OT Who will win on American Idol?

[glauber]

What's an American Idol?

[BillChin]

I phoned in a vote for Fantasia. Her seminal performance this season was "Summertime." I knew that much when I heard it the first time and posted on Chiff saying as much. Her finale of "I Believe," has me seeing her as a mystic. A person who can tap into the greater consciousness, and call forth that energy and beam it out into the universe.

Lessons that I might be able to learn from this 19-year-old, to take chances, use humor, be yourself, trust God. Unfortunately, talent I can't get from her, but I know that I have my own unique talents, as does each and every one of us.

Enjoy.
+ Bill

[Chuck_Clark]

Um, well, I admit I watch the show - but YOU VOTED?????

how utterly...

[FJohnSharp]

My kids voted, like, ten times.

But, they're kids.

[janice]

Rupert.

[anniemcu]

You left my choice out of the poll...
..."who cares"

That's the box I would put my 'X' in too... I've never held much for talent 'contests'... the results are always contestable, and there is so much more important stuff to do in the world.

[emmline]

You left my choice out of the poll...
..."who cares"

That's the box I would put my 'X' in too... I've never held much for talent 'contests'... the results are always contestable, and there is so much more important stuff to do in the world.

Annie...don't tell me you only do important stuff!

[anniemcu]

Annie...don't tell me you only do important stuff!

Of course! I've got thumbs to twiddle, lint to pick, hours to wile.. well... moments to wile... not to mention three kids, four dogs, seven cats, one inside bird, 9 whistles, umpty-two guitars, seventeen piles (give or take twenty) that need to be gone through, a huge yard, some good friends, and one or two projects underway (see same qualification as under 'piles')... not to mention a Rewall Birthday Feast to choreograph.



I'd rather watch old Star Trek reruns while I fold laundry than participate in the madness known as "reality" TV.

(digging in the nearest pile, looking for the soapbox)

I know way too many people who are good enough to participate in these, but find actually living and participating in real life more fulfilling.

I've known enough of the crap attendant on even 'relative' fame to know that I don't *really* want it.

There isn't one song or tune that these 'competitors' can come up with that doesn't have an equivelent out there... Not one move or routine.

I'd rather appreciate the talent that I get to meet in real life, including here on these forums.

[BillChin]

There isn't one song or tune that these 'competitors' can come up with that doesn't have an equivelent out there... Not one move or routine.

I'd rather appreciate the talent that I get to meet in real life, including here on these forums.

I disagree. In my opinion the talent on display in American Idol is different. The process is different than the good-old-boy network that dominated the music industry for many years. The contestants are for the most part genuine, and likeable. I am also a big fan of live music. I listen to very little radio or studio produced CDs. I find much of it to be heartless, and antiseptic. I perform for small audiences and open mics. I am not a great judge of talent.

With all those disclaimers, I see Fantasia as something special, a one-in-a-million or one-in-ten-million. The noun I used is "mystic," and I stand by it. It is rare that an artist, whether it be a writer, a painter, a musician, that has that. It is a quality that speaks to me, a level of connection that goes well beyond the technical skill that so many also-rans have.

I also thought about the "important stuff" that so many other people on Chiff spend their time on. Important stuff like spending countless hours reading and responding to the 1700+ posts on the politics thread. I prefer to celebrate the light--there is more than enough darkness out there. For those that have not seen or heard Fantasia Barino perform, it may be worth his/her time to seek that out.

Whatever people choose to do with their time, I bless them. Enjoy.
+ Bill

[emmline]

Yay Bill. You're my hero! Well...at least I really like the way you explain yourself.

[Chuck_Clark]

Watching the final results show tonight with the return of the winners and some other finalists from the first two years and the reprise by the final twelve from this year, I was struck by what I saw as the accuracy of BillChin's earlier post. Across the board this year, all twelve finalists literally smoked the equivalent groups from the earlier years. The final five this year (Diana, Fantasia, Jasmine, LaToya and George) may well have been the best five contestants REGARDLESS of year.

All in all, leaving aside quibbles about proper order and the voting habits of America's twelve-nineteen age braket, I want to say that I think it was an entertaining and excellent year, a marvelous group of talented young performers, and well worth watching - and I NEVER expected to say that about ANYTHING from Fox.

[Tony]

I enjoyed the show too.
Looks like George found his nitch doing Motown songs.
It won't be long before Fantasia gets compared to Aretha Franklin... or should I say Aretha gets compared to Fantasia?

[BillChin]

Um, well, I admit I watch the show - but YOU VOTED?????

how utterly...

Another footnote: I lived in Greensboro, North Carolina for three years. Greensboro is about 20 miles from High Point, Fantasia's home town. As I said before small town folks stick together, big city folks are often too jaded to pick up the phone. Those that watched the results finale saw the crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum supporting their local contestant.

Yay Fantasia.
+ Bill

[tuaz]

(snip)...
Now for my rant: Warblers? Get real. If anything American Idol has spoiled the audiences and critics with such a high level of talent that truly exceptional singers are now described as "Warblers."

I believe that all 12 of the season three finalists can sing. They can't always deliver a new song (to them) at top level in every genre. However, in my opinion, all of them can sing at least as well as many commercially successful pop artists.

Again, for those with short memories and little perspective, I point to season one. In season one, the guy with blind parents made it to the top ten because of a sympathy vote. That guy would be hard pressed to be hired for weddings, much less record in a studio and probably would not have made top 100 this season. Justin made it to all the way to the finals primarily on his big hair, his height, and his appeal to young women. A couple of other women seemed to be in the final rounds mostly as eye-candy. In my opinion, all of this year's finalists can sing as well or better than Justin, and Jasmine, Jennifer, LaToya all can sing as well as Kelly the season one winner.

Looking at the results, contestants from a big city have a much harder time, this season, LaToya and Jennifer suffered from this burden. Local support is critical for the early rounds of single elimination in a crowded field. Big city folks are too jaded to pick up the phone and vote for their local contestant, but small town/state folks will.
...(snip)

+ Bill

Have just watched the results show on Singapore TV. My opinion:

1. the final was anticlimatic and a disappointment. Why would the audience want to hear contestants repeat songs from earlier rounds? Boring. What a cop-out. Where's the challenge? And when one repeats a previously wonderfully-sung song, it's often hard to reproduce the "magic" of the initial performance. That proved to be the case for both contestants in their repeat songs, altho Fantasia fared better because she's just better, IMO. And at least she did attempt one new song, even if its arrangement wasn't happenin'. I respect her for that.

Plus, "I believe" the AI anthem isn't a great song by any stretch of the imagination. It's derivative, and parts of it are practically rip-offs from other songs. Having to hear it twice during the finals was boring. That said, it proved how much better Fantasia was, because she managed to make it sound passable.

2. I'm relieved Fantasia won. Hearing both finalists sing in the finals and the results show just makes it even more apparent how one-dimensional Diana is compared to Fantasia. Perhaps Diana will improve and mature as a performer. But for now, Fantasia wins hands down.

3. Diana's performances made me miss La Toya even more.

4. Fantasia's post-victory performance of "I believe" was amazing and gave me goosebumps even though I really don't like the song. The intensity, passion, sincerity was there. She really meant the words. Again it shows how good she is, making a blah song sound good.

5. But why in the world did she sing "Dreams" (or whatever it was called)? It's like some not-catchy-enough rock ballad sung in a stadium by a Journey-type 80s rock band. Weird. I must say she has really strange/quirky song choices at times (like singing "Holding out for a hero" on Disco nite). But again, I respect her daring in her choice of unexpected material.

6. I'd never watched or heard Kelly Clarkson before. She's pretty good, actually. I was quite impressed. Certainly better than Diana. Diana was outmatched on stage in the company of Fantasia, Reuben and Kelly.

7. I miss George Huff. I do not miss Jennifer Hudson


My comments on BillChin's words above:

I sort of agree that all 12 finalists this year could sing, WITH THE EXCEPTION of that girl with the Bulgarian mother (can't recall her name). I can't really put my finger on it, but there's something wrong about her voice and the way she sings. Also, John Stevens could keep his tune but his timing and general "stone-ness" [how we in Singapore describe really stiff and unanimated people, as in, "he's so stone!" (not "stoned")] was just plain terrible at times. His range of song styles is pitifully limited.

The other ten all were quite enjoyable in their own way, with some admirable qualities. Examples:
Despite Carmel's (name?) shakiness in the low register and over-nervousness, she still strikes me as someone with a style of her own. She always reinterpreted every song her way, and even when it didn't come off, her interpretation always seemed different and fresh to me. It's a pity she kind of self-destructed in the final rounds.

Jasmine suffered in the later rounds from trying to match the others in lung power when there's no way she could have. She over-forced her voice, and it didn't work. It might have been better if she pulled back and tried for a more subtle and quieter approach, where possible. She has a nice clear tone, her control is ok when she's not forcing it and the notes aren't too low, and her voice is not really weak except in comparison with LaToya, Diana and Diana.

JPL - if he ever takes himself seriously, that dude actually has a nice voice able to do both slow and fast stuff.

So yes, overall, I think they can sing as well as many commercially successful pop artists. Further, they can all sing live, without tricks or earpieces playing in their ear. In my book, that already puts them one-up on some of today's pop stars.

Bill, I agree about Justin with the big hair. Heard him sing once on last season's AI. Yuck. Kelly is good, though. Tamyra - ok, I guess.

[BillChin]

1. the final was anticlimatic and a disappointment. Why would the audience want to hear contestants repeat songs from earlier rounds? Boring. What a cop-out. Where's the challenge? And when one repeats a previously wonderfully-sung song, it's often hard to reproduce the "magic" of the initial performance. That proved to be the case for both contestants in their repeat songs, altho Fantasia fared better because she's just better, IMO. And at least she did attempt one new song, even if its arrangement wasn't happenin'. I respect her for that.

Plus, "I believe" the AI anthem isn't a great song by any stretch of the imagination. It's derivative, and parts of it are practically rip-offs from other songs. Having to hear it twice during the finals was boring. That said, it proved how much better Fantasia was, because she managed to make it sound passable.
...

5. But why in the world did she sing "Dreams" (or whatever it was called)? It's like some not-catchy-enough rock ballad sung in a stadium by a Journey-type 80s rock band. Weird. I must say she has really strange/quirky song choices at times (like singing "Holding out for a hero" on Disco nite). But again, I respect her daring in her choice of unexpected material.
...

In reverse order
5. "Dreams" is the other side of the American Idol single, along with "I Believe." Last season each contestant sang a different side of the single for the final round, but "Dreams" is such a weak song compared to "I Believe" that this would have been an unfair advantage.

1. The top two had to rehearse with the other ten finalists, and also last year's winners, and each other, AND record the two songs in studio. For those that think this is a trivial task, how long does it take you to learn a totallly new song from scratch? Add choreography, hitting marks on the floor for the cameras, and then have to do it live in front of a huge crowd that includes everyone you know and millions of others worldwide. Learning three songs in a week is considered a fast schedule for a recording artists. This is why they had to do repeats. They are only human, they are performing live, they only had a few days to prepare.

In my opinion, "I Believe" is a strong song and it will certainly reach top three, if not number one on the charts. In my opinion, the song would have done so whether Diana, Fantasia, or even Jasmine, Jennifer, LaToya, or George had won and recorded it. I know we are all spoiled and want a song to not only be a number one song, but stay there for umpteen weeks. Kelly broke done crying after Diana sang it again, so for someone to say that is it weak song, weak compared to what? Other timeless number one hits through the ages? There are some things I might want to tinker with as a songwriter, but the opening verses, the imagery, the chorus, the booming affirmations make for a strong song. Of all the songs performed this season, "I Believe" is my favorite, or right up there, and there were some great songs, and many number one hits in the batch.

As to general comments about various performers, I think I have spoken my peace, so I'll leave those sections alone.
+ Bill