American Idol Top 12 - Week 1

[MWM]

I was very underwhelmed with a few excpetions. It seemed like about half the singers were in a key well below their range.

I think Melissa is porbably gone, but it could also be Bucky or Kevin.

Ace - good lord, what was that? 'Cause it sure wasn't singing. That was embarassing and one of the worst I've seen on this show.

Kellie - I think we just saw a melt down right in front of our eyes. She clearly had no confidence and had it tatooed over her face. HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE song selection, way too low. But wow did she look beautiful. I think she's got enough fans to pull her through, but I thought she was the worst one this week next to Ace.

Elliott - He’s all voice and nothing else, and his voice seems to be going downhill a little. It’s always interesting to see how some of the voices deteriorate as they’re not use to this level of strain. Elliott is boring and doesn’t know how to perform. He just stands there and sings and sways a little. He won’t make it to the top 5 because of that.

Mandisa – Pretty good, not great. She sings every song the same way.

Bucky – Boring, but not awful.

Melissa – buh bye. I feel bad for her, her voice is shot. This is just too hard on a voice like hers. She was way off key most of the song. I was shocked Simon liked it.

Lisa – yawn. Too low a key for her. But she should be fine. She'll be around a while with that voice.

Kevin – one of the few I agreed with Simon tonight. It was bad. It still bothers me he’s got this far. He’s a rich man’s William Hung.

Katherine – great vocals, horrible wardrobe. She has mass talent, the best female singer in the competition, but she still annoys the heck out of me. She seems fake as hell. I’m not buying her act. But she might very well win. She’s got a GREAT voice.

Paris – she was great tonight. I wasn’t a big fan of the song, but she was fantastic doing the song. Her little act after the performance with Seacrest was tacky though.

Taylor – I love this guy. I hope he wins.

Chris – he was fantastic tonight. I absolutely hated the song, but he was great. This is the very type of music I loathe. All I could hear was guitar distortion and drums. I just can’t stand music where you can’t hear anything musical in it. But I realize that’s just me.

[RedsManRick]

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's just the TV feed, but I thought the band and backup singers sounded very distant and lifeless, like a karaoke track, rather than a backup band. To that point, the performances all sounded more exposed and less connected to the music. What's odd is that it felt like they improved it over the course of the show, with Chris being the only performer who got solid backing.

BTW -- I literally could not watch Kevin sing. He has a nice classical voice and probably gets all the solos in choir. But he has no idea how to perform, his range is limited, and his tone doesn't fit pop or rock well. Part of this is projection and self-identification, but you can see that this is a kid who's terrified but whose ego is being pumped up by the show. He's not full of himself at all, he just doesn't know how to handle the spotlight. I probably would've been a friend of his in high school, but I'm embarrased for him at this point.

[marcshoe]

While I would love to see Ace or Kevin leave, I, too, think Melissa's gone toinght. She was the third worst, but the other two have strong support structures. I think she's gone, though I hope my premonition misses (which is more than she can say .)

[max venable]

Good review MWM. I mostly agree with your takes.

TOTALLY agree about Taylor. I like to vote for the performances I enjoy most. Taylor gets my vote on this one.

Chris...awesome.

Katharine...excellent. Yes, bad dress, but I still think she's hot.

My fourth favorite: Mandisa. Hope she sticks around for a long time.

BTW, if the axe doesn't fall on Kevin tonight, then you know there's a huge conspiracy by geeks everywhere to keep him in. Holy smokes, dude needs to be off this show! I can't take him. He even referred to himself as a sex symbol.

[macro]

Originally Posted by max venable

BTW, if the axe doesn't fall on Kevin tonight, then you know there's a huge conspiracy by geeks everywhere to keep him in. Holy smokes, dude needs to be off this show! I can't take him. He even referred to himself as a sex symbol.

I couldn't agree more! Of course, we have to remember that this really isn't a "talent" competition but rather a "who-can-avoid-getting-the-least-votes" competition. I blame the judges for putting him in the top 24 to start with. For one thing, I'll never believe that his voice is any better than hundreds of others who never even got invited to Hollywood. Furthermore, regardless of his voice, he has absolutely no star potential whatsoever. None!

The name of the game with this television show, as it is with all television shows, is ratings. Cowell and Co. aren't stupid. They know which people to pick (for the final 24) to draw interest from the most people, and therefore we get Kevin, just as we got Federov last year.

Does anyone see the similarites overall between this year's group and last year's?

Last year's Federov = this year's Kevin
Last year's Constantine = this year's Ace
Last year's Carrie = this year's Pickler
Last year's Bo = this year's Chris
Last year's Vonzell = this year's Lisa
Last year's Lindsey Cardinale = this year's Melissa

[MWM]

Did you see the look on Ace's face? That was definitely worth 1000 words.

And Kevin wasn't even in the bottom three. I don't get it.

Wow. Lisa in the bottom three. That's shocking. I thought it was one of her weaker performances, but I'm still surprised.

[Red in Chicago]

i was shocked to see ace and lisa in the bottom three...neither one should have been there, in my opinion...however, i feel that the correct person got booted off tonight...

the entire stevie wonder thing was horrible...i really hate when they make people sing songs that they wouldn't normally sing...

[RedsManRick]

It seems that the people who make it are ones who you can pretty easily classify in a short sentence. They fit some archetype. Lisa is just sort of generically good. Great voice, but I don't see any particular demographic that is likely supporting her above everyone else.

Paris, Taylor, Kathryn, Chris -- those 4 are my guess for the top 4. Chris and Kathryn will probably be the last 2....

[MWM]

I was never a big fan of Federov. I didn't like hi singing style, but his voice is in a different universe than Kevin's. Federov actually had a pretty good voice. He was too cheesy a performer for me, but he could sing. He had good support, rarely missed any notes and had nice tone and nice vibrato and good range. His vocal quality was good, IMO. He's more suited for Musical Theatre than pop music. Kevin just doesn't have a very good voice. He misses notes constantly and has no vocal support at all and is very nasal. The first time I heard Federov, I thought, "Wow, this guy is good." But that was when it was just 30 seconds of something he picked. As soon as he started to sing other more pop stuff, he lost all luster and I didn't like him. But I stopped watching about halfway through the top 12 last year so I don't remember any of his last few performances. But there's certain music he can sing really well. With Kevin, there isn't anything he can sing well, IMO.

And Constantine could really sing as well. He's WAY better vocally than Ace.

[Roy Tucker]

Yeah, I was a little funny to see Ace's face. Hello Ace, this is you wake-up call. You need to start actually singing.

Melissa saw the handwriting and knew the axe was swinging her way. I thought it was tacky they cut short her sing-out. I wanted to see if she remembered the lyrics.

Taylor is just a warmed-over Michael McDonald. He's amusing but I don't get all the love for him.

The judge went all ga-ga over Chris' originality, but that was *exactly* how the Red Hot Chili Peppers did that song. Nothing new. But it was cool.

I did think Simon's crack about Bucky's Jessica Simpson hair was funny. It was godawful.

I love Katharine's voice, but she is just too weird. Who in the world picks out her clothes?

Paris is getting a little diva-ish and too sure of herself. Her singing at Ryan was way past annoying. My wife said she talks like Butterfly McQueen.

This whole Kevin thing is getting creepy. It was OK for a week or two, but its gone way past where he should have been voted out. He'd be a nice singer in our church choir, but AI sex symbol? Eeewww.

[MWM]

Originally Posted by Roy Tucker

Taylor is just a warmed-over Michael McDonald. He's amusing but I don't get all the love for him.

I've thought all along he sounds just like Michael McDonald as well. I can't speak for everyone else, but I like him because he seems so genuine. With so many of the others that have been on this show over the year, they seem so fake. He's different and isn't a Ken doll or a Barbie. He's real. I'm guessing that's why people like him so much. FWIW, if he wins, he'll be like Ruben or Fantasia and won't sell records. I just can't see him being a commercial success, but people will vote for him.

The judge went all ga-ga over Chris' originality, but that was *exactly* how the Red Hot Chili Peppers did that song. Nothing new. But it was cool.

I had never heard that song before, but my wife knows the Chili Peppers version and she said the same thing.

[smith288]

Chris got lucky... you wont find many rock bands doing remakes of other mucisians like Stevie Wonder so he was probably suprised and relieved could just sing a RHCP and get away with it as being a Wonder song.

And is it just me or does Stevie Wonder's songs suck? What a terrible theme.

[max venable]

Originally Posted by smith288

Chris got lucky... you wont find many rock bands doing remakes of other mucisians like Stevie Wonder so he was probably suprised and relieved could just sing a RHCP and get away with it as being a Wonder song.

And is it just me or does Stevie Wonder's songs suck? What a terrible theme.

Agree with you on both points, smith. Although, somehow, I would expect Chris to pull it off even if he did have to do "Stevie."

And yes, I too find Stevie Wonder's song to be boring. [yawn]

The only truly 'remarkable' performances, IMO, were Taylor's and Chris's.

[smith288]

Originally Posted by max venable

Agree with you on both points, smith. Although, somehow, I would expect Chris to pull it off even if he did have to do "Stevie."

And yes, I too find Stevie Wonder's song to be boring. [yawn]

The only truly 'remarkable' performances, IMO, were Taylor's and Chris's.

I like Chris for his committment to his family and his ability to entertain. One thing i sometimes look at like a mole on a hot chicks face is his vibrato...i cant tell if its natural or just horribly forced. Either way, i sometimes find myself being somewhat annoyed by it for some reason.

[MWM]

It's really hard to fake vibrato, and most of the time it's obvious to anyone. I don't think anyone on the show is faking it. But I think some of the singers don't know how to control it or how to use it well for effect. Elliott is too wild with his vibrato. He needs to learn how to ease into it. It sound better.