In my current technology-impaired environment, I was able to flip back and forth between both "Survivor" and "American Idol" tonight (plus a bit of "My Name Is Earl"). My emphasis was on "Survivor," but brief spoilers for both reality eliminations coming right up...Well, the best moment of "Survivor" was already shown in the previews last week: "That's a stick!" And while it filled me with excitement for this episode at the time, it ruined the anticipation of seeing Eliza and Jason come face to face with the truth about that stupid thing.
Eliza had oddly become my favorite Favorite this season, after Jonathan and Yau-Man left and Cirie started believing her own hype a bit much, and so I'm disappointed she's gone, and that Parvati seems ascendant, but what can you do? It's rare that I'm 100 percent satisfied with the winner, and one of the remaining people could surprise me by getting in my good graces before the end. (And/or Whatsername or Whoserface could surprise me by reminding me who they are.)
(One other "Survivor" note: seeing them recycle that immunity challenge from Palau reminds me once again to be annoyed that they couldn't have bothered to bring back even one Palau contestant. You mean to tell me Ian vs. Ozzy in a battle of human dolphins wouldn't have been awesome?)
As for "American Idol," I didn't watch a single minute of Idol Gives Back on Wednesday -- and I wasn't alone, as the ratings were down 33 percent from last year's bait-and-switch non-elimination show -- and I only put on enough of tonight's show to see that Michael Johns had gotten the boot.
On the one hand, Michael had only managed to deliver two really strong performances during the audience participation part of the season -- the Queen medly two weeks ago and last week's pimp spot soul performance -- and as we saw with Chikezie, two memorable performances aren't enough when other contestants have psycho fanbases. On the other hand, Michael at least had the potential to do something really memorable, which is more than I can say about Syesha or Kristy Lee (unless they were more impressive than I might have imagined on Tuesday night, which I also didn't see). So we go into the top six with two pieces of deadweight, two one-trick ponies with pretty looks but limited vocal chops (Jason and Brooke), one contestant with great vocal skills and no charisma (Carly), and the two Davids. Can we just skip ahead to the finals now?
What did everybody else think?
17 comments:
Syesha did a Fantasia song and did not impress while Kristy was OK, so nothing impressive occurred on Tuesday. I'm hoping for a double elimination, because I don't really look forward to any of the performances except for Dave Cook. Admittedly, he was pretty bad on Tuesday, but at least he's interesting. I'm not sure who said it was the most talented group "evah" because it certainly isn't bearing out at this point.
I almost wished that I hadn't seen the preview for this week's Survivor, because although it was a great moment, it didn't have the same impact on second viewing. Eliza wasn't one of the girls and so I knew her time would be short. I just didn't find her actions any worse than other schemers and for her to be booted out because she was viewed as more of a threat than Cirie is short sighted on Pavarti's part.
I still don't understand why so little time has been spent on Nathalie and Alexis.
I don't disagree that the repeated assertions that this is the most talented Idol group ever is a bit much, but I do think the overall level of talent an originality has come up quite a bit. I've DVR'd a few American Idol Rewind episodes recently and have therefore relived bits of season two. And, frankly, I'm wondering how I EVER became a fan of this show. Most of it was awful!
I pretty much agree with Alan's assessment this week although I generally enjoy Brooke's and Jason's performances.
Michael Johns wore a g-d neckerchief on Tuesday night, for chrissake. For this crime against fashion, he deserves what he got.
I think Simon has managed to convince the public that personality, or his perceived lack of one, drives the singing performance. Kristy Lee has a very good voice (and so did Kady Malloy), and I would actually buy her CD, along with Brooke White's.
On the other hand, I would never voluntarily listen to Syesha, Carly, or David A sing.
Btw, Kristy Lee had bags under her eyes, and I think her fatigue led her to give what seemed to be a more passionate performance. At least she closed her eyes a couple times.
As for the talent pool, I think there are going to be more "successful" recording artists coming out of this year's top 10 than from any previous year - at least 4 or 5.
Can't disagree with the Eliza boot. Also, the scene with the stick was cut differently, so the line had less punch than it did in the preview. Jason is still a grade-A moron, though.
I liked Eliza because she seems to be the only one who is not totally delusional. Her social game was crap, but she doesn't have weird vendettas against other game players like Parvati and Ozzy do. I guess only James and Amanda are (a) not starstruck fools and (b) haven't had the opportunity to believe their own press, OZZY. So I reluctantly transfer my loyalty to them.
the only upside on eliza's booting is it frees me from the rest of the season - yay!
I agree with last week's preview spoiling this week's episode. It's hard to avoid it when they sandwich the preview between the vote result and the booted off's final words though. I wish they'd show the preview after the final words so you'd have more of a choice as to whether or not to skip it.
I wonder if Eliza could've had more time to try and pull something off if Jason hadn't revealed the fake idol in the 11th hour.
Looking at the Top Seven we’re left with now, I am moved to reminisce about April of 2006 and this molten-hot Top Seven:
Katharine McPhee
Chris Daughtry
Taylor Hicks
Elliot Yamin
Paris Bennett
Kellie Pickler
Ace ‘The Face’ Young
Yo, that right there... that was a competition.
No, Kat and Taylor and Elliot haven’t set the music industry on fire. But as an “American Idol” viewing experience, it’s never been better than this bunch.
Agreed. That was the best season, by a mile. They even win on the one-on-ones: Daughtry vs Cook, Pickler vs Cook, Yamin vs Anybody, etc.
I guess that's where personal taste comes in---no way does that group have more people who sell records than this season. Of course this season would only need two people who are a success to beat that year's one.
Elliot Yamin? Awful.
I just didn't see the Michael exit as "shocking" as most did. Like you said, he's had some good performances, but he has been wildly inconsistant. From the scary falsetto in his attempt at Dream On, I can't say his exit was undeserved. Besides, two weeks of ascots/cravats/scarves/whatever? Ewww. Just... ewww.
Regarding Kristy Lee -- when I ranked my faves from Tues night, KLC wasn't in my bottom three, which consisted of Syesha, Carly and David Cook. Carly and David were just uncomfortable to watch/listen to, while Syesha did Fantasia's coronation song, and although she did okay, she didn't come close to the power/emotion Fantasia brought to it, and she was nailed for it by the judges.
Kristy Lee did a nice job. Not stellar, but nice. And BY FAR not the worst of the night.
--
Oh yeah, regarding Season 4 vs current season: it is a matter of taste, and for me this season is much stronger. That season featured the final two of Spazzy-Taylor and Robo-McPhee, neither of which made my frog jump. The number 3 & 4 slots (Elliot and Daughtry) were much stronger and my faves, but then numbers 5, 6 & 7 were as much hit or miss as any of this crew (and, aside from Paris, with weaker voices to boot).
The tease Ryan pulled with "Last year on Idol Gives Back week we didn't say goodbye to anyone.... but this week, bubye Michael!" was a tad cruel.
But whatev, he's had enough sub-par stuff that I'm not THAT surprised.
... no way does that group have more people who sell records than this season.
Anon: Only the desperate greedheads of the dying music industry give a hot damn who sells more records than who. I'm talking about "American Idol" as a TV show.
I always knew Taylor Hicks wouldn't be a platinum-selling act. I this very space I predicted he would ultimately become "the world's hippest wedding singer."
But as a contestant on a TV show, Taylor Hicks was a great one. You looked forward to watching him every week.
Elliot Yamin? Awful.
Lifetime props for "Moody's Mood for Love."
I second those props for Moody's Mood for Love.Eliot made me go find the original recording after he did a brilliant job on it.
I still don't understand why so little time has been spent on Nathalie and Alexis.
I'm guessing because they're either wicked boring or fly under the radar very far into the game (possibly until the end). Well, Alexis is marked because Amanda is jealous of her, but I wish Amanda and the others would use their heads and dispatch Poverty ASAP instead of worrying about Ozzy, who Jason just proved *can* be beaten in a physical challenge.
Adios, Eliza. I finally started to like you, and you're gone. Damn.
It cracked me up when Amanda showed her moment of panic/jealousy regarding Alexis, "I don't want to go against her (in Final Three). She's a freaking motivational speaker!" Whereas everyone at home is like, "Some girl's a what?" So apparently she does have some personality out on the island. Just not enough for the editors...
^Of course Amanda doesn't want to go against another person with better speaking skills than she has, considering what happened the last time she did ;-)
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