American Idol Gets Patriotic

3/27/03 | SeenTheLight

[SeenTheLight]

This probably seems pretty trivial in the whole scope of things, but I just wondered if anyone else is watching American Idol tonight and if so, did you notice the wonderful rendition the whole group just did of "Proud To Be An American"? It was a truly inspiring moment, seeing all those young people up there showing support for our country and our troops. Kimberley Locke was in tears and all of them seemed genuinely moved.

I noticed someone in the audience had a sign that said something like "American Idol Supports Our Troops." Plus, there's contestant Josh Gracin, a US Marine, and a group of who I'm guessing are fellow Marines in the audience. And on top of it all, the crack by Simon last week about how Carmen Rasmussen should replace the girl in the Dixie Chicks!

I started out watching this show as a guilty pleasure, but I have to admit, it's starting to display a lot more patriotism than most TV shows.

[Blue Collar Christian]

I heard it in the other room, my wife is sleeping in front of it right now.

Dare I change the channel?

No way!

[OldFriend]

Saw it and loved that they sang that wonderfully patriot song, twice. Seems that the show is about to lose Josh Gracen as he is on 24 hr. alert to be deployed. He's been a joy to watch and we wish him well.

[tiki]

Saw it and loved it.

[MississippiMan]

I got hooked on American Idol about 2/3 of the way through last season. Never miss it now. Great show, and yes, tonight was particularly nice. They make no bones about supporting the troops. Very very refreshing. The show is SO politically incorrect, too. Love it.

And BTW, I'm not a Kimberly Locke fan but she earned a bit of respect tonight. Obviously genuinely moved.

MM

[deport]

God Bless The USA.......

[SeenTheLight]

They did sing it twice! I'm in California, so I just saw end of the show, where they closed with the same song.

I wondered about Josh Gracen and how long he'd be able to stay on the show. He's very talented and I hope he keeps on singing when he gets home.

[SeenTheLight]

I got hooked around the same time. And I also never miss a show! I was pleasantly surprised by Kimberley Locke too. I like several of the singers better, but she came through tonight.

[SeenTheLight]

Anybody know who wrote that song? The name escapes me...

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

[longtermmemmory]

lee greenwood ?

[longtermmemmory]

The fallout from the Dixie Chix continues. This is an indirect running far far far away from being mistaken for agreeing with the Blixie chix.

[MississippiMan]

Kimberly Locke lost me back when she told Simon he sucked. I like the ones who have enough maturity, class, and understanding to gratefully accept the criticism, and put it to good use. Any field like this is filled with rejection and criticism, and it irks me to no end to see them argue with their critiquers.

Who are you picking to win it all? I'm picking Clay.

MM

[SteveH]

Is there a repeat broadcast?

I saw it last week, and caught him singing. I think it was a country rendition of "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing." Very talented (and very dedicated)...

[bonfire]

Clay or Reuben. Wish they could both win. (Not that you asked me!)

[MississippiMan]

Yeah, I like Ruben too. Velvet Teddy Bear is a perfect nickname for him. You know, I thought Gladys Knight did such a superb job of summing up their individual strengths when she was on there. Here's what I think of 'em...

Clay -- Gladys got it right, he's a mystery. Kinda dorky but just has a natural magic about him. LOVE the guy's voice. I think he's gonna win it all.

Ruben -- Not the typical star image, but you can't help but love him and the voice is so rich and soothing.

Joshua -- I was a big fan until last week. I think the switch to country mode was a mistake on a couple of fronts. First, the competition is for a pop star, not country. Second, he just totally changed his entire package in the space of a week and I don't like the country persona AT ALL. Thought he looked spastic last night.

Carmen -- Cute but IMO out of her league. I think she has hit her limit and I'm very surprised that she's still there. There's something about the way she modulates her voice that grates on my nervous system in some songs.

Trenyce -- Ultra-strong voice and stage presence. Really blew it last night IMO.

Kimberly Caldwell -- Beautiful, sexy, good voice, good presence. I didn't like the underhanded crap she pulled early on and that still colors my impression of her. She seemed genuinely upset for Julia tonight but who knows. And Simon nailed her problem last week when he said she was good but that he could see people just like her at any theme park in the land. She needs something to kick her out of vanilla mode.

Rickey -- Voice good but not special. His wonderful personality has gotten him this far.

Kimberly Locke -- I already mentioned her.

Corey -- Man oh man oh man, this guy has some incredible potential but he may be too raw to go all the way in this competition. He's been inconsistent, but I love his voice when he kicks into that upper register, a truly amazing thing. He's one of the very few people on Earth who can sing Journey songs and sing 'em well. VERY strong uniqueness factor for this guy.

---

Oh well, I'm sure that's more info than you wanted. LOL.

MM

[cdefreese]

Maybe I was just seeing things, but just after they finished singing it the first time, and before that Seacrest guy started talking, they panned the audience and stopped on him, I saw a sign that said something like: The troops are my American Idol. Those weren't the exact words, it could had been the marines instead of the troops, but it was real quick and I only caught a glance of it. Could anyone back my claim up? I wish I had taped it.

[sharktrager]

It was great, but Kimberly wasn't crying because of the song. She was crying because Julie is headed home, and because of the stress of almost being the one to go.

[SeenTheLight]

I don't think it will be repeated, but you can check the show's web site:

http://www.idolonfox.com/home.htm

Maybe you can watch it online?

[SeenTheLight]

I enjoyed your commentary and I agree with most of your conclusions. I like Clay a lot too, but I think his voice is more Broadway/Disney than pop star. My money is on Kimberly Caldwell, Trenice or Ruben. I still can't narrow it down more than that!