# American Idol (Top 13) 3/9/2011



## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

OK folks .. I was debating whether or not to do this again this year or not. I decided I will, so here goes .. Who are your favorites this week?

Personally, my favorites were Pia, Scotty, James and Haley .. My least favorite last night? Ashton (surprise ).

So who are your favorites?


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## ticor (Dec 27, 2007)

Glad you did, I would have missed it otherwise


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Holydoc said:


> Those are my exact same top five as well but not in that order. I would place it as Pia, Casey, Lauren, James, and Scott.


 Similar here too but in the following order:

1) James, really put it together, and also showed a very impressive, lyrical falsetto.

2) Casey, never boring, never a a bad note (unless on purpose), and a fountain of musical creativity.

Then a big drop off to...

3) Pia, another power ballad done well.

4) Scotty (so long as I close my eyes while he sings), the voice is simply amazing.

5) Naima, did her thing with passion and sang well.

6) Jacob, over the top even by Jacob standards; too much, but what pipes!

7) Haley (the yodeling was kind of cool and not everyone can do it). Showed a softer side without conjuring the inner sex kitten for a change. A little sleepy but it worked for me.

8) Lauren was kind of karaoke, but even when she's so-so she's good. I'm expecting much better from her next week.

9) Paul McD, let's face it, that was pretty bad. But Paul is pretty good so i can't demote him down among the ones to come. He can't afford another dud like this one though or he's in trouble.

Another BIG drop off here, to...

10) Thia Megia. Nice controlled start but bad up-tempo 2nd half (probably the producer's idea). She has plenty of potential but not much musical personality (to say the least).

11) Stafano, a good singer but he doesn't do anything at all for me. I just find him boring no matter how well he sings.

And now for the dismal duo:

12) Karen. Omg was that dull. Beauty pageant boring. Exposed a voice that isn't up to the competition too when she went up-range... thinly.

13) Ashthon. Ugh. Please let her be next to go. Every performance is just so desperate to impress, and yet she doesn't. It's all wannabe caliber output with no artistry whatsoever.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Can I just say .. I am not a fan of Jacob. I never have got the Judges complete and total adoration.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> Can I just say .. I am not a fan of Jacob. I never have got the Judges complete and total adoration.


I feel that way regarding James.


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

Lauren really nails that one genre. Interesting they're letting the performers stay in their narrow niches this long. By now in previous years you would have had a ton of blowups as they hit the wall on an uncomfortable song style.

I'd love to see them have real genre weeks: Rap, Alt/Rock, Acoustic AOR, Dance, Hard Rock, etc. Real viable contemporary radio/download material. Not "Barry Manilow Weak" or "Paul Anka Weak".

I love how glibly the powder-puff judges mention Shania and Faith Hill in the same breath as Lauren, as if she's destined for the same level of stardom. Uh, yeah, she's got everything alright. Including an extra 34 pounds and non-supermodel genes. Dismissing the incredibly perfect looks of those two superstars is like dismissing the iceberg in the Titanic's demise.

Now Gretchen Wilson, that's a much more realistic comparison. Walmart-checker looks can only take you so far.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

So why only rag on the girls' looks Maruuk? 

Casey is a squat, hairy guy you'd see shopping (or working) at Walmart.

Jacob is a chubby balding guy (as you've said yourself) looking more like a janitor than an Idol.

Paul is a goofy little munchkin with ridiculously bright white teeth. Perfect for a small role in the Wizard of Oz maybe. 

James is a strange, twitching, inappropriate, doofus. Walmart probably wouldn't even hire him.

Scotty is an awkward, gangling goofball with acne.

Why isn't any of that important to you? Why only harp on the girls looks. Even weirder is the fact that most anyone can plainly see that this season's girls are far and away "hotter" than this year's guys in the looks department. 

Lauren is every bit as cute or cuter than Kelly Clarkson, and probably less heavy too. That didn't stop Kelly from having a very solid career and legions of fans. Nor will it/should it stop Lauren if she is determined to "make it" in the business and continues to grow musically.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Well, the right contestant definitely went home tonight. 

Surprising to see no love for Stefano in the poll here. I thought it was just me...


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

peak_reception said:


> So why only rag on the girls' looks Maruuk?
> 
> Casey is a squat, hairy guy you'd see shopping (or working) at Walmart.
> 
> ...


Maruuk lost credibility ranking females when he thought the weirdo below was hot.


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

Good riddance to Ashton. Weak vocals, horrible song selection, the judges were just staring at her blankly in the horrific swan song performance. But seriously, we just lose one a week now? Good grief. Torture.

BTW, when did Adam Lambert go straight? Last time we saw him on some TV show he was wearing feathers and lipstick and kissing guys on stage. Maybe those fundamentalist church intervention camps really work!


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## rkr0923 (Sep 14, 2006)

Ditto, should of never had the 1st save.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Maruuk said:


> BTW, when did Adam Lambert go straight? Last time we saw him on some TV show he was wearing feathers and lipstick and kissing guys on stage. Maybe those fundamentalist church intervention camps really work!


Last I checked, looks have nothing to do with orientation. Seriously .. let's not go there.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Ashton was the one to go .. we all knew it last week. Randy made a poor choice and I there were plenty of others who would have been a better pick than Ashton for the Top 13.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Well.

So now I've watched. So this is the season that is so much better than previous seasons. OK.

I guess I need to go to the audiologist. I thought Pia and Scotty were serviceably good. I sensed the spirit of real performers in them. Everyone else can pretty much get on the bus now as far as I'm concerned. They were either generic or out of tune.

I seem to recall the question being asked of me last season, did I think that I would buy a song from any of these performers. Well, I'd say that's a real stretch. Maybe after Autotune and a decent producer gets through with them, possibly, that is if I liked the song.

And let me say two more things just to get this off my chest... (1) I don't go for the lovefest especially from Ms. Lopez and Mr. Tyler. Judges judge. They don't just fawn over people. If they did, they would be called fawns. Be constructive in your criticism but CRITICIZE. Maybe these performances seem better in person, and if that's the case, the [strike]fawns[/strike] judges need to sit in the green room and watch the show on television like the rest of us.

And (2) I'm glad I didn't watch the results show live. When I forwarded past anything that looked like a commercial, I ended up watching the whole thing in 11 minutes.

I know a lot of you love this show and it's not my intention to rain on your collective parade. So I'll try to keep the grumbles to a minimum. But for now... tell me again how this season is soooooo much better than last season?


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

sigma1914 said:


> Maruuk lost credibility ranking females when he thought the weirdo below was hot.


To be fair, that is probably the worst picture of Siob. that I've ever seen :lol:, but you're right, she is a weird choice to be ranking #1 on the hotness scale. And Haley is fat with a big mouth?! Someone needs a new prescription


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Well.
> 
> So now I've watched. So this is the season that is so much better than previous seasons. OK.


 Better than last year is the claim. Admittedly it's a low bar to clear. :grin:



> I guess I need to go to the audiologist. I thought Pia and Scotty were serviceably good. I sensed the spirit of real performers in them. Everyone else can pretty much get on the bus now as far as I'm concerned. They were either generic or out of tune.


 Pia is very good in her wheelhouse (power ballads). Scotty is very good in his wheelhouse (deep country). Jacob is very good in his wheelhouse (gospel). James is very good in his wheelhouse (rock). Paul is very good in his wheelhouse (singer/songwriter). Haley is good in her wheelhouse (expressive sexy). Naima is good in her wheelhouse (expressive artsy). Karen, Stefano, and Thia are ok but bland so far. They need to step it up or will be gone. Lauren Alaina didn't do anything special Weds night but keep watching, that girl is going to have a breakout night with the right song and her confidence back. There's no telling what Casey is capable of yet because he hasn't had a bad outing yet and is very musically creative.

Re: the wheelhouse factor, Maruuk actually posed the best question, which is; 'how will they do once outside their comfort zone?' It will be quite interesting to hear.

Admittedly, this week's performances (other than Casey and James who were excellent imo) were not too exciting. There could be various explanations for that, one being that the assigned producers over-produced their charges; that the new band, coaches, sound-system (vocals seemed weak against the band imo), etc. haven't yet meshed well with the singers; nerves were probably a factor too. And yes a couple of the singers still here may deserve to depart soon. I'm pretty sure that there are going to be some great moments yet to come this season. The talent is there but things are still sorting out.



> And let me say two more things just to get this off my chest... (1) I don't go for the lovefest especially from Ms. Lopez and Mr. Tyler. Judges judge. They don't just fawn over people. If they did, they would be called fawns. Be constructive in your criticism but CRITICIZE. Maybe these performances seem better in person, and if that's the case, the [strike]fawns[/strike] judges need to sit in the green room and watch the show on television like the rest of us.


 Now you're on to something. Steven and Jennifer are suffering from Ellen DeGeneres Syndrome in the last two weeks. They hear what we are hearing but they don't want to be mean; they want to be supportive. That's all well and good to a point, but that point is reached when you have someone like Ashthon up on stage literally screeching out Diana Ross all out of tune, unmusical, desperate to be loved but not delivering anything worthy of being loved. The judges have gotten to know these people. Ashthon is probably a very nice girl in person. They don't want to shred and embarrass her in front of millions of people. But that doesn't mean that you pretend what she sang sounded good. It's a tough line the judges are walking but they do need to criticize when criticism is clearly called for. It can be done in a way which doesn't destroy the person in front of them. But at this point in the competition, Ashthon shouldn't have even still been there to create this problem. Her 'sing for your life' was bad, yet she was put through. Kendra was much more deserving imo.

The judges are going to have to be honest with Karen and Thia too pretty soon and it will be difficult (esp. on Jennifer) b/c both Thia and Karen seem like super nice young people, so you don't want to savage them publicly so that you can tell everyone that you were a suitably tough judge. And in their (karen & thia) defense, the former was apparently having trouble losing her voice, and the latter appeared to have been led astray by her producer with that tacky arrangement she was saddled with. So I would expect even those two to do much better next week. Hoping so anyway. These are very young people under tremendous pressure week to week. Not everyone is going to shine like a superstar each week, especially in the beginning of being on the big stage. I'm not trying to make excuses for this week; it was less than stellar for sure, but tune out at your own risk b/c there is still going to be some great stuff to come, imo.



> And (2) I'm glad I didn't watch the results show live. When I forwarded past anything that looked like a commercial, I ended up watching the whole thing in 11 minutes.


 +1, -1; I think it took me 10 minutes



> I know a lot of you love this show and it's not my intention to rain on your collective parade. So I'll try to keep the grumbles to a minimum. But for now... tell me again how this season is soooooo much better than last season?


 Better talent. You'll see/hear if you hang in there.  One subpar night doesn't sink a whole season. And even this week we had James and Casey who were excellent imo.

I look for Lauren, James, Jacob, Pia, Paul, Scotty, and Casey (if he gets out of the hospital in time), to all have great outings next week.

I hope for Naima, Haley, Karen, Thia, and Stafano to do the same, but am less confident in them.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Goodbye Ashton. It was nice meeting you. You can sing - don't let anyone convince you differently - but you weren't as good as the others.

Right choice in my book. 

I would be embarrassed if I had invited Berry Gordy to attend Ashton's Wed-nite performance. Wonder if he was there on Thursday ... were you there, Jimmy?


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Voting aside, my 5 favorites, in no particular order, are James, Casey, Stefano, Thia and Naima. I'd add Jacob, but I'm not a huge fan of Barry White type singers in general. I think Pia's a lovely girl, but I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about her singing ability. She must sound a lot better in person, based on the judges always swooning after her performances. Just my .02.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> Ashton was the one to go .. we all knew it last week. Randy made a poor choice and I there were plenty of others who would have been a better pick than Ashton for the Top 13.


Ya. Poor Robbie Rosen sang his heart out on elimination night. He so deserved another shot, IMHO. If they wanted to save Ashton, they should have kept 14 that night and let America drop 2 this week.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

peak_reception, thanks for the rebuttal. I'm going to try to ride along for a while and hopefully I'll develop some affection for these kids. And you know, I do get it — to Mr. Tyler and Ms. Lopez these are real people, not just objects for their amusement, and on top of which they're young people with feelings. I'm sensitive to that and I'd probably make a lousy AI judge if I were there face to face. But, at home and to some extent in the blogosphere, I'm free to be extraordinarily critical. 

Personally I see no excuse for being out of tune, period. I get it, you're nervous. But at this point you have to have that under control. Does this show have vocal coaches for these kids? They should. 

As for the rest of it, I guess another big thing is that popular music, the stuff that appeals to 18-year-olds, is not particularly my "wheelhouse." And I'm just too ingrained with the excellent performances of Eric Carmen, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, and others to be incredibly impressed by what I saw last night.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

> Does this show have vocal coaches for these kids?


 YEs, don't you remember "The Vocal Coach From Hell!" She would make just about anyone nervous. But the other ones are much nicer from what I hear, so that's good for the kids. The coach from hell was hilarious though; great entertainment! :grin:


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

Pia and Naima I didnt like the song Pia sang


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

_Pia_ and_ Haley_ are my favorite girls. _Haley's_ rendition of "Blue" was better than _LeAnn's_. _Pia_ blew me away with her "All By Myself"

_Paul _and _Casey_ are the guys. _Paul_ has a quirky voice and style about him, while _Casey_ is just the opposite in the style department. Both are very talented.

I like _Jacob_ too, but he seems a bit disoriented.

_Naima:_ while I empathize with her, she lacks something.

_James_ and _Scotty _could have gone home last week for all I care... and could have taken_ Karen_ with them.

_Thia_ comes across as a shy girl, not wanting anybody to make a fuss over her... not even the band.

And what's with the tinny, low sound of late? Even when I put on the headsets, it's tinny.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Stuart Sweet said:


> As for the rest of it, I guess another big thing is that popular music, the stuff that appeals to 18-year-olds, is not particularly my "wheelhouse." And I'm just too ingrained with the excellent performances of Eric Carmen, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, and others to be incredibly impressed by what I saw last night.


 My wheelhouse is more in tune with your's too, but people like us don't (generally) buy records anymore, so the industry isn't that concerned with trying to serve us.

You do, however, mention Paul McCartney. Did you not think that Jame Durbin did justice to the McCartney song on Weds? I re-listened to it again just to be sure, and I have to say I think he did a fantastic job with it. James' personality doesn't excite me much but his musical talent does. I also re-listened to Casey Abrams and it confirmed for me what a fun, creative romp he had with that Joe Cocker cover of the Beatles song. How fun and different Casey is! The UnAmerican Idol 

Most of the contestants left have the potential for some 'Wow' performances to come. It will be fun to see who rises and who falls from week to week. Hopefully no more 'Bow Wow' performances. :grin:


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Henry said:


> _Pia_ and_ Haley_ are my favorite girls. _Haley's_ rendition of "Blue" was better than _LeAnn's_. _Pia_ blew me away with her "All By Myself"


 Pia is very solid, very experienced, and very talented. Haley is growing on me every time I hear her. She takes chances, which I respect and admire, and her singing is actually quite solid even when she growls and purrs like a sexpot. It does seem genuine with her and not a put on, so it works (at least on men :grin. I suspect that most women are not so favorably disposed to liking it and her though.



> I like _Jacob_ too, but he seems a bit disoriented.


 Jacob is one-of-a-kind. His sanctified vocals are powerful and unique, but may not wear well over time except within his niche audience. Will he thrill or exhaust America over the coming weeks? Hard to tell. He does add a different dimension though, that's for sure.



> _Naima:_ while I empathize with her, she lacks something.


 For me it's not a lacking, but rather an overdose of trying too hard. She wants to show America everything she's got in every single song she sings. So she over does it every time. If she pulls it back and shows a more relaxed approach I think it could pay very big dividends for her in terms of gaining a loyal following. Right now she's too much in her own head, forcing her vocals and stage antics, trying to be what she imagines a star should do and be. It's off-putting, at least for me. America would warm up to her a lot more if she would just relax and connect with the song she's singing and the audience before her instead of shooting for stardom at every opportunity. She needs a 'less is more' Kris Allen moment and approach where she releases the intensity for a change and just sings a quiet song beautifully. She can do that and she should imo. I hope she does because she does have a lot to offer if she would just relax for a change, and let the rest of us relax with her.



> _James_ and _Scotty _could have gone home last week for all I care... and could have taken_ Karen_ with them.


+2 out of 3 :grin: James is irritating but also a major talent imo.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Agree ... _James _is a major talent, but I don't like him - and for all appearances, neither does _Ryan._


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Henry said:


> Agree ... _James _is a major talent, but I don't like him - and for all appearances, neither does _Ryan._


Has Seacrest talked bad about the faker? (His Asperger's claim is BS IMO and in many others.)


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

No way he'd be up there doing what he's doing and relating in that manner if he had clinical Asperger's and Tourette's as claimed. It's a dodge for sympathy. As is his "poverty" whine. Santa Cruz is full of shirkers and slackers living off welfare. And he has a thin, hard, unmusical quality to his vocals that greats Adam Lambert and Daughtry do not have.

I agree the general level of professionalism, singing skills and "slickness" has gone way up this year. Yet it's hard to find as many sympathetic performers, favorites as in other years. It's kind of like a contest made up of the cast from Glee.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Regardless of James' angle I believe that the statement is "He was diagnosed with .. blah blah blah" and it seems the reference has been in the past. Now, the natural tendency is for people to believe that he actually has those conditions, but I don't recall him or anyone else actually saying that he does have them or not. Still, the way it is portrayed, that is what we want to think.

For me, I don't care. He can sing and other than watching him during the critique, I think he does a good job on stage, too.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

_James_ seems to enjoy grandstanding in front of the cameras. He's done it twice (that I was able to notice) and in the company of _Ryan_ both times.

That's the part of his personality I find distasteful, not any medical condition he has or has had. I don't think he's done anything medically-related.

While his singing voice makes for a great contestant, he shoots himself in the foot each time he resorts to attention-grabbing which only serves to peg him as rude, arrogant and childish.

I have to give him credit for great singing abilities, but that's it.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Henry said:


> _James_ seems to enjoy grandstanding in front of the cameras. He's done it twice (that I was able to notice) and in the company of _Ryan_ both times.
> ...


I've read that he's a real camera whore on some fan sites. One girl who made it to Hollywood said he did this a lot. And while waiting he was an obnoxious jerk asking where bars were near & how he's ready to get wasted, but when cameras came he was all buddy-buddy with others.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

sigma1914 said:


> I've read that he's a real camera whore on some fan sites. One girl who made it to Hollywood said he did this a lot. And while waiting he was an obnoxious jerk asking where bars were near & how he's ready to get wasted, but when cameras came he was all buddy-buddy with others.


Thanks ...your post reenforces my feeling.


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> Can I just say .. I am not a fan of Jacob. I never have got the Judges complete and total adoration.





sigma1914 said:


> I feel that way regarding James.


My take, James and Jacob will be the last two standing.


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

Thia is a real dark horse, she has an amazing voice, awesome emotional tone and extraordinary control. She could make it pretty deep. 

Jacob is truly odd as a performer. He seems awesome at first blush, but his delivery borders on weird and he gets very sloppy with his intonation. He could very easily crash and burn the instant they take him out of his R&B genre sweet spot.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Maruuk said:


> Thia is a real dark horse, she has an amazing voice, awesome emotional tone and extraordinary control. She could make it pretty deep.
> 
> Jacob is truly odd as a performer. He seems awesome at first blush, but his delivery borders on weird and he gets very sloppy with his intonation. He could very easily crash and burn the instant they take him out of his R&B genre sweet spot.


Agree on both your points.

_Thia_ needs to get the orchestra involved a little more than the back-up piano or guitar. This is not an a cappella contest. She's done two numbers that way; now's the time to cut the brass loose. She seems to have a knack for song selection, though. I hope she retains it.

_Jacob_ seems to have a limited repertoire. If it's not exactly what he knows, he just flaps around the stage giving _Paul_ a run for his money, and shreeking like a banshee.

I like them both even though I don't think either one will be working on their fatal flaw.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Birth Year songs theme tonight.


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

You see what they're doing, they're letting everybody stay in their one-trick-pony genre week after week. While that makes perfect sense since once they're idols, they'll do exactly the same thing, it does really hurt the sense of challenge and competition. ******** stay ********, R&Bers stay R&Bers, Broadway crooners stay shmaltzy, rockers keeping screaming.

Kinda boring frankly.


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

peak_reception said:


> Birth Year songs theme tonight.


Cool! Works for me!


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Maruuk said:


> You see what they're doing, they're letting everybody stay in their one-trick-pony genre week after week. While that makes perfect sense since once they're idols, they'll do exactly the same thing, it does really hurt the sense of challenge and competition. ******** stay ********, R&Bers stay R&Bers, Broadway crooners stay shmaltzy, rockers keeping screaming.
> 
> Kinda boring frankly.


Something tells me it won't be boring tonight, but if it is then I won't make excuses for it.

Keep in mind that most professional singer/entertainers can't do diddly-squat outside their genre either.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

The more they sing in their own style, the better. I just don't need Scotty singing R&B (for example) when I know full well that he won't be singing that style when he goes Pro. The way I see it, the closer they perform to their individual styles, the more we are going to enjoy it and the more acurate our votes will be.


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

Well that's what I've been saying since the getgo, they don't NEED to be versatile in the real world. Just do one thing great.

But it was fun when they used to hit the wall of an unfriendly genre. Some real blowups for sure. Now it's just a bunch of slick Glee lounge performers--the kind you see late at night in the mini-lounges around Vegas casinos. Robot pros doing slick cover songs hour after tedious hour with all the right moves and expressions. 

Idol has really lost its pose of "amateurism" this year. They used to hide the fact that, say, Katherine McPhee had a record contract and was living with a married record producer twice her age.

Now I suppose the whole thing is a bit more honest. Many of these performers are highly trained pros and semi-pros. Not diamonds in the rough who fell off a turnip truck.


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