American Idol!!!!

[cinmell]

I'd like to see Carmen or Trynyce go tonight.
Rueben sounded good.
I lost interest in Clay, he can sing but I see him in Broadway type shows or Vegas
Josh sounded ok to me
Kimberly was very good
Trynyce-Yuck
Carmen-I think she was better than the past couple of weeks but I don't think her voice is as good as some of the others

 

[Minnie824]

Why does everyone hate Carmen so much? I know she's not the best, but she did good last night. I think Josh should be gone. Also, Randy was harsh with Carmen last night. If his little friend Trenyce isn't good she 'has some pitch problems' but when he doesn't like Carmen he ripped into her and told her she could never win....If he's going to be honest with her, then he should be with everyone else, talking to them the same way!!

Also, Kim Locke is NOT THAT GOOD!!! She started out her song horribly then screamed her way through the end, just like every other song.

And...Simon was complaining that Josh didn't sing country again...yet he tells Clay and Ruben that he wants them to sing in a different style. Isnt that sort of hypocritical? I think they should all sing something other than the same slow stuff they always turn it into...do some opera or rap or something that they probably aren't good at to really see how good they can sing.

IMHO....this whole group is not very good and doesnt come close to some of the bad singers from last year.

 

[Tinkbell]

Originally posted by Minnie824
IMHO....this whole group is not very good and doesnt come close to some of the bad singers from last year.

I said the same thing while watching last night. Last year, I was totally into the performances of Kelly and Tamyra. Nobody this year really comes close to that type of excitement. Of course, that won't stop me from watching every week.

 

[becka]

I had last night's AI on tape but it sounds like everyone pretty much agrees who the bottom 3 should be. Hopefully I will get a chance to watch it before the results show.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I'm with Minnie824. I don't think Carmen is as bad as everyone makes her out to be! If you vote just on last night's performance the bottom three would be Carmen, Trenyce and Josh with the Josh being the one to leave. Carmen greatly improved and I didn't hear her "goat" sounds more than twice.

It doesn't matter who goes in what order because we all know the top three and that's all that counts.

 

[LarryE]

I love carmen's voice and the ending of the notes she uses..

she was alright last night but everyone stunk, there wasn't a great performance all night, I really though ruben was awful, but thats just my opinion

I hope treyence is gone, I definitely wouldn't buy a cd of hers, I wouldn't buy one of kimberly l's either but I would download a song or two of hers

 

[Poohbear123]

RIGHT ON about Carmen, there is NO WAY I would even consider LOOKING at a CD from her! However, Kimberly Locke has IT and so does Clay-ala Barry Manilow! Reuben is OK when he sings certain songs, he is a Barry White sound alike! Josh is DEFINITELY COUNTRY all the WAY! Trenyce is trying too hard NOW, and like Simon says, he knows NOTHING about her! I agree, last years Singers were a LOT better than this year, pretty soon they are ALL going to sound alike, and the show will be Outta here!

 

[Tess]

The judges tell them to "change it up" then they assign genres that lend themselves to just what they've been singing all along?! Was the "disco" night and "#1" night the only two occasions these kids will be able to "take risks". Doing those two nights early on didn't encourage them to take a risk because if they didn't fare well, they wouldn't get a chance to show their stuff later.

Does anyone else think the top 3 are "holding back"? Maybe they aren't willing to put it all on the line until it comes down to the final 3 and the need to do it. As Randy, I believe, said--Ruben and Clay pretty much "had a walk" until Kimberly started to show some of her abilities. (And, truly, I didn't find her all that good either last or this week. She starts out very off-key or something. . .not sure what it is, just doesn't sound good.) Now, it seems as if the judges have decided that it's kind of a 3-way race. Guess we'll see in the end.

My favorite performances were Clay, Kimberly, and Ruben, who despite the judges' opinion to the contrary, I thought was again same old, same old. As much as everyone wants to categorize Clay as "Broadway" (and it was just last week I suggested "Phantom" for him), Ruben is classifiable as well--call it what you will--but not "pop". In fact, I don't think any of the top contenders are "pop" at least not in the sense that we have come to know "pop"--frankly, that's a good thing!

Anyway, my picks for bottom: Josh, Trenyce, and Carmen with the latter gOoOoOoIiIiIiIiNnNnNnNnNnGgGgGgGg, PLEASE! I've been calling for her heave ho for weeks. . .when will America listen? Sometimes I think people get their knickers in a knot over judges' comments and it works against the judges' opinions--people like to vote and root for an underdog!

Looking forward to tonight.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

Carmen's voice wouldn't be all that bad if she would quit doing that yodeling thing. It's almost like fingernails on a chalkboard. I will admit that Josh was worse than her last night, but consistently she is not able to keep up with the others. She really should have been gone a long time ago.

I don't think any of those remaining are as good as last year. As far as them being classifiable, are all singers to a certain extent?? I don't know that I would buy a cd by any of these contestants, winner or not.

 

[snoopy]

I'd probably buy Ruben's CD, can't say that I would be inclined to buy any of the others.

 

[Dodie]

My rankings for last night's performances, best to worst:

1. Clay (He was just ON IT last night!)
2. Kimberley (Getting better every week.)
3. Ruben (Not his best performance, IMHO.)
4. Trenyce (I do wish she'd stop yelling though.)
5. Josh (This makes me sad.)
6. Carmen (She did better than in the past, but she is FLAT all of the time - let alone mentioning that horrible vibrato thing she has going on.)

It PAINS me to put Josh so low because I really like him, but WHAT WAS HE THINKING? WHAT WAS THAT HORRIBLE SONG?

I don't know why the audience was so upset with Simon's comments about Clay. Clay is my personal favorite, but I think that Simon is right. He has a stage voice. He would be perfect on Broadway. This doesn't mean that he couldn't have a recording contract - drawing the common comparison to Barry Manilow's success - but he would be AMAZING on the stage. I think it is a compliment.

I think that Randy may have gotten Carmen some sympathy votes by being so downright mean to her.

 

[Flower4Pwr]

I agree with what everyone else in the forums. If there is justice in the world the bottem 3 will be Trenyce, Josh and Carmen with Carmen begin the one to go. I usually work on wednsdays so I RAReLY get to see AI and all I could think after her performace and the judges comments were that if this is an IMPROVEMENT for her than I can only think about what she has sounded like in the past!
I think Simon is right about Clay, I was thinking the same thing myself! He sounds AWESOME (at least compared to some other *cough*carmen*cough*) but he could really be kicking butt on broadway where as if he were in pop music he would only be scraping by.
I think if the producers know what they are doing they wouldn't want to find another "pop-type" artist; That would cut into their current "cash cow" Kelly Clarksons' audience. They should hope for Rueben or Kim to win so they can have an R&B American Idol and clean up in BOTH markets!
Man, I wish Frenchie was still here...she'd blow some of these kids out of the water!!

Just my 2 cents!

 

[Jeafl]

I think that whoever said that Simon isn't always fair in his remarks is right. He claims that Clay doesn't have "the look" to be a pop star, but he doesn't say that to Ruben, who doesn't have the look either. He complains about Clay not dancing around while he sings, but then says nothing to Ruben who often just sits on a stool and extends one hand to the audience. He used to get on Vanessa about being too fat, but never said a word about it to Ruben. He complains that Clay needs to branch out, but when Josh tries something a little different he complains that he didn't stick to his country roots. He needs to have certain guidelines and stick to them.

I think the Monday night show where they all just sang for fun was great! Everyone (even Carmen) sounded their best. Last night, nobody thrilled me. As much as I like Ruben, it bothered me that for more than half the song he was singing the background Ohhhhhhhhhh, while the background singers were singing all the words! I normally like Josh, but he was definitely off last night. Trenyce sang the same old kind of song she always sings, Carmen yodeled and Kim Locke got off to a rocky start. Even Clay, who I really like, was just "typical". It will be interesting to see who leaves tonight.

 

[JCarangal]

I pretty much agree with most everyone's comments.

I truly enjoyed Kim L's and Clay's performances last night. Although I adore Clay, I have to agree with Simon that he'd make a terrific Broadway star! (I'd go to see any show he was starring in!). Kim L is improving unbelievably and I agree that her confidence and style are really starting to shine.

Simon has also mentioned to Josh (of all people Josh!) that he needs to lose weight, but not said anything to Reuben. I love Reuben's voice - it is just so silky smooth. But I think he is very limited and shines most with the ballads. I don't think of him as a pop idol, but definately an easy-listening type singer.

Josh -- I love him -- love his obvious adoration for his wife and daughter, love him for his service to the country, enjoy him when he sings country songs (When he sang "Amazed", I almost cried - loved it!). That being said, I just don't think he is cut out for this competition. However, I think he has a very strong voting block and may go pretty far based on that.

Trenyce -- she started out being one of my favorites and has sunk to the bottom half of my list. She has been looking really unhappy lately! Whereas some of the others look like they are really enjoying themselves (Reuben and Clay come to mind), she looks like she is either unhappy, or miserable, or scared, or something. I do think she has the most "pop idol" appearance/style of the bunch.

Carmen -- well, I didn't think she was *horrible* last night, but I didn't particularly enjoy her singing. I have been noticing more of the "yodeling" quality in her voice lately. She is a cute girl with a great attitude for being only 18 yo. But I do think she should be the next to go.

JMHO!

 

[Liz]

I don't have time to read all the posts (will later!) but just wanted to add the only one who truly blew me away last night was Kim. I thought she deserved all the praise she got!

And I think its horrible what Randy (& Simon) said to Carmen. Its not the poor girl's fault she's still there. She's not voting for herself a million times. I feel bad for her. I couldn't take that level of criticism without losing it!!!

 

[StampMom]

My "rankings" are the same as TIdoublegaER's:

Ruben
Kim L.
Clay
Trenyce
Josh
Carmen

I think Trenyce, Josh and Carmen will be in the bottom three, but as much as I wish Carmen would get the boot, I think it will be Trenyce to go -- Carmen's fan base and Josh's "patriotism factor" will keep them in.

You know how last week, Simon made a big deal about how he can't stand Clay's facial expressions? I feel the same way about watching Josh -- I hate the way his face, particularly his lips -- look when he sings! He just seems like he's trying too hard -- like he has to "work" to get the notes out, whereas it seems to come much easier for everyone else. Has anyone else noticed this? I think Josh is way out of his league.

I was cracking up, 'cause I found myself agreeing with almost everything Simon was saying last night! I yelled "YES!!" when he told Clay he'd cast him in a minute as the Phantom of the Opera, but he wasn't a "recording artist." I've seen people compare Clay to Barry Manilow, but I think a much more apt comparison is to Michael Crawford.

I've always liked Kim L, although I haven't felt like her performances have been up to her potential until recently. I was glad to see her sing so well last night, and glad to see her recognized as a "contender."

Can't wait to see the results show tonight!!

 

[ckr]

While I defended Carmen last week, and still believe that she had more potential than Kim C and that Kim C had to go, Carmen is definitely next.

Next to go would be Trenyce.

The next 4 are tougher to choose from.

Kim L has a great voice and I chose her early on to be my favorite. But she has been very inconsistent. I do not think she will win in the end.

Josh was terrible last night, but I think he has the best range of styles. DD got the Kelly Clarkson CD for easter, so we've been listening to it A LOT. Several of the songs are VERY GOOD, but most of them sound the same. Different words, but same tempo, vocal range, etc. Of the Top 4 in AI2, I think Josh would have the best chance at a CD with a variety of styles on it.

Reuben can sure sing a ballad, but I don't see any thing else from him. I'd love to see him do something like Ricky did in the LA tryouts when he sang (I think?) "The Way You Make Me Feel" with Trenyce dancing around him. While I can imagine buying a Reuben CD, I can't imagine paying to see him sing in concert. But, I think if he shows this side of himself (more than last night) and does well, he could be the one.

As for Clay, why the big deal about being a POP idol? If Clay has the best voice and people pay to hear him sing on Broadway, why wouldn't they pay to buy his CD? Being an endearing geeky guy with a great voice never hurt Barry Manilow or Neil Diamond. And not being a great dancer never hurt Phil Collins. (Hey, at least he doesn't pound on himself like Celine Dion!) And Billy Joel proved that even a beautiful woman can love a geeky guy who melts her heart with a song. IMO Clay could do very well in the music business for a very long career. But, no, he'll never be Justin Timberlake or PDiddy or Micheal Jackson. But do we really want him to be??

So, I guess I'm in agreement: Carmen, Trenyce and Josh in bottom 3. Josh is safe first. Carmen goes.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

Josh -- I hate the way his face, particularly his lips -- look when he sings!

I felt the exact same way. I couldn't really put my finger on it last night, but he looked constipated!

While I like Trenyce's singing, her facial expressions bother me too. Maybe its because she really doesn't let any emotions come through.

I will be very interested to see who goes tonight - I agree that it could be Trenyce. She doesn't seem to have as big of a following as Carmen and there are a lot of people who don't like her background (ie, shop lifting).

 

[FOJMO]

Bottom Three - Josh, Trenyce, Carmen

And, if there is a GOD, Carmen will be out of there!!!

Now, not to be nit-picky, but have you noticed Carmen's terrible complexion? Zit City! They did their best to cover them up for last night, but some of the clips of stuff during the week (hair coloring) showed her with almost no makeup on and her face was a pimply mess! My DD (17) kept saying EWWWWW!!!!

 

[ead79]

I agree with lots that y'all have said.

I think Simon really needs to decide what he thinks and stick to it. I think it's very hypocritical to tell Clay to perform/dance more and not say anything to Ruben about it. I am much more impressed with Clay's performing abilities than Ruben's. It's also hypocritical to criticize Vanessa's weight and not Ruben's (but I think that's just part of the typical prejudice against women being overweight while it's okay for men to be overweight).

I totally agree that Randy will end up getting Carmen some sympathy votes since he was so mean to her. I thought there was a nicer way to say that she is out of her league than the way he spoke to her.