American Idol: Season 7 thread

Because Carly is a plant. She was signed by a gent named Randy Jackson when he was VP of A&R at MCA and when she was Carly Hennessey (Smithson is her maried name). She is considered one of the biggest busts of all time. MCA dropped $2.2 MILLION for Carly to sell all of 357 (That is NOT a typo!) CD's when they dropped her in 2002. Rick, you and the Court probably spent maybe $50K and sold 100 times what she did.

As for me, I am proud to say I voted 400 times last night for Amanda. My favs are Amanda, David Cook and Chekezie. I also have a soft spot for Josiah Leming.

The sad part this season is that they have what seems to me a bunch of career minor leaguers looking for that last shot at the majors. Furthermore, they are setting this up as a coronation for David Archuleta because the hottest market is the Hannah Montana crowd, and they will lap him up like mad.

Peace,
Ray C.

I didn't realize the history about Carly, but she was in hot water last night. Apparently, she's not making the impression with the American public that she should be. I agree totally with your comment about Archuleta and the Hannah Montana crowd. Your comment is dead on. I believe the American Idol machine is setting David up to be the next "teen sensation" and his career into his 20's will be a total bomb. Oh well, he'll make his millions either way, plus his mommy and daddy will be set for life as well.

In all honesty, I think it's pretty pointless to watch the rest of the season, because I think we all know the outcome. I'll simply continue to watch it to give me something to criticize! :lol:

~Brian~
 
How many times will Kristy be in the bottom two before finally getting voted off? Sheesh. I agree Amanda is one dimensional, but she was finally starting to show some personality at least and is still way more talented than Kristy.

The David "Oh man...oh wow... oh geez" fake humility act is indeed growing ridiculously tiresome, as is Jason Castro's "blowing air out of my cheeks wide eyed in the hopes I can get girls to vote for me" act.

I like Carly and Michael Johns (though that post about Carly having a contract with MCA sounds like a scandal waiting to blow up).

Jason
 
I started liking David Cook the last couple weeks, and Carly has a good voice, but sucked doing Blackbird(which I think Castro should of done that). I still like Michael Johns too, he just needs to really bump it up a notch.
 
The bottom 3 looked accurate to me. Would have preferred Carly gone, but Amanda deserved to go.


On a side note: I kinda wish that once we got down to maybe the top 8 or something, that there would be one round where public voting didn't count. Basically, a round where the judges must collectively eliminate one contestant would inject a little more integrity to the whole process. It would eliminate train wrecks like Sanjaya Malakar from turning the show into a bigger circus than it already is. The judges would be able to effectively eliminate some who was only making it by on a gimmick, or some other stupid reason. It would also insulate the truly great singers, at least for one round, from being voted off just because they weren't as popular or good looking.
 
The bottom 3 looked accurate to me. Would have preferred Carly gone, but Amanda deserved to go.

Carly didn't even come close to deserving the bottom three status! In my opinion, she has the best and most versatile voice on the entire show. The rest of the gang sings one style well and that's about it. From what I can tell, Carly can do a lot with her range and voice.

~Brian~
 
The bottom 3 looked accurate to me. Would have preferred Carly gone, but Amanda deserved to go.


On a side note: I kinda wish that once we got down to maybe the top 8 or something, that there would be one round where public voting didn't count. Basically, a round where the judges must collectively eliminate one contestant would inject a little more integrity to the whole process. It would eliminate train wrecks like Sanjaya Malakar from turning the show into a bigger circus than it already is. The judges would be able to effectively eliminate some who was only making it by on a gimmick, or some other stupid reason. It would also insulate the truly great singers, at least for one round, from being voted off just because they weren't as popular or good looking.

Are you being serious, Rocky or has the battery on my sarcasm meter died again? :lol:

Having the judges insert themselves into the voting process wouldn't any "fairer" than having the weekly popularity contest known as America's vote (if that's really what it is.) If left to the judges David Archuleta would have already won and there would be no need to drag the show out for three more months. David appeals to the Hannah Montana crowd and don't think for a minute that everyone involved with the show doesn't see the most CA$H potential if he were to win.

As someone else has said Carly Smithson/Hennessey looks to be a plant on the show (had a previous record contract/album released in 2001 on MCA, and that album contained a song written by Danielle Brisebois that Kelly Clarkson also recorded ("Just Missed The Train.") Rumors also abound that Randy Jackson may have worked for MCA at the time all this went down. Seems like a good way to recoup lost money if she is to do well on the show. Now, all of this doesn't mean I don't like Carly (as I know you don't) because I do - I think she's one of the best singers on the show. I'm just saying that American Idol isn't on the up-and-up when it comes to who gets presented on the show and how they get presented. I don't think for a minute that Randy, Paula and Simon are the only three votes/opinions that are used to determine who makes it to the top 24.

Also, having the show be a circus is EXACTLY what the producers want... the longer controversy drags out on the show (i.e. Sanjaya) the more people will tune in and/or vote. The more votes the more $$$ AI makes, obviously.

As I alluded to before, I'm still not convinced that "America's Vote" determines who stays and who goes each week anyway... Until they start releasing the actual voting totals, they can say whatever they want with regards to who was in the bottom three, and who will eventually win. I don't see the guys from PricewaterhouseCoopers with their briefcases certifying any results, do you?
 
Are you being serious, Rocky or has the battery on my sarcasm meter died again? :lol:


Yes, I am being serious. Let me clarify my position. You mentioned that AI "wants" a circus for better ratings, and I agree. What I'm suggesting is more of a fail safe to prevent extreme cases to continue moving on based on gimmicky behavior or a bizarre cult following. Case in point: Sanjaya Malakar. His voice was awful. He was a horribly uncomfortable performer, and had no marketable sex appeal/personality. His AI success was tantamount to the class geek getting voted in as prom king just as a joke. As the show continued on, it became even more of a joke, and resulted in more qualified contestants being ousted while he remained.


Now, I'm not necessarily saying there's any contestant(s) this year who fit this mold, at least not anymore. But, to find(or attempt) a balance between circus/legitimacy, having at least one round in the later stages where the judges could weed out such a contestant might be a good idea.


Regarding Carly. I'm sorry but I just don't find anything unique about her or her voice. She seems overly smug(not as bad as the rocker Cook), and that's a turnoff for me. Frankly, she's just too bland for my tastes.
 
I thought Michael Johns tore it apart last night. David Cook sounded good, but it pisses me off the judges said he was so daring, so original and brave, when all he did was do Chris Cornell's version of Billie Jean note for note. I guess the judges just need to listen to some other music for christ sake so they know this shit has already been done and it isn't original, just a version they haven't heard.
 
Next is Ramiele, Kristy, Brooke, Archuleta, Syesha. All 5 of them just annoy the crap out of me. Ramiele and Kristy just do nothing interesting and their voices just are blah to me. Brooke can only sing monotone with piano, Archuleta just needs to go Disney and leave, he might as well just morph into mickey mouse. Syesha has a decent voice, she just bores the shit out of me.
 
I think Michael Johns and David Cook were amazing this week. It's a shame Chikezie is gone, I'd rather have seen Kristy gone (although she's a hottie hehe) or Ramiele...

We'll see...Archuleta may have his days counted, especially after the "theme park with animated creatures" gone...LOL
 
Brooke White - The straight hair looked better, but you're still creepy. She should be doing Christian Rock concerts.

David Cook - Not as good as he thinks he is. His ego makes him unlikeable for my tastes.

Michael Johns - Solid performance, but should really investigate the word "versatility." He's basically using AI as an audition for a Daughtry-esque rock band.

Ramielle - I really don't mind her at all. Maybe because she's alarmingly forgettable. She really needs a HUGE performance next week. It would be a first.

Kristy Lee Cook - Simon was right, it was a clever song. Also a shitty song. Talk about pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Carly - Looked like she was taking a huge dump during her performance. I mean, we get it, you had a record deal and can sing. But you're showing us why you didn't make it...you're boring and predictable.

Jason Castro - Blah performance. But, maintained his laid back mentality, which won him criticism from Simon. Frankly, a few of the other contestants should learn from Castro and not take themselves so seriously. He's refreshing.

Archuleta - Maybe some hard drugs would save him from the Disney rap.

Syesha - Cliche performer. Cliche performance. Drop the fucking theater-style bullshit during the judges comments.