[quote name='chasemurata']I was pissed when Michael Johns and Carly Smithson were eliminated. I had them, and David Cook, as the best three talents in the show. For them to be cast away by the audience before that damned Jason Castro just further solidified how much of a popularity contest is this show. The thing about Castro is that he didn't even have any personality. I just didn't 'get it'. I guess there are a ton of teenage girls out there voting every week.[/quote]
I disagree with this.
Popularity factors into Idol votes, but a lot of things do. While teenage girls might vote early and often, I don't think they're enough to overcome the influence of everyone else.
DialIdol, which is not scientifically accurate or provable, is good at showing trends and big picture results, and it has consistently shown David Cook ahead of David Archuleta. The show tends to imply the opposite. But the show is often coy about things it doesn't explicitly state.
Idol is a singing competition, but the goal of the show is to "find the next American Idol". Singing matters, but so does stage presence, the songs chosen, and the image the singer projects.
Should that matter? Yes. Case in point: Carly
Carly has a tremendous amount of vocal talent. But she needs Andrew Lloyd Webber to tell her what songs to sing. Would you want to go to a concert where the singer can't pick suitable songs and doesn't seem to grasp what kind of artist she is? You can hate on David Archuleta all you like, but I don't think anyone would have a hard time imagining what one of his CDs or concerts would be like.
Let's not romanticize Carly or Michael Johns, either. Remember Carly's angry, shrieky song on inspirational night? Remember when she ruined "Total Eclipse of the Heart", which is a difficult song to screw up? That, plus the lack of self confidence she'd display is enough for anyone to question her. Not whether or not she can sing, but whether or not she can deal with the pressure and demands of live performance.
Check out Fantasia. That was an utterly weird piece of music, and as Paula would say, that was "not really a singer's song". But while I really didn't care for the song, Fantasia went for it and didn't let up. I wouldn't call it good, but that wasn't from lack of effort, or nerves, or lack of confidence.
Contrast that with Syesha attempting Rihanna, all the while looking like she's thinking "Um, should I really be singing this song?" Syesha's performance felt like it was missing something vital. Fantasia's was perhaps missing an actual song, but the performance didn't miss a beat. That's an Idol. Someone who can perform an utterly dreadful mess and turn it into something compelling. As opposed to someone who can take a compelling song and turn it into a dreadful mess.
(Simon's reaction was my favorite thing of the night. It totally made up for the disappointment that Fantasia, one of Idol's best singers, didn't actually get to show what she could do musically.)
Remember Michael Johns being totally awesome on Beatles night? But the rest of the time, he was thoroughly average. I liked his song choices, but he really didn't bring anything new to the songs. Except pitch problems, notes he couldn't hit, and the general reminder that he wasn't as good as the original singers on any of the songs he chose.
Michael Johns' job was to convince everyone that he's the American Idol. I liked him, and I really liked his Beatles song, but the rest of the time I'd much rather listen to Best of Queen. That's not good. I think he ended up convincing everyone that David Cook, whose voice was similar, was a lot more interesting.
If you really want to get upset at something, get upset at the judges, or even the instruments. Either one of them had more of an effect than the teenage girl army.
Randy has been a disgrace this year. In years past, he's been a midway between Paula's sunshine and Simon's crankiness. But this year, he's been a total Archuleta fanboy, and he dumped on both Carly and Syesha. Simon was merciless to both Carly and Syesha, and didn't start giving them their due until it was too late to help them.
I think that both Randy and Simon had their hoped pegged on David Archuleta early on, based on his promise and the dollar signs they saw. I think they also wanted a male instead of a female (which is why Carly and Syesha would get raked over the coals even on performances of theirs that were very good). Over the course of the season, though, I think it's become obvious that David Archuleta is not as perfect as they were wishing him to be, and far more gooey and treacly than Simon would ever want to associate with. Simon has backed off, sensing another Taylor Hicks in the making, while Randy has been oblivious, proclaiming every performance to be "the bomb" and "in the zone". The Twilight Zone, maybe.
In terms of singing, this has not been my favorite Idol year. But in terms of TV and the meta-show, it's been pretty interesting. I think David Cook will win, but I do confess wanting to see David Archuleta win, not for the CD he'll make next year, but the one he'll make five years from now, after his Angry Rebellious phase.
[/QUOTE]I am not positive, but I think she's been in my dreams lately. She gets hotter every week!
ing songs David Cook could sing, that's the one you've determined would be the best one?[/quote]
