American Idol - Season 8

[JCOSTER]

I don't think she'll be around too long.

 

[U2isthebest]

Holy crap, this is surprising.
Joanna Pacitti out of 'American Idol,' Felicia Barton in. | Celebrity and entertainment news | EW.com

 

[Lila64]

 

[U2isthebest]

She was pretty talented, but if what they said about her being close friends with some of the people at 19/Idol producers, she needed to go. That's not fair to the other contestants.

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah, I agree. I have no problem with them having had experience or record contracts in the past, but that's too fishy.

 

[U2isthebest]

Yeah, I agree. I have no problem with them having had experience or record contracts in the past, but that's too fishy.

Me too. I have no problem with them having had record contracts (as long as they don't have them during the time they audition/or are on Idol), but living with an Idol producer in the past? That's not ok. Heck, even Matt had a contract with an indie label that a guy from our church used to run, but things like that with contestants don't bother me.

 

[U2isthebest]

I just talked to my mom, and she was saying that on her way into work this morning, she was listening to the radio and one of the DJs was playing audio from last night's show. They played Tatiana's bit, and the DJ goes, "I swear, if she makes it past her first week, I'm going to slit my wrists." I think the entire country is with him on that.

 

[corianderstem]

You know who else I liked? Anoop. I'm going to take a stab and guess that he's going to come across as boring if he makes it through to the full finals, but he's got a really nice voice.

 

[Sicy]

Anoop Dogg.

 

[Daddysgonnapay]

Holy crap, this is surprising.
Joanna Pacitti out of 'American Idol,' Felicia Barton in. | Celebrity and entertainment news | EW.com

the thing is...IMO, this girl has had multiple chances, and has not obviously go the chops for it....my main aggravation with her getting put through, was that she forgot the words several times in Hollywood week...Simon's comment of forget the words and you are out, did not hold true for her, she got through...so, sorry honey, see ya

 

[ultravioletluvv]

^

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Ok, I DVR'd last night's show and just now got around to watching it. Some thoughts...

Putting Tatiana through instead of Jamar is one of the worst decisions the Idol judges have ever made. Two

Yes. And it looks like all the rest of you guys thought the same thing, too. I really liked Jamar, and I'd hoped that both he and his buddy Danny could have made it through together. Also, it almost looked like Kara was smiling when she broke the bad news to Jamar. Not cool. But I'm glad that Danny got in, at least.

And Tatiana Del Toro is cartoonishly annoying. The definition of bothersome. She's the abominable snowman of American Idol.

Ooh, I just remembered they're supposedly doing the Wild Card thing again this season ... so Jamar might still have a chance? I don't know how that will work.

I think that's it for Jamar. The Wild Card round is coming later and it's when they bring back people from the Top 36 who didn't get the top call-in votes from their group.

Some other random things...

- Casey Carlson is probably the hottest girl they've ever had on American Idol. Other total cuties that I have a crush on...Megan Corkrey, Kendall Beard, and Anne Marie Boskovich.
- Really surprised that Norman Gentle made it. But he won't go any further in this thing.
- I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I don't think a blind guy has any chance of winning American Idol. We will find out, I guess.
- Anoop is awesome.
- Lil Rounds will make it very far in the competition.
- The new U2 song (NLOTH) is amazing.
- I love this show. Live singing starts Tuesday! Holla!

 

[Slipstream]

If their real premiss is to put people through if they have a chance at winning AI, then surely Tatiana over Jamar is completely absurd. Yet we aren't the people who made this ridiculous decision.

To be cynical, they obviously only put Tatiana through as a ratings grab and they didn't put through Jamar because they feel he really can't win. The ratings boost with Tatiana justifies Jamar's exit. This is a business after all.

The Judges have either contradicted themselves or they really do believe Tatiana is better than Jamar.

 

[corianderstem]

I'll try and reserve judgement to see who is going to make it into the final 12. Are the judges deciding who moves on? If it's voted on by viewers, we might be screwed.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I'll try and reserve judgement to see who is going to make it into the final 12. Are the judges deciding who moves on? If it's voted on by viewers, we might be screwed.

Everything from here on out is decided by America's vote!

 

[corianderstem]

Oh, then we're screwed. Eh, oh well.

 

[DevilsShoes]

To be cynical, they obviously only put Tatiana through as a ratings grab and they didn't put through Jamar because they feel he really can't win. The ratings boost with Tatiana justifies Jamar's exit. This is a business after all.

I agree, it looks as if the producers are conscious of the downturn in ratings over the last couple of seasons and have chosen to keep in the big personalities rather than the great singers.

They know that the likes of Tatiana and Norman Gentle will get people talking and keep them watching, although I don't think it'll be all that long before the public vote them off, particularly in the case of Tatiana.

 

[Slipstream]

^curious question. Do you guys still get the two episodes from the week(shown in North America on Tues and Wed) on Sunday? When I lived there last I think it was that day or they showed one episode Sat and one on Sunday.

I'd love to have seen Jamar through. It's kind of funny 'cause they must have decided that the possible brief use of Tatiana was or is more worthy than selling the 'friendship' thing with Jamar and his buddy to the public. For me, I think it's going to be hilarious to see her on the live show.

 

[DevilsShoes]

^curious question. Do you guys still get the two episodes from the week(shown in North America on Tues and Wed) on Sunday? When I lived there last I think it was that day or they showed one episode Sat and one on Sunday.

No, we get the first episode broadcast on Thursday at 8.00 and the second on Friday at 9.00.

You're right they used to be broadcast over Sat and Sunday in the afternoon and were shown on ITV 1, but now they've been shifted to the digital channel ITV 2. They seem to be endlessly repeated over the weekend too though, that second 2 hour episode was always on when I was flicking through the channels yesterday.

Hope this helps.

 

[Slipstream]

Ohhh...thanks! That's right it was weekend afternoons on ITV1. I guess it sucks if you only have terrestrial television now. I suppose everyone will have to have digital in the next couple of years though.

 

[Lila64]

From mjsbigblog.... here's how it's supposed to go...

American Idol Season 8 Semi-Finals - Group 1 Roundup
Published by mj February 17th, 2009 in American Idol and AI Season 8. 109 Comments
Alexis Grace Anne Marie Boskovich Anoop Desai Brent Keith Casey Carlson Danny Gokey Jackie Tohn Michael Sarver Ricky Braddy Stephen Fowler Stevie Wright Tatiana Del Toro

Ugh. I hate this new format change. For those of you who aren’t completely clear, here’s a short rundown on how the semis will proceed:

The Top 36 are divided into 3 groups of 12. Group 1 Tuesday night. After the show, ya’ll will vote as usual. During Wednesday night’s results show, Ryan Seacrest will announce the 3 highest vote-getters–Top guy, Top girl and next highest of either sex–to advance to the Top 12. By Wed. of Week 3, America will have filled 9 of the Top 12 slots.

On Thursday of Week 3, a group of contestants, hand-picked by the producers, (mostly from the Top 36 but not necessarily) will perform again for the judges. At the end of the episode, the judges will choose the last 3 contestants to round out the Top 12.

So much to hate about this set up. Instead of watching the same group of contestants grow week-by week during the semi’s we’ll see a different group of 12 each week. It’s an unwieldy and confusing system that favors those with lots of screentime over the unknowns. Contestants better give the performance of their lives, or they’re toast.

Plus, separate groups give the producers more latitude to manipulate the outcome: Sprinkle a few of the producer favorites in each group, make sure their songs are cleared and they get good performance spots, surround favs with cannon fodder, allow the judges to choose 3 of the Top 12 to make up for America’s “mistakes”. Me no likey.

And... I have spoilers, but since it's starting so soon, I'll not post them But I do like Danny's choice of song

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Wow, yeah, they've switched it up this year. I don't know if I like it. We'll see. But this...

On Thursday of Week 3, a group of contestants, hand-picked by the producers, (mostly from the Top 36 but not necessarily) will perform again for the judges. At the end of the episode, the judges will choose the last 3 contestants to round out the Top 12.

...I don't get the "not necessarily from the Top 36" thing. Why even have a Top 36, and make the narrowing down of the field to 36 such a big deal, if you're going to then pull people from before you made that cut? That seems really strange, and it's definitely the first time they've done that in 8 years. If it ain't broke...

But, that being said, this shit starts in like 20 minutes and I can't wait. I'll be back with my (possibly very detailed) thoughts on tonight's proceedings!

 

[Lila64]

My spoilers list was wrong

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

some of these people are brutal!

 

[Lila64]

I read that Casey & Stevie were horrible

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

I read that Casey & Stevie were horrible

Cringe-worthy bad.

 

[Liesje]

I don't want to spoil anything, but I am super critical and heard one I REALLY like, I'm only half-listening to the rest!

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

This chick is just too much.

 

[U2isthebest]

^I definitely don't like the new format. As has been said already, I don't think it gives enough opportunity to get to know the contestants. Of course, this is all meaningless to me at this point, because if/until he gets eliminated, I know who I'll be voting for.

Apologies for the rant: I think I've taken over Golightly's job.

Jackie Tohn- She is awesome. I love her raw, gritty vocals and she is a really fun performer. That is so much better than someone getting out there and belting out a ballad. One of my favorite performances of the night.

Ricky Braddy-Who? As I do 95% of the time, I agreed with Simon. He's got an amazing voice, but he's boring. He didn't connect with the song, and there was no real personality in his performance. Considering we've never seen him until tonight, he really needed to blow people away, and I don't think he did.

Alexis Grace-Wow. Wow. Wow! That was utterly amazing. Usually when someone tries to take on Aretha they fall flat on their face. Alexis did Ms. Franklin proud with that. The vocal was perfect, not in a technical way, but in a bluesey, real way. With the infusion of retro British soul singers (whom I all love), it's great to see an American girl who can give them a run for their money. That was without out a doubt the best performance of the night for me. I think she's my favorite female in the competition this year.

Brent Keith-Anyone who sings a song called "Hick Town" should be automatically disqualified. But, hey, he's got the red state votes! It's nice to see your sex change worked out for you, Kristy Lee Cook. Also, when will people learn that mainstream "country" music today isn't real country music? It's pop with fiddles and mandolins and southern accents. Johnny Cash, George Jones, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, June Carter Cash, EmmyLou Harris, that's real country and that's good music. Sorry for the rant, it's a just a pet peeve of mine when people start calling shit bands like Rascal Flatts "country".

Stevie Wright-The less said the better. That was just bad. I sound better in my shower. I don't dislike her as a person, but that was not good in any sense of the word. She seemed awkward and out of place. My anger towards Jamar being eliminated instead of a large crop of mediocre, marketable teenage girls, intensifies.

Anoop Desai-Anoop DAWG. He's such a fun guy, and he has such an unexpected, soulful voice. But that song didn't do him any favors. I didn't like it in 1999, and I don't like it now.

Casey Carlson- Mediocre Teen Girl 2:Electric Bugaloo. You know where I've seen that kind of performance before? at every single talent show I went to from 7th-12th grades. Bad, bad, bad. If she wants to make it through, she better hope that every guy that got a hard-on from her prancing around the stage has his hands free by the time voting starts.

Michael Sarver-He definitely has a really good voice, but that performance was bland and forgettable. It sounded like your average bar singer, there was nothing that really stood out.

Ann Marie Boskovich-Mediocre Girl Part Three:Attack of the Clones. Kelly Clarkson did "Natural Woman" a hell of a lot better in Season 1, and Alexis Grace did Aretha a hell of a lot better tonight. Alexis and Ann Marie proved there's a difference between singing well and really connecting with a song. Alexis did both amazingly well. Ann Marie sang well (but not amazingly so), but there was nothing there.

Stephen Fowler- Oh, the suspense. Will he remember the lyrics tonight? It wasn't as bad as some of the performances tonight, (Stevie, Casey, I'm looking at you), but it wasn't good. Nobody but Michael Jackson should sing Michael Jackson.

Tatiana Del Toro-I love how Ryan sounded like he was in pain just from mentioning her name. That feeling is felt everywhere. Seriously, the grand majority of AI viewers' dislike of Tatiana could be the elusive issue that unites our country again. I hope President Obama is watching. In terms of performance tonight, the vocal was ok, but she's nowhere near as good as she thinks she is. Plus, she has the worst personality I've ever seen in a human being, ever. I would rather be water boarded than listen to her sing/talk/do anything. If she becomes this season's Sanjaya, I will leave the country. McCain couldn't get me out of here, but Tatiana might. On a shallow note, what threw up on her dress? That thing is fugly. And, apparently she's friends with 20-something Rod Blagojevich.

Danny Gokey-Aside from Matt, he's my favorite guy. He made me manage to not hate the song "Hero". He has such a raw, soulful voice, and he definitely deserves to be the top 2 of the night along with Alexis. Also, I really, really hope Jamar could come back in the Wild Card round.

So, my ideal 3 from this group
1. Alexis Grace
2. Danny Gokey
3. Jackie Tohn/Anoop Desai (I'm torn between those 2, but based on tonight's performances I'd go with Jackie)

 

[Liesje]

Alexis Grace is the only name I even remember. She is my new girl crush.