American Idol, Season 5 **Official Discussion Thread** Part 2

[phisigprincess]

Personally I thought the best part of the night was Andre Bocelli. He gave me chills. I also loved when he and Katharine broke into Time to Say Goodbye randomly in the studio.

I'm glad Kellie left. Deservedly after 2 bad performances. I think Paris will be next compared to the other people left in the competition.

 

[Nancy]

So what were the judges comments to Katharine last night? I wasn't home so I missed it all and of course, no one here taped it for me!

Simon has reversed himself with Katharine before..back when he said she was awesome, the next night he said after playing it back he was wrong.

 

[lucyblondecat]

AI Tour dates posted:

6-Jul
Manchester, NH
Verizon Wireless Arena

8-Jul
Worcester, MA
DCU Center

9-Jul
Hartford, CT
Hartford Civic Center

11-Jul
Albany, NY
Pepsi Arena

12-Jul
Hershey, PA
GIANT Center

13-Jul
East Rutherford, NJ
Continental Airlines Arena

15-Jul
Long Island, NY
Nassau Coliseum

18-Jul
Wilkes Barre, PA
Wachovia Arena

19-Jul
Cleveland, OH
Wolstein Center

21-Jul
Rochester, NY
BlueCross Arena

22-Jul
Philadelphia, PA
Wachovia Center

23-Jul
Atlantic City, NJ
Boardwalk Hall

25-Jul
Bridgeport, CT
Arena at Harbor Yard

27-Jul
Pittsburgh, PA
Mellon Arena

28-Jul
Washington DC
Verizon Center

29-Jul
Richmond, VA
Richmond Coliseum

30-Jul
Greensboro, NC
Greensboro Coliseum

1-Aug
Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Bobcats Arena

2-Aug
Columbia, SC
Colonial Center

3-Aug
Duluth, GA
Arena at Gwinnett Center

5-Aug
Sunrise, FL
BankAtlantic Center

6-Aug
Tampa, FL
St. Pete Times Forum

8-Aug
Birmingham, AL
BJCC Arena

10-Aug
Nashville, TN
Gaylord Entertainment Center

11-Aug
Columbus, OH
Value City Arena

12-Aug
Milwaukee, WI
Bradley Center

13-Aug
St. Louis, MO
Savvis Center

15-Aug
Grand Rapids, MI
Van Andel Arena

16-Aug
Detroit, MI
Joe Louis Arena

18-Aug
TBD
TBD

19-Aug
Chicago, IL
Allstate Arena

20-Aug
Peoria, IL
Peoria Civic Center

22-Aug
St. Paul, MN
Xcel Energy Center

26-Aug
Los Angeles, CA
Staples Center

27-Aug
Anaheim, CA
Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim

29-Aug
Sacramento, CA
ARCO Arena

30-Aug
San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion at San Jose

1-Sep
Portland, OR
Rose Garden

2-Sep
Tacoma, WA
Tacoma Dome

NOT COMING ANYWHERE NEAR TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***????????????????????

Can you provide a source where you found this information? I have been looking all morning! Thanks!

 

[Ranatra]

Vocally, I would now put Taylor at the bottom of the remaining contestants.

I totally agree with you.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Is Kellie the first Idol contestant that did not get to "sing off"? I was so relieved!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dturner]

Can you provide a source where you found this information? I have been looking all morning! Thanks!

AmericanIdol.com or idolonfox.com - whichever, I can't remember.

 

[RyMickey]

I guess I was the only one that didn't notice Katherine's wardrobe issues...silly me, I was too busy listening to her SING. I thought she looked beautiful. I thought the dress was a little tight on her back but if you've ever watched any red carpet event it seems all the celebrity gals squeeze themselves into too tight dresses...(really people...is size zero NOT small enough?) Anyway...I thought she was great. I was really disappointed in the judges. I usually agree with Simon, but thought he was way off. I was happy to hear him apologize to her last night. I was REALLY happy to see her in the top two (whether it was accurate or not...I could see it boost her confidence). And I just don't get all the comments about her lacking emotion. To me she is the most natural performer on stage. Off stage she always seems so happy and excited to be there. I think her reaction to the judges tongue lashing on Tuesday night was completely warranted. I was as shocked as she was. I thought she handled it well. She might not win (trust me...they want Chris to win, so he probably will)...but I will be buying her CD as soon as it comes out and I know she will have a successful career. Go Kat!!!

I agree with every single thing you said...

And, by the way, I also think that Chris Young in your sig is going to win Nashville Star. He's far and away the best one.

 

[Robinrs]

Comparing Taylor to the remaining contestants is like comparing Rod Stewart or Joe Cocker to Celine Dion or Barbra Streisand. No, not classically trained or fluid but for what he does, it's wonderful!

I'm sure that MOST popular singers would fall on their faces if judged on what is truly "singing". BTW, the first true ideal of that was last night. Bocelli, as I've always said, could sing me the PHONE BOOK!!

I agree they should change the age requirements, 18 -30 should be standard. 16 year olds should never compete with 29 year olds, it's just not fair. I remember poor Diana DeGarmo struggling with all her might two seasons ago. She just didn't have the life experience to compete.

As for Paris' performance of The Way We Were, yes she smiled during the song and YES it's a sad song but the most poignant line from the song...(there has never been a bigger Barbra fan, mind you, she went to my High School....)

"so it's the LAUGHTER, we will remember when we remember the way we were."

She made a point to show a pained look that I thought was very uncharacteristic for her on the last line, also. I'm not a big Paris fan, either, but I think she has an amazing voice, and two blind men agreed with that!

I think the winner has already been decided on this show, the next few weeks will be to collect revenue from the commercials. It will be Chris and somebody at the end and if he doesn't win, well, I guess I have to eat that same hat Simon had to choke on when his Elly Mae didn't make it to the final 3!

And YES, I'm a Kellie hater, just like I was surrounded by Fantasia haters two seasons ago! Man, I couldn't believe the hate that she was receiving from this board but I hung in there with her and the night she won my computer died. I think it was God's way of keeping me from gloating!

 

[RyMickey]

I think I agree with you on this one. I thought that was odd. And the way the judges tried to act like they suddenly realized that Kat wasn't that bad was so fake and contrived.

The fact is, though, that on Dial Idol, if you look at the raw numbers, Katharine received the most phone calls. The site has all kinds of formulas in order to counteract what they could perceive as "speed voting," so I'm sure those formulas had something to do with that.

Also, Katharine WASN'T 4th in Dial Idol's voting. Dial Idol had her placed anywhere 3-5, and had both Taylor and Chris placed somewhere between 1-3. It's perfectly feasible that the situation worked out the way it did last night. I'm sure many Katharine fans (myself included) called in because of the unfair lashing she received from the judges.

As for my once-favorite Taylor...maybe people are just realizing that he's not as good as we once thought he was. I know I'm in that boat now. He hasn't really done anything great for several weeks. Sure, "You Send Me" was kinda fun, but it wasn't spectacular until the very end. He's fading in my eyes.

Plus, I don't understand why you'd think there's manipulation. The point of Idol (and for the Idol producers) is to sign a person that America loves. If America loves Taylor and are resoundingly voting for him, I don't see why they wouldn't choose him. While Simon may not like him, we've seen that Simon doesn't always get his way this season (Remember, Kellie was his female pick from the beginning).

 

[tarmand]

Plus, I don't understand why you'd think there's manipulation. The point of Idol (and for the Idol producers) is to sign a person that America loves. If America loves Taylor and are resoundingly voting for him, I don't see why they wouldn't choose him. While Simon may not like him, we've seen that Simon doesn't always get his way this season (Remember, Kellie was his female pick from the beginning).

One word - MONEY. Although Taylor may be the highest vote getter, he is far less promotable than Chris. I love Taylor but I don't buy cds or go to concerts. He has a huge fan base, but I think TPTB might feel that Chris will be more interesting to the teenagers and younger adults who seem to have the most disposable income when it comes to things like concerts and cds - disposable to me, meaning that they usually spend all of their money on that kind of stuff whereas, people like me have a mortgage, kids, insurance premiums, etc. and tend to spend less of our on cds and concerts.

This is just my opinion. I have never in the past thought that AI was fixed, but this season is making me think that they manipulate the numbers in many ways.

 

[minniecarousel]

I don't thnk Taylor is trying very hard right now. Maybe he doesn't want to win? He wants to be the next "Clay Aiken" (well, not really - but he'd like to be a runner-up). I think he may think that he can do better w/o the "Idol" crown, and strike out on his own after the summer tour.

 

[Robinrs]

This is just my opinion. I have never in the past thought that AI was fixed, but this season is making me think that they manipulate the numbers in many ways.

Anyone who does not think they producers manipulate shows like this don't have much understanding of this genre.

This is not just an contest, this is a marketing ploy. Just like with The Next Food Network Star the producers are taking the voting like a Nielsen rating, all of this reflects in ad revenue and future sales. They also realize their demographics, and as tarmand said, the ones who spend the money will be their target.

If we see it as ENTERTAINMENT, which should be also said about the "news" we won't feel like there is a conspiracy or manipulation. It's the nature of the beast, which, btw, is PRINTING money.

 

[MELSMICE]

Although we all know that Whitney was huge in her day, I think most people have lost so much respect for her that it doesn't hurt a contestant to sing one of her songs as long as the song isn't butchered. (which it wasn't) Katharine did not try to sound like Whitney at all.

I totally agree. With all the issues Whitney has in her life, she is no longer the ICON that those judges made her out to be. I thought Katharine was incredible & didn't deserve the bashing she got.

I missed the apology last night, but I'm glad she got one.

 

[jaimee1024]

Whatever happened to the contestants performing as a group on elimination night? And why didn't Kellie get to sing? Last week they had all three of the bottom three sing (right? or was that the week before?) and this week they couldn't fit in ONE? I don't get it. If she didn't want to sing Unchained Melody she could have chosen one of her better songs. I wasn't a Kellie fan, but I thought she deserved to be sent off in a better manner. They are also not doing much on the contestants this year like they have in the past. In the past didn't they share a house? And didn't they do a lot of little clips of what they were doing and about their hometowns etc.... I want to see more of the contestants and less of the judges (especially Paula....who is useless IMO) and less of the guest stars. Don't get me wrong...I respect the people they have had on, but let them be guest judges...don't have them on stage singing. That's how I feel.

 

[jaimee1024]

I agree with every single thing you said...

And, by the way, I also think that Chris Young in your sig is going to win Nashville Star. He's far and away the best one.

Thanks! I definitely have Catherine McPheever!!

And I think Chris Young would blow away any guy they have ever had on AI. Woo...he makes my heart race!

 

[imsorry]

I think Kat is the best at this point, yet I don't think she will win. Paris should be the next one to go.

I like Elliott because I feel sorry for all his medical issues; but I honestly don't understand the way the judges praise his voice. I just don't think he is that great.

I think it will come down to Taylor and Chris, with Chris winning.

Oh, and Andrea Bocelli is THE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RyMickey]

Thanks! I definitely have Catherine McPheever!!

And I think Chris Young would blow away any guy they have ever had on AI. Woo...he makes my heart race!

Well, Chris Young doesn't make my heart race (I guess you could say that the person in my sig does that for me)...but I do think Chris Young has a great voice and the fact that he's only 20 is amazing. Anyway, now that I've hijacked this thread...back to AI...

 

[korzmom]

agree. With all the issues Whitney has in her life, she is no longer the ICON that those judges made her out to be. I thought Katharine was incredible & didn't deserve the bashing she got.

i totally agree! and why didnt they bash paris for trying to sing BARBARA STRIESAND? I too feel like the judges have their favorites and are trying to manipulate their opinions onto us... and whoever said about Taylor tring to lose the compition might have something there...it did do wonders for clay not to win..(although he should have) i personally like Kats voice,but fear shes too much like Kelly Clarckson...i think chris will win...and you're all right when you say chris young from nashville star would blow them all away...cant wait for his cd..

 

[Tracey1974]

Anyone know what they will be singing next week or who the guest singer will be?

 

[Jennasis]

I don't care how the producers (or TPTB...that's a funny acronym) try to manipulate people into voting how "they" want the vote to go. I have liked Chris from the beginning and no matter what they make him sing, or where they put him in the evening line up, or how bad they have the back-up band play with him, I will still vote for him till the end (and Taylor is my runner up). HOWEVER, I do think the producers use the aforementioned tactics and some others to try to manipulate the publics vote.

I am happy with the remaining 5 and think the next two to go will be Elliot and Paris but I don't know in which order they will go. Then it will be Chris, Taylor and Kat in the final 3. I'll keep voting for Chris and let the chips fall where they may. In the end I will buy Chris's CD (I bought Bo's last year) and I'm going to the concert to see Chris and Taylor specifically. When Kellie sings I'll use it for a bathroom/nacho run!