I still say Phil will the be star of AI6. He will be signed to a major record deal and will record a very successful country albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦not Christian, country. He may have a few Gospel songs on the album; but his goal is country music.

If Phil had opted to focus on country more in the semis (not LeeAnn Rimes, but maybe a male country artist), I think he would lasted longer. He’s the one of this season who grew on me the most but it really hit home when he sang during Country week. I do think he’s got an awesome voice. I don’t know if he has the packaging to be a star, but I will say that country artists tend to look less Hollywood glam and more regular Joe so we’ll see.

As for Blake, he didn’t have the most polished live singing voice but I far prefer his recording voice over Jordin’s (and also Melinda’s even though she was my favorite on the show). Granted, the quality of the AI recordings leaves something to be desired, but I would rather see Melinda live and maybe listen to Blake on the radio or an mp3. That said, based on how Blake has described his recordings so far, it doesn’t sound like something that I would ordinally listen to. I was hoping Blake would do something Maroon 5-ish or maybe jazzy like Jamie Cullum.

That being said, none of this year’s crop caused me to get emotionally invested like last season.

Tony, you’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but I would like to point out that it wasn’t “spaz” and “gimicks” that won over the vast majority of Taylor’s real fans, it was his voice and his musicianship and the way he connected with the music. I think however, that your comment about Taylor emphasizes the problem he (and others) will have in being cast in a particular role on a reality TV show.

American Idol seems to be a double-edged sword. It’s a great stepping stone (yes, I said it) for a career, but it also has a… cheesiness? factor or maybe the sense that it emphasizes the wrong things like churning out instant hits and Hollywood glamour/packaging over musical over substance and artist development (longevity), etc. – IMHO.

That being said, my own feelings about the show have evolved from completely disinterested to obsessed to ambivalent due to a variety of factors, but there does seem to be a weird love/hate attitude about the media and the industry about the AI franchise and the artists that start out on the show. Most media critics remind me of middle school kids: they want to pretend that they are “too cool for school”, but at the same time still like playing Pokemon cards and watching Hannah Montana. In this case, the critics are “too cool for Idol” but have their favorites on the show and get just as invested (and/or disgruntled) about what happens.

From TMZ, Kat’s photo shoot. Looks good.

As for Amy Winehouse – you must be kidding. She’s going to die before she’s 30 years old. That woman is a wreck. I don’t care how much talent you have, when you drink and drug the way she does and she doesn’t give a sh** about anything — I don’t understand that kind of attitude….I think she’s WAY overrated.

IMO Taylor has a few good cuts on his debut album, especially the new one The Right Place. Of course that shmaltzy single, Do I Make you Proud was the pits, but he had to sing that. But the others I’ve heard are pretty good. He’s selling the record, he’s selling his image, he’s going to be around …. but more in the sameness of Clay Aiken….Taylor knows how to tour…my problem with Taylor is he idolizes and sounds like Ray Charles and makes his rocking motions….it’s just too much and Taylor needs to develope his own performance style. If Taylor plays along and listens to the record company, he should do well selling CDs. I just don’t believe a record company gives an artist bad songs so they fail. They certainly let Chris D. do his own thing, and they don’t want Kelly C. to fail. Why would they? They lose money on those artists that fail.
But once the artist has recorded the record, it’s the ARTIST NOT THE COMPANY that has to sell the song.

My Thoughts:

1. After watching Amy Winehouse become successful with her own brand of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“indie soulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , I think the excuse that Taylor isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t as successful as past Idol winners because he isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mainstreamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  enough may not be totally correct. Amy Winehouse has shown that an artist can take an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“old soulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  sounding vibe and mix with a new twist and create a successful career in both sales and critical acclaim. Perhaps if Taylor was given more freedom to create his brand of soul he could have created a more à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“successfulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  niche. Perhaps with his sophomore album

My thoughts too about Amy Winehouse. But shame on Arista for making Taylor include poppier tunes and then never even bothering to release even one song to top 40! They put him in the AC slum and that is definitely not the way to sell records. The record company failed Taylor, not the other way around.

All interesting speculation. Phil=Josh Gracin no more no less.

I hope it’s that easy for Phil to get a gold record. Josh was a good looking guy. During the first several weeks of Idol, Phil received many more comments related to his looks rather his singing. I’m convinced that looks contribute a big part to the appeal of Blake and Chris R. — at least initially.

Still, I like a quote from Randy Jackson in that Entertainment Weekly article: “If records don’t sell, it means the songs are bad.” Hopefully we’ll hear good things from all our favorites going forward.

Tony:
Obviously you are completely bisaed about Blake.

I’m biased about Blake because of the fact that he falls well below the vocal talent of many past contestants and I acknowledge it?

LOL. Alright.

Sanjaya has a chance to be a big world musician.

Using the words ‘Sanjaya’ and ‘musician’ in the same sentence is, well…….BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

“Sanjaya – Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just say that Sanjaya has a LOT of irons in the fire and has a STRONG chance of finding success in a variety of mediums (including music).”

How do you know this? Sanjaya has a chance to be a big world musician and star because of his ethnic background. He needs very good creative management.

“Melinda – I havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t heard zilch. But sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got connections and is a smart cooking on top of all that natural talent. I personally think sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d clean up on Broadway. I hear people are trying to get an Aretha Franklin movie biopic off of the ground. Aretha. Meet Melinda. Melinda. Meet Aretha.”
The Aretha role has been taken by Jennifer Hudson, trust me. Melinda has been doing a lot of traveling overseas in behalf of Idol Gives Back, esp. to Africa. I see her more as an event singer; you know someone who does those high-class private events like political campaigns. She would be smart to sign with 19E because for all the criticism, they know all the right people (Elton, Eric, Sting). If she records, it will be indy. I just don’t see a major label (except Blue Note) taking her because there are so many like her out there.

there is a difference between making a living in show business and being a bona fide star.

Blake’s Cd will do well. From what I’ve read his record is very much anticipated by his fans. Girls love him. Guys think he is cool and talented. His style is current which is important.His voice sounds awesome recorded.
I think I’ve heard in one of his interviews that his CD will include a great mix of electro pop loop based with also classic pop like Maroon 5 and Jamiroquai. This was on the EW Idolatry interview. I think that combination will sell very well.

I agree Jordin should beware of a reprise of Kat’s CD. I dunno what they are going to do with her. It’s going to be hard, she still doesn’t know who she is musically. JMHO.

I don’t know how well Melinda’s cd will do but think she has a good career ahead of her. She has a wonderful voice and a sweet personality. Chris R is borderline for me like Ace was. Very cute with an okay voice but the young girls love him. Phil will do okay in country but not so sure he’ll be a big success. He has a good voice but not much stage presence and doesn’t have the looks that helped Kellie and even Bucky. I’m not sure about Gina. I think she should take the Rent part if it’s still available. Chris Sligh is the one other than Blake that I’m interested in seeing what his cd will contain. I’ve always thought he had the best voice of the guys and that hasn’t changed since I’ve heard some clips from the concert. Jordin is a big question mark for me. The fact that I’ve left her almost to the end says it all for me. I have no idea what they’re going to do with her and think they should beware of a Kat type cd. Lakisha will probably do okay but I don’t have any interest in the type of songs she does.

If Blake had decided to sign with Clive and was willing to compromise, then I would have said Blake would be a major hit outselling Jordin. He has all the right elements. He has a unique sensibility that (if he worked with professional song writers) could have produced some great radio hits.

BUT

According to what he and his friends are saying. He’s recording his album independently, on his own terms and plans on shopping it around once it’s finished and HOPES to have a “bidding war” on it. They say he’s working with some name PRODUCERS but from what I’m hearing the songwriting is all him. I think it’s completely self-indulgent and this gamble could cause him to fall flat on his face.

RE: Jordin

The lack of news regarding a record deal and management contract is slowly killing her. The most I’ve heard is that she’s recorded ONE SONG. Her record deal should have been announced 6 weeks ago. WTF!?

RE: Phil

I think Phil deciding to go country is a smart move. I think he’ll do well like Kellie Pickler has (she’s gone Gold) but I doubt he’ll be the “biggest Idol success of Season 6″.

WILD CARDS

Chris Richardson - I keep hearing that he’s a killer song writer. I’ve heard 1 song where he was jamming with Timbaland. I was mighty impressed. He claims he’s moving to Nashville. A bit of an odd move but if he’s looking for mostly songwriting work, then it’s a smart move. If he doesn’t have a successful recording career, he could have a very successful songwriting career and end up making more money than all of them combined.

Sanjaya – Let’s just say that Sanjaya has a LOT of irons in the fire and has a STRONG chance of finding success in a variety of mediums (including music).

Melinda – I haven’t heard zilch. But she’s got connections and is a smart cooking on top of all that natural talent. I personally think she’d clean up on Broadway. I hear people are trying to get an Aretha Franklin movie biopic off of the ground. Aretha. Meet Melinda. Melinda. Meet Aretha.