The American Idol Thread

[Kova]

Is is just me, or is Lisa Tucker vastly overrated? She's a competent singer at best, and she has a very "vanilla" sound.

I'm sure she'll make the final 12, but I think she'll be out earlier than most predict.

[VanHelsing]

ever since Carrie Underwood won last season's American Idol, i just have this feeling that AI is somehow rigged... and it seems to me that this season will be no different... this is how i see the final four will turn out to be...

Ace Young
Katharine McPhee
Lisa Tucker
Paris Bennett

and yes, they are in order...

personally, after seeing their performances on the 1st week and not being able to keep Stevie Scott on my list, this is how i'd like the final four to be...

Paris Bennett
Kinnik Sky
Ayla Brown
Taylor Hicks (most likely NOT gonna happen based on how i see the two males that had been voted off already)

and no, they are not in order...

looks like it's gonna be another boring season of AI for me... while many of you can go ahead and ogle at that Ace... *yawn*

[OscarGuy]

I liked Stevie's personality but this was NOT the competition for her. She's a classically trained opera singer. She would never make it as an American Idol. She does, however, have a promising career in the theater, which is where I think she should go.

[VanHelsing]

what??? stevie got voted off??? s*it!!!

[OscarGuy]

I wsas disappointed that they sent Patrick home. Sucks more that they left the horrendous crooner David Radford in. He's the one person of ALL of the contestants I want to see ejected quickly.
Ace REALLY shouldn't lose the hair. I think he's one of the few guys I've seen that can make that type of hair work.

[dws1982]

Gedeon is going to be your new Anwar this season, ain't he?

I really liked Gedeon's performance last night, which I couldn't ever say for Anwar. He hasn't shown a tendency for what bugged me about Anwar though: Abandoning melody for melismatic wail-athons. And unlike Anwar he's actually a charismatic performer. But his smug attitude is terrible; last week before he made the top 24 he was all like, "I'm ready for America to see what God has done." And his video intro was like some beauty pageant thing. As much as I was hoping he'd fail, he actually had the goods to back it up last night.

the only vocalist that made me step back and tut "ouch" was Kellie's

HATE her.

[Eric]

I didn't see his performance, but this is the best song of the 12 the dudes chose. Also probably the hardest, so I could imagine someone who isn't Philip Bailey flopping hard on it.

He suuuuuuuuuuuucccked. His falsetto was very...unpleasant.

I thought Gedeon was probably the best last night, although with his attitude, I'm no fan. Chris was very good, but it sounded just like the original. And David was so completely, unabashedly hammy, that I thought he was really endearing.

Totally don't get the Taylor Hicks love. Way overrated. And Ace too, although he was okay last night. His voice is still pretty thin.

Gedeon is going to be your new Anwar this season, ain't he? (Though I doubt he'll get half as far as Anwar.)

I actually skipped a whole bunch of episodes this season, and didn't even watch a single one of the Hollywood hell week sagas. (I had some male figure skaters to scrutinize.) Of what I managed to watch between Olympic viewings and, um, time away from the TV set, the only vocalist that made me step back and tut "ouch" was Kellie's. I'm with anon on Mandisa and Paris, though. (Still, no denying that Paris's performance was a disappointment after her audition, her dead-ringer-for-Cheryl-Lynn look aside.)

Ace's voice may be thin (haven't actually had a chance to listen to him yet, to my knowledge), but his biceps sure aren't. He needs to ditch the Constantine coiffure, though.

[dws1982]

11. Jose "Sway" Penala ("Reasons") - I'm not getting it. I was laughing althroughout. The falsettos simply sound ridiculous on him. I'm Filipino and I'm not rooting for him. (C-)

I didn't see his performance, but this is the best song of the 12 the dudes chose. Also probably the hardest, so I could imagine someone who isn't Philip Bailey flopping hard on it.

He suuuuuuuuuuuucccked. His falsetto was very...unpleasant.

I thought Gedeon was probably the best last night, although with his attitude, I'm no fan. Chris was very good, but it sounded just like the original. And David was so completely, unabashedly hammy, that I thought he was really endearing.

Totally don't get the Taylor Hicks love. Way overrated. And Ace too, although he was okay last night. His voice is still pretty thin.

-----------------------------------
Voted off:
Stevie, Becky, Bobby, and Patrick.

[Eric]

11. Jose "Sway" Penala ("Reasons") - I'm not getting it. I was laughing althroughout. The falsettos simply sound ridiculous on him. I'm Filipino and I'm not rooting for him. (C-)

I didn't see his performance, but this is the best song of the 12 the dudes chose. Also probably the hardest, so I could imagine someone who isn't Philip Bailey flopping hard on it.

[VanHelsing]

didn't watch the guys' night... and probably never will... so, no comments on my part...

[anonymous1980]

My reviews:

01. Chris Daughtry ("Wanted: Dead or Alive") - Best performance I've seen out of him. I once referred to him as Bo-lite or Bo Part Deux, I take it back. I just became a fan of his after this performance. (A-)

02. Taylor Hicks ("Levon") - I've always felt that Taylor would be contestant that people will either love or hate. Put me in the "love" camp. (A-)

03. Elliot Yamin ("If You Really Love Me") - Coming into the Top 24, I had doubts about him making the Top 12. Now, I think he has a fighting chance. He simply had to be good to be voted through since he sure as hell not gonna get in from his looks. (A-)

04. Ace Young ("Father Figure") - I don't like this guy. Too pretty. Too conventionally handsome. Too GQ. But I have to admit he is a talented singer and did good tonight. (B+)

05. Will Makar ("I Want You Back") - A very good performance. Vocally it's subpar and average. Disappointing coming from him since he's my favorite among the guys and I really believe he's got the potential to be a lot better than this. Bad song choice. (B-)

06. Patrick Hall ("Come to My Window") - Like Will, he suffers from bad song choice. He has a great voice. The song just wasn't right for him. (B-)

07. Kevin Covais ("One Last Cry") - The performance wasn't "the bomb". It wasn't "excruciating" either. He started out rough, ended shaky but in between there are a lot of very nice, distinctive stylized vocals which I think can really turn out great. (B-)

08. Bucky Covington ("Simple Man") - As I was listening to his performance all I can think about is: "I miss Bo. Bo would've rocked with this song." He's just okay. (C+)

09. Gedeon McKinney ("Shout") - Better than I thought he would be. He's entertaining for sure. He is also largely, just okay. (C+)

10. David Radford ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love") - Not as bad as Simon and Randy says it was but it also wasn't good either. He's no Michael Buble who can fit the crooning voice to this song. ©

11. Jose "Sway" Penala ("Reasons") - I'm not getting it. I was laughing althroughout. The falsettos simply sound ridiculous on him. I'm Filipino and I'm not rooting for him. (C-)

12. Bobby Bennett ("Copacabana") - He was singing this song like a comedian doing some sort of comedy routine. I mean, I was half-expecting him to stop singing and say some sort of stupid joke. If this happened in Vegas, it would probably be entertaining. Here, it's just laughable. He said in his pre-performance intro video that he would sing "Copacabana" when he makes it big so Bobby, I think this is about as big as you're gonna get. LOL. (F)

WHO'S OUT? Bobby for sure. He seems like a fun fellow. But he's no American Idol. Hopefully there would be an opening at some lounge in Vegas where his act is welcome. Sway will be kept here by the Filipino-American vote for at least another week. Radford has a lot of fans already so that leaves either Gedeon or Bucky. I'm going with Bucky.

[VanHelsing]

01. Paris Bennett ("Midnight Train to Georgia") - Easily my favorite overall performance of the night. Her performances in Hollywood were, to me, paled in comparison to her initial audition but this performance fulfilled the promise I saw in her initial audition. (A-)

absolutely agree! very energetic performance from a very young contestant... it just cemented my liking for her...

02. Katharine McPhee ("Since I Fell For You") - In terms of vocal, it's the best of the night. Her performance is also quite luminous, it's tough not be won over by it. (A-)

seriously i don't get what's the fuss about her all about... yes she's sweet and nice but to me, it seems like she's overdoing it to the extent of being annoying... and may i just mention that she resembles Kathy Najimy in the way she looks & act, if you look very closely...
vocally, she seems like a lazy singer... too laidback standing on one leg... i'd give her a B-...

04. Lisa Tucker ("I'm Changing") - Though a bit overly precocious, her performance is still quite excellent especially for her age. (B+)

previously when i said Mandisa was quite bland, i was actually referring to Lisa instead... yes, vocally, Lisa's adequate but other than that, i just can't find anything else interesting about her... if she had the same catty attitude as brenna, i would have taken a liking to her for by then, she would have BOTH vocals AND attitude...

05. Kinnik Sky ("Get Here") - I don't know. I liked it. Yes, it's far from the best performance of the night. But I liked it and I have a feeling Kinnk can do better. (B-)

i loved her performance that night... very good indeed... i think it's unfair for simon to pinpoint her age as being a possible disadvantage to her... i mean, if you're good, you're good... age should not matter... in my opinion, Kinnik should be able to go further into the race...

06. Melissa McGhee ("When the Light's Go Down") - I like her unique, raspy voice which with the right song choice can sound really, really great. I hope she gets another chance next week. (B-)

somehow, she reminds me of my aunt... in a good way, that is... currently, neutral towards her... so, not much comments...

08. Ayla Brown ("Reflection") - Better than her audition but not by much. I guess this is the case of paling when compared to the original. ©

i liked her performance... and i would even dare to say that she sounds like an exact replica of Christina Aguilera in a good way... and so what if she's robotic? at least she can deliver in terms of vocals unlike some other contestants who move all over the place but their vocals were so damn disappointing...

09. Heather Cox ("When You Tell Me That You Love Me") - She's beautiful, yes, but the vocals just aren't there and I'm sick of this song. (C-)

bad bad vocals... out of tune most of the times... she should be the first one to go...

11. Brenna Gethers ("You Are the Sunshine of My Life") - Her feisty love-her-or-hate-her personality overshadows her vocal ability and her lack thereof. (D)

if she thinks she can get through the competition with just her nonsensical attitude, ask her to think again... vocally, she absolutely pales in comparison to most, if not all, of the other contestants... she should just opt to leave the competition right away...

12. Stevie Scott ("To Where You Are") - An embarassing mess. (D-)

Strongly disagree! her low-key for most part of the song was so brilliant and clearly a much-needed breather from all other singers who mostly went high-pitched for their performances... i can accept her as the female version of Josh Groban and i'm rooting for her actually... she most certainly needs to be given another chance so she shouldn't be the first one to go...

----------

in conclusion, i feel that either heather or brenna should be the first one to exit... most probably heather 'cause i think the producers of the show would like to keep brenna for the 'dramatic' factor...

[flipp525]

Wow. Ace Young is hot as [bleep]. Chris Daughtry's voice makes me swoon.

And Paula is really just having nothing to do with Simon tonight. I really don't think that's an act.

[flipp525]

04. Lisa Tucker ("I'm Changing") - Though a bit overly precocious, her performance is still quite excellent especially for her age. (B+)

I would've placed Lisa Tucker in the number one or two spot with a definite A. She was absolutely phenomenal. One of the most confident, show-stopping performances ever put on American Idol. She and Katherine McPhee are my favorite female contestants.

[dws1982]

Katharine McPhee ("Since I Fell For You") - In terms of vocal, it's the best of the night. Her performance is also quite luminous, it's tough not be won over by it. (A-)

Vocally, I thought she was in the bottom half.