American Idol Feb. 17

[mike79]

There are no words for how bad tonight was.

Best to worst:

1. Lisa
2. Camile
3. Marisa
4. Matt
5. Bri
6. Kara


BIG GAP


7/8. Jesus/Noel (If this is the second coming we're all screwed)

My Guess: Lisa and Camile make it through with Matt rounding out the top 3.

There must be a bunch of people from Group 1 who are fuming right now that they didn't get placed in this group. Scooter Girl didn't make it to the top 32 but those brothers did? She would have won this group hands down, as would Jennifer from last week. Randy was right, they made mistakes in who they put through.

 

[RealtorGal]

Mike, I owe you an apology. When I read your post, I thought, "Oh, come on, they can't all have been THAT bad!" But, you were absolutely right--this group as a whole was ABYSMAL to the nth degree!

The judges have no one to blame but themselves for this travesty. Anyone could see that the twins were wretched from the get go. I couldn't understand how they made it through when a real gem like Scooter Girl (yes, I'm singing her praises yet AGAIN!) was let go. Also, they let that older looking fellow go and let a talentless waif like Kara through. Well, DUH!

Lisa was the most put-together and she has talent. I don't know how much she would develop over the weeks. My gut tells me what we are seeing is about all we would get, but I wouldn't mind being proved wrong in this respect.

Camille is a whole different story. This girl has the natural talent to be a star. The only thing she is missing is the experience. She would soak up the weekly constructive criticism like a sponge and grow and grow and grow, just like Clay did last year.

Last week my Twinnie asked me what I disliked about Diana, and I responded that her performance was soulless. Yes, she has the performance experience that Camille lacks, but that doesn't mean she has star quality. Maybe it's all the years I taught singing, but I know true potential when I see it--and I see it in Camille. She sings from the heart AND she has great natural vocal talent. I really hope she makes it to the next round. If she doesn't, I bet she makes it through via Wild Card.

 

[guinevere]

Ugh, tonight's show was just sad. Those who sang in tune chose bad songs (with one exception), and those who chose songs that should have worked sang terribly.

Matt - I was in the kitchen cooking and heard but didn't see his performance. I really liked his performance - it was a switch in style, but I thought the show was off to a good start - and the judges strongly disagreed!! I could only think that Matt had terrible stage presence, because I liked the song and the performance (the only time that happened all episode)

Briana - oh, Bree, you're the only person in all 3 seasons that I wanted to succeed no matter what you do. We've seen you have a good voice, but that was a terrible, terrible song choice for this show!! It's a difficult arrangement, and the song is just too passive, there's no spark, nothing that says "notice me!". That being said, she sang in tune and the judges were super harsh. I felt bad, she was fighting back tears as the judges gave their comments.

Noel - YIKES

Kara - I don't remember her at all from the audition rounds. The judges compared her to Julia Dematto, that's gotta hurt. I think they meant Kara's fashion sense, because it's appalling. I liked her voice ok, but again, the song choice was underwhelming, and Kara's movements on stage were annoying. But she really lost me when she said that people should vote for her because she has a sinus infection and would be better next time.

Lisa - the standout performance of the night. Not that that was difficult, but she would have held her own in any group, I think. Didn't love the song, but she sang/performed it very well, showed her range, and was the only person after Matt whose nerves didn't seem to be rattled. Definitely deserves to get into the top 12, sad that the judges couldn't even give her props without raining on her parade a little.

Jesus - OUCH

Camille - she sure likes the 'off-the-shoulder' shirt look. I also missed her hip hop style. She does this aspirated squeaky thing with her voice that many singers like Mariah Carey favor that I absolutely hate - but she's got a cute personality. I agree with the judges that she's got potential, but I think the same is true with some others. Her performance tonight was nervous - she looked and sounded scared to death. If she doesn't get through I guarantee that the judges will bring her back for the Wild Card show

Marisa Joy - I think she was in tune, but I had big problems with the way she shaped the sound of the words with her mouth. The whole arrangement was awkward, her stance was distracting, and before the judges said it was a bar performance, I was thinking "Karaoke!"

Based on the performances we saw (not potential based on what we've seen before), I think Lisa and Matt are the top 2. I think that Lisa and Camille will go through, though, based on the judges' clear preference. I have to admit to something, though: the previous 2 seasons I've always voted based on performance, but I spent an hour voting for Bree (some for Matt too). Shameless pushing for my favorite!!

guinevere

 

[RealtorGal]

Marisa Joy - I think she was in tune, but I had big problems with the way she shaped the sound of the words with her mouth. The whole arrangement was awkward, her stance was distracting, and before the judges said it was a bar performance, I was thinking "Karaoke!"guinevere

[color=dark red]Oh, that stance was horrible. Didn't the judges notice that during the audition round? Why didn't they say something then? It looked like she had to go to the bathroom. RG Jr. said she looked constipated.[/color]

 

[guinevere]

Hey RealtorGal, do you know what I meant about the way Marisa's mouth affected the way the words came out? Is there some sort of technical terms for that? It certainly seemed like a deliberate choice on her part. A bad choice!

guinevere

 

[RealtorGal]

Yeah, the technical term is called INCREDIBLY BAD DICTION! I totally agree with you on that! She was doing strange things with her mouth.

 

[guinevere]

Yeah, the technical term is called INCREDIBLY BAD DICTION!

Thanks RG! It's so helpful having someone with technical knowledge on the board!!

And one final snark on poor Marisa Joy: I hate when contestants on AI do the old "Come on y'all!" gambit. It occasionally works in the final episodes, when the audiences are huge and the final 4 or so have developed into good performers who can read the crowd; at this stage it seems like an empty trick, a desperate attempt to connect with an audience that desn't know them yet. Last season the "Come on y'all!"s started early and almost everyone in the top 12 did it. BLECH.

guinevere

 

[Rgirl]

I had to miss last night and it sounds like I picked a good one to piss in terms of ear pain. If Randy said they messed up in who they put through, it must have been full flush septic tank bad. Reminds me of those stupid luck of the draw/seeding arrangements for Q rounds at Worlds. From what you all are saying--excellent descriptions, BTW--if I were in the first group and didn't make it through, I'd organize a picket line of AI--except of course they fly everybody home ASAP so things like that can't happen.

OTOH, it's a tough but true lesson in the unfairness of the biz. A very tough lesson. It sounds like Simon needed a Simon to kick his butt for not organizing this better. I'll get a taste tomorrow when they show clips. Gee. I can't wait

Thanks for the great info, guys.
Rgirl

 

[JonnyCoop]

Well, I think last night was pretty much overall the musical equivelant of a splatfest.....

My rankings:

1. Lisa. "Sweet Thing" is one of my favorite Chaka Khan songs, and I like that she actually DIDN'T destroy it. I didn't really like the arrangement, but I give her points for trying to make it her own. This is a song that can lend itself easily to histrionics in the wrong hands, and she avoided that. Pretty good overall.
2. Matt. He wasn't bad, but he's capable of so much better.
3. Briana. A little uneven, and I don't think it was a good song choice for her, but here and there I could certainly see flashes of a potentially great talent.
4. Marisa. The voice isn't bad, but the MANNERISMS -- both vocal and physical -- are REALLY ANNOYING. What was with that crouch? What catalogue was she posing for? It looked rather hard on the knees...
5. Kara. Dull. And bad song selection. If you're going to sing an Anastacia song, IMO you better have a big voice like Anastacia or don't even bother.
6. Noel. Nasally. Off key and singing out of his nose, which is a pet vocal peeve of mine.
7. Jesus. Actually, in some ways he was a lot better than his brother, but any of his good qualities were cancelled out by those really hideous plastic-cracking high notes.
8. Camile. Did Simon honestly say that she was the best of the night? (I missed his comments due to a car crash outside my kitchen window). I thought she was JUST PLAIN AWFUL.

 

[Pati]

I had to miss last night and it sounds like I picked a good one to piss in terms of ear pain.

Gonna PIP with that one RGirl!

I'm lousy with names so here are my picks: I liked the redhead, and the football dude. The brothers were horrid, and I do wonder why scooter girl didn't make it and they did. I think the Hawaiin girl could have done so much better than she did.

Anyone else confused on what the panel wants? They whine about "too safe" songs and don't appreciate the songs that the singers try that wouldn't be their type of song? I can't figure out how to ask that. I keep wiping out what I write and trying again.

One thing my hubby and I agree on after the last 2 shows...what the heck do we know about voice quality For the most part, the ones we liked , the panel hated and vice versa. Oh well, guess that's why I'm just a housewife, and not a music exec.

 

[Seonaid920]

the only singer I really enjoyed was Camile - I think with proper training she could be a pop star. She has a unique sounding voice and is very pretty. The red head girl has a good voice but I'll have to quote Simon Cowell and say "so what" she was boring. The one at the end was the third best but she was awful in that crouch and her hair was weird. She was kind of annoying. The rest were just plain awful!!! How did they make it so far?

 

[show 42]

....Seonaid........I agree with you, I really liked Camille, her whole look, not just her voice.....I think she's got potential. Anyway, she's the only one I voted for and surprisingly enough, I had no trouble getting through (I wonder if this is a bad omen)....

I didn't see the beginning stages of AI last year or the year before, but I don't like the way these programs are staged. Singing with the very small audience surrounding....but I guess they have to until the final group is gathered and there's a larger voting audience.............42

 

[guinevere]

I also think that the musical arrangements are tinny and do not help the performers. I know it's a live band (I think they introduced them to us last night because there was nothing else to talk about!!), but several times I thought, wow, this backing music sounds really rinky-dink. Then again, if the voices had been more up to par, I probably wouldn't have noticed....

guinevere

 

[CB1AB2]

Boy was last night bad or what !! I don't know who to feel more sorry for=the singers=the parents=or the millions of people who watched and cringed just about every time one of them opened their mouth to sing.
I was totally surprised with the twins=I thought they were really good at the auditions.

top 3 Lisa
Matt
Marisa

cb

 

[Tonichelle]

Yeah, the technical term is called INCREDIBLY BAD DICTION! I totally agree with you on that! She was doing strange things with her mouth.

OMG... I can't even remember the number of times I heard this in the last 4-5 years in drama... crazy

 

[jenny12]

Wow that show was something! I don't remember any AI
group being this bad. I'd be pretty PO'ed if I was in group one-
esp Jennifer, she would be hailed as the next Maria Callas if she
was in this group. I'd only put Camille through- not becase she's a wow singer or anything but because she's so friggin' pretty.

 

[RealtorGal]

OMG... I can't even remember the number of times I heard this in the last 4-5 years in drama... crazy

Well, it really does make a difference, in singing as well as acting. Not only will your audience understand you better if you exaggerate your consonants, your voice and, therefore, your entire performance, will actually be energized. When YOU think that you are going overboard in your pronounciation, that means that you are doing it JUST RIGHT! The voice is energized by the CONSONANTS.

Okay, coming down from soapbox...

 

[Tonichelle]

Well, it really does make a difference, in singing as well as acting. Not only will your audience understand you better if you exaggerate your consonants, your voice and, therefore, your entire performance, will actually be energized. When YOU think that you are going overboard in your pronounciation, that means that you are doing it JUST RIGHT! The voice is energized by the CONSONANTS.

Okay, coming down from soapbox...

oh I know that... it's just freaky that I can't get away from it even with AI commentary on a figure skating board!

 

[mike79]

Lisa was robbed.

Matt=Josh v.2.0.

I don't care what anyone says, Matt was nowhere near Lisa last night. But I guess talking about bashing Simon's head and being in the Rose Bowl is what gets people into the finals, not good singing.

At least next week looks promising. I'm hoping for Amy.

 

[Lotta]

I agree with mike79. LISA was robbed. But I'm so happy Camile got through.