Idol Headlines for 12/23/08

Hey Paula, remember this one name: Deborah Norville.

Jen-Hud is scheduled to make an appearance in February, let’s pray and hope she comes through.

I’m looking forward to the new judge. She seems cool, and the schtick of the 3 judges has gotten very old.

I wonder if Ryan appreciates his mother talking to the media about his love life? LOL.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/americanidoltracker/2008/12/ten-moments-tha.html

I extrapolated the 10 moments from 2008 that the LA Times blog says shook the Idol world:

10. David Hernandez stripping controversy
9. Brooke White starts over
8. Andrew Lloyd Webber week (because of Carly’s leaving)
7. Paula’s performance confusion
6. The emergence of Archuleta (i.e., the “tween” vote)
5. David Cook’s “Billie Jean” (solidified his place as the man to beat)
4. Jeff Archuleta controversy
3. Suicide tragedy
2. The Fourth Judge announcement/Lythgoe Retirement
1. The Finals (“And then the shocking announcement that condemned millions of tween girls to years of psychotherapy.”) (and then he says some complimentary things about David Cook)

(He forgot about Jason forgetting the words)

Of course Carly getting the boot would be one of Rushfield’s top 10. His column after her elimination was truly one of the journalistic highlights of the year, for me at least.

I was already cookified but I gotta admit, Billie Jean knocked me dead. I was so afraid of him singing that song, and how he would pull it off, but after that I trusted that he knew exactly what he was doing with each and every song. “Masterful” came to mind.

10 moments from 2008 that the LA Times blog says shook the Idol world:

He forgot KLC’s “Eight Days a Week”….

He forgot KLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Eight Days a Weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Yeah now THAT was unforgettable…in the WORST possible way!

I suppose Archie forgetting the words should be there too since that’s what sparked all the dadchuleta controversy. The media had a field day with that one.

The way I see it, David Cook had me at Hello, but with Billie Jean he won his place in the final 2, and I think he won the whole damn show with ABMB. That was when he became frontrunner, and from that point on he kept his lead.

Of course, had he tanked completely later on it would have cost him, but he continued to deliver weekly, kept his fans and added new ones as other contestants were eliminated.

I sort of want to go back and watch his entire Idol journey now. *sniff*
I’ll really have to brace myself and lower expectations from season 8, or the disappointment will be inevitable.

I was so afraid of him singing that song, and how he would pull it off, but after that I trusted that he knew exactly what he was doing with each and every song.

Heh. Me too. That was the last time I ever questioned his song choice. Instead, I became the one to talk everyone else down from the ledge. Just ask baxter.

I guess it’s not a “moment” but allowing instruments for the first time was a HUGE shakeup this year IMO.

Idol took itself from singing competition to all around performance competition. (Hm, what’s next — choreography? Syesha dabbled a little…)

I sort of want to go back and watch his entire Idol journey now. *sniff*
Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll really have to brace myself to expect nothing similar from season 8, or the disappointment will be inevitable.

I think I read recently that Fox Reality will be recapping Season 7 on some special called 12 Days of Idol in January before the new season starts. I miss it too and I am prepared already not to be as immersed in the new season, as I can’t imagine any other cast living up to the great talents that made up this past season.

I kind of get the sense that, for the most part, Rushfield chose things that he felt like advanced or hurt people’s chances of advancement. So, he probably thinks that David H would have gone further but for the stripper thing. He included Brooke’s starting over because it seemed like it could have stopped her, but it didn’t. The 8 Days a Week performance didn’t stop KLC, so he didn’t ‘include that. And he included DC’s BJ because, in his book, that’s what started his route to the win.

He forgot KLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Eight Days a Weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Yeah now THAT was unforgettableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦in the WORST possible way!

Killer! Shook my world and gave me nightmares.

(He forgot about Jason forgetting the words)

Well…that happens at least once per season, so I wouldn’t call it a shake-up, although Jason made it pretty humorous by just humming through it. Heh.

Now Brooke’s starting and stopping…just, wow. Of all of them, she seemed to be the one most mentally affected by the whole competition aspect. It became uncomfortable to watch near the end.

“(He forgot about Jason forgetting the words)”

“He forgot KLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Eight Days a Weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.”

^^ These moments were sad, but probably not the “key” moments of the season. By the time those gaffes happened, Jason and KLC were no longer serious contenders. Rushfield isn’t snarky either and the tone of his columns are pretty positive. Maybe he didn’t want to take digs on them. Especially since KLC just got dropped by her label, etc.

Now if he had a top 20 week, imagine some of the other possibilities? What about Fantasia’s performance?

I wish I had Fox Reality. Sadly, I don’t even have Fox.

Someone once made a long HQ video of all of DCs performances on the show sans judging, and I have that, but I want to watch the whole process, not just the performances themselves.

The best part about being invested in this show is that you’re emotionally involved and you care, and that’s also the worst part. I feel like on some weeks I was so nervous, I hardly enjoyed the performances.

I’m sort of looking forward to Idol 8 to see how this show feels when you’re less invested (since season 7 was my first season watching).

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“He forgot KLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Eight Days a Weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

^^ These moments were sad, but probably not the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“keyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  moments of the season. By the time those gaffes happened, Jason and KLC were no longer serious contenders. Rushfield isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t snarky either and the tone of his columns are pretty positive. Maybe he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to take digs on them. Especially since KLC just got dropped by her label, etc.

It shook my Idol world. I’d hardly call pointing that out snarky.

Richard Rushfield: “Which did I leave out? What were yours?”

That performance was bad…hands down. It seriously made me question her existence on the show and emphasized a huge divide in Season 7′s talent pool….like a whole other universe.

So yeah. Shake up indeed.

(He forgot about Jason forgetting the words)

He got voted off that week.

Poor Kristie Lee, I’m starting to wonder if her being on idol has done her more harm than good. I almost feel worse for her than for those who instantly have their dreams put to rest during the bad auditions…

First: Makes it to top 24
Next: Somehow survives “Eight Days…” AND makes it to the top 10.
Finally: Gets record deal which is OVER before even getting started.

That performance was badà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦hands down. It seriously made me question her existence on the show and emphasized a huge divide in Season 7à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s talent poolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦like a whole other universe.

Maybe but them again we will have to question lots of things about how some contestant got where they got… by example the low reception that Ramielle got during the tour, no matter how many reviews you read when we got to her turn everybody agree that it was way out of the level of the other performers… at least KLC had regular reception, weather for song choice or her moves in stage…

Cleary any year end, top 10 list is subjective. Rushfield was pointing to HIS personal stand outs. So, clearly that can vary by viewer, and maybe if Jason was your horse, then that moment would have been ranked higher, or not. Again, it’s what ‘your’ moment might be. Since there could only be 10 on a top 10 list, there were a lot of other moments that were excluded. I’m not suggesting that if peeps thought Jason’s or KLC’s moments were more memorable to them that that means they are snarky. I was making an observation that Rushfield also has a tendancy to spin more positively.

Well, there’s a couple of things that bother me about Rushfield’s list. He includes the rise of DA, but does so in terms of how many 11-year-old tween fans he must have instead of the fact that he gave one of the best Idol performances in “Imagine.” There’s a reason no other male teen performer got as far as he did–he can really sing. Rushfield knows this, so I’m a little disappointed that he would be so shallow in his commentary. (And maybe it’s just me that is consistently disappointed with this particular commentary because it’s still happening and it completely discounts DA’s talent and his fans’ level of appreciation for it). But whatever–TV critics aren’t music people in general, and most that cover AI aren’t really all that adept at appreciating musicality. They’re more interested in the splashy story as told by TPTB.

And I guess there’s an argument to be made that the “scandal” involving Jeff Archuleta was a “key” moment in AI7 (although there are so many other far more legitimate moments that should have made the list over that), it’s still unfortunate that it has to be brought up again. Jeff is one of the nicest guys–it’s just sad.

Well, thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a couple of things that bother me about Rushfieldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s list. He includes the rise of DA, but does so in terms of how many 11-year-old tween fans he must have instead of the fact that he gave one of the best Idol performances in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Imagine.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a reason no other male teen performer got as far as he didà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’he can really sing. Rushfield knows this, so Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a little disappointed that he would be so shallow in his commentary. (And maybe ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just me that is consistently disappointed with this particular commentary because ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s still happening and it completely discounts DAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s talent and his fansà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ level of appreciation for it).

I completely agree. The constant discounting of his talent by the assumption that he’s only popular due to his tween fanbase is nauseating at best. But I am beginning to think that these crazy critics get some sort of perverse pleasure out of this generalizing they do. It’s like they know it pisses us off, so I feel that must feed their constant need to keep doing it. Because everytime I see an article that makes this assumption (which is A LOT), I also see tons of comments from readers who chime in refuting that claim, people who state that they are in their 20s and 30s and older and like this kid for his amazing talent. I imagine the fact that this still happens over and over with a constant refusal to acknowledge that his fanbase is very diverse, that they do so because they’re lazy and they enjoy pissing people off.

Jeff is one of the nicest guysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just sad.

Well I agree that he was very nice when I met him and by all accounts of others who have met him, but no matter what, people will believe what they wish to. I wouldn’t even rule out some stage dad like behavior, in the form of overprotectiveness, to be a reality. In fact, it would be strange if it didn’t happen when a parent is involved with their child’s activity to that extent. My dad was a softball coach who pushed us to do well and even yelled at us sometimes, but it doesn’t mean he was an abuser. Doesn’t mean that Jeff is the monster that TMZ would like us to believe either. I always think that there’s some tiny seed of truth that gets blown way out of proportion into all these tabloid stories that make the headlines.

I’m completely with you, too, soundscene. My list and Rushfields are almost completely different.

David As fanbase is wonderfully diverse. I find it amusing that so many critics like to comment on the older fans — as if it is somehow icky for anyone over 18 to be David’s fan. But before I was an Archuleta fan, I was a Taylor Swift fan (it’s about her songwriting rather than her voice) and can’t recall anyone claiming that my purchase of her album was inappropriate. Her songs are also about young love, and she’s selling well enough that I’m going to assume folks other than boys about age 15-20 are buying her album. Why aren’t the critics complaining (or casting aspersions) on that phenomenon?

Oh well. If there’s any consolation for the devoted DA fans, it is probably better to be underestimated than overestimated, right?

My dad was a softball coach who pushed us to do well and even yelled at us sometimes, but it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean he was an abuser. Doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean that Jeff is the monster that TMZ would like us to believe either. I always think that thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s some tiny seed of truth that gets blown way out of proportion into all these tabloid stories that make the headlines.

I don’t think that’s being a stage dad–that’s just being a protective father in a very manipulative business (and I start with the notion that there’s zero truth to what TMZ reports and will wait for other far more legitimate and separate sources before I’ll believe anything they say). My point, however, wasn’t to get into that whole controversy again; my point was that it was sad it had to be brought up again. At least with David H. his scandal was based on something that he, as the contestant, actually did. With David A., he did nothing and was affected by these horrid rumors. But Rushfield felt it was a “key” moment, so whatever.

Yippee…it’s almost January and a new year of AI. I, for one, am really getting tired of AI7 being rehashed and rejudged. It’s over and it’s history. David Cook has moved on to new pursuits and interests as has David A. and Brooke and Jason, etc. It’s fun to read about what these artists are doing now and how they are progressing (thanks MJ), but I’m getting really tired of online fillers that do nothing but try and stir up hornets nests with their comments about what happened last year. Who cares.

I have my favorite idols of the past and love to read about them but am also looking forward to meeting some new ones. Who knows, this year we may have the ultimate singer performer who puts all past idol contestants to shame. Maybe Paula will wig out again (we can only hope) and maybe the new judge can put Simon into his well deserved place at the bottom of the pecking order. Only time will tell. I also can’t wait to hear what Randy’s phrase of the year will be (hope he retires “you can sing the phonebook”)and maybe Ryan will come up with some, somewhat, interesting interview questions. And, if we are having more “back stage” moments maybe we can witness a cat fight or two or see contestants go postal when another song they want to sing is over-ruled by the Producers.

At least Nigel, the undisputed nerdness is gone and hopefully the moshpit is gone with him.

Merry Christmas, All.

Ooooh, Tess’s post made me think of a fun game. Let’s play “Randy’s Phrases of the Year”…

Season 7 – “You can sing the phonebook!”
Season 6 – “You’re ONLY 17?!1?!11!?eleventy!1!1?!one!?!?!1111111111!!”

I can’t remember anything specific from other seasons… Anyone have a better memory than me? (or more patience to watch a lot of youtube videos?)

Also, any guesses on what season 8′s phrase o’ the year will be?

Ha! I like Tess’s outlook on things Very nice indeed! It’s hard for me to imagine anyone outdoing the Davids, but far be it for me to let them try. I pray I do not get emotionally attached to anyone this year. It’s too exhausting.

Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s play à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Randyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Phrases of the Yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I think on Season 1 I remember him just repeating everyone’s name to get their attention over the crowd after a performance. “Kelly Kelly Kelly!” “Justin! Justin!”

And every season has it’s fair share of Yo’s and Dawg’s.

Well I have to comment on LA times article…..Snarly’s boot was not shocking. When a contestant, even a pre-season fav, hits the bottom 3 on several occasions, then gets the boot, it’s not a shock. MJ was a shock, Snarly was not.

Sarah- You have no idea how much I appreciate having you there to talk me off the ledge every week…..sigh!!! Couldn’t have made it thru the season without you….SMOOCHES!!!!

Ahhhh…Season 8 is just around the corner. It makes me wonder what will happen to be the water cooler moments, the big shocking boot, who will turn into a trainwreck and last but not least…..just how god awful will Pauler’s clothing choices be this year.

Man Tess, I am SOOOOOO with you. I love DC and will follow him on his fansite, and I will jump in the first signs of life from Brooke, but other than that everything I need to know about season 7 I will read in mjs daily headlines thread and keep.it.moving. LOL! I can’t wait for season 8. I want to get angry at the producers, debate the contestants, get shocked by some crazy judge behavior, floored by an out-of-this-world performance… all of the things that make Idol fun. This is my mental break (and sometimes avoidance tactic) from grad school. I need new stuff to distract me. Hurry up season 8!

DA is #7 on Access Hollywoodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 2008 Most Searched Terms list.

It’s not just on their website. On last night’s Access Hollywood TV show, they did a little countdown of the Top 10 listers. When they got to Archie’s part, they showed a clip of him at the Rockefeller Center performing “Think of Me” during the Today show from back in May.

Incidentally, NBC Chicago copied this bit of news and put it up on their news page.

Yay for David A.!! :thumbup_tb:

edit: NO FINGER WAGGING! Don’t tell your fellow posters what to post

“Snarly’s boot was not shocking.”

Snarly…bwah! Hm, she did have this odd puckered up ‘fierce’ face when she went all yelly up on a song. While I wasn’t a fan of her performances clips, I really did like her studio recordings, especially Blackbird and Here You Come Again was lovely. Hopefully Carly will have a successful post AI career.

Yeah, I’m bad, I usually glance or even skip the season 7 updates that MJ features, unless it’s breaking news or something spectacular. I usually only read up on DC, Archie, and Brooke – no offense toward the other AI7 peeps. Best of luck to them. I don’t have the bandwidth either, since most of my time is focused on DC.

When they got to Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s part, they showed a clip of him at the Rockefeller Center performing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Think of Meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  during the Today show from back in May

Haha… that’s a random clip. So awesome!!

Amy- I get that you are a fan of Carly’s, but I have a right to my opinion. if you have read MJ’s all season you should recall that I have no love for SNARLY. Never have and never will. I refer to her as Snarly because to me she was always angry and ‘snarled’ at me whenever she sang. You call it nasty name calling, I call it the truth. Feel free to use any name you want for any contestant. I could care less…….just as I have the right and opinion to refer to Carly as Snarly as often as I choose. Seriously, it’s not like this is the first, nor will it be the last time, I use the name Snarly in regards to Ms. Smithson.

No problem. Everyone has the right to their own opinions (including Richard Rushfield), and I happen to agree with him.
:smile1_tb::

I don ´t think neither Carly nor MJ ´s elimination was a shock, in the case of MJ ´s MTv predicted that he was getting the boot… and Carly to much bad press and I really think that some people got offended with her song choice, so I totally see that coming, IMHO…

I will put the “I was thinking Bob Marley from Jason there” and definitly Archie ´s frgetting the lyrics afer all that was the point when everybody started talking about Dadchuleta, even when I don ´t believe is true… and Imagine like it or not it was a great performance and it was the one that give Archie the “One to Beat status”…

I was floored when MJ was eliminated. What’s so funny(interesting) about it was that my daughter (10 yrs old) called it. (Okay perhaps her younger brother loving MJ had something to do with this). Even though I was already established as a DC fan I just told her, oh that won’t happen.

I was surprised when Carly was eliminated, but with MJ, I was floored.

I was not surprised when they were eliminated, they lost any kind of connection with the audience after Hollywood week. But if in MJ’s case it was deserved, because he was never nothing more than a karaoke singer who could never show personality on stage, Carly really did some great performances, including her last one. Bad for her that she was never able to build an audience that would save her, like the other shad, and then there was Syesha… who, in my opinion, should have been part of that list somehow, because to end up in 3rd place without a fanbase, after beeing so many times on b3, and just beeing hated by so many… it’s quite an accomplishment! I admire that.

Yeah, I wasn’t suprised by Carly’s or MJ’s elimination. I know Rushfield was devasted since he really love Carly. It’s great that he continues to feature her now, post AI.

Even with hindsight and all, I still couldn’t envision MJ or Carly in the final 4. I just didn’t feel like either of them offered anything different or unique from years past, unlike Brooke or Jason. Now the fact that MJ was booted before KLC was a little head scratchng. But I still don’t understand why the MJ boot would be viewed as SUCH a shocker. For me, his boot pales in comparison to the Daughtry’s. I never understood MJ’s appeal, because he always struck me as the most karoake of the top 10 – and his was my least favorite set of the top 10 on the tour because it was a little too cheesy and OTT, for me. YMMV. Good luck to him though. He seems like a decent fella and I think it’s very commendable that his first record post Idol is for charity. Pretty magnanimous.’

At the end of the day, these year in review articles are just filler anyway. 2008 is nearly over and we’ve had so much happen to us, politically and economically, so it’s nice that AI can be an amusing diversion from the seriousness that we are facing. We all have our faves and opinions. If nothing else, AI encourages us all to pick a horse or several horses, similar to football fandom.

For me, his boot pales in comparison to the Daughtryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s.

Totally agree. I’d put Tamyra’s boot up there too. MJ, while his elimination I found disappointing I wasn’t nearly as shocked as the media made it out to be. The only thing that made it bad was he just came off two REALLY good performances and he finally found his stride. Other than that it seemed like once the semi’s started he just lost some type of spark, no wow factor until Year You Were Born week, and even then he got completely overshadowed by the tidal wave that was Billie Jean. Also there seemed to be a lot of emphasis on the fact he was never in the bottom 3. IMO that’s not too much of a stretch when you’re only as far as Top 8 week.

and then there was Syeshaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ who, in my opinion, should have been part of that list somehow, because to end up in 3rd place without a fanbase, after beeing so many times on b3, and just beeing hated by so manyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s quite an accomplishment! I admire that.

Oh yeah, I meant to mention this. But who, pray tell, would have taken her place if MJ and Carly weren’t surprises? Brooke and Jason whom both I loved were just ready to go when they did… I guess Syesha was the default queen? She’s just not that great IMO, the few vids of Alexandra Burke on X Factor (who also sang “Listen”) is head and shoulders above her.

Okay, Syesha’s “Listen” on tour was pretty awesome, but that was after the show… Thank God for Paula for saying “yes” was in her name, otherwise I might not be able to spell it correctly. I hope I did. LOL.

P.S. this was the first entire season of AI I watched, but hubby was pretty floored with CD’s elimination. (he also a little partial to MJ, but not completely convinced) I worked nights then and every night I would come home on Tuesdays he would mention him.

Hey guys! I’ve been on the road all day….

I’m in Philadelphia right now. That’s why no blogging today…

Hi MJ! Glad to see you’ve made it to Philly safely.

For me, his boot pales in comparison to the Daughtryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s.

Totally agree. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d put Tamyraà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s boot up there too. MJ, while his elimination I found disappointing I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t nearly as shocked as the media made it out to be.

Agree with both statements. I think the only thing that surprised me about MJ’s elimination is that it happened a week earlier than I thought. I had him pegged to leave in 7th place. He started with a lot of promise early on, but never fully lived up to the Hollywood week hype. By the time he was booted, I had already jumped off the MJ bandwagon and onto Cook’s (Billie Jean pretty much sealed the deal for me). That said, I am still looking forward to MJ’s album and will probably buy it when it’s released.

I think the MJ and Carly were vote splitting and were also wildly inconsistent from week to week. They slid some downwards from their earlier showing of high promise back in Hollywood. Meanwhile David Cook had the Daughtry Part 2 vote all locked up with a style of music that is insanely popular and yet still showed his own originality throughout the competition. And David Archuleta was the young one who could sing his face off (okay yeah that was very Randy of me there, pardon me) and had everyone from young girls to young adults and their moms and grandmothers adoring him for his voice and sweet, humble nature; and musicians of many kinds probably found a lot to like about both Davids since both are gifted musicians themselves.

Glad you made it to Philly safely, MJ! Hope you have a great holiday!

ALW week because of DAVID COOK’s rendition of Music of the Night! (Forget anything else that happened that week!) Okay, was mine the only jaw on the floor after David Cook hit the high note, and without taking a breath hit a higher note? Okay, I think he blew my mind!

Syesha was fantastic, btw! She totally deserved to be in the top 3 imo!

Billie Jean should go down in history as the best performance ever on idol or anywhere else! All I Really Need Is You should go down as the lady killer performance (that’s the performance I fell head over heals in love with David Cook, even though I’m twice his age!!!!).

And…Hello just gave me chillbumps all over my body–still does to this day when I listen to it! :devil_tb:

Glad you are home safe MJ, Merry xmas to you and your family…

Woo!!! It’s Christmas eve in my timezone. Happy holidays, mj, everyone!

Yeah, I actually was expecting MJ to go around the time he did. It was mostly a shock because he was coming off of really strong two weeks on Top 10 and Top 9, and his performance on top 8 wasn’t one of his weakest, it was just middle of the road and didn’t get much attention this way or that way.
But as MJ said himself, he pretty much peaked in Hollywood. He started the season as one of the favorites (he was my personal favorite before Cook and Hello), and I think very early on, he had even more buzz than Archie. But while Archie was very strong during semi-finals and solidified a huge fanbase based on that, Michael was sort of lackluster during semi-finals and I believe that cost him the whole thing. By the time his spark came back, alot of those who started out as fans had moved on to support others, so he was only #2 or #3 on their list, and didn’t get as many of their votes.
At least, that’s my theory, based on my own experience and what I’ve read during the season from others.

ALW week because of DAVID COOKà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rendition of Music of the Night! (Forget anything else that happened that week!)

That was really good and I loved it…but sorry…I won’t forget Carly’s performance even though it got her booted (it was really good!); I won’t forget Brooke, even though she re-started, I still think she did a really nice job with her song once she got going; and I won’t forget Archie’s Think Of Me, even though I’m likely in the minority on this one…I loved it and it pissed me off that he didn’t get more credit for making the song something completely new and different after that’s what they’d been encouraged to do.

^I actually didn ´t like Music of The Night… YMMV… My favorites performance that week were actually Memories, I like that song specially when Andrea Bocelli sing it so what Jason did was not bad at all for me… Syesha ´s performance was fun, and I actually really like like Brooke that week even with the stop and start… Think of Me was really good that week and thats song is getting a lot of playing in my iPod…Carly ´s performance was meh to me to much screaming…

I was shocked by MJ leaving, but not Carly. She did too much screaming for me. MJ had several unspectacular weeks, and just when he started improving, he was gone. That’s how it goes sometimes. KLC improved and then she was gone too. At least they left on high notes and not after bad weeks.

Jason and Brooke both had something unique that the show had never seen before, I was glad they stayed as long as they did. Syesha grew in stature each week. And the two Davids were clearly the cream of the crop.

For me personally, the most shocking boots overall were Tamyra, Constantine, Daughtry, and MJ.

And to me, the most memorable weeks of last season were:

David Cook: Hello, Eleanor Rigby, Billy Jean, Always Be My Baby, oh heck, all of them.

Chikeze: I’ve Just Seen a Face

KLC: the Beatles song was shockingly bad, but I put some of the blame on the band and whoever arranged it, and whoever didn’t tell her how bad it was.

Michael Johns: It’s all wrong but it’s all right

Jason: Over the Rainbow and Hallelulah

Brooke: She had some good weeks and some bad weeks but I always enjoyed her

(Archie – cute kid, but nothing he did wowed me, nor Carly)