American Idol Season 10

[fearofpopvol1]

And while Casey will go down as a qurky footnote never to be heard of again, Pia has already signed a record deal with the guy who's mentoring the show. I bet she'll get more than the winner.

Time will tell, but I think your assessment is off base. It's nice that she has the support of the judges, a few celebrities and a producer, but that doesn't mean that it will turn into album sales nor does it mean she will have a career. Pia has a shot at succeeding if her producer can bring out the best in her and push her, but she needs a lot of coaching. She's also going to need one amazing song to get people interested because she wasn't doing a good job of connecting with anyone.

Pia actually reminds me a lot of a past contestant...Katherine McPhee. I predict Pia's trajectory will likely follow Kat's.

Casey, on the other hand, is ridiculously talented musically and vocally, he has a personality and he's someone I could envision having a real career, one that's more organic. I would be very surprised to see Pia making records longer than Casey.

[Mario-Rijo]

I couldn't disagree any more. While Pia has a great voice, she can't tell a story to save her life and she is very boring. She doesn't connect with anyone and most certainly not with the tween girls who do the majority of the voting. I thought she would last longer than she did, but I never thought she would win the whole thing.

Casey on the other hand is not only an interesting singer/musician/artist, he has a personality that shows on stage. He did get a little too far off the beaten path for a couple of weeks, but he deserved to be saved and has a good shot of at least being in the top 5, maybe more.

I couldn't have said it better myself, spot on. But I'll try, It's called American Idol not who is the best singer, there is more to being an Idol than singing, in fact one might argue it has less to do with singing than most might expect. But your best point is look who is voting, that says it all.

[Mario-Rijo]

And while Casey will go down as a qurky footnote never to be heard of again, Pia has already signed a record deal with the guy who's mentoring the show. I bet she'll get more than the winner.

I think you are wrong Jax, sure Pia was probably the best singer and probably will be more successful eventually but at this moment she isn't appealing to the masses, that is a death nail. Casey was doing the same thing a few weeks back and I imagine he won't make it as far as he really deserves to either because teenage girls don't like him that much. But unlike alot of people that have been on this show Casey is multi-talented and not just someone with a good voice or someone who is just a fun performer he has a nice combination of things like Crystal last year. Plus he understands what it means to be an artist in fact I think he is just naturally an artist.

[KoryMac5]

In the long run I think Pia will be glad she got the boot ala Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson.

[Mario-Rijo]

In the long run I think Pia will be glad she got the boot ala Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson.

I agree with that.

[smith288]

Pia was the eye candy....

[BuckeyeRed27]

Finale tonight. I thought both Laruen and Scotty gave good performances last night. Lauren's "moment" with her mom was nice, but I think Scotty will still take it.

[Hillsdale87]

I've lost interest in the show this year. I thought the original 13 was one of the most talented groups. However, the most talented performers are gone. I like Scotty, and I think he'll be a great country singer, but he doesn't really have any variety. I'm very underwhelmed with Lauren. She's got a good voice, but she really doesn't stand out. If Simon was still on the show he would have been ripping on her alot this year. The finale this year leads me to believe that the primary voters are teenage girls.

Casey was my favoritye, but I really thought James was going to win. I was very surprised when he got sent home.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I think they need to limit the amounts of text votes. Teenage girls are going to be the primary text voters and they can vote a lot. If they limited it to 5 votes or something per phone number I also think the finale would be a little different.

[Redhook]

I've lost interest in the show this year. I thought the original 13 was one of the most talented groups. However, the most talented performers are gone. I like Scotty, and I think he'll be a great country singer, but he doesn't really have any variety. I'm very underwhelmed with Lauren. She's got a good voice, but she really doesn't stand out. If Simon was still on the show he would have been ripping on her alot this year. The finale this year leads me to believe that the primary voters are teenage girls.

Casey was my favoritye, but I really thought James was going to win. I was very surprised when he got sent home.

I agree with most of this. The Top 13 was the most talented group they've ever had. However, it quickly went down hill. Pia and Casey were gone way too soon. The voting really messed up a potentionally great season. And it showed because last night was the worst finale the show has ever seen. Just abysmal.

I thought Haley improved the most and should be the winner this year. She'll have the best career. Lauren is pretty good, but will need someone amazing to take her to the next level. Scotty, IMO, is pretty bad. I don't get the fascination with him.

I really don't know who will win tonight. And I really don't care. I don't see either doing much in the future. Similar to David Cook or Taylor Hicks.

[Mario-Rijo]

I gotta say not surprised by the finish, as many have suggested including myself these teenage girls are ruining the competition. But I doubt it changes because these teenagers are also buying alot of the music.

I actually thought Lauren would win it going away and I have felt it from the beginning. I didn't actually allow Steven Tyler and the judges to sway me I just thought that Lauren has something special about her, she seems like a natural performer to me. She's not over the top but right in that sweet spot most everytime out. Plus she is a good singer, is a pretty girl and a really exceptional personality. I think maybe though she did fail to improve a whole lot from the beginning on but I thought she should have still won because she was far better earlier on than most. Scotty has grown as a performer and is doing pretty good in that area he is also a really solid singer but he isn't much of an artist IMO.

But I think both of them will do well in country music. Out of everyone though I think that ultimately Lauren will be the most successful, assuming she can handle the success which would be my only concern with her, she seems like she is really nieve & sensitive. Pia and Scotty might run a tight 2nd if you are keeping track by how many albums they sell but I will always like Casey a bit better than those 2 artistically speaking.

[Brutus]

I gotta say not surprised by the finish, as many have suggested including myself these teenage girls are ruining the competition.

Sorry to only quote a small portion of your post, but I think this sums it up.

I honestly believe if we want a true competition and not a popularity contest, they should go strictly to all online voting but limit it to one vote per voter using Facebook accounts as the validation. I think you'd see such different results if the popular vote carried voters rather than the aggregate vote.

Truthfully, James was widely regarded as the best singer on the show this year by almost all polls, but because his fanbase wasn't the girls age 14-25 (as was Scotty's) he stood not a chance. Those girls just mass vote through text messages and phone calls and it kills any chances to have a real competition.

I disagree with you on only one thing though: I don't think that's where most of the albums are sold. Traditionally some of the best-selling mulitplatinum albums are from the classic arena and hard rock genres with 25-50 range. Granted, in the short term, it's the bubblegum pop and younger male singers that will dominate early releases, but over the course of time, I think sustainability is important too. I mean the Backstreet Boys might have 3-4 platinum records, but Steven Tyler can rock into his 60's.

I thought this season was by far the best, ironically, as I anticipated it to jump the shark when Simon left. I'm not even that impressed with the new judges as Jennifer is technically sound but is sometimes soft and Steven only focuses on the girls' short skirts. But that said, after the top 10, there was not a single singer I didn't enjoy listening to, and while I thought it was a shame Pia, Casey and James got eliminated when they did, I still didn't mind the finale (outside of not being a country fan) as both Lauren and Scotty will do very well in country, with Lauren having a chance at crossing over some onto the pop charts.

For me though, until/unless something changes with the voting, it will always leave something of a bitter taste in the results. So what's the answer? I'm eagerly awaiting X-Factor in spite of having to put up with Paula again.

The X-Factor format will take some of Idol's weak points (in my opinion) and improve on the show. Live auditions instead of taped (or at least in front of a live audience, no word on whether they will air live); categories for boys, girls, adults and groups/bands; the ability to sing/perform your own music and many other unique features. Looking forward to it.

[RBA]

'Get off my lawn'

This is an "Idol" competition and teenage girls have been big players in "idol worship" for a very long time. Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, etc., etc.

[IslandRed]

'Get off my lawn'

This is an "Idol" competition and teenage girls have been big players in "idol worship" for a very long time. Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, etc., etc.

Yep.

Scotty and Lauren obviously have their paths mapped out. Scotty will probably do better in the long run in the country genre. The aw-shucks charm and authenticity will go a long way, not to mention there aren't really any direct comps for him right now in the "teenagers with classic country voices" category. He's not a finished product by any means, but male country artists who get traction can have decades-long careers.

Lauren, as good as she is, is just another in the long line of blonde teen queens, and there's nothing about her that's best-in-show in that category. Precocious? Leann was better, younger. Sassy? Miranda's sassier. Driven by her own writing like Taylor? Not that we know of. Idol star? Even if she had won, Carrie did it first. But she'll get her record on the radio, I'm certain of that.

We probably haven't heard the last of James -- just like Chris Daughtry, he'll be fronting a band in no time. As with Lauren and Scotty, we know what he's going to be doing.

Haley and Casey are similar in my mind: I enjoyed most of their performances, but I have no real idea what kind of album they'll put out.