American Idol 2011

[SoCalDukeFan]

Anyone watching?

Your thoughts?

I am not a junkie and have not seen all of any the shows so far nor all of the top 13. I have liked what I have seen. I like the new judges and I think that overall talent level of those that start the individual competition is better than recent years.

SoCal

[Olympic Fan]

Yeah, I watch (or DVR the show to get through it without much of Ryan's inane chatter).

My biggest surprise is Steven Tyler, who actually seems to bring a fair understanding of music to the judges' table. But overall, new judging crew is remarkably soft in their comments. It's morphed to the point where Randy is easily the toughest critic and he's not 1/2 the caustic judge that Simon was. Plus, he isn't strong enough to stand up to the disapproval of the other two judges -- twice this week, he started out critical, but after listening to Stephen/Jennifer disagree, he turned around and softened his stance.

As for the contestants, I thought the five girls chosen by the public were pretty good, but the two wild cards chosen by the judges were pretty weak (trhe second one, with the fruit in her hair, was terrible!). The five boys are a much weaker lot -- but the only one I really don't like is Scott, the 17-year-old country-western singer from Cary -- he creeps me out.

A long way to go and we haven't really gotten a chance to know the contestants. I look forward to it.

BTW, there's a new book coming out, written by a former AI assistant producer that supposedly exposes a lot of the crookedness that goes on behind the scenes as the show's producers manipulte the process. Have no idea how accurate it is, but it ought to be fun.

[NovaScotian]

i'll bet anybody right now that the bearded loser who sang rod stewart is gonna win it all.

[wavedukefan70s]

I watch it.its a trade off for basketball.the girl that did the patsy Cline song blue was the only one i really liked tonight.

[AtlBluRew]

i'll bet anybody right now that the bearded loser who sang rod stewart is gonna win it all.

He impressed me by choosing Joe Cocker as his idol. I enjoyed the performance, but it was hard to tell how much of the enjoyment was his singing and how much came from the arrangement and backup singers.

This is the first week I've watched, but as of last night my favorite was James Durbin, who picked Paul McCartney as his idol, and whose performance made me like a song I've never liked before.

[DevilWearsPrada]

I miss Simon Cowell! American Idol has changed without Simon!

The youngster from Garner, NC, Scotty is really good (country singer).

[NovaScotian]

The youngster from Garner, NC, Scotty is really good (country singer).

oh man, that kid is so corny, i love it. he's out of control with his constant mugging for the camera. also, he is a dead ringer for alfred e newman, amirite?

[ThePublisher]

This show is the downfall of america.British dude played off of americans idolizing hollywood and viola.Brain mush.

[Olympic Fan]

I see this thread has dropped off the front page. Obviously, interest in the show is dropping. I do miss Simon Cowell's snarkiness, but I do think as a group, this class of idols is better than it's been in a few yeas.

Okay, after last night -- Elton John night. A few personal observations:

-- What's with all the love for bearded Casey? A week ago, following three terrible performances in a row, he was voted off the show by the public. The judges were aghast and used their one save on him before he even finished his "save-me" song.
Given new life (and a new haircut), Casey mangled another song last night. He was absolutely awful -- easily the worst performer of the night -- but the judges praised him to high heaven. I don't get the love.

-- Scotty, the kid from Cary, N. C., has become my least-favorite Idol performer in years. Yeah, he has a deep country voice, but he's the most limited performer I've ever seen on Idol -- every song sounds like EXACTLY the same song, whether he's doing Beatles, Motown or Elton John. How do you make Elton John sound like Travis Tritt? Randy tells Pia and Thea that they need to show some range and sing some different type songs and he praises Scotty for singing the same song every week because "it shows you know who you are" ... I wish he'd tell this smirking geek to do ANYTHING other than country.

-- Watching Idol has been a lot more fun since I found the Vote for the Worst website. If you want to get a taste of Idol-hating, check out this week's commentary:

http://www.votefortheworst.com/blog/667171/top-11-again-recap-wednesday-nights-alright-for/

However, I don't understand why they've picked Paul McDonald to push -- he's relatively harmless compared to Scotty, Naema or the judge's favorite, Casey.

[Reilly]

Liked Pia. Liked the Durbin guy. Liked Haley.

Casey seemed OK (saw the youtube where he did Georgia on My Mind, which *was* pretty cool).

Agree the crop from top to bottom seems much better than recent years.

The kid from Cary seemed annoying; sort of like the Phil guy that was in the Navy or whatever five years ago or so -- he's my rock bottom benchmark.

[Newton_14]

I see this thread has dropped off the front page. Obviously, interest in the show is dropping. I do miss Simon Cowell's snarkiness, but I do think as a group, this class of idols is better than it's been in a few yeas.

Okay, after last night -- Elton John night. A few personal observations:

-- What's with all the love for bearded Casey? A week ago, following three terrible performances in a row, he was voted off the show by the public. The judges were aghast and used their one save on him before he even finished his "save-me" song.
Given new life (and a new haircut), Casey mangled another song last night. He was absolutely awful -- easily the worst performer of the night -- but the judges praised him to high heaven. I don't get the love.

-- Scotty, the kid from Cary, N. C., has become my least-favorite Idol performer in years. Yeah, he has a deep country voice, but he's the most limited performer I've ever seen on Idol -- every song sounds like EXACTLY the same song, whether he's doing Beatles, Motown or Elton John. How do you make Elton John sound like Travis Tritt? Randy tells Pia and Thea that they need to show some range and sing some different type songs and he praises Scotty for singing the same song every week because "it shows you know who you are" ... I wish he'd tell this smirking geek to do ANYTHING other than country.

-- Watching Idol has been a lot more fun since I found the Vote for the Worst website. If you want to get a taste of Idol-hating, check out this week's commentary:

http://www.votefortheworst.com/blog/667171/top-11-again-recap-wednesday-nights-alright-for/

However, I don't understand why they've picked Paul McDonald to push -- he's relatively harmless compared to Scotty, Naema or the judge's favorite, Casey.

Oly, I am sooo disappointed dude!:) You are one of my favorite DBR posters, but I have to defend our local boy Scotty. He is actually a great kid, very down to earth, and yes a bit goofy, but is really a very nice guy.

He is 100% Country without a doubt, which actually I am ok with. He will end up being a Country Music star imo. His voice is just not suited for other styles of music and in the end that will prevent him from winning, but he has a great chance to finish in the top 5. Which will be fair. He sang a really good duet tonight with one of the better girls.

Scotty is only 16 so you have to factor being a teenager into the equation too.


Give him a chance. He is far from being the worst singer left, but like I said, he is limited to country music so definitely fair to deduct points for that.

[Duke4Ever32]

I've always thought it was stupid to have theme nights on Idol. I mean, if Scotty McCreery is never going to sing a Motown song as a professional, why make him do it on Idol? Do we ask current superstars to cross musical genres? Is anyone going to downgrade Lady Gaga because she can't sing country? Let them choose the songs they want to sing, uninhibited by a genre or theme night, and we can judge them on that.

I do think I'm enjoying this season more than any other, both because of the diversity and quality of the contestants and because of the judging panel. I swore I was done with the show after Simon left last season, but I'm loving this season and not missing Simon at all.

I want Alaina, Jacob, James, and Paul to win. Can't narrow it down to just one. I think the next two that need to go are Stephano and Haley.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

The youngster from Garner, NC, Scotty is really good (country singer).




The kid from Cary
DevilWearsPrada is correct, as usual. Scotty is from Garner. Reilly, and others who have said he is from Cary, are in error. Scotty is from Garner.

Have I ever mentioned that I once tipped Clay Aiken a few dollars for his playing the piano at our country club's Thursday night dinner? He was about 16 at the time. He didn't sing, but he played pretty well. His Aunt Sharon was our Club Manager at the time and she hired him as our dinner background music entertainment.

[AtlBluRew]

For anyone wondering what happened to Taylor Hicks ... he appears at the 2:12 mark here ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU1v_XKgEPc&feature=player_embedded#at=137

[SoCalDukeFan]

Ridiculous.

I thought by far she was the best female.

SoCal

[wavedukefan70s]

My wife thought so to.she was like scotty sort of one dimensional.she did have the best voice.but i must admit i wanted her to go.so i did howl when my wife sounded off about her being voted off.

[AtlBluRew]

I'm feeling for Stefano. Twice now, he's been one of the bottom two, and survived ... only to have the audience and judges howling in protest at the result. Poor kid! He's got a nice voice. He's just a little dull, IMO.

[Olympic Fan]

The Vote for the Worst people are crowing that they helped eliminate one of the best singers left while protecting their favorite -- Paul McDonald.

I think another dynamic is at play. I started to think last year -- and I now believe more strongly -- that the voting is being driven by teen and pre-teen girls. Huge advantage for the men (we're now 6-2 male-female).

I also blame the judges for failing to provide any honest criticism. For the last two weeks, all they've done is shower the contestants -- all the contestants -- with praise .. even when it's undeserved.

Wednesday night, when Scotty sang Elvis -- and sounded like every Elvis impersonator in the world -- Steven Tyler told him that he finally showed some range and "I was afraid you were just a one-note singer."

Well, the countrified version of Elvis (which is easy to do, Elvis -- especially early Elvis -- has a strong element of country) sounded to me like all of Scott's other Twitt-like warbles, but even if Tyler was right, my question is why didn't you ever voice those concerns about him being a one-note singer? We're something like 6-7 weeks into the competition and all you have done is praise the guy (like you praise everybody else). A week earlier, when Scott sang the same song for the fifth straight week, he got praise for sticking to the same song, because "it shows you no who you are."

Yeah, he's Johnny One-Note.

A couple of times over the last few weeks Randy has tried to inject some criticism, but has been booed down by the audience and his fellow judges ... and it both cases has essentially backed down.

I never realized how much this show needs Simon Cowell ... or somebody like him.

PS For a show based on the rock and roll hall of fame, there was remarkabley little rock music this week. But I don't think that was a problem with the contestants as much with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I'm sorry, Michael Jackson and Johnny Cash are great singers, great artists -- Jackson in pop; Cash in Country -- but neither is rock and roll to me. Shouldn't it be the Cleveland "Pop Music Hall of Fame"?

[Newton_14]

Ridiculous.

I thought by far she was the best female.

SoCal

Yep. Similar to when Chris Daughtry was voted off in Season 5. Tragic elimination, which is why the judges made a crucial mistake when they used their one save a couple of weeks ago. Very bad move that left them helpless Thursday night.

Still don't get all the hate on Scotty as he is not even close to being one of the worst singers. I do agree that the judges are way too soft. Idol misses Simon in a bad way. Jennifer Lopez is very similar to Paula which is fine, but Stephen Tyler is the opposite of Simon, so it is up to Randy to provide the negative feedback. Just not happening.

[AtlBluRew]

Funny how this thread went silent! I stopped watching after last week's elimination of James Durbin. I think he's very talented but I do admit that his voice didn't sound that good at the end of his run.

A friend just texted me, calling next week's final show "Teen Hee Haw." That's got me laughing!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

The Triangle is going all crazy for Scottie, that's for sure. Even I watched Idol last night. I even voted (6 or 7 times on line) for him after Wednesday's performance show. I hope he wins, he seems like such a nice kid. I will say I am surprised he's going up against Lauren and not Haley.

Unlike Clay Aiken, I never tipped him (Scottie) $2 for playing the piano at my country club's Thursday night dinner before he went on AI. http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/24.gif

[SoCalDukeFan]

I thought this season of American Idol was pretty. I would have preferred that Pia and James were in the Finals but when I think about the voting they did not have much of a chance.

My guess is that Scotty will be very successful if he finds his rich niche in country. Right now he seems too young for many of the country themes.

I think its interesting that someone as young as Lauren made it to the finals. Will be surprised if she wins and surprised if she has a big career after Idol.

I think Haley is very good and am surprised that Lauren beat her out to get to the finals. Not sure how she will be do after Idol. My guess was that Scotty and Lauren would split the country vote, Scotty would get all of the young girls voting for a guy vote (as well as Ozzie's votes) and make it easy but that the Haley would get most of the rest and beat Lauren. Too much thinking.

SoCal

[ArnieMc]

I thought the talent this season, if not better, was certainly more consistent than previous years. I would have been happy with Scotty, Lauren, Haley, James, Pia, or Jacob as the Idol.

The problems this season were that the "judges" did no judging or critiquing. They were just cheerleaders. Also, the sound mixing left much to be desired. Sometimes I had a hard time hearing the vocals. In addition, if Randy says "In it to win it!" again, I may have to fly out there and beat him to death with a 2x4.

[Reilly]

... if Randy says "In it to win it!" again, I may have to fly out there and beat him to death with a 2x4.

A thousand percent 'yes' to that, dog.

[DevilWearsPrada]

The Triangle is going all crazy for Scottie, that's for sure. Even I watched Idol last night. I even voted (6 or 7 times on line) for him after Wednesday's performance show. I hope he wins, he seems like such a nice kid. I will say I am surprised he's going up against Lauren and not Haley.

Unlike Clay Aiken, I never tipped him (Scottie) $2 for playing the piano at my country club's Thursday night dinner before he went on AI. http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/24.gif

OZZIE, I voted for Scottie, also, several times for the last 4 weeks. I also, thought Scottie and Haley would be the final 2! Wral and WTVD say that Scottie has alot of Twitter followers, and people on Facebook.

This season has had alot of talent on American Idol!

Garner is now on the National Map!

VOTE VOTE VOTE!

[DevilBen02]

My guess is that Scotty will be very successful if he finds his rich niche in country. Right now he seems too young for many of the country themes.

To the contrary, Vote for the Worst claims that many in Country radio are actually dreading having to play Scottie (http://www.votefortheworst.com/story/667465/country-radio-isnt-interested-in-scotty-mccreery/). I'm sure their biased opinion doesn't tell the whole story, but if those quotes are accurate, Scottie may have a tough time finding that niche.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

As one of the "spelling police" here, 3 lashed with a wet noodle for me. He spells his name "Scotty", not Scottie. Shame on me! :cool:

[SoCalDukeFan]

To the contrary, Vote for the Worst claims that many in Country radio are actually dreading having to play Scottie (http://www.votefortheworst.com/story/667465/country-radio-isnt-interested-in-scotty-mccreery/). I'm sure their biased opinion doesn't tell the whole story, but if those quotes are accurate, Scottie may have a tough time finding that niche.

I admit I am not an expert on today's country and that Scotty may have trouble finding his niche. However he certainly has a country sounding voice and has had tremendous exposure on Idol.

The judges this year have all been more cheerleaders and coaches rather than judges. I am not sure that that is so bad. In the music business its the public who really determines success.

SoCal

[Newton_14]

To the contrary, Vote for the Worst claims that many in Country radio are actually dreading having to play Scottie (http://www.votefortheworst.com/story/667465/country-radio-isnt-interested-in-scotty-mccreery/). I'm sure their biased opinion doesn't tell the whole story, but if those quotes are accurate, Scottie may have a tough time finding that niche.

I find that hard to believe actually. I know the local country stations here are eating the dude up. WQDR for example mentions Scotty's name every time they announce their call sign. They say something like "WQDR Scotty 94.7". I know that is local, but he has gotten high praise across the country music landscape, as has Lauren.

No matter who wins tomorrow night, both are going to be very wealthy soon and will sell a gazillion CD's. I think we will see both have successful career's in Country Music. There were 95 million votes last week, which broke the record for the most votes ever including any of the previous final shows. They expect to break the record again tonight.

There is always going to be haters no matter what, and I think much of the hate comes from those that hate American Idol in general. Sad, but that is the way things go these days I guess.

[Duvall]

I find that hard to believe actually. I know the local country stations here are eating the dude up. WQDR for example mentions Scotty's name every time they announce their call sign. They say something like "WQDR Scotty 94.7". I know that is local, but he has gotten high praise across the country music landscape, as has Lauren.

No matter who wins tomorrow night, both are going to be very wealthy soon and will sell a gazillion CD's.

It's possible, but I'm not sure the odds favor either youth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idol_alumni_album_sales). And the record industry is way too crooked to allow a new artist to get all that wealthy from selling a gazillion CDs.

[moonpie23]

first, radio will play what they are told to play... 2nd....scotty will have to complete the OTHER side of the equation which is to make a great first record. Picking the songs, and making a quality product that appeald to, and sates the folks that voted for him SOUNDS easy enough, but it's not.


Look at how Daughtry, Clarkson, and Underwood...even Clay completed their "launch".... look at how taylor hicks did not..


the idol crown certainly launches the ship, but the navigation in just getting out of the harbor is scientifically challenging....

[Duke4Ever32]

It's possible, but I'm not sure the odds favor either youth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idol_alumni_album_sales). And the record industry is way too crooked to allow a new artist to get all that wealthy from selling a gazillion CDs.

I think your statement is more likely to be true in the pop/rock genre than the country genre, though.

At any rate, I freakin' LOVED Lauren's song "Like My Mother Does" last night!

[Duvall]

I think your statement is more likely to be true in the pop/rock genre than the country genre, though.

Interesting. Why so?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

S c o t t y !

[moonpie23]

way to go scotty !!!!!! now the real work begins

[Newton_14]

Scotty wins! (And it appears he gets the girl too!)

I hear you both Duvall and MP and agree it will not be a cake walk, but I do think there is something special about this kid and Lauren. Also agree with the poster that stated making it in Country will be slightly easier than pop/rock. Early on I thought he would do well to make the top 5 but the dude just came out of his shell and kept getting better week by week as did Lauren.

Taylor Hicks was destined to flop. Still can't believe he won that year. Kelly Pickler finished 7th that year and has had much more success than Hicks.

Thought it was cool that Ford gave new cars to both the teachers that Scotty and Lauren invited to the Finals.

Scotty and Lauren both get "any vehicle in the Ford Line Up". Wow. Give me the 2011 Shelby Mustang, Duke Blue with white stripes please! License plate would be "DukePony" Newton_14's dream ride!

Congrats to Lauren as well. Not bad for a 15 year old. I wish her well.

[Greg_Newton]

If they were really smart, they'd form a duet and try to be a better singing, less poppy version of Lady Antebellum. Guarantee radio would eat that up, across all demographics.

Alone, I'm not so sure. I think it really, really depends on his song selections - he's got a built-in fan base, but he's basically Josh Turner-lite at this point... no offense to Scotty - the kid's incredible for a teenager - but Turner is hands down a better singer, and honestly, much better looking... and even he has trouble getting singles on the radio because he often releases slightly drab, traditional songs that don't really do justice to his voice.

Hopefully Scotty goes big with his song choices. If he tries to play it corny and safe, I fear he might be a bust, at least initially. But if he's this good a singer - and famous - at 17 - he'll at least be a presence in the industry for a long time, no matter what.

ETA: Is there a video of the final decision anywhere? I don't watch AI, but I'd kind of like to see it.

[Greg_Newton]

Gawd. Just listened to his debut single... that's a shame.

It's really pretty simple. Country radio will always roll out the red carpet for a voice like his if it actually sings grown-up, professionally-written songs that respect the audience. Chris Young and Easton Corbin (and to a lesser extent Jake Owen) are guys with similar prodigal voices who instantly became #1 hit machines before age 25 by doing only that. I don't know who in the world picked "I Love You This Big" for his attempted breakthrough, but he should be fired. There are so many great songs in Nashville that go unheard... what a miss.

IMO, his "people" need to stop worrying about his age when picking songs, because his voice is mature enough that you'll buy whatever he's saying. Pick some songs with some meat to them, and he'll be a star for as long as he wants to be. Continue to release teen ditties, and he'll become the new scapegoat in Nashville for "what's wrong with country radio today" and eventually fade into mediocrity

[DevilWearsPrada]

S c o t t y !

The state of North Carolina, has certainly been represented throughtout the seasons of American Idol! Scotty, Clay, Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Fantasia, Bucky, etc.

I voted several time for Scotty, over the last few weeks. Scotty has put Garner, NC on the map! Scotty is a humble, Christian kid with a wonderful family. Raleigh Fox and WRAL, did a wonderful coverage last night on Scotty, and the fans at the RBC center. Seems like they said, there were 8000 at RBC Center, for the Results show.

Congrats to Scotty! What a great talent! Loved him with Tim McGraw, last night! Awesome!

[DevilWearsPrada]

Scotty wins! (And it appears he gets the girl too!)

Thought it was cool that Ford gave new cars to both the teachers that Scotty and Lauren invited to the Finals.

.

I think he got the GIRL also!!! They were 15 and 16 when they started the journey of American Idol, and now 16 and 17 years old. And some of the statements that Scotty said, implied that he and Lauren were together. AHHH. A cute young teen couple, if they are. When Scotty won, he turned and gave Lauren a LIP LOCK. Good for him. She is a talented young Cutie.

Scotty and Lauren, remind me of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. (Just twenty some years, younger, and just as talented).

And wonderful that Ford motors gave the Music teachers vehicles! That was awesome!!

[DevilWearsPrada]

http://www.popeater.com/2011/05/26/lauren-alaina-scotty-mccreery-might-be-my-boyfriend/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%7C214311


Lauren responds that Scotty "Might be her boyfriend." Young love, so sweet!