2009 American Idol Thread

[Zahveed]

I can't believe nobody mentioned this yet:

'American Idol' final four are already chosen: Staffer

New York: A loudmouth on the sets of American Idol has claimed that the producers and judges of the show have already decided which contestants will make it to the final four in the competition.

One of the woman staffers said the bosses on the show had already picked the final four contestants, that too when 11 contestants are still battling to be the latest pop star.

"(She told a) group of people that the last four are going to be Danny Gokey, Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert, and Alexis Grace," the New York Daily News quoted an insider as saying.

Asked if that was her opinion or fact, she vehemently retorted, "Those ARE the people", claiming it was far from being speculation.

The woman also claimed that higher-ups at the hit Fox show were taking an issue with two of the top contenders.

"Adam Lambert and Lil Rounds are better singers and musicians than Gokey and Grace, but they are too much like past winners and 'A' successes," said the woman.

"Adam's too close in style and sound to Chris Daughtry, while Lil Rounds is a dead ringer for Fantasia," she said. "Even their background stories are similar! The producers really want it to be Danny or Alexis. They think they are very commercially viable, have a good image, and (make for) a great story."

Fox's representatives refused to comment on the allegations.

Source: ANI

[Cinemanolis]

To me, who i am note really a fan of Country music and can't fully connect to it, Adam's performance may not have been the best of the night, but it was certainly the most interesting one. I actually liked the 'Ring of Fire' version i heard, and i love when people change well established songs. Even if they don't succeed (which isn't the case here, it is certainly interesting. I also liked the performances of Anoop, Alisson and especially Kris. I found Matt, Danny, Alexis, Micheal, Scott and Lil were boring, the last two are extremely overrated, and Megan was just awful.

[OscarGuy]

I have not. I have her CD The Very Best of Roberta Flack and the songs from it that are on my iphone are Killing Me Softly, Feel Like Makin' Love, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, And So It Goes, Tonight, I Celebrate My Love, 'Til The Morning Comes and Set the Night to Music...but I don't have the entire thing on my iphone, so I'm not sure if that song is included on that album or not.

[flipp525]

As far as Adam went, and he went a long way OUT with Ring Of Fire, he is audacious, can hit some pretty holy notes, but looks fucking ridiculous, his version was sacrilegious almost, and emphasized the Egyptian( why?) and not the words. I could not connect, and if there is a God, he should go tonight.

This is a little extreme (and yes, desperately old-fogeyish). "If there is a God, he'll be eliminated?" Um, yeah. Fortunately for us, God is not tone-deaf. Megan and Scott were actually far worse. And Michael Sarver was simply boring. I consider Danny Gokey raping the memory of his dead wife for extra votes and pandering to the base to be far more sacriligious than anything Adam did last night.

Adam took a risk that might or might not have paid off, but he's still an inventive performer with a vocal range almost unlike anything this show has seen. To be voted off after one "controversial" performance would be ridiculous (and the judges would definitely save him if that happened tonight).

On the subject of covers (and Roberta Flack), OscarGuy have you ever heard her sumptuous rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water"? Incredible.



Edited By flipp525 on 1237409844

[OscarGuy]

I'm giong to chalk that up to an older generation's decision on what is sacrilege. I dislike remakes as much as the next person, but sometimes they can be great on their own. For instance, I think Robert Flack's Killing Me Softly is pretty damned good on its own. The Fugees' version was still fairly good. The same goes for Sweet Dreams. That doesn't mean every remake is a success, but sometimes you have to step out of the box and do something new. It's not like this was some paint-by-numbers remake or some desperate attempt to grab at money like most Hollywood remakes. It was an intense departure. It was a brave choice to do and it came off really well, IMO.

[cam]

. He seemed to just be courting the religious base last night over the sympathy vote.

I don't think that will get him very far.

As far as Adam went, and he went a long way OUT with Ring Of Fire, he is audacious, can hit some pretty holy notes, but looks fucking ridiculous, his version was sacrilegious almost, and emphasized the Egyptian( why?) and not the words. I could not connect, and if there is a God, he should go tonight.

Think of the old song Temptation: pretty emotional, and over-the-top lyrically, then remember what Jo Stafford did to it( Tim-tay-shun). THAT was hilarious; last night's Ring of Fire was embarrasssing.

[dws1982]

But wasn't that pretty close to what Adele does with the same song? I was surprised no one mentioned her very obvious influence over the arrangement.

The backing music was pretty close (although the backing music to Adele's version is fairly close to the backing music of Trisha Yearwood's version, with a piano rather than a guitar), but the way he actually sang it wasn't really similar to any other version I've heard of the song.

I actually think "Jesus Take the Wheel" is one of the best country songs out there (it's a beautiful short story contained in just a few verses), but I feel like he keeps picking songs that remind us of his "story".

Don't like the song, but I was actually pleasantly surprised he chose that rather than some of the other songs he could have chosen. I was worried he'd choose Garth Brooks's "The Dance". Two very good songs he could have chosen that would've been crass last night are Travis Tritt's "Tell Me I Was Dreaming" (about a woman leaving, but ambiguous enough that she could've died), or Alan Jackson's "Monday Morning Church" (one of the best country singles of the past decade; but it is explicitly about a man whose wife dies). I thought he actually showed a little restraint, even if it was very little. He seemed to just be courting the religious base last night over the sympathy vote.

[OscarGuy]

You know, this whole "indulgent" comment gets old for me. Simon uses it as some kind of epithet as do others on the show, yet when some people (like Sarver or Gokey) do the same thing, they aren't considered indulgent. To me, show business is all about indulgence, especially in music. Would Dolly Parton, Aermosmith or any other artist be anything if they weren't self-indulgent? Self-indulgence is almost a good quality for idols to have because it means they are confident in what they do. But I digress...

[Sonic Youth]

'American Idol' launching trading card line
Mar 17, 2:07 PM (ET)
By DERRIK J. LANG

LOS ANGELES (AP) - "American Idol" fans will soon be able to trade Carrie Underwoods for Danny Gokeys.

"Idol" production company FremantleMedia and trading card publisher Upper Deck are launching a new line of trading cards featuring images of past and current contestants as well as the judges and host of the Fox singing competition. The 138-card line is set to debut April 21.

"The 'American Idol' brand has always been really strong in the interactive space," said Nora Wong, FremantleMedia senior manager of consumer products. "With the trading cards, it's an old school way of interacting with the fans. It's another form of expression for the fans to demonstrate their connection with the show and collect their favorites."

Six special cards autographed by past "Idols" will be randomly slipped into the five-card packs. Regular cards will feature rejected hopefuls such as William Hung and Nick Mitchell, past winners like Ruben Studdard and David Cook, and popular finalists including Adam Lambert and Jennifer Hudson.

What about long-gone first season co-host Brian Dunkleman?

"That remains to be seen," said Wong.

[flipp525]

I thought there were a couple great performances tonight. Kris Allen (why do I keep wanted to call him Kris Sutton?) gave a nice rendition of a Garth Brooks standard. And he's cute as shit. But wasn't that pretty close to what Adele does with the same song? I was surprised no one mentioned her very obvious influence over the arrangement. Giraud was soulful and committed. Lil, even with a song as unremarkable as that one, still gave a good performance (even though, I agree, this was a great chance to do "I Will Always Love You"; her "Independence Day" rendition is rather forgettable). Anoop was wonderful.

Megan needs to find a new way to work a stage. Swiveling herself to and fro like she's trying to screwdriver herself through the floor might've been cute in the beginning, but it's wearing really thin for me. And her performance was subpar[, yet somehow not uninteresting].

I've over Scott. I think, at times, he borders on awful. It was stupid of Simon to equate Paula's suggestion of moving away from the piano as some sort of sacrilege. I agree with her: move away from the piano, walk off the stage and then just keep on walking.

Danny is just NOT THAT GREAT. No, American Idol. I'm not going to buy into the idea that he's some sort of magnificent wunderkind. No matter how many clips you show of him singing at church, or teaching small, under-privileged kids or hugging his dead wife. I actually think "Jesus Take the Wheel" is one of the best country songs out there (it's a beautiful short story contained in just a few verses), but I feel like he keeps picking songs that remind us of his "story".

I'm on the fence when it comes to Adam (who, as OscarGuy said, did give credit to someone else for the arrangement before performing it). I thought the performance was slightly indulgent and screechy/showy not in a good way. But I don't think "Ring of Fire" is an untouchable sacramant that no one can make an attempt at.

[OscarGuy]

Yeah. And he said as much when he was talking to Randy Travis. He "found" the arrangement. He didn't claim it as his own as some contestants in the past have done.

[dws1982]

I never watched more than a few minutes of Rock Star on CBS, but according to people who did, Adam's "Ring of Fire" arrangement was apparently mostly copied from someone (or some band) who did it on that show three years ago.

[OscarGuy]

I'm sorry, I thought Adam's performance was magnificent. Sure it was different and some might consider it sacrilege, but it was amazing and I'm considering buying it from itunes.

[dws1982]

My favorite was Kris who was so much better than Garth Brooks's lame version of that song. (And if Bob Dylan is clearing his songs for Idol, I have a long list of songs I want someone to try, if only for sheer spectacle.) Matt was also very good on a song so full of lame platitudes that it should've been the American Idol coronation song.

Alexis seemed to be using the Mindy Smith version of "Jolene", note for note. Not bad overall, like Scott and Michael. Anoop and Allison were pretty good, I thought.

I hated everything about Adam's performance. It was by far my least favorite of the night, and probably the season.

But you also had Lil and Danny, neither of whom were anywhere even close to being on pitch for a full three quarters of their songs. (Even Danny's praised glory notes were badly flat.) And then there was Megan, who was nowhere even close to being on pitch for about ninety percent of hers, and who was nowhere in the vicinity of hitting the key change. I think that by any objective standard, Megan's was the worst vocal performance of the season, by leagues and miles. And the judges praised her for it. WTF?



Edited By dws1982 on 1237348823

[Sonic Youth]

Ring of Fire is one of America's true landmark songs. What Adam did was beyond pretentious and preening. It was an insult. It was a desecration. It was a hundred slaps in the face. It was like watching the opening number of "Springtime for Hitler" in "The Producers". I was left agape.

He's also the only interesting one on the show.

But that doesn't even cover it. It was paradoxically the most astounding thing I've ever seen on the show, hands down. This was either misguided, or misguidedly brilliant. And I'm leaning toward brilliant, if only for the sheer chutzpah.



Edited By Sonic Youth on 1237345812