The American Idol Thread

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Eric
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Post by Eric »

I'm sure that there's something appealing about Bo that's eluding me, but at this point I just sort of see him as Constantine without any stylistic range. The sort of guy who sings "Jack & Diane" or "Sweet Home Alabama" every week at the karaoke bar to pick up honeys.

Anwar (what I've seen of him) reminded me of this guy who came on the new Star Search a year or two back and sang Stevie's "Superstition" with an uncanny ability to harness pitch, dynamics and rhythm, but made the fatal mistake of letting everyone see all too clearly that he knew he was good (via untethered, unmerited melismas and whatnot), which resulted in some of the lowest audience scores I've ever seen... despite the undeniable fact that his pitch, his tone, even his looks were of a much higher caliber than one usually sees on national talent competitions.

I guess this is my convoluted way of saying that I would go so far as to say that Anwar is "technically" a "better" "singer" than, well, if not his competition on AI, then at the very least all the males left in the competition. But he has no discipline, which is an unforgivable sin on a show that predicates its popularity on the notion that its audience can see itself, given the chance, right up there alongside those finalists.
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Post by dws1982 »

:angry: at tonight's results. Probably the best Idol contestant of this season just got sacrificed in favor of that creepy fat guy. Who's voting for him?

Eric, Bo may be repetitive, but unlike Anwar, he isn't consistently cringe-worthy. When Anwar proves that he can do something besides hit meaningless high notes, then maybe I'll lighten up. I've done a turnaround on other contestants, so maybe Anwar will surprise me next week. (I've listened to an mp3 of his "What's Going On" performance, and it wasn't so bad.) But for the most part, his rendition of the songs has been so awful, so annoying, that he gets a spot near the bottom for a reason.
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Post by MCAR »

Like Anonymous, I rank based solely on each week's performance. If I did it based on who I like and dislike, Constantine would be near the bottom every time...
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Post by anonymous1980 »

I don't know about dws1982 but I rank based on the PERFORMANCES of that particular week and whether or not I like a person is irrelevant. I don't like Constantine but I still ranked him number one last week because I truly felt he did best.

My rankings this week:

01. Vonzell (If she's in the bottom three again this week, I'm kicking every American citizen's ass.)
02. Constantine (I wanted to hate him since "Bohemian Rhapsody" is one of my favorite songs but he did it justice)
03. Bo (Still far from his best but better than last week, that's for sure.)
04. Nadia (Regardless of what the judges think. I liked it.)
05. Anthony (A vast improvement from last week. I don't dislike him as much as other people here.)
06. Carrie (Wasn't bad but Simon's comment was spot-on.)
07. Anwar (His best in weeks)
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08. Scott (GOOD NEWS: An improvement over last week. BAD NEWS: It still wasn't good enough)
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Eric
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Post by Eric »

So... what's really the point of ranking these performers out every week if you pretty much know who you like and don't. I mean, it's sort of getting old bashing Anwar every week and defending the equally monotonous Bo, isn't it?

(Anyway, it's the main reason I stop watching, more or less, after the auditions and semifinals episodes.)
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Post by MCAR »

Rankings this week:

1.Constantine - not a fan, hate the winks and lurid looks to the camera, not a great vocalist, but he was definitely the best one tonight.
2.Vonzell - Fun, energized, good vocal for the most part.
3.Bo - Just ok. Freebird seemed tailor-made for a guy like Bo, but it came out as nothing special.
4.Nadia - well sung, but forgettable. I do not get the judges unanimous disdain for her.
5.Anwar - Pleasant, but bland.
6.Carrie - What the hell was that? Painful.
7.Anthony - one of his better performances, but he is just so out of his league...
8.Scott - wobbly vocals, serious attitude problems

Nadia had the double misfortune of going first with a forgettable song and being blasted by all three judges, so it seems quite orchestrated to get her off, but I hope it is Scott who goes...
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Post by dws1982 »

Ranked:

1. Constantine: By far actually. Last season, I remember how Simon suddenly turned a corner with Diana and started praising her even though her performance (on Barry Manilow night when this happened) wasn't any better or worse than some of the stuff she'd done before. (She actually got off to a really rocky start that night.) She did step things up right after that (Gloria Estefan week with "Turn The Beat Around") but point is, it seems in retrospect that they decided on Manilow night that she should be the chosen final two person with Fantasia, and Simon acted accordingly. Anyway, to make a long story longer, Simon seems to have turned a corner in the past few weeks with Constantine, only this time, I think he really has improved.
2. Bo: Good...Part of what made Constantine's work so well was that he embraced the melodrama of it, and Bo should've probably done that here. Is there any doubt that Simon has officially left the Bo camp now? He's trying to say something critical, even if it doesn't make sense, like tonight's didn't. He does run the risk of becoming repetitive, but Ruben was even more repetitive and he won.
3. Vonzell: She's always been kind of forgettable to me, but she did really well tonight--maybe her best yet.
4. Anthony: His best by far. I've always thought he had a good voice, but he never quite knew what to do with it or how to pick songs that suited it. But he picked a good one tonight, and did really well.
(Ruben Studdard sized gap)
5. Nadia: What did she sing again? Forgettable, and that's worse than bad on American Idol, as Nikko and Jessica can tell her.
6. Carrie: For a Pat Benatar song, she might could've handled "We Belong" (not 1983, I know, but I'm just sayin') but not this. She didn't bring anything new to the song, her "growl" didn't sound good, she still looks dead behind the eyes, and there's more to stage presence than walking around a little. I can't think of any level on which this really worked.
7. Anwar: No Randy, he's not the best singer in the competition. To be honest, I don't think he's even got that good of a voice--to nasal for my tastes. That's a matter of taste, but his constant showing off is what I really hate. Songs aren't to be sung or interpreted to him. They're opportunities to wail and show of his range. Jasmine did this song last season, and her version was by far her best performance (most people would cite "Inseparable", but I think this was easily her best), and this didn't come close. Jasmine had her share of bad performances, but her version of "I'll Never Love This Way Again" seemed honest and genuine where Anwar's seemed synthetic and fake..
8. Scott: It's like he's not even trying anymore. That smartass remark to Simon could (hopefully) cost him some votes.
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Post by OscarGuy »

I only get to watch what I tape, so I'm a bit behind on these but since the Musical is one of my favorite genres, I thought I should chime in. What's this controversy about the first position of the night?

1. Nadia (very controlled. very classic. nealry perfect)
2. Constantine (sultry...and he's not very attractive)
3. Vonzell (not my favorite arrangement of People but I have to give her respect for that last note. She had such control it was amazing)
4. Carrie (very good vocally, the song is dated because it's from a dated musical)
5. Bo (Really not bad, though I hate that song)
6. Anwar (the vocal aerobics are irritating but at least he was on key)
7. Nikko (it wasn't horrible. it was decent. i don't understand why he was voted off but, hey...at least he's gone)
8. Scott (Was that a song? It sounded more like a dirge. I didn't like the performance. The sustained notes were uncontrolled and off key)
9. Anthony (oh my God...he really is a lounge lizard. That was atrocious...especially that last note...the arrangement was also godawful)
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Post by dws1982 »

Boring week.
1. Nadia
2. Constantine
(gap)
3. Bo
4. Carrie The Singing Corpse
5. Vonzell
(gap)
6. Nikko
(gap)
7. Anthony
8. Scott
9. Anwar (This was no different from his other--awful--performances. Same old wailing and screaming and hitting meaningless high notes to show off.)

Scott's going home. Can't see any way around it, with the scandal, with the dreaded first spot, and with middling comments from the judges. But then again, I thought he'd go home last week too.
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Post by MCAR »

My Rankings this week:

I don't think this was anyone's best week, but...

1.Vonzell
2.Anwar
3.Nadia
4.Constantine
5.Carrie
6.Bo
7.Nikko
8.Anthony
9.Scott
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Post by anonymous1980 »

My rankings:

01. Constantine (Hate to say this but I thought he was really good last night)
02. Nadia (One of her best performances in weeks. Her second behind "Try a Little Tenderness", her misinterpretation of the song notwithstanding)
03. Vonzell (Not as good as last week but still pretty good)
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04. Anwar (Better than last week but he oversang it)
05. Carrie (Good vocals but BORRRRRRING song choice.)
06. Bo (His weakest performance by far. Hated the arrangement but I give him points for doing the best he could with it)
07. Nikko ( Mediocre and utterly forgettable)
08. Anthony (Not as bad as what some people here regard it, IMO but that last note totally destroyed it for me. Pity. This is the only Sound of Music song I have never been sick of.)
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09. Scott (Ugh)

WILL/SHOULD GO: Scott or Anthony.
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Post by dws1982 »

I was so close to having showoff Anwar off of my TV for good tonight...this is disappointing. I had a feeling Anthony would avoid the bottom three this week after Simon's way too harsh comment (it wasn't anywhere near that bad), but how on earth does Scott avoid it week after week? He gets pans from the judges, he's fat and ugly, and he has no recognizable personality, and yet he hasn't even made the bottom three. And Nikko seems to hit one in three notes on key, yet he gets praise from the judges, and not one trip down to The Seal yet.

Part of me thinks that TPTB invoked The Clause on Jessica because she was too much of a challenge to Carrie The Singing Corpse.
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Post by kaytodd »

I think Anwar will stay because he will get a lot of votes from fans who remember his good past performances. His performance last night was his weakest but not a total mess, like Scott and Anthony. I believe one of them should go.

Paula rarely gives negative criticism and justifies this by saying she is trying to give encouragement to the contestants and she criticizes Simon for "crushing their dreams." I know she and Simon are sort of playing characters as well as being judges, but I think Simon is usually giving good advice and constructive criticism if the contestants will listen. I think Bo did a good version of that Black Crowe song. I did not hear Simon say it was bad, just that the song and performance will appeal to a rather narrow group of potential voters. Unlike Paula and Randy, Simon reminds the contestants that even a good performance can result in a contestant being voted off the show if the song or performance appeals to a too narrow audience, or if the song does not fit the contestant's style or if a costume or hairstyle choice is unwise.

Simon seems to be the only one judge who takes his job seriously. He reminds the contestants that the ultimate goal is not to give a good performance (at this point, almost all of the contestants are doing that), the goal is to get votes.
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Post by anonymous1980 »

01. Vonzell
02. Nadia
03. Carrie
04. Bo
05. Constantine
06. Nikko
07. Jessica
08. Anthony
09. Anwar
10. Scott

Paula is on something. Anwar was a mess tonight. Weakest performance byfar.

WILL/SHOULD GO: Scott or Anwar
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Post by dws1982 »

Solid week overall:

1. Constantine (Gotta give him credit.)
2. Nadia (Not quite as good as the high's she's hit in the past, but really good still.)
3. Vonzell (Trenyce did it better, but this was her best so far.)
4. Jessica (Good, but LeAnn Rimes songs are never a good thing.)
5. Bo (His weakest yet, but good.)
6. Carrie (Vocally good, but she might as well be a singing corpse for all the genuine emotion she seems to exude.)
(gap)
7. Anthony (This didn't really work.)
8. Nikko (Didn't bring anything special to a song I never liked.)
9. Scott (Awful. Made Camile's vomitous rendition last season sound good.)
10. Anwar (I've never liked him, but this was especially bad. Will he ever realize that he can't save something that's aggressively mediocre by throwing in a few high notes at the end? Glad the judges called him on it.)
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