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So...Who Saw the AI Finale Tonight?


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No, silly - not Audio Icon, American Idol.

 

I noticed that there were no American Idol threads anywhere. I almost posted a thread about the lack of American Idol threads, but then I realized that in itself would be an American Idol thread.

 

Anyway, not a lot of charisma this season except for Adam Lambert, and he lost. Comments, anyone?

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I've heard of American Idol, but have never watched it. I keep hearing people complaining about Simon, but nothing either way about Garfunkel. :idk:

 

I really don't care for "reality shows." I've got reality coming out the wazoo as it is.

 

I saw Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) with Jimmy Stewart today on TCM though... or was it yesterday? Now that

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Nothing like a 5:00 in the morning sciatica wake up. :(

Comments, anyone?

It is a show that I have set up on my DVR to record each week, but I sometimes don't get around to watching it for several days after the event, and, normally watch the whole show in under 30 minutes or so. Last night's winner was going to be the guy who could take the biggest split of the fellow's votes who got eliminated last week (Danny). I wasn't at all surprised at the end results. I think that Adam peaked a few weeks ago and that his style started to wear on people (I know it did on me). A few weeks ago I thought he had no competition, but by last week I realized that everything he did was the same, over dramatized screeching. I do feel that both of the finalists will have success in the industry, but that Kris will have a longer career.

 

I really don't care for "reality shows." I've got reality coming out the wazoo as it is.

I don't really consider it a "reality show". I can't stand reality shows and never watch them. If I had to categorize the show, without calling it the obvious "talent show", I would look at it more as a contest or loosely defined "quiz show".

 

I saw Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) with Jimmy Stewart

One of my favorite movies of all time. I actually met Jimmy Stewart MANY years ago (about 1970 or so).

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I've gotten into arguments about AI before.

To me it's nothing but a bad national karoake show put on by record companies trying desperately to make money any way they can with more talentless hacks that probably will never write anything of merit.

Of course I could be wrong:p

 

Some people enjoy it, or enjoy the comedic aspect, but as a musician I find it highly offensive.

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Not commenting on the talent level (I haven't watched it), but the results make sense from a marketing standpoint. One person wins, the 'favorite' loses, they both get recording contracts and major publicity (Rueben Stoddard / Clay Aiken anyone?), there are a bunch of frothing-at-the-mouth avid watchers who stamp around the room berating those who voted for anyone other than their favorite(s), and it's the talk around the watercooler for the next week.

 

Rinse, repeat next season.

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I enjoy competition night of AI (can't stand Drama Night). It's a good show to watch with your family, is why (as long as you restrain your snarky musician comments). And sometimes the Idol wannabees are good singers and performers. But as a musician, the backing band is what gets my attention. They arguably have the most high pressure gig in show biz and IMO they usually do pretty well.

 

The most painful part of AI is watching the top 2 contestants forced to perform the crap AI "original" (written specifically for the competition) songs, which don't reflect the best writing out there any more than the AI finalists represent the most talented artists. Not expecting anything substantial, but the songs could at least have a hook, right?

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Some people enjoy it, or enjoy the comedic aspect, but as a musician I find it highly offensive.

 

 

This is exactly how I feel about it. Everything wrong about the music business is summed up by this show.

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Both finalists seem fatally flawed. Neither is the whole package.

 

Adam, clearly the better singer, seems more Broadway than recording artist. I could see him co-staring in an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with Susan Boyle. Other than that, it's hard to imagine him as the next Meatloaf.

 

The Other Guy Who Won, strikes me as this year's David Archuleta but not as good.

 

Neither Adam or the Other Guy Who Won "sounded" as good as David Cook whose fundamental voice is just a better sounding instrument. Hearing David Cook in comparison to Adam and the Other Guy Who Won drove that home.

 

The Other Guy Who Won will get his 15 minutes the American Idol infomercial guarantees. But beyond that, it's hard to imagine him having any kind of lasting impact although he might make a name for himself as a Christian artist, a demographic he's apparently already strongly connected with. As reports of support among Christians for the Other Guy Who Won developed, it seemed like he increasingly courted their vote.

 

Interestingly, Google search patterns have accurately predicted winners in the past. If you look at charts showing search queries for the contestants, the ones who are most searched for win. Except for this year. Adam is more searched on Google than any other contestant by an unprecedented margin, yet lost. I guess searchers didn't like what they found...

 

As for no AI threads, this year didn't seem all that compelling based on the talent level and the show losing steam. In previous years, threads debate one singer vs. another. This year, crickets. I barely watched it this year.

 

Still, there were more votes cast in the finals than the number of votes Obama received to become President.

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I liked the two final guys. I never watch the show because it seems to usually favor carbon copy hacks. but stumbled onto the prefinal night two nights ago and was pretty impressed with both. So I dialed in last night.

 

Glam Adam is a fun spectacle of a performer who could enjoy a nice dance in the spotlight. I admired his willingness to girl it up a bit and rock.

 

"The Other Guy Who Won" to me was the better singer. He was very clever with his rewriting of signature lines in some standard early rock/pop hits. Like his reworking of Wither's Ain't No Sunshine. Everybody loves the song but that "I know, i know, I know..." has always been an obstacle. But "The Other Guy That Won" very wisely rewrote the line and make it work for him, and me. And his delivery is very sincere which from the little I've seen of the show is probably in short order around there.

 

Nope, I'd have to disagree with a lot of you, "The Other Guy The One", I thought, was very good. And not a show tune in sight!

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No, silly - not Audio Icon, American Idol.

 

 

And not Artificial Intelligence, either. No, I suppose the word "intelligence" isn't used much when talking about the TV show. I don't watch this. A co-worker once brought in a videotape of these "lowlights" from AI - people auditioning who are stunningly bad but bursting with confidence - and that was amusing for a short while, but even that got old.

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Wow. You guys are a tough crowd.

 

What I think is interesting is how much Clive Davis influences the show. I know that Rod Stewart and Carlos Santana are his artists. Wonder how many of the other professional guests are his artists as well. It would be interesting to know that.

 

As far as singing goes, the top 4 or 5 were very good, but that doesn't seem to count for much with most around here. Even bikini girl was entertaining...

 

Steve

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Did anyone else catch on to the fact that Gene Simmon's fingers did not match the bass notes we were hearing?


So... who was actually playing the bass guitar?

 

 

That would be show MD Rickey Minor.

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The thing that bugs me the most about American Idol is its complete lack of being contemporary. It almost seems like it was lifted out of 1958 and just landed here. The idea of "singing idols" seems somewhat charmingly obsolete.

 

Which I think is why there is lack of general interest, even among those who don't have a negative reaction to the show concept in general. The formula has stayed the same since the beginning, and obviously it's a formula that works from a commercial standpoint, but at the end you get a "is that all there is to it?" sort of feeling.

 

AI happens during dinner time around here, so we watch it the day after courtesy of Tivo, and can pretty much blaze through the show. Overall I'm happy to see ANYTHING on TV that helps promote music on whatever level it can. There are two items of interest to me: The judge's comments, and watching how some of the contenders change or don't change over time. The ones who change the most over time seem to be the ones who win.

 

I thought the best show of this season was the one with Quentin Tarantino as the "mentor." I don't care for his movies all that much but if I was going to hire a producer to produce me, he'd be my #1 choice :)

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Nope, I'd have to disagree with a lot of you, "The Other Guy The One", I thought, was very good. And not a show tune in sight!

 

 

I do like his sincerity and think he's very good, just not someone, if i imagine hearing sing a song on the radio, I would necessarily be all that interested in. The song would have to be awfully good to have him break through, I'd think.

 

As I see it, the format of the show weeds out the singers with the most potential to be successful recording artists a few from the top. They aren't "well rounded" enough to get the most votes, but are able to make the best records and cultivate loyal fans.

 

For example, Dougherty, who sneered at the show, was able to develop a successful, gritty identity outside of it. Or, from this season, I think the red headed girl, whatever her name is, is potentially the most interesting recording artist.

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I don't think I've ever gone out of my way to watch AI. This year, I was even less interested. When I saw the finale was two hours, I thought it could be brutal. But I have to say they actually did a really good job of keeping the show entertaining. I especially like it when they bring out the guest star performers. You always know when they're going to be brought out, but it's still nice to see them on. It's just a feel-good musical night. And the fact that there is so little music-related TV programming anymore makes it that much more refreshing. Sometimes it's better to put your cynicism aside, not look too deep into it, and just enjoy it for what it is.

 

I don't think it's surprising that "the other guy" won. Adam was probably the superior performer, but the thing he lacked was the "regular guy" persona. The viewers love the underdog, and they also vote for the people they most identify with. And if you're the average viewer in the south or midwest (which I suspect is where the majority of viewers/voters are, because I don't think anyone has won the competition who wasn't from one of those areas), you've probably never met a guy like Adam. On the other hand, you probably went to school with the "other guy", or he may even be you. That's the kind of image that might actually help this guy in the long run, whereas, I think I could see people tiring of Adam.

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