The title pretty much says it all. Tonight is the night that American Idol died.
I was thinking about how I would recap Idol's ninth season, and I decided instead of duplicating last season's marathon rant about how horrible the season was, I will keep it short and sweet.
Following last season's finale I was on the verge of not coming back to continue this blog for Season 9. I wanted to quit so many times, but my enjoyment of following the careers of alums from seasons past kept me motivated to continue blogging. By the time January rolled around, I was about to announce I would not be live blogging the season, but something made me decide to give it another try in case the season ended up being good. Sadly, that did not come to be.
Season 9 is the black sheep/ugly duckling/bastard child of the Idol franchise, not only for its lack of talent (save for a few contestants), horrible production, self-absorbed judges, addition of Ellen DeGeneres as a judge, focus on guest performers rather than contestants, awkward Ryan Seacrest drunk hosting performances, appallingly bad 'Idol Gives Back' special, poor auditions, horrible mentors (Miley Cyrus? Adam Lambert?), pants on the ground (okay, that was actually pretty good...at first...before Brett Favre killed it with his "spoof"), boring Ford commercials, boring themes, old themes, tired themes, messy camera angles, dazed and confused audiences, more Ryan being drunk or stoned or just flirting with Simon, Randy's "dudes," Kara's nonsense, Simon's departure, lack of Paula's antics, Miley Cyrus's results show "performance," rejection of Angela Martin, Joe Jonas as a guest judge, basically all the guest judges, lack of a cheesy coronation single, the judges' save, Dane Cook at the finale, or its result, but for the sheer fact that it took up a minimum of two hours of FOX's prime time each week for five-and-a-half months.
In short, Season 9 basically killed what little love I had for this show after Season 8 left it dangling by a thread. I will still always have the memories of actual good seasons and their finalists. But as for the show in its current form, it's finished as far as I'm concerned.
(p.s. I realize how many times I used the words "I" and "me" in this post and would like to apologize. I'm not as self-centered as I might sound...oops there are two more "I"s!)
Showing posts with label analysis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label analysis. Show all posts
Thursday, May 27, 2010
American Idol: 2002-2010
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Season 8: Worst season ever
American Idol's eighth season is the series' overall worst season.
There, I said it. And I feel much better.
Alright, so this is not just me engaging in my usual hyperbole, this is the real deal. I truly believe this season has been such a train wreck from start to finish that it deserves the title of "worst season." There have been so many mishaps, instances of producers' manipulation, poor decisions and format issues that merit this title, and they will be outlined below.
But it's important to differentiate between being the worst talent-wise and the worst production-wise. This season's crop of talent was actually pretty solid, so the title of "worst season talent-wise" still belongs to Season 3. Still, the fact that Season 8 is far and away the worst season production-wise just drags it down so far that it easily inherits the title of "worst season overall."
Below are the major reasons this season was just so darn bad.
>Kara DioGuardi added as fourth judge
Everyone has pretty much arrived at the consensus that the addition of Kara DioGuardi to the judges' panel was a mistake. Regardless of how renowned she may be in the music industry, there just was nothing to warrant her presence except maybe an urge by the producers to "try something new." Kara has been the cause of many of this season's ailments, including the instances of shows running over the allotted one-hour time slot. Remember Top 8 night when Adam's "Mad World" overran into the 9 p.m. hour, forcing those who DVRed the performance to miss it entirely? Yeah, that shouldn't happen to the No. 1 series on television.
Kara's presence has also limited the number of songs each contestant could sing near the end of the season, as two to three songs were required per contestant in seasons past from Top 5 on, and only one solo performance was allowed per contestant until Top 3 week. In other words, this season had less bang for viewers' bucks.
Another reason Kara's judgeship was a mistake is because her comments were either repetitive ("you're a package artist," "artistry blah blah blah artistry blah blah" "you're so commercial") or she would just get things wrong, like when she wished Danny would have sang "earlier Aerosmith...like 'Crazy' or 'Cryin''" or when she had six words for Adam: "one of the best performances of the night." Yes, it's true Paula has made more blunderous statements in her eight-season history with the show, but by now we come to expect it, and Kara is supposed to be in the know regarding the industry.
Despite her hilarious sketch with Bikini Girl on last night's finale, there are just too many negative aspects about her time on the show that she is weighed down by them far too much.
>Top 36 semifinals format introduced
Even though Idol was just trying to revert to earlier times with its Top 36 semifinals format, things just did not work out this time around. True, Seasons 1-3 had similar structures, but in Seasons 2 and 3, there were only eight contestants performing in each group, with four being picked from the wild card round, whereas here we had 12 contestants in each group, with four coming from the wild card. If you do the math, that's a 25% of advancing to the finals compared to a less amazing 17% chance.
This resulted in the early eliminations of far too many talented semifinalists, like Felicia Barton, Ricky Braddy and Kristen McNamara. Looking back on the format, should Jorge Nunez, Jasmine Murray or Lil Rounds have made it to the finals over some of the aforementioned? That's debatable, but what is not debatable is the fact that this format did not result in the strongest cast of Top 13 contestants possible, and instead many bright prospects fell by the wayside.
>Gimmicky goofs get more air than greats
Anyone remember Tatiana Del Toro? What about Nick "Normund" Gentle? Katrina Darrel (a.k.a. "Bikini Girl")? Of course you do, why'd I even ask?
Now how about Deanna Brown or T.K. Hash? Leneshe Young? I thought so.
Early on in the season, we were bombarded with running jokes from the auditions, two of which actually advanced all the way to the semifinals (one of which was called back for the wild card). Now, of course this show is just that...a show, and so entertainment value is to be had in it. But never before has this kind of manipulation by the producers taken place to allow joke contestants to make it much farther than necessary. And before you get on my case about Sanjaya, please remember that he actually showed promise early in the season and he did not show just how awful he was until he made it to the finals.
Also going along with the whole TV show theme, why was it that all we got to see during Hollywood week was Bikini Girl sleeping in and the ongoing drama between Kristen, Nate Marshall and their no-name disgruntled group member? Maybe because that was all the producers felt us viewers wanted to see.
And then there was the all-new Top 13 finals format, heralded as Anoop's "saving grace" as it was meant to shock the audience and paint a picture of benevolence on the part of the show. Unsurprisingly, word began leaking out as early as January that the option might be introduced sometime in the season, and days before the wild card contestants took to the stage, there were rumblings too loud to be ignored that we were in fact going to have a baker's dozen. But since two finalists were eliminated the next week, it was pretty much a pointless waste of everyone's time.
In short, this was the season of the gimmicks, and a lot of early talent like the three contestants mentioned above were sacrificed to make room for these eccentric TV 15 minute-of-fame-whores.
>"Judges' save" option introduced
Perhaps the chief rival to Kara being added as a judge for the biggest fumble of Season 8, the infamous "judges' save" option was threatened to be used for weeks before it was finally exhausted in one of the most inexplicable moments of the season. The save was introduced in the Top 13 to keep a "shocker" from happening (i.e. Chris Daughtry, Tamyra Gray). Or at least that's what Ryan and the judges stated.
However, the transparency of the gimmick was so blatant that each week when the results were read, many people couldn't help but roll their eyes at the sight of the judges' "deliberating" while the unlucky contestant "sang for their life." If the whole thing wasn't thought to be phony based on the image of Paula dancing while they were supposed to be talking things over, Simon's hollow "sorry, it's the end of the road" spiels were the icing on the cake for this mess of a gimmick.
The whole time it was easy to see that the save was nothing more than a safety net for TPTB's favorite contestants in case they went under prior to the Top 5, mainly Adam and Danny (Lil at the beginning of the season but not in her last few weeks). After they realized that none of the above were going anywhere for a while, the judges decided to waste it on Matt. Really? Yes, they used it on Matt. It's not like he was a bad guy, but he was one of the last contestants of those remaining that should have been granted the honor.
One cosmetic side effect of the save was that it damaged the suspense factor for half the finals. Even though it was a good guess the option would not be put into effect on a given night, just the idea that the vote was revealed and that contestant still did not know his or her final fate was both annoying to the contestant and anticlimactic to the audience. Therefore, it would be a complete and utter mistake for this cheap shenanigan to return for Season 9.
>Producers' manipulation reaches new heights
Alright, so this is nothing new. Manipulation courtesy of TPTB has been around since the first season, but things continued to trend downward this season as evidenced primarily by how Adam was presented on the show. Exhibit A is the coveted "pimp spot," which was all but reserved for Adam the entire season, as he received the slot five times since the Top 36 (Top 36 Group 2, Top 8, Top 5, Top 4, Top 3). TPTB's excuse would most likely be "Adam was the best performer so he was the best one to close out the show." Yeah, whether or not that's true is irrelevant because there were other talented contestants that deserved just as much of a chance as he did.
Other odds and ends that showed manipulation by the judges include the placement of Adam in the Bottom 2 Top 5 night (and the refusal to place Danny in a similar position throughout the course of the season), the fact that no instruments were allowed to be played during the singing of the coronation song on Tuesday and the disqualification of Joanna Pacitti prior to the Top 36 because an unfair relationship between her and 19E management was brought to light. It's like, what made them think none of that would leak out to the public? It's just evidence of the laziness of the way this show was run this season.
>Sheer stupidity on the part of producers & judges
Even though many fans rejoiced at the news that former Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe would not be returning for the eighth season of the show, it was soon very apparent that things were not much better under the executive productionship of Ken Warwick and Cecile Frot-Coutaz. Poor decisions like the already beat-to-death Kara debacle and lazy research as seen in the Alexis phone sex line mishap in Top 13 week are prime examples of the lack of foresight and effort spent on this season.
Another stupid move on the part of the producers was the agreement to have oodles of non-Idol-related guest performers like Katy Perry and Flo Rida. Didn't they learn something from Season 6!? Some did prove to be entertaining, like Lady Gaga, but others just did not hit the mark, like the alleged "disco greats." And then there was the lip-synching mishap, in which a rep came out and denied there was any lip-synching taking place during the group performances, only to came out the next day and make excuses for the obvious lipping that was taking place. Goings on like these easily place Season 8 atop all seasons in terms of poor production quality.
And how about when Randy predicted Allison would be leaving Top 11 night (and by Allison...he meant Alexis...)? Sure, it's an easy mistake because both of their names begin with the letter "A," but still it was one of those things that's got to sting, especially since Alexis did end up leaving that night because the save was not used on her.
>Lack of "wow" factor
Alright, so every Adam fan will probably claim he was the "wow" this season, and even though he made things exciting, it is hard to deny that Season 8 was a bore. It lacked the freshness of Season 1, the competitiveness of Season 2, the XX chromosome pairings of Season 3, the awesomeness of a country star's birth of Season 4, the diversity in musical styles of Season 5, the "battle of the divas" of Season 6 and the dynamics in talent of Season 7. Just about everyone and their mother pegged Adam as the winner near the beginning of the finals, with Danny being his only serious challenger. Yes, the fact that Kris came from behind and took the title proves that there was at least one big surprise this season, but it does not really make this season memorable.
>The finale was anticlimactic
Regardless of how the results came in, the finale as a show over the two nights was very bad. It paled in comparison to last season's showdown and was quite possibly the most lackluster one in all eight seasons. Simon Fuller's song choices were poor, Kara's song disappointed and neither Adam nor Kris looked like they were really in it to win it. To add to it all, the seven thousand-filled Nokia seemed subdued throughout most of the nights in comparison to years past despite all the special acts that came out for the party. The finale is supposed to be climactic, not tranquil.
The second night of the finale, while it included some great performances, was also pretty dull in comparison to last season (and many other seasons that came before it).
> Random things that went wrong with S8
In addition to the topics touched on above, there were a slew of random things that went wrong with Season 8. Some of them include the stage falling apart prior to the performances Top 4 night and Simon's empty threat of sending contestants packing if they forgot the words during the Hollywood rounds. While minor, these blips on the season's radar were not positive developments for the show. Okay maybe the stage was a little out of their control, but maybe it wasn't. Shouldn't they inspect the safety of the set's props?
Don't get me wrong, there were a few good aspects about S8, including the effort put into inviting back as many Idol alums as possible to perform on the same stage that gave them fame and the fact that "Idol Gives Back" was skipped out of sensitivity to Americans during this recession. But to say this season is anything better than the worst this show has offered to date is being generous. Very generous indeed. And I don't want to take anything away from Kris, Adam or any of the other talented finalists from this season, as they had no control over how this show was run.
Unless some major changes take place next season (and by "major changes" I mean a reversion to Season 7), many viewers may leave Idol for good.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Analysis: America still loves a comeback
And with that, Season 8 is no more. Kris Allen proved that even in the face of insurmountable odds, the underdog can never be counted out, and he did it an style tonight when word came in that he was crowned the American Idol of the eighth season.
I have to say that when I called Kris as the winner this morning, I was a little hesitant to type his name out. How could a no-named contestant that received zero air time before making it to the Top 36 make it all the way to the finale and defeat one of the most talented performers this show has ever seen grace its stage? But something in me said to go with my gut, that Kris' All-American image was really what this country was looking for and his vocal style is exactly what would be defined as "current." Kris is marketable and a record label's dream, and he will surely be able to move past Kara's dreaded "No Boundaries" single (which, by the way, he sounded better on tonight).
When the results came in, Kris looked as shocked as the next person. His surprise left him at a loss for words, which gave Ryan a reason to ask him to "show more excitement," but he really couldn't. It was too unexpected for him.
Adam Lambert should be very proud, though, because he will be much better off in the long run without the Idol stigma attached to his name. Besides, he delivered the single best performance of the night on his duet with KISS. Nothing can beat a little pyrotechnics and good old fashioned glam rock from the '70s and '80s. The performance was definitely the highlight of the night and will be remembered for years to come.
As for the rest of the show, it was leagues more entertaining than last night's performances. The guest performers were abundant and the duets kept on coming, and even though the silly "Golden Idol Awards" were brought back, they were actually epic this time around, with Nick Mitchell making a reappearance as Normund/Norman Gentle and Tatiana Del Toro was back to sing "Saving All My Love For You" for a fourth time while escaping security (yea nice try producers, that was so stage it almost wasn't funny). Those segments were funny, but kind of overshadowed by the performances.
Not all of the duets worked out well, though. Lil and Queen Latifah was kind of a shout fest and Lionel Richie seemed discombobulated when he sang his new single and "All Night Long" with Danny. In fact, Danny sounded so much better than Lionel it was kind of sad. Allison and Cyndi Lauper were soft and somber on "Time After Time" but once Lauper went off on a tangent near the end, things fell apart and the performance devolved into a contest between the two at who could sing the word "time" more.
Kris actually sounded really strong with Keith Urban on "Kiss a Girl." So strong, in fact, that he could actually pass as a country singer if he so chose to pursue that route. But the biggest "huh?" moment of the night had to have been Steve Martin and his folk band's duet with Megan and Michael. The whole thing seemed like a joke, only it wasn't. Poor Megan, she should have just said "caw! caw!" repeatedly and it would have been better than what she came up with in the form of singing. Michael sounded better but it was still rough in spots.
The Top 13 performed well together, but Allison should have had a bigger role on "So What," as the song has her name written all over it. The guys' rendition of "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" was kind of creepy, especially seeing them all dressed in suits. It was cheesy and boring until Rod Stewart came out from under the stage, only to nearly trip and fall on his journey across the stage to the micstand. It's possible he had one too many sherries before he was given the go-ahead to take the stage.
One of the most exciting moments of the show was when Katrina Darrell (aka "Bikini Girl") and her new assets and tan emerged onto the stage to perform "Vision of Love" in her signature bikini when who else but Kara burst out from behind the big ol' Idol door and joined her on the Mariah Carey track. As if that wasn't enough, Kara pulled off the most hilarious moment of the season when she ripped her dress wide open to reveal a black bikini, which she immediately covered up and told Ryan she only did it because the rest of the judges dared her to do it and they agreed to donate to charity if she followed through. For all the pain and suffering she caused as a judge and songwriter, though, this moment did a little bit to take away the sting.
Another performance worth noting were Adam and Kris' duet with Queen on "We Are the Champions," which was an amazing moment with fog overtaking the stage and the rest of the Top 13 serving as a backing choir of sorts up above on the stairs, looking down at the last two men standing. This was definitely not what most expected for a duet between the final two, but nevertheless it did not disappoint. And David Cook's emotional performance of "Permanent" was surely one that will be held near and dear to his heart. It would have worked better had he sang it later in the night but he still did an amazing job.
A performance that could have done without was the Black Eyed Peas and their No. 1 single "Boom Boom Pow," as the foursome brought an awkward five-second "Idol blackout" courtesy of Fergie and her potty mouth (apparently she didn't get the memo that they were to sing the edited, family-friendly version of the song for this special occasion). Santana, on the other hand, did not disappoint, and the Top 13's take on "Smooth" was actually pretty solid.
But now that all the glitz and glamor has ended, it is important to acknowledge that this season was not very good. In fact, it was downright disappointing. Kris and Adam were bright spots in the season, as were a select few other finalists, but the rest of the season was just awful. I will address my thoughts on the season in a forthcoming post on here.
But for now, IDOL LIVE would like to congratulate Kris on his big night. You deserve it buddy.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Analysis: And so goes the Gokey
Well, that was hardly unexpected.
So Kris and Adam will square off in the finale next Tuesday. Not many would have predicted that back in February. It surely will be a fight, as Ryan stated only just over one million votes separated the top two vote-getters, which means there are a whole lot more Kris fans than anyone would have guessed.
Regarding Danny, he really went out with class. Not only did he sing the reprise of "You Are So Beautiful" with conviction and tenderness, but one could picture him singing to his wife, and he looked up to the ceiling as if he were looking up to heaven. No matter what you think of Danny (whom I think has got a really bad wrap this season from some), you have to admit he really wanted to be there and gave it his all each and every time.
The rest of the results show means little compared to the results, but we might as well take a look at what transpired tonight.
The show kicked off with a lame attempt at humor and shameless self promotion, as Ben Stiller and friends from the cast of Night At the Museum: Battle For the Smithsonian opened the show with a pre-taped video joking about the judges' table being honored at the Smithsonian. Hah, very funny guys.
After that speed bump we were treated to a performance by a little boy named Noah who came all the way from Rwanda to sing as part of a presentation done by Alicia Keys for the "Keep a Child Alive" foundation, which she is the ambassador of. It was an extension of last night's "Idol Gives Back" segment featuring Carrie Underwood. Noah sang well considering he learned the lyrics in English in only one week.
The other two performers were more experienced (well, one of them, anyway), and sang more recognizable tunes (well, one of them, anyway). Jordin Sparks was first with the debut of her new single "Battlefield," complete with an accompaniment by Ryan Tedder on the piano and a herd of shrieking backup singers. They literally ruined the stunning vocals Jordin was able to belt out. She looked a good 5 years older than she did when she one, and even lost a few pounds. Don't take that the wrong way, though, as she looked very beautiful and took command of the stage with the upbeat track.
Katy Perry, the night's other featured performer, was not as fortunate. She may not have had to deal with the atrocious backup singers, but she had her own share of showgirls and stuff helping her distract the audience from her awful singing (including Adam's name on on her cape...wooohoo...). As bad as she and her bug eyes were, though, I give her credit for singing live. That's more than what Paula can say...
As for the hometown visits, nothing really stuck out. Kris' emotional hug with his father was sort of an indicator that he was going to make the finale. When Ryan mentioned it as a "prideful moment," it became pretty obvious that he was going to advance. Danny's trip back to Milwaukee was sweet, but it seemed like him reuniting with friend and fellow Hollywood contestant Jamar Rodgers was not as sentimental as Kris' return home. Adam's hometown visit was probably the least eventful, aside from the whole girl-in-bra-rushing-the-stage incident, which sounded a lot more exciting than it looked on camera.
And that Ford video looked like it was done in Windows Moviemaker in about a half an hour. I understand the budget has shrunk compared to years past, and people aren't really concerned with the videos at this point, but c'mon, at least make it look like some effort was put into it.
As for my predictions, I was wrong once again with my pick for Kris to go in my pre-show predictions, and I was also wrong with my original prediction of Adam finishing in third. Oh well.
At the end of the day, tonight's events were pretty much inevitable following Kris' performance of "Heartless" last night and adding in Simon's nonstop pimpage of Adam, and the stage is set for a competitive finale. Or is it? The producers would like to make you think so, but I really think the whole "less than a million votes separated Adam and Kris" thing is them stretching reality in order to create a false sense of competitiveness. But we shall see.
In the words of Simon, it looks like we're gonna have a big ding dong next week.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Analysis: Allison is the little train that (almost) could
Most Idol fanatics are still reeling from tonight's somewhat shocking results, but it's never too early to examine the reasons for what actually transpired just now.
First of all, it is really sad to see Allison leave, especially on such a high note with her duet on "Slow Ride" with Adam. She really seemed like a star and was extremely comfortable on stage. In fact, she is probably the one contestant that has improved the most during her time on the Idol stage.
But like last season, this is a guy's season to win, and Allison would have been dead in the water had she gone up against Adam (or even Danny) in the finale. She might have stood a chance against Kris, but even that would have been a stretch. The reasons for why she departed in fourth place are pretty plain to see, even though it's hard to acknowledge them. Allison's vocals were one-dimensional, as she was more of a rocker than she was a versatile performer. She was a star in her element, but she sort of had a rough time when she stepped out. That said, this should have been Allison's week to own along with Adam, but when it comes down to the bottom line, she simply did not have a fan base that could compete with the other three, and it finally caught up to her tonight.
Allison definitely knows how to go out in style, though. She really tore up the stage with her encore of "Cry Baby" and was nothing but gracious for making it this far. Paula was kind to give her a hug mid-performance, while Randy and Kara showed their soft sides by consoling her at the end of the performance. Simon did not show much of a reaction, but you could tell on the inside that he was proud of her despite their little back-and-forth eye-rolling and "begging" session last night.
Danny was shown smiling while Allison did her swan song, and you could tell it was one of those "older brother proud of his little sister" kind of moments, nothing sinister.
Speaking of Danny, how did you like his minute or so laugh-fest at his "scream"? It was a real relief to see him poke fun of himself, talking about his aunt having to mute the note and how people were making it into ringtones. This is a side of Danny that does not get shown often, and people sometimes see him in only the most negative light, so it probably was worth the self-deprecating humor.
And then the Top 4's group performance of "School's Out" with Slash was not a letdown like it could have been, which kicked off the show on the right note. The other guest performances, however, were a mixed bag.
First, Paula's "performance" of her new single "(I'm Just) Here For the Music" was one of the funniest moments in Idol history. She lip-synched her whole way through the song like it was her job, all the while pulling off A-list choreographic moves with the help of dancing guys that were probably half her age. She looked great and proved that she can still do the moves, but the whole not singing part sends the wrong message to the contestants, since the goal of the show is all about finding the best "undiscovered" singer, right? Oh, nevermind...
Anyway, No Doubt took the stage looking to eclipse Paula's performance (even though the former was taped last night) but Gwen Stefani and the guys were "just a'ight" in Randyspeak. Gwen looked like a new mother and even though she tried to prove she's in tip-top shape by doing pushups behind the judges' table, she seemed really out of breath near the end of their trip down memory lane with "Just a Girl" (don't they have a new single out there to promote called "Stand and Deliver"?) Stefani was her usual zany self and is a whole lot of fun, but the performance really did not cut it.
And then there was Daughtry's return to the stage that ended frontman Chris' dreams of becoming the next American Idol exactly three years ago this week. The new single, "No Surprise," is mid-tempo fare that fits in with the band's usual sound and the live performance was pretty good overall, despite an overall sense of boredom as seen in the audience's languishing applause. The presentation of a quintuple platinum plaque from one Kris to another Chris was a nice touch, but the album has only sold 4.2+ million to date, so isn't that a little premature?
Other things of note about tonight's episode include Ryan sending Kris to safety first, which was obviously deliberate to make everyone suspect Danny was tonight's target. It was a huge relief to both Kris and his wife, though, and they were visibly excited. And the Ford music video was ridiculous as usual, but it was cool of them to use The All-American Rejects' "Move Along" as the song of focus.
As for my predictions, I originally had Anoop going home, which obviously was not going to happen, but my pre-show predictions were also pretty off. I had Kris going home (as did most others) but he was the first one sent back to safety. We do not know who landed in the Bottom 2 with Allison, though, so it may or may not have been Danny. I guess we'll never really know.
Next week the Top 3 finalists will each perform one song picked by the judges and one song of their own choosing. So there's only enough room for six performances in an hour once again when they used to do nine at this point in the competition? Alrighty then...
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Analysis: Producers are trigger happy for drama
The end result of tonight's Top 5 results show was anything but unexpected. The means we took to get to the result, however, are another matter. But if anyone is surprised that Adam landed in the "Bottom 2," let's just take a look at the factors in play here.
First, Adam has never been in the Bottom 3, nevermind the B2. Therefore, the chances that he could skate into the finale without ever being in the latter were very slim. So what do the producers do? They psych out all of Adam's fans, who have become complacent over the past few weeks. I mean, it's hard to argue with such high numbers on DialIdol, isn't it? But there will come a day when a power hungry Kris Allen or Allison Iraheta fanbase votes and texts its way to a victory in that scenario.
Even though there were only five finalists remaining when votes were cast last night, which supported the notion that anyone could end up in any order when the results came in, there was zero chance that Adam was actually in the B2 following a highly praised performance in the pimp spot. The assertion that his polarization could be a reason to alienate a lot of the audience remains true, but again, that would not be enough to warrant a trip to the B2 on its own. There are still just as many supporters as there are those who do not vote for him.
But stepping back from the results for a moment, Adam made one of the most boneheaded moves when he picked Allison's and Danny's group based on who "did the best last night," which meant he assumed he was among the best performers of the night. Now, he really cannot be faulted for this because, well, everyone else thought he was among the best and that he would be in the top vote-getting group when Ryan began splitting the five of them up. Still, he should have taken a page from the rest of the finalists from seasons past that refused to pick a group and/or just sat/stood in the middle of the stage in protest.
Once people can come down from being hit by the blow to the face of Adam being in the B2, it's really no surprise that Matt left in fifth. As even he mentioned to Ryan following the revelation of the results, he was like a cat with nine lives on the show and is appreciative of how far he made it. Matt is right: he got a ton of chances to extend his time on the show and it was just his time to leave this week. Matt even sounded better on his encore than he did last night, and could have a career as an R&B singer if he chooses to pursue that route.
As for the rest of the results, it was no shock that Danny and Allison landed in the top spots based on last night, with Simon's ridiculous underwhelming critique of Allison's stellar vocal showing sending fans into a frenzy, undoubtedly accounting for a large chunk of the 47 million votes cast last night. And Kris was not up to anything new, as he ended up in the middle of the pack once again. Dark horse? Perhaps.
Moving on from the results, the producers had to reach for three guest performers tonight to act as filler, and could not have picked an odder combination. First up was Natalie Cole, who looked classy and sounded as crisp as ever on her song. Then came Taylor Hicks and his "Seven Mile Breakdown," which injected some life into the show but felt kind of out of place amid the backdrop of Rat Pack era week. He seemed to really appreciate being asked to return and perform, though, and reiterated that he loved being back on the Idol stage. All in all, it was not an amazing vocal performance but it was more on the exciting side than what we could have had in his place.
And then there was this week's mentor, Jamie Foxx. As if Foxx was not out of place after last night's critiques, he was even more out of place tonight when he autotuned the life out of his "#1 single" (according to Ryan. Is that song really #1 in the country?!) "Blame It." He did more twirling than even pretending to lip-synch, as he forgot to hold the mic up to his mouth more than a few times. And then for him to say the Top 5 finalists were the most talented singers he had heard in the past few years? After that performance, Jamie, that is more of a diss than it is a compliment. And didn't he recently say something on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to the effect of "just remember one thing: everything I say, I don't mean any of it." Right, we'll take you up on that.
Moving on, the Ford music video was dumber than usual this week, as the scenery was painted in color after beginning with a boring and lifeless grey scale landscape. The behind the scenes footage of seeing the finalists "baking a cake," however, was definitely worth every penny. We got to see Danny and Allison throw cake in each others' faces! We saw Kris, Adam and Matt breaking plates and strangling each other in cake batter and flour. How is that not entertaining?
There was really nothing else exciting about this results show, though. The group performance was good even though there was no lip-synching, and then Simon actually acted humble knowing that his critiques were less spot-on than Kara's and Randy's (keyword: acting).
My original predictions did not do all that well this week, as Allison was my first pick to leave in fifth place when I put in my predictions all those weeks ago. My pre-show predictions, however, were much more on the right track, as I had Matt going home with Kris in the B2 and Allison as the third member of the B3. Obviously the latter two guesses were wrong, but I had Matt going home and that's all that matters. Right?
One thing's for sure, though: next week's showcase of rock songs will be a sight to see.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Analysis: Last week's save costs Lil & Anoop
Tonight went pretty much according to plan. Two finalists that really had no chance to win took their final bows and performed as contenders for the last time. The interesting thing to come of this is not as much as a whimper or whine could be heard from the audience over the ousters, which supports the notion that it really was their time to leave.
This is not a knock to Anoop or Lil, as the two of them should be proud of themselves for achieving the success they have attained on this show. But even they knew the two of them had overstayed their welcome, which supports why Lil went out with a smile on her face and Anoop left with poise, although visibly disappointed.
The judges were even long on praise for Lil, with Simon saying he was still a big fan of Lil's and with Randy saying this was just the beginning for her. The judges unfortunately did not have time to address Anoop's elimination, but they probably would have echoed something similar for him had they been able to get their last two cents in that could have been made possible by shaving 30 seconds off the disco medley (what was that, anyway?)
Moving right along to the disco medley, was that supposed to get the audience on the floor and in the mood to shake their groove thing? If so: mission absolutely not accomplished. It's always great to see legends perform their hits decades after they become hits, but sometimes you can't help but feel bad for them when it comes to their performances. I mean, Freda Payne was nearly out of breath by the time she finished shuffling across the stage through "Band of Gold" and KC of KC and the Sunshine Band looked like he was going to go into convulsions while surrounded by four much younger dancing girls. Thelma Houston was not much better on "Don't Leave Me This Way," as she looked like she took a page from Big Bird Margret's styling book (if anyone remembers who I'm referencing, you get two bonus points).
Then we were greeted by David Archuleta, who really was feeling his performance of "Touch My Hand" as he did his best to command the stage. Although he has long graduated from the Idol academy, one could have thought he was just another contestant on this season. It will take a few years, but soon enough Arch will be way beyond the Idol brand. He sounded great and was nice to Anoop and Allison as they sweated things out in the Bottom 2.
Not to be overlooked, Paula's much-hyped choreographed group performance by the Top 7 of Michael Jackson's "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" did not fail to impress. There were aspects that could be seen as being extremely cheesy, and the lip-synching was beyond obvious this week that it almost took away from the dancing, but they all worked will together considering it was put together in two days.
There are a few things that should be noted following these results. For the first time ever, The Top 5 does not include any minorities. Not that this will be a major issue, but some may seize upon this fact and take the opportunity to call the show racist (which is, after all, ridiculous). Also, this is the first time there is only one female among the Top 5, although the opposite was had in Season 3 when George Huff was the single remaining male contestant of the Top 5.
As for my original predictions and pre-show predictions, I was wrong about both finalists on the former (had Matt going in 7th with Scott going in 6th), but I was half-right on the latter. I correctly predicted Lil would be leaving in 7th place, but thought Matt would go in 6th, whereas Anoop got the honor instead. Looking back at the results and keeping things in perspective, tonight was a good night overall. From here on in, however, it will be a bumpy ride indeed.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Analysis: Judges make a bad decision
Well, at least one good thing can be said of tonight's results: the save is no more.
The rest of tonight's outcome was poorly concocted. It was a big mistake and will most likely cost a more deserving contestant his or her life in the competition next Wednesday. This is not to say that Matt is not a good guy, as he has a unique voice and has a great personality. But there are so many reasons he should not have been saved tonight, and a few of them are as follows.
First of all, Matt was a wild card contestant, meaning he was technically already "voted out" once. It was only after the judges gave him a second chance that he made it back into the competition. Secondly, Matt did not do extremely well last night, and received two lukewarm critiques from Randy and Kara. Thirdly, Matt sounded even worse tonight in his "singing for his life" opportunity, once again cracking on his falsetto near the end. Simon even made note of this in addition to saying that he thinks Matt has no shot at winning the competition prior to revealing the judges' decision.
For that comment alone, this save is pathetic. It is obvious that the judges are just trying to stir things up to increase the drama factor and it can be seen as nothing but a buzz builder and lame attempt to increase the show's sagging ratings this season. Simon knows this very well of course, but he apparently does not care anymore. He did not stand up for himself, unless of course it was three against one. That would make sense, but he never said he disagreed with the decision, so who really knows. After the show, however, Simon talked with Extra correspondent and former girlfriend Terri Seymour, saying he doesn't know why he saved Matt, but he did not get "caught up in the moment." Great rationale, Simon.
It was pretty apparent that the judges would exercise the save once Paula and Kara were shown swaying together during Matt's performance, as they appeared too jubilant to be sending him home. But now it's important to put tonight in the past and focus our attention on next week's possibilities.
First thing's first: Anoop is a total goner regardless of how he does. Secondly, disco week has not been traditionally kind to Idol finalists, and it would suggest that a front runner could very well be going next week thanks to the double elimination. The finalist that seems to be the most vulnerable in this situation is Allison, as she was not in the Bottom 3 this week so her fans are probably complacent right now, whereas Lil's fans once again got another kick in the pants, which could ensure her safety. Matt will most definitely not be going home next week because his fans realize they got a once in a lifetime opportunity with tonight's save, and they will be sure not to waste it.
The two obvious front runners that will not be going anywhere are Adam and Danny, though it would not be a shock to see one of them in the Bottom 3. Kris is the other vulnerable finalist next week, especially since he doesn't seem like much of a disco kind of guy. But we'll wait and see.
As for the rest of the show, Jennifer Hudson proved that she really is a great artist and although she showed signs of nervousness, she pulled it off in the end. The audience did not seem too into it but "If This Isn't Love" is one of those songs that's hard to really get into at a live performance.
A "singer" that could take a pointer or two from Jennifer was the night's other guest performer, Miley Cyrus. She looks more grown up than she has in the past, but her vocals are still very weak and do not justify her fame. It is a shame because her new single, "The Climb," is a solid song in its own right, it just belongs to the wrong owner. Hopefully Idol cancels Katy Perry's guest performance slot for Top 3 night before she can continue the streak of bad guest performances.
There was really nothing else interesting about tonight's results episode, as the Ford music video was boring and so were Ryan's questions to the finalists. One other thing of note was the montage of the Top 7 finalists attending the premiere of Zac Efron's new movie 17 Again, which received a huge amount of promotion from its four-minute commercial of sorts in front of 20-plus million. Oh, and by the way, the movie opens on Friday if you somehow missed that important tidbit.
On the results front, I would have been correct in both my original predictions and pre-show predictions with Matt receiving the fewest votes, but of course the judges had to go and screw that up. Maybe that's the real reason I'm upset? Regardless, this is really disappointing. Hopefully next week makes up for this horrible turn of events.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Analysis: Sun (finally) sets on Scott's 'Idol' journey
Scott MacIntyre is a happy guy. In fact, he was probably the nicest, most personable finalist to appear on Idol this season. That said, like last week there was really no other option for who was to be sent home.
After weeks of offering up very similar song choices and performances at the piano, Scott finally tried something different as a result of Paula's nudging of him to step out of his comfort zone. Looking back, he probably still would have left had he gone with the piano on "The Search Is Over" rather than the gimmicky guitar, so the blame really can't be pinned on anyone but him and his vocals.
As for the seemingly endless discussion among the judges to decide whether or not Scott was worth their powerful save option, there is no way two of them were actually willing to use it. It had to be all for show, to ratchet up the drama factor and to give Scott that much more hope that he'd have another week. One thing I noticed was Randy seemed to be really detached from the rest of the judges, as he was sitting behind Simon and Paula during Scott's final performance and really had nothing to say when it was time to make a decision.
By the way, what was up with the judges and that photoshopped "baby photo" of Simon and Paula? That was a waste of time. But what was an even bigger waste of time was Frankie Avalon's surprise performance to make Simon feel old about turning 50 this year. The guy walked out from behind those big doors looking eerily similar to what Ryan will probably look like in 50 years and proceeded to shuffle around the stage. At least half of the audience (probably closer to two-thirds) had no idea who he was or why he was there. In fact, I still have no idea what he was doing there. All I know is it was a waste of time.
Speaking of wastes of time, last night's guest performers were both on the average-to-awful side, as Flo Rida had more fun stripping on stage than he did singing along to his "Right Round"'s catchy hook and Kellie Pickler was more interested in flirting with the judging than churning out a respectable vocal. Flo's typical rapper schlock ("R.O.O.T.S. in stores now!") when he chatted with Ryan (who was trying to act too cool, by the way) post-performance was just another anchor on his appearance on the show.
Getting back to the results for a moment, the other Bottom 2 dweller was Anoop, which did not come as a huge surprise. It looks like unless he can score the pimp spot next week and pull off an amazing showstopper, his time may be up soon. Lil, on the other hand, will get a kick in the pants to finally listen to what the judges have been trying to tell her for weeks and she will turn the advice into a golden performance as long as she does not go for a "I Will Always Love You"-like performance for next week's "Songs of the Cinema" theme.
Another Ford music video was upstaged by its behind the scenes featurette that preceded it, as seven of the finalists had to pretend to enjoy dressing up like magicians, putting sparkles on their faces and singing along to Britney Spears' "Circus" (no surprise on who the one finalist that enjoyed the whole production was). The amount of footage of Scott in the behind the scenes video was a dead giveaway as to who would be leaving, as he had never been included that much in any off-site group video package.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, I am now 0-6 with my original predictions because I had Alexis going home originally and, well, she left in 11th place a few weeks back. I'm doing much better on my pre-results show predix, though, as I correctly called Scott leaving last night. Therefore, my record has improved to 3-6 in that predicting category. I was off on who would be joining Scott in the B2, though, as I had Kris in there over Anoop, and I had Anoop in third-to-last rather than Lil. But oh well, as long as the end result is the same.
As mentioned upstream, next Tuesday the Top 7 will have to master "Songs of the Cinema" and endure re-listening to Miley Cyrus' taped performance of "The Climb" from a few weeks back. Awesome!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Analysis: Goodbye and caw! caw!
Megan Joy Corkrey was never going to win this season of Idol. Yes, she had the support of Kara and yes, she was unique. But when it came down to the bottom line, Megan had a few things working against here. For once, she is not a male, which the judges have been telling us from the very beginning would be a characteristic of this season's winner. Megan also couldn't dance, maybe not on a Danny Gokey level, but her movements on stage were just awkward to watch. And then there's the whole voice thing, something that was far from Megan's strong suit.
But when it came time to say goodbye last night, Megan was nothing but smiles and was accepting in her fate, making sure to tell her daughter that "momma's coming home" before she shed some tears during her goodbye video montage. The highlight of the episode was without a doubt her poking fun at herself by "caw! caw!"-ing about the stage, a reference to her ad-libbed phrase immediately following her performance of "Rockin' Robin" Top 13 week. She even flapped her wings a few times and got some chorus calls from the newly-decided top eight on the couches.
As for her little stand-off with Simon, she got what she deserved when he bluntly told her not to bother singing for her life because they were not going to use it on her regardless. Had she held her tongue earlier in the night and had not told Simon she "didn't care" what he had to say, they probably would not have been as up front about not saving her, but the reality is she was never going to be saved regardless so all it did was shave off a few seconds at the end of the show.
The other two members of the Bottom 3 were not surprising, but the way Ryan went about reading the results was just dumb. It's not even like he did one big "April Fools" joke by declaring one of the three groups of three was in fact the B3, he just kind of had them stand in those groups and then read the individual results. Maybe it could be conceived that his revealing of Matt's results were the closest thing to a joke, but that was more Matt assuming than it was Ryan pulling a good "gotcha!" out of his pocket.
As for the guest performers, one was boring while the other was lively. David Cook's first return to the Idol stage since winning back in May 2008 was nice, but his performance was really, really boring and blah. It's not his fault, because his next single is a weak song in general, but if he had sung something a little more lively it would have made a difference. He also officially received a plaque courtesy of 19E and RCA Records for his album going platinum, so all in all it was great to see Cook back again (even though the whole thing was pre-taped).
Then there was Lady Gaga. Many Idol viewers had no idea what she looked like before last night, only knowing her voice from hearing her #1 hits "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" on the radio. But after last night, few will forget her name or her face, which looked like that of a freaked-out mannequin at Macy's at the end of her performance. She could probably stand at Madame Tussuad's wax museum among the other figurines and no one would know it's really her.
But her performance was something else, as it went progressively downhill. It began with a haunting unplugged session with her right at a glass piano sounding very solid vocals-wise, then went into a crazy Britney Spears-esque, choreographed-to-the-brim spectacle complete with shadow dancers and bad vocals. She seems to be two entirely different people, or someone with a very bad case of bipolar disorder. Either way, the performance was no doubt miles more entertaining than Cook's.
As for the group performance, it appears enough brouhaha over the revelation that they are in fact lip-synched has died down to allow the finalists to return to their usual "live" performances, only the song selection mixed with less hectic choreography made the whole thing more watchable than usual. Scott still hasn't left the piano's side, but something tells me that's not going to change.
And then there was the whole reality portion of the show that has been a major letdown compared to what the producers were hyping the segments up to be. So we got to see Scott eating quadruple chocolate cake and Kris' commentary on what he thinks of the photographers asking him to make a "sexy face" during the shoots. So what? They were making it sound like we'd be watching Big Brother: Idol Style before the season started. I'm not complaining, because that would add a whole 'nother unnecessary component to the show, but still it's a bit annoying.
What was funny, though, was when they all were doing impersonations of each other. Allison's take on Danny singing "PYT" and "Jesus, Take the Wheel" were probably the most spot on, but Danny also did a good job going after Matt and Anoop had fun pretending to be Kris. Sure, they were probably rehearsed, but they were still great to see.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, I am now 0-5 with my original predictions because I had Kris going home originally. I was once again correct with my pre-results show predix, though, as I got it right that Megan would be flying home, but as for the B3 I had Scott in there over Allison. That makes me 2-5 in that predicting category.
The theme for next Tuesday will be songs from the Top 8's birth years, which means we'll probably be hearing a lot of British Rock and Journey. Caw! Caw!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Analysis: Mini-surprise livens up Top 10 results
In a night filled of fake-outs, big surprises and not so big surprises, Idol hit a high mark with last night's results show. Yes, it felt extremely rushed and a few things could have been cut out to ease the pace (*cough*SmokeyandJossStone'sduet*cough*), but all in all it was the best results show of the season.
Breezing through Ryan's witty tease with Kara over her botched "six words" critique of Adam and his lame attempt to rekindle Paula's crayons (or crowns, according to Ryan) joke on Simon, which resulted in Simon saying they "got a room" after the show, we got to see just how well the Top 10 sounds when its group performance is pre-taped (even though we already know how it sounds when the track is pre-recorded). Bravo to whoever thought of that quick fix to the lip-synching scandal.
The performance could have been done without actually, but it was not the lowest point of last night. That came when the second guest performance set took the stage in Joss Stone and Motown week's mentor, Smokey Robinson. Although Smokey proved to be a wise pick in coaching the finalists, his creepy singfest with the much younger Joss was boring with a capital B, not to mention their vocals did not mesh well together whatsoever.
But second season winner Ruben Studdard sounded awesome on his new single "Together," as the slimmed down (and newly-married, as Ryan pointed out) velvet teddy bear reminded the audience why he won his season despite being far from where he began success-wise at the moment. What was particularly bothersome was how Ruben was hurried off the stage, only having time for a quick exchange with Ryan before he got down to the night's results.
As for the results, the announcement that Matt was in the bottom three was certainly not expected, as the studio erupted with audience members voicing their dissent. Even Matt himself seemed a little surprised, and understandably so. But this just goes to show that either performing first or having the producers play games for ratings can be a round trip ticket to the B3, depending on which explanation you prefer to subscribe to. Either way, there was no way Matt had the third-lowest votes of the night. No way.
Michael and Scott were both expected to be in the B3, and that is exactly where they wound up. But Randy's suggestion that Matt did not belong with the both of them was a sign of what was next to come, as Ryan told Scott that he would be back next week to perform (but hey, at least Randy didn't get Matt's name wrong). Again, the thunderous outcry from the audience members was a sign that people were genuinely shocked that Matt could be in the Bottom 2.
Then came yet another guest performer in Stevie Wonder, who tore up the house but could have done without the tired shout outs to President Obama and American Idol. Still, he was able to get the entire Top 10 (including Michael and Matt) on its feet dancing along, with Kris even enthusiastically mouthing the words and Lil bowing down to him in an "I am not worthy" motion. One thing he was not able to accomplish, however, was getting Simon on his feet. That is something that man will probably never do on this show.
But when it came time for the results, no one was surprised. Michael, who many pegged as being a "WTF?" pick for the Top 13 in the first place, showed that he can bow out with grace and poise, smiling all the while. When he sang "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" one last time for the judges to allegedly discuss whether or not to use their tool on him, it was apparent that not everyone was digging the idea of having a pow wow. Paula was up dancing the night away, clapping along and only briefly nodded her head when Kara tried to get a word in. The others barely spoke at all, and when it came time for them to give their verdict, spokesman Sir Cowell claimed they had not reached a consensus, instead asking Paula "yes or no?"
But in the end, of course the judges did not waste their immunity on the oil rigger, as his name is not Adam, Danny or Lil. The fact that Michael was able to depart with his spirits high speaks volumes.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, I am now 0-4 with my original predictions because I had Jorge going home originally. I was actually right on with my pre-results show predix, though, as I correctly guessed Michael would be striking out even though I had Megan in the Bottom 3 rather than Matt and Scott in the Bottom 2 rather than Matt. That makes me 1-4 in that predicting category.
Next Tuesday, either rock songs or selections from the iTunes Top 100 chart will be performed on the Idol stage if rumblings are to be believed.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Analysis: Little Alexis faces big nerves in her exit performance
Last night's elimination episode was all about Carrie Underwood, which was probably a good thing because the results were really dull. Carrie's performance of her latest single "I Told You So" as a duet with the song's original owner, Randy Travis, was the highlight of the night. Despite the creepy feeling one gets when seeing a man twice Carrie's age sing a love song with her, the performance was one of the purest vocal showcases Carrie has ever done on the show. But obviously the Carrie of today dwarfs her 2005 counterpart before she was given the crown.
Aside from this, the night was empty of surprises, except for the fact that DialIdol was right about Alexis going home and Allison joining her in the Bottom 3. The Ford video was a little more exciting than usual, but Ryan's failed water balloon lob at Simon was unnecessary (if it even happened). Someone should find the unlucky audience member that was allegedly pegged by the errant throw. The new feature of showing the aftermath of eliminations was a nice addition but if that is what we were waiting for the "reality portions" of the show that were being hyped up, that's really sad.
Brad Paisley's performance was boring but he sounded good, while the lip-synched group performance was pointless. It will be interesting to see how Scott handles the tour considering all he seems to do is sit at the piano. If the tour is anything like it was last year, though, he should be all set because he won't have to participate in the usual group extravaganzas.
One of the only touching moments of last night's elimination round was Michael's teary story about his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter asking him why he doesn't want to live with them (Michael's family) anymore. That got the audience to put some effort into showing emotion, which is more than can be said about its reaction to Alexis' singing for her life.
Alexis is a sweet girl, but her nerves got the best of her during her performance last night (and understandably so). This whole judges' immunity thing is really weighing the suspense factor down, as we all knew Simon was merely toying with Alexis' hopes when he said they were considering using the save on her. While she was performing her heart out, the judges were probably plotting where they would go for dinner later on while in their huddle.
Still, Alexis had nothing but respect for the judges and their decision and, in keeping with her last name, was very gracious after hearing the news, saying "things happen for a reason." With Alexis gone, that leaves just three girls left in the competition, and by the looks of things, we could be down to just one female competitor by Top 6 or earlier. Season 3, anyone?
One of the more memorable moments of last night was when Simon told Ryan that he would not take back his "indulgent rubbish" critique, rather stating that Adam's performance was much worse than he originaly thought when he watched it back, which prompted the strongest response from the audience of the night.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, this week was another not so good one. For my original predictions I had Jasmine going home last night, and obviously she went home last week so that was just not going to happen anyway. That makes me 0-3 for my original predictions. As for my pre-results show predix, I had the right Bottom 3, but Alexis went home instead of her Bottom 2 mate, Michael. That makes me 0-3 in that bracket, but to be fair, we never really got a straight answer on who went in what order last week, so for all I know I could be 2-3. Oh well, until official word surfaces i will not give myself the benefit of the doubt.
Looking ahead to next Wednesday (Thanks a lot, President Obama), expect some predictable song choices and a whole lot of copycat performances. In other words, see Season 3's Top 10 night.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Analysis: So that was the "secret," eh?
Now that the top secret twist is out in plain view, it's time we take a look at the repercussions (if any) that will be felt as a result. First of all, it's not nearly as bad as many suspected. The rampant rumor was that the judges would get to have the bottom two finalists have a "sing-off" and then they would decide who would go home each week. That would have been downright awful.
In the actual scenario, the judges will only get grant immunity to one finalist once during the entire season, and the option expires Top 5 week. What's important to stress is that the next-lowest vote-getter would not be eliminated, rather there would be a double elimination the following week. That is doable I guess, but it's a little pointless. The only thing it will be held onto for is the possibility of an Adam/Danny/Lil pre-Top 5 exit, which is just not going to happen anyway. So we'll see if there's any valid reason for this threat being brought into the judges' arsenal.
Oh, and Ryan - under this system, Chris Daughtry and Tamyra Gray would not have been able to be saved, as they were both eliminated during Top 4 week. So next time maybe you should have your aide(s) do your homework for you.
Now, back to the actual results. It was no surprise that a combination of Jorge/Megan/Jasmine were going to be eliminated last night, so they did their best to hype up the suspense. Putting Megan with Jasmine for the first "bottom 2" was a good idea, as she was probably really in the bottom 3 or just outside it. Putting Anoop with Jorge was deceiving, though, as he in fact received much more votes than they made it seem like he did. Allison Iraheta most likely should have been standing down there but to make it seem more believable, they decided to place someone who delivered a not so great performance in synthetic peril.
Jasmine's elimination proved that wild card picks don't always work out. Plus, there were a half-dozen girls that belonged in the Top 13 over her, but the judges had to find out they made a mistake the hard way. Doesn't matter, they won't learn regardless. Jasmine did the best she could do with "I'll Be There," but it did come across as being very pageanty and usually doing ballads sandwiched in between better and more memorable performances will lead to an exit. She did her best to control her emotions but keeping in mind that she's still only 17, she should not be ashamed of anything about her time on Idol. Ryan was actually useful last night as he comforted her.
Then there was Jorge, who would have been out early regardless of what he sang Tuesday and only got into the finals thanks to a fluke of a performance in Group 3. But picking a song with "Goodbye" in the title is never a good idea, so that just added to the Peurto Rican's problems. Simon might have been a little too blunt when he said "No. Sorry." after being asked by Ryan if the judges were going to exercise their saving grace on Jorge. But that's just Simon for you.
Kanye West performed his single "Heartless," which pretty much described the performance itself. The fact that it was pretaped was extremely noticeable and took away from what little excitement there was.
The highlight of the night was without a doubt Kelly Clarkson's return to the Idol stage to perform "My Life Would Suck Without You." She was her very own self in her pre-performance chat with old pal Ryan, giggling and joking about herself. The fact that she did her performance live added to the energy, as opposed to that other guy who was just used as filler. It goes without saying that Kelly is just in a league of her own in comparison to the current batch of hopefuls. There's just no way to say any of them match up to her at the moment, performance or vocals-wise.
Next week's theme, Grand Ol' Opry, should be fun for most, not for some (I mean you, Megan). Wonder if Adam will pick a Dolly song? Maybe Danny will do a hoe down to further show off his awesome dancing skills? It all remains to be seen. Plus Carrie Underwood will perform "I Told You So." You can't go wrong with that, now can you?
IDOL LIVE's predictions so far are not going too hot. For my original predictions, I incorrectly predicted Megan leaving 13th and Michael departing 12th, so I'm 0-2 in that respect. As for my pre-results predictions, I got the two eliminated finalists right, but the order wrong (predicted Jorge 13th, Jasmine 12th). So I'm also 0-2 in that department. It should be easier from here on out because we (hopefully) won't have to deal with any more of these ridiculous double elimination.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Analysis: They're casting the show, alright
Simon probably said it best last night when he exclaimed during the midddle of his critique of Anoop Desai that the judges "have to cast the next stage" of the show and that "we gotta put some personality through, not just the boring singers."
Yes, it's only taken eight seasons for him to admit it live on national television that it's not just about singing, but he finally did it so that's all that counts. Of course everyone has known and acknowledged this for years, but the judges have never been this blunt about the topic. Simon gets props for those few lines last night.
As for how the wild card round went, there were probably three deserving contenders (Anoop Ricky Braddy and Matt Giraud), but only two made it through. Megan Corkrey's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" was only a smidgen better than her last performance, and Jasmine Murray's "Reflection" was just average. Jesse Langseth wasn't much better, though, and Tatiana del Toro was as good as she was the first round, meaning she probably should have made it over either of those girls.
But of course, the producers don't want Sanjaya Pt. 2 plaguing this already disappointing season, so she was left to weep at the feet of the four judges (p.s. does anyone think Tatiana would have been perfect for the lead female role on FOX's new show Glee? When I saw that commercial last night, all I could think of was Tatiana playing the part).
Another thing that didn't help Tatiana's cause was her BS answers to Paula about her accent and to Simon about why she sang the same song three times. It's not like she was going to go through anyway, but really, she just had a case of clueless, sloppy diharrea of the mouth.
The show itself was rushed, rambled and rattled, with the only "exciting" part being when Anoop was told he'd be the 13th finalist this season. The only problem is the rumor of a Top 13 had been circling since early January, so many were not all that surprised. Besides, when Jasmine made it in first we knew something was up because the judges had been raving over Megan, Matt and Anoop the whole night.
Simon seemed to be in an especially good mood last night, something that isn't found very often, which makes me wonder if he actually was listening to the performances or if I was just running his preconceived critiques through his head. Paula was especially flighty, while Randy seemed to copy everything Simon said. Kara was just...there.
IDOL LIVE's predictions for the Top 36 finished 10-13 thanks to a perfect prediction for last night. For my original Top 12 prediction before even hearing a single semifinals performance, I finished at 8-12 (the unforseen 13th spot will count as Megan, since I did have Jasmine, Anoop and Matt in my original Top 12). Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Analysis: Judges blow it big time with wild card picks
This season was already going down the tubes, but the judges last night all but killed off its saving grace with their wild card selections. Sure, it was bad enough when the very competitive Group 3 had to let only three people into the Top 12 via America's votes, especially considering two spots were virtually reserved for screen time favorites Lil Rounds and Scott MacIntyre. Jorge Nunez making it over Ju'Not Joyner and Felicia Barton was nothing outrageous, but he will be a waste of a spot and will exit relatively early in the finals. But when the judges only chose one from the group, Von Smith, to compete in tonight's wild card, something went horribly wrong.
The judges' motives are so transparent it's not even a matter of to what degree their favoritism is lying in the shadows, it's just plain out there for everyone to see. They purposely chose three average to forgettable girls so that it does not look so bad when they go with Megan Corkrey. This is important because tonight's "sing for their lives" spectacle has no bearing on whom the four horsemen will choose, it's all for show and to give FOX another win on a night they normally would lose to the other networks (plus it's a killer lead-in to Hell's Kitchen).
While Tatiana del Toro's vocals are actually pretty good, she was brought back for the drama, pure and simple. And people fall for it, which is sad, but what can you do? The stranger picks are Jesse "don't you just love those drum claps?" Langseth and Jasmine "you better sing a Rihanna song" Murray, each of whom have no shot at being one of the three picks unless the producers pass a law requiring semi-gender equality, making it a 7-5 ratio rather than a more likely 8-4 ratio.
What is embarassing is that the judges did not see the point of bringing back Felicia and Kristen McNamara, each of whom are leagues better than the four girls that have a second shot tonight. This is further proof that all they are concerned about is having Megan make it, and for that reason they are just plain lost. Just the absolute wrong way to go about choosing wild card spots.
As for the guys, everyone they picked was deserving except Von, who should have ceded his spot to Ju'Not. It's surprising that there will be no black male in the Top 12 this season, but it worked in Season 5 so whatever.
No matter what happens, from here on out it's all about Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert and Lil. If these three are not the final three of Season 8, that would mean there had to have been a miracle of sorts because this season is more predictable than all the rest combined.
Hopefully there are no more angry analyses on here for this season. Something tells me that won't be the case, though.
IDOL LIVE's predictions are now 6-9 for the Top 36 and 5-9 for the Top 12. At least we're batting above .500 for now.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Analysis: "Predictable" doesn't begin to describe...
Who really thought Nick Mitchell would take the "final" spot last night over Adam Lambert? Do the producers think the audience is that stupid, that it would be more susprised that Adam made it over Nick than it would Kris Allen making it over Matt Giraud or Megan Corkrey?
Although the show did improve format-wise this week (i.e. the elimination of the parent/loved ones segment), it failed to capitalize on what would have made for a more interesting final reveal for the third spot. I wouldn't be surprised if a third of the audience just stopped watching after Kris was handed the second spot in the Top 12, as everyone and their mother knew Adam would make it since it was crystal clear he got the Gokey treatment on Wednesday.
Even Allison Iraheta's Top 12 spot could be spotted a mile away, so the whole hour was kind of useless in the whole results department, which is kind of a problem. And did we really have to see that montage set to "What a Wonderful World" again? If that doesn't scream "filler," I don't know what does.
And then there was the 12 semifinalists' pre-recorded sounding rendition of Ne-Yo's "Closer." If the performance is any indication of how this season will turn out, it gives the notion that it will be a guy-dominated season much more support, as the six girls sang about a total of three and a half lines.
Despite these blemishes, the show was otherwise pretty entertaining. Simon and Paula got into their normal spats, and Kara even engaged Simon head on, which I suspect we will begin to see more of as the season goes on.
The highlight of the show, however, was Brooke White's return to the Idol stage to perform her new single, "Hold Up My Heart." Brooke was refreshing both vocally and personality-wise, as her advice to the semifinalists of not "googling yourself" beckoned back to the same quirky Brooke that audiences fell in love with last season.
So far this Top 12 is a mixed bag. It's definitely strong on diversity of singing style and personality but it's short on diversity overall, which makes me think Lil Rounds is all but guaranteed a spot and Ju'Not Joyner could also be a great bet next week.
Possible wild card selections from this bunch are most likely Matt G. and Megan, but it's doubtful the judges would waste a few other spots on semifinalists from this group with the exception of Jasmine Murray, whom they all seem to like because she's "very commercial." Expect the majority of the picks to come from Group 3.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, we're 4-6 in the semifinals and 3-6 in the Top 12, so it's not looking all that great so far.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Analysis: Boring results show brings no surprises
And just like that, Group 1 of the Top 36 is no more. Kind of disappointing, isn't it? Unlike the past four seasons, this is the last we will see of most of the semifinalists that performed on Tuesday, save for the three that automatically advanced last night and of course whichever ones are lucky enough to be called back to perform as potential wildcard choices. With that in mind, is it safe to say that the Top 12 of Season 8 is off to a bang?
I think not.
Although Alexis Grace definitely was the strongest vocalist on Tuesday, she is lacking in star quality, which is something someone like Ann Marie Boskovich exuded. It's too bad that one performance pretty much dictates whether or not a contestant will advance the way this format is set up, whereas in years past all it took was for there to be two contestants that were worse than someone else for that person to stick around to try and improve their chances.
As for the way Ryan handled the reading of the results, it was very shoddy and disorganized. Really, Ryan, did anyone honestly think Danny didn't have the most votes of all 12 from that group? Did you not think it might be more exciting to announced Danny first, then announce Alexis and hold out on leaving it between Michael Sarver, Anoop Desai and Tatiana del Toro for the third ticket to the Top 12? Maybe it's just me, but I think that would have been much more watchable.
And people are complaining about Danny being insensitive to Tatiana right before the results were read. Honestly, what's he supposed to do, stand there and pretend to be nervous? Anyone who has been following this season from the beginning (or anyone with a computer) knew it was his for the taking, and so did he. On the contrary, however, the judges better yield on their incessant praise over him, because it could end up hurting him down the road (I mean you, Kara). At least Simon is there to hold down the fort.
On the positive side, Michael Johns and Carly Smithson sounded as good as always on their duet of "The Letter," even though I feel like I've seen that before. Hopefully there are more of those nice surprises than there are with the results, because if not, we're in for a long season.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, we're 2-3 in both the semifinals and the Top 12. Hopefully next week is more kind.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Analysis: Producers demonstrate pure genius with Joanna debacle
Now that news of Joanna Pacitti's abrupt ouster from the Top 36 of Season 8 is making the rounds, it is a good time to take a step back and digest what this all means for the competition.
It was only yesterday that many (including IDOL LIVE) believed Joanna was not only a shoe-in for the Top 12, but also that she was your next American Idol. She had all the qualifications necessary to validate her as a credible champ, combining beauty, youth, a unique name, a great voice (taking Hollywood Week out of consideration), previous recording and performing experience, friends in the industry and so on and so forth. So how could things turn sour?
Before recycling the same old "omg she was a plant ya see!?" argument, it's important to realize this was never a problem with the producers. They very blatantly stressed her past brushes with the music industry over the course of the show at every possible chance, something they neglected to do last season with Carly Smithson (showing that they did in fact learn their lesson this time around), so that was surely not the problem here. Instead, it was the rumblings that were generated by Star magazine that Joanna knew a few 19 execs, specifically Roger Widynowski and Michelle Young, whom she shared an apartment building with, that was the final nail in her coffin after months of reports on her platny past.
But the producers certainly know what they're doing in this isntance, as they've had a while to mull exactly how to carry out this cut. Why else was Joanna hardly shown during Hollywood Week? Because they did not want to waste precious screen time on someone they knew very well would not be part of the show once the important voting rounds began.
In fact, this is pure genius on their part. Now Joanna will get the public's sympathy for coming "so close, yet so far away" once again (following her elimination from the Broadway revival of Annie as a little girl and her failed record deals with MCA and Geffen), which will prop her up to be signed by a label under the Sony-BMG umbrella, and 19 will be able to manage her successfully thanks to the renewed wind that will be blown in her sails.
The scandal will also be a boon for Idol, as many who were upset at the fact that the judges allowed Joanna to advance so far will now be satisfied, providing a more focused and content audience that will only have to deal with Tatiana and Nick as distractions. Add to this the fact that every time Idol creates or suffers a scandal, ratings jump.
This will also benefit Idol in that Felicia Barton will be seen as an underdog, and if she fails to make it through to the Top 12 on her first try, you can bet your bottom dollar that she will be included in the wild card round. And to make things even more interesting, she will be chosen as one of the judges' picks to the Top 12 (again barring the fact that she does not make it into the Top 12 on her own). This will keep the dark horse dreams alive and will be an interesting storyline throughout the season.
To many, Felicia seems like an odd pick to succeed Joanna. But she was in fact the logical choice to replaced Joanna with, as she shares a few qualities with the latter including similarlity in age and appearance (to an extent) and a personable demeanor. She has also attained a healthy amount of online buzz despite the lack of screen time she has received up until this point, which the producers must have taken note of. And the fact that her raspy vocals are something so different than the vocals of a cookie-cutter contestant makes her that much more interesting. And then there's the whole "Joanna was a shoe-in for the Top 12" idea, which opens up a spot that was all but guaranteed for her and will now allow another "favorite" to make the cut.
It will surely be interesting to see how things pan out in the next few weeks, but just don't think that this is the last we'll see of Joanna Pacitti and that Felicia will be nothing more than a placeholder. That would be a mistake to the greatest degree.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Analysis: Joanna Pacitti a "failed pop star"?
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Well, it looks like Yahoo! is no fan of 23-year-old Season 8 hopeful Joanna Pacitti. The headline "Failed pop star pollutes 'Idol'" today appeared on the famed web portal, followed by an incredible hack job on Joanna by "Reality Rocks" blogger Lyndsey Parker, in which she was compared to Season 7's sixth-place finalist, Carly Smithson. Read an excerpt of Parker's blog below:
Anyway, I honestly can NOT believe the AmIdol producers are up to their old sneaky tricks in season 8. You'd think after all that Carly hullaballoo, they would steer clear of such blatant favoritism and the inclusion of what are known in the Idol blogosphere as "plants." But...no. Along with an actual (Archuleta-associated!) Osmond and Jason Castro's little brother, this season features a particularly poisonous plant: Joanna Pacitti.Parker continued to "expose" Joanna's past by unearthing music videos, an album and other projects that she has worked on in the past.
Joanna, who auditioned on Wednesday night's Louisville episode, is basically Carly 2.0.
Now, I believe the situation we have here is extremely different from last season's fiasco. Did Parker not watch the Louisville auditions Wednesday night? Did the producers not blatantly make it known to us viewers that Joanna had a past with A&M Records et al? The situation with Carly was extremely different because the producers tried to keep her past failures in the music biz under wraps (which they have now learned can never happen because someone is going to dig it up).
So although I am very critical of Joanna being included for her past, as I myself have never liked the whole plant aspect that has developed on the show over the past few seasons, I am willing to let her prove herself before crying fowl. I give the producers credit for at least putting everything out in the open.
But "polluting 'Idol'"? C'mon Parker, that's harsh.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Analysis: Judging the new judge
There has been a lot of talk of Idol's freshest face, judge Kara DioGuardi, over the course of the past few weeks. Although there were many that speculated the addition of Kara would cause more headaches than it would create solution's to the franchise's tiring formula.
Fortunately for both fans and casual viewers of the show, Kara was viewed as being a generally positive aspect of the auditions (thus far, at least). Kara's critiques have been more meaningful than those Paula usually doles out and have been less pointlessly scathing than those Simon is used to granting auctioneers with. The fact that she is a singer-songwriter also gives credence to her advice, because she genuinely knows what those auditioning are going through most of the time.
Perhaps her brightest spot in the first two audition cities was how she handled obsessive fan Lea Marie Golde. The 16-year-old girl that gave Kara a binder full of original songs she wrote was in denial following her nasal take on Cascada's "Every Time We Touch," but Kara was able to tell off Simon for mocking the girl. She then firmly stated that the reality was Lea was not good enough, but gave her props for having the guts to perform. Even though it made for an extremely awkward few minutes, it goes to show that Kara can be both honest and gentle at the same time.
This segment was extremely eerie because of the suicide of Paula's obsessive fan Paula Goodspeed late last year, which happened after this audition took place. It was a little shocking that the producers went ahead and kept the segment in light of the tragedy, but that just makes Kara's handling of the situation that much more admirable.
Despite showing much promise, there was one episode where the inner cat came out in Kara, as she and Paula ganged up on bikini girl Katrina Darrell. Even though she was not the greatest, Katrina showed she could sing, but Kara's jealousy over the girl's attire clouded her judgment and even brought her to show the girl "how to really sing" her audition song, "Vision of Love." Granted, the girl had the attitude of a six year-old pageant queen from Alabama, but Kara's approach was less professional than it could have been.
Another thing the producers are probably counting on is that there will be an inevitable cat fight between the two female judges, but so far Kara has been just as cautious as Paula despite the fact that this scenario is still very much a possibility. Paula has actually been making more constructive comments than usually, which is probably a direct result of the addition of Kara. All in all, a good thing for the show.
Luckily for Kara, millions of viewers seem to be on her side and the balance and credibility she brings to the judging panel is worth the extra chair and Coke cup that will be needed each week.
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