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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: American Idol

  • Vital Idol: The Cut Down Gets Rough

    I must admit that I don’t usually get into American Idol until the final twelve. This means that I don’t really care who leaves the show until the show really starts. Ok, maybe I’m lying just a little bit. When Sabrina Sloan was kicked off before last year’s final twelve, my heart skipped a beat.

    But tonight? Wow. It’s not like I thought Alaina Whitaker was going to win the entire competition, but she definitely deserved a spot in the top twelve. She is young, has a great look and can sing, yet sadly, she’s gone. Usually, for the most part, America does a pretty good job, but for two weeks in a row Amanda Overmyer played and lost big. Her entire get up, with that big hair and all, was terrible as well. I didn’t think Alexandrea Lushington would necessarily leave either, but she was eventually going to get lost in the shuffle. That’s the problem with this year though. Other than Big Dave Archuleta, no one stands out.

    On the side of the guys, does it matter who leaves at this point, except for Big Dave Archuleta? All I hear are voices. I don’t even really see faces. Big Dave is great at being gracious and egging the crowd on to continue their applause. He’s the definition of “aw shucks” and the audience will eat it up, especially when he can bring it to the table like he did this week.

    Here are some other thoughts thus far:

    • Danny “Danjaya” Noriega needs to stop pretending he’s Sanjaya. His hair isn’t pretty enough.
    • Carly Smithson might be my favorite “voice” in the competition.
    • Kristy Lee Cook was made to wear tight dresses.
    • If Ruben Studdard lost 150 pounds, he’d be Chikezie.
    • Jason Castro’s hair looks ridiculous on that wiry frame, but at least he stands out.
    • While David Hernandez can sing, I never thought his papa could ever be a rolling stone.
    • I think David Cook, Luke “Perry” Menard, and Michael Johns should become one singer named Luke Cook Johns and we can just fast forward one week for the guys.
    • Ramiele Malubay is really growing on me. Where does that voice come from?

    Until next week …

  • Soul Patrol! What Will Tay-Tay Do Next!?!?!??!

    For the record, I was one of the folks that *liked* Taylor Hicks.
    American Idol Season 5 was the first season I watched, and despite the fact that Taylor looked nothing like the typical “American Idol” looked like, I cheered him on and was happy that he won. I wasn’t impressed by Daughtry (but apparently 4 million other people saw what I failed to), and I thought Kat McPhee was a stuck-up bitch. Elliott Yamin, Paris Bennett and Taylor were my favorites. You could tell Taylor didn’t want to be a *star* per se, but he was in it for the chance to get his music heard by as many people as possible.
    I even liked the guy’s album! Granted, as a child of Eighties pop (think Steve Winwood or Michael McDonald), I would. But his album, from a qualitative standpoint, is better than any “Idol” winner’s debut, with the possible exception of Carrie Underwood’s. Unfortunately, it also sold the least (roughly 700,000 units moved), which means that shortly after one winner has been put out to pasture (Ruben Studdard was dropped about a week ago), Taylor has lost his contract with Arista Records. So two of the six American Idol winners are now label-less, and it’s more than likely due to lack of malleability more than it is talent.
    Let’s face it, Ruben’s fat. And his weight was a hindrance to his “image”. As a male R&B singer, the assumption is that no one cares about you unless you either dance like Michael Jackson or are capable of taking your shirt off and doing a few hundred pelvic thrusts. And Taylor’s “old”…granted, he looks a few years older than he actually is (at 30, he’s younger than I am), but a prematurely grey, slightly pauncy singer (no matter how talented he is) is not gonna fly in this “i want millions sold now”/”Idol”-disposable music world. While Rube is headed for Boradway (and I see a Weight Watchers/Jenny Craig deal in his future), Taylor goes back to being a bar musician, screaming his lungs out for the love of music. And something tells me that suits him a lot better than selling himself out for Clive Davis and his minions.

  • More Than Jordin Beats Blake, Music In May

    Paul Simon with guitarJordin beat Blake. You should know that. Melinda will cut a great R&B (or gospel, if she feels so inclined album). Jordin will sing some big AC ballads. Blake will have a 10-20 year run on the charts. But there was much more to music this month than American Idol, even if Fox would hae you believe otherwise.

    Here are some quick hits on music news that happened in May that you should know:

    Here come The Police! Fans of the British trio that made Sting a household name opened up their world tour in Vancouver — their first show in 20 years. Speaking of 20, that’s about how many dates there are in North America, so get your tickets now! Remember, they’ve not only broken up once, but guitarist Andy Summers is 64 years old. At some point, he is just as likely to decide he doesn’t want to tour after collecting this tour’s bazillion.

    Lindsay Lohan hit a curb, then got hit with an arrest when Beverly Hill Cops who looked nothing like Judge Reinhold or Eddie Murphy popped her for various charges. Looking especially bad for the rehabbing Lohan was a substance media reports identified as cocaine in the vehicle.

    From young diva to old diva: Barbara Streisand bailed on a concert in Rome, citing tour production delays. The fact that Italian consumer groups were protesting ticket prices in the hundreds of dollars had nothing to do with anything according to Babs’ spokespeople. You won’t find her in Rome, however. Good going, Italian muckrakers. The Streisand opens in Zurich. And like Andy Summers, she is no spring chicken, so if you haven’t seen Streisand live, one of these days is going to be the last possible day.

    Paul Simon (above) has been honored as the first ever winner of The Gershwin Prize, an award from the United States Library of Congress to celebrate “popular song”. DC saw his concert live last week while the rest of the country can tune in to the special, including duets with ambivalent partner Art Garfunkel, later this summer.

    And finally, if your name isn’t Akon, JT or you’re not from American Idol, you’re just not happening on the charts right now. A couple of exceptions: Maroon 5 (who still enjoyed their AI connection through Blake Lewis and a performance on the show), Avril Lavigne and new releases from Fall Out Boy and Ne-Yo. You read it here first: Ne-Yo is going to win Grammy hardware in February.

    Spinning In The CD:
    I’m like Maroon 5’s new single, Makes Me Wonder. Adam Levine has grown by leaps and bounds since his Kara’s Flowers days.