Books, Movies, Music & Entertainment - American Idol 2011

I searched but I didn't find a thread for this year.

Anyone game?

It's kind of a whole new show this year. Everyone is great, no one screws up like they did in the old days, and the new panel of judges has a very different vibe.

Give it a shot if you haven't....

James Durbin. He's got the goods to take it all the way. All the rest have a weakness SOMEwhere that's come out over the course of what we've seen.

James Durbin. He's got the goods to take it all the way. All the rest have a weakness SOMEwhere that's come out over the course of what we've seen.

I thought for sure he was going to self-destruct before now... he looked so stressed in Hollywood week. He's going to make it no matter what happens on American Idol, and it's cool to see someone's golden ticket finally pay off.

My favorite is Casey... I don't know that we've seen any weaknesses from him yet.

We really need Cromulent here. . . sigh.

okay, I don't know what it is but I like Naima. Sure she was pitchy as hell these past two weeks, but I think that's
due to her moving away from what got her to the top 13. She was really good with the Ella, bluesy sort of vibe she had
early on. Didn't like the last two performances.
Does James remind you of a hard rock version of Adam Lambert?
I think Casey's schtick is going to wear thin, although I personally like him.
Jacob bugs the crap outta me, don't know why he just does.
Thia (sp?) damn she can sing, a bit too ballady for my tastes but what the hell.

The judges? randy is the hard core guy this season, Jennifer loves everybody and gives some good
advice, and Steven T is hard to pin down. Loves everything and comes up with some classics
not sure it's constructive but it's entertaining.

all in all the show is sorta Meh for me.

We really need Cromulent here. . . sigh......

all in all the show is sorta Meh for me.

Did Cromulent leave BF? We do need him.

Wasn't it more fun when the contestants used to forget the words or make really bad song choices? They're all so good now, it's almost like just picking which type of music you like better. About half of them I forget as soon as I turn of the show... everyone has kind of the same, wholesome, mainstream appeal. I miss having some not-beautiful people competing...

And the songs* are boring this year. Lots of slow ballads and nondescript soft muzak.


Naima: She's got a really good aesthetic. If left to her own devices, I'll bet she would sing some really interesting stuff. She was pitchy again this week--the judges didn't comment, but she was...and I don't think the song did anything for her.

Jacob: He bugs me, too! I'm supposed to have pretty good pitch, and he makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, like he's out of tune. But I don't think he is. But every note sounds a little "wrong" to me, even though I know it isn't.

James: Awwww... he did great tonight. He's just effortless. He's really great.

Casey: Suddenly this week he got old to me, too. He's starting to sound the same on every song. Maybe he'll have a niche career like Leon Redbone or Dr. John.

Lauren: I really like her, but I forget about her the minute the show is on. She seems like a sweetie, with a very nice voice, but she doesn't have a lot of charisma.

Stefano: He's kind of off my radar. Again, great voice, but no charisma. If this was the kid who took his shirt off, I remembered him better in the beginning of the season.

Haley: I love the tone of her voice... but again, she's not memorable to me. But I really do like her.

Scotty: Ok... I admit he has a great, old-school country voice, but I don't really like old-school country so he does nothing for me. When he invoked the Jackson 5, I was really hoping he'd do something really pop, like ABC...that would have been funny, and if he could pull that off....

Pia: I love her, but in kind of a distant, unemotional way. She really is a Celine Dion jr.

Paul: He stands out, all right. I'm not fond of the tone of his voice, but I'll bet there are a lot of people who dare. It would be more interesting if we had 12 people as "different" as he is.

Thia: I forgot her! And now I don't remember what I thought.....


What was up with Jennifer's make-up???? Maybe it was supposed to be Motown style? Baaaaad.

My favorite is Scotty just because of that deep voice with young kid looks, it's just a weird juxtaposition but it works for me (I have a thing for deep voices though.) He doesn't seem all that versatile though and his mannerisms kind of drive me buggy sometimes, but he's so young he's got a great future ahead of him I think.

I also like Naima, she's not that great a singer (pitch is a problem) but I just have so much fun watching her, I never what she's going to pull out of her bag of tricks. She's also exotic and unique looking and I dig people who dance to their own drummer. She's also the only one of the contestants I can picture performing on an awards show or carrying an entire concert someday, not sure why but I just get that vibe from her. She just needs some polishing.

I like Pia too, she's not too exciting, has a great voice but her hands/arms move too much. Reminds me a bit of Lea Michele (Broadway, Glee.)

I don't like Paul all that much (reminds me too much of a Rod Stewart wannabe) but he seems very comfortable on stage, and polished and tonight's show was the first time I said oh hey, I like that bit right there (when he sang softer.) So, maybe I've been wrong about him I dunno.

Lauren, I like her "growl" but she still seems a bit uncomfortable letting go and having fun, worries too much about how she sounds. Nice voice, but the whole package needs a bit of work, but might stay in the game another week or two.

Stefano needs to open his eyes and SEE who he's singing to, whether it's the audience or an imaginary partner, something, anything, PLEASE. Nice voice but that's about it.

Jacob, I wanna like him but he just seems off pitch to me despite what the judges say, he sounded very flat and off to me tonight. And he doesn't seem all that versatile, has a nice warmth to his voice though.

James, something about him just rubs me the wrong way, not sure what it is, maybe cockiness? Not sure, but I'm not into his music choices either so maybe that's why.

The others I don't care enough about to comment on 'em.

I do have one complaint about American Idol in general though, seems as each week progresses, the contestants start to sound more and more alike. I liked 'em better when they were rough around the edges, I'm not much for the "grooming" that goes on with the show, especially the incessant rangy screeching and over emoting and all the gimmicky lighting and set effects. Grrr, drives me bonkers. But hey at least Auto-Tune hasn't taken over this show ... yet. This is the first season I've watched the show in several years, I had to stop watching in the past because it was too painful an experience, and it's getting to that point again.

Hmmmmm... I'm surprised they used the save tonight. I mean, I like Casey better than Stefano, but what if James Durbin gets voted off by freak accident? Or anyone one of the others who are better than Casey? I like* Casey.... he's one of my favorites, but I'm not sure he's a future pop star, which is the point of the show. They might regret this. At the same time, I think he'll be great on tour with the group.

the only good thing about using the save now is it won't keep Jacob on. man he bugs me.

I was shocked by the results but then again not so much.
Casey has this throwback Screamin Jay Hawkins kind of groove going on, and you see
how well known Jay is, right? c'mon when have you ever heard him except for around Halloween?
Casey just doesn't cut it as the next great american idol, that's not to say he isn't good, personally
I think he's very good, weird but good.
I mean really, performance wise Stephano should have packed his bags. That's one thing about this
season's judging, no brutally honest. Lets be real here folks, Simon would have called Thia's performance
brilliant karaoke or wedding singing, and he would tell top11 singers that he thought they were in trouble,
or over the top. No one this year will really criticize paste saying a performance is pitchy or similarly bland
critique.

Yeah, I miss simon.

I actually like the new judges... it's a good vibe. But we are missing that brutal honesty, as you say.

Personally, I think Randy is the weak link. He's always seems like he doesn't contribute much.

Pia is out?????? Stefano is in??? That's 3 weeks now that I thought he'd be gone.

oooh... Jennifer was really mad...did you see her face when they started the video of Pia's journey? Stone cold hard.

and that my friends is why "the Save" should have been saved.
Pia? really?
okay she sang ballads, big deal. she started breaking out of that mold.
she had far and above the best voice this season. That doesn't mean she was my favorite,
but she could outsing them all. Just remember Jennifer Hudson, she got voted off too.
I wonder if the judges harping on the ballad thing helped Pia exit early.
This week no one had a bad performance, really. I liked Casey's less than some others
but more than Jacob's. He (Jacob) needs to leave, week after week he is getting on my last
nerve, he is over the top both vocally and personality wise. I mean was he really crying
last night? seriously? time to go. buh bye.
at this point I think it's going to come down to Lauren and either Scotty or Casey for the final,
and I really just don't care.

Marty

I quit watching the week after Naima left so I can't comment on recent performances, but heard Pia got voted off LOL. Maybe people figured everyone else was going to vote for her or something, I know when I was voting a few weeks ago, I never voted for her at all because I figured she was "safe."

I know in past seasons people have gotten voted off and then gone on to actual careers, whereas personally, I can only name maybe one or two actual winners of the show (admittedly, I have only watched AI a total of about 3 partial seasons, this one included. But given it's for the "next pop star" kinda thing, you'd think they would have become stars, and I'd know who they are right? Nope.)

I'm pretty sure Pia will have a career, if she doesn't already. A couple others probably will too. As for the ones that are left, none of them I care enough about to watch the show again until maybe the very final show this season, just out of curiosity.

I am however, looking forward to that new show The Voice. Sounds like AI without all the hype/grooming. We'll see.