American Idol - Season 10

[NDN]

Over the years we have had some good discussions about American Idol amongst the members here who watch the show. So, this shall be the place for AI followers to share their thoughts as the season progresses.

This week was the semifinal rounds with the guys singing yesterday, the girls singing today, and the voting results coming tomorrow.

Before we cover the performances, we should note that this season we saw two judges leave and Jennifer Lopez & Steven Tyler take their places. When the new judges were first announced, I was pretty skeptical. Although, when the audition rounds aired, I was actually pleasantly surprised with both judges. However, during the live shows yesterday and today, I've lost a little hope for all three judges. Jennifer Lopez loves everyone and has a hard time criticizing a bad performance. Steven Tyler is a little more critical, but still a little too gentle with his remarks. Randy has taken more of a "Simon" approach, but it bugs me that when he makes a valid point and the other two disagree with him he backs off and gives in to the newcomers.

Guys Night
Anyhow, as for the guy's performances, I thought it was absolutely the worst show I have seen to date. I honestly couldn't believe some of the great things the judges had to say about some of the worst performances ever. That's not to say there weren't some good performances, but overall, it was just awful. Twelve people sang and five are voted in (along with three extra picks from the judges). My top five (in no particular order) are; Casey, Jacob, Paul, Stefano, Brett.

Girls Night
The girls gave the show some redemption and there were actually some quality performances (thank god)! There were certainly some horrid singers, but overall, they did a far better job than the guys. My top five (once again in no particular order) are; Haley, Karen, Kendra, Thia, Lauren.

I think the judges get to pick three wild cards who don't get voted in, so I would like to see; Pia, Robbie, Rachel.

All my selections are based on my opinion of their vocal talent thus far (which we have limited material to go off of).

The results of the voting are largely influenced by a younger voting crowd (mainly female) so the results are never a good indication of who has the most talent.

I think James will be a lock based on voting, but he's just another Adam Lambert (only not nearly as good as Adam was) so I could do without him this season. Scotty is getting some buzz, but I just don't see how he can progress in the show without sounding the same each and every week.

Feel free to share your thoughts as the season progresses!

[taylovesthebeatles]

Casey - I like him better with a bit more of his growl, but this was amazing and sexy and very well sung.

Haley -Wow, I'm shocked you finally didn't like Haley. Good for you, NDN! Thing is, I thought she was actually decent, perhaps even good this week. Janis is definitely a good spot for her, but I remain unconvinced she can sing anything else.

Jacob - Jacob was amazing, and I'm glad he switched songs, because he nailed MJ. It was great, and he got better control of his "I'm poopin!" face, which was good.

James - Best performance of the night, and not just because he sang a Beatles song. I love this kid, he's amazing and inspirational, and a true artist. Definitely better than Adam Lambert. Deserves to win.

Lauren - Her Aretha was strictly worse than Aretha. Bottom three.

Pia - This was not good. She should stick to ballads.

Scotty - I thought he sounded best when his voice got to go back down to his lower registers where he just nails every country song ever written, but it was still a great performance. Deserves to be in the finals with James.

Stefano - Stefano sucks, and Randy had it right when he was talking about him rushing through phrasing in the song. Bottom three for sure.

Paul - I still like Paul, and he did a really good job with this song. He should definitely stick around, at least for another couple weeks.

My top three: James, Scotty, Paul
My bottom three: Lauren, Stefano, Pia
America's bottom three: Stefano, Lauren, Pia

[NDN]

I have no idea what the hell you were watching, or possibly smoking, but I don't think you were watching the same show we were watching!

I was watching the worst American Idol show probably to date (for this deep in the season anyway).

What were you guys watching that was so good; Teen Mom 2?

[NDN]

My bottom three: Lauren, Stefano, Pia
America's bottom three: Stefano, Lauren, Pia

Lol. Love that you changed the order of your bottom three and America's bottom three, yet kept the same three singers! Classic!

[klinkman]

Is this like last night's Conan where the West Coast got 30 minutes of commercials and a screwed up show, but it only happened for NDN? That's the only explanation for his post...

[klinkman]

Overall I thought this was a very good performance. Performances that would have been middle of the pack in past weeks are bottom three this week, in my opinion.

Jacob: I definitely thought he did well with the song. He'll need more performances at least that good to make a run in this competition

Haley: Definitely the best performance I've heard from her. Not that that's saying much, but hey it is going the right direction.

Casey: See, I've always thought the upright bass was awesome and had a place in modern acoustic rock, and here Casey made it so. The mandolin was a nice touch too. I guess it might have been a little sleepy on a night of big uptempo performances, but I really liked it.

Lauren: She's been in my bottom three for several weeks now, and this week I expect her to be in America's bottom three as well. This wasn't even that bad to be honest, but it was sandwiched between good performances on all sides and pales to the original, leaving her alone in mediocrity.

James: I guess the way to top yourself was to not go over the top at all. Completely nailed the performance, and it stands out in my mind because it was so different than the rest of the performances.

Pia: The first note that she completely missed set the tone for the performances. She missed note after note, and it was glaringly obvious to me where she was wrong. She seemed out of her element here, and this was a bad week to stumble.

Scotty: He's been waiting this entire competition to bust out the Elvis hasn't he. He actually didn't seem as polished as you'd expect from someone who's wanted to sing like him their entire life. But there's a reason why the girls flock to him on stage like they did Elvis. He's not going anywhere and nor should he.

Stefano: Why is he still here? The song exposed every weakness in his voice, and man there are too many to count. This is probably the last straw for him though, he was bad in a week full of good.

Paul: I guess Paul finally found a song where he could bring his voice out. He can't sing Cash every week, and his voice doesn't seem suited to anything else. Still, he shouldn't be voted off this week, this was his best to date.

Winner: Based on what I've said past weeks, I almost have to give it to Haley. She finally hit it this week and caught up to the rest of the pack. I can't pick a standout strong performance otherwise, but Jacob and James had strong weeks.

My bottom 3: Stefano - Pia - Lauren
I think there was a clear cut between the rest of the performances and these 3.

America's bottom 3: Stefano's the only lock here in my mind. Paul hit it and got the pimp spot. Haley still might be, even though she had the week of her life in my mind. Jacob got the kiss of death and that's going hurt him. Pia has a big fan base and probably won't end up here. Lauren's managed to avoid it this long, why start now?

Going home: Stefano. And it's not even really close.

[NDN]

Is this like last night's Conan where the West Coast got 30 minutes of commercials and a screwed up show, but it only happened for NDN? That's the only explanation for his post...

That gives us a little more insight as to why our opinions differ so greatly. I say that because I absolutely despise Conan (have never liked him on any platform) and I have learned over the years that there are some big differences between people who like Conan and people who hate Conan (and there is no middle ground).

[Ringo]

Project Free TV :: American Idol

for those who still pay through the nose for TV

Lusky- reminds me of a small child hugging his favorite stuffed animal/ vote total way down
Haley- her popularity is rising but no where near the top 3
Jacob- ZzzzzZzzzz his "revolutionary" Bass got all the props, while his voice died and so did his vote total
Lauren- Boring Karaoke performance- totally forgettable and so is she
James- was OK wish he had sang that song 1 key lower with abit of a scratchy voice, his tears
leaped him into the top 3 again
Scotty: I will say it again, My wife gets titilated everytime she sees him and I actually liked his performance when I closed my eyes and didn't have to watch his silly face and hand movements. My wife says, "Girls, love that stuff" CHRIST THE DECK IS STACKED
Now I know why my dad hated Elvis when he was young, because all the girls loved him.
Pia: Horns in the background are terrible and drown out alot of vocals, the judges praises are keeping her in the Top 3, funny thing is that I can't get that damned huge song out of my head, Disney is going to love her singing all the animated soundtracks
Stephano: finally takes off his sneakers lol The song OWNED HIM and he sounded the same as he has every week
Paul: ruined a great Johnny Cash song for me, too fast paced and too weird of a voice with no lower register 'perfect imperfect boy" said Steven I want to throw up

overall NDN hit on the head, this show was soooo BORING
I only saw 3 songs changed up alittle from the originals and the judges didn't critisize anyone because of it.

I have been to better Karaoke nights locally.

DialIdol has Scotty getting 11 mil votes followed by James with 9 mil and Pia with 7 mil and everone else with 3 mil and fewer

It's a 3 horse race now and Pia will fade early in the stretch with her lack of " IT FACTOR" and James will fade at the finish while scotty wins never breaking a sweat laughing all the way.

[NDN]

overall NDN hit on the head, this show was soooo BORING
I only saw 3 songs changed up alittle from the originals and the judges didn't critisize anyone because of it.

You make a great point there. The judges had nothing but great things to say about every performance and I was baffled by that because it was such a weak night of American Idol.

[taylovesthebeatles]

Lol. Love that you changed the order of your bottom three and America's bottom three, yet kept the same three singers! Classic!

I did that because I was trying to think of someone else to put in there instead, but realized I couldn't.

[taylovesthebeatles]

Project Free TV :: American Idol

for those who still pay through the nose for TV

Lusky- reminds me of a small child hugging his favorite stuffed animal/ vote total way down
Haley- her popularity is rising but no where near the top 3
Jacob- ZzzzzZzzzz his "revolutionary" Bass got all the props, while his voice died and so did his vote total
Lauren- Boring Karaoke performance- totally forgettable and so is she
James- was OK wish he had sang that song 1 key lower with abit of a scratchy voice, his tears
leaped him into the top 3 again
Scotty: I will say it again, My wife gets titilated everytime she sees him and I actually liked his performance when I closed my eyes and didn't have to watch his silly face and hand movements. My wife says, "Girls, love that stuff" CHRIST THE DECK IS STACKED
Now I know why my dad hated Elvis when he was young, because all the girls loved him.
Pia: Horns in the background are terrible and drown out alot of vocals, the judges praises are keeping her in the Top 3, funny thing is that I can't get that damned huge song out of my head, Disney is going to love her singing all the animated soundtracks
Stephano: finally takes off his sneakers lol The song OWNED HIM and he sounded the same as he has every week
Paul: ruined a great Johnny Cash song for me, too fast paced and too weird of a voice with no lower register 'perfect imperfect boy" said Steven I want to throw up

overall NDN hit on the head, this show was soooo BORING
I only saw 3 songs changed up alittle from the originals and the judges didn't critisize anyone because of it.

I have been to better Karaoke nights locally.

DialIdol has Scotty getting 11 mil votes followed by James with 9 mil and Pia with 7 mil and everone else with 3 mil and fewer

It's a 3 horse race now and Pia will fade early in the stretch with her lack of " IT FACTOR" and James will fade at the finish while scotty wins never breaking a sweat laughing all the way.

Two points: CASEY played the bass, not Jacob, and did a mighty fine job of it, and Paul's rendition was not too fast, it was just right.

[eejit101]

Ok, who is the guy with the beard

[Ringo]

Scotty is the guy with the beard you british wanker


PIA IS BOOTED OFF TONIGHT

WOW what a surprise but proves once again that we who write silly comments only represent
less than 1% of the voting public, while you and I might vote once or twice, the tweens and teen girls are voting 100 times.

This show is really starting to annoy me

[taylovesthebeatles]

Scotty is the guy with the beard you british wanker


PIA IS BOOTED OFF TONIGHT

WOW what a surprise but proves once again that we who write silly comments only represent
less than 1% of the voting public, while you and I might vote once or twice, the tweens and teen girls are voting 100 times.

This show is really starting to annoy me

Yeah but DialIdol had her pwning with the most busy signals, indicating she'd surely stay on. Now I'm just confused.

[NDN]

The bottom three were Jacob, Stephano, and Pia.

I wasn't surprised with Jacob or Stephano.

I'm tiring of Jacob's voice / arrangements and it appears as though the rest of America is too.

We all know Stephano isn't among the strongest contestants and it's only a matter of time before the few "girl" votes he is getting aren't enough to keep him around.

Pia was a little bit of an initial shock, but after thinking about it, I am not all that surprised. She certainly has a better voice than a lot of the remaining contestants, but she hasn't shown any personality at all. I think it's an absolute must to have some personality and connect with the viewers on some level. I liken it to having the actual Celine Dion in the competition. Sure she'd have the best voice, but are the young voters going to go for the pure vocal talent vs. someone with some personality who puts on a good show? It's almost as though she was trying to hard to be perfect and flawless on and off stage that she forgot there is more to the competition than just having a great voice.

[Ringo]

Yeah but DialIdol had her pwning with the most busy signals, indicating she'd surely stay on. Now I'm just confused.

This might help your confusion Tay
It's really quite simple math:

BS- (Tx+IV) = DISN

In other words

Busy signals minus texting plus internet voting equals dial idol sucks now

This was a huge blow to dial idols reputation, like a tsunami in the night.
AI producers are loving this alot, but at what cost. AI ratings will surely suffer now.
Having 60 year old guys running around on stage with their shirts off is not helping either.
I also don't like the way the producers are telling these kids what to do and how to sing.
I have heard plenty of bad advise and in some cases hurt the contestant. Where are the weekly mentors? I can't wait till Obama makes a televisit and puts his 1 cents worth in.

Note: Remember Kevin Skinner won Americas got talent
latest news on Kevin:

Kevin Skinner will be performing an "unplugged" benefit concert for St Joseph Catholic School in Mayfield, KY on Sat., Feb 26, 2011 at 7:30pm.

News for 4-6-11

The 2nd Annual MKS Ozark Mountain Rendezvous is fast approaching. We all had such a great time last June! Anyone and everyone who enjoys and appreciates Kevin Skinner is welcome to attend. Mark your calendars now for the weekend of April 29 - May 1, 2011. There will be a Meet & Greet dinner at Tres Amigos in Mountain View, Arkansas, on Friday, April 29,


Need I say more

[Ringo]

This years American Idol seems to be all about getting laughs instead of
producing some great music that people would want to listen to over and over.
Even Kris Allen produced a couple of great sounding songs, along with Adam Lambert
and David Cook. Even that dreadlock kid named David, sang that tiny Tim song yet sold a huge number on Itunes. I haven't seen that moment yet this year.

[NDN]

This years American Idol seems to be all about getting laughs instead of
producing some great music that people would want to listen to over and over.
Even Kris Allen produced a couple of great sounding songs, along with Adam Lambert
and David Cook. Even that dreadlock kid named David, sang that tiny Tim song yet sold a huge number on Itunes. I haven't seen that moment yet this year.

You must not have seen Haley's performance of Benny and the Jets yet then!

[eejit101]

British wanker? blow me

[NDN]

British wanker? I love you

I love you Punxatawney Eej

[eejit101]

I love you Punxatawney Eej

even cuter

[CRob44]

i stopped watching last year, too many voting for one person over and over, wrong people winning and not singing any good songs on the radiio i would like

[klinkman]

Doing something different and doing an intial reaction post as they each sing. If you feel this is spammy, feel free to merge or delete!

[klinkman]

I'd like it if Paul just didn't try to sing anything, including old time rock and roll. God he just sucks. His voice just gets on my nerves more and more. Good news is they kiss of deathed him, hopefully this is the end of the line.

[klinkman]

A bad singer singing a worse song. I don't expect her to steal anyone's votes, but hey I've thought she's belonged in the bottom 3 for a month-so what do I know?

[klinkman]

Also, most beautiful woman in the world? J-Lo isn't in the top billion!