American Idol Top 4 Idol Chatter and Idle Chatter

[marymrg]

Let's keep David Cook's family in our thoughts. His brother passed away this weekend.

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/05/david-cook’s-brother-adam-dies

Thanks for the link Mandy. It is very sad indeed.

 

[dahirsh]

And if you haven't cried yet-

David Cook’s official statement in full:

I wanted to write everyone and say a few things, in light of recent events, to dispel any misinformation that may be circulating and to say thank you on behalf of my family and myself to everyone who has shown even the slightest bit of support to us and our efforts as a family to help eradicate this terrible affliction.

My brother, Adam, passed away at 11:52pm Eastern, May 2nd. He was 37 years old and leaves behind his wife and two children. We had played Sunfest in West Palm Beach that night, walking off stage at approximately 11:00pm Eastern, and I rushed to get on a plane to fly to Washington D.C., to be a part of the Race For Hope-D.C., a fundraiser for research and development of a cure for brain cancer. I learned of Adam’s passing upon getting to my hotel around 3:00am Eastern. I decided to run in the race, despite all of this, for two reasons. First, my brother never wanted his illness to affect others. That was evident in the fact that he wanted his illness to have no part in my experience on Idol, a point he was quite adamant about. So, with that wish in mind, I ran and was involved with the event as an homage to him. Secondly, there are many people who are still battling, and by running and sharing my brother’s story, I hope that it offers those still fighting that much more resolve to not succumb to this wretched disease.


I want to again thank everyone who donated to the race and continues to donate, sent a kind email, posted thoughts and prayers, called, etc. I take it as affirmation that my brother was the great man that I knew, and whose ideals I constantly try to uphold in myself. It is with those ideals in tow that I vow to continue to speak out in hopes of raising whatever necessary to help eliminate cancer entirely.

Also, I mentioned earlier that Adam never wanted his illness to affect anyone. So, with the exception of our Toledo, OH, show on May 6th, which we will do everything possible to reschedule, all other shows will go on as scheduled.

Lastly, thank you to everyone for allowing us, as a family, to grieve and come to terms privately. This event has shown me, beyond doubt, that I have the greatest people in my life, family, friends, and fans alike, and for that, I can never offer enough thanks.

 

[Nancy]

And if you haven't cried yet-

David Cook’s official statement in full:

I wanted to write everyone and say a few things, in light of recent events, to dispel any misinformation that may be circulating and to say thank you on behalf of my family and myself to everyone who has shown even the slightest bit of support to us and our efforts as a family to help eradicate this terrible affliction.

My brother, Adam, passed away at 11:52pm Eastern, May 2nd. He was 37 years old and leaves behind his wife and two children. We had played Sunfest in West Palm Beach that night, walking off stage at approximately 11:00pm Eastern, and I rushed to get on a plane to fly to Washington D.C., to be a part of the Race For Hope-D.C., a fundraiser for research and development of a cure for brain cancer. I learned of Adam’s passing upon getting to my hotel around 3:00am Eastern. I decided to run in the race, despite all of this, for two reasons. First, my brother never wanted his illness to affect others. That was evident in the fact that he wanted his illness to have no part in my experience on Idol, a point he was quite adamant about. So, with that wish in mind, I ran and was involved with the event as an homage to him. Secondly, there are many people who are still battling, and by running and sharing my brother’s story, I hope that it offers those still fighting that much more resolve to not succumb to this wretched disease.


I want to again thank everyone who donated to the race and continues to donate, sent a kind email, posted thoughts and prayers, called, etc. I take it as affirmation that my brother was the great man that I knew, and whose ideals I constantly try to uphold in myself. It is with those ideals in tow that I vow to continue to speak out in hopes of raising whatever necessary to help eliminate cancer entirely.

Also, I mentioned earlier that Adam never wanted his illness to affect anyone. So, with the exception of our Toledo, OH, show on May 6th, which we will do everything possible to reschedule, all other shows will go on as scheduled.

Lastly, thank you to everyone for allowing us, as a family, to grieve and come to terms privately. This event has shown me, beyond doubt, that I have the greatest people in my life, family, friends, and fans alike, and for that, I can never offer enough thanks.

Very touching. This just reinforces my thinking that the best choice won Idol last year.

 

[agnes!]

Can't wait to see adam and daughtry this week. I am going to be in hog heaven.

Adam *AND* Daughtry?!? I might actually watch this week!


agnes!

 

[Robinrs]

This video will make you cry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMAy3dJbEGQ

OMgoodness...my sinuses are ruined

What a guy!

If I said it once I've said it a million times, dying is so much worse than death. The not knowing when, the fear of phone calls... what follows is sadness but PEACE, especially when they are suffering.

My this wonderful man and is family be comforted with that peace....

 

[Robinrs]

I just heard this song on Dancing with the Stars and thought of David and Adam Cook:



"Arms Of An Angel"



Spend all your time waiting for that second chance
For the break that will make it ok
There's always some reason to feel “not good enough"
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction, oh beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
They may be empty and weightless, and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

In the arms of an Angel, fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here

So tired of the straight line, and everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting, you keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference, escaping one last time
It's easier to believe
In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees

In the arms of an Angel, far away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
In the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here.....

 

[Mean Queen]

I just heard this song on Dancing with the Stars and thought of David and Adam Cook:



"Arms Of An Angel"

Sarah Mclachlan sings it. I went to her concert a few weeks after my mom died and cried my eyes out when she sang that. I still do each time hear it. It is a very good song for people who have lost a loved one.

 

[Tatania]

Still on the road but wanted to drop in and subscribe to the new thread. I'm so upset that I'll be missing the show tomorrow and hope all the Glamberts vote till the redial button on the phone wears out.

To get you in the Adam worship mode here's an article in today's Arts section of the Globe and Mail - and I'll say again that she reflects the view of every musician I know inluding the show's mentors. Slash tweeted last week:" I had rehearsal for AI late last night, I mentor the kids this afternoon.” and then later, after his session, “Those AI kids can sing their asses off, especially Adam.”

BTW, check out the TMZ video were Adam gracefully deals with the "Friend of Dorothy" question: http://www.tmz.com/2009/05/04/adam-lambert-the-question-we-wouldnt-ask/
Gokey's night out video, in contrast, is SO lame.


Is Adam Lambert too gay to win Idol, or is he too good?
by LYNN CROSBIE
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

My screen-saver: A smiley-faced, black-haired man with dramatic, arched eyebrows, wearing midnight blue against an electric-blue background.

My blue angel is American Idol's Adam Lambert.

Lambert is in the top four, and this week, we shall see if he passes through toward the final stretch. Last week, he was in the bottom three of five, leaving the media and fans shocked and dismayed. A typical bulletin board posting asks whether Lambert's sexuality is at fault (he is gay or bisexual, as it goes). One online journalist, in the actionable manner of The Daily Mirror's 1956 summation of the “luminous, quivering, giggling” Liberace, wondered if the “flamboyant” singer ruined his chances last week by “sashaying” around, with so much “showmanship” (all straight-code for: “He acted gay”). Lambert wore a white suit and slicked back his hair. This modern, body-modified Elvis Presley sang, in his three-octave range and with palpable soul, Feeling Good. As one fan noted, bluntly, he was “soooooooo sexy. Seriously, every woman in the audience was having an orgasm.”

What has happened to this show?

It seems so long ago that trash like Kellie Pickler, plainly disturbing screakers like Fantasia Barrino, and plankton-eaters like Ruben Studdard defined American Idol.

Now in its eighth season, the show has altered, completely, its status as The Worst Karaoke Bar in the World (the judges now critique performances routinely as being “too karaoke”). Instead, and also reflected in the four-panel jury's exceptionally limited repertoire of remarks, “song choice” or more precisely, song-interpretation, distinguishes one performance from another.

This phenomenon began last year with winner David Cook, who broke away from the herd, midseason by copying Chris Cornell's alternative arrangement of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

Flushed with approbation, he began putting his own imprimatur on such dreary songs as Eleanor Rigby and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, adding butch rock-stances, grunting “C'mon!” and hitting big notes the plain songs could scarcely accommodate.

The judges, however, continued to agitate for the success of teenager David Archuleta, a Mormon who, disquietingly, sang John Lennon's Imagine at least twice.

When the relatively lean, attractive Cook won (keep in mind, the show's biggest demographic is that crowd of sexually depraved star-makers, the women who made Tom Jones and whom he calls “the over-40s”), the judges turned tail and started emphasizing individuality, with regard to the choice, execution and performance of the song.

This season, Lambert, 27, who has a professional theatre background and who auditioned, horribly, with Bohemian Rhapsody (a song that should carry a bigger penalty than crystal meth), is so individual, that he may change the show forever.

The finalists are unusually talented this season, particularly the 17-year-old Allison Iraheta, the only singer on the same planet as Lambert, or, at the very least, orbiting its dark, spangled regions.

The remaining two are Kris Allen, 23, an affable, light-rock kid, who is best using this show as a costly, occasionally mortifying curriculum vitae for record offers; and Danny Gokey, a huge favourite.

Why is Gokey, this 29-year-old, evangelical Christian, Frankenstein-awkward, nasal destroyer of music, a favourite? Some maintain that it is because his wife of seven years, Sophia, died four weeks before he auditioned, a tragic detail the producers milked, and that Gokey himself exploited by performing Endless Love, crying and flashing his (usually not worn) wedding ring, several weeks ago.

Gokey never looks sad, or even a bit blue. I have grieved goldfish longer than him. No one grieves by auditioning for American Idol. At any rate, Gokey, as a singer, pales next to Lambert.

Every week, Lambert comes out and sings so well, one feels like the professor in the Marlene Dietrich film The Blue Angel, watching, “what God made beautiful.” Or, like the professor in Francine Prose's novel of the same name, whose brilliant creative-writing student only accentuates how horrible the others are.

Lambert has done, among other songs, an Indian-inspired, possibly vulgar cover of Ring of Fire. A rock-screaming, black leather and gangbusters Born to Be Wild. And a rendition of Tears for Fears's Mad World, performed in a haze of white light, that was so haunting, so ingenious, it made the original seem like a mawkish cover.

Each week, his costume, performance style and singing is different, as if he is presenting us with discrete, different, luminous portraits of this artist as a young man.

Is it possible that Idol rigged the numbers last week because Lambert so clearly deserves to and should win.

It is also possible that the over-40s, and others, wanton homophobes (evident everywhere online) do not want a gay/bisexual Idol, but I don't think that is what is happening.

Lambert is so gifted, he destroys the show's entire premise, which is the possibility that anyone can be an American Idol. Each year, aspiring artists have looked to this show and have been able to see themselves in the form of the contestants, the winners. But never in this strange angel; in all his radiance.

 

[TrueEeyore]

You're definetly not the only two! I'm with ya!!

Make that 4!! I LOVED Tracks of My Tears, but I can't handle the shrieking. When he slows it down you can really see he has talent.

BTW, hi everyone! I'm still around, I just don't post much because it's hard with a baby in my arms (like right now- totally one handed typing!)

I'm rooting for Kris. He made it pretty darn far for not having a back story and early airtime (did we even see his audition? I don't remember)

 

[Robinrs]

Still on the road but wanted to drop in and subscribe to the new thread. I'm so upset that I'll be missing the show tomorrow and hope all the Glamberts vote till the redial button on the phone wears out.

To get you in the Adam worship mode here's an article in today's Arts section of the Globe and Mail - and I'll say again that she reflects the view of every musician I know inluding the show's mentors. Slash tweeted last week:" I had rehearsal for AI late last night, I mentor the kids this afternoon.” and then later, after his session, “Those AI kids can sing their asses off, especially Adam.”

BTW, check out the TMZ video were Adam gracefully deals with the "Friend of Dorothy" question: http://www.tmz.com/2009/05/04/adam-lambert-the-question-we-wouldnt-ask/
Gokey's night out video, in contrast, is SO lame.


Is Adam Lambert too gay to win Idol, or is he too good?
by LYNN CROSBIE
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

My screen-saver: A smiley-faced, black-haired man with dramatic, arched eyebrows, wearing midnight blue against an electric-blue background.

My blue angel is American Idol's Adam Lambert.

Lambert is in the top four, and this week, we shall see if he passes through toward the final stretch. Last week, he was in the bottom three of five, leaving the media and fans shocked and dismayed. A typical bulletin board posting asks whether Lambert's sexuality is at fault (he is gay or bisexual, as it goes). One online journalist, in the actionable manner of The Daily Mirror's 1956 summation of the “luminous, quivering, giggling” Liberace, wondered if the “flamboyant” singer ruined his chances last week by “sashaying” around, with so much “showmanship” (all straight-code for: “He acted gay”). Lambert wore a white suit and slicked back his hair. This modern, body-modified Elvis Presley sang, in his three-octave range and with palpable soul, Feeling Good. As one fan noted, bluntly, he was “soooooooo sexy. Seriously, every woman in the audience was having an orgasm.”

What has happened to this show?

It seems so long ago that trash like Kellie Pickler, plainly disturbing screakers like Fantasia Barrino, and plankton-eaters like Ruben Studdard defined American Idol.

Now in its eighth season, the show has altered, completely, its status as The Worst Karaoke Bar in the World (the judges now critique performances routinely as being “too karaoke”). Instead, and also reflected in the four-panel jury's exceptionally limited repertoire of remarks, “song choice” or more precisely, song-interpretation, distinguishes one performance from another.

This phenomenon began last year with winner David Cook, who broke away from the herd, midseason by copying Chris Cornell's alternative arrangement of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

Flushed with approbation, he began putting his own imprimatur on such dreary songs as Eleanor Rigby and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, adding butch rock-stances, grunting “C'mon!” and hitting big notes the plain songs could scarcely accommodate.

The judges, however, continued to agitate for the success of teenager David Archuleta, a Mormon who, disquietingly, sang John Lennon's Imagine at least twice.

When the relatively lean, attractive Cook won (keep in mind, the show's biggest demographic is that crowd of sexually depraved star-makers, the women who made Tom Jones and whom he calls “the over-40s”), the judges turned tail and started emphasizing individuality, with regard to the choice, execution and performance of the song.

This season, Lambert, 27, who has a professional theatre background and who auditioned, horribly, with Bohemian Rhapsody (a song that should carry a bigger penalty than crystal meth), is so individual, that he may change the show forever.

The finalists are unusually talented this season, particularly the 17-year-old Allison Iraheta, the only singer on the same planet as Lambert, or, at the very least, orbiting its dark, spangled regions.

The remaining two are Kris Allen, 23, an affable, light-rock kid, who is best using this show as a costly, occasionally mortifying curriculum vitae for record offers; and Danny Gokey, a huge favourite.

Why is Gokey, this 29-year-old, evangelical Christian, Frankenstein-awkward, nasal destroyer of music, a favourite? Some maintain that it is because his wife of seven years, Sophia, died four weeks before he auditioned, a tragic detail the producers milked, and that Gokey himself exploited by performing Endless Love, crying and flashing his (usually not worn) wedding ring, several weeks ago.

Gokey never looks sad, or even a bit blue. I have grieved goldfish longer than him. No one grieves by auditioning for American Idol. At any rate, Gokey, as a singer, pales next to Lambert.

Every week, Lambert comes out and sings so well, one feels like the professor in the Marlene Dietrich film The Blue Angel, watching, “what God made beautiful.” Or, like the professor in Francine Prose's novel of the same name, whose brilliant creative-writing student only accentuates how horrible the others are.

Lambert has done, among other songs, an Indian-inspired, possibly vulgar cover of Ring of Fire. A rock-screaming, black leather and gangbusters Born to Be Wild. And a rendition of Tears for Fears's Mad World, performed in a haze of white light, that was so haunting, so ingenious, it made the original seem like a mawkish cover.

Each week, his costume, performance style and singing is different, as if he is presenting us with discrete, different, luminous portraits of this artist as a young man.

Is it possible that Idol rigged the numbers last week because Lambert so clearly deserves to and should win.

It is also possible that the over-40s, and others, wanton homophobes (evident everywhere online) do not want a gay/bisexual Idol, but I don't think that is what is happening.

Lambert is so gifted, he destroys the show's entire premise, which is the possibility that anyone can be an American Idol. Each year, aspiring artists have looked to this show and have been able to see themselves in the form of the contestants, the winners. But never in this strange angel; in all his radiance.

Over 40s? Uhh... I resemble that number....

Boy this guy needs to work on emoting his opinion!

I'm also on the road, I'm in Houston on a business trip. I can still log on and have fun tonight!!

 

[Robinrs]

Sarah Mclachlan sings it. I went to her concert a few weeks after my mom died and cried my eyes out when she sang that. I still do each time hear it. It is a very good song for people who have lost a loved one.

I remember Paul McCartney crying about his wife Linda when she sang it for him. It really touches your soul if you've ever been thru this...

 

[Robinrs]

OMGooodness, Constantine was just nominated for a Tony Award!!

 

[ckay87]

Over 40s? Uhh... I resemble that number....

Boy this guy needs to work on emoting his opinion!

I'm also on the road, I'm in Houston on a business trip. I can still log on and have fun tonight!!

Are you kidding me, did he just portray "over 40s" as homophobes? Loser. By stereotyping a demographic as being closed-minded, he is being just that.

 

[ckay87]

Any other "over 40s" with me tonight, having a SLASH party?? On his Twittering, Slash is VERY fond of Adam. He said...quote..."those Idol kids can sing their ***** off, especially Adam." Anyhow, I've blown off all my plans for tonight (a committee meeting? I think NOT) and am going to party!

 

[Robinrs]

Are you kidding me, did he just portray "over 40s" as homophobes? Loser. By stereotyping a demographic as being closed-minded, he is being just that.

If he's LUCKY he'll be "over 40" one day and he'll realize the error of his thoughts... Over 40 KNOWS Under 40... if you know what I mean.

Cannot WAIT till tonight!!

 

[damo]

If he's LUCKY he'll be "over 40" one day and he'll realize the error of his thoughts... Over 40 KNOWS Under 40... if you know what I mean.

Cannot WAIT till tonight!!

What "he" are you guys talking about? If it is the author of the article "he" is a 45 year old female.

 

[MissDisney121]

Make that 4!! I LOVED Tracks of My Tears, but I can't handle the shrieking. When he slows it down you can really see he has talent.

BTW, hi everyone! I'm still around, I just don't post much because it's hard with a baby in my arms (like right now- totally one handed typing!)

I'm rooting for Kris. He made it pretty darn far for not having a back story and early airtime (did we even see his audition? I don't remember)

I agree about Kris. He is so good and we didn't even get to see him until he made it to the top 36. But I think Adam is still my fav. I really hope Gokey goes home this week, I am so sick of his kareoke and a Adam, Kris, Allison top 3 would be great.


OT the picture of your little boy in your siggie is just too cute.

 

[damo]

This youtube video of Matt on the Ellen show is really cute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5ApX8FRqc4

 

[FergieTCat]

I'm over 40, and my taste in music tends towards Adult Contemporary. But I love Adam. I've been downloading his songs from Itunes (yes, gasp, I'm over 40 and have an Ipod!).

I think Adam appeals to a broad fan base.

 

[Disneylover79]

I am so glad it is Tuesday.... I missed last week because I was on a cruise, so I can't wait to get back on track with AI....