American Idol 2006--Live Thread I

FOX ^ | 1-16-06

[silent_jonny]

for Tammy

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Holy guacamole.

ROFLMAO!! Good one ....

Hey, are you West Coast also? We're in the north Bay Area (outside of SF, thank goodness) ... where are you?

[FreedomForce]

dialidol.com is back up. Numbers aren't looking good for Elliot according to that site.

DialIdol
Rank Idol Busy Percent Actual Rank
1 Taylor Hicks 53.9734 -
2 Kellie Pickler 52.4967 -
3 Chris Daughtry 49.7977 -
4 Mandisa 49.3474 -
5 Ace Young 35.769 -
6 Katharine McPhee 33.0961 -
7 Paris Bennett 31.7413 -
8 Kevin Covais 23.8291 -
9 Bucky Covington 23.2832 -
10 Lisa Tucker 21.124 -
11 Elliott Yamin 13.1646 -
Margin of error: 2%; not scientific.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Oh, lordy. Well, if Elliot really did come in below Bucky, all I can say is that the American public has no ears.

[Netizen]

I think others pegged it. Obscure, boring songs and not connecting with the audience.

[b9]

Hey, are you West Coast also?

Yup, San Diego.

I'm not ready for Elliott to go. ":^(
:::sniff:::

[Senator Goldwater]

"Gherkin: Has found her true trailer park persona at last"

You nailed it again. She works best when she sexes up a classic like that, because men like myself will respond to her with their inner trailer trash selves. She hits you on a very consistent level, about waist high.

And the thought that her convict Daddy will come after you with a shiv once he leaves the joint adds an element of danger to the proceedings.

Which is one reason I'm pleased to hear that Constantine has been circling the pickle jar.

[Senator Goldwater]

"I really want to like Katherine. She is has a nice voice, is built like a real woman (not stick thin, actually has a figure like women used to), and hasn't done anything to annoy me. I just can't connect with her"

She has a kind of goofiness that comes over her when she's nervous or excited, which I'll chalk up to youth. And she can come across as overly-coached by her nazi stage mom.

But she is a definitely a throwback to a different era. She has old world talent and beauty. She may leave some people cold, but she TWO VERY LARGE qualities that will carry her far in this competition: talent and taste.

Among other God-given attributes.

[misterrob]

On a purely technical basis he is a superior vocalist to any of the other men. Excluding the Bryan Adams song, he has picked tough artists to try and do justice to. Anyone who knows anything about music will tell you that Jazz numbers are really difficult songs to sing and sing well. He's not the stage presence that Taylor or Chris though.

I'll make sure word gets to him to sing something from N Sync next time so you can appreciate the song better. Just curious though, the song he sang last night has been done by people like Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra, Al Jarreau, Diana Krall, etc.. All Grammy Award winners.

[b9]

He's wonderful. I hope dialidol.com is wrong.

Simon emphasized last night that this is a singing competition.

If that were purely the criteria, though, based on last night's performances, Taylor would be at the bottom right now.

[misterrob]

The man has no real stage experience and it shows. I don't see him breaking the top 6 with some fairly talented or popular people on the show. But, on a purely technical basis he's the best male vocalist and with some training and experience he will develop a unique style that could do well for him for a long time to come. Chris is hot now but his style of singing could make him a flash in the pan with all of the rock singers who sound alike. Taylor isn't a multi-million selling artist either.

Beyond the debut album, Mandesa is really the only one with the potential to develop a powerful second album but that's still a question in my mind.

[misterrob]

I don't know exactly how this works. He had a low busy signal but the most votes????? I don't know where they are sampling from on a geography basis which would tell me more. Hey, if 500 people in Atlanta decide that Paris is it and they are all dialing then they will skunk the telco switches. In my house we tried voting Elliott and got nothing but busy signals whereas elsewhere the voting might have been harder for Taylor.

And, there is no way of measuring people who use cell phones and text messaging.

[kevkrom]

On the whole, I think the contestants had a good week, especially when compared to their struggles last week. The was a clear winner of the week (Mandisa) and a clear second-place (Katherine), in my mind, but you can order #3 through #9 almost any way you want, and I won't argue with you. The bottom two (Bucky and Kevin) also turned in good performances by their standards -- it is just altogether too clear, however, that these two are way, way out of their league in this competition.

So... the breakdown:

1. Mandisa - I've been asking for weeks whether she could do anything other than "belt". The answer is an emphatic YES. This was a smoking hot, jazzy performance that I really can't find anything to criticize about it. My Grade: A
2. Katherine - Sultry, sexy, jazzy. It seems like the bigger the stage, the more relaxed and intimate she becomes. There's just something that seems a little "off", though... kind of a smirk or something while she sings that is ever so slightly distracting. My Grade: A-
3. Chris - Ok, I don't like Chris' style, but I can recognize when he's doing it well. The beginning was a bit of a mess, mostly spoken on pitch, and I'm being generous with the "on pitch" part. Other than that, he managed to take this song and turn it into his own. My Grade: A-
4. Kellie - She certainly chose the right song for her voice, and she sang it well from a technical standpoint, but I think there was something lacking in the "selling" of the song. I wanted to see and hear more expression. My Grade: B+
5. Taylor - I don't think this was the best choice of song. It was fun, and easy for the audience to get into, but it was a bit too easy and repetitive for this level of competition. Still, my 11-month old son really liked him (was dancing along). My Grade: B+
6. Paris - She sang this too "old". It looked like she was going for smoky nightclub, but it came across more as Broadway revue. I think she should have tried to be more playful with the song and show off her personality more. No complaints about the technical aspects, though. My Grade: B+
7. Ace - This was a decent, solid job, and an interesting arrangement. he clearly knows his limitations and is playing to his strengths. I thought he did a bit too much sliding into and out of notes. My Grade: B
8. Elliot - The beginning almost made me tune him out. It was too "affected" and had pitch problems in the lower register. From the mid-point on it was very, very good. Just not enough to put him ahead of several other good performances on the night. My Grade: B
9. Lisa - After the video clip, I was expecting much more from the opening. There really wasn't anything wrong with this performance... there just wasn't all that much right, either. I'm losing confidence in Lisa, as she puts in solid, professional performances, but isn't showing that "star" quality I thought I had seen in the initial auditions. My Grade: B
10. Bucky - I think he put a lot of effort into this song, and he did the best he could. The problem is, he's just not good enough of a singer to pull that style off. My Grade: C
11. Kevin - I still refuse to grade or critique him.

Overall Standings:

1. Katherine McPhee (+2)
2. Mandisa (+2)
3. Chris Daughtry (+2)
4. Paris Bennett (-2)
5. Lisa Tucker (-4)
6. Taylor Hicks (+1)
7. Elliott Yamin (-1)
8. Ace Young (NC)
9. Kellie Pickler (+1)
10. Bucky Covington (-1)
11. Kevin Covais (NC)

[b9]

How do you think Elliott will take it if he has to leave the competition? Will he stay in LA and pursue a singing career?

[misterrob]

If you make the top ten you go on tour for 6 months with Idol so unless you are #1 or #2 it really doesn't matter. In Elliott's case he could use the experience and the training because he has never had any. Hell, he has friends and family that never knew that he could sing.

Manilow really gave him some good pointers on how to sing a song arrangment wise and you simply don't get that type of knowlege anywhere else. Kind of like a HS pitcher getting tips from people like Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson every week.

He has had the time of his life. He really likes Ace, Taylor and Chris. The experience has been great and whenever he goes off the show he will likely be bummed but he's humble enough to take it in stride.

[b9]

Elliott's never had any training??? Hell, he has friends and family that never knew that he could sing.

Good grief. He should write a biography. What a story. What a movie!

[EmilyGeiger]

Or if he came below Kevin, Ace or Lisa. Lisa has talent but no way is she better than Elliot. He is my top 5... Chris, Taylor, Mandisa, Katharine and Elliot.

[Samwise]

Do you know Elliott, or are you surmising?

[silent_jonny]

You're welcome :) Hope your dog is okay.

[silent_jonny]

Speaking of Kellie, it is Kellie that Constantine is dating. They met at an AI cast party.

Interesting couple. Hard to tell who is using who.

[kevkrom]

They want women to be a size 4 or smaller.

Gay guys do. Straight guys want McPhee :-P

Well, in the modelling biz, we are talking about fashion designers...