AMERICAN IDOL - WILDCARDS

[RealtorGal]

<span style="colorurple;font-family:georgia;font-size:small;">Okay, so now we've seen the wild cards. Hmmmm... The only real surprise was Clay. He's got those Lyle Lovett looks, which is fine. It's different. He was the only one who really had it together tonight and gave a fairly complete performance. It was an A-. I like what they intimated about it being a learning process. It should be that way. Many, many times I had students make AMAZING progress on the spot provided they really listened to what I said and acted upon it immediately. It's nice to see someone learn from past experience and improve like Clay.

Nashika is as dull as cotton. She is just not ready to tap into her emotions. That's not to say it will never happen; she's just not ready yet.0]

Carmen: Karaoke girl. Yawn.

Olivia: That heavy breathing is so distracting. I teach silent breathing because it's calming. She sang flat. 8o

Janine: Another karaoke girl. The song choice was poor. She holds her arm like a dog's paw. 8o

Chip: Wrong song, lip licking is so distracting. I can see him singing on a cruise ship.

Aliceyn: I like the voice. She needs some major grooming assistance.

Kimberly: I just don't like her. End of story.

Trenyce: Not a bad performance, got better and more passionate as the song progressed. Second best performance of the evening but she's not the American Idol.

What was the twist? That Justin paid a visit? What a strange looking guy. He tries hard to project that image, doesn't he?</span> 0]

[Sally1214]

Clay and Trenyce were the ONLY ones who performed in the Wild Cards show that TRULY deserve to go on to the final 12, IMO. But, four will be chosen ... hmmmmm ....

Clay did an outstanding job tonight. He has a WONDERFUL voice. Some people are saying that they wish he wouldn't try to change his appearance to get more favorable comments from the judges. I disagree with their views. I think Clay is listening to the constructive criticism he's receiving and learning from it. He has a HUGE talent and his hard work to develop that gift is really showing. Good for him.

Trenyce also has a lovely voice. She too is being criticized for "overdoing" the presentation; but, overall, I think she did a very good job. Second best performance of the night.

After these two, things drop off considerably ......

Chip .... sure wish he hadn't chosen the song he did. I don't know how many times Randy has to say "Michael Jackson is SO HARD to do, MAN!" before these competitors are actually going to HEAR him. Randy is right on this point. I hope Chip didn't do himself in with that song choice because he does have a very good voice. Maybe, he'll move on, based on what he's done in past performances??

Kimberly .... I thought she fell into the "OK" category. She's a pretty girl; and, Heaven knows, she TRIES hard ... but, I don't know .. as much as I hate to quote Randy, I WILL ... "she doesn't move me" .... AT ALL!! But, since this group of performers was NOT all that good overall, I think she will move on to the final 12.

Aliceyn was the only other one I feel is even worthy of a good word. She DOES have a very nice voice. But, that is about ALL I can say for her. I agree that her outfit was VERY POOR ... and Paula didn't do her any favors by pointing out to us all that this was the THIRD time they'd heard her sing "Angel!" (who remembered??) It may be a toss-up between Aliceyn and Chip (due to his poor song choice) but my money's on Chip.

So, I think the four to move on will be Clay, Trenyce, Kimberly and Chip.

There MUST be something MORE to *THE TWIST,* don't you think? We already KNEW they were going to choose FOUR from tonight's show .... no surprises there ... maybe tomorrow night, we'll get the rest of *THE TWIST.*

Justin is one seriously CUTE guy but he should LOSE THE FACIAL HAIR!! I've never understood why good-looking people insist on doing something to themselves to diminish their looks. And, oh yes, he could lose the hat while he's at it. Come on, Justin .... get out the razor and show us the hair again .... all those SCREAMING girls couldn't be wrong!! LOL

Until tomorrow ....
Sally

[guinevere]

Hi Ladies!

Gad, all this buildup about sending 4 from the Wildcard show....the Top 12..."the Twist"..and for what? I just have to wonder if Simon/Paula/Randy are just kicking themselves for bothering to give 4 contestants who didn't make it to the top 32 another shot. Although I was only wowed by 2 in the whole group, I thought overall all of the performers who'd had a chance to get used to the cameras and that stage were remarkably better than the previously cut gals.

Kimberly: Really wanted her to do well; hated her performance tonight. I like her - voice, look, everything - but she actually performs WORSE every time I see her! I'm starting to think her first audition was a fluke.

Clay: WOW! I was rooting for him, but was not prepared for him to blow everyone away like that! He made me like a song that I can't stand! GO CLAY!!! (ps I agree with all of RealtorGal's comments about the work he put in from Week 2 to now)

Nasheka: Dull, off key. I've been mystified as to why they brought her back.

Carmen: Poor girl.

Olivia: Oh no no no... half the time the backing vocals were louder than she was. Too bad, I was hoping she'd do well.

Janine: OUCH. Did she hit a correct note during that song?

Chip: I like Chip. The lip licking needs attention (not the trapped-by-the-TV attention we are forced to give it, but HE needs to spend time to address it), and he looked a little like he was bouncing around to please the judges instead of because he was feeling the groove, but I like his voice a lot, and that is the best MJ performance I have heard in both seasons of AI (of course it's all relative).

Aliceyn: Really liked her performance, although I was hoping for a new song. When Paula pointed out that that was the ONLY song they'd heard from her, I thought that she was sending a message: voters, don't go for this one. Didn't notice her outfit.

Trenyce: I remember liking her voice in her first Top 8 performance, but she wasn't one of the ones I wanted to go through. But I thought she had the 2nd best performance of the night - great song, voice, stage presence.

The best part of tonight's show? NO BACK TALK from the contestants. I don't know if they were just grateful to even be there or they have learned from others' mistakes, but it was nice to see every contestant take whatever was said to them gracefully. And Janine even agreed with the judges!

Based on tonight, who I'd like to see move forward:
Clay & Trenyce (well really just them, but since there will be 4...)
Aliceyn & Chip

But I agree with Sally that it'll be Kimberly instead of Aliceyn.

guinevere

[sk8cynic]

Oy Vey........

They're picking 4 out of that group?!?!

Kimberly - Looks like a Malibu Barbie doll I had as a kid; okay voice, but ITA that she seems to get worse each time she performs. I also can't get past that whole scafuffle with Julia back during the beginning of the season. IMO she comes off as a little bit of a snip. Her song choice was wretched, and she sang flat.

Clay - Easily trounced everyone in this group. I, too, don't like the song he sang, but he kicked a**, and again, ITA about his listening to the criticisms and insight he has received and has worked to improve his overall package. Good for him!!

Nasheka - Dull as dishwater, plus I hate the song she sang.

Carmen - decent voice, but her age really shows. She's still in the beginning/gain experience stage of her singing career.

Olivia - Definitely striking, as Paula said, but sings like she's in a high school pageant. No power to her voice, and sounds like a little girl trying to be adult.

Janine - Pat Benetar must be writhing in agony. She's got a decent enough voice, and she's attractive, to boot, but that was absolutely painful to listen to. Simon said she had about as much passion and emotion as a mewing kitten. I think she came across like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Chip - The raw talent is there, but (again) he needs to stop licking his lips and STAY AWAY FROM WACKO JACKO SONGS!! I think the song choice only made his performance seem very karaoke and didn't showcase his abilities.

Aliceyn - Needs to ditch the Sarah MacLachlan tune and try something new. I wasn't overly impressed with her early in the season. She also needs to get rid of the whiny-female-folk-pop look and add a little glamour and drama to her look.

Trenyce - The girl can sing, that's for sure. I had her pegged to advance from group one instead of Julia, so I was glad she kicked butt last night. That said, WHAT IN GOD'S NAME WAS SHE THINKING when she selected her outfit and hair? She looked like a streetwalker!!! Yikes!!! Someone call Joan Rivers, will ya?!?

My picks for tonight: Clay, Trenyce, Chip (I still have hope for him), and Kimberly (mainly because of how she looks - I think she'll be the Nikki McKibbon of this season, voted on appearance rather than performance).

Damn, where's Frenchie when we need her?!?!

[Sally1214]

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The best part of tonight's show? NO BACK TALK from the contestants. I don't know if they were just grateful to even be there or they have learned from others' mistakes, but it was nice to see every contestant take whatever was said to them gracefully. And Janine even agreed with the judges![/quote]

Couldn't agree more ... I forgot to mention how MUCH I enjoyed NO BACK TALK! I have a feeling that one of the show's executives may have had "a word" with the contestants about that. It was REALLY getting on the viewers' last nerves.

[Jules Asner]

I agree, the contestants dealing with the criticism in a mature way was VERY NICE.

Nashika : boring

Carmen: boring

Olivia: not a great singer.

Janine: she's so pretty I'd like to see her again to see if she can improve.

Chip: improved from last performance, I think this impressed Randy and Paula that he was visibly trying to take their advice.

Aliceyn: -- ITA !!! I like the voice. She needs some major grooming assistance.

and I TOTALLY agree with you:
Kimberly: I just don't like her. End of story.

I don't know what it is about Kimberly but she bugs me.

and Lastly, I am agreeing with you yet again!!
Trenyce: Second best performance of the evening but she's not the American Idol.

Clay blew me away last night, I didn't think he was an "American Idol" candidate (and I still think he would be great in "Rent" on Broadway) but I am really looking forward to seeing him in the final 12, I think he'll go far in the competition.

[heyang]

Clay was definitely the best of the night. Trencye 2nd best, but not impressive. Chip seems like he could be better. Otherwise, none impressed.

[Sally1214]

<strong><em><span style="color:blue;font-size:medium;">Carmen</span></em></strong>???? Oh, Simon, what were you thinking of? Anyone besides me thinking that Simon just wanted to add "unpredictable" to the list of adjectives (not always complimentary) that are used to describe him? I can't think of another reason he would have picked Carmen.

It was cruel to make Clay wait until the very end of the show to find out that the public had chosen him. He <strong>HAD</strong> to be the <strong>ONLY</strong> person involved with (or watching) the show who did <strong>NOT</strong> know it and it looked like the *waiting* was pure TORTURE for him.

The whole show was such a farce tonight. SO MUCH useless chatter between Seacrest and the judges .... PURE time-filling tactics to lead into the next set of commercials.

<strong>IF</strong> they had given the public's choice (Clay) first, then the judges wouldn't have had to play the silly game of *trying* to let on they had actually picked someone else as THEIR <strong>first choice</strong>. Oh well .....

Clay and Trenyce were the only two obvious choices to move on. Carmen??? Nuff said.

Kimberly C. is a pretty girl with an OK voice; but, if she doesn't stop all that hugging, kissing, jumping up and down, posing, squealing, etc., she'll get herself voted off for simply "annoying the viewers to death." Kimberly .... 2 words of advice ... "<strong>calm down</strong>."

[KwanFan1212]

I am SOOOOOO glad Clay made it through. He was the only one I was rooting for out of this group! But nan, waiting to find out if he made it through was agony for me even though I KNEW if the judges didn't pick him, he had to have been the voters choice. But I think one of the judges would have picked him anyway had he NOT been the voters choice. He has just gotten better and better. I just love him. And whoever said he would be great in RENT just made my day, he would be phenomenal in that musical (my fave one too). But let's see how far he goes in AI for now. :D I think he has made a LOT of fans all ready just from reading the boards and seeing how many people have been talking about him. Go Clay!! I think Clay and Joshua are my two faves going into the top twelve now. :D

BTW-Have to second the 'Simon, what were you thinking???' statement made earlier. That was quite shocking!

Heather <><

[guinevere]

Anyone notice a similarity with last season's wild card show, in terms of Simon's choice?

I know that last time the judgges had only 1 singer to put through, and they had to agree, but really, the only way that RJ went to the Top 10 was because Simon backtracked on his previous tirade. It's true that RJ sang well at the Wild Card show, but he wasn't the best, and I think the main reason he was picked was BECAUSE no one expected it.

In this case, Simon chose someone who not only got panned by him (although much less harshly), but who actually sang horribly! I think he likes having someone to throw in the deep end of the pool: sink or swim. I also agree with Sally that Simon likes to "keep us guessing". Sheesh.

I actually feel sorry for Carmen, because she's really out of her league.

guinevere

[rgirl181]

Tuesday night I closed my eyes as everyone sang and I liked Carmen. She doesn't have a strong voice and it does come out sounding country, but with eyes closed, my test was, "Do I want to hear this person sing more?" My answer for Carmen was "Yes." It was also a big yes for Clay, yes for Trenyce, and yes for Aliceyn, although I realized she made a big mistake in singing "Angel" everytime she was in front of the judges. Although I was surprised at first that Simon picked Carmen, given what he said about the poor acoustics of listening live and how he had always liked her voice throughout the competition, I can understand it. Her youth definitely shows, but she could be an improver. I thought Simon was going to pick Aliceyn, who I thought had a better voice than Carmen (by quite a lot), but she just didn't seem to have herself together. I can see Aliceyn coming back next year and doing extremely well. Anyway, having said all that, unless Carmen improves a lot, I think she will be one of the first to get voted off.

The one I thought "What are you thinking?" was Kimberly. I haven't heard her sing an entire song on key yet. If Randy thought she was great, then the acoustics must suck. I don't like her personality either, but putting that aside, I'd be fine with her if she could just hit the notes--and I don't mean the tough ones, I mean the basic easy ones.

I do agree that the show was a mess. I'm also getting really sick of Paula and Randy's "Big bad Simon" routine. They should thank him for being there and giving the contestants feedback they can (or should) really use.

If Clay keeps taking the feedback to heart and making improvements, he could really take off. I was really impressed by him. Another thing the show has made me do is listen to the singing on commercials. It makes you realize how really good you have to be to even do 15 seconds of a song for a car commercial. Lots of different sounds and styles, but they all know how to put passion into the voice--and you never need to see their faces to know it. Like Kelly Clarkson last year, the winner will probably be whomever can take themselves to the next level during the competition.
Rgirl

[guinevere]

Rgirl - well, shoot, if I had the episodes on tape, I would try listening without watching, just to see what happens. I admit that part of my dislike of Carmen's singin comes from the performance mannerisms she has.

-I wanted Simon to pick Aliceyn too, but singing angel again did her in. I was actually afraid during Simon's speech that he had picked Nasheka!! EEK!

I knew Kimberly would get in the Top 12, even though I have been largely disappointed in her performances, but her song tonight, after she'd been picked, was the best I've heard her sing so far. I'm hoping that she'll take off from here. I know she bugs a lot of people, but her personality doesn't bother me at all.

I, too, am tired of the Big Bad Simon routine. hey, can anyone tell me what he said to/about the producers? I came home 7 minutes late and never heard what the big frickin' deal was...

guinevere

[Jules Asner]

I was very surprised that Simon picked Carmen. I think her voice is OK and its very "Pop" but I don't think she has much stage presence and is a bit boring.. I was hoping he would choose either Alicyn Cooney or Janine (from Staten Island). Owell. I am excited for Clay, I think he will make it to the top 5 at least (or win the whole thing). He was great.

[mike79]

There's always the possibility that Simon picked Carmen as a slap in the face to the producers. He was complaining about them early in the show. Maybe they were adament that one of the girls had to move on from the ones who didn't make the top 32, so Simon chose one that he had really ripped into. Or maybe he was forced to pick Carmen, and that's why he was mad.

I didn't think Carmen was so bad. I think she'll sound much better if she sings slower songs that aren't crap like the song from the other night.

[Sally1214]

guinevere, about what Simon said to the producers.....

Ryan Seacrest, Randy and Paula were giving Simon a hard time about being in a "bad mood" on Tuesday night and asking him <strong>WHY</strong>? So, Simon decided to tell them <strong>WHY</strong>, more or less. Apparently, he's been having some problems (in his own mind, at least) with two of the producers of the show. He said something to the effect of "I hope this doesn't get cut ... but I think (did he actually name them here, I can't remember?) ... those 2 producers are both a pain in the [color=red]*[/color][color=red]*[/color][color=red]*[/color]!"

Seacrest seemed quite surprised at what Simon had just said because, as he exclaimed, "these are Simon's bosses!"

Well, I guess Simon is feeling <span style="color:blue;">QUITE SECURE</span> in his job .. because he certainly was <strong>NOT</strong> afraid to speak his mind. But, then, <strong>IS HE EVER</strong>???!!