American Idol 2005--Live Thread

3-15-05

[silent_jonny]

AMERICAN IDOL 2005
LIVE THREAD

[kevkrom]

Better late than never? I know the results are out already, but here's my take this week...

I thought the theme would be really fun, but it seemed an excuse for several of the contestants to choose a "safe" song within their own style. Of course, that seemed to work, since those in their comfort zones ranked high on my chart this week.

1. Anwar -- I can't say I really enjoyed this, but there was nothing obviously wrong with it, either. This was easily his best and most consistent performance of the finals.
2. Vonzelle -- The transition was a bit rough... it almost seemed like she was over-singing. Other than that, I just enjoyed watching and listening to her. I'm moving Vonzelle up from my "dark horse" to my favorite to win it all.
3. Bo -- I didn't want to score him this high... it says more about how everyone else did, as compared to how Bo did. This was a very vanilla cover of "Freebird", lacking any real vocal energy, but otherwise sound.
4. Carrie -- I think she needed to show she can break out of type, so in that this was a success, but the song choice was a waste of her voice. She also needs to do something other than just rock side to side while singing. I'll use the dreaded "unconvincing" word here.
5. Constantine -- The vocals were just not really there, especially in the first and last parts; the middle was quite good. He performed the song quite well, though I would have dropped the tag on the end, as it sounded more like an afterthought than a finish.
6. Anthony -- I finally have managed to peg why Anthony bothers me... he seems like he would fit in better as the lead singer of a "boy band" than as a soloist. Until I say otherwise, assume that "good singing, lousy presence" applies to Anthony.
7. Nadia -- I thought it was a good opening to the show, but each successive singer (save Scott) just simply did better. I think it was a mistake to try to do "pop" while Vonzelle is still going as strong as she is... was this a botched tactical attempt to get Vonzelle voted off?
8. Scott -- Not as dreadful as the last two weeks, especially in losing that "thinness" of vocal quality. However, it still is simply not good enough at this stage to muddle through verses just to get to the choruses -- the song needs to exhibit consistency as well as quality (see Anwar's improvement as a contrast).

[TonyWpi]

Earlier I posted the AOL poll results. It's been a pretty good guideline so far this year as the votes seem to mirror the actual phone votes:
As of now...they're all off:
Here's what they have:

Bo - 35%
Carrie - 26%
Lt. Dan - 16%
Vonzell and Anwar at 5%
and the bottom three - Nadia, Anthony and Scott with 4% each.

I'll bet too many out there thought Bo was "safe" and voted for someone else.

But it I were Carrie, I'd be worried about Vonzell. She's moving in on her pretty fast.
The questions is "who gets Nadia's votes???"

[Netizen]

Neil Diamond is my fav and has been for a lot of years. I would love it if they did have his music as a theme.

[over3Owithabrain]

Good takes. I'm amazed that Savol can botch so many notes in a song but get a pass because he sounds good at times. Are people still so shocked that a few good sounds can slip out of that misshapen head and body that they vote for him?

[silent_jonny]

Ahhhh, Susanna Hoffs. That brings back memories.

[over3Owithabrain]

People forget what a great songwriter and performer Neil was, particularly in the late 60s-early 70s. Bo doing Brother Love?

[Feiny]

Exactly....Slingblade should have been gone 2 weeks ago.

[over3Owithabrain]

I lost my virginity (to myself) while listening to Hoffs :)

[silent_jonny]

Anwar is your #1??? He's consistently bland. Carrie was the best, IMO.

[silent_jonny]

I'll file that under "Things I Never Wanted To Know".

[Feiny]

That sounds dirty....

[TonyWpi]

I thought Scott was squeaking by (just like his voice) with a sympathy vote.

Remember that girl last year, Jazmine I think, who sang off key most of the time and made the top three? Simom really beat her up (verbally...not physically like Scott would do) and she managed to stay in 3 more weeks!

Anyway...Scott was so "nasty" last night and looked like an idiot when he was "telling off" Simon. Almost everyone I talked to said he should go. I just don't get his appeal....other than other fat people and wife (baby's mama) beaters.

[silent_jonny]

"who gets Nadia's votes???"

That's an excellent question.

[over3Owithabrain]

I thought Carrie was shrieky at times during the Benatar song. I agreed with Simon that she was trying too hard to be "cool". It's hard to find fault with her overall though, so she will go far if not win it all. Personally she's too bland and "Up with People" for me. Anwar gets gayer by the week, but does have a very fine instrument for a voice.

[Feiny]

If I could vote AGAINST SCott next week, I'd vote 10,000 times.

[over3Owithabrain]

Yeah - Scott came off real thuggy after singing the Hall/Oates song. Unfortunately, the aged duo were there to prop him up (and get their song popular again).

[Netizen]

The thing about Diamond is that he covers a vast amount of music type. There must be something in there that any of them could do well.

Too bad Anthony doesn't have a stronger voice, it would be neat for him to do Coming to America. But I don't think he has the vocals for it.

I couldn't even pick a favorite song, I'd have to say 'which album'? lol

[silent_jonny]

Yeah - Scott came off real thuggy after singing the Hall/Oates song

Hall & Oates have that effect on people :)

[over3Owithabrain]

I think that's an interesting point - people are not voting AGAINST anyone. Someone can be very polarizing, but have the votes of a certain segment, say, disaffected white gangstas. I truly believe Bo was only in the bottom three because most people felt he was "safe" and didn't need to prop him up.

[over3Owithabrain]

It was ironic that Fatty the Phone Flinger would claim to be the "true rocker" then bust out that particular song. Beats "Private Eyes" I guess...