I try to ignore most of it because the fact of the matter is that the show turns out a remarkably consistent (if predictable) product. This season, the detractors have much more ammunition: Paula left, Ellen came on board and Simon is leaving for greener (?) pastures.
That means next year, the only constants will be Randy and Seacrest. Guess which of them is the more expendable. MSNBC says the show has become all about Seacrest and that he's the problem.
I hardly disagree with either statement, as for the past several seasons, the show has seemed to hinge more on the judges's inane banter than the actual singing and that Seacrest runs his yap too much, unlike other hosts like Tom Bergeron who keep things moving and the emphasis on the talent.
Seacrest has become ubiquitous throughout media, hosting a TV show, his radio program and seeming to be everywhere at all times. I think he wants to be the next Dick Clark, only he's much more annoying and has a better stylist.
It used to be that Seacrest was the singers's friend; he was there to console them after a bad performance, he talked back to Simon when they were too scared to do so themselves, and he stood by to celebrate the good times. Now, he's part of the spectacle. He grills the singers and the judges. He talks too much, stifling the action, not providing a segue from one performance to the next.
I wish he'd either take a double dose of humility pills or just go away.
Lucky for us, Glee is back, which means Idol is only an hour. That's right, 10 minutes, 30 seconds of singing, 48½ minutes of Seacrest, the judges's yappage, product placement and advertising.
Before show starts, let me say that I'd like to see Kate go home tonight on DWTS, but I don't think we'll be that fortunate. At leasts she didn't cry during her pre-dance montage. I'm dismayed that DWTS has gone the Idol route an introduced themes; why can't the theme be the dances? A couple of weeks ago, it was "story" night and last night they had to interpret movies. WTF? Just dance a tango. Or quickstep. Or cha-cha.
Nicole returned to top-form, although grumpy Len denied her the perfect 30 she deserved. Everyone else is fighting for scraps, although I think Erin is coming on strong. Maybe Maks has learned a thing or two about choreography. It helps that Julianne and defending champ Kym aren't on this season and the other two-time champ (Cheryl) got stuck with a guy who has two left feet. I don't think they're going to win, but they could make a strong run at Evan and Anna for second place.
Casey gets the Dead Man's Spot and his "inspirational" song is some Fleetwood Mac. As with all of his performances, it's solidly in his comfort box. This song really needs to have the USC marching band. I'm not wowed, but it's not bad either. Randy calls him out and he's right. I'm not saying that he needs to show up with a sitar, but he's got to try a different tack every now and then.
Getting the random sit-down interview is Lee who no longer has the opportunity to make Danny Gokey babies with Andrew (at least until the tour starts). I don't know why I don't like him. Mrs. High Lord says it's because his eyes always look "sad" and that he's not a very exciting guy. I think he's better than I give him credit, but I can't remember a performance of his that I'd even think about paying money for. His version of "The Boxer" is too slow. The swaying is about to put me asleep. Like Casey, he's a big "meh" for me. Maybe he just needs to smile more.
Borrowed Time probably should have gone home last week, but no, he's still around to torture Mrs. High Lord. If Andrew Lloyd Webber were on again this year, he'd tell Tim the same thing he told The Arch: Open your eyes. I kind of like him tonight, although that could be more a reflection of the competition than how well he actually did.
I wonder about the theme and how deep the song book is this week. I just don't find many "inspirational" songs to be very up-tempo and exciting. Can't we all agree that the most inspirational song to be on the show is "A Moment Like This"?
The big beneficiary of GHA's ouster is Aaron who is trying on a child molester's song. This could either be good or a near biblical disaster (if you don't mind a little hyperbole). I'm leaning towards the latter. Did you know he's only 16? The song is too big for him, although it doesn't get as far out of control as I had feared. At least he's witty enough to make a pre-school graduation joke.
This afternoon, my new computer arrived. It's an Alienware computer I bought from Dell's outlet website.
Siobhán is breaking two-thirds of Idol's Cardinal Rule #1 (to the right). This is the first truly "inspirational" song of the night. Frankly, I preferred the Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky version in the movie to the Whitney/Mariah radio recording. Siobhán does a perfectly serviceable job and doesn't resort to screaming in an uncontrolled way. The judges undeservedly pan her. The butterflies are a bit odd. Here's a better version.
Borrowed Time 2.0 (aka Big Mike) is rocking the white Members Only jacket, at least before he has to play the guitar. What happened to the days of a singer taking the stage by themselves? Why does everyone have a string section, back-up singers and a diggery doo? Mike is okay, although I don't think the judges should have saved him. This week, he's the best of the night (so far), although that's not saying a lot.
Switching places from last week (when she went first and Casey went last), CBX tries two new things: no instrument and a dress that shows off the girls (not a complaint about either). This makes her second Pimp Spot of the season, and she's the only singer of this crop that I would pay money to hear. This is #24 on the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (as of 2004). This performance single-handedly destroyed the six remaining singers.
Last week, there was talk that she was thinking about withdrawing, but Seacrest talked her out of it, but now that might have been a hoax [sarcastic voice=on]Noooooooooooo!!!![/sarcastic voice]
The Good
Crystal, "People Get Ready"
The Bad
Mike, "Hero"
Tim, "Better Days"
Siobhán, "When You Believe"
Lee, "The Boxer"
Aaron, "I Believe I Can Fly"
Casey, "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow"
The Ugly
no one tonight
I think a lackluster performance could possibly land Casey in the bottom 3, although I don't think he'll be going home tomorrow night. In fact, I don't think anyone is going home tomorrow; if they follow past patterns, they'll save everyone tomorrow and then eliminate two people next week. After all, it's kind of crappy to kick someone off on "inspirational" song night. Plus, it will give more people a reason to tune in next week.
By the way, my hunter is up to level 61. Once I get to the level cap (65), I'm going to do a bunch of reputation quests and then start leveling up my captain (currently level 11).
There were some singers who weren't great and probably deserved to be grouped into "The Ugly", but I'm feeling unusually magnanimous tonight. Just don't let me watch the recording of the show, or I'll probably downgrade about four of the singers. At this point in the season, I think most of the awful singers are gone, but that doesn't mean that everyone is good.
Who should be in the bottom 3: Aaron, Casey, Lee
Who will be in the bottom 3: Aaron, Casey, Tim
Who should go home: Tim
Who will go home: Aaron
Tomorrow is Idol's big self-important show. Surprisingly, this is the first time this season that Idol has gone long. I'm going to go finish formatting my new computer.
High Lord. Out.
13 comments:
The audience must have happy hour before this starts - they hollar for everyone. They must be hearing something that I am not.
Connie
Some nights, I think I'm watching a different show than the audience and the judges. Maybe I need to get my hearing or my TV checked.
Good news though over on DWTS - Kate went home! - "Yay!!
Hadn't thought to check, but thanks for the update!
Crystal blew the rest away in the first 5-10 seconds! I'm glad you kind of liked Tim. I didn't think he was as bad as the judges say. I really don't care who goes but I think you're right in that no one will go. Kicking two people off next week will at least make it seem like this season is moving.
I think Casey will be in the B3 too, but won't go home. I think Aaron's leaving us. And I don't care.
Crystal sang what was perhaps the only true inspirational song of the evening and she lit it up.
Siobhan or Aaron might have done better with Carrie's new single, "Temporary Home."
I loved seeing emotion from Crystal. Her vocals have always been amazing, but last night was truly in a different category.
Like you, Dave, I believe they'll save everybody this week and vote off two more next week. They don't want to put a damper on the mood tonight, after all.
I was hoping Crystal would sing that song! Eva Cassidy knocked it out of the park but Crystal was as good if not better! Have to listen to it again to be certain. I thought Lee was fantastic last night though. Siobhan sang her song perfectly and beautifully but it was not a good song choice I think. Everyone else was solid. Like you said Dave, no uglies last night but I'd put Lee up there with Crystal in the Good category.
And YAY! Kate G is GONE GONE GONE! About freaking time.
Siobhán's problem is that she peaked too early (like J-Hud). If Crystal has a problem it's that she's too consistently good (like Melinda).
Of course, I'd look for Crystal to take a dive in about three weeks because she knows she doesn't want to win and have to make pop records for 19E for the rest of her life.
Casey is not improving week to week; he's turned into a OTP who stands behind a mic stand, plays his guitar and looks hot. Like Daughtry, whose trick was to stand behind a mic stand, tilt his head back and glare, Casey could find himself ousted because he's not changing things up a little.
Lee is the most improved, but I just can't stand to watch him sing. Aaron and Tim are the two weakest overall performers, so I would not be surprised to see them both get eliminated next week.
There is an outside chance they'll eliminate someone tonight, but I think if you're going to have a feel good night, you can't George someone at the same time.
There has only been on IGB night elimination (of course they've only had two) it was Michael Johns. So, they probably will eliminate someone tonight, especially since they've already saved one contestant this year. I hope history doesn't repeat itself and we lose another piece of eyecandy !!coughCaseycough!!
With 7 singers left, they like to pull the George Huff stunt (put six people in two groups of three, tell one group they're safe and the other that they're the bottom 3 and then make some poor schlep pick which group he/she is in to be safe), and I think that takes too much time if they want to fit everything else into the IGB show.
It won't surprise me if they eliminate someone tonight, but I also think keeping all seven until next week and then eliminated two people is probably more likely.
I'm impressed that they are going to actually bring in some real talent tonight to perform. So far the guest performers, with the exception of AI the alumns, have been awful. I think the producers have been bringing no-talents like Kesha on just to make the contestants look better in comparison.
I have a theme week idea that kind of contradicts your "don't sing Whitney or Mariah unless you are Whitney or Mariah" rule. (Although lately even Whitney shouldn't be singing Whitney songs.) Nobody wants to be compared to AI greats of the past, but by the time you have hit the top 4 or 5, you should either have the vocal chops to do it or you should go home. So, how about an evening of covering songs that past AI contestants have recorded? It would really test the finalists while promoting the alumni. It would be a win-win.
And I agree that Ryan Seacrest needs to know when to just shut up. Part of the blame lies with the director who should be signaling to him when to wrap it up so they don't go over time. I am a bit appalled that they can't simply assign somebody to keep an eye on the clock and make sure that the show is running on time.
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