Idol Chatter - 2/12/08

Message

Sir_Galahad · #1 Post by **Sir_Galahad** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:00 am

I wouldn't have wanted to be one of the judges for last night's Hollywood quarterfinal. I heard a number of contestants who I thought were very good but, for some reason, didn't pass muster with the judges. One in particular was the Charleston cheerleader. I didn't see anything wrong with her performance. Did I miss something?

At least this year it seems we are going to have some serious challengers among the guys. The young asian-looking guy (sorry, I don't know all the names yet) and the other young guy with the really good voice. I didn't think the Australian guy was that good yet the judges seemed to like him a lot. I still am not getting the Josiah story. Sure it's a hard-luck story but there were others that had hard-luck stories that didn't make the cut. What's up with him? I don't think his voice is nearly as good as others.

Several of the females impressed me and it will be interesting to see if they make it to the top 24. The girl with the tattoo, the girl with the scraggly blond hair and the black girl with the super voice were all impressive. And again, I thought there were others that were worthy and was surprised they were cut.

I'm also curious as to why it appeared that some were allowed to do a complete number while others were cut short. Tonight should be interesting.

geoffil · #2 Post by **geoffil** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:55 am

I was confused about why the band wouldn't do the arrangement Josiah wanted them to do. It looked odd to me that "Bird" wanted him to sing it her way and he just couldn't do it. I think that is why he was so frustrated. I wonder if they make it harder for some and easier for others?

The Carp · #3 Post by **The Carp** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:13 am

I enjoy Josiah, but not because of his voice. It's his lack of cookie-cutterness. (I know that's not a word....)

But he has to learn how to deal with a group for success on Idol. And he's the kind of person who needs Idol for success. So this could all blow up on him.

mrkelley23 · #4 Post by **mrkelley23** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:01 am

Josiah will be my nemesis this year, I think, if he makes it far enough. His voice is often flat, he has that little trill vibrato that only shows up on the sustained notes (although at least I'll give him credit for HAVING some sustained notes -- the lack of breath control this year was especially noticeable to me) and he takes himself WA-A-A-Ay too seriously.

But I can see where he has a look, and that is often all the recording company big boys are looking for. Hannah Montana has peaked and the Jonas Boys are getting HUGE. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the teeny boys in the final three, at least.

TheGh0stOfJohnStevens · #5 Post by **TheGh0stOfJohnStevens** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:05 am

mrkelley23 wrote:Josiah will be my nemesis this year, I think, if he makes it far enough. His voice is often flat, he has that little trill vibrato that only shows up on the sustained notes (although at least I'll give him credit for HAVING some sustained notes -- the lack of breath control this year was especially noticeable to me) and he takes himself WA-A-A-Ay too seriously.

But I can see where he has a look, and that is often all the recording company big boys are looking for. Hannah Montana has peaked and the Jonas Boys are getting HUGE. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the teeny boys in the final three, at least.

Wow, that would even be higher than I finished! They may go straight to the maitre'd position after their season in the sun...

dimmzy · #6 Post by **dimmzy** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:43 am

I don't know why I'm annoyed, but it kind of bothers me that two of the top spots will probably be taken by an Australian and an Irish woman who just moved to the states a couple of years ago with the intent purpose of getting musical careers.

I wonder how many Americans are starring in Australian or Irish Idol? I suspect they're banned.

I have no problem with immigrants who were raised in the U.S. like several of those from past years.

ulysses5019 · #7 Post by **ulysses5019** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:28 am

Perhaps Simon et al support McCain's immigration plan.....

dimmzy · #8 Post by **dimmzy** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:59 am

I was confused about why the band wouldn't do the arrangement Josiah wanted them to do. It looked odd to me that "Bird" wanted him to sing it her way and he just couldn't do it. I think that is why he was so frustrated. I wonder if they make it harder for some and easier for others?

I suspect that his arrangement was unworkable in such a short time. Since he's not exactly an experienced composer, it also might have been a ridiculous arrangement as well.

He reminded me of my 3-year-old nephew when he's missed his nap: all teary-eyed and pitiful and whining about who knows what. Still a contender, though. Josiah, not my nephew.

T_Bone0806 · #9 Post by **T_Bone0806** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:31 pm

There is something about Josiah that makes me want to hear more. Granted, he doesn't have a voice comparable to some of the others, but I sense an overall depth that is absent in many. Just this feeling I get. I s'pose it depends on what each viewer is looking for in a contestant. Taylor Hicks didn't have the best voice, but it still sounded good to me..what made him my favorite was the overall package..the showmanship, the obvious love he had for what he was doing, and the kind of music he was championing.

What I interpreted from the Josiah saga last night was an 18 year-old kid setting something in motion that spun out of his control. In his interviews, he tries to spin his living in his car as some sort of romantic adventure, a struggling artist paying his dues on the way to a happy ending scenario..when down deep he is a very scared kid. I'm guessing he is at the end of his rope, hence the emotional outbursts along the way. I think he feels this is his big shot, maybe the only one he'll get, and he is terrified that he'll blow it. I get the impression that he got frustrated when he couldn't communicate the idea he had for the song to the band..and perhaps the band and the vocal coach had a "who does this kid think he is to tell us how to do this song" attitude..dunno for sure, it's too bad we couldn't have seen some of that rehearsal. From there I think it spiralled out of control. He seemed genuinely horrified when he saw he was being perceived as a diva. Just seemed that the more he tried to fix things, the more frazzled and tired he got and the worse the situation got. He saw his chance, in his mind his last chance, slipping away.

That was my impression. I could be way offline, he may be a total snot, but I am just not seeing that at this time. If he makes the Top 24, I could easily be proven wrong as we see and hear more of him. Personally, I hope we get the chance to do so. I do see him as one of the polarizing contestants this year. I think he'll be one of those love him or hate him performers, no m,iddle ground.

T_Bone0806 · #10 Post by **T_Bone0806** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:50 pm

This is actually looking to be a very strong season. There are quite a few that I can see as Top 10'ers. It already looks like the talent is gonna blow the doors off that of last season's contestants.

I like rocker nurse Amanda, the Australian guy Michael Johns, the Irish lass with the powerful voice, and A'siah (sp?), the smoky-voiced gal whose dad died. I'm forgetting a few, I know. There are a couple more rocker dudes that were pretty good (one of 'em sang "Light My Fire"), and that 16 year-old kid (the one who was on Arsenio Hall's "Star Search" when he was 11 or so) has a maturity in his voice that I am amazed by..usually kids that age have a built-in "whine" that drives me insane, and they tend to oversing it as well..this kid sounds more mature AND knows when to do a vocal run (and not overdo it) and HOW to do it. My 14 year-old granddaughter is already in love..watch out for this kid.

There were a couple I lost track of..the guy who went from boy band to rocker dude with the knit cap and beard..He got the pass to the last day but I didn't see if he made the cut to the final 50. And Leo, the "homecoming queen..he got a "no" on the first day but I didn't see if he actually got cut. They spent a lot of time on him during his audition stint, but what happened to him?

I wish that they would show what happened to ALL of the people who got airtime during the auditions and sent to Hollywood. Viewers may latch on to a favorite and then never hear from him/her again.

That good-looking guy with the dreadlocks from the very first audition episode...I thought he would be a strong contender. They showed a quick shot of him arriving in Hollywood with the others but that was it. It looked like he was one of the ones cut in the "step forward, ok the whole back row is going home" segments, but I couldn't be sure. They need to tie up these loose ends. This is "American Idol", not "Lost".

It does look like a good season.

Ritterskoop · #11 Post by **Ritterskoop** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:43 pm

The vocal coach, Deborah Byrd, is generally seen as helpful to the kids. I thought she was in a tough spot, trying to explain to Josiah his arrangement was just too weird. But she still made him know she would help him if he could return to the band's room.

I liked that he acknowledged the band had been up all night also, and that he was relatively gracious toward them when he first came on stage. If he hadn't rehearsed with them, it didn't make any sense to perform with them.

Overall, I think he needs to wait a year or two. He may have something interesting to say musically, but right now he is taking it all very seriously.

macrae1234 · #12 Post by **macrae1234** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:03 pm

Australia has the same rules as America you must be legally entitled to work to participate, ie citizen or permanent reident. This is an Immigration rule not AI since the contestants are paid, if not on the show on the tour.
Ireland as far as I know does not have an idol show but like any other citizens of Euro they are entitled to work in the UK.

Sir_Galahad · #13 Post by **Sir_Galahad** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:21 pm

T_Bone0806 wrote:There is something about Josiah that makes me want to hear more. Granted, he doesn't have a voice comparable to some of the others, but I sense an overall depth that is absent in many. Just this feeling I get. I s'pose it depends on what each viewer is looking for in a contestant. Taylor Hicks didn't have the best voice, but it still sounded good to me..what made him my favorite was the overall package..the showmanship, the obvious love he had for what he was doing, and the kind of music he was championing.

What I interpreted from the Josiah saga last night was an 18 year-old kid setting something in motion that spun out of his control. In his interviews, he tries to spin his living in his car as some sort of romantic adventure, a struggling artist paying his dues on the way to a happy ending scenario..when down deep he is a very scared kid. I'm guessing he is at the end of his rope, hence the emotional outbursts along the way. I think he feels this is his big shot, maybe the only one he'll get, and he is terrified that he'll blow it. I get the impression that he got frustrated when he couldn't communicate the idea he had for the song to the band..and perhaps the band and the vocal coach had a "who does this kid think he is to tell us how to do this song" attitude..dunno for sure, it's too bad we couldn't have seen some of that rehearsal. From there I think it spiralled out of control. He seemed genuinely horrified when he saw he was being perceived as a diva. Just seemed that the more he tried to fix things, the more frazzled and tired he got and the worse the situation got. He saw his chance, in his mind his last chance, slipping away.

That was my impression. I could be way offline, he may be a total snot, but I am just not seeing that at this time. If he makes the Top 24, I could easily be proven wrong as we see and hear more of him. Personally, I hope we get the chance to do so. I do see him as one of the polarizing contestants this year. I think he'll be one of those love him or hate him performers, no m,iddle ground.

I didn't see him as a snot. I saw him pretty much the same as you except I didn't think he was even as good a Taylor was in his auditions. He may be this year's Sanjaya. I won't be surprised if he makes the Top 24 as both Simon and Randy said they both wanted hear more from him. And, since there is no more auditioning the only way they can do that is by putting him in there. If this does, in fact, happen I will still feel that there are those that were more deserving to be there.

mrkelley23 · #14 Post by **mrkelley23** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:04 pm

I can't argue with anything TBone says about Josiah. I do think he is terribly earnest and sincere about his music. But I also think his voice is not great, his intonation is generally quite poor, and his emotional maturity is somewhere between the Abstinence Queen Dance Team Leader and Britney Spears.

I hope he pulls it together. I'm all for serious and sincere musicians, especially considering some of the fakey dreck we've seen from Idol in the past.

But my experience has been that is a person sings flat, they sing flat. Period.

KillerTomato · #15 Post by **KillerTomato** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:41 pm

Can someone find out who Bryan Adams had pictures of (I'm guessing a farm animal or 6 was involved) to get so damn many people to sing that god-awful "Everything I Do I Do It For You" over and over and over last night? It sucks the first time you hear it, and it's even worse the 20th.

Blecch.

T_Bone0806 · #16 Post by **T_Bone0806** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:33 am

mrkelley23 wrote:his emotional maturity is somewhere between the Abstinence Queen Dance Team Leader and Britney Spears.

Good line. I wish I had thought of that one.

Spoiler

Well, he's outta there anyway. I thought he was a lock, as he definitely would've been a "watercooler" contestant for their ratings. Maybe they thought he was too unpredictable emotionally to handle the pressures of the competition. Maybe they worried that the Vote For the Worst crowd would take him too far. Maybe he just pissed 'em off.

I agree his singing voice was not too great. Still, there was some substance that made me want to hear more of this kid. He's all over You Tube. I listened to a few of his tunes. It's only him with a piano or guitar, so after awhile, the songs kinda sound the same, and his voice DOES start to nag a bit, but he's onto something if he hangs in there. For an 18-year-old, his songwriting is pretty mature. It's DEFINITELY not typical Idol fare, so in the long run, maybe this gave him just enough exposure to get him started, without him having to bend to the will of the Idol PowersThatBe. Time will tell.

Sir_Galahad · #17 Post by **Sir_Galahad** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:48 am

Well, it looks as if I was pretty spot-on with my predictions although I admit it was like betting the chalk at the races. But, I am glad to see that Josiah will have to mature a little before he makes it into the finals. Think we'll see him next year?

What I thought odd was that there were several finalists I had never seen before - or very minimally at best. It seems TPTB play up certain contestants yet bypass others (now where I have seen that before?) so I don't know how well they sing. I don't recall ever seeing the guy at the end that they selected instead of the guy with the tie and glasses. And I never recall seeing the guy with the dreadlocks. There were also a few of the girls I don't remember seeing. I guess their personalities and/or stories were not remarkable enough for over-hype. But, we will hear them next week. This looks like a good crop.

My early prediction to win is David Archuleta. He's got the voice, the looks and the personality to make the teen girls go wild and to sell lots and lots of CDs.

mrkelley23 · #18 Post by **mrkelley23** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:59 am

Sir_Galahad wrote:Well, it looks as if I was pretty spot-on with my predictions although I admit it was like betting the chalk at the races. But, I am glad to see that Josiah will have to mature a little before he makes it into the finals. Think we'll see him next year?

What I thought odd was that there were several finalists I had never seen before - or very minimally at best. It seems TPTB play up certain contestants yet bypass others (now where I have seen that before?) so I don't know how well they sing. I don't recall ever seeing the guy at the end that they selected instead of the guy with the tie and glasses. And I never recall seeing the guy with the dreadlocks. There were also a few of the girls I don't remember seeing. I guess their personalities and/or stories were not remarkable enough for over-hype. But, we will hear them next week. This looks like a good crop.

My early prediction to win is David Archuleta. He's got the voice, the looks and the personality to make the teen girls go wild and to sell lots and lots of CDs.

The kid at the end was on one of the most recent audition shows, and sang well. nd then not so much, in Hollywood. But I remember seeing him sing the first time, and he was one of the teeny boys I was talking about.

Remember that Idol often "hides" some that they think might do really well. I, too, don't remember hearing the kid with dreadlocks, so I'm really looking forward to hearing him.

Can't disagree with your Archuleta pick. But you are old, aren't ya? It's not CDs he's gonna sell, it's downloads and ringtones!

geoffil · #19 Post by **geoffil** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:00 am

I am disappointed that they picked two none Americans for American Idol. I don't think the Irish woman was all that great. I did like the guy from Australia, but would rather see an American take his place. I am glad they didn't do the trios this year.

I think Simon has a look he is going for and picks woman who match the look more often than how good their voice is. You can tell when he starts saying how "cute" a girl is.

Sir_Galahad · #20 Post by **Sir_Galahad** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:28 am

mrkelley23 wrote:
sir_Galagad wrote:
My early prediction to win is David Archuleta. He's got the voice, the looks and the personality to make the teen girls go wild and to sell lots and lots of CDs.

Can't disagree with your Archuleta pick. But you are old, aren't ya? It's not CDs he's gonna sell, it's downloads and ringtones!

You mean they sell ringtones? Is nothing sacred? What's next? I can only imagine. I prefer my simpler world.

Catfish · #21 Post by **Catfish** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:29 am

mrkelley23 wrote:Remember that Idol often "hides" some that they think might do really well. I, too, don't remember hearing the kid with dreadlocks, so I'm really looking forward to hearing him.

One of the hidden ones was a local gal, Amy Davis. We only knew to watch for her because my son's social studies teacher told the kids she is in his friend's band. It's fun to have someone to pull for.

minimetoo26 · #22 Post by **minimetoo26** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:48 am

Last year, our local guy was the "Stealth Contestant." Chris Richardson was definitely blink-and-you'll-miss-him in the early goings, and did quite well. I think I'll like Dreadlock Dude.

I was surprised that Simon liked Kyle so much. I was hoping to see him make it, and thought it would be Simon who submarined him. Shows what I know....

Ritterskoop · #23 Post by **Ritterskoop** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:35 pm

geoffil wrote:I am disappointed that they picked two none Americans for American Idol. I don't think the Irish woman was all that great. I did like the guy from Australia, but would rather see an American take his place.

They are American citizens now or they would not be eligible.

Appa23 · #24 Post by **Appa23** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:38 pm

Ritterskoop wrote:
geoffil wrote:I am disappointed that they picked two none Americans for American Idol. I don't think the Irish woman was all that great. I did like the guy from Australia, but would rather see an American take his place.
They are American citizens now or they would not be eligible.

Actually, I am pretty sure that they do not need to be citizens. Rather, they just need to have the appropriate work visa.

(It was the issue that kept the Irish lass from progressing the last time. Similarly, it was such an issue that kept Hawk from being chosen for "So You Think You Can Dance" during one season, and then included the next season after he resolved the visa issue.)

Ritterskoop · #25 Post by **Ritterskoop** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:24 pm

Appa23 wrote:
Ritterskoop wrote:
geoffil wrote:I am disappointed that they picked two none Americans for American Idol. I don't think the Irish woman was all that great. I did like the guy from Australia, but would rather see an American take his place.
They are American citizens now or they would not be eligible.
Actually, I am pretty sure that they do not need to be citizens. Rather, they just need to have the appropriate work visa.

Good enough for me. It is hard for me to think of anyone who lives here as a nonAmerican.