Idol Headlines for 04/20/09

Hey, MJ, great article! Now, is that Prince cover anywhere in the interwebs? Anyone???

Shaheen on BGT is like a young David Archuleta.

My husband and I have watched Susan Boyles audition and Paul Potts, and we like the BGT Simon. He seems kinder on that show.

Loved your article MJ. Hoping that Prince video pops up.

Great article MJ!! I love the way you personalized it by including some of Adam’s past co-workers. Do you want to do more entertainment journalism as a career?

Loved your article MJ. Hoping that Prince video pops up.

I’m being told it might…

Great article MJ!! I love the way you personalized it by including some of Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s past co-workers. Do you want to do more entertainment journalism as a career?

Heh. Thanks. Although some of the more overheated language is my editor’s doing.

Thanks for the morning round-up, MJ. Especially your byline. Very good read.

“It reminded us of Prince and Madonna,” Cherry says, “the way you don’t have any dirt on them because they wear it on their sleeves.”

Beautiful.

Too bad about the Dove awards stirrng voters up.
Coincidence?
Surely you jest…

I just read that MTV is taping the Adam Lambert Night at the Upright Cabaret on the 25th- I would much rather see that.

A Michael Johns interview. MJ, I like you (sort of), but stop talking about the teenyboppers power voting for Archie and Jason already, especially when you try to claim that Cook of all people didn’t have people power voting for him. Nice try. You got voted off. The end.

Impressive article, MJ! I was hoping that there was a video of Adam’s Prince cover somewhere.

I’m so happy for Jennifer Hudson!

MTV’s Cantiello obviously reads your blog MJ. His “will sing” pick for Adam – “I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round) came directly from a comment in an early “Disco Week” post here (mine). Glad I could help him out. lol

I just read that MTV is taping the Adam Lambert Night at the Upright Cabaret on the 25th- I would much rather see that.

Where’d you read that? But that would be pretty cool!

There’s more info up on the Upright Caberet website about it – I love how they’re calling him “Glambert”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOKu98uMNuI&eurl=http://www.snarkyarchies.com/&feature=player_embedded

From another site and on youtube, here is Archuleta singing Who’s Loving You as a youngster. David was 12 at the time and so is Shaheen, but I was surprised how David appeared younger than his age even back then, lol. Cute to watch these little guys sing!

^^ Ahhh the old ‘to the side *hand swipe*’ hair do…. *cringe cringe*

I don’t think Michaels ego will ever recover from his ‘shocking’ boot.

And then the people that liked myself and Cook, maybe Carly and Brooke — “Yeah, we voted for you one or two times.”

Oh Michael. Please shut up. This statement is so stupid. I’m sure it’s a piece of cake to win by 12 million votes by people giving someone one of two votes :rolleyes_tb:

Loved your article MJ. Hoping that Prince video pops up.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m being told it mightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦,

OMG … those five words made me gasp. Feeling a little giddy right now. Wooo.

Upright Cabaret has their own YouTube channel, so video from the show may turn up there.

Oh, and terrific article, MJ. I really enjoyed it. Thanks!

Hmmmmm…why did Associated press subtly quip that the showdown for AI would be between Adam Lambert and someone else, like as if it has been announced? Was it, or did i miss the announcement? Hahah…i know he’s a great contender and i do enjoy his performances, but to ordain him as one of the confirmed Top 2 at this point is a little presumptuous, isn’t it? No??? :ponder_tb:

TXarchitec, I’d love to here Adam sing I love the nightlife too!

Hey! I wonder if some of the contestants will throw in some disco dance moves?

In Adam’s high school yearbook photo, he looks just like his dad. (Photo from MJ’s NY Post article.)

I also loved your article, MJ. I really enjoy your writing. (Fo’ reals!)

Oh Michael. Please shut up. This statement is so stupid.

Based on the various quotes I’ve read from him, I think MJ’s main problem is that he’s not very bright or particularly insightful. He’s not a douche, it’s just that he consistently gets it wrong, while thinking he has it all figured out. Which is too bad, cuz artists trying to pave their own way the way he is need some serious smarts and savvy. I wish him the best, and hopefully his talent is strong enough, and those who surrounding him are smart enough that they have a better sense of the public, his audience, what jives about him, etc. to help him do well.

Great article on Adam, MJ. I haven’t been following his pre-Idol stuff at all cuz I’m personally not that intrigued by him, but he is the frontrunner, so I’m happy your concise article caught me up so I can be “in-the-know” without having to comb through boards and fansites and crap . Thanks!

Oh MJ!!

If that Prince performs pops up, PLEASE post it here!! I’ve been DYING the see it since I first heard about it last month!!

Ugh. I’ve been hearing more and more interviews with Michael Johns lately, and I’ve been more and more unimpressed. He does need to learn the joys of graciousness.

The Upright guys are super cool and have been incredibly helpful to me. I asked them to send me info (they have) on next week’s Adam show so I can pimp it on the front page…

Micahel Johns was one of my favorites last year and I have been making excuses for a lot of his quotes but for gosh sakes, enough already. This last one did me in. He calls Jason and David his friends but that is like a slap in the face to them. I hate to tell him but it is not only teens that power vote. In fact, I think the AI audience in general skews older. Does he ever wonder why not many teens make it to the top 5? Being a teen also hurt David. Many ppl had a hard time relating to someone as young as he was.

Anyway, Go Jason! I hope your cd sells well!

*nudges MJ for a Kris article*

From another site and on youtube, here is Archuleta singing Whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Loving You as a youngster. David was 12 at the time and so is Shaheen, but I was surprised how David appeared younger than his age even back then, lol. Cute to watch these little guys sing!

Oh and i do think that Shaheen did a much better job than Archie at that age….man that boy’s voice is not only mind-blowing but he’s sooooOoooooOo cute!! :jittery_tb:

DA’s new blog:

Hey everyone. It’s Daaavid here. This last week I went to Cleveland, Ohio to make an appearance at the IX Indoor Amusement Park. I got sick while I was there, so I unfortunately didn’t get to ride any of the rides. I did get to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame though! I really enjoyed looking at all the different things they had there, like outfits, notes, guitars, and other things of iconic figures in music.

-clip-
the Evolution of Dance on Youtube was there!! I saw him from a distance, and he had the classic orange Crush shirt. I was thinking, “…He looks familiar… but why?…… oh my gosh! It’s the Evolution of Dance guy!” So I got to meet him and take a picture with him haha
(frog note: wonder if he saw him from the stage… and if he had a look in his eyes)

-clip-
I’m going to mention youtube links of 2 performers from Britain’s Got Talent that you HAVE to check out if you haven’t already. The first one is Susan Boyle, and the 2nd one is Shaheen Jafargholi. I freakin’ love these! lol.

more here

That’s a good take on Michael Johns sma11ie. I’m inclined to agree with you. At first I thought he was an ass, but I don’t think that’s the case so much as he just doesn’t get it. At all. I can’t speak for Archie’s fans, but I know many of Jason’s hardcore AI fans are middle aged women, just as Cook’s are. And you know, if Johns wants to complain that his fans were too cool and hip to vote more than once or twice, making that assertion about Cook is ridiculous. How insulting to Archie.

Michael Johns reminds me of the AI equivalent of DWTS’s Maksim. I like Maks well enough, but he’s the guy who always manages to put his foot in his mouth in interviews and his logic always seems to be somewhat skewed to boot.

Innate intelligence gets you pretty far in this world and it is so easy to discern. Also, it doesn’t matter how intelligent you are if you don’t have Street Smarts (or common sense for us oldies) to back it up. Someday I am going to make a list of which of the idol contestants have one or both or neither.

Michael Johns falls under the neither category…and its sad! Boy should just keep his mouth closed except when he is singing…or rely on scripted comments.

Here is a review of the Amar A Morir soundtrack which specifically mentions Jason’s Hallelujah. I used a couple of online translators but it’s meaning still isn’t totally clear. I think they review it as a positive to the soundtrack. Anyone fluent in Spanish??

http://www.filmeweb.net/magazine.asp?id=2717

Speaking of Michael Johns, Jon Peter Lewis’s manager told me that JPL just interviewed him for his next “American Nobody Show”.

I’d say watch for that this week…

I’m stuck in my house watching the Boston Marathon as it flies right by my window! .

The Upright guys are super cool and have been incredibly helpful to me. I asked them to send me info (they have) on next weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Adam show so I can pimp it on the front pageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Fantastic! Looking forward to it.

RE: Michael Johns. He was my fave from the auditions last year, but it didn’t take long for me to realize … he just wasn’t as good as he (or I) thought he was. Glad I didn’t get more invested in him because his post-Idol behavior is a real turn off. Meh. I can’t see his career going anywhere with this new music. Whatever that elusive “it” factor is, he ain’t got it.

Now Adam on the other hand …..

Fantastic Adam article, MJ. I’m in the ‘biz’ too, and that was some tight writing.

Crossing fingers for that bootleg Prince performance to hit the YTubes soon . . .

Michael Johns falls under the neither categoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦and its sad! Boy should just keep his mouth closed except when he is singingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

He really should. What did me in was hearing him refer to his desired audience as “Bored 40 year old housewives” who appearantly have been sitting around waiting for his music to save them from their duldrum life. God! I heard that and vowed not to pay one cent for MJ’s music. I’m neither 40 nor a housewife, so I guess MJ doesn’t want me as a fan anyway… :thumbdown_tb:

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m stuck in my house watching the Boston Marathon as it flies right by my window! .

Happy Patriots’ Day, MJ! :smile1_tb:

Jolene! He said that? OMG Is he crazy? He needs a bit of help with his public persona.. or maybe his wife needs to smack him upside the head…
I vote for the second!

Really lovely article MJ. Well written and informative.

Loved your article MJ. Hoping that Prince video pops up.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m being told it mightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

This would make me very, very happy.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/april/21/yehey/life/20090421lif1.html

David Archuleta:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹I havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t changedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢
The Idol runner-up is all smiles as he talks about weird fans, funeral potatoes and partying with water and cookiess

clips:
“My family has been using my room for all the fan mail and all the fan gifts. They were looking for my birth certificate in the drawer and they found five baby mice in there! [The mice] shredded up my papers and made a mess out of them. I just couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sleep in there and it smells so bad.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Archuleta said heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s now staying with a Persian friend and is learning how to speak Farsi.”
note: ROFL admitting his room smells

“Archuleta said he is proud of his fans. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“For the most part, theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been really great and very supportive and really considerate. And thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what I really appreciate from them. ”

“Archuleta also mentioned the way his fans rally to support the causes he believed in, including the Childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Make-A-Wish Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s neat to see that theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re fanatical in good ways too,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  he added.”

More at link

A Michael Johns interview. MJ, I like you (sort of), but stop talking about the teenyboppers power voting for Archie and Jason already, especially when you try to claim that Cook of all people didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have people power voting for him. Nice try. You got voted off. The end.

LOL What an oaf!

Great article MJ!

As far as Michael Johns goes, I don’t think he’s inherently stupid or anything. He’s well spoken enough to indicate he has above average intelligence. I think his problem is twofold: 1. He has no clue how the whole AI machine works and 2. He bought into his own hype. He thought he was better than he was, and he didn’t realize that the viewing audience was bored. He believes his boot was shocking, while many of us out in the real world do not. So, he tries to keep coming up with reasons for why it happened, only he doesn’t know enough about how this shit works to actually figure it out. So, his reasons make no sense.

Jolene! He said that? OMG Is he crazy? He needs a bit of help with his public persona.. or maybe his wife needs to smack him upside the headà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦
I vote for the second!

He sure did. Somewhere in this interview from a few days ago.
I think he really needs a publicist. One that would hopefully tell him to SHUT UP.

Apple pie, eh? Well, that’s an Adam description I hadn’t heard before. Enjoyed that article, MJ. The Zodiac Club and Upright Cabaret seem like such great venues to discover new talent and have a helluva good time. It’s nice to see that Adam’s time in the spotlight is affording those venus little bit more publicity. I wonder if Adam has tried to get that Prince cover cleared to use on AI at some point in the near future. Adam and Prince just seem to go together like America and…wait for it…apple pie.

That Michael Johns interview didn’t bug me. I don’t think he saw his boot coming, so he tries to rationalize it. Yeah, it’s time to move on, obvs, but MJ thinking that maybe he and Cook and Carly and Brooke might have been splitting votes at that point, whereas Archuleta and Castro had the more dedicated diehard fanbases, it’s not exactly a far out concept that I never heard before.

JudyOhio, thanks for posting that clip of Archie singing Who’s Loving You. When I first watched Shaheen’s performance on YouTube, I did immediately think about Archie as a 12 year-old on Star Search. As for which performance is better – Archie’s or Shaheen’s – that probably comes down to personal preferences to a large degree.

But consider this: Shaheen has had a lot of time to work on Michael Jackson covers as part of the touring stage show, Thriller Live, which focuses on the music of MJ and the Jackson 5.

You can read more about Shaheen’s already impressive career and bio on the digitalspy forums.

On a related matter, can we please get the AI judges to learn from the Star Search judges, at least in terms of brevity if not commentary style?

OMG I never heard that “bored 40 year old housewives” comment. Wow. wow. What a doof! How’s that single of his doing? Are the 40 year old housewives still bored and on a downloading frenzy?

Michael did come into things with lots of hype and buzz, but other than Bohemian Rhapsody in Hollywood he didn’t do much to live up to it. One he hit the voting rounds he faltered and didn’t deliver a standout performance until Top 10 week, and even then he got overshadowed by the monster that was Billie Jean. Then he did a great job the next week but it was too late for him to do enough to gain the kind of fanbase that could have kept him in there for the long haul.

That Michael Johns interview didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t bug me. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think he saw his boot coming, so he tries to rationalize it.

yeah but he wasn’t asked about his boot…he was asked if he votes and he brought up his whole shocking elimination deal again. Sure, sure, it’s shocking and you don’t get it boohoo but you can’t build your whole career on that… get a new schtick, sell your music. ask Jennifer Hudson if she got to where she is today by sitting around in interviews complaining about how her elimination is so unfair boohoohoo..

As far as Michael Johns goes, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s inherently stupid or anything. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s well spoken enough to indicate he has above average intelligence. I think his problem is twofold: 1. He has no clue how the whole AI machine works and 2. He bought into his own hype.

I can agree with your take, SpenserJ, if by “above average intelligence”, you mean just below the average intelligence of the posters here on MJ’s, since all of us with our Monday morning quarterbacking seem to have way better insight on his Idol trajectory than he does, without having gone through it!

Yeah, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s time to move on, obvs, but MJ thinking that maybe he and Cook and Carly and Brooke might have been splitting votes at that point, whereas Archuleta and Castro had the more dedicated diehard fanbases, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not exactly a far out concept that I never heard before.

sunchick, now the concept of vote splitting among MG, Brooke, Cook, and Carly, I can definitely agree with, but see, that’s not what MJ said. If he had said something alluding to fanbases and vote splitting that would’ve revealed that he had some sort of insight into how it works. But instead, what he did say made him seem clueless and borderline disrespectful to Archie and Jason. So I’m going with “MJ is clueless” because I do like his personality otherwise, and I don’t like the other option of, “MJ is a douche and bitter and jealous of Archie and Jason”.

Speaking of Michael Johns, Jon Peter Lewisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s manager told me that JPL just interviewed him for his next à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Nobody Showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

Can’t wait! Don’t always agree with JPL, but love his show. Except that guy commenting on each week, whatshisface, he’s an idiot.

Guess MJ wasn’t cruising MJ’s Big Blog the night of the final when several of us 40 year oldsters were power voting for Cookie with a land line in one hand, a cell phone in another and trying to learn how to use an internet voting program that I never did figure out. (wasn’t dial idol)
My fingers remember all the power voting for Cookie during last year’s season. Once he cranked out the Lionel Richie song……..that was it. He was my fav and I power voted every Tues.

And………MJ that was a really good article. I read it and thought what a great read and then was so impressed, I looked to see who wrote it……I don’t usually do that but it was FINE………….Apple Pie……..no wonder I love apple pie. There are so many more facets to Adam than people know. I flove him more and more. More than anything, I love that he seems to be a genuinely nice guy.

The thing with Michael Johns is he is just so back and forth. One interview he’s talking at length about how he’s okay with how things turned out and he loves his season and thinks they all had something to offer. Then the next he’s getting in subtle digs about he (and Cook & Carly I suppose) are better than everyone else.

I also have to agree that if Johns were talking about vote splitting, then okay. But that’s not what he’s saying at all. He seems to think the teenyboppers were voting for Jason and Archie and the too cool for school non voters loved himself and Cook, but you know, they were too cool for Idol and therefore didn’t vote.

Thanks for the interview Jolene! I just listened and by his tone, I don’t think he realized that he was even being insulting there.So yea… hire a publicist pronto!

Nice article, mj! I’d also love to hear that Prince cover. I’m also looking forward to MJ with JPL on American Nobody.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/april/21/yehey/life/20090421lif1.html

David Archuleta:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹I havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t changedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢

Thanks for this, frogcooke. I kinda know the writer (he’s a fellow Jason Mraz fan at a local forum; he went to Singapore to interview Oasis and Archie a couple of weeks ago) and I had been waiting to read his article. Did he get it right that DA’s album has already sold millions, though?

I can agree with your take, SpenserJ, if by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“above average intelligenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , you mean just below the average intelligence of the posters here on MJà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s,

Definitely sma11ie. What I meant to say was – “above the average of those regular peeps, but certainly not as smart as those of us here at MJ’s” :lol_wp:

Sunchick – “How Come You Don’t Call Me” has been sung on the show before so if he wants to sing it, hopefully he’ll be able to. I’d think that it’s probably still cleared. According to What Not To Sing, Stephanie Edwards sang it in the semis during season 6.

Great article MJ! Crossing my fingers that the youtube will show up for that performance!!

Love the Lambert Post article, MJ – it’s great to read something positive
And hey – Happy Patriots Day to you from another Mass resident!

I think every season needs someone like Michael Johns so we can laugh at it! I love Michael John’s interviews cause you know there will always be something like that from them.
The thing is that he keeps saying he didn’t want to save in his year because there was so much press and buzz about him being robbed that he loved it. What he doesn’t realize is that people cared about that during the first 5 minutes and then moved on. And at this point Michael is the only one who remembers that, that’s the only thing he can hang on too to be remembered. I guess he keeps bringing it cause he enjoys being the “robbed” one and cause that’s probably the only thing worth talking about his idol journey and career.
But Michael is far from being stupid, he knows how this works and he knows sometimes it helps being controversial, that’s what gets people talking about you. If I could guess, that’s what he tries to do. Make a certain type of statements that may “offend” people and make him subject of debate.

The thing is that he keeps saying he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to save in his year because there was so much press and buzz about him being robbed that he loved it. What he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t realize is that people cared about that during the first 5 minutes and then moved on. And at this point Michael is the only one who remembers that, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the only thing he can hang on too to be remembered.

So very true.

Howà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s that single of his doing? Are the 40 year old housewives still bored and on a downloading frenzy?

I guess they’re busy power-voting for Adam and Danny. I read that it peaked at #52 on iTunes pop (never made the overall chart) and right now its being outsold by the year old Magic Rainbow.

I don’t care enough about Michael to truly let his inane comments get to me, but if he wants a real career he really should get a publicist and some decent promo budget. All the best to him.

I agree that Michael should move on but see nothing inherently wrong in what he said other than of course DC had power voters also. I think what he was trying to say was that his fans skew older than Jason and Archie which is true.

I haven’t been reading Adam articles because I’m sick to death of him but made an exception for your article, Mj. It was interesting and well done. :smile1_tb:

He seems to think the teenyboppers were voting for Jason and Archie and the too cool for school non voters loved himself and Cook, but you know, they were too cool for Idol and therefore didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t vote.

Ahhh, I get what y’all are saying. I guess I wasn’t bugged by MJ’s comments because I did exactly what he alluded to, threw a vote or two to him and a few more to Cook, right up until Innocent. That was my first adventure in power voting because I was freaked out that Cookie would be in danger of hitting the seal, and realized I was invested in him actually winning the thing. In any case, like I said, it’s definitely time for MJ to maybe not bring it up even when he wasn’t directly asked about it.

I guess theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re busy power-voting for Adam and Danny. I read that it peaked at #52 on iTunes pop (never made the overall chart) and right now its being outsold by the year old Magic Rainbow.

Oh that’s just sad..wait people are still buying magic rainbow?

Maybe Michael should hang out with Archie a little. At 18 he’s shown more class and maturity than MJ ever has, and has been nothing but respectful and a good friend to DC.

I’ll say it again. Michael Johns has no filter and a way higher opinion of himself than the average poster on this board. I can’t speak to his intelligence, but his tenure on the show was far from intelligent.

ETA because can and can’t are never the same word.

I’m guessing that this year’s MJ will be Lil. Unless she wins, of course. Well, maybe even then.

And youse guys can go ahead and snarkbrag all you want about the intelligence level on this board but I’ll tell ya, when I venture out into other waters (esp. the “official forums”) I can’t wait to get back here. One of the things I appreciate the most, is that this group can SPELL. It’s scary out there, man.

Oh thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just sad..wait people are still buying magic rainbow?

:laugh_tb: Honestly, that thing just won’t die. It’s wedding season so I bet it’s getting played at those and hitting yet another pool of susceptibles.

@ SpencerJ isnt this week your wedding anniversary???? If it is congrats… if it isn ´t ignore me…

http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,,20007164_20174011,00.html?bcpid=3887239001&bclid=3343000001&bctid=20254113001

The new Idolatry called: The Allison and Adam Show!!!!!

Hooray! I just love Slezak!

I guess I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t bugged by MJà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s comments because I did exactly what he alluded to, threw a vote or two to him and a few more to Cook, right up until Innocent.

It’s not that. I’d never voted for AI until finale night (after Simon’s comments motivated me to vote for DC), and even then, I thought I’d lost my mind because I voted, like 15 or 20 times. I know just a few people IRL who vote, and none who power vote, but I’ve since realized that it’s a big thing for Idol superfans. So yeah, anyone who follows Idol to any degree gathers that there are casual voters and power voters, and that certain contestants tend to garner more power votes.

What MJ totally doesn’t get is that it’s a critical combination/balance of both that wins/keeps you in the competition. Power voters potentially keep you in a week or two longer, but that’s it. If it was all about power voters, I think Blake– or, gasp, Sanjaya– would’ve won Season 6. And MJ needs to realize, Jason and Archie had casual voters who voted based on their performances, just as Cook had power voters who voted to save him after Innocent. (Sidenote: this is why I think Adam will win as long as he keeps being the best/nearly best each week. He has power voters, sure but when he nails it with a performance that connects with the casual viewer ala Mad World and Tracks of My Tears, he gets way more votes. Sure, it’s a lot of pressure, but Adam has to be undeniable every week.)

I’m not particularly bugged by MJ’s comments, but I just think they’re really stupid. I just thought of something. There was an interview during the tour where he was interviewed next to Jason, and someone brought up Kimberley Locke’s ridiculous comment that Jason was as dumb as a bag of rocks, and MJ totally rose to Jason’s defense and kind of said something like, who cares what she thinks. I remember thinking the KL seemed like a chick who speaks her mind a bit too freely and needs a filter. Ironic that MJ doesn’t realize he’s the new Kimberley Locke, only with a lot more media exposure.

Applause!

And youse guys can go ahead and snarkbrag all you want about the intelligence level on this board but Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll tell ya, when I venture out into other waters (esp. the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“official forumsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ) I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t wait to get back here. One of the things I appreciate the most, is that this group can SPELL. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s scary out there, man.

Ok….everyone form a circle. Now lets give each other a pat on the back! And I am being uber serious here. There is a lot of intelligence and street smarts on display at the MJ site.

And a standing O for Ms. Santilli. Both her on site and off site blogs—ROCK!

I believe Michael Johns said K. Locke could go jump in a lake. That was after Jason whispered in Michael’s ear who had made the comment. It was one of the moments I liked him.

I’m not offended by MJ in the least, but I just think his claims are so far offbase half the time. Mind you I can’t speak to Archie’s hardcore fanbase and I’m sure they all have younger and older fans, but I have been around enough of Jason’s hardcore voting fanbase (those online that is) enough to know that the majority of them are old enough to be the boy’s mother. Now mind you I was one of the voters, but as a 20 something, I was younger than most.

Hooray! I just love Slezak!

lmao at the page title. you keep stringing us Kris fans along, Slezak…

from idf:

“YAY! So, apparently David is set to appear on the Paul O’ Grady Show on Thursday 30 April. I don’t know whether he’s performing or doing an interview or both, all I know is that he’s supposed to be on there. I hope this doesn’t change because I’ve just found out that I have tickets to this show!! Oh my gosh. So, anyway make sure you UKers tune in to see him!!”

Tv Listing.. click to 17:00

show site

Oh, Michael Johns….

He probably loves the fact that people are paying attention to him more than anything else.

Meaning…he probably Googles himself.

Meaning…he’s probably reading these comments and having a field day.

Speaking of Kimberly Locke…I think she just invited me to be her friend on myspace. I thought that was a bit weird.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“YAY! So, apparently David is set to appear on the Paul Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Grady Show on Thursday 30 April. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know whether heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performing or doing an interview or both, all I know is that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s supposed to be on there. I hope this doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t change because Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve just found out that I have tickets to this show!! Oh my gosh. So, anyway make sure you UKers tune in to see him!!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Yay! UK promo ftw! On the Channel 4 TV schedule for April 30, David is indeed listed as a guest on Paul O’Grady. He seems to be a friendly chap… with a dog.

David has all of April 30 off since May 1 is the London show, so maybe he’ll do more promo than this that day. His album is released in the UK on May 11.

From MJ’s awesome article on Adam:

“The audience is so close, that’s not really what I do,” Lambert told them, “I’m definitely a bigger kind of act.”

Everyone loves a self-confident man, who knows what he wants. It’s going to be so much fun watching his career take off after Idol is over, knowing this is a guy who makes his own choices.

Oh, Michael Johnsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

He probably loves the fact that people are paying attention to him more than anything else.

Meaningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦he probably Googles himself.

Meaningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s probably reading these comments and having a field day.

Too true! Since this time around, he didn’t dis Adam and referred obliquely to his fans as the “too cool to power vote” set rather than 40 year old bored housewives.

So, we know he’s teachable, which is a plus in a guy. LOL j/k sort of, ok not.

Michael’s comments don’t bother me at all. He’s pretty much upfront and honest in his answers. I don’t understnd why they keep asking him about his elemination. The interviewers seem to have forgotten about the famous “Don’t Vote” by Jason…somehow he seems to escape that question in his interviews….hmmm. I have to say..the tweens taught me alot about voting..OMG.. I had no idea the things you could do.. LMAO

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m guessing that this yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s MJ will be Lil.

I would put my bets on Danny in this department.
The last weeks his interviews and behavior has shown a lack of clear-sightedness, that if idol goes for him as the winner or the runner up, they have to put him at a short leash.

What MJ totally doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get is that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a critical combination/balance of both that wins/keeps you in the competition. Power voters potentially keep you in a week or two longer, but thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s it.

Yeah, I think you need two things to go deep on AI: one, a stand out wow performance somewhere after Hollywood but before top 12 to build a solid base of your typical hardcore AI voters, and two, a few more stand out performances that will build on the early wow performance, maintain the momentum, and snag a growing amount of the casual votes. I think, not sure, but think he was alluding to the fact that he never snagged that solid base of hardcores early on, but he doesn’t get that it wasn’t the infamous tweeny vote, per se, that afforded Jason and Archuleta, specifically, their core fanbase. It was that they both had a big moment in the semis with Imagine and Hallelujah. Maybe Michael doesn’t understand that top 9 was a little late to have a breakout performance with It’s All Wrong and it was imperative that he build on that momentum. Of course the whole vote splitting thing with Cook and maybe to a lesser extent Carly and Brooke didn’t help the situation considering Cook had his worst reviews the week Michael went, but it’s not as simple as that, either. Or whatever. Mostly he needs to stop trying to figure it out and stop talking about it LOL.

Great job on the Adam article, MJ! *joins the chorus wishing for the Prince cover vid*

I get confused when I read the comments here and see people talking about MJ in a negative way…it always takes me a second to realize they’re talking about Michael Johns! :laugh_tb:

Well how wonderful of the peeps here to give MJ free publicity since he is not even mentioned in the headlines our MJ posted – because you know what they say, no such thing as bad publicity. Well unless you are Chris Brown.

I hope our MJ isn’t hurt that all her hard work in finding all these headline stories is being ignored by the faithful.

The Susan Boyle story could be the story of the year, depending on how this all plays out. Perhaps Trinny and Susannah from the original What Not To Wear ie. UK version, could give Susan the glam treatment before the next show.

And I was stunned by Simon’s humanity in reaction to Susan Boyle as well. Is he always that nice on that show? Of course Simon, despite his usual snark, has been in a good mood all season, just what is up with him and Paula?

I guess the YouTube is buzzing with video of Adam doing original stuff and wow kids, I had Blake Lewis flashblacks. Adam said on Idol Extra that he wanted his first album to be techno pop and electronica – I bet that has the TBTB thinking – over our dead bodies. And one of his songs was just that, full on techo pop and electronica. They lap that stuff up in the UK but in the good ole US of A? Only in dance clubs in urban areas. Limited niche.

At this point, I think he’s going to be tough to beat unless he really screws up or someone else really steps up their game, like 100 per cent better, and I think that time has just about run out. Frankly I think Adam will be a frustrated puppy if he has to work with the “19″ lot post-Idol.

Jason must have played at Atlantic this afternoon, but not sure what it’s for exactly. As there are lights and etc. in this twitpic posted by an Atlantic employee, hopefully there will be vid eventually. Various employees have twittered that he sounded great, but that’s about all I’ve got.

Frankly I think Adam will be a frustrated puppy if he has to work with the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“19à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ³ lot post-Idol.

Whether he wins or not he’ll be in that situation. 19 won’t let him go because he’s this year’s “buzz” contestant, even if that means convincing him that a male Lady Gaga (and even she is more dance than techno or electronica) isn’t going to fly on top 40 radio. Not unless 19 and whatever label swoops him up bust out the mega bucks to promote the heck out of him and his first single. Even then it’s no guarantee top 40 will bite to the level of a top 20 hit. And he won’t have another smaller format like Hot AC or AC to fall back on (dance is like the tiniest format in creation… it’s barely monitored).

Adam is currently in the situation where he’s getting away with being over-pimped (and I’m one of those who believe there’s an over next to the word pimped). He’ll probably win because he’s getting away with it. Funny thing is that he’s been pimped from the beginning, yet people didn’t seem to notice all that much. Tons of airtime and barely anything negative. I guess people were too busy getting annoyed that Danny was being over-pimped to really focus on Adam.

Now it’s getting a tad ridiculous–tons of profile articles written about Adam, tributes to Adam… it’s getting to be a bit much. I wouldn’t hate on a contestant because of pimping that is outside his control, but I do think Adam gets far more attention this season than he deserves based on his performances. I’m one of those who doesn’t “get it.” All I see is a different character he puts on every week, which is to be expected given his theatrical background, and I don’t see Adam at all, save when he’s talking. It’s all just a little too schizophrenic for my taste. It’s him pretending to be somebody else every time he performs rather than infusing himself into each song. It’s all very surface, and not much depth.

Oh, and if Paula calls him “brave” one more time I’m going to hurl something at the TV. He’s a theater guy–that’s how he performs–all costumes and fancy lighting. It’s no more brave than Kris busting out his guitar and playing an acoustic pop song, because that’s what Kris does.

That was awesome soundscene! :clap_tb: I agree with every word. I’m thinking before the season is over we’ll get another NY Post or NY Times article on Adam, or hey maybe the cover of Rolling Stone!

Frankly I think Adam will be a frustrated puppy if he has to work with the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“19à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ³ lot post-Idol.

Well ya know if he gives them a hard time I’m sure they’ll lay the smack down..or stick a plant in front of his face on next seasons audition backdrop.

Great post, Soundscene. You summarized perfectly what I see (and don’t see) in Adam. I don’t think I could agree with you more.

See, it can happen when the topic has nothing to do with Cook and Archie… :wink_wp:

See, it can happen when the topic has nothing to do with Cook and Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

LOL. Too true.

Three cheers for soundscene!! I agree with every word.

It’s not Adam’s fault that Upright Cabaret is throwing a party for him (and how is that pimping anyway? lol, contestants always have hometown voting parties and stuff, often with the entertainment shows present to record the action), and it’s not his fault people keep writing articles about him. I really appreciate MJ’s article because it’s nice to see something that’s about his talent rather than his personal life for a change.

Funny thing is that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been pimped from the beginning, yet people didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seem to notice all that much. Tons of airtime and barely anything negative.

So to counteract this alleged over-pimping of someone who someone considers mediocre at best we need to “invent” something negative about a really nice guy to placate supporters of other contestants. I was heartbroken last year when David A. was dragged through the mud because people considered him overpimped and I hope that this never happens to another contestant.

The contestants can only control so much: their performances and their on-air demeanor. In a fair world that is what we should be judging on. Well, I judge Adam #1 because I think all of his performances have been spectacular and I haven’t been offended by anything that has come out of his mouth.

So to counteract this alleged over-pimping of someone who someone considers mediocre at best we need to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“inventà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  something negative about a really nice guy to placate supporters of other contestants. I was heartbroken last year when David A. was dragged through the mud because people considered him overpimped and I hope that this never happens to another contestant.

That’s not what I said at all. I was explaining that, from the beginning, he’s been given a lot of airtime. Some contestants are given a lot of airtime but there’s a bunch of negative crap thrown in. Adam got a few “too theatrical” comments (mostly from Kara who, at that point, didn’t think Adam was emotionally connected to his songs), but nothing big, yet he still got a ton of airtime. Apparently Kris also had a great Hollywood week, but they barely showed him. So in his case, he got hardly any airtime even though what was said was pretty much all positive. That’s the difference between a contestant that is getting pimped and one that isn’t. It’s only tangentially related to the critiques they received because if the good critiques aren’t shown, then it’s like they didn’t exist. TPTB show you want they want to show you. In this case, they showed us a lot of good stuff about Adam, and almost nothing (good or bad) about Kris. Pimped vs. not pimped.

Now, since the show has to give Kris equal airtime, it’s mostly about the judges critiques (and also stage lighting, setup, etc.). When a judge brings up a contestant’s name as the bar another contestant should aspire to, you know that first contestant is getting pimped. When Paula practically leaps over the table and devours a contestant, regardless of day, time, song, performance, you know the contestant is getting pimped. Whether you feel that contestant is getting over pimped is entirely up to your particular taste. I happen to think Adam is and you don’t. I don’t hate Adam. I think he’s got a lot of talent. I just don’t think he’s in “another league” as the rest of the performers or some gift from the Idol gods.

I’m just using Kris as an example, btw, because he’s a very consistent performer who has been given kind of the shaft this season in terms of pimping.

Well Adam can’t help the fact that he is the most exciting thing about American Idol this year.

It is just unfortunate that we all can predict that Adam’s creative spirit is likely going to be crushed if he wins because he does not quite fit into the AI mainstream niche which I think is a good thing for music. AI should represent all kinds of American music not just one genre.

Now I say this not quite sure how things went with Taylor Hicks’ first album beyond the fact it was not an overwhelming success by AI/19 standards though likely so by general industry standards but I do recall Taylor talking about being able to do go more in the direction he wanted on his second album. Now whether that has translated to sales I do not know. I personally wanted Taylor to win and glad he did but I have not been compelled to buy his albums as yet. Basically I think TBTB were horrified Taylor won.

The AI mainstream niche needs some shaking up – to a degree Cook has done so successfully but not completely – you can see Cookie chomping at the bit even though he has been allowed to contribute more of his own voice to his debut album than probably any other Idol winner.

Then again looking at Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, maybe taking their advice to start with and then throwing in your two cents after you sold several million albums has merit.

Oh, and if Paula calls him à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“braveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  one more time Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to hurl something at the TV. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a theater guyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s how he performsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’all costumes and fancy lighting. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s no more brave than Kris busting out his guitar and playing an acoustic pop song, because thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what Kris does.

I have to disagree there. I think whether you liked ROF or not it was a very brave performance. No one has really done anything like that on Idol before.

As for the pimping debate, it wouldn’t be Idol if people weren’t complaining about the amount of perceived pimpage someone is getting. Everyone does it including myself.

So to counteract this alleged over-pimping of someone who someone considers mediocre at best we need to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“inventà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  something negative about a really nice guy to placate supporters of other contestants.

Well, that’s already sort of being done to Danny but no one seems to be crying foul over it. (and I say that being one of the “put the Go in Gokey” crew”.) There’s a basis for it but to me it’s obvious the negative hype is being pushed further in the negative direction than is rational, cause, well, that’s how reality TV goes.

For Adam, it’s the other direction. the positive hype is being pushed futher than it probably *really objectively* deserves because that’s how this show works, we want drama cause it adds an element of entertainment.

I agree with soundscene that the pimping has been there since the beginning for Adam; think back to semis, even before he performed I don’t think anyone doubted he’d move on to finals.

I don’t think anyone is advocating that people make up stories to smear Adam, but imo for those of us who don’t think he’s the best thing since sliced bread, it does seem like a bit much. Personally I don’t care enough to get that worked up about it cause I’ve already accepted that he’s probably gonna win and that’s fine cause I acknowledge he’s talented. Just cause I’m not an Adam fan doesn’t mean I’m looking for him to fail. But I can still think it’s a bit much.

eta:

No one has really done anything like that on Idol before.

Not exactly like that but there have been groundbreaking performances on Idol before. There was Bo’s acapella number and Blake’s You Give Love A Bad Name. Sanjaya’s fauxhawk performance of which I can’t even remember what he sang but that image is burned in my brain

Adam reminds me more than anything of Blake, not vocally but stylistically and in terms of trying to push out of Idol’s mainstream box. And you see how well 19/Sony handled Blake. Maybe if Adam wins, or if you think he’ll play nicer with tptb than Blake did, he’ll have more leverage, but considering that imo they even toned down Cook and Archie, possibly the nicest, most mainstream Top 2 this show has ever had, I can’t imagine they’ll have the imagination needed to market Adam properly.

I have to imagine that each contestant has some input as to how their song is staged and arranged, or perhaps I am naive but Adam just has the benefit of his experience such that I imagine he can talk to the music and staging people in a language they understand or he just takes the time to come up with a vision and fights for it.

If all the contestants have that opportunity and don’t have the vision or bother to take full advantage of it, then that is not Adam’s problem.

If he is getting special treatment, I guess we’ll hear about it after the tour this summer because this group seems to get along about as well as last year’s crew.

Well, Michael certainly seems to be popular on this board, although often not in a positive way. I’m a Michael fan, although I read MJ’s blog almost daily for all the AI news, not just Michael-related. I just don’t post a lot. I don’t have time to keep up with everything on my own and she does such a wonderful job of having all the info available. Thank you, MJ! I don’t see anything so bad about what Michael said. I don’t think he was trying to put anyone down. I have never seen him say anything bad about any Idols (except Kimberly Locke). Apparently, he is good friends with all the season 7 finalists and that says something. Maybe he says things sometimes that maybe he shouldn’t, but I don’t see that he has ever said anything bad. He has done tons of interviews and asked his opinion on many things and particularly about his “shocking boot”. He is asked about that continuously. He tends to be honest so there are bound to be some sound-bites that can be misconstrued or come across in a negative light. Since I’m a fan, I see more than just a few of his interviews which have received a lot of attention here. I see all the charity work that he’s done in the past year (it’s astounding if you look it up), I see all the positive encounters with fans and others. Everyone who meets him personally seems to come away with a very good impression. Taking everything into consideration, he seems to be a very good person to me. Okay, sorry for the long post.

I have to disagree there. I think whether you liked ROF or not it was a very brave performance. No one has really done anything like that on Idol before.

I don’t get how ROF was brave. It was an arrangement he found–he even said so in his opening bit. Yeah, he performed it on American Idol but… so? If we’re talking about changing the arrangement of a song, people on this season have done it better, using their own arrangements. It’s not brave to get on stage and play a character (in this case, creepy moody guy making eyes at the camera). It’s brave to get on stage and be yourself.

I reiterate–I don’t hate Adam because I believe he’s being over-pimped, but that doesn’t stop me from believing he’s being over-pimped.

DA’s AOL Sessions ‘album’(5 tracks) available on Amazon starting tomorrow!

wonder if it will be on itunes as well?

I think it must be hard to not really like the pimped ones this year. But, there’s always pimped ones. It’s funny, that most of the criticism come from Archie or Cook fans who didn’t have a problem, or don’t see how much their contestants were pimped last year. Archie forgot his whole song top 12 and the judges just loved him and pimped him up like crazy.

We could go back and forth, but as a person who was not a big fan or Archie or Cook, it’s basically the same old stuff. All the same accusations. So I can see how one can get so bitter.

Adam has had some of Simon’s harshest criticism this year. But, Adam hasn’t had a misstep really. It is amazing what he’s been able to do each week. Adam would not be getting the outside attention from other newpapers, other vocal critics, Hollywood stars, industry professionals if he wasn’t an extremely talented person. TPTB don’t have anything to do about that. Of course, not everyone will see it. But to many he certainly is in a different league. I’ve been watching since season 2, and I’ve never seen someone with such vocal talent, performance ability, and strength of character combined.

Adam is a fascinating person with a fascinating and tough past. He’s worked his but off for this. He’s deeply imaginative and creative and I see all his work as exactly a reflection of himself. That is what i’d love to go see in concerts. I understand some like people who are middle of the road and all the songs sounding the same. That’s fine. There is plenty room for both.

DAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s AOL Sessions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢(5 tracks) available on Amazon starting tomorrow!

wonder if it will be on itunes as well?

Sweet! I knew there had to be a reason AOL Sessions took down his set a month or so ago. It was really popular and then… poof, gone. I hope it’s on iTunes as well. Usually Amazon and iTunes have the same digital songs available, and it doesn’t say it’s an Amazon exclusive.

BTW, it’s funny–the album cover is not from AOL Sessions. lol. It’s from another concert.

Thank you soundscene! :smile1_tb:
I agree with every word you said!

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not brave to get on stage and play a character (in this case, creepy moody guy making eyes at the camera). Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s brave to get on stage and be yourself.

See, I think ROF was him being himself. And I think it was brave because it was way outside the Idol box.

Being yourself on stage doesn’t mean you have to go out there looking the same and sounding the same every time.

At any rate, we clearly don’t see eye to eye on Adam. Peace.

Not exactly like that but there have been groundbreaking performances on Idol before. There was Boà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s acapella number and Blakeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s You Give Love A Bad Name.

Agreed. I’m not even a Blake fan and I thought that was more ballsy than RoF. And I’ve said it before, nothing is more brave and daring than going out there on stage than just a simple spotlight and no music at all. Which Bo did.

soundscene totally agree with everything you said about Kris. He was obviously meant as fodder coming into this and probably wasn’t even supposed to make it past the semi finals. I give him so much credit for getting this far without being crammed down viewers throats and getting slobbered all over every week.

Archie forgot his whole song top 12 and the judges just loved him and pimped him up like crazy.

They didn’t pimp him top 12 night. lol. He got ravaged.

I know that both Cook and David A. were pimped last year. I’m not denying that. But it’s all a matter of taste–do you believe a contestant’s performances deserved the critiques the judges gave them. In other words, do you believe the contestant was over-pimped. For me, I believe that David A. deserved the good comments he got (and he got his share of “forgettable,” and “dancing animated creatures” comments from Simon). If anything, by top 12, the media had pretty much decided they weren’t going to stay with David A. for the long haul. They decided he would win and then determined they hated him for it. He wasn’t a media darling at all during Idol (he is far more loved by the press now than he was a year ago). As for Cook, the media liked him a whole lot more, but not the extent that they singled him out with the type of attention Adam is getting.

I have been, for the most part, neutral this season, until last week when I finally jumped onto the Kris train for real. Up until that point, most of the contestants had had performances that I’d liked and some that I didn’t; although a couple (Danny and Lil) hadn’t impressed me much at all.

All along, as a neutral viewer, I have felt that Adam and Danny were hyped, highlighted and praised above all the other contestants.

Adam has had some of Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s harshest criticism this year.

I’m not so sure that some of the other contestants (particularly Anoop) would agree with that statement. Also, while he may have received some harsh criticism from Simon, he’s received enough high praise from Simon to more than tip the scale in the other direction, IMO.

Everyone brings their own biases to the whole pimped/over-pimped thing. You can’t help it. Pimping means favoritism. If your favorite is being pimped it’s not gonna bother you like it does when it’s not your favorite. That’s just the way it is. I felt like the David’s were pimped constantly last season. My favorite was Jason, so it bugged the shit out of me. This year my favorite is Adam. Suddenly the pimping is much less annoying. Except when it’s Kris or Danny. Or Allison. Or anybody but Adam.

As for Cook, the media liked him a whole lot more, but not the extent that they singled him out with the type of attention Adam is getting.

But that is the whole point. That how the media works. They decide what is interesting not the other way around.
Adam is an interesting topic for them.
That maybe unfornutate for the other contestant, but that is life.
And it is not like the other contestant don’t have their pros.

ETA: And imo that give the whole show some kind of reality check, because that is the same world the contestant have to be in business after idol.

Adam has had some of Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s harshest criticism this year.

I’m sure Lil fans would disagree with that and come in her defense if she had any. But maybe Anoop fans can do the job for both.

ETA: And imo that give the whole show some kind of reality check, because that is the same world the contestant have to be in business after idol.

It’s not the same world at all. These media types are watching American Idol as the TV show it was meant to be. All the contestants are characters–you’ve got the hero, the villain, the jester, the dunce, etc. They all play into some fancy 5-month long story arc.

Once they get to the real world all that changes. The media will react to what they do rather than how American Idol presents them. As I said, David A. is far more loved now by the media than he was when he was on Idol. Part of that is because it’s a different segment of the media that is reporting on him now, rather than just TV critics and bloggers. On the flip side, Blake was far more loved on Idol than he was afterward. The TV guys loved his “uniqueness” and the music and pop culture guys weren’t having any of what he put out post-Idol.

Oh that this was a perfect world. But it ain’t!! If it is so disturbing to have contestants “praised” for what I think is a middling to awful performance I have two options: listen to it and fume and say “over pimped” a million times, or listen to it, laugh, and make-up my own mind. What do I care what the sheep out there think…I can’t control their vote no matter how hard I try and complaining about it ain’t going to change it. As far as online media stuff….well if it bothers me, I do what someone much smarter than me told me to do, turn off the computer and take a walk. It does wonders for my perspective! And I’ll council others not to search for articles, or respond to blog sites, or get your whatevers in a dither. The media is what it is….read it and believe it at your own risk.

I’ve been watching this show for 8 years, have been reading MJ’s for four, and have been commenting this year because I now have the time to do it. But over the years I’ve cussed out my TV, swore I would never read EW again (Michael Slezak you are a bastard and I’m deleting you from my favs), would cheer when someone I didn’t like got a bad press review, and would scream to high heavens when someone I liked got voted off.

But you know what…I’m still here, I still swear and scream, still get upset, still cheer, alternate between loving Slezak and loathing him, am still posting, am learning to control my temper, and am enjoying reading every one’s posts. I may not agree with them but love to challenge them when I have a differing opinion. I love to state my “oftentimes flawed” critiques, verbalize my cynicism, and exult when I feel joy. Hope you all feel the same!

I get most of what’s being said here, on both sides. What escapes me is the implication that positive comments or negative comments about contestants are considered fairly comparable, both their quantity and quality, in a vacuum without regard to the performances to which they attach. I’m not saying that anyone actually believes that, but it sure sounds like it when peeps say one contestant has received far more praise or more harsh criticism than the others.

Seems to me, someone is over or under pimped based on one’s subjective views of the performances. Since music is art and musical preferences are highly subjective, I don’t see how anyone can be so easily assessed as over or under pimped. There’s a legitimate argument to be made in support of the critiques given, even if it’s just the view of one judge and every other person in the universe disagrees. Unless the point is that the judges lie outright. Is that the point?

Now, relative air time in the beginning stages is a whole different animal, it seems to me. But, critiques? Not so much, at least not for me.

ETA:

Adam has had some of Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s harshest criticism this year.

Unless and until someone other than Adam hears the words: “What in the hell was that? There are a lot of people throwing their TV sets out the window right now… Horrific… Utter Indulgent Rubbish…” I’m in total agreement with the above assessment. Guess that makes me a hypocrite! LOL

Adam has had some of Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s harshest criticism this year.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure Lil fans would disagree with that and come in her defense if she had any. But maybe Anoop fans can do the job for both.

Word!

One last comment and I will bow out of this discussion since they are never a win-win situation.

When a discussion on pimping and over-pimping comes about, how am I supposed to react? Is the intent to get me to NOT VOTE FOR MY FAVORITE because he/she has been over-pimped and therefore the contest is no longer fair and I need to sacrifice my guy for the general good. Ain’t going to happen, sorry!

Some like their Idols talented and plain and there are those of us who like our Idol mega talented and OTT. Bring on more Adam. Kris I feel didn’t get alot of promo because he didn’t do anything to stand out and to promote the show they need standout, good or bad. He had no real backstory and was fairly ordinary in appearance. His talent while good was the same genre as a lot of other hopefuls. Every year some get more pre-AI promotion. Sometimes it helps as in The Davids and Taylor Hicks, sometimes it doesn’t like Ace Young. These are only a few examples, but I learned early on that life and Idol arn’t always fair.

Can I like my Idols mega talented and plain (like Kelly Clarkson) or do they always have to be OTT. I mean since it’s either/or.

Seems to me, someone is over or under pimped based on one’s subjective views of the performances. Since music is art and musical preferences are highly subjective, I don’t see how anyone can be so easily assessed as over or under pimped.

THIS.

It renders the argument moot.

Soundscene, I think I love you. :wub_tb: Lol.

I’m in complete agreement with everything you said about Adam (and Kris too, for that matter). With Adam, I just can’t get past the act. Sure, he’s talented. But whenever he performs (even during the slower songs like “Mad World,” which are meant to be heartfelt) I feel like there’s a facade that never quite comes down. And unless it does, I’m not buying into the Adam hype this season.

Agreed. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not even a Blake fan and I thought that was more ballsy than RoF. And Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve said it before, nothing is more brave and daring than going out there on stage than just a simple spotlight and no music at all. Which Bo did.

I don’t have a strong enough opinion of Adam’s RoF performance because I don’t remember it that well, but I had to simply respond that….Bo’s the man, y’all. I still think that performance is up there. I wasn’t a Blake fan, but the reason why it was one ballsy performance was because Jon Bon Jovi was a mentor that week, and he was very skeptical of Blake tampering with one of his songs. I think Cook re-arranged Parton’s, Carey’s, and Diamond’s songs when they were mentors, but they seemed very receptive to his ideas whereas Bon Jovi’s initial reaction was hesitant. It was kinda cool.

Seems to me, someone is over or under pimped based on oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s subjective views of the performances. Since music is art and musical preferences are highly subjective, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see how anyone can be so easily assessed as over or under pimped.

I said it was subjective from the start. I happen to think he gets far more attention than his performances deserve. And then I explained why I felt that way. It’s all opinion. Nothing is objective when it comes to enjoying (or not) music.

Tess…. i love this…lol

But over the years Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve cussed out my TV, swore I would never read EW again (Michael Slezak you are a bastard and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m deleting you from my favs), would cheer when someone I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like got a bad press review, and would scream to high heavens when someone I liked got voted off.

I see what soundscene is saying all I see when Adam performs is a character never himself. I think he is a great singer just a little to OTT for my tastes.

^^exactly. I don’t mind if Adam’s fans think he’s the best thing EVAR EVAR on Idol. What bugs me is when they are intolerant of those who don’t make him a fave. Ironic, really, since a lot of Adam fans are making him the poster boy for acceptance and tolerance (which is admirable but maybe a little unfair to hang that much burden on him when all he’s trying to do is win AI)

See, I think ROF was him being himself. And I think it was brave because it was way outside the Idol box.

Word, on both counts. I go back to that clip package of Adam as a kid, playing with costumes and his dad saying “sports, not so much” and cross reference it with the Rushfield article that quoted Adam as saying he was made fun of a lot. The theatricality that for some is just Adam playing a part to me IS Adam being Adam, just the same as asking for a three piece suit and drawing a little moustache on his lip because he had a yen to dress up as a grown up was tiny Adam being tiny Adam. When we first found the clips of Adam’s Zodiac Show performances, or even Crazy from Art for Life, most of the remarks here, including my own, ranged from he’ll probably have to tone himself way down to be taken seriously to he was probably cast as fodder to fill the quirky quotient to Simon will hate him for sure. So, you know, you have to remember that before it was obvious that Adam was probably a TCO and before AI viewers were eventually conditioned to accept the more OTT aspects of Adam’s performance style, a lot of reasonable people thought he’d have a tough time being embraced by AI viewers if he let his freak flag fly even at half mast. ROF is the closest an honest to goodness frontrunner on AI has gotten to a perforance along the lines of Jacob Hoggard’s Space Oddity cover on CI or Adam’s Zodiac Club stuff, so I get the bravery in that respect. I’m not saying breakin the theatricality boundary, for lack of a better word, is any more daring than any boundary broken by a former AI risk taker like Bo or Blake or Cook or whoever I missed, though. Adam has played a smart game thus far, dancing on the ledge and then pulling back just in time to save himself. Disco night should be interesting for him. I actually think he’s in danger if he plays it TOO safe because at this point, people are enjoying the rollercoaster and are probably expecting Adam of all people to embrace the spectacle of disco. The worst thing he can do at this point is bore people.

Adam reminds me more than anything of Blake, not vocally but stylistically and in terms of trying to push out of Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mainstream box. And you see how well 19/Sony handled Blake.

I agree with you re: Adam being most reminiscent of Blake stylistically. Adam is kind of like Blake minus the beat boxing plus the showy vocals that tradional AI viewers demand. Maybe the showy vocals will be the key difference in 19/Sony being able to successfully market Adam where they couldn’t with Blake??

Also, I agree with whoever said that over or underpimpage is subjective. I also agree with the person who said that it’s way easier to deal with pimpage when you happen to dig the style of the pimpee and way more annoying when the pimpees just aren’t your bag. This is why I hated Season 3 more than any other season I’ve seen and love Season 7 the to the same degree, but of course that’s just my subjective opinion.

Not exactly like that but there have been groundbreaking performances on Idol before. There was Boà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s acapella number and Blakeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s You Give Love A Bad Name.

I’d like to add Fantasia’s “Summertime” to this. She tore herself open emotionally with that performance. With contestants like Bo, Blake, and Fantasia, it was always apparent who they were — there was nowhere to hide, and nothing to hide behind. And if it weren’t for contestants like Bo, Blake, and Fantasia, who did the best they could to represent who they were musically within the confines of the show, it’s less likely there would be a place for the Adam Lamberts on the AI stage. That decision, to be true to who you are, is a brave one to make. IMO, Adam hasn’t shown that kind of bravery.

Adam is a fascinating person with a fascinating and tough past.

How so?

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d like to add Fantasiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Summertimeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  to this. She tore herself open emotionally with that performance.

OMG yes. Summertime was actually the very first AI performance that brought me to tears. Dang I was weeping during that. Back then I didn’t think she was technically the best singer (I was rooting for Latoya) but man that performance hit you in the gut.

Adam has alot of vocal ability and Blake not so much. Just my opinion. I usually hate the ones who break out of the AI box because they often aren’t very strong singers. But Adam does his theatrical things with talent. I just don’t know why he has to be considered brave. He’s been performing like this for years. no? And I have my points on him to win the whole thing.

Plus arguments that he should win to prove America’s overcome its homophobia or because he’s SUFFERED are annoying to me. And I live in the gayest neighborhood in NYC.

IMO, Adam hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shown that kind of bravery.

As someone has said earlier, music and what someone wants out of it is subjective. Some think what Bo did was brave, others think that Adam’s ROF was brave. It’s all in the eye of the beholder and what that person wants out of their music. We all connect to different performers and performances for different reasons. Since we are not all the same people nor share the same life experiences, we are not all going to connect to the same performer.

Personally, I think we have seen into Adam’s soul and thought he was very brave throwing ROF out there and allowing us to see the anguish in Mad World……but that’s me.

Plus the fact that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s supposed to win to prove Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s overcome its homophobia or because heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s SUFFERED is kind of annoying. And I live in the gayest neighborhood in NYC.

LOL. I lived in the Castro district of San Fran.

AI should give out medals. Soundscene, I think you win. Castro is even gayer than Chelsea in NYC where I live.

I think Adam’s shown bravery more than once. He’s taken risks and camped it up or bared his soul stripped down. They’re all pretty brave to do this at all, but he’s had some brave performances that stood out for me.

Ugh. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been hearing more and more interviews with Michael Johns lately, and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been more and more unimpressed. He does need to learn the joys of graciousness.

To hear Michael Johns tell it, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m apparently the only person who was not surprised by his ‘surpriseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ boot. While I did think Michael had top 3 potential when I heard his audition, not once throughout the competition did I see him as the frontrunner, much to his chagrin, I’m sure.

The more I listen to him, the more I appreciate how refreshingly humble Archie was during the competition and after it. For all the ridicule and pot shots people have taken at Archie, few have ever been able to deny that he was (and remains) completely devoid of ego.

I think Adam’s taken quite a few risks that I think have paid of,to me he is ballsy!..I’ve enjoyed most of his performances in a season that for me is full of bleh! DOnt care if he wins or not, as long as he continues to bring it each week, I’m happy..I dont take the show that seriously, its a tv show, supposed to be fun, and he seriously looks like he has fun on that stage.I was laughing all through BTBW and in a good way.

Michael Johns needs a zip on his mouth. Its 2009, get over it already!

Archie forgot his whole song top 12 and the judges just loved him and pimped him up like crazy.
…….They didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t pimp him top 12 night. lol. He got ravaged.

Archie got RAVAGED ??? Wow. I must have missed that. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t recall Archie ever getting what I would call “ravaged”. His criticisms which were few and far between, were incredibly mild and I always thought that was because he seemed so innocent and young. It would have been like kicking a puppy. I liked Archie second best last year, but I always thought they were very careful not to be too hard on him…

Adam has had some of Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s harshest criticism this year. ..

Unless and until someone other than Adam hears the words: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“What in the hell was that? There are a lot of people throwing their TV sets out the window right nowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ Horrificà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ Utter Indulgent Rubbishà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m in total agreement with the above assessment.

^ ^ Word.
From what I have read, RoF was radically different from anything done on the AI stage before, so IMO that is brave. And I am referring to the entire performance, not the arrangement. And those notes he hit > Wow! You might not have liked it, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t unique FOR AI

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.exactly. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mind if Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans think heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the best thing EVAR EVAR on Idol. What bugs me is when they are intolerant of those who donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make him a fave.

Excuse me, but all the fantards do this for their Idol. Not naming names, but some of the Archies and Cookies (and I adore Cook)) still get incredibly defensive when one of them (especially Archie) is even slightly criticized. It happens all the time on MJs. And I see it on other boards as well.

But that is the whole point. That how the media works. They decide what is interesting not the other way around.
Adam is an interesting topic for them.
That maybe unfornutate for the other contestant, but that is life.

Word!!!!! The media will cover who it will. i guess its annoying when it isnt your favourite being buzzed about all the time, but that’s showbizz!

Plus arguments that he should win to prove Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s overcome its homophobia or because heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s SUFFERED are annoying to me. And I live in the gayest neighborhood in NYC.

Ugh – I like Adam – and I don’t like that either. First of all, I know nothing of Adam’s suffering. How much or how little he’s suffered is really just not my business. And, curing America’s homophobia would be an impossible task.

I’m not sure I’d use the word “Brave” to describe anything that happens on a tv singing competition. I think Adam, and some previous contestants have made some ballsy choices. Sometimes, those choices pay off, sometimes not. No doubt it takes guts to get up on that big stage every week and lay it all out there, but they’re all doing that. Again, ballsy maybe – but when I think of the word “Bravery” the cheesy singing competition is not the first thing that comes to mind.

I will say that I think we have seen parts of the real Adam. I think he gives us a little piece every week. I’m entertained by his performances though, so whether they’re real or some put-on persona is of no consequence to me.

I also agree with the notion that “pimping” is all about perspective.

I like the show, and I like it to entertain me. So far this season, I have been most entertained by Adam and Kris. That’s kind of all there is to it for me. I just don’t really need much deeper meaning than that in these circumstances.

ETA: LOL Chipmunk – we must have been sharing a brain on that whole ballsy thing.

Word!!!!! The media will cover who it will. i guess its annoying when it isnt your favourite being buzzed about all the time, but thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s showbizz!

LOL. That just abut sums it up for me. Idol ain’t changed in 8 seasons, it is what it is. Ditto Idol media coverage. Thems the breaks. Welcome to the music biz!

I feel like thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a facade that never quite comes down. And unless it does, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not buying into the Adam hype this season.

Adam definitely approaches music the way an actor approaches a role. A good actor allows himself or herself to be taken over by a role so that you can no longer “see” the actor. I think a good musician does the complete opposite.. they can take any song that is out of character but still allow their personality to shine through and remain true to themselves. However, you don’t have to be a good musican to be a succesful singer and I think that Adam has the makings of a very successful pop artist (hence the pimpage). 19E just needs to supply him with a ton of good songwriters and a competent band that knows how to arrange music and Adam will make waves…he’s a Lord Gaga in the making. Personally I would love to see a contestant like Kris win but I’m guessing that 19E wants a situation where the winner makes more than the runner up. I don’t see Kris churning out the kind of top 40 material that Adam will.

Adam has had some of Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s harshest criticism this year

I think that Adam’s positive reviews from the judges have more than made up for that one harsh criticism from Simon. Futhermore, that same performance had Paula hyperventilating, left Kara “confused but happy” and had Randy equating him to Nine Inch Nails. It certainly wasn’t a Kristy Lee moment. I kind of felt like Kara after that performance.

heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a Lord Gaga in the making

Um, I love this. This is going to have to be my new nickname for Adam, I think.

ETA: LOL Chipmunk – we must have been sharing a brain on that whole ballsy thing.

LOL! Yep

And i also totally agree with you on this!!!!!!!!!!!

I like the show, and I like it to entertain me. So far this season, I have been most entertained by Adam and Kris. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s kind of all there is to it for me. I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really need much deeper meaning than that in these circumstances

Are we twins? LOL!

.

heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a Lord Gaga in the making

If that gets on the radio, seriously I will leave my radio off until such time as that gets off the radio. Lady Gaga is one thing… Lord Gaga would be a whole new level of noise.

I think every year people are pimped mostly because tptb see that person as talented and can potentially make them alot of money.

Archie, Carly, and Michael were pimped early on last year, and the only one who had both the talent and the connection with the fans to remain until the final two was the kid. Of course Cook ascended and the rest it history, but every year a few people are chosen and it is up to them to take that gift and build upon it.

I adore Michael Johns but any good will that he may have had after the show is evaporating because of his amazing knack for hyperbole. He would have done himself alot more good if he would just sing nice, look purty, and stfu.

Archie on the other hand has made very few missteps and has changed at least some member of the media’s mind. So much for a kid who many questioned his intellect.

Adam isn’t the second coming of anyone. And damn straight he’s been pimped, but there is enough of that going around, and at least imho he has earned it. I think he’s an incredible singer. I think he’s delivered at least two moment already this season, and it would be a total snoozefest without him. Sometimes you are pimped and you deliver, and other times you are just pimped much to the chagrin of other. For me Adam is the former, not the latter.

MJ, I loved your article. It was a nice little insight into Adam. As a fan, I appreciate it.

Is anyone else having trouble pulling up Idolatry? It’s showing that the video is not currently available.

Plus the fact that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s supposed to win to prove Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s overcome its homophobia or because heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s SUFFERED is kind of annoying. And I live in the gayest neighborhood in NYC.

LOL. I lived in the Castro district of San Fran.

I’m not sure I follow this logic. I don’t think living in a gay area makes you more prone or less prone to want Adam to win AI. I’m not someone who would vote for anyone based on their sexuality, race or anything superficial to their performances, and I haven’t seen a lot of comments to that effect here. Granted, I haven’t read every post of this thread or all threads. My general feeling is that people wish that his sexuality was a NON issue.

As for brave, that’s a matter of interpretation. It’s the opposite of safe when the judges call out performers for not doing something unique. So, yeah, Adam was brave in his arrangement of ROF, because it was out of the realm of what’s been done on Idol in the past. He also got a lot of criticism for it because some people think that song is sacred. I think all the contestants are brave for going on Idol. Brave in their song selections and arrangements…. not so much.

ETA: Of course, people vote in this contest for all sorts of reasons. So, who am I to say someone shouldn’t vote for Adam because he’s gay. I’m sure people voted for Archie because he’s Morman. I’m sure people won’t vote for Adam because he’s gay. It’s just the way it is.

ETA2: I do realize its a drag when your favorite isn’t the favorite of the rest of the blog. I showed up in season 5 and Taylor was not my fave. I hung tough, though.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d use the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Braveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  to describe anything that happens on a tv singing competition.

This. I have zero horses in this race as I don’t care who wins in the slightest. But I don’t think any of these people are brave for their performances. Or past AI performers either. I reserve the likes of brave for well, people not on reality television. I get why people are saying it, but to me Adam isn’t brave for his performances. Nor Blake. Nor Bo. Nor Fantasia.

Adam? I think I started liking him less when he became the answer to global warming. Or some other such bull. He’s not changing the world. He’s a talented guy on a reality show. I don’t hold it against Adam personally because he seems like a nice guy, but it certainly doesn’t make me want to root for him.

Then again I’m just contrary. I started out hating Danny, but the more blogs and etc. try to convince me he’s the devil, the more I want to see him succeed. I think I just do the opposite of what people tell me.

That decision, to be true to who you are, is a brave one to make. IMO, Adam hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shown that kind of bravery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WWtGpEqpV4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4IGm9E4W9g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmeS3v_w4Kk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szt_kSpATjo

Summertime, You Give Love a Bad Name, In A Dream, Mad World

I think all 4 performances have merit and should be given high praise. I, for one, think Adam has shown the same kind of “bravery” as the aforementioned contestants. I love each of these 4 for totally different reasons and wouldn’t want to have to be a judge and score them. If someone likes one over another that is purely subjective. In my book they are all great and deserve another listen!

Well how wonderful of the peeps here to give MJ free publicity since he is not even mentioned in the headlines our MJ posted – because you know what they say, no such thing as bad publicity. Well unless you are Chris Brown.

I hope our MJ isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hurt that all her hard work in finding all these headline stories is being ignored by the faithful.

^^^ WTH??? Someone else posted a Michael Johns story that started that talk and MJ is perfectly fine with people posting headlines that she hasn’t seen or gotten to yet. I think if MJ felt abused by us then she would let us know. In the meantime we give her hits as our thanks.

Interesting talk about Adam this evening. I am very curious to what his sound will be after the show and if the media will still be as interested in him.

I don’t really care whether you call it “brave”, that part is just semantics. But I think it gets forgotten that for a long time on idol, radically switching up a song was a risky thing to do. People remember the hits a lot more than they remember the misses. Blake did “You Give Love A Bad Name” but earlier that season, He and Sligh both got slammed for changing up songs. There have been plenty of instances when the audience did not react well to an old favorite being re-arranged, unless it was by Eva Cassidy, who never seemed to get recognized as the source. LOL.

When Cook did it successfully for many weeks in a row, he got a lot of attention for it. So its almost like now, the assumption is that any re-arrangement is a plus, but actually the old rules still apply. Ring Of Fire was laughed at just as much as it was praised. Many called it heresy. I bet he made a lot of lifetime haters that night. Matt, Kris and Danny have all re-arranged things with spotty results. So to me, it is still a gutsy thing to do. If it works, the payoff is huge, but if it doesn’t it can blow up in your face big time (Hello, Alexis!)

IMO, when someone goes on stage with a drastic rearrangement of a well-known, well-loved song, whether that arrangement is an original by said contestant or not, it is a brave thing to do.

So, when Adam stepped out on stage with an arrangement of “Ring of Fire” that Randy Travis had already shown skepticism of, yeah, I think doing what he did was brave. I don’t care if it wasn’t his original arrangement. He STILL ran the risk of people not liking it and not voting for him, no matter whose arrangement it was. I said the same thing for Cook’s “Billie Jean” last year, and I believe the same is true here.

And yes, I agree… “over” pimping and “under” pimping is completely subjective due to the variance in what people like musically. Personally, until I hear Adam getting OTT praise for a performance that I feel is mediocre or average, I won’t feel that he’s being over pimped. He hasn’t gotten a lot of criticism, but IMO, he’s deserved the praise he’s gotten. He’s living up to the hype. IMO.

ETA: “Brave” may not be the best word to use, but part of the definition of the word on dictionary.com is “courageous” and isn’t that what we’re trying to say here? Brave, courageous, ballsy, daring, whatever… it’s pretty much all the same thing.

Unless Adam had to wade through emotional turmoil to make his way to the stage that night, or knowingly risked losing his voice or some other essential part of his being forever by performing that night, he wasn’t being brave. Same with any other contestant. He’s doing exactly what he’s done for the past several years, except a family-friendly, toned-down version of it. Now many contestants have taken risks over the years, either in their song choices or their arrangements of songs. So if “bravery” on Idol means taking risks, you should add a lot more people to the current list we have going right now. Even risks that turn out to be bad choices are “brave” under that definition–”bravery” doesn’t hinge on the outcome. Or we could define “bravery” as simply having a “moment” on the show, because “Summertime” for Fantasia wasn’t brave. She had a moment with it, but neither song choice nor arrangement was brave in any way–it wasn’t even a risky song choice. She just sang it really well.

Excuse me, but all the fantards do this for their Idol. Not naming names, but some of the Archies and Cookies (and I adore Cook)) still get incredibly defensive when one of them (especially Archie) is even slightly criticized. It happens all the time on MJs. And I see it on other boards as well.

Yes, and it’s annoying no matter what. I think you and I are actually agreeing on this?

I guess though by the definitions of Idol braveness, then aren’t the Idols who come out and rearrange a song and get panned also brave? Or are you only considered brave if you do a good job?

For instance, by the token above I could also call KLC brave for her horrendous rearrangement of Eight Days a Week. Or any other trainwreck for that matter. I’m not about to call Megan Joy brave either.

I guess I just don’t understand where the distinction lies.

Summertime, You Give Love a Bad Name, In A Dream, Mad World

Tess, I only watched seasons 5 and 7 (and now of course … I’d never bothered to watch some of these, so thanks for including the links.

I think I just fell a little bit in love with Bo. :wub_tb:

ETA: I too think that rearranging a song is ALWAYS a risk. It’s become a bit more expected but if you whiff it, it just looks ridiculous. You just don’t know how it’s going to pan out. Having said that, while “brave” is a word that I tend to reserve for weightier situations, I do think that each and every contestant is pretty darn courageous to put themselves out there for us to dissect. Just because one is more successful than another doesn’t make him or her more courageous than the others, IMO.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really care whether you call it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“braveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , that part is just semantics. But I think it gets forgotten that for a long time on idol, radically switching up a song was a risky thing to do. People remember the hits a lot more than they remember the misses. Blake did à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“You Give Love A Bad Nameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  but earlier that season, He and Sligh both got slammed for changing up songs. There have been plenty of instances when the audience did not react well to an old favorite being re-arranged, unless it was by Eva Cassidy, who never seemed to get recognized as the source. LOL.

Yes. Exactly. You could call it stepping up your game, taking a risk, being ballsy, or whatever. It’s a risky attempt to set yourself apart from the pack. I can’t say that I think Fantasia took a big risk (just from the youtube), but I’d say Chris Sligh did on Diana Ross night.

I think the fact that it often doesn’t work out just proves that it’s a risky/brave/ballsy thing to do.

Unless Adam had to wade through emotional turmoil to make his way to the stage that night, or knowingly risked losing his voice or some other essential part of his being forever by performing that night, he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t being brave.

Again, that is semantics to me. Who cares whether you name it “brave” or only reserve that label for risking of life and limb. LOL. The point is it is risky to sing a radically re-arranged song on Idol, it always has been.

Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s doing exactly what heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s done for the past several years, except a family-friendly, toned-down version of it.

Well, one could argue being even a “toned down” version of a OTT glamour rock dude with gay overtones is risky in the context of Idol, but YMMV on that.

So if à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“braveryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  on Idol means taking risks, you should add a lot more people to the current list we have going right now. Even risks that turn out to be bad choices are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“braveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  under that definitionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ braveryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hinge on the outcome.

Sure. You can add to the list as you see fit. Still doesn’t take away from whether Adam fills the bill for risk taking. To me anyway, he obviously does.

Or we could define à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“braveryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  as simply having a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“momentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  on the show, because à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Summertimeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  for Fantasia wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t brave. She had a moment with it, but neither song choice nor arrangement was brave in any wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’it wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even a risky song choice. She just sang it really well.

I don’t think Fantasia fits the bill honestly. I think she did just as you said.. sang a song really well, and connected with it. Very hard thing to do on this show, but I don’t know about risky.

Yeah, sure. I think ANYONE who comes out with a drastic rearrangement of a well-known, well-loved song (or even a completely obscure choice like Bo or whoever else y’all want to mention) is making a brave, ballsy, daring, courageous choice. Either way, they’re putting themselves on the line, IMO, moreso than a contestant who just comes out and gives a karaoke performance of a song.

I guess I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand where the distinction lies.

There is no distinction. If “brave” means a risky song choice or arrangement, then good or bad, Kristy Lee Cook was brave with “Eight Days a Week.” People seem to be picking out some of their favorite performances and calling them brave or risky. I disagree with some of these descriptions, probably because I never agreed when they were first performed that the song choice or arrangements were risky. That’s especially the case in the later seasons, after contestants figured out how to play the “game” of Idol (some, but not all, participated in the “game”). I give those contestants credit for being smart about their song choices, but at the same time I think the song choices that are called the riskiest are often the safest to those who understand how Idol often works. Pick a song that wouldn’t fit you, and sing it in your style. Voila! Suddenly you’re a risk-taker because the song doesn’t sound like the original. The judges, if they like the way you changed it, will ignore a lot of flaws in the performance itself because they dug how you “made it your own.”

A rock guy singing a rock song is the riskiest choice on Idol nowadays. A diva singing a diva song is a risky choice. Because any contestant that has ever watched a few episodes of Idol would get that karaoke=bad. In order to do well on a song in your genre, you have to sing the heck out of it–something not all contestants can do.

I just see it as a bit of a double standard though. Nobody (or next to nobody) waxes on about how ballsy or brave a contestant is when they come out and screw up a classic due to rearrangement or etc. Usually the media makes fun of them, as do the fans. So in that sense I just see no difference between what Adam does and say what KLC did. I’m not saying one isn’t better than the other talentwise–I think KLC was dreadfully dull and Adam is usually anything but, taking a chance on Idol is taking a chance on Idol. It takes just as much balls to go out there and suck.

soundscene, I pretty much agree. I think Adam is a very smart AI player. As was Cook. They know how to play the game and do it very well. But like you said, at this point they know they have to try and make it their own to succeed. I’m not saying it’s always successful, but like you said, it’s much riskier for a rocker to sing a straight rock song or a diva to sing a straight diva song.

Since music is art and musical preferences are highly subjective, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see how anyone can be so easily assessed as over or under pimped.

Sorry to be quoting from so far up the thread, but this is exactly why I don’t see why who’s being pimped and who isn’t, makes any difference. Do people *seriously* vote based on what the judges say? I can’t wrap my brain around that.

Sheep or no…most of the sheep I’ve met would say, “That poncy Brit isn’t going to tell ME who to vote for!” (Ok, they wouldn’t use the word “poncy.”) There must be studies and research out there that I haven’t seen, because I can’t believe that anyone would be bothered to pick up the phone and dial for any reason other than a particular contestant touched their heart with his or her performance.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really care whether you call it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“braveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , that part is just semantics. But I think it gets forgotten that for a long time on idol, radically switching up a song was a risky thing to do. People remember the hits a lot more than they remember the misses. Blake did à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“You Give Love A Bad Nameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  but earlier that season, He and Sligh both got slammed for changing up songs. There have been plenty of instances when the audience did not react well to an old favorite being re-arranged, unless it was by Eva Cassidy, who never seemed to get recognized as the source. LOL.

When Cook did it successfully for many weeks in a row, he got a lot of attention for it. So its almost like now, the assumption is that any re-arrangement is a plus, but actually the old rules still apply. Ring Of Fire was laughed at just as much as it was praised. Many called it heresy. I bet he made a lot of lifetime haters that night. Matt, Kris and Danny have all re-arranged things with spotty results. So to me, it is still a gutsy thing to do. If it works, the payoff is huge, but if it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it can blow up in your face big time (Hello, Alexis!)

Exactly.
I agree with all of this. As for the word brave, It can mean to dare, or to challenge, to show some courage, and to me that word works well in the context of the show. I think the point here is that some contestants are not afraid to try different things and sometime pick a classic song and give it a different approach. It’s just semantics.

David A.’s AOL Sessions are now available on iTunes as well as Amazon. Although technically the release date isn’t for another half hour at midnight, April 21.

1. A Little Too Not Over You
2. Crush
3. My Hands
4. Touch My Hand
5. You Can

$4.95 for the album, iTunes plus (HQ, DRM-free)

Daughtry released his AOL Sessions a couple years ago as well. Cool!

First of all, all of this is subjective. Just because one doesn’t like Adam or think he’s brave or talented doesn’t mean its true. I personally don’t care for Allison but that doesn’t mean she’s not one of the more talented contestants left. Human beings have a habit of confusing fact with opinion……

Secondly, Adam isn’t the pimped (goodness I hate that word!) contestant. Danny was and continues to be. He has been the favorite, and they all have to crawl over him to get that crown. Adam started getting noticed through his performances. His Satisfaction got mixed reviews, ROF REALLY got mixed reviews, etc. He has garnered national media attention because he knows who he is and doesn’t apologize. Plus, he’s mad talented. I live in Central Pennsylvania. You aren’t getting more conservative than that, and he’s even popular here. lol

I think Adam is brave. He takes risks with song arrangements, song choice, and performances. The other contestants just stand there and sing. Once in awhile one will put their head back or extend their arm but you can see that they are amateurs. Adam has that “It Factor” and tries to put on a show in that 90 seconds, and for that he is risking alienating people. I have to stay though, I really don’t think he’s been over the top at all. he’s been very tame.

third, I have to interject about this Blake thing. Adam and Blake are worlds apart. Blake does not have Adam’s vocal talent or stage present. Season 6 was just totally messed up in my opinion.

Finally, those who don’t like Adam… its ok!! Really! there is not one person in the world that all 6 billion people are going to like/love. The world will continue to turn on its axis. Vote for someone else! But the Upright Cabaret, media outlets, fans, etc have the right to openly express their opinions about Adam. Just don’t watch or listen to it. Free Speech people! Its the first amendment to our contsitution!!! lol

Just an FYI tidbit –

Channel 9 KMBC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Kansas City, just showed a little clip on the news of highway workers installing a new huge green and white highway exit sign. It went by fast, but I think it said something like…

Blue Springs
Home of
David Cook
American Idol

heh

Pick a song that wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t fit you, and sing it in your style. Voila! Suddenly youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re a risk-taker because the song doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sound like the original.

Well, sometimes contestants are kind of forced to pick songs that don’t fit them due to the themes. For example, country night. Adam had to pick something in a genre that he didn’t feel comfortable in, so of course he re-arranged it.

Nobody (or next to nobody) waxes on about how ballsy or brave a contestant is when they come out and screw up a classic due to rearrangement or etc. Usually the media makes fun of them, as do the fans. So in that sense I just see no difference between what Adam does and say what KLC did.

.

I agree that Kristy made a bold/brave/ballsy choice. But no one waxes on it because it was made of fail. When it works its usually because the contestant can pull it off. Honestly, I think KLC wasn’t relying on her musical instincts, but the judges constantly telling her to go country. She probably went to Ricky Minor and asked to twang it up a bit. So while I think its risky to country-fry up a Beatles tune, I also don’t think she gets the praise because it sucked.

I just see it as a bit of a double standard though. Nobody (or next to nobody) waxes on about how ballsy or brave a contestant is when they come out and screw up a classic due to rearrangement or etc. Usually the media makes fun of them, as do the fans. So in that sense I just see no difference between what Adam does and say what KLC did. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not saying one isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t better than the other talentwiseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’I think KLC was dreadfully dull and Adam is usually anything but, taking a chance on Idol is taking a chance on Idol. It takes just as much balls to go out there and suck.

But you just defined why its risky! If it doesn’t work, you can become a laughing stock and/or get voted off. If it works, you get praise. That’s why it is a risk… it doesn’t work for everyone. That’s why you get kudos when it works, because everyone knows it could blow up in your face.

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s especially the case in the later seasons, after contestants figured out how to play the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  of Idol (some, but not all, participated in the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ). I give those contestants credit for being smart about their song choices, but at the same time I think the song choices that are called the riskiest are often the safest to those who understand how Idol often works. Pick a song that wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t fit you, and sing it in your style. Voila! Suddenly youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re a risk-taker because the song doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sound like the original.

That would make a lot of sense if it always worked out that way. It doesn’t. Many people have tried to do just that and had it blow up in their face. This season and last. And the ones before that. And folks have gotten praise and/or had “moments” by picking a great song and singing the hell out of it without radically changing a thing (Hallelujah, Imagine, Let It Be, several Anoop songs, arguably “Tracks Of My Tears” was not radically altered, etc).

I don’t think the formula for success on idol has changed all that much. Here it goes (wanabees take note!): 1. Have a powerful voice – good at glory notes 2. Show versatility 3. Be entertaining 4. Show growth – turn into a star over the course of the season 5. (after Taylor) – Show how you fit in with contemporary music. 6. Be likeable, humble, all that good stuff… Voila! Idol winner. Works everytime. I should wrote a book. Heh.

I guess for me, it’s not courage as much as it is good musical taste. KLC and Cook were, IMO, equally courageous for rearranging songs. But Cook knew how to do it and KLC didn’t.

(ok, this post landed behind several better than mine, so I’ll just agree with tinawina and be done)

By the way “brave” came into this discussion not as a definition for a “risky” performance but as a word used by Paula to describe a contestants presentation. And based on the dictionary definition:
1. Possessing or displaying courage; valiant.
2. Making a fine display; impressive or showy
3. Excellent; great:
I think her adjective is just fine.

By the way à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“braveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  came into this discussion not as a definition for a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“riskyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  performance but as a word used by Paula to describe a contestants presentation. And based on the dictionary definition:
1. Possessing or displaying courage; valiant.
2. Making a fine display; impressive or showy
3. Excellent; great:
I think her adjective is just fine.

But didn’t she also call Scott brave? I can’t say his presentation was any of that, except he was funny as hell!

Jason fans, he played a four-song set today for the employees at Atlantic in New York. Not sure what else he sang in addition to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hallelujahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

Here are some pictures:

http://twitpic.com/3o6jw

http://twitpic.com/3o6ld

Ok, pj, we need to show some semblance of political correctness here.

So it seems Anoop got his arrangement done for him this week.

eta: TWoP’s saying he did Lil’s arrangement last week too. err…

So it seems Anoop got his arrangement done for him this week.

Oh goody. I hope its a great one. Talk about taking risks… this guy needs to generate a little buzz. Anoop needs to come out swinging if he wants to stick around! Good luck Anoop!

ETA: Lil’s arrangment huh? Ummm… nevermind.

WTH? are they paying him or something? Who is this guy?

There’s a fine line between bravery and foolishness. If someone who has no business attempting to save people rushes into a burning building to rescue some trapped people inside but manages to make the chance of rescue even worse for everyone involved, then do you call it courage or stupidity? I’d say stupidity would win out. Conversely, someone else with proper training and know how rushes into the same building and rescues everyone, including the first person who just made it worse despite their good intentions, everyone is going to go with courage on that one. Its just human nature.

I don’t think the fact that someone has good instincts and a fair helping of musicanship diminishes the brass ones it takes to tackle a risky song choice and the talent it takes to make the risky song work. But evs.

In order to do well on a song in your genre, you have to sing the heck out of ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’something not all contestants can do.

And not all contestants can instinctually understand the difference between a compelling arrangement that fits their aristic identity and a lousy one that’s rearranged for the sake of rearranging. Some people are impressed by perfect pitch, other people could give a crap about the third note from the end being a little sharp or flat if the performance is exciting or especially moving. Some people embrace the concept of bravery in the context of AI, some people reject it because bravery has a broader meaning for them. Different strokes.

David A.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s AOL Sessions are now available on iTunes as well as Amazon.

I wondered why they disappeared when they seemed to be getting a lot of hits. I also wonder if they put them back up eventually.

Blue Springs
Home of
David Cook
American Idol

How weird for Cook and his family to see that while driving home! Cool!

Kristy Lee Cook’s version was NOT an out of the blue re-arrangement of Eight Days A Week. It was a total copy of Lorrie Morgans country HIT version of Eight Days A Week.
I’m sure you can find it on YouTube…Lorrie Morgan/Eight Days A Week. I have played that version time and time again playing for country acts. Nothing daring or special but a ripoff.

Two more Idolatry videos

ETA: Sorry, didn’t see page 2.

I don’t really care about the dress rehearsals but the judges should be entering the live show with an empty baggage and not harp on the rehearsals anymore.

So it seems Anoop got his arrangement done for him this week.

Am I missing something or not understanding well… but they have someone who does arrangements for them? Is this new or I’ve been living under a rock? Sounds a bit weird to me.

Adam? I think I started liking him less when he became the answer to global warming. Or some other such bull. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not changing the world. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a talented guy on a reality show. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hold it against Adam personally because he seems like a nice guy, but it certainly doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make me want to root for him.

Then again Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just contrary. I started out hating Danny, but the more blogs and etc. try to convince me heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the devil, the more I want to see him succeed. I think I just do the opposite of what people tell me.

I’m feeling the same way. I like Adam, but I don’t think the guy is reinventing the wheel on AI. It’s getting to the point that I’m hoping for a Adam Lambert shock boot and a Danny Gokey AI victory, just to see the meltdown that will ensue. It’s not even Adam’s fault, but the fandom and OTT lovefest and pimping is starting to turn me off a bit.

This is kinda neat…USA Today article:
A day in the life of ‘Idol,’ from rehearsals to the live show

Covering the goings on this past tuesday.

12:30 p.m. In another office, Warwick assesses a bulletin board with color-coded paper rectangles that lay out the remaining six weeks of episodes. He’s already plotting the finale.

A reporter takes a quick look at some of the items: “Girls and Burger King,” “Boys and Fishing.” “You’ll never know what Girls and Burger King means,” he says. “It’s in code.”

Warwick does reveal one tidbit about the finale. “We’re talking about Sacha Baron Cohen doing something,” although it’s not confirmed, he says. “The trouble is he always goes a little bit off the rails, and we’ve got to be very careful. It’s a family show.”

MJ, that girl of the joke of entering Britney ´s home have made it to the front page of MSN VIDEO Latin America…

leome — I’m with you. They are now paying someone to help the kids arrange/re-arrange songs they are singing? When did this start? Based on my understanding from last year, I thought the kids just talked to the Rickey Minor Band and worked out an arrangement with them or played their arrangement to the RMB and RMB and they just worked on the final arrangement. I didn’t know there was a professional arranger working with the kids that was separate from the band peeps. Strange.

Just an FYI tidbit -

Channel 9 KMBC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Kansas City, just showed a little clip on the news of highway workers installing a new huge green and white highway exit sign. It went by fast, but I think it said something likeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Blue Springs
Home of
David Cook
American Idol

heh

Yep there’s going to be some big presentation with DC on Wednesday before he plays his Kansas City show. $20 says he cries :laugh_tb:

Oh goody. I hope its a great one. Talk about taking risksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ this guy needs to generate a little buzz. Anoop needs to come out swinging if he wants to stick around! Good luck Anoop!

ETA: Lilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s arrangment huh? Ummmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ nevermind.

Well, on the bright side, Anoop probably doesn’t plan to “gospelize” his song, which I think is Lil code for singing bad notes and yelling.

According to the tweet, the guy has been doing arrangements for Idol for 3 seasons. Maybe Rickey Minor doesn’t have time to arrange every single song.

For me, Michael was last year’s Lil. Lots of hype and over praising by the judges at the beginning of the season for less than stellar performances. Last year I was wondering what the hell the judges were hearing when Michael sang that I didn’t hear and this year it’s the same with Lil. Like Lil, the judges started to give realistic critiques after several poor performances in a row. Just did not live up to the hype. Lil will probably see her boot as shocking too. People who are not her diehard fans won’t see it as shocking at all.

Now I’m getting excited. Geaux Noop!

I know that both Cook and David A. were pimped last year. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not denying that. But ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all a matter of tasteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’do you believe a contestantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performances deserved the critiques the judges gave them. In other words, do you believe the contestant was over-pimped. For me, I believe that David A. deserved the good comments he got (and he got his share of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“forgettable,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“dancing animated creaturesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  comments from Simon).

I know I’m late to the party (errr, discussion), but I have to say I do understand why some get upset at what they see as over-pimping. I’m quoting the above comment because it illustrates to me how differently any two people can see a situation.

I hated David A. last year. Still do. I never got the appeal, thought and think he’s really unattractive, and his voice to me is a nasally drone that makes me want to stick sharp objects in my ears.

So, to me, David A. was ridiculously over-pimped, and deserved none of the good comments he got. Not one little bit. I didn’t, however, post constantly on message boards stating such, because:

1) My opinion of him mattered not to the price of tea in China

2) I know many people just loved him, and would find my remarks offensive, and really, why rile up the fan bases of contestants you don’t like?

Michelle shared this

USA Today article:
A day in the life of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Idol,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ from rehearsals to the live show

Interesting article! I was especially intrigued by the accompanying photo gallery, complete with brief, but illuminating, contestant commentary from Ken Warwick.

Since music is art and musical preferences are highly subjective, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see how anyone can be so easily assessed as over or under pimped.

Classical philosphy has beauty as an OBJECTIVE quality. Beauty lies in the object or music itself. If something is beautiful, and a person does not see it, then that person is not educated enough to see it. In the same way if a person sees/hears something as beautiful and it is not objectively beautiful the individual lacks insight to understand what is beautiful.

To Plato it is the Good, which is essentially beautiful. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Beauty absolute, separate, simple, and everlastingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , is the radiance of this Good or as the sculptor Leonard McComb stated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the celebration of Godà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s radianceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . This Beauty, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“in every form, is one and the sameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , unaltered by human perception or opinion.

In other words, beauty is not subjective at all.

Michael should move on but see nothing inherently wrong in what he said other than of course DC had power voters also. I think what he was trying to say was that his fans skew older than Jason and Archie which is true

I agree. I thought Cook had that older, organized fanbase Jason and Archie also both have power-voting for them–which really helps most of the contestants that go far on the show. (If Michael had mentioned that instead then he would’ve been in worse trouble, hee.) Michael’s take on his AI experience being offbase doesn’t make him dumb; it just makes the regular viewers/online posters of the show sound more like experts. Which is why I highly doubt he Googles himself as much as others think. Seems like a few of his critics do that more. :lol_wp:

Someone mentioned his song being played in Australia. The Kyle and Jackie O show is popular there and a lot of American celebrities do promotions via that route. Besides that’s MJ’s home and he has family and friends there. So I think that’s a good thing. A recording is posted here with a short interview.
http://michaeljohnsonline.com/2009/04/20/heart-on-my-sleeve-debuts-on-the-kyle-and-jackie-o-show/

I was especially intrigued by the accompanying photo gallery, complete with brief, but illuminating, contestant commentary from Ken Warwick.

Ooh thanks, I missed that!

1) My opinion of him mattered not to the price of tea in China

2) I know many people just loved him, and would find my remarks offensive, and really, why rile up the fan bases of contestants you donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like?

Why didn’t you? You have an opinion–it’s okay to share it. Just because I vehemently disagree with it doesn’t mean no opinions should ever be shared.

Especially since you have absolutely no problem strongly sharing your opinion now.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll never know what Girls and Burger King means,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  he says. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in code.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Ohhh…I can never let these things go without throwing out a few wild guesses.
Girls = female mentor? (we’ve only had men so far this season)
Burger King = at first I was thinking the opposite of King (Elvis?) is Queen which leads me to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. Then I remembered all the talk of trying to get ‘young’, ‘relevant’ mentors on the show. So perhaps BK = Beyonce Knowles?

Okay, I just gotta say this. I have been lurking on this site for some time now, and I believe this site to be a thinly disguised hate site for David Archuleta. It is absolutely ridiculous the lengths that some of his fans have gone to to defend him on this completely biased blog. People will find any possible thing to bash him and it’s become ridiculous and quite obvious. This site is a Cook site through and through. And that’s fine. Great for him and his fans. Mj I know you will delete this and ban me and thats fine, but I don’t honestly care. It’s become pretty clear the complete hatred that most of your bloggers here have for David Archuleta. And its honestly quite pathetic! Look it’s season 8 and people are still fan-waring over season 7. (Says a lot about Season 8 but thats neither here nor there.) I just have to say that I don’t think this site is fair at all, and those of you who are Archie fans, should just stop coming here, because you’re wasting your time. I have to give props to Frogcooke, Soundscene, and all of the other BRAVE Archie fans that put up with this. But I think…Why even bother… It’s a lost cause. Any of his news about his success gets buried on the page, and all of his haters come a runnin’ to discredit him in any possible way they can. Apparently he’s all for nuclear-disarment or whatever and deserved nothing but negative comments from the judges, and he’s just a puppet being controlled by his evil dad. And this is coming from someone who liked BOTH Davids last year. Gee what a concept!!!!

MrRJ, I respectfully disagree about beauty being objective. But perhaps I don’t care about the classical philosophers when it comes to a cheesy reality program. I’m very willing to agree to disagree.

This site is a Cook site through and through.

Wish someone had told me that when I was primarily sending my votes to Jason last year and having fun with all the fans voting for the two Davids, Brooke, Carly, and yes, Johnsy.

Musiclvr682,
I think you will find this site an equal opportunity praiser of each of the idols and an equal opportunity basher of all of them too. There are many posters here that love David A and/or David Cook. In Season 5, I loved almost all the contestants. Not everyone likes only one. I think you will find as many Archie fans here as Cook fans and gee, guess what, there were Brook, Jason, Carly, MJ, etc fans here as well. Just like this year, you’ll find posters who like various contestants. There isn’t one contestant who gets all the love or one who gets none of it. Keep reading and i think you will find this is true.

Why didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t you? You have an opinionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s okay to share it. Just because I vehemently disagree with it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean no opinions should ever be shared.

Especially since you have absolutely no problem strongly sharing your opinion now.

I’m sharing my opinion of a contestant from last season now to illustrate my point. People can’t vote for David A. anymore.

I’ve had negative personal opinions of a few contestants this year, but I don’t post ad nauseum about it. Goes back to what I said earlier about riling up fan bases.

The negativity I’ve seen on this board towards Adam from some has convinced me that I need to actually get off my ass and vote for 2 hours every Tuesday. I vote splitted last week between Adam and Anoop (I thought they were the best 2 performances that night), but I won’t anymore because I would really like to see Adam in the finale and the Adam haters are driving me to vote harder.

That’s why I don’t rip on current contestants. I think alot of people read that kind of stuff, get mad, and vote harder for the person I don’t like. :wink1_tb:

This site is a Cook site through and through.

Oh, I sure hope not, because I don’t give a rat’s ass about David Cook LOL.

Wish someone had told me that when I was primarily sending my votes to Jason last year and having fun with all the fans voting for the two Davids, Brooke, Carly, and yes, Johnsy.

Yeah, that totally could have saved me a lot of time – since I wasted so much voting for Brooke & Jason

Who am I supposed to like this year? Heck, I even power-voted for Sarver one night. Someone really needs to get me the memo.

LOL I think someone’s stuck in 2008.

Heck, I even power-voted for Sarver one night.

:shock_tb: Blasphemy!!!!

LOL I think someoneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stuck in 2008.

Ha! You think that’s something? Watch this!

I hate Clay Aiken. He Sucks. Rueben was MUCH better.

**ducks and runs for cover** :laugh_tb:

I hate Clay Aiken. He Sucks. Rueben was MUCH better.

Tinawina, I think you are the bravest person in the history of MJ’s blog. You are a bright shining star of funny, too, and a beacon to all those who fear fanwars. :lol_tb:

:lol_tb: sunchick channeling Paula! You worked it out dawg. hahahahahahahaha.

Seriously, I don’t hold a candle to some of y’all. There are so many funny people on this site that I think we should have like a snark off or something one day. Could you imagine what would happen if everybody just decided to crack jokes at the same person’s expense at the same time? For a prize, like free coffee? That’s all it would take for me. LOL. We gotta pick someone good. Not to obvious. Ummm… Michael Sarver? Kara DioGuardi? Scott Macintyre? Discuss!
:ponder_tb:

Things to never post or you will be considered a contestant hater (even though they are meant as an observation)

He really needs to get his eyebrows plucked and do something with that hair and preppy wardrobe.
That red hair is so garish, and she really needs to have a speech therapist.
That outfit does nothing to hide that booty she is carrying aound.
That mole, its so distracting.
He sings out of the side of his mouth and makes such funny faces.
He must enjoyhaving a personal chef, isn’t he getting a bit more chunky.
That hair, that pancake makeup, the eyeliner, the schreech.

and before:

I know the group numbers will be better once he’s gone.
That herky, jerky is so obnoxious.
I know its the fifth more dangerous job in the world, so what.
Well she succeeded, this time she just wore a slip. Guess that is dirtying it up.
She’s just too much beauty pagent.
Someone needs to help him with his English.

Musiclvr, let me just say that you aren’t the only one with that opinion, although the reality is surely more complex than your ‘thinly disguised hate site’ statement. To me, it becomes a question of some posters getting away with being more boldly nasty than others. We love our Idol favorites and hate to see people express opinions that differ from ours because, as fans, we probably do know more about our favorite than a person who has a different favorite — especially if the pair were sold on Idol as competitors. So what the ‘haters’ say just sounds wrong, and we feel a need to defend.

This blog has been a lesson for me in discretion. I can’t say how many times I’ve had to remind myself that I only lose if I bow down to pettiness. Idol uses that competition angle for ratings, and if they can hard sell a pair (David v. David, Adam v. Danny, Clay v. Ruben) they will. Any of us buy into that too much? Well, haven’t we been duped? In the non-Idol world, those particular pairs would never be in competition.

If you can sift through the posts here, however, you will find that there are more people here who try to be fair. They just get less attention than those who don’t bother.

Oh my. Ummm… MJ? Are you around? Hello out there…

ETA: LOL @ Tess!

TESS! :lol_tb:

Just de-lurking to say I found that comment/complaint that this was a “hate site for David Archuleta” just preposterous. It’s funny that on the David Cook board I frequent there are folks there who think this site is Pro Archie & anti DC! For those two I think MJ has done a fine job of being even-handed.

By the way – Cook’s team in the Race for Hope has now raised over $50,000 in the cause to fight brain cancer/brain tumors and the goal has been upped to $75,000. Yay. I have to say that I lost my father to a brain tumor but never donated to this cause until this event prompted me to. (There have been more opportunities to support the cause to fight the breast cancer which took my mother.)

TESS! Thank you for the laugh. Well done.

Okay, I just gotta say this. I have been lurking on this site for some time now, and I believe this site to be a thinly disguised hate site for David Archuleta. It is absolutely ridiculous the lengths that some of his fans have gone to to defend him on this completely biased blog. People will find any possible thing to bash him and it’s become ridiculous and quite obvious. This site is a Cook site through and through. And that’s fine.

LOL.

I think you need to shut off your computer and take a walk.

And, as a matter of fact, you are banned.

I don’t think Adam is pimped because I think he has earned his accolades, and he has been criticized as well as praised. He hasn’t been given a free ride. And I speak fairly objectively as I’m not a fan. I like him some weeks and not other weeks. However I will say that Danny has definitely been pimped, as was Lil, as the judges decided early on that they were the great ones, and continued to praise them even when they didn’t deserve it week after week. Finally they are realizing their error. Meanwhile Adam earned respect by outrageous and often mesmerizing performances.

“Brave” is subjective of course and is an interesting concept. Everyone will have different ideas about what is a brave performance. I thought it was brave of Adam to take off the makeup and sing unvarnished from his soul, without all the hoopla. That was a risk as he made himself very vulnerable. I thought it was brave of David Cook to sing Music of the Night, as it requires powerful vocals and has been sung masterfully by some of the world’s greatest singers, and it was risky but he did okay with it. It was brave of Archie to sing Imagine, which is always going to be compared with John Lennon and others who have done great interpretations of it, and he pulled it off. Those are risks that could have gone either way, and that’s what made them exciting.

When they take a risk and it works out, they are called brave. When they take a risk and fall short, we call it a bad song choice. That’s why it’s brave, it teeters on the edge and could go either way.

Musiclvr, let me just say that you arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the only one with that opinion, although the reality is surely more complex than your à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹thinly disguised hate siteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ statement. To me, it becomes a question of some posters getting away with being more boldly nasty than others.

Really? And do all those people just happen to be fans of Idols who aren’t named David Archuleta?

One of the things I’ve found covering Idol over the years is that that super invested fans hardly notice what’s written or said about Idols who aren’t their favorite.

So having said that. This blog on blog talk drives me crazy. If you don’t like my blog don’t read it. Don’t bitch about it in the threads. If something is really bothering you, take it to email.

Oh my. Ummm… MJ? Are you around? Hello out there…

Oh I’m here. *shaking her head*

Oh Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m here. *shaking her head*

LOL. We’re sorry mj. I think all of the rabid fanbases over the years should chip in and send you a gift. DCO alone probably owes you at least 2 boxes of really expensive chocolates. I’ll get on that.

:wub_tb:

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s become pretty clear the complete hatred that most of your bloggers here have for David Archuleta. And its honestly quite pathetic! Look ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s season 8 and people are still fan-waring over season 7. (Says a lot about Season 8 but thats neither here nor there.)

:huh_tb:

^^^ Let’s not respond any more to musiclvr. If I had caught her post earlier, I would have deleted it.

Could we please just get back on topic, or let the thread die.

Apparently heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all for nuclear-disarment or whatever and deserved nothing but negative comments from the judges

As much as a I disagree with the comment that this is an anti-DA site (honestly, there are peeps on DCO who have stopped going here b/c some people’s comments about DC made their blood boil), the “nuclear disarmament” statement above really left me scratching my head. Why, again, is nuclear disarmament a bad thing?

By the way, disco week is gonna be full of suck.

I thought it was brave of Adam to take off the makeup and sing unvarnished from his soul, without all the hoopla. That was a risk as he made himself very vulnerable.

Good point. I remember Paula mentioning it to him in her comments the night he performed Tears and he looked at his unpolished nails. He looked very uncomfortable with the fact that he had done it and it was noticed. It was like he felt naked up there.

By the way, disco week is gonna be full of suck.

You know, the themes that I assume are going to be the biggest trainwreck weeks often turn out to be the best. Maybe we’ll be surprised. *fingers crossed*

(eta: in answer to your question, the ND comment had to do with a discussion on another thread)