“Following the announcement that Andrew will appear on the hit US TV programme à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  we can confirm that the episode featuring Andrew will be transmitted in the USA on FOX (Tue. 8/7c) on April 22nd. Andrew will be guiding the contestants and as they perform a selection of his songs from the set of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Phantom the Las Vegas Spectacularà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  at the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas.”

http://www.andrewlloydwebber.com/news/article.php?ID=135

Phantom Las Vegas musical numbers:
http://www.phantomlasvegas.com/

http://thumbsnap.com/v/sBFMvaIm.gif

Chris Slighà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s take on the show last night. I love me some Sligh.

Wow, Sligh put Archie in his bottom 3! That’s the first time I’ve seen Archie be put into the bottom 3 since a few weeks ago when a correspondent from Foxes on Idol did the same when he had that semi-trainwreck performance of “We Can Work It Out”. I can’t blame him, though. Just like Chris, I am repeatedly bored with the kid no matter how nice and pleasant his voice sounds.

I am the pentimulate Russian judge. I give whatever score I like and there really is no basis for them. If I hate a contestant, they will have a tough time achieving anything more than a 5. So, me giving Kristy a score of 5 this week is actually very high praise. If I like you, I will probably spot you a few points even when you suck.

Yes. If heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s wheeled onto the stage on a gurney and then dumped out at center stage where he lies during the entire performance, he will get a 3.

:laugh_tb:

Oh, btw, Brooke was taking breathing lessons from Archie as well. She is so nervous now it’s getting uncomfortable to watch. If both Carly and Brooke are in the bottom three tonight I hope the paramedics are standing by, those girls are wound so tight, the grief counsellor is going to be working some serious OT.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve rated the performances on some nights, although I try to be as fair and as un-biased as possible.

I don’t. LOL. I see no reason to be un-biased at all when it comes to music. Play on!

I’ve never put much stock in the Grammys. How on earth does one compare songs/singers objectively? If it’s based on vocal skills, shouldn’t Opera win all the awards? Those guys are off the scale on vocal skills. Yet, they don’t move the most units.

Should the songs be based on popularity? Well, the AMAs and the Billboard awards are, but Alvin and the Chipmunks had the number 5 album last week. Are Alvin and the gang really that much better artists than everybody else who came out last November? No, not really. Do they deserve a Grammy? Probably not. Is the Macarena fine art? No, certainly not.

With a song, what matters? The lyrics? The complexit? The message? It would be dire indeed if all the Grammy award winning songs were socially relevant and too complex to hum along to in the car.

To me singing has so much more depth to it than its basic building blocks. It’s like baking a cake. All the ingredients are important. Using good ingredients help, but it’s no guarantee of success. How you combine them helps. Using too much of one thing and not enough of another leads to disaster. And sometimes, the fanciest cakes aren’t necessarily the best.

So, my scores are simply based on how much I enjoy a performance. I think David A has the best vocals of the competition. I question his song choices and some of his performance querks, but I can’t deny the vocals. Meanwhile, David Cook has vocals that aren’t quite as good, but he makes up for it with great song choices and performance skills. So, they end up both getting a 9 from me. They could have both done a little better last night IMO, so neither gets a 10.

But, I am biased. I personally don’t know how I could not be. There are just some styles I like. I don’t care for overuse of melissma. I love melodies. I can appreciate a good glory note. Scooping annoys me. I generally prefer simplicity. I want texture, vocal variety and connection to material. And, I like a contestant who has a little fun. This show is cheesy, so embrace the cheese and laugh at yourself.

Now, I know that everybody will not agree with me. Some hate the glory note. Some love runs. etc. They aren’t wrong. They just have different preferences and that’s why I enjoy reading the review threads. It’s interesting to see why other people like or do not like a contestant. I think it’s great and gives new perspective. Even if that person likes Kristy (hey, she does have her some good qualities. Even I can admit that).