Very, very quick spoilers for the latest "American Idol" results show coming right up...Well, nertz. Amanda had no prayer of winning, she had a three-note range and consistently looked as uncomfortable as I've ever seen a contestant during the group medleys (I'm pretty sure they didn't even turn her mic on tonight until she got to sing, fittingly, "The End"), but y'all know that I dug her. I got far more entertainment value out of most Amanda performances than I do out of much more polished singers like an Archuleta or a Carly. Not that I would ever buy tickets to the "Idol" tour (at least, not until my daughter's old enough to drag me to go), but I imagine she'd be a lot more fun in concert than the likes of Kristy Lee or Ramiele. But she was doomed by going first in a two-hour show, and by getting faint praise, at best, from the judges, and from being a lightning rod contestant who attracted just as much scorn as affection.
Getting back to Carly, interesting that she got a bottom three placement so early in the finals. On the one hand, it's not a shock. She really took the brunt of the outrage over the ringer issue, and even beyond that, she doesn't seem like the kind of contestant who's going to arouse a lot of passion one way or the other. Technically, she's great, but she's on the dull side. But on the other hand, it's rare that you see a contestant who's been this heavily pimped (by both the producers and the judges, especially Randy) hit the seal before we've even gotten to single digit finalists.
I literally didn't watch anything but the medley and the last few minutes, but feel free to comment on The Pickle, the call-in questions, or whatever other cultural atrocities took place while I was fast-forwarding.
Bless you for posting before it came on in the West Coast. Now, I can watch a movie instead.
ReplyDeleteI watched a bit of the painful group sing and noticed that the cameraman seemed to take a tumble when on Kristy... thought that was a sign. I guess the complete lack of Amanda in the group sing was the real sign.
ReplyDeleteIt's a mystery why Kristy is still there, but I guess bad is better than dull.
I didn't watch anything except for the group sing... Did Ryan actually say that Carly was in the bottom three in terms of votes? It wouldn't surprise me if Michael was down there but that the producers placed her there to get her fans to vote.
Thank God for Chikeze, because this group is personality minus.
The call in questions have to be the most ridiculous stunt they've ever pulled on this show. I wish they would just stop it and move on. One caller actually asked why Simon spends more on his cars than his clothes...uh...isn't that the case for most people? Do the math.
ReplyDeleteI thought Ramiele or Michael deserved bottom three status over Carly.
I will miss Amanda -- she was a hoot.
Now, if someone could please get Paula to SHUT UP when critiquing the singers -- I really don't understand what the heck she's talking about "you're pure, I love the tone of your voice, you are who you are, and you know it, you were a little pitchy, you're authentic, original, bright shining star..." WTF? I wish she would reserve her comments to obvious things like, you were ahead of the band. Since we all know Paula can carry a beat and not a tune, I would rather she just stick to what she knows.
Kelly Pickler didn't nauseate me as much as she usually does...but I could have done without her. I don't really like country music, so I thought she sounded REALLY nasally or twangy or something...
I think it's hilarious to watch Kristy Lee Cook get dumped up in the bottom three every single week just to be brought back to suffer another day. Even she doesn't want to be there anymore. She's like the Bizarro Susan Lucci. (And a natural for VFTW - which was proven, once again, to be absolutely powerless.)
ReplyDeleteI've been shocked to see some praise for Pickler's record, had always figured she'd wind up as a television personality. But this song is really relistenable. Vocally she tackles it five different ways, but the tune's a slow pitch up the middle for her and she has fun with it.
Congratulations to Kristi for being this year's version of Sanjaya Malakar!
ReplyDeleteI think Carly was in the bottom 3 b/c of the assumption that she's good so she doesn't need the votes. I don't think there is some Carly backlash going on b/c of her past in the music industry.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see her there. "Blackbird" was one of my favorites of the night. Kristy Lee and Amanda were not that big a surprise. I didn't care which of the two made it, honestly.
Very surprised Ramiele was not in the bottom 3. She has been consistently dull, even though in the auditions, she really wowed me. Where did that girl go? Maybe she has a huge Filipino fanbase dialing in.
Michael Johns honest relief reaction to making it into the final 10 really got to me. I really want him to do better.
Yup, Ramiele is getting the full support of the Filipino voting bloc a la Jasmine Trias.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first season I have followed Idol with much regularity after being impressed by some of the clips early this year. At this point of the competition do the critiques of the judges actually effect the fan voting that much? To me it seems that Randy and Simon's opinions are randomly up and down 70% of the time regardless of the performance. In other words, that 70% of the time their pointed opinions are almost as worthless as 95% of Paula's pointless rambling.
ReplyDeleteSimon critiques and he's rarely wrong. Randy just talks. Random sounds. Often, resembling words. Rarely forming sentences. At least Paula has some entertainment value, Randy is just a waste of airtime.
ReplyDeleteAlan, what you missed was Ryan's "A contestant that's grown in oh so many ways" regarding Pickler. I think he's joked about that before, I'm not so sure though.
...why was Survivor on last night? Has Idol destroyed my ability to tell the days apart?
...why was Survivor on last night?
ReplyDeleteIt always moves to Wednesdays for the first two weeks of the NCAA basketball tournament.
And I remember when Pickler showed up last year, Ryan kept asking her what she spent her record contract money on, and she said "shoes," which Ryan quickly turned into a euphemism for her boob job.
Ah. Thanks, I didn't know that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I remember when Pickler showed up last year...
Right, right!
So, essentially, we had Pickler showing up again (like last year), the producers showing the same clips as (last year), her singing 'Red High Heels' (like last year) and Ryan making fun at her boob job (like last year). I love shows that re-invent themselves so fundamentally.
smitre said: At this point of the competition do the critiques of the judges actually effect the fan voting that much?"
ReplyDeleteIt's always been "convential wisdom" that both the judges critiques and contestant sass-back plays an effect on viewer voting, but I've never seen anyone actually break it down with details about WHY this is the conventional wisdom, and whether it's true or not.
Sad to see Amanda go before qualifying for the tour, which will be much more boring because of it. (But really, would she have enjoyed the numerous group sings they do on tour? Me thinks not.) Also shocked to see Carly in the bottom, as I put her as the best of the week.
the numerous group sings they do on tour
ReplyDeleteNot that I would have ever patronized that thing -- the ticket prices are gougey, one of the things that legitimately destroys the music industry -- but knowing that these happen just added an extra bulb to the stack of garlic at the gate.
Fienberg has the higlights from Amanda's exit conference call. Possibly the most level-headed post-boot comments I've ever seen from someone on this show. Amanda knows she's not going to be a big star, and seems perfectly content going back to Indiana to be a nurse and sing in bars on weekends.
ReplyDeleteI think the bottom 3 is a farce. I doubt those 3 are the 3 lowest vote getters each night. I've watched Idol for years now, and I can't remember a single time where they made reference to the bottom 3 having the 3 lowest total votes.
ReplyDeleteMy theory is that occassionally they throw a "front runner" into the bottom 3 either to motivate them or to motivate the viewers to start voting for them. In this case, Carly fits both. Idol wants her to do well, and she kinda needs a kick in the ass to get going. Michael Johns is another candidate for the bottom 3 kick in the ass.
I can't remember a single time where they made reference to the bottom 3 having the 3 lowest total votes.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about you, but I don't need much more reference than them being called "the bottom 3." How much more clear could they be? How 'bout: "The phrase 'bottom three,' when used together by our producers, host, judges, or contestants, refers to the singers were the 3 lowest on a list compiled of contestants and sorted in descending order by the number of votes they received during that week."
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Perhaps you've watched too much Lost and are looking for hidden meanings where none exist?