American Idol

I hear they are continuing with a new season. I know Paula is being replaced by Ellen. I love Ellen, but I can't see her being critical, and I recently heard that Simon is leaving. I wonder how Idol will do now? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

starts soon, no? And Simon is staying, is that right?

Not remotely a fan of Ellen, so we'll have to see how that works. Still curious why they picked her, and whether she will be a permanent addition.

Isn't Simon leaving after this season?

I think Simon keeps on saying that through people so they'll raise his contract.

He is a very good business man after all.

Huh?

I LOVE Ellen and think she'll be an awesome addition! Better than Paula's blubbering. Looking forward to this season.

Like a press leak. Simon tells his brother, agent, random people that he's thinking of leaving the show. Word gets out to entertainment shows, magazines, around hollywood in general. It creates a controversy with fans who want to retain him on the show, while simultaneously planting the idea in Fox's collective mind that he may be going, and it allows them to re-evaluate how much he's worth to the show (and because of the rising profile aided by rumors of him leaving the show, his image on the show is worth more). So by the time he gets to the negotiating table, Fox is prepared to pay him more without him saying the first word, and from there he can drive a hard bargain.

It's genius.

There are Simon leaving rumors ever year. He is the show. Can't imagine it without him.

I don't like that show at all. I don't like reality shows in general though. One thing I will say is that any show has to be better with the removal of Paula. Of what I did see of that show, she was a fool.

I got hooked on this a few years ago...I generally don't watch the audition rounds....but I love to hear the incredible talent that AI finds around the country.

I love that there are no backstage clips of the contestants tearing one another apart. They support each other and, for me, it's a great example of how team work and competition can happen all once. I can't imagine how hard it is to accept critizism in front of that many people, but generally the contestants do so gracefully.

Generally, good examples for my kids.

Manylayers - your location is PA - where in PA?

I like Ellen. I might watch it. I get frustrated every year it comes on tho.

Simon wants to bring his show to USA- doesn't he?

Don't you think the show is getting old tho? I think this season will be the last of the great American Idol.

I'll miss Paula but only for a bit. When she talked most of the time it was like watching someone high on dope.

Ugh, I still don't understand why that show is so popular... Or why Ryan Seacrest is even famous. It's a karaoke contest! Although I do love Jennifer Hudson, aside from a few people who have a good career (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry), everyone else disappears and is really not anything to rave about...

Just my humble opinion...

Seacrest is also a radio host (we get the syndication out here) and TV producer.

I know, but he got famous on AI and I think he's lame I had to change the channel on New Year's Eve to something he wasn't hosting because he's just so cheesy.

Fantasia is supposed to be big on Broadway.

Even if one of them a year ends up making a decent living through entertaining, I'd say their average is good.

It's sad watching some people display their talent when they have none, and then are crushed when they are rejected....

I love Idol audition train wrecks

Me too. I like the early train wreck episodes, then wish it could just skip right to the top 10 and forget all the middle part.

Ditto.

Did anyone watch last night? I didn't think they had as many truly bad singers on there as they do in a lot of the early auditions. Bring on the train wrecks!

The "confrontation" between Kara and the guy with the big glasses who was annoyed with waiting so long was silly to me. Was he creepy and arrogant? Sure. Did she make a MUCH bigger issue of it than necessary? Definitely, IMO.

Yes, I watched. I didn't think some that they let through were all that great.

I liked the creepy guy scene. And I appreciated that Kara made a big deal out of it. He seriously needed to get over himself.

Evidently he did it all on purpose, they had a big deal about it on the radio this morning. He has a facebook page and myspace. He doesn't wear glasses and other stuff didn't ring true I guess.

I think I may be alone here but... I liked the Clark Kent creepy guy!! For some reason I kept thinking that it was just his shtick. I mean, who wears those big glasses (that I also liked) on purpose?! He was almost overly trying to be geeky but you could totally tell that he was decent looking behind the big glasses and he definitely worked out. Somehow, the whole thing just seemed kind of staged on his part. Either way, I kind of liked him!

Woohoo!

Only had time to see a very little bit last night. Saw them passing through the girls and then that weird dude with the blue outfit, he hugged Kara and said something about Simon being "Sassy". Can't remember was he the dude with all the weird voices too?

Actually, it was watching someone high on dope.

Yes.

AHEM.

Did anyone hear that Paula might come back?

No, but I saw an interview with Simon last night where he said that he would like to work with Paula in the future. He is bringing the X Factor to American tv and even eluded to the fact that she may be on that.

Maybe that's what the news was about. I thought it said they were in talks that she would be back this season.

My wife last night said, "What did Paula do to her hair."

I looked at her and just laughed...there went my evening

How about that girl who thought Kara WAS Paula!

Or that quiet Asian kid?


Posh is hot.

no kidding!

I miss Flawless

she looked better after that wierd thing was out of her hair

with it in it looked like her forehead was pulled back and she looked kind of Skeletor like

this show is jumping the shark for me....

Simon can leave now...

Sort of like a Barbie post...

Thank you for this post--I kept trying to come up with the name "Flawless" all night last night while watching, and I couldn't remember it. I knew it was something "less" but that was as close as I could get. I agree, bring back Flawless!

You got that right!

Some of those people appear to be mentally ill - especially the first girl who kept jumping up & down. Why in the world was she wearing a shirt like that anyway??

I wonder why Fox shows some of these people. (Yes, I watch it all - it is like a train wreck)

I know! isn't this show great!

That's why they show them - cause we love to watch.

Ya know, I don't find Posh hot at all.

She needs to gain some weight just to be healthy looking.

Man, she can be downright skinny scary and whoever said Skeletor above was right on the money.

I know, it was sort of a rhetorical statement.

But if that was your sister or your daughter wouldn't you try to stop them?

What exactly are Ellen's qualifications for judging other than picking music to stradle dance over a coffee table to on her show? At least I've had piano lessons. Somebody want to pay me millions to listen to train wrecks?

Oh and imho, Posh is so far from beautiful/hot it's frightening. She's the poster child for rich anorexics.

I think Ellen's biggest qualification is that she is so in tune with popular culture, and often influences it as well. After all, AI is all about finding someone who will be able to sell lots of records and be popular. As a comedian, she can also bring some levity to the process.

Cannot think of ONE minute thing that Ellen has influenced me regarding ANYTHING!

She helped find Nemo

What about the one girl they showed walking out of the audition room, and following her butt. That was just nasty.

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What about the one girl they showed walking out of the audition room, and following her butt. That was just nasty.

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Sorry I missed that, guess she was just a little behind

There was nothing "little" about that behind....

Big bottom, big bottom
Talk about bum cakes, my girl's got 'em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind
How could I leave this behind?

I don't always watch the audition rounds...but caught a bit of it last night...thought that Katie (at last) was excellent...the girl who sang Alicia Keys was also good...the cancer survivor...and the last girl, Leah, i think.....

they seem to be working on showing more that go to hollywood and the back stories....maybe they'll have a trainwreck show at some point???

And her wife is Hot!!!

Pants on the ground!

They had that guy Andrew on the radio this morning, that is basically how he is.(clark kent dude) He may end up in Hollywood at some point, he is talking to Kara or Cara later today!

Pants on the ground
...Pants on the ground
Lookin' like a fool with
yer pants on the ground


The next David Hung - but this gentleman is actually good

William Hung!

if he doesn't need one already he will soon, a bro for Simon

Well, I have enjoyed the first two episodes (caught up last night)...

I like the focus on talented people and less time on the people who are obviously there as part of a joke, or that mentally shouldn't be critiqued on national television.

I already have a couple I'm rooting for...

And Kara is definitely better this season, I think.. Randy is now on 'my list' of most annoying people. Has he said anything in the last two years that he hasn't repeated over and over and over? Say something new!!!

The guest judges have added very little (especially Mary J Blige) IMO.

Pants on the ground
Pants on the ground
Lookin' like a fool with
yer pants on the ground

Gold in yer teeth
hat turned around
Lookin' like a fool with
yer pants on the ground

I wouldn't say he was "good", but he was definitely interesting.

Mary J Blige was disappointing but I really like her music generally.

The guy could sing. I thought the women should have dropped the feelings and judged him on ability. They give others an opportunity and tell them to practice before they get to Hollywood. They could have given him a chance and told him to get therapy for his anger in the mean time. Then kick him off the show in a ratings Bonanza if he shows up in Hollywood acting like an a - hole.

I thought he could sing too and quite frankly I am surprised they acted like that towards him when it was so clearly an act.

I guess I like the Clark Kent look because I am kind of sorry to see him go. I wouldn't have minded looking at him on future shows one bit. (As long as he dropped the anger act.)

I did not watch AI. I was watching Glee on DVD. Probably kind of the same thing, however.

I did a search on Flawless from AI in hopes of obtaining an avatar with him in his yellow or plaid outfit.

I couldn't find anything.

I ♥ Glee! Can't wait for new episodes!



Flawless comes up in at least one of my conversations every year around this time!

just one? I could talk about him all day

I'd like to see a little more of the people who are going to H-wood instead of the wee-nees as well. I couldn't stand to watch last season so I'll give it another try this time but I have a feeling this will prolly be the last season. With Simon leaving I don't see that much of a future.

This year is already starting to suck. No Paula this year makes me sad. At least she was interesting unlike Kara. You can clearly see that without Paula, Simon has lost his salt shaker. Simon is still good, but was even better as a 'set'. That he gets up and leaves for periods during the audition rounds is telling. I can't wait for them to be reunited on the "X Factor".

Ellen judging a singing competition is like having Joan Rivers judge a beauty pageant. I like Ellen (she's a sister afterall) but this is a HUGE mistake. They are taking Idol to the wrong place. It's lost it's crdability and now is going to be a comedy show rather than a search for the next big thing.

This celebrity judges thing is starting to get lame too. Mary J, yea, I can see that and I love me some Mary J, but really? Posh Spice? Shania Twain? Is this 1999 or 2010?

Idol is about searching for the next money maker in music. It's not about finding the most talented. It still does the job. Each year, they make a fortune off Coke, Ford, etc. They then make a fortunate off at least 3 to 4 performers that are on the show. America's Got Talent can't say that. I don't think X-Factor can either.

Ellen will fill Paula's shoes. She'll be the odd duck supporting them even when they aren't that good. She'll bring a little comedy to the judging, and she is in touch with what the public likes more than the others. Will it work? Can't say, but it won't be worse than Paula.

Ok, I consider myself pretty open minded. I didn't complain when Paula and Simon's banter was so over the top, I didn't complain when Paula left, I am excited to see what dynamic Ellen will add to the show...

But LaToya?? Really? I just heard that she is extremely interested in becoming the permanent judge after Simon's departure. I know that word on the street is just that and nothing is set in stone, but I absolutely draw the line if she is the next judge. And I also believe that will seal AI's fate as "yesterday".

Does anybody know how many more audition shows there are before the Hollywood rounds begin? I am really not enjoying the early audition shows as much this year. They are spending way too much time on individual BAD singers, and showing very, very few who make it through. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing some bad singers at this stage, but I want to see a bunch of them quickly, not 5 minutes or more of just one of them. Whatever happened to the bad singer montages they used to do, where they show a whole bunch singing the same song badly, and it doesn't take so much time?

I am also not loving the guest judge concept this year, although I did really like Neil Patrick Harris.

I bet if it was 5 minutes of Flawless then you would be ok with it (I know I would)

You are correct. . .but apparently he is really one of a kind, because none of the bad ones this season are living up to him!

Hoosier, I agree with you on this season.

The girl who flew in from Italy sounded like Minnie Mouse when she spoke, but her singing voice was fairly good.

There must be some talent that they're not showing us yet, because they are sending quite a few people on to Hollywood.

I could have done without bikini boy.

I think all of America could have done without that, but it was freakin hilarious.

One word: Posh.


::drool::

Skeletor?

Seriously, Posh needs to eat something! Peepers, get that girl some squirrel!

Hollywood has to be coming up soon...i almost never watch the audition rounds....

you're missing the best part!

audition train wrecks make me smile

Hollywood week is next week.

They've been sort of lack-luster this year, don't you think? After 9 seasons bikini-boy :shudder: has been the only fairly original stunt and even he was a rip-off of bikini-girl. The "pants on the ground" guy has been the best one of them all, so far. I'm ready for them to move on to Hollywood now.

Oh, and Victoria is frighteningly thin.

I heard this morning that bikini-boy was sent over by a Denver radio station as a publicity stunt.

ok, I watched a bit last night and looking at Posh made me ill

<---- would vote for him ^^^^^

I have to say, the audition that made me laugh out loud the loudest was when the guy did the split & then said, "my pants done ripped." The look on his face was classic.

Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground! (it really is catchy!)

.....and is appropriate for so many circumstances

I heard that they want Howard Stern to replace Simon Cowell. Wonder what Ellen will think about that. I think Howard Stern is disgusting, personally.

I'd take Adam Carolla over Stern any day.

If Howard Stern takes over, I would probably stop watching.

as funny as it may be to have Howard Stern on there, any sense of credibility that show had would be gone

I agree Peepers. Although some people think Simon is too harsh, he is always right on the nose with his opinions.

I really hope they can keep a panel with legitimate backgrounds in the music industry, whether it is talent or R&D or production....keep it legit....don't sell out for "star-power".

That's one of the ONLY things that would stop me from watching. Heck, Bill Clinton has more credibility than Howard Starn. Can you define "singing"?

Simon's role as a judge while on the live show isn't really what he's there for either. Let's face it, it's his mentoring of the contestants behind the scenes that is his real value. Someone needs to sit down with the ones that REALLY have potential and help them end up where they can sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. (2 years in a row now!)

If you ask the contestants who the most helpful is, they will say Simon every time.

What did you all think of Ellen? I thought she was pretty good; it was nice to have someone interjecting a little humor into the process. But then again, I like Ellen anyway. I am sure there will be plenty of people who don't like her and will think she is completely ruining the show.

I really enjoyed Ellen as a judge last night. Her comments were accurate IMHO, and I liked how she lightened the atmosphere by interjecting her humor.

Maybe it's too early to say, but I think the show will do just fine with her involvement.

Methinks Simon is going to get sick of her in short time, but since he's leaving, I guess it really doesn't matter.

Yeah.......guess not. :P

Loved the bit where she had them step forward, step back, step to the side...

I think Ellen is one of the funniest people around - she doesn't make a big deal out of herself, she seems like she could just fit in any situation or with any group of people and have a good time.

Loved the guy who did the acoustic version of "Straight Up"! I think his name is Alex. Am I right?

I loved him. Did he make it?

Yes he made it to the next round! I think we will see him in the top ten, if he doesn't forget the words.....

I want to take a bite out of Blues Guitar Boy. *wipes forehead*

Oh, yeah.. and I want to hear him guitar more. Audition Tuesday was just getting good when Simon threw up the arm. I heard the makings of a great lick!

B_F and Apache- I heard something about the "straight up" guy (I think it was about him anyways)- he makes it to the final 24, but was kicked off the show because his father disclosed the fact that he made the final 24, which went against the non-disclosure agreement.

Anyone else hear this? Maybe I was thinking of someone else.

I think that was Michael Lynch (the guy whose wife had a baby during Hollywood week). However, I've also heard that was a rumor that got out of control, and he will actually be in the top 24...

That is interesting! Let us all know if you hear more....

don't forget the ***spoiler alerts** before posting real time stuff....

Sorry. That particular story has been on every online news homepage for a couple of weeks off and on, so I didn't think it was a spoiler anymore.

So I think in general the top 12 girls are WAY better than the guys...

There are four or 5 girls with voices and stage presence that I really enjoy. Number one for me so far is Crystal Bowersox, although I hope she got her teeth whitened since Hollywood week. They are distractingly yellow. They kinda look like meth teeth. Yuck.

The only guy I really like off the bat is Adam Garcia (?-the guy who rearranged 'Straight Up').

I know what you mean! That was my thought as well.

I agree about that girl's teeth. . .it is very noticeable, to the point of being distracting. I have commented on it every time they have shown her so far, so I'm sure my husband and son hope she gets that taken care of as well so I will shut up about it! (And yes, I do realize the singing is what is supposed to matter, but if there is something about your appearance that is downright distracting--whether it is your purple hair, your clothing, your teeth, whatever--I think it becomes an issue.)

There are two girls and two guys who made it to the top 24 that I don't recall hearing sing one time yet. That probably means they are really great or will be going home quickly.

I felt bad for Thaddeus--I thought he was better than at least a couple of the guys who did make it through (the guy with the ukelele comes immediately to mind).

I'm so glad know it all Mary is gone!

Which one way Mary? And I agree with everyone about the yellow teeth - surely they will fix that for her before the competion begins. She can really sing.

The old "rocker" chick with the short hair - with the cute pudgy little girl that hugged Simon during auditions.

At least I think her name was Mary.

I agree with everyone about the teeth - that is distracting yet I'm not too crazy about the dreadlocks either. But the girl can sing!

Not sure if I agree with the top 24 or not. It seemed like some of the ones who really blew it in Hollywood week went on and some of the others did not. They must see something we didn't see. Thankfully some of the most annoying ones did not make it through.

Dang, if that's old (as she can only be 28), I should start looking into funeral arrangements and making sure my will is in order!

I am pretty ok with the top 24. Usually every year by now I am yelling at the judges and saying I am not going to watch AI ever again (until the following week) because I feel they let the wrong ones go through. But this year was pretty ok.

Me, too! During these early shows, I find myself rooting against certain people. It's too early to have clear "favorites" because I haven't seen enough of the singing yet. But, if you have acted like a jerk during your little bit of TV time thus far, I am certainly rooting against you!

It's all relative! I meant old, as far as the contest goes!

Believe me, I'm close.

I agree see can sing, but the teeth aren't that bad. Remember Elliot Yamin? At least her teeth are only yellowed from smoking! His were all messed up, and he went deep and is a GREAT performer after the show. His first two albums are very good.

Oh, and I like the gal with the celtic name I know I am going to mispell.... Siobhan?

what about the gal who begged them when they told her she didn't make it through?

ApacheBelle, I was glad she got the boot, too. I think after seeing that display, she would surely have proven to be an annoying contestant had she moved on.

I was embarrassed for her! ha She made a fool out of herself. Hope she doesn't come back next year!!!!!

I like Big Mike, the yummy blonde guitar guy, and the bad teeth girl. The rest - meh - we'll see.

Becca, at the moment, those are the ones I have liked best too, plus the "Straight Up" guy (Andrew Garcia, I think). It's hard to tell when we never get to hear them sing an entire song!

I dig "Straight Up" guy, Jim Morrison dude, Casey James (blues guitar, yummy), & the chick with the bad teeth (they don't distract me.. like BF said, Elliot Yamin comes to mind).

I thought several of the girls were good besides Bowersox (who is my favorite going in). I liked Lilly (the punkish chick with the silver hair), Janell Wheeler (kinda reminds of of Carrie Underwood, but without the blank look on her face like Carrie had in the beginning), and Didi Benami.

So I'm home on vacation this week, and I've been watching Ellen's Show. Angela, the girl who's father was killed, her daughter has the seizure disorder & had to leave the 2nd time around for traffic violations just sang Superwoman by Alicia Keys (didn't she sing this during the group part of Hollywood Week?). Holy cow, they were stupid for letting her go.

#1.. that girl has an amazing voice
#2.. she keeps on keeping on.. I think she'd be an inspiration (her mother is currently missing on top of all with her daughter & father)
#3.. her attitude is amazing

So Ellen tells her that Kara is writing a song for her is going to produce the song. In Ellen's words, "we're gonna get you a record label."

Cool, huh?

That's VERY cool to hear...

That is awesome. I couldn't believe they let her go again this year.

I couldn't, either, chenin!

I believe that she didn't make it last year either. I was getting visions of the whack job from last season - I believe it was Tatiana? She was always begging for a second chance.

Why not let her go if you're going to take an alternate route to getting her a record deal and speed the process up AND get her a better signing deal than she would through the show anyway?

true ^^^

AND it makes for good TV! You mean she got the boot and we can have her on another show right away and tell her story about now her mother has gone missing?!'

Honestly, I'm starting to believe this girl is not a real person, but an actor playing one crazy role!

Well?

Although I don't really know all their names yet...

I did like the girl with the harmonica.

I really really liked Siobhan (the weirdo who didn't know what dark horse meant).

I liked Didi and also the Landslide girl.

And the girl Kara called a diva - I think she has staying power.

The beyotch comment from Kara was funny too.

And the beginning thing with Ellen and Simon was HILARIOUS!!

I liked the hot chicks

AG, I liked the ones you mentioned best too, as well as the girl with curly blonde hair, the one Kara criticized for her new "look."

I really didn't think any of them were outstanding. I'm hoping for more from the guys tonight.

I think the curly blonde hair girl was the one you got the 'beyotch comment' from Kara.

I did like her too.

Ditto?! I was surprised they hated Lacey Brown so much. I thought her take on the song was a bit more haunting than the original. Sure she wasn't perfect, but I liked where she was going.

I am really enjoying Ellen's comments so far. A little humor but still knowledge imparted.

I also liked the last girl, Katie Stevens.

My pick for the top 3 girls EARLY FAVORITES:

Crystal Bowersox
Siobhan Magnus
Katie Stevens

I don't know why they disliked Crystal so much.

I really really like Siobhan. I think she'll bring that alternative, indie chick - yet sincerely humble (really guys, I'm good?) feel to the contest.

I don't think they actually disliked Crystal as much as they were trying to ensure that everyone who DID like her picked up the phones.

I pretty much only liked Crystal Bowersox.

I hope it isn't the "year of the girls".. if the guys are as boring, I won't be watching this year.

I'll watch as long as that yummy Casey guy sticks around, but that'll probably be about it. I though all of last night's performances were pretty boring.

Becca, I'll just pull his vids up online. He's too good lookin to not watch. *wipes forehead*

I saw part of it last night. I liked Lilly Scott the best. I think Crystal Bowersox was good, but she sounded too much like Alanis Morissette.

Really, Buggs? I disagree with ya on that one. I don't think she sounded much like Alanis.

She reminded me a little of Janis Joplin, but NOT at the same time....

I had that same thought too B_F. She's my favorite, but what Simon said about there being 1000 of her in coffee shops was absolutely true.

She will have to set herself apart. I think the Bowie suggestion was a good one.

Ground control to Major Tom...

Buccs, thank you so much for saying you had the same thought. Now I know I'm not 100% crazy, because my sister said I was nuts that she didn't sound like Joplin. My response was it's not exactly the sound, but something about her reminds me of Joplin!

Oh, and I was thinking "Fame" when he said do Bowie, or Fantastic Voyage!

There's a huskyness to her voice that matches Joplin's. I couldn't help but hearing Crystal singing

Oh Lord/ Won't you buy me/ a Mercedes Benz...

Liked:
Lilly Scott
Catelyn Epperly
Crystal Bowersox (I hope she doesn't try to 'blend in' too much)
Didi Benami

REALLY DISLIKED:
Siobhan (I don't get it, and I like dark music/different takes)
Michele Delamour (absolutely generic and she murdered that song)
Ashley (bad song, sung out of tune most of the time, and with TERRIBLE pacing)
Haeley Vaughn (it was absolutely painful to listen to, I don't care how 'bright and shiny' the judges think she is)

I also hope Paige (the first girl that we haven't hardly seen any of) and Janell Wheeler get another chance, because I liked both of their voices, but hated their song choice.

Oh my goodness! I totally agree about Haeley! She drives me nuts. And from what I can tell, she's in because she's a non-white country singer? Pffft! I don't care what color someone is, I want to hear them SING! And she doesn't sing that well from what I've heard.

Oh, and how about Life on Mars or Scary Monsters for Bowersox?

Gawker is calling Haeley "Black Taylor Swift"

I get that. I've always said Muse reminds me of Queen even though they don't sound similar. It's the approach to songwriting and performing that make me think of Queen.

I can see why someone would compare CB to JJ, but I don't see it myself.

Perhaps she should do "Spiders from Mars.""Life on Mars." That might be interesting.

BTW, I still like Lilly the best, but that's just how I roll.

Last night Casey James & Lee Dewyze were the highlights for me. I thought Casey brought his best vocals yet, I love that song, and he made me swoon. I totally agreed with Simon about Lee. I thought his performance was awesome. He has a great tone to his voice, and I liked the melody changes he made to the song.

A couple others were pretty good, too, but I just don't think this season has the talent that past seasons have had.

I usually don't watch the send 'em home shows, but I think I'll watch tonight to see Allison Ireheta. She ended up my fave last season.

I missed it last night.

::waits for BF's recap::

the guys sucked

I was getting pretty annoyed at the Casey and Kara thing. To me it's disrespectful since he's there trying to prove that he can sing and they keep on emphasizing how good looking he is.

I liked Lee Dewyze but I think he looked like a fratboy.

The last guy- the one who did the Fall Out Boy song- I really liked him. It wasn't nearly as good as "Straight Up," but it was still pretty darn good.

I am getting sick of the Casey meme already. I suspect though that he will be in the finals, due to his swoon-inducing abilities.

I liked Casey James best (although I thought Kara and Randy swaying, etc. during the beginning of the performance almost caused him to start laughing--not smart on their part).

I also liked Andrew Garcia and didn't understand why Simon was so critical of him--compared to most of what we heard last night, he was great.

I thought Michael and Lee were okay, as well as Joe Munoz and Aaron (is that his name? the 16 year old). Did not care for the rest of them.

So far, I have been underwhelmed by the entire top 24.

I liked Casey, Andrew, Michael, and Lee. I'm getting a little tired of Kara and Co. making such a big deal over Casey though - it's getting rude. Yes, he's yummy. Now move on.

As requested, my recap....





Ditto!


I could leave it there and be happy. So far, this season is looking to be one of the worst in the history of the show for talent.

Todrick Hall butchered Since U Been Gone by turning it in to an R&B Rappy thing that showed he was creative and could dance but wasn't much in the way of singing.

Aaron Kelly, the 16 year old boy, sang a Rascall Flats song and was pretty good, but forgettable.

Then some other guy I won't remember sang.

A guy (Tim Urban), who was cut from the show and then invited back (they didn't tell us who he replaced), butchered Apologize, trying to do falsetto and coming out like his voice was in the middle of changing. It made me not like the song any more!

A guy from Mexico (Joe Munoz) sang something or another and reminded me of a leisure suited lounge singer.

Then the wannabe lead singer of the doors kid (Tyler Grady) showed up to sing American Woman, and looked and sounded like a guy in a tribute band. It didn't feel genuine, it felt like an act, a role he was playing.

Lee Dewayze was "good" singing Chasing Cars, but I really honestly believe he wasn't really good, it was just that he was good in relation to the trash we'd heard so far. Pffft! Bleh!

John Park, who apparently is in love with Shania Twain, lulled me to sleep with a boring and unemotional God Bless the Child. Zzzzzz he should go home.

Then, Big Mike showed up and woke me up with a relatively good (still not up to the AI standards) performance of This Love. It was, in the words of Randy Jackson, Aiiighht. Nothing special, like everyone else last night.

Then Alex Lambert got on stage and proved he's no Adam Lambert. Where Adam Lambert would stun us with his stage presence, Alex Lambert looked like a deer caught in the headlights being run over by an 18 wheeler. But, at least he's "keeping the Mullet alive" according to Ellen.

Next we got to see the continuation of the "I'm married but he's hot" Casey v Kara performance. He almost cracked up trying to sing a love song with her swooning over him. Frankly, his performance was pretty good considering the pressure he was under, clearly the best of the night. BUT, like others have said, Kara, Ryan, the producers, etc. need to let this go so he can compete. Right now it is a HUGE distraction. Remember when Paula was accused of being inappropriate with a contestant? At least we didn't see this [censored]!

Andrew Garcia closed the night with a song that seemed familiar but I couldn't place, Sugar We're Going Down, and was flat. Both performance, and arrangement failed. Judges reminded everyone of how he did Straight Up and owned it, and that was it.

All in all, the last few seasons have had a lot more talent.

I agree. I ended up turning the channel to a repeat of Criminal Minds.

BTW, does anyone besides me think that Ellen is trying too hard not to be Paula?

I think Ellen has been kind of like a deer in the headlights. I think she'll lighten up after a few shows. Show business or not, it's still a new job. I hope she's just feeling it out rather than taking it so seriously.

To me, I guess it just seems like all of the guys are forgetable, there is nothing really all that good.

Maybe it was first show jitters, who knows, but it hasn't started out good.

Could they just eliminate four dudes tonight an no girls?

it's a burden that Casey and I bear

and can big Mike even play the guitar?

why even attempt to use one?

I noticed that--Mike was holding that guitar but didn't appear to play it at all, to me.

BeadOps, I hope Ellen will lighten up. She seems to be trying awfully hard to word her critiques exactly right. I wish she'd just say what comes to mind, which would probably be pretty funny. She is way too serious so far. Hopefully it is just "new job" jitters.

If it didn't mean a huge loss of revenue to FOX, they could get rid of 4 of the women and 4 of the men tonight, and make this all go away that much quicker.

Just my $0.02...

Only 4 of each BG?

I think they could go ahead and send home everybody but Crystal (bad teeth, right?), Didi, Siobhan, the Landslide girl, Lee, Big Mike, Casey, and Andrew. The whole train wreck would be much better off.

Maybe America just doesn't have any more Idols left.

I think a weekly hour long show on stupid human tricks would work much better.

What are your thoughts about last night?

My husband was shocked that Tim (sang Apologize) got to stay. I told him I wasn't surprised since I'm sure all the teenage girls voted for him.

I thought the show was lackluster at best.

I thought Allison SUCKED.

Chris had a good performance though.

Meh.

Tim should have gone home. Not happy. But it's ok, there's NO WAY he makes it to the top 12 overall.

Allison did indeed suck. Chris was ok, but not as good as I am used to. I'm wondering if they had sound problems.

Jannell sounded better singing out than she did live performance. Too bad, she had personality.

He replaced Chris (?) Golightly. The foster system kid with the blonde afro. Due to editing, he lurked around in the background a lot in the final cut episode, but you could see him if you looked hard enough.
Apparently, he lied about being under contract...

Why do people think they can get away with that? Do they REALLY think AI and Fox aren't going to find out if they had a girlfriend when they were 5 before they put them on the show? By now they should know that this group vets all their contestants and knows if they are under contract, have been under contract, have a work visa, have any kind of bad reputation that could damage the show, etc.

I totally agree with this, she was way better last night than she was when she performed on Tuesday. Too bad for her.

I disagreed with all of the ones who went home last night except Ashley Rodriguez. The other three should have gone home fairly early, but I thought there were worse performers this week than the other three who got the boot.

I was happy that they sent Paula home at the begining of the year.

LMAO...me, too

!! Point! Ed.

there should be a hot chick exception for Janell

The sucky get to stay yet again. I was really surprised the Muñez kid went home instead of the deer in the headlights. Sure.. let's not vote for the kid who is at home on stage, but let's keep the kid who has the same performance, crowd involving skills I have (without beer, none!).

Sticking with the usual opposite opinion, I liked Allison, hated Chris. I absolutely HATED the arrangement Chris sang. I'm kind of a Beatles purist, though.

I wonder how Vote the Worst is choosing this year?

Tim Urban, clearly


They do have a lot of options though.

Maybe that's Idol's master plan? To have enough sucky people to confuse the vote the worst group so they have a lesser impact?

Don't you just listen to some of these singers and think, "Really? Out of all the thousands and thousands of people who auditioned, you were one of the top 24 vocally?" I don't know what the judges are hearing sometimes.

I am becoming much more cynical about this show every year. . .you just know there will be at least one 16 or 17 year old boy, one 16 or 17 year old girl, a rocker, etc. I think they focus too much on filling those assigned slots and not enough on the singing when they narrow the field to 24.

I'm so glad I do not watch Idol anymore!

I still like the show. Yes, I'm disappointed that some of the top 24 folks aren't as good as they should be, BUT, I realize that it's a type of filler similar to the audition portion. Once they get to the top 10, or top 6, we get to see REAL talent, and careers are launched.

By the way, does anyone remember Chris Sligh? Just got his album and it's really quite good.

do you miss the screeching freak from last year?

Sangina?

I was thinking Adam Lambert

I do remember him, but I didn't know he had an album out. He wrote (or maybe co-wrote) a Rascal Flatts song that was big in the last year or so (the name of the song escapes me). I figured maybe he was going to just go the songwriting route instead of performing.

Danny Gokey's CD comes out tomorrow. I am not sure I really think he is cut out to be a country artist (at least not in the traditional sense, maybe so in the "pop-country" sense). I will probably pick it up and give it a shot, though.

Chris Sligh's album came out under a "gospel" heading. Some of the songs are true Christian Rock songs, others are just rock songs with a be a good guy bent.

Thanks for the info. I may have to check that one out as well. I thought he was a good singer during his season and got sent home earlier than he deserved.

I don't know what I feel about him anymore.

No, I just don't like the drama anymore. Makes me happy not to watch it.

me too, ever since a good friend up there got me hooked on Farkle, Mafia and Vamp Wars!

What did you all think last night? I thought most of the guys were better than last week. I would say that I enjoyed Michael Lynch's performance the most.

I have not enjoyed the performance by Jermaine Sellers either week. He is very shrieky to me, but the judges don't seem to think so.

I hope Andrew can get it together and pick some better songs. I like his voice but haven't loved his song choices yet. I think the judges were right when they noted that he set the bar too high with that "Straight Up" performance in Hollywood week.

Anyone else think Kara was critical of Casey this week just to try to compensate for how she has acted over him so far?

I liked Michael Lynch, Casey struggled a bit but was still better than most of the rest of them, and I now have a crush on Lee. He's adorable.

I agree about Kara trying to make up for her Cougar tendencies, but I think she was also the most honest about his performance. Some of her phrasing stunk ("dirt?" seriously?), but she at least gave him something he could use to improve for next week.

On a side note - he needs to go back to wearing a ponytail. It was much sexier on him.

I totally agree with you about Kara's criticism of Casey, even though I do think it was deserved.

John Park really picked himself up from last week, but it was still only "good karaoke."

If I was a contestant on the show I would be really confused right now on what the judges expect.

First they say take a song and make it your own. Then they say you changed it too much. And they also mention that a really good song shouldn't be changed too much. And they critize someone for sounding too much like the song and the singer who recorded it.

What exactly do they want?

ratings?

What exactly do they want?

A contract for more money next year

You are exactly right. I don't recall the judges ever being quite this wishy-washy on this issue in the past. I wouldn't know what to do either.

I wonder if a contestant could get away with singing Im A Little Teapot (the dance remix version of course)

If they really want ratings they could bring in Posh and Amy Winehouse, pit them in a celebrity death match billed as the battle of the Skeletors.

The judges are always like that! It makes me (and the singers, i'm sure) CRAZY! Although i think, that at this stage, they just want to hear the kids SING....then as the competition moves on it becomes more about how the kids will make it on their own.

and i'm often convinced that the sound is different "live" than on my TV...Simon has said as much in past years when he re-watches a show and apologizes (or takes away praise) during the results show based upon the TV viewing.

I'm liking Lee a lot, Adam Lambert might grow on me. Casey is cute..(yes to the ponytail) but not the best singer...

Song choice has me confused too...i think they must have a system in place that only so many can sing "current" music...others get stuck with older and inevitably cheesy sounding songs...

Another mediocre night. I liked Michael and Andrew, and the young kid was ok. The rest were kind of boring.

Oh, and Danny Gokey's album is a pretty darned good country listen!

They provide a list of songs the contestants can pick from if I remember right.

Early on, the list is REALLY broad too!

Oh, and as for the advice of make a song your own vs. just sing the melody.... There's a fine line between making a song your own and it turning out really good and making the judges happy, and overdoing it and ruining the song. It's a risk. If you succeed, like David Cook did many times, you win AI. If you fail, you end up like Sanjaya!

So I'm hoping the two fellas who go home are either Tina Turner guy, My Girl guy, or Korean guy.

I'm terrible with names.

I was surprised by the Lambert kid's improvement, but my faves this week were Lee (love him!), Big Mike, and Casey. I do have to say that Casey's vocals weren't the greatest, but MAN he can play that guitar! I'd like him to bring back the ponytail, too.

Overall, I thought it was much better this week.

Any word on Crystal? Is she gonna be able to perform tonight?

I think the guy who went last was pretty good, but agree overall that thus far the performances have been disappointing.

Casey needs to go the Chris Daughtry route and get bumped out early enough to front a band. He'd be much better at that than as a solo artist, I think.

Just a small inside scoop on stuff like AI (on a much smaller scale, mind you) My son is trying to break into the business. He had been running back and to to ATL competing in a small version of something like this. The panel is interesting. They don't want to hear certain things...which is fine. They do want "industry beats", but then when you produce something "industry" they say "but it's industry...we hear that theme all the time" So, you produce something totally original all the way around and it's like "but it's not industry"...and at the same time they might say things to people like..we don't really care how good you are...it's all about stage presence!

If my son was to walk into AI..someone would end up dying, I'm afraid...ATL is crazy enough!

Oh! I like the little Rocker dude...isn't that Lee? I didn't know they guys were last night...was not too crazy about the girls when I peeked last week, so totally didn't turn it on last night.

Agreed!


I fell asleep at 7:30 last night, so I missed Idol last night. Guess I'll have to find the performances from last night online.

I thought the girls were better, on the whole, than last week. I liked Crystal, Lily, Katelyn, Paige, and Siobhan. In my opinion, any of the others should be the ones to go. I like Didi's voice, but she definitely chose the wrong song last night.

Ellen needs to start being funny. . .I am disappointed with her so far. She is really adding nothing to the proceedings so far!

I like Crystal, but I was not impressed this week. I'll give her a pass because of the ailment, whatever it was.

Haley NEEDS to go home. She's terrible!

I really enjoyed Lacey's performance, but I liked her last week too. There's something I really like about her sound.

I liked Katie, but she really needs to grow in the competition if she survives.

LOVED Didi. I don't care what the judges say, I'm looking forward to hearing more from her.

I liked the beginning of Michelle's version of Arms Wide Open, but about halfway through it became screechy and she tried to just do it like a rocker.... which she is not.

I don't get Lily. She's ok, but she seems to be getting more love from the judges than I feel she deserves. Last night was just ok.

Katelyn Epperly had me last night. She really made that song work for her, and YES, it was slow. But you know what, there are lots of great songs that are really slow and emotional.

Wasn't impressed with Paige. She's no Kelly Clarkson.

Once again, I totally fell for Siobhan. She's got pipes!

BTW, I read that Crystal is diabetic & her trip to the hospital was related.

I think pretty much all the girls but Crystal and Siobhan can go on home.

Does that include Kara and Ellen?

I like both Kara and Ellen.

No judgement just asking.

All the judges are hard to please this year. Although I find I am agreeing with Randy this year.

Michelle Delamor is hot

I also really enjoyed Didi, and appreciated her take on the song.. Didn think I would but I did

LOVED:
Crystal (I would buy her album if she put one out tomorrow)
Lilly (Hopefully, she won't turn into a one-trick pony, though...)
Katelyn (Truly don't understand the judges bad reviews. Agreed with Kara for the first time )

Liked:
Didi (Hated the song, but I like her and wish she would've picked a better song)
Siobahn (Bad arrangement, weird girl. But she can sing )
Paige (Again, like her voice, but wrong song. She sounded too much like Kelly Clarkson)

Meh:
Katie
Lacey Brown

REALLY DISLIKED!!!
Haeley Vaugn and Michelle Delamor.
I don't understand why either of them are there. THEY CAN"T SING!

My picks to go home tonight:

Haeley Vaughn, Paige, John Park, Tim Urban (but he'll stick around anyway)

Mine would be Haeley Vaugn, Michelle Delamor(but I won't be that lucky), Jermaine Sellers, and Aaron Kelly (but that will never happen, either, because of the 'tweener' vote)..

Michelle Delamor needs to stay

did I mention that she's hot?

Gotta hate that tweener block of votes! Along with vote the worst!

I was a little surprised that Tim Urban made it through again, although if I remember correctly, Simon praised him this week, so that may have been enough.

Glad that Haeley is gone--she was definitely the weakest overall, IMO.

It was good to see Danny Gokey back on the stage, although it sure demonstrates how far some of these contestants have to go to get anywhere near that level.

MadisonCali, you are so right about the tweener vote!

I think the right guys went home.

One of the right girls went home.

Now I have to find a new hottie to replace Michelle

Haley was SO bad...

I know she was crying a little last night, but WOW - even I could sing better than what she did upon exiting.

I really thought Michelle would go much further than she did.

I'm OK with the exits....

I am loving Katelyn...i think her song choice was perfect...great showcase.

On the guy's side...i'm likeing Lee...and if Alex Lambert can get his nerves undercontrol...he might grow on me...i think i see potential there.

I am HOPING that the terrible singing has something to do with the sound mix that is different in the studio than when it's coming through the TV. There is no way possible that so many weak singers made the top 24.

As much as i have to applaud Ricky Minor and his band...it seems that when the band is involved the singer is just OFF...When the kids stick to playing their own instrument (Katelyn, for example) the sound quality just seems so much better and more true...

or is it me?

Is that the curly blond girl?

I agree with this. I think the band overpowers many of them, and they can't "hear" themselves well enough to sing well.

Did anyone else think their Black Eyed Peas montage was horrific?

They didn't even try and act like they were singing.

No. She was the first girl to get kicked off last night. Older, very beautiful.

It was dreadful. I hate the montages anyways and that one was one of the worst.

the goup sing is almost always bad, last night especially

I couldn't watch more than a few seconds of it before changing the channel

were they lip synching?

Don't you think EVERY group song is horrific? That is one of many reasons to DVR the results show--you can skip all the filler and just cut to the chase!

Peepers - they HAD to have been lip synching. The sounds coming from them sounded overproduced and like they were coming from a machine.

Hoosier - this one was especially terrible

What is with the commercials. I dvr it last night the show was 1hr 6 min. I cut out the commercials and the show was only 30 min.?

It's the most popular show on TV right now, so I imagine that they want to insert as many commercials as possible to increase ad revenue.

And I STILL fail to understand why... Sure, it has entertainment value, but really? The most popular show in America is an overproduced, overhyped karaoke contest? *sigh*

Although I do love Jennifer Hudson, so I would like AI for that. Other than that, after season 3 I couldn't watch it anymore.

AI is unifying in a way that the Sullivan show was- it's not so much a representation of what we want in Television but more of a cultural reference point for which we can have watercooler conversations with each other at the office.

I think that's why it remains popular. TV's audience is so fractured now and I think that AI is the one (barely) unifying point.

Gotcha. Well, you're right, that girl is very pretty.

And, that blond girl is very cute as well.

And I STILL fail to understand why... Sure, it has entertainment value, but really? The most popular show in America is an overproduced, overhyped karaoke contest? *sigh*

everything else is garbage?

^^^which is exactly why I watch very little tv...and what I do is dvr'd episodes of stuff I actually will watch...some RFDTV comes to mind!

I think the reason AI remains popular is that it is really something the whole family can watch. There are very few shows that my son wants to watch that I also enjoy (I can only handle so much SpongeBob!). It is nice to watch and discuss it with him.

Hoosier...that is very much what i like about AI...you've got these KIDS getting up and singing (often fabulously) in front of millions...and taking critisim (often PAINFUL) with all kinds of grace...they say thank you...and work to improve the next week...

There's no backstage cat fights or nonsense...and i love how the kids all seem to really support each other, even though it's a contest and everyone wants to win...it's something i'm happy to watch with my girls...

Once again, I'm hearing talk of "racism" in the nationwide vote. Doesn't matter that the minorities that failed to move forward sang badly, only that they weren't white! GRRRR!

I think Paige and Katie will/should be voted off this week...I had such high hopes for Katie...but she's just too young (why do they let such young kids perform when it's impossible for them to compete!?)

I agree, Paige and Katie should go home this week.

I think they let the young kids compete because some of them CAN compete (think David Archuleta and Jordin Sparks).

Not to mention Allison Iraheta (spelling?) from last season. It does take a special kind of talent though.

Yeah, she pretty much sucked though when she came back to sing a few weeks ago.

True, but she had the voice and confidence during last season.

like Kobyashi?

Ok, so I loved Siobhan again, and Didi has a voice I love to listen to. Lacey was kind of cool and I like her tone too. I didn't find Katie all that bad. She wasn't special, but she wasn't as bad as the judges were saying in my opinion.

Paige bored me to tears, and should go home.

Lilly Scott is a one trick pony, and I'm done with the trick and she can go home. I was very unimpressed with her last night.

Crystal is a one trick pony too, but her trick is something I could listen to regularly, unlike Lilly.

Kaetlyn was decent.

I still like Crystal and Siobhan best, with Didi running fairly close behind. I thought Lily was a train wreck last night and honestly don't see what the judges keep raving about. The rest - meh - they can go now.

And it's a "girl's year", remember?

Regarding voice quality? It sure is. The guys can't hold a candle to those top three gals.

Lily seems to be playing the "quirky" card a little bit too much. She's a good singer but there's something I don't like about her.

I think it's because she reminds me of "Jem" - if anyone remembers that cartoon.

That's exactly it! I've been telling people here that she reminds me of a cartoon character every since the audition shows...now I know which one it was! Thanks, Buccs!

I agree with the comments about Lilly. She was interesting at first because she was quirky, but I am tired of her already.

I really like Siobhan, and Crystal really did impress me last night. Her version of that song was 1000 times better than Tracy Chapman's! I also like Didi last night.

Jem is truly outrageous
Truly, truly, truly outrageous
O-o-oh! Jem!

Crystal blew me away last night. That song is so sparse and is a good song to listen to, but I didn't see how she was going to make it a showcase song. I turned to my wife and said "Uh oh, this is gonna be dull."

After I picked my jaw off the floor, my wife looked at me after it was done and said "Good call" and rolled her eyes.

I hadn't really liked Siobhan too much until last week and last night.

Crystal is really good too.

To me, Lilly's problem will be consistently translating her quirkiness into mainstream pop music.

Randy mentioned once that she reminded him of Bjork and that seems about right.

I'm not sure why Simon didn't like House of the Rising Sun??

I lvoe that song and I thought she did an awesome version of it - especially the a cappella beginning!

I keep on waiting for her to do "Hyperballad" but somehow I don't think a song about throwing yourself off a cliff would work well on AI.

I didn't like it, either... actually there were three of us at my house.. none of us liked it.


LOVED Crystal & Didi.


And I loved Jem when I was little.. stupid Misfits.

Oh yeah, there were four of us at my house....ALL of us liked it...

Ok, so I actually watched it alone....but I'm loving everything about Siobhan. All 3 of her performances have been good IMO. She's got this innocent naive thing going on with her that's somewhat endearing much like Pickler did 3-4 seasons back.

Didn't care for Bowersox's first song (morrisette), but her last two have been pretty damn good. She's the clear front runner out of the ladies group, but I think Siobhan is a close second.

I like Didi's sound, but there is only so much she can do with it. It doesn't work for every song, but me still likes her.

Lily reminds me of the Australian singer Sia with longer hair. Check out Sia on the Letterman show (singing her song "Soon we'll be found") on YouTube to see what I mean.

Well? Where are our analyses of the men's night?

Thank god for the last guy!!!

That's all I gotta say.

Lee is adorable.

Casey was looking hot again last night, but the song didn't really do anything for me. Would LOVE it if he takes Randy's suggestion and breaks out with some Stevie Ray!

"Genie in a Bottle" was wierd. For some reason it made me want to hear him do a Barenaked Ladies song, though.

Mike blew it out of the park.

The rest sucked. Including gospel guy who went last - I truly don't understand what everyone was raving about.

F'real! I wrote Toddrick off but that song was AMAZING!

first, really Kara, you cried?

second, the best part for me was the Iron Man 2 trailer

What song did the guy at the end sing?

I didn't catch the name...and then KAra was blabbering on about being "as being a woman who doesn't have a child" blah blah blah yada yada yada...

Ok, the recap....

We started off with Lee Dewyze taking a song I find really catchy and really like, pairing it with a voice I really like, and turning it to mush and bleh! Sorry, but I was hating this one.

Then Alex Lambert took the stage, sweat pouring from his forehead, his knees trembling under the pressure, and sang pretty well. If only he weren't so terrified of performing. He's got talent, but man, he is a deer in the headlights, and it affects his overall performance.

Tim Urban then tried to do a version of Hallelujah, and came up flat.

Andrew Garcia did Genie in a Bottle, and it ALMOST worked. Poor guy. He'll forever be trying to recapture magic from Hollywood week. I still like him.

Casey James attempted to bore us to death, and if he wasn't attractive, he'd be going home this week. But, like Kara, many will vote for him despite his vocal failings.

Aaron Kelly snoozed us with an attempt at a song that was too big and iconic for him. He's got a good country voice, but song choice was a failure.

Todrick Hall did a decent job of Somebody to Love, but frankly, too little, too late, and he SHOULD be one of the two going home.

And FINALLY, we got to see a performance worth tuning in for. In my opinion, the only performance this week (including the girls) that made me say "Damn, this guy can win." Big Mike came out and did an emotionally charged version of This Woman's Work. It was fantastic.

Going home tonight? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE? Todrick and Alex for the guys, and Lily and Paige for the girls. Of course I won't get lucky and get rid of Lily, so I'll settle for Katie.

Iron Man does look really good. Best casting in the history of movies picking Downey to play Tony Stark! Except maybe for picking Johnny Depp to be the Mad Hatter....

My sister and my mother were in tears after Big Mike's performance by the way, so apparently Kara could have been crying from the emotion.

And the song was "This Woman's Work", made popular by Maxwell, but I think it was originally in a musical or something, and Kate Bush did a version too. I remember it most from the heartwrenching "Cancer" Dance from SYTYCD.

Somebody to Love - Queen

Oh, and I laughed before Tim even started Hallelujah. That song is waaaaaaaaay too big for him. Or just about anyone. No one can do it better than Buckley.

wiki lyrics says they are unlicensed to display all the lyrics

Big Mike did not sing Queen!

In Kara's defense...

One of the women from the Atlanta morning radio show I listen to every morning was there last night. After the show, all the judges came in and talked to the press. Kara, who was still on the weepy side, explained to them that she just got married, she's 40, and she and her hubby are trying really hard to have a baby. Was just an emotional moment for her.

To me, that's what the very best music does. Stirs the soul. Perhaps that's why I love the blues.


As for last night, I was pretty disappointed. I liked Lee, mullet kid, and Toddrick best. Didn't see Big Mike, so I can't weigh in.

I liked looking at Casey (of course), and I thought he sounded pretty good, but I just can't make myself rave over much country. I'd love to hear some SRV, too, but I'm not sure how that'd go over on Idol.

I actually had to leave the room for "Already There"... I farking hate that song. Seriously.. just let it die.

I didn't get the crying probably because I had no idea what that song was (what can I say, if it ain't Iron Maiden or Tool, there's a good chance I won't recognize it).

But big Mike can sing, no doubt.

Ditto.

that's why I wanted to look up the lyrics

ha, ha

I was waiting for her to cry because she dropped her frankfurter

Oh yeah nevermind. I was thinking Toddrick.

Yeah, I took that opportunity to brush my teeth and turn off lights throughout the house. Unfortunately, I could still hear most of it...it was bad.

http://www.tunewiki.com/lyrics/maxwell/this-womans-work-s1427005.aspx

Thanks, BF. I 'll have to check it out from home, as that site is blocked.

On a side note - I wish Kara would call me sweetie or honey sometime.

Bwahaahaaaaaaaaaaa

But AG, I thought you liked Paula?

As a judge, yes. But she's a little too for me.

Kara is hot.

but don't worry people, this dude also thought Skelator Beckham was hot

Not the picture of her on wiki.

That musta been pre-nosejob!

Ok, I must admit, that after looking though some pics, she def. looks better on TV...

I agree with most of you....didn't get Big Mike...i thought it was over sung and over performed....

Simon, who HATES and just doesn't get the country genre, must totally be hating these early shows...so much country.

I did not love Toddrick...but welcomed the upbeat song...so he earned some points from me

Andrew...I'm afraid we should say farewell, but we won't.

Totally agree on Urban...did not warrant the Ellen hug.

The judges should have an electric fence to keep them away from the contestants....

ladies...please paige and katie....

As far a Urban goes, nobody tops Rufus Wainright on that song, his voice just fits the song so much better. In fact, I think Lee would have been much better singing it.

I thought Tim Urban was better last night, and might live to sing another week. Toddrick was also better than I expected, especially singing Queen. I liked Mike but was completely unfamiliar with the song (and didn't get the crying thing, either). Aaron was terrible, to me, and the rest were just okay. I wish Andrew Garcia would pick a great song one of these weeks--I like his voice but am afraid he is going to go home soon if he doesn't hit a home run with his song choices.

[/quote]



Lily reminds me of the Australian singer Sia with longer hair. Check out Sia on the Letterman show (singing her song "Soon we'll be found") on YouTube to see what I mean. [/quote]

Huh. I'm a huge Sia fan...have all of her music...I don't see that at all

I don't think anyone does it better than Buckley, but Brandi Carlisle comes close

Well I do.

I wouldn't call myself a huge Sia fan, but I really dug her Letterman performance and that song. Checked her out a bit on Youtube and then moved on. When Lily first got her air time, I'm telling you the first thing that came to mind was Sia, not neccesarily the voice, but more the look and some of the quirky upbeat smiling mannerisms.

Then again, when they first showed Jason Castro, the first thing I thought of was a young John Travolta.

Shoot, there are some moments when I see Cuba Gooding Jr. in Big Mike, lol.

When they first showed Jason Castro, I drooled a little.

I was a little surprised by two of the ones eliminated last night: Lily and Alex. I wasn't a huge fan of either one, but thought they would stick around longer.

I, too, was @ Lily and Alex...weren't going to win, but not the worst of the bunch.

I kinda felt bad for Alex.

Alex sucked, good riddance.

I'm a bit surprised Lilly went home but it's down to the last 12 so anybody can go at any time.

I wasn't sad to see Jem or the Mullet go. A bit surprised they went ahead of Katie and Tim or the young kid, perhaps, but that's about it.

Jem & the Mullet- sounds like a great name for a reality show!

I was disappointed with just about all of the eliminations. I'd hoped Katelyn would have an opportunity to do more of the "scientist"...i thought she was amazing...

and i wanted to cry for Alex....

oh, well...at least votefortheworst has something to work with, i guess.

I was so so so so so so so so so so HAPPY!!!! to see Alex go home. Sorry kid, you're just not ready for the stage. Go practice in front of a mirror and get some stage presence and confidence. You aren't ready for live performances in front of millions of viewers.

I was happy to see Lilly go home, but not at the expense of keeping Paige in the freaking competition! Gmmppph!

And i'm sorry, but the blind guy is NOT a good singer. He may have talent (piano player) but his voice SUCKS!

The other dude sounded awesome though.

Agree - other guy was Good! Matt was not.

Thank you AG, I meant to post that EXACT comment this morning, but forgot.

I did download the #1 jazz song that Matt Giraud was featured on with Anna Wilson after the show, and it's good. He's also apparently got a couple albums on iTunes from before Idol. Some of the music is pretty darned good.

I think Matt's the "other" guy.

Scott is the blind guy.

right?

Matt Giraud is the "other" guy who was the dueling piano player before Idol.

Scott Macintire is the blind tone deaf guy from last night!

Blind guy was not good - Other guy was.

Sorry - don't remember the names.



Sorry to see Lily go. We really liked her.

I am totally bummed about Lily and Alex. It sounds like people either love her or hate her - no in betweens. I am definitely a fan.

And Alex? The tone of his voice is just so good. You don't hear anyone that sounds like him on the radio today. (I don't listen to mainstream radio often, but I am still pretty comfortable saying that so I'm sticking to it.) Yes, he needs more experience. But dudes, isn't that what AI is for too? I think he is too good to just fade away and I think he might because where, if not on AI is he going to get the experience? Bummer...

I agree with Miss Banker about Alex.

I agreethat Alex has a very nice voice. However, he is just not ready to perform live. Honestly, he would have been better off not getting to the live shows this year and being sent away to improve his stage presence.

I really wanted Alex to stay - agree with Miss Banker too. His voice just has a certain quality that is very compelling. He should have stayed instead of Tim Urban.

I think the mullet was his downfall. Without it he probably would have had a larger portion of the tweener vote, which is all that's keeping Tim in.

I'd have to say that nobody does it better than Leonard. It's one of those songs that is so personal that, although it's pretty when others do it, it has the most authority when the person who lived through writing it performs it.

(I caught the tail end of the performance of the song this year. It was OK, but nothing special.)

anyone know the Idol schedule this week?

Tonight - the top 12 - doing Stones music.

1 or 2 hours?

Two hours tonight 8 - 10 ET. One hour (9 - 10 ET) tomorrow.

You missing your Al Rocker TV Guide?

I guess that means I can probably DVR it and compress the performances (boo group performances!) into a half hour or so.

Thanks, everyone!

you're your welcome, glad I could help

I'm having trouble picturing any of them doing Rolling Stones music, except maybe Crystal and Lee.

I can def see Siohban (sp?) doing RS.


Bets on who's going to do Angie - I feel as if that person could really make that song their own.

Whoever does Satisfaction is going to fail miserbly, imo.

I think Crystal could do Satisfaction.

Stones? Wow. Talk about a train wreck waiting to happen!

I agree. What's next Black Sabbath or Lou Reed?

I'm hoping Casey James... clothing optional.

who is Angie?

I'm actually really excited about Stones week.. a lot to work with.

they would have much to work with if they did MC5 also....

The whole purpose of the Rolling Stones theme is to make more money for the Rolling Stones. Thus the "sample list of songs" on iTunes".

I'm hoping to hear Siobhan do Sympathy for the Devil.

I'm hoping Adam Lambert makes an appearance this season and screeches like a stuck pig.

Somehow I doubt he will. Too much fear of teh ghey on primetime TV.

Naw, if he doesn't, it's not because he's gay. He was gay on the show. It's because he's gone over the top and left AI Pop behind for uberdrama.

I think he's just too much of a risk on primetime. His Grammy performance marked him as a huge liability.

Really? I'm thinking she could make something cool out of Paint it Black. She, Crystal, Casey, and Lee are the only ones who *might* not completely butcher Stones.

I'm expecting to hear Lee do Paint in Black.

I don't think Adam officially came out until after the show was over.

Anyway, David Cook and Ke$sha are slated to sing tonight.

(well, that's per wiki)

He was never "in". The fans sites talked about it plenty from day 1. They made it public on the show near the very end in a conversation with the guy who beat him out in the finals.

I think Lily could have done RS too. Alas, she's gone

I am with Becca 100% on Siobhan doing Paint It Black. That was the very first thing that came to my mind as well.

They should really rename this show, "American How Dull".

Now you're talking. "Kick out the jams, mother******!"

What did everyone think last night? I was completely underwhelmed by all of them, but I am not a Rolling Stones fan, so I was unfamiliar with probably half the songs.

Lee needs to learn to enunciate just a bit when he is singing. I thought most of his song was pretty unintelligible.

I liked Siobhan, Didi, Casey, and Andrew the best. Aaron was better last night than I expected him to be. Probably the worst in my opinion was Tim Urban. I think Paige, Katie and Lacy could go at any time, too.

I really liked that kid's version of Angie.

I also enjoyed Siobhan, Didi, and Casey.

I did not like Big Mike for some reason.

I think your going home at any time choices are right on!

On the whole, they did better than I expected.

Siobhan rocked!
Crystal was amazing, as always.
Casey was good.
Lee was good - his nerves are getting the better of him.
Mike & Didi - meh. Not impressive, but not bad.
Katie can sing, but something about her bugs me.
The rest can go home any time now.

Did anyone else notice that Aaron Kelly's mom's name is Kelly Kelly!

No, but I did notice that she said, "We adopted Aaron at age five." and then he said, "I don't know where I get it, my mom certainly can't sing."

Yeah, I heard him say that too!

We caught that, too.

Casey James, why must you go all country on me.

My favorite was Crystal. I'm pretty sure she could sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and I'd be okay with it.

I actually didn't hate any of the performances last night. I'd like to see Lacey and Katie hit the road.

I think Aaron's adoptive mom is his biological aunt, if I remember correctly from earlier in the season.

I loved it last night when Kara was criticizing Andrew for not "relating to" the song enough because it was about war, etc. and Simon said, "What should he have done, come out here with a tank?" Kara is the one who really needs to go home. I just don't think she adds a thing to the show.

Simon criticized Casey for just standing in the middle of the stage with his guitar, like it was an audition round. It seems to me that later in the show, Lee did the EXACT same thing, yet no criticism was forthcoming.

And Ellen's comment about 'women like her' not liking Casey (you know cause she's blonde) was HILARIOUS!!!!!

Casey is getting old to me. Someone mentioned he's like Kenny Wayne Shepard- no. He IS Kenny Wayne Shepard.

Siobhan was amazing, and her performance blew me away. But Simon was right in that she's going to divide people into those that love her or those that hate her.

Chrystal phoned it in but it was still good.

Lee = Dave Matthews. Carbon copy.

All of the others= I don't care if they stay or go.

I missed most of Siobhan's performance...but i gather it was pretty good. i LOVED that when simon critiqued Crystal and said that Siobhan was better Crystal responded with "Yeah! wasn't she amazing!"

Faves still, Crystal, Lee, eh...

I think Katie might be some kind of BOT, she can sing, but she creeps me out a little.

I'm grateful that Aaron can sing, he's going to be around for a while with the tween vote...and i was afraid that we had a Kevin Covais (or the tall red head kid a few seasons back--John??)on our hands!

Tim 'ya mon' Urban was my favorite......................for it's complete suckiness!

Took most of the words right out of my mouth... edited to save me time!

I usually love American Idol, but I just can't seem to get into it this season. I'm really not crazy about any of the contestants, and usually by now I have a favorite.

Bones, you are not alone. I've had others say the same thing. There's something about Siobhan and Lacey that I really like.

I thought the bottom three were about right last night (could have subbed Katie for any of them) and thought Lacey was the one to go since the tweeners and Vote for the Worst will likely keep Tim around for a while.

Enjoyed David Cook but did not care for the second performer. And what on earth was up with the girl singing that "Blah Blah Blah" song??? That was just painful. My 11 year old looked at me and asked, "Is this a joke?" I told him it was not, and that is one of the many reasons that his dad and I listen to country music!

Sorry Hoosier - but we really liked Lacey. Sad to see her go. The guy in the top row who stood up with Tim hubby would have liked to see go. I would have liked to see either Paige or the guy who did the Reggae song. How could you ever seriously do that to the Stones

PB, I kind of liked Lacey too. . .I just guessed that when the choice was between Paige, Lacey and Tim, she would be the one to get the boot.

I'm OK with Lacy's departure...

I too could have happily put Katie in any of their spots though.

I didn't realize they were bringing back the "save"...but happy that they are opening up the "save" song to anything from the contestant's prior songs...why should they sing something again that didn't work out so well the night before?

I think they need to revamp the scoring system - maybe make it something like DWTS so that the judges have a say in who stays and who goes also.

Lacey was annoying although, the song she sang at the end last night sounded pretty good.

Tim Urban is a twerp. His reactions after he finds out he's safe is lame. His songs are lame. He needs to leave.

The whole saving vote thing seems kind of odd. I'm thinking the judges already have a good idea who they would use it on this year so most everyone else singing to save themselves seems moot. They should just have them kneel and beg.

interesting idea Peepers -

kneel; beg; trap door opens and sucks them down

Good TV!

Ooh! Could the trap-door lead to a pool of sharks with laser beams attached to their heads?

I'm sorry to see Lacey go. I liked her last season in Hollywood, and there's something about the unique tone of her voice that I really wanted to hear more of. Tim needs to go! Paige needs to go!

Singing tonight @ 8?

Results tomorrow @ 9?

Anyone know?

anyone care?

You must!

You opened the thread.

slow day in the cooler...never seen american idol

Lacey was on Letterman last night, and sounded really good.

This has got to be the WORST season of Americna Idol. I hope it's the last. I know Ellen is a 'sister', but honey, she is a drag. (Pun intended).

I actually like Ellen.

I'm not impressed with Kara this year.

Singing tonight 8 - 10. I don't know about results, but I think 9 is right for tomorrow.

Just heard that Miley Cyrus is the "mentor" tonight, and they are doing Billboard #1 songs. The only positive about Miley on Idol is that it will give them more fodder for "The Soup" on E! this week.

Should be interesting - Miley Cyrus mentoring Crystal!

It's Miley!

Although didn't they change it this week to the thing they say about Stephanie Pratt? I was half asleep while watching, but I remember Stephanie coming on stage and whining to Joel that they gave Steph's quote to Miley.

Or am I just

no matter whether they changed it or not, we know that you're





Miley Cyrus - as a 'mentor' - well there are a lot of young ones, but a mentor should have experience.......lots of experience!

Miley Cyrus' advice: Be sure to set the brake so your mobile home doesn't roll away.

*snort* I can't wait to see how Siobhan, Crystal, and Big Mike interact with Miley. The phrase "squashed like a bug" comes to mind....

Despite her age, Miley has been performing and making a ton of money doing it for quite some time now.

They did use Miley in a different bit this week that is usually Stephanie Pratt. I can't remember how it is phrased exactly, but something like "Surprisingly Good Advice from Stephanie Pratt" and there is a little "theme song" to it. After Stephanie was on the show whining, they re-did the bit with her in it instead of Miley, as I recall.

B_F - even if she's been performing and making a lot of money for it, she is not what I consider an accomplished performer. But if the producers are trying to bring in the tweens, maybe that will help. But it most likely means that another good singer will go home in favor of someone not as talented.

Wow. What an odd night.

Yes, I didn't think anyone really stood out, at least for me.

I enjoyed Michael, Didi, Aaron, and Siobhan, and thought Casey was the best last night. I thought Crystal and Lee did a good job but not up to par for them.

I was surprised how harsh the judges were on Michael and on Didi. I got the impression Didi was trying to play up her "sex appeal" a little bit, which could be smart because I think she is the only female who legitimately has that going for her.

Katie did a better job, but I'm just not a huge fan of hers. Paige was absolutely horrid, IMO, followed pretty closely by Tim.

Miley wasn't as annoying as I anticipated!

Song choices were pretty strange--I expected most of them to sing "current" stuff when given the opportunity. Not sure why they didn't--their choices will become more limited (by theme) soon enough!

for anyone that thought they sucked last night, they're thanking God that Paige was there because now they're safe

where did Miley get those eyebrows?

So true peepers, so true. And if all the tweenie lovers weren't voting, Tim would be gone. I loved when the judges (hopefully) knocked him down a few pegs.

Crystal rocked. Perfect song for her. I agree with Simon - she shouldn't change a thing.

And I did like the dorky kid. Simon said something to him about Miley right at the end (something about a crush maybe), but they cut his mic...

And it was great when Casey met Miley and said, "I'm a really big fan...

...of your dad."

Here's my rankings:

1 & 2 - interchangeable between Crystal and Siobhan.
3. Casey. The performance wasn't stand-out, but it didn't suck. And he's Cougar bait - so who cares anyway?
4. Lee. If he gets over his nerves, he could win this thing.
5. 3 way tie between Michael, Didi, and Aaron. Of the three, Aaron has the strongest voice, but Michael is the most comfortable on stage. Didi is just awkward as h*** on stage.
8. Katie. I still think she's a BOT of some sort.
And in last place, with equal degrees of suckage for various reasons: Andrew, Paige, and Tim. They could all 3 go home tonight and speed the whole show up a lot.

I thought that was funny, too. He obviously was trying to say something nice without outright lying to her.

LOLoaf @ Katie is a bot.

Maybe she's a fem-bot!

did Siobhan use the same hair dresser that Sanjaya did?

^^^^^ HA!^^^^^^

I feel exactly like most of you. If the goal of the show is to find the next BIG NEW POP STAR why are they singing such old songs? Save it for "Classics Week" or something!

I've added Against All Odds to the list of songs that need to be banned from Idol.

Katie is a BOT but was much much better this week, as was Aaron.

Still like Crystal and Lee

and i totally appreciated the frankness of the judges. I didn't feel like they were trying to be nice. if it was bad, they said so. and regrettably, that had to say it a lot last night.

I don't think the kids are lacking talent...something else is missing this season.

I missed that! I was getting a drink so I'll have to play it again because that's awesome!

I liked Crystal last night, and LAUGHED so hard when she did Janis Joplin after early on saying she reminded me of Janis but didn't sound like her. Well, she kinda did last night!

I wasn't that happy with Siobhan, but I still like her.

I was ticked at the judges for bashing Didi and Mike because I thought both of them did really well.

BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL, give Paige the boot! That was the worst performance not just of the night, not just of the season, but of the entire history of American Idol. I would rather have listened to William Hung or the dude who called himself Sex and showed up to AI after failing on SYTYCD! The people who were booted during auditions could have done a better job. it was terrible terrible terrible!


Casey was good. Aaron was ok, but really good considering his ailment. I actually liked Katie this week. Lee bored me, and the hispanic dude can go home now because I can't even remember his name!

And what about Tim?

Don't hold back now!!

Tim? There's a guy named Tim?

He can go home next week. For the love of bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches let Paige go home tonight!

Paige was so bad it was embarrassing.

They should have said "forget voting this week, paige is going home"

embarrasing, perhaps


good TV that allows me to laugh at the misfortune of others, absolutely!

Yeah, but that stage of the show is supposed to be over. Imagine a game show where just before the final answer they reset the scores to 0!

in my book, there is always time for some kind of embarrassing moments...........I'm sick that way

As I'm sure a lot of you do, we always offer our own critique of the performances. For everyone who sang after Paige, our commentary last night was simply, "Not terrible enough to save Paige!"

The only one I truly loved last night was Crystal.

I loathed Paige (I could've sang better, and I can't carry a tune), Tim (just...ugh) and Andrew.

Mike sang the song well, but the second he sings a fast song again his cheeseball moves are gonna drive me crazy.

I like Didi, but didn't love her performance last night.

Katie is definitely a 'bot', most definitely...

I just watched the performances during my lunch (Love that I can fast forward through all the muck!).

Poor Paige was absolutely awful! Ellen couldn't even comment it was so bad!

I liked Crystal and Didi, but I've been fans of them since the beginning. I liked Michael, but it wasn't my favorite performance of his.

shocking!

I didn't see last night's results coming at all

She didn't even look like she wanted to be there anymore.

The whole time she jsut had that look on her face.

Good riddance!

I thought it was fabulous that Paige, Katie, and Tim were the bottom three. Too bad we couldn't lose them all in one fell swoop.

I was surprised that Miley actually sang her song. I figured she was a lip syncher. Although it wasn't great, I gotta give her props for actually singing. That's rare among today's pop stars.

My favorite part....when Simon told her they wouldn't be saving her, that was great!


kneeling and begging is the next step

America definitely got the bottom two correct. Glad that Paige went home. Tim wasn't good either. Didn't see Katie. Not liking the guy in the bottom row, end, left side - Andrew (?). Not a fan of his at all.

I agree with you Peepers. There was no hope for her and it's good that they told her up front.

And did you notice how Katie-bot copied Crystal's answer...

she keeps it up and I-Robot may become a reality

I love crystal's confidence...she manages to pull it off without sounding/looking sassy.....maybe that's why she seems to much better, she's not working to figure out the judges..she's just performing?

the "right" bottom 3 could have been any number of combos this week....totally OK with Paige going home.

There's only five of 'em that are worthy of performing anymore

1.Crystal
2.Casey
3.Big Mike
4.Siobhan
5.Lee

Ranked in order of how good I think they are at this stage of the game.

Crystal is the Vegas Odds winner right now.

I agree with you!

So no comments from anyone yet about the WONDERFUL group song performance of that Wham classic, "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"???? Talk about issues with song choices, perhaps the folks at Idol should listen a little bit more to what the judges have to say on that topic!

I can't even watching the group performances anymore.

I know what you mean, I was wishing I had DVRd the show so I could skip right over that myself!

I completely forgot about that Hoosier (or can I call you land?)

but that group sing made me wish for a Paige and Tim duet instead

I only watch the last 5 minutes of the results show to see who gets kicked off. The rest is just too cheesy.

I like the really young country guy too.

Like Becca, I only watch the last 5 minutes of the results show.

Thoughts on last night's performances? I liked Casey the best, by far. I thought most of them did just okay. Although I like her voice, Didi was the worst to me last night.

Even though they were giving him grief over it last night, one thing I do like about Tim is that he seems to genuinely be enjoying the ride, and letting the judges' harsh criticism roll off his back. Seems like he feels he's doing his best, so what more can he do? I loved Simon's "critique" of him last night.

Missed the first three performances(Siobahn, Casey, Mike). Out of the ones I did see, Lee was my fav, followed by Andrew(glasses guy).

Casey won the night. Siobhan - for the first time - seemed to be struggling. Crystal's performance, while well sung, was kind of wierd to me. Tim sucked, again. Andrew did much better. Didi - meh - all of her songs sound exactly alike, and there's something about *her* that bugs me. I snorted water when Simon called Katie-bot "robotic."

I really liked Casey, Big Mike, and Lee last night.

I still like Didi's voice, but she was not good. I still really like Siobahn, but she was BAD.

Tim needs to go home.

Katy sounds good, but looks so forced. Honestly, I think she's taking singing too seriously for her age. She's got pipes, she lacks presence and performance.

Crystal was ok. Andrew was better, but there's something about his enunciation that I don't like. Is English his second language and Spanish his first?

Last night was my first night I got to watch it, so my names and things may be off.

But I think the guys were the strongest. Lee and Casey were my fav's, follwed by big mike and the bowersock girl.

The zak eeffron look a like, seems like he should be in a HS musical.

The boy at the end, has a great voice, but I can't stand looking at him.

The first girl sounded awful. The blond in the middle who, I think she can sing, but lastnights gig wasn't her style. The next girl I think would do better to sing country JMHO. I will need to brush up on my names to comment better in the future.

HAHAHA I thought the same thing! I made some comment about his Zac Efron, side swooped hair needed to be gone WEEKS ago!

As far as everyone else, I love, love, love Lee, Mike and Crystal. Andrew is growing on me, Casey did really well, Sioban struggled but there is still something I like about her she can definitely sing, Didi rubs me the wrong way and the 16 year olds aren't ready for the music biz.

I think last night was one of the better nights for the group as a whole. But Tim should be the one that goes home for sure!

I'm tired of hearing Mike sing stuff that puts me to sleep. I need energy.. I can't just live off of ballads.

I dug Casey, Lee, Andrew, and Crystal.

I've never liked Sioban much (besides Paint it Black!), and last night was aw-ful. I thought she was the worst, but I don't thinks he should go home yet.

Tim, Didi, & the young'ens need to go home.

I agree with this. I think Mike is a good singer, but enough with the ballads!

Lee won the night, IMO. Loved what Simon told him about watching the show later - this is the night that will change your life. I got all goose-bumpy.

I liked Big Mike's performance - the firsr time I could really hear that he has a good voice.

Siobhan was disappointing. Normally I like her, but she just couldn't hit the notes in that song.

Didn't care for Crystal. She should keep the guitar and keep on doing what she was doing prior to last night.

Siobhan's guide to singing:

sing decent (although last night really wasn't)..........wait for it........then SCREAM!!!!




(one trick pony)

Lee sounded great, but sadly, he still LOOKS really uncomfortable.

Mike though he sounded great, is a one trick pony to me. Always the same stuff.

I agree Mike sounded like a great one trick pony, but frankly, Daughtry has made a lot of money being a one trick pony. Heck, all his songs sounded alike on the first album and it won him a bunch of awards. Most artists are one trick ponies.

Except the tract (#7, maybe?) with Slash, B_F.. best song on Daughtry's 1st album if ya ask me. Perhaps if more of their music were like that one song, I would have bought another album. Now I wouldn't even illegally download the 2nd.

BF - they keep telling them to stretch, reach, grow - Mike is not. At least the others are.

They also tell them to find who they are as an artist and criticize them for not remembering who they are. Mike is a soul ballad singer.

The judges' instructions to them do tend to contradict themselves. Ryan even has been calling the judges on that.

Most of them have genre they're good at/comfortable with, and if they stay in that area, they're usually pretty good.

I like "Big Mike" the character, and there's no doubt he can sing, but I keep waiting to be impressed. So far, he's the football player who sits in the back of the bus and sings along with his iPod while the other guys cut up.

I keep forgetting about Aaron entirely. That can't bode well for his popularity. "Aaron who?" "You know, the kid on AI." "Which one?" Yeah.

Lee - bless his little heart - needs to take a page out of Casey's book and just stand at the mike, play his guitar and sing. Obviously it doesn't hurt the ratings.

Still liking Lee (he's getting better and better) and Crystal...

casey scored some points with me last night...

tough night for DiDi...i'm afraid she may be on her way home...although it should be Tim who appears to be this year's Sajaya. why why why...there was so much talent in the hollywood group....why???

i'm giving bonus points to those singing songs not sung before on Idol.

negative points to Aaron for attempting to sing something totally OWNED by Kris Allen.

So. Who else would like to see/hear Casey bust out with SRV's "Pride and Joy?"

I saw Daughtry Friday night and they were great. I actually love both albums! Listen to every song on each one!

Is it too late for Bruce Dikinson to try out for AI and bring some real rock with him?

I was watching UFC last night; who got the boot?

Heard this morning that Didi got the boot.

It was between Didi and Tim. Didi got the boot, sang her "save me please" song and they said it was a million times better but they would not save her.

Yeah, Shioban was bad this week, and she needs to lay off of the screaming thing for awhile..it's getting stale. She's got a great voice, if she can control it...

I almost would have preferred to see Tim go...but I think the bottom 3 were right.

what is next week's theme??

Lennon-McCartney

Who mentors next week - anyone know?

George Harrison?

I want to see that BF!

I'm guessing it will be Paul.

He could teach a certain young lady about seeming more alive on stage even at this point in his career!

It could be Paul. He just did 2 shows at the Hollywood Bowl, so he is in town.

I think I heard the mentor is Rhianna?

Rhianna - Lennon/McCartney

Good thing last weeks theme isn't this week.

Didn't one of the guys sing a Chris Brown song!

I wish they would do more rock. It seems like they spend most of their time on R&B.

I feel the same way, Spivol.

depends on the definition of "rock".....

I was actually impressed by the fem-bot.

She was much better last night... but I think Casey was my favorite of the night.

Aaron Kelly - The Long and Winding Road - I like him but I did not like this performance

Katie Stevens - Let It Be - actually thought she did well

Andrew Garcia - Can't Buy Me Love - he's outta here!

Michael Lynche - Eleanor Rigby - did not enjoy

Crystal Bowersox - Come Together - awesome, as always.

Tim Urban - All My Loving - actually thought it wasnt that bad

Casey James - Jealous Guy - really liked

Siobhan Magnus - Across the Universe - really liked

Lee DeWyze - Hey Jude - really liked, I'm really starting to like his guy and a guitar style. And I thought the bagpipes were cool.

Ditto what he said.

Make it three.

Although (I can't remember who made it) the comment about Andrew and Lee making a love child of Danny Goeky was pretty funny!

per wiki (as taken from billboard.com), Adam Lambert is going to be the mentor next week

Almost a ditto - except I liked Big Mike and didn't care about Tim.

I really like Lee and Casey for the finalists. Yes, Crystal is awesome but I don't think she is the American Idol 'type', whatever that is.

last night just re-inforced my opinion that The Beatles suck

Sometimes I wish BOL had a "Like" button like Facebook.

do we have a "dislike" button yet?

No!

::stares at Peepers::

I'm trying to imagine NOT liking the Beatles or Lennon/McCartney songwriting....

I agree with DD's summary of the show...

It was Crystal that made the Gokey "love child" comment...totally funny!

bottom 3....Alex, Tim, and maybe Katie?

although i think Tim has no chance of going home...and I love that his family cheers for EVERYONE!

Aaron Kelly - The Long and Winding Road - I like him, but this could be his final performance.

Katie Stevens - Let It Be - Was that really Katie?! She seemed less fake and sang it well.

Andrew Garcia - Can't Buy Me Love - I actually liked this performance. It was unique and creative.

Michael Lynche - Eleanor Rigby - His version was dope. I had to listen to it a second time to really enjoy it, because this is one of my favorite Beatles songs, but it was cool.

Crystal Bowersox - Come Together - Frankly, I didn't get it. It just seemed like every other cover of the song, and she's not doing anything different week to week.

Tim Urban - All My Loving - For the love of Obama, can he PLEASE be sent home? Girls, he's not going to date you for voting for him!

Casey James - Jealous Guy - WOW! WOW! WOW! This was the performance of the night. I really think he is going to make a fabulous blues album when this is all over.

Siobhan Magnus - Across the Universe - I like her, but this song was Snoozeville!

Lee DeWyze - Hey Jude - Nothing to see here. It was ok.

I think the bottom three will be

Siobhan, Aaron, and Tim.

Going home: Siobhan.

Seriously?

Even though this was supposed to be a Strong Girl Year - all of the girls are going home. Guessing that guys don't vote and girls do, and they vote for guys

Seriously. Every week she sounds like she's just trying to channel the spirit of Janis Joplin (the spirit of hippies past). Every performance is starting to sound the same, and this week, I saw nothing special about the performance. I've heard it a million times at green day parties in the park.

I'm not sure how being like Janis is a bad thing. That woman had more soul in her left pinky than 99% of female recording artists who came after she ODed. I'd take a woman with half of Janis's soul over a Lady Gaga, a Ke$ha, a Mariah Carey.

JMO.. it's not like we've ever agreed about Idol on a regular basis.

I will say I think you're right about Casey James. He was the star last night.

I STILL want to hear Casey do either Stevie Ray Vaughn or CCR.

Think the will "save" Siobhan if she gets voted out????

100% yes

I think so 100% also AG

I also think that the judges have totally confused her.

Sounding like Janis is a bad thing because it isn't current, and it isn't original. There are plenty of cover bands out there. I can't envision her album. She's good, but it's just not my cup of tea.

As for if they will use the save on Siobhan, honestly, if I'm right and she's sent packing, I don't think they'll use it. The judges clearly have their favorites, and I don't think they'll use it on anyone but Casey or Crystal. MAYBE on Big Mike....

If they did not use it for Paula why would they use it for them?

The bottom three should be:

Aaron Kelly
Katie Stevens
Andrew Garcia
Michael Lynche
Crystal Bowersox
Tim Urban
Casey James
Siobhan Magnus
Lee DeWyze

Send them all home, then book Iron Maiden for the show

No one I know thinks it's a bad thing. Every local person I talk with about Idol loves Crystal.

There are actually a few of Crystal's original songs on YouTube if you're interested in getting an idea of what kind of album she may make.

---

I agree with using the save on Big Mike last night. There are 4 or 5 who aren't as good as he is.

so who is gone this week?

no one - it was Michael, but they saved him. We don't need another Reuban.

How about a Rachael?

they did?!?!?!!?

how many more times can they do that?

I think it was a strategic move....2 will go home next week...and the judges will no longer have to pretend to debate the "save"...they only get one per season. I think Simon is happy to have it out of the way.

<----- need to be saved

after watching the judges reaction to the Save....I think they were as surprised as the contestants....I'm not always sure that Randy, Kara and Ellen know what simon will do!!!!

<----Agrees, but knows it is a hopeless cause

I got the feeling the other three said yes, and Simon said last nights singing didn't deserve it, and played them in to thinking it wasn't 100% agreement which means it wasn't a save because all 4 have to agree to save him. Then Simon saved him to surprise the others.

I was glad to see him saved.

<------ sooooo happy Big Mike got saved.

There are definitely a few that should go before he does. As long as Tim gets the axe asap I will be happy. Lets just hope he is in the bottom 2 next week so he will autmatically go home...I'm tired of looking and listening to him!

The problem with next week, is that the bottom two may both be good. Or the next to bottom might be someone really good.

^^^always voted for Sangina^^^

Sangina???? Is that like Orangina????? I LIKE Orangina!

Yeah, the voters pulled a Daughtry last night, good to see the judges used the save on a guy who didn't deserve to go home just yet.

This is true but I guess it's just the nature of the competition now. Now that the save is gone there is no room for error for the ones that actually have a shot at winning.

The thing I have noticed about Idol winners is they are either great, ie Carrie and Kelly, or they completely suck, ie Fantasia, the old guy (forgot his name), Rueben, the list goes on. There is a lot of talent on this season and some not so great, I just hope the right person wins.

I'd like to put a plug in for Tim's family....he is not the most talented in the group...but he is certainly enjoying the ride and pleasant...his family can be seen cheering on EVERY other contestant....they remind me a bit of Anoop's family last year...

From wikipedia:

Past winners

Kelly Clarkson Done pretty good for herself, her music isn't my cup o'tea.
Ruben Studdard Has done okay in the R&B side, again not my cup o'tea
Fantasia Barrino Sucksucksucksucksucksucksucksuck
Carrie Underwood Arguably the most successful AI winner, at least tied with Kelly. Do enjoy her music.
Taylor Hicks Blah, hated his first album.
Jordin Sparks No idea, havn't kept up with her.
David Cook My favorite of all the winners, seems like he will have a successful career.
Kris Allen He's all over the christian music airwaves. Doesn't look like his career will be mainstream anytime soon.

success of past winners doesn't just have to be mainstream radion, imo...

Fantasia has her own VH1 show for which she's getting paid. While she might suck, she's taking advantage of her title. Chris Allen is all over Ford commercials for which he's getting paid.

Oh and then there are the non-winners who are more successful than most, if not all of the winners...

::cough cough::

Jennifer Hudson

Adam Lambert

Clay Aiken - in his day

So who's worse - Fantasia or Taylor Hicks?

success-wise? Taylor Hicks. Fantasia has gotten at least one (maybe even two I think) TV shows outta this.

success in the music industry-wise: BOTH

I was just going by mainstream success. Yes, suck-butt Fantasia is getting paid but I havn't heard anything from her except that horible performance from her last season that caused me to change the channel on her.

I happen to like Kris Allen and his music, but I don't think his first album will get that much airplay on mainstream radio.

Buster, I hear Kris Allen's single on Atlanta's #1 Top 40 radio station pretty often, and I'm only in my car for about 20 minutes a day.

That single blows. To me, it's a combination of Tim McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying (or whatever it is), and Season of Love from Rent.

Ok, given I don't live in a major city, I only am speaking from my experience with my local stations.

^^^only gets am stations^^^

You should see my antenna made out of wireties and coathangers!!!

Well, from hades, it is a pretty far distance, so it can be expected

so NOT a Fantasia fan...BUT she has been extremely successful (as have some other past contestants) on Broadway. Taylor Hicks..also not a fan and still not sure how it happened...but he's gone the stage show route as well.

Jordin has become popular with the Disney tween crowd...which was always her market.

there are times when i'm in the car and the station is doing the 10 songs in a row thing, and easily half are from idol alums.... pretty awesome success rate.

and the ford commercials are part of the winners contract.

Something to remember about Fantasia is that she has not concentrated on doing music for the radio. She went the musical theatre route and was very good on Broadway in The Color Purple. Also, I think one of the big reasons she failed was differences in what she wanted to do vs. what 19 Entertainment wanted her to do, kind of like what happened with Kelly Clarkson when her first album wasn't really her cup of tea and wasn't as good as later albums she put together.

Reuben was sidelined with health issues, or we might have heard more from him.

But Fantasia is having major voice issues from doing Broadway. Oprah took her back once, but supposedly is not at all happy with her now.

I saw Fantasia in a touring company of The Color Purple. She was OK. LaToya London was also in the same production of The Color Purple and I thought she sounded better than Fantasia.

I saw the same production, Kitty, and I agree!

Did you guys think that Big Mike did a good job on the Elanor Rigby song? I thought it was fantastic.

I didn't really care for it, but I don't care much for Mike's singing style, either. I like "Big Mike" the character - he seems like a genuinely good guy...but that style music just isn't really my cuppa.

does it strike any one else as odd, funny, sad...that the judges-mostly Simon- berate the contestants for "musical theatre"...while every Wednesday those same contestants, on the same show are singing and dancing their way through something seen only in High Schools during spring musical season?

I've never seen the value of the "group sing"...and generally will avoid the first 5-10 minutes of the results show!

It wasn't as good as David Cook's version, but it was still really good, IMO.

As a general rule I will not watch anything but the last 10 minutes of the results show. The past two weeks of flipping through and seeing Usher and Rianna's performances confirmed my choice.

Ah, I didn't see David Cook do it. I only seem to watch American Idol every couple seasons. I just watch when my wife watches. I like the idea of the show but the format is awful. The "results" show is the biggest waste of television I have ever seen. It would take all of ten minutes at the most to let everyone know who was leaving the show but somehow they stretch it into a 2 hour episode with 5 million commercials. I usually just fast forward to the last 20 minutes and then delete.

I HATE the group songs! The worst part is you can totally tell they aren't really singing and it's awful!

I too fast forward through the results show to just find out who won, stopping for performances by people I like or have never seen before.

Personally, I liked the format the did for the country version of this show. Can't remember what it was called, but the performers were a little more ready to go, and they all sang the first week, and then the next week, everyone but the person with the fewest votes sang, so as you watched the show, they revealed who was safe until those final two, and then only one of them would perform.

Yeah, now that sounds like something a little more worth my time. I just can't stand if I have to wait through that [censored]. But, seriously, those commercials are ridiculous. There are way too many.

Thus why I DVR American Idol and watch it commercial free!

I too fast forward through the results show to just find out who won, stopping for performances by people I like or have never seen before.

Personally, I liked the format the did for the country version of this show. Can't remember what it was called, but the performers were a little more ready to go, and they all sang the first week, and then the next week, everyone but the person with the fewest votes sang, so as you watched the show, they revealed who was safe until those final two, and then only one of them would perform.[/quote]

There's a real irony that in the results show, you just get to hear the contestant that no one thought was any good! The way you describe makes alot more sense. It would be really cool if they could either have a new song ready, or reprise their "best" of the season so far. I'd tune in for that.

It was called "Nashville Star". I have always thought that country singers are more authentic anyway. I have never heard them lip sync in concert and they acutally have talent. Not to say that no one on AI doesn't have talent, but pop stars in general seem to have less actual singing talent and are more about the "performance".

Some of them should.

Thank you! It was Nashville Star.

Oh, and it was a once a week format. They didn't bother wit ha results show, the performance show was the week before's results show.

You're right ::cough cough:: Taylor Swift!...but all that I have seen live have been really good. Probably the best I have ever heard was Carrie Underwood, that girl can sing!

The beauty of American Idol is you know you're getting a great live singer.

The last "authentic" country singer I know of is Willie Nelson or Dolly Parton, but sometimes Brad Paisley and Randy Travis come through too.

Oh yeah, and I have to add Alison Kraus too.

She has a beautiful voice.

Yeah, George Straight, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Reba, are all just dog food compared to Willie...

Well, I'll give you George and Reba, but I can't go with Alan, and Martina has an amazing voice, but she ain't country.

I don't like old country...I can't stand the 'twang'.

Give me Johnny Cash.

Point Ops. No to mention Waylon, Clint Black, Conway, Buck Owens, Dwight Yokum, Groups Like Alabama, Diamond Rio...

There are plenty of good country acts.

Yeeeeah.. I'll just keep Johnny. You can have all the others.

(Although I'd like Willie and Waylon part time).

Um, I thought we were talking about people who were alive and still active in the biz. If we're going to throw in dead people, the list will go on and on.

Um, I was responding to Spivol's distaste for "old country." I wasn't adding anyone to a list.

none of those listed can beat Dave Mustaine when it comes to sheer, natural talent

Cash wasn't a great singer, let's be honest. What he was, was one heck of a story teller who played guitar!

Ah, sorry. I think classic country from the 50s and 60s beats contemporary country 95% of the time.

I agree.

We better duck! Lightning may strike!