# American Idol (Top 4)



## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Adam, Allison, Danny or Kris .. Will there be a bad song tonight?


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Well I guessed right that if he couldn't sing Elvis this week, Adam should choose a Robert plant Zeppelin song.  I thought he set a great tone for the evening. "A"

Allison was plagued once again by poor articulation. Had she sung Janis a little more clearly, I think her performance might have been better received by the judges. "B"

Kris held his own, IMO, considering this was not the best genre for him. "B"

I thought Danny was very good up until that scream at the end, which ruined it for me. "B-"

Adam and Allison were great together. I love the way they pushed each other, as Kara observed. Because of that duet, I think the two of them won the evening.

I wouldn't be surprised if any of them were in the bottom two tomorrow, tho. I think no matter how much the judges love Adam, America may not feel the same. /steve

PS: I thought Allison's "look" tonite was great.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

1. Adam
2. Allison
3. Danny
4. Kris


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## QuickDrop (Jul 21, 2007)

Steve said:


> Allison was plagued once again by poor articulation. Had she sung Janis a little more clearly, I think her performance might have been better received by the judges. "B"


Articulation? Articulation?! You're criticizing a rock performance because of articulation? There are parlor games based on figuring out the actual lyrics of classic rock songs because no can understand the original performer.

I do agree (sort of) with the judges that, for her sake, she should have gone with a better known song. People seem to vote for familiarity as much as anything. With that said, I'm glad she went for the song she did. I'm sick to death of _Come Together_ and _Dream On_.

By the way, was I nuts or did Kara suggest that _Dream On_ was a later song than _Crying_ or _Crazy_? I'll excuse her commonly held misbelief that 80s hair bands were "glam rock," but that seemed a bit much.


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## vankai (Jan 22, 2007)

Sixto said:


> 1. Adam
> 2. Allison
> 3. Danny
> 4. Kris


Agreed on that order.

Adam made me change my thinkin' that he was best suited for the AI stage, and not so much for the real world outside of musicals.

I would definitely buy his rock album.

Props to Danny, the boy has some cojones to sing 'Dream On'


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Enjoyed tonight's show a lot! 

Adam and Allison kicked butt.:icon_bb: 

Kris was out of his element but did the best he could given the genre.

Danny did ok until The Scream :lol:


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Still watching, but, an interesting arrangement of "Come Together". I don't know if it was Kris' guitar playing or one of the others, but someone was almost throwing a reggae beat on the song. :lol: Randy agrees.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Steve said:


> Well I guessed right that if he couldn't sing Elvis this week, Adam should choose a Robert plant Zeppelin song.  I thought he set a great tone for the evening. "A"
> 
> Allison was plagued once again by poor articulation. Had she sung Janis a little more clearly, I think her performance might have been better received by the judges. "B"
> 
> ...


I agree with everything you wrote, except I might have given Allison an A- or B+ (thought she was better than Kris)


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Sixto said:


> 1. Adam
> 2. Allison
> 3. Danny
> 4. Kris


Agree with the order, but I think it will be close between Danny and Kris. Either one could go, but, probably Kris. I loved the Slow Ride duet. As usual, Fox cut off the recording before the end (again). It went away with Randy saying "You guys..... "

I noticed a stack of "Orange" amplifiers for one of the guitar players. Here's my Orange amp. Now, if only I could play guitar....


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

I liked Adam and Allison a lot tonight, and I like Kris a lot better than most others here, it seems. However, I didn't like Danny's song from the opening note to the final scream. 

I agree with Steve: I think it's wide open who we'll see in the bottom two. There are four very strong choices and based on the entire competition to date I think it's fair to say that any of these four could be crowned as winner, so it's easy to see any of the four being a surprise elimination.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

> Allison was plagued once again by poor articulation.



Articulation has always been very important in rock n roll. Such classics as "Louie Louie" would never have gotten to the top of the charts without proper diction and articulation.  Then again, without proper diction and articulation this would never have been the hit that it was: http://www.elwp.com/Joe Cocker.html  Enjoy.


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## waynebtx (Dec 24, 2006)

Sixto said:


> 1. Adam
> 2. Allison
> 3. Danny
> 4. Kris


Yep that the same way i see it.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

At this point.. Decided to cast a single vote. Adam definitely was at the top.. I would put Allison 2nd (Not close in my eyes) and a toss up between Kris or Danny. Personally overall... I think Kris as earned the right to stay, but Danny definitely has a large backing given he has not been in the bottom 3 yet. 

Tomorrow should be interesting...


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Enjoyed everything tonight .. except the scream . The Danny/Kris harmony was great except apparently one of the two of them forgot the words at the end of the song since they clearly say something different than the other. My Wife says Kris got it right and Danny got it wrong. Since she's almost always right about those kinds of things, I'll defer to her .

Articulation? Allison really hit it tonight on her solo .. I was listening to that closely and there were very few words that I thought were a problem. In fact, it actually sounded to me like she was making an effort to get that part of it right and Allison probably articulated about 1000 times more than Janice Joplin ever would have. I thought she did much better than the Judges gave her credit for.

The last song .. "Slow Rider, Take it Easy" .. did they say any other words? :shrug: .. I thought Adam was better than Allison despite the Judges calling for a Duet. In Renegade? Danny simply overpowered Kris so, for that song .. Danny gets the nod (even though he flubbed the words).


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## redfiver (Nov 18, 2006)

I just can't figure out why people like Danny. He seems so fake to me. Adam was easily the best tonight, and Alison did okay, but I thought Kris was much better than Danny. 

I think that Kris didn't do a great job with Come Together (which is such a great song...), but it was better than Danny's Dream On. His rock 'scream' was absolutely horrible. I was cringing.

In the duets, Adam killed it again. Alison was good, but she was overshadowed by Adam immensely.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

redfiver said:


> In the duets, Adam killed it again. Alison was good, but she was overshadowed by Adam immensely.


One down side of duets.. Depending on who you draw, It can show the difference of talent that are sometimes hidden without a side by side to compare. Adam and Allison definitely did a excellent job on their duet, but you can see the difference in what they bring to the table.

I am sure Allison will grow and she has the potential. Adam I think still has room to grow but he already is there in my opinion. What worries me is we are looking at another Bo Bice vs. Carrie Underwood. Bo in my opinion should have one and was the best contestant for that show. Carrie showed potential and as seen as coming from nowhere. Carrie definitely has shown that the right choice was made.... Hmm wonder if that could happen again.

Wll Adam deserves the win IMHO.. But AI is usually never about who deserves it most so it is anyones game at this point.


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## djrobx (Jan 27, 2009)

redfiver said:


> I just can't figure out why people like Danny. He seems so fake to me. Adam was easily the best tonight, and Alison did okay, but I thought Kris was much better than Danny.


I'm with you. Kris actually sounded great during "Renegade" - he has a tone that fits Styx/Tommy Shaw songs very well. Unfortunately the flow was totally ruined every time Danny took over.

Perhaps Kris could have done something like Crystal Ball. Although that's not one of my favorite Styx songs, it's just ballad-ey and acoustic enough that Kris would have nailed it. Kris could have done so much better than "Come Together". Maybe something along the lines of "Extreme - More than Words"

I would like to see Danny go, but I suspect it's the end of the road for Kris. Danny does nothing for me. Tonight highlighted everything I dislike about him. He thought that scream was on pitch? Really? I could have told you the moment "Dream on" was announced for him that his voice is simply not capable of doing that song justice, and the result wasn't surprising at all. I find most of his performances downright constipated, and this was no exception.

Allison did well. Didn't like the Joplin song all that much for her. But this was her element. I give Allison big props for not doing a song that is has been worn out by previous idols. Adam knocked it out of the park, as usual.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Steve said:


> Allison was plagued once again by poor articulation. Had she sung Janis a little more clearly, I think her performance might have been better received by the judges.





QuickDrop said:


> Articulation? Articulation?! You're criticizing a rock performance because of articulation? There are parlor games based on figuring out the actual lyrics of classic rock songs because no can understand the original performer.





Richard King said:


> Articulation has always been very important in rock n roll. Such classics as "Louie Louie" would never have gotten to the top of the charts without proper diction and articulation.





Doug Brott said:


> Articulation? Allison really hit it tonight on her solo .. I was listening to that closely and there were very few words that I thought were a problem. In fact, it actually sounded to me like she was making an effort to get that part of it right and Allison probably articulated about 1000 times more than Janice Joplin ever would have. I thought she did much better than the Judges gave her credit for.


Maybe I'm just being too tough on Allison because I want her to win.  Also, based on *Doug's *comment, I wonder if the West Coast mix was better-balanced voice to vocals? The three-hour delay may have allowed them to tweak things a little better.

I thought a big plus to her cover of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" was the fact I could (for the first time) clearly understand lyrics that were unintelligible (to me) in the original version. As a result, I guess I was disappointed she didn't do the same for me with "Cry Baby". I listened to Janis's original again this morning on CD, and while it's also very poorly balanced, the words were a little clearer. I'm really nitpicking, tho, I know. 


djrobx said:


> I give Allison big props for not doing a song that is has been worn out by previous idols


Agree. Janis or Grace Slick were both appropriate choices for this week's theme, and it's good she picked a Janis song that hadn't already been overdone on the show.



spartanstew said:


> I might have given Allison an A- or B+ (thought she was better than Kris)


Listening to Allison again this morning, I agree. She _was_ better than Kris. /steve


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## clyde sauls (Nov 16, 2007)

When this season started I liked Danny but as the season has gone on. I realized he is not the best of the remaining 4 and shouldnt win. Last night my partner thought he off key or sounded hoarse. I thought he did sound hoarse. If people voted actually by each weeks preformance. I think he will be gone but as we have seen in the past that is not always the case. I think the judges decided wks ago that Adam is going to win. I think he does have the highest range I have seen during the whole series. But I look back and see the judges favorited Taylor Hicks and see how many records he sold. I really dont see anyone from this season being as great as Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson.


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

djrobx said:


> I'm with you. Kris actually sounded great during "Renegade" - he has a tone that fits Styx/Tommy Shaw songs very well. Unfortunately the flow was totally ruined every time Danny took over.
> 
> *Perhaps Kris could have done something like Crystal Ball.* Although that's not one of my favorite Styx songs, it's just ballad-ey and acoustic enough that Kris would have nailed it. Kris could have done so much better than "Come Together". Maybe something along the lines of "Extreme - More than Words"
> 
> ...


I agree, Crystal Ball would have been a great choice. I love that song!

Danny was not good, the others all sounded great. Should be a great show tonight. Bottom two will be Adam and Allison. I base this upon how I feel the votes will turnout, not so much on performance. If I base it upon performance, Danny goes home tonight. Danny was VFTW's pick. That will give him additional votes. I guess we'll find out tonight.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

FWIW. /steve


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

I didn't watch the show, but I watched the performances on the idol website this morning.

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but I thought it wasn't a great night.

Adam was good, but I didn't enjoy his performances all that much, for whatever reason.

Allison was back to the girl I can't stand, but can't figure out why I can't stand.

Danny was OK right up until the scream at the end of his song. What a mess THAT was.

Kris was, for me, the most enjoyable. A little something different to the arrangement with the rhythm guitar (was that him or somebody in the band). He's always got pretty creative arrangements, and this one wasn't THAT creative, but I enjoyed it.

I thought both duets were pretty good, but not great.

Maybe it's the fact that I was watching all of this at 6:00 am this morning, but for a top 4 that's loaded with talent, it just wasn't that great for me tonight.

I *think* Adam is probably safe, but any of the other 3 could be going home tonight.


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## IndyMichael (Jan 25, 2003)

Adam should win, but we know how that goes. Hopefully last weeks bottom 3 was a wake up call to all Adam fans. Win or lose though, Adam will have the best music career post Idol.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Slightly off topic from the singing last night .. Just watched a CNN video talking about Paula Abdul's admission of addiction to pain killers. Definitely suspected by many and recently confirmed.

I'll also say that while Paula does tend to run on .. She has looked much better all season .. in relation to whether or not she looks drugged up .. All I have to say about that is good for her for taking the steps needed to correct this problem.

Video Article


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> I'll also say that while Paula does tend to run on .. She has looked much better all season [...]


+1. She's been like a new person this season, IMO. Good for her. /steve


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

Steve said:


> FWIW. /steve


I can't do a screen shot, but if you look at the raw numbers, Danny received the fewest Dial idol votes.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

machavez00 said:


> I can't do a screen shot, but if you look at the raw numbers, Danny received the fewest Dial idol votes.


Here ya go. So if Danny received the fewest, why is he #2 in their scoring, I wonder? Texts? /steve


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## Richard (Apr 24, 2002)

Say goodbye to Adam! Bye!


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## Richard (Apr 24, 2002)

redfiver said:


> I just can't figure out why people like Danny. He seems so fake to me. Adam was easily the best tonight, and Alison did okay, but I thought Kris was much better than Danny.
> 
> I think that Kris didn't do a great job with Come Together (which is such a great song...), but it was better than Danny's Dream On. His rock 'scream' was absolutely horrible. I was cringing.
> 
> In the duets, Adam killed it again. Alison was good, but she was overshadowed by Adam immensely.


And I just can't figure out why people like Adam. He isn't original, all he does is scream and whine. I don't even call it singing, it's just utterly annoying noise.

I don't like Danny though, of the 4 left, Allison and Kris are the best of them.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

Out of the performances last night I would say Danny is leaving however I think his fan base is strong enough that he'll be ok and Allison will be gone.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> Slightly off topic from the singing last night .. Just watched a CNN video talking about Paula Abdul's admission of addiction to pain killers. Definitely suspected by many and recently confirmed.
> 
> I'll also say that while Paula does tend to run on .. She has looked much better all season .. in relation to whether or not she looks drugged up .. All I have to say about that is good for her for taking the steps needed to correct this problem.
> 
> Video Article


According to MSNBC she "had a condition, reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, that required aggressive pain management." She wore a patch 80 times stronger than morphine and combined other pain killers with it. I have to look this condition up, but if it requires that much pain management I have to assume it's easy to become addicted ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30584222/


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

By the way, from Ryan's comments about the live on-set accident with the AI sign and some later banter with either Danny or Kris, I got the impression that Danny and Kris didn't get to practice their duet live in front of the crowd, so there may have been some nerves there ...


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Richard said:


> And I just can't figure out why people like Adam. He isn't original, all he does is scream and whine. I don't even call it singing, it's just utterly annoying noise.
> 
> I don't like Danny though, of the 4 left, Allison and Kris are the best of them.


That is what makes music amazing. We all have our own preferences. To some people it is noise while to others it is some cool stuff. I am in the cool stuff category and given the voting and comments I have heard Adam is producing anything but noise.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Drew2k said:


> According to MSNBC she "had a condition, reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, that required aggressive pain management." She wore a patch 80 times stronger than morphine and combined other pain killers with it. I have to look this condition up, but if it requires that much pain management I have to assume it's easy to become addicted ...
> 
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30584222/


Oddly, the treatment discussed in the Wikipedia entry doesn't lead one to think opiate analgesics are used.

It does say "The pain of CRPS is continuous and may be heightened by emotional stress." For Paula, the pain must be very heightened a lot of the time.

But one certainly can be sympathetic to her plight.


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## heathramos (Dec 19, 2005)

my quick take...

I thought Danny had the worst performance but doubt he goes home tonight.

I would guess Kris will most likely go home.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> By the way, from Ryan's comments about the live on-set accident with the AI sign and some later banter with either Danny or Kris, I got the impression that Danny and Kris didn't get to practice their duet live in front of the crowd, so there may have been some nerves there ...


It was a level playing field, though, because none of them got a chance do a run-through. /steve


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

heathramos said:


> my quick take...
> 
> I thought Danny had the worst performance but doubt he goes home tonight.
> 
> I would guess Kris will most likely go home.


It pains me to agree.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Had chance to watch one more time today. Danny's performance even worse than I remembered the first time through. A terrible song choice for his voice and style, and his misplaced confidence that he could handle that glory note at the end. It went from awkward at the start, to aggressively forced in the middle, to downright embarrassing with The Scream at the end. All of his weaknesses were exposed. 

I think Danny will be in trouble tonight, at least one of the bottom two. The only thing that may save him is Simon's dogmatic and bluntly expressed opinion that Danny is better than Kris. Simon won't stop clinging to his Danny-crush no matter how many bad weeks in a row he (Danny) has. It's too bad because Kris has now proved himself to be a better musician than Danny imo, even on hard rock night where he was a fish out of water. 

Having said that, I did enjoy the vocal harmonies Kris and Danny put together in their duet. 

Adam was The Man last night and Allison a strong 2nd. Their duet was great fun!


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## ajc68 (Jan 23, 2008)

IndyMichael said:


> Adam should win, but we know how that goes. Hopefully last weeks bottom 3 was a wake up call to all Adam fans. Win or lose though, Adam will have the best music career post Idol.


Well, Adam had the best career before Idol. He's a professional stage performer (my girlfriend saw him in Wicked), which explains why he's so comfortable in the spotlight. He's the ringer of this season and it really shows.

Btw, that's the first time to my knowledge that a Zeppelin song has been cleared for use in a TV show.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

ajc68 said:


> Btw, that's the first time to my knowledge that a Zeppelin song has been cleared for use in a TV show.


It was noted in the show that this was the first time, yes.

Slightly interesting side note .. My Wife's sister has had the opportunity to spend some time with Robert Plant in the last couple of years. One of her friends was dating Robert plant (may still be for all I know).


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Steve said:


> It was a level playing field, though, because none of them got a chance do a run-through. /steve


I only mentioned it because Ryan specifically pointed that out, but I believe either Ryan or Allison said that Allison was on stage when the accident occurred and if they do the run-throughs int he same order as the live show, Adam may have gotten his fiull solo rehearsal in.


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

Steve said:


> Here ya go. So if Danny received the fewest, why is he #2 in their scoring, I wonder? Texts? /steve


The percentage of busy signals is worked into the calculation of the DI score. These numbers represent only those calls using the Dial Idol software.


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## waynebtx (Dec 24, 2006)

Are the voters nut there is no way Allison should have gone.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

yep, nuts.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

wow. It's Melinda Doolittle all over again.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

waynebtx said:


> Are the voters nut there is no way Allison should have gone.





Sixto said:


> yep, nuts.





Richard King said:


> wow. It's Melinda Doolittle all over again.


If Danny had been voted out, that would have been the reaction from his fans.

If Kris had been voted out, that would have been the reaction from his fans.

If Adam had been voted out, that would have been the reaction from his fans.

There were four extremely talented singers in this round, "best" is subjective, and someone had to lose.

As a fan of both Kris and Adam, I'm just happy they get to stick around another week.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Drew2k said:


> If Danny had been voted out, that would have been the reaction from his fans.


 Danny himself was laughing out loud about how badly he wrecked his song Tuesday night. If the contestant himself admits he was terrible then on what ground do his fans have to argue otherwise?


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Well, I'm not really a fan of any of them (not that they're not good, I just base each week on that weeks performances).

I thought Allison was clearly better than Kris and Danny last night (and most nights) and didn't deserve to go home based on singing.

Danny was brutal, but obviously, has a lot of fans.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

Danny's fan base has always been huge. He's never been in the bottom 3 and I'm willing to bet he's always been in the top 3 for number of votes each week. That's the biggest reason I picked Allison to go home. Even though on performance Danny should have he just has too much support. Next week though if he tanks again I think he's gone. Allison's fans will convert to Adam more then anyone. Which will lock him in and I think Kris can pull the upset if he performs stays the course he has been.


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

I'm disappointed Allison does not get to move on. I'm sure 19 Entertainment has a recording studio waiting for her.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

We're obviously down to a popularity contest now, because last night's votes certainly weren't based on talent. That's not good news for Adam, who may have been in the bottom two last night, considering how careful they were to tell us the results were "random". The look on Simon's face while Allison sang last night was telling. I'm pretty sure this is not the way he hoped the voting would go.

I feel worse for myself than I do for Allison. She no doubt has a great career ahead of her, but I probably won't be able to hear her sing anything new for a year, by the time the tour is over and she gets into a studio.

She gave what I thought was the best "exit" performance I've ever heard by a departing _Idol _contestant. Definitely worth watching again.

My only remaining interest in the season is to see what else Adam might have up his sleeve.

With four judges this year, I wonder why this week wasn't "judge's pick" week?

I'm already looking forward to seeing Allison as a returning guest artist next year. /steve


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## QuickDrop (Jul 21, 2007)

Steve said:


> We're obviously down to a popularity contest now, because last night's votes certainly weren't based on talent. That's not good news for Adam, who may have been in the bottom two last night, considering how careful they were to tell us the results were "random". The look on Simon's face while Allison sang last night was telling. I'm pretty sure this is not the way he hoped the voting would go.


It's always a popularity contest and actually somewhat worst than that since groups can do ballot stuffing. As for Simon's reaction, the judges and producers of A.I. have basically been promoting this whole season as a battle between Adam and Danny, so he really has no one to blame but himself. I agree that the audience and the show ultimately lost more than Allison Wednesday night.

I don't know how many people here already read these, but since there was acknowledged backstage issues this week, I thought I would give links to Entertainment Weekly generally wonderful firsthand coverage of the show.

For Tuesday's show,

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/05/american-idol-o.html

For Wednesday show,

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/05/american-idol-1.html


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Love this quote from a Michael Slezak EW article this morning:

_"[...] Allison won't need to concern herself with the petty rituals of the Idol machine anymore.

In fact, with her scintillating exit performance tonight of Janis Joplin's ''Cry Baby'' - which _*[I so agree]*_ was in every way looser, more soulful, and more pitch-perfect than her lovely Tuesday-night rendition - Allison took her first post-Idol steps toward superstardom. And whether she goes on to rock the stage of her local La Curacao department store, or perform for sold-out arenas, she'll never again have to pause after a performance, grit her teeth, and have her personality, her fashion sense, her song choices, and various other non-singing-related ''flaws'' picked apart by a one-time hired hand for Journey, a verbose she-beast in search of the perfect ''package artist,'' a woman who isn't ashamed to lip-synch in front of the singing hopefuls she judges on a weekly basis, and a dude who cares so little about his $36 million job that he keeps one eye on the clock while fantasizing about his cigarette breaks."_

!rolling


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## Bluto17 (Jan 31, 2007)

machavez00 said:


> I'm disappointed Allison does not get to move on. I'm sure 19 Entertainment has a recording studio waiting for her.


For Allison's sake, I hope 19 *doesn't* have her locked in. she can do better elsewhere.


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

iTunes Top 4 and duets
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=623755E352B8FB91

I would love to hear Adam sing "Stranglehold"


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Steve said:


> With four judges this year, I wonder why this week wasn't "judge's pick" week?


I'm gonna bet it has more to do with time constraints than anything else .. In a 1 hour show 8 songs would be tough (4 wouldn't be enough) .. which is why they had the duets. That being said, I don't see why they couldn't have just made the show 1.5 hours (or somewhere between 1 and 1.5 hours) and had 8 songs this week .. 1 Judges pick and 1 Self pick. :shrug:


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Big sighs of relief here when both Adam and Kris were announced safe.

Allison did not deserve the vote she got - Danny did not deserve his, either. Could've sworn Danny was going home last night.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Steve said:


> Love this quote from a Michael Slezak EW article this morning:
> 
> _"[...] Allison won't need to concern herself with the petty rituals of the Idol machine anymore.
> 
> ...


That is awesome!! !rolling


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

I'm not in the least bit surprised that Allison went home over Danny.

With the exception of one performance, I never "got" Allison. I recognize that she has LOADS of raw talent, but for whatever reason, I never liked her. And judging by the results throughout the season, I'm not alone.

Personally, I think that Danny has been "better". But I think that Allison is "more talented" and has far, far more potential.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Sharkie_Fan said:


> Personally, I think that Danny has been "better". But I think that Allison is "more talented" and has far, far more potential.


Danny's got a decade more experience behind him .. Allison's biggest issue to me has always been her age (regardless of what Randy says) .. AI helped her grow up and a year on tour should do wonders for her. Her album will probably do well.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

I am neither an Allison or Danny fan. If I have hinted otherwise, I apologize. 

I simply believe that Allison did a better job at singing on Tuesday night than Danny. I'll take that a bit further and say that both her solo and duet were better than Danny's ... hence I'm surprised she's gone and Danny has been left behind with a false sense of security.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

HDG said:


> I am neither an Allison or Danny fan. If I have hinted otherwise, I apologize.
> 
> I simply believe that Allison did a better job at singing on Tuesday night than Danny. I'll take that a bit further and say that both her solo and duet were better than Danny's ... hence I'm surprised she's gone and Danny has been left behind with a false sense of security.


I'm with you on this week's performance, but, I have always been a fan of Allison. I think she is amazingly talented and has the potential to go very far in the business. I never really got Danny and never saw anything that special in him. I have known many singers over the years that were playing the bars in Minnesota that were far better singers (it is a singing contest, I think). He wouldn't hold a candle to many of them.

Along with the talent, another thing that has me surprised that she is gone is the fact that she was the last female type standing. I would have expected some advantage to her for that reason (3 against 1) and would have expected some skewing of the vote.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Just talked to my brother...Danny is doing a free concert in Milwaukee this weekend, as well as some other hometown activities.

He's already a "winner" there.

Interesting that his family lives about a mile from my daughter's home there in town - small world.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Just talked to my brother...Danny is doing a free concert in Milwaukee this weekend, as well as some other hometown activities.
> 
> He's already a "winner" there.
> 
> Interesting that his family lives about a mile from my daughter's home there in town - small world.


I believe they're all doing that this week/weekend.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

Richard King said:


> I'm with you on this week's performance, but, I have always been a fan of Allison. I think she is amazingly talented and has the potential to go very far in the business. I never really got Danny and never saw anything that special in him. I have known many singers over the years that were playing the bars in Minnesota that were far better singers (*it is a singing contest, I think*). He wouldn't hold a candle to many of them.
> 
> Along with the talent, another thing that has me surprised that she is gone is the fact that she was the last female type standing. I would have expected some advantage to her for that reason (3 against 1) and would have expected some skewing of the vote.


I agree with you to a point... but it's hard to separate the singing from the person, and that is, IMO, where not only Allison, but alot of talented singers in bars across America miss out. For whatever reason, she didn't "connect' with the audience". Whether it's simply age, or lack of experience, or a conservative voter base that didn't like this little "rocker girl", I don't know. I suspect age has to do with it, as Doug alluded to.

Allison, will get it. She's got the "IT" factor in her, but as has been pointed out, she's 16, and how many of us at 16 had the charisma and confidence that we do today with a decade (or more) of experience under our belts.

I think in a year or two from now when we're talking about who has had the most success from this season, it may very well be Allison and Kris, in spite of the fact that Danny and Adam were the "big guns" of this season.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

> and how many of us at 16 had the charisma and confidence that we do today with a decade (or more) of experience under our belts.


Interesing point. At 16 though, I thought I could do anything. :lol: Of course, I had no idea what the real world was.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

Richard King said:


> Interesing point. At 16 though, I thought I could do anything. :lol: Of course, I had no idea what the real world was.


At 16, I thought I was invincible, but I didn't think I could do anything.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Allison is 17.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

I've seen quite a few articles mention the live performances by No Doubt and Paula Abdul, but how do those authors not realize that those performances are not live on elimination night?


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

peak_reception said:


> Allison is 17.


She just had a birthday, right? She was 16 when idol started, and 17 now, IIRC.

In either case, the argument remains the same. She's simply so much younger than the rest of the competitors that she hasn't got the experience - professionally or just general life experience - that the others have, and that hurts her, IMO.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Sharkie_Fan said:


> She just had a birthday, right? She was 16 when idol started, and 17 now, IIRC.
> 
> In either case, the argument remains the same. She's simply so much younger than the rest of the competitors that she hasn't got the experience - professionally or just general life experience - that the others have, and that hurts her, IMO.


If you still have it recorded, I recommend re-watching her Wednesday night "farewell" version of _Cry, Cry Baby_. There was nothing unseasoned about it. With the judging pressure off, she looked very comfortable on stage.

I also got the same feeling in the duet with Adam. Another instance where she may have "forgotten" she was being judged. She seemed to be enjoying herself up there with him. /steve


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

Steve said:


> If you still have it recorded, I recommend re-watching her Wednesday night "farewell" version of _Cry, Cry Baby_. There was nothing unseasoned about it. With the judging pressure off, she looked very comfortable on stage.
> 
> I also got the same feeling in the duet with Adam. Another instance where she may have "forgotten" she was being judged. She seemed to be enjoying herself up there with him. /steve


I didn't watch the results show, and I'll have to check if we saved it or not.

If her performance was good with the pressure off, then maybe she's not as far off as I think she is. Maybe her 'lack of experience' was simply in dealing with the tremendous pressure that comes along with the show, as opposed to a 'lack of experience' as a performer.

I think my conclusion is correct, even if maybe I got there through an incorrect supposition. 

If it was just difficulty dealing with the pressure that was holding her back, then maybe she'll come out of the gate like gangbusters when she gets to recording her album.


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## QuickDrop (Jul 21, 2007)

Sharkie_Fan said:


> I agree with you to a point... but it's hard to separate the singing from the person, and that is, IMO, where not only Allison, but alot of talented singers in bars across America miss out. For whatever reason, she didn't "connect' with the audience". Whether it's simply age, or lack of experience, or a conservative voter base that didn't like this little "rocker girl", I don't know. I suspect age has to do with it, as Doug alluded to.
> 
> Allison, will get it. She's got the "IT" factor in her, but as has been pointed out, she's 16, and how many of us at 16 had the charisma and confidence that we do today with a decade (or more) of experience under our belts.
> 
> I think in a year or two from now when we're talking about who has had the most success from this season, it may very well be Allison and Kris, in spite of the fact that Danny and Adam were the "big guns" of this season.


The audience voting process started with 36 contestants. Allison made it to the top four. That's pretty good for someone who couldn't connect with an audience and wasn't hyped by the judges to nearly the degree that two of the final four contestants were.

Subjectively, except for Adam, who clearly knows how to put on a show, I didn't think any of the contestants came across as more experienced or professional in any meaningful way compared to Allison. (In fact, she's seemed to get more "you're ready to go into the studio now" comments after a performance than just about anyone but Adam, though admittedly these usually came from the Randy/Kara side of the table.)

As for Danny, to me his most endearing qualities have always been his almost joyously awkward stage presence and the genuine way he seemed to take criticism so that he could improve himself.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> I've seen quite a few articles mention the live performances by No Doubt and Paula Abdul, but how do those authors not realize that those performances are not live on elimination night?


Are you sure Paula's wasn't Live .. I think it might have been. No Doubt's seemed recorded, but with Ryan reference to "dangerous" it was likely after Tuesday's mishap, but likely before Wednesday's finale. But some of them are clearly much in advance of the Live Performance.

Also, it really seemed that Daughtry's perfomance was live. as Randy was clearly in the judges table (shown from front in the right clothes) .. Still, I'm OK admitting that the TV people just "made it work." It just seems relatively easy to tell what is recorded and what's not recorded.

I thought No Doubt did just fine .. Gwen's mic was too loud compared to the band is all. Watched them on Today from last Friday and her mic was too low. Either way it was definitely a good view  ..


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## QuickDrop (Jul 21, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> Are you sure Paula's wasn't Live .. I think it might have been. No Doubt's seemed recorded, but with Ryan reference to "dangerous" it was likely after Tuesday's mishap, but likely before Wednesday's finale. But some of them are clearly much in advance of the Live Performance.


The firsthand reports I linked to above are pretty clear about both performances being prerecorded the night before.


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## rkr0923 (Sep 14, 2006)

Allison got shafted, she was the best singer left


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

QuickDrop said:


> The audience voting process started with 36 contestants. Allison made it to the top four. That's pretty good for someone who couldn't connect with an audience and wasn't hyped by the judges to nearly the degree that two of the final four contestants were.
> 
> Subjectively, except for Adam, who clearly knows how to put on a show,* I didn't think any of the contestants came across as more experienced or professional in any meaningful way compared to Allison. *(In fact, she's seemed to get more "you're ready to go into the studio now" comments after a performance than just about anyone but Adam, though admittedly these usually came from the Randy/Kara side of the table.)
> 
> As for Danny, to me his most endearing qualities have always been his almost joyously awkward stage presence and the genuine way he seemed to take criticism so that he could improve himself.


Allison has talent, and loads of it, that's what got her to the final 4.

The 'age and inexperience' comments are only with regards to why she went home before other singers who, I freely admit, have less talent than she does (Danny, and probably Kris).

I don't necessarily think it's that the other contestants are 'more professional' or 'more studio ready' than she is. There is something that she's missing, IMO. Perhaps it was simply the pressure of being scrutinized so closely, but you don't end up in the bottom 3 on a regular basis unless you aren't appealing to the broad spectrum of idol voters.

I think that Allison was "THIS CLOSE" to putting it all together on the show, but just couldn't quite get it figured out during the competition.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Richard King said:


> _[...]_ I have always been a fan of Allison. _[...]_


If I had to compare them, yeah, I agree ... Allison was always the better of the two.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> Are you sure Paula's wasn't Live .. I think it might have been. No Doubt's seemed recorded, but with Ryan reference to "dangerous" it was likely after Tuesday's mishap, but likely before Wednesday's finale. But some of them are clearly much in advance of the Live Performance.


Paula's was recorded live and then played back on elimination night. The EW article confirms Paula's and No Doubt's performances were recorded Tuesday night AFTER the live top-5 performances.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Paula's routine was pretty much a non-event. Take her or leave her, live or recorded ... same-o, same-o.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I am sooooo tired of the autotune fad. When is it going to stop? How can you tell if a singer is really good if their voice is going through so much processing that they all sound like robots?


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Richard King said:


> I am sooooo tired of the autotune fad. When is it going to stop? How can you tell if a singer is really good if their voice is going through so much processing that they all sound like robots?


I'm not following, Richard ... autotune?


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

HDG said:


> I'm not following, Richard ... autotune?


Don't want to speak for him, but I believe Richard was commenting on the fact that Paula's voice was digitally manipulated, possibly even to correct pitch problems. /steve


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

That is a understatement Steve. I was waiting for "Mr Roboto" to come out. Same thing with Jamie Fox. Sorry but not my cup of tea.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Oh, ok, I understand. I was worried that Richard was indicating they were "manipulating" the contestants' voices ... that would be bad. 

Paula and Jamie, I don't care.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

An autotune is a studio device (actually software) that can be usd to correct off pitch singing that has found its way into the "special effects" area and is now used to simply manipulate voices. The first obvious use for other than pitch correction was on a song by Cher a while back. Now it's used on WAY too many songs. http://www.antarestech.com/products/auto-tune-evo.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-Tune


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Autotune the news... http://www.boingboing.net/2009/04/23/auto-tune-the-news--.html


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

If you missed Allison's performance of "Cry Baby" with no judging pressure on her shoulder's, I finally found a site who's got it posted:

http://neonlimelight.com/2009/05/07...ings-her-swan-song-top-3-belongs-to-the-boys/

Same vid appears here as well: http://s560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/neonlimelightvideos/?action=view&current=aly.flv

/steve


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Hate to sound like an Allison fanboy (which I am :lol, but here she is on _Good Day, NY_ this morning, singing "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing." /steve


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Richard King said:


> I am sooooo tired of the autotune fad. When is it going to stop? How can you tell if a singer is really good if their voice is going through so much processing that they all sound like robots?


 In most cases, especially on American Idol, I think that's the objective, to hide the real voice and cover up otherwise obvious shortcomings.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Steve said:


> Hate to sound like an Allison fanboy (which I am :lol, but here she is on _Good Day, NY_ this morning, singing "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing." /steve


 She was even more impassioned on "Ellen" with the same song. Better sound too:






Interesting that she got to use the very talented Idol pianist (and Associate Musical Director) Michael Orland for this one.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

peak_reception said:


> In most cases, especially on American Idol, I think that's the objective, to hide the real voice and cover up otherwise obvious shortcomings.


Exactly ... I'm thinking it would be bad form for an amateur to sound more _'perfect'_ than a guest pro.

AI is well cautious to take steps to avoid embarassing a pro. If the word ever got out, they'd have a hell of a time attracting them.

And as long as they don't use any enhancements on the contestants, I'm ok with it.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

peak_reception said:


> She was even more impassioned on "Ellen" with the same song. Better sound too:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thx. Fortunately the wife records Ellen, so I just heard it in 5.1 sound. Totally agree with your assessment. Much better performance!

LA TV spot yesterday, NY this morning. Must be a very exciting time for her. I was happy to hear her say on FOX this morning that she still intends to go to college. /steve


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Steve said:


> Thx. Fortunately the wife records Ellen, so I just heard it in 5.1 sound. Totally agree with your assessment. Much better performance!


 A couple of weeks ago I started setting timers for these shows which Idol castaways sing on after elimination. Matt Giraud did very well for himself on Ellen. She even climbed, prostrate  , onto the piano during his song and gazed (mock lovestruck) into his eyes while he played and sang. it was also on "Ellen" where Anoop and Lil Rounds made a joint appearance. Lil sang her song in the middle and did her usual thing. Anoop got his turn at the end but was unfortunately cut off about halfway through  . Anoop sang beautifully on Regis and Kelly though.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I'm closing this and asking that discussion continue in the (Top 3) thread.


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