American Idol...well into the season

[The Weekenders]

But I truly wonder if the Idol judges have the capacity to understand how artistic Siobhan is.

That's an interesting question. I think their skills are sharpest in the area of detecting quick marketability and that's what they reward in terms of critical praise.

Lambert got far and he had marketing issues. Frankly, I think a few of the ultimate picks, thanks to the judges influence have faded from popularity quickly.
That's too bad because the forum for testing and proving talent is unique and valuable; way beyond an Amateur Hour type of thing in the past. But that's reflective of our current 15 minutes thing. Look at Lady Gaga for proof. She came and went pretty fast. Her marketing approach and appeal was like Madonna in fast forward mode.

[BillChin]

But I truly wonder if the Idol judges have the capacity to understand how artistic Siobhan is.

That's an interesting question. I think their skills are sharpest in the area of detecting quick marketability and that's what they reward in terms of critical praise.

Lambert got far and he had marketing issues. Frankly, I think a few of the ultimate picks, thanks to the judges influence have faded from popularity quickly.
That's too bad because the forum for testing and proving talent is unique and valuable; way beyond an Amateur Hour type of thing in the past. But that's reflective of our current 15 minutes thing. Look at Lady Gaga for proof. She came and went pretty fast. Her marketing approach and appeal was like Madonna in fast forward mode.

Siobhan doesn't have near the musicality or musical maturity of Adam Lambert, so it is not a near comparison. In early seasons, I doubt a contestant like Siobhan would have been in the final 12 competition at all because originality wasn't valued. They just wanted folks that could sing karaoke-style under pressure, something that Siobhan continues to struggle with. I think Big Mike is about as good a talent as Season Two winner Reuben, but after nine seasons, that kind of old fashioned singing is no longer valued by the judges or the voters.

The judges are human, they make mistakes. It is extraordinary for anyone from anywhere to become a megastar. Having that high a standard for a TV show contest winner is a mistake. I think it is amazing that Idol has produced as many big stars as they have. There are only so many long term megastars, and only room for so many in the industry. Idol's influence on the music industry, movie industry and even Broadway, has been huge, considering it is just a TV contest for singing old stale cover songs. To think that a TV show can consistently produce megastars, if only the judges and producers were a bit smarter is illusionary thinking.

The voters are what push people through. Sometimes the voters go against the judges. This season, I am guessing that 80% of the votes are from young women 8 to 17. That hasn't been fair for the six female finalists. The first three cut were females. I think Katie was cut ahead of lesser talented men, because of the females voting for the cute guys.

As for next year, I don't think they will cancel Idol. It is on the way down, but still makes big money even with the lower ratings. "Dancing with the Stars" has similar issues to Idol, but is having a good year with ratings up 30% this season. That is due to a good crop of contestants, and the declining fortunes of competing TV show "24." Idol still goes head to head with the #1 show on TV, NCIS. The strong competition is a big reason Idol ratings are down.

[BillChin]

Well, the young female voters voted off the fifth female contestant, leaving Krystal with four guys. It is not fair for the women competing, but it is where the show demographics are right now. It remains to be seen whether Krystal is attracting enough of these young girl votes to win.

Siobhan definitely has some talent, but again, her singing isn't something I want to listen again and again. I can't find the download rankings, but I would expect her's to be way down the list.

[emmline]

I'm not sure about that young female theory. If this were the case, I'd have expected Tim Urban to hang in there a couple weeks more. (Note also that Casey--certainly a young female fave, was second to last.) I think what happened with Siobhan was a relative lack of pop appeal. She has often chosen slow, almost torpid arrangement which allow for a display of her vocal creativity, but don't snag the popular vote.

[BillChin]

I'm not sure about that young female theory. If this were the case, I'd have expected Tim Urban to hang in there a couple weeks more. (Note also that Casey--certainly a young female fave, was second to last.) I think what happened with Siobhan was a relative lack of pop appeal. She has often chosen slow, almost torpid arrangement which allow for a display of her vocal creativity, but don't snag the popular vote.

I'm pretty sure. Again, I'd guess 80% of voters this year are female 8 to 17 years old. Look at the entire season. First three voted off were female contestants despite one of the weakest fields of males in recent memory opposing them. I don't even see someone at the level of a Kris Allen or Taylor Hicks in the bunch and that is setting the bar low. So despite a very weak field of male contestants, two men have been voted off, five women, leaving one woman, four men in the mix. That translates almost straight line into about 80% young female voters.

The men are all splitting that 80%. Maybe half of Tim Urban's support all season was from "vote for the worst." When the judges gave him positive comments that crowd wasn't motivated to vote for him. That happens almost every year, "the vote for the worst" crowd backs a contestant until their guy/gal has a good week and then they abandon and that person gets booted.

Going forward, I am guessing that Siobhan will have a better commercial career than two of the remaining four males. I don't expect great things from Siobhan, but comparisons are relative in this year of weak contestants and what is now a 20% decline in ratings. Siobhan got the boot despite the producers giving her the coveted last performance spot, despite the judges giving her mostly positive comments. In other words, the powers at the show did almost everything they could to keep her in for one more week, and it wasn't enough. If there were a representative percentage of young males voting, they would have mostly voted for Siobhan and kept her in. Older folks for the most part, don't vote on Idol.

[Doug_Tipple]

You're right, Bill, I don't vote on Idol, although a few years ago my wife and I kept two phones going with automatic redial. I'm curious whether anyone reading or writing on this topic here actually call in a vote, hopefully for their favorite?

[The Weekenders]

I think that mostly women vote. We have a person at work who votes multiple times, along with her daughter. I have a hard time imagining most guys, bros, dudes, otherwise calling the show. I never have, I must admit and I have watched closely.

I disagree that Siobhan was supported by the judges, placement or no. I think she was hammered frankly and I thought it gooey and weird that the human Chihuahua (Seacrest) made her hug Simon et al last night. I felt like I was watching a prison rape. But I'm not objective. I think she is a magnificent talent, but needs some vocal direction from just the right person.

[tin-titan]

I yearn for the old Ted Mack Amateur Hour. Sometimes one of those folks had talent. Miley Cyrus is 2 days out of Pimpledom. She shouldn't be mentoring anyone. I miss Sanjaya. He was such a tool yet entertaining.

[A-Musing]

I'll miss Siobhan..
I LIKE her lack of Pop Appeal.
I LIKE her uniqueness...visual and personal.
I even like the stratospheric wailing...in measured doses.

And, since I love to play airs on Low Whistles...

...I'm rather fond of Torpid.

[BillChin]

I recently attended a music class led by Matt Rohde and his wife Beth. Mr. Rohde is one of the coaches used by American Idol. He offered a couple of bits of information. If one of the contestants is assigned to him, they spend three hours a week together. That is not much time considering how much there is to learn when performing new songs.

Matt said that he estimates that 90% of the Idol contestants lack a solid foundation in music theory. Some can't read music. Many don't have much of an ear for music either, and that is why so many struggle with proper pitch. Those that don't know much about music theory, get a crash course with an emphasis on what they need to know for performances.

Matt joked that sometimes when contestants "make it their own," it is because they lack the basic ability to learn a song the way it was written. That many times the contestant is trying to sing it straight but because of mistakes, it becomes an "original."

[A-Musing]

Matt joked that sometimes when contestants "make it their own," it is because they lack the basic ability to learn a song the way it was written. That many times the contestant is trying to sing it straight but because of mistakes, it becomes an "original

Hmmm. This sounds familiar.

Yep.

That's how I play the tunes I've "learned" on the whistle.

[emmline]

How was tonight? I missed it due to a school event.

[cowtime]

Lee did The Boxer, Everybody Hurts and Beautiful Day- all songs that I really love- he did them ok- I love his voice but he didn't do anything to write home about

Crystal did Me&Bobby McGee, Black Velvet with her usual style (and I hate the second song)and finally some slow, gospelly tune that was really GREAT

The judges practically crowned Crystal tonight- we'll see if the voters do tomorrow

I'm happy- I liked these two from the beginning so it's all good.

[The Weekenders]

Crystal was given better theatrical lighting and stage direction for every number. She was all over the stage, costume changes, etc etc. She outsang Lee and deserves to win, but the inequality of it was noticeable, to me, anyway. Lee sang off-key because he was straining high notes, which I personally think were low-self-esteem attacks of self-doubt (or simple nerves if it's ever that simple). I know about these things. Sometimes, he has embraced the idea that he's a worthy singer and he has sailed through. Last night, the cracks were evident and his voice showed it. Ironically, Crystal showed perhaps an excess of newly-minted self-esteem and was wishing Simon luck and such, but it was all very forgiveable. She ended her run on the show by returning to roots, a battered guitar and a very soulful tune. Talk about emotion! Simon was gracious and it was wonderful to behold.

[BillChin]

I like Crystal over Lee. The finale was okay, not great. Lee is likely to win by a wide margin because most of Casey's voters are likely to go to him.

It is similar to last year, when Danny Gokey's voters flocked to Kris Allen leaving Adam Lambert in second.

Lee has shown more growth during the time of the show. I group Lee in what has become a long line of recent lackluster winners: Taylor Hicks, Jordan Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen. For the most part they can sing, but for the most part are all forgettable.