American Idol (May 4th and 5th) - The Top Five (That’s Life…All The Way)

[BigB08822]

And add me to the list of folks who don't "get" Lee. Adam Lambert nailed it a couple of weeks ago; Lee's face is so blank, "nothing going on" there....

If that's what you think of Lee then what do you think of Casey? Casey could be singing for himself in a mirror, a group of 10, a crowd of 500 or a stadium of thousands and he would have the same exact look on his face!

[Cheylana]

Not a big Casey fan, but he occasionally has a twinkle in his eye or something. Plus he gets criticism from the judges, while Lee is routinely overpraised and generally treated as the second coming of David Cook for reasons that are far beyond my comprehension!

[shan]

This list is all kinds of random and bizarre! Danger Zone??? Can't Fight the Moonlight???? Isn't that song from Coyote Ugly?

I wonder what will sound the best with a goatly voice?

I liked last year's movie theme night, especially Kris Allen singing Falling Slowly!!

[Allskate]

If that's what you think of Lee then what do you think of Casey?

They both have crap stage presence and facial expressions. But, I do think Casey at least has a semblance of a personality in both his singing and interviews. I just think that Lee has a nicer tone in his voice. I think that Casey lets his nerves get to him more, but even when he's singing his best, Lee's best sounds better to me in terms of tone. But, in terms of overall performing style (not just tone), yeah, I'd take Casey.

I think the overpraise for Lee is because they know they are signing two people to recording deals and they view Lee as having the best recording voice, along with Crystal, and they're probably right. But, if I had to choose which one to see in concert -- Lee or Casey -- I'd probably choose Casey. I prefer his singing style, song choices, guitar playing, and stage presence. And I suspect that he'd be more fun if he weren't being judged.

[moebius]

Moon River, Arthur's Theme and It Might Be You are good choices.

[PeterG]

Just read that viewers are at their lowest in the 8 year history!

I smell axed next season coming???

Sure, because ratings have dipped, Fox will cancel the #1 show on network TV.

Seriously though, each year, the ratings for the vast majority of network TV shows decline as more cable channels become available and viewership spreads out.

[cailuj365]

I'm pretty sure AI has already been renewed. The money that FOX makes from advertising revenue is huge that it doesn't make sense to cancel the show for financial reasons.

[cruisin]

They both have crap stage presence and facial expressions. But, I do think Casey at least has a semblance of a personality in both his singing and interviews. I just think that Lee has a nicer tone in his voice. I think that Casey lets his nerves get to him more, but even when he's singing his best, Lee's best sounds better to me in terms of tone. But, in terms of overall performing style (not just tone), yeah, I'd take Casey.

I think the overpraise for Lee is because they know they are signing two people to recording deals and they view Lee as having the best recording voice, along with Crystal, and they're probably right. But, if I had to choose which one to see in concert -- Lee or Casey -- I'd probably choose Casey. I prefer his singing style, song choices, guitar playing, and stage presence. And I suspect that he'd be more fun if he weren't being judged.

I also think that Casey will sing songs that are less dependent on perfect tone. There are several rock singers who really don't have great voices, but with the right material (and studio ) sound great. Casey has the personality to pull it off, I don't know if Lee does. I actually thought that Lee's voice is more suited to standards than the rock he tries to sing. I also think that of the three (Crystal, Lee, & Casey) Lee will be the most manipulatable. He will go for the whole Idol will create him shtick.

I still think Crystal has the best voice of the bunch and knows her style and audience. It will really be a shame if she doesn't win. Whether or not Idol will try to change her, and make her sing the gag - coronation song, she is a pretty strong personality and will stay true to her style (I thing anyway).

[Allskate]

Awful! Can they go off list? Didn't Kris do that last year? Are these kids smart enough to do so this year? If not... *shudder*

Good point. Hopefully some of them were able to get other songs cleared.

Seriously though, each year, the ratings for the vast majority of network TV shows decline as more cable channels become available and viewership spreads out.

The decline is steeper this year, and it's the first season that Idol hasn't always won its time slot. But, I think Idol will be around for a long time. Even if it fell out of the top ten shows, it still could be a huge source of profits. But, I do think they can do things to improve ratings. I don't think the ratings decline is simply due to more cable channels.

I still think Crystal has the best voice of the bunch and knows her style and audience. It will really be a shame if she doesn't win. Whether or not Idol will try to change her, and make her sing the gag - coronation song, she is a pretty strong personality and will stay true to her style (I thing anyway).

I agree that Crystal has the best voice of the bunch and the strongest musical identity. But, if she is one of the top two, she's signed by 19R and doesn't get artistic control. (Brian, I may be wrong, but I think the top 12 contracts that are voidable by 19 are management contracts, not recording contracts. At least, that used to be the way it was.) So if they decide that they want her to sing something they consider to be more current, then that's what will happen. They've done it before with winners like Ruben, but I suspect that they won't change Crystal too radically and that she'll certainly do her best to convince them to let her stay true to her style. At least, that's what I'm hoping. She'll be signed by someone even if she doesn't end up in the top two.

[cruisin]

She'll be signed by someone even if she doesn't end up in the top two.

Yes, and it may be that she'll be better off not winning. But, I would hate to see the best person not win. I do think that of all of the Idol contestants Crystal seems to have the strongest personality. And I am really impressed with the way she politely challenges some of the judges comments. Not saying they're wrong, but offering her reasons, for doing what she did, in a respectful way.

[skatesindreams]

The most gifted singers in Idol's history, IMO: Melinda, Elliott, Clay, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert, (in random order) have not won.
Hearing them has given me more pleasure then listening to/watching the "winners"!

[rfisher]

The most gifted singer was Melinda. She has perfect pitch. However, there's a reason she didn't win and a reason why she's not a big recording star. She's a singer. She's a terrible entertainer. She did backup for a number of successful singers and studio work where she excels. She simply didn't have the audience appeal and never will. You can no longer just make a studio recording. You have to do personal appearances, MTV vids (which is simply not Melinda). I fear Crystal will meet the same fate. She's a small venue singer. She's not an entertainer like Adam Lambert. I cannot picture her in a music video (I can Casey or even Lee). I suspect she'll end up back where she started prior to AI within a couple of years. It's not all about singing. Clearly, or Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift would not be superstars. They sell themselves and get by with crappy personal appearances and live vocals.

[uyeahu]

Music videos on MTV are a thing of the past. Most are now made for You Tube and many are live performance videos instead of big production things. The Avett Bros release videos that are just the two of them sitting in a van singing and playing guitar, or standing in a hallway or in a hotel room and they shoot them with a webcam or a handheld. Unless your music is being featured as part of a soundtrack to something else, that's really the ideal way to make videos. Fans really enjoy the more intimate format and the immediacy and frequency of them are the perfect cure to our collective ADD.

[pollyanna]

Lady Gaga angry with 'American Idol'

"FOX POORLY AMATEURLY edited cut my performance/musical arrangement on idol." Gaga then directed fans to the "real" version on Perez Hilton's blog.

The blog Idol Tracker was at the taping last week, and reported that the studio audience was forced to stay in their seats over an hour and a half later than expected because of Gaga's repeated practice sessions, though they say the star was appreciative of the audience's sacrifice. Gaga's performance was risqué as usual, but the segment was most likely edited for length, as "Idol" is frequently criticized for going over their allotted time. Fox has not commented about the performance.

[Aceon6]

I find it interesting that the featured acts thus far have been the polar opposites of what the judges are praising in the contestants.

[cailuj365]

I saw the unedited version of Gaga's performance. Fox didn't do her any favors, but I just don't think it was one of her best performances. Plus, Alejandro isn't that great of a song IMO, so that didn't help either.

[shan]

I didn't care for the performance, but I don't think editing would have helped it.

[Allskate]

The most gifted singer was Melinda. She has perfect pitch. However, there's a reason she didn't win and a reason why she's not a big recording star. She's a singer. She's a terrible entertainer. She did backup for a number of successful singers and studio work where she excels. She simply didn't have the audience appeal and never will. You can no longer just make a studio recording. You have to do personal appearances, MTV vids (which is simply not Melinda). I fear Crystal will meet the same fate. She's a small venue singer. She's not an entertainer like Adam Lambert. I cannot picture her in a music video (I can Casey or even Lee). I suspect she'll end up back where she started prior to AI within a couple of years. It's not all about singing. Clearly, or Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift would not be superstars. They sell themselves and get by with crappy personal appearances and live vocals.

I don't think there's any way that Crystal will end up back where se was before Idol unless she chooses to do that. Yes, Miley and Taylor, who largely appeal to tweens and teens aren't great singers, but I don't think it makes sense to compare Crystal to them. I also don't think it's fair to compare Crystal to Melinda. Crystal has much more personality. Plus, Melinda chose to record music that is not very current. I can see Crystal coming up with at least some music that is much more current. There are plenty of recording artists who have successful careers without having staging like Adam Lambert , without tweenybopper appeal, and without playing huge venues. If singers like Norah Jones, Melissa Etheridge, Colbie Callait, and Adele can make a very good living with their music, so can Crystal. (And, again, if they can make music videos, so can Crystal.) IMO, the big issue with Crystal is going to be the material and the promotion.

[Allskate]

Here's a report about a rehearsal for tonight's show. It doesn't name the songs or the pairings for the duets:

http://tvwatch.people.com/2010/05/11...gh/#more-28301

A new instrument being played. Could be good.

According to People, the duet pairings are:

Spoiler

Crystal and Lee singing together and Mike and Casey singing together. I think Crystal and Lee could fit well together. I'm not at all sure about Mike and Casey blending, but it's good that it appears they will be playing their acoustic guitars together. Plus, we know the judges will say that Crystal and Lee are the better pair, but at least this way Mike isn't going to be directly compared to Crystal or Lee, so it's good for him. I think Casey will get run over by a bus multiple times tonight.

[Wyliefan]

"Poorly amateurly edited cut"? Is she related to Roget or something?