Page 1 of 1

Idol Chatter 3/18 Meet The Beatles (again)

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:21 pm
by T_Bone0806
Spoiler
I thought that there was only one really BAD performance tonight, and that was due to a poor song choice more than
anything else.

1-David Cook-"Day Tripper". Sheesh! Last week I was unimpressed with Mr. Cook's read on "Eleanor Rigby" and
the judges loved it. This week they were less than thrilled with David's performance, and I thought he
blasted it outta the park. Seriously. I would BUY this version. ROCKIN'! A+

2-David Archuletta-"The Long and Winding Road". Ballads are his strength, and he got back on track tonight,
singing this just the way it should be sung, totally connected to the lyrics. Pretty close to perfect. A+

3-Carly-"Blackbird". Very nice take on the song. It flowed along smoothly and effortlessly and was a
pleasure to listen to. Just a little misstep on a lyric. Not that it was factored into her grade, and not
that I usually care about such things, but her outfit was NOT flattering. She looked like she is expecting
a little birdie of her own. A

4-Syesha-"Yesterday". Her best performance by far. For once, she resisted the urge to oversing and gave
the song the emotion it needed. Nice job. A

5-Amanda-"Back in the USSR". Right up her alley. Seemed more confident tonight, struttin' it up pretty well.
Not perfect, but, as they say, close enough for rock and roll. She is what she is, and that's why I
like her. And why many hate her. B

6-Chikezie-"I've Just Seen a Face". Wasn't crazy about the opening. He's too energetic and too much fun to
have so dreary an arrangement. Shoulda been upbeat all he way as he is so much more entertaining that way.
I am guessing the judges never heard the original, or else they would know that the song as performed by
our lads from Liverpool HAD an element of C & W in its arrangement. Sometimes I wonder just how much these
"experts" really know. Overall, this was not a bad performance, although I agree that the harmonica
should be flattened with Maxwell's Silver Hammer. B-

7-Ramiele-"I Should Have Known Better". Cute and bouncy but ultimately forgettable. B-

8-Kristy Lee-"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away". Wasn't crazy about the arrangement but at least it
wasn't another "Hoedown at the Bootcrud County Fair" like last week. Pitchy in spots but her best
performance to date on a song not called "Amazing Grace". B-

9-Brooke-"Here Comes the Sun". A song that matches her personality, bright and cheery. I was not as
impressed with her "Let it Be" as the judges and the rest of the country were last week and I thought
she was better tonight than the judges did. Far from perfect, but not nearly as bad as they made it out to be. B-

10-Jason-"Michelle". Seemed to be in a hurry to get this one over with, with a little too much of an
"ah, who gives a crap" attitude to his performance. Rather disconnected from the song. C+

11-Michael-"A Day in the Life". Well, he's got guts, I'll give him that. But as Simon said, it was a mess.
Blown lyrics, misadventures in falsetto land, and condensing a complex work into a scattershot minute
and a half. He trivialized what is arguably the Beatles' masterwork, which in its own way is as
unforgivable as Kristy Lee's homicide on "Eight Days a Week" last Tuesday. He didn't sing it that badly,
other than the falsetto, but that was of little consequence to the overall hatchet job. I understand
his reasoning for wanting to do the song, but it was a choice that was doomed from the git-go. D+


Tough call on who goes. Kristy Lee still needs to be punished for last week and her better-than-average
performance tonight still doesn't change the fact that she is the weakest overall in my opinion. Ramiele
is also skating on thin ice, though, and I don't know as if she's connecting with enough with folks at home.
Amanda remains hated by as many as she is loved by others. Syesha has been in danger, but she may have
bought herself some time tonight. Michael was a shrimp on the Idol barbie tonite, but he has too many
supporters to be saying g'day just yet.

Kristy was only a David Hernandez from going away last week, and I
don't think she picked up THAT many new fans this week, so I'll predict she says so long tomorrow.



My standings:

1-Carly 48 pts. Last week #2
2-Chikeze 46 pts Last week #1
3-David A. 45 pts. Last week Tied #4
4-David C. 42 pts Last Week #7
5-Ramiele 40 pts Last week Tied #4
T6-Jason 39 pts Last week Tied #4
T6-Syesha 39 pts Last week Tied #8
8-Michael 37 pts. Last week #3
9-Amanda 34 pts Last week Tied #10
10-Brooke 33 pts. Last week Tied #10
11-Kristy Lee 19 pts Last week #12

Re: Idol Chatter 3/18 Meet The Beatles (again)

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:30 pm
by fantine33
I'm glad to see you here, tbone. When you hadn't started the weekly Idol thread, I was a little worried about you.

Oh, Kristy Lee, I even defended you last week, but how could you do that to my favourite Beatles song? Or maybe I mean do nothing to it. She had so little understanding of the words coming out of her mouth that she might as well be singing the phone book.

The off arrangement bugged me a little bit, but it was the total lack of understanding that made me crazy. I feel very terroritorial about this song because it's so personal, so I might be taking it too much to heart. If only Brooke would have done this instead.

Speaking of Brooke, I thought the big deal was that they had gotten the rights to the Lennon/McCartney stuff, so why was she doing Here Comes the Sun? She was still better than several of them but, for the first time in three weeks, she wasn't my favourite.

It was nice that Chikezie actually did a song this week where the bluegrass had a place.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:45 pm
by T_Bone0806
Be prepared. Unless it's a joke, someone posted on Idol's boreds that, continuing their celebration of obtaining the rights to Lennon/Mc Cartney's songs, they are moving on to Macca next week. That's right, Wings week.

It may have been a tongue-in-cheek post, so don't hole up in the bomb shelter just yet. I got the impression from some of your previous posts that you are not too crazy about Sir Paul's post-Beatles output, so I thought I'd give you a heads-up in case you want start planning the picketing of Fox early.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:49 pm
by fantine33
T_Bone0806 wrote:Be prepared. Unless it's a joke, someone posted on Idol's boreds that, continuing their celebration of obtaining the rights to Lennon/Mc Cartney's songs, they are moving on to Macca next week. That's right, Wings week.

It may have been a tongue-in-cheek post, so don't hole up in the bomb shelter just yet. I got the impression from some of your previous posts that you are not too crazy about Sir Paul's post-Beatles output, so I thought I'd give you a heads-up in case you want start planning the picketing of Fox early.
Oh, God, no!!!!!11 That has to be a sick joke. Pressed, I could probably name three PM/Wings songs that I like, but I'm still of the opinion that he needed John more than the other way round.

I'd rather go with Ringo, whose PB career I LOVED!

Then again, Paul's $50 million poorer today, so maybe he needs the scratch.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:45 pm
by PlacentiaSoccerMom
They can do George songs. At least they won't have problems learning the lyrics. "I've Got My Mind Set on You" has only six words to memorize.

Re: Idol Chatter 3/18 Meet The Beatles (again)

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:26 pm
by Ritterskoop
fantine33 wrote:
Speaking of Brooke, I thought the big deal was that they had gotten the rights to the Lennon/McCartney stuff, so why was she doing Here Comes the Sun? She was still better than several of them but, for the first time in three weeks, she wasn't my favourite.
The featured artist at the beginning of the show was The Beatles, while last week it was Lennon/McCartney. I said I hoped that meant some Harrison-written songs, which is how it turned out.

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:25 am
by Ritterskoop
Spoiler
I am purchasing Archuleta and Smithson. Very very good.

I still liked Brooke and Jason, though not as much as last week.

Kristy Lee should go.

Re: Idol Chatter 3/18 Meet The Beatles (again)

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:29 am
by KillerTomato
T_Bone0806 wrote:
Spoiler
I thought that there was only one really BAD performance tonight, and that was due to a poor song choice more than
anything else.

1-David Cook-"Day Tripper". Sheesh! Last week I was unimpressed with Mr. Cook's read on "Eleanor Rigby" and
the judges loved it. This week they were less than thrilled with David's performance, and I thought he
blasted it outta the park. Seriously. I would BUY this version. ROCKIN'! A+

2-David Archuletta-"The Long and Winding Road". Ballads are his strength, and he got back on track tonight,
singing this just the way it should be sung, totally connected to the lyrics. Pretty close to perfect. A+

3-Carly-"Blackbird". Very nice take on the song. It flowed along smoothly and effortlessly and was a
pleasure to listen to. Just a little misstep on a lyric. Not that it was factored into her grade, and not
that I usually care about such things, but her outfit was NOT flattering. She looked like she is expecting
a little birdie of her own. A

4-Syesha-"Yesterday". Her best performance by far. For once, she resisted the urge to oversing and gave
the song the emotion it needed. Nice job. A

5-Amanda-"Back in the USSR". Right up her alley. Seemed more confident tonight, struttin' it up pretty well.
Not perfect, but, as they say, close enough for rock and roll. She is what she is, and that's why I
like her. And why many hate her. B

6-Chikezie-"I've Just Seen a Face". Wasn't crazy about the opening. He's too energetic and too much fun to
have so dreary an arrangement. Shoulda been upbeat all he way as he is so much more entertaining that way.
I am guessing the judges never heard the original, or else they would know that the song as performed by
our lads from Liverpool HAD an element of C & W in its arrangement. Sometimes I wonder just how much these
"experts" really know. Overall, this was not a bad performance, although I agree that the harmonica
should be flattened with Maxwell's Silver Hammer. B-

7-Ramiele-"I Should Have Known Better". Cute and bouncy but ultimately forgettable. B-

8-Kristy Lee-"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away". Wasn't crazy about the arrangement but at least it
wasn't another "Hoedown at the Bootcrud County Fair" like last week. Pitchy in spots but her best
performance to date on a song not called "Amazing Grace". B-

9-Brooke-"Here Comes the Sun". A song that matches her personality, bright and cheery. I was not as
impressed with her "Let it Be" as the judges and the rest of the country were last week and I thought
she was better tonight than the judges did. Far from perfect, but not nearly as bad as they made it out to be. B-

10-Jason-"Michelle". Seemed to be in a hurry to get this one over with, with a little too much of an
"ah, who gives a crap" attitude to his performance. Rather disconnected from the song. C+

11-Michael-"A Day in the Life". Well, he's got guts, I'll give him that. But as Simon said, it was a mess.
Blown lyrics, misadventures in falsetto land, and condensing a complex work into a scattershot minute
and a half. He trivialized what is arguably the Beatles' masterwork, which in its own way is as
unforgivable as Kristy Lee's homicide on "Eight Days a Week" last Tuesday. He didn't sing it that badly,
other than the falsetto, but that was of little consequence to the overall hatchet job. I understand
his reasoning for wanting to do the song, but it was a choice that was doomed from the git-go. D+


Tough call on who goes. Kristy Lee still needs to be punished for last week and her better-than-average
performance tonight still doesn't change the fact that she is the weakest overall in my opinion. Ramiele
is also skating on thin ice, though, and I don't know as if she's connecting with enough with folks at home.
Amanda remains hated by as many as she is loved by others. Syesha has been in danger, but she may have
bought herself some time tonight. Michael was a shrimp on the Idol barbie tonite, but he has too many
supporters to be saying g'day just yet.

Kristy was only a David Hernandez from going away last week, and I
don't think she picked up THAT many new fans this week, so I'll predict she says so long tomorrow.



My standings:

1-Carly 48 pts. Last week #2
2-Chikeze 46 pts Last week #1
3-David A. 45 pts. Last week Tied #4
4-David C. 42 pts Last Week #7
5-Ramiele 40 pts Last week Tied #4
T6-Jason 39 pts Last week Tied #4
T6-Syesha 39 pts Last week Tied #8
8-Michael 37 pts. Last week #3
9-Amanda 34 pts Last week Tied #10
10-Brooke 33 pts. Last week Tied #10
11-Kristy Lee 19 pts Last week #12

OK, now I'm starting to wonder if I should be watching this at all this year, since obviously I'm seeing different performances than seemingly everyone else. To me, Archuletta looked so constipated and strained that I was worried he was going to blow an aneurysm. Carly's "Blackbird" was mechanical, bordering on the robotic. All but two of the contestants made me wonder if there was a fire sale on Sominex at the local CVS, and Michael made me wish he'd taken more. The only performace I gave over a B to was Amanda (an A- for the rockin' "USSR", and you could actually understand the lyrics!), most everyone got a C, and Michael landed a D-.

As for Cook's "Day Tripper," he was miles and miles better this week than last (I still maintain that what he did to "Eleanor Rigby" was criminal), but the wah-wah vocoder Peter-Frampton thing completely ruined it for me.

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:47 am
by Sir_Galahad
I was waiting to t-bone to do his post before starting a parallel thread. Anyway, I am probably in the minority who really enjoyed most of the songs performed last night. There was only one hatchet job, IMO, and while some performances were better than others, they were mostly enjoyable. One of the problems I have with some of the Beatles songs is that I have heard them so many times. So much so that whenever I hear one of those I just tune it out and it would take a special performance to get me to pick up my ears.

As an aside, I thought that they could have done this show in 90 minutes and not dragged it out, as they are wont to do, to 2 hours. That said, here are my observations, FWIW.

Amanda - One of my least favorite Beatle songs having heard it some 2 million times. And, since it was Amanda doing the song and I am already bored with her repetitive performances, this did nothing for me.

David A. - One of favorite Beatle songs, I was hoping that he wouldn't blow the lyrics on this one. He didn't and I thoroughly enjoyed the rendition. No one else, with the exception of Syesha, has the vibrato that doesn't annoy me. Here is the next male version of Hannah Montana.

Kristy Lee - I much preferred the version done by The Silkie over the one sung by John but that's JMO. Her rendition was not the train wreck that last week's butchering was. Was it enough to keep her around another week?

Carly - Blackbird is one of my favorite songs from the White Album. I thought she did a wonderful version of it. The simplicity of the song was not overshadowed by her strong vocal. Good show!

David C. - Here's one of those songs that can be perfomed in so many ways. It is also one of those songs that I hear all the time on the radio. However, it happens to be one of my favorites and I think I wore the grooves out of the 45 I had of it. David is no longer a "dark horse" in this competition. I think he is this year's Daughtry who, according to Simon, should have won last year.

Brooke - Another of those songs that I typically turn off if it comes on the radio. This was a very vanilla version and not even close to her performance of Let It Be last week.

Michael - Ooohh... bad choice, mate. You can't take a 5 minute masterpiece and condense it down to 90 seconds. That's like trying to do that with Stairway to Heaven or Bohemian Rhapsody (which he already tried to do). And, forgetting the lyrics on top of it... Ooohhh bad night, dude. This may be his swan song.

Jason - He looked completely uncomfortable doing this song. I thought he should have just pulled up a chair and done it that way. Even the baby-face charm couldn't pull this one out.

Syesha - Even though Yesterday is another of those songs that I "change the dial on the radio for" her performance was terrific. Spot on notes and wonderful vibrato to her voice.

Chikezie - I didn't recognize the song at first when Ryan announced the song title. But, once he got going with it, I got it. I liked the way he mixed it up and thought it was very enjoyable.

Ramielle - Sorry, Ramielle, but this did nothing but add a cute smile to the song. She has a good voice but it's all about song choice and, IMO, this did nothing for her.

I was looking for David C. to do She Came in Through the Bathroom Window which might have been a better choice for Michael and for someone else to do Get Back. But, again, all told it was an enjoyable if not overly dragged out night.

Who will go? I think tonight we will see either Ramielle or Michael say goodnight.

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:23 am
by minimetoo26
This night was just bad all around for me. Some bright spots, but few and far between.

Amanda did a good job being Amanda, but I think that was her final night. She hadn't been in the Bottom 3 for a while, which rallies the voters, and she went first. I hope she sells a bunch of tickets back home in Lafayette.

Kristy Lee was just boring bad rather than memorably bad. Offering to blow Simon livened things up. (I know that's not what she meant, but that's how it came out....)

David A sang very well, but it had just about as much meaning coming out of him as if they were feeding him the lyrics through the in-ear monitor. He's just too young for these songs.

Michael Johns picked a song that was the most like Bohemian Rhapsody in that it's a few songs put together, but you just can't sing this song. And you can't condense it to 90 seconds. Bad move on his part.

Brooke was washed out and flat and clumsy and should just STOP RAMBLING when the judges are trying to talk!!!

David Cook threw every ROCK! cliche he could into that performance. The Guitar! which he touched for 15 seconds. The Lights! which help hide how ugly his hair is. The Jump! The Guitar Pick Toss! The Framptonator! What. Ever. Smug, indeed.

Carly looked old and frumpy (I hope she's pregnant and not bloated) and the shirt looked like it was made in Home Ec class and the performance was old-fashioned ever though her voice was nice on the low parts and beaten-down birds make minimum wage at two jobs so they can feed their kids, not blow 2 million bucks promoting ill-conceived albums. Ick.

Jason oozed fromage, which is what the whole night was. His doofy performance was the broad wink the show needed.

Syesha brought the twins for a duet. Not half as good as the judges said, but not bad.

Chikezie sang about 6 different songs in his minute and a half. He was entertaining, but not so good. Liked the guitar, but that wasn't him playing it, so...

Ramiele was better, but still stiff. Nice voice but never really shows it too advantage.

Bottom 3 will be Amanda, Kristy Lee, and Ramiele, with Ramiele being sent to safety. I think it will be a squeaker that Amanda loses, unfortunately.

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:24 am
by starfish1113
My rankings from this week:

The Night's Standouts
David A.
Carly
David C.

Unlike TBone, I loved Eleanor Rigby last week, and David C.'s performance this week was in my view almost as good. I didn't like the little Peter Frampton deal, but I think that was just a hiccup in an otherwise great performance. David A. rebounded tremendously from last week's foul-up. He's safe to at least the final four unless he reverts to last week's form in consecutive weeks. Carly is also a final four lock and I wouldn't be suprised to see her win the whole thing.

Ones I Liked
Chekezie
Brooke

I sung I've Just Seen A Face to Tracey at our wedding two years ago. Chekezie did slightly better than I did. I was with Randy on this one. I thought the second half was better than the first. And he needed to get rid of the harmonica. Brooke definitely was not as good as last week, but she could sing the posts on this bored and I'd like it.

Pretty good
Amanda

If she survives this week, she needs to change it up a little. There is only so much Joan Jett meets Janis Joplin that the general public will take before getting bored.

Ruh Roh
Jason

I thought the judges nailed it on this one. He was totally disconnected with this song and seemed to just be going through the motions. He gave off a vibe of "you know and I know that this is stilly but I'm gonna sing it anyway". He's safe for now but this was a definite chink in his armour.

One I Didn't Really Like that Everybody Else Seemed To
Syesha

Until she hit that high note toward the end, I was completely bored. It was vastly inferior to the original (I know, probably all of these renditions are, but I noticed it here) and wasn't different enough to get past that.

Songs Sung By Contestants Who Have No Chance of Winning
Kristy Lee
Ramielle

I think Kristy Lee is gone this week, not because she was worse than last week (in fact, she was much better), but because the country fans who I bet sent her through last week won't be as inspired to do the same this week since she didn't put the twang into the tune. Good decision artistically but a bad one for her long term (or even short term prospects). Ramielle continues Boredom Tour 2008. If she doesn't knock us out next week, I fear she'll be the next to go.

Ack
Michael

I love A Day In The Life. I really like Michael. The two don't mix. I don't think it was just the need to shorten the song. His voice just didn't suit it. It was painful. The reason he gave for singing that particular song, though, will keep him out of the bottom three IMO.

Bottom Three
Kristy Lee
Ramielle
Amanda

Buh Bye
Kristy Lee

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:29 am
by starfish1113
minimetoo26 wrote: Kristy Lee was just boring bad rather than memorably bad. Offering to blow Simon livened things up. (I know that's not what she meant, but that's how it came out....)
Best moment of the night! I laughed at least three separate times just thinking about what she said (it was something like, "Simon, I'm gonna blow your socks off!") My ten year old couldn't understand why I thought it was so funny. She kept saying "Why are you still laughing? What did she say that was so funny?" Finally, she decided that it must have been hilarious and laughed with me, but misremembering the line (thank God) as "Simon, I'm gonna knock your socks off!"

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:57 am
by mrkelley23
As I"ve probably stated here a bazillion times, I"ve never drunk the Beatles KoolAid. I like them, I can appreciate how well-written the songs are, there's even a couple (Revolution and Let it Be) that are on my mp3 player. They are also, IMO, perfect songs for the AI treatment: melodic pop (most of them) with lyrics folks can connect with and interesting instrumentation.

The trap for the contestants is, if they just do the Beatles' arrangement, it's kind of like the Whitney Syndrome. I wind up comparing them to John, or Paul, or even George, and most of them suffer by that comparison. Even Brooke, whom I really want to like, suffered by comparison to George because she didn't "get it." Unlike last week, I didn't really see anyone who LOVED their song and REALLY wanted to bring it across to their audience. So we wind up with pleasantly drab and earnest kids trying to impress people with songs from their grandparents' generation. Based on that:

Amanda -- I like her approach a lot, and the song was pleasant enough, but she didn't do anything other than cover it. Her comments in response to Simon were the best part of her performance.

David A. -- For me, ABB in the 90s and 00s meant Anybody But Bush. On this season's American Idol it means Another Boring Ballad. Yes it's a pretty song. Yes his voice was technically good -- on pitch, well placed, and on the beat. His camera presence is amazing for such a youngun. But it was still vanilla pudding. And as much as I like vanilla pudding, it gets really old after a few weeks.

Kristy Lee -- Another one for whom the after judge patter was waaaay more interesting than the song. The outfit and the camera angle really made me think they're going for the Carrie Underwood fans for her. It really brings home the fact that AI isn't about the singer or the song -- it's the gestalt.

Carly -- On of the few performances I quit semi-reading to actually listen to. I guess I liked it because, even though the arrangement was spare like Macca's, she actually did some vocal tricks to make it stand out from being just another cover. For those of you who are not singers, an octave jump leading to a modulation is the equivalent of a difficult dismount for a gymnast on the balance beam, and she nailed it with nary a stutter step.

David C. -- My high school biology teacher's bar band, currently playing Thursdays at Casino Aztar, does it just as well, if not better. Maybe it's the smirk, but I always believed Daughtry was serious about his music, no matter how much I didn't like it. Cook just strikes me as a poser, a rocknroller strictly in it for the babes, beer, and bucks. NTTAWWT.

Brooke -- It's a sad day when you can't make me forget George Harrison's vocal on ANYTHING.

Michael -- Unfortunately, I think Michael was trying to respond to my criticism of last week, and do something with some subtlety. Unfortunately, subtlety doesn't seem to be in the Michael playbook. He's consistently behind the beat, has an apparent vocal range of 5 notes, and lands on every note with the equivalent of leather combat boots.

Jason -- Crossed the line from adorable cutie to incoherent pothead for me this week. The thin little voice is wearing a little, well, this, too.

Syesha -- Better than I was expecting from her. Maybe if she can continue pretending to be humble, I might start liking her.

Chikezie -- How ignorant can the judges be? When he started, I said, "why is he not doing the bluegrass stuff? He killed with it last week." Then he brought it in halfway through. I seem to recall other contestants in previous years who would alternate between really good and pretty bad every week. Chikezie seems to be taking on that role.

Ramielle -- Stronger vocal than the last 2 weeks, but she's still has no breath control. I wish she would work with a real vocal coach, because she's got a great voice and a great look. But right now she's nothing but Ear Candy Lite. Kind of the female equivalent of David A, without the vocal training.

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:39 pm
by Ritterskoop
starfish1113 wrote:
minimetoo26 wrote: Kristy Lee was just boring bad rather than memorably bad. Offering to blow Simon livened things up. (I know that's not what she meant, but that's how it came out....)
Best moment of the night! I laughed at least three separate times just thinking about what she said (it was something like, "Simon, I'm gonna blow your socks off!") My ten year old couldn't understand why I thought it was so funny. She kept saying "Why are you still laughing? What did she say that was so funny?" Finally, she decided that it must have been hilarious and laughed with me, but misremembering the line (thank God) as "Simon, I'm gonna knock your socks off!"
She said she would blow him out of his socks.

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:14 pm
by etaoin22
since these songs are known....

to me...

and to others....

I will essay a listing of evaluations:

I note that I noted that "The Beatles" rather than L+M meant most likely someone would sing something by George Harrison. And most likely again, that someone would in fact sing "Something" by George Harrison.

I would have like to have heard Octopus's Garden, but I doubt TPTB put it on the list.
Spoiler

A+ Syesha - Yesterday. 35,000 cover versions and this one would stand up with any of them. Nicely contrasts the verse and chorus.

A - David A. - The Long and Winding Road -- This made the classic rock morning show in MTL -- as a news item, albeit, not as the whole song. Had to have confidence in his voice that he would not falter an inch in singing the initial six-syllable and note phrase.

B + - David C. - Daytripper - I could listen to this Daytripper on radio all day.

B: - Chakese - I've Just Seen a Face - After the first dozens of Beatle songs are dealt with, and you forget about covers and the politically incorrect songs, you will hit some songs, which have a certain whimsical nature. They are still good songs, and NOT "Achy Breaky Heart", Simon. (Actually "Achy Breaky Heart" is on its own terms, a good song, but that is another story.).

B: - Jason Castro - MIchelle. See above comment. If Jason said he learned the French phonetically, Je ne crois pas.

B - : Ramille - I Should Have Known Better. Way back in the winter of '65, in Ottawa, Sandy Gardiner -- the one who invented the word "Beatlemania" -- reviewed a nice little 45 by Billy J. Kramer entitled "It's Gotta Last Forever" as "Not for you guys, it wont". Always watch that titles can be taken in another way..

I am not sure that she should have known better, but the interpretation IMHO could have been. Better, I mean.

B - : Carly - Blackbird. I am not sure quite what to make and where to put this song and interpretation. So I will put it in the middle.

C- : Back In the USSR - Amanda - Throwaway.

and in the garbage bin... (or should I say dustbin??)

To begin with, here comes the George.....

D - : Here Comes THe Sun. The Del Reeves inspired version (Doodle-oo-doo-doo), with the chorus in front of the verse, which destroys the whole concept of a gradual rediscovery.

F - : You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - A song I love, with a somewhat different melody IIRC than that which was used. This version is insipid and lazy.

F-: A Day In The Life - merely terrible until I reheard the commentary before he sang. UNLIKE THE CURATE'S EGG, THIS SONG IS NOT GOOD "IN PARTS".
And that' s that. My guess is that there will be fair consensus on most of these performances.

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:15 pm
by Snaxx
Results:
Spoiler
Well, the nurse is going home. Also a defeat for Votefortheworst.com. Kristy Lee has nine lives. Shocker that Irish gal Carly was third from the bottom. Chikezie was the last of the top eight to be called safe, but not necessarily fourth from the bottom.





.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:08 am
by peacock2121
I finished the tape of Tuesday night at around 8:00PM and couldn't stay awake to see the results show.

I loved Michael - not just because he is so very nice to look at.

I hated Amanda - I do every week and not just cuz she is so hard to look at.

I was preplexed by Ramielle and felt really sorry for Kristy.

I am not sad about the results, although Carly did not belong in the bottom three - at all.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:05 am
by kusch
peacock2121 wrote:I finished the tape of Tuesday night at around 8:00PM and couldn't stay awake to see the results show.

I loved Michael - not just because he is so very nice to look at.

I hated Amanda - I do every week and not just cuz she is so hard to look at.

I was preplexed by Ramielle and felt really sorry for Kristy.

I am not sad about the results, although Carly did not belong in the bottom three - at all.
I was not shocked to see Amanda go. The more I saw her, the less I liked her.

I think Ramielle has been skating for too long. It will between Kristy or Ramielle next week.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:05 am
by T_Bone0806
I would have like to have heard Octopus's Garden, but I doubt TPTB put it on the list.
Being a Ringo song, and therefore not much of a challenge vocally, I doubt it too. Don't get me wrong, I love Ringo, and the Fabs would've been considerably less fab without Mr. Starkey's contributions, but his songs were written so as not to overtax his rather pedestrian vocal limitations.

Which, upon further consideration, means that a Ringo song would've been perfect for Kristy Lee.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:06 am
by PlacentiaSoccerMom
kusch wrote:
peacock2121 wrote:I finished the tape of Tuesday night at around 8:00PM and couldn't stay awake to see the results show.

I loved Michael - not just because he is so very nice to look at.

I hated Amanda - I do every week and not just cuz she is so hard to look at.

I was preplexed by Ramielle and felt really sorry for Kristy.

I am not sad about the results, although Carly did not belong in the bottom three - at all.
I was not shocked to see Amanda go. The more I saw her, the less I liked her.

I think Ramielle has been skating for too long. It will between Kristy or Ramielle next week.
Somebody out there likes Kristy, so it will probably be Ramielle.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:27 am
by KillerTomato
I wasn't surprised either, but I had hopes. She doesn't have the best vocal skills by a long shot, but she was my favorite performer of the lot. Cook is such a smug poseur, Archie has the stage presence of a wet blanket, Ramie has the personality of a walnut, IrishChick gives off such an air of entitlement (anyone else think she was lying when she said she was nervous about auditioning this year? I wouldn't be surprised to find out she had an engraved invite from Nigel Lythgoe personally)... I won't be rooting for anyone at all this year. Maybe dreadhead or Chickadee/Jacuzzi can make it interesting.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:39 am
by T_Bone0806
My preceding post was brought to you by Sourgrapes.com.

THEY SENT MY ROCK-N-ROLL NURSE HOME!! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

I admit that she was nowhere near as talented as MOST of the others, but she was, to me anyway, the most entertaining. And, in her niche, she was quite good. Problem was, her niche was limited and it was pretty obvious that, out of that comfort zone, she was horrendous. But unlike most of the other so-called "rockers" this show has seen, Amanda was the real deal, and I loved her for it. At the center, I also saw a sweet shyness, and some discomfort with all the hoopla and attention (offset by the need to rip it up on stage).

I figured that maybe she would survive to 8th or 9th place at best, and I would not have argued that she deserved to go further. The disappointment for me is that she JUST MISSED the cut for the tour. I would've liked to have seen her as part of the package. I LIKE some of the others, but having Amanda there would've sealed the deal and sold me a ticket. I will still probably go, as I had promised my David Archuletta-loving granddaughter we would, but I am considerably less enthused about the prospect this morning. Not to mention (ok I guess I'll mention it), it now means that I will have suffer through the torture that is Kristy Lee Cook. Seriously. If Amanda has a very small niche in which she excels, what about Ms. "Shock Therapy Eyes"? Her niche is even smaller.."People who can only sing 'Amazing Grace' well". Her survival on this show is the most frustrating aspect of Amanda getting the boot.

Two more thoughts..the show's producers were showing Amanda the door at the beginning of the show. While everyone else got nice little solo spots, Amanda was given 4 WORDS-"and in the end.." Dassit. I know that they must've started rehearsing that medley well before Tuesday night, but it seemed strange that she was so left out, and given only THOSE perticular words...well, conspiracy theorists will say her fate was sealed before the voting.

The other thought..Amanda haters cite her standoffishness and perceived unwillingness to be "one of the gang". I wonder how many caught her reaction after being voted off. Kristy Lee looked like she was reluctant to accept that she had survived and it sounded and looked like she was apologizing to Amanda. Amanda told her in so many words, it's ok, go take your place over there, you earned it. Amanda had said early on that she didn't get too high or too low about things, and she has proven it both ways during her run on the show. If she had been more bouncy or exuberant and not so stoic she may have had a couple more weeks left to her. She was what she was and between her personality and her "one trick pony" talent, it doomed her.

Too bad. She was the most entertaining one up there. Hopefully the few left with a little zing will hang in there, else it'll be another march toward mediocrity like last season.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:42 am
by T_Bone0806
KillerTomato wrote:I wasn't surprised either, but I had hopes. She doesn't have the best vocal skills by a long shot, but she was my favorite performer of the lot. Cook is such a smug poseur, Archie has the stage presence of a wet blanket, Ramie has the personality of a walnut, IrishChick gives off such an air of entitlement (anyone else think she was lying when she said she was nervous about auditioning this year? I wouldn't be surprised to find out she had an engraved invite from Nigel Lythgoe personally)... I won't be rooting for anyone at all this year. Maybe dreadhead or Chickadee/Jacuzzi can make it interesting.
I liike Chikezie a lot. He is very entertaining and every performance other than his first one (the one with the goofy suit) has made me smile.

Which means he'll be gone in two weeks.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:32 am
by Sir_Galahad
She may have been your fave, T-bone and "for real" but I think she could have gone much higher had she not been stuck in the "this is all I have" rut. Each song sounded identical and, while I liked her at first, she became old quickly. There was no variety with her renditions. I'm sure she would have been more entertaining on the tour than Kristy Lee but it is what it is.

I, too, was surprised to see Carly in the B-3. I expect her to be in the top 5.