American Idol

Read this from USAToday and laughed. no I am not watching it anymore as the voting is hosed (although I think it's funny that Hawaiians are up in arms because they think they are being singled out because they keep getting busy signals (Damned coconut phones)


I was a little distracted when I turned on American Idol Tuesday night, but according to my recollection of the video saluting guest judge and BMG Records honcho Clive Davis, he was responsible for introducing pop music and rock music, and along the way may have invented the cotton gin and the comb-over.

Critic Ken Barnes: Though a non-Fantasia victory is possible in light of Idol viewing patterns, any such outcome would be a miscarriage of esthetic justice.
Fox

Actually, Davis is an acknowledged master of picking popular, bland ballads that give singers plenty of chances to show off their chops, which makes him the Godfather of American Idol and an appropriate choice to appear even if he wasn't the executive who has had Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Justin Guarini and now Tamyra Gray on his family of labels. And as you might expect, bland ballads dominated the night's selections: Of nine songs performed, two were Whitney Houston numbers, two had been done by Celine Dion (although All by Myself was originally by Eric Carmen, who used to be very good indeed with early-'70s pop idols The Raspberries), and one was a 1978 schlockathon by Melissa Manchester, Don't Cry Out Loud.

This circumstance did not make for a particularly enthralling musical program. And face it, the only suspense left is whether the voters will deny the obvious and vote in somebody other than Fantasia Barrino, who since the surprise expulsion of La Toya London last week is without meaningful competition.

Diana DeGarmo will make a passable runner-up, but will end up making a really bad record. Jasmine Trias will make a very lucky No. 3 and should not be signed to make a record by anyone. Any other order of finish will be a miscarriage of esthetic justice, but that of course does not mean there isn't a strong chance that Jasmine might make it to No. 2 (or even win), or Diana might knock off Fantasia in the finals. Like the actual creation of the universe, when it comes to Idol voting patterns, we just don't know.

With only three contestants remaining, each was allowed to sing three songs: one chosen by her, one by a judge, one by Davis. Jasmine actually chose Houston's Saving All My Love, a really bad idea on innumerable counts. She used her familiar "low-key" trick (starting a song in a low register so she would have a decent shot at hitting the high notes), with the not-unexpected result that her opening sounded devoid of emotion. The same thing happened, even more noticeably, on her Davis-picked All by Myself, though that was enlivened by her biggest attempted finale yet, during which all trace of melody and key was obliterated.

Moderately more interesting was the still-bandaged Paula Abdul's choice for her, Natalie Cole's Mr. Melody, a 1976 mid-chart hit that was at least refreshingly obscure and mildly jazzy, though it belies its title by being something less than a melodic powerhouse. This gave Jasmine the opportunity to improvise with some nonsense syllables, a wobbly performance best summed up as scatting on thin ice.

Diana's personal choice was Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Ain't No Mountain High Enough, which is an Idol audition and group-sing standard and received a relentlessly cheery version that ran the emotional gamut from A to A. Randy selected Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me for her, and she plodded along with it until revving it up for a monster finish that was uneven but technically not unimpressive. She also pulled off a successful big finish on Davis' choice, Don't Cry Out Loud, but she seems to have no first, second, or third gear—everything's in overdrive.

Fantasia had a fine night, characterized by lively songs and judicious restraint, as opposed to pulling out all the stops on every song. She chose Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools, which she glided through with a deft mix of grace and sass. Simon chose Ike & Tina Turner's 1960 hit A Fool in Love (which Tamyra may have performed two seasons ago), and the rowdy proto-soul ditty was well-suited to the singer, who worked the audience in familiar fashion. Shaking her tailfeathers in Davis' face may have been something of a calculated risk, but since he said later that he would sign her win or lose, it seemed to pay off.

Davis chose Houston's The Greatest Love of All for Fantasia, a real snoozer of a song but her big finish was the most accomplished of the night.

Musically, by now Idol is no contest. But it is a popularity contest, and that is the drama that will continue to seduce a nation tonight and next week.

 

bye, jaz.

so, if the final three had been latoya, fantasia and diana nobody would be bitching?

 

JASMINE got voted off? That show is rigged.

 

Fantasia certainly got few votes from High Point this time. After all the bad publicity about not being able to call and vote, North State Telephone (HP's phone carrier) experienced call volume 5 times greater than normal from 9-10 pm Tuesday. I tried from 10-11pm and never got through.

The local FOX station began (and why just now I'm not sure) running spots during the 10pm newscast to go to the AT&T Text Messaging Center and type in just the 10 digit phone number and the word VOTE. IF you're really wanting to vote often, you can get 4-6 votes in per minute that way.

 

Ratings bonanza for WGHP

FOX8 is loving the attention! The station is reeling in near-Super Bowl numbers: a 27.8 rating, or nearly 180,000 households — a ranking that edges out even the finale of “Friends.”

So, what do those numbers mean? Nearly 39 percent of everyone in the Triad watching TV at that time tuned in to Fantasia. And that audience has helped WGHP gain the momentum it needs to lead into its top-rated 10 p.m. news broadcast, a broadcast where a bump of one rating point can mean an extra $500,000 in advertising revenue.

Fantasia, don't get crushed in star-making machine

 

oops..I get j asmine and fantasia mixed up. Jasmine should have been voted a while ago. show is still rigged.

 

If they have tailgating, this could be huge!

American Idol Viewing Party for Fantasia Barrino
Greensboro Coliseum - Arena
May 26, 2004 (Wednesday)
8:00 PM Until...

The Greensboro Coliseum will host an “American Idol” viewing party on Wednesday, May 26th at 8:00 PM. Triad fans have the opportunity to come out to support their own as High Point, North Carolina’s Fantasia Barrino battles co-finalist Diana DeGarmo to see who captures the crown for the third season of FOX’s wildly popular “American Idol.”

Former “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken will be at Greensboro Coliseum to serve as the viewing party’s host and provide live cut-ins to the program’s nationally broadcast two-hour season finale. The Coliseum will open its doors at 6:00 PM and fans are expected to arrive early. Admission is free and seating is general admission. Parking is also free.

“American Idol” came to the United States in the summer of 2002 and became an overnight success, growing to an audience of over 30 million viewers for the first season’s finale. This season more than 70,000 auditioners have attempted to become the next “American Idol.” Triad area fans are encouraged to come out to the Greensboro Coliseum on May 26 and support hometown finalist Fantasia Barrino as she attempts to follow in the footsteps of past winners Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard.

 

we're pulling for her.

nc owns idol.

 

1-866-IDOLS-02
1-866-IDOLS-04
1-866-IDOLS-06

No doubt in my mind, that last song of Fantasia'a brought me to tears.

Let's do the BOBO!

 

Fan sould win. Hands down. Either way she still will have the better career.