Over at the NJ.com blog, I have thoughts on the happenings during tonight's "American Idol" results show. Feel free to read about it there and talk about it here.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
American Idol, Top 7 results: Judges' Save?
Over at the NJ.com blog, I have thoughts on the happenings during tonight's "American Idol" results show. Feel free to read about it there and talk about it here.
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19 comments:
You're still alive in the pool!
they used it on Matt? What a waste. They should have saved it for Allison.
Simon was right...Matt doesn't have a chance of winning. Shouldn't have done it. I think they used it for the sake of using it.
Since this means 7 singers will still be around next week, will they stick with the 2 judges at a time format? And if not, how in the world will they end the show on time?!
terrible use of the save. other than the fact that Kara's been lusting for Matt the whole competition don't know why the others would ever save him. he can't sing anything straight and his falsetto is truly awful. he is not as good as Adam, Danny or Kris among the males meaning he wasn't worth saving. the show was so terrible this week that the only silver lining was that one of the hacks known as Matt or Lil was going to leave and now they're both back next week. I am very disappointed.
I'm pretty proud to say that I'm still not sure which one "Matt" is.
Hey, that Better Off Ted show is good for a bunch of laughs. Hurricane-proof dogs! I think I'd use my save on that.
well, this should make next week much more dramatic...and even if Matt does go home next week, he does so with a feather in his cap...that the judges felt he was worthy of using the save
for the show, it seems like a good move...but I do think they'd have been better off not using it if their only goal was to ensure there being no shocking early elimination...now with 2 going home next week, they've set it up so its more likely to happen
Matt was either the 6th or 7th best singer left, depending on what your feelings are about Lil. So what's the point of saving him? No one can seriously argue he was an undeserved last place this week.
It almost makes me hope someone clearly superior ends up going home next week. It would be fitting for this season where absolutely nothing they have tried has worked.
Matt rocks! Great save!
they used the save this week because they can only use it until the final five. That means that if they were to use it at all, it would be this week or next week. Since this is the first season with the gimmick, they had to use it to create the excitement. Most likely, Lil Rounds will be eliminated next week. The judges/producers like Giraud way more than Lil.
If not Lil, it would be Anoop, and they too like Giraud more than Anoop. There was no real risk to using the save tonight. All it means is that two people will go home next week.
Now, my ranking of the performers from Tuesday since I just watched it:
My rankings:
1. Danny Gokey- he had incredible control and was pitch-perfect. I don't think "Endless Love" is the type of song that warrants restyling, especially since Gokey's voice is at the other end of the spectrum from Lionel Richie's.
2. Anoop- call me crazy, but I thought he was great. He nailed every single note. The problem is that he can't sing over-the-top, mega-produced hits which involve big lights and background music. As a result, he seems weak. He has one of the better voices on the show, but is much more suited to a studio than a stage.
3. Adam- I'm amazed at the way he utilizes his vocal register. He can go all over the place and be on key. He's without a doubt the most comfortable stage performer with the most experience. My only problem is that I didn't buy him singing "Bad to the Bone." I am still waiting for him to sing a Guns N' Roses song. While he doesn't come across as a metal fan, his voice is well suited to belt out Axl Rose.
4. Allison- She has the rocker thing going for her, and "is great for a 16 year old" (broken record). I just thought that she stayed in that lower register for too much of the song. She could have done more.
5. Matt Giraud- it was good, but nothing special. His great piano-playing skills give him more star-appeal than his voice alone. I have said it every week, and I'll repeat it: while he won't win, he will be the most successful of the season.
6. Kris Allan- I liked it more than I thought I would, but he had some pitch problems.
7. Lil- she didn't bomb, and there was a nice gospel bit to it, but nothing special.
Final 5 is when the contestants start singing 2 songs each. if the judges had waited and used the save next week it would have carried six people over to the following week (instead of a final 5) and it would have screwed up their plans. it is hard enough to squeeze 10 songs into an hour, and there was no way they could have handled 12 songs. I think this was the last week they intended to use the save, and they would probably have used it regardless of who was voted off.
I didn't think about the format change, so it totally makes sense that they would want to use it this week instead of next. Still, I assumed it would be used this week regardless of who was up there, though some possibilities were obviously going to be easier for them to go "we're saving you" than others. It ultimately (most likely) isn't going to change anything. Matt will probably still go home next week because his fanbase doesn't seem large enough to keep him away from that bottom three zone. Simon's right, he's not going to win (though I disagree that last night was worse than Tuesday since I thought he improved a great deal)and his staying an extra week isn't going to hurt anyone since I imagine that the bottom three will probably look pretty similar next week.
I enjoyed seeing them use it because it was nice to see the contestants showing a little personality for a change. They all seem so removed from each other and there's an awkwardness when Ryan's doing his little talk around to them at the beginning of results shows. At least at the end, post "we're saving you", there was a little life in them.
I have found the Judge's Save to be an annoyance all season and am just glad that it has finally been used and we won't have to be tortured by it anymore. The final three this week deserved to be on those stools and I doubt if next week will find us with different people facing elimination. Top two will be Danny and Adam no matter what happens in the interim!
This is by far the most bogus season of Idol ever. First, they introduce the stupid Judges Save. Which, if used effectively, could have been something worth adding. However, they limited it to the top 6 (no one worthy of winning EVER is eliminated before the top 5), so it was a waste. Why not allow them to use it to save someone like Daughtry?
Then, they decide that for the first time EVER in Idol history, they are going to let contestant's perform WITHOUT hearing Simon critique them?! How is that fair? Simon makes or breaks contestants every week. Either he says something great and everyone votes like he11, or he says something bad and people think "oooh, maybe he/she isn't that good after all."
So Matt gets saved (over obvious objections from Simon) and this is the same Matt who didn't have Simon critique him on Tuesday. BS. How can they get away with changing rules midway through the season?
Did something happen last season that made Idol producers panic? Am I missing something, or weren't David and David by far the best 2 last year and they went head-to-head in the finals?
Ok...I am done with my rant. Carry on.
Pretending for a moment that Idol has rules or that they've ever followed anything close to a set of rules: what did they break? Not letting Simon critique that particular contestant? Or the fact that he got saved in spite of Simon not wanting him to be? Because, really, whatever Simon does or doesn't say at certain points in the competition is to be taken with a grain of salt because the man enjoys hearing himself talk, but in this case what he wanted or didn't want was irrelevant since the other three did want to save him. Simon is only the final word if things are split and he wants to keep someone.
They suddenly decided that only 2 judges were going to critique each contestant. That is a change of the "rules" or whatever you want to refer to them as.
Whether or not Simon is your favorite person in the world or not doesn't take away from the fact that traditionally, what he says is very often what America believes.
Example: Contestant A performs and Randy and Kara are the judges. They love it - say great job, etc. However, Simon hates the performance and had he been able to critique, he would have had harsh words to say. You can't tell me that doesn't influence the way America votes - positive or negative.
So, I just think it's unfair to all contestants to change the "rules" midway through the season.
I love Simon and said nothing to imply otherwise. Simon is Simon and Simon loves Simon too. It is what it is. I do think you put way too much stock into what he says being the dominant opinion, though. Lots of people think he says it like it is and lots of people totally disagree with him. As it should be, on a case by case basis. Simon's not always right and clearly the public, who boost some contestants right to the top the week Simon rips into them, aren't always in agreement with his critiques.
As for "rules", yes...they broke it up two and two. And yes, it was stupid. The direction of this entire season has been stupid and sloppy. But, there's no "rule" that says they all three/four have to give their critique and if they don't the entire credibility of the show is shot. There are weeks out there where Paula can't get a word in because Simon won't let her or they run out of time at the end of the show and Randy doesn't get anything more than a quick "loved it, dawg". There are weeks with guest judges saying and doing whatever one week and going back to the three judge system the next week. There are weeks in the audition phase where judges are missing entirely. Wasn't there one night during a live show where Simon wasn't even there? The judging system is a bit fluid and I'm not sure why it's unfair to a contestant because one week Simon didn't praise or criticise them.
Kris Allen ruled with "Falling Slowly"..he is turning out to be a strong contender for the title.I think we'll see him at his best by the final four episode.
Dan and amysusanne - before you can get upset about one contestant having Simon talk about them and another not, you need ot understand that nature of Simon's job. Did any of you see him on YouTube judging "Britain's Got Talent"? He flies back and forth from USA to England ALL THE TIME. For the complaint that he wasn't even there to judge AI one week, there's at least a viable excuse. Secondly, they used the "only 2 judges talk" format b/c FRINGE fans mobilized and were rightly mad the END of a major episode was bumped. 3rd - Simon saying something about a contestant doesnt mean a THING - Lil should've gone home a LONG time ago - girl hasnt been on pitch for a month, and Scott, sure he's anie guy, but he had no reason to be around. Simon has been trashing them both for a month yet they have (until recently) been around. Fans want who the fans want, Simon is only there to play the bad guy on TV since everyone else gushes over everyone. AND as a final point, if someone is marketable enough, even though they may not win, but then they somehow end up with an album for sale....why dont you double check who the owner of the label is (dig deep within Google) bc it's usually Simon. He signs anyone who was truly talented and marketable regardless of if they won or not, even though he made a mistake with Reuben "Big Mac" Stoddard.
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