Simon Cowell TV Guide Interview: Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d like to see them all fighting, screaming, hating each other

Good interview! Thanks for putting this up MJ

Isn’t Simon generally wrong about the final 2, unless it’s blatantly obvious like it was last year with the Davids?

Hopefully he’s wrong this year…

C’mon Simon! this isn’t Survivor or Big Brother. These kids are there to sing and perform well so that they can appeal to the voting viewers and record executives. They don’t have to do any inter-contestant politics or manipulation. That’s why they just get along fine.

If Simon wants a lot more hatin’ among the contestants, they need to introduce other mechanisms of getting kids eliminated, like them voting each other off. Then all the bets are off and there will be microphones flying all over the place. But who wants to watch that?

I am so disliking Simon this season.

This is a great interview. I love how he said that Adam’s sexuality shouldn’t matter and that people should focus on his voice and him as a person. Very nice interview. Love ya Simon!

Oh Simon. He’s confusing cage fighting with, I dunno, golf. Yeah, it’s a competition, but it’s not a fight. But then subtlety and observation isn’t Simon’s strong suite, which is fine.

Maybe he needs to have a secret camera on the fans, if he wants his fight

Good interview, nothing really new about Simon but after 8 years I think we have learned all there is to be learned about him.

I am not sure I would take his Adam and Danny finale prediction too seriously.
I have said that already but I remember very well to see after top 9 or 8 week an article where he said that Adam and Danny will be in the finale with Lil going third. Look at what happened since!

wishful thinking is giving me an allison adam finale… but i really think its going to come down to kris and adam this year…

If Simon wants a lot more hatinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ among the contestants, they need to introduce other mechanisms of getting kids eliminated, like them voting each other off. Then all the bets are off and there will be microphones flying all over the place. But who wants to watch that?

Why would they vote each other off? In British version of Big Brother, contestants don’t vote each other off – they only nominate each other and the viewers decide who goes home.

Good interview with Simon. I don’t agree with his comment about using a save on Tamyra Gray though. Has she done anything since season 1 of Idol? But that’s his opinion – he liked her from day 1 of that season and was royally upset when she was eliminated so I’m not surprised.

I hope the finale comes down to Kris and Adam finale. Both are showing more originality than anyone else on the show this year. However I think Danny still has the fan base over Kris. At the same time, I think Danny is losing fan base every week. I rarely see anyone posting they like Danny, while I will frequently see fans of the other 4.

Simon doesn’t watch other reality shows because the cast and soundbites are too predictable? Uh, hello pot, meet kettle…

Simon says the best performance of all 8 seasons is Adam’s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Mad Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and he also loved Tamyra Gray singing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Fall in Love.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I missed the Tamyra Gray season of Idol and I would like to her performance, but I can’t find Tamyra singing a song with that title in youTube. Has Simon got the title right?

Thanks for any input.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t agree with his comment about using a save on Tamyra Gray though.

I actually agree with him because Tamyra needed more time on that show. What she has done since then really is irrelevant as talent is sometimes overlooked by idol viewers. They are the ones who didn’t vote to keep Daughtry and Jennifer, not Simon.

I dont want to see them fighting and stuff, this would just lead to more crap on blogs like these. Imagine if fanbases knew who got along and who didn’t? We get enough when we go batshit for imagined stuff. What if we knew things….OMG, a virtual bloodbath!

Simon says the best performance of all 8 seasons is Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Mad Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and he also loved Tamyra Gray singing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Fall in Love.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

It’s not Fall In love, it’s “Fool In Love” by Ike & Tina Turner, top 8 night. Fantasia did a very good version in season 3 also.

I dont want to see them fighting and stuff, this would just lead to more crap on blogs like these. Imagine if fanbases knew who got along and who didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t? We get enough when we go batshit for imagined stuff. What if we knew thingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.OMG, a virtual bloodbath!

Word

Hee. Big difference between Fall and Fool in Love. Leave it to Simon. Simon wants the kids to be assholes? Maybe that’s why he still likes Gokey…

if it’s a gokey lambert finale, i expect a huuuuuuge margin of victory for mr. lambert!

I feel bad for Kara. Or should I say…I would feel bad if I were Kara.

little rounds!

danny the messiah gokey

Wow i like that the group puts 3 up.We vote on the 3.Put the live feeds in about 10 fans because the chit would be flying then.

Simon Cowell TV Guide Interview: Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d like to see them all fighting, screaming, hating each other

He must have planted that National Enquirer story.

I think Danny is losing fan base every week.

I think his fanbase is loyal. I don’t think it’s growing, and that’s the problem.

This was an interview conducted before last week’s performances.

I don’t get his comments about knowing nothing personally about Kris. What was his point? I didn’t get why he thinks he knows more about Adam. From Adam’s performances? Did he ever try having a long converstaion with Kris? Or any of them?There’s also Google, Simon.

Anoop made a comment in one of his exit interviews about the contestants having less contact with the judges than anybody else on the show, and how it isn’t what it looks like on TV (I assume this means it appears they and the judges have more contact than they really do). This is hardly the fault of the contestants.

Really? Nobody else has done anything original with a song? I don’t get it. Allison, Kris and even Matt have all reworked songs. I don’t know how long ago this interview was done, but Kris and Allison have reworked a number of songs in the competition so clearly Simon isn’t paying attention. The only person left who hasn’t is good old Danny! Why Simon is pushing for him to be in the finals I just don’t get. Kris all the way!

I think many of them have reworked songs. The important thing is does it matter? If you rework a song and it’s no so good, then why go on about them reworking songs? I do think that Kris has, for me, the most good reworked songs. I think that Adam, for me, has the best voice. I think that Matt, for me, has the most reworked songs that failed. I don’t think that Danny or Allison have truly reworked more than one song and those weren’t, to me, amazing.

Allison, Kris and even Matt have all reworked songs

Even Lil did with “The Rose”!

I love Simon but honestly, even people in comas know he’s bored with this show and wants off.

This is hardly the fault of the contestants.

I think, in the beginning, the judges tried to keep their distance to remain objective. Later on, I think the excessive seperation stemmed from that whole Paula/Corey Clark business. I don’t think Simon’s allowed to have a long conversation with any of them while they’re actively in competition.

I like that the contestants seem so friendly and are helping each other. It makes me like them more. And I don’t watch Big Brother and Survivor shows for a reason. I want to concentrate on the singing on the show, not the made up drah-ma! and judges, I’m especially looking at you guys here.

I personally believe that it will be between Kris and Adam in the finally and I wouldn’t jump to conclusions with Adam winning.. because! Who are all the votes from Matt Giraud going to? Kris Allen… who are all the fans of Danny Gokey (which are TONS) going to? Kris Allen… that is a massive amount of fans that want to vote for a soulful/christian singer.. I thik Adam is going to get a run for his money.. I personally hope Kris wins because it would be awesome to see the most unpimped contestant beat the two most pimped ones..

Possible spoiler….

http://www.mlive.com/tv/index.ssf/2009/04/american_idol_top_5_live_blog_1.html

As for who is singing what? This morning on the “Barnaby and Friends” radio show (also based in Grand Rapids — we’re such a hotbed for “Idol” news), host Gerry Barnaby said an inside source told him Matt Giraud will sing “My Funny Valentine.” Is that a good move for him?

Simon! Duh! Of course Kris is going to get third place, if not 2nd! Quit being an idiot or just quit the show altogether!

host Gerry Barnaby said an inside source told him Matt Giraud will sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“My Funny Valentine.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Is that a good move for him?

One of my favorite performances was Constantine’s version of MFV back in season 4. It was a very cool arrangement. If Matt does something in that vein it could be really good.

I was very encouraged by Simon’s comments about Adam. I actually agree with him that Adam and Danny have the best voices this year. That said, if I could pick two I’d pick Adam and Allison for the finals.

As for who is singing what? This morning on the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Barnaby and Friendsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  radio show (also based in Grand Rapids à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re such a hotbed for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  news), host Gerry Barnaby said an inside source told him Matt Giraud will sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“My Funny Valentine.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Is that a good move for him?

I like “My Funny Valentine” but whatever Matt sings I think he should do well with this theme. It’s right up his alley.

I think Matt’s fans might go to Kris but I think that Danny fanbase would refuse to vote for either Kris or Adam.

I think Mattà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans might go to Kris but I think that Danny fanbase would refuse to vote for either Kris or Adam.

I think it’s hard to say. I know lots of Danny/Adam fans.

Its ridiculous… I don’t know why they keep insisting that Danny is going to be in the top 2.. I mean… Other then Hero during Semi-finals… is there anything else that he’s done that’s really been “wow” worthy? For me, the wow’s usually come from Adam, Kris & Allison…. and I’d love it for it to be them 3 at the top.. with either Adam & Kris, or Adam & Allison..

Who are all the votes from Matt Giraud going to? Kris Allenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ who are all the fans of Danny Gokey (which are TONS) going to? Kris Allenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ that is a massive amount of fans that want to vote for a soulful/christian singer

I may be a bit slow here… I understand the “soulful” votes moving over to another “soulful” singer but where does the “christian” thing come in? I don’t remember, and correct me if I am wrong, that Kris has made mention of the fact (on air) that he is affliated with an evangelical church. How would the casual voter who doesn’t go online know this?

That could be Gwendolyn. I would think for sure they wouldn’t go to Kris.

I like that the contestants get along so well. It’s even made me think better of Gokey (ulp!). Simon can’t wrap his head around the concept people being respectful of each other since he has so little respect for anyone but himself.

SpenserJ, I don’t think that’s true. I recall that during Season 6, Simon took Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson out for drinks at the Sunset Marquis. If I know anything at all about Simon, I would wager a week’s pay he has done the same with Adam by this point.

Danny’s big advantage is that he has basically every Christian megachurch voting for him because he’s overtly Christian. That’s where his votes are coming from. That, and it’s darn near impossible to overcome the massive amount of Screentime he got in the Hollywood and audition rounds. It was ALLLLLL about Danny then. Danny lost his wife. Danny’s BFF is in the Hollywood rounds. Danny has a great voice. Danny is SO Christian. Danny’s BFF gets cut. Oh look! Danny’s dead wife again! Danny’s gonna win! Vote for Danny!

The fact that Adam has somehow been able to overcome THAT is a miracle in and of itself and also the fact that Kris has been gaining some fans is amazing as well considering all the Danny pimping that went on early.

“My Funny Valentine” is a great choice for Matt — if he can pull it off. It is a very hard song to sing. Elvis Costello did a cover of it, but he has amazing vocal control.

In any case, MFV has a lot of room for vocal improvisation. I hope this source is right. And I wish Matt the best of luck.

Kris Allen has not been overtly Christian.. but many reports have reealed that he is a worship leader back at his church.. even some youtube videos show it.. and what I mean, besides the soulful part, is that if Danny is voted off then who are all the evangelical church christians gonna vote for? the heterosexual Kris or the homosexual Adam.. not saying its right but its possible.. but then again kisgold could be right and they might not vote for either.. just a possibility tho

If AI wants to play up the reality angle, do what they did with Rockstar, the reality portion was shown on Monday, and they included the fighting over song selection, snippets from rehearsal to get you excited, they usually left you with a tease, clinics about different aspect of being a rockstar – one week a session with a stylist, another with a vocal coach, another clinic was original songwriting, another was stagecraft, another handling the media etc. The reality show was 30 minutes.

Performance day was Tuesday, results show Wednesday.

AI could always make the behind the scenes show a lead in to the performance or the results show if not on a separate night or you could have the episodes as something downloadable at the official site or iTunes even.

I imagine that some of the peeps wouldn’t want the added pressure but it could indeed also influence voting – you might see that the person who is so talented on the show is a diva or jerk and some people want their talent to be angelic, and a great personality or sense of humour might carry some contestants farther along, You get to see a different side of all the artists that just can’t be showcased in the competition format.

I think it does also help build up those post show fanbases. Particularly at the ratings level of AI, even if they got a fraction of the people watching the reality section that is still a lot of viewers and could certainly win certain time slots for Fox.

Just saying.

In my experience, when you get to this point, people are already so heavily invested in their faves that they don’t really vote anymore, or if they do, they only vote a little. Someone that’s powervoting 2 hours for Adam isn’t going to all of a sudden powervote 2 hours for Danny the next week, you know? At least not typically.

This is a great interview. I love how he said that Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sexuality shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t matter and that people should focus on his voice and him as a person. Very nice interview. Love ya Simon!

Yeah this is the case with Simon so long as it doesn’t affect his bottom-line. I remember how has treated contestants he suspected were gay. It wasn’t pretty …. then again maybe his issue was with them not being honest.

I’m not sure where the assumption that Danny fans will vote for Kris if Danny goes is coming from, or that Kris fans will vote for Danny. Most of the Kris fans I know of would vote for Adam. A lot of them are Christians, but the worship leader thing doesn’t affect them. I don’t know where Danny’s votes would go. The more devoted ones won’t vote at all (according to those on IDF and AI boards) and the casual ones will probably go for whoever performs the best during the finale.

I live in the southwest but have many friends in the “bible belt” where I used to live. They are all voting for, who else, Danny and think I am an awful person who just loves Adam and I am definitely going to you-know-where, lol. Anyway, every single one that I have spoken to says that “if” Danny is unjustifiably voted off by us bad people, they will never vote again! So there’s your possibility that a lot of Danny’s votes will just disappear.

I cant understand why Simon likes conflict and controversy, I think its great that the contestant gets along so well. He should be in another reality show then. I respect the contestants more for going beyond the competition and getting along as friends and helping each other out, it says a lot about their values. I heard in Anoops interview today with johnjay and rich that Simon told him that if the judges are mean to them, they can be mean and answer back. That was the time when Anoop answered back where he looked pissed off. The problem with answering back is the backlash and the perception it creates. Look at Fantasia during her season. Simon is confusing!

Mmmm I was an MJ fan that only powervoted in the finale for MJ’s buddy David Cook……..primarily because I didn’t like the blatant Archie pimpage and I thought David deserved to win so wanted to make sure. Now I don’t blame Archie at all, it was what it was.

Haha.. I’m probably the only one who finds it very sweet that Simon would fight for Ryan, Randy, and Paula. I think the chemistry between the 4 of them really adds something to the show and it’s nice to see Simon willing to use his power for something other than on himself. That obviously means that Paula is not going anywhere and I wouldn’t be suprised to see if we learn of a new deal between the 4 of them that has them all with the same contract expiration date. I think if Simon does leave the show, he would take the other 3 with him for a new show.

However, i don’t agree with his assessment that Kris should be 3rd place- 2nd place baby! I’m a big fan of Kris but I don’t really care if he wins. I just want him in the finale with Adam and he’ll at least get a record contract.

I agree with b1dev. I’ve spent time thinking about this (yeah I’m way too obsessive when it comes to American Idol). A pooling of votes happened in season 2 – when Ruben defeated Clay. Nigel Lythgoe said in an interview that Clay was leading that entire season. He thinks #3 contestant (Kimberly Locke) fans went to Ruben and that is what pushed Ruben over for the win.

Lets presume Adam is in the top 2. Even non-Adam fans are expecting him to make the top 2.

Adam/Danny top 2 – Adam will have Allison’s fans and half of Kris’s fans. Danny will have Matt’s fans and half of Kris’s fans. It will be close, since I think Allison and Matt’s fan bases are about equal. But I think Adam’s fan base is much larger than anyone realizes and Adam will win.

Adam/Matt top 2 – Adam will have Allison’s fans and Kris’s fans. Matt will have Danny’s fans. Adam wins based on his current fan base as well as pooling of Allison and Kris.

Adam/Allison top 2. I don’t see Allison getting to the top 2. Not against Adam at any rate. That would mean she’s defeated the power of 3 (Danny, Matt, Kris), and I don’t see that happening. If it somehow does, Adam wins by the largest margin of victory in AI history. If Allison gets to the top 2 against anyone but Adam, Allison wins AI because she gets Adam’s fan base. Though I think many of Adam’s fan base will have bailed by then.

Adam/Kris top 2. This will be the closest top 2. Kris will pickup Danny and Matt’s fan. Adam will pick up Allison’s fans. It will be extremely tight and we could possibly see another Ruben year with the underdog winning.

People are like buttholes, every one has one. Even me. As for Simon, he is just looking to stir up the pot.

Adam/Danny top 2 – Adam will have Allisonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans and half of Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans. Danny will have Mattà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans and half of Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans. It will be close, since I think Allison and Mattà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fan bases are about equal. But I think Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fan base is much larger than anyone realizes and Adam will win.

I won’t be voting for any of those two. My votes have been going to Kris. I like singers who can bring emotion to their songs. I do like Adam but those high notes he hits hurt my ears. So if the two two contains anyone else but Kris, I won’t be voting at all.

I am a conservative Christian and an Adam fan (hence the screenname). Danny Gokey…I am sure he is a great fella, but his performances have never done anything for me. Adam…wow…every performance is entertaining and interesting. He’s got IT!

Really, none of us know anything about Adam’s personal life, his beliefs, etc. It’s all speculation. And this is not a contest for American Altar Boy or Sunday School Teacher! If people are voting or not voting for someone on AI because of some idealogy, and not the talent, then that’s a shame.

If the save were available in prior seasons, Simon would have used it on Tamyra Gray, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“More so than Daughtry or Jennifer Hudson,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  he says.

Really, Simon? Strange, because under the format you’ve created for the save, you couldn’t have saved 2 of those people!!!