Well, there probably isn't much to spoil, seeing as I was unable to get up here yesterday to make this post. That is my bad, folks. It has been a crazy week, so finding the time to compose a meaningful entry has been hard. No worries though! I'm here to give you some of my thoughts from Wednesday night's Elimination episode.
1. Part of me really likes the Tarantino "trailer" that they made with the recaps from the performance night. It was sort of cool. I've decided that I think Tarantino is a bit crazy...and I like that. His personality is over the top, but he is hilarious. He reminds me of Conan O'Brien for some reason. I think I would enjoy working with him had I been one of the contestants.
2. It always sort of freaks me out when Ryan awkwardly touches all of the male contestants (I guess he can't be sued for sexual harassment?). But when Simon joins in on the awkwardness by winking at Ryan, I get freaked out more. Maybe it is a British thing. Maybe winking at other guys doesn't mean anything homosexual there, sort of like walking arm-in-arm with another guy is considered normal in Turkey.
3. The Ford commercial this week is OK I guess, for their standards. Matt G. seems to be the star of this commercial. He gets lots of screen-time (foreshadowing anyone?!). The put each singer on a magazine cover that stereotypes them and their style. I want to know what happened to Ford? I guess the recession is taking it's toll on their advertising budget, but I liked it better when they had cool commercials like this from last year.
4. WHAT?! They are going to sing "Maniac!" for the group song. If you were like me, you were thinking to yourself "This has disaster written all over it." I was happy to be wrong! They actually did VERY well on this number. Allison getting Simon's attention was funny to me, and Matt G. was featured as the sole chorus singer (foreshadowing anyone?!)...and tore it up! I bet he is wishing that he had been allowed to sing that for his performance, rather than that slow, sloppy mess he did the other night. Best group performance of the year, easily.
5. I died laughing when Ryan was talking to Anoop. He tried to extend the drama by asking Anoop questions about him being in last weeks bottom 3 to make him nervous, and Anoop just said "Come on, Ryan." You could tell that Ryan got PISSED and was like "B****, you're in the bottom 3, now get your @$$ over there." That is paraphrased of course, but it was funny. Contestants. Don't snap at Ryan. Ryan is gangsta and will play your face on national television.
6. Jennifer Hudson performed and easily showed that Lil wouldn't have even been an afterthought in this competition had she been on this season. The song wasn't that great, and the sound guy was screwing up like crazy, but she showed that even on a less-than-stellar performance, she could out sing at least 5 of the contestants left on the show.
7. It's between Danny, Kris, Lil, and Matt as to who are going to be the final 2 in the bottom 3. Really, Idol? Could you have made it any LESS suspenseful? Clearly, it's Matt and Lil...two personalities that crumble to pieces when they hear bad news. Again, Lil looks like she wants to run Simon over with a dump truck, and Matt looks like he's about to break into tears. But hey, let's listen to something that will put everyone to tears...and not in a good way.
8. I don't understand why Miley Cyrus is famous. Her performance of "The Climb" was terrible. I mean, who headbangs to a ballad?! If she can sell a million records, I don't know why anyone can't. It's talent-less hacks like this that make me despise the modern music industry. There penchant for selling out for commercial success with sex rather than promoting artistic integrity is disgusting. Kudos to the bands/artists that are still out there making real music and showing true artistry. End rant.
9. Surprisingly, Anoop is the leading vote getter of the bottom 3 and it's down to Matt and Lil again. Lil gets the safety nod, and Matt is left to sing his song to try and earn the Judges Save. With how the show has been going, didn't you SEE this coming?! He sings the song better and the judges decide to save him, much to Simon's apparent dislike. CALLED IT! Now, two people are going to go home next week, and with Matt getting a surge like this, I don't know how it won't be Lil and Anoop going home next week. You heard it here, folks, before any songs have even been sung!
That wraps up my synopsis of the results show. Look forward to some DRAMA next week as the contestants all try and prove that they are top 5 material, not just top 6! Disco week is going to be rough on this group, but hey, at least it's a more specific genre right?! Maybe I'll get some right this time!
Also, I forgot to put my power rankings up on the last post, so here they are:
1. (1) Adam Lambert
2. (2) Danny Gokey
2. (3) Kris Allen
4. (3) Allison Iraheta
5. (5) Matt Giraud
6. (6) Anoop Desai
7. (7) Lil Rounds
Only one change in rank this week, and it's sorta drastic! Kris Allen has now pulled past Allison and is running neck-and-neck with Danny Gokey. Do you think that is crazy, or is that a good assessment? Let me know.
Your American Idol Junkie,
Billy
P.S. Britney Spears is starting to reveal her whoredom to the world (as if she hadn't already done that enough). Some people might know this already, but people around NC do not. I figured out last night that her new song, titled "If You Seek Amy" is a phonetic play on words. Sound out words slowly and figure out which naughty word she is trying to spell. Hint: If = F and the "my" in "Amy" = Me. I can't tell you what it really says due to the international nature of this blog. We try to keep it family friendly here, folks.
Lyric that now makes sense: "All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to 'if you seek Amy'." WOW.
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4 comments:
Kris Allen ruled with "Falling Slowly"
Billy,
Thoughts on susan boyle from Britain's Got Talent and where she would stack up against the current AI group? While Simon might not have given her the Adam Lambert standing ovation, he still seemed to be pretty blown away. Or in the United States would appearance alone be enough to keep her from being successful???
Interesting question, Amy! This is my take on the Susan Boyle phenomenon that is sweeping the planet right now...and maybe it won't make me a very popular guy.
I was not as blown away by Susan Boyle as everyone else was apparently. Is it a great story? Yes. Is it inspiring? Absolutely. But why? Yes, she can sing well, but is that why we are obsessed with this story right now? No. The ONLY reason that people are cheering for her is because of the "Ugly Duckling Factor." No one is jumping up and down because she is an underpriveleged woman from a village who has never gotten the opportunity to succeed until now. People are surprised because a woman who doesn't fit the stereotypical mold of a pop star can actually have talent. What a thought! Someone who is not jaw-droppingly beautiful can sing?! I think it's sort of sad that this is the point we have reached as a society- that appearance plays such a huge role in determining what we see as the acceptable standard for which to have talent. If someone with the looks of Faith Hill came out there and performed this EXACT version of this song, I truly think that we would be content to sit back in our chairs and golf-clap, not errupt into a roaring frenzy.
That being said, I think this very closely parallels with some of our own contestants this season, the first being Scott MacIntyre. He stayed on the show MUCH longer than he actually deserved because people didn't want to kick off the "Blind Guy." His talent was no where near the level of some of the other contestants, but he still stayed on, arguably due to sympathy votes. The same concept can be applied to Jasmine Murray, a contestant whose talent was no where near good enough to merit an invitation to the top 13, but she had the marketability factor in her favor. If you are a singer/performer, then you should be judged based on that and that alone, especially on shows like these. One's appearance or physical state should not be grounds to give them a sympothetic head start, hinder them from competing (Alexis Cohen?) or allow them to progress when their talent is not good enough. I'm sure they want to be judged on their talent alone. I'm sure Susan Boyle is not trying to make herself any less attractive so that she can garner more votes. She wants to win because of her voice. And that is where I will judge her.
I will judge her like I would judge any of the contestants on the show. She does not have the greatest voice in the world. She missed several notes in that song, but overall it was a good performance- just not spectacular. The strength of this performance was her delivery, moreso than her actual singing. She was very passionate and performed the song in a way that made the audience understand and grasp what she was singing. However, I don't think she was anywhere near as captivating as this little girl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWNoiVrJDsE
Overall, I'm glad that these things are happening to show the world that EVERYONE is capable of doing great things, not just the ubber-attractive, but I don't think that people should be granted any leeway because of that fact alone. Their talent needs to be good enough to earn their success. And right with that, people who are more marketable shouldn't be granted leeway when their talent doesn't reach that mark, either. It should be about the talent. This is how it would be in my utopic world of music.
Have to repond to Billy's response.
I have been wondering what all the fuss was about Susan Boyle myself. Honestly, people were so excited about it I was scared to say I was not that psyched. I hadn't even discussed it with Billy but I am glad to see we are on the same page, kind of. Everyone is like, "Watch this performance! I saw it and I balled my eyes out." I watched it and I was like, "Why?" Is it really just because she is ugly? I mean people are acting like listening to this woman's voice is equivalent to seeing the face of God. I just think she should sing in public more often. I know that I have a cold, black heart but I really missed the boat on this one.
Now where I have to diverge from Billy is the "You can't take looks into account." What are you? A communist? Of course, you have to take looks into account. As the esteemed philospoher and theologian Jay Z once said, "I'm not a businessman. I'm a business, man." The people who sign you to labels and pay you to sing do it with one goal in mind: sell records. Lots of them. They don't care if the music is good or if it puts more beauty and art and truth in the world. The level of singing talent is one input in an overall package they must market to the best output. Marketability is the calculus of how much money you can make with a singer. Being good isn't good enough. You're a good singer? Great. Sing in your shower, sing with friends, go to a karaoke bar, sing in a church choir, sing to sick kids in hopsitals or at nursing homes. Make the world a better place with your gift. You want to get paid to sing? You need to be worth an investment. You no longer have a talent. You have a marketable skill and if you want to sell your skill on the open market, you're going to have to make some compromises. There is no utopia. In this world, you will have trouble. Artists make the decision to sell out when they make the decision to sell art. Art and beauty and truth are priceless. It is only in world as screwed up as ours that we put market value to such things.
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