Canadian Idol Fans Watching American Idol

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Thanks.

Jake, don't smoke, the kids are watching this.

Who's the dog? Jake's? I know he got a puppy a year ago but it was a girl dog. Guess he can have more than one. Who's house is that? From what I understand he has a beautiful new house in Abbotsford, and that ain't it! I'm a pain in the ass, aren't I?

I enjoyed your discussion earlier. I don't have much to add to it. I only want to say: I haven't volunteered to do a recap yet, but I guess I want to do one. Just because so few Kris fans do them. I no longer think it'll be so easy, though. I don't know if I'll really be uninhibited about giving my impressions of Kris to a crowd that isn't interested. If you read that blog, the cast of characters has changed (with a few exceptions) almost totally since the AI season. I think almost anyone who's not an Adam fan has been more or less driven off. Except for about a dozen or more people. But only about four post regularly.

I'm obsessing about this a bit.

I read this comment there tonight and had to bring it over here:

"Where is Adam? We need some drama!"

I don't really mind the predominance of Adam fans. What I do feel weird about is the tone. It's like this unhealthy excitement. I mean, grown people really shouldn't be all freaking out because things are thrown onstage. "Oh my God! It's a whip!" "Tell me what he did, I'm dying from the suspense." It's like they're 12.

 

[missaddicted]

I haven't volunteered to do a recap yet, but I guess I want to do one. Just because so few kris fans do them. I no longer think it'll be so easy, though. I don't know if I'll really be uninhibited about giving my impressions of Kris to a crowd that isn't interested. If you read that blog, the cast of characters has changed (with a few exceptions) almost totally since the AI season. I think almost anyone who's not an Adam fan has been more or less driven off. Except for about a dozen or more people. But only about four post regularly.

I still encourage you to write one! I'm sure some people who are just lurking would appreciate another point of view. I don't have an account on MJ's blog so I don't post, but I still read her posts (and only sometimes the comments, but rarely). And I'm sure I'm not the only one in that situation.

 

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Okay, I'll try. I know for a long time I never read the comments, either. Now I'm more or less back to that position, but I skim them. Last night I did read them, though.

To add something to your earlier discussion: the only thing is I hope is that Kris has a good agent. And a good press agent. Or is all that under the blanket of 19E? Because he's not self-promoting, at all. Anything but. Good representation is all-important, for him. Has he had it, so far? I don't know. Is he getting enough exposure?

Oh, I forgot to mention. Heard him on the radio again today. Yesterday, too. That recording of Heartless has really grown on me. As for his range, that song is very rangy. Some very high and very low notes.

 

[SleepinIn]

LMAO - David has a stage chicken. That's hysterical. Sadly he's not the only band that I've seen with a rubber chicken.. INXS had one too - what is up with that?

I still encourage you to write one! I'm sure some people who are just lurking would appreciate another point of view. I don't have an account on MJ's blog so I don't post, but I still read her posts (and only sometimes the comments, but rarely). And I'm sure I'm not the only one in that situation.

Me too. I don't have an account over there either - but I still read there, and I think a whole LOT of people are the same.

To add something to your earlier discussion: the only thing is I hope is that Kris has a good agent. And a good press agent. Or is all that under the blanket of 19E? Because he's not self-promoting, at all. Anything but. Good representation is all-important, for him. Has he had it, so far? I don't know. Is he getting enough exposure?

I think what will help Kris is his personality. When you see how Jim from MTV canceled his vacation to come back to NY to interview Kris is really says a lot about Kris. And someone from TWOP said that they have been playing clips of the interview in between their programming. I don't know how it's going to go after the tour but you're right he is going to have to step up the promotion a bit. Actually since he's been so closed mouthed about the album if he did decide to drop a hint or two about it - I think we would pretty much go nuts at this point. Look what happened when the Itunes pass showed that glimpse of Bright Lights on the piano.. collective... AIEEEIEI

 

[missaddicted]

LMAO - David has a stage chicken. That's hysterical. Sadly he's not the only band that I've seen with a rubber chicken.. INXS had one too - what is up with that?

LOL, rock bands are weird! Actually, David and his unnamed band also had a toy alligator (I think it was an alligator) at some point on stage also. They were putting the chicken's head in the alligator's mouth. Ah, boys!

And I agree about Kris and his self-promotion. He could improve on that front. Of course, he wants to be all about the music, and that's amazing, but sometimes it has to be just a little bit more than just about the music to succeed. But a personality like his does go a long way, he's not the one to act like a diva or throw hissy-fits.

 

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YouTube - Kris Allen - Heartless - AI8 Tour - Hamilton

Looks like this user has a lot of the concert on video. Good quality -- good sound. Click on the username for the rest of the vids. It's from Hamilton. The crowd response to Kris in this clip doesn't sound nearly as loud or enthusiastic as it did in most of the recent performances from the States. Well, I guess nobody there voted for him, for one thing. Not that they voted for Adam, either, but I think Kris is less popular in Canada for some reason. I have that impression. Though you guys and several other Canadians I know (online) are fans.

And I agree about Kris and his self-promotion. He could improve on that front. Of course, he wants to be all about the music, and that's amazing, but sometimes it has to be just a little bit more than just about the music to succeed. But a personality like his does go a long way, he's not the one to act like a diva or throw hissy-fits.

I don't think many performers are particularly good at self-promotion, but that's why God invented agents. If you have a self-promoting personality, all the better, but Kris has all the necessary ingredients. He's talented, easygoing, likeable, nice looking, and like you said, he doesn't act like a diva or cause trouble. He's also funny and intelligent. He just needs a good team who can promote him properly. But what I guess I meant was, I don't know if he chooses his own representation or if he's more or less the property of TPTB, due to his Idol contract.

 

[missaddicted]

But what I guess I meant was, I don't know if he chooses his own representation or if he's more or less the property of TPTB, due to his Idol contract.

I'm pretty sure he's managed by 19M, Simon Fuller's company. It's not always the case. Again, my best example comes from last year, Archie is signed by Jive, but he's not managed by 19E, he's managed by his dad. Cook's manager Michelle works for 19M, that I'm pretty sure. The big boss Fuller even attended a few of David's shows from his tour. I'm pretty sure I've read that Kris has signed to be managed by 19M (same thing for Adam and Allison I believe). I guess they're not all bad. They want their clients to bring in the money of course!

 

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I'm pretty sure he's managed by 19M, Simon Fuller's company. It's not always the case. Again, the best example comes from last year, Archie is signed by Jive, but he's not managed bu 19E, he's managed by his dad. Cook's manager Michelle works for 19M, that I'm pretty sure. The big boss Fuller even attended a few of David's shows from his tour. I'm pretty sure I've read that Kris has signed to be managed by 19M (same thing for Adam and Allison I believe). I guess they're not all bad. They want their clients to bring in the money of course!

I'd rather he and Adam were managed by different people. I can see an independent agent getting motivated to out-do 19E, for instance. I think a lot of troubles with Idol careers seem to be management-related, anyhow. You have to wonder why some excellent, even really popular people are just allowed to fade into obscurity after Idol. Seems if these people had decent representaion it wouldn't happen.

 

[SleepinIn]

This is a good quality video from Hamilton too. Bright Lights - yay!

YouTube - Kris Allen - Bright Lights - Live in Hamilton

The crowd response to Kris in this clip doesn't sound nearly as loud or enthusiastic as it did in most of the recent performances from the States. Well, I guess nobody there voted for him, for one thing. Not that they voted for Adam, either, but I think Kris is less popular in Canada for some reason. I have that impression. Though you guys and several other Canadians I know (online) are fans.

Yeah, it's funny. Adam got a lot of media attention here, and did better on itunes here - yet everyone at work wanted Kris to win. It might be the fact that we didn't vote for either of them and thus don't really have a "team" so to speak. There's also the fact that Adam lived in Toronto for a few months while he was in Wicked - that didn't really help Scott out at all though. Or it could be the Adam is now the underdog thing.. lol who knows??? Very mysterious. Could be we just like classic rock.

 

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Really, the crowd response I mentioned above isn't bad. Any performer would love to have it. I just notice a slight dip in the loudness level compared to the usual.

Or it could be the Adam is now the underdog thing.. lol who knows??? Very mysterious.

I somehow don't think Adam's applause would have been quite as loud had he won. And I think Kris's applause would have been louder had he lost, because, for one thing, all the Adam fans would be much more gracious in victory than they are in defeat, and would probably cheer loudly for him. Just so long as he lost, they'd be cool with him.

I tend to think the applause meter would still have favored Adam, but coming in second, the applause for him seems to have that almost desperate intensity, like all the Adam fans are screaming extra loud to prove to the world they think he should have won.

I also think the more normal Idol fans are giving him compensatory applause for being a very talented guy who didn't win.

YAY for Bright Lights.

 

[SleepinIn]

Rochester review

Review: ‘American Idol’ tour sticks to formula - RocNow.com

Review: ‘American Idol’ tour sticks to formula

Jeff Spevak – Staff music critic
Living – August 15, 2009 - 10:39pm
Every time the Harlem Globetrotters come to town, you know the outcome. It’s the same with American Idol, which follows up the show each summer with the same unimaginative template of a tour, inserting different faces into the well-established roles.
While my prayers that a guy named Anoop would win American Idol went unanswered, the drama on this year’s show was that the wrong guy won. Saturday night at the Blue Cross Arena, many of the 7,000 fans made it known at every opportunity that the fella in eyeliner, Adam Lambert, was their choice over the actual winner, Kris Allen.

Thrown into the deep end of the pool by virtue of their top-10 finishes in Idol, Lambert did indeed emerge as the best swimmer, much like another hard rocker who Idol observers thought should have won, Chris Daughtry in 2006. Lambert was perfect for a medley of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” “Fame” and “Let’s Dance.” But how much was Lambert’s talent, and how much was the choice of songs like Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love?”
Hmmmm: We’ve been here before. That same song — and black eyeliner — also worked for Daughtry three years ago.
Allen accompanied himself on guitar for Kanye West’s “Heartless,” and showed real versatility by moving to the piano for Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” He could happen.....

Nice review for Kris. (it's good for Adam too of course) but it's interesting that this review also mentions the fact that Adam is singing Led Zeppelin as one of the things that makes him stand out.

 

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That's an odd review. The guy says he hoped Anoop would win AI. Then later he mentions Anoop almost in passing, as if Anoop was never a favorite.

the drama on this year’s show was that the wrong guy won

If there was drama about that, it happened after the show was over. But was there drama?

This stuff always leaves me fumbling for words. "The wrong guy won." How can the "wrong" guy win? If he got the most votes, he's who the majority of people wanted. So who is that outcome wrong for? The minority of people.

Or maybe the press. But the majority of people would seem to support it.

 

[missaddicted]

But was there drama?

LOL. Um, I'd say that yes, there has been drama. A LOT of drama. And I think it's still ongoing. The Arkansas vote controversy, the gay vs. church boy controversy, all the reviewers who still want to determine if the right guy won, the fanwars, etc. I'd say there's been plenty of drama!

 

[missaddicted]

Hey ross, isn't your show in the coming days? When is it?

 

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It's tuesday, missaddicted.

I tend to think a lot of the drama has been manufactured by the press. The Arkansas vote thing was reported by one TV station in Little Rock and retracted the next day. Yet the NY Times (whose reviewer really doesn't like Kris, coincidentally or not) tried to make a big thing out of it, and the voting parties.

Right now if you do a Google blog search, there are at least three different headlines suggesting Adam is writing songs for Kris. Based on a stupid headline for Jim Cantiello's article a couple of days ago that said Kris's secret songwriting weapon is Adam.

http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&q=kris allen&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wb

 

[missaddicted]

For sure, most of the drama is manufactured, but it's still drama. I wasn't expecting drama between Adam and Kris for example. But from the fans and the press, definitely. No matter how many times they say that they're great friends and that they respect eact other, that they help each other with their songs, there are always going to be some that will try to find something to create drama. It's still exhausting to read all about it anyway and try to make sense of it or forget that it's there!

 

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No matter how many times they say that they're great friends and that they respect eact other, that they help each other with their songs, there are always going to be some that will try to find something to create drama. It's still exhausting to read all about it anyway and try to make sense of it or forget that it's there!

Exhausting is right. Personally I would just like to feel good Kris won, and feel good about his progress, and enjoy being a fan. But it's hard to look up any news about him without encountering a lot of other stuff.

 

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Who knows maybe two things were thrown. It looks like something soft hit him, but the twitter pic guy and the person that he tweets to about it (the other person who was there) say that is what he kicked (and that it did NOT hit him), and the picture of it laying on the stage is from someone completely different (and it doesn’t look like any of her other photos have been tampered with??
Oh well, might be a wiggle, but it does have that dildo shape and that is what the guy was running with.
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He could be running with it, but on the video, at 1:31-1:34 we see at his feet, two small, cloth things, looks like panties, too small to be jockstraps, bras or anything else. The one on his left appears to be blue, there is one thrown at 1:31, it appears to be white-ish in colour. Then at 2:16 he is hit at his left mid-thigh with something. It is very small, clearly cloth and fairly flat when it lies at his feet. He then kicks it at 2:19. It is not that toy that person showed. That toy is too big and didn’t have the same mass (or lack thereof) when it hit Adam’s thigh at 2:16. Nor when it laid there until 2:19 when he kicked it. At least that’s what my Zaprudering showed me. YMMV.

This is why you don't want to read the comments on mj's blog.

Speaking of exhausting.

I have a curiosity about the concerts, and sometimes I can get some info, over there, because people use twitter to report from the concert. But when it gets like this? It's either depressing or hilarious, I don't know which.

This is a good interview from the Boston Herald, with Anoop and Danny.

Unfortunately the first paragraph is:

The American Idols Live! 2009 tour prepares to roll into TD Garden on Tuesday. Flamboyant runner-up Adam Lambert, according to all reports, is the star of the show, outshining last season’s winner, the likable, low-key Kris Allen.

Hey, a pre-show diss! That's a new one. The show hasn't even been here, but Adam is better, you silly people. He's the star! Why do you like Kris! Kris sucks!!! Bwahahaha!

Interview with Lil from the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune.

Hey Jude and Bright Lights (from far away, but it's actually fun to see what the stage looks like) in Rochester, NY. Really nice sound on both! Great crowd response. I love both these performances. Looks like there's still a lot of stage fog left over from Adam.

YouTube - Hey Jude - Kris Allen - Rochester, NY 8-15-09

YouTube - Bright Lights - Kris Allen 8/15/09
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Oh, and congrats on page 40! Here's another Bright Lights:

YouTube - Bright Lights- Kris Allen - Uniondale, NY 8-11-09

 

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Ben McKenzie's Mad World on AusIdol.

YouTube - Australian Idol 2007 - Ben McKenzie - Mad World

This kid interprets the lyrics with skill. This is so simple and unforced, it's refreshing.

And why can't AI have judges like that?