American Idol May 11/12

[sarahmistral]

a-MEN!!!

Fantasia has more talent in her baby toe than Diana and Jasmine have combined.

THANK YOU, IDOL CONNOISSEUR!!!!!!!!!

Sarah

 

[lavender]

Fantasia has more talent in her baby toe than Diana and Jasmine have combined.

I agree but oh well.

 

[JonnyCoop]

OK, so like Tuesday night, like, me and Brianna and Ashley and Emily and Brittany D. and Brittany Q. and Brittany R. like got on our cell phones like the minute the voting opened up and like spent the next three hours voting for Jasmine cuz she's like so pretty and like I am so sure, the judges were like so mean they made her cry!! My mom voted for LaToya, but I AM SO SURE she's like 25 or something she's like old and like sooooo adult comtemporary, like what is this supposed to be anyway, like Rest Home Idol??? But she didn't really have the time to vote for her all that much cuz like she had a bunch of stuff to do and had to be at work in the morning so like she couldn't spend three hours on the phone like WE could. And like my father is like totally into Fantasia, I mean, euw, she's like kinda scary and squeaky and scratchy and raspy and stuff and like c'mon she's got a KID so it's like having like someone's mother for American Idol!! Jasmine or Diana should like totally win cuz like we can relate to them, some of those other people were just like way too old .

Erika

 

[JonnyCoop]

Now that I've made my statement... On a more serious note --

The bottom line is, fortunately, as skewed/screwed (take your pick) as some of the results have been this season, it really doesn't matter. I think we'll be seeing LaToya London in record stores within the next year, and same with Fantasia even if she doesn't win, either. Clay Aiken, Kimberly Locke, and Josh Gracin have pretty much proved that you don't have to win to get recorded; the important thing is that some talented singers actually get DISCOVERED, whether they win the stupid thing or not.

Unfortunately, from the point of view of those of us who watch the show, the Final 3 with Jasmine, Diana, and Fantasia is not going to be NEAR the show it would have been with LaToya, Fantasia, and Diana. Poor Jasmine is going to be so outclassed that it's not even going to be funny; it's not going to be good for her and not especially pleasant to watch.

However, this kind of thing could well end up in the long run being the end of American Idol. I wouldn't be surprised if the ratings started to go down, either starting next week or next season because many people are just going to get frustrated with results like last night's and the Jennifer Hudson debacle. If a similar pattern emerges next season, then I don't see there being a fifth one.

I just hope however that things are kept in perspective and we're not going to have death threats floating around Jasmine like there were involving John Stevens. I mean, get a grip, people, these are innocent, perfectly nice young people who have enough to deal with under the circumstances without adding that into the mix.

 

[guinevere]

AI has been so screwy this season, that I wouldn't be surprised to see LaToya and Fantasia in the bottom 2

I should know better than to tempt the AI gods like that.

My interest in this season of AI has just dropped to about nil. Fantasia is a star, and I've suspected she would (rightfully) win from the beginning, but I really wanted LaToya to be in the Top 2 (and possibly win ). But then, based on talent, the final 4 should have also included George and Jennifer.

But apparently, voting is now based on a large portion of the viewers throwing a tantrum against the judges instead of performing ability.

Next week I will be voting for Fantasia, even if she walks onstage and hochs up a loogie. If she's voted out, I won't even be watching the final 2, because neither Diana nor Jasmine deserve to be there.

Between Survivor and AI, this has been a really disappointing season for reality television. It's almost enough to make me stop watching (not THAT!).

guinevere

 

[Rgirl]

OK, so like Tuesday night, like, me and Brianna and Ashley and Emily and Brittany D. and Brittany Q. and Brittany R. like got on our cell phones like the minute the voting opened up and like spent the next three hours voting for Jasmine cuz she's like so pretty and like I am so sure, the judges were like so mean they made her cry!! My mom voted for LaToya, but I AM SO SURE she's like 25 or something she's like old and like sooooo adult comtemporary, like what is this supposed to be anyway, like Rest Home Idol??? But she didn't really have the time to vote for her all that much cuz like she had a bunch of stuff to do and had to be at work in the morning so like she couldn't spend three hours on the phone like WE could. And like my father is like totally into Fantasia, I mean, euw, she's like kinda scary and squeaky and scratchy and raspy and stuff and like c'mon she's got a KID so it's like having like someone's mother for American Idol!! Jasmine or Diana should like totally win cuz like we can relate to them, some of those other people were just like way too old .

Erika

ROFMAO!!! JohnnyCoop and Mike, you like totally rule!

Seriously, NO ONE told ANYBODY who to vote for. All Simon did was say that after Jasmine's horrendous performance--and it was, and her performances had been bad for weeks--was that she was definitely leaving. He was stating his opinion, just like we all do here. Yes, all the judges except Donna Summer who was neutral, gave Jasmine an honest appraisal of what they heard and saw. What should the judges do? Lie? What should the singers do? Cry everytime they get negative feedback so they can get votes? LaToya and Fantasia were criticized for one of their songs each. Too bad LaToya didn't cry. As for Jasmine, Paula said, "I think America will forgive you for that." So if you voted for Jasmine, you let Paula tell you how to vote.

Are people voting based on the performance or based on what the judges say? If the judges say a contestant sang badly, does that mean, "Oooh! How DARE they!? I'm going to vote for her an eleventy-million times just to show the judges they're wrong!" If you're doing something like that, then you ARE letting someone tell you how to vote. If the judges give a contestant a negative review, that's who you vote for. It's inverted, but it's the same thing. Obviously the majority of the people watching AI are not voting based on the performances. They're voting on who the judges don't like. If a figure skater fell on every jump, cried in the K&C, and therefore won the gold medal over skaters who hit every jumps and skated well, people on this board would be up in arms. Why should singing be any different?

I know I'm pissing people off, but seriously, think about it. People keep saying, "Oh, they're all winners. Josh Gracin, Kim Locke and Clay all got recording contracts and they didn't win." True, but Tamyra Gray got booted off way too early and she's never gotten the kind of recording contracts I think she would have had she been in the final two with Kelly Clarkson instead of that mountain of singing talent, Justin Guarini.

I think voting for Jasmine is cruel. It's voting for someone who knows she is not up to the standards of the singer who got voted off. Also, taking your anger out at the judges for being honest about their opinions on LaToya is cruel. This woman has been singing wedding gigs and anything she could find in Oakland because that's where her husband works. I'm not even a fan of LaToya and I think she needs to sing with more emotion, but I know that LaToya is 10 classes above Jasmine in terms of singing talent and potential. Yes, Jasmine has a beautiful voice quality on the odd note she actually hits, and I had great hopes for her at the beginning of the season. But she hit the wall and has been painfully bad for the last few weeks, whereas LaToya, even without the emotions she needed, still had all the makings of a great singer. Now we'll never get to hear if she makes progress on AI in that department. There is a novel that is well-known in literary circles by Stephen Zweig called "Beware of Pity." I recommend it to anyone who voted for Jasmine.

I also think that from now on, the judges are simply not going to say anything about anybody after they sing. As for Paula saing "America got it wrong," she was stating her opinion and her opinion happened to be right. The AI audience is primarily conservative and young. They like mainstream singers who are most like themselves, as JohnnyCoop so hilariously demonstrated. Unfortunately, I think it exactly reflects the xenophobia of our country these days.

I like everyone here and of course you're entitled to your opinons and votes, but I vehemently disagree with those who voted for Jasmine and frankly find it frightening in a mob mentality kind of way. Jasmine isn't going to get any death threats. She's too pretty and sweet. Unfortunately, she's also out of her league.

I do, however, agree with SkatingLady that Diana is the Sarah Hughes of AI. As much as I hate to say it, Diana will probably win.

Personally, I'm not disgusted with the show. They do their job well. I'm disgusted with the audience. I'll keep voting--futile though it may be--but I think the voting has become exactly what Twinnie said, a travesty.
Rgirl

 

[Tonichelle]

I didn't see Tuesday's performances other than Diana's first one and Jasmine's second... didn't see the tears from Jazz as I was at a friend's house and we were goofing around and so we weren't paying attention... and my VCR didn't record AI that night... it's been acting weird the past couple of days... I think it's gotten its days confused *sigh*

anywho!

I actually predicted Latoya and Fantasia in the bottom 2 with Latoya going home after Ryan's show yesterday afternoon... dad basically told me I was crazy... but turns out that I was right, unfortunately.

As far as I'm concerned this year America has gotten it so wrong that it's not even funny... if Jasmine's performances last night were good enough for top 3 then why the heck did John and George ever get voted off? (or for that matter why didn't they let Willy Hung sing... it would have been a pain in the ears, but at least it'd be entertaining)

Jazz tried to sing "It's Rainin' Men" like Kelly did in season one and it was HORRIBLE!


edited to add:

Like mom said last night... LaToya will be fine... look at Tamyra, she's got acting gigs... and her album is coming out soon... K-Lo, Clay, and Josh are all making waves in their respective circles and you haven't heard a lot about Ruben lately(mom was never a big fan of the big guy ) so it could be that while this was a fluke LaToya will be the Clay Aiken/Tamyra Grey of this season yeah she didn't win NOW... she will with her record though

I don't think I'll watch next week... the only real reason I watched last night was Clay was on(wasn't he great???? mmm mmm mmm! )

 

[mike79]

I'm guessing that Fantasia takes the whole thing now. She will have a lot of Latoya fans crossing over to vote for her, not to mention that most Fantasia fans will go nuts voting next week to ensure that she sticks around after almost being eliminated.

Poor Jasmine. She seems like a really nice girl who knows that she's out of her league, much like John Stevens did. Give her a few years and I'm sure she might have a quality singing future ahead of her. The natural tone to her voice is very nice, it's just that she can't hit the proper notes for a whole song. I would, however, much rather listen to Jasmine sing than hear Diana scream at me. Diana reminds me of Kelly Clarkson, except with half of the talent. Kelly actually hit her notes, and could sing in different registers, i.e. low, high, whatever the song required her to do. Diana can usually hit the proper notes when yelling at the top of her lungs. Unfortunately it's that kind of crap that most people consider to be 'good singing' these days. Everyone wants to hear the glorynote at the end.

 

[JonnyCoop]

Rgirl -- Glad you appreciated "Erika's" post -- it was really the only way to come up with what I wanted to say about the situation.

Some miscellaneous observations, since I can't seem to let this go:

One theory: Maybe most of the people who voted for Jasmine did so because if she ended up getting voted off, they would have had her do her "final sing-out" and I don't honestly think that even any of her supporters wanted to have to sit through her singing either one of those songs again....

Speaking of "final sing-outs", I found LaToya's rather interesting. I would have liked to have heard her do "Love You Inside And Out" again, but "Don't Rain on My Parade" was actually even better -- I think it may have been a subtle, classy (just like LaToya herself) way of saying, "Whatever. Bite me."

Re. recording contracts: As Rgirl pointed out, Tamyra and Kimberly Locke could have gotten better contracts had they won or been final 2, but quite honestly I think the rules are going to change a little after this go-round. Let's say Diana wins with Jasmine 2nd eek: ; but the way it's going.....); I think there would be much more enthusiasm for LaToya London CD's and Fantasia Barrino CD's then there'd be for Diana deGarmo and Jasmine Trias CD's, so I think from that perspective LaToya and Fantasia have basically won already. Especially if 19 Productions is involved; I think Simon probably decided to sign Fantasia WEEKS ago regardless of outcome. No confirmation of this, of course, but Simon's not stupid.

 

[show 42]

I don't know for sure, does anyone really, if placement equates CD and concert sales as a sure thing? Rueben won last year and I haven't purchased any of his music, nor do I plan to, but I have all of Clay and Kimberly's CDs. These contestants, without national exposure, probably wouldn't have had any type of a chance to make the "Big Time" without AI so they are ahead of the game for just being in the top twelve. (The judges picked these contestants long ago, so it seems a bit much to turn on them when they no longer like their singing).

If they don't like the way America votes, don't let America vote, simple as that........although I doubt if they'd have a top rated show. They don't like the way some of the contestants sing, pick better singers, don't rag on the voters for choosing their favorites from what is offered.

The last time I checked, most of the voters aren't musically trained ......they like what they like.....same with figure skaters, we like who we like.

I'm done with this thread.............42....Out!!!

 

[Tonichelle]

they're not saying the singer isn't good... but there's a difference between a good singer and one who improves and is great... some singers are already there--the older ones--but the younger ones have grow within the competition in order to survive or Simon rags on them... that's why Simon has said it's ultimately the US's vote, but at the same time America needs to start voting not for "the youngest" or the "prettiest" but the ones theyr're going to follow for the rest of their lives... Clay, K-Lo, Josh, and Kelly have the staying power... personally I don't think any in the top 3 really do. There was a pact made by younger teens online that they weren't going to vote any more "old" people in ("old" being Ruben, even though Clay and Ruben are the same age... whatever) and so they voted strictly for Leah, John, Jazz, and Diana...

While I voted for John, and age did play a factor, I know he was no where near the top of the group... I liked his style, and wanted to see him make it to the point where he'd get noticed and hey if he gets a record deal that's fine... He wasn't the best but he wasn't the worst he was my Josh Gracin of this year George deserves to still be in the group and yet he was "too old" which was Simon's fear... however I will be really surprised if he doesn't get offered some sort of deal... be it on TV or in music... same goes for JPL he should certainly look into doing parodies OR getting into TV somewhere...

 

[Mathman]

I wonder what the outcome would have been throughout the competition if people got to vote for who they wanted out instead of who they wanted to stay in.

MM

 

[JonnyCoop]

Maybe they could try the Survivor approach -- have all the CONTESTANTS put names in a vase at the end of the night and have Ryan take them out to see who gets booted. "Two votes Jennifer, two votes John..." "And the fifth person kicked off American Idol is...."

 

[lavender]

Yeah it's been bad the way it is now. I think it's more fun to vote someone off.

 

[Grgranny]

"Haven't heard about Ruben a lot lately"
He has a gig in Wichita at the big River Festival. I think Clay is singing at the State Fair and is earning a whole lot more for his gig than Ruben is. Not sure how he spells Ruben.

 

[Lotta]

I voted for Jasmine, Camille, and John because I really liked them at first hear. I actually didn't wanna vote on AI because Michael Keown (remember him? The guy who sang for the Pope and "Unchained Melody" to Simon?) was booted off. But seeing Jasmine, Camille, and John there made me more interested. And this is why I voted for these three even though some of you people think they suck @$$.

I'm seeing a lot of anti Jasmine comments here. But you know, I'm gonna be a non conformist and say Jasmine rocks.

If they don't like the way America votes, don't let America vote, simple as that........

I agree! I mean, for one thing, the United States is a free country. It's not totalitarian like some countries out there in which the government practically FORCES you to think what you SHOULD think, do what you SHOULD do, say what you SHOULD say. This is a country of free speech as our First Amendment says so. And one of the ways that we get this freedom is through shows like "American Idol". We vote for who WE like, not what someone else's likes. I mean, c'mon. That sucks if someone tries to manipulate our own basic feelings. And it's not a show where the judges decide WHO gets to go. WE do.

Call me stupid cuz I voted for Camille, Jasmine, and John throughout the show. Call me deaf and crazy cuz I voted for Jasmine. DO IT. I don't give a crap. I'm not taking this freedom for granted.

 

[CB1AB2]

I'M SORRY=BUT VOTING FOR SOMEONE BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T LIKE WHAT THE JUDGE SAID ABOUT HER=THAT IS JUST WRONG=
THIS IS ABOUT SINGING=THE BEST SINGERS=AND ONE OF THE BEST SINGERS WAS LET GO LAST NIGHT BECAUSE OF A LOT OF SYMPATHY VOTES==EVEN CLAY AND DONNA SUMMERS WERE SHOCKED =I JUST SAW THEM ON ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

THEY SHOULD RE-THINK THE VOTING SYSTEM NEXT YEAR-MAYBE DO IT LIKE STAR SEARCH WITH THE JUDGES VOTING TOO.

CB

 

[JonnyCoop]

Simon did say in an interview in Entertainment Weekly (it was in the cover story that they were showing the photo shoot for, the one with Diana in that hideously ugly black thing and LaToya looking like a Space Hooker) that he had gotten some ideas for next season based on stuff he came up with while watching "The Apprentice". Wonder what this means. Hmmm. "I'm sorry, but I'm being serious. Jasmine -- you're fired"

 

[guinevere]

Simon did say in an interview in Entertainment Weekly ...that he had gotten some ideas for next season based on stuff he came up with while watching "The Apprentice".

I bet he was hoping to make Seacrest get "The Donald" hairdo!!


guinevere

 

[Rgirl]

....I'm seeing a lot of anti Jasmine comments here. But you know, I'm gonna be a non conformist and say Jasmine rocks.

....I mean, for one thing, the United States is a free country. It's not totalitarian like some countries out there in which the government practically FORCES you to think what you SHOULD think, do what you SHOULD do, say what you SHOULD say. This is a country of free speech as our First Amendment says so. And one of the ways that we get this freedom is through shows like "American Idol". We vote for who WE like, not what someone else's likes. I mean, c'mon. That sucks if someone tries to manipulate our own basic feelings. And it's not a show where the judges decide WHO gets to go. WE do.

Call me stupid cuz I voted for Camille, Jasmine, and John throughout the show. Call me deaf and crazy cuz I voted for Jasmine. DO IT. I don't give a crap. I'm not taking this freedom for granted.

Chill, Lotta, chill. For one thing, I haven't seen any anti-Jasmine comments. All I've seen are some people giving their evalutation of her singing abilities, ie, she is off pitch on a far too many of her notes, but I've seen more people say things such as, "I think Jasmine is a very nice girl," "I had high hopes for her at the beginning of the season," and "She has a beautiful tone in her voice." Nobody here from what I can see has the slightest thing against Jasmine. Rather, people have tended to root for her in spite of A LOT of problems with her singing.

I think the people who are angry about Wednesday night's results are (a) not just angry about LaToya being voted off, but about the whole trend of this year's voting, ie, JPL and John Stevens staying on so long while better singers got lost out, and (b) tired of all the "Erikas" (see JohnnyCoop's post) voting in massive numbers for the very reasons JC expressed so hilariously in his post.

And OF COURSE it's a free country. Puh-lease. We don't need a flag waving session here. But I think a point is being missed. The American public who watches AI and votes are the equivalent of the nine (or whatever) judge panel in figure skating. If you're going to vote, you have a responsibility to vote based on the qualities that make a good singer and performer, one whose CDs you would be likely to buy. Honestly, if you never saw Jasmine and only heard a recording of her hitting all those sour notes week in and week out, would you pay to buy her CD? Same goes for JPL and John Stevens. With fifth ammendment freedoms come responsibility. You can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater if there is no fire. You can't walk up to a black person and call him/her, "N*****!" nor any other person of any group and let fly epithets and verbal attacks.

On AI this season, the voting by the viewers has made a mockery of all the hard work and talent the best singers and performers have put into it. All this, "Well, if they're good, they'll get record contracts anyway." Not so. Tamyra Grey would have been guaranteed a record contract had she won or come in second, but because she came in fourth, IIRC, she got no contract until just this years, over two years after AI. She's had a couple small acting gigs, but nothing that anybody noticed much because she's not primarily an actress. She's a singer. Meanwhile, Justin Guarini got a record contract right away and was in the Kelly and Justin movie for no other reason than a bunch of Erikas had a crush on him that came and went as fast as usual teen and tween crushes go. So the notion that it doesn't really matter if we vote for ousy singers just because we like them because the good singers will do fine anyway is a crock. Plus it shows that the people who watch AI are not interested in the careers of the singers, they're just interested in getting the person they happend to like at that particular moment staying on. They might as well have these contestants pick numbers out of a hat and the one with the lowest number wins.

These singers work just as hard as figure skaters. If figure skaters were chosen the way the singers have been on this year's AI, every single person on this thread would be up in arms. The same thing happened during AI-1 with Tamyra Grey and at the time it was after she'd had an uncharacteristically poor performance. I thought that everyone who watched AI missed out on a great showdown between Tamyra and Kelly. In AI-2, the best three singers did make it to the final three (quibbling allowed natch) but there was really and truly a showdown between Clay and Ruben (that's the spelling, BTW) and it made it incredibly exciting, IMO. Now the best we can hope for is Fantasia and Diana as the final two, which is still NOTHING compared to the showdown we could have heard and seen between LaToya and Fantasia. Isn't that what we always say we want? To see the two best give their best performances to decide the winner, no matter what the sport or contest? In fact, I'm betting the final two will be Jasmine and Diana, which will be a ridiculous snoozer, will leave Simon with one possibly marketable singer, and will leave the three best singers in the competition without a contract. Maybe they'll get one, maybe they won't. Just because Josh and Kim got contracts doesn't mean anything.

Bottom line: I think people who voted for Jasmine were being irresponsible. I know, I'm supposed to say, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about who they like, etc." but we all know that people did not vote for her singing. It's been bad for weeks. They were voting for her tears and that is irresponsible and a smack in the face to LaToya. IMO, LaToya needs to infuse her songs with more emotion, but everything else is there. I think she just needs someone to tell her. Like I said, it's cruel to vote for people who don't deserve it. Although we saw it with one person, Tamyra, on AI-!, we saw it week in and week out with AI-3. As for the judges picking "better people": Jasmine sounded good with the easy songs at the beginning. Only when her voice was challenged could you see that she didn't have what it takes--at least not yet. With this kind of "crush" and "sympathy" voting everybody gets hurt. The producers automatically lose money, the singers who are not up to releasing a CD get pegged as no-talents, people who might have had interesting CDs to buy from a new artist get zip, and AI becomes a joke.

And I hope that will be my last rant.

One question: On Canadian Idol, does the same thing happen?
Rgirl