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!

[klinkman]

That's a big song Stefano, and you don't have a big voice.

Right there, he sounds so exposed trying to sing the big note. He just doesn't have what it takes to sing that kind of song and hit that kind of note.

Well, I think I know who my bottom 3 are!

[klinkman]

Honestly I thought this was one of Scotty's weaker performances, perhaps he shouldn't of changed. I felt like he was off for the intro, and he got pushed around by the backup singers. He hit his stride in the middle, but was weak up until then.

[klinkman]

So they cut Casey's hair and beard more. At this rate he'll look like Howie Mandel by the time they finish.

Now Nat King Cole is awesome. And Casey's performance was awesome. But it's the type of thing that tends to flop when it comes to voting. Jimmy warned him about it.

I mean, I'm 100% going to vote for him, and I really hope the people who actually suck get voted off, but I'm worried for him now. This is the type of performance where Casey beats himself.

[klinkman]

Wow, some criticism from the judges! They weren't harsh enough, It was not good at all! When Steven has to talk about how short her dress is to give a complement, that's how you know it sucked. Maybe I don't know who my bottom 3 are....

[klinkman]

Jacob was pretty good there to be honest. Maybe anyone would have looked good following Haley. It's still clear that he pales to the top of this competition, but hopefully he'll be out of the bottom 3 this week. I count 4 so far that are significantly worse.

[taylovesthebeatles]

I'm doing ths live from my new ipad!

Paul- He's killing it with this song, but I bet Matt hates it. Nice job. I definitely like "Sax with Paul"!

Commercial- wait, Miley has a movie song?

Lauren- Hannah Montana is not a movie! Good god I don't want to even hear this. How would it get Pia's votes?! Lauren's singing ok, but I just can't take this seriously. Yuck. Like Thia, if this is the only kind of song she sings well, that's bad.

Yay vortex of suck with Stefano!- his outfit is super douchey lol. He should lose this thing, stop encouraging him!!! B2M won't connect you with anyone. This sounds super choppy and he still can't hold out a long note. Broken record much? Please let it be the end of the road for him.

Scotty- lol I'd call Will.I.am "dude"! Yay George Strait. Unfortunately he sounds really nervous or something. Ok in the chorus he's back in the zone. Give this kid an album now please?

Casey- why do they keep killing his beard? This guy is a true musician on his bass. Maybe not suited for this type of show bur that performance was killer. Good job sticking to your guns. Lol at JLo admitting it is a popularity contest. I love Casey.

Haley- this isn't even close to impressive. Prancing around screeching should not get you votes, but it probably will. Ugh. I'm not calling her any time soon. You shouldn't just vote to keep a girl on the show! Ugh

Jacob- everyone sings this song, and Jacob's version is terrible. Can I have Clay Aiken back? His version was awesome.

James- He doesn't need pimping but he got it anyway. I don't like Iovine, he's showing himself to be an asshole. All James is saying is give metal a chance! Love.

Bottom three- Jacob, Lauren, Stefano

Going home- Stefano

Hopefully America will keep Casey around.

[klinkman]

Well, I shouldn't have expected anything less from James. He rocked it hard. It might be good that he got the pimp spot, as a good chunk of America just won't vote for a metal singer. But he got votes when he did Judas Priest, this might not be any different.

[klinkman]

My bottom 3: Lauren, Stefano, Haley

Expected bottom 3: Paul, Lauren, Stefano

Going home: Stefano

Winner: James-He got to do the song he wanted, in the pimp spot, and nail it hard.

[taylovesthebeatles]

Correction to my bottom 3: Stefano Haley Jacob

[NDN]

I'm too disappointed with this week's show to give a deep summary.

My Top 3 (In order from best to worst): Jacob, James, Casey (Haley is a close fourth).
My Bottom 3: Paul, Stefano, Scotty
America's Bottom 3: Stefano, Lauren, Paul
Going Home: Stefano

I like the advice Jimmy is giving to people. It's honest REAL advice from someone who knows what they are talking about. He's blunt and I think the contestants can use his input more so than anything any of the judges have said all season. Hell, what he did with Jacob tonight was absolutely amazing and Jacob is going to owe him his life for extending his time on AI. At the end of the day I want the contestants to be who they are (Casey & James made the right decision with their songs), but at least Jimmy is giving them advice from a perspective that matters.

[Ringo]

Paul sounded like a seal arg arg arg
Lauren is too busy partying every night with her new boyfriend star of Twilight to even be taken serious. She's only 16 and her mother lets her party and date Hollywood stars. Shame on that country girl
"you move me beyond tears" REALLY STEVEN REALLY quit fawning over her already you perve.
Stefano: Worst shirt award, what the hell is he spending his $400 a week wardrobe money on? Terrible song choice and I didn't see any performance ROFLMOA
Scotty: I never heard that song before and it bored me stiff and then Randy (bless his big mouth) gave Scotty the curse saying that a star was born on AI stage.
Archeletta same thing, Adam Lambert same thing, Crystal Bowersock same thing.
Thank you Randy
The judges put no pressure on Scotty to do anything other than sing country ballads unlike previous years the contestants are forced to change it up or feel the rath of Simon
Casey the Beatnick that just doesn't fit the hollywood mold but he is trying real hard to change that. I love Nat king Cole but I had never heard that song and I don't believe America took any interest at all in his style of Jazz singing.
Hailey: She shouted a bit to much but I liked the song choice and I did watch her twice. Mad at the judges for dissing her so hard when they praised everyone else in the show but her. BITE ME JUDGES
Jacob: before song looked and acted like he had lost his best friend and then he sings the most depressing song and version of a depressing song I have ever heard (shocked that NDN liked it the best)
He has given up on the compitition> it just proves that you don't want to pull the feather out of a *** mans hat.
James: That's more like it, not his best vocals but he out-performed everyone combined. that a boy James I loved it.

American Idol keeps allowing multiple voting options so they can keep fooling us with record number of votes and now it has backfired on them with Pia getting voted off last week. The talk now is to change voting to 1 vote per household or phone #. That will never happen because the numbers would drop drastactly. Ryan would say this week we got a new
voting process record # of votes with 12 million votes,,,NOT 64 million like they claim they get a week
They have gone cheap this year by not hiring any mentors and my suggestion is even go cheaper next year and can all the judges and just push a mic in front of an audience member,
Could enjoy a few viral monents!!!!

Sorry I sound a little negative today. I would feel better if they would vote off the entire bottom 3 tonight
They know who they are:

Stefano, Jacob and Paul
of the 3 I would not like to ever hear sing again????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????
all three and Lauren

[NDN]

Jacob: before song looked and acted like he had lost his best friend and then he sings the most depressing song and version of a depressing song I have ever heard (shocked that NDN liked it the best)
He has given up on the compitition> it just proves that you don't want to pull the feather out of a *** mans hat.

You have to give credit where credit is due. In what turned out to be a second straight week of boring performances, Jacob was definitely the best of the group. That doesn't mean I am going to go back and watch his performance again, and I still think he falls into the same category as Paul with regards to being the same each week, but at least he sounded good.

[NDN]

The results are in and I think America got one right tonight.

The bottom three were: Stefano, Haley, Paul

The person going home is:

Spoiler

Paul

[taylovesthebeatles]

Both Haley and Stefano should have gone first. Grr. At least Casey is safe.

[NDN]

I just watched Casey & Haley from Elton John week to get me in the mood for tonight's show (the only two performances of the year worth watching twice).

The contestants are singing songs from the 21st century tonight, so I have high hopes that things will get back on track after two consecutive sub-par weeks.

[taylovesthebeatles]

21st century songs, interesting. I'm going to miss Paul...can this please be the end of Stefano?
*
Hm, kind of hokey reunion song lol. *At least Paul gets to sing :p. Yes I'm trying to give Matt as much crap as possible.
*
Now to the show...
*
Scotty- kiss of death spot(?) once again I'm at Scotty's concert! Love this Why is JLo giving him crap??? Boooo he will not get kiss of death! **** the producers.
*
James- Muse song...his voice sounds a bit weak or maybe technical issues? I'm not sure. A bit boring for James honestly. I still like him. *Stop pointing out that he's "crazy" though, please.
*
Haley- this doesn't sound like shes channeling heartache at all... Okay singing I guess but the mood is off.
*
Jacob- I bet they'll fawn over this...okay it's making me tear up too. Blah. Agree with Randy but I hate the poopy face.
*
Casey- sounds like he's rushing through it a bit...maybe not though. Not one of my favorites. I'm worried about him this week.
*
Stefano- who is Neo? Apparently Google says its Ne-Yo. *Shrug. *At least they all think he's a douchebag lol. He's not sexy either. WHY IS HE STILL HERE?!?! Shut up Randy. *
*
Lauren- I don't think she can win it all. But this is ok, I guess. I hate these fake tans. Also, the accompanists rock.
*
National Bottom 3: Scotty, Stefano, Haley
*
Hopefully Scotty isn't death kissed.

[klinkman]

Really? Kiss of death Scotty? I’m sure you’re all over it NDN!
Scotty: I thought it was ok but not amazing this week. Just the opposite, I’d have Scotty do as traditional county as possible instead of trying to push him out of his comfort zone. That’s where he’ll hit it out of the park every time.
Samuel L Jackson is narrating a Disney movie? WOW that’s hilarious.
James: Wait, having a marching band drum line is contemporary? That **** hasn’t been cool since like the 1850’s. Plumes were NEVER cool! I know I was in marching band! The song was completely and utterly awesome. Yes, taking the last chorus up the octave was nuts. It’s kind of bad though that they pushed his performance up so early, it deserved better.
Wow the 2 worst contestants left hate each other. Odd, you’d think they’d be together.
Haley: Yeah she’s still terrible. She should sing the entire time with backup singers, they cover up how bad she is. Kind of like you drench cheap liquor in soda so you can’t taste how terrible it is.
Jacob: That song was moving I’m very impressed. I’m not sure what happened at the beginning, but I quickly forgot about it as I got in the song with him. I don’t think I agree with the comments about restraining his range, he needs to do that in order to connect with the audience as he did.
I’m not sure if Maroon 5 is more or less epic than my suggestion of having Casey do Lady Gaga.
Casey: Continues to be epic. This week he was even relevant too! OH WOW I did not expect him to just walk right to J-Lo and kiss her. He drove Randy and Steven to swearing and Ryan to wearing a beard! No one can possibly top that.
Stefano: It honestly wasn’t that bad. He did get a chance to put something in his wheelhouse. He’s still a cut below the rest of the field in my mind, and should have been gone a long time ago.
Also, Stefano totally sounded like a douche in the exit interview
Lauren: God damn it why the hell are they giving her the pimp spot? She’s deserved to be in the bottom 3 for god knows how long but people keep voting for her! So they are going to pimp her for more votes?!?!
It wasn’t too bad again, but she just will never hit the level of Casey or James or Scotty in my mind. I didn’t notice any glaring flaws in her performance though, I just didn’t think it was awesome, or moving, or impressive.
Winner: Casey. Because no one has come close to having a moment like that on the idol stage in years
My bottom 3: Stefano, Haley, and [this spot reserved for the loser of run off between Scotty and Lauren]
America’s Bottom 3: Stefano, Haley, Scotty
Scotty was kiss of death-ed and had kind of a weak week, so I think he ends up in the bottom 3, with Stefano and Haley, the 2 who are obviously weaker than everyone else.
Going home: Haley

[NDN]

I enjoyed the show tonight more than I have the last two weeks, so that's already a huge plus for me!

Here are my thoughts on each performance; in order of best to worst.

1. Haley - The moment they said she was doing this song I knew it was going to be good and I wasn't disappointed! Not only did she do a great job, but she also gets my vote for the smartest song selection of the entire season. This song fit her voice perfectly and she should continue her streak of picking up fans each week.

2. Casey - Another brilliant performance and a great song pick. There were a few songs I was worried about him doing when they said Maroon 5, but this one was definitely a good fit.

3. James - I have a hunch this song sounded amazing in person, but it didn't quite come off that way through the TV. It was still a solid performance, but was expecting a little more. Since it was Muse, I'll post the video below for our British pal, but I think Fox/YouTube pulls the videos due to copyright issues once they spot them so I don't know how long it will stay up.



4. Jacob - They did a hell of a job trying to make this emotional for everyone, but Jacob did a miserable job of selling it. This was the least emotional he's been all year! If he would have brought a tenth of the emotion that he's had in nearly every other song, this could have been a great one for him.

5. Lauren - This was just ok. Nothing great about it and nothing terrible about it.

6. Stefano - It might be one of the best Stefano songs, but it still didn't do much for me.

7. Scotty - Like I've said from day one, Scotty has no place in this competition. I'm sick and tired of listening to him TALK to us each week instead of SING to us. And why did the other contestants make the way he smirks and holds his microphone seem cool when it's one of the things that makes me hate him more than ever! Perhaps this week America will give him a wake up call, because his days are quickly coming to an end on the show.

My Bottom Three: Lauren, Stefano, Scotty
America's Bottom Three: Lauren, Stefano, Jacob
Going Home: Jacob

[NDN]

Scotty- kiss of death spot(?) once again I'm at Scotty's concert! Love this Why is JLo giving him crap??? Boooo he will not get kiss of death! **** the producers.
*

The great part about this week is that there were only seven singers (not counting the **** intro song) so Scotty can no longer blend in and be forgotten and passed through each round. America should quickly see that he's the weakest performer up there and give him a MUCH deserved boot.

James- Muse song...his voice sounds a bit weak or maybe technical issues? I'm not sure. A bit boring for James honestly. I still like him. *Stop pointing out that he's "crazy" though, please.

I don't get the impression that they mean "crazy" in a negative sort of way. I think they're just saying that he has balls and he's not going to hold back like some of the contestants. And I think we lost the genius of the performance through the TV.

Haley- this doesn't sound like shes channeling heartache at all... PHENOMENAL singing I guess but the mood is off.

Finally someone is warming up to Haley, who has clearly got some talent!

Jacob- I bet they'll fawn over this...okay it's making me tear up too. Blah. Agree with Randy but I hate the poopy face.

I didn't tear up because I can't relate to the song personally and Jacob did a piss poor job of connecting with me to help me feel the emotion.

Hopefully Scotty IS THE kiss of death.

Amen

[NDN]

Really? Kiss of death Scotty? I’m sure you’re all over it NDN!

Scotty would make a good auctioneer.

Scotty: I thought it was ok but not amazing this week. Just the opposite, I’d have Scotty do as traditional county as possible instead of trying to push him out of his comfort zone. That’s where he’ll hit it out of the park every time.

He'll hit it out of the park because that's where he'll be; at a park, on a swing, crying because he didn't make it to the top five on American Idol. The funny thing is, I'll be on the swing next to him trying to figure out how the hell he made it this far.

Samuel L Jackson is narrating a Disney movie? WOW that’s hilarious.

I think I'll go see this. Between the commercial and something compelling about the Jordan Sparks tune, something is telling me to go see this.

James: Wait, having a marching band drum line is contemporary? That **** hasn’t been cool since like the 1850’s. Plumes were NEVER cool! I know I was in marching band! The song was completely and utterly awesome. Yes, taking the last chorus up the octave was nuts. It’s kind of bad though that they pushed his performance up so early, it deserved better.

J-Lo called this the best "theatrical" performance of the night, but it seemed pretty tame to me.

Haley: Yeah she’s still terrible. She should sing the entire time with backup singers, they cover up how bad she is. Kind of like you drench cheap liquor in soda so you can’t taste how terrible it is.

Oddly I think Haley is one of the only contestants that doesn't use the backup singers to drown themselves out...

I’m not sure if Maroon 5 is more or less epic than my suggestion of having Casey do Lady Gaga.

Gaga would be fun for him.

Casey: Continues to be epic. This week he was even relevant too! OH WOW I did not expect him to just walk right to J-Lo and kiss her. He drove Randy and Steven to swearing and Ryan to wearing a beard! No one can possibly top that.

Haley topped that tonight my friend.

Lauren: God damn it why the hell are they giving her the pimp spot? She’s deserved to be in the bottom 3 for god knows how long but people keep voting for her! So they are going to pimp her for more votes?!?!
It wasn’t too bad again, but she just will never hit the level of Casey or James or Scotty in my mind.

To steal a quote from you, you're bat**** crazy if you think Scotty is on any kind of level that Lauren hasn't already reached a million times over.

[NDN]

The results are in (they were in last night but apparently we had some server issues that were out of our control so none of us could post)!

America's Bottom Three: Haley, Jacob, Stefano

They quickly whisked Haley away back to safety, which left Jacob and Stefano.

Haley was not deserving of the bottom three, but Jacob and Stefano definitely were (Stefano more so than Jacob).

Ultimately, Stefano was sent packing and Jacob was sent back to safety.

This is perfectly fine by me, but I wouldn't have been sad if either one of them left.

Here's how I would like the remaining six to finish (based on what we've seen thus far). I'm not opposed to changing my mind, but for now, this is where I am at with everyone.

1. Casey
2. James
3. Haley
4. Lauren
5. Jacob
6. Scotty

Here's how I think America has them finishing at the moment:

1. James
2. Casey
3. Scotty
4. Haley
5. Lauren
6. Jacob

Although Haley has been in the bottom more often, I have to believe America will see that she is stronger than Lauren. She should last longer than Jacob because I think we are all tiring of him, but sadly the voting majority will undoubtedly put Scotty ahead of all three of them. I think Scotty will continue to be obviously weak as fewer contestants remain, landing him in third. From there, I think James will appeal to more of the majority, and Casey will stay true to himself and take some fun risks, ultimately leading to him losing the competition for himself.

[Ringo]

An unnamed insider with the show who spoke on grounds of anonymity stated that James (Durbin) can really put the away the beer. And that he can finish two family size bags of pretzels in one sitting.

He noted that Lauren "Peaches" Alaina is addicted to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hostess Pink Sno Balls, Little Debbie Shortcake Rolls, and Big Macs.

And Jacob "Ebenezer Baptist" Lusk has a self-imposed quota of 35 buffalo wings per day.

"Peaches" Alaina when informed that she will have to put herself on a diet of carrots, celery, and six raisins per day yelled out five expletives that would even make Howard Stern blush.

In a related story. Simon Shindlebocker has defended his demand by saying that it has gotten to the point where 16-year-old Miss Alaina is going up one full dress size each week.


My weekly review is this:
Scotty is starting to show his true colors, no one really likes him of the other contestants ( Stefano wouldn't even hug him after he was kicked off)
Scotty comes off as a smart *** who is the leader of his crew ( the boys) and nothing he says or thinks can be changed. What a ginornous EGO.
Oh by the way, what a nice dosey doke feeling that performance gave me.
He would have fit right in on the Howdy Doody show.
In fact Scotty looks just like Howdy Doody. Sorry Tay I am just a former kid from the peanut gallery



James hit notes that maybe a dozen people can hit in the world and he is working his *** off to win it. Crying for Stefano will get him more votes

Haley: really sounded great going that huge song and did it effortlessly

Casey: sounded good until the last 30 seconds when he started shrieking and lost his breath still has yet to impress me

Jacob: Is he still here?

Stefano: I actually liked his performance for the first time.

Dial Idol got it Right and wrong with Stefano getting the fewest votes and Jacob getting the second most.

Can't wait for Carole King week NOT
1971 - "I Feel the Earth Move" (#1)
1971 - "It's Too Late" (#1)
1971 - "Sweet Seasons" (#9)
1974 - "Jazzman" (#2)
1974 - "Nightingale" (#9)

ZZZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzz

[NDN]

It's that time of week again, so here are my thoughts on tonight's show.

Overall, I find myself more confused than ever before as to where to place each contestant. James was the stand-out of the night, but I think the other five were all really close this week. I was actually more entertained tonight than I thought I would be with the songs of Carole King.

James: This was a fantastic effort. I only wish he would have had the balls to do the entire song without music because that first part was unbelievable and I wouldn't have had any problems listening to an entire song like that.

Casey: This was great for what it was, but I'm not sure it's what I was looking for tonight. I certainly can't criticize any of it (loved the piano at the start) but I can't put it at the top of my favorite Casey moments.

Haley: This wasn't anywhere near the best she's been, but I hope America will agree that it was good enough to keep her around. It seems like even with a not so great performance a lot more people are rooting for her than ever before. At least that's the impression I got (that was echoed by the Judge's comments too).

Scotty: This was my favorite Scotty performance (granted that's not saying much). I think he showed more range than ever before and FINALLY one of his songs sounded different than the same thing he's done up until now. If he can grow and keep pushing himself, I might have a harder time giving him so much ****.

Lauren: This wasn't great and it wasn't horrible. Unfortunately, I don't think that does much for her at this point in the competition. If she lasts another week, she better really go for it!

Jacob: Again, not great and not horrible. Unfortunately, I think he has worn out his welcome a little more than Lauren has and think he'll get the boot this week.

Bottom Three: Jacob, Lauren, Haley
Going Home: Jacob

[NDN]

I forgot to mention the duets!

If duets count (and they aren't supposed to) then I put Haley higher up on my list tonight and not in the bottom three. Her duet with Casey was epic and was probably my favorite part of the show tonight.

The duet between Lauren and Scotty was forgettable (as were there other three this season).

I didn't like the duet between James and Jacob, but I did like that you actually got the impression that Jacob was finally having genuine FUN!

[Ringo]

First off I wish Jimmy would lose the hat
mad at AI for matching up Lauren and Scotty for the 3rd time for their duet which Lauren totally creamed Scotty.
Casey and Haley teamed up again wasn't fair either.
However James and Lusky sounded great. It was corny as hell and FU Steven for dissing them, but there were some great sounding moments in their duet and James made some great Elvis moves. Did you hear those two match those high notes perfectly togther. Awesome. Go back and watch again.

Jacob- has a fantastic voice but sang a forgettable song
Scotty- started out sounding country but lost it several times during his song
Lauren- sounds great but all too country is getting old
James- had another star moment this week James 2- Scotty-0
Casey- I loved this performance and even though he is such a goof off on stage, Casey is 10 times more entertaining than Scotty
Haley- Bad song choice and it bored me

Have to thank AI actually after more thought, putting James and Jacob together. When Jacob gets the boot tonight, his fan base will now support James. I was already counting on this to happen, while the country vote will go to Lauren now and the tween vote to Scotty now fading.
Should be close thanks to the producers who are getting sick of Scotty being a smart *** and not listening to them.
Best quote of the night: Lauren " Scotty never compliments me!"
FNPOSAW he is.