American Idol 4/24-4/25 -- and beyond??

[Ravyn Rant]

I look forward to my hour or two every week of mindless fun.......American Idol with it's singing, good or bad.........an escape from the real world, so to speak. Last night, for me, was a telethon, a money raiser..............not much of an escape. I donate to charities all the time. I didn't like the incorporating the two into one extraveganza............any one else feel the same? 42

Yes! I'm right there with you. And if they'd actually eliminated Jordin last night, she could have closed the telethon with "You'll Never Walk Alone". Then Jerry Lewis could have sued...but I digress.
Am I the only one who is convinced that Jordin was nowhere near the bottom two this week and this was an attempt by the show to pull in more votes for her? Randy's completely over-the-top praises on Tuesday were pretty excessive for a performance that started so weakly. "Best ever"? Not hardly. I think Jordin's adorable, but the pimping is becoming obvious and obnoxious.
xoxo
Rave

 

[Dee4707]

I really, really, really liked the show for the entertainment side of it. The two parts that thrilled me to no end ........... of course Josh Groban and Celine & Elvis singing a duet. When I first saw it, I thought.....an Elvis impersonator and then realized it was the real Elvis.......wow!! It was just great.

Toni, I know where you're coming from and I think we need to look in our own back yards. I know when the Katria devastation hit and people were donating right and left, I thought what about the people who are without homes and are starving in Omaha. I sent a nice big check to one of our food banks here in Omaha.

Dee

 

[Tonichelle]

the Elvis thing really tripped me out lol - I was trying to figure out if Celine was actually there on the show of if it was just for the TV version...

 

[JonnyCoop]

I'm not being heartless, I like what they did, but I just felt it was very limited and shouldn't have been. If you're going to help the kids of America, help them all. Bring attention to the problems THIS country faces... we spend a whole lot of time looking outward (which I'm not saying we shouldn't) but we rarely look inward... and look at all the hurt that this nation has...

Toni, ITA. There's a saying that goes "You can't take care of other people until you take care of yourself first" -- or, if you prefer, "God helps those who help themselves" [or however exactly that one go]. These are absolutely true sayings, and in the last couple of decades this country would do well to take it to heart and apply it to fixing things that are wrong HERE.

 

[Tonichelle]

it's refreshing to see someone agree about this

we got into a majorly heated discussion in a class last semester and I was the only one who gave a crap about American kids... it was so frustrating.

my prof said I had a skewed view because I have a foster brother (which really pissed me off as I made it very clear Duane is no longer in foster care and that he is my adopted brother - which yes that IS important)

the ignorance/apathy that this country has astounds me...

 

[Dee4707]

the ignorance/apathy that this country has astounds me...

Is it ignorance/apathy or misguided empathy?? I found it interesting when Simon went to a food bank in his neighborhood and realized then that there were people who didn't have food. Also, the video shown, would they have impacted so many if the kids were all cleaned up and had nice clothes on? or......did it impact many because they were dirty, crying and had flies buzzing around their sweet little heads. With all due respect to those shown in the video, they knew how to market this product very well.

Dee

 

[Piel]

Here is my rant on helping children in this country. All of the people who are so desperate to adopt but only want healthy, white newborns. My feeling is if you REALLY want to be a parent why does it matter what color, age, or condition the child is in? Also, why can't they let people who are older adopt. I have just found that the cut off age is 50. There are lots of single people, older people, disabled people, and gays that would make excellent parents yet they are not allowed to adopt or at the least they make it as difficult as possible. Sorry for getting so far OT. Go Jordin!!!

 

[NJSk8Fan]

First off, I'll say I tend to agree with Toni and her thoughts that sometimes it seems everyone wants to help people and causes outside our USA. Not that that is wrong....but what about "charity begins at home"? I'm not very good at getting into debates about these things, I don't get my point across/express myself very well, but maybe some of you will pick up on what I mean here.

We taped the "competition" night and just watched it today. I thought everyone did well. I'm one of the minority that loves Phil. But I have a feeling he may be going home this next coming week since two will go home. I don't think she is horrible, but I hope Lakisha is eliminated.

The African choir singing with Josh Groban was absolutely beautiful. I'll admit I had my back to the computer when my DH switched channels from the ball game during a commercial and the Celine/Elvis "duo" was on. He kept saying "what a great Elvis impersonator. I took a glance and thought "something doesn't look right for it to be a real person there with Celine"...and then when they thanked the Graceland Foundation(I think that is what they said), I knew it HAD to be a trick camera kind of thing with the REAL Elvis. It was pretty cool what bit of it I saw.

 

[Piel]

It was Elvis from the closing of the 68 Comeback Special.

 

[Tonichelle]

my parents were both over 50 when they adopted Duane...

I think it depends on the state when it comes to these rules... which I guess in a way it should be.

I do think Hollywood has an awful lot to do with why so many look outside... it seems to be the 'in thing' this week to get a kid from outside the US.

What really gets me is people say kids in the US even if they are foster or orphaned still 'have it better' and have 'more opportunity' to succeed, and I honestly don't see that. Unless they get lucky and get out of the system they are no better off than someone in Timbukto.

I don't care what part of the world you come from, you deserve a family... a LOVING family.

And just because you have a sad situation for a country that does not make you more worthy of attention or help than a kid who lives in an affluent country...

bllllaaaaaaahhhhhhh I am totally taking us in the wrong direction, but it's just something that drives me up the wall. There are so so sososososososo many kids in teh US that could - yeah, we have a lot of hoops to jump through, but so do a lot of other countries...

 

[Ladskater]

I only suffered through the sappy "Idol Gives Back" to hear Celene Dionne and Josh Groban. They were the highlights of the night. I kind of got a kick out of how the show tried to soften up Simon's image and show a humane side to him. Some how he just did not look comfortable with this new image. Simon looked entirely out of place in that little grass hut in Africa comforting the little boy with Ryan Seacrest and also at the foodbank. Sorry, he just did not look sincere to me. It was all for the camera.

As far as this season's outcome - it could only be Melissa or Jordin. I kind of figured it out no one would be eliminated on a charity program.

I agree with the "charity begins at home" idea. Canadians do that as well - We are great at helping other countries when there is a disaster - including our US neighbours to the south, but our streets are loaded with homeless people who need our help. Often our foodbanks go begging for donations after a huge disaster happens somewhere else on the globe - like the SumatranTsunami in 2004. Canada opened it's wallets generously to the cause meanwhile those people who are down and out in Canada suffered.

Charity really should begin at home....

 

[Piel]

The rate of HIV in Africa is so great and the poverty so severe that if other countries did not help out the results would be more tragic than they already are. I live in WV part of Appalachia and believe me it is nothing like the poverty in Africa. The cases of extreme poverty in this country are the exception in Africa it is the rule. If rich nations only offered assistance to poor countries after their own were taken care of lots of countries would never receive aid.

AI did something different by raising money for this country and Africa at the same event. Yet, you guys are still complaining. I don't think any of you really know what Simon was really feeling and IMO you are being mean spirited to doubt his sincerity. I also think that to complain about the entertainment value when that was the least important part of the program is being very shallow. I am sure that most of you have wasted more than a couple of hours on much less important things before.

 

[Tonichelle]

I am not complaining about AI - I am complaining about celebrities/the US in general... there are a lot of causes that should be looked at in our country. To 'ignore' them because they are 'American causes' annoys the heck out of me.

I am not saying Africa is not important - it is - and yes AI did a great job by bringing it home... I just want to know why we don't see more.

As for Simon - I found him very sincere, I don't think he could have faked his mini-tantrum about the living conditions. He should have felt awkward in that hut - I would have, and I'm not big bucks at all.

 

[Piel]

Toni I don't think they are any less important because they are American. I think (to use an AI analogy) it is more like when someone gets voted off because people think they are safe and give their votes to someone who they think is more in danger of being voted off. There is the tendancy to think that charities here are better funded than those in third world countries. How poor is poor? At one school the poor kids are the ones that can't afford to go to Disney World for Christmas at another it is the kids that don't eat Christmas dinner without a food basket from some charity. So is the school that raises money to send their poor child to DW with the rest of his class wrong for not using that money to buy food baskets for the really poor kids at another school? Just being DA here.

 

[Tonichelle]

no, they're not... but it works both ways...
I'm not saying one is more deserving, I'm saying that some don't get it at all, and I find it more than a little annoying...

So many celebs (and other 'charitable caring people') say that kids that are in foster care/poor/whatever in the US are 'so much better off' and 'don't need the help' that kids around the world do... but really if you look at it not by basing everything against the US - they're all in basically teh same situation. The 3rd world countries have less than the US - true - but in their situation there are people who are at the top of the ladder and the bottom, just like here... and they do get by. They don't have it like we have it - but really what do we have that is so much *better*?

I just want someone with an already known and accepted 'voice' to advocate for the horrible conditions our nation is when it comes to childrens' services. Be upset about the world, go for it, but don't forget kids that don't have it.

When Pres. Bush tried to get people to look at the issue in 04 it got little notice from the press, much less congress... but man if Hollywood starts calling then whatever issue they push is first on the agenda...

it's just so frustrating! I'm sick of everyone jumping to George Clooney's call... which really that's the only reason Darfur is even on the radar... he could have easily chosen somewhere else and it would then be considered the most needy.

 

[Dee4707]

Very good show tonight except for a couple of the idols. Bad night for them, and they are a couple of favorites!!

Dee

 

[Tonichelle]

Chris and Jordin were the weakest for me

Lakisha and Phil were in the middle

Blake and Melinda (big surprise, right? lol ) were my top two!

So glad the beat box was back this week and was quite good!

 

[SeaniBu]

Blake was awesome IMO. Simon's comment summed it up perfectly. I though Melinda and he were the best, I mean Bon Jovi , that was tuff, and those two stood out with such great interpretive ways of singing them.

 

[Dee4707]

Lakisha in my opinion was excellent!!! Melinda as always was perfect. I was totally surprised with Phil and Chris, I thought they did wonderful. Jordin had a bad night but she knew it. Blake, ummmmmmmmmmm, who can't do what he does and it doesn't even take someone who can sing.

Dee

 

[Tonichelle]

I can't beat box