I think this is on topic since it’s about judges choices for final three.

Last year people were shocked that Simon gave David Cook ‘First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ by Roberta Flack. I love this song and was thrilled.

Here is David’s singing it and a special message at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNuUjr0HcaU

This only illustrates how fans’ perceptions differ. To me the Roberta Flack song–The Last Time Ever I Saw Your Face–was a masterful choice since it’s by all accounts one of the greatest love ballads ever written. It was totally appropriate for Cook.

And So It Goes by Billy Joel, on the other hand, was a totally inappropriate middle-aged man’s lament. This was chosen by Paula after she had been urging him for weeks to lighten up and sing songs more appropriate for a seventeen year old kid–not easy to do on a show like Idol with its rigid formats. It also compounded his problems on the show by bogging him down with still another ballad, together with the crappy Longer which he was not allowed to sing uptempo as he wanted. He was ordered by the producers to sing it straight. This was after they switched the Aerosmith song he’d been rehearsing and gave it to Cook–who, of course, was fulsomely praised for the kind of clever arrangements denied to Archie. Talk about unfair.

Not on topic, MJ. Here’s Elliott’s video that was just released for his single (You Say) in Japan. The Japanese have much better taste in music imo (lol). This song is flying up the charts over there. I hope Elliott gets some traction with this cd. It’s really amazing.

Now on topic for a minute… I think if Kris survives this week he may just have a shot at winning the whole thing. People seem to like him pretty well. It seems that people have very strong opinions about both Danny and Adam and they appear to be pretty poloarizing. I think the judges have probably not helped matters by declaring them as being in the finale when it was only top 13.

I’m not going to tolerate discussions deteriorating into arguments that include personal insults.

Posters who bait and lead discussions down that path will be banned. Simple as that.

My guidelines:

http://mjsbigblog.com/?page_id=1172

Maybe thats why you don’t think Adam will be a mega superstar. Its because you don’t like him. lol You have to look at this stuff objectively by sales, buzz, publicity, etc. Not based on whether or not you would buy the person’s music.

DON’T question the motives of your fellow posters. This is the kind of attitude that gets you banned.

You’re in moderation for now.

Simon was always behind Danny and still is or so we shall see this coming week.

Simon is so over Danny. I think that’s pretty clear from the interview he did immediately after Wednesday’s results show when he flat out said Adam was the only one he cared about in terms of who made the final. Then Randy chimed in with, “Well, as me and Simon have been sayin’ all along (way to think for yourself, Randy), it’s coming down to an Adam/Danny final.” And Simon sort of said, “yeah, right,” in a total whatever voice.

I think the fact that Danny’s performance was so bad, laughably bad, virally-skewered-on-the-internet bad was the last straw for Simon. He can’t even bring himself to pretend any interest in Danny anymore.

How is Adam the poster boy for gay issues when the word has never passed his lips? He hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t spoken of any issues as far as I have heard.

He doesn’t need to, the media is speaking about it for him.

Like it or not, Adam’s orientation is part of his appeal to mass media. It’s good that it’s working in his favor if it needs to be an issue at all.

Noctem, your last post was really good. Very analytical and grounded in reality.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not saying Adam isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t talented and deserving of some attention, but IMO, Adam is the shiny new thing plus Hollywoodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and the mediaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s poster boy for the gay issue, just like the movie à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Broke Back Mountainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  was.

How is Adam the poster boy for gay issues when the word has never passed his lips? He hasn’t spoken of any issues as far as I have heard.

Sanjaya had terrific buzz his season. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not comparing him and Adam talent wise but seriously Sanjaya was a cultural phenom. He was lampooned on SNL, Jon Stewart. Internet blogs etc. Aside from the EW cover and Time magazine, I havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seen Adam getting that much buzz. And since ratings are down I wonder how famous he really is.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard fans and the media predict lots of things for Idol contestants. One winner was the next Elvis, another was bigger than the Beatles. Right now the hype is at ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s peak. When the dust clears in about a month, weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll see how interested anyone still is and in about six months weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll know if Adam is even a viable recording artist let alone an international superstar.

noctem, you too:

The year before that, Blake Lewis was this hot cutting edge artist who was going to outsell his seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s winner. And every year some hysterically over-the-top fanbase is convinced that their Idol is going to become the biggest supahstah evah! This notion is fed by the celebrity-crazed media who will take any it-kid of the month and hype him or her to the high heavens.

Adam’s understandably getting a lot of buzz right now, but I really don’t know that it’s indicative of anything regarding Adam’s future stardom. For that, as always, we just gotta wait and see.

I just think this is all very silly. This isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the first time a contestant has gotten a lot of buzz. The only thing a lot of buzz does is raise expectations and make the bar higher for Adam. I just hope he can keep a good head on his shoulders, and not get down if he canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t reach that bar immediately after Idol.

erin, I agree with you completely, and you are very awesome, btw. Every year, I read about how this idol or that idol is going to shake up the music industry, and be the new {insert totally outdated musician here} and it pains me for these kids that they are 99% sure to fall short of the expectations. I will just be happy if they can somehow carve themselves out a place in the music industry as it actually exists today. American Idol has no effect on the music industry. American Idol is still stuck at Celine Dion, while everyone else has moved on about a thousand times over and I hear shitty singers with awesome songs on the radio all day long and I love it. However, AI will constantly only want Celine Dion, as if that is something to aspire to anymore.

The only thing that AI has going for it this year is that it actually observed a trend. The 80s have been coming back into music since for a while, and I hear more 80s infused tracks on the radio all the time. Really, it started with The Killers and Panic for me (for you), they have always had an 80s flair, retro and modern at the same time, it’s very cool. So perhaps Adam will be able to ride onto that trend with his slightly retro stylings. As long as I don’t have to tight roll my pants or rat my hair, because the neon and the unflattering skinny pants are bad enough. My Gokey, those things make my hips look like a Mack Truck while my ankles look like twigs.

From my understanding Adam sang Satisfaction because his first choice didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get cleared. He also sang Play That Funky Music because his original song got denied on Monday, the day before the show.

Shhhh… That will blow people’s theory all to heck that Adam was indeed TCO.

IMHO (& everyone’s mileage varies) it was pretty clear in his audition that Adam was cute enough to bring in the interest & the mad vocal skills just made it a plus. I honestly think they thought he would turn into a joke as the time went on. I think Danny was TCO from the first. Problem came about that people started to really like Adam. The buzz on the net caught on, people started talking about not being able to wait until Tuesday to see what he would do next (remembrances of Cook last year anyone?).

Simon has criticized Adam several times mostly in the earlier performances. “Indulgent, Horrific” & “it was a little bit like watching the Rocky Horror Musical in parts” for Born to Be Wild.

He does not criticize Danny, except to say he can’t dance & for last week (when 98% of the *hearing* world knew Danny blew it) Simon says: “The last note was like watching a horror movieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦it was a little over the top”. Just from those two examples & Adam vs Danny critique, I would say Adam got the harshest from Simon.

I believe there was another bad one for both guys from Simon but I am tired so not looking it up.

Meanwhile Kris is pretty much flying under the radar.

So when did Simon start liking Adam? He liked him ok on B&W, he hated RoF the next week & then the following week Adam to went Simon’s zone with “Tracks of my Tears” “It was THE best performance of the nightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦you were able to sum up everthing we said tonightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦you have emerged to me as a star.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Simon got behind him after that performance. Simon was always behind Danny and still is or so we shall see this coming week.

I think Matt was “suppose” to be the back up for Danny. Matt had trouble connecting with the audience and although I like Matt, he did not deliver in the end. That put him in jeopardy in Simon’s eyes even after the save.

I believe Simon has liked Kris all along. Kris sings songs more in Simon’s style, the slower songs. Oh wiat, here comes Adam who just threw a wrench into that with his Tracks of My Tears & Mad World & it put Adam in a tie with Kris as the new back up to Danny.

What the producer’s did not see coming was all the “dead wife” backlash with Danny. Danny is an ok singer, but his back story, come on, that is a reality tv show’s dream come true. Along comes fans for Adam who is honestly not really Simon’s cup of tea but Adam pull’s out a couple of lovely slow performances & it makes Simon take notice. Now comes another cutie who can sing but is shy and that too pull’s at America’s heart string Simon loves the slow songs. So now we have Kris in the mix.

Danny=America’s heart strings for his deceased wife, low voice which women love on men. (Dorky in a Taylor way)
Adam=undeniable talent, handsome young guy who puts on a heck of a show which is what this show is all about. Buzz factor for not knowing what he will come up with next. (No one to really compare him to)
Kris=talented young handsome singer, quiet, loves his wife, All American boy next door (See: Carrie, All American Girl Next Door).

For the producer’s any of these guys would be a “win”. The bigger the buzz be it good or bad, the better for the show. It’s all about getting people to tune in. The money they make off the show for commercials & from FOX far outweigh what any of them could produce from album sales. I think first & foremost this is a reality tv show which after 8 seasons still sits on the top of the tv heap. The “winner” doing good selling albums is just icing on the cake.

Commercial revenues:

(source) http://advertising.about.com/b/2008/01/16/american-idol-offers-hefty-price-tag-to-sponsors.htm

“AT&T, Coca-Cola and Ford have all signed up again as primary sponsors for American Idol but it’s not without a hefty price tag. Each company is paying about $35 million for commercial time, online content, co-branding and to be featured during the show.”

That is just for those 3 companies. So let’s see what other’s pay:
(source) http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/industry_news/2005_Sep_13_record_ad_price

This is from 3 seasons ago: American Idol 5 has broken a television record by selling a 30-second ad for $705,000, the most expensive 30-second commercial ever for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a regularly scheduled prime-time network series,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Adweek reports.

How many commercials per episode of AI? I get like 5 minutes of commercials for every 4 of AI here. It’s really silly. What does FOX pay for the series? AI’s bread & butter is in those commercials. The kid’s are commodities. The better the back stories, the buzz on the net for whatever reason, the better for the show.

I don’t think AI picks “TCO” for how much talent each contestant has, but honestly for how much buzz they will create on the show to draw in viewers. They have done this for 8 seasons so they know what to look for in the “buzz’ department. They know who will create good and bad buzz. (The only one who has not created bad is Kris).

And, sheesh I have written a book and did not mean to. LOL. My bottom line is as of “now” any of these guys can win in two weeks. If my fave get’s voted off, I personally won’t be tuning in to watch the finale, but you can bet on it that there will be one million others to take my place. That can be said about any of these three guy’s fans.

Win/Win/Win

I thought Cook was going to be the male winner to break through to Carrie/Kelly levels. Now he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even get mentioned and Adam is the first star Idol has ever produced. If weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re still around next year at this time, I can hardly wait for the articles about the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“new, firstest, bested Idol of them all.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

But I guess like a shark, the Idol superlatives have to keep moving forward.

It’s funny you used the word “shark” because last week was when I realized Idol had jumped the shark, although it probably jumped it looooooong before my own realization. But, when Danny and Alison stared at each other like they’re eyes were going to bulge out of their craniums because “OH MY GOD, ADAM LAMBERT IS IN THE BOTTOM TWO!” as if Armageddon was going to break out across the planet if he was eliminated, and their would be weeping and gnashing of teeth in the streets, and the universe itself might just implode!

You make very shrewd observations on your other points too, David and David were going to become the hottest stars in music and compete for multi-platinum albums, #1 hits, and Grammys to boot.

I mean, they’re both doing “all right, dawg!” They’ve both locked down second albums; successful tours; Cook at least went single platinum and will have two platinum singles; Archie went gold and will have a double-platinum single. But, their major label careers are not guaranteed beyond their next records.

The year before that, Blake Lewis was this hot cutting edge artist who was going to outsell his season’s winner. And every year some hysterically over-the-top fanbase is convinced that their Idol is going to become the biggest supahstah evah! This notion is fed by the celebrity-crazed media who will take any it-kid of the month and hype him or her to the high heavens.

I can see it going one of two ways with Adam– he could stay true to his musical heart and release an electronica glam rock album, and he will flop harder than Taylor Hicks. Then the Idol behemoth itself will sink to its death after next year when Simon leaves (actually, could this happen anyway whether Adam flops or not– pretty, pretty please?)

Or he could be molded into a dance pop artist, and then he’ll probably do decently well– perhaps even better than Cook has done as last year’s winner. But, how in the world would anyone think that in the current music industry climate, he could even approach the levels of the the only three music superstars that AI has ever cranked out, let alone become some kind of global icon? Newsflash–there are other gay people who sing!

What I do find seriously strange, though, is that the judges and media are referring to him as a “rocker”. Let me tell you right now, the label he’ll be under will not touch his brand of “rock” with a 19 foot pole!

I agree. Simon’s been particularly off the mark this year–and nastier than usual.