American Idol 2008

[Jim G.]

This season, I'm putting the rankings on the Frontier, just because the editing interface is a lot easier.

An introduction:

http://www.solecismic.com/frontierblog/?p=231

February 19, Boys, Round of 24:

http://www.solecismic.com/frontierblog/?p=232

[korme]

David Archuleta has a terrible voice, what is the love for this kid about?

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

These guys...some of these guys are not too good.

Pretty terrible tonight. I'm hoping it's because it was bile/60s week, or else this is going to be a really long snoozefest.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

David Archuleta has a terrible voice, what is the love for this kid about?

He's 16 and his voice will be gold for himself and somebody. If he doesn't get dumped early, he's only going to build more confidence. He's the one to beat.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

David Archuleta has a terrible voice, what is the love for this kid about?

Are you kidding? Maybe he's got the love-fest going on a bit, but to say he has a terrible voice is going a bit far.

[Vince]

Dola -- I also happen to think that David Cook's performance was so amazing that I almost forgot that he pinned a small woodland creature to his head and smeared it with Crisco.

[korme]

Originally Posted by Vince

Are you kidding? Maybe he's got the love-fest going on a bit, but to say he has a terrible voice is going a bit far.

It's not pure, it's raspy and too deep. It's garbage.

[Ksyrup]

I had the exact same bottom three as Jim - Haley, Menard and Yeager. We're now in season 7, and I can't believe people still have issues picking songs. I'd like to know how they choose them, actually - what "help" they get, if it's more like prodding/forcing them to take certain songs - because I can't for the life of me believe people are willingly picking songs this horrible.

The 60s was a great decade of music, and Yeager picks Moon River? And worst yet, instead of at least attempting to update the song (which would probably have been hopeless anyway), he goes out of his way to get into character, changing his hair style to resemble Rob Lowe playing a snooty frat boy in an 80s movie. I hope Granny enjoyed that performance, because it should be your last. And Danny...I love the attitude, watching this show for 5 months I need comic relief, but...have you learned NOTHING about how well those types of songs fair on AI? When I heard the choice, I knew he was going to get destroyed.

I can't believe Chikezie Un-Eze had the nerve to talk back to Simon. The only thing that will save him this week is the fact that 3 people we hardly saw - Menard, Yeager and Haley - were terrible, meaning there's about a 99.998% chance that the 2 guys cut will come from that group of 3. Deadly combination.

I was really hoping that Haley guy would be good, because he looks so much like a 70s pop star it's not funny - the Robert Plant hair, the androgynous look highlighted by his cheekbones, the Karen Carpenter voice. Dude should have a serious retro thing going on. In fact, he reminds me a little bit of Roger Manning from Jellyfish - frail body, high pitched, feminine-sounding voice, 70s looks...but missing the talent. Oh well.

[Thomkal]

David Archuleta was the tops for me last night-I can't help but smile at his reactions to the judges and Ryan playing with him after the judges comments. May get a bit old after a while, but for now I think he's the one in the driver's seat.

I would put Michael Long, Robbie Carrico, and David Hernandez a step below right now. I do not understand the love for Jason Castro-I hate the hair and I don't think he has a particularly good voice.

I like the sound of Luke Menard's and Jason Yeager's voice, but sadly both looked out of their element last night especially Yeager who seemed to look amazed to be on the stage during his performance. Sadly one or both could be gone which is a shame, especially with Menard who I think could be a darkhorse to watch.

I wouldn't be particularly sad to see any of the others I didn't mention go home this week, but I'm rooting for Chikeize, who probably doomed his chances by arguing with Simon, and Garrett Haley who showed absolutely no personality and very little originality in his performance. Surprisingly his voice did sound a lot like Neal Sedaka, so there may be some potential in there, but it's buried deep.

Overall not a very good first night for the boys, but week one seldom goes well due to nerves and performing in front of a large crowd for the first time for some of them.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by NoSkillz

Maybe it's just me but I thought some of the guys were just awful tonight.

Garrett, Jason Yeager and Luke made me cringe.

David Archuleta was the best of the bunch and I liked Michael John and Jason Castro too.

Those 3 were my bottom 3 and top 3 respectively as well with the other 6 sort of blending in the middle (although Chikeze was very close to my bottom 3.) I think nerves are making Garrett sound worse than he is, but he sounded the worst by a wide margin last night and is my only sure bet to go home unless voteforthewost saves him.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

I'm not a huge Elvis buff, but didn't Suspicious Minds come out in 1974. How did that qualify for 60's night?

[Ksyrup]

I think this fairly sums up Jason Yeager's performance last night:



I give him a 15% chance of sticking around for at least another week because of his kid, and because there are several other deserving candidates to be sent home this week.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Dola -

I'm not a huge Elvis buff, but didn't Suspicious Minds come out in 1974. How did that qualify for 60's night?

That one, and I thought Jailhouse Rock was from the 50s.

EDIT: According to Wiki, Suspicious Minds was released on August 26, 1969 as a single. And JHR was released on September 24, 1957. So not only was it a bad song choice, but it shouldn't have even been allowed. They could have saved Danny from himself!

[Ksyrup]

With JHR, my guess is it was re-recorded during the 60s by Elvis or someone else, meaning it qualified on a technicality. Didn't that happen the year before last? They had to do songs from the 2000s, and someone chose an old song that had recently been covered?

[rkmsuf]

what a fucking freak show. there is zero reason to watch the male portion of this competition unless you really dig that danny. not that there's anything wrong with that.

danny noriega for president

[Pumpy Tudors]

You know, while Chikezie's "lounge act" wasn't great last night, I actually kinda liked him as a singer. Then, he mouthed off to Simon and I was done with him. I mean, it's your first time out there for votes, and you immediately cut Simon off and argue with him? How does that help? Yeah, we know Simon's not tactful, but if you want to win the competition, you at least have to let him speak.

Maybe if Chikezie had built up some kind of personality over three or four weeks, he might come off like somebody who's just having a semi-friendly banter with Simon. Right out of the gate, though, it just makes him look like a jackass who can't take any type of criticism. I think everyone knows that Simon knows the right things to say to nudge a contestant out of the competition, and if Chikezie doesn't get real humble real fast, he'll be gone as soon as the truly terrible performers are out.

[Ksyrup]

Most interesting thing for me tonight/tomorrow will be how the Carly Smithson thing plays out. She has been at the head of all the "controversy" stories I've seen in the past week - and I'm not just talking about Idol-dedicated websites, I'm talking USA Today, Yahoo, AOL, CNN, MSNBC, etc. And then last night after Idol, I'm watching the local Fox news, and even THEY'VE got a story on the possible backlash regarding her past and the fact that she's recently from Ireland. I'm thinking she has to hit a HR tonight, or she could be gone quickly.

[Ksyrup]

If you're interested, here are the DialIdol results...

Spoiler

David Archuleta 12.55 1-5 - -

Michael Johns 10.6 1-7 - -

Jason Castro 8.22 1-9 - -

Danny Noriega 7.69 1-11 (B3) - -

David Hernandez 7.12 1-12 (B3) - -

Jason Yeager 6.15 2-12 (B3) - -

Robbie Carrico 5.3 2-12 (B3) - -

Luke Menard 4.84 3-12 (B3) - -

David Cook 2.49 3-12 (B3) - -

Colton Berry 2.29 4-12 (B3) - -

Chikezie Eze 2.11 4-12 (B3) - -

Garrett Haley 1.69 5-12 (B3) - -

[Ksyrup]

Interesting catch from last night's show - where's Carly?

[rkmsuf]

in the shitter

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

in the shitter

I forgot to check the Stalls thread.

Besides, I don't even see a chair for her.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

With JHR, my guess is it was re-recorded during the 60s by Elvis or someone else, meaning it qualified on a technicality. Didn't that happen the year before last? They had to do songs from the 2000s, and someone chose an old song that had recently been covered?

That was last year. Melinda Doolittle did it the entire season.

[Ksyrup]

Guide to the top 12 girls:

hxxp://mjsbigblog.com/season-7-top-12-girls-the-guide.htm

In the Amy Davis paragraph is a link to her modeling portfolio. I'm not sure I find her all that attractive (exotic, definitely), but she's got a nice body.

[INDalltheway]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

If you're interested, here are the DialIdol results...

Spoiler

So do you think this puts Luke Menard in decent shape to make it back for another week? I've never watched the show, but I know Luke. I didn't think he did very well, but you could hear how good of a voice he has. The music was almost too loud for his voice though.

[Ksyrup]

I'd say Luke's low enough that I wouldn't be shocked if he was voted out, since 2 of them are going home, but my bet is his looks will save him for at least another week.

Yeager clearly appears to have benefited from his son's appearance on the show. And Eze appears to be suffering from the "snipe back at the judges and you're gone" issue that has plagued others in the past. Danny gets a pass on this because he was hilarious doing it. Eze came off poorly because he started in on Simon before Simon could get a full sentence out, and he seemed angry and ready for a confrontation. Big mistake, especially combined with performing second and generally sucking.

[rkmsuf]

why did I create this thread?

serenity now

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

why did I create this thread?

serenity now

Don't you dare delete it, either. If you do, I'll be up your ass so far, I'll taste your dinner before you do.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Don't you dare delete it, either. If you do, I'll be up your ass so far, I'll taste your dinner before you do.

Now, you are trying to STOP me from deleting it?

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Now, you are trying to STOP me from deleting it?

I want this thread, and I want you.

[rkmsuf]

take me

[Ksyrup]

If you delete this thread, we'll just move to the other one that was started before this one. Plus, I still have mod powers, I think, so it's useless to delete this one.

Bwhahahahahahahaha!

[rkmsuf]

blimey

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

David Archuleta was the tops for me last night-I can't help but smile at his reactions to the judges and Ryan playing with him after the judges comments.

Glad I missed it last night!

[MikeVic]

Get a room.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Get a room.

Wait, other people could read that!?!?!?!?

[Pumpy Tudors]

ABORT
ABORT

[rkmsuf]

TIPPY TOE

[MikeVic]

I don't even watch American Idol. Why am I here.

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Interesting catch from last night's show - where's Carly?

Yeah, I noticed this last night and mentioned it to my wife. There were only 11 out there all night.

My guess is that Carly was sick.

[Arles]

Ugh, there's so much grizzle on this steak it's almost unbearable to digest. The boys were pretty bad and really only 2-3 should have a chance to win given their state last night. All that said, everyone gets "reprocessed" by the show and I'm sure a couple extras will find the one think they don't stink at and rinse/repeat each week.

Johns and Archuleta look like the best, with Castro and one of the faux rockers (Cook, Carrico) having an outside chance to stay around. The rest of varying degrees of boring - with one having the ability to rise to the top 4 each week based on the theme and/or an implosion by one of the above guys. I agree with Jim that Hernandez was the best of this sad crew last night, but that's the old "tallest guy at a midget conference" compliment. Menard and Haley were dreadful and should go - but Berry or Eze could get fewer votes. For some reason, I think Yeager has the John Stevens crowd and could stay around for a while. Menard may try his best Ace Young impersonation to stay if he somehow gets a week reprieve.

Either way, Tivo should link to the next 3-4 episodes (with this one highlighting) as a top marketing campaign. Between the commercials and somewhat unwatchable performances, I can't imagine watching these next few weeks without the assistance of DVR.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Arles

Ugh, there's so much grizzle on this steak it's almost unbearable to digest.

The steak is veteran?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

If you're interested, here are the DialIdol results...

Spoiler

The 4th and 9th place people on that list are surprising. Otherwise, that is more or less in line with what I expected.

[Ksyrup]

I'm not all that surprised about #4, because the voters have tended to rally around contestants who get attacked by Simon, especially when Simon went out of his way to reference his performance several times through the rest of the night. Not to mention I think he got some votes because he was legitimately entertaining (however you choose to define that!).

#9 was a surprise, though.

[Ksyrup]

Definitely don't feel sorry for Josiah. The dude I know in Nashville says he recorded an EP last week, had a friend riding around with him a couple nights ago (in his "home" I guess) who says that during the ride he got calls from 2 labels, and that Josiah told the guy who recorded the EP that he made $35K in 2 weeks just in downloads from his website.

[korme]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

David Archuleta was the tops for me last night-I can't help but smile at his reactions to the judges and Ryan playing with him after the judges comments. May get a bit old after a while, but for now I think he's the one in the driver's seat.

I would put Michael Long, Robbie Carrico, and David Hernandez a step below right now. I do not understand the love for Jason Castro-I hate the hair and I don't think he has a particularly good voice.

I like the sound of Luke Menard's and Jason Yeager's voice, but sadly both looked out of their element last night especially Yeager who seemed to look amazed to be on the stage during his performance. Sadly one or both could be gone which is a shame, especially with Menard who I think could be a darkhorse to watch.

I wouldn't be particularly sad to see any of the others I didn't mention go home this week, but I'm rooting for Chikeize, who probably doomed his chances by arguing with Simon, and Garrett Haley who showed absolutely no personality and very little originality in his performance. Surprisingly his voice did sound a lot like Neal Sedaka, so there may be some potential in there, but it's buried deep.

Overall not a very good first night for the boys, but week one seldom goes well due to nerves and performing in front of a large crowd for the first time for some of them.

Garrett - no personality? He's the only one that actually took what the judge's said and called it what it was - constructive criticism. You could tell he was actually listening instead of just the deer-in-headlights-in-one-ear-out-the-other look. He seemed to have more personality than a lot of those guys out there, and he's just 17.

[korme]

Originally Posted by INDalltheway

So do you think this puts Luke Menard in decent shape to make it back for another week? I've never watched the show, but I know Luke. I didn't think he did very well, but you could hear how good of a voice he has. The music was almost too loud for his voice though.

If you are going to quote a spoiler tag, please reply with a spoiler tag. Thanks.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by cartman

Glad I missed it last night!

I knew somebody would make a joke about that.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

Garrett - no personality? He's the only one that actually took what the judge's said and called it what it was - constructive criticism. You could tell he was actually listening instead of just the deer-in-headlights-in-one-ear-out-the-other look. He seemed to have more personality than a lot of those guys out there, and he's just 17.

I agree he was very cool with dealing with the criticism. But in my opinion there wasn't much personality in the performance. He doesn't seem like a natural performer like some of the others. It may develop over time, if he stays past tonight.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

The 4th and 9th place people on that list are surprising. Otherwise, that is more or less in line with what I expected.

My feelings exactly. If you flip-flop 4 and 9 on that list, it's very close to what I have.

I can't freaking believe that I'm into American Idol *shivers*

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Arles

Ugh, there's so much grizzle on this steak it's almost unbearable to digest. The boys were pretty bad and really only 2-3 should have a chance to win given their state last night. All that said, everyone gets "reprocessed" by the show and I'm sure a couple extras will find the one think they don't stink at and rinse/repeat each week.

I agree with your statement, except that 2 or 3 should have chance to win. If they don't get better (which I'm sure they will), I'd say none of them would have a shot at winning. There wasn't a stand-out in the bunch, really. Johns was decent only compared to how bad the rest of the performances were. As others have said, the first night is usually rough, but I'd have to say this was by far the worst first night of any season.