Is America smoking crack? That must be it. America is smoking crack!
To be honest, I was worried for my girl, Katherine McPhee, going into last night’s show. When they divided them up into two groups and said one was the top two, well, there was no way that Chris Daughtry was going home. Even though DialIdol predicted it would be Chris, it had to be wrong.
And I cheered inside because I just *knew* that Elliott Yamin was on his way out.
Katherine has had the best voice all along, but she’s had a few sub par performances. Taylor Hicks is fun to watch, but his voice isn’t anything worth writing home about. If the goal of American Idol is to find a new duet partner for Kenny G, then I might understand why Elliott was in the top two.
(Honestly, you know my biggest problem with Elliott? That fish face he makes when he is holding his notes. If he wins, it will be proof that baby fish mouth is sweeping the nation.)
Chris, on the other hand, has the goods. He’s consistent, and he’s entertaining. When Ryan announced that Chris was going home, I think most of America was just as shocked as Chris. The only comforting thing about it is that I bet he already had a recording contract waiting on him.
America, lay off the crack pipe, mmkay?
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I never have, and never will, understood the popularity of American Idol. I regard it as a blight on music as an art form in much the same way that color by numbers is a blight on the art of painting.
I warn you in advance that maintenance of the purity of my essence requires that I under no conditions allow myself to be persuaded otherwise, so don’t even bother.
Philistines.
Comment by Beck — May 11, 2006 @ 12:08 pm
I’m 90% positive the show is rigged to keep ratings up. What better way to get people watching than to kick off one of the shoo-ins?
Comment by MaskedFencer — May 11, 2006 @ 3:04 pm
Chris was robbed damn it!
Stop by for a visit
Comment by michele — May 11, 2006 @ 4:25 pm
I am very glad to see Katharine still there, and surprised to still see Elliot around.
Maybe this will be exactly what Chris needs? He might be able to jump into the lead singer role of an esptablished band this way. Fuel offered him a job. Maybe Creed? Stone Temple Pilots? I am sure lots of bands coule use him.
Comment by Briani — May 12, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
Beck - I think the reasons for the popularity of American Idol could fill an essay. But, I won’t try to enlighten you
MF - I don’t think it is rigged. If it the slightest (authentic) hint came out that it was rigged, people wouldn’t watch it.
Michele - Yeah, I thought he was going to win.
Brian - I’m just not a fan of Elliott, although he has stepped up lately. And yes, I think Chris will be fine. He is one of the few people who can be successful even without winning American Idol. Actually, it can be argued that if he won, he wouldn’t do as well!
Comment by Jaxia — May 12, 2006 @ 6:59 pm
omg! i totally agree! i can’t believe that chris is out…i mean, come on, america…how incredible was it to watch his beautiful face (and body) move across the stage. i love chris! check out my page…you’ll see my thoughts on the whole thing!
all along i’ve thought that taylor might be the sleeper that no one expected to win to go all the way.
kat is good, had a few off performances, but i totally had her coming in second…behind chris.
and elliot, well…i kinda like him. he has a pure sound in his voice and he has grown on me a lot. but an american idol he is not.
oh well, america…you’ve screwed this one up…gotta do better next time!
Comment by april — May 13, 2006 @ 1:55 pm
Perhaps it’s a bit disingenuous of me to say that I don’t understand why AI is popular. The reasons are fairly obvious. It’d be more accurate for me to say that I despair that those reasons exist in the first place. American Idol is quite compatible with American culture, which doesn’t speak too highly of the latter.
Comment by Beck — May 13, 2006 @ 8:03 pm
I agree totally with Beck. I can’t stand “American Idol,” and I’m about the only person I know who can say that with a straight face.
That said, the fact that two of the top three Idols America continues to keep on the show are the gray-haired dude and the unattractive Jewish guy tells me that maybe, maybe, they might just be better singers than their departed competition.
As for this Chris dude, I actually happened upon hearing him completely butcher Fuel’s “Hemorrhage,” so good for America, kicking him off. Not that I really give a damn one way or the other, but that’s one of my favorite songs and he just murdered it.
Comment by mike — May 15, 2006 @ 2:09 am
I’ve been sitting back, wondering if I should throw in my two cents and finally decided to admit publicly: I have watched almost every episode of American Idol this season. Three years ago, I didn’t even own a TV. A year ago, my diatribe on the ever-declining American intellect would have mirrored Beck’s and Mike’s sentiments exactly. However, in the interest of being able to communicate with co-workers (and because chemo kept me on the couch for many months), I decided to check out the phenomenon that is American Idol. And it became addictive — kind of like game shows or bon bons. Ridiculous and delicious.
So yes, I agree — Kat is gorgeous and Chris was robbed.
There, I said it.
But let’s be honest: we’ll never live in a society where Stephen Hawking makes more magazine covers than Britney Spears. So, while I’ll hold fast to my intellectual pursuits, I’ll still allow myself a few mindless guilty pleasures too. It’s a long way to eternity on this crowded bus … might as well enjoy the ride.
Comment by SK — May 15, 2006 @ 12:08 pm
My problem with AI isn’t that it’s ‘low culture’ or anything so pretentious. It’s that this canned, corporatized method of music development and talent identification is artificial. The winners (and some of the losers) go on to successful recording careers where they sing songs written by other people.
My problem with AI is that bands & performers like Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Robert Earl Keen, etc, etc, etc, would never have made it on AI. They fought tooth and nail for recognition, developed their product organically, and produced ART. Kelly Clarkson may have an amazing voice, but her songs aren’t art, they’re prepackaged consumer goods. She might as well have been recruited by Proctor & Gamble instead of Simon Cowell. And I fear AI’s popularity reflects a long-term decline in the ability of bands with genuine talent to succeed.
Comment by Beck — May 15, 2006 @ 12:53 pm
1. Great artists are often under-appreciated in their times.
2. I don’t think American Idol ever, even for a second, pretended it was a show about discovering “artists.” For starters, it’s on FOX. I mean really, it’s entertainment for entertainment’s sake. Nothing more, nothing less.
3. The public at large simply prefers the prepackaged sugar-coated variety of, well, everything.
I do agree that “AI’s popularity reflects a long-term decline in the ability of bands with genuine talent to succeed”. But that’s not the show’s fault. That’s some marketing genius tapping into what most Americans want. If American Idol went off the air tomorrow, those with true talent would still have to struggle to succeed.
It’s not the way it SHOULD be; it’s just the way it is.
Comment by SK — May 15, 2006 @ 2:04 pm
I don’t mind so much that “AI” promotes quote-unquote “artists” who sing other people’s songs. You can make a damn fine living doing that, and you always could. Everyone from The Monkees to Celine Dion has made a fortune singing songs they didn’t write. (It should be noted that Kelly Clarkson has six co-write credits of the twelve songs on her Breakaway album.)
My problems with the show are due to my general despisement of “reality TV” in general, combined with my utter disgust with “idolizing” singers, part of the modern American cult of celebrity worship. And also, most of the singers suck, and Simon Cowell is a prick.
Comment by mike — May 15, 2006 @ 3:33 pm
Dude, how in hell do you know that? Hang your head in shame man!!!
Comment by Beck — May 16, 2006 @ 6:03 am
Oh, and Simon Cowell being a prick is the best part of the show.
Comment by Beck — May 16, 2006 @ 6:04 am