American Idol Alums Weigh In on Pia Toscano’s Surprise Boot

Alot of celebrities were shocked too.
Snooki, Sammi, Tom Hanks, some others cant remember top off my head.

Why can’t there be another save? WHY?

Also from @SMcCreeryAI10 a bit ago-
Really tough night. Yall let a good one go tnight america #speechless. But thnks for the votes n supprt. I appreciate it more than yall know

Good call on Tom Hanks, hazuki! Here’s his quote:
Don’t have an IDOL habit, but how could the USA vote Pia off? I may be done for the season! HANX

Way to be bitter, Todrick!

Yes, this boot is very surprising, especially so early.I think the problem does have to do with Idol + women, but it really stems from the women contestants they’re choosing — not from the audience deciding en masse to vote male.

It was a weak group of gals this time, in the sense of no one “having it all” in terms of charisma + voice. They gotta widen their view, and let the women be as offbeat as Casey, Paul, Jacob, etc….I’d personally be thrilled to vote for a woman, and Crystal came very close. But no woman in the Top 12 this year grabbed me enough, sorry.

Meanwhile, Pia is getting TONS of sympathy, she’ll get plenty of offers, and she’ll have a record deal. It might even be better for this way.

Brandon Rogers: America has made possibly one of the worst decisions in #Americanidol history!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really Brandon? Really? I can think of one about two years ago. The best person got voted off and the “winner” has done a miserable job. #hindsight 20/20

This whole elimination is f’d-up. I am still in shock.

Did any of those people vote? If they didn’t, they have no right to complain.

Trust me, the producers will go back to the drawing board. They will incorporate the DWTS way of voting (restrict it to 11 total votes per person) or include the judge’s choice in the audience vote. Or, they will stop with the silly boy/girl even divide and go with who is the BEST singer.

Maybe part of the vote was people thinking Pia was safe and they did not vote. Or maybe they thought she was a “princess” — sort of like Kat McPhee — and she just didn’t connect with the audience. In any event, it makes for an interesting (but boring) race, as the girls are picked off one by one and we’re left with (unattractive) men.

Has DI ever been this off? They had Pia in the top 3 in the green. I doubt they will do a recount? Or is the new voting online thing causing the votes to sway? I still think they should do something like X-factor and let the two lowest vote getters sing for their lives and let the judges choose. Oh well! I see that the idol alums are just as shocked as we are. I think everyone assumed that Pia would be safe so they just didn’t vote. She will probably be more successful now after this shock elimination. lol

I’m sorry, but in my opinion people are overreacting just a tad. Pia is no lock to go on and become a star. Maybe she will, maybe she won’t.

But this is far from the first time that someone has been voted off the show earlier than expected. Sometimes a person who leaves too early goes on to become a star (Daughtry, JHud). Other times, they struggle to build any sort of real career outside the Idol bubble (pretty much anyone other than Daughtry or JHud (or if you consider finishing 2nd “too early”, Adam).And, as SuperNut said above — if you didn’t actually vote for Pia, should you even be complaining about the result?

SparklesATL says:
04/08/2011 at 2:27 am
Brandon Rogers: America has made possibly one of the worst decisions in #Americanidol history!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really Brandon? Really? I can think of one about two years ago. The best person got voted off and the “winner” has done a miserable job. #hindsight 20/20

lol, why are you taking him to task over this? he said “one of” the worst decisions, so even if you think whatever you’re talking about was worst, this would still qualify.

Yes, this boot is very surprising, especially so early.I think the problem does have to do with Idol + women, but it really stems from the women contestants they’re choosing — not from the audience deciding en masse to vote male.

They’ve had every different type of female on this show so that reasoning doesn’t make sense. In fact, seasons 8 and 9 had a varied group of interesting female artists who the voters rejected before they even made the Top 12. Meanwhile the most boring or unmarketable men make it through and sometimes even win.

Nigel, enjoy your season 10 winner. The girls will vote like crazy for him and then forget about him before the album is released.

i agree with what girlygirl said.
I like Pia (fantastic voice) but I was watching for an artistic growth. She was too ‘by the book’ lacking some emotional connection and some artistry. ALL her strenght is in her powerful voice and good pitch. I don’t know one single successful artist who has build a career solely on this basis. don’t throw me rocks, just my opionion.
I wonder too if all the people who are complaining were voting actively for her..

Carrie underwood was voted on in a time period where all the little girls didnt have cell phones and unlimited text.
A girl will never win idol again unless they limit the votes. Then and only then will you get the best singers to the end. Its obvious the last guys who have won arent doing real well in the real world.
Pia is going to have a crazy good carreer watch and see. its a shame they never gave her the airtime in the auditions and hollywood where she could have shown her emotions and personality like all the others got to do. She was completely unknown till her top 24 performance. I had the good fortune to get to know her when she was 18 and had her music on myspace. She has a great personality, she is funny, loves her family and would have been the best American Idol ever and a great role model also. But America wont get to see that for now. But you will, trust me, you will. Idol will look quite stupid when the 9th place finisher outsells the winner.

Awe. Scotty also just tweeted: #can’t sleep… that was after his tweet that America let someone great go. I bet many of them feel guilty even though they did nothing wrong.

In fact, seasons 8 and 9 had a varied group of interesting female artists who the voters rejected before they even made the Top 12.

I agree that the women were varied, in terms of style of music, but not in terms of personality and character and charisma. Sorry, but it just counts a lot.

Another thing about Pia was that she seemed like someone who was all and only about making it as a singer. She didn’t have a “backstory,” and like it or not American loves that. It helped Crystal who, don’t forget, came close to victory. I would have preferred her winning, but she’s doing fine…

Here’s an idea for Idol to save face. Sign her to a record deal immediately. By tomorrow morning.

What happened tonight was truly very, very bad for Idol. I said last night that I thought it would be best for the show for Pia to win…I never imagined that 24 hours later she would be off the show.

Remember how Chris Medina had a single released the same week he was voted off? I don’t think it should be that drastic with Pia, but I do think they should sign her and have her working on material between now and the finale. She might even be able to sing her first single at the finale.

I am not saying this just because I have become a Pia fan. I am saying this because I think the integrity of Idol is in question now with five women being eliminated in a row (and the Idols saving the one man). When was the last time we saw this amount of shock from former Idols? People are going to think the show is completely rigged…and maybe it is. But if they sign her immediately and start working on an album, at least it will show that the show will find and cultivate talent no matter what.

colette says:
04/08/2011 at 3:01 am
I agree that the women were varied, in terms of style of music, but not in terms of personality and character and charisma. Sorry, but it just counts a lot.

lee dewyze had all the personality, character, and charisma of a rock so i don’t buy that. and all of that is subjective any way.

i’m not saying there’s a black-and-white bias against the females, but let’s not deny that the girls are at a disadvantage.

One thing im sure of is that something went wrong with the vote count. Pia has just as big a fan base as james believe it or not and we are all insane voters from the Kat club and siobhan. We have been voting her in every week right to the top as per dialidol.com this week we cant even beat out 1 of the others?? Something smells funny in denmark. Plus dialidol had her in the #3 spot in the green. I cant remember a time when they missed by that large a margin. So im hoping idol takes another look at what may be the biggest misjustice of all time. Bring her back and have a double elimination next week. This happened once before on idol so dont think it couldnt have happened again. They fixed it that year by doing exactly what I said. With all the facts out there its just not possible that she got the least votes. Cmon Nygel get it right

The problem for Pia, IMO, was the AI styling made her seem boring as hell.

She was great singing Grenade in Hollywood Week, but ever since the finals, she’s been there singing the same song in pretty much the same way week after week. And unfortunately, though she has an undeniably great voice, it’s kind of an old-fashioned style of singing too.

The stying (as in look) has been really old-fashioned and weird as well (and TV is a visual medium).

Not that I don’t think there were several others who should have gone before her! And male ones at that. Cough Stephano…cough Jacob…etc etc

I think she’s a fantastic singer and – should she get the right contract and support – will go far once off Idol.But I’m not going to blame the AI audience for the boot: I’m going to blame the show. Bad, bad advice…

Well I don’t think people are overreacting. It sucks when one of your faves leaves but when they leave this early and shitty singers outlast them? Yeah I think people and former Idols have a right to vent.

Scotty’s tweets make me sad. I can’t imagine how they’re all feeling right about now. I’m not a big Stefano fan but him especially I feel for.

Oh please. No one took her out back and shot her in the head! All that happened is that everyone is going to talk about this for a week, and she may get a contract. But if she couldn’t get people to vote her higher than 9th – is she really going to sell oodles of CDs? Daughtry made it to fourth, and was overcome by the Soul Patrol. That was freakish. This was someone who couldn’t muster up the votes for a top four finish. She may be the greatest undiscovered star in history, but she was dull on that stage. And believe me, TPTB are in heaven tonight. Nothing creates riveting television and controversy like this! They aren’t going to change a thing. They didn’t when that tool Daughtry left either.It really makes me cringe that Naima has decided that the great artist she is HAD to have been voted off because of “crushes!” Just annoying.

Sorry Coinyman, but the vote counts are the vote counts. This happens every time.

Simon Cowell and the XF team is grinning tonight; they know AI formula is out-dated. AI is now confirmed only as a popularity entertainment show and not as the best singer/performer contest show.

This will work out for her, she will get invited on all of these talk show and get an opportunity to sing. She will cry a little bit, flash her pageant smile and sing a ballad. She will get a single like Medina and they will work this heartbreaking story for all it’s worth.

We all know the voting system is a problem. But really did the judges judge? Did they give the voters any direction at all? Why yes, all the performances on Wednesday were “just beautiful…amazing…you nailed it”, etc. Virtually no constructive criticism for the idols or voting guidance for the public.

They’ve had every different type of female on this show so that reasoning doesn’t make sense. In fact, seasons 8 and 9 had a varied group of interesting female artists who the voters rejected before they even made the Top 12. Meanwhile the most boring or unmarketable men make it through and sometimes even win.Nigel, enjoy your season 10 winner. The girls will vote like crazy for him and then forget about him before the album is released.

See, that’s the problem. The girls can’t enter this competition as a type. They have to be unique to win. The girls need to bring something new to the table. There really hasn’t been a girl on the show in the past three years who didn’t remind me of someone else who has already been there, done that, and has done it better.

The most successful women singing today are unique – artists like Adele, Florence Welch, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry. If the girls really want to compete with the boys, then they have to enter with a unique identity and a huge personality. A beautiful voice isn’t enough. I’d throw all of the boys to the curb if a girl like that entered the competition.

songsungblue says:
04/08/2011 at 3:13 am
Oh please. No one took her out back and shot her in the head! All that happened is that everyone is going to talk about this for a week, and she may get a contract. But if she couldn’t get people to vote her higher than 9th – is she really going to sell oodles of CDs

you’re assuming that the general music buying public is anything like idol voters.

on one end we have lee dewyze. the percentage of people that contributed to his ~40K first week sales that voted for him on idol? probably greater than 95%. on the other end, jhud’s ~175K albums sold the other week? i’d bet less than 20% came from fans that voted for during her idol days.

all pia needed was the opportunity to put out an album under a majord record label and who knows what we’ll happen. obviously, it might still happen, and i hope it does, but it’s less certain that if she had just sailed into the F3/4

Dial Idol has been wrong before — it’ll likely be wrong again at some point.

Maybe Pia’s fanbase simply got complacent, figured she was safe and simply didn’t vote for her as much as they would’ve if they thought she was in any danger of being voted off. I could contrast this to where Danny murdered “Dream On” and the consensus seemed to be that he was toast. Instead, his fanbase knew he was in trouble, voted like crazy for him, and Alison went home instead. Or you could compare it to what happened after Casey got voted off this season, only to be saved by the judges. That seemed to have woken up his fanbase. Pia was never in the B3 before this — maybe people figured she was safe

I feel bad for how bad Scotty and Stefano are feeling.

But honestly, jump and sign her? She doesn’t connect well to people. She’s too rigid, sophisticated, reserved or whatever to compete in the pop world. She WILL get work and she should. She should have stuck with her ballads and celine stuff. That is who she is and what she wants to do. I do believe Celine sent her flowers after she did one of her songs. I do think Celine will have her sing. David Foster and others. She’ll get work, but immediate Idol hype, even for the winner, almost always never pans out. She’ll get modeling and magazine covers too like Kat and I’m sure she’ll act (she’s a hollywood girl). Her life is MUCH better and will be than before Idol.

Jennifer Hudson also has an Oscar, a Grammy, a previous strong-selling album and had a rollout for this album that was crazy — how many times has she been on Oprah? 2 or 3 at least. Not to mention all the other talk shows — and her Weight Watcher stuff etc etc. She’s been all over the media for months prior to her album release. Can’t really compare her sales to what we should expect from Pia.

If Pia releases an album full of boring ballads, she isn’t likely to sell well, because that’s not the type of music people are buying right now. If she goes current and uptempo and gets hooked up with a radio-friendly song or two, well, maybe then she’ll sell quite well. All that is very much TBD.

Well at least the tour will have a high quality performer singing 3rd.I think it’s interesting that anyone who votes can just so easily state “America, you got it wrong tonight.” Last I checked America also includes YOU. I’ll bet 99.9% of the complainers aren’t voting. Hmmmm.

Pia obviously didn’t inspire enough people to vote for her. It’s kind of hard to blame people who were more inspired by someone else. Doesn’t matter if the “someone else” isn’t as technically proficient as Pia. At least they inspire.

Or we could just blame Gwen Steffani… because really, that clown suit Pia wore last night was just too much.

songsungblue says:

04/08/2011 at 3:13 am

Oh please. No one took her out back and shot her in the head! All that happened is that everyone is going to talk about this for a week, and she may get a contract

LOL! totally agree, she will get press out of this and get a contract. I am one of those who won’t miss her presence on the Idol stage. How many more weeks of her singing ballads did we really need to hear from Pia. I think somehow she will survive this travesty of “epic” proportions.

Here’s an idea for Idol to save face. Sign her to a record deal immediately. By tomorrow morning.

What happened tonight was truly very, very bad for Idol. I said last night that I thought it would be best for the show for Pia to win…I never imagined that 24 hours later she would be off the show.

Remember how Chris Medina had a single released the same week he was voted off? I don’t think it should be that drastic with Pia, but I do think they should sign her and have her working on material between now and the finale. She might even be able to sing her first single at the finale.

I am not saying this just because I have become a Pia fan. I am saying this because I think the integrity of Idol is in question now with five women being eliminated in a row (and the Idols saving the one man). When was the last time we saw this amount of shock from former Idols? People are going to think the show is completely rigged…and maybe it is. But if they sign her immediately and start working on an album, at least it will show that the show will find and cultivate talent no matter what.

I think this is very very good for Idol. It’s a television show. If everyone gets bumped off exactly as predicted, then no one will watch. This was never about cultivating talent. It’s about making money. American Idol isn’t art school, it’s Capitalism. If they sign her, it will be because they think she’ll make money. Hell, maybe she will, but Tamrya in S1 was the big shock boot. She was beautiful and poised and talented. Never hit. Neither did LaToya London or Melinda Doolittle. It’s entirely unpredictable.

But if the show is rigged, why would they toss off a favorite?

Stefano Langone: All I can say is it wasn’t right. And anyone that thinks they have a clue on how I feel or what I’m going thru as a PERSON, has NO idea…

This says it all to me. I honestly felt sorry for him standing there as the judges – everyone – went on and on about how it wasn’t right that Pia was the one going home. On top of it all, reading between the lines it’s not hard to see that he totally thinks Pia is better than he is.

Other thing that gets me is how many tweets that really is about this one elimination. I don’t follow any of them (don’t have Twitter at all and don’t see any reason to get it), but how often do this many of them comment on the same event?

The most successful women singing today are unique – artists like Adele, Florence Welch, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry.

Really? Unique? I’m not familiar with all of them to be honest because I don’t listen to pop radio but I’m sorry, Lady Gaga = Madonna, and Katy Perry = Avril Lavigne. Not sure about the other 3 but I doubt they’re anything close to unique.

And I *am* a guy, but why should a girl have to enter the competition with a unique identity and a huge personality if that’s not also a requirement for a guy to be successful on the show? Are you somehow saying that it’s ok that a girl should be held to a higher standard than a guy? Haven’t women fought for years (decades, centuries…and yet still today) to be considered on a level playing field? I dunno…I just don’t get it. I don’t have kids, so I don’t have a daughter, but I cannot imagine having a daughter and telling her “You can be anything you want to be, just remember…you’ve always gotta be at least 10% better, more unique, and captivating at it than guys that do the same thing. In fact, just to be safe, you better make that 100%.”

I think this is very very good for Idol. It’s a television show. If everyone gets bumped off exactly as predicted, then no one will watch. This was never about cultivating talent. It’s about making money. American Idol isn’t art school, it’s Capitalism. If they sign her, it will be because they think she’ll make money. Hell, maybe she will, but Tamrya in S1 was the big shock boot. She was beautiful and poised and talented. Never hit. Neither did LaToya London or Melinda Doolittle. It’s entirely unpredictable.

But if the show is rigged, why would they toss off a favorite?

I think it is ‘rigged’ insofar as female contestants are not competing on an even playing field (I am not saying the producers are rigging it…the way it is set up now, there is nothing they can do to change it). We have a situation where historically the most successful Idols have been female, but female contestants can hardly break the top 5. Most Idol viewers do not vote, but they expect that they people who do vote will vote fairly. When they see that the voting is not fair, their reaction won’t be to go and vote, it will be to stop watching. And that’s obviously bad for the show.

There is a tipping point. Some amount of unpredictability gets people interested, as you say. But when the show becomes insanely unpredictable (WhatNotToSing found that Pia’s performance was the top rated of the night! And she was eliminated!), or predictably unfair, then people will think, “This is ridiculous, I don’t want to watch this”. And that is terrible for the franchise. A good will gesture toward Pia, offering her a contract right away, may stem those bad feelings, and prevent this trend from doing even more damage to AI’s future.

This says it all to me. I honestly felt sorry for him standing there as the judges – everyone – went on and on about how it wasn’t right that Pia was the one going home. On top of it all, reading between the lines it’s not hard to see that he totally thinks Pia is better than he is.

Pia was seen as a front runner, that’s why people were surprised, but may be her popularity was overestimated.

Yesterday, during the post-show chat, Richard Rushfield commented that he was surprised by the dislike of Pia from this blog readers.

How many people thought that she was an excellent technical singer, but dead boring? Everyone left in the competition has more life in their little finger than Pia in their whole body.

It is also worth noting that neither Lauren or Haley landed in the bottom 3 this week.
Haley was ignored as long as she was plain and blending in with the other girls. Since she has stepped it up, she is becoming more popular.
Successful performers have more than a good voice.

I don’t have kids, so I don’t have a daughter, but I cannot imagine having a daughter and telling her “You can be anything you want to be, just remember…you’ve always gotta be at least 10% better, more unique, and captivating at it than guys that do the same thing. In fact, just to be safe, you better make that 100%.”

Imagine it, then, Mozart. Because I do have a daughter – and it’s close enough to true.

In this case, Pia didn’t have to be 100% better at connecting with the audience – but she did have to be at least as good as the most successful of the guys – and that extra 10% wouldn’t hurt. That’s what she didn’t manage – that connection, across a wide enough group of people.

They didn’t feel compelled to vote, just because of her performance – whether she was in danger or not.

IMO. Of Course.

Really? Unique? I’m not familiar with all of them to be honest because I don’t listen to pop radio but I’m sorry, Lady Gaga = Madonna, and Katy Perry = Avril Lavigne. Not sure about the other 3 but I doubt they’re anything close to unique.

I’ve heard the comparisons of Lady Gaga and Madonna but I don’t see them. Lady Gaga is more outrageous than Madonna ever was. And Katy Perry is nothing like Avril. Nothing.

As far as women having to be better than men to get the same recognition? It’s not right but most of the time it’s true. It’s also true that the boys are a lot more interesting than the girls this season, as they have been for the past three years. The girls need to get in the game. We do not need another Celine, Mariah, Whitney, Janis Joplin, Alanis Morrisette or Aretha Franklin. Be different. That’s all I’m trying to say.

Back on topic, I wonder how many of the tweeters on the list above actually voted. I’m guessing very few.

Hopefully, Stefano and Scotty will feel better this morning. My heart went out to Stefano. Ryan never told him he was in the bottom two. People can just assume. He really needs to outperform his best and doing an uptempo number would be a change. I hope he does it!

I think it is ‘rigged’ insofar as female contestants are not competing on an even playing field (I am not saying the producers are rigging it…the way it is set up now, there is nothing they can do to change it).

In this case, I think that any guy who would have shown as little personality as she did would have been out before her.

Guys are required to show more individuality than the girls who are allowed to get away with good looks and vacant personality.

As long as the majority of the AI voting block are teenage gals, this insane pattern of elimination will continue.Once upon a time…early on there was a wider age range of active voters, I believe. Not now.

So why should talented female vocalists even compete on AI?IMO young teen gals want to imagine their favorite singer is their love interest. I sincerely doubt they are voting for actual singing talent, by and large. There are many cases in point, the most recent of course, Crystal and Lee. (I’m not implying Lee is without vocal ability…but between these two last season, Crystal consistently outperformed him, and we all know how that turned out.)

With all the revamping that has been employed on AI this season, they left off the crucial change I hoped to see…a voting system more like DWTS.

I do believe destiny plays a part in a person’s career trajectory, case in point: Jennifer and Chris. I certainly believe Pia has got it all going for her…fabulous vocals, spectacular appearance and a natural stage presence. To me, she could easily go on to achieve stardom on par with Diana Ross.

My wishes to you, Pia, should you be reading this blog tonight…keep the faith, your talent will prevail.

(I’m not implying Lee is without vocal ability…but between these two last season, Crystal consistently outperformed him, and we all know how that turned out.)

Crystal was another another one who was consistently described as the best technical singer who failed to make people really enjoy their performance. Although Crystal has a personality, she expressed herself rigidly and was not very entertaining.

Someone created a petition to get Pia reinstated on the show.
http://www.savepia.com/

Apparently Pia has connected with more people than we think because I’ve never seen so many people upset at her boot, including celebs and idol alums. Possibly the people who like her aren’t the type to vote at all. I don’t. I do buy albums and go to concerts, however.

I think this is a wakeup call to idol producers to do something about the voting. Hundreds of text voting from one person is obviously not working.

Too bad that Pia didn’t have that much fanbase. And funny how the alumni pour out how they felt. Too bad that none of them actually voted for her and they blame the entire America for a mistake that is nonexistent. This is as simple as showbiz hypocrisy to me… nothing more and nothing less.

springboard says:04/08/2011 at 3:59 am
Pia was seen as a front runner, that’s why people were surprised, but may be her popularity was overestimated.

I think it was overestimated, because people know she’s talented, but they are not excited by her performances. I think the shine has come off the rose for several of the Idols. You keep waiting for them to blow you away, but it never happens. I’ve realized that this is the most talented season overall from top to bottom, but I can name off several Idols from previous years that is better than any one on this season. I’m just missing the feeling of anticipation when the show begins. I know I am going to be entertained, but no wowed with great performances. I am waiting for a moment.

Someone created a petition to get Pia reinstated on the show.

Are they serious?!?

That’s not funny anymore! LOL.

Elek says:

04/08/2011 at 4:25 am

Too bad that Pia didn’t have that much fanbase. And funny how the alumni pour out how they felt. Too bad that none of them actually voted for her and they blame the entire America for a mistake that is nonexistent. This is as simple as showbiz hypocrisy to me… nothing more and nothing less.

Yep, they want to blame America for not voting for Pia and none of them spent one second voting for her. If they really cared about her they would have been vocal with their support for her before the results were ever given out.

Pia was seen as a front runner, that’s why people were surprised, but may be her popularity was overestimated.

First and foremost, she was no frontrunner to me. And the judges are all to be blamed for overrating her. That’s what I call bad judgment call. But not surprising because the judges are really bad.

Someone above said talent will prevail. I believe ea season the most talented, whether winner or not, have been the most successful. Hudson, Daughtry, Adam, and Crystal, the non-winners, were the most talented their seasons, and of course most successful their seasons.

Quick thoughts:
- I couldn’t disagree more with the people who are saying the judges must feel dumb for saving Casey. Randy himself said Casey might be the most versatile talent the show’s ever had, and he’s probably the most interesting/entertaining contestant this season. They had to save him, and at the time, Pia’s voting numbers looked great; who knew she was in trouble?

-These potential Idol chicas need to study Katharine McPhee and Alison Iraheta, who finished 2nd and 4th, respectively, in male-dominated seasons. They did so because they smiled a lot, laughed a lot, made interesting song choices, tried for notes they couldn’t quite reach (mainly Katharine), and never stopped trying to be entertaining. McPhee butchered 2-3 notes almost every week, but you still couldn’t wait to hear what she was gonna do.

-Lauren has a fun personality but (I think) doesn’t quite have the musical chops to back up the massive hype she’s gotten. While Haley is a phenomenal singer who takes risks and leaves it all on the stage (my personal fave of who’s left), but for whatever reason people I know, mainly females, don’t like her personality. Maybe Naima was more right than we thought…

There have been plenty of girls with unique talent and personality over the years and they used to do really well. Now it doesn’t matter how talented they are because the mediocre cute guy will win everytime.

Except this season there really aren’t too many cute guys. Stefano is really the only one, and I don’t think he’ll win. It could be regional, genre…

The support for Pia just wasn’t there. You can hit impressive high notes but not feel a thing except mesmerized by her beauty.

But did you listen tonight. Haley is getting a ton of screams as is Lauren. They motivate people to vote. (of course the guys do) Pia didn’t motivate them to vote. It wasn’t that she was bad. Now, Casey had 2 back to back bad performances so his ouster was deserved imo although I’m glad he’s still there. Pia is a great singer like the tweets but didn’t have the stage presence or “it” factor to get people to vote for her. But, of course, it’s a surprise she went so early, but in two weeks it will not be a big deal and people move on.

BUT, I can see Pia getting a musical part in a movie, or sing a movie theme and start a career like Jennifer Hudson did. She’d be great on screen and can sing her type of singing.

I wonder if Adam is going to tweet tomorrow, cuz he really likes Pia.

I’m female and I love Haley. Both Lauren and Haley are fun, talented, lively, laid back and relaxed to the point they will take risk (even if it’s a bad hairdo) ha. I think both get female votes no problem. They are not perfect and that makes them attractive to females and they can laugh at themselves. (they weren’t in bottom 3 again, against the boys, so I think females like them just fine – even if it’s just one of them)

LOL Carly had some really brash comments. No holding back for her.

I wish Archuleta said something remotely interesting sometimes.

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Well, I certainly agree that Pia left too soon, but her sing off told me all I needed to know about why.

She cannot sing with emotion and perfectly at the same time, and for Pia, it seemed perfect singing was her goal. Unlike JLo’s comments a week or so ago, perfection was not effortless for Pia.

Frankly, to me, it showed in her performance Wednesday night too. She wasn’t comfortable in the role of “rocking” singer, and her vocals suffered. Now, admittedly, suffering vocals for Pia just takes her from stratospherically above all others to still way better. :-)

It’s too bad, but describing her personality as “remote” is dead on imo too. Sad.

P.S. to the not-yet-Dad who can’t imagine having to tell a daughter she has to be 100% better than a guy in her field. Sadly, it’s still absolutely, positively, beyond a shadow of a doubt, true.

I’m sad to see Pia go. I don’t like anyone left so I guess I’ll just catch what’s happening from the blog because I have no desire to watch anymore.

I’m one who isn’t that surprised that Pia got voted off. Just a tad surprised that she got voted off so early, but not that much because I always thought she is a candidate for a shock boot. I thought she is boring, a second-rate Leona Lewis, and I don’t think that she will do well post-Idol, she isn’t that interesting as a singer.

The early shock boot for Pia might be because of the decision by the producers to pimp Haley. Some of her fans might have gone over to Haley. Haley for me is someone who has outstayed her welcome a long time ago. She should have been voted off a few shows before, and only stayed because she played up her shtick of doing sexy à la Haley Scarnato. She is the least deserving singer on the show right now, although personally I’d rather Jacob be gone before her just for his stinky entitled attitude.

The girl I like most is Lauren. I don’t think she has chosen the best songs so far, in fact the one performance I like most from her is her duet with Scotty in last week’s result show. She has a very good voice but all she really needs to do is choose the right song, and then just sing simply and not try too hard, she will sound better that way. I think she will be the most successful girl from this season post-Idol.

ETA – the more surprising thing last night was that they got Iggy Pop to perform on Idol. Never expected that.

When Pia went on stage she just did what she’s been doing ever since her dad recorded her when her mom went out shopping. Everyone agreed that she was excellent but she wasn’t that interesting anymore. Not interesting enough to vote for, anyway.

Some excellent comments here. I’d go with what a few said. Yes she could sing her ass off. But there’s so much more to Idol than that. She reminded me ALOT of McPhee. Yes, she has a better voice. But both have the personality of wallpaper. Very pageant-y. Pia in particular seemed focused on getting great notes and nothing else. I think the “front runner” thing was a function of the judges.

I don’t usually reply to dumb post but I just had to on this one…

Well, I certainly agree that Pia left too soon, but her sing off told me all I needed to know about why.

Ughh she was crying genius….of course wasn’t gonna be able to sing perfect while on the verge of bawling

The outrage is humorous to me. Having vocal prowess does NOT equal being a great singer! Just because she could sing, doesn’t mean she had all the other skills that Pia needed to transcend above the rest.

I wasn’t expecting Pia to go home. I didn’t even consider her in the pool. However, I’m not really all that surprised she did. She was boring. She’s middle pack, and she’s sang one song that isn’t a ballad? Pia was one of those contestants that was probably middle of the pack, and people haven’t had the reason to vote for her.

I would have liked to see Jacob, Stefano or Haley go before Pia, but overall I’m not upset with the decision to send Pia packing.

I can’t get over all the Twitter outrage, she wasn’t that good…

I don’t usually replay to dumb post but I just had to on this one…

Well, I certainly agree that Pia left too soon, but her sing off told me all I needed to know about why.

Ughh she was crying genius….of course wasn’t gonna be able to sing perfect while on the verge of bawling

lol well, thanks for making my point, again, as you “replay” my “dumb post.” :-)

Tony : The Idols that did tweet about Pia’s leaving did not say anything more interesting than “Archuleta’s” tweet. They all said they were shocked. The difference is Archie always sends tweets about watching AI while the other Idols don’t.

I loved Chris Sligh’s tweet.

I’m still mad about this. I was bummed out when Chris Daughtry went (okay extremely upset, crying, etc) and also Michael Johns but this time I’m also angry because what does a girl have to do on this show? It has nothing to do with which of the guys are left because I like the quirky guys, Casey & Paul, but why the girl who may have been the best singer of the top 12 could be voted out 9th? I did vote for her although I’m not a power voter these days. I just wish they’d change the format to more like DWTS and limit votes but it’s just not going to happen.

I’m really disappointed that Pia went home because I think she could have had a break out performance. She needed to relax and let go, and I think she could have gotten there in a few weeks.

I can’t criticize the outcome too much because I didn’t vote. I do, however, agree with the poster above who suggested that most viewers don’t vote, but expect those who do will vote for the best singers and or performers. Pia was always the best technical singer, but IMHO I would say Pia’s performance/stage presence this week was better than Jacob’s and Stefano’s.

AI needs to fix the voting. I do not want to power vote. I believe most most people don’t want to power vote yet they still want their vote to count. After S8, I haven’t been that interested in voting for an AI contestant although I did throw some votes to Crystal. I don’t want to expel that much energy into the process. I will however, buy an idol’s music if I like it.

By the way, when did AT&T started their unlimited texting plan? Do people think Daughtry got the boot because of the texters? I wasn’t following AI during that time.

I def agree that Pia was quite boring. However, she’s no more boring than Stefano so the only reason she got booted is she’s not a cute guy. It’s so obvious, it’s really not debatable. I believe no girl will ever win Idol again or possibly any reality singing competition. The guys don’t vote and the girls are jealous. So true ;)

By the way, I know most of the other guys aren’t necessarily “cute.” But there is an Idol phenom where very plain guys are seen as attractive by the female power voters.The tweets are interesting and reveal alot about each individual. Some good, some bad.

I don’t have kids, so I don’t have a daughter, but I cannot imagine having a daughter and telling her “You can be anything you want to be, just remember…you’ve always gotta be at least 10% better, more unique, and captivating at it than guys that do the same thing. In fact, just to be safe, you better make that 100%.”

This has been true for quite some time. BTW, none of us can be anything we want to be; life ain’t like that.Many talented big-voiced female singers have been voted off this show early; they just were not as attractive as Pia. I assumed young girls were Pia’s fan base. Apparently not. But I was more upset when Melinda Doolittle was voted off than Pia: Melinda had my attention every time, Pia did not. It is not the end of the world; she will have work.

I def agree that Pia was quite boring. However, she’s no more boring than Stefano so the only reason she got booted is she’s not a cute guy.

She definitely is more boring, and am far from a fan of Stefano. He moves, and expresses the song, often in a cheesy way, but he still does.

The guys don’t vote and the girls are jealous.

That is a little simplistic. I think there are probably many young girls who would like to be Pia and I think there are many women who can not identify with her.

Oddly enough, Naima got prettier for me every time she sang. Pia seemed more and more unattractive. That happens with those we get to know; when their personality is strong, their physical imperfections disappear.

Stefano is as interesting as a slice of stale cheese. And moving around doesn’t mean all that much to me in a singing competition. Carrie Underwood was a block of wood on the show. She’s done fine. I’m not saying Pia is anywhere in her league though.

Since S7, guys have dominated Idol with only one female making the top two. Girls are at a disadvantage on this show. It’s not against the law to admit it. And all the Idol contestants tweeting show something unfair went down last night.

Until AI limits the number of votes per source, there will always be a disconnect between the real popularity of contestants and the voting totals. I thought that Pia left far too soon. IMO, Jacob, Stefano, Paul and Haley should have left before her. Especially Paul.

>>>>The early shock boot for Pia might be because of the decision by the producers to pimp Haley. Some of her fans might have gone over to Haley. Haley for me is someone who has outstayed her welcome a long time ago. She should have been voted off a few shows before, and only stayed because she played up her shtick of doing sexy à la Haley Scarnato. She is the least deserving singer on the show right now, although personally I’d rather Jacob be gone before her just for his stinky entitled attitude.<<<<

So true, ITA. The minute that Haley got the pimp spot and rave reviews on her bleh performance of "Benny and the Jets," I said Pia is in trouble.

Seems as though the producers switched their allegiance over to Haley who plays the *hot* card better than any of the so-called cute guys and the producers changed to pushing her.

Pimp spot? Best performance of the night? Pia was sabotaged. She did fine singing her beautiful ballads, but was voted right off as soon as she took the *prompted* judges suggestion to sing an up tempo song. Plus, every week, Pia was told that she had no performance skills, etc. and to move better and that her presentation was weak and that she was NOT the total package.

Why is everyone so surprised? The judges are more impressed with a *sex Kitten* and a 15 or 16 year old girl who was pimped before the live Idol even began and a non singing falling mess like Paul, so again why the surprise?

Also, being from NYC didn't help. She definitely should have been the last girl standing, but TPTB didn't want her. The judges loved everyone but her with their underhanded criticism and they still love those from the middle states and the South with no ethnic background. This is American Idol.

Trust me, the producers will go back to the drawing board. They will incorporate the DWTS way of voting (restrict it to 11 total votes per person) or include the judge’s choice in the audience vote. Or, they will stop with the silly boy/girl even divide and go with who is the BEST singer.

I agree. There just has to be a change in the voting system for Idol to claim any legitimacy (in terms of true popularity) in their voting outcomes.

Also, being from NYC didn’t help.

Yes, not only her gender, but the region she came from also put her at a disadvantage. Rushfield briefly touches upon the subject of the AI viewing demographics in his book. AI is very popular in the midwest and south.

Melinda had my attention everytime too Nina and I didn’t think she should have gotten voted off when she did. However, I was voting for someone else at the time (with Melinda being one of my top 3). It’s not beyond reason for voters to have a favorite one or two by the top 10 and they simply vote for their fav. I voted the whole 2 hours Wednesday night, just not for Pia. I was only shocked at Pia’s leaving because I wasn’t expecting it. It took me back, as in….wow! But since she wasn’t my favorite, I didn’t think much more about it. One thing that could help AI is to once and for all be clear about if this is a SINGING competition or “Complete Package” competition, or an “IT” factor competion, or a “Unique” competition, etc. etc. Then we could vote accordingly, lol. I don’t think it’s rigged and I don’t think they have to go back and try to make the bootee feel better by giving them special treatment after the vote is over. (that is, unless there was a definite wrong, like putting out the wrong number to call on someone). At this stage, every week someone will be watching their favorite go. It just is what it is. And part of it is the discussion/debate before performance night and the discussion/debate after the results show. Oops, I see I’ve gotten too wordy here, I kinda wrote this while still half asleep and am rambling I see! Ok,
I need more coffee, not awake yet…..later.

Simon Cowell and the XF team is grinning tonight; they know AI formula is out-dated. AI is now confirmed only as a popularity entertainment show and not as the best singer/performer contest show.

Simon will face some of the same challenges with X-Factor even if they limit the votes.

LOOK at the long list of people/experts/alums/celebrities/singers who tweeted regarding Pia’s elimination!! It only goes to show one thing – Pia had one of the best voices this show had ever seen BAR NONE. Be it whether or not she had performance skills or was ‘boring’ or was stiff, all this did NOT warrant her leaving last night!!

I can bet its that damned Eonline article! Argghh! I am still so mad!! But LMAO @ Chris Sligh! Best tweet.

There is no way to know if Pia was a true front runner or not. Most people assumed she was because the judges consistently said so and she was safe each week. For all we know, she has been sitting just outside the bottom 3 for weeks but as people got eliminated, her days were numbered. It probably has more to do with her not expanding her fanbase week after week.

Also I had to add – Look at the faces of Lauren, Stefano, Paul scratching his head and James in the picture above. They look equally “WTFFFFF???” to me too. Paul and Stefano especially look like they are hitting themselves in the nuts.

Honestly, I could give a crap what all of these “famous” people tweeted. Maybe they should have voted. Idol better not bring Pia back. The show is already manipulated enough. The other contestants got enough votes to stay. Pia didn’t get enough votes. Tough cookies.

Really? Because the last time my idol favorite voiced support for an Idol alum he was torn apart by the fanbases of the other favorites especially one in particular.

If they do voice support idol fans say they shouldn’t show favoritism. If they don’t voice support it’s their fault for not being vocal enough. They can’t win.

This is not the fault of any of the above. It is the fault of the judges for blowing that save and of an audience that will find any reason to justify not supporting a talented beautiful woman while they run around embracing any male that moves or doesn’t move. They can be good looking or ugly, boring or entertaining, have a good voice or bad voice, they can have a great performance or several mock worthy performances. Ths audience will support them.

I’m back to not watching this show. This isn’t just about Pia. It’s about the bias toward women and I have no interest in watching a show where only an undefined vision of perfection Idol fans “claim” they would support if she showed up can gain traction. The males have as many flaws as the women but this audience has a double standard for each sex.

>>>>Awe. Scotty also just tweeted: #can’t sleep… that was after his tweet that America let someone great go. I bet many of them feel guilty even though they did nothing wrong.>>>

Should we cry for Scotty’s *Pain?* Meanwhile, he finished his tweet by “Thanking all his Peeps from the Midwest and South for voting for him.”

Don’t even bother, Scotty, you have the demographic if you just came out on the stage and sat there for a minute and a half or tried riding a *horse* on stage. LOL.

I think this is very very good for Idol. It’s a television show. If everyone gets bumped off exactly as predicted, then no one will watch. This was never about cultivating talent. It’s about making money. American Idol isn’t art school, it’s Capitalism. If they sign her, it will be because they think she’ll make money.

Being able to charge outrageous amounts for ads on Idol is the primary goal of the show and main source of income. Last I heard, it was around $450,000 for a 30 second ad. I agree that $$$ is the botom line for AI and Iovine/UMG.

Too bad that Pia didn’t have that much fanbase. And funny how the alumni pour out how they felt. Too bad that none of them actually voted for her and they blame the entire America for a mistake that is nonexistent. This is as simple as showbiz hypocrisy to me… nothing more and nothing less.

With the unlimited voting system, it can’t be assumed that lower votes mean fewer fans.

Alright, I think it is VERY clear that the voting paradigm for Idol is broken IF this actually is a singing/talent competition.

Can TPTB change in mid stream? No, not without losing the last shred of credibility that the show might have.

So, I think that WE (the collective of pissed off fans) needs to have a strategy to show IDOL that we are well aware of how to game the system.

VFTW has the right idea (and they are just as culpable as the ‘save’ in last night’s results.. i.e., not at all), but we need to put VFTW on steroids. I would suggest starting ‘Vote For the Girlz’. Seeing that VFTW’s current pick is Paul, they should immediately switch to Haley and we all should commit to pushing Haley to the top, no mater what kind of spectacular turd she drops on the Idol stage.

The goal should be to get Scotty, Casey, and James all voted off in the upcoming weeks. A Haley/Jacob final would be wonderfully horrible and hopefully inspire JLo and Steven to bail.

While I never thought that pia would ultimately win ( not coming from NYC and being a somewhat bland tv personality) she certainly did not deserve to go out in 9 th place. I think the gender, NYC, judges overpraise of everyone, lack of a clear frontrunner etc all contributed to the result. Oh well at the end of the day it probably doesn’t matter what order you go out in the 5-10 spots. I think contestants benefit the most by getting at least to top 3 or 4.

By the way, when did AT&T started their unlimited texting plan? Do people think Daughtry got the boot because of the texters? I wasn’t following AI during that time.

Unlimted texting came in the middle of Season 6 I think, but that wasn’t the problem because it’ll be just like people dialling on the landline phone multiple times. The problem is power-texting, when people can multiply their votes 10X, and I only heard about that in Season 8.

I find hilarious the Pia is too boring bits, or she lacked star power.

Taylor Hick for sure had massive amount of star power that’s why he’s stilll with his record label.

Kris was a great winner, tons of charisma and stage presence, that’s why he has sold out venues all accross america

Lee Dewyze is so entertaining that his album and tour have been incredibly successfull.

Chris Sligh still cracks me up.It’s a tough, tough competition this year and someone has to go home each week. Pia’s outfit was odd and did not suit her. Her voice was really good, but the performance was just awkward. Regardless of demographics, I was not surprised she went home.

Though I was hoping it was Jacob.

Should we cry for Scotty’s *Pain?* Meanwhile, he finished his tweet by “Thanking all his Peeps from the Midwest and South for voting for him.”Don’t even bother, Scotty, you have the demographic if you just came out on the stage and sat there for a minute and a half or tried riding a *horse* on stage. LOL.

LOL! Scotty has everything going for him. He’s male, from the Midwest and Christian. BUT having said all of that, I do think Scotty deserves to be there and finish in the top 5. Now that Pia is gone, I’m kind of at a loss of who my top 2 will be. I’m hoping Lauren and Haley can bring it over the next few weeks and hang in there.

Simon Cowell and the XF team is grinning tonight; they know AI formula is out-dated. AI is now confirmed only as a popularity entertainment show and not as the best singer/performer contest show.

LOL, do you think that the X Factor is any different? You haven’t watch the X Factor UK then, and watch Simon pimping of out of tune singers…In addition, Pia may have been the best vocalist, but she was not the best performer, and it is debatable whether Universal was considering her marketable.She has great range and control, but not a great tone, phrasing, stage presence, personality or artistic interpretation.

There is no way to know if Pia was a true front runner or not. Most people assumed she was because the judges consistently said so and she was safe each week. For all we know, she has been sitting just outside the bottom 3 for weeks but as people got eliminated, her days were numbered. It probably has more to do with her not expanding her fanbase week after week.

IMO, a true frontrunner in a reality competition is the one leading the pack votes-wise. And Pia never led the pack. It was pure gimmickry that she was given the title by judges and bloggers. Do you think there will be so much noise and news and shout outs had they not bestowed that thingy to her? No way, alligator!

Seems as though the producers switched their allegiance over to Haley who plays the *hot* card better than any of the so-called cute guys and the producers changed to pushing her.

So, I don’t get it. Some people are arguing that Pia got sent home because the “frau”, “cougars”, “tweens”, insert-slam-for-women-over-20, insert-slam-for-females-under-20 were jealous of her good looks and only vote for the “cute” guy. Meanwhile, others are saying that Haley is only getting through because she is playing the part of “Hot Girl”. If (insert-slam) women only vote, how is it that Haley changed her fortunes by vamping it up?

Maybe, Haley is connecting to the audience and Pia never did.

Haley hasn’t always been perfect, but she has done some interesting things up there. She has taken some chances and she is not afraid to sing for her life every week. I would hate for her to pay the price for Pia’s boot.

I don’t know if you can blame it on Pia’s lack of movement. Like many people have already said, Carrie was, as someone else put it, “a block of wood” on stage. I’ve seen her live twice, and she doesn’t move much now either! And I’m not trying to dis her either because she’s fabulous.

Pia wasn’t necessarily my absolute favorite, but I’m pretty sad she’s gone.

So, I don’t get it. Some people are arguing that Pia got sent home because the “frau”, “cougars”, “tweens”, insert-slam-for-women-over-20, insert-slam-for-females-under-20 were jealous of her good looks and only vote for the “cute” guy. Meanwhile, others are saying that Haley is only getting through because she is playing the part of “Hot Girl”. If (insert-slam) women only vote, how is it that Haley changed her fortunes by vamping it up?

Haley has been twice in the B3 and she has been playing the sensual card since the semifinals.

There have been 5 women in a row and you’re using one of the two left to prove a point?
I would hardly call Haley a fan favorite based on votes so far.

Everyone but Pia is being blamed. Strange. Idol is a TV show. You have to fill up the screen and she didn’t do it.

So, I think that WE (the collective of pissed off fans) needs to have a strategy to show IDOL that we are well aware of how to game the system.

Not a bad idea if all pissed off fans feel the same way tomorrow. Let me say this as simple as possible…

TODAY is HISTORY by TOMORROW.

My attitude is that maybe if they cared so much they should have voted I tweeted back to a few of them last night when they sent out their tweets asking if they voted.. as for the voting system obvioulsy while most people liked Pia they obviously didnt like her enough to vote for her.. those who voted liked someone else better. I have limited my votes to 2 contestants this year one is a guy (who trust me I do not have a crush on!) and the other is for one of the girls who isnt Pia. sometimes I will sit and hit redial on my phone sometimes I wont it just depends on what else I am doing. To me I see a lot of performances I like but when it comes to laying down money on Itunes to buy them there are very few I have bought

Unlimted texting came in the middle of Season 6 I think, but that wasn’t the problem because it’ll be just like people dialling on the landline phone multiple times. The problem is power-texting, when people can multiply their votes 10X, and I only heard about that in Season 8.

So in S8 either the technology was there or people finally learned to block text votes. I know there was a huge discussion about the power texting and its possible influence on the outcome of S8. I don’t think it was discussed much in S9 because I don’t think people were invested enough to put that much energy into voting. Now we are in S10 and according to Ryan, we have record number of votes. I would love to know what the breakdown is for text voting, on-line voting and phone voting.

color me confused…but how exactly is American Idol, the show, gender biased because only girls have been voted off?

Sure, we can blame the voters for not thinking girls are worth their time…but how do you stop that from happening. Should AI have another “rule” that if a girl gets voted off one week all the girls are safe the next and vice versa to keep the gender parity. Should the judges be required to “praise” the girls and slander the guys just to “instruct” America how to vote. Should girls always be given the pimp spot or have sit-downs every week so the voters can really get to know them.

I just don’t see how the show itself is responsible….and the old adage about the judges not filling the show with capable girls like they do guys doesn’t wash either since peeps were extoling Pia’s virtues for weeks and weeks.

I’ve chosen my favorites…one guy and one girl… but Pia, Thia, Naima, Mary and Ashton would never have made my list. So I guess I am an audience member who just doesn’t like great voiced women and I am totally jealous of their looks and beauty. Maybe I should stop watching since I am classified as one of AI’s massive problems. Now why do I find that ridiculous.

Way to go America. You apparently looked in the mirror then forgot to vote for the best singer.

Chris Sligh cracked me up w/ this line…

Maybe, Haley is connecting to the audience and Pia never did.

This. Everyone I know who watches the show never connected with Pia. Yes, they agreed she has a nice voice and is very pretty, but her singing seemed so mechanical. That and everything she sang sounded like Celine Dion, which is fine if you are Celine, not so much if you are trying to establish your own identity.The honest fact is, if Pia was anywhere near as popular as peeps have made her out to be, she wouldn’t have been in the bottom this early.

eta: quoted the wrong thing. Weird.

Here’s another piece of data I would love to have. What percentage of the AI voting audience is male vs female? There are many people who like/vote for a person/celebrity because of sex appeal. If the majority of the AI voting audience is female then it puts the women contestants at a disadvantage.

Also, are women more likely to power vote then men? From my time on-line, it seems like most of the AI fan groups are made up of women so I would think that it is the women who are doing the power voting.

My attitude is that maybe if they cared so much they should have voted I tweeted back to a few of them last night when they sent out their tweets asking if they voted.. as for the voting system obvioulsy while most people liked Pia they obviously didnt like her enough to vote for her..

Exactly. People are not voted off AI, people vote for the contestants who they want to see go to the next round. A vote for someone else isn’t a vote against Pia. I think a lot of viewers like Pia, or can at least admit that she had the best voice of anyone this season, but it was up to Pia to convince these people to vote for her, and she didn’t do it.

This was never about cultivating talent. It’s about making money.

Until AI limits the number of votes per source, there will always be a disconnect between the real popularity of contestants and the voting totals.

I agree 100%. Money-maker first…and if they limit the voting then who do you think loses – the telephone networks, etc. and you can rest assure that that is not happening.

One thing that could help AI is to once and for all be clear about if this is a SINGING competition or “Complete Package” competition, or an “IT” factor competion, or a “Unique” competition, etc. etc. Then we could vote accordingly, lol.

I also agree 100% here on this statement. The title of the show is American Idol and for years the judges have been drilling the fact that it is a singing competition first and foremost and then you need the IT factor along with IT. When over the years I have watched many with the IT factor get shafted while the mediocre singer received the title and then to further go on and not shine like one would expect a crowned idol shine.

I have/had no favorites this year and, to be honest, somewhat disappointed and surprised with the group they did pick for the show. Yes, they can all sing, however, there were/are still no “true” standouts overall.

Pia definitely has the voice – there’s no denying that – and vocally one of the best there and regardless if she has/had no charisma I don’t feel the elimination was totally justified (I still blame it on the multiple voting system). When Carrie Underwood was competing she was like a board, but cute little blond girl, and look what she’s blossomed into. With the right people working with Pia I honestly feel she can come out of her shell, break loose, and find success. Hopefully, others in the business will see her potential and grab her up.

I feel the show is lacking in true mentoring, choregraphy and personal inward development. Remember – we only get to see a glimpse of the clockworks.

AI is now confirmed only as a popularity entertainment show and not as the best singer/performer contest show.

I’ve been saying that for a number of years now. C’est la vie!

Eh. Pia is undeniably beautiful and has a great technical voice. She is also as boring as dirt to watch. She should have done some Celine chest thumping, or Whitney foot stomping, or even (God forgive me) Mariah Diva fingers – just SOMETHING during her ballads. Seriously, she sucked every last little bit of soul and passion out of River Deep Mountain High and made it sound like another ballad. How do you even do that?

Kelly had such a bubbly personality on TV and a very soulful voice. She showed range and variety in her song choices, and was just so likable. Carrie had never been to stage school, unlike Pia, and had that whole bewildered farm girl thing to go with her shockingly powerful voice. Pia didn’t really show anything like that.

And JMHO, but her voice isn’t in the same league as Kelly or Carrie (or even JHud or Crystal for that matter).

There have been 5 women in a row and you’re using one of the two left to prove a point?
I would hardly call Haley a fan favorite based on votes so far.

I don’t know what you are inferring about my point, but I’ve been a fan of Haley since the semi-finals. I think I was one of the two people here who liked that performance.

Oh, and the two points I got in the pool this week was from predicting that Haley would not be in the bottom 3. That vote was more from me wanting it to be true than confidence that it would be true.

She was great singing Grenade in Hollywood Week, but ever since the finals, she’s been there singing the same song in pretty much the same way week after week. And unfortunately, though she has an undeniably great voice, it’s kind of an old-fashioned style of singing too.

Funny I thought about Grenade when Ryan asked her what song she wanted to sing for her boot song. Over and over I said to myself Pick Grenade, what does she do pick a boring ass song again!! Grenade was the only time I enjoyed one of her proformanaces.
We also need to remember we went from 60>24>13 very fast this year, not many had the chance to even grow their fan bases. One viewers vote from 24 to top 13. She didnt have a lot of footage before that either.

Haley hasn’t always been perfect, but she has done some interesting things up there. She has taken some chances and she is not afraid to sing for her life every week. I would hate for her to pay the price for Pia’s boot.

None of these remaining 8 should have to pay for Pia getting booted. I was surprised but not shocked, I found Pia has a pretty voice but is so dull as an entertainer.

Maybe, Haley is connecting to the audience and Pia never did.

I think Haley has shown a lot more personality, which has helped her. Haley just needs to work on her moves when she walks around stage. If she can polish that up a bit, I am hoping she can crack the top 5.

I am worried for Lauren as I think Pia’s departure might really rattle her. Lauren seems emotionally vulnerable and this is a brutal competition. If Lauren reads the blogs and starts to believe that a woman can’t win, I am afraid it might take a toll on her confidence. Haley is a fighter, so I’m not worried about her emotional state. What I love about Haley is that she goes out and gives it her all as if expecting this might be her last day in the competition.

It was just a matter of time before something this ridiculous happeend with the results. You can’t allow unlimited texting AND Facebook voting and expect anybody with an actual LIFE to bother to vote for their favorites. I called for Pia several weeks in a row, but the dozen votes I cast each time were about as good as spitting in the wind.

I didn’t bother to vote for ANYBODY the past two weeks. What’s the point? I’m not going to text so my votes are meaningless.

Pia: No screen time pre-top 24, strong New York accent, “ethnic” appearance (a lot of folks think Stefano and Pia are Latinos and we can’t have one of those!), apathetic voters in the Northeast, the ridiculous “save,” and irrelevant “judging.” In retrospect, her early boot really isn’t surprising at all.

There are many people who like/vote for a person/celebrity because of sex appeal.

Have you seen the male selection this year? Not exactly heartthrob central. There are maybe a couple who meet the standard notion of cute in this bunch, one who has been in the bottom 3 more than any of the remaining contestants.

I can just see those 13-14 year old girls now. “OMG, that Casey is sooooooo hawt. I just want to grab that fat and squeeze him like a stress ball. And the way he juts his jaw out like he’s about to eat a small child? He’s such a Shreck of a man!” Or “Paul is so dreamy! That wispy hair barely hiding his bald spot is really hawt. Don’t get me started on his smile; it’s just blinding!”

Sorry, I just find the “voting based on attraction” argument a such cop out. It is entirely possible that people weren’t that impressed by Pia’s voice. Just go out and listen to the majority of stars of the music world, they aren’t technically good singers. In fact, singers like Pia make up a fair minority of the most popular.

I’m disappointed that Pia was voted off so early. If I had actually voted for her, I would have a right to be outraged. But I haven’t voted for anybody since I became convinced that ordinary voters have absolutely no say in the outcome of Idol, especially those who vote by phone.

Seeing Mandisa’s tweet made me realize something….she also had an amazing voice that season and was eliminated way before her time based on talent but there was no big uproar about it, maybe a little surprise but nothing like this. It makes me wonder if it’s because she didn’t fit that perfect image mold that Pia does….if Pia were overweight or not very pretty would everyone still be having such a hard time accepting her elimination?

I don’t know what you are inferring about my point, but I’ve been a fan of Haley since the semi-finals. I think I was one of the two people here who liked that performance.

I interpreted your point as: Haley proves that AI viewers aren’t biased agains pretty girls.

Haley has been in the B3 twice and has survived 5 women eliminations, not exactly a sign that AI viewers have accepted her sensual style of performance.

There’s no need to take it personally. When I say that the AI audience is biased against girls, it doesn’t mean that all women vote against girls because they are petty or catty.
All you need is a portion of that audience to vote that way or because they are crushing on some of the guys to skew the results.

Everyone but Pia is being blamed. Strange. Idol is a TV show. You have to fill up the screen and she didn’t do it.

Not true. Go to last night’s results thread.

if it’s because she didn’t fit that perfect image mold that Pia does

From what I remember, the biggest problem with Mandisa was the week before there was a scandal about the song she sang and people thought she was homophobic

Sorry, I just find the “voting based on attraction” argument a such cop out. It is entirely possible that people weren’t that impressed by Pia’s voice. .

If you have ever read AI boards, been to the AI concert tour or been to one of the male idols concert, you wouldn’t think that is a cop out.

I think Haley has shown a lot more personality, which has helped her. Haley just needs to work on her moves when she walks around stage.

After watching last night’s group number, I’m almost prepared to blame the Idol stylists for the females getting booted. Why do they insist in convincing the women to wear such ridiculously high heels? I know that it looks “fab”, but these singers have to move and feel confident. How confident would you feel tottering down the stairs in virtual-stilts? I’d be walking as stiff-legged as Pia and Haley (and galumping all over the stage). Fine, if you are used to them, but totally distracting if you are not.

Would Crystal have won if she hadn’t looked so uncomfortable singing in the finales when the stylists stuck her in those high heels for her second number?

Female Idols: Just say no to stupid heels. If you aren’t rock solid in them, they just sap your confidence, visibly distract you from your singing and make you move like a farmer pulling a plow. Nobody is going to really notice or fault you if you wear reasonable sized heels.

I seriously do think they should stop it with the heels, but there are so many factors that go into a booting.

I must be one of the weird ones. I did not find Pia “beautiful” in a spectacular way. I guess I look beyond the superficial. What I did find her to be was plastic….a barbie doll that was singing the proper notes….didn’t seem as real to me as the other girls…even the other girls left standing.

I don’t vote any longer – ever since the fiasco of 2 seasons ago. … and I don’t just “vote” for guys. I was hoping that Crystal would have won last year. I had my favorites this year – my favorite girl is gone…the favorite guy is still there.

It’s more than the voice. It’s about a star quality….a connection to the audience. Even though she was reminded about that several times by the judges she was unable to figure out how to get there. You can tweak the voice in the studio…you can’t create personality and interaction with the audience…it’s something you either have or don’t have.

I keep hearing everywhere how America voted out 5 women in a row…technically that is not true. America voted out Casey also but the judges chose to keep him. In previous weeks there have been others who needed to go but now that the singers who stood no chance (JMHO) are gone we are going to see people like Pia who some thought would go far go home instead. As for dial idol they only measure dialtones so them getting it wrong indicates to me that more people are using texts and online voting. We can also complain about the little girls and their voting but you only have to look at Justin Bieber (though I try not to) to see that these same little girls are the ones who buy music- I get where people are upset as a devoted Adam fan I have felt the anger over what I saw as unfair voting but really if someone is going to make it as a singer they will make it.. and if they dont that is just the business. Pia has the voice but she has a lot of work to do on the rest of it

Sorry, I just find the “voting based on attraction” argument a such cop out. It is entirely possible that people weren’t that impressed by Pia’s voice.

I don’t think it is black and white. I do think there is a portion of the AI voting audience that does vote on sex appeal. How big of a portion is anyone’s guess. It may not be that big, but perhaps they are the ones who power vote? I just don’t think we can dismiss the fact that the women are dropping like flies and some of the men, who are not that good, are still there.

I can see why Pia wasn’t the most popular. She came off as too polished and reserved. But, and this is my sticking point, I think there were others who have put in sub par performances (Stefano, Paul and Jacob) that should have gone home before Pia. Not only are the inferior singers, but their stage presence is awkward.

I interpreted your point as: Haley proves that AI viewers aren’t biased agains pretty girls.

No, that wasn’t my point. My point was that Haley is getting slammed for being “sexy” and was being blamed for Pia getting the boot because she stole her votes. Since it is a widely touted point that Pia lost votes because she was pretty/threat, I couldn’t see how Haley’s vamping it up would win her votes. I felt that Haley’s talent was being diminished and that she was being accused of only getting through by “being hot”. I think that Haley is very talented and I hate it when women are slammed for dressing up (men never seem to get that criticism).

And this is a freakin’ voting competition. You are supposed to steal votes from others.

Seeing Mandisa’s tweet made me realize something….she also had an amazing voice that season and was eliminated way before her time based on talent but there was no big uproar about it, maybe a little surprise but nothing like this. It makes me wonder if it’s because she didn’t fit that perfect image mold that Pia does….if Pia were overweight or not very pretty would everyone still be having such a hard time accepting her elimination?

That’s a VERY good point and imo TRUE

Not just AI alum tweeted, but tons of celebrities.

Pia is who she is – I think she is shy and reserved with one of the best voices I have ever heard on AI. She should not be criticized over lack of “performing” – she had her style and did things her way. And in the coming weeks, which is partially what this show is about, she would have figured it out. And she will figure it out – in her way. She pushed too hard on Tuesday and did things that didn’t come naturally, and it showed. You have to dig deep and figure out how to “perform” more, but it has to be real and organic.

And I cried when she cried.

No, that wasn’t my point

Sorry then, I misinterpreted your argument.

I couldn’t see how Haley’s vamping it up would win her votes

IA, it’s a contradiction.

It must be serious if David Cook weighs in with something critical concerning Idol LOL0.

I did a lengthy post in the results thread but I will just say that I firmly believe Pia’s fans are men. Men are a minority of viewers and they don’t tend to vote – or at least not power vote.

And that’s my generalization for the day :P

I still think they should do something like X-factor and let the two lowest vote getters sing for their lives and let the judges choose.

Yep, because they’ve made some great calls this year.

I think it is ‘rigged’ insofar as female contestants are not competing on an even playing field (I am not saying the producers are rigging it…the way it is set up now, there is nothing they can do to change it).

Well, that’s not rigged.

Someone created a petition to get Pia reinstated on the show.

http://www.savepia.com/

LOL…..seriously?

Apparently Pia has connected with more people than we think because I’ve never seen so many people upset at her boot, including celebs and idol alums.

But did they vote?

She definitely is more boring, and am far from a fan of Stefano. He moves, and expresses the song, often in a cheesy way, but he still does.

I am a fan of Stefano, and the thing about him, and why he may be connecting is because at least we know he is trying. He is taking the advice and applying it to his performances. That is making a difference in the way folk not on this blog may percieve him. Pia, because she really has been pretty much praised, she only thought she had to sing an upbeat song and walk. She didn’t get that if you pick that particular song, there better be some ass shaking or at least lifting your feet more than an inch off the ground. She didn’t get that she needed to do more besides sing perfectly and loud. I don’t think that she should have been booted, but in retrospect it isn’t that shocking imho.

My thoughts on the matter is that this is what happens when there really is no fodder. In years past there is enough breathing space for people to gain a following, and have that growth arc while the chaff is separated from the wheat. There are no throw away contestants and truthfully on a night when everyone did well for the most part, someone could be easily forgotten. Of course given the demographics of the show, and the reality of who votes, and why they vote, Pia would be one of the weakest links.

Pia may have been the best vocalist, but she was not the best performer, and it is debatable whether Universal was considering her marketable.She has great range and control, but not a great tone, phrasing, stage presence, personality or artistic interpretation.

I think also. When I hear her recordings, I don’t hear a great artist in the making, I hear a second-rate imitation of Celine Dion or Leona Lewis. There is just something missing in her tone.

I have to say that I was never really a fan of Lauren Alaina, but the last couple of weeks I started hearing the possibility of her being a really good recording artist, and it’s what missing in Pia – it’s the tone she has. It’s hard to describe what exactly is missing in Pia but present in Lauren, but you’d kinda know it when you hear it. I do think that the contestants sometimes try too hard to impress by belting out the big notes, when what they need to do is to just bring the tone and quality of their voice out more.

Pia was a boring robot. All there is to it.

If they do voice support idol fans say they shouldn’t show favoritism. If they don’t voice support it’s their fault for not being vocal enough. They can’t win.

I have to agree with this. Regardless of the reasons for Toscano’s ouster, the alumns of the show are in a very difficult position when it comes to talking about their opinions. I certainly don’t think it’s fair to accuse them of “not voting” when nobody knows if or how they vote when they watch the show.

And I don’t mind the idea of deliberate voting for the girls, not least because I honestly think Reinhart and Alaina have had more decent performances between them in the finals than many of their remaining counterparts.

I concur with all the idoltweeters. Except Todrick Hall, who is a douchebag.

Seeing Mandisa’s tweet made me realize something….she also had an amazing voice that season and was eliminated way before her time based on talent but there was no big uproar about it, maybe a little surprise but nothing like this. It makes me wonder if it’s because she didn’t fit that perfect image mold that Pia does….if Pia were overweight or not very pretty would everyone still be having such a hard time accepting her elimination?

‘

Quoting this again because I agree so freaking much. I was soo much more upset when Mandisa was sent home and I don’t even like her genre of music, because she actually connected with what she sang and I would miss that passion for the next couple of weeks. I’m not going to hate on Pia for being so wooden on stage, but while I was surprised, I wasn’t shocked that she was eliminated. And I certainly won’t miss her that much next week. Pia seemed like the perfect package, which Mandisa was never considered because she wasn’t attractive enough, but she still didn’t get the votes she needed. I just don’t understand why she’s going home when everyone is losing their shit now…where was this passion when voting for her before? Hotness doesn’t always make up for a connection, and blame the tweens and middle-agers if you want, but Crystal and Allison made it pretty far past that hurdle.

Seeing Mandisa’s tweet made me realize something….she also had an amazing voice that season and was eliminated way before her time based on talent but there was no big uproar about it, maybe a little surprise but nothing like this. It makes me wonder if it’s because she didn’t fit that perfect image mold that Pia does….if Pia were overweight or not very pretty would everyone still be having such a hard time accepting her elimination?

No. It’s because people like to have a reason, they like to have something to blame. With Mandisa it was easy for people to conclude she got voted out because she isn’t white or isn’t skinny. Those conclusions were probably false, but it helped people lay blame and make sense of it. You can’t say those things with Pia, so her elimination can’t be dismissed so easily and people are therefore not as accepting. Heck, I even saw a comment up thread that suggested that Pia was voted out because some people may have thought she was Latino. Really? I just thought was beautiful. If Pia were a non-white or overweight, or lesbian THAT would be the reason she was voted out, and people would be more accepting of her boot.

As an aside, I also do not like women voters constantly being slammed. ….. Women can’t seem to win on any front.

Absolutely. If this contest were called Miss America you can bet every man in America would be voting. Or Vote the Best NFL Team. I doubt if I ever would have enjoyed a double date with Pia, but other than that, her looks are not of a lot of concern to me. And women do not appear to be shunning Beyonce.

I don’t think that Pia leaving is the problem. The problem is that she left before Paul, Jacob, and Stepheno. If these folks were already gone then her leaving would not be an issue. But I still think she has something going on outside the show….in a good way.

I’ve had a day to vent and am still upset with Pia’s elimination. I didn’t think she could win but the vocals were great. I’m more upset at the elimination of five girls in a row and I did vote this time for all three girls. They don’t seem to stand a chance of winning.
That being said I had already picked Scotty/James finale with maybe Lauren thrown in if she can overcome her lack of confidence and have a breakout performance.
Please judges stop with the glowing reviews of everyone-it’s not helping at all!!

Seeing Mandisa’s tweet made me realize something….she also had an amazing voice that season and was eliminated way before her time based on talent but there was no big uproar about it, maybe a little surprise but nothing like this.

I do remember some people were upset about Mandisa dismissal, but then it died down when people heard about the reason why some turned against her – she supported an evangelist who is apparently anti-gay and she also said things that some people interpreted as anti-gay. It seemed that she didn’t realized some of her biggest supporters were gay.

I concur with all the idoltweeters. Except Todrick Hall, who is a douchebag.

That’s funny, I liked his tweet the best!

So many celebrities tweeted about Pia last night, even Tom Hanks said he was done with idol after Pia got voted off. I saw tweets from Ashthon Kutcher, alyssa milano, Snooki, Mark ballas, Cheryl burke, and many more. If anyone thinks this elimination was not surprising, clearly it was for most people. It was unfair and undeserved. This has never happened in idol history when the best singer in the competition got sent home this early.

I still think they should do something like X-factor and let the two lowest vote getters sing for their lives and let the judges choose.

No, no, no. Absolutely not. X-Factor has so much judges manipulations it’s ridiculous. Let the people decide and leave it at that.

Seeing Mandisa’s tweet made me realize something….she also had an amazing voice that season and was eliminated way before her time based on talent

In addition to all the non-musical stuff going on at the time, she also turned in what was by far her worst performance of the season (a 22 on WhatNottoSing) the night she was eliminated.

I’m surprised but not heartbroken. Pia lost me a couple of weeks ago. I’m solidly on the Haley/Lauren bus now.

A lot of folks are wanting to blame the judges. Nah. JLo had tried for at least the last 2 weeks to tell her to step it up and she just kept smiling and nodding and saying ‘I can do that, I promise’ and she didn’t. JLo tried to tell her.

Todrick Hall’s tweet was hysterical. I wouldn’t worry about Idol producing a superstar winner though. It’s just a fun TV show. There isn’t a single person in the show who could put out the #1 album of the year (something that Idols in the first five seasons actually did.)I’m pretty sure that the S10 winner will outsell Lee DeWyze. Pretty sure not 100% sure. ;)

Daughtry’s elimination was, at least the people that were remaining were talented. Whether she was a compelling performer or not I rather have Pia’s gorgeous voice than Casey’s scary faces and excessive growling, Paul’s off key singing and spastic moves and Stefano’d weekly cheesefest.

Everybody in the crowd curses with swears for a long time. You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, as the Canadian Janet Jackson memorably penned way back before Woodstock. What I think is, I think nobody really likes Pia, but everybody assumes everybody else likes her. The old “Somebody must like Bit O’ Honeys or else they wouldn’t make them” Halloween debate, writ large on our national canvas.

Jacob from TWOP always sums it up perfectly for me. This is why Pia is gone, the end. :P

but did you vote?

No. I watch and love the show, but do not vote. I vote in political elections where everyone gets one vote and it means something. I am NOT going to sit with my phone for 2 hours dialing/texting so I know my 1-5 votes are meaningless. Of course I also don’t get outraged when people are voted off – surprised maybe, but not outraged. If they ever change it to 5 votes per line, I would vote every week.

I did a lengthy post in the results thread but I will just say that I firmly believe Pia’s fans are men. Men are a minority of viewers and they don’t tend to vote – or at least not power vote.

I don’t think most women power vote, either. I think those that do are a relatively small percentage. I would wager that the number of votes cast goes down with age and the middle and late age demographic is fairly large.

It’s not just Idol, AGT, the X Factor in England, all are dominated by white guys winners because of the overwhelming female vote.The ironic part is that the guys do meh in the real world. The female Idol winners pawn all the guys in terms of music sales, Grammys, etc.

I saw tweets from Ashthon Kutcher, alyssa milano, Snooki, Mark ballas, Cheryl burke, and many more. If anyone thinks this elimination was not surprising, clearly it was for most people. It was unfair and undeserved. This has never happened in idol history when the best singer in the competition got sent home this early.

Twitter is huge now and so many can just post whatever is on their mind SO quickly. I doubt there would have been so many responses if they had to email or snail mail. AI has a 10-year history and mass tweeting is fairly new (2 years maybe?). Just saying…

Whether she was a compelling performer or not I rather have Pia’s gorgeous voice than Casey’s scary faces and excessive growling, Paul’s off key singing and spastic moves and Stefano’d weekly cheesefest.

ITA, No way did Pia, even if some of you thought she was ” boring”, deserve to be eliminated before these guys.

but did you vote?

No. I watch and love the show, but do not vote. I vote in political elections where everyone gets one vote and it means something. I am NOT going to sit with my phone for 2 hours dialing/texting so I know my 1-5 votes are meaningless. Of course I also don’t get outraged when people are voted off – surprised maybe, but not outraged. If they ever change it to 5 votes per line, I would vote every week.

I was just about to post something like this. No, I didn’t vote. I was going to, but I forgot. And if I was going to vote, I would have voted maybe five times for Pia. That wouldn’t have made a difference. What’s the point in voting if teenaged girls are power voting for their favorites for two hours? I don’t have two hours do to that.

Maybe before the top 5 AI needs to have eliminations like SYTYCD where the judges pick who goes home from the bottom 3. I think that would work best.

Pia’s best peformance IMO was when she sang “Teenage Dream” last week with Thia and Haley. I think there you could see that should could be a commercial artist, because she sounded WAY better than Katy Perry.

One thing that could help AI is to once and for all be clear about if this is a SINGING competition or “Complete Package” competition, or an “IT” factor competion, or a “Unique” competition, etc. etc. Then we could vote accordingly, lol.

American Idol is whatever individual voters and viewers want it to be. It’s not logical to think that every voter will agree on whatever “it” is, or who is the most talented, or what style of music is the best. That’s one of the things that makes the show fun to watch. While some people think that Scotty is a star, others thought that Naima had it all (even though she rarely hit the right notes).

No changes in how people vote are going to change the fact that musical tastes are different for everyone, and while some people might find a contestant boring, others don’t.

I would have voted maybe five times for Pia. That wouldn’t have made a difference.

How do you know that it wouldn’t have made a difference? Your five votes for Pia could have crossed out the five that somebody else gave to Stefano. I just don’t understand how this makes any sense. The truth is that you liked Pia, but you didn’t care enough to vote. A lot of Pia’s fans seemed to feel this way, so whose fault is that, and how does this mean that fans of others who cared enough to pick up the phone are the ones in the wrong?

Whether she was a compelling performer or not I rather have Pia’s gorgeous voice than Casey’s scary faces and excessive growling, Paul’s off key singing and spastic moves and Stefano’d weekly cheesefest.

Yep.

I don’t vote though, so I have no one to blame… except EVERYONE, lol. Haha, I’m still pissed. I don’t think any of the guys are good or consistent singers. I like Lauren though. I may have to throw her a couple votes. Or I may just give up on this season/a girl ever winning AI again, since my zero or couple votes won’t amount to much against power voters.

My favorite tweet was Sligh’s. LMAO. Least favorite? Tie between Toddrick (c’mon, very bitter) and Garcia (he made no sense).

I feel for Stefano after reading his tweet. And where is Adam Lambert ? He tweeted much earlier that he likes Pia…

There isn’t a single person in the show who could put out the #1 album of the year (something that Idols in the first five seasons actually did.)

Two Idols did that with exactly two albums, in the entire history of the show, including all followups. (Breakaway was not a #1 album.)

It was never a standard most alumns were expected to meet. Debuts in the 30s for the year were far more likely; it just used to be true that said ranking represented a sales level healthily above platinum. It’s probably more like gold now.

Now, are any of these people going to release a gold-selling album? I suspect not. But we should compare to overall AI history not just the strongest sellers.

I would have voted maybe five times for Pia. That wouldn’t have made a difference.

Maybe she lost by 5 votes. I remember a politician in my area who lost by one vote (even after the recount and the judicial recount). He and his wife had been too busy that day to vote.

Every votes counts. If casual voters took the two minutes to vote 5 times, results may have been different. What is the point of turning off one light? It’s a drop in the bucket compared to all the power we use. But, if enough people turn off unused lights, it can make a huge difference.

Since it is a widely touted point that Pia lost votes because she was pretty/threat, I couldn’t see how Haley’s vamping it up would win her votes.

If we assume that it’s the guys who voted for Pia and Haley, then guys will choose sexy over pretty.

I’m still pissed. I don’t think any of the guys are good or consistent singers. I like Lauren though. I may have to throw her a couple votes. Or I may just give up on this season/a girl ever winning AI again, since my zero or couple votes won’t amount to much against power voters.

You just summed up EXACTLY how I feel. I don’t care for any of the guys, and I still don’t get Haley. Lauren is the only one left that I like, in terms of vocal talent. If she gets voted off, then I’m done with this season. All my favorites have been eliminated, and I don’t think I can ever get over Pia leaving this soon.

I just hope the judges start giving more real criticism. In the times of Simon, a guy like Stefano wouldn’t be there already. Simon would call him for who is he, a lame cheesy Karaoke singer, he would not spare those harsh and true typical Simon remarks and the audience would get it. But with these judges who are way too nice to call things by their names, Stefano only lands on the B2 without really leaving.
They always gave Pia good criticism but by only saying nice things to others, to the audience it’s like Pia was the one doing worse.
I was no big Pia fan, girl has a great voice but needs more presence, however she didn’t deserve to go.

At least Haley is still there. I don’t know how the audience hasn’t kicked her yet, but that’s one thing they’re doing right.

I was on Twitter when this fiasco was unfolding last night. In my feed I saw several tweets from tween gals who were quick to pat their favorite guys on the back for showing emotion for Pia. Never mind tweeting something nice to her. So, yep, power voting will have the last say, as always, until Nigel & company find a way to control it.

I thought Pia was the only one in this crew that had a chance to make a viable commercial career out of her singing. Yes, she needed to work on her stage presence, but that is a skill that can be taught (see Carrie Underwood). She had the pipes and she had the looks.

Now we are left with TV reality show contestants. Good TV maybe, but nothing marketable IMHO. I wonder what Jimmy is thinking today.

Michael Slezak called JLo out on the judging after she tweeted:

JLo Jennifer Lopez
I am truly sad. I can’t believe this happened. You have to vote for who you love! We will miss you @ptoscanoAI10 !!

Michael Slezak
@JLo And you have to start acting like a judge. Don’t lay all the blame on the viewers!

*sigh* it’s a shame pia had to go this early. so no boy has been eliminated yet? and they started with 6 boys & 7 girls, but there are now 2 girls and still 6 boys. something is not right here.

I wouldn’t be shocked anymore if the last 2 girls left next then season 10 wld make history of having an all male top 6. lmao.

So, yep, power voting will have the last say, as always, until Nigel & company find a way to control it.

Nigel and company have to choose between the chance to crow about “55 million votes cast” (which is probably 100 ladies in NJ power voting) or trying to find a marketable star that can sell records. He can’t have both. And I’d say his current choice is ensuring that AI will, again, not have a viable singer after this season is over.

I feel so guilty today. You would think I would know better since I have been watching Idol since the first season. Pia was one of my favorites but I didn’t vote for her last night because I thought my other favorite needed my votes more after being in the bottom 3. I use to power vote but just don’t have time anymore so I cast my 50 votes online right after the show ends. I had been splitting my votes between my two favorites but last night gave all my 50 votes not to Pia but to my other favorite because I assumed Pia would easily be safe, especially after Jacob made that stupid remark. I was totally shocked that Pia was sent home as I expected her to go top 4 and I am very sad for her because she seems like a sweet girl and has one heck of a voice. I suspect there may be others like me out there that assumed Pia would be safe and voted for other favorite/s whom they thought were more at risk of being eliminated. I do have to say that the last couple of weeks I had been wanting so much for her to break out of her prim and properness and just let loose but maybe she really couldn’t yet. I do think the EW article this week shed some light on Pia when the mentioned how after the show ended she wouldn’t dance with the others and seemed to hide behind James. I was heartbroken to see her sobbing at the end of the show. What a shame. I should have voted for her.

Nigel and company have to choose between the chance to crow about “55 million votes cast” (which is probably 100 ladies in NJ power voting) or trying to find a marketable star that can sell records. He can’t have both. And I’d say his current choice is ensuring that AI will, again, not have a viable singer after this season is over.

Actually, it’s not 100 ladies in NJ. It’s 100 in Alabama. J/K. It’s far more than 100 and Nigel will choose AT&T over the next Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson as long as the show is #1 and they get the big $$$ for ads. It is a TV show, primarily.

I blame Steven Tyler. You cannot say every performance is “beautiful” and expect the public to discern between the outstanding and the mediocre. The public looks to the judges for an expert opinion in every talent show, and Tyler is just opting out. He makes Paula look decisive!

There is no question Pia was the best female singer, but she shows no personality. The other girls are average by Idol standards, where Pia did deserve to be Top 5 or maybe Top 3. Simon would never have allowed mediocre girls to outlive the best, or a boring country singer to become the frontrunner.

How come DWTS limits their votes and AI doesn’t? Since both shows exist to make $, what explains their different policies?

Is there anyone who is of the opinion that limiting the votes would NOT significantly change the outcomes?

How come DWTS limits their votes and AI doesn’t? Since both shows exist to make $, what explains their different policies?

Is there anyone who is of the opinion that limiting the votes would NOT significantly change the outcomes?

And that explains Cloris Leachman’s run on the show?

I was too shocked to sign on last night. Pia was my hubby’s fav, and he refuses to vote, stating statistically he can’t make a difference so why bother. He hates that I spend 2 hours dialing/redialing (on 2 phones – mine & my tween’s for her favs).

Now he says he refuses to watch since Pia isn’t on. UGH. Major argument & today is our wedding anniversary. Time to redirect lol.

Nigel, where are you? you are uncharacteristically silent….

How do you know that it wouldn’t have made a difference? Your five votes for Pia could have crossed out the five that somebody else gave to Stefano.

That’s what I was going to say, heh. And we don’t know how many votes Pia “lost” by – could’ve just been a handful, could’ve been tons. Am I surprised that she left? Yeah. Am I disappointed? Yup, I think she was one of the strongest people on the show and should have outlasted some of the others.

Now, my daddy always told me that if I wanted to complain about election results I should get off my butt and vote or I lose my right to be mad ;) so I’m just wondering how many of these outraged celebs/Idolettes even voted for the girl. I did… so I reserve the right to whine… well, except that I won’t because it’s a TV show. I will admit that it slipped from “must see TV” to “if I’m home I’ll watch” because even though I don’t have a strong favorite I wanted to see her do well. I’m not mad at Idol for it – they all have the same opportunity for power voting fans. Someone mentioned how SYTYCD does it with the bottom three and judges pick who goes home and I’m ok with that… well, except if my favorite got picked by the judges to go home and then I’d probably be mad that the judges had the power :) But I can see the attraction to that format, sure.

Oh, and now I remember why I didn’t and don’t care for Toddrick. He sounds like a bitter brat.

“Pia may have been the best vocalist, but she was not the best performer, and it is debatable whether Universal was considering her marketable.She has great range and control, but not a great tone, phrasing, stage presence, personality or artistic interpretation.”

This says it all. But I’ll ramble a bit anyway.

Very unprofessional of Jennifer and Randy to “be angry with America” for how they voted. Dissing Stefano right in front of millions of people! Jacob caught all kinds of heck for his arrogant comment. What about them? I would never have bought a track of Pia’s. Can’t remember a thing she sang. She indeed ‘sucked the soul of songs’ as someone else said.

She is another over schooled product of performing arts school (remember Ashley Rodriquez, Julie Zorilla and a few others that were so amazing in the early rounds and never made the cut – they’ve learned how to perform a professional 30sec audition). She is a wedding singer. Doesn’t seem to feel the music or the lyrics. As someone else said, she is a 2nd rate copy cat of the big voices.

And I don’t get the hate for Casey, Paul, Stefano, Jacob and the others, because of her boot. I really fee bad for Stefano. It’s not his fault and he has a nice voice.

If she had moved people with her singing, they would have voted even if they perceived her to be safe. Jennifer wanted to sell her and people didn’t buy.

I wonder if Jennifer will lose sleep over her save of Casey now!!!!

And that explains Cloris Leachman’s run on the show?

And why such a “skilled and proficient dancer” like Bristol Palin galumped her way to the finals?

The outrage is humorous to me. Having vocal prowess does NOT equal being a great singer! Just because she could sing, doesn’t mean she had all the other skills that Pia needed to transcend above the rest.

Well, I’d rather say “great performer” than “great singer”, but yes, I agree.

I admit I unfollowed Todrick because his twitter humping of Pia was a bit much. Might refollow after this thing dies down. I guess that’s kinda pointless? But the X Factor comment annoyed me. You know the same thing will happen.

Naima’s comment seemed like a bit of a jab. But I could’ve just been cranky.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m shocked still, but it’s still odd how many people talked like she was the most perfect contestant ever.

The judges needed to bitch more about her doing ballads. Hell, I thought fans needed to bitch more about that, and there was a lot of that going on! She played it too safe and too many people supported that and probably thought she was safe. She never inspired me to vote.

Do they really need to change voting practices, however?

No way did Pia, even if some of you thought she was ” boring”, deserve to be eliminated before these guys.

I thought she was a bit boring but no, I don’t think she deserved to leave before some of the others. And while I don’t think it’s impossible for a girl to do well, I do think that they have less cushion if they aren’t spectacular. Which sucks, but is not surprising when mostly women vote. I don’t know that Naima is right saying it’s all about teen crushes… hell, my 60+ yr old mom called me to tell me that Scotty is sexy (ugh). But it’s not surprising that lots of female voters vote for… boys.

Okay, pj, I’ll give you your 1000 ladies in Alabama. ;-)

Nigel will choose AT&T over the next Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson as long as the show is #1 and they get the big $$$ for ads. It is a TV show, primarily.

The problem is that if AI has yet another year of lackluster sales from this season’s crew, then its cred will continue to go down. AI will look more and more like it is running a scam on the audience. “No, really, you are not voting for a future music star. You are voting for the best reality show performer, who will get their 15 minutes of fame and land back at the paint store after it’s all over.”

That’s not the dream AI has been selling for 10 years. And the dream is what propels people to watch. It’s the American Dream for singers. That’s what I bought into when I started watching the show 10 years ago.

Hm. Maybe that’s why I feel more and more distant from this season as it goes on. Maybe that’s why I don’t care about any of these peeps. Maybe I’ve finally tuned into the fact that this is a big scam.

Well, on the bright side, Pia probably would have been voted off next week, since it’s Movie theme and I don’t see her not singing:

44 Wind Beneath My Wings BEACHES

So, we are saved that… you know, a positive thing to hang on :D

She played it too safe and too many people supported that and probably thought she was safe.

I think that a whole lot of people assumed she was going to be fine and voted for other people. We knew Paul’s fans would vote like crazy because he was B3. So he was going to be safe. Casey’s fans are still shaken up from him getting “voted off” so they are still voting like crazy. Now me? I voted for her ’cause I know better… I did live through the Daughtry and Michael Johns boots after all haha. (Though I probably helped sacrifice MJ when I freaked out over Cook’s “Innocent” performance…)

AI will look more and more like it is running a scam on the audience. “No, really, you are not voting for a future music star. You are voting for the best reality show performer, who will get their 15 minutes of fame and land back at the paint store after it’s all over.”

See, but I don’t know ANYONE who looks at Idol as “who is going to be a star after?” Everyone that I know that watches the show – family, friends – watches, picks their favorite, votes like mad, and then forgets they exist. For real.

44 Wind Beneath My Wings BEACHES

So, we are saved that… you know, a positive thing to hang on

Naw, My Heart Goes On FTW! Would have given her a chance to show us how she is just like Celine. Again. lol

How do you know that it wouldn’t have made a difference? Your five votes for Pia could have crossed out the five that somebody else gave to Stefano.

That’s true. And Pia seems to have way more casual fans than diehard fans. So if you assume she had a broader fanbase that doesn’t vote, while the guys like Stefano had a narrower fanbase that power votes, if each of Pia’s casual fans had been riled up to vote 5 times, Stefano’s diehards who powervote may not have been a match against such a broad voting base.

So I’ve thought it a bit earlier this season, but I’ll finally say it with meaning. I.MISS.SIMON. When he skewered the contestants, the public either agreed and kicked them off, or got indignant and voted against Simon to save someone. If Simon had been around to be mean to Pia, people would’ve cared about her more, or maybe she would’ve improved more. If Simon had called out Stefano, or Paul, or Jacob, or even James’ mediocre vocals for weeks now, maybe they would’ve improved, or been kicked out. I don’t know, but I’m a bit sick of the judging.

So, are you saying Cloris Leachman and Brisol Palin’s runs show that DWTS doesn’t really limit the votes? (I don’t get what you’re saying those two show about voting – sorry. I really don’t understand why the two shows have different policies, but I guess what you’re saying is that they don’t? I thought they did and wondered why AI thinks it’s to their advantage NOT to limit votes and DWTS thinks it’s to their advantage to do so. Does everyone pretty much agree, then, that unlimited voting significantly skews the results?)

That’s not the dream AI has been selling for 10 years. And the dream is what propels people to watch. It’s the American Dream for singers. That’s what I bought into when I started watching the show 10 years ago.

I guess I see it differently. I didn’t watch Jennifer Hudson’s season, but do you think she’d be where she is today if not for Idol? She got a role in Dreamgirls on stage because of it, and that opened all her doors. She left pretty early, no?

I really don’t think the general viewing audience cares if the Idol is a success. They’re happy to move on to the next one.

An argument can be made that the show is stale and it will run it’s course. But after 10 years, that’s no more shocking than Pia’s boot.

I know that the American public is the easiest to blame because we voted accordingly. But, before the judges and everyone else starts blaming the voters, they should really take a long look at the Idol machine and how the producers portrayed or didn’t portray Pia. We knew nothing about her really. I know Nigel pushes the swaybots and does ridiculous stage rushes etc. for the guys. But, Pia’s only spotlight WAS her singing. I don’t think that was compelling enough for the voters. She was soooo consistent, but she was consistently stuck in the 90s and not identifiable as an artist. People vote for their favorites. That has never changed. Simon’s gift was that he pointed out people’s uniqueness and REALLY challenged them to be identifiable artists. He didn’t just tell people they were beautiful, sounded beautiful and were amazingly beautiful.

See, but I don’t know ANYONE who looks at Idol as “who is going to be a star after?” Everyone that I know that watches the show – family, friends – watches, picks their favorite, votes like mad, and then forgets they exist. For real.

Exactly. Most of the people I know who watch get all worked up over the show, but once it ends couldn’t tell you the name of anyone who won, much less those who were competing.

So, are you saying Cloris Leachman and Brisol Palin’s runs show that DWTS doesn’t really limit the votes? (I don’t get what you’re saying those two show about voting – sorry. I really don’t understand why the two shows have different policies, but I guess what you’re saying is that they don’t? I thought they did and wondered why AI thinks it’s to their advantage NOT to limit votes and DWTS thinks it’s to their advantage to do so. Does everyone pretty much agree, then, that unlimited voting significantly skews the results?)

My point was that limiting votes doesn’t necessarily mean the best dancer advances.

I don’t think Idol will limit votes because of their financial relationship with AT&T.

pj says:
04/08/2011 at 10:40 am

It’s 100 in Alabama. J/K. It’s far more than 100 and Nigel will choose AT&T over the next Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson as long as the show is #1 and they get the big $$$ for ads. It is a TV show, primarily.

Heh – I’m one of the Alabama ladies and I voted for Haley and Lauren. I’m the one assigned to vote for girls – guess I’m the one to blame ;)

And ITA with the rest – Nigel couldn’t care less about album sales. It’s all about the teevee show and the revenue it generates.

Is there anyone who is of the opinion that limiting the votes would NOT significantly change the outcomes?

People will still have their voting habits. Limiting the voting to 50 votes per person doesn’t mean that everyone will vote 50 times. There will still be those who will say that they didn’t vote at all, because their votes don’t count, those who vote once or twice, and those who will use all 50 of their alloted votes. And we would still have the people who only vote by phone, who will complain about the people who decide to use their 50 votes by voting both on the phone and online.

Why, oh why, do people think that male viewers vote for the female contestants? Do male music listeners make up the majority of fans of Celine, Whitney and Mariah? It would really shock me if the kind of music that Pia sang appeals to the average male.

But, before the judges and everyone else starts blaming the voters, they should really take a long look at the Idol machine and how the producers portrayed or didn’t portray Pia. We knew nothing about her really. I know Nigel pushes the swaybots and does ridiculous stage rushes etc. for the guys. But, Pia’s only spotlight WAS her singing.

ITA. I posted in the recap thread that I blame Nigel as well, because he keeps pimping the boys. In all the behind-the-scenes clips, recaps, he’s been pulling strings for Scotty, James, Casey. They make it seem like they have SOO much personality, whereas the girls have none. NIGEL, STOP THAT, THEY DON’T NEED IT! They’re dudes, they already have an advantage.

Why, oh why, do people think that male viewers vote for the female contestants? Do male music listeners make up the majority of fans of Celine, Whitney and Mariah?

I just know the male viewers I know loved Pia. They also liked Kat, Carrie, and wondered in recent seasons why there haven’t been a pretty girl in the top finalists. I’m not kidding, I was surprised to hear that too. I feel like almost all female finalists every season are pretty. But I guess guys have a different scale… or something.

So I’ve thought it a bit earlier this season, but I’ll finally say it with meaning. I.MISS.SIMON. When he skewered the contestants, the public either agreed and kicked them off, or got indignant and voted against Simon to save someone. If Simon had been around to be mean to Pia, people would’ve cared about her more, or maybe she would’ve improved more. If Simon had called out Stefano, or Paul, or Jacob, or even James’ mediocre vocals for weeks now, maybe they would’ve improved, or been kicked out. I don’t know, but I’m a bit sick of the judging.

How many times did they say Pia had tried out when Simon was still a judge?

ETA: I have no real feelings about Simon being on the judges panel or not. He has is own agenda just like everyone else.

Why, oh why, do people think that male viewers vote for the female contestants? Do male music listeners make up the majority of fans of Celine, Whitney and Mariah? It would really shock me if the kind of music that Pia sang appeals to the average male.

I know, right? One will find the fans of female artists tend towards the female demo and, not to stereotype my own, gay men. Almost all gay men I know love them big voice diva’s, while the straight guys I know tend to be indifferent or downright mocking towards them. Don’t look to the male demographic to save female contestants like Pia or Thia.

How many times did they say Pia had tried out when Simon was still a judge?

How far did Pia make it?

I just think Nigel + Simon when Simon cared are a good combo. I’m not saying Simon doesn’t have an agenda, but even with his agenda, except for his last season or so when he’s been tuned out, it seems to have made for a more interesting season.

And JMHO, but her voice isn’t in the same league as Kelly or Carrie (or even JHud or Crystal for that matter).

Pia may not be in the same range, i wouldn’t say league, as Kelly or JHud for sure, but I think she’s definitely a bigger voice than Carrie. Carrie’s voice can be quite thin though high. In fact, I would say Pia is along the same range as Jordin.

I doubt Pia’s elimination had much to do with power voting. She was widely proclaimed to be the front runner, along with Scotty, so her fans got complacent and didn’t vote much. The same thing happened with Casey.
I voted for two hours-with my phone and online, for Paul and Haley. I don’t text cause I don’t have AT&T. It’s boring and tedious and I have a life, too. Any of Pia’s fans who did this for her have every right to be upset that she was voted out. I’m seeing a lot of shocked posts and tweets from people who never voted for Pia or voted only a few times.
Part of the blame should go to the ridiculous cheerleading from the judges this year. Simon would have given Pia some strong criticism for her boring, old fashioned pageant performing style, alerting her fans that she needed their votes.

My point was that limiting votes doesn’t necessarily mean the best dancer advances.
I don’t think Idol will limit votes because of their financial relationship with AT&T.

Got it – thank you.

I see that many people think that Pia got eliminated because unlimited voting skews the vote to the guys and many others
think she got voted out more “legitimately” because she failed to connect with enough viewers.

I was wondering what AI’s “defense” would be for unlimited voting (and I thought they might argue that it doesn’t significantly change the outcome). Leachman and Palin’s “success,” then, I guess could be used to argue that limiting votes wouldn’t necessarily change the percieved “fairness” problem. (I don’t have a “stand” yet – I’m just trying to figure out how much unlimited voting changes results and wondering what long-time viewers think.)

Only a small % of the Idol audience ever buys any of the music these folks put out. Most people vote for them for a variety of reasons and forget about them completely when the season is over.It’s just been obvious for the past four years that the voting is heavily weighted in favor of white guys.I don’t see anything that will change that. So without a doubt a white dude will be winning this year’s season of Idol. I just want to see how far Haley and Lauren go. Could we have a top 5 without a single girl?

Pia may not be in the same range, i wouldn’t say league, as Kelly or JHud for sure, but I think she’s definitely a bigger voice than Carrie. Carrie’s voice can be quite thin though high. In fact, I would say Pia is along the same range as Jordin.

Vocal tone is more important than range, as long as the range is decent. It don’t think that Pia has a pleasing or unique tone.

How far did Pia make it?

No clue how far she made it, I just remember it being said.
Maybe there was a reason she was not put thur in the past by Simon. What did he see or not see? (Not that Simon’s views are the best all the time.) Which seasons did she try out?
Anyway I’m now team Haley FTW! This Alabama 42 y/o female is going to power vote for Haley form here on out!! (She is my fav girl after Kendra and Lauren T did not make it)
ETA: My power voting is really just voting till I get bored on the phone. (normally about 1 hour)

Nigel continues to be defensive about the crappy job the judges are doing…

Dizzyfeet
I am still shocked and sad about last night’s #AmericanIdol result. I guess that’s going to happen every week now!!?
33 minutes ago

Dizzyfeet
RT @adambonin: Then have the judges make clear who deserves to leave. [IT IS NOT ABOUT THE JUDGES OPINION IT'S ABOUT YOURS!! U R NOT SHEEP!]

“You would think I would know better since I have been watching Idol since the first season. Pia was one of my favorites but I didn’t vote for her last night because I thought my other favorite needed my votes more after being in the bottom 3. ”

This. I mentioned this in the results thread, but I voted for PIA nonstop for 2 hours online, and I usually don’t vote at all, precisely because the playing field was so even (no wonky or breakout performances wed nite), and so many had been in the B3 already, that I figured everyone would vote for their favorite in-danger contestant and foresake those that they assumed safe, especially if that safe contestant were female and middle of the lineup (Pia). Didn’t Michael Johns go out the same way? (only his season had many other worthy contestants.)

I’d expect the viewership to realize how this works by now, 10 seasons in. But it’s probably the same brain freeze that causes people to sell their stocks & homes when prices are low and buy stocks & homes when are high.

Speaking of conventional wisdom, I wonder if the claim of cougars-and-tweens power-voting-for-men is backed up by research and statistics? I am a mid-40s female with teen kids, and my favs on AI have almost always been women. Same can be said of my kids, my female friends, and my kids female friends. We loved Crystal last year, Kradison in AI8, the 3 divas of AI3, and Kelly/Tamyra/Christina of AI1. I didn’t watch the other seasons, but Melinda, Jordin, Brooke, and Bo stand out to me from reviewing YT vids. I think Pia, Haley, Lauren, Thia, Naima, Kendra, Lauren T, even Julie brought much more to the table than ANY of these top 13 boys did (though I thought Robbie was good). So far to me these boys have been 1-hit wonders – famous for turning in a single good performance – whereas the girls were either consistent or growing.

Most of the people I know who watch get all worked up over the show, but once it ends couldn’t tell you the name of anyone who won, much less those who were competing.

Heh, like my sister who was really pissed that Pia went out… she just remembered last night that she was really pissed when *Tamyra* went out and asked, “What is she up to?” Seriously, first time she’s thought about her since she was outraged that she got “voted off.” And that was a looooong time ago…

I doubt Pia’s elimination had much to do with power voting.

I think it 100% has to do with power voting. I’m not advocating limiting votes, I think if someone wants to call in for two hours straight and register 200 votes, fine, the show has always been like that and it isn’t the people voting 200 times causing the problems. It is the people voting 10,000 times through text voting. My gut tells me the people voting 10,000 times almost universally are voting for male contestants. What has happened is that the people who were once 200 times more powerful than the average voter are now 10,000 times more powerful. Lets say there are 1,000 of those power texters out there. They are able to get in 10,000,000 votes! Eliminate text votes and those voters are only able to make 200,000 votes. That is 1/4 of the votes last night. 1/4 of the votes that probably contain very few votes for the women. Even if they are ahead in the other 3/4 of the vote it probably isn’t enough to make up for the fact that they are missing out from a huge chunk of the votes. I firmly believe it is why 7 of the 9 top 3 contestants the past three years have been male, and why the last two seasons 4 of the top 5 are male, with this season soon to join them probably.

I saw this on Usatoday. I really think this could be the real reason Pia fell. Steven has only himself to blame:

From a comment:
“Steven Tyler damned her when he mentioned that all the guys in all the bars in America were thinking about her. Those guys’ girlfriends and wives are the majority of voters.”

Didn’t Michael Johns go out the same way? (only his season had many other worthy contestants.)

I think so. I know Cook had a rough night and his fans freaked out (including me – and many of his fans, also including me, also liked Michael Johns) and correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Carly also have a bad night? I can’t remember. Just remember being worried about Cook… figured MJ was safe… oops!

Nigel continues to be defensive about the crappy job the judges are doing…

Dizzyfeet
I am still shocked and sad about last night’s #AmericanIdol result. I guess that’s going to happen every week now!!?
33 minutes ago

Dizzyfeet
RT @adambonin: Then have the judges make clear who deserves to leave. [IT IS NOT ABOUT THE JUDGES OPINION IT'S ABOUT YOURS!! U R NOT SHEEP!]

Well he is right! People are actually complaining that the judges aren’t telling them who to go home, I never thought I would see the day lol!

Nigel may not care about album sales and only wants good TV so he pimps his favorites, but I have to wonder what the UMG people are thinking right about now. I’d make a safe bet they’re going to care a whole lot about who they end up signing and if they can be marketable.

They’re dudes, they already have an advantage.

Yeah.. a penis lol. Bah. Seriously I’ve been voting for BOTH Pia AND James but James has been getting most of my votes. I have voted for her though, and I voted for Kelly, Carrie and Melinda in the past.

“Steven Tyler damned her when he mentioned that all the guys in all the bars in America were thinking about her. Those guys’ girlfriends and wives are the majority of voters.”

That’s not very flattering to women voters, lol. And over-simplifying, I’m quite sure. Kinda hard for me to understand outrage “Oh, nobody will vote for a girl! Sexist America!” but in the same breath “Women are mindless harpies who won’t vote for a girl because they are jealous!” I mean, I’m sure some shallow women won’t vote for her because she’s hot but…

Plain and simple her fans were not passionate enough to vote and vote, my favorites are still there, end of story. Not so shocking

Just read what Nigel wrote, we are NOT sheep and if I had voted as the judges wanted me too, at first, Haley would be long gone. America votes as they want and she is gone, I was shocked but – oh well, dont vote and get complacent and this is what happens. The teens I am around and 20 somethings are into Casey and Haley – I hope someone unique and different wins this year, not the belter or the guitar player.

Well he is right! People are actually complaining that the judges aren’t telling them who to go home, I never thought I would see the day lol!

I’m glad I’m not alone here in being COMPLETELY puzzled why people are mad that the judges aren’t telling them who to vote for?!

I think it 100% has to do with power voting.

We’ve seen it right here in the comments that people liked Pia but few have said they were voting their fingers off for her. So she was up there in the top tier for a lot of people but didn’t seem to inspire any sort of passionate voting, or people weren’t worried about her so threw votes at someone else. Plus a lot of people said “I don’t power vote so I didn’t bother because my 5 votes won’t count” so… nothing to offset the people power voting for boys. If that makes any sense. I’m tired lol.

“It is the people voting 10,000 times through text voting.”

Wow. I did not know that was possible. Does it take hours to do that or just minutes?Does AT&T makes money off each and every one of the 10,000 or just from the sale of unlimited texting plans? Because if it’s the latter,
then there’s NO reason – not even short-term profit – not to limit texts, is there?

Nigel may not care about album sales and only wants good TV so he pimps his favorites, but I have to wonder what the UMG people are thinking right about now.

People have discussed whether Pia is marketable or not, and if she is only a big voice diva it is likely that UMG were not interested. This not the kind of artist that do well in the current climate.

gangreen29: Well he is right! People are actually complaining that the judges aren’t telling them who to go home, I never thought I would see the day lol!

Haha, thank you for saying this. ITA.

I don’t think most of the blame is on the judges because I think the voters would’ve done this no matter what. But the judges should still be doing better and showing us they understand the difference between the top of the pack (which should’ve included Pia) and the rest of the pack.

The point of that tweet to Nigel is that the judges are not doing the job they are paid for — which is to CRITIQUE the performers. They aren’t doing their jobs.

Now I agree with Nigel that the voters should not be sheep and blindly do what the judges say. But is it too much to ask that these so-called professionals actually do what they are paid to do? Otherwise, what is the point of even having judges on the show? If they are simply going to praise mediocre performances as “perfect, beautiful, flawless”, etc, we might as well just have the contestants perform on a stage with no judges — and even no studio audience — and let the viewers pick who they want to.

Wow. I did not know that was possible. Does it take hours to do that or just minutes?Does AT&T makes money off each and every one of the 10,000 or just from the sale of unlimited texting plans? Because if it’s the latter,
then there’s NO reason – not even short-term profit – not to limit texts, is there?

The power texters I would think have unlimited texting plans or it would get VERY expensive lol. It does take the whole two hours to get that many out, but texting is sooo much faster because you can send them out in bundles and there is no busy signals like on phone lines. The only reason I can see from the shows perspective is that they want to crow about the 55 million votes, but who cares about that if it is damaging your brand?

I do think the judges can step up a bit, but like windmills just said up thread the voters would have done this anyway. It wasn’t this judging panel that made the top 5 the last two seasons 4 out of 5 males.

I initially got my unlimited texting plan 2 weeks before the AI 7 finale and I actually saved my bill that came in as a result of the powervoting I did Top 2 night because it was that hilarious. Especially in a 4 hour voting window, you better believe you can get thousands in. Texting is WAY easier than phone voting.

How far did Pia make it?

Pia auditioned twice before and made it to the Hollywood rounds before getting cut in Season 6.

People for some reasons seem to think that Simon Cowell would necessary say what they think. The fact is more likely that he might do it once in a while (but do it in a memorable way with his little bon mots), but more often than not, he has been wrong and said nothing constructive.

Anyway I’m now team Haley FTW! This Alabama 42 y/o female is going to power vote for Haley form here on out!! (She is my fav girl after Kendra and Lauren T did not make it)

Sorry to say. She will also go home. Remember, a MALE winner has been crowned since 2008. At this point, I would not be at all surprised if a male winner is crowned AGAIN in May. With Haley, its just a matter of time until its her time to leave the show.

That’s not very flattering to women voters, lol. And over-simplifying, I’m quite sure. Kinda hard for me to understand outrage “Oh, nobody will vote for a girl! Sexist America!” but in the same breath “Women are mindless harpies who won’t vote for a girl because they are jealous!” I mean, I’m sure some shallow women won’t vote for her because she’s hot but…

Seriously. Enough with this bullshit already. That’s right, out in Idol-viewing-land, we’re nothing but a bunch of fat housewives simultaniously voting frantically for our age inappropriate sexual fantasy guys, while we stick pins in the voodoo dolls we’ve made for the “hot chicks”.

This is what we really think of women in America? All these stupid words like cougars, fraun, sparkle cows are just sexist and rude.

Pia’s ouster is no referendum on how women feel about other women. It’s a TV talent show for crying out loud. Her “shocking” elimination is indicative of absolutely nothing more than the fact that all of her “outraged” fans didn’t vote enough.

And, I’d like to know, amongst all of the reporters putting the blame on middle aged women and tween girls, how many votes did those reporters throw Pia’s way on wednesday night? My guess would be none.

Todrick Hall: American Idol will once again produce another flop and X Factor is going to put them out of business!

Gotta love Todrick!

Nigel may not care about album sales and only wants good TV so he pimps his favorites, but I have to wonder what the UMG people are thinking right about now.

People have discussed whether Pia is marketable or not, and if she is only a big voice diva it is likely that UMG were not interested. This not the kind of artist that do well in the current climate.

I’d be interested to know who is left in this crew that UMG thinks is a viable commercial prospect in the current climate.

I see no pop stars here. I see one rocker who is not as good of a singer/showman as a previous contestant. I see a guy who can smile and will have some sort of indie career, but really cannot sing. I see a jazz guy. I see a growling girl who’s kind of interesting, but cannot imagine hearing on the radio. I see two youngsters who will try to break into country – a fairly tough row to hoe for kids. I see an over-the-top gospel singer. I see a cruise ship singer.

I wonder what UMG sees?

The only reason I can see from the shows perspective is that they want to crow about the 55 million votes, but who cares about that if it is damaging your brand?

Ah. Thank-you gangreen29. Damaging the brand. That’s exactly what I meant when I talked about this being a singer’s version of the American Dream. If there isn’t a chance to be a star after the show, then what’s the point? Sure, there’s lots of people who watch the show and then zone out on the contestants, but if the show doesn’t open doors and give the contestants a chance to score a music career, then… ?? Why do it? AI has to at least continue to give that chance to the contestants. And if there are no records sold year after year.. then why is Sony or UMG or any other company interested in signing these peeps?

My gut tells me the people voting 10,000 times almost universally are voting for male contestants. What has happened is that the people who were once 200 times more powerful than the average voter are now 10,000 times more powerful.

I agree, except I still think the text voting is a small percentage of the overall voting—only AT&T users can text, the majority of viewers cannot text vote. I do think that power voters, which includes the small percentage of text voters, mainly consists of those who maniacal dial of all phone lines, cell phones, and childrens’ cell phones for 2 hours, and they skew heavily towards AI voters who vote exclusively for males. I just think if casual voters are riled up to vote their 5 or 10 votes though, then power voters won’t win. For whatever reason, the last couple seasons, casual voters have dropped off precipitously, while power voters have increased their power and influence.

Her “shocking” elimination is indicative of absolutely nothing more than the fact that all of her “outraged” fans didn’t vote enough.

And, I’d like to know, amongst all of the reporters putting the blame on middle aged women and tween girls, how many votes did those reporters throw Pia’s way on wednesday night? My guess would be none.

I think that is the problem. It seems the only demographic voting with significance anymore is women and tweens who vote for men.

4 of the 5 women voted off (Naima the exception) were boring. Pia was just the last of the pageant bots. Ashton, Karen, Thia gave the same type performance as Pia and the voters didn’t keep them either.

The guys aren’t better singers but all are more interesting. Even cheesy Stefano and diva Jacob are fun to talk about, Paul even more so.

I expect the performances to either step up in the excitement level or more front runners (Casey? Lauren?) leave early.

Wow. So everyone is responsible for Pia’s ouster except Pia and those folks who adored her and wanted her to win but failed to vote for her enough (or at all.) Alrighty then. Personal responsibility dips to an all time low via American Idol 10 results show and subsequent aftermath. lol

More outrage, disgust and discussion = more buzz for AI. Business as usual. :-)

P.S. And an enthusiastic high five to SpenserJ!

I think that is the problem. It seems the only demographic voting with significance anymore is women and tweens who vote for men.

I know that’s the general theory, but I have a few problems with it. If it’s only women voting, and they only vote for men, how do any of these chicks make it past the Top 12 in the first place?

Also, from what I can tell, most of the outrage today about these damn other-women-hating female voters is actually coming from women. LOL – damn bitches just can’t make up their minds :).

I’m glad I’m not alone here in being COMPLETELY puzzled why people are mad that the judges aren’t telling them who to vote for?!

I don’t want the judges to tell me who to vote for, but I do want them to judge the contestants and give them feedback. That feedback should include constructive criticism as well as recognition for what they do well. Giving everyone an A+++++ is not my idea of judging. I don’t want Simon’s insults but you can give constructive criticism without being obnoxious.

I was offended by the judges response last night and blaming the voters. Honestly, if it is truly about what America wants and America voted – who are they to say we are wrong? Insult your audience? Let’s see what that does to your ratings.

Having said all that, I do think it was too soon for Pia to leave. I think there are many contributing factors here. I’d love to see them change to voting system to something more fair. Would that have changed the results? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

I am an older female. I have voted for the girls as well as the guys when I vote (which is not very often.) I base my voting on the performances that I like not on who I consider to be “hot”. I am sure I am not the only one.

Remember, a MALE winner has been crowned since 2008. At this point, I would not be at all surprised if a male winner is crowned AGAIN in May.

Yep. My guess is we’re going to have another WGWG.

I know that’s the general theory, but I have a few problems with it. If it’s only women voting, and they only vote for me, how do any of these chicks make it past the Top 12 in the first place?

It’s not all black or white.

When you say that there is a bias in the voting, it doesn’t mean that there’s 100% of the women voting against women or voting for cute guys.

If there’s 25%, that’s already an uphill climb for any girl on this show to have more votes than the guys.

You don’t need to have all girls eliminated first to establish that there’s a bias in the votings.

The fact that Angela Merkel was elected as chancellor doesn’t mean that women have as good as a chance to become the leader of their country as men do. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while

I am an older female. I have voted for the girls as well as the guys when I vote (which is not very often.) I base my voting on the performances that I like not on who I consider to be “hot”. I am sure I am not the only one.

You are not alone

.

P.S. And an enthusiastic high five to SpenserJ!

Right back at ya! :)

Yep. My guess is we’re going to have another WGWG.

I respectfully say: so what? Even if that happens, I just don’t think it really matters much at all. By Season 11, the bulk of the viewing audience will have forgotten who won Season 10 anyway (until they’re reminded when said winner returns to sing a mediocre single that they won’t buy).This show is enjoyed by about 20 million people. Only a small fraction of a percent of them, plus some bloggers and TV reporters actually have any interest in these contestants after the finale.

Maybe I’m alone, but honestly, Mayor McCheese could win this thing, and I’d still watch next year. I can’t help it. It’s one of my favorite shows :).

Maybe I’m alone, but honestly, Mayor McCheese could win this thing, and I’d still watch next year. I can’t help it. It’s one of my favorite shows .

SpenserJ FTW!Oh, and it seems lots of Bama girls are on Team Growl now! Woot!

Sorry to say. She will also go home. Remember, a MALE winner has been crowned since 2008. At this point, I would not be at all surprised if a male winner is crowned AGAIN in May. With Haley, its just a matter of time until its her time to leave the show.

You obviously underestimate the power of Bama girls. ;-) Team Growl!!!

ETA: And yeah, I may have only voted 20-30 times for Haley, but she’s safe.

That’s right, out in Idol-viewing-land, we’re nothing but a bunch of fat housewives simultaniously voting frantically for our age inappropriate sexual fantasy guys, while we stick pins in the voodoo dolls we’ve made for the “hot chicks”.

Wow. I thought I was the only one like this. You mean, there are others as BSC as I am? That makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Mayor McCheese for the win! (I think that means I’m for Stephano now).

Oh, and it seems lots of Bama girls are on Team Growl now! Woot!

Fabulous :). We need more on the team, because I’m too lazy to power-vote. I get bored after about 20 LOL.

You don’t need to have all girls eliminated first to establish that there’s a bias in the votings.

I get your point. I too am disappointed to see another girl leave (especially before Mayor McCheese). I’m just not willing to place the blame on middle aged women and tweens. There’s evidence that the theory of them being the power-votes may indeed be true. But, 1. I don’t think American Idol is important enough to get mad about it. and 2. Some of the “theories” about why this may be the case are seriously insulting to women in general.

And, I blame Pia’s ouster on men. The men who were too drunk to vote after their million drinks to her. And, the guys living in their mama’s basement who were too busy playing World of Warcraft.

Okay, let’s say we buy the power voting argument. That the boys are getting through based on the rabid voting of 9 lonely old hags in a basement and 3 tweens at a sleep-over with no parental supervision (bad parents!). That the casual voters 5 votes couldn’t possibly matter.

That doesn’t change the fact the Pia still got the least amount of votes amongst the women. Women, according to the Monday Morning Quarterbacking, that she was far superior to. Women who not only beat Pia, but also managed to stay out of the B3 and get more votes than the much touted “cutest guy” of the year.

I’m not denying that women may have it harder, but there is more going on here than just than maladjusted females power voting for the “cute guys” no matter what angle you look at it from.

I still think Haley and Lauren have done a better job than Pia of connecting to the audience and it shows in them both being in the top 6 for this week. Haley sang in the fearsome number 2 death spot and still skipped to the couches because she has learned to connect. Week-after-week, I keep hearing that Pia, Stefano and Jacob aren’t connecting to the song or the audience. Maybe that is why the three of them found themselves on the silver stools. All three of them have specialized in ballads and songs from the Celine/Whitney/Power Singer catalogue. So, maybe all three split votes of a relatively small demographic. Add in that maybe a large number of Pia’s voters being complacent and it was a recipe for what happened.

And people are griping about the judges not critiquing because:

A) They should do their job and it’s boring to hear everything is “beautiful”

B) People are hoping that if the kids are told what they are doing wrong, they might improve. But, no, we get “No Idol Left Behind”.

C) People are convinced that the rest of the viewing audience are idiots and need to be told who was good.

Given the number of “shock” boots we’ve gotten this year, maybe Nigel and his judging panel needs to accept some criticism. Stop taking lessons from Ken.

I feel so so bad for Stefano. I can’t imagine how he was feeling last night. Poor Stefano has to responsible for this whole mess :(
I am sad that Pia is sent home as well. I kept thinking they were playing April fool joke on me !

I’m not denying that women may have it harder, but there is more going on here than just than maladjusted females power voting for the “cute guys” no matter what angle you look at it from.

Amen to that.

Given the number of “shock” boots we’ve gotten this year, maybe Nigel and his judging panel needs to accept some criticism. Stop taking lessons from Ken.

I think the all-praise, all the time judging is playing a part in the unpredictable results. I think it’s no coincidence that the one single person who received some constructive criticism from Jennifer, was also the person elimnated.

And, I blame Pia’s ouster on men. The men who were too drunk to vote after their million drinks to her. And, the guys living in their mama’s basement who were too busy playing World of Warcraft

My boyfriend doesn’t watch Idol. He has an unhealthy relationship with some skateboarding show on MTV2. I blame him for Pia’s ouster.

I just tweeted Nigel:
@dizzyfeet In need of more critical words from judges and more contestant centered segments from YOU to be compelled to vote!

I hope he reads it because it’s true. The girls need this more than anyone from the get go. The boys are so identifiable. But, the girls need help for America to be endeared to them. Also, the judges need to REALLY help them become identifiable. Why did they push Haley so hard in that direction but not Pia? All they did was critique Pia’s performances and singing for face value.

My boyfriend doesn’t watch Idol. He has an unhealthy relationship with some skateboarding show on MTV2. I blame him for Pia’s ouster.

My husband and son were at baseball practice. So, add them to the blame pool. If they had been home, voting for the hot chick, this would never have happened.

Why did they push Haley so hard in that direction but not Pia? All they did was critique Pia’s performances and singing for face value.

Haley got her share of criticism, and she took what the judges said and fought. Maybe too much. I personally think she needs to tone down the growl. Pia blew off the judges’ critques about the ballads until this week. And she still sang in the same style. I think the idea that she was coasting hurt her.

My husband and son were at baseball practice. So, add them to the blame pool. If they had been home, voting for the hot chick, this would never have happened.

I question your husband’s priorities!

I see no pop stars here. I see one rocker who is not as good of a singer/showman as a previous contestant. I see a guy who can smile and will have some sort of indie career, but really cannot sing. I see a jazz guy. I see a growling girl who’s kind of interesting, but cannot imagine hearing on the radio. I see two youngsters who will try to break into country – a fairly tough row to hoe for kids. I see an over-the-top gospel singer. I see a cruise ship singer.

I totally agree. LOL I wonder what Jimmy thinks about “getting sold a bill of goods”? I don’t believe things are shaking out how he would want them to, despite his omnipotent musical knowledge. He probably thought this was going to be easy.

Pia blew off the judges’ critques about the ballads until this week. And she still sang in the same style. I think the idea that she was coasting hurt her.

Completely agree. I said yesterday that I thought Pia had all the tools to make a go at a successful pop career, but I didn’t think she necessarily had what it takes to win this particular show. I still feel that way. She wasn’t going to win – she just wasn’t playing the game well. So, the shock boot thing may actually be a positive for her. She wouldn’t be getting this much attention if she had gone out in 4th.

Pia blew off the judges’ critques about the ballads until this week. And she still sang in the same style. I think the idea that she was coasting hurt her.

I agree. But, I think the judges should have focused less on ballads versus up-tempo and really should have challenged Pia to identify herself as an artist. They did that with Haley and she picked a style. Pia’s style was so non-descript. It was just…”I sing, I’m beautiful, I will just stand here and let you be the judge.”

I totally agree. LOL I wonder what Jimmy thinks about “getting sold a bill of goods”? I don’t believe things are shaking out how he would want them to, despite his omnipotent musical knowledge. He probably thought this was going to be easy.

He’s probably like all of the other fame-whores on reality television – just happy that he gets to be on TV every week :).

I question your husband’s priorities!

I know – it’s shameful. I shall go buy some shoes to punish him.

1. I don’t think American Idol is important enough to get mad about it. and 2. Some of the “theories” about why this may be the case are seriously insulting to women in general.

I never meant to imply that what gender balance on reality tv shows is as important as in politics or business but it shocks me how those shows that are watched more by women than men inevitably ends up having a bias towards men.

These shows are watched by women, two times more women go to these auditions than men and at the end we have a show that showcases male talents.

American Idol is the most watched show in america and the message its delivering is that women are not as good as men.

That doesn’t change the fact the Pia still got the least amount of votes amongst the women. Women, according to the Monday Morning Quarterbacking, that she was far superior to. Women who not only beat Pia, but also managed to stay out of the B3 and get more votes than the much touted “cutest guy” of the year.

There’s always a fluctuation in the votes.

Yes, Lauren and Haley had more votes this week than Pia and I’ll guess that Jason beat David Cook in some voting nights and maybee Bo beat Carrie during disco week too.

The problem is that none of that should matter because this should be occuring at a higher level of votes and not matter in terms of who is going home.

I know – it’s shameful. I shall go buy some shoes to punish him.

2 pairs..only one has to be like those 5/6 inch heels Pia kept wearing. Oh, wait. Your hubby might like that. ;)

Valentin432: maybee Bo beat Carrie during disco week too.

For whatever it’s worth Nigel and either Ken Warwick or Simon Lythgoe said Carrie led the votes every week and was way ahead of everybody else. It was in the context of talking about why they don’t reveal votes. They said with s4 it would’ve taken any suspense out of the season.

American Idol is the most watched show in america and the message its delivering is that women are not as good as men.

I understand how disturbing that idea is. Assuming that is the message that’s being delivered, I’m just not sure that most of the viewers are even hearing it.

I never meant to imply that what gender balance on reality tv shows is as important as in politics or business

Oh, I knew that. I was just saying from my own personal perspective, what happens on these elimination shows usually fails to rile me up. (I have some kind of immunity in that department :) ). I don’t mean to imply that the concerns about sexism are invalid at all.

2 pairs..only one has to be like those 5/6 inch heels Pia kept wearing. Oh, wait. Your hubby might like that.

LOL – oh he would all right. Ya’ know, I’m short, and I wear heels often. But even with 20 years of practice, I wouldn’t try to wear heels like Pia’s been wearing. Unless I was sitting down all night, and didn’t need to walk at all.

Still shocked by Pia’s ouster but, several weeks ago, decided to focus my support on our local girl, Haley. If she goes, it’s on to Lauren.

Of the guys, only Paul has any interest for me. I don’t think he’s that great but at least he’s entertaining. A James/Scotty finale, as I’ve been hearing, would be deadly dull for me.

I keep hearing people rave about how this is the best season ever. I don’t think so. To me, it’s among the dullest.

To all the “celebrities” and Idol alums twitter-ranting at the “American Public”…how many of you voted for her?

*Crickets Chirping*

To all the “celebrities” and Idol alums…how many of you voted for her?

*Crickets Chirping*

Kristen Bell tweeted weeks ago a twitpic of her adorable fiance power voting for his favorite American Idol, Pia. And it really was a pic of Dax Shepard power voting. It was cute. So at least one did.

I remember AI5 being “the year of the text.” People were organizing AI texting parties at restaurants and handing out those throwaway phones for people to use to text. There were people stationed to help people who didn’t know how to text. People donated money to be used for phones so that others could text.

It was crazy. I don’t think Taylor Hicks would have won any other way. He had a voracious fan base.

These shows are watched by women, two times more women go to these auditions than men and at the end we have a show that showcases male talents.American Idol is the most watched show in America and the message its delivering is that women are not as good as men.

ITA – I’m not sure what they could do to fix this, unless they start off with 12 men and 12 women and then eliminate 1 man and 1 woman per week until you had 1 man and 1 woman in the finale. BUT….would that set up some sort of battle of the sexes? I wouldn’t want that either.

Perhaps go down to a top four or six (half men and half women) and at that point eliminate one contestant per week based on votes regardless of the gender.

I see some logistical problems with my idea. Time for one, unless the show is a full two hours for the first 8 weeks. Having 24, 22, 20 etc., takes time, unless they do three days per week.

If there are parallel competitions going on, one for the men and one for the women, perhaps more viewers would get invested in the women contestants?

weareallinnocent
Wow. So everyone is responsible for Pia’s ouster except Pia and those folks who adored her and wanted her to win but failed to vote for her enough (or at all.)
SpenserJ
Her “shocking” elimination is indicative of absolutely nothing more than the fact that all of her “outraged” fans didn’t vote enough.

I’ve read every post on this thread and last night’s elim. ep. thread and the I think the above two posters have said it the best.

Dizzyfeet?I am still shocked and sad about last night’s #AmericanIdol result. I guess that’s going to happen every week now!!?

Yes, Nigel. Someone does get eliminated every week. I’m surprised you of all people didn’t know this.

Watching this whole chorus of rage in response to Pia’s outster has been exactly like watching the Archuleta girls’ video from the S7 finale. Equally entertaining as well.

Finally, in all the expressions of moral outrage over perceived gender/beauty/judgery/texting bias, I’ve yet to see evidence of some illusive device that physically prevented potential voters from entering Pia’s number into a cell phone or computer keyboard. This is amazing but could be really big when and if they find it.

I’m guessing Pia was 4th or 5th from the bottom for the last couple of weeks (actually there’s not a whole lot of difference with the entire bottom 5 or so) and when her “up tempo” performance fell flat and the casual voters abandoned her. She is not connecting as well or showing much of a growth arc as as the remaining women. To me, Pia is a grown up version of Thia — her talent and personality is inaccessible or at least enough to inspire strangers to vote for her.

Lauren had the benefit of early pimping and Haley’s fighting harder (still not a fan, but she’s more interesting to follow).

There’s some sort of gender bias, but it’s not the entire story. If they want a woman winner, there has to be better casting (they missed it with Lauren T) — these ladies are talented vocalists, but still lacking in distinction (in the beginning) and personality.

Basically they have to find plants.

I dont think its about the sausages, because how do we know whats under there anyhow.

Pia didnt get voted off! There where just 8 other kids that the Idol audience voted for, she just was not one of them.

I am a girl, (well Gram) and I like a good girl as much as a good guy, but they need something interesting, ie, Allison, Haley, even Crystal. Most of the guys just are more entertaining for me for you.

I dont need the judges to tell me what to do, thank you very much, I can choose who I like, but just give the kids some opinions of what will make them better to move forward. Miss Lo. tried with Pia, but too little too late.

Nigel isnt pro guys, heck hes had at least 2 winners on SYTYCD that were girls. What could he have done with Pia to make her special, send a bunch of teeny boys up on stage to hug and scream over her!!!!!

Someone gets sent home every week, Pia hit it this week, no biggie, she wasnt going to win, she saw to that, nothing special there, and had she stayed a couple more weeks, we just would have heard more boring ballads, she was let down, but so were the girls before her, I hope she succeeds in whatever she whats to do.

It was crazy. I don’t think Taylor Hicks would have won any other way.

Don’t think text votes would have made a lot of difference then – text votes only accounted for ~11% of the total votes in Season 5.

Nigel isnt pro guys, heck hes had at least 2 winners on SYTYCD that were girls. What could he have done with Pia to make her special, send a bunch of teeny boys up on stage to hug and scream over her!!!!!

Yes and to get two of these three girls, he had to pimp them week in and week out and ask for his audience to vote for them instead of the cute guys.

That has happened in a lot of these shows all over the world.

can anybody who’s putting forth the argument that no, it’s not because they are females thats contributing to their eliminations, but because pia and the rest of the girls were nothing special, boring, generic, not vocally good enough blahde blah explain to me how the heck lee dewyze was able to win or that tim urban was able to make it further? seriously, i’m just baffled.

Kristen Bell tweeted weeks ago a twitpic of her adorable fiance power voting for his favorite American Idol, Pia. And it really was a pic of Dax Shepard power voting. It was cute. So at least one did.

That was all kinds of cute. I totally remember that.

can anybody who’s putting forth the argument that no, it’s not because they are females thats contributing to their eliminations, but because pia and the rest of the girls were nothing special, boring, generic, not vocally good enough blahde blah explain to me how the heck lee dewyze was able to win or that tim urban was able to make it further? seriously, i’m just baffled.

Lee stunk up the Idol stage for sure. I didn’t get it. I did eventually hear some of his pre-Idol music and it was really, really good.

Timmeh did the knee slide. Nuff said. ;-)

I don’t know that anyone said she wasn’t good enough vocally. If she was competing for the girl vote (if there is such a thing) then she failed in that she was too shy/uncomfortable showing her personality, didn’t choose her songs wisely, and had no real strategy.

Timmeh did the knee slide. Nuff said.

LOL! THAT is what we are missing this year. Where’s the *slide*? Flaming pianos just don’t cut it, give us a slide!

can anybody who’s putting forth the argument that no, it’s not because they are females thats contributing to their eliminations, but because pia and the rest of the girls were nothing special, boring, generic, not vocally good enough blahde blah explain to me how the heck lee dewyze was able to win or that tim urban was able to make it further? seriously, i’m just baffled.

That whole season last year was bad. It was just a bad crop of amateur talent.

The gender bias exists because the so called American public is really just American girls/women from the ages of…etc.

Also, it’s the production of AI in general that contributes or doesn’t contribute to the way we perceive the contestants. Why do we perceive the girls as lackluster, boring etc.? Major lack of pimpage! And from the girls…all except Lauren are kind of confusing as far as what type of record they’ll eventually put out.

What can AI do to expand the voting demographic? And restrict the crazies from power voting with their cougar claws and teeny bopper tinglies! We need thoughtful voters and better, contestant centered production!

For me Lee wore his heart on his sleeve every single performance!

I did eventually hear some of his pre-Idol music and it was really, really good.

I love LIU, but his best work really is his pre-idol stuff. The same can be said for Paul this year, if you have not listened to his band check out MJ’s post about the Cloud stuff. Paul posted The Grand Magnolias album there.

People are going to think the show is completely rigged

They wouldn’t rig it to oust Pia.

explain to me how the heck lee dewyze was able to win or that tim urban was able to make it further? seriously, i’m just baffled.

I have no logical explanation why Lee won. Maybe because Simon convinced America that Lee was actually singing on key when he wasn’t? Maybe he worked that nurturing complex that some viewers have where they feel the need to mother these guys (Taylor and Cook had a lot of those). Ya’ know, like every time he came out looking terrified, they voted even more furiously? I’d need to find out if any of them are bringing him cough medicine or stuffed animals to his tour stops to be sure though.

It certainly wasn’t because of the “hawt guy” theory.

I feel so so bad for Stefano. I can’t imagine how he was feeling last night. Poor Stefano has to responsible for this whole mess :(
I am sad that Pia is sent home as well. I kept thinking they were playing April fool joke on me !

I agree. I’m probably in the minority, but I feel like the judges were incredibly rude towards the other contestants. They were basically saying ‘it should have been you.’ I mean, I loved Pia and thought she could make final 2 or at least final 3. But at the same time, I don’t appreciate the judges telling me I was wrong. I only vote for James, so is that ‘the wrong choice’ because I didn’t vote for Pia? I understand people’s anger, but I’m still wondering who do they think should have gone home? I would have been fine with Jacob going home. I feel bad for Pia because she totally deserved to be there. But I feel bad that the judges were so rude to Stefano and now he’s taking the blame. I’ve also heard many people say the judges wasted the “save.” That must make Casey feel horrible. So I guess I understand, I just think the anger is a little misplaced. I do wish Pia all the success in the world and I hope she gets a record deal. I’m just sick of these judges.

It certainly wasn’t because of the “hawt guy” theory.

What, you don’t like the “I’m about to shit a brick” look?

Spense, I’m afraid you’re gonna have to turn in your cougar card. Tsk. Tsk.

Let me defend Taylor Hicks, a perfect example of what makes a winner on “Idol.” First of all Taylor was fun to watch, wacky even, but with the talent to back it up. He had great performances both early in the competition (“Takin’ It To The Streets”) and late (“In The Ghetto”). Only once did he sing an obscure song (“Trouble”) and mixed things up between ballads and uptempo tunes. That’s what makes a winner!

And as for Lee DeWyze, while he did give some bad performances at the end of his Idol run, let’s not forget that he also had some standout performances like “Treat Her Like A Lady” and “The Boxer” that helped him build a fanbase in a year when there wasn’t a lot of high quality competition.

I know it’s said all over these threads, but it wasn’t an all female bottom 3, which pretty much eliminates the AI hates females rhetoric. It really is about the ability to entertain not sing; it’s American Idol not American Singer. Lauren and Haley are left because they are the two females that managed to stir up a reaction, either good or bad. The boys, on the other hand, seem to inspire either a love or hate reaction. The most bland one, Stefano, is the one who has been hanging out in the bottom 3 the most. He is also the best looking one but he just isn’t as interesting. If Idol wants more females in the top 5 or 6 then they need to work on picking more entertaining females for the top 24, not just good looking ones with pretty voices.

Spense, I’m afraid you’re gonna have to turn in your cougar card. Tsk. Tsk.

dang. I was just getting the hang of wearing tight clothes, trowling on my make-up and cruising the local high school for dates.

The judges reactions to this “shocking” elimination are ridiculous. They’ve basically been heaping on such ridiculous over the top praise for each contestant and fail to provide any criticism. If all the contestants were so wonderful and fantastic as the judges say they are, then they should be happy with who they have left. Did they say anything negative towards any of the remaining contestants? The judging this season has been an absolute joke.

can anybody who’s putting forth the argument that no, it’s not because they are females thats contributing to their eliminations, but because pia and the rest of the girls were nothing special, boring, generic, not vocally good enough blahde blah explain to me how the heck lee dewyze was able to win or that tim urban was able to make it further? seriously, i’m just baffled.

Lee won because of some major-pimping from Simon. I honestly do think that some people were influenced by Simon’s opinion. Sure, Lee just sang horribly off-key and looked like he was about to throw-up while pulling up his saggy pants every two seconds and all the other judges panned him, but Simon says he is the best of the night – it must be true. Simon also engineered a moment for Lee and told everybody that singing in key was not important. I blame Simon for Lee.

Tim – Tim was funny and respectful. You never knew what kind of goofy thing he was going to do next, but you knew you were going to laugh. And then, Kara would imply he was mentally challenged and he would cheerfully and respectfully put her in her place. Resulting in the added bonus of it being funny how frustrated the judges were getting. Finally, he was constantly at threat of being voted off so his “fans” (or at least people he entertained) were constantly power voting. In short, he was entertaining and had a motivated fan base.

Pia neither had a powerful judge in her corner (the judges like everybody) or brings the unexpected. Everybody thought she was safe, so complacent (or no) voting.

Of course Lee has girls voting because he was the tv boyfriend, there was even a article about that around top 3 last year that said that most people who was talking about Lee on twitter was talking about his looks.

This show has made Clay, Taylor, Elliott, Blake, Cook, etc. hearthrobs.

You may find them ugly but a lot of other girls were ready to (litteraly) throw their panties on stage for them.

“Lee won because of some major-pimping from Simon. I honestly do think that some people were influenced by Simon’s opinion. Sure, Lee just sang horribly off-key and looked like he was about to throw-up while pulling up his saggy pants very two seconds and all the other judges panned him – it must be true.”

____________

I disagree. Simon was all over Melinda Doolittle and see where that got her. He was dead set against Taylor Hicks and Taylor still won. He was also pimping Danny and Adam and hated Kris and look who won.

And none of the judges ever panned Lee. The worst Lee got was Kara criticising the Chasing Cars song choice and Ellen saying the Lips of an Angel “got a little too pushed”.

Lee won because he inspired more votes than the rest of his competition. It’s quite clear some people do not get Lee’s appeal but those who do get his appeal like him because his singing is like listening to raw emotion – it touches their hearts.

Pia neither had a powerful judge in her corner (the judges like everybody) or brings the unexpected. Everybody thought she was safe, so complacent (or no) voting.

You could say the same thing for every contender, that could have happened with Scotty or James.
It didn’t because those two have dedicated voters who will spend two hours voting for them week in and week out.

You can twist every single thing that happens in the world to make it more “palatable”.

Lee won because he inspired more votes than the rest of his competition. It’s quite clear some people do not get Lee’s appeal but those who do get his appeal like him because his singing is like listening to raw emotion – it touches their hearts.

He touched so many hearts that he couldn’t sell half of the amount of the previous winner who himself couldn’t sell 1/4 of the amount of album of Cook.

No Idol Left Behind judging

LMAO!!

I think the all-praise, all the time judging is playing a part in the unpredictable results. I think it’s no coincidence that the one single person who received some constructive criticism from Jennifer, was also the person elimnated.

When our family saw the judges doing this, particularly on this Wed nite, we all thought AI was taking a play from the Sing-Off’s playbook. Each week, Ben Folds et al would give nothing but praise to every single contestant group, but then give the minutest of criticism to just 1 group (like “you went flat on that high C, but other than that, it was fantastic!”), and next thing you knew, that 1 group were voted out. So there was a cringe of foreboding when we realized that no one but Pia had received even a hint of criticism Wed nite. [But we hoped that it was ppl's lack of exposure to group acapella singing which lead to voting solely based on judges comments, and so wouldn't apply on AI.]

” … when we realized that no one but Pia had received even a hint of criticism Wed nite.”

_________

Stefano was criticised by Randy for being too jerky

“He touched so many hearts that he couldn’t sell half of the amount of the previous winner who himself couldn’t sell 1/4 of the amount of album of Cook.”_____________His fanbase may not be as large as previous winners but it was still enough to give him the win

adamlambert Adam Lambert
Sad to see Pia go. One of the best voices on this season. Makes me think Voters aren’t focusing enough on vocal/musical ability.

Bottom-line is… if you do not have enough believers, you are out. And in American Idol, if you do not have power voters, then you don’t dream so much so you won’t regret your journey be it good or bad and leave on your turn (whether due or not) with the big smile. If the finalist happens to be more that good that he/she is able get the attention of the recording moguls, then it really does not matter if you are ousted earlier than you have expected. The mere fact that one makes it to the final rounds is already a tremendous experience knowing that so many good or even better than those that make it to the top aspirants do not make it at all. And there’s only one and only one reason for that – it’s not time for them to shine.

It’s interesting this comparison between last year’s judging and this year’s judging and the impact it’s having on the contestants and the season.

Last year was a negative, negative crap fest. The judges were either bored, disrespectful or bored. Every contestant except for Lee and Crystal were given contradictory advice, slammed, laughed at, etc. Crystal was pimped but then somewhere along the way lost TPTB and was then given the same crappy advice or dismissively praised. Lee was the only one that skated, pretty much all season. Frustration mounted in the audience -at least this part of the audience ;-) – when he was never called on his pitch, his control, his stage presence, while all the rest of the contestants were told to go country, no rock, no pop or himbo himbo himbo or you can’t sing, etc etc. I really believe when he won, a ton of the audience said to themselves – WTF? This is the best America has to offer? But he was the only one left. The judges had crucified all the other contenders with their lack of encouragement, lack of focus, lack of caring.

And then!!! TBTP can’t explain why S9 was ridiculed as poor talent, lackluster, etc. How can it be that the tour didn’t sell well, that records weren’t sold, blah blah blah. Ah, guys. When you trash the product all season, the public isn’t going to buy.

IMHO this had nothing to do with the talent last year. I’m sorry but this year’s talent is no better. But oh, they are being treated differently, aren’t they?

This year is a 180. Everyone is THE BEST EVAH. Everyone is beautiful. Everything is wonderful. There is very little critical analysis of what’s working and what’s not in a presentation… at least from the judges. There is no clear direction about what they need to do to grow and mature as musical artists. Because there is no need. They are all completely and utterly superb.

But I don’t know if this is working very well either. Because with no push to grow into their roles, these contestants are boring. They all pretty much stay in their wheelhouse, don’t take chances (why should they? they are the BEST EVAH) and are driving me away from the show.

Will this constant pimping of everybody translate into tour tickets and record sales? It will be interesting to see.

I feel so so bad for Stefano. I can’t imagine how he was feeling last night. Poor Stefano has to responsible for this whole mess :(

You know, I was just discussing this with a friend. While neither of us are Stefano fans by any means, he had to feel horrible standing their listening to their shock over losing Pia. Here are all the judges pretty much saying “NO, it shouldn’t have been you, Pia!”, I mean come on. That’s like saying “It should have been you Stefano” or even make Casey feel like his save was wasted.

Yes, I get it, you were sad Pia left. But have some respect for the contestants that are still on there. Guess what, someone is going to have to leave every single week. Maybe give some constructive criticism while you are at it.

Didn’t watch so WTFFFFF :O

gahhh I’m like last in the pool :P

This is a group of 7 excellent singers and 2 very strong artists(Casey and Paul). I don’t think any of them should feel bad for staying. I don’t think the judges should feel bad for not nit picking the other night–no one bombed. There was not an obvious loser this round. Each of these singers appeals to different people and Pia unfortunately was singing big ballads which have been out of style for years. The big Divas still have strong following in the gay community but I don’t know what other demographic she would have captured with what she was singing.
You have to have something that makes you peoples first choice–they usually don’t vote for their 3rd or 4th. She may have been every person in America’s 3rd choice but she needed to be their first. This is why you must step it up at the right moment–you must do something to set yourself apart when you have been coasting in the background. David Cook did this, Kris Allen did this–Pia missed the boat.

Make sure the judges have some constructive to say for each contestant. Save the season. Next year limit the votes.

My point was that limiting votes doesn’t necessarily mean the best dancer advances.

I don’t think Idol will limit votes because of their financial relationship with AT&T.

I agree with the 2nd point unfortunately. I don’t agree that we can compare DWTS to Idol if it were to limit votes. There’s an added part to DWTS that doesn’t apply and that’s the participants are celebrities which changes things. I think if Idol were to limit votes it would at least level the playing field for the most part.

Usually the way they deal with it is to either have the judges pimp or de-pimp singers, the way they’re edited, and singing position (death or pimp spot), lighting, etc. This season it appears that the judges aren’t a part of it and could be why this is happening. I don’t know if the producers thought Pia was safe and didn’t bother supporting her but Lauren and Haley both benefited by pimping. I can tell you that I’m so tired of James getting pushed on us every show.

The show has gotten a lot less interesting for me. I still have Casey but I never thought he was going until the end so once he goes I’m not going to care all that much. It reminds me of season 5 after Chris D left. I didn’t care who won after that.