[silent_jonny]

(((American Idol Ping)))

“They can take our lives, but they’ll never take …
our TEXT MESSAGING!”

This is a low-volume list.
Names are pinged only on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, coinciding with the live AI shows.
If there’s an AI related story or thread that you think would be of interest, please post a link or an excerpt here on this thread.
Thanks.
And as always, if you want on or off this ping list, just let me know.

[Feiny]

HAHAHAH!! Another great graphic.

[mystery-ak]

Be still my heart.....ahhhhhhh, Mel....

[mystery-ak]

You should make an announcement on your next(upcoming) thread....

[texasflower]

Hi everyone.

[tiredoflaundry]

BO BO BO

[OXENinFLA]

OK I guess I gotta watch tonight...................

[retrokitten]

Here we go!

[beandog]

Here we are for the big night. It's been great. I've enjoyed coming here every Tuesday and look forward to the next AI thread. Hopefully, Carrie will do great tonight.

[RMDupree]

Checking in...

[maggief]

[TheMom]

Whew! I'm here.

I was working on a flower bed & barely made it.

[NRA2BFree]

Thanks for the ping! I'm all excited about tonight, but I'm nervous too. I wish both of them could win because they have been my favorites since the beginning. It's going to be difficult to see one of them lose.

[Wolfstar]

Good evening, jonny. I'm sorry to be so late getting on the thread tonight. I started a new job a week ago, and their internet policies are highly restrictive. So I can only go online after getting home from work. Anyway, I'm going to try to catch up on the comments in the 20 minuts or so before the show comes on in my time zone. Then I'll let you know my take on it.

BTW, I saw your comment about hoping Bo will win. Me to. I like both Carrie and Bo, but I actually think Carrie's career will be better off in the long run if she loses. She won't have the same pressure on her as it would be if she won. She can develop her career more carefully, and I think she needs that.

[kevkrom]

A very fitting final... in the sense that it was a very disappointing end to a very disappointing season. I honestly cannot say there were any "winners" last night, so let me start by recapping the "losers", in no particular order.

• The Songwriter: whomever wrote this year's original AI song should be fired, publicly ridiculed, and then shot. It was, without a doubt, the most boring and inane piece of pop tripe I've heard in recent memory. There's no way either of these contestants could have made that sound good, not that it seemed they were trying that hard.

• The Judges: I didn't have much respect to lose for Randy and Paula, but Simon's attempt to put a happy face on last night's disaster was particularly forced, fake, and unconvincing. (Ryan is exempted from this, over-hype and exaggeration are his stock in trade, and so he is impossible to disappoint when he engages in it.)

• The Sound Board Mixer: did the guy think to record the dress rehearsal and play back the tape? The "air mix" was sapped of all energy and life (but then again, we have the contestants to partly blame for that as well...)

• The Viewers: we deserved better than this for all the time we've watched the show. Anyone tuning in last night for the first time, wondering what the AI buzz is about, must have been shaking their heads in confusion afterward.

• The Contestants: Not just Bo and Carrie, who turned in dull, lifeless, and not particularly good (from a technical point) performances, but all of the other contestants who lost out to these two.

The rankings (and "rank" is the key word here):

1. Bo - I'd have to give a slight edge to Bo, solely on the basis of performing the common song better, which isn't saying much. Bo's vocal weaknesses, especially range, were on full display in the first and last songs. He was also unusually reserved. His security blanket song ("Vehicle") was OK, but really only a fair imitation of the original. Tip to Bo: singing an original song is an opportunity, not a challenge... if you're going to make records, it's not like dollar draft night at the bar where you just do covers and try to imitate the originals.

2. Carrie - SI particularly admire how, on a stage in front of hundreds and on TV in front of millions, she can both sing and do a near-flawless impersonation of a statue. Vocally, she was very "tight" -- obviously nervous -- and really never delivered on the first or last songs; the first had pitch and lower register issues, on the last song, she proved that not only can she not really hit the big note, but she can't hold it, either (slid into it, faltered at the end). "Independence Day" was probably the best vocal performance of the night, but again, no real challenge for her (though she did better in the lower register than she has been doing). She still wins the competition, even losing the night, because she looks the part better.

Seriously, excepting the middle "safety" songs, can anyone honestly tell me that last night wasn't a complete and total train wreck?