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

[Ranatra]

TAYLOR
Jailhouse Rock: it was just ok for me
In The Ghetto: This was an excellent choice for Taylor, loved it!

CHRIS
Suspicious Minds: Loved it
A Little Less Conversation: Didn't care for it at all, was disappointed

ELLIOTT
If I Can Dream: Powerful and Moving, Loved it! (My favorite of the night)
Trouble: Loved this song as well, great performance!

KAT
Houndog: Didn't really care for it too much. It seemed like she was performing in a musical
Falling In Love: I thought this one was really bad and I was surprised

Best to Worst
1.) Elliott
2.) Taylor
3.) Chris
4.) Kat

 

[Nancyg56]

Go Elliot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[boomhauer]

How so?

3 males - Singing Elvis songs. Lot easier for a guy to do Elvis than a girl.

 

[auntpolly]

..I think the powers that be will save Chris....Its time Elliott....its just time

First, I gotta say I appreciate the credit you gave Elliot -- but if this really happens, I'll never watch AI again. I gotta believe they go by the way we vote, or the show won't be fun to watch anymore.

It's not time for Elliot if he got more votes -- period. I don't care who the powers that be want. I was prepared for Elliot to go, because I thought America just prefered the others -- but Elliot proved himself last night and I just don't think he'll be "voted off.

 

[boomhauer]

I think there's a good chance Elliot will get voted off tonight.

I do what Simon does from time to time - I close my eyes, listen to them sing, and try to envision hearing them on top 40 radio.

Taylor - No way.

Kat - Sometimes, though I admit, when she's on, I always keep my eyes open.

Chris - Absolutely.

Elliot - Absolutely NOT. Not to say he doesn't have a good voice. I just can't picture hearing him sing anything contemporary.

 

[Nancyg56]

voted[/b] off.

I agree with you. I like Elliot the best, but was ready to see him go if he did not get the votes. I really do not like Kat, but if she got more votes, well not my place to argue. If the votes are rigged, it's no fun for me anymore. I hope that if America voted to keep Elliot, the tally is respected.

 

[emmabelle]

Please don't send Chris home! All the idols that I've liked have been sent home, Lisa, Ace and now maybe Chris, I wish I hadn't looked at DialIdol, but I just couldn't help myself.

 

[Virgo10]

All season I’ve been waiting for a MOMENT. Last night I got two. A moment on AI is a performance that makes you sit forward in your seat. You get goose bumps and maybe (even though the husband will snicker) you stand up in your living room and give the contestant a standing O.

Last year there were several. Nadia’s version of You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me was one. Carrie’s Could Have Been was another. But it was Bo who gave me lots of moments including his best… For the Love Of Money.

Here’s my take on the final four.

Taylor: First up was Jail House Rock. I continue to think that Taylor is fun to watch but I did most of this performance and his other song with my eyes closed. His great voice is sometimes over shadowed by the visuals and that’s really too bad. Loved the outfit, loved the hair! He got the real feel for this classic and gets a 9 for song one.

In the Ghetto – I found this just a bit off. His vocals seemed disjointed, like it was trying just a bit too hard to sell it to us. There also seemed to be a few pitch problems towards the end. OK but not quite as good as his first offering. He get’s a 8.
Total for both – 17

Chris: Song number one was Suspicious Minds. Did he work the lyrics to make this song just a bit too personal? Is his wife’s name Sonny or Sunny. Was I hearing things? At any rate, I found his performance a bit stiff and mechanical. For some reason, he just didn’t sell it to me. He gets an 8.

A Little Less Conversation – Chris needs to learn that you can sing a sexy song like that and still smile and the smiling will make the song even sexier. While I liked his vocals even more than with song number 1, the stone face presentation really turned me off. Chris gets a 7 for making a naughty but nice tune way too depressing.
Total for both – 15

Elliott: Welcome to my moments in time. Singing If I Can Dream, Elliott had his moment in time. There were flashes of vocal power so amazing, I was transported. Without going on a rave binge, I will say that this was best performance of the year and, for the first time, I’m giving out the coveted 10+.

Trouble – See above except I didn’t like the song quite as much. What is Elliott on? He gets a 10
Total for both – 20+

Katharine – I thought if any of the contestants could make a Hound Dog/All Shook Up combo work, it would be Katharine. Well almost. At the end of the song I’m saying did she just blow the lyrics? Well, yes she did. Too bad because it had been fairly entertaining up till that point. The only bad part, other than the lyric malfunction, was that she wasn’t nailed to the stage this week. Her moves don’t move me. I gave her an 8.

Can’t Help Falling In Love – She should have been able to sing this but it didn’t work and it didn’t work in a big way. Maybe it was the thrift store outfit she had on. Maybe it was the guy they met at Graceland who told her to emote more and she just can’t do it. Screechy and nearly a mute moment, she gets a 4.
Total for both – 12.

Who I voted for:
Elliott for over and hour and I only got through 4 times.
Taylor for maybe 10 minutes getting through 3 times

Who I think should go home:
Katharine
Chris

Who I think WILL go home:
Katharine
Chris

As always, JMHO.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

The only person we could get through for last night was Kat. My DD9 wanted to vote for Taylor and we couldn't get through. My DH begged me not to vote for Elliott. E really irritates him. I tried anyway , but couldn't get in.

Lori

 

[Clumsy]

Noooo Chris cannot go home! I think it's time for Katherine to go! She stunk last night and I honestly think Chris & Taylor deserve to go to the final finale. I have to agree with the judges last night, that was one of Elliot's best perfomances. He should'nt get the boot tonight.

 

[auntpolly]

I'll be on a plane tonight and won't get the results until tomorrow....have any of you mastered sending telepathic messages and could you let me know the results???? I can't believe how on the edge of the seat I am!!!!!

Thanks in advance -- I appreciate the help from all you with supernatural powers!

 

[MELSMICE]

I just checked Dialidol. I soooooooooooooo hope they are wrong. My favorites are Chris & Katharine & if one of them are going home I don't know if I'll even want to bother watching again.

 

[Nancy]

Noooo Chris cannot go home! I think it's time for Katherine to go! She stunk last night and I honestly think Chris & Taylor deserve to go to the final finale. I have to agree with the judges last night, that was one of Elliot's best perfomances. He should'nt get the boot tonight.

The thing with Chris is: He has the voice, he has the looks, but last night he looked bored with the whole show. I liked song #1, he showed flashes of emotion. Song #2 he was just so wooden during it, it was like "I'm singing this stupid Elvis song on a stupid TV show and all I want to do is make a record and get on the radio" Tommy M. told him to sing in a mirror and watch himself to get the feeling for the song, I don't think he did it.

Does he deserve to go home befroe Katharine? No, (and Katharine has been one of my favs all season). But at least she showed some spark last night.

 

[jaimee1024]

I will be sad to see Katharine go, but based soley on last night's performances, I would understand. I still think she has a huge career ahead of her and may be the next "Clay Aiken" (so to speak)...in other words...in the real world I think she may fare better than whoever wins.

I have always found Chris boring...but I would be shocked to see him go. I thought for sure that he would be in the final two with Taylor.

I almost want to see Elliott win simply because he seems to WANT it more than anyone else. I mean, you can tell he really wants this. Chris and Taylor both seem a little indifferent at times...like they just don't care.

 

[jaimee1024]

I would like to see Lionel with our Idols...in reference to the Kalan link on your picture....I didnt care for his voice by the way....Sorry

You didn't like Kalan Porter's voice? I could understand if you didn't like his style or his looks...but his voice?

 

[auntpolly]

The thing with Chris is: He has the voice, he has the looks, but last night he looked bored with the whole show.

Do you think maybe Chris doens't want to win???? I was just thinking, wasn't he offered a job by some band months ago? I know he will have contract obligations never-the-less, but maybe he'd rather not be "American Idol" -- he's kind of got that alternative thing going there. Maybe he's starting to think that this isn't the image he wants. (all said and done it is a little dorky, the whole concept.)

 

[MeanLaureen]

Okay, here are my impressions of last nights show - not that anyone cares but I have 10 minutes to kill this morning Scale 1-5

Taylor's first song - who couldn't see Simon's remark coming before the song even started? You know, it's pretty hard to sing Elvis without sounding Karaoke - especially one of his signature songs like JR. Still, I liked it a lot and think out of all the performances, it was the best one to kick off the show and get everyone in the mood for the theme. Not the best vocally of course - just the best they could have put in the kickoff position to get everyone in the mood for Elvis. Score - 4 Peanutbutter 'Nana Sandwiches

Elliott's first song - Did NOT like the first 20 or so seconds of nervous vibrato at all but he pulled it out at the end. Still, it was a boring song and outside of the first part that I remember not liking, I find it hard to remember the rest. Poor Elliott's song choices do that so much for me. Score - 3 Peanutbutter 'Nana Sandwiches

Chris's first song - Eh - still has absolutely no emotion when he sings. I give him one extra Peanutbutter 'Nana for not yelling at me during the song but take it back for that screech at the end of the second song. Just a Meh performance for me - seems to have phoned it in. Score - 3 Peanutbutter 'Nana Sandwiches

Katharine's first song - Huh? How the heck do you forget the lyrics to a song like Hound Dog? Not exactly lyrically challenging. You've hit the final 4 - there is no room for forgetting the lyrics to what you are singing. You are supposed to be the cream of the crop! And I agree with Simon - the bouncing around was too much. I said to Matt that it seemed so "pagent" like or like it was something from a B rated Vegas review. - Score 1 Peanutbutter 'Nana Sandwich

Taylor's second song - Wow. All that I can say - just wow. 5 Peanutbutter 'Nana sandwiches

Elliott's second song - I was scared of whether he could handle the vocals of this song but he did it well. Couldn't buy the whole "I'm evil" lyrics when he looks like a scared puppy up there at times - but overall - pretty darn good. - 4 Peanutbutter 'Nana Sandwiches

Chris's second song - this was my least favorite Chris performance ever - even over the screamed songs - because he sang this song with absolutely no emotion and the majority of the song was sung so darn monotone in a way too low note that he might as well have been talking it. And the gap in the lyrics while he was on that catwalk behind the judges - he just stood there with his mouth gapped open. He just does not seem to have a clue about stage presence. He will make an excellent band frontman because he will have others to interact with but I just can't see him as an exciting "solo act". And I'm not Chris bashing because Chris was originally my favorite in the competition. He just hasn't done anything for me lately. Score- 1 Peanutbutter 'Nana Sandwich

Katharine's Second song - oh no you didn't mess up the lyrics in your second song too, did you? Just pitchy and off key. The combination of the two performances makes me wonder if she wants to go home. Score - 2 Peanutbutter 'Nana sandwiches

So.. my bottom 2 - Chris and Katharine
Who should go home - Either one
Who will go home? Hopefully one of them and not Elliott or Taylor since the votes are so close.

 

[stevenpensacola]

I'm definately on the "E" train. Go Elliot.

You people that act like the world will end if "your guy" gets voted off need to get a life....it's a TV SHOW!!!

 

[swanmom]

Thought people would be interested in this ....... makes you wonder about the timing of Elvis week and Katherine's position in the standings.....


It's from the New Jersey Star-Ledger - Alan Sepinwall's column -


Total control

Dear Alan: Re: your 5/2 column on "American Idol," you mention that the producers have a hand in who ends up winning. I was just wondering how that works, if you would be so kind to explain.

--Nancy Marsillo, Warren

Alan says: Throughout the series, the "Idol" producers have found some subtle and some not-so-subtle ways to give a push to contestants they wanted to go far, if not win outright. Some of their more frequent manipulations:

Screen time: While some contestants have been so talented that they've done well with minimal or nonexistent face time before the semi-final round (Kelly Clarkson, Bo Bice, Elliot Yamin this year), in general the "Idol" audience picks their favorites early. People like Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and even Scott Savol have benefited from having their stories told over and over and over in the long lead-up to the semis.

Themes: Some singers are better suited to some themes than others, and they can be adjusted or moved around according to what the producers want. In the most obvious example, last year Bo found himself in the bottom three one week, and with the next week set as Disco Night, his exit seemed a foregone conclusion. So at the very last minute, the producers changed the theme to'70s Dance Night, which was just ambiguous enough to allow Bo to sing "Vehicle," which became his signature song. On the flip side, in season 3, the producers held back Big Band Night until after they'd gotten rid of John Stevens, who might have gotten another few weeks' worth of votes out of it.

Production numbers: While this is allegedly a singing contest, visual presentation often matters more than the vocals. In week one of this year's finals, Chris Daughtry's show-closing performance of "Higher Ground" was accompanied by a laser light show, a fog machine and the loudest performance by the "Idol" house band to date. Though his singing was fine, the elaborate production made it seem like he was even better than that. And when Chris had his own Bo-esque bottom three scare, the producers gave him the final slot again the following week and had Chris flanked by two guitarists as he sang "Have You Really Ever Loved a Woman?"

I don't even think the producers care that much about the winner. If he or she makes money for their music division, great (in that way, they'd probably prefer Chris or Katharine McPhee over Elliot or Taylor, who would be harder to market), but the real cash cow is the TV show. Keeping Bo or someone like Scott around was good for the ratings last season, just as the continued presence of people like Chris and Taylor has been good for the show this year.

 

[MeanLaureen]

3 males - Singing Elvis songs. Lot easier for a guy to do Elvis than a girl.

You do know that Hounddog was first released by a woman before Elvis redid it, right? Plus her second song, just a ballad - nothing to it I could say is strictly male or female. Pretty generic.