From NPH: If the judges are actually going to use the "save" option, it's going to be on Lambert. I just don't think they love anyone else as much.
I don't know what to say about Lil Rounds' attire. Only that you're noticing things that I'm not. As for her chances to win, they took a hit this week, no doubt. I've watched the performance twice now; it was bad. And it's not just because she's an R&B singer doing country. That can be done well (see the video of Fantasia singing "Always on My Mind" from season three).
Worse for Lil, she got into a spat with Simon, which, regardless of what a contestant thinks, never helps their case. I know that the live audience gets a kick out of it when someone like Lil or Michael Sarver pops off with some snarky retort, but the live audience isn't voting; the television audience is. And it never makes them look good. It always shows them up as whiny. And, of course, the criticism they're fending off is always spot-on, which the TV audience can clearly see.
I called Alexis in the bottom three (the only one I got right!), but not to get the boot. What I thought would save her for another week was her initial popularity in Vegas, which gave her the best odds of winning among the final 36. Also, she was named in that New York Post story last week, the one about the Idol staffer claiming she knew the final four (I guess that story's old news, eh?). She sealed her own fate, though, literally begging viewers not to vote her off and promising to "dirty it up" if she survived. She's going to look back on that as a low point in her career, I'm afraid.
From The Producer: I apologize for my tardy response NPH, but it's been a pretty crazy week. I was too busy to write yesterday because I had to wait in line with Bearded Man all day yesterday so we could get matching Danny Gokey Storm Trooper outfits as it's now the craze since Danny Gokey tried to do some product placement for George Lucas on American Idol.
I don't know what to say about Lil Rounds' attire. Only that you're noticing things that I'm not. As for her chances to win, they took a hit this week, no doubt. I've watched the performance twice now; it was bad. And it's not just because she's an R&B singer doing country. That can be done well (see the video of Fantasia singing "Always on My Mind" from season three).
Worse for Lil, she got into a spat with Simon, which, regardless of what a contestant thinks, never helps their case. I know that the live audience gets a kick out of it when someone like Lil or Michael Sarver pops off with some snarky retort, but the live audience isn't voting; the television audience is. And it never makes them look good. It always shows them up as whiny. And, of course, the criticism they're fending off is always spot-on, which the TV audience can clearly see.
I called Alexis in the bottom three (the only one I got right!), but not to get the boot. What I thought would save her for another week was her initial popularity in Vegas, which gave her the best odds of winning among the final 36. Also, she was named in that New York Post story last week, the one about the Idol staffer claiming she knew the final four (I guess that story's old news, eh?). She sealed her own fate, though, literally begging viewers not to vote her off and promising to "dirty it up" if she survived. She's going to look back on that as a low point in her career, I'm afraid.
From The Producer: I apologize for my tardy response NPH, but it's been a pretty crazy week. I was too busy to write yesterday because I had to wait in line with Bearded Man all day yesterday so we could get matching Danny Gokey Storm Trooper outfits as it's now the craze since Danny Gokey tried to do some product placement for George Lucas on American Idol.
I have to be honest NPH I'm quite surprised you like Matt Giraud who is hands down the best talent on the show. Looking over your blog and now this post it became very apparent you love horrible music especially with telling the world you liked Adam Lambert's rendition of 'Ring of Fire' this last week so I'm just shocked you would have the conviction to like Matt Giraud because he's so good. Lambert was horrible and he should be careful with how weird he gets as I think he's one week away from middle America voting him off the show.
So NPH I know you've said to me a couple times you think Lil Rounds is a good performer ... do you still think she has what it takes? I mean I think she can wail I just can't get past the fact that every week she has what seems to be a tribute to phallic symbols. On the Top 13 show she wore pants that showed how large her penis is and then this last week when they did the jib shot with her sitting with Ryan she was holding the silver microphone in a way that allowed America to again imagine how larger her penis is ... can someone please tell her to stop with all the Phallic Symbols?
NPH, I think you are right about the hat pick that if two people pick the same song they draw for it ... but what does that say for Alexis ... that Joelyn song was horrible and she deserved to lose as a result of her poor choices. I must admit though at the end of the first night I really thought Michael or Lil Rounds was going home. I was surprised Alexis was sent home until she sang that Joelyn song again on Thursday night ... wow that whole performance sucked.
NPH you have more American Idol Seasons under your belt so I feel as though you're correct that the Producers know how to keep Middle America tuning into the show. I don't really care if they perform praise songs, but I wonder if faith or lack of faith will come into play for the voting public later on in the season. I think there will be a week America finally votes Lambert off the show and The Three Stooges plus Simon will bring him back. Thoughts?
From NPH: It's almost 1:00 in the morning on Thursday, and I've just watched Tuesday night's performances. I'll wait for the results until tomorrow. This thing was solid, though, top-to-bottom. My horse Matt Giraud rocked it and won the accolades of all four judges in the process; dude is the professional of the bunch. He's treating an audience to beautiful music, not competing for votes. I think he's going to have to come away from the piano at some point, though.
Scott MacIntyre also got told to get away from the piano, which led to one of those trademark choreographed spats between Simon and Paula. I think it's true, though, both for Scott and for Matt. To win Idol, you have to be able to stand at a microphone with nothing else and wail. David Cook really got traction last year doing numbers with his Luna Apollo, but he won the thing by laying down songs like "The Music of The Night" completely solo. It's strange to say, but knowing how to handle the microphone is an important skill by itself.
A bit about the storylines of the night, then a shocker I'll throw your way. MacIntyre refuted criticism of his choosing Martina McBride's "Wild Angels" by saying that he's "lost a lot of hat picks." That sent me scurrying to message boards, where I learned that he'd either just revealed that the contestants don't actually pick their own songs or that, when two of them pick the same one, they draw out of a hat to see who gets it. I think the latter is probably more likely.
Secondly, Megan Joy had the flu and was hospitalized during the week. She even missed the run-thru. The judges obviously gave her slack for that (as she hacked her way through their criticism), because she was bad. She is bad. She's cute as a button and fun to watch, but she has the presence of nervous waitress. She's incapable of standing there and singing without swinging her hips and hands around, ala an ill-fated "Harispray" audition.
Now the shocker: Adam Lambert impressed me. Big time. His arrangement of "Ring of Fire" was straight-up weird, and it provided a study in class contrast between him and Lil Rounds, who played "Independence Day" straight to "honor" country music. She "honored" the genre (at her own expense), and he hijacked it. The judges have seemingly come down off their Lambert high, but here's the thing that impressed me with this performance: I hear echoes of Jeff Buckley in this kid's upper register. You just don't find guys who can sing like that. I want to hate him, but I've gained a new respect for his ability.
A few other tidbits: Kara loved on Kris because his version of "To Make You Feel My Love" didn't sound country at all. Duh, it's a Bob Dylan song. Gokey appears overconfident and looks like he's wearing a parka. Anoop's "Always on My Mind" was hailed as one of the best of the night and a comeback performance, but I'm not buying it. He's a one trick pony.
Predicted bottom three: Scott, Megan, and Alexis. Predicted boot: Scott.
This is what got my ire up last year, when the show started showcasing religiously-themed performances from its contestants, even going so far as to coreograph a group rendition of the praise and worship song, "Shout to the Lord."
Here's a money quote from the piece:
"The people at 'American Idol' are not idiots. They realize that there's this huge percentage of America that watches TV as a family, and a lot of families go to church. ... [The viewers] know worship leaders and musicians in church, and why not bring that aspect to the show?Is this Christian-baiting or a coincidental and authentic expression of the contestants' faith?
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