Top 8 Results Show Wrap Up – Where do the Contestants Stand?

I’ve been thinking about this, esp. with Kris in mind since I really like his voice. I hope he has the strength and ability to come back strong this week to make it to top three. I’m not convinced on this, but waiting and hoping to see it. I’d love a Kris, Allison, Adam top three. I agree that there may very well be an Adam/Danny top two if things continue in the direction they are going. I also believe the win is Adams if he so desires…

I think Kris and Allison could slip by Gokey into the top 3. Or, perhaps that’s just wishful thinking that Gokey will get the “shock” elimination after its too late for the judges to use the save. I guess I just don’t see him picking up new fans.

I also have no clue who will pick up Scott’s votes. No idea at all.

It pays to be a night owl. I totally agree with what you are saying MJ. If Anoop does well this week he might knock off one of the soul brothers. I really don’t see it happening as I think Matt and Kris have a stronger base that he does. It’s pretty surprising to me though because I think Anoop has amazing vocal ability, he just had a few unforgivable missteps I guess.

All Lil has to do to make top 5 is to stop stinking up the place any improvement would be seen as her healing the sick and raising the dead. A miracle of gargantuan proportions.

I love Scott because he really does have brass ones, and yet I didn’t see any cockiness. He is very self assured. I like it. I hope he goes the route you laid out for him, he’ll make some serious moolah and maybe inspire somebody too. Not a bad gig if you can get it.

Danny’s fans are a freaking loyal group. They must really dig the shit he’s shoveling. I am gonna put my money on the beautiful, mad talented Lambert. He’s thrilling, mesmerizing, and just effing incredible. Yep, loves him~.

Allison is going to be fine. I think she may make top three. I don’t know how, but I just think she may squeak pass Lil, unless Lil pulls a rabbit out of her hat. Then it’s bye bye adorably aweseome redheaded gal. Sob.

I think all the remaining contestants (well, except probably Adam or Danny), are just one poor performance away from being sent home, no matter how well they may have performed the week before or the whole season. I don’t think any of the fanbases are that solidified.

Even though I haven’t liked all of Adam’s performances, last week he proved why he is so deserving of the American Idol title. I don’t think any other peformance can even come close at this point. Even though I thought some of the other idols were very good last week, it was all erased from mind after hearing Adam’s “Mad World”, which was simply stunning.

Nice assessment MJ — I agree w/most of it except I don’t think Allison is as steady as the general consensus seems to think. She did really well this week but the judges are soo up and down on her, and her vote seems to depend a lot on factors like the judges, and where she performs on the show. She’s consistent in performance but if the stooges decide to clown around this week…

Anoop’s fans have this week to show up — if they don’t rally after last week’s scare, he’s done this week or next. That 30k slim difference between safe and out this week should motivate all those voters out there who have been sitting on their hands to start voting — that’s not a big margin at all. A roomful of dedicated text voters could’ve been the difference there…

Between Matt and Kris, it all depends on this week. If Matt can string a second great week in a row it will go a long way to stabilize his standing. Kris doesn’t have to be great, just “not bad”, to be all right — but if he has another misstep on the scale of this week’s, he’ll hit B3.

Lil, I don’t know. She has a captive fanbase but seems to be losing ground with the judges. Regardless I think she can survive another so-so week.

Danny and Adam are still a lock for Finale. At this point the only way I think that will change is if Adam decides he doesn’t want to win. Danny could plead for his fanbase to not vote and even that wouldn’t stop them.

I just re-watched Anoop and I have to say, that was a really good performance (he must have read my advice to r&b up “true colors”.. heh). If he was that low in the voting after a good performance, I fear for his safety. He could be the next to go.

ETA: Did anyone else notice that Adam’s chair for “Mad World” looked like one of those plastic lawn deals from Walgreens? So glad TPTB are spending their money wisely.

I’m really hoping they give Anoop that pimp spot next week and he hits a homerun. I don’t exactly think that Matt is gaining new fans–he gives a good performance and people vote, but aren’t dedicated to him. This week, it really does come down to performances…in other words–get ready for some surprises!

I think Scott’s votes might go to the other nice guys? So Kris. Adam and Allison also come across really well in interviews, but I think they’re less likely to pick up Scott’s votes?

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Allison is as steady as the general consensus seems to think. She did really well this week but the judges are soo up and down on her, and her vote seems to depend a lot on factors like the judges, and where she performs on the show. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s consistent in performance but if the stooges decide to clown around this weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I think Simon is warming up to Allison. She already has Kara, Randy and Paula on board. Let’s not forget that at this point in season 6, it was all about Melinda, but Jordin won. I can see Allison making top 3. I really can.

ETA: I can also see the judges saving Allison. I’m a fangirl, so I hope it doesn’t come to that.

I am glad that you’re less pessimistic than last week MJ :smile_wp:
So far, the eliminations since the top 10 have been remarkably predictable, the 3 worse singers have gone home and left the other 7 to battle it out.

If this trend continue, one should expect Lil to go. I know that she has a strong fanbase (has or had?) and now seems to have the vote of VFTW (Lil really?) but that’s the same argument that was used for Scott last week (and he wasn’t even in the B3).
I don’t know if she can turn this situation around suddenly, she has had 5 weeks to do so.

If she doesn’t go home, it’s probably Anoop.
What’s interresting is that both of these contestants are in the running for the pimp spot that should garantee them another week, that’s why to make this more fair, I would like to see Gokey this week.

Gokey is the second pimped one that I feel is underperforming, he began with a big advantage on his fellow contestants but has IMO lost ground ever since.
AI is a long competition, the talent of the contestants is likely to make more of a difference after several weeks and I believe Gokey is only the 4th ot 5th most talented remaining.

Matt and Kris are in a similar position, both have a shot to outlast Gokey and go to the finale. I always felt that Matt has the most talent but Kris has a likability factor through the roof.
Last week I thought that the Kris hype was a little bit over the top and being at the bottom of DI seems to slow down the predictions of him as a front runner. In the end, I just think he won’t have the necessary support from the judges/producers.

Allison has once again rebounded from a B3 appearance. She has tons of natural ability and I believe that the judges and producers are more and more pimping her as Lil is continusly disapointing. The fact that she is systematically paired up with Adam on results night may indicate something, I remember that Archuleta and Cook were featured a lot together too. She has the most upside of the remaining contestants.

Adam is the only of the 3 early favorites to have build on his lead, I don’t see anyone touching him, not because he is ahead now, but because I believe he is the most talented and will out perform the others in the next weeks too.

I totally agree with you MJ – on how you see the rest of the pack finishing. Kris was my dark horse and I thought maybe, just maybe he could pull off the upset but I dont think anyone can stop the Adam Lambert juggernaut. I’m actually surprised at how many of my friends that are watching like Gokey. The only place I’ve heard any “grieving widower” backlash is here… interesting. Maybe I’ve just got friends that are easily manipulated – lol. Matt was my favorite out of the box and I still really, really like his voice but Allison and Kris have won me over as well. I still think it’s a Lambert/Gokey finale with Lambert taking the whole thing. The only one that may have a shot at snagging the runner up spot from Gokey is Allison, imo.

I actually was thinking that Kris is a lock for top 3 now since he avoided the bottom 3 this past week with his week performance (and this is coming from a big Kris fan!) It basically shows that he has built up the fan base to push him to the top. I agree that Matt, Kris, and Anoop are splitting votes but I think that most have decided the one person of the 3 that they will put most of their votes on by now and it seems that person is Kris. I don’t think Matt and Anoop had as strong as a start to keep building up a lot of voters. I think if Kris ends up with all their votes, he could go to the finals against Adam.

Lil and Danny don’t seem to be gaining fans but still have their original fanbase. I’ve also noticed that a lot of casual viewers (who would never vote) like them okay enough but neither has done anything too memorable.

Allison is somewhat stuck since she doesn’t seem to have a super big fan base even though she is talented. Her placements seem to depend on whether the judges like her that week or not.

My prediction for the week is that Danny will finally be in the bottom 3 along with Lil and Matt. Anoop’s fans are probably going to rally since they saw that he was so close to elimation. I think Matt will be eliminated even if his performance is good, but the judges will finally use their save!

ETA: Did anyone else notice that Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s chair for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Mad Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  looked like one of those plastic lawn deals from Walgreens? So glad TPTB are spending their money wisely.

Ha ha, pj; I DID notice that! Good thing the lights were down low.

remember mj, scott was VFTW pick. that’s why i think the difference between him and anoop were so close.

lil’s now the VFTW pick and will get some extra votes, but i don’t think enough to keep her out of the bottom three. i doubt she’ll gain any new fans from scott’s fanbase so anoop could benefit from that.

i will be extremely pleased if anoop made at least top 5.

Adam will win AI8. I just don’t see anyone capable of pulling out the performances to challenge him from what we’ve seen. I think the contestants need to start worrying about establishing their musical identity more than staying another week or jockeying for position at this point. As Kellie Pickler showed last week, it’s better to go out mid-pack while leaving the audience with a strong sense of who you are and what type of recording artist you will be than cling week to week with a decent performance vote from the casual voters that leaves no lasting impression as to who you are or want to be. (See Syesha or Carly last year) I just don’t know about this group beyond Adam and Allison. I guess Kris is Mrazy? Matt doesn’t seem to want to be R&B even though that’s where his talent lies, and Anoop wants to be R&B even though he’s not that good at it. Lil is not good enough to compete with the Mary J’s and Beyonce’s and needs to figure something else out. I hope this week’s relatively open song choice will help them all out.

As Kellie Pickler showed last week, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s better to go out mid-pack while leaving the audience with a strong sense of who you are and what type of recording artist you will be than cling week to week with a decent performance vote from the casual voters that leaves no lasting impression as to who you are or want to be. (See Syesha or Carly last year)

Interseting observation… I never thought about that but I think you might be onto something there.

Matt doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seem to want to be R&B even though thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s where his talent lies, and Anoop wants to be R&B even though heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not that good at it.

Lol… very true!

The only place Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard any à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“grieving widowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  backlash is hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ interesting

Same here. My friends LUV Gokey….and just like you, the only “grieving widower” backlash I hear is from the Internet.

Plus, I don’t hate the guy as much anymore cuz the dude CAN sing. Also, I saw him in a video with a fan and he seems like a really nice guy.

Regarding Allison, I wouldn’t be surprised if she left next week, or if she sneaks into the top 3. Her success on this show seems LARGELY dependent on her performance that week since she lacks a hardcore fanbase that would vote for her no matter what.

>>>I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Allison is as steady as the general consensus seems to think. >>>

I have to agree *if* you are speaking about her support, not her performances which are second only to Adam, IMO. I love her and every blogger and reporter recognizes her talent.

>>>She did really well this week but the judges are soo up and down on her, and her vote seems to depend a lot on factors like the judges, and where she performs on the show. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s consistent in performance but if the stooges decide to clown around this weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦>>>

I just want to clarify, IMO, she did really well AGAIN this week and there is only one *stooge* who hasn’t yet accepted her and who draws the *weak* Paula into his manipulations.

>>>>I think Simon is warming up to Allison. She already has Kara, Randy and Paula on board. >>>

I don’t trust Simon for one minute concerning Allison. IMO, she is the only threat to his Gokey/Adam finale and he is doing his best to sabotage her. Did you watch his face while Paula was glowingly critiquing Allison’s brilliant rendition of Make You Love Me? *Satan* was grimly figuring out how to blow this talent out of America’s mind. Hmmm, “I used her clothes last week, how about I try the unlikeable factor that got Jessica Sierra thrown out?”

Sure Simon, destroy a 19 year old for Carrie (can’t have two blondes) and then ruin a very talented adorable fun 16 year old who is loaded with a fun young personality and then becomes a season veteran when her song starts.

Who was loaded with personality, Simon? The stuttering lip lickiing, Duh, um Archuleta? Yup, Simon’s is paving his road to eternal hell with his BS.

>>>Regarding Allison, I wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be surprised if she left next week, or if she sneaks into the top 3. Her success on this show seems LARGELY dependent on her performance that week since she lacks a hardcore fanbase that would vote for her no matter what.>>>>

Couldn’t agree more about this talented girl. The master builder called Simon can either build her a spaceship to the stars or a coffin to oblivion depending on what comes out of his mouth. Isn’t it enough that we never saw Allison’s audition or Allison in Hollywood that might have built her a fanbase, does Slimon have to dig out the nails and hammer each week after her fantastic performances to further ruin her?

Everyone I know loves Gokey too. They like the others in varying degrees but seem to really be into Danny. Everyone online seems to think Adam is a forgone conclusion to win but I don’t think so. I really think TPTB are pimping him so much because he’s not keeping up with Danny and at times some of the others in votes. I think they would like him to win or at the very least be in the finale.

Everyone I know loves Gokey too. They like the others in varying degrees but seem to really be into Danny. Everyone online seems to think Adam is a forgone conclusion to win but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think so.

On the Gokey/Lambert competition, IMO Adam has clearly the edge at the moment. All the online indicators point to not only a lead but a total domination:
here and here .
I don’t think there is that much difference between the real world audience and the internet audience.
I’ve seen a lot of people compare this to Hicks vs. Daughtry, except Taylor was doing way better online, he was always first on DI from the beginning to the end. Even when he went first and sang poorly (country week or top 20) he was miles ahead of the competition.
Adam had a big lead this week and DI doesn’t take into account the text voters that should be in favor of Adam who seems to have a younger fanbase (for instance, text votes seem to have really helped Kris this week).

I really think TPTB are pimping him so much because heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not keeping up with Danny and at times some of the others in votes. I think they would like him to win or at the very least be in the finale.

I actually think it’s the other way around, they are pimping Danny because they dont’ want this to be a one man show and people would lose interest if they had the impression that all was decided in advance.

Scott: Though they did treat him with kid gloves, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think they were insincere or condescending, especially Paula. Scottà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s disability is part of his total package. The casual viewer wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know he was blind if it wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mentioned. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not right but we all know ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not just a vocal contest and they like to diversify their finalists. They chose to put him in the competition. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be worse to rip his performances without considering the whole package. And he is inspirational to people. Not quite the same thing, but Dannyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s standing has a lot to do with his total package (lots of camera time & and the dead wife angle).

Allison: I think Lil will have to go for Allison to have a shot at top 4 or higher. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m crossing my fingers.

Anoop: He deserves to get the pimp spot this week. But I think heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s next to go unless he turns in a solid, maybe even stellar performance AND Matt, Lil, or Allison really suck AND the judges acknowledge the suckage. Anyone else that underperforms will be saved by their fanbase.

Danny: Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fallen in the eyes of three people I know that had him as a favorite. This is based on his performances as they are not on the net and have no knowledge of the backlash.

Agreeance with many things said so far.

I too think they are pimping Danny just so they have a horse race in the finale. They wanted a Danny/Adam final 2 from the beginning, and I believe they will get it.

I believe they wanted Lil to be 3rd, but they’re not going to get that. Her fanbase erodes with every stinker performance, evidenced in her well deserved and past due appearance in the b3 this week.

About the Gokey/internet thing. I think the key to that is that the casual viewer, who buys the hype and likes Gokey, either never actually votes or if they do, calls in once or twice. That does make a big difference in vote totals, but can be overcome by a mobilized internet savvy fanbase that dials and texts their fingers bloody for someone (i.e. – Adam).

I don’t know who will get 3rd, it will either be Allison (who I hope it is, and even hope somehow manages to squeak past Gokey for 2nd), or the remaining soul boy – the last one standing between Kris, Matt & Anoop. They are absolutely splitting votes. I think Anoop is in the most precarious position, and that’s too bad as he would be my favorite of the 3 boys.

The only place Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard any à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“grieving widowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  backlash is hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ interesting

Same here. My friends LUV Gokeyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.and just like you, the only à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“grieving widowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  backlash I hear is from the Internet.

Plus, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hate the guy as much anymore cuz the dude CAN sing. Also, I saw him in a video with a fan and he seems like a really nice guy.

Regarding Allison, I wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be surprised if she left next week, or if she sneaks into the top 3. Her success on this show seems LARGELY dependent on her performance that week since she lacks a hardcore fanbase that would vote for her no matter what.

My favorite internet sites are not writing about AI anymore. My top place wrote about Lost, and my second favorite site only had five posts regarding this week’s performances. There isn’t a whole lot of buzz this year. This is my staple site for AI and my only AI barometer. I tend to question group think, especially when it’s OTT. This week I was one of the few on this board that liked Danny’s performance. I ultimately ranked it 4th of the night, but I appreciated his attempt to take a standard that is overdone and put his spin on it. He was not relying on another’s interpretation. Even the 30 second audio snippet of the studio version sounded really good, not enough to purchase, but, then again, I haven’t purchased a single AI8 recording thus far. I’m a harsh critic this year. As far as Adam is concerned, I have yet to jump on the train. I have flagged it down occasionally to jump on but the producers who are driving it don’t want to slow it down for me; they’re taking this bullet train to the finals without needing my votes. To me, he’s as inconsistent as Anoop. Good on the stripped down ballads, overwrought and bombastic on the uptempo. I think Allison and Kris have been more consistent. Matt is the viable commercial artist. I hope he puts another good performance together. Lil has been the most disappointing so far. I agree though that Anoop, Matt, and Kris may be in trouble.

donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t exactly think that Matt is gaining new fansà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’he gives a good performance and people vote, but arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t dedicated to him.

Matt has a very solid, dedicated, committed fan base, like all the idols do. His being in the B3 snapped us to attention.

I’m still not counting him out. If he continues on the path he’s on now, I think he has a good chance to keep going. A lot of people respect his skills, even if they aren’t fans, and I think he stands a great chance to pick up casual voters if he performs like he did last week.

abbysee says

Dannyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans are a freaking loyal group. They must really dig the shit he’s shoveling.
===============================================
Nah no shit. He just has great vocals. If you don’t like him that’s cool.

MJ: I Like your rankings. I would only question Kris’s high ranking, if he gives another bad performance this week. His poor iTunes ratings this week on his bad week makes me believe that TPTB will not hesitate to give him the Alexis-like boot if he underperforms this week, and keep their favorite Lil for another week. Unlike Kris, Matt and Anoop have at least taken risks all through the competition and have come back real good on their good weeks (iTunes ratings), not to forget Anoop’s strong come back on his worst Beat it week. Like you say, this week is truly a test for for Anoop-Matt-Kris and since the other contestants are a lock-in for this week (other than Lil), I hope TPTB give these 3 good performing spots so it will interesting to see how closely contested their positions are in the eyes of the voting public. I really hope Danny and Lil make it to the B3 this week for their incredibly mediocre performances throughout the competition

On the Gokey/Lambert competition, IMO Adam has clearly the edge at the moment. All the online indicators point to not only a lead but a total domination:
here

Holy crap. :eek_wp:

I like the way you predicted the placements at the end there, MJ. It all seems plausible to me.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t trust Simon for one minute concerning Allison. IMO, she is the only threat to his Gokey/Adam finale and he is doing his best to sabotage her. Did you watch his face while Paula was glowingly critiquing Allisonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s brilliant rendition of Make You Love Me? *Satan* was grimly figuring out how to blow this talent out of Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mind. Hmmm, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I used her clothes last week, how about I try the unlikeable factor that got Jessica Sierra thrown out?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I wrote about this last Tuesday night. Simon gives a very begrudging thumbs up for her every week. Something about it smells foul.

Hmmm, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I used her clothes last week, how about I try the unlikeable factor that got Jessica Sierra thrown out?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I thought exactly the same thing! I think Jessica was a threat to Carrie – her vocals were great, and she had lots more soul and emotion. He had to find a way to cut her off at the knees.

When he said Allison needed to work on her likeability, I could hear the bus revving its engine. Allison is clearly a threat to Lil, at least, and possibly Gokey. I’m not 100% sure of Simon’s evil master plan, but I think we’ll see a lot more revealed this week.

Sad to say, I think he’ll undermine Allison if he can – and it’s a shame. She should go really deep, Top 3 at least, based on performances so far.

I think the key to that is that the casual viewer, who buys the hype and likes Gokey, either never actually votes or if they do, calls in once or twice.

This is true in the case of my friends. I’m the same way actually. Other than all of us voting like crazy for Elliott, none of us power vote.

Happy Easter y’all.

As a die-hard Scottie, I’m still moaning over the 30K vote separation…and I see a couple of things.

1) Although that constitutes about 1/10th of 1% of the entire vote total, we have to take into consideration that the battle wasn’t between Scott and the entire top 8. Rather, it was between Scott and Anoop for 7th place. And I don’t think either of them received any more than about 3 million votes apiece. So a 30K vote differential among 6 million votes is about a half of a percent. It still sucks, and in the real world, there would be a recount but….

And 3 million apiece might be too high. I think it might be closer to 2 million apiece (4 million total). That’s about 3/4 of a percent. Still hurts, but I don’t think there would be a recount.

They’ve hardly ever gave the vote margin. I wonder…is it because it’s never this close (and I’m think there were probably closer margins)…or is it because they want to mess with Anoop’s mind?

I have more thoughts, but I have to get to Easter church.

Matt doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seem to want to be R&B even though thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s where his talent lies, and Anoop wants to be R&B even though heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not that good at it.

Interesting observationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.which makes me ask why even bother if youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re not doing what you love, but instead what will simply move you through to the next level of the competion?

I really believe that Lil deserves to go home next. I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel any sort of connection with her. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s doing a terrible job choosing songs because sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not taking the judgesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ advice. They canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t possibly be any more blunt with her. Mary J. Blige, Keisha Coleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦all in line with her vocals. I think the judgesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ had really expected she would be this huge draw with top 3 potential, but they underestimated the audience who is mostly caught up with Adam/Danny.

And while I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know how Adam could possibly be beat at this point, I take nothing for granted with this show. I felt as strongly about Archuleta at this same time last year and we all know what happened there. I think that Adam has so far earned the win moreso than Danny and, naturally, I’d say Danny is getting ‘lost’ in all the Adam love but I am surprised the votes don’t reflect that and they still appear to be neck and neck.

I think Jessica was a threat to Carrie

Knowing what we know now about both, I’m very relieved that things turned out just as they did!

I think Kris has a pretty good shot at being #3… other than Danny and Adam, he seems to be the strongest in terms of performance plus fanbase of whose left. What could stop him though is the fact that I don’t believe there has ever been a top 3 of the same gender before – maybe season 3? – anyway, he may go out 4th in preference for a strong female… hopefully Allison.

I agree with those who say Danny remains popular outside the Idol internet community. That’s why I think he could still win. As for the indicators mentioned above, I tend to go by dialidol a little more than I go by internet-mention based extrapolations to measure popularity. I know I’ve read many a trade article cautioning against using things like google searches and internet chatter to gauge real world interest. Can we say “Snakes On A Plane” anyone? LOL. That data can easily be skewed by a small vocal fanbase, not to mention that fact that internet use skews younger, higher educated and with higher incomes than the general population. For a show like Idol, it can be especially misleading.

Anyway, my suggestions: Allison needs to stay consistent and offer a little variation in personality, Kris just needs to get back to churning out likeable performances, Matt has to up his game every week and loosen up, Anoop needs to do something attention grabbing and knock it out of the park, Lil just has to be good for once, Danny needs to have his “moment”, Adam knows what the hell he is doing and needs no advice form anyone. Heh.

but I am surprised the votes donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t reflect that and they still appear to be neck and neck.

Well, DI doesn’t tell the whole story, as we saw this week with Kris. It might not be as close as it appears between Danny and Adam.

I just re-watched Anoop and I have to say, that was a really good performance (he must have read my advice to r&b up à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“true colorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .. heh). If he was that low in the voting after a good performance, I fear for his safety. He could be the next to go.

But a good, solid performance can often doom you. If it is true that Anoop, Kris and Matt are splitting votes, then that performance, IMO, put Anoop in trouble. Matt had a rebound performance at the end of the show where he managed to revive an old chestnut. He was probably, IMO, the best of the three that night and won the casual voters leaning for one of the three (as well as the solid part of the fan base). Meanwhile, Kris didn’t do that well and was savaged by the judges. This means that the his fans would fear for his life (go and read the performance night threads on any site and you will see people posting how they are panic voting for Kris and pleading for others to help them). Plus, some of the casual fans will vote because they thought the guy should be saved and “wasn’t that bad”. That leaves Anoop: not inspiring the panic vote, but not getting a lot of new voters.

I think that if the Kris-Matt-Anoop trio don’t have the best performance of the three on any given night, they better hope that the judges tear them a new one.

As a result, I’m not sure that Kris is as infallible as avoiding the bottom three this week made him look. I think the troops were sufficiently motivated.

I wrote about this last Tuesday night. Simon gives a very begrudging thumbs up for her every week. Something about it smells foul.

It may be that he just doesn’t like her. Has he liked the “rocker” girls in the past? It’s when he goes against his usual type that I’m suspicious.

What could stop him though is the fact that I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe there has ever been a top 3 of the same gender before – maybe season 3?

In Season 3, the last male left 5th (George Huff), leaving an all female top 4 (Latoya, Jasmine, Diana and Fantasia).

Danny needs to have his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“momentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , Adam knows what the hell he is doing and needs no advice form anyone. Heh.

I can’t see Danny having a “moment” any more than Taylor Hicks ever did. In fact, I think Danny’s *best* performances are already behind him. Blech.
The only moment I want to see from Danny is the look on his face when Ryan tells him he’s heading home.

Kris, Allison and Matt … I don’t think we’ve seen their best work yet, but I’m excited about the possibility of “moments” from them. Kris came darn close with ANS.

With Adam, it’s a matter of how many more “moments* can he pull off on this show? For me, it’s 4 and counting ……

Overall, I’m loving S8!

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve predicted the Idol winner every season but one, still canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand the results of season 5. But, because of the continued popularity of a lower finishing contestant and the difficult time the winner has faced getting anyone to listen to their music I think that the devoted AI fan learned a lot about voting and the power of voting. (As an aside, I think season 6 of AI suffered from season 5à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s results since the contestants all had good voices but didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have that polarizing type of personality that pulled in (IMHO) unwarranted votes.)

This year has been a crap shoot from the very beginning. Contestants that were odds on favorites early and built a huge fan base are slowly loosing their spinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦and contestants that barely squeaked into the final 13 are getting a better voter response as time travels on.

Lil: Built in fan base because she is the only black diva left in the crowd. But, no matter how the judges criticize her for her song choices and her presentationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦she just doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get it. Her inner musical psyche cannot and will not accept that less is sometimes better. I wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be surprised if she sings another overdone à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Bigà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  song because it is the only way she knows how to sing. If she does she will be toast.

Anoop, Matt, Kris: Splitting votes and splitting performances. All have mad talent, good voices, but havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t had a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“realà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  hook that captures Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s heart and die-hard voting. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know what to tell them other than to forget about the judges (they over critique their critiques and over analyze the feedback which jeopardizes their performances). If they perform up to their potential and donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“cuteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  with their song choices they could make it through this week.

Danny: Slowly loosing that vibe that was his early on. Even though he has a strong voting block it is diminishing every week in comparison to the gains of other contestants. Even though his back story was over-played and his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“middle Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  vibe got him this far I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think it has the strength to carry him through to the end. Savvy (vote a gazillion times) voters arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t his bread and butter, and his comparisons to an earlier winner will hurt him rather than help him in the long run. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll make it to top 5 but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think he will survive to top 3.

Allison and Adam: Both are polarizing contestants, both are amazing talents, and both have had tremendous voter swings over the past weeks both up and down. For these two EVERYTHING hinges on song choice, and for them to receive à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“casual voterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  votes they need to rely on Simon Says, but they are both gaining new hardcore fans every week (and online interest) and they should stay to top 3.

As a result, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure that Kris is as infallible as avoiding the bottom three this week made him look. I think the troops were sufficiently motivated.

Kirsten, that is a great analysis, and one I had never thought of before. Kris may not be as solid as I thought. Then again, didn’t Matt get savaged one night and still ended up in the bottom 3? I can’t quite remember. Still, the good performance plus lukewarm commentary thing as downed many a contestant before. Michael Johns was on the receiving end of that last year, wasn’t he? Yeah, those 3 might be way more vulnerable to performance order and judges commentary than I am thinking.

MJ, you really need to get a load of this!

http://blog.ymarketing.com/

With Adam, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a matter of how many more à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“moments* can he pull off on this show? For me, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 4 and counting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

^^^ Word.

Then again, didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Matt get savaged one night and still ended up in the bottom 3?

Nope, Matt has been in the bottom 3 only once, after he went first Top 10 night, and gave a sold performance (Let’s Get It On). The judges praised him. His fans, myself included, were asleep at the wheel. Dial Idol showed him to be solidly safe, and we got complacent.

The next week, he sang the Fray song, You Found Me, judges tore him a new one, and he escaped the B3.

Heh. This has been a kind of “moment” lite season hasn’t it? There have been some good performances and some great ones, but not a lot of “everybody’s talking about it the next day” performances expect from… Adam. I don’t remember that last season where that happened. Again, maybe season 3? Wait no, even that season had Latoya, JHud and Fanny delivering buzz worthy stuff. Wow.

ETA: Thanks flicker! I could not remember for the life of me how Matt got in the bottom 3. Goes to boltser Kirsten’s point.. those 3 may be more vulnerable than I thought.

^ That’s a major problem with this season. There’s only one contestants who’s had a moment, unless you count Kris’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” which IMO was an almost-moment.

Snuffles, that link you posted is really interesting. I’m not sure about predicting the winner, but I think the way the data is determined gives a good indication of who will hold the most public interest after Idol. Thanks for posting it!

Then again, didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Matt get savaged one night and still ended up in the bottom 3?

Nope. The only time he was sent to the Bottom 3 was “Motown” week. He went first and sang “Let’s Get it On”. Randy told him that he was challenging the frontrunners. Kara said that it was “solid”. Paula said “great job” and Simon suggested that he was one of the front-runners.

He had a solid performance and got good remarks from the judges. A lot of people thought he had no fan base when he ended up bottom 3, but it may have been that the fans didn’t feel that they needed to vote for him since he was a “front-runner” (or forgot him because he went first – don’t be forgettable). One of the interesting things to track is the number of votes that a person gets on DialIdol. Matt went from averaging 17-18K a week to 27K the next week. That could be taken as an indication that people were getting off their butts and voting for him. I think it shook up his fan base.

i really like hearing the preppy geek’s [anoop's], singing voice. it’s really pretty, sort of velvety. i hope he stays for at least a week or two. as for danny, well, i liked him during the hollywood round, but i liked jamal more. i used to call them ebony and ivory. perhaps the reason jamal was cut was to make gokey really shine; however, he has not delivered a shining performance which comes close to adam’s. but i believe danny was chosen to win, until adam, the emo boy, came along to provide competition of talent, rather than of actual votes. as i see it, it’s a close fight between the two.

kris may outlast anoop and matt,and probably lil. as for allison, well, im starting to warm towards her, perhaps even more if she doesn’t sound like she’s drunk pronouncing the lyrics. so for me, i wish adam, kris and allison make it to top 4 as the other spot seems to belong to danny.

as for whom the scottie votes lie? i think danny would get most of the votes.

It may be hard to believe, but my two favorites so far are Danny andAdam.

Danny has a great voice, and I love it when he takes songs “to church”. He has made me like songs that I didn’t really care for by artists I’m not into, like Jesus Take the Wheel and What Hurts the Most. I even liked the Mariah cover, lol. his voice and gospel delivery make them work.

Danny’s weaknesses are being kinda cheesy at times, and somewhat old-fashioned in his image and bland song choices, too.

Adam’s great when he is singing soft and sweet, and Tracks of My Tears is obviously the best performance on Idol so far this year. Mad world is right behind it, for me. But I liked those songs and artists already. Have you guys listened to Smokey’s original version of TOMT? Its great, but I can see how people feel Adam updated and improved on it. Another big plus is how I can’t wait to hear what Adam is going to do each week. With Danny, I just hope it isn’t cheesy, lol.

Being in my thirties I remember all the poodle-haired-makeup wearing heavy metal bands in the eighties, when Adam sings high like that I am reminded of them, but it hasn’t hurt him so far.

WHY THIS WEEK IS SO CRUCIAL AND WHY ADAM CAN CLOSE THE DEAL:

Adam has had a lot of buzz up until now, but with the release of Mad World, the buzz has hit critical mass.

Believe it or not, there are still many people who don’t watch Idol. These will be tuning in to find out what all the excitement is about. If Adam impresses this is an entirely untapped group of voters he can land. We are talking the possibility of millions of new Lambert votes.

So this week is crucial.

I have been wanting him to go big and crazy with “Lady Marmalade” of “Killer Queen”. I don’t expect another soft performance. He needs to be careful not to go to hard for the “rock wail” as some people find that screechy.

We’ll see.

I think it shook up his fan base.

To put it mildly…..

>>>I think Jessica was a threat to Carrie

Knowing what we know now about both, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m very relieved that things turned out just as they did!>>>>

No doubt about it, but Simon doesn’t have a crystal ball and with Carrie splitting the votes with Jessica, who knows what could have happened? I love Carrie, I just don’t like Simon playing God with kids careers. psyches as well as their lives.

IMO, to tell a 19 year old girl that she is unlikeable and then to follow it up with the same comment to a 16 year old *very likeable* girl is unforgiveable.

Simon, what is likeable? When were we supposed to learn to like Allison? I never saw her audition anywhere. Still can’t find it on you tube. Never saw her in Hollywood. I first saw her on week two of the final 36 when she led the girls in votes with her rendition of Hearts “Alone” without a fan base or a previous sighting.

Imo, she has a delightful personality, giggles appropriately, speaks young, sings old/good old, is ultra polite when she receives criticism. Even then, when told she was *unlikeable,* she pretended sobbing adorably saying, “Nobody likes me?”

Simon should have been embarrassed. I know Randy was when he yelled out, No. Randy, IMO, loves her as do Kara and Paula (when Simon is not manipulating her and drawing mustaches on her face during Allison’s moments)

It’s not a joke, IMO. I really think Simon is trying to get Allison off the show because she is just too talented. She has given the judges everything they want. They said, too much rock, so she gave them a ballad this week and it was fantastic. She is one of the few who has stepped out of her comfort zone and still excelled.

Now, she is supposed to find a *personality store* and buy one? C’mon, Simon, who are you fooling? Unfortunately, too many people bought the game *Simon Says* a long time ago and are still playing it. Well, he turned down Daughtry at his audition, awarded Archie the win by a KO over David Cook, constantly dissed Jennifer Hudson, so we know he isn’t the end all at spotting talent.

Let’s hope enough people have their own minds for this cute, very talented personality packed 16 year old rocker.

Well, “Georgia On My Mind” is on the Ray! movie soundtrack. Maybe that will be Matt’s “Song For You” and buy him a couple more weeks?

Otherwise, there is a strong possibility of him leaving next week.

I think Jessica was a threat to Carrie

Wow. I even watched that season and I dont have a clue who Jessica is. Who?

Kirsten, I agree with you regarding the Kris/Matt/Anoop vote split last week. That’s why I didn’t put points on Kris in the pool. At this stage, sometimes I think you need to have a showstopper or a really terrible performance to rally the troops if you’re vote-splitting, because a “solid” performance with faint praise can get you eliminated quickly.

I also agree that Allison’s bottom 3 visits directly correlate with where she performs in the line up. I don’t know why, but I’ve definitely noticed that.

Re: Danny. I have lots of friends who watch the show but don’t read anything online, and they like him, bit either don’t vote or have moved onto voting for someone else. He’s still plenty popular, but from what I’m seeing, my friends and family think he’s shown us all he has and that he’s getting boring. If he does something that motivated them to vote, I’m guessing they might, but right now, it’s like they like him, but aren’t invested. Take that fwiw, I guess.

IMO, to tell a 19 year old girl that she is unlikeable and then to follow it up with the same comment to a 16 year old *very likeable* girl is unforgiveable

.

I agree 100%. Who knows what kind of damage that does to a young girl. I have never forgotten that he said that to Jessica…you have to wonder what might have been.

And, to say the same thing to Allison, who is one of the most charming contestants that I remember on this show – it makes my head explode!

ETA:

Wow. I even watched that season and I dont have a clue who Jessica is. Who?

Jessica Sierra. I think she went out 10th. She had an awesome rich, bluesy voice, and wanted to sing country. I think the judges liked her singing rock, IIRC.

She went on to substance abuse problems, was on Celebrity Rehab, and did a porn video. Last I knew she was back in rehab. It’s really sad to me, she had so much potential.

jodeb, I understand what you’re saying and I too love Allison and hope she gets to the top 3.
However as someone else pointed out, Simon just doesn’t like Rock very much.
In season 4, he said that he prefered when Bo sang pop tunes like “Don’t let the sun go down on me” than when he sang the “rock thing”.
Same thing when Daughtry sang Creed, he tought he was going too far and applauded him when he sang “What a Wonderfull World”.

IMO he absolutely wants Lil in the top 3, I just hope he wakes up in time and realize she’s just not good enough to deserve the save.

My heart wants a top 3 of Adam, Allison and Kris, and honestly I would be happy with any of them winning. I suspect Danny will be in the mix as well though. I don’t hate Danny at all, and I do think he can sing, but so far he has not shown to me that he deserves the title. Too many weak spots in his voice he has yet to improve, not enough versatility. I like the rest of the contestants but I just don’t see it in them to go all the way.

Re: Danny and who is voting for him….
He does have a huge non-online following. Christian Conservatives. One of the things that has consistently floored me in reading the idol blogs, (here, EW, Rickey, etc), is that no one on the internet quite gets him. I am aware that the internet is a bit, well, leftist and progressive, bt it’s almost comical the sort of comments I’ve see, where long time idol watchers cannot fathom what genre Danny is singing. As someone who works in her local entertainment industry and has done more than a share of shows in the local mega-churches, let me tell you, if you want to know what genre he is, stick your head over there one day. The not-quite-soft rock they pepper throughout their bigger stage shows is EXACTLY where Danny is coming from.

And his song choices are no accident either. Let’s look at them: “Hero” and”Stand By Me” are church favorites, Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood are part of that group of country singers who borderline cross into Chrisian rock with some of their songs. To use a political term, these are “dogwhistle” song choices, signaling to the audience watching at home who is is and where he is coming from, without making the Mandisa-style mistake of prostylitizing on stage. This way he keeps his Christian fans, without turning off the non-religious, “We like the growly style voice” fans.

So the block of Danny’s fan base are the sort of people who would not be online–or when they are online, they have a tendency to be self-segregated. (Seriously, these are people who don’t know that “teabagging”,”NOM” and “2M4M” have other meanings. These are not people who spend time in the same part of the internet as you and I.) But they are a group that would vote like crazy. Especially against Adam.

I believe that the producer’s choice for a Danny/Adam final is related to this. First off, we must not forget that this show is produced by Brits, and therefore have a step back overview of what they see in our country. Second, Adam’s sexuality is being treated in the exact same dogwhistle manner as Danny’s “church”uality. The difference here is that the majority of the internet recognizes that dogwhistle far quicker than Danny’s (“sports, not-so-much.” Hmmph.) I really believe that 19E is going for a bit of a topical statement with this year’s finale–The Gay Boi, vs the Christian Rightist–who does America vote for more?

At least that’s my two cents.

On another note, I think this week we saw the panel make their choice in the Kris-Anoop-Matt battle, and it is undeniably Matt. If Danny doesn’t perform as they hope–and to outside eyes it does look like he’s faltering (it wasn’t until dialidol showed him second this week that I was certain of my theory)–then they will like everyone to pick Matt, thank you kindly.
Also, they are giving up on Lil–and that I based on the fact that they finally critiqued Allison for real. If Lil does not somehow pull out of her four-week-long nose dive, I would not be surprised if we see more positive attention paid towards Allison.

Ok, that was really long. Sorry.

*Steps off juice crate, passes bottle to next poster.*

I really enjoy this blog – this season has been interesting to me for several reasons and I think a lot of the observations here are right on point.

Anibundel – that has to be one of the most intelligent posts by a reader on anything I’ve ever read (about anything). Sincerely. I don’t fully buy into Danny and have jokingly said each week “he better thank God for the Christian vote” but I haven’t thought of the producers pulling for this season’s finale to be a social commentary. How intriguing – as if this season weren’t addicting enough! lol

For the record: GO ADAM!

I actually think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the other way around, they are pimping Danny because they dontà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ want this to be a one man show and people would lose interest if they had the impression that all was decided in advance.

If that were true they wouldn’t be pimping Adam as hard as they are. They’re the ones that are furthering the impression that it’s Adam’s to lose.

I know a lot of people who watch idol and most prefer Danny to all others even though most also like Adam. They’re all different types and only a couple are pretty conservative and both like Adam as well as Danny. It’s so hard to pigeonhole fans because you can like a type one season and a different one the next. My faves in season 5 thru 8 are Daughtry, Blake, Michael Johns, and Anoop. I like pop/rock, never liked beatboxing or rap, not a big fan of r&b and so on. I tend to go by voice and to a lesser extent, personalities more than genre. Even though I like Adam’s personality a bit more it’s Danny’s voice that I like.

Kirsen made some very good points about Anoop, Matt, and Kris. I’ve always thought that they couldn’t all 3 be around for long and it will help the other 2 when one goes. I’ve always hoped that Kris would be the first to go and had a glimmer of hope last week but agree that the fans were scared and he needs to get decent reviews from the judges so the fans relax a little in order for him to be at risk. Much as I’d like Lil or Kris to go this week it will probably be Anoop (most likely) or Matt. I hope that whichever one doesn’t go gets the other’s votes instead of Kris. Anoop, Allison, and Matt are the ones I’d most like to make the top 4 or 5.

Anibundel, that was a great and very wise comment. I agree that Danny’s following is largely offline, and great point about the music choices etc. Also, if he has been leading worship weekly at large churches, he will have stage presence, musicality, and showmanship to finish well. The stage fright won’t be a factor and he will up his game towards the end, I think, as he gets more comfortable with dancing and other facets of non worship singing.

Now, my real hope is that Anoop will sing Jai Ho this week from Slumdog Millionaire and sweep the week.

Personally, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think it will be the Christian conservative right versus the sexually tolerant liberal left in the finals when all is said and done. It might be Adam and Danny in the finals but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think their voter block is as defined as it appears. Granted, both contestants have a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“well documentedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  back-story, are polarizing to a certain extent, are extreme opposites in their physical appearance, bearing, mannerisms, interview styles, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sexà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  appeal. But, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think their voter blocks are so easily defined.

Adam has, luckily, been able to move beyond the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gay, OTT, screeching, girlish, theatrical, tongue usingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  label, and Danny has, thankfully, been able to outlast the backlash from his ill-advised season starting comments. Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans are young ums who like his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“differencesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and old ones who see in him bits and pieces of the performers who defined and shaped them during their long ago youths. Dannyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans like his unthreatening, everyman demeanor, the fact that he isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t getting ahead on his physical stature or looks, that he is clumsy and endearing instead of overdone and controlled.

And, because of the polarizing differences between these two guys there has arisen a very vocal voter segment that is focusing on the three other guys. The sad part of all of this, is that Allison is being left out in the cold even though she has mega talent. (I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mention Lil, because she is a totally non-entity for me and I couldn’t tell you what she has sung, at all this year…totally unforgettable to me).

IMO he absolutely wants Lil in the top 3, I just hope he wakes up in time and realize sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just not good enough to deserve the save.

I’m usually in agreement with Simon, but I’m truly gobsmacked he sees as much potential as he does in Lil and thinks she actually has a chance in hell to perhaps be the darkhorse that wins this. (Well…maybe not that last part.) Someone please enlighten me. What is it I’m missing about Lil? Allison appears to me to have a more significant fanbase than Lil. I don’t really hear any talk of Lil, but then again, I’m not seeking it out either.

My heart wants a top 3 of Adam, Allison and Kris

That’s my ideal top 3 too, but we know Danny’s going to be there at the expense of one of them and it ain’t going to be Adam!

I tend to go by voice and to a lesser extent, personalities more than genre. Even though I like Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s personality a bit more ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Dannyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s voice that I like.

Yes.

Adam really is super-humble and has said all the right things, has completely charmed the judges. Danny does come off as smarmy, and they hyped him too much. But the fact that I like Danny’s versions of songs that I never cared about before is really something to me.

I’m not very religious, but when someone brings it in that gospel style I feel it.

Like James Brown in the Blues Brothers movie, lol.

Let’s face it. AI has come down to who finishes third since it is written in stone for the top two finishers. It isn’t fair, but as JFK once said, who said life is fair. Unless Adam pulls a Mario Vasquez from Season 4 and leaves the show, then it really doesn’t matter who wins this.

Here’s my 7-3 predictions:

7. Anoop :cry_wp:
6. Kris/Matt
5. Lil
4. Kris/Matt
3. Allison

Granted, both contestants have a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“well documentedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  back-story, are polarizing to a certain extent, are extreme opposites in their physical appearance, bearing, mannerisms, interview styles, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sexà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  appeal.

Gokey has sex appeal?? :ponder_tb:

I really don’t think Lil has more of a fan base than Matt. SHe was in the bottom three last week. And she hasn’t done even one good performance since Top 13.

I think the ones to go next are her and Anoop.

Matt’s been giving great performances since Top 13 and the only one that wasn’t that great was “You Found Me”. And even then, he was not in the bottom three.
His fans saved him..

I do believe Matt has a great loyal fan base, maybe not as big as the other three but I think he is gaining ground. And.. if he continues to deliver amazing performances like last week I believe he could reach the Top 3.
I hope.. He is soo good.

I hope people keep voting for him, He deserves so much more credit that he has received.
GO Matty G! I believe in you!

@joannmski

I forgot to mention–and it’s funny because it was the very thing that set me off today–the subject of Danny’s Dead Wife in his semis package. I don’t think he or the show meant for it to come off an exploitative. I think that instead it was meant as way to introduce us to Danny’s “church”uality and let the evangelicals know that he was one of them, without explicitly making it the subject of the package. It was after that week ran that I noticed that the evangelicals at my job suddenly all got behind Danny in a big way (and since I am a known Idol-geek at work, all suddenly wanted to talk to me about it.) Also, it should be noted that Adam’s package the next week of the semis made it very clear (again without once explicitly saying so) which teams Adam plays for.

Sadly, I would say that you have a better chance of seeing Adam or Kris (or Allison, or Lil, or well, anyone) do “Jai-Ho” than you do Anoop ever risking such a choice. I hate Kara (seriously: she adds nothing to panel, makes show run over, seems only to be there so that we would have someone other than Randy to bitch about being worthless on panel, etc), but she accidentally hit the nail on the head the other week when she called Anoop’s performance “the frat brothers dared you to get up and do that.” Anoop strikes me as having an internalized fear of appearing too ethnic on this show, as if that would send him home–when actually I think it would seriously garner him some votes. Not to mention giving a way to differentiate himself from the current Matt/Kris/Anoop three way vote split that he has no way of winning. I think it’s oddly sad that Adam is the one who had the nerve to do “Ring of Fire” with a sitar (whether you loved it or hated it, you have to agree, it took balls), but Anoop never would.

I agree with MJ’s rankings, except for Danny.

I feel Danny has peaked as far as fanbase. He’ll get some of Scott’s, but that’s about it. I’m concerned as to how well his vocals will hold-up. We are hearing straining already, and the songs he is singing aren’t that vocally challenging. Those two song shows may be his downfall.

Allison has finally crawled out of the hole producers threw her in after her audition. Her only hope for getting to the finals is if Adam fans realize he has the finals in the bag and only a final with Allison would be a good show. IDK if a string good performances, as she has already, will be enough.

Matt may actually have the smallest dedicated fanbase of the remaning contestants. His DialIdol results are puzzling. He’s never on the low-end, but he’s also never on the high end either. The pimp slot performance only got him his highest ranking of #4. Anoop crushed him that night. I don’t know if Matt’s fans are lazy, complacent or in reality have another fav and Matt’s their #2. They sure are vocal on the net, but a few people yelling loudly doesn’t translate into votes.

This is make or break week for Anoop. I wonder how much of his bottom 2 is a direct result of his Tar Heels winning the NCAA BB championship the night before. I expect there were many tired UNC students and Alumni, which are a big part of Anoops base, who didn’t vote or certainly didn’t vote the full two hours. So this week is crucial to Anoop if he has Top 5 potential.

Kris looks to be fine for at least Top 5, more if he runs away from the Band and relies on his own musical skills. That arraignment was typical Idol sabatoge, so Kris best watch his back.

I think that if the Kris-Matt-Anoop trio donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have the best performance of the three on any given night, they better hope that the judges tear them a new one.

A judges drubbing will definitely motivate a fan-base to vote, and will even move some casual voters to pick up the phone. But performers who keep dropping the ball are eventually eliminated. I don’t think a motivated fanbase is enough to save a contestant.

That’s why I think Kris is in the best position to go farthest of the soul boys. Keeping in mind he’s had good, well-received performances since the start of the finals, he’ll probably bounce back with a great performance next week. If that one bad performance is an anomaly, I think he’ll make it into the Top 5.

Anoop has been the most inconsistent of the three. If he sucks next week, I think even if the judges kill him, he’s used up all his “save me” cards and will probably be eliminated.

I agree with the poster who’s said Matt’s been stuffed into a box he may not be comfortable in. If he can convincingly play the R&B guys the judges want, (actually, he did a good job this week) he could make it to Top 5.

anibundel, thanks for cluing me in on Danny’s “dog whistling” I sensed that he has a large, internet-silent fanbase out there–you helped define that a little more for me.

ETA: BTW, the final two as culture war is something we’d talked earlier about on the blog. I mentioned it to Gil Kaufmann when he interviewed me for one of his MTV stories. And Richard Rushfield explored that idea over at LAT.

The entire idea makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit. But, if TPTB are looking for controversy, there it is.

I think you’re probably spot on with your predictions, mj. I think Anoop, Lil and Matt will be the next to go, probably in that order.

Kris will stay longer than Matt because he is cuter and always smart enough to stay in his little box (with the exception of this past week). He’s “original” because he plays the guitar and piano, and he never pushes his vocals so his pitch is usually good. I’m expecting a ballad this week with good lighting and lots of close-ups of the puppy dog eyes. He’s good to go until the top 4 at least.

Lil – I honestly don’t believe that she is willing or able to do anything but tunelessly shout out a song. The judges will either call her out on it again this week, or they will stick her in the pimp spot and pretend she made a complete turnaround. I think they’ll do the latter, and then go after her on Top 6 night.

Anoop – This whole thing is out of his control. Even if he comes up with a showstopper, they can downplay it by putting at the beginning of the show, giving him the “that was pretty good,” and “dude, you can sing” comments, and telling multiple people following him that they were the best of the night. Anoop is the only person remaining they would not want to use their save on. They’ll make sure he leaves this week and then use the save next week for maximum dramatic effect. It’s unfortunate that Kara and Paula don’t want to sleep with him because that is a surefire way to get some OTT praise. A lot of people thought his performance was in the top 3/4 last week so he must feel pretty much defeated at this point.

I can’t tell if the Danny/Adam final 2 is written in stone – I think Kris or Allison could possibly sneak in there. The thought of listening to Danny sing 3 times in one night is sort of nauseating, so maybe it’s just wishful thinking that he’ll leave at #4. I’m hoping his overconfidence leads to his downfall.

I think Anoop goes first this week and Lil closes the show, Adam and Kris go near the end, Kara has an orgasm over whatever Matt sings, Allison gets more effusive praise than usual.

Matt G’s problem is that he cannot decide whether he wants to be Justin Timberlake or Chris Martin of Coldplay. He cannot continue this schizophrenic nature of his performing. If he does, he confuses his fan base even more.

Kris a “soul brother?” I thought he was a Jason Mraz/Ryan Adams wannabe? Like Matt, he has to decide who Kris Allen is. Cuteness is not enough (ask David A.).

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why I think Kris is in the best position to go farthest of the soul boys.

Your lips to God’s ear, MJ! He’s the only one, apart from Adam who I have an allergy to, who I think is a seriously creative musician. Lots of pressure on him to do it right next week, tho.

But I’m telling ya, even though “All She Wants to Do” was ill-advised, especially from the Mosh Pit, it sounds pretty darn good in the I-Tunes version….

anibundel, thanks for the insight — I had a feeling about who Danny was targeting his performances toward and everything you said about “dogwhistle” songs and cues make total sense.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think there is that much difference between the real world audience and the internet audience.

Three words! (a la Kara): Jordin Sparks
She has almost no buzz online in S6 but went on to win. Granted it seems this year Adam is a much stronger contender than Blake was. T

This show is #1 in the country – of that wide net the segment that cares enough to come online and discuss it is small and has its own demographics, and can’t be taken as a true sample of the wider audience.

Anyone see this week’s idolatry? Totally agree with Kristen when she says how Matt is just not appealing. I like his voice and all, but I have yet to see the personality or just that likability factor–which is why: if he has a mediocre performance this week, he’s absolutely gone. He and Allison are performance-based contestants…I don’t even think Allison has built a major fanbase yet, which is unfortunate. If Adam is in the latter half of the program this week with Anoop in the middle/first, I will FLIP.

Out of Matt and Kris don’t forget despite all the screentime and judges pimping, Matt had to be WildCarded into the Top 13 while Kris who had practically no previous screentime got legitimately voted into the Top 13, by viewers. Add in he’s only one of three people who hasn’t hit the bottom 3 yet it’s telling. I think he earned a nice little fanbase the old fashioned way without getting slobbered on by the judges. I also think his track record of good solid performances helped him a great deal after that hot mess this past week. I’m sure his looks are helping to some extent.

Re: the comment above that the Gokey voters are mostly off-line, IMO AI voters/viewers in general are mostly off-line! The general public only knows what they see and hear on Tues. and Wed. nights. Hence, they know Adam has a theatre background and preferred that to sports growing up, Danny lost his wife and enjoys wearing different styles of glasses, and Kris is a newlywed with a cute wife, etc. They do not go on youtube searches or see controversial pictures of the contestants on other websites. By careful editing of comments and packages about the contestants, AI can carefully control the casting.
Good comments, Michelle, above.

“I think youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re probably spot on with your predictions, mj. I think Anoop, Lil and Matt will be the next to go, probably in that order.

Kris will stay longer than Matt because he is cuter and always smart enough to stay in his little box (with the exception of this past week). Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“originalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  because he plays the guitar and piano, and he never pushes his vocals so his pitch is usually good. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m expecting a ballad this week with good lighting and lots of close-ups of the puppy dog eyes. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s good to go until the top 4 at least.

Lil – I honestly donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe that she is willing or able to do anything but tunelessly shout out a song. The judges will either call her out on it again this week, or they will stick her in the pimp spot and pretend she made a complete turnaround. I think theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll do the latter, and then go after her on Top 6 night.

Anoop – This whole thing is out of his control. Even if he comes up with a showstopper, they can downplay it by putting at the beginning of the show, giving him the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“that was pretty good,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“dude, you can singà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  comments, and telling multiple people following him that they were the best of the night. Anoop is the only person remaining they would not want to use their save on. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll make sure he leaves this week and then use the save next week for maximum dramatic effect. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s unfortunate that Kara and Paula donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to sleep with him because that is a surefire way to get some OTT praise. A lot of people thought his performance was in the top 3/4 last week so he must feel pretty much defeated at this point.

I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t tell if the Danny/Adam final 2 is written in stone – I think Kris or Allison could possibly sneak in there. The thought of listening to Danny sing 3 times in one night is sort of nauseating, so maybe ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just wishful thinking that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll leave at #4. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hoping his overconfidence leads to his downfall.

I think Anoop goes first this week and Lil closes the show, Adam and Kris go near the end, Kara has an orgasm over whatever Matt sings, Allison gets more effusive praise than usual.”

You are so right about the treatment they are giving Anoop. Man, when i hear you say it, it even breaks my heart more and more! Honestly, i love the Matt/Anoop/Kris Trio. In fact, in MY world, i wish they would have ended up Top 3 but in AI reality….sigh. AI has turned into a world of back-stabbing (from the TPTB) and political power battle rather than an entertaining TV show about finding talent. But guess what? We can stop these crappy TPTB.

The only way to get back at their stupid antics or slap them in their faces if they “downplay” a contestant, is just to keep voting. Simon has lost before, he had to eat his words last year remember, regarding David Cook. I bet he didn’t expect America to wake up and vote for Cook after all the major pimpage they gave Archie. Don’t get me wrong, i love both of them! But what i loved more- was that Simon and those idiots TPTB got their biggest shock when DC won by a landslide.

So, whatever it is, i will still keep voting for Anoop because i truly believe he has natural talent in singing and he’s handsome :redface_wp:
but in any unfortunate event, if Anoop leaves, i’ll transfer my votes to Matt first. And if he leaves, then Kris. And if Kris leaves, then no one.

Rankings are fun. Here’s mine

1. Adam- I wish I liked him, and he seems like such a sweethear,t but I’m just not into it- any of it. His voice grates on me, as does his style. But, he’s obviously got the most buzz, the most online support, and the judges/TPTB’s support. I don’t really see what can stop him at this point. I would liken him to Tasia- some can’t stand him, but most people “get” him, and think he’s got something special.

2. Kris- Now, I know most people think Danny will be the one making it, but I just don’t see that happening. Kris has a lot of support. I’m yet to see anyone who hates Kris. Sure, some aren’t into him, but he’s just so appealing on all grounds- he can sing, play, perform, and he’s cute, he recieves criticism well… if he doesn’t suck, he’s in.

3. Danny- The early favorite who collects a mirage of haters for his overpimping, and doesn’t manage to pick up any fans. I think I’ve heard that one before. Danny won’t win- these types never win. Personally, I love his raspy, soulful voice- and *gasp* his personality. He’s like Constantine- I feel like he’s in on the joke, and that appeals to me. Sure, he’s a douche, but about 95% of guys have some level of douchiness to them. Danny embraces it, and for that, I salute him.

4. Lil- This chick has been consistently terrible. I’ve hated everything she’s done, save for that Semi performance. She is THE worst black chick, soul singer, diva, whachamacallit that has ever been on this show (and YES, including Trenyce). She has no range or control. How can you be a belter when you can’t sing?! She took Alexis’ spot. Or Felicia’s. Or Kristen’s. So many more deserving… But of course, she’ll get in. She’s black, and one of 2 girls. All she has to do is be average, and she’ll get votes.

5. Allison- This one hurts. This chick deserves to come first in my book- even more than Kris. I think maybe Diana was the only teenager that can be argued as being superior. She just seems so cool, without being annoying (I’m easily annoyed). And her voice- what can you say? But something about her… i don’t know why she keeps landing in the B3. Maybe teenage girls are jealous? But they voted for Jordin and Diana, so… don’t know. She’s got real passion behind her, but aside from that, not much else. I think fifth will be it.

6. Matt- What a mess. Live, that is. He has a great voice, great piano skills, and he seemed to be cute when I first saw him, but he’s been looking a bit unattractive- maybe it’s the pimple? Either way, he seems to be turning people off. His nervousness has gotten the better of him. Many of his performances have been awkward and contrived, making them difficult to enjoy. He deserves to get farther, but what can you do?

7. Anoop- my BB. Too bad he’s all personality. He’s done well. Made the tour, proved that he was a good singer, and competent performer. He’s burnt out. I just don’t see him getting past anyone but Matt (and God forbid, Allison). As I said, he’s done well for himself, so it’s cool.

…Damn, that was long.

This show is #1 in the country – of that wide net the segment that cares enough to come online and discuss it is small and has its own demographics, and canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be taken as a true sample of the wider audience.

Considering that I don’t know (in my small circle of acquaintances) a single family that doesn’t have access to a computer I don’t think this has much truth anymore. It only takes one person at the water cooler to mention what they read on-line to get a buzz going. People may not be searching and commenting on line but, unless they live under a rock, they have a pretty good understanding of what is being said. Almost every “home page” like google and yahoo and msn comment on the AI results. And I don’t know any under 20′s that don’t use face-book or my-space to communicate and I am sure there is buzz going on there. Since You-tube videos are taken down as fast as they go up I’m sure there are a whole bunch of viewer counts that we will never see.

The AI voter that lives in a bubble and doesn’t hear about anything that goes on outside the “show” itself is getting smaller and smaller and the “uninformed” voter is slowly disappearing. I don’t think a season 6 will ever happen again if AI continues.

As an aside….I don’t see the signs and banners as much in the AI audience. Hopefully that has also become passe.

Here’s my two cents: anibundel, I completely agree with you about Danny’s fanbase. I have even noticed the song choices. As a confirmation, I saw an interview with him in which he was asked why he should win Idol. His answer was that he believes he is on Idol “for a reason” and through all his songs he is trying to fulfill that purpose. For me, it really sounded like code name for “God put me there, I have a greater mission, etc.”

I also think Danny’s appeal goes beyond just the Christian evangelicals, to include a conservative streak of the American society. For instance, I think the country music voters (and there is definitely a good chunk of them – remember how far Kristy Lee Cook got last season?) will tend to go with Danny.

Right now, I think that Danny will pick up some votes from Scott. When Lil gets eliminated, I think he might also pick up some votes from her (for instance, the Black vote tends to be pretty Christian conservative, as the California prop 8 vote has shown).

Adam, I believe, will probably pick up votes from Allison, Kris, Matt, when they get booted.

This is why I believe that an Adam-Kris-Allison Top 3 – although my personal favorite – will not happen. The three of them split votes big time. Just look on the Idol Forums, there are all kinds of “Adison” and “Kradam” threads. Haven’t seen any “Dadam (Danny-Adam) thread so far. When push will come to shove for these voters to choose between Adam, Kris, and Allison, they will probably choose Adam (IMO). But Danny has a totally distinct fan base that will push him to the finale.

Adam-Danny finale. I have no clue who will be the third one, but it might be Kris or Allison?

30,000 votes in favor of anoop. it could be at least the number of international votes anoop got. not sure if it’s fair or unfair. if plan from international supporters of anoop is a success, i won’t be surprised if anoop will end up winning. that must be fun considering the judges’ endorsement of expected winner “adam”.

anyways, Scott is out of AI8. so no more fun on AI for me

have fun people. enjoy top 7.

According to Chris Sligh, that “higher purpose” Gokey has is his foundation, Sophia’s Heart. Speaking of Chris, he was Randy and Paula’s AI6 frontrunner, but not Simon’s — and look how that turned out.

It’s good to remember that we in the AI online echo chamber are actually a small percentage of the show’s voting public — although we probably represent a larger share of the population that consumes AI merchandise.

If there was a pre-planned top two, I have to think it was Danny and Lil. I still think Simon is holding out hope for her — hence, his resistance to Allison — and maybe the other judges will drop Allison if Lil makes a comeback. If Lil picks a great song and performs it well this week, which is entirely possible, the meme will be, “Lil is back!”

Despite Paula’s love at first sight, I’m sure Simon considered Adam a wild card whom the public would love or hate. Since Adam started to develop irresistible momentum, Simon has that “my precious” expression of possessive pleasure on his face, which I haven’t seen since Fantasia.

@MJ:
Sad that I missed the thread where the culture war vis-a-vis Idol was discussed….I’m guessing the LAT article was the “Idol in the Closet” from a few weeks back? I wish I could get on here more often….
If the show were produced by Americans, I would never in a million years think they would dare do a culture war subplot. Americans, in general, have, if not a love for the evangelical culture, at least a healthy respect for it. The British (and I base this on having a British father, and relatives), seem to consider the evangelical culture merely odd at best, and on par with Islamic Fundamentalists at worst. It strikes me that this lack of respect for the culture, especially with the country voting overwhelmingly against McCain/Palin and repudiating Bush’s policies, would strike them as an opportune moment to get aboard that train.
I think in the end, I base this conclusion on my feeling this season that something is “off.” I don’t know if you, or anyone else on this site feels the same. It’s not as bad as Season Six. Season Six merely felt lackluster, due to Season Five’s Glut of Talent being a hard act to follow. Season Seven last year, by the end, had returned to Season Five’s high point. I feel like there was a fear that Season Eight would end up with the same listlessness that plagued Season Six, and that was part of the impetus for all the changes they made. But instead everything just feels… I dunno, off.
As much as I think that in the Matt/Kris/Anoop trio the judges are backing Matt, I do agree Kris is probably in the better position. As someone pointed out upthread, he made the top 13 the legit way, rather than the judges forced wildcard nonsense. He was certainly not who the producers had scripted OTT praise-wise to be voted in on his week of the semi round–they wanted Megan Joy to make it in, I think. I certainly never guessed he would get in, and was like who? My idol watching buddy, when I said the three who made it in that week were “Adam, Allison and Kris”, she said “Kris? Which one was she?”
It’s just every time I watch him, I am reminded of the guy in college with the guitar who would try and convince the pretty girl to go back to his dorm room so he could “play” for her, and then would play like he hoped his guitar abilities would simply cause her jeans to undo themselves.
Not that I like Matt any better mind you. We don’t need another poor-man’s Justin Timberlake. I will be sad when Anoop goes home.

From MTV News:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606966/20090313/story.jhtml

This season, though, a large number of those faithful viewers have more than a casual pop-culture interest in the show: They’re Christians who are also watching because more than half of this year’s crop of finalists à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  including Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver, Kris Allen, Scott MacIntyre, Matt Giraud and Lil Rounds à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  either have a strong affiliation with the church or are worship leaders in their communities

I had no idea about Kris and Matt.

This may be a way for Danny to pick up votes if he outlasts them.

-Edit: Just saw where you guys have gone over this before. Sorry to repost old info.

I hope this doesn’t turn into a culture clash as stated above. I just want to hear good singers, and I think there are some this year.

I started out as a Kris supporter because he’s from my home state of Arkansas. I keep voting for him each week because he’s consistently good. I have to agree with a previous poster who said if he can stick to his own stuff and not get sabotaged with bad band arrangements, he can hang in there.

For me, I vote not only for the talent, but also for the character of the person. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of great singers out there, great musicians and songwriters. I’m all about promoting someone who not only is a great entertainer, but will make a great role model. Adam isn’t it.

After several years of not bothering, I’m voting again because I flove Adam. He’s just wildly talented and entertaining to me. And I think he can be a great role model. Our two kids watch the show with me (well, they also only pay attention to Adam and Allison). They have been practicing Adam’s rock wail, it’s hilarious. My 9-yo daughter’s favorite Adam song is RoF; she sings it in the car. They know he’s gay; they also know it doesn’t matter to us who is gay, who is hetero, and how any stranger out there chooses to love and be happy. I think Adam can be a great role model because he is secure in who he is. We’re raising our kids to be like that – to have an honest clear idea of who they are and to go through life making the most of their strengths and figuring out how to be happy in an honest fashion. Adam also appears to be unfailingly polite, considerate, and respectful. So in that way he can be a pretty powerful role model as well. But that’s certainly not why I’m voting for him. We actively discourage our kids from looking to strangers, no matter how famous they are in sports, acting, music, etc., as role models. It’s easy to pull examples from news of people who are brilliant professionally but mess up their personal lives abysmally. Looking to AI for a role model for our kids wouldn’t make any sense to us.

There’ve been some comments about Allison bouncing in and out of the B3 and her dependence on performance and judges’ reaction.

IMO, she hasn’t been at all dependent on her performance, because she’s been as consistent as anyone in delivering top-shelf performances. I think her results have depended only on the combination of the judges’ fickleness, performance order, and, as someone else mentioned, the producers’ total abandonment of her before the semis, which forced her to start building a fanbase from nothing at that point.

What I’m interested to see is whether her performance last week will give her a lasting boost. I’m not the only one who felt that she needed to deliver a slow ballad last week in order to draw more people in, and that’s exactly what she delivered — and she hit a grand slam doing it. So I’m wondering if that added enough to her fanbase to keep her around for a few more weeks. In other words, was last week sort of a “breakout” performance for her in terms of support, even though people didn’t think of it that way?

Also, although she’s been in the B3 twice, IIRC she was sent back to the couches both times, leaving the other two to sweat it out. So I’m wondering if maybe she hasn’t been in quite as precarious a spot as we might think. A guy can hope, anyway.

Disclaimer, in case you couldn’t tell: Major, major Allison fan here.

Re: TPTB pimpage – I thought the Ford commercial was no coincidence, hopefully prescient (though Anoop probably deserves higher). They came out in pairs, in this order:

1. Adam & Allison

2. Matt & Kris

3. Gokey & Lil

and at the very end:

4. Anoop & Scot

So, whatever it is, i will still keep voting for Anoop because i truly believe he has natural talent in singing and heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s handsome
but in any unfortunate event, if Anoop leaves, ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll transfer my votes to Matt first. And if he leaves, then Kris. And if Kris leaves, then no one.

When Anoop leaves, I’m unsure if I’m going to transfer my votes to any of the other contestants because I truly believe the show is over. Between the Danny pimping and Hurricane Adam, I truly do not see a singer penetrating that twosome. I don’t see where my allegiance to another singer will help.

edit: try it again, but without namecalling. see soamused for pointers

Great commentary MJ. I agree with everything you wrote.

Concerning Scott, I think he would be a good producer. He seems to like the music/arrangement aspect of music a lot.

A judges drubbing will definitely motivate a fan-base to vote, and will even move some casual voters to pick up the phone. But performers who keep dropping the ball are eventually eliminated.

Yep. There is a limit and people will grow tired of saving you.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think a motivated fanbase is enough to save a contestant.

Well, in the early going it is, but at some point you need some new fans by having good performances.

Which kind of brings up another point. I think that the game changes a lot when we hit Top 5. That’s when we start to do multiple performances. This gives the artists a chance to broaden their appeal and is a part of the game I think Taylor Hicks strategized well for (he would come out and do one “dancing monkey” performance and one “serious artist” performance each night).

If the Idols can survive until Top 5, here is how I think it will play out (obviously, two of them won’t).

Biggest Boost: Adam – I keep seeing posts where people either like the Tracks-of-My-Tears-Straight-Up-Singing style Adam or Theatrical-Big-Hair-Band style Adam (probably not the terms they would use, but it’s what I’m going ot use). These are two very different styles he can feature in one night. If people don’t like one, they may like the other. And then there are people that love him or hate him no matter what he does. Singing 1 song or 10 songs isn’t going to change that.

Medium Boost: Matt – Matt seems to be able to do a bunch of different styles. We may debate on how well he does them, but he can at least throw something cohesively together for a couple of different styles. He can sing one on the piano for all those piano lovers (and I think he will pick up a least some of Scott’s vote from that faction) and then sing without it for his other.

Little Boost: Anoop – Anoop can sing a ballad and can sometimes sing upbeat.

No Boost At All: Kris/Danny/Allison – I love Kris, but I’m not sure he’s shown a lot of diversity. Danny might as well sing the same song every week. His bombastic style just seems to merge all his performances together in my brain (which may be only my problem). Allison also tends to do the rock growl thing, but can she create two different styles in one night? I’m not sure.

Dead in the Water: Lil – I think Lil’s weaknesses will become ever more apparent when she sings more than one song a night.

That doesn’t mean that Kris/Danny/Allison can’t survive the multiple songs, I just don’t think that it will help them much. They might do better if everybody just had to sing one song.

No Boost At All: Kris/Danny/Allison
[...]
Allison also tends to do the rock growl thing, but can she create two different styles in one night? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure.

I am. Or, I’m as sure as an outsider can be. As soon as I started reading your post and saw that you were breaking the contestants into “boost levels”, my thought was that she would get a major boost because she has shown that she can rock and do a sensitive ballad. I don’t see why she couldn’t do both in one night.

For me, I vote not only for the talent, but also for the character of the person. Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s face it, thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a lot of great singers out there, great musicians and songwriters. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m all about promoting someone who not only is a great entertainer, but will make a great role model. Adam isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it.

I’m not aware of any character issues Adam has.

Unless Lil can pull off something big this week I think Allison may overtake her. Simon went easy on Lil for awhile but clearly he isn’t of a mind to do that anymore. She’s had too many chances and hasn’t delivered.

I think the Kris-Matt-Anoop trio vote splits and that’s how Anoop came up short this week. Matt had a good performance towards the end of the show (it might have actually been the end for DVR users) and Kris was in some trouble. Votes went to Matt and Kris and Anoop came up short.

I think Kris would be helped a lot by learning how to smolder at the camera. His personality reminds me of David Cook sometimes. They’re both boy-next-door types most of the time, but David knows how to bare his soul, and his inner sexy, onstage. Kris, so far, is always just the nice, self-effacing guy, even when he’s singing, but I have seen flashes of intensity in him here and there. I think that if he could learn to show that intensity onstage he’d pull ahead of Anoop and Matt for good, and give Danny a run for his money. I’d like to see him do a stripped down, emotional ballad this week, leave it all on the stage, as they say, and then maybe he’ll finally have his “moment”.

Let’s just look at the bottom line and that is what is selling on iTunes right now. Check out the nums for ratings and comments and Adam is running away with this show.

For me, I vote not only for the talent, but also for the character of the person. Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s face it, thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a lot of great singers out there, great musicians and songwriters. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m all about promoting someone who not only is a great entertainer, but will make a great role model. Adam isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not aware of any character issues Adam has.

@Natasha:

Adam’s gay. For a certain segment of the population, that’s enough.

I have to disagree with the poster who said Adam is not a role model. I think a win for him would be a huge deal to young gay and lesbians who are painfully short on role models. It would also show a huge turn in the culture of AI…one that even as late as last year was knocking out David H for having gay pictures on the web. I hope for that reason alone that he wins this show.

(The aurual orgasm that was the surprise of his singing “Mad World” certainly didn’t detract either.) :biggrin_wp:

I’m an avid fan of idol, the show, and my family and friends know this. I share performances with them via email. Being a christian conservative (and Adam’s biggest fan), I find myself censoring what I share this year to my christian conservative friends/family. I know if I send a youtube of Adam, it’s a short trip for them to go to the right side of the screen and click on other, less desirable things Adam has performed pre-idol…..therefore, I don’t send. I’ve wondered if others have had that same ambivalence in sharing Adam visually. I actually resorted to buying an itune performance video of Mad World for my brother who now thinks Adam is “THE ONE.” However, if I sent him some of his tongue work, not so sure what he’d think, lol.

The Gay Boi, vs the Christian Rightistà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’who does America vote for more?

anibundel, I think that’s a fair assessment. We’ve just come through a right versus left, conservative versus liberal political year, and the American people do seem to be solidly on one side or the other. Could be quite interesting.

Btw, many of my oh so conservative friends and fam are for ADAM…..and so am I. I’m not so sure the stereotypes hold when it comes to entertainers. Christian conservatives DO listen to other music than that found in “praise” services. Heck, I don’t even own any of those worship CDs. Having said that though, there ARE those who would be offended by some of Adam’s pre-idol youtubes (my brother for instance), but for the most part the judgement is on talent alone.

There are enough narrow-minded people though on both sides of the left/right that could make an Adam/Danny finale a real showdown of mindset.

how do I see the ratings and reviews on itunes for the downloads?

When Anoop leaves, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m unsure if Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to transfer my votes to any of the other contestants because I truly believe the show is over. Between the Danny pimping and Hurricane Adam, I truly do not see a singer penetrating that twosome. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see where my allegiance to another singer will help.

I am worried for Anoop but I really hope its not his time yet. I see Lil is in trouble too. She hasn’t lived up to her earlier hype. I decided that if Anoop is eliminated, I won’t be voting for anyone else. At this point, it’s obvious Adam has got it in the bag and I’m not complaining. But I will be rooting for Matt. Go Wildcards!

Interesting commentary regarding voting by internet fanbases vs. the general voting public of Idol watchers. I watched for several years and always had a favorite, would become somewhat invested in my favorite and tended to vote when I thought my fave was in trouble. Last year, was the first year I went gaga over an Idol, and went to the internet to get more information, and discovered this whole crazy internet AI universe. The internet indeed has given me a whole new set of eyes by which I watch Idol; although, I had previously been subliminally aware of judge and producer manipulations (Jordan Sparks pimping being the most blatant example). This is just to say, that I do think that the internet community does have a very skewed view of the show, and the general public may see the contestants differently and be much less aware of producer manipulations. I am seeing a lot of love for Danny, Matt and even Lil outside the internet bubble; though, I don’t think any of the casual supporters are power voters. Most especially I wouldn’t underestimate Danny’s popularity in the more casual fans, and I have yet to have anyone offer me unsolicited praise of Adam. I don’t know if this means anything significant, but I find it interesting. On a similar note, during AI4, I was living in the heart of Bo Bice country (met some of his family) and from what I gather he was a big favorite of the Idol on-line community, but most of the casual fans I knew, including me, were pulling for Carrie. Therefore, I do think it is too early to crown Adam the next AI, but he certainly has all the current momentum.

I would really love to see an Allison/Adam/Kris final3 and an Allison/Kris final2, but wouldn’t be pissed to see Adam in the finale.

1. Allison to me represents what this show should be about. Loads of talent, awesome voice, a clear identity and interesting personality. I also can see a place for her in today’s recording industry. I usually hate the teens on this show, but I think Allison is truely special. Unfortunately, I doubt she will be able to win, given the lack of respect she has received from the judges, specifically, Simon.

2. Kris is interesting to me also. Good voice, likeable, a musician, unpimped and deserving of a high finish. I also think he potentially has a place in today’s recording industry, but is not nearly as gifted a singer as Allison.

3. Adam to me is a cabaret performer. I think he is playing the idol game perfectly and will probably win, but I really don’t enjoy his voice at all. I actually have gone back and rewatched his “Mad World” performance and listened to his I-Tunes recording and saw much to admire, but was really put off by the fact that I could really hear his breathing on both recordings.

4. Matt has potential, is a musician, has yet to really bring it.

5. I think Lil, Anoop and Danny would be above average lounge acts and would enjoy listening to them casually over cocktails.

Agree with MJ’s take. Will be final 3: Adam, Danny and Kris/Allison. I would definitely leave out Danny. I also will add, that depending on the final outcome, this season will probably suck at least as badly as Season 6, and has the potential for being the worst ever thanks primarily to producer inflicted changes and manipulations.

“ETA: BTW, the final two as culture war is something weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d talked earlier about on the blog. I mentioned it to Gil Kaufmann when he interviewed me for one of his MTV stories. And Richard Rushfield explored that idea over at LAT.

The entire idea makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit. But, if TPTB are looking for controversy, there it is.”

MJ, wouldn’t Adam have to actually come out and say what his sexual orientation is to make it a valid controversy? I know most people have concluded he’s gay, but seriously, what if he’s bi or just undefined? I don’t think Adam’s box is black or white. There’s a big gray area there. lol

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m all about promoting someone who not only is a great entertainer, but will make a great role model. Adam isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it.

Wow à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ you really donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think so? I think if we were to delve deep enough into the lifestyles of the contestants outside of the AI bubble, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be willing to bet weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d find quite a few skeletons. They just haven’t surfaced yet. If this is simply about Adam being gay, then Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d gladly take him as a role model compared to many out there: Britneyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mental issues, Lindsayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s party central lifestyle, Jamie Lynà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pregnancy, Mileyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s phototaking fetish, Diddy and his thugsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Need I go on? Are we saying that because they’re straight, they’re the better people to emulate -because the only ‘negative’ thing (other peoples’ perception, not mine) that I’ve ever heard from others about Adam is the fact he’s gay and IMO, that’s a non-issue as far as this talent competition goes.

1. Allison to me represents what this show should be about. Loads of talent, awesome voice, a clear identity and interesting personality. I also can see a place for her in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s recording industry. I usually hate the teens on this show, but I think Allison is truely special. Unfortunately, I doubt she will be able to win, given the lack of respect she has received from the judges, specifically, Simon.

In a perfect world, SHE would be the AI. You’re absolutely correct when you say she represents what this show is all about. She’s the only one of the seven left (sorry my darling Anoop!) of whom I would buy or download an album. As for the teen thing, right minds think alike. I always thought the age limit should be 18, but Allison has totally changed my mind, at least for this season.

I cannot understand what Simon means by Allison is not “likeable.” She’s a typical teenager. I guess he likes programmed, robotic kids a la Diana, Jordin, and David A. I find them creepy TBTH. Allison seems accessable and, here’s a doozy, someone who can actually think for herself. Go figure!

MJ, wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Adam have to actually come out and say what his sexual orientation is to make it a valid controversy?

The war will take place in the media and on the blogs and boards. Adam doesn’t need to come out–speculation is enough.

VFTW really got the ball rolling when they found those pictures of Adam kissing boys. FOX and the New York Times have picked up the ball and are running with it. I also know of one other major news organization currently working on a “gay Idol” story.

There’s no gray area when it comes to Adam’s sexuality.

I see the topic of role model has come up. In Adam’s top 36 video, Adam mentioned that one of the reason’s why he wanted to win AI was to be a role model to people (particularly kids) who are perceived to be different and ridiculed.

Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gay. For a certain segment of the population, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s enough.

That’s not a character issue to me.

VFTW really got the ball rolling when they found those pictures of Adam kissing boys. FOX and the New York Times have picked up the ball and are running with it. I also know of one other major news organization currently working on a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gay Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  story.

Who the f@#! cares about Adam’s sexuality? I don’t care if Adam had group sex with every gay man in West Hollywood out in the open, so what? Even my semi-conservative mother doesn’t care. When I told her Bill O’Reilly tried to “out” him on his show, her answer was classic: “Why? Does Bill want to go out with him?”

The media should find other things to write about such as why is Danny Gokey so popular? Now, THAT’S a story I would actually read.

edit: no lecturing.

Adam’s perceived sexuality will matter to certain people. It’s naive to think it won’t. Even Archie explained his love for Kris is in part to his values, and went on to say that many of season 8 contestants have good voices but then he went on to say something like “do they have what it means to be an Idol winner”.

I know Adam has said he only wants it to be a singing contest, but it’s not. And the interest in the subject is only going to increase. I am surprised at the people on twitter, facebook etc that are just realizing that he may be gay/BI today. I think tons and tons of regular viewers have no idea. Well, the media are about to make sure they know. (I believe there is a lot of gray area about his sexuality but I won’t try and state fact since it is up to HIM to say)

IMO, Adam will not win because of this. However, he’ll get plenty of press after the show and he’ll come out of it okay. It’s going to make me sick, but Idol is going to end with this subject being the buzz. I see Adam being stalked by paps trying to ask him this question and the pressure is going to mount for him to make some sort of statement. Yes, I disagree with ALL of this. And I can argue that it doesn’t matter, etc. But I really think this is how it’s going to all play out.

IMO, Adam will not win because of this. However, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll get plenty of press after the show and heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll come out of it okay. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to make me sick, but Idol is going to end with this subject being the buzz. I see Adam being stalked by paps trying to ask him this question and the pressure is going to mount for him to make some sort of statement. Yes, I disagree with ALL of this. And I can argue that it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t matter, etc. But I really think this is how ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to all play out.

You make it seem as though Adam is trying to hide his sexuality…HE IS NOT HIDING THAT HE IS GAY. HE IS GAY…there is NO ambiguity people.
I realize that some of you want to make this an issue but I really do not think it is going to be an issue in the end. Take it from someone who has experienced a lot of prejudice and hate directed at me over the years. I am much more optimistic than many of you I do believe America will get right and put aside their prejudices and vote FOR Adam. Who is going to beat him? You put anyone against him in the finals, where they each have to sing THREE times…no way Adam does not win…sorry.
Adams sexuality will not matter…I am much more confident of that than most of you I find that puzzling.

Reminder:

I’m NOT going to tolerate lectures and fingerwagging from ANYBODY. I don’t care how righteous you feel you are, respect your fellow posters opinions.

Posters who continue to ignore my warnings and edits are eventually banned. Just so you know.

I apologize MJ…I don’t feel I was finger waving as you call it. I just feel that there is a perspective that is not being written about on here. I don’t think I in anyway was lecturing…but its your blog.

Adam is polite, humble and shows respect for his elders. As the mother of an 8 year old daughter, I would rather she have Adam Lambert posters hanging on her walls than a certain pop singer recently arrested for allegedly beating the crap out of his girlfriend.

I disagree that Matt has a small/weak fanbase. It’s bigger than both Lil and Kris, I would know – I run the fan numbers.

I disagree that Matt can maybe “sneak” into the Top 5. With all due respect, that boy DESERVES Top 5 at minimum.

I disagree that another “You Found Me” performance will send Matt home. It didn’t even put him in the Bottom 3 the first time, I highly doubt it would send him home for good. And I know a great amount of people that LOVED that performance and thought it was highly underrated. In fact, some people thought that was his best performance to date! hah!

It’s just plain and clear that Matt Giraud is highly underrated in this competition. Yet, realistically I believe he is the only one with a CLEAR shot at beating Adam in the finale. He is a true musician and his charisma and soul would shine above and beyond all the antics of Adam, if given the chance to compete with him one on one.

I apologize MJà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel I was finger waving as you call it. I just feel that there is a perspective that is not being written about on here. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think I in anyway was lecturingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦but its your blog.

Although your post was a tad overheated–almost but not quite. .– my modding was not directed at you… If there was a problem, I would have edited.

I run the fan numbers.

Counting posts at the AI boards? Honestly, I don’t think that’s necessarily going to give you an accurate picture of the size of a person’s fan base. Syesha made it all the way to 3 last year without a huge, rabid online fan base. If you were counting posts, she certainly didn’t even come close to someone like Jason Castro.

Counting posts at the AI boards? Honestly, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s necessarily going to give you an accurate picture of the size of a personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fan base. Syesha made it all the way to 3 last year without a huge, rabid online fan base. If you were counting posts, she certainly didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even come close to someone like Jason Castro.

Amen, mj! If you went by the message boards, you would’ve thought Jason Castro finished third instead of Syesha who was unmercifully hammered for her singing. Yet, she finished third despite being in the bottom three for most of the competition.

I don’t like Danny, but I have to admit he’s very popular despite what is said about him on line. I don’t know why, but that’s the way it is.

I’m sorry MJ, I totally was lecturing and I know it doesn’t belong on this blog. I’m old and some crap just riles me up. The woe of the internet, clackity, clack, SEND!

Since I am calm now, LOL I wold like to say that I would never use a celebrity, i.e. sports entertainment or politician as a role model. They are human and at some point you will be let down.
Making a 20 some year old kid, be it Adam or Michael Phelps some kind of role model is putting a lot of pressure on that kid and invariably they will fail.
Seeing parents be role models for their kids, is IMO the way to go.

If you are counting posts on message boards to see who is more popular then Syesha should have left before the Top 12. Girl had hardly any internet fans.

I think its funny how during Grand Ole Opry week Danny sings Jesus take the wheel and Adam sings about falling into a ring of fire. Almost good vs bad.
heaven vs hell… etc. I would love to see Adam win but If Danny wins I will be sick.

I am much more optimistic than many of you I do believe America will get right and put aside their prejudices and vote FOR Adam.

Soccerboi, I agree with you. I think the country is moving forward. I am optimistic as well. The mainstream media which has run with this story has treated this topic pretty respectfully. I thought the New York Times article was well done.

I find it really interesting that we aren’t talking about anyone else’s private life – except Adam. Gokey has allowed his wife’s tragic death to be exploited and even added to it (hello Rascal Flatts song – I mean seriously of all the songs given your situation you choose that one), why is there no story about the way our culture continually exploits tragedy for profit and thinks it’s just fine to do so … now that is something worth looking at.

Counting posts at the AI boards? Honestly, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s necessarily going to give you an accurate picture of the size of a personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fan base. Syesha made it all the way to 3 last year without a huge, rabid online fan base. If you were counting posts, she certainly didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even come close to someone like Jason Castro.

No, MJ. Not counting posts. Counting FAN numbers. Ya know, like who signs up to join The Giraud Squad. We have a rather large fanbase over there…take it or leave it, but don’t underestimate it.

Plus, who would have predicted Jason Castro to get 4th place? Not a lot of people on here. But he did, because fanbase size and unity DOES matter.

Besides, Matt HAS the talent. It’s not like he can’t pick up casual viewers with his performances, they are very current and his musicianship is unparalleled in this competition.

soccerboi – I feel your passion whenever you post and I respect that – whether i agree or not.

It is high emotions on this that is going to be Adam’s problem. I think America might vote for him if they might think he is gay. If it really wasn’t a big deal, and just one part of all the things that make up Adam as we know him. If the focus was on his singing and the dorky group songs. However, with the media seeming to want to find a story in all of this, Adam’s sexuality will become so highlighted that I think it will hurt him. I am starting to see comments questioning his character at other places too. Words like “who DESERVES” the title in the context of values and morals. These people will claim they are all for gay rights, but if the media puts his sexuality front and center, then I think underlying emotions might influence votes. Once people on both sides start arguing their positions, things become heated.

I hope Adam is secure enough in himself to not care. But, I think Cook is a super strong person and the stress of the Idol process was overwhelming to him. I hope Adam will be happy even if he doesn’t win. I would think he would get a record deal if Jason got one…… I guess/hope?? I am just hoping Adam makes it to 4th. Seems like you need to make it that far for a record deal. I don’t think he’ll go further than that.

OMG!! Did you guys see the scan of the NY times article. Adam’s pic took up a full third of the front page of the style section. See. This subject generates huge attention.

Unfortunately, too many people bought the game *Simon Says* a long time ago and are still playing it. Well, he turned down Daughtry at his audition, awarded Archie the win by a KO over David Cook, constantly dissed Jennifer Hudson, so we know he isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the end all at spotting talent.

Simon wasn’t crazy about Kelly Clarkson either but to hear him tell it now, one would think he was single-handedly responsible for 100% of her success. :rolleyes_wp:

Cay, I definetly understand your concern for Adam, but I think it is one of those YMMV things. I do think how people view this does depends on their age, where they live and their religious beliefs and if they have friends and relatives who are not straight. This is one time you also have to give Hollywood props for introducing sitcoms like Will and Grace and making movies like MILK and heck even Tropic Thunder. The education of America on this topic has been taking place slowly but surely. Maybe Soccerboi and I are drinking the same koolaid, but I do feel that we are turning a corner on this. I think Adam can win this.

Thank you Undercooked…and we are not drinking any koolaid at all. I honestly think we are seeing things as they really are. I am a gay male that is very aware of where this country is culturally. I am honestly so tired of trying to defend Adam and his talent I dont know where to go from here…

No, MJ. Not counting posts. Counting FAN numbers. Ya know, like who signs up to join The Giraud Squad. We have a rather large fanbase over thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦take it or leave it, but donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t underestimate it.

?? I think that’s even less useful than counting posts. Or counting itunes ratings/reviews for that matter. Not everyone leaves a rating or review, I have yet to do that this year. Maybe those more organized fanbases who know people look at that stuff make a point to do so.

In past seasons, I had no idea people categorized certain performances as “moments”. This is the first season that I’m realizing the whole “moment” deal. Everyone’s saying “Where’s the moment?!!?” And then they refer to Hallelujah, Billie Jean, Imagine. What makes these performances moments in the first place? It’s all subjective, I know. But honestly, a moment for me can’t really be categorized until the season is over. I had no idea people went crazy over Hallelujah until season 7 was over. I feel like for this season the reason no one’s really had a moment is because we’re waiting for one and our expectations are just so high. Maybe we’re too caught up in past idols. David Cook is my favorite but I never have the feeling that no one will be as good as him.

I wish I thought Adam was as amazing as everyone else thought he was. Yeah he’s talented, but I just don’t find him appealing. I find his personality VERY appealing, just not his singing. I like hearing him once, but I’ll never listen to it again. I’m still on the Matt/Kris/Anoop train. I’m gonna be so sad next week, because I just know one of them is going to be voted off. I’m still praying it’s Lil’s time to go …

I wish I thought Adam was as amazing as everyone else thought he was. Yeah heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s talented, but I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t find him appealing. I find his personality VERY appealing, just not his singing. I like hearing him once, but Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll never listen to it again. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m still on the Matt/Kris/Anoop train. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m gonna be so sad next week, because I just know one of them is going to be voted off. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m still praying ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Lilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s time to go à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I agree with you although I think Allison is great as well…

Soccerboi, I think Adam has more fans than haters. In the end, it will be about his talent. I am a straight woman with gay relatives, friends and co-workers. 10 or 15 years ago, life was harder for them. I see progress and it’s exciting to watch it happen. I know it’s hard on Adam and his fans because Adam’s personal life is in the media. I mean, I can’t believe it is in the New York Times. But the discussion is healthy and respectful. I think the more it is out there, the more it educates people. The more people are educated, the more comfortable they become with ideas that they are not familar with.

In all, I think the discussion is progress. Years from now, when Adam is very famous and working on his greatest hits album, we will all look back and remember how we watched history in the making, rooting and fretting for Adam every week on AI. Combing the internet for news, logging into websites to defend his character. I do feel there is something is happening that is bigger than the show.

Ok, maybe I’m building this up to much? Do I need to be talked down?

I’m hoping America puts asides it’s predjudices also.
Adam’s talent alone should be enough. I think I’m more worried
about TPTB manipulations and prejudices.
I tend not to believe in actual vote
totals, so the one thing that has been worrying me is that
AI will pull a sneaky in the end so Adam won’t win. I hope I’m
wrong. I just think they might be “leary” of them not being
able to mold or have complete control over Adam, as opposed to
maybe Danny or Kris. The amount of manipulation going on
at AI actually sickens me at times.

..

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hoping America puts asides ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s predjudices also. Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s talent alone should be enough.

Just have to say.. just because someone might not like Adam doesn’t meant they’re predjudiced. This is getting old. Some people just have different tastes in music. Hope it’s okay to post this MJ. If not, I’m sure you’ll let me know. I’m just tired of this same drum being beaten – that anyone who doesn’t like Adam is an old, homophobic, conservative, Christian.

Just have to say.. just because someone might not like Adam doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t meant theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re predjudiced. This is getting old. Some people just have different tastes in music. Hope ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s okay to post this MJ. If not, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll let me know. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just tired of this same drum being beaten – that anyone who doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like Adam is an old, homophobic, conservative, Christian.

Lu you are absolutely correct. Adam’s style of music ins’t for everyone. And I am sure there are many gay people who don’t like Adam’s singing. And by the some token, I am sure there are many conservative Christians who don’t care for Danny’s singing. So I hope you don’t feel that way here. It’s ok to call him skreechy. :smile1_ee: And I won’t think any less of you if you do.

Interesting analysis all around!! This is how I think it’ll shake out.

Anoop (6-7): As a fan of his, this is about where I think he SHOULD end up. Let’s be honest. He can outsing most it not all of us on this blog, but I don’t think he can outsing Allison or Adam or even Danny. I agree with Kirsten, he ended up in the bottom 3 because of the vote split. If life was fair, he’d outlast Lil and Matt (this is American Idol…a singing competition…Anoop does sing better than Matt…seriously). But I’ll take that he outlasted Scott. That’s enough for me.

Matt (5-7): GREAT piano player, but not half as pretty or consistent as Kris, and probably the worst singer left (sorry) after Lil. If it comes down to Matt vs. Kris for the rest of the R/B boy vote, Kris will win that, I’m pretty certain. I don’t think he’s as marketable as some of the others either. He comes across as a Justin Timberlake wannabe and that’s not enough to make it.

Lil (5-6): If life were fair, she’d be out next week, but because she is hogging a “genre” all to herself and she hit the bottom this week, her fans will save her. I’m still waiting for this “amazingness” to come out of her that the judges keep promising, but so far…NOTHING.

Allison (3-5): She’s consistent, talented, adorable as hell….in fact, I think she’s probably the best teenage contestant that the show has ever had. But I sort of agree with the judges here…I just don’t see her as “likeable”. I don’t know why and it’s unfortunate because I don’t know if it’s anything she can fix. I’ve always assessed her as being talented, but that’s just it….I think people in general know she’s great (that’s not the problem)…I just don’t think she demands the level of investment that oh….Gokey (unfortunately) does. I get the “she’s good but so what” vibe from her. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if QT tells her that next week.

Danny: (4-1): Shoot me, but I like his voice. I think he’s got spirit and heart and I think he got a pretty darn bad rap at the start. And he’s got fans…and they are NOT on the internet. He could be the shock boot…he could win. It’s a crap shoot really. Bottom line…I think he’s a frontrunner with a sizeable fanbase who is extremely well liked by casual viewers who do sympathize with him. Where do I think Scott’s voters will flock? Right here…to Danny “feel sorry for me and I can do AC radio too”.

Kris (3-1): He’s the strongest of the soul boys by a landslide and I think the fanbase that all 3 share is quite large. Hence, it has been able to keep all of them afloat this long in spite of Anoop and Matt trying on several occasions to get themselves booted. Put it this way, two of the soul boys need to go SOON for the last one to have a shot at the title and Kris is the ONLY one of the 3 who has a remote shot against Adam Lambert.

Adam: (2-1): He’ll be at the finale. If all is fair in the world, he should win. But I don’t think it’s as locked in stone as the vegas pundits would like us to think. I personally don’t care who Adam likes or what he does during his spare time. But I think there are unfortunately enough closeminded people in this country who might. That being said, I think he’s a star…and I’m not even a fan.

Just have to say.. just because someone might not like Adam doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t meant theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re predjudiced. This is getting old. Some people just have different tastes in music. Hope ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s okay to post this MJ. If not, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll let me know. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just tired of this same drum being beaten – that anyone who doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like Adam is an old, homophobic, conservative, Christian.

I think this is an important point. I do not think that anyone who doesnt love Adam is a homophobe. I dont understand how you cant love him but I do not necessarily go there.

I do not want people to think that just because I am a gay male that I love Adam just because of that either. I never liked Clay and I knew all along that he was…duh.

ok so where was I going with this? 3 cocktails and I lose my train of thought…

No, MJ. Not counting posts. Counting FAN numbers. Ya know, like who signs up to join The Giraud Squad. We have a rather large fanbase over thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦take it or leave it, but donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t underestimate it.

I don’t see how counting fan numbers are more useful than counting posts. At least people who post REALLY care. Sometimes a person just joins a fan group and then falls out of love with the contestant. I’m part of the Matt fanlist in IDF because of GOMM and now I can’t stand him. I haven’t asked to have myself removed from the list yet, so I’m still included in this fan number but I’m not really a fan anymore. Spin it anyway you want but the fan count doesn’t matter as much as you’d like it to.

Cay – I hear what you’re saying and you make a valid point. But I remember the same type of argument made about Barack Obama during last year’s Presidential Election. “America won’t vote for a Black President”, “Obama has muslim family members”, “Middle America won’t accept him”. You know what? He won the election winning 9 Bush/Republican states including Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania (which I live in).

Another point is that AI attracts a younger crowd (for the most part), which is more open-minded and nonjudgmental about sexuality. So whether Adam is gay/bi/etc, they are more likely to not care.

My last point is this. Adam has to make it past the top 4. This season is turning out to be the Adam Lambert Show. I mean, seriously, The New York times and Bill O’Reilly?? We’re in the middle of 2 wars, the economy sucks, people are losing their jobs in the thousands and they are taking time out to talk about Adam Lambert?? lol American Idol cares about 2 things. Ratings and making money, and he is a big part of that. Mad World (Gary Jules version) was the 11th most downloaded song on Itunes this week. Imagine how many downloads Adam got….. In the end, it all comes down to the universal color green.

I am not saying Adam will win. I have never correctly guessed the winner, and I still can’t believe Jordan Sparks won in AI6. lol But, I really think he has a good chance to at least make the finale. And in my opinion, he deserves that.

aly, I agree. I don’t trust the vote totals either, which is why I’m always amazed each year when I faithfully watch the show every week. It is definitely an entertaining trainwreck. lol

I have never correctly guessed the winner, and I still canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe Jordan Sparks won in AI6.

So true.

Adam’s personality, attitude, sexual orientation, life outside idol, speaking skills.. etc EVERYTHING makes me like him EXCEPT his singing.

I just wish Allison could win.

I’m tired of hearing two names this season, and hers isn’t one of them.

ok so where was I going with this? 3 cocktails and I lose my train of thoughtà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

LOL Soccerboi… thanks for your post; yours too undercooked. :smile_wp:

I didn’t think anything about Adam would shock me anymore, but the size and type of picture in the NY Times has blown me away. I’m mystified actually. Makes me go hmmmm. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But the pressure on Adam has to be overwhelming. Front runner. Gay banner holder. Shock King/Queen (ha!). Expectations are so high on all fronts. I really don’t know what is going to happen. I hope he has support if he cracks a little.

Yeah, the world would be a boring place if everyone liked the same things. I totally get that not everyone will like Adam’s voice and it has nothing to do with his sexuality. That’s normal. But, I still think those to whom it matters will make a difference in the race.

Danny might as well sing the same song every week. His bombastic style just seems to merge all his performances together in my brain (which may be only my problem).

No, it’s not only your problem. I always have to go to his contestant page at What Not to Sing to remember what songs he’s done… and I’m usually pretty great at remembering useless details like that! Danny’s not the only one I have that problem with this season though. Lil’s and Scott’s performances all tend to run together for me too.

Btw, many of my oh so conservative friends and fam are for ADAMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..and so am I. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not so sure the stereotypes hold when it comes to entertainers. Christian conservatives DO listen to other music than that found in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“praiseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  services. Heck, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even own any of those worship CDs.

Same here. As one of my friends so aptly put it, I love Jesus, and I love music, but I don’t love “Jesus music.” I mostly listen to Top 40 and Hot AC. I could barely tell you what’s playing on any Christian radio stations.

I mean, I’m a Christian, and I’m moderately conservative in my belief system, but I’m also fairly open minded. I’m not flocking like a sheep to Danny just because he’s a worship leader (though I have to admit that some of my Christian friends are), or away from Adam because he’s a Theatre Queen (tm Kristen Baldwin ). I actually absolutely love Adam and can’t stand Danny.

Also, most of my offline friends and family (who yes, own computers and sometimes read headlines and watch youtubes, but don’t do all this in depth research, analysis, and discussion that us bloggers and forum posters do, and never download an iTune) like both Adam and Danny, with a smattering of Allison and Matt.

ETA:

But the pressure on Adam has to be overwhelming. Front runner. Gay banner holder. Shock King/Queen (ha!). Expectations are so high on all fronts. I really donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know what is going to happen. I hope he has support if he cracks a little.

Well, I’ve never gotten the sense that he’s ever positioned himself to “carry the banner”, so to speak.

That said, and trying not to project here, everything we’ve seen from him and read about him points to him being incredibly secure and comfortable with who he is. If he were less secure, then yeah, I could see him having a problem. But when he laughingly answers “it is what it is” to questions about the kissing pics popping up online, I’m thinking he’s gonna be okay.

Actually, that’s the least of my concerns.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m tired of hearing two names this season, and hers isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t one of them.

*nods* now I know how people who didn’t like the David’s felt last year. I guess on top of no longer watching I need to stop reading the newspapers too.

If it keeps up like this the rest of the season I wonder if there will be backlash.

I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think anything about Adam would shock me anymore, but the size and type of picture in the NY Times has blown me away.

It’s a great pic. He looks good. You couldn’t ask for better publicity. Comparisons are being made to Bowie and Prince. Overall, I think this is good for him. I am sure AI is very happy about it. How many New York Times readers who usually don’t watch Idol will decide to check it out this week? And the Sunday edition on a holiday weekend.

Boy, I’m not sure what Adam should sing. But I feel like every week, he’s got a fresh pair of eyes watching him. The curious casual viewer who is tuning in to see what the fuss is about this guy.

First it was the VFTW photos, and he did “Black or White”
Then it was O’Reilly and he gave us “Mad World”.

I don’t think this is the week for a PTFMWB type song.

I do not want people to think that just because I am a gay male that I love Adam just because of that either. I never liked Clay and I knew all along that he wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦duh.

I’m a straight female and I knew Clay was gay, too. But anyway, I think that Adam’s sexuality is a non-issue for him and most of the voting public. The press loves it, of course. I feel bad for Adam because he’s gotta deal with these questions when others do not. Why is it such a big deal? Annoying.

I would LOVE the focus to be on the talent.

ETA: I didn’t get Adam at first. In fact, his Cher cover really turned me off… But, I have loved almost everything he’s done since. I think he has a great shot at the title. I’m not giving up on my girl Allison, though! I think she’s going to keep on hanging on!

Same here. As one of my friends so aptly put it, I love Jesus, and I love music, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t love à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Jesus music.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I mostly listen to Top 40 and Hot AC. I could barely tell you whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s playing on any Christian radio stations.

Awww, but I like how my hubby says all music is “Jesus music”. LOL.

Anyway, neither Danny or Adam are my top choices, but I readily believe, based on quality, Adam deserves the win if it comes down to these two. And I would be quite happy with this. In fact, I would be a little shocked if he didn’t win regardless of who it comes down to.

Just think, if Adam wins, he will get to sing all of those “cheesy” songs for American Idol, with the first one written by Kara. He won’t get to do his own thing as the winner. Gokey is more suited for the “cheesy” stuff, and he can be more easily manipulated by TPTB.

I can’t say I’ve accurately predicted the winner each season, but the winner each year was pretty predictable to me for every season except Season 5. And maybe it’s because I wasn’t into looking online for all the extra idol details. Perhaps if I did check the AI board and mjs during season 5, Taylor Hicks would have obviously been the winner in my mind.

So for this season, if Adam wins, then it will be predictable in my mind. And I think Danny being the runner up is more predictable than Adam winning. Because for this odd reason I can’t see Danny beating anyone except Lil maybe if there’s only 2 left. And I also can’t see anyone beating Adam if there’s only 2 left, but Danny probably has the best shot in that scenario. Actually, no. That’s just for ratings and drama. And I just contradicted myself. I’ll just say that whenever the finale happens, it’ll be pretty darn obvious who the winner is before they start singing. That’s how it is every year.

Nevermind, I’m just gonna let this season play out and vote for my favorites. There’s too many people looking for manipulation and secret strategies that are really just coincidences.

Plus, who would have predicted Jason Castro to get 4th place? Not a lot of people on here. But he did, because fanbase size and unity DOES matter.

Yeah, but my point is that Syesha had no internet fanbase to speak of…and she sailed right past Jason Castro.

Online fans are only part of the picture

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just tired of this same drum being beaten – that anyone who doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like Adam is an old, homophobic, conservative, Christian.

Lu, . I don’t see anybody calling anyone a homophobe.

Just think, if Adam wins, he will get to sing all of those à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“cheesyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  songs for American Idol, with the first one written by Kara. He wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get to do his own thing as the winner. Gokey is more suited for the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“cheesyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  stuff, and he can be more easily manipulated by TPTB

But who knows, he might tweek it for his own style. The thing is, 19 will probably sign him regardless. They have the first right to a recording contract with him. So he might as well try and win and get all of the support and promotion.

And you know what, I think it’s going to be ok. He isn’t a traditional “rocker” like David Cook. He isn’t trying to get street cred and prove that he’s a cool guy. I know some people will see it differently, but I don’t see Adam as caught up with image as some previous male contestants. Yes he likes to change his wardrobe and he makes an effort to make his performances more like music videos (great for You Tube replays), but he isn’t trying to be cool himself, he’s just trying to make a cool performance. YMMV and all that.

ETA – I wasn’t implying David Cook was a poser. I was just making a general statement about a variety of previous contestants.

Just think, if Adam wins, he will get to sing all of those à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“cheesyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  songs for American Idol, with the first one written by Kara. He wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get to do his own thing as the winner. Gokey is more suited for the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“cheesyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  stuff, and he can be more easily manipulated by TPTB.

That’s why I’d rather Adam not win. Unfortunately, since 19 gets first pick, he would probably end up with them anyway even if he didn’t win.

ETA: Oops, Undercooked beat me to it! And said it better than I did, haha.

When I was in college, one of my course requirements was a reading on the “City of God” by St. Augustine. However, what I remember most from the philosopher is a phrase not even found in the City of God, but is most often attributed to him: “He who sings well, prays twice.” Danny might have the appeal of “a good christian” and hence, the consistent high votes. However, Adam sings well, way better than Danny Gokey. Thus, in my book, Adam prays twice, thrice, or even multiplied by a multitude.

In an economy afflicted with recession, Adam seems to be “recession-proof.”

Kristen:

(go and read the performance night threads on any site and you will see people posting how they are panic voting for Kris and pleading for others to help them)

Yup one was me. At least I tried to qualify it by posting, if you’re a Kris fan… I’m still wondering who decided to put Kris in the mosh pit. I’m thinking his performance may have come off a lot better if he wasn’t there. I know the arrangement wasn’t the greatest, but the vocals were right on. If he would have had the freedom to move around the stage, perhaps it would have been better performance wise. IDK, and no one will know.

If he decided to put himself there, then I hope he makes a lot of better choices overall this week. Does anyone know how this whole mosh pit thing works?

Why anyone in their right mind would even think of going on American Idol is way beyond my comprehension. The odds of failure are disproportionally high, while the path to success is paved with every kind of obstacle. These kids must have nerves of steel to even attempt it…I would be a mass of tears on a daily basis. I couldn’t handle the entire country dissecting my every move and analyzing my life pre-idol, during idol, and post-idol. I don’t think that my psyche could stand up to a smidgen of what the contestants go through.

These Kids have to absolutely believe in themselves and their talent. They really have to want that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow because they have to hang onto every ounce of courage on the way up the rainbow and then they have to avoid falling off while they slide down the slippery slope to the pot of gold on the downhill side.

Kudos to each and everyone of them…and thanks for making me so look forward to Tuesday nights!

Lu, . I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see anybody calling anyone a homophobe.

Not directly MJ… just tying in to the “America getting rid of it’s prejudices” statement that was made… maybe an incorrect inference on my part but it has been made before. I was just trying to make the point that maybe someone does not have Adam at the top of their list because they just don’t like his music.

“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hoping America puts asides ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s predjudices also. Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s talent alone should be enough.”

This is the statement I was referring to MJ. Maybe I read too much into it.

haruhi Apr 13th, 2009 at 12:17 am

When I was in college, one of my course requirements was a reading on the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“City of Godà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  by St. Augustine. However, what I remember most from the philosopher is a phrase not even found in the City of God, but is most often attributed to him: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“He who sings well, prays twice.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Danny might have the appeal of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a good christianà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and hence, the consistent high votes. However, Adam sings well, way better than Danny Gokey. Thus, in my book, Adam prays twice, thrice, or even multiplied by a multitude.

Now that to me is one interesting and thought provoking post! thanks haruhi.

The only cheesy song David Cook had to sing was the coronation song. Unless you think some of his other songs are cheesy too. I honestly think that being the winner pretty much would help any contestant. I don’t think it would hurt a person like Adam to win.

I have a question. If Chris Daughtry had won American Idol during his season, would he still have the same management?

From what I’ve seen though, the winners do get a good amount of freedom on what they want on their albums.

Sorry if I’m getting off topic.

Lu, I wish people weren’t equating politics and or beliefs with singing. It’s very annoying. I think it goes both ways, and it depresses me.

I’m a liberal gal, but that’s not why I like Adam. Or why I am voting hard for Allison. I never thought I’d vote for a teen. I don’t know her politics or orientation, and I don’t care. I just heart her.

Lu, I wish people werenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t equating politics and or beliefs with singing. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s very annoying. I think it goes both ways, and it depresses me.

I agree. And, I happen to love Allison myself! And, for the record, I’m pretty conservative and a Christian and Danny is not at the top of my fave list. My favorite contestant is Matt… dont know where he stands politically.. dont know if he’s gay or straight and I really dont care.

ETA: PJ, can’t wait to hear about your LA/idol trip!!!! Hope you have a blast!

I think if the vote were today for the winner it would be a photo finish between Adam and Danny. Their talent doesn’t compare, but Danny wins in many of the intangibles. It is true that the problems with Danny the person seem to be found mostly in the internet blogging. Outside of the internet world his story sells, plus he got a great boost from pre-finals publicicity.

^^
I dont know.. I still think Adam has huge momentum. I think he’s already won it unless he gets on tv and tells people to stop voting for him.

Lu, Elliott is a democrat. Get over it. NOW. Lol.

ETA: If I didn’t care that Danny pimped his dead wife, I’d still say he hasn’t done much to convince me to vote for him. If he wins, the best part is that people will leave Taylor Hicks alone. Danny will be less successful.

Lu, Elliott is a democrat. Get over it. NOW. Lol.

LOL LOL LOL!!! What?????? Say it aint so!!!!

And you know what, I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to be ok. He isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a traditional à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“rockerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  like David Cook. He isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t trying to get street cred and prove that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a cool guy.

That’s because Adam is not a rocker. I LMAO when Randy compared him to Nine Inch Nails and Paula to Steven Tyler. Adam is so far removed from being an actual rock artist it is not even funny.

Count me as one who could careless if he is gay or not. His sexual preference has nothing to do with his talent nor should it impact whether he wins or not . Although, I can recognize that he is talented I just can’t get into him. I really do not like his voice or over dramatics. Give me cool suave Matt anyday over Adam’s antics on stage!

“Well, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve never gotten the sense that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ever positioned himself to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“carry the bannerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , so to speak. ”

Exactly. But the media is positioning him that way. And many gays are looking to him this way. I imagine he gets many letters from gays looking for a role model. Also, after O’reilly blurb, on twitter/facebook there was a small “call to arms” from some prominent gays to get out the vote and “show him”. I agree Adam didn’t ask, or seems to want this, but it’s happening. Therefore, this is a huge pressure he’s got to deal with. People have high hopes for him in so many areas.

And LOL. As a person who was not a big fan of either David last year, it’s terrible. I hated last season. It was no fun. It was all about the Davids and there was no possibility of anyone else making the final. At least this year we don’t know who will get the winner/runner-up spot. I don’t even think Adam will make finals. There has always been top 2 to get recording contracts. Adam isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and even if Adam becomes a huge superstar, there WILL be some other Idol that gets a shot at stardom. So, I think it’s exciting to see who between Allison, Matt, Kris and Danny get that contract. I think Danny AND Allison will as they will be the finalists.

If I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care that Danny pimped his dead wife, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d still say he hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t done much to convince me to vote for him. If he wins, the best part is that people will leave Taylor Hicks alone. Danny will be less successful.

True dat! Maybe Danny should win, Taylor deserves a break…

Adam seems to know how to play the American Idol game better than anyone else on the show. Knowing how to play the game is at least half the battle. In earlier seasons, it may have been enough to just sing well, but now it takes more than that to win.

So, I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exciting to see who between Allison, Matt, Kris and Danny get that contract. I think Danny AND Allison will as they will be the finalists.

Honestly, help me to understand this. ^^^ Adam’s momentum is going strong. IMO, he really has never had a bad performance. Other than ROF (which I eventually enjoyed), he’s never been low on DI, or even possibly showing unsafe. Also, you just posted:

Also, after Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢reilly blurb, on twitter/facebook there was a small à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“call to armsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  from some prominent gays to get out the vote and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“show himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

Does this mean there will be even more votes coming Adam’s way? Which adds to his winning spot. I cannot see Adam putting out a bad performance in the next 6 weeks, unless, he chooses to go OTT all out wild. And I mean way more than ROF. He may decide to do so, IDK. This is why I believe Adam’s winning is his own choice. I just say this because his two seemingly most popular (at least vote wise?) performances have been TOMT and Mad World. These have been so strong that they have carried him through (well at least TOMT, we still have to see for Mad World, lol) a performance that wasn’t as well received. Arrgggghhh, I feel as if I’m babbling and it’s time for bed. I just don’t see how this title is not his if he wants it.

Honestly, help me to understand this. ^^^ Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s momentum is going strong. IMO, he really has never had a bad performance.

Some people are just unbelievably, perpetually pessimistic. That’s all.

I honestly think that this will come down to a Danny/Adam/Kris final 3. I like Allison but in my opinion, I don’t think TPTB will want a winner who is not very articulate. She doesn’t have total package that the boys have and, in my opinion, will have a real hard time having a discussion with Larry King, etc. She can barely get passed talking about what she did on any given day. Paula had to make the “shush” sign for her in the past. That is just my opinion and it could be totally incorrect cause sometimes, I’m a dope and I know it. lol.

“Paula had to make the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“shushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  sign for her in the past.”

I’m not sure we can use Paula’s actions as any sort of standard for what is or isn’t acceptable, at least not until we’re sure she’s done seeing the future.

Allison is not any less articulate than Jason and David A were last year, and they made it to 4th and 2nd place, respectively, and both are signed to major label deals. Plus, since she’s so young, she’ll be forgiven for being a little less articulate by interviewers, and she’ll grow in her ability to handle interviews as she gets more practice, just as Jason and David A have. Beyond that, have you ever seen Kristen Stewart, the female lead in the Twilight movies, interviewed? Now that’s a boring, inarticulate interviewee. It doesn’t seem to have hurt Kristen’s career any though.

I don’t think Allison will be one of the Top 2 either, though I wish she would be. I just don’t think it will be because TPTB think she’s inarticulate.

CathyMK
I don’t believe that will be the reason she will not win either but I think it has a little bit to do with it. She has a bit of a mush mouth and is hard to understand. I think if she could be a bit better in this area, it would help her enormously. She is really talented but she just doesn’t interview well and the words of her songs get all mushed up. Jason was incredibly shy but I understood his words. And your right, she will get much better. Again, David A is shy but I can understand him too. David and Jason came across as being shy and cute. I’m not getting that vibe from her. She has been on other shows and has been performing for years so I don’t think she is lacking in preparation or being a newbie because she isn’t one. I hope she gets better in this area because she has a lot of talent and raw ability.

I’ve never heard Kristen Stewart but your correct with your assessment. I should have just kept my thought to myself, sorry if it offended you. That wasn’t my intent……it was just on my mind for some reason.

>>>Allison also tends to do the rock growl thing, but can she create two different styles in one night? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure.

I am. Or, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m as sure as an outsider can be. As soon as I started reading your post and saw that you were breaking the contestants into à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“boost levelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , my thought was that she would get a major boost because she has shown that she can rock and do a sensitive ballad. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see why she couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t do both in one night.>>>>

There is no doubt in my mind that she can do both in one night, back to back if necessary even if it comed down to repeating a song (which won’t be necessary, IMO).

Hey, didn’t Jordin (or McPhee) repeat a previous song on finale night?

This “Allison personality” issue wouldn’t even be a factor *IF* Simon didn’t bring it up. Sometimes, I think that people just drink the kool-aid that Simon prepares without even a thought to what is really going on.

Actually, how much have they even allowed Allison to speak to even find out what her personality is? When Simon threw that *unlikeable* garbage at her, she quickly rebounded in a *completely charming sob* “NOBODY LIKES ME?”

She didn’t stand there like a stick of wood, she had a quick comeback and honestly, I would have liked to see a little more of her speaking in the packages, so we could have come to know her better.

To see her in the bottom three, while Tattooed CAW CAW sat safely on the couches made me nauseous, but Simon found CAW CAW so unique. The fact that she couldn’t sing never mattered to him. It was really that she turned out to be ungrateful to Simon who pushed her through every week that finally got to him and got her off the show.

Now, if the underperforming Lil is the last woman standing because of the pimpage, that’s wrong. You just know that Simon and TPTB will compliment her and bring out her entourage of kiddies while Lil cries and Allison sits there ignored as usual. Unless Lil pulls a rabbit out of her hat this week, that would be criminal.

I only don’t discuss Adam and Danny because they get their praise almost each and every week and are not being royally lied to and screwed YET!

I have a question. If Chris Daughtry had won American Idol during his season, would he still have the same management?

Daughtry’s management is 19M. So is Kellie Pickler’s. 19 let Taylor and and McPhee find other management that year.

So I guess the answer is yes. If Daughtry had won season 5, he most likely would have had the same management.

weelassie:

[Allison] has a bit of a mush mouth and is hard to understand. I think if she could be a bit better in this area, it would help her enormously. She is really talented but she just doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t interview well and the words of her songs get all mushed up.

First, not interviewing well and mushing up lyrics are two different things — see David A.

Second, as I’ve said previously, delivering lyrics in a not-terribly-clear way isn’t necessarily a flaw — it’s a style of singing. Allison uses that style sometimes, and sometimes not. Last week, on I Can’t Make You Love Me, every word was perfectly understandable. Personally, I couldn’t care less which style she uses. Unfortunately, based on the comments I’ve seen, I’m afraid you’re right that it might be costing her some support. Baffling to me, but — different hears for different ears.

David and Jason came across as being shy and cute. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not getting that vibe from her.

I sure am. As an example, in both the couch interview and the package before her semifinal performance, the way she said “I’m singing Aloooone by Hearrrrt” was classic shy/embarrassed/unsure teenager stuff.

She has been on other shows and has been performing for years so I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think she is lacking in preparation or being a newbie because she isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t one.

Exactly the same was true about David A. He was “groomed” for this for years and, like Allison, had won another TV singing competition before Idol. And both could stand to grow in dealing with the public. As my very insightful wife likes to point out, when someone is enormously talented in a particular area (singing in this case), often that talent seems to have been “stolen” from some other areas.

Yes, I’m an Allison fanatic. Get used to it. I’m trying to.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve never heard Kristen Stewart but your correct with your assessment. I should have just kept my thought to myself, sorry if it offended you. That wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t my intentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦it was just on my mind for some reason.

WeeLassie, no offense taken at all! Just a difference of opinion, and what would MJs be without that? :tongue_laugh_ee:

Hey, didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Jordin (or McPhee) repeat a previous song on finale night?

I believe every Top 2 finalist but David Cook repeated a song on their performance finale night. Given that he won, I imagine we’ll see fewer repeats from here on out. I’d love to see Allison get that far!

They did seem to highlight Allison more in last week’s results show, so hopefully people will start to see more of her personality, and will like it. Scott being gone may also help her in that respect, since he always got a lot of attention, and now they’ll have that void to fill.

Cay- No one is everyone’s cup of tea. If you can find one person that 6 billion people will jump up and down for I’ll give you a million dollars. LOL Adam does have the attention and publicity of the show though. People are only threaten and therefore hate on you when you have something going on, which actually is a compliment. Unless Adam totally self-sabitozes himself I don’t see how he can’t make the final. Here’s a GREAT article from MSNBC today:

Adam Lambert is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ only star
He has right blend of talent, personality and stage presence
COMMENTARY
By Craig Berman, msnbc.com contributor
updated 10:55 a.m. PT, Mon., April 13, 2009

There’s still a month and a half to go until “American Idol” crowns its champion, and anyone left in the competition could come out on top. But if it ended right now, there’s no question that Adam Lambert would be the most deserving winner.

All seven remaining finalists are capable in their own way, but Lambert is the only star. He has the right blend of talent, personality and stage presence to display the breakout ability that the rest of the field lacks (with the possible exception of the blander Danny Gokey). Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in a groove and he knows it, and so far this season heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s done everything right.

“Make the song your own” may be the most frequent advice given by the judges to “Idol” contestants. It’s not just because they are too lazy to come up with new catchphrases, but because originality is a key to succeeding on the show and in the business. Without that spark, all anyone is doing is covering songs that established acts have already done better.

Take a couple of minutes to think back on the season thus far à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  what are the memorable performances? Gokey has been great, but it’s hard to remember what he’s sung over the past month without looking it up. Allison Iraheta has potential, but is most notable for the night she dressed up like a cavewoman. Lil Rounds is fading, Kris Allen is too bland, and Matt Giraud and Anoop Desai are one mediocre night away from being shown the door.

On the other hand, Lambert is the guy who everyone wants to see, because he is willing to take risks and able to make them pay off. Every week, he walks that high-wire and leaves judges and viewers wondering if this is the time heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll fall on his face, and every week he instead emerges as the star of the night.

Sing that funky music, white boy
Randy Travis may have wanted to vomit after hearing Lambert’s plans for Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” but the result couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be argued with. Then Lambert had the wherewithal to sing a Smokey Robinson song on Motown week when Robinson himself was serving as the mentor, and earned nothing but praise. And is there anyone else in recent Idol memory who could have sang à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Play that Funky Musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and not sounded like a wedding singer?

Look at what happened when the show ran nine minutes long and anyone recording the show missed his performance of “Mad World.” The big story was that people complained about their recordings cutting off before they had the chance to watch Lambert sing, not to mention the unheard-of Simon Cowell standing ovation that followed.

But unnoticed in all the hubbub was that despite the resulting disadvantage (since anyone watching later that evening on DVR wouldn’t be as likely to vote for him without having seen the performance or having the number to call), “Idol” didn’t extend the voting deadline to compensate for that disadvantage. There was no need. Lambert’s popular enough to win without it.

What are the knocks against him? Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s too theatrical? Please. Nothing heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s done has been as theatrical as the performances that Flo Rida had last week as he guest-starred with “Right Round, or that Lady Gaga had the week before with “Poker Face.” Pop concerts these days are all about the theatrics, the stage presence, the over-the-top costumes and use of props … who can manage that better than Lambert?

Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s too much like Taylor Hicks? Not likely. Hicks was a great entertainer, but the fact that he looked and sounded like Ryan Seacrestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s grandfather probably should have been a clue that he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t likely to have any future in the pop-music business once the show ended. Lambert not only has a better voice and more confidence in his ability, he looks like he could star in the next à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Twilightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  movie. Superficial though that may be, it increases his cultural relevance.

A couple of weeks ago, Paula Abdul compared Lambert to Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler. Of course, that’s Paula being Paula and using hyperbole to make a point, but the fact remains that Lambert is the only contestant on the show who even approaches that stratosphere.

Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the deserving favorite heading into the second half of the competition. Based on what heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s done so far, nobody has earned the honor more.

Craig Berman is a frequent contributor to msnbc.com
 © 2009 msnbc.com. Reprints

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30146298/

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I think your assessment is right on target, MJ. I am hoping that Kris pulls out a real impressive performance this week and have my fingers crossed that he makes it to the top three or even two depending on how others do. I don’t know that Adam has a lock on the win, but he is certainly the front runner with Danny a well deserved close second. Allison needs to be up there in the top four. She really has a fantastic voice and is so mature for her age. I don’t think she has had an off night yet and last week was great.