor?
Martini: Despite a solid double with On Broadway, and a rocket single with Home, it feels as if it will take extra innings to keep Chris from heading in the direction of home plate this week. Elliott has done a yeoman's job on this show, and has really blossomed as of late. He comes off like a charming guy, but when all is said and done, it feels like he's warming up for the Idol Tour and not trying to snatch the Idol batting crown away from the rest of his team.
However, Elliott still has the ability to throw a solid curve into this round, and it will be fun to see which song from the Elvis oeuvre he chooses. Will it be a song title that was as prescient from the previous evening as singing the lyric "I want to go home?"
He might be careful of choosing Return to Sender, or maybe go the other way with a shout-out to Simon: Don't Be Cruel. But Elliott should nota bene: It's Now or Never.
Waller: Continues to perform like he's wearing a truss. All that finger-snapping shtick during On Broadway was so reminiscent of Bill Murray's old Saturday Night Live lounge-singer character that I kept expecting him to break into "Star Wars — nothin' but Star Wars" any second.
Home was at least professionally sung, but the cumulative effect was more sleep-inducing than a plateful of chocolate-chip cookies and a glass of warm milk. Producers are doing him a huge favor by making sure the microphone is always obscuring his snaggle-toothed grill.
Any familiar Elvis ballad (Can't Help Falling in Love, blah blah blah) will work next week, so long as he keeps that vibrato in check. Chimpanzees share more of a DNA connection with humans than Elliott does with the rockin' side of Elvis.
Sculatti: He might have fared better had he been able to reverse his song order. The Michael Bublé track is a pretty undistinguished song, and Elliott's George Benson-ized On Broadway at least ran at a higher r.p.m., which might have left viewers and voters with a better impression.
Still, he continues to come across as an earnest contender, a powerful singer who may not be endowed with the "wow" that Simon routinely (and rightly) calls for. Unless he can pull something out of his hat, next week could really take him Home.
Elliot: If there was a compassion vote as this race winds to its finish, it would go to Elliott. There is an enormous groundswell of love and respect for this man and the long way he's come. He's also got the chops, and usually picks great songs to showcase his mastery at delivering moment-by-moment meaning to the song he's singing.
That was lacking this past week. On Broadway just didn't cut it, because among other things it was just too familiar, and there was too much physical movement when he was onstage. Too many disjointed hand movements, crotch-grabbing, flailing arms like a bird trying to take off. It was like a crash course in "How to make modern hip-hop movements your own if you're a mainstream crooner." Painful.
Elliott's rendition of the Michael Bublé song served him better. It was simple and direct and allowed you to focus on his beautiful voice and lyrics, but unfortunately it was stone-cold mediocre in my book. Nice, but not thrilling like A Song for You.
A tip for Elliott: I remember seeing Elvis sing in Las Vegas when he was the size of a beached whale. Even with the tacky jumpsuits it made no difference. You just stopped breathing when he was onstage. You couldn't take your eyes off him. The man had Charisma with a capital C, emanating effortlessly from every pore in his body. He wasn't working it, it was who he was.
This is where Elliott needs to focus his attention to stay in this competition. Inside himself. Of course, he needs to get relaxed with his song choice, something with an interesting and complex rhythmic pattern. But for Elliott it's about where he's at with himself when he's onstage. When he's relaxed in his song, he's more confident. When he's more confident, you see his natural charm and charisma emerging and you start rooting for him. So Elliott, to stay in the race, show us that confidence we know is there one more time or you'll be packing your bags this week or next.
No. 4: Chris Daughtry: Ditto on the ballads
Martini: Chris chose two songs that sounded like they came from the same track. Renegade felt like it merged somewhere into I Dare You, and the higher register of Chris' voice began to melt like the polar ice caps.
Admitting he'd done five rehearsals that day, he proved he's giving it all he's got; however, a seasoned pro learns to hold back his "performance voice" till curtain time. As for song choice, when he was able to choose two songs, why not pick ones from the opposite sides of the plate?
Chris has a powerhouse voice, but he's also got the ability to croon with the best of them, and he needs to focus on his ability to connect with the audience for these final shows, or it won't matter if he can get that upper register back. This will probably be a neck-and-neck race to the finish with Taylor, that other Southern charmer.
Methinks Chris will score with Elvis. The question is if he can have as much fun as the King did onstage, and not take himself too seriously. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear would be a nice switch for him, as would an Elvis the Pelvis version of All Shook Up.
Waller: If there was any justice in the next world, covering Styx would guarantee this faux-rocker a place in Hades. How come he wasn't crushed by a miniature version of Stonehenge?
As for I Dare You, let's just say that if he ever records a Christmas album, we can expect to hear everything from Jingle Bells to Silent Night sung in the same woolly mammoth-trapped-in-the La Brea tarpits voice. Except trapped mammoths generally do a better job of trumpeting their pain, especially in their upper registers.
Gotta be Jailhouse Rock next week. (He can borrow the Jeff Beck Group in which Rod Stewart was the lead vocalist's arrangement.). If he turns in another strained ballad, the Elvis in me is gonna shoot out my TV set.
Sculatti: Quick, get this guy to an arena (wrestling or bullfight) where he can bellow freely. This week's two-song requirement really exposed the limitations of the show's designated "rocker."
If it's standardized, '90s bad-boy posing that voters prize above all else, so be it. If there's a God, how about some props for emotional range, warmth and (would it be too much to ask?) a touch of humor?
Elliot: After lo these many weeks, I'm resigned to the fact that Chris just has bad taste in rock 'n' roll, incomprehensible as that may seem. I know he's the odds-on favorite in this race, but this viewer for one is exhausted from watching his strained, dour rock 'n' roll pose week after week. The obligatory chain hanging off the paints, the tedious black outfits! It feels like I'm witnessing a one trick pony in action.
There were the standard 365 days in 1979, and I just know there had to have been a better song choice than the one Chris picked. Weeks of being subjected to songs from Styx and Creed and now Shinedown have worn me down, and I feel trapped on the road to rock hell complete with burning flames onstage (which we've also seen before) as the backdrop. Can you imagine paying the big bucks to go to a concert and hearing Chris sings 12 tunes like these? Help!
Chris has both a tender side and a beautiful voice, which he aptly drew on during the song What a Wonderful World a few weeks back. We need to see and hear those qualities again to be reminded there's more than his "I stand alone as the alienated, misunderstood man " routine, which has worn thin.
An Idol needs some versatility — how else to sustain a career that doesn't flame out after a few years? Move around onstage, Chris and move your body, not just the mike stand. You're trapped in an act that has one note. To quote Bono, "You've got yourself stuck in a moment and you can't get out of it."
This week when you're picking your Elvis song, remember the King was all about sexy and rocking and rhythmic songs delivered with a sly wink and a nod to the audience. He always knew the whole thing was preposterous! He was dubbed Elvis the Pelvis, for God's sake. So when you're flipping through the Elvis catalogue, think about that and include it in your act.
Take a card from Taylor's songbook too, Chris. Laugh at yourself some. Let the audience know you think all of this competition is funny and fun too. Come up with an Elvis tune with palpable heart and soul and sex of course, but humor too. You've got the rock bona fides down, now, expand your repertoire.
Coaches' ratings for last week:
Martini: Taylor, Katharine, Chris, Elliott
Waller: Elliott, Taylor, Katharine, Chris
Sculatti: Katharie, Taylor, Elliott, Chris
Elliot: Katharine, Taylor, Elliott, Chris
Bonus musings from Don Waller:
Last week's show: Another ridiculous theme night, courtesy the show's increasingly clueless producers. What's next? Songs that were originally sung in Disney movies and songs that were once available on 8-track tapes?
Meanwhile, the songs were so sliced 'n' diced to fit all 10 of 'em into the hour-long show that all the contestants' performances seemed even more disjointed than usual, and it was extremely difficult for anyone to build any kind of momentum within the time allotted to each tune.
More shockingly, especially for this late in the competition, there were no standout performances — every one was (at best) mediocre. And absolutely no one put their own stamp on the material.
The departed Paris Bennett: As the most consistent performer every week, she can do anything she wants in her post-Idol life. Hook her up with any decent producer and she could easily make a chartbusting R&B record. She can always transition into singing standards, jazz, etc. Or she can become the doctor she said she wanted to be. The world certainly needs more of 'em than it does pop singers.
Given her considerable vocal skills — and shaky spot in the standings — I expected her to roar through Kiss as if she were the reincarnation of one of James Brown's "funky divas" (Vicki Anderson, Lyn Collins, Marva Whitney, et al.), which she didn't. 'Twasn't bad, but 'twasn't anything magical about it either. Be Without You showed her voice is as good as anyone on urban contemporary radio — including Mary J. Blige, whose elevation to contemporary diva status speaks more about her lack of generational competition than anything else — but that's a threadbare piece of material that no one will be covering in five, 10, 15 years, and there wasn't enough room to allow the dramatics to build in anything resembling an organic manner.
Next week's theme: Elvis Presley + Tommy Mottola = ?!?!?! Well, obviously, they weren't going to have Lisa Marie Presley giving the career advice.
The Presley catalog is as vast as America itself. Easily something for everyone there.
She was singing during all that?
I hadn't noticed.
Quick question for you all: Why is text messaging a more important way to vote than via phone? I don't even know how to vote that way.
My understanding is that it goes through a lot quicker and doesn't get 'busy' signals.
You find the best stuff! Thanks for the link. :)
"What am I doing? I don't even watch reality shows and think they're stupid, and here I am commenting on one!! HELP!"
I guess you do watch ! :) I started watching during the Ruben/Clay battle. I think you can say Elliott is the real thing. Katharine is lovely, but I want a guy to win. In order, I like Taylor, Elliott, Chris and Katharine.
I work in an office environment similar to that and yes, it was sooo funny! Jim's snickering at himself did not really seem like acting to me. Dwight (I think his name is Rainn - he had hippie parents, he said) is so right on and into character.
mark
Then how about these? :)
They're screencaps from the video SirLinks provided in post #222
And the Crypt Keeper :)
Thank God it was only a rumor!!
The key is that everyone feels qualified to judge these contestants and we are told that our opinion matters (they count our votes). The fact that Randy and Paula are punchlines has nothing to do with our belief that we are qualified to judge whether people can sing or not and whether they are entertaining or not and whether they are pretty or not-- the 3 things judged on AI. I don't watch dancing reality shows because I don't feel qualified to judge that. People also like to believe that a celebrity owes them for their success and AI taps into that. And AI makes these celebrities more humble because they have to literally beg us to stay on the show.
And people like to be entertained and they like to hear good singing and they like to look at pretty people, and usually that's what they get from AI. AI also tries to make sure that even bad singers are entertaining, to the extent that they can. Bad and boring is bad business.
AI also is smart to make AI seem larger than life so you feel weird for not following the show-- like you're a hermit. Big stage, big audiences, big ratings. bright lights. People are attracted to it like moths to a flame.
AI also keeps some information from us-- quite a bit, actually. They are playing hard to get and that tactic works in TV just like in romance. They don't tell us what songs the singers will sing, they don't give out vote totals and are even loathe to tell how people rank in vote totals. That makes people tune in to find out and it makes people gossip online about what they think is the truth about the things that aren't shared with them. People leak rumors and viewers eat it up-- just like political leaks and scandals.
People also question if the show is rigged because of this. If its rigged then our votes mean nothing and neither do the two hours spent voting in vain.
We men are simple creatures.
Wow, how old is Priscilla Presley ?
I'd say that she must be in her 60's.
But boy, she looks good. If I didn't know, I'd say she was in her late 40's and Lisa Marie was her sister.
I wonder if she had plastic surgery... wealthy people and all that ....
Perception is reality, just like in politics, and the perception is still that they count the votes-- to at least guide the producers.
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