TV: American Idol
Disclaimer! Disclaimer! Disclaimer!
I am not a professional singer nor professional critic of singing. However for the purposes of this post I reserve the right to be judgmental of other singers and participants of American Idol even though my own talent in this area is nowhere near the talent of those I'm about to criticize.
American Idol. The latest craze in Reality TV. It is the #1 show in America. It has the largest audiences of any other show currently running on TV. Yes, I watch the show. I watch the show for a couple of reasons: (1) Becky likes it and since I generally run the remote, I feel like we can watch something she wants to watch every once in a while. (2) It seems that it's one of the few shows that I don't mind watching with my daughter in the room. Family TV is becoming non-existant. Either it's strictly kids stuff (cartoons, Saturday morning TV) or adult stuff (24, Lost, every other prime time program). This show actually appeals to both audiences and is not an embarrasment (unless you count a couple of Katharine McPhee's outfits).
The first season I watched was season 2 and then it was only a couple of episodes. By season 3 I watched most of them and season 4&5 we had TIVO so I watched all of them. Just to be clear, when I watch AI on TIVO I can watch an hour episode in about 20 minutes. If someone is singing a song that I find boring I fast-forward to the next performer. They have about a 15 second to "wow" me and then I'm off to the next song. I always watch the judges comments and the Ford commercial. Those are the two things I find most entertaining. However, when I watch this show with Becky (which is 98% of the time) she doesn't allow fast forwarding except for commercials. So you can say Becky is more of a diehard fan than me.
The American Idol crew:
Ryan Seacrest- I don't mind the guy and he'll crack me up every now and then. He seems to be pretty quick on his feet (his job is probably harder than most people give him credit for) and he gives Simon crap so he's OK. Sometimes it's painful when he does a short interview segment with a contestant, but I don't think it's his fault. He seems a little cocky, but not enough for me to hate him.
Randy Jackson- OK, OK, check it out! Dude, that was hot! You had it goin' on, dawg! Maybe one of the best segments of the season was during the finale when they did a montage of each judge and they had Randy saying "Dude" about 10 times in a row, each from a different performer. I kind of like Randy, he seems to be pretty fair. He's not afraid to tell someone when they are bad, but he'll get excited when they do good. I also like the "dude" and "dawg" stuff too. In case you couldn't tell.
Paula Abdul- Oh boy. Paula. Paula. Paula. I have a tough time with her. She is an incoherent mess. She has a lot of trouble articulating herself and it seems to me that she is either drunk or under the influence of some sort of something. Rumors have floated that she might be replaced and she has admitted to personal battles with chemical depedencies. The reason she is on the show to counter balance with Simon. That is the only reason. Note to contestants: If Paula starts out by commenting on how "good you look" or "your outfit is cute" then that means your song sucked. It happens everytime.
Simon Cowell- When I first watched the show, I really thought he was being just outright hateful. He could really tear somebody to shreds. However, I tend to agree with his opinion more than the other two judges. I still don't agree with his method of getting his opinion across, but he is the most honest of the judges. Here is an American Idol fact: Most people watch the show because of him. No Simon = no ratings. He is the nemesis that each show needs. If you had three Paula Abdul's that were the judges this show would be a middle of the road show with decent ratings.
What I like about American Idol- I like the first few episodes when they have the tryouts. Usually at least once an episode they have someone on there that gets me to laugh out loud. Last year we TIVO'ed an episode that had a guy singing Michael Jackson's "Thriller". I laughed so hard that I rewound it 10 times to watch it over and over again. I kept this episode on our TIVO for about 6 months. Whenever I needed a pick-me-up I would pull up it up on the TIVO and watch it. It never failed.
It still amazes me the number of people that think they have a legitimate singing voice when they are outright horrible. If I can tell you stink then you really stink. I've heard myself sing and I know I stink which boggles my mind that they can't figure that out themselves.
I also like that this show gives people a chance that they otherwise probably wouldn't ever get. Each of these contestants are an underdog in one way or another. And I generally fall for a good underdog.
What I don't like about American Idol- Probably my biggest beef is song choices. It seems that they rarely do a pop song or something that was popular at one time. It doesn't take me long to get bored with a song choice. On one episode they had to choose a song from the year 2000-present. I recognized two of the eight songs that were sung. I think the big fear for the contestants is that if they choose a popular song they will automatically be compared to the original performer. Which is probably true. But still, sing something that we've heard before.
Best performance of the Year- Taylor Hicks rendition of Elvis' "In the Ghetto" on Elvis night was my favorite performance. I rewound it and watched it twice. I never do that. Runner up: Chris Daughtry singing Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive". My kind of song by my kind of singer.
Worst performance of the Year- Kevin Covais' version of Stevie Wonder's "Part Time Lover". My favorite Stevie song butchered by a 16 year old kid. He didn't have the chops to even come close to pull this one off.
Thoughts on the Performers:
Taylor Hicks- Not the best singer (but not a crappy singer) but by far and away the best performer and he had the most charisma. He actually showed a personality when the other Idol's couldn't seem to muster one. Good for him for winning and good luck on trying to market his album.
Katharine McPhee- Becky was a Kat fan, but I was never sold on her. She did have a good voice, but I would think modeling would suit her better than singing. There were a couple of times that she would come out to sing and I would say to myself "Good golly" because of her choice in clothing. I think I even said that out loud once and I got scolded by Becky. I would have to think that half her votes were 16 year old boys who took keen interest in her ever plunging neckline.
Elliot Yamin- I thought Elliot had the best voice of all of them. He just seemed uncomfortable at times on stage and seemed to be the epitome of boring when they interviewed him. However one of the best moments of the show was the video of him going back to his hometown and the reaction of his mom. That was good TV.
Chris Daughtry- My favorite. Sang my kind of music, but not a true American Idol type. Kind of like Bo Bice last year, he has his niche in music and this gave him decent exposure, but his true calling is in the world of rock and roll. I think he has a future in the music business.
The other peformers are all pretty non-descript. Outside of Ace Young (pretty boy) and Kevin Covais (nerdlinger) I can hardly remember their names. I hope they enjoyed their 15 minutes because this is probably the last we will here from them.
FOR THE RECORD: I have NOT nor will I ever vote for a contestant on American Idol. I watch it for pure entertainment purposes and don't care enough to pick up a phone and dial a toll-free number. Becky on the other hand......
I am not a professional singer nor professional critic of singing. However for the purposes of this post I reserve the right to be judgmental of other singers and participants of American Idol even though my own talent in this area is nowhere near the talent of those I'm about to criticize.
American Idol. The latest craze in Reality TV. It is the #1 show in America. It has the largest audiences of any other show currently running on TV. Yes, I watch the show. I watch the show for a couple of reasons: (1) Becky likes it and since I generally run the remote, I feel like we can watch something she wants to watch every once in a while. (2) It seems that it's one of the few shows that I don't mind watching with my daughter in the room. Family TV is becoming non-existant. Either it's strictly kids stuff (cartoons, Saturday morning TV) or adult stuff (24, Lost, every other prime time program). This show actually appeals to both audiences and is not an embarrasment (unless you count a couple of Katharine McPhee's outfits).
The first season I watched was season 2 and then it was only a couple of episodes. By season 3 I watched most of them and season 4&5 we had TIVO so I watched all of them. Just to be clear, when I watch AI on TIVO I can watch an hour episode in about 20 minutes. If someone is singing a song that I find boring I fast-forward to the next performer. They have about a 15 second to "wow" me and then I'm off to the next song. I always watch the judges comments and the Ford commercial. Those are the two things I find most entertaining. However, when I watch this show with Becky (which is 98% of the time) she doesn't allow fast forwarding except for commercials. So you can say Becky is more of a diehard fan than me.
The American Idol crew:
Ryan Seacrest- I don't mind the guy and he'll crack me up every now and then. He seems to be pretty quick on his feet (his job is probably harder than most people give him credit for) and he gives Simon crap so he's OK. Sometimes it's painful when he does a short interview segment with a contestant, but I don't think it's his fault. He seems a little cocky, but not enough for me to hate him.
Randy Jackson- OK, OK, check it out! Dude, that was hot! You had it goin' on, dawg! Maybe one of the best segments of the season was during the finale when they did a montage of each judge and they had Randy saying "Dude" about 10 times in a row, each from a different performer. I kind of like Randy, he seems to be pretty fair. He's not afraid to tell someone when they are bad, but he'll get excited when they do good. I also like the "dude" and "dawg" stuff too. In case you couldn't tell.
Paula Abdul- Oh boy. Paula. Paula. Paula. I have a tough time with her. She is an incoherent mess. She has a lot of trouble articulating herself and it seems to me that she is either drunk or under the influence of some sort of something. Rumors have floated that she might be replaced and she has admitted to personal battles with chemical depedencies. The reason she is on the show to counter balance with Simon. That is the only reason. Note to contestants: If Paula starts out by commenting on how "good you look" or "your outfit is cute" then that means your song sucked. It happens everytime.
Simon Cowell- When I first watched the show, I really thought he was being just outright hateful. He could really tear somebody to shreds. However, I tend to agree with his opinion more than the other two judges. I still don't agree with his method of getting his opinion across, but he is the most honest of the judges. Here is an American Idol fact: Most people watch the show because of him. No Simon = no ratings. He is the nemesis that each show needs. If you had three Paula Abdul's that were the judges this show would be a middle of the road show with decent ratings.
What I like about American Idol- I like the first few episodes when they have the tryouts. Usually at least once an episode they have someone on there that gets me to laugh out loud. Last year we TIVO'ed an episode that had a guy singing Michael Jackson's "Thriller". I laughed so hard that I rewound it 10 times to watch it over and over again. I kept this episode on our TIVO for about 6 months. Whenever I needed a pick-me-up I would pull up it up on the TIVO and watch it. It never failed.
It still amazes me the number of people that think they have a legitimate singing voice when they are outright horrible. If I can tell you stink then you really stink. I've heard myself sing and I know I stink which boggles my mind that they can't figure that out themselves.
I also like that this show gives people a chance that they otherwise probably wouldn't ever get. Each of these contestants are an underdog in one way or another. And I generally fall for a good underdog.
What I don't like about American Idol- Probably my biggest beef is song choices. It seems that they rarely do a pop song or something that was popular at one time. It doesn't take me long to get bored with a song choice. On one episode they had to choose a song from the year 2000-present. I recognized two of the eight songs that were sung. I think the big fear for the contestants is that if they choose a popular song they will automatically be compared to the original performer. Which is probably true. But still, sing something that we've heard before.
Best performance of the Year- Taylor Hicks rendition of Elvis' "In the Ghetto" on Elvis night was my favorite performance. I rewound it and watched it twice. I never do that. Runner up: Chris Daughtry singing Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive". My kind of song by my kind of singer.
Worst performance of the Year- Kevin Covais' version of Stevie Wonder's "Part Time Lover". My favorite Stevie song butchered by a 16 year old kid. He didn't have the chops to even come close to pull this one off.
Thoughts on the Performers:
Taylor Hicks- Not the best singer (but not a crappy singer) but by far and away the best performer and he had the most charisma. He actually showed a personality when the other Idol's couldn't seem to muster one. Good for him for winning and good luck on trying to market his album.
Katharine McPhee- Becky was a Kat fan, but I was never sold on her. She did have a good voice, but I would think modeling would suit her better than singing. There were a couple of times that she would come out to sing and I would say to myself "Good golly" because of her choice in clothing. I think I even said that out loud once and I got scolded by Becky. I would have to think that half her votes were 16 year old boys who took keen interest in her ever plunging neckline.
Elliot Yamin- I thought Elliot had the best voice of all of them. He just seemed uncomfortable at times on stage and seemed to be the epitome of boring when they interviewed him. However one of the best moments of the show was the video of him going back to his hometown and the reaction of his mom. That was good TV.
Chris Daughtry- My favorite. Sang my kind of music, but not a true American Idol type. Kind of like Bo Bice last year, he has his niche in music and this gave him decent exposure, but his true calling is in the world of rock and roll. I think he has a future in the music business.
The other peformers are all pretty non-descript. Outside of Ace Young (pretty boy) and Kevin Covais (nerdlinger) I can hardly remember their names. I hope they enjoyed their 15 minutes because this is probably the last we will here from them.
FOR THE RECORD: I have NOT nor will I ever vote for a contestant on American Idol. I watch it for pure entertainment purposes and don't care enough to pick up a phone and dial a toll-free number. Becky on the other hand......
posted by Scott's Blog at Monday, June 05, 2006
6 Comments:
I have voted 2 or 3 times for american idol... this last season. It was my first time to watch and I don't think I'll watch again, just because I get so involved with it. We need TIVO, then I wouldn't have to plan my schedule around it.
I too was a Katherine McPhee fan. I also loved Chris Daughtery. I think that's the reason Trav put up with me watching AI was because of Chris. Honestly, I almost cried when he got kicked off. Trav keeps on assuring me that he'll make his millions. I told him that we'll have to buy a CD to support him.
I liked Taylor, but I really wanted Katherine to win. I thought she got the shaft on the last performance when they did the songs that were written for them. Her song was CRAP. The lyrics were cheesy, and I think she portrayed that she didn't like it very much.
Sorry to take up so much of your blog with my rantings.
I did like Katherine in the beginning but as time went on I didn't like her near as much. She seemed "fake" to me. The most sincere was Elliot. I realized once I quit watching him and just listened I like him much more. I literally would turn my head. I would like listening to him on the radio.
I also like the fact that Aubree could watch it with us. I think it would be hard to watch any TV without TIVO. Scott had to talk me into getting it but now it's great. I also agree with you about the judges.
I think TIVO's the answer. AI's hard to watch because of all the filler. You get rid of that, you've got a show I can sit through.
You think AI has filler. Have you ever watched Deal or No Deal? We can watch a one hour episode in 15 minutes.
I forgot to add, if you haven't ever checked it out, you need to swing by TelevisionWithoutPity.com. Great site that lovingly snarks shows you hate to love and love to hate and all that. The AI recaps are pretty funny, but the guy who does them has been known to use some salty language. So be warned.
Rob, I feel your pain. I would yell at the TV screen too. Great minds think alike.
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