Just bring back Anoop Desai.

And Nigel Lythgoe? Comeeee baaaaaack!

As for Simon: “there will be more personality, more interest and just more diversity” — iirc there was plenty of personality and diversity last season. It was a great season, imo, and will be hard to match this year.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve only ever seen the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crazyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  youtube, which I only watched once. Based solely on his appearance on American Idol and what heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s shown Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not all that impressed. Yeah, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got a huge vocal range, but IMO, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not a very pretty vocal up at the top. He shows barely any of the personality that people say heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s supposed to have. He just looks emo and sings really high diva songs like heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s auditioning for another roll in a musical I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care if he was super freakinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ fantastic in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wickedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and he has a gazillion amazing youtubes. If he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t show any of that specialness on the show then heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not going to get enough people to believe heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“star power.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Thank U, I’ve been saying this all along. This is not Musical Idol, he should be on Broadway oh wait he was on Broadway, now he’s on this show. What I was saying in the other post is that most people are like in love with him just because he was Wicked and they saw these utube clips of him, take away that and just go by what you’ve seen on Adam the show already would you all love him. I’m sorry to any Adam fans, but I just don’t get his style or voice at all.

Would really like Adam that much if we didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know he was in Wicked and there was no utube clips of him and this is just my opinion ppl, donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t kill me.

I’ve only ever seen the “Crazy” youtube, which I only watched once. Based solely on his appearance on American Idol and what he’s shown I’m not all that impressed. Yeah, he’s got a huge vocal range, but IMO, it’s not a very pretty vocal up at the top. He shows barely any of the personality that people say he’s supposed to have. He just looks emo and sings really high diva songs like he’s auditioning for another roll in a musical. I don’t care if he was super freakin’ fantastic in “Wicked” and he has a gazillion amazing youtubes. If he doesn’t show any of that specialness on the show then he’s not going to get enough people to believe he’s got “star power.”

David Osmond
Deanna Brown
Frankie Jordan
Jamar Rogers
Jennifer Samoranos
Jessica Furney
Leneshe Young
Ryan Johnson
Sharon Wilbur

Since only Anoop and possibly Ricky deserve advancing from group 1 to the wildcard, there would be at least one spot open.

Would really like Adam that much if we didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know he was in Wicked and there was no utube clips of him and this is just my opinion ppl, donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t kill me.

Yes we would. I, for one, first heard Adam sing Crazy, and saw his video f Dust In the Wind before I ever heard he was in Wicked. I have only very recently listened or watched his performance in the show. I was hooked by the fact that the same performer who could display such bravado in a performance such as over-the-top Crazy could also be so emotionally honest in Dust. I love his voice and love his theatricality. Although I know some folks would object, I wouldn’t mind if he flamed on stage tonight as long as he doesn’t go down in flames like so many did last week.

ETA: I realize that I am using YouTube clips in my justification of liking Adam. I do think I would have been drawn to his performances even without my “outside” knowledge. He certainly was a highlight in the group song footage, even though he was only on a for a second or two. He also has performed at least as well as his fellow singers on every level (usually, but not always, better). But I look up the videos of EVERYone I am interested in on the show. I think that helps form my own opinion rather than the one shown to me by AI.

If they do bring back non-semifinalists, I hope Leneshe in among them. She’s the kind of kid who really could use a break. Plus, I thought she was adorable and talented.

RJ, on the other hand, is actually a very talented singer. His first album was phenomenal, in my opinion.

I do love RJ Helton. He totally earned that wildcard spot. That was a total no-brainer.

Imagine all the nice close-ups of Danny we could get while Jamar waits for his results each week, the power of Dannyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s emotions when Jamar gets the boot again, etc. More Jamar means more Danny!

More Danny? No thanks.

i miss season 7.

AMEN.

Just bring back Anoop and Ricky and I’ll be happy, asuming Megan and Adman get through this week. And no more Tatiana!

Yeah sure like Carmen Rasumenseun, Leah LaBelle and R. J. Helton were interesting. NOT!

To be fair, RJ was much better than several of the ones that America voted in, like Jim Verraros. That boy was horrible! RJ, on the other hand, is actually a very talented singer. His first album was phenomenal, in my opinion.

And while I really disliked Carmen’s wildcard show performance, I actually ended up liking her in the finals. Her album is also very good.

Leah LaBelle had a really good semi-final group performance, in my opinion, but overall was very weak. I agree that they shouldn’t have put her through. They should have gone for Suzy (or better yet, Lisa Leuschner!) or one of the other stronger singers. And let’s not forget that this season was when America’s wildcard choice was Jon Peter Lewis. Jennifer Hudson only got through by being a Judge’s Choice.

All in all, I suppose I usually don’t have a problem with the judges’ picks. Not any more than I sometimes have with America’s picks, anyway.

As long as they don’t give wildcard spots (as in being through to the Top 12) to people like Tatiana and Nick Mitchell instead of actual people who show potential, I’ll be okay.

So I get why Simon wants to emphasize personality–if it’s done right it will give us more insight into these people. His problem, though, is that he’s talking as if this year’s flock is more interesting than years’ past, when it doesn’t seem that way so far (now that I know the personalities of many of the past contestants). Season 8, in fact, is turning out to be a bit of a dull lot, save the wacko (Tatiana) and the clown (Nick). No wonder they kept them around. Even Adam, who has gotten a lot of screen time, hasn’t shown much of the personality that he is supposed to have. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind Nick in the top 12. He actually has a good voice, and he’s the only contestant that I think has the guts to talk back to the judges (since that practice has been beaten out of contestants too scared to cause a scene for fear of getting eliminated). If he were terrible I would get annoyed by his presence but, seriously, he’s better than a lot of the top 36, vocally.

So, anyway, if season 8 contestants aren’t really more interesting, and they have yet to show they are more talented, then Simon is just talking out of his ass as usual.

Would shake things up…wouldn’t give us, you know, better singers necessarily, but it might create buzz/ratings.

Ugh, just bring back Anoop and stop with the shark-jumping.

Ryan Johnson and John Twiford

Yes.