Canadian Idol Fans Watching American Idol

[ross 1]

My own feeling about religion is like yours. About people who sing religious-themed music, I try to be accepting, though I'm a little put off by it. It kind of depends, because there are bands like Family Force 5 that I like, who sound nothing like Anglea or Colton (to say the least. "Christian Crunk Rock." I just happened to see them live, once. They were awesome.)

Growing up in an urban-suburban area in he Northeast, religious music is just not a popular genre here. It's more popular in the South. But Angela is from this area. *shrugs*

Anyhow when I was growing up, on TV variety shows, country and other singers sometimes sang religious songs or hymns, and there were famous Gospel singers. Etc. There was even a group formed by four female movie stars, who sang down-home country-folky religious tunes. I never especially cared for it, but I think it's okay for those who like it.

 

[missaddicted]

So, I'm very disappointed that Nick didn't make it. And that instead I'll have to suffer through Curtis' caterwauling and smug attitude. Ugh. At least, Nick is somewhat of an original artist, Curtis, not at all. Oh and I knew that Lazaro would get in, but his "victory song" tonight was just awful. I guess the guy I find the most interesting now is Burnell. His song was pretty good tonight. Just give him a tambourine, a triangle, a ukulele, anything that he could hold in his hands while he sings, the hand gestures have to go away.

I'm satisfied with girls that made it. I might be inclined to continue watching this season only for Kree. She was amazing again tonight, but of course, Idol couldn't even fit their show into their 90 minutes and my DVR cut in the middle of her performance, I saw the end of it when I started my recording of Glee! We really didn't need to see Ryan go back and forth between backstage and the stage and him giving the contestants the same pep talk before the doors opened. Bad idea Nigel.

Oh and sorry ross, but Amber left me totally cold tonight once again, her performance was subpar, and she made a terrible and predictable song choice again. She needs some good coaching, I hope she gets it. Anyway, I'm glad she made it since she seems to be your favorite.

 

[ross 1]

Well, I'm glad your favorite girl, Kree, made it.

I don't really have any favorites. There are just some I like more than others, at this point. I haven't seen the guys enough, yet. I haven't seen Burnell much at all, for example. I don't have extreme likes or dislikes of any of the contestants right now. I kind of dislike Candice because, whenever someone is praised to the hilt, on this show, if they don't live up to that hype completely, I probably end up disliking them a little more than I would without the hype. But let's just say artistry is missing, when she performs, in my opinion.

Kree, I don't find amazing, myself. I don't really find anyone amazing so far this season. That's not unusual at this point.

The theme next week is something like, "Songs Of The Idol winners." That should be interesting.

 

[ross 1]

Unfortunately this theme seems to encompass songs the winners did on Idol, as well as post-Idol. So what may happen is an idol covering a Beatles song, that was covered by an Idol winner. What's the point? I'd rather the theme was original songs by Idol winners.

I didn't see the show on Thursday, so I'm not sure about the wild card sing-off next week. How does it work? How many more people will it bring into the finals and tour?

Looking at twitter yesterday I saw a tweet by Richard Rushfield.

@richardrushfield The wall has fallen! The next American Idol will not be a white guy with a guitar! Freedom! http://www.buzzfeed.com/richardrushfield/the-next-american-idol-will-not-be-a-white-guy-with-a-guitar …

"The winners from seasons 7 through 11 — David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dwyze, Scotty McCreery, and Phillip Phillips — were in many ways very different kinds of performers, in genres stretching from gritty rock to traditional country. But they were all WGWGs. These characteristics, it was widely speculated, made them appealing to the largely young and largely female voters who decided the show's fate. Each year for the past five, a somewhat diverse group of singers would make it to the finals, only to see the same pattern repeat itself: one by one, all those who were not male, not white, and who did not play guitars would fall by the wayside, leaving the one WGWG as the winner."

This is wrong (and I may or may not have posted a comment). In S9, Lee was not the only guitar player (Casey James) and in S10, Scotty was not the only one (Paul McDonald).

I don't know if it makes him a wgwg, but Casey Abrams also played guitar, at least once. I don't remember if Tim Urban did; he does, in real life. As do Michael Johns and many more.

You see how nit-picky this becomes? Just goes to show how stupid the whole meme is. For instance, I was thinking Jason Castro is also a wgwg. Then I realized he's not technically a white guy. Though I had to think about it. (He didn't play guitar much, on Idol, but he played guitar in the semis, and played uke.) Very nit-picky.

But anyway, ignoring the technicalities, didn't young girls (and many old girls) find him cute? Would they have liked him a better, voted for him more, if his name was Jason Cook? Would David Cook have lost Idol if his name was David Castro? It's all such an insult to intelligence.

I've also always found it stupid that people think millions of Idol fans would vote against a contestant. (By voting for another contestant.) I'm sure there are scattered vindictive voters, but not masses of them. How could people say Adam lost Idol because people voted against him for being gay? They would have voted against him long before he got all the way to the finale. It's not like the finale comes around and people suddenly get to feeling much more homophobic than they did all season, when they loved the guy.

Then there's Alex Lambert. Pretty good looking teen white guy who played the guitar. Why didn't all those teens vote him into the Top 12 of his season?

Since I can't swear on this forum I'll just use a Kris expression and say so much of this stuff is a lot of bullcrap.

This year we have a judge who is a country singer, who plays guitar, who actually sang and played a duet with Kris Allen on the Idol stage - in short, a bona fide wgwg. In fact when I saw Keith in concert, he had a guitar that lighted up with neon lights. I don't know what my point is, in mentioning that - maybe that Idol is crazy.

They have a wgwg judge, and at the same time, they seemingly ban wgwgs. They have a wgwg reigning Idol winner, who I admittedly don't care for at all, but who is burning up the charts. And whom Idol seems very braggy about and proud of. I'm just saying. I'm not sure what message they are trying to send. It seems like a very confusing, mixed message, to me.

 

[missaddicted]

I hear what you're saying ross about that WGWG situation. I mean, if people wanted to vote for them in previous years, it's because they like them, right? Obviously not only because they were WGWG. I just believe the producers and the judges should put through the BEST contestants they see in audition/Hollywood week. It's logical, no? Of course, it's not really what happens, they "cast" contestants. And this year, they made it obvious that they wouldn't cast a WGWG, no matter if he was good or not. They should change the methods of voting if they to change something, instead they actually made it easier for people to power-vote. Anyway.

The wild-card singoff is kind of stupid actually. They'll pit the #6 girl against the #6 boy and the audience will vote for the one who makes it onto the tour, not on the show. So, yeah, not sure what the goal of this is.

For the theme next week, I'm fully expecting the contestants to make the most obvious choice. I mean, can you imagine Janelle and Paul not performing either a song Carrie did on her season or one of her hits? My expectations are low that we'll see the most predictable choices ever. If someone chooses something a little unexpected, I think I'll actually root for them.

 

[ross 1]

Thanks for the info about the sing-off! So, the person who wins the sing-off will make the tour, not the show? So there will be someone on tour who got no exposure as a Top 10 contestant on the show (and will be forgotten by the time the tour happens in the fall)? Okay, Idol. Whatever.

Rushfield. I brought it up because I'm annoyed by how the entertainment media have taken up this WGWG thing, and then they get the facts wrong (if the facts don't fit the meme). People on boards, too. Then the stories are picked up by news services, and quoted.

Oh, yeah, and also: I thought his tweet was stupid. Freedom from what? I'll take Cook and Allen over Lazaro and Paul, thanks. If they represent "freedom."

As for the theme next week, I also expect the contestants to make obvious choices. Though influenced by the producers (haven't they been, in the past?). So, along with singing the tunes of the veteran Idols who have been successful for years, I fully expect strong suggestions to sing Scotty and Phillip, the Interscope Idols.

 

[ross 1]

I lost my post, so I'll recap what I wrote. The whole thing could probably be called, "I guess I'm in the minority." Though on some things, like Curtis going home, I'm in the majority. Bye bye Curtis.

So I guess Ryan announced the voting order? I missed the show. Top 3 are Kree, Candice, and Angie? Taking this backwards, Angie was really not to my liking. She's nice, talented, seems to be not very discriminating or tasteful musically. I guess what I'm saying is a don't really like singers or performers like her. Not that I hate her, but, you know. And the dress everyone liked, I didn't. It wasn't flattering. Nicki loved her legs, I thought they looked like two straws. She was merely loud, and on key, without being artistic, or accomplished.

About Candice, you already know how I feel. She didn't do anything to change my mind. I think you may have said it before, missaddicted, what she does, others before her have done, only better.

Kree didn't belt, for which I'm grateful. That song is a great one, and I think she did it justice. I'm not especially (or at all) a fan, but Idol is for winning people over and she may win me over. I don't know.

One wonders if they all prefer ballads or if Nigel does or Ken does, or who does.

I wonder if the song choices were really their own. There are no less than seven male Idol winners, yet
only two were represented? But perhaps in keeping with this year's unofficial theme, "Girls Are Best," all four of the female winners were represented, in a whopping seven out of the ten songs.

Of course P2 got his 4x platinum plaque. Even now I'm mad they never gave Kris his platinum record on the show. It's a big enough deal when an Idol winner has a platinum single; others have gotten them handed to them on the show. P2 was even glorified when he went 1x platinum - they gave him the plaque on Today, or GMA, one of the big morning shows. It must be nice to be promoted.

 

[ross 1]

PS None of us have recapped the performances this week yet, and I feel like briefly doing some of that. I missed Curtis's performance, started the night with Janelle.

Janelle is someone I keep hoping will be a little stronger. How? By setting herself apart, maybe doing something intimate? I'm not sure she has it in her. I like her and her voice is good, but she needs to be competitive, have a strategy. I feel she'll be the first girl sent home, at this point.

Devin sounds the best of the guys, but his performance was so bland and safe. He didn't pick a particularly good song, either. Why would he choose to sing Carrie Underwood? There were five male Idols whose songs were not chosen. Because he was forced to?

I don't remember who was next. Angie? She got the sit-down with Iovine, who told her she resembles beauty pageant contestants. Maybe that explains why she chose to wear leather and chains. To show how street she can be. I thought she was shouty and uninteresting, though she seems nice.

Was Paul next? Well, anyway, he decided to sing Scotty (just like Janelle! Scotty is popular!) and he said it was because Scotty stayed true to himself throughout the competition. Paul is also staying true to himself - whatever that may be. He does have a pretty good voice. He has looks, in a TV-series kind of way. But he gets up there, opens his mouth, and I tune out.

Maybe Candice was next. She also stays true to herself, doesn't deviate one iota. So I kinda feel, once you've seen a Candice performance, you've seen 'em all. There's not going to be any creativity or imagination shown. "I can sang!" is basically the theme of Candice. Either you like it or you don't.

Of them all, Lazaro has the face a camera likes; it's very expressive. Made for TV. I haven't been able to hear his voice the last two times. What's with the sound mix? Idol Sabotage? Or are they trying to help him, by drowning out his weak parts? I couldn't really hear his singing so how can I critique it?

Kree does Kree. Stands and sings a ballad, has a good voice, seems to have taste and maturity - things that are sometimes lacking in the others. Lovely voice, but I hear she also rocks. However if she's the frontrunner at this point, I'm afraid they'll just have her repeat herself, to be safe.

I actually can't remember his name, the one who wears glasses but didn't, this time. Sang Ruben. I had to miss most of the performance, so I pass.

Then there was Amber. It felt manipulated. Rather than the simple, softly swinging Amber of before, who I enjoyed, there was this new aspect: pageant Amber. Prom dress and coronation song. Well, I didn't like it, and it did her no favors. 18 year olds have to think like 30 year olds, on this show, and avoid the bright ideas of the producers.

 

[missaddicted]

Wow, ross, you're more courageous than I am. The only way I could describe pretty much all of the performances is by saying: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I'm really only watching for Kree right now. Seriously, I'm very much questionning why I'm even watching. I only see the manipulations and the bad choices the producers and the judges have made. I can't really blame the contestants at this point...except if they're really the ones making these HORRIBLE song choices, then I'm fully putting the blame on them.

 

[PoliticalNick]

Ross...you didn't miss much in missing Curtis. It was another preachy, gospel performance with all the usual runs previously made famous by Jacob Lusk and Joshua Ledet. I am glad to see him go.

I do happen to like Angie and am hoping she starts to show her artistry and 'Philip Phillips' her song choices into her own arrangements.

I am also impressed by Candice. I have always been a big fan of Aretha and I am reminded of her when Candice performs.

Of all the guys I only like Burnell, or is it Brunell, LOL. He is really the only male with any form of artistic talent.

We shall see what happens in the next few weeks but I have a feeling that it WILL be a female Idol this year because the boys just don't seem to have anything. Even Lazaro, who has the looks and the sob story, has fallen flat in his singing in the last 2 weeks.

 

[ross 1]

I'm really only watching for Kree right now. Seriously, I'm very much questionning why I'm even watching. I only see the manipulations and the bad choices the producers and the judges have made. I can't really blame the contestants at this point...except if they're really the ones making these HORRIBLE song choices, then I'm fully putting the blame on them.

I doubt it was them. Nigel was asked recently who his favorite winner is; he answered Ruben. Brunell, Burnell (?) covered Ruben. The most successful winners (Carrie and Kelly) were covered five times. The winners of the first six years (minus Taylor) were all represented, while Scotty was the only one represented from the next five years! (The "wgwg" years.) The girls were all represented and most of the guys weren't. I don't think there are enough rationalizations on earth for this many coincidences.

Maybe the worst part of it was that the people they didn't choose to cover had some of the best song choices of any winners, in their seasons, as well as some great originals.

I'm not sure why I'm watching right now, either - probably because I got this far, and now I want to know what happens. But it does seem too manipulated. I'm mainly curious how the voters will vote. I can't predict a winner right now.

I do happen to like Angie and am hoping she starts to show her artistry and 'Philip Phillips' her song choices into her own arrangements.

I am also impressed by Candice. I have always been a big fan of Aretha and I am reminded of her when Candice performs.

Of all the guys I only like Burnell, or is it Brunell, LOL. He is really the only male with any form of artistic talent.

I haven't been a fan of Candice, she's not my type. I'm not sure how I feel about Angie, yet. She's a local girl, we're from the same area (North Shore area - north of Boston). I happened to be in her home town yesterday. I want to support her because she's from here. I'm not sure she's going to be my type, either, though. lol

I agree about Burnell, who I keep calling Darnell. The times I've seen him perform (not very many) I've thought he has the most potential, of the guys.

 

[PoliticalNick]

Just to add another thought about the judges....

Randy is still Randy....Yo Dawg, that didn't do it for me, he/she is in it to win it...yawn!
Keith seems to be a nice change, offering constructive criticism and suggestion while maintaining a smiling persona.
Maria can't seem to say anything but 'you know I love you' way to mushy on everyone, definitely playing the 'soft judge'
Nikki is the 'hard judge' foil to Maria but I think what appears to be a bad crack habit??? affects her ability to think or follow a script or even show up on time. I really believe she is going to implode before the season is over.

 

[missaddicted]

ross, you talked about Amber in answer to Political Nick's comment about Angie. I do think Angie has the potential to create interesting arrangements with her songs, but so far, except for her original song, she hasn't really shown it to us. I hope she does, because I do like her voice, but if she continues choosing songs like "I Surrender", it'll just be super depressing.

I watched La Voix here tonight (our version of The Voice), 24 people were left before tonight. 12 of them performed tonight, and seriously, at least 10 out of 12 performances were ranging from good to very good. I mean, if we can find people who deliver here in Québec, I don't see why they can't do it on Idol, starting with a much larger pool of talent.

 

[ross 1]

ross, you talked about Amber in answer to Political Nick's comment about Angie.

Well, originally I did make that mistake, but then I changed it.

Randy is still Randy....Yo Dawg, that didn't do it for me, he/she is in it to win it...yawn!
Keith seems to be a nice change, offering constructive criticism and suggestion while maintaining a smiling persona.
Maria can't seem to say anything but 'you know I love you' way to mushy on everyone, definitely playing the 'soft judge'
Nikki is the 'hard judge' foil to Maria but I think what appears to be a bad crack habit??? affects her ability to think or follow a script or even show up on time. I really believe she is going to implode before the season is over.

LOL. Bad crack habit had me laughing. Mariah came across as such a tough-talking chick, at times, during the auditions. Now she sits there serenely pronouncing everyone lovely and talented, in a most ladylike way. She seems to be able to turn it off and on.

Keith seemed like a pretty good judge at first but now I'm not sure he really says a lot. He gets really excited and enthused about some of the kids, and that's kind of refreshing, especially on this show. I like him.

Randy...well, he's always rubbed me the wrong way, so, he still does.

Nicki...I don't know, she's like a brat; she started out likable but her tricks get old. I didn't know anything about her (other than some music) when the show started, and I wasn't expecting her personality to be like this! Sometimes I like what she has to say, sometimes I think she's obnoxious. And yeah, she seems like a loose cannon.

Sorry but I have to say one more thing about last week's theme, and the producers of this show. If they're going to manipulate, why not manipulate in a way that makes the show better? There were 10 singers, there are 11 winners. It would have been cool to see every winner represented. I figure they could have done it, if someone picked a song two winners had both covered. You know? And everyone else could have chosen a different winner.

I'm sorry but it was boring to keep seeing the clips of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Once, yeah; but three times? I don't need it. I wanted to see them all.

I'm not a fan of many of the singers they showed. Not only that, but I didn't start watching until Season 7. The show didn't represent me, what I like, my tastes, or even my votes. Pretty sure I wasn't alone. So if the producers manipulate song choices, to me, they screwed up, in terms of my entertainment. Sometimes I think people off the street could produce a better show than these jokers.

I watched La Voix here tonight (our version of The Voice), 24 people were left before tonight. 12 of them performed tonight, and seriously, at least 10 out of 12 performances were ranging from good to very good. I mean, if we can find people who deliver here in Québec, I don't see why they can't do it on Idol, starting with a much larger pool of talent.

Yes, I think if you can find that many good singers in one province, it's sad what Idol ends up with, after auditioning across the entire USA. But have you considered that maybe they can't do it on Idol because they're a bunch of bozos?

I'm beginning to think these are just people who got very lucky, and maybe don't have an eye for talent, don't have taste, imagination, or whatever you need. When they do find amazing talents, half the time they don't even realize it. I'm glad there's voting involved or I'd really be scared.

 

[missaddicted]

Yes, I think if you can find that many good singers in one province, it's sad
what Idol ends up with, after auditioning across the entire USA. But have you
considered that maybe they can't do it on Idol because they're a bunch of
bozos?

Yes, I did consider it. I just find it incredibly sad!!!

 

[ross 1]

LOL!!

Actually I need to see this season, now! I'm not taking it too seriously. There's a slight air of desperation. It makes me laugh. I'd rather the show was great, and the singers were exciting. But it's entertaining to see how silly the show can get, also. In a sad kind of way.

Most of the singers really do have good voices, and can stay on key. But strangely, that doesn't make them good (except for a few). I'm interested in trying to figure out why. At least for the present.

Idology was funny this week, especially the part about Jimmy Iovine. His "mentoring" - I noticed the same thing! It was lame!

Did you ever watch Idology, PoliticalNick? Here's the episode:

Idoloonies - TVLine

 

[ross 1]

Oh, yeah, and of course, the other reason there are so many boring singers is that if there were 10 amazing singers, the outcome would be hard to predict, and the producers don't want that.

 

[SleepinIn]

I'm having Such a hard time watching this season. The style of singers they've found is just not exciting me at all. Of them all, I think Kree and Burnell are the most interesting, but even for them I doubt that I'd buy any of their post show music. So it's a stand-off. Lol

I did like seeing that Carly will be doing the end of the year song even if the song itself is probably going to be a mismatched forgettable disaster. I like seeing her do well. And that means that There is hope for these kids since I was not a Carly fan when she was on Idol. So we'll see I guess.

 

[ross 1]

These days, I no longer like many pop singers, so the fact that I don't seem to be able to hate CRJ, even though I want to, is the equivalent of huge praise from me. Glad to see her doing well. After Canadian Idol, she tried hard to keep visible, or her management tried hard, whatever. She didn't give up, and it worked out for her.

Recapping the performances (not in any order):

Kree was okay, I thought she sounded bad on a few notes, but she had a cold, and anyway, singers are human, so these things don't bother me. I just find her dull-ish to watch and listen to.

Burnell's number was well staged, seemed to like an effort to distract us from his inexperience and the fact he really didn't understand Let It Be, in my opinion. His voice actually sounded pretty bad to me, at times. What would he sound like if he sang this with two or three instruments? Possibly, not very good.

Amber seems down-to-earth. The out-takes showed she doesn't take herself too seriously. And her voice? I like that, too. I thought the judges underrated her this week, overrated her last week. But it wasn't great.

Devin sounded very good, but he has to show some range in terms of song choices.

Maybe if Candice took a song and didn't make it into a showcase for Candice, but instead, tried to interpret the song itself? Instead, "How can I use this song to show everyone what I can do with my voice?" seems to be the theme.

Lazaro. I pass.

Janelle gave a competent performance. But kinda like something off the old Lawrence Welk Show. Where there were a lot of good singers, who didn't really stand out. I think we have to ask ourselves, when watching these singers, if we want to sit through a headlining concert by them.

Paul. If you think about it, for a guy who walked in off the street, he has looks, vocal ability, nice personality. I don't think he knows how to put a song across - but even though he was not my fave, I'm sorry he got booted so soon because maybe he needed time to get comfortable. Or maybe there isn't that much time.

Angie. She's one of those people who's loaded with talent. Singing, songwriting, playing instruments. But - I've seen this type before - she's almost too good. There aren't the little quirks, and little imperfections. No uniqueness.

 

[ross 1]

Sorry, I didn't mean to kill the thread. :/