American Idol 6

[kaytodd]

Little Miss Fetus-Fetisher

Little Miss Having Your Baby

the Embryo Enthusiast

LOL!

Damien, does Jordin's views on abortion bother you? I think you have heaped more venom on her in the last week or so than you have on that poor girl who played Olive in LMS since it was released last summer.

[Eric]

Great singing is not about hitting the high notes, it's about conveying emotions, truths, stories, and that's why Tom Waits is a much greater singer than Andrea Bocelli, why Billie Holliday is a million times more brilliant than Mariah Carey.

And why Amanda Lear is a better singer than them all.

[dws1982]

According to a poster at Television Without Pity, one of the writers of the coronation song has had a long list of credits in the Christian music industry, and has worked with Michael W. Smith (one of the biggest contemporary Christian singers out there) several times. Princess Jordin, of course, sang backup for Michael W. Smith.

More and more, I get the feeling that this season was over before it even began.

[anonymous1980]

My rankings:

ROUND 1:
01. Blake
02. Jordin

ROUND 2:
01. Jordin
02. Blake

ROUND 3:
01. Blake
02. Jordin

OVERALL: Blake.

Sure, Jordin can hit all the high notes but Blake's the more interesting artist and entertainer

[anonymous1980]

If "This Is My Now" was the ebst song in the competition, I'd hate to hear the losers. What a mundane, early 90s-sounding pieve of crap power ballad.

They ALWAYS have those as a coronation song. "A Moment Like This", "Flying Without Wings", "I Believe", "Inside Your Heaven", "My Destiny", "Do I Make You Proud?" - all crappy rejected Celine Dion power ballads.

[Damien]

If "This Is My Now" was the ebst song in the competition, I'd hate to hear the losers. What a mundane, early 90s-sounding pieve of crap power ballad. And since the two jokers who wrote it are from Seattle, I guess this means Seattle is officially no longer a cool music city.

Actually, I think Blake made the song more interesting than Little Miss Fetus-Fetisher, because she sang it as if she were belting out a great song, whereas Blake at least made the doggeral entertaining.

As for the mantra that "it's a singing competition" as a way to latch on to thr purest vocals is nonsense. Great singing is not about hitting the high notes, it's about conveying emotions, truths, stories, and that's why Tom Waits is a much greater singer than Andrea Bocelli, why Billie Holliday is a million times more brilliant than Mariah Carey. Vic Damone has always loved to quote something Sinatra said: "Vic Damone has the best pipes in the business." But Vic leaves out the second half of the statement. "It's only too bad he doesn't do anything interesting with them."

So it is with Little Miss Having Your Baby, maybe she can hit some notes Blake can't (but she has an unlikable tinny quality to her vocalizing and a tendency to shriek -- and Melinda can hit many more notes than Sparks, and do so with an effortless style and grace, and with a much greater comrehension of the lyrics) but Blake brings a sense of genuineness and true fun (his exuberance recalls such disparate greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Spike Jones, Little Richard, Cab Calloway, Siuthside Johnny, Louis Prima and Dolly Parton). To me, he is a much better singer becuae for him, singing is not empty posturing.

For all that, the Embryo Enthusiast will probably win, because many people will find her being 17 highly appealing, the producers clearly favor her, Blake is too unconventional to win. On the other hand, last year they went for personality (such as it was) over vocal expertise (admittedly coming fom a cold Sientologist), so you never know . . .

[Anon]

It's so painfully obvious that the producers want her to win...

Sigh. And also painfully obvious that, had Melinda made the finale, "This is My Now" would've sooo rocked with her vocals on it.

God, the lyrics are just so dumb!

Oh well, the crown is Jordin's, and I can't wait to see Mindy Doo singing with Cece and Bebe Winans tomorrow (so it's been rumored)!

Still, what an anticlimactic ending...

[OscarGuy]

Blake - You Give Love a Bad Name: Not nearly as good as the first performance (probably because nothing ever sounds as good as the first time you heard it).
Jordin - Fighter: She had some problems in the middle, but she did quite well and is coming out fighting.
Blake - She Will Be Loved: This is the song that puts him on a more even footing with Jordin. It's a more recent song and showcases his vocal talent.
Jordin - A Broken Wing: So, she's trying to pull in the country vote, which may just put her over the top, but I don't think the vocal was that strong in the beginning even if she finished more controlled than she was throughout. Do the judges forget the openings? I mean how could they call that flawless when the first half of the song was inconsequential and weak?
Blake - This Is My Now: The song reallly isn't that good but it certainly plays up the schmaltz factor AI adores... Not Blake's best performance and unless Jordin's terrible, Blake's going to lose.
Jordin - This Is My Now: Another flaky beginning. When she gets to her sustained notes, she's solid, but otherwise unimpressive. It's so painfully obvious that the producers want her to win...

Blake - She Will Be Loved
Jordin - A Broken Wing
Jordin - Fighter
Blake - You Give Love a Bad Name
Jordin - This Is My Now
Blake - This Is My Now

[Anon]

I'm really going to have to hold my nose and tune in tonight to the American Idol finale without my Mindy Doo in it...

Just to share an anecdote, the other day I was in the grocery store with a friend who caught a picture of the Top 3 on TV Guide. She had not been paying attention to AI this season but I commented on Melinda's elimination and offered that I suppose it's because she wasn't as "cool" as Blake and as "young" and "pretty" as Jordin. My friend looked closely at the picture and wanted to know what I meant by "young and pretty," aren't the two women the "same age" and, also, she didn't see Jordin as looking any prettier.

I, of course, said: "Where have YOU been all season?! Don't you know Jordin is only 17 and that the 29-year-old Melinda Doolittle is an old lady?"

My friend looks at the picture again and said: "No way! Either Miss 17 is lying about her age, or she seriously needs to ask Miss 29 what products she's using!"

So, just to offer an opinion from someone who has not been influenced all season to believe one was so young and the other too old. A pity, b/c had they dropped that party line, Melinda might've had a real shot at tonight's finale. Oh well.

[dws1982]

Have all the previous American Idols never been in a bottom 3 position? Maybe someone knows. I would tend to doubt it.

Ruben was in the bottom two on Top Five night during his season--the first time we got one of those "America, what have you done?" lectures from the judges. And Fantasia was in the bottom three a few times--the night Jennifer Hudson got voted off, she was the bottom two contestant. And I think when LaToya was voted out, Fantasia was the other one in the bottom two.

Damn, I feel like a nerd for remembering this.

[Sonic Youth]

If that's the case, how did she make it this far? Shouldn't she have gone down before Chris R or even Phil?

Exactly. The fact is, Melinda was NEVER in the bottom 3, and was frequently told she was "safe" first, leading us to believe that she received some of the higher number of votes.

And she was in the top three this time as well, unfortunately with only three contestants left. It's not like it was a field of ten people.

As Simon said, she was consistent. But consistency is a double-edged sword. It doesn't mean her fanbase was growing. It meant enough people liked her until the narrowing of contestents meant her support wasn't sustainable.

Conversely, BOTH Jordin and Blake have been in the bottom 3 (in Blake's case, more than once). So I really don't see Sonic, how a sudden emergence of young teenybopper voters could be the cause.

In other words, Jordin was in the bottom 3 only one time. That's very nearly equal to Melinda. As for Blake, he gave some pretty lackluster performances and recently rejuvenated himself. Melinda needed to do something new at this critical juncture, and she didn't bring it. "I'm a Woman" is nifty cabaret, but it ain't gonna appeal to the show's majority demographic.

In any event, I think it's misleading to go by previous standings because numbers are bound to fluctuate from week to week. When a contestant is eliminated, the dynamics change. Don't forget, if you're up for an Oscar you only need at least 21% of the votes to win in a five nominee field. Eliminate the nominees little by little, and you've got to entice more voters.

Have all the previous American Idols never been in a bottom 3 position? Maybe someone knows. I would tend to doubt it.

[Sonic Youth]

Anyway, Sonic Youth, I think the real reason many of us are "gnashing our teeth" isn't so much that we're shocked at Melinda's vote-off, we were just shocked back into the reality that American Idol, for all their promotion of their "singing competition," never was and never will be. It's because Melinda lasted as long as the Top 3 why many people were lulled and deceived into thinking that, hmmmm, who knew? Maybe AI does have some quality to it and maybe this really is about discovering untapped amazing talent. Then, BAM!, they pulled the rug right out from under us. As if they said: "Gotcha! Silly Rabbit, tricks are for kids! You didn't really think we give a crap about interpretative song stylists and music artists, did you?"

I don't know if the producers did anything or not, but it doesn't MATTER. As long as you get high enough in the competition, your career isn't dependent upon winning. It depends on what you do with your new fame from here on. Again, there are Idols who have squandered their victories. There are runner-ups who are doing very nicely. If Melinda is willing and intelligent enough to persevere, she will. If Sanjaya is, he will. If Phil and Lakisha are, they will (although I doubt it).

[Sonic Youth]

So Melinda lost, but down the road she'll be fine. Whether Jordin wins or loses next week, she'll be fine too. (Blake I'm not so sure of.)

Actually, I'd say Blake has the greater chance for a sustained career than does Jordin: although the latter clearly has a greater vocal range, her talent is limited to craptacular power ballads (her attempts with Bon Jovi, the Bee Gees and Donna Summer prove that she flunks with up-tempo numbers), whereas the former has a limited vocal range, his talent, charisma and artistic sensibility lends itself well to any genre of music (he's obviously great fun with the up-tempo songs, while his relaxed, unadorned version of Imagine, I thought, was simply perfect). If anything, his innate musical sense could lead Blake to become a highly successful producer -- if it weren't for the fact that he so loves actually being up there on stage.

Watching him perform is entertaining enough. But how good is it going to play over the radio? I like his beat-box, but an uncanny impression of spinning records without visual aids sounds just like spinning records.

[Sonic Youth]

Melinda is more like the very talented aunt who sings old songs at the grown-up's parties. She needed to alter her approach, and she didn't.

If that's the case, how did she make it this far?

Simple. She made it this far because she was good enough. She didn't make it any further because what she does can only get her so far in a competition like this.

[anonymous1980]

At any rate, I like the idea of an Electoral College (which was put in place to shore up the Popular Vote precisely because our Founding Fathers didn't trust the morons to have complete control over elected governments). In that case, an elite panel of guest judges (like how they have guest mentors) should weigh in on results night. Sort of like, have the public vote for their favorite and when we get down to a bottom two or three (especially when the votes are close - ala this week between Mindy Doo, Jordin, and Blake), have those few contestants sing their hearts out, and then let the elite panel vote for who advances and who should go home. At least, there would be a purpose to Wednesday results shows rather than show fillers.

I believe in the other singing reality series, Rock Star, use a system similar to that.

People vote and there's a Bottom 3 but it's the members of the band who gets the final say on who has to go.