American Idol 9: Discussion & Poll (FM Theme Night?) - Page 7

jannieC · #91 03-12-2010, 04:13 PM

Siobhan and Crystal are my favorites, followed by Michael. I *really* liked Alex and hate he got voted off. There was an innocence about him that really was refreshing. I didn't get an idiot-savant vibe from him, though I did question the haircut and the way he bit his lip a lot.

In all seriousness now- Tim Urban makes me sick. I wish I could secretly video-tape my husband imitating him and then post it here. The way he kept saying "wow" the other night was ridiculous. I thought some of his vocals on Hallelujiah were okay but not at all like contestants in the past. His affect is gross and the way he tries to act humble- ew.

Oh, and I thought Didi's(?) version of Rhiannon was actually kind of lovely. I was surprised.

Dodfather · #92 03-14-2010, 07:58 AM

Bah!! Lily Scott, someone who is actually different, has gone out in favour of a generic (yet taleneted) 16 yo girl who sings Kelly Clarkson badly and doesn't know what she's really doing. Damnit. Right, I'm pinning my hopes on Crystal Bowersox!

I was also annoyed Alex went out, but he was very nervous all the time...he just had to conquer them then he he'll be great!

TrueFaith77 · #93 03-14-2010, 09:14 AM

I'm glad Lilly is gone (although, yes, none of the girls are as awful as Katie).

I'm bummed Alex is gone, but, really, the word is that he's the victim of producer sabotage (who talked him into performing the forgettable "Trouble" over the song that Alex really wanted to do). If I were a contestant on the show, I'd NEVER listen to the producers (winners such as Kelly & Carrie famously demanded what they wanted in terms of song choice, arrangement, and time with the band--and got it!). So, yeah, unfortunately he deserves to go even though I thought he was very talented. It is a contest--and he didn't take Simon's advice to get the "killer instinct." Those with a killer instinct don't heed the advice of producers who insist on putting American through a weekly lip-synch group number from Hell!

TrueFaith77 · #94 03-17-2010, 07:42 AM

Top 12 Night (Rolling Stones)

Tim Urban - The only time tonight that I sat up and said: "WTF?!" and then in the second half of the song, I believe I swooned. Going reggae on "Under My Thumb" was risky and strange and attention-getting, but as performed by the show's (hated) heartthrob that infamously misogynist song became a whole new kind of challenging.
Aaron Kelly - The most consistent and passionate performance of the night, Aaron Kelly showed he's got great tone and control outside of his country power belting. Genius choice of song with "Angie."

Crystal Bowersox - The most professional performance of the night, her "You Don't Always Get What You Want" didn't quite stick with me afterwards the way it should. I think she deviated too much from the original composition in ways that reduced its impact, though in no ways reduced her standing.
Siobhan Magnus - Honestly, I thought this was a mess. It showed off her greatest weaknesses (the high notes here crossed the border into--perhaps intentional--screechiness and the lower register was full of nasal), but it also featured some of her strengths: she's always compelling and when her voice is in its beauty range it's gorgeous (as in the very end of the song). Still, she's in danger of fitting the show's desire for a Lady Gaga type, and when that happens, I'll drop her. Her strength thus far has been interpretting songs in ways that dramatize their meaning; stick with it.

Casey James
Paige Miles
Didi Benami
Michael Lynche
Lee Dewyze

Lacey Brown - Her strength has always been the appeal of her tone; last night, she sounded terrible.
Andrew Garcia - Straight up: why is he on this show?
Katie Stevens - "Wild Horses" must bless anyone who sings it; she ruined what I usually consider to be my favorite Stones song. Still, it would make a great exit song.

HejiraNYC · #95 03-17-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrueFaith77

Top 12 Night (Rolling Stones)

Tim Urban - The only time tonight that I sat up and said: "WTF?!" and then in the second half of the song, I believe I swooned. Going reggae on "Under My Thumb" was risky and strange and attention-getting, but as performed by the show's (hated) heartthrob that infamously misogynist song became a whole new kind of challenging.
Aaron Kelly - The most consistent and passionate performance of the night, Aaron Kelly showed he's got great tone and control outside of his country power belting. Genius choice of song with "Angie."

Crystal Bowersox - The most professional performance of the night, her "You Don't Always Get What You Want" didn't quite stick with me afterwards the way it should. I think she deviated too much from the original composition in ways that reduced its impact, though in no ways reduced her standing.
Siobhan Magnus - Honestly, I thought this was a mess. It showed off her greatest weaknesses (the high notes here crossed the border into--perhaps intentional--screechiness and the lower register was full of nasal), but it also featured some of her strengths: she's always compelling and when her voice is in its beauty range it's gorgeous (as in the very end of the song). Still, she's in danger of fitting the show's desire for a Lady Gaga type, and when that happens, I'll drop her. Her strength thus far has been interpretting songs in ways that dramatize their meaning; stick with it.

Casey James
Paige Miles
Didi Benami
Michael Lynche
Lee Dewyze

Lacey Brown - Her strength has always been the appeal of her tone; last night, she sounded terrible.
Andrew Garcia - Straight up: why is he on this show?
Katie Stevens - "Wild Horses" must bless anyone who sings it; she ruined what I usually consider to be my favorite Stones song. Still, it would make a great exit song.

Andrew Garcia is clearly going home, and deservedly so. But that's not to say that he was that much worse than the rest of them. I was expecting a bit of a ****show when it came to interpreting Stones songs, but I just had no idea how badly it would turn out. Wow. Of all of the performances, the only one that I found even remotely interesting was Didi Benami's take on "Playing With Fire." For one thing, it's not an obvious choice for a Stones song. And although she seemed to struggle with the big notes, she really owned this goth-lite rendition. Nicely done.

Otherwise, I think the other performances could be classified thusly:

Bad Hotel Lounge/Cruise Ship Act
Michael Lynch
Tim Urban
Paige Miles

Bad Corner Bar Covers Band
Casey James
Crystal Bowersox
Lee Dewyze
Andrew Garcia

Vapid Beauty Pageant Contestant
Katie Stevens
Siobhan Magnus
Lacey Brown

I think Aaron Kelly probably has potential as a "modern country" singer, and he's probably the dark horse in the competition. Crystal is clearly receiving the pimp treatment and she will definitely go far. But she is a dime a dozen- there is nothing particularly distinctive or memorable about her and she does read as being a bit on the aloof side- definitely not endearing. I don't think she has the kind of universal appeal that will push her into the victory slot.

TrueFaith77 · #96 03-17-2010, 09:27 AM

I think your recap outdid mine for keeping it realz.

And I also agree with what you say about Aaron. Def got a sense that if he can pick up some fans, he's got a chance to go farther in the competition than I originally thought (even though I've always dug him).

Hope you are right about Andrew getting the boot!

Lee · #97 03-17-2010, 10:22 AM

It's hard to pull off singing the Stones. However, I really liked Mike, Crystal & Casey. I've said to my husband every week that Casey reminds me of Kenny Wayne Shepherd & Randy said last night that he is like KWS. (My husband & I have seen Kenny numerous times.) I think Casey though has a better voice than KWS (Sorry Kenny). Anyway I saw the odds according to MSNBC.

Lacey 100-1
Tim 75 - 1
Paige 40-1
Andrew 25-1
Aaron 20-1
Katie 18-1
Didi 15-1
Lee 10-1
Casey 8-1
Sioban 6-1
Crystal 3-1
Mike 2-1

Right now, I'd have to agree with these odds unless something drastically changes. What does everyone else think?

Lee

HejiraNYC · #98 03-17-2010, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee

Lacey 100-1
Tim 75 - 1
Paige 40-1
Andrew 25-1
Aaron 20-1
Katie 18-1
Didi 15-1
Lee 10-1
Casey 8-1
Sioban 6-1
Crystal 3-1
Mike 2-1

Right now, I'd have to agree with these odds unless something drastically changes. What does everyone else think?

Lee

I would disagree strongly that Mike is the one to beat. Maybe 5 years ago he may have been a contender. The problem is that his style is a bit of a throwback- those big mellismatic R&B voices are just not particularly relevant these days. If you think about the most popular male singers today, NONE of them are good singers on any level. Today it's all about image, choreography, autotune and a having a hot producer to stitch it all together. Undoubtedly he will go far in the competition because, if nothing else, he has the distinction of being the only AA male in the group (although he may have turned off some people by trotting out his white wife. I'm just sayin'...). Otherwise, he doesn't seem to bring anything new or interesting to the table.

I think the top three will be Crystal, Siobhan and Aaron.

skcin · #99 03-18-2010, 12:52 PM

I like Mike, but I agree with the above as far relevance.

Didi is growing on me fast. Great performances the past 2 weeks.

I like Lee's voice, but he doesn't stand out to me at all.

I don't agree that Crystal is a dime a dozen - the bitch is good. Really good.

Figured it would be Lacey or Andrew to go, so I wasn't surprised or upset.

Siobhan is cool and she can sing. But that high note this week turned screechy. She had better not do that every week either - it will get old really fast.

TrueFaith77 · #**100** 03-24-2010, 10:59 AM

Top 11 Night (Billboard #1's)

NOTHING iTunes-worthy this week. Still, a glorious train wreck!

Tim Urban - Not the kind of performance to Win, but maybe the kind of performance to Survive another week. It's a horrible song choice ("Funny Little Thing Called Love" by Queen)-- a gimmick, a novelty, a piece of kitsch that hit #1. Still, in what I undoubtedly suspect was a case of Producer sabotage, Tim took the bulls*** by the horns and played it. . . wittily: good vocal (drowned out a bit by the music, though) and an energetic performance that seemed to be bidding for the tween votes and a role in Adam Shankman's next movie (Adam was in the audience; wonder what he thought of Tim's bid?). Two words: The Slide! It was Sanjaya worthy.
Siobhan Magnus - This is the first time I felt she was disconnected from the song, but at the end when she did some inspired runs, I remained fully captivated (can't say that about the next two good performances . . .)
Aaron Kelly - Aaron proves that he puts his stamp on every non-Country ballad. He's not yet the David Archuleta that Ryan claims him to be (and the routine about crushing on SECOND GREATEST MENTOR EVER Miley Cyrus didn't convince), but he SINGS with FEELING.
Crystal Bowersox - Crystal does too, but the judges are right to complain about a wall between her and the audience. She's still too coffee-shop, street-corner--she just might be the best of her type though. She needs a "moment"--and I believe she's capable of it. But every week, I can't remember what song she sang or how she sang it. The moment eludes her and me.

The next four oompa loompas represent the Cheese Factory:
Casey James
Michael Lynche
Lee DeWyze
Didi Benami

Paige Miles - She has this crack in her voice that is so wonderful, but she can't sing. The cut to her friends revealed a valley girl with soul in her vocal cords, but not in her heart. "Against All Odds" spells doom on Idol and she seems to embrace her destiny.
Katie Stevens - She was outrun by the song (talk about karaoke, you could practically see the ball bouncing past her vocals) and her voice remains ugly--as do her singing faces. At least she made Fergie look good: an achievement not matched since . . . Nine!
Andrew Garcia - It's one thing for Paige and Katie to ruin bad songs, but he smashes a Marvin Gaye classic ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine") into vinegar like Kim Jong-Il oppresses his people. Simon rightly declared that the judges had overrated his dime-a-dozen YouTube interpretation of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up"--but will they keep him so he can perform it on tour? Tim's fate rests in the balance.

TrueFaith77 · #**101** 03-25-2010, 06:03 AM

Tim, who has risen to the top of the competition for me, is safe. phew...

TrueFaith77 · #**102** 04-01-2010, 08:09 AM

No wonder nobody is commenting. Worst. Season. Ever. And I was looking forward to Siobhan, Crystal, Aaron, Tim . . . so far only Tim is fun, but even he isn't really doing what he does best: except exposing the judges for the jokes they are.

Anyway, Didi was finally eliminated last night. A friend of mine who never watches the show but happened to catch the last ten minutes called me up and said: "That must be the worst version of 'Rhiannon' EVER." And I agreed and

'd! Then my friend referred to it as the "I'm pretty" version of "Rhiannon."

Bye Bye Dudu!

skcin · #**103** 04-01-2010, 09:21 AM

Didi was OK, and I actually loved her version of Rhiannon. But 1 tune isn't enough & the rest of her stuff sucked.

Tim is awful, he hurts my everything.

This season blows.

So boring. I like Crystal the best, but I almost hope she doesn't win (I'm thinking she'd be better off on her own - ala' Daughtry.)

jannieC · #**104** 04-01-2010, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skcin

Didi was OK, and I actually loved her version of Rhiannon. But 1 tune isn't enough & the rest of her stuff sucked.

Tim is awful, he hurts my everything.

This season blows.

So boring. I like Crystal the best, but I almost hope she doesn't win (I'm thinking she'd be better off on her own - ala' Daughtry.)

Thank you.

TrueFaith77 · #**105** 04-01-2010, 11:50 AM

It was bound to happen, I suppose. It happens to me every year. My favorite contestant is the most hated.

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