American Idol 2006--Live Thread I

FOX ^ | 1-16-06

[silent_jonny]

for Tammy

[Netizen]

No problem. :)

[Netizen]

Missing Idol

It's a blast from the past: Since taking himself out of the running on American Idol last year, Mario Vasquez finally has his debut album coming out next month. "It's a mix of what I've grown up listening to. It's a bit of Latin, a bit of R&B and soul, old Motown but reinvented for now," the singer told us at a recent party in L.A. for J Records honcho Clive Davis. And even though he quit Idol early, Vasquez advises the current crop of wannabes to "stay on the show as long as you can. It's 35 million viewers every week. Take advantage of that." Words to live by.

I guess the question is, 'Why drop out early? If Clive Thought he was good enough for a contract, why not wait for more exposure? He could have still signed him up later, like he did Bo. Guess we'll see how wel his album does, and if he made the right choice, to drop early. Thanks for the info.

[StrictTime]

I think the advantage to dropping out early is to get out of the 19 Entertainment contract, which seems to be very heavily advantageous to 19 Entertainment. By getting JUST ENOUGH exposure on AI, then dropping out, the singer can work a better deal with another company. I believe Clay Aiken sued 19 Entertainment to get out of his contract because he realized that he could make much more money signing with a different company.

[retrokitten]

And it's maddening because McPhee has the looks and the voice to be a contender

She coulda been a contender! She could have been someone!

[retrokitten]

Well, playing devil's advocate for a minute, it wasn't really her fault about bypassing security. Both articles say that employees of Southwest got her out of the area before she could go through security.

That said, I would have been royally PO'd if I had been on that flight and had to go through security again.

[retrokitten]

Remember, Elton John married a female (aka: beard).

Got that right. Let's not forget more recent examples- Liza Minelli and her husband who collected dolls. And Star Jones and her husband who everyone says is super gay.

[Netizen]

And I hope Taylor picks his performance up a couple of notches. He needs to.

I agree!

I was thinking that other songs he could do might be Stevie Ray Vaughan's. Like 'Tell Me', 'Love Struck Baby', 'Pride And Joy'. I think he could do those very well and put pressure on Chris IF Hicks really sings from the gut. jmo

[Collier]

Oooh, I don't rememeber the "joke" Carrie made.

What was it?

[Collier]

rememeber / remember

[Senator Goldwater]

Something about her mother being in her video, and being warned not be too dorky, or something like that.

Seacrest acted like he was being tickled.

[SirLinksalot]

And I hope Taylor picks his performance up a couple of notches. He needs to.

I agree!

I was thinking that other songs he could do might be Stevie Ray Vaughan's. Like 'Tell Me', 'Love Struck Baby', 'Pride And Joy'. I think he could do those very well and put pressure on Chris IF Hicks really sings from the gut. jmo

I agree with JMO and that's exactly my point -- IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO SONG CHOICE. In a competition like this, you are limited to less than 2 minutes and you've gotta show how good you are in this limited time-span they give you. No matter how talented you are, you aren't going to impress if you sang for example -- HOME ON THE RANGE ( as an extreme example ).

Therefore, here is an honest comment from someone who has heard Taylor's self produced CD and knows what he's capable of doing. If all you want is fawning and flattering praise, this isn't going to help Taylor Hicks.

All who know his abilities know that EASY was not the right choice and we have to be honest about it. Taylor's style IS NOT Lionel Ritchie. Take this as constructive criticism instead of taking it as an attempt to "dump on" him. HIS FANS ( me for instance) WANT HIM TO WIN, that's the reason we were concerned.

Let's be honest, Eliott Yamin and Chris Daughtry's performances were SUPERIOR to Taylor's and it all came down to song choice.

THINK OF IT THIS WAY --- HOW WOULD CHRIS DAUGHTRY/ELIOTT YAMIN LOOK LIKE IF HE HAD CHOSEN TO SING "EASY" ? Get the point ? Either of them would look average as well.

Taylor really needs to choose a song that highlights his uniqueness and abilities instead of a safe “coasting to home” one that he did last week.

EASY is well…. too easy. With only 2 minutes to perform your song, it does nothing to WOW anyone and WOWing the audience is WHAT IT’s ALL ABOUT in a competition like this. If you simply want an easy listening song, this isn’t the venue for it ( go put it on your CD later to fill in space). Therefore, all Taylor did was to simply play to his fans, doing little to ADD to his fan base with that one. BUT ADDING TO YOUR FAN BASE IS WHAT THIS COMPETITION IS ALL ABOUT IF YOU ARE IN IT TO WIN !!

I mean honestly, If I were watching AI for the first time last Wednesday night, and that was my first exposure to Taylor Hicks, I would have been like, “Whatever.” Simon was right in this sense — IT WAS AVERAGE. ANY singer ( even Lionel Ritchie himself) would have gotten that response with a 2 minute performance.

I wouldn’t have given him a second thought, and I doubt I would have bothered to vote for him. That’s why he has to step his game up next week, and continue to bring it every week.

Here is a warning to Taylor if he wants to go deep in the competition and not be kicked off prematurely at say number 8 or 9 ….

Every week there could be new folks tuning in, and he has to grab those people along with the diehards he already has if he’s to have any chance of winning this thing. Hopefully he’ll improve and will choose a better song this week. LEARN FROM THE MISTAKE OF NADIA TURNER !!

[Wyatt's Torch]

Anyone have any idea what he is singing this week? Someone here called it with "Easy" last week. Someone? Anyone? How about Chris for that matter...;-)

[Netizen]

I went to a link that someone left, that has a list of possible songs for Hicks. There are a couple of good ones on it, but the rest leave a lot to be desired. If he sticks to that list, I think he will be in serious trouble. jmo

[Netizen]

I agree with your post. I also think that he needs something a bit up tempo this week.

[Carolinamom]

Marking my place.

[just me]

**

[silent_jonny]

Marking my place.

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[silent_jonny]

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[twin2]

Loved the ping...you are the best!

[mystery-ak]

LOL....love the pickle jar......I don't know how long I'll be here...I don't feel well...I feel like I have been hit by a bus...I ache all over and have chest congestion....I DON'T WANT TO GET SICK!