American Idol - Season 7

Before you flame me, I have to admit that watching American Idol is a guilty pleasure of mine. I don't watch any other TV shows (i.e. Lost, Grey's Anatomy, etc) due to my work schedule, so this is the only thing I can catch almost every week. I start watching the auditions which are funny as hell, then I sucked into Hollywood Week and on from there.

My favorites for Season 7 are Brooke White and Carly Smithson, though I like Brooke the best. She's just so sweet and picks good songs week after week. Carly was in the bottom 3 last week so I hope she doesn't get booted. They are down to the Top 10 now starting tonight. :)

Does anyone else like American Idol or have any favorites?

Haha. That's so funny. I was thinking about starting a thread just like this, and opening up in the exact same way. :chuckle:

I know a bunch of people who don't watch American Idol have (ironically) a lot of crap that they are just itching to say about it, but I like watching it because I like talent and seeing people grow into their talents over time.

That being said, I'm really disappointed in Ramiele. I think that she's pound for pound (no size pun intended) the best singer up there. She just has a tendency to pick horrible songs. She started off really strong, and I don't know wtf happened to her over the past few weeks.

Syesha's really good, and David's probably the best guy up there (but he's just so Goofy! Lol. I can't really picture him as a superstar. :lmao:). I think Carly is good too. As far as the rest, I just dunno. There's a lot of talent up there, but not very many of them actually blow me away, as much as some of the past seasons' contestants have.

Yeah I only ever watch programmes like these (Pop idol, X factor, Britain's got talent ect) Just for the comedy part at the beginning of the show, I sometimes watch them when it gets to the serious part.

Although I did like watching dancing on ice.

I do occasionally catch American Idol on ITV2 over here. Cat Deeley feels out of place in it though :wink:

Cat Deeley presents American Idol now? I think I may have to investigate. It's been way too long since SMTV Live.

I vaguely watch talent programmes for the auditions at the start. X Factor remains the best for provoking a response from the auditionees (the thing with the fat girl in the home-made dress was painfully obvious but humorously so), but American Idol comes close.

Simon Cowell clearly knows his business, but knows when to work for entertainment value rather than actual talent-spotting. Which makes it work quite nicely.

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Originally Posted by Siиdяed

Simon Cowell clearly knows his business, but knows when to work for entertainment value rather than actual talent-spotting. Which makes it work quite nicely.

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Yeah the thing with Simon is that he is honest.

One of the main reasons I hate these shows is because a judge can't say anything bad incase they get booed, which makes only good comments which causes them to not actually judge---despite that's what they are supposed to do.

However Simon is different, he will say the bad things about a person however gets treated like a bad guy. I have a lot of respect for him in this sense.

The thing about Simon is that he likes to "plays the part," just as often as he is honest. He will take a performance that may not be perfect, and drag it into the ground as the worst thing he's ever heard in his life and sling insult after insult at it. He likes to "show off" just as much as he likes to critique.

Mmmm...there is more than a little bit of a phony-ness to him.

You can't deny that he acts to provoke a reaction at times. The judges clearly know all these little details about the contestants (dad dying, weird habits, whatever) and work to play them up, because ultimately it is a show for our entertainment and we want to see people either looking like freaks or like charity cases so we can feel all sympathetic and so on.

I respect him in that he's good at creating entertainment, but not always that he's genuine.

Usually Simon is spot-on with his critiques, though he does get a bit carried away with himself sometimes. And the whole Ryan vs. Simon thing gets old - I think it's a big put-on for entertainment/drama purposes.

Paula is a little less stoned this season than last season, and she can either look really good or really bad. There's no in between with her. She's always the peace-maker and says something nice to everyone, no matter how much they suck.

Randy is somewhat nicer this season than he's been in the past. He's been giving out more good feedback than usual - and sometimes I don't think the contestents deserve it.

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Haha. That's so funny. I was thinking about starting a thread just like this, and opening up in the exact same way. :chuckle:

I know a bunch of people who don't watch American Idol have (ironically) a lot of crap that they are just itching to say about it, but I like watching it because I like talent and seeing people grow into their talents over time.

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At least I'm not the only one :) I like to see them develop over time as well. Plus I just think the show is entertaining to watch.

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

That being said, I'm really disappointed in Ramiele. I think that she's pound for pound (no size pun intended) the best singer up there. She just has a tendency to pick horrible songs. She started off really strong, and I don't know wtf happened to her over the past few weeks.

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I was never big on her - I don't know why but she's never really blew me away. She's cute and all that, but I can't see her winning.

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

David's probably the best guy up there (but he's just so Goofy! Lol. I can't really picture him as a superstar. :lmao:).

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Yeah he's the best guy for sure. For such a little dude, he can really belt it out! He is goofy though, that's for sure. Likeable goofy. :)

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Originally Posted by NeAvO

I do occasionally catch American Idol on ITV2 over here. Cat Deeley feels out of place in it though :wink:

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I still don't get how they have a different host hosting the show in the UK... considering it's live and Ryan Seacrest does it. :? That's never made sense to me.

I love Simon. I agree with him most of the time.

Randy annoys me.

Paula is like... HIGH or SOMETHING every single episode of this season! :eek: "WHOOOO YEAH LET'S DANCE, I LOVE YOU, THIS IS WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT!!!" is pretty much her only critique. Quite frankly, I'm shocked. I don't know what's going on with her. She's useless as a judge. I guess the contestants enjoy her presence though, because they can always count on her to make each one of them a little shrine or something. :roll:

Jason Castro is my absolute favorite. Not sure how I feel about the dreads though. :chuckle:

Another one bites the dust: Chikezie (who, weirdly enough, doesn't seem to have a last name :?)

How about that remake of Billie Jean by David Cook? :shock: That was phenomenal!

And I want to slap America for even putting Syesha in the bottom 3.

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

How about that remake of Billie Jean by David Cook? :shock: That was phenomenal!

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Dude I know! It was awesome - the best performance of the night by a mile.

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

And I want to slap America for even putting Syesha in the bottom 3.

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Who would you have picked for the bottom 3?

Boooooooooo!!! American Idol Is Humanity's Downfall, Televised.

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Originally Posted by Elis D.

Boooooooooo!!! American Idol Is Humanity's Downfall, Televised.

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um what about that show "Moment of Truth"? I think that is WAY worse than American Idol. Talking about spouses cheating on each other and all their sordid affairs and secrets - televised. Can you honestly tell me that that isn't a worse FOX show?

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Originally Posted by Elis D.

Boooooooooo!!! American Idol Is Humanity's Downfall, Televised.

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That only applies to the idiots who look at the show as if it's the second coming of Jesus, and have nothing else to say for themselves, intellectually.

But talent competitions have been healthy sources of entertainment for how long? Further back than you or I can remember. I watch it out of respect for the artists, not the smoke and mirrors.

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

But talent competitions have been healthy sources of entertainment for how long? Further back than you or I can remember. I watch it out of respect for the artists, not the smoke and mirrors.

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yeah what he said ^^ :)

O, your girl, Ramiele, got the boot tonight. I predict Kristy Lee Cook is next as she's been in the bottom 3 for the past 3 or 4 weeks now.

I missed the performances last night, but from the highlights it looks like David Cook and Michael Johns are doing quite well.

Yep they sure are. Kristy has never stood out for me, so I wouldn't mind seeing her go. I was sad about Ramiele - she is such a cutie pie.

AI may not be humanity's downfall, but it's definatly the downfall of real music.

Did you guys see Dolly Parton perform? I think she is the second scariest thing to look at next to Michael Jackson. And her singing (and choice of song) were like nails on a chalkboard...

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Originally Posted by Burns

Did you guys see Dolly Parton perform? I think she is the second scariest thing to look at next to Michael Jackson. And her singing (and choice of song) were like nails on a chalkboard...

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:shock: I completely agree. I don't think she's really important enough for an entire show to be dedicated to her either, especially since it's following the two weeks of Beatles which turned out to be a huge hit with viewers.

I guess a lot of country lovers like her, though. I cringed a little bit any time they sang a song that had to do with Jesus... which was like, ALL of them... I just think something like that is not appropriate for the show. :?

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Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

I cringed a little bit any time they sang a song that had to do with Jesus... which was like, ALL of them... I just think something like that is not appropriate for the show. :?

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I definitely agree with you there. I didn't think it was appropriate either.

and "Jesus and Gravity?" :wtf:

Okay. With the money they raised plus the enormous donation from Gordon Brown, it looks like close to every person who needs a mosquito net will have one. :wtf: Is it really that easy? Is this money really going to go where it's supposed to... or is the American government going to gobble up half of it or WHAT?

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Originally Posted by Burns

O, your girl, Ramiele, got the boot tonight.

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Ah. (Didn't see this)
Yeah. Like I said, I don't know what happened to Ramiele. She really blew me away, in the auditions, but just kind of fell off, after that.

I honestly don't think Seyesha gets as much props as she should. The dogged her for tackling a Fantasia song, and "not showing the connection" (and doing a phenomenal job, btw) but then they drooled all over Jason Castro's lack-luster performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, on a fricken Ukulele. :?

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Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

Okay. With the money they raised plus the enormous donation from Gordon Brown, it looks like close to every person who needs a mosquito net will have one. Is it really that easy?

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Let's hope it is.
And, yeah, that $120 million dollars was like :shock:

:chuckle: Makes you wonder at the motives. Whatever, as long as the money goes where it's supposed to, it's all good.

I love Jason Castro but for reasons other than just his voice, and I think this is true of whoever votes for him. I definitely think Seyesha has shown some extreme vocal superiority to Jason... Jason doesn't seem to have a particularly strong voice, and it gets really pitchy if he goes high... But he has a certain appeal that, for female voters, overshadows other, more talented, people. I don't particularly agree with this, which is why I don't vote at all.