Simon Says: the American Idol thread

Everything about it is just sitting wrong with me. In the past, I've always been all for the knife twists and rooting for the obviously terrible singer sticking around for too long, but this season...I dunno...the gratuitous mocking and cruelty just seems so Bush era. The fact that the format, the judges (especially Simon) and the outside forces are all rubbing me the wrong way this year makes my own personal mocking less fun. I think that's it, really. Good fun cannot be had when there's already kind of a gross edge to what I'm supposed to be mocking. That said, having immediately assumed the worst when they first teased, the "twist" doesn't especially bother me. The whole season already feels so lopsided and anti-climactic that one more thing doesn't really phase me. Going back to the rounds seemed like a good idea to me at first because I liked it the first time they did that, but I guess I got used to the top 24. I don't even feel like I know most of these people. I knew who David Cook and Michael Johns were immediately last season. This year I've got blind guy, Wicked guy, piano guy and so on. Nobody has a real identity. And when I see them drag Anoop back down to the middle and see that he looks tired and sort of done with it all it makes me think that maybe we should all go home and come back in a month and start fresh. They shouldn't look burnt out this early. I feel the exact same way. At first, when I found out everything was returning to the "old school" format, ie. Hollywood week with Groups, 4 rounds of semifinals, etc., it all sounded great because I felt like the show had lost it ever since they went to the "Top 24" half guys, half girls deal. But really, what it did was let the audience hear voices multiple times and really judge who deserved to be in the top 12. This time, someone made an impression on us once and we voted them through. Or, they were with a bad group of people, so a bunch of sucky people perform and we pick the 3 least suckiest, therefore we're bound to have at least 3 sucky people in the top 12. It doesn't work. The last few years they really had to earn a steady fan base in order to succeed. Now... And is it just me, or does it not even feel like the "top 12" finals? There's no sense of "wow" or superiorness to the rest of the weeks on Idol. It's just 13 people (now 11) instead of 36. Very anticlimactic indeed. The 4th judge is slowing down the pace of the show, going down the line and taking turns on who will speak their mind first has taken away all suspense on the part of the judges. We used to sit and wait for what Simon would say. Now, he may open his mouth first or second, and have influence on the rest of the judges. One thing about Simon, he'll always say what he wants, he doesn't care if he agrees or disagrees with the rest of the pack, where hazy crazy Paula, out of place Kara, and even Dog dog Randy may take what he says into consideration when speaking. And now, with this BS about the judges now having a one time say in whether or not someone can go home is just the frosting on the cake to kill these ratings. First of all, this show is supposed to be completely based around the votes of the fans once live shows are airing, so to have any sort of interference by the judges I think is suicidal, it's supposed to be 100% democracy. But forget the fact that they are messing with the system, this is a one time thing, a one time "get out of jail free card" that the Judging Fairies may grant to one contestant. That's it. And now they're going to make that focal point? Sadism doesn't even describe how cruel that is! Did you see Jasmine? The girl wasn't even crying when she was told to go home, and then she was given this false hope like she was singing for her spot, and then when the judges sent her home, she started breaking down. Come on, are you serious? These poor kids work so hard week after week, and to have their hearts toyed with and dangled before their eyes on National Television is just inhumane and just complete bullshit.

I have to admit that for Knollers like me things are slowly becoming more and more transparent. It seems that Nigel leaving and Simon getting more power is a very big part of most of those changes. Simon saying that they were 'casting' the top 12 a few weeks back is telling. I think they are all about the drama and entertainment now and not so much about the competition. This is such an interesting comment, because of some of Simon's comments in recent weeks. He isn't even bothering to hide the manipulations/agenda, stating out loud that it doesn't matter if you're not the best singer, they were "casting" the season, and his latest gem: "It's fine to be artistic, just not on this show." And I wish I had ten bucks for every time he's used the word "commercial." And now we have this judges' "save." Amysusanne is right that it could have been a lot worse; I was thinking of some thumbs-up or thumbs-down that they would use every week. But it's not the aspect of the show that needed fixing. The restrictive theme nights, the mentors who could be the contestants' grandparents - that's the stuff that needs to go IMO. Going back to the rounds seemed like a good idea to me at first because I liked it the first time they did that, but I guess I got used to the top 24. I don't even feel like I know most of these people. I knew who David Cook and Michael Johns were immediately last season. This year I've got blind guy, Wicked guy, piano guy and so on. Nobody has a real identity. I disliked the groups and rounds, they seem inherently unfair. 27 eliminations on the basis one one performance? Judges picking, not only the wildcard pool, but 4 out of 13 finalists? And it's crazy to go into finals with only one performance apiece in the semifinals. And now, with this BS about the judges now having a one time say in whether or not someone can go home is just the frosting on the cake to kill these ratings. First of all, this show is supposed to be completely based around the votes of the fans once live shows are airing, so to have any sort of interference by the judges I think is suicidal, it's supposed to be 100% democracy. But forget the fact that they are messing with the system, this is a one time thing, a one time "get out of jail free card" that the Judging Fairies may grant to one contestant. That's it. And now they're going to make that focal point? Sadism doesn't even describe how cruel that is! Did you see Jasmine? The girl wasn't even crying when she was told to go home, and then she was given this false hope like she was singing for her spot, and then when the judges sent her home, she started breaking down. Come on, are you serious? These poor kids work so hard week after week, and to have their hearts toyed with and dangled before their eyes on National Television is just inhumane and just complete bullshit. Bingo. Couldn't have said it better myself. Sadistic is the word. I agree that they're shooting themselves in the foot. Very hard to get excited, and they want to replace the suspense of America's vote with the suspense of toying with the contestants. Dumb, just dumb.

it's supposed to be 100% democracy That's funny because Simon said ""May I remind you that on this show we don't allow democracy". I still believe that we should vote, we vote for the winner and we should vote about who goes home(or in this case, not vote for who goes home lol). Yeah I know, I think Simon was having a mental burp since it is supposed to be a democracy. But with this new rule, I see the hands of the government, ie. the judges playing with our freedom. There goes the show...

According to MJ's blog, next week is Grand Ole Opry week. One less show to watch for me.

Yeah I know, I think Simon was having a mental burp since it is supposed to be a democracy. I don't think Simon made a mistake, I think he was being an asshole. And not the out of character asshole I've thought that he's been all season, just your average, run of the mill, Simon saying things because he can, asshole. Wrt the groups, the rounds and the judges picking the wildcard, that stuff isn't new. In fact, it's something that many people look back on fondly and have always held up as their reference base for "the good ol' days". It worked before, but the show has grown since then. Things have changed and there has been an evolution of both the show and the audience that can't be reversed. What worked before isn't working as well at this point. The show is a victim of its own success, spawning the huge internet community and fan bases that power vote and use autodialers. I can see why that might be irritating to TPTB (It's sometimes irritating to me, since fan bases aren't always about talent). I'm sure it skews the vote. But it's hard to see how to put that genie back in the bottle.

Adam, what the living hell was that?! That was scary and not in a good way imo.

Poor Randy Travis, trying so hard to be nice and not quite pulling it off.

Simon calling Lil "Little" was the hardest I've laughed in a long, long time. :lol: Adam scared the crap out of me. Seriously, what was that about?

I felt pretty bad when Simon kept calling her Little. I thought it was horrible of him and very disrespectful, since Lil is short for Lillian, not Little. I thought Kris, Anoop and Matt were the best of the night, as I said above I hated Adam and was once again not impressed with Danny and I still do not get why he's doing so well in the votes. I'm guessing they want Scott to be voted off, just because they do not want to deal with a blind guy on the tour. Might sound harsh but I can see TPTB doing it.

I'm going to give Simon the benefit of the doubt and assume that he doesn't actually know that Lil is an abbreviation of her name and not a random nickname. I blame the fact that Ryan can't correctly pronounce it. He clearly knows what her name is, but it always comes out slightly wrong. The only alternative is that Simon was just being an ass and I think he was actually consciously trying *not* to be an ass last night. At least not an ass for no reason. I don't doubt that getting Scott off the show would be a weight off their shoulders in certain aspects, but I really don't think they want him to leave just yet. He's a good story, he seems to be somewhere in the middle in popularity and he's got just enough talent for it not to be absurd that he's still there. He won't and shouldn't win, but I don't really see them pushing him towards the door. As for Adam: anybody know what source he was pulling that arrangement from? I'd like to hear the original without all the bullshit Constantine eyefucking and self indulgence. Because that was a gross mess of "look at me, I'm so fucking better than country week". Hate it for ya, Adam...you're not. He did what Chris Daughtry kept doing, only Daughtry had the good sense and respect to not be condescending to the artists when he was doing it. By Adam's fifteenth "oh, hell no I'm not going to Nashville" I wanted to smack him. How Randy Travis didn't is beyond me. I'm all about Anoop right now, with Chris, Matt, Danny and Megan in there. I like Danny. Last night was half good, half bad, but I like the guy. And tbh, I really don't think most of the rest are bad at all. They might even be better (at least on occasion) than the people I like. And Lil is clearly a force, she just had a bad week. I was just drawn to the bunch I was drawn to and haven't been turned off by them yet.

I didn't think Lil was that bad. Pink haired girly was darn good. Adam needs to end up on the wrong side of the Ford during the filming of the commercial sometime. I hate, hate HATE when people get condescending about Nashville. (I live here, at least my derision has context.) This town is cut-throat and would destroy his whiny, self-indulgent ass in less time than it takes to hold an open mic at the Bluebird. STFU, bitch, you think you're better than this town? BRING IT! Oh wait, you didn't. Jerkface. ...Ummmm yeah...I get a little defensive sometimes. But Adam deserves to be booted for that behavior. I felt genuinely bad for Randy Travis, he looked like he was watching someone piss on Johnny Cash's grave and he had no choice but say how nice it was Adam spelled his full name. And right around the head of the coffin, too.

Lil wasn't that bad, she just set the bar so high for herself that average seems bad. When she hit the chorus she was good, the first verse was just a mess. Ditto on Danny, though. I just think Danny looked more comfortable with Lil, so that made him seem better. I'm still not really connecting with any of these people, though. In previous years that hasn't been a huge issue, but given how quickly I was on board with David Cook last year, it's disappointing to not have anyone that I really want to win. I'll just stick with Anoop. I've seen a few people this morning whining about how they don't understand why people didn't like Adam's performance because he's got a great voice, blah, blah, blah. He does have a good voice. He just dressed that voice up with self indulgent theatrics, lots of eye fucking and a total asshole attitude about the whole thing. And someone on Sepinwall's blog mentioned that that arrangement was an original of "Rock Star" contestant Dilana. I had forgotten Dilana (or RS, for that matter) even existed. I didn't remember that arrangment/performance at all in spite of watching that show, but Adam should probably remember that Dilana didn't actually win.

anybody know what source he was pulling that arrangement from? He got it from one of those other singing competitions, RockStar or something. The contestants name was Dilana. I'm very disappointed that there is no one who sticks out for me far enough that I would be willing to pick up a phone for them. I haven't seen anything special yet. The farthest I get is oh, so and so is nice. It's nothing like David Cook last year, or Melinda the year before. Adam is in danger(not yet, but give it a few weeks) because he is so polarizing. People love him or hate him and I'm moving more and more towards hate. I don't dislike the guy himself at all(he seems like he would be fun to hang out with) but I don't get why everyone's panties are in a bunch when it comes to his looks and his singing. And I'm still pissed about what he did to Ring Of Fire. If he continues to perform like this, I highly doubt he will pick up new fans from people who get booted(like Cook did with Michael, Carly and Jason for example). According to DialIdol. Danny McDouche is pretty far in the lead with the votes, once again, no idea why because I do not get it. He's a nice singer but nothing special and what I've seen, he's very off-putting personality-wise. Then again, Archie was this far ahead last year as well, but I have no idea which one of this bunch will be the one that will build up the fanbase the way Cook did last year.

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