Idol Headlines for 08/01/07

Power Chord Academy lets teens take a strum at being rock stars

…So is the fate of PLAID, Brown’s temporary punk-metal band, assembled two Sundays ago and disbanded Saturday, during a week at Power Chord Academy…

Seattle Times

Nice intervew with Blake on My Fox Utah. I think he’s found a new favorite hat.

Well in about 20 minutes my good friend is meeting with Congressman Cantor and Elliott. I’m SO anxious to find out how it goes!!!!

Truth Teller, if you still lurk here please post on how you think the Season 6 idols will do. You were so on the money last year, I’d love to hear your predictions.

Clay to Help with Griffith Park Recovery

In June, Nederlander Concerts announced their plans to create a series of concerts and special offers at The Greek Theatre benefiting the Griffith Park Recovery Fund (GPRF) which supports the reforestation efforts needed after more than 800 acres were scorched in the May fires.

Now, multi platinum recording artist, Clay Aiken, along with the Goo Goo Dolls and Los Lonely Boys, has donated autographed merchandise which will be available during a silent auction prior to his concert on Saturday (Aug. 4) with all proceeds benefiting GPRF. Items range from a limited edition poster, to an autographed book, t-shirt, CDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, and much more and will be available for bids in The Greek Theatre plaza beginning at 7:00 PM. In addition, the winner of this exclusive package will receive hospitality passes to The Greek Theatreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s VIP Deck after the show.

Clay will be taping a special Celebrity episode of ” So You Think You’re Smarter Than A Fifth Grader” on August 28th. The air date is not known yet. His winnings will go to his Bubel-Aiken Foundation.

Nice intervew with Blake on My Fox Utah. I think heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s found a new favorite hat.

I actually like the new one, although I did develop a fondness for Fugly Hat.

Blake posted a blog on his myspace. Along with thanking everyone and sharing a few pictures, the most interesting tidbit is that he and Chris R just started a documentary on the tour, so look for that on their myspaces within a month.

I was wondering how long it would be before Idols came back to Idol to be mentors….okay, it’s just Canadian Idol, but still:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2007/31/c3018.html

CTV also announced tonight that North America’s first Idol, Kelly Clarkson, is the next to join Canadian Idol’s blockbuster guest line-up when she joins the Top 5 competitors for the “My Own Idol” themed episodes on
August 20-21. Clarkson will mentor the Top 5 as they rehearse songs originally sung by their musical heroes to be performed August 20, and then takes to the Canadian Idol stage herself to perform on the results show on August 21. The announcement comes as the Top 7 prepare to rehearse tomorrow with the legendary Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen on the set of We Will Rock You in advance of next week’s Queen-themed episodes.

I say good luck to your friend ,Elliot and the (v) representative because I hope they get some headway. Like I said before hope they make headway but polictics is a confusing mess that somehow good or bad works with special interst groups vieing for attention,reps with thier own agenda and both sides thinking thier are right .Luckily at times they do get along and listen.(laymens terms good luck E)

Clay–I am happy he took some action.

Sherman –I am glad to hear about him because his motivaion for auditioning was soo unselfish.

For that one footballfan–”Quiet Stength” Tony Dungy(head coach of Colts) is number 2 onnyt list…..Yeah Dungy he is a class act.

I always thought Kelly would mentor American Idols before Canadian Idol. All our themes this year are just the past two years of AI smashed into one.

Kelly Clarkson is having a horrible year. The public fight with Clive and now returning to Idol as a mentor all seem like bad moves. I always respected Kelly for staying as far away from Idol as possible. Between the album and the country association with Reba, she seems to be all over the place. I hope she lands on her feet.

Ther is an article if someone wants to post about Elliot and Taylor singing a guitar for an auction to raise money for a childrens cancer fund in virginia..I forgot the name of the fund…

mj sorry about the football reference..

Is anyone else having problems with the site today? I’ve had to try over and over to get the main page and the comments page keeps going nuts. Anyone?

I hate to be a naysayer, but — IDOL OVERLOAD! How much more of these Idol talent contests can we take? The Band, the Dance, the Can. idol, the camps, AI….again, I hate to be a naysayer, but you know, I can understand how Simon is tired of being a judge…he showed last season he was bored as he** with the whole process…you could feel & see it….and now he wants to quit TV…I don’t blame him…it’s just too much overload!!!

Is there no wonder that TV ratings are DOWN! and it had nothing to do with the quality of contestants….it’s just too much….everybody wants to be a star…

I was just reading where Nicole Sch(???) of the pussy cat dolls has a single out and it bombed, even Kanye West new single is bombing…why? because they weren’t Idol contestants!

Idol is taking over the world.

If no one says anything, nobody will know Kelly is mentoring Canadian Idol.
Nobody watches the show anyway so let’s just keep it a secret.

I remember Paula crying during the Sherman Pore audition. To me, the look on her face was saying “No one’s gonna sing for me after I’m gone, except for Jack…Jack Daniels, that is.”

But how nice Sherman is taking his little 15 minutes and doing something helpful.

I was surprised at the attitudes of the music-industry people in the article on Australian Idol. The only Idol alum I know from that AI is Guy Sabastian, who is a highly talented singer. I have his second CD, and it’s really good. Maybe the sentiments are just at that stage where they feel they have to put AI down. Seems like in the US, we’ve kind of gotten over that.

“Kelly Clarkson is having a horrible year. The public fight with Clive and now returning to Idol as a mentor all seem like bad moves. I always respected Kelly for staying as far away from Idol as possible. Between the album and the country association with Reba, she seems to be all over the place. I hope she lands on her feet.”

JP – what’s a horrible year? I think she’s having a better year than a lot of artists. We need to stop comparing her to the IDOL alums and start comparing her to the greater singer community. Compared to some other singers, she’s doing just fine and better than others. Could it be that she’s “diversifying”, which is what other artists are doing? Soon, we’ll see her pitching Candies shoes.

Really bad ideas: Sabrina & Sundance as the new Marvin & Tammi

Some musical ideas sound good in theory and don’t work out so well in practice. (Kelly’s new album might be one of those.) Others just sound bad from the start. The Sabrina Sloan/Sundance Head duets album for Universal Motown definitely sounds like one of those…

Idol Chatter

Removed – refer to the previous message about Sundance & Sabrina.

Why would he mention Kelly in the same sentence? Kelly’s CD is doing fine, it sold over 500,000 which is better than most.

For Kelly Clarkson, she’s having a bad year. Her tour was cacelled for poor ticket sales, she fired her manager, she apologized to Clive and appearing on CI seems like a big step backwards. A multi platinum artist is expected to do better than sell 500K. Just like Taylor selling 700K is considered a disappointment. It’s all based on expectations.

For now, I guess Kelly could be having a bad time of it. But careers to evolve. You can’t expect someone to sell 5 million copies/album for the rest of their lives. Nobody does. But of course compared to her previous album, her new one isn’t having the same effect. I’m with MJ and a few others on this one though: MD is good and I don’t understand how people are bashing so handily.

I love this part if the SLC review:

It took some 10 songs before heartthrob and arena-favorite Blake Lewis took the stage, but once he started, he made an impact on concertgoers of all ages.

Announcing that about 80 members of his family were present, the beat-boxer and singer from Bothwell, Wash., awed the audience with his complex vocal-percussion solo. He then launched into a personalized version of The Zombies’ “Time of the Seasons,” which visibly hooked the teenage-accompanying baby boomers on his unique style as they danced and swayed with the youngest fans present.
Using a technique called looping, Lewis recorded his own beat live, then played the guitar and sang Maroon Five’s “She Will be Loved” over the playback.

Blake is really getting great reviews everywhere he goes. Yay.

Jpfan, but who’s expectation.. The AI fans or the music world. The reality seems to be, expectation changes according to who we’re talking about.

I honestly feel Kelly C will be fine regardless of her decision makings..

jpfan – All artists have peeks and valleys in their careers. Nobody zooms up to the top and consistently stays there for the duration of their career. Nobody. While Kelly’s album might be a considered a disappointment for Clive and the rest of the AI comparison gurus, she put out an album that was creatively satisfying to her and in the end, might be more important to her than trying to live up to other’s ‘expectations’. I’m not a big Kelly Clarkson fan, but I sure as heck respect her for staying true to her creative impression.

And as far as Taylor is concerned, he’s really unlike any other Idol winner in that he is not a pop or country singer, never was, never will be. The type of music he chooses to do can not and should not be compared to the likes of Fergie, JT, Carrie Underwood or any other pop artist, so therefore you can’t compare sales figures.

I’m in the camp that artists must stay true to their individual artistic sensibilities, and let the chips fall where they may.

Why is taylor being used as an example? Yes everyone knows the expectations are high on AI and some will and some won’t even if they won or not. I am just tired of poeple using an artist as an example when it need not be and I myself am guilty…I could compare any(ai) to Prince or more established arists which will not be pretty….It just leads to a fanwar…just snark it is safer.

Lamens terms it is getting old (5) thing….my nieghbors dog knows what happened and the arguements from it now…jeeze

I’m jonesing for some Season 6 news in the worst way.

Last year at this time we were tracking single sales for Season 5, remarking on the differences in the tour since Kat joined it late, talking about Taylor’s after-tour performances and commenting / speculating on a myriad of record signings. There weren’t a lot of new albums from previous seasons and no artist vs. label battles so the complete focus really was on Season 5.

Other than Blake being adorable, I just wish we had more season 6 news. But I guess there really, isn’t anything new to say about the group.

bobbi – I couldn’t get in through Internet Explorer at all. Had to use firefox.

And now the page is HUGE. ?

This idea thats being floated that somehow Taylor is above expectations because of his music is too unique or special or something, well I say

noh noh noh

3 very popular soul singers come to mind, each popular in multiple formats, proving (at least to me) that America is quite capable of appreciating soulful music:

Amy Winehouse
John Mayer
Joss Stone

And what about Hey There Delilah — can someone please explain to me what this genre of music is, btw? Its completely capturing America, song of the summer kind of stuff, and most definitely not lumpable with JT and Fergie.

Taylor’s problem is not that his music is above pop standards — rather that he put out a mediocre album. Hopefully his next one will be better.

And what about Hey There Delilah à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  can someone please explain to me what this genre of music is, btw? Its completely capturing America, song of the summer kind of stuff, and most definitely not lumpable with JT and Fergie.

The genre is called Emo rock (kind of punk-pop-rock). Other bands labeled “Emo” include Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! at the Disco (but Emo classification is often debated).

This song is a bizarro success. It’s from PWT’s 2005 album “All That We Needed” and the video was released in May, 2006. The band even released another album since then (“Every Second Counts” in September of 2006…they are now adding “Hey There, Delilah” to new copies of this CD that they ship).

It’s not often that a song becomes a hit so long after it was first released. For some reason, the label suddenly decided to start promo-ing it and pushing it. It could be because the original album was an indie label (Fearless Records) and the new album was released by Fearless and Hollywood Records (i.e. Disney…who actually has some promo power).

It seems to have worked. HTD is all over the airplay charts. It’s been the number 1 selling digital download. And now, their September album has vaulted into the top 10 (highest it has ever been), giving hope to fans of all failed CDs everywhere (don’t count on it, this rarely happens) and demonstrating the how a little promo juice can help a song find an audience (but it doesn’t always work).

hs – You have named exactly 3 artists. And of those 3 artists, Amy Winehouse, John Mayer and Joss Stone, none of them (including John Mayer) have met the overall lifetime sales of a Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Maroon 5, Beyonce, Fergie, or even a Carrie Underwood. That’s my point, certain genres sell significantly better than others *in general*.

And for the record, I love Hey There Deliliah – sometimes a really good song sneaks it’s way into the crap they call Top 40 these days. This is an *exception*, not the rule.

That Salt Lake Tribune story totally wrote nothing – nada – with the name Sanjaya in it. Hmmm….I wonder why? Bec. that’s my boy, I love some Sanjaya.
That was a big Dis IMO.

Speaking of hot songs this summer, I finally heard the Elliott Yamin remixes for Wait for You. I’m a big fan of dance music so I think I like the Jason Nevins even better than the original. Still trying to get used to the Midi Mafia remix. Good to see Elliott is really reaching different audiences.

And as far as Taylor is concerned, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s really unlike any other Idol winner in that he is not a pop or country singer, never was, never will be.

Taylor is not alone in his “uniqueness”…what about Ruben and Fantasia? Both of whom outsold Taylor with their debut CDs.

The type of music he chooses to do can not and should not be compared to the likes of Fergie, JT, Carrie Underwood or any other pop artist, so therefore you canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t compare sales figures.

For the most part, Taylor’s sales have been compared to other Idol winners/contestants — not current artists.

If you stack the Idols sales up against “non-idols” they outsell them almost every time. Idols have managed to stay in the top 10 singles, top 10 albums, etc. etc. and that’s why Clive & Comp. like the Idols.
They have a built-in loyal audience.

What have I entered?

MJ, let me beg your forgiveness beforehand – it is not in the headlines today but I have a question and I’m sure you will know the answer…

I just saw an ad for a Dean Martin CD titled Forever Cool that has duets with current artists. I saw a picture of Princess P in the ad along with others…I love the music of Dean Martin (always makes me giggle when I say his name because it reminds me of the head of the college named Dean Martin in Rodney Dangerfield’s movie, Back To School). Has anyone heard this CD? Is it worth buying?

Ther is an article if someone wants to post about Elliot and Taylor singing a guitar for an auction to raise money for a childrens cancer fund in virginia..I forgot the name of the fundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

mj sorry about the football reference..

http://www.theofficialsoulpatrol.com/cgi-b…VApFupkKToeHRbk

Charity auction for autographed guitar signed by Taylor & Elliott Yamin
July 31,2007

Taylor Hicks and Elliott Yamin have signed a Star Guitar to help Connorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Heroes Foundation conquer childhood cancer. The beautiful, white Gibson Epiphone SG was signed at the Innsbrook After Hours concert series in Richmond, Virginia. Bidding starts at $500.00 and will run until August 17th, 2007 at 6pm EST.

See more information and place your bid on this beautiful guitar at:

http://www.charityfolks.com/cfauctions/auc…10966&mcid=8749

Learn more about Connor’s Heroes here: http://www.connorsheroes.org/

Idyllic `Idol’ Camp
Young Performers Get Gentle Preparation For Reality TV

…Few performers know that sentiment better than past “American Idol” contestants, seven of whom visited the camp, helping teach the two sessions. Campers were also taught by a group of experts Luther pulled in, professionals she relies on for many of her projects. They lived with the campers during the 10-day sessions. Some even brought their own children…

Courant.com

“Hey there Delilah” is a very pretty song

Kirsten
Aug 1st, 2007 at 2:44 pm
…giving hope to fans of all failed CDs everywhere (donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t count on it, this rarely happens) and demonstrating the how a little promo juice can help a song find an audience (but it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t always work).

It’s a cold, cruel world and yet hope springs eternal.

(sigh)…..sorry I bothered to read blog today

Taylor is not alone in his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“uniquenessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦what about Ruben and Fantasia? Both of whom outsold Taylor with their debut CDs.

Okay, call me stupid but I miss the point behind this post. What was so unique about Fantasia and Ruben. They are both R&B artist.

I personally feel there is nothing unique about any of the Idols. I just liked the tone of Taylor’s voice and his song delivery. I beginning to feel that it’s a fan thing where most fan’s favorite is special in their eyes. It’s especially obvious in the AI world, and that is because the show allows us to choose who we feel is the best. Obviously we always want to feel that we are choosing the best regardless of where their careers take them. I’m sure there are fans who still feel that Corey Clark is very unique..LOL

Seriously, there is nothing unique about any of these Idols…yes, even Taylor Hicks. I just feel that TPTB on AI is so pigeoned-holing in their thinking and always about the mighty dollar that they don’t allow the winners and runner-ups to find their niche. Maybe it took a “not so good season” to wake them up because it appears they are doing it with Jordin..

On the Kelly C train again, I was under the impression that Clive didn’t mind her having her own songs on her new cd. He just want her to not have a whole cd of her own songs..I’m I wrong in thinking along that line. Stories tend to take on a life of their own sometimes..LOL

Sexygirl,

You are right. Clive just asked Kelly to put 4-5 songs on the album that she could have collaborated with song writers on that would have been more “radio friendly”. He was going to pay her $10 million to do this and she refused. The rest is history…

Sales are not the be all and end all. I just think that Kelly’s had a rough time and part of that includes disappointing album sales. Ultimately albums work artistically or not. Idol has that stupid competitive thing and album sales are part of that. Until, S6 starts making some signing news there’s not that much to talk about. This group of idols seems too friendly to generate any real gossip.

Salt Lake Tribune have updated their concert review by changing the headline.

Taylor Hicks maps out new territory

“American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks [ tickets ] has extended his current tour deeper into summer as the “Soul Patrol” leader continues to back his self-titled debut album.
Hicks continues a streak of non-stop touring that began back in February with a month’s worth of fresh dates, including tonight’s (8/1) first of back-to-back shows in Vicksburg, MS. The new leg then hits a number of Northeastern locales before dipping down into Florida and Texas. All dates are shown below….

Live Daily

Rosie Needs Attention, Attacks Paula

Rosie O’Donnell has found a new person to pick on, after she was no match for Donald Trump.

Her latest victim is poor ol Paula Abdul……..

Black Voices

Whoopi Goldberg Joins ‘The View’

…O’Donnell’s turbulent nine-month stint on “The View” boosted the show’s ratings 17 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. Among the show’s targeted audience of women ages 18 to 34, “The View” increased 20 percent with O’Donnell as co-host.

Besides her tiffs with Hasselbeck, O’Donnell also made headlines when she traded insults with mogul Donald Trump, accused daytime talk show host Kelly Ripa of being homophobic, insinuated that “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul was a drunk and insulted News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch at a public event.

Washington Post

Showdown at the Mall

…The most commercially viable was Krumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Baylee Brown, who earned 15 minutes of fame on American Idol last season before being sent packing by the judges for forgetting lyrics. Young, hot, blonde, with powerful vocals and a winning smile, Brown had the 60 or 70 folks there in the palm of her shapely hand. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s our early pick to win next seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show…

Fort Worth Weekly

Speaking of Taylor’s “type of music”….just wanted to make a quick comment (not to start a discussion here)about the cheap shot someone made at Amazon on his cd page (it’s gone now). Apparently anyone who’s a customer can edit the product page of any of the artists, and earlier this morning in huge bold letters at the top of his page after his name was KARAOKE, and in the product description an additional line called format: karaoke was added.

Very interesting about Baylee Brown…

I always thought the judges were too quick to dismiss contestants who forgot lyrics in the Hollywood round during Season 6 (they were more forgiving in previous seasons).

I would have taken Baylee Brown over Antonella Barba.

Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s problem is not that his music is above pop standards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  rather that he put out a mediocre album. Hopefully his next one will be better

Taylor’s album was quite good. Not a masterpiece but a great start for someone under a tight deadline. Taylor’s problem was his record company which did not prioritize the album’s promotion. They never even released a single from that album to top 40. Also when comparing the former idols, there’s the issue of factoring in overall album sales in general over the last five years.

Wait a minute, didn’t Sundance forget his lyrics during the Hollywood round or was it the he just sang terribly offkey.. How much was paid for him to go unto the Top 24 round and embarrass himself some more? LOL

Yep Sundance forgot his lyrics yet he got a pass but they passed up on Baylee Brown who I thought had a lot of potential.

Baylee was 16 or so, wasn’t she? Maybe the difference was that they felt she’d be able to come back and Sundance either couldn’t or might not? I also remember that they had a surplus of girls, didn’t they? Seems they sent a lot of females home right away.

Wow, there is an unmistakable stank around here. Wonder what it…oh, I see…it’s from that pile of beaten dead horses over there.

After the buyout, CKX would become 19X.

There ya go. Another letter bites the dust. I guess they have something really big in mind to use the letter ‘Z’ for.

I’ve listened to the partial versions available of two of Mandisa’s songs and I enjoyed them. Eminently listenable, Christian label aside. The right songs, style and production really showcase her voice. The market for updated and contemporary Christian-themed music is strong and growing and she might just do very well in that genre.

And a note about the off-topic topic above: A USA Today interview (and something else I read where I can’t recall the source) indicates that the Plain White T’s song ‘Delilah’ was included (rereleased) on their major label debut ‘Every Second Counts’ because it was so insanely popular with the fans at live performances and their new label saw the hit potential. As Kirsten indicated, they promoted it accordingly.

I see this as a very different scenario than a track, or even an entire CD, rising from the ashes of a cold, dead album release.

Uh oh. Sir Elton wants the Internet closed down.

‘Wha????’ you say? Me too. He sort of tries to make a rational point about the state of the music industry.

Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging.

Put down that mouse mj! LOL.

Never mind.

Hezzer, I never find you rude, just honest.

I didn’t think Baylee was all that good although she was very cute. Talent wise, Sundance was much better imo but maybe not Antonella or Alaina. I could have lived without any of those 3 girls. I do think they should have kept a country singer although they did end up with one once Phil got with it.

For you Elliott and Taylor fans -

On Aug 7, 2007, the Live At WorkPlay CD will be released as a 2 CD set they recorded with the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra. The write-up on amazon reads:

Product Description
The Little Memphis Blues Orchestra (LiMBO), once faced with possible extinction upon the American Idol win of their former leader, Taylor Hicks, has successfully regrouped and recorded their first on-location CD, Live At The Workplay Theatre. Recorded at Workplay on August 7, 2006 in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, AL, LiMBO rocked the sold-out venue with their tight delivery of heart-pounding, get-up-and-boogie Southern Rock and funk as well as touching the audience with its classic, sweet soul sounds and rhythm and blues in the form of both covers and originals. As an added treat, both Taylor Hicks and Elliot Yamin dropped in to jam with the band and are featured on Disc 2 of this 2-Disc CD. Standard Jewel Case.”

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Workplay-Theatre-Taylor-Hicks/dp/B000SQJ2L4/ref=sr_1_1/002-9815258-9845609?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1186014130&sr=8-1

http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/hicks__taylor/1576463/album.jhtml

Okay, back to the Kelly “cd failure” label. I can why some would consider this cd a failure only as a comparison to the success of her previous two cds but not so much as a AI Idol. The bottomline is, will Kelly go the way of Britney Spears, who is looked upon as just a commercial artist or will she go the way of her mentor Reba. An artist who is respected for her talent and not so much for her cd sales. Only time will tell.

Whoopi Goldberg Joins à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹The Viewà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢

Ruh-roh. Verbal sparring with Hasselback is on the horizon…should make for some interesting debate. I think Whoopie will be more level-headed and laid back than Rosie was.

Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s problem is not that his music is above pop standards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  rather that he put out a mediocre album. Hopefully his next one will be better.

ITA. No reason why Taylor can’t be a success as a “pop” artist. His style, which is a melding of many musical influences, including gospel, blues, soul, country, jazz, zydeco, etc., would be a refreshing change in the pop world.

On his freshman CD, he did the best he could though, given the material he had to work with. Of course, the canned, pro-tooled production didn’t help matters.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s from that pile of beaten dead horses over there.

This pile?

“Baylee was 16 or so, wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t she? Maybe the difference was that they felt sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be able to come back and Sundance either couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t or might not? I also remember that they had a surplus of girls, didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t they? Seems they sent a lot of females home right away.”

That’s right, but also, she was another “blond” Carrie Underwood and they weren’t looking for another Carrie or Kellie. She was stiff and naive, definitely not ready. It’s one thing to have a powerful voice, but do you have personality with it? Baylee impressed me as being very naive and shy.

As for Sundance, I always suspected that Randy knew his father, since Randy knows everybody in music. That’s how Sundance got through IMO. And then he went on his exit interview and talked about Sanjaya and hinted that Blake was a ego-maniac. He just didn’t do it for me. He acted “privileged”.

the judges and the public always get it right. Look at who the winners are and where they are at. All of them successful in their own right.

As for Sir Elton John and closing the internet – I’m all for it as an experiment. It would crush commerce though. Businesses would go out of business. But he has a point. We blog too much, and now everybody and their mama can make a CD and stream it on the internet. And that’s not good, because mediocre sh*** is being created.

People need face to face socializing, and creativity needs to be done by hand again.

Congrats to Sundance and Sabrina..hope they do well. I wish all the idol singers the best and hope they are all successful. IMHO there is a big audience out there waiting for some music they can relate to. So much of the “carp” you hear today is just noise that is very hard on the ears. The more music that’s out there maybe we folk who are searching for something that we can enjoy can actually find something.
You know the old saying ” the more ” the merrier”. I have bought more music in the past year than I have in ages. I bought Taylor , Bucky , Kellie , Carrie and various artists that I have learned about by reading the posts on MJ’s . I hope all the idols produce some great music. :smile1_tb:

Congrats to Carrie Underwood for having the best-selling Idol album.

WTG, Carrie!

I love Elton John and was amazed to read in the link above that he barely sold 100,000 copies of his latest CD “The Captain and the Kid”.