American Idol - Group 3 | Golden Skate

American Idol - Group 3

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RealtorGal

Guest
American Idol - Group 3

<span style="color:navy;font-family:times new roman;font-size:small;">My daughter and I watched tonight, and just in case anyone wants to hear my "music professor" thoughts, here we go:

First of all, I really admire and like Simon. As my daughter says, "He's the only one really saying the truth". (My daughter is 8 BTW). As I said before, I did not see the show last season (I taught singing on Tuesday evenings!) It's eerie that I've spent the past few years telling very talented students the very same things as Simon. Some have taken it well, others think they're so talented that they have ignored me (rare) and honestly, some were just not mature enough emotionally to deal with these concepts.

Simon is looking to be wowed, and no one really did that this evening. Paula has trouble getting to this level because she herself was unable to achieve it as a singer. (When she tells someone they sang flat, I just find that hysterical, coming from her, of all people.) These kids just don't understand that when he says, "You're capable of better," that's a COMPLIMENT. Lou and Equoia were perfect examples of ignoring the truth and getting offended. There's more to being a performer than having a great set of pipes. As I've said before, it's all about COMMUNICATION. Are you communicating the feeling of the WORDS of the song? Do you even know what you're singing about? Are you so concerned with vocal gymnastics that you forget the HEART of the song?

KIMBERLY: Looks the part, just not projecting warmth, heart, maturity or anything special.

JASON: My favorite of the evening VOCALLY. Really liked the voice. Hasn't developed his own style but the potential is there.

VANESSA: Looks like a freak but I think she has a good heart and is trying to allow the vulnerability out that is ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY IN A TOP PERFORMER.

RICKY: Great voice but doesn't know what the heck he's singing about.

SAMANTHA: If you're going to sing a song made famous by Aretha, you better be able to rock the house. (She said, "It's hard to do Aretha." If she felt that way, she had no business doing that song. Anyhow, we're not looking for another Aretha; we're looking for HER interpretation of that song. She sang, "My love is real," which is supposed to be plaintive but wasn't.)

LOU: Too hooked on his own self; no one learns or grows with that attitude. (He told Simon that he was WRONG, which really will not endear him to anyone.) He sang, "How am I supposed to live without you?" which is supposed to tear at your heart--HOWEVER, that will ONLY occur if the SINGER makes us believe that his/her heart is being torn apart. Lou did not come anywhere close to that. That final "woo" had absolutely no meaning. "Ooo" and "Ah" always have to have meaning in the singer's mind ("I'm upset; I'm hurting; I'm so ecststic--whatever--just SOMETHING)--or they add nothing to the song.

EQUOIA: Open your eyes, honey. People close their eyes thinking they're being "deep". WRONG. When a singer closes his/her eyes, he/she cuts the connection to the audience, shutting us out. BIG MISTAKE. That is a true contralto voice (rare) and I think she has potential. Telling Simon that he's wrong about Group #3 was stupid. It shows a lack of willingness to see the truth or admit that there might be truth in his words.

GEORGE: That hands on the stomach and odd leg gyrations bugged me. That's not the time to check your breathing! Already I've forgotten his performance.

My daughter said to me, "If something is fun, it's easy." How true! These singers were TRYING just to darned hard. If they could find a way to just SING and not try to impress everyone, they'd be so much better. Lots of potential is there--we'll see if anyone can find that HEART AND SOUL when they move on.

My choices: JASON & VANESSA

However, I don't think America will vote for Jason; they will prefer George.</span>
 
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rgirl181

Guest
Re: American Idol - Group 3

RG#1,
Boy, do I ever totally agree. These kids are just blowing it week in and week out by doing all pyrotechnics and no soul. I did watch the show last year and I still get goosebumps when I think about Kelly Clarkson singing "Natural Woman." The other girl last year with phenomenal pipes, Taisha or something--she's going to be on "Boston Public"--was going great guns until she tried to do "Running Hot, Running Cold" (made famous by the glorious Patti LaBelle) and looked so phony trying to get the audience all involved when it just wasn't happening. I had her pegged as either the winner or runner-up until she did that and sure enough, she was voted off. Humanity is what people respond to and nobody is giving it. You're absolutely right about these kids missing the boat with Simon. Last year he was Evil Simon, but I have a feeling this year that the audience is agreeing with him and getting sick of Randi's equivocations and Paula's "good, good, good!" (I think she's just happy that they're all as mediocre as she was, at least as a singer.)

I thought Kimberly was at least being herself, but the problem is there's not much there--at least not yet.

Vanessa seemed nervous and trying too hard, but from her audition I think she's capable of Midler-like heart.

Jason was a "cold fish on a slab," but I agree that vocally he was the strongest. The others couldn't even stay on pitch.

Equoia is just throwing it away with her attitude. Great to be confident but know when to shut up and listen. Simon is such a gift to these people and 99% of them just don't get it.

I'd say Vanessa definitely but I'm leaning toward Equoia rather than Jason because she COULD be great if she would listen to somebody like Simon.
Rgirl
 
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mathman444

Guest
Re: American Idol - Group 3

I have to jump in here and defend my forever sweetie-pie Paula Abdul. OK, she couldn't sing. But she looked like a million dollars (still does), and she could dance up a storm. In pop music you can always cover up a no-sing singer with a loud band and the proper mix.

Plus, on American idol she's my favorite kind of judge. Everybody was great, everybody wins a prize. That's how figure skating should be (except Michelle's prize should automatically be bigger than everyone else's). Hey, wait a minute -- that's SOI.

Yeah, this third group was pretty blah. I think Frenchie was supposed to be in this group. I'm looking for Clay to make a big comeback as the wild card.

RealtorGal, I'm curious. If a student who has absolutely no talent comes to you, do you just tell him or her, go away, you're wasting my time and your money? Or do you say, well, if you will try your pitiful best I can teach you a little bit of something that will at least increase your understanding of music and make it more fun to sing in the shower? (That's pretty much what I tell my mathematics students.)

Mathman
 
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CB1AB2

Guest
Re: American Idol - Group 3

no one in this group impressed me at all

cb
 
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guinevere

Guest
Re: A. Idol group 3

Hi RealtorGal -

Thanks for your expert opinions! I agree about Simon's comments - I think he does tend to use the bluntest words possible in his comments to perpetuate his role as "the mean one", but he's usually right, and more often than not, the contestant (or the other judges) takes something as an insult that just ISN'T.

As for Group 3, well, as everyone has noted, they were just ok.

-I thought Vanessa stood out - I like her voice, and I sense that she feels something from the song other than having memorized the words.

-I liked Rickey a lot from previous auditions and had high hopes for him, but thought his performance was terrible! I was shocked he had the most votes, but since I liked him before I'm ok with him getting through

-Equoia: although many people ravge about her voice, she leaves me cold. The facial expressions are weird, and I hated the styling she added to her song.

-Jordan: I agree that he had a great voice! he sang a dull song, and does have a boy band look, which may have killed it for him, but I enjoyed his singing a lot.

-Lou: I wanted to like him, but he looked like he was singing karaoke - seriously, did anyone else notice his eyes flicking left to right as though he was reading a teleprompter through the whole song?!?

-George: I admit I didn't notice his gyrations, but I loved his voice. I really wanted him to go on |I , but I knew he probably wouldn't. Sigh

ps - the nailbiter between Kimberly and Equoia for the 3rd spot - did anyone seriously think Kinberly would get that spot over Equoia??

guinevere
 
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