American Idol 2011

[TimothyBFan]

I agree Soda-I think Steve is going to bring people in that have never watched the show before, like me & Woodstock. I watched again last night (loved the version of Make Me Feel My Love btw) but don't know how much I will see. I'm hoping that if I don't see it when it airs, I can get it on On Demand or somewhere on the internet. Hubby wanted to see Steve do his thing last night but doesn't really like the show...so we'll see how long he tolerates it being watched.

My favorite so far.... LOVE LOVE LOVE Brett! That boy can ROCK. Bohemian Rhapsody can not be the easiest song to sing and he nailed it!

The contestants they let go through last night were all very well deserving I think. More so than the first night, IMO.

[TimothyBFan]

Here's Brett for anyone that missed him. What a sweetie!!!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-SsAvAePZs[/ame]

[Brooke]

I watched most of it last night too and liked the ones that made it. I really didn't get them showing the Brett story, although I thought his singing was excellent. It seems to me that that will cause the voters to feel sorry for him and vote for him. I've never watched this part of the show before. Do they always pick favorites like that by showing their sad stories? Does that give them the right to move forward? I think it gives them an edge.

ETA: I think Steven looked great too. He's really not that good looking, but there's just something about him that's really sexy.

[sodascouts]

I think that "backstory" thing is pretty commonplace. I guess they do it to make it more interesting but it does seem to give people who they focus upon an unfair advantage once they get to the voting portion. "Oh - that's the one with the little girl who's deaf - I'll put her through!"

That said, sometimes those backfire - with Danny Gokey, for instance, they focused on the recent passing of his wife and before you know it, there was a backlash against the poor guy for "using" his wife's death as a means to get advanced through "pity votes."

[Prettymaid]

ETA: I think Steven looked great too. He's really not that good looking, but there's just something about him that's really sexy.

Yes Brooke! That's it exactly!

[Brooke]

Yeah, the young girl that begged them to keep her was a bit much I thought. I know they only kept her because they felt sorry for her. She did have a good voice, but one of the judges said they didn't think she was ready and I agreed.

That first guy with the deep voice sounded just like Josh Turner (he sang his song). I liked him, too.

[sodascouts]

I missed the show when it aired but watched it on MJ's Big Blog. To save time I skipped all the people who didn't make it and the "background" pieces so I don't know all their sob stories. My thoughts:

Scott ("Your Man") - wow, he is 16? He's got that country twang down and already sounds like a pro. I like him.

Emma ("True Colors") - another girl who doesn't look her age. She has adopted Cyndi Lauper's tone and vocal nuances - I wonder what she'll sound like on a non-Cyndi song? That begging display was pretty pathetic and Randy frankly telling her he didn't think she would make it and STILL letting her through was so lame! They must have had some reason to put her through ratings-wise because they see a lot of criers and beggars in there. I think it must be their desire to appeal to the younger demographic (look at how many very young contestants they're letting through). She would appeal to tweens with low self-esteem.

Naimi ("For All We Know") - what a strong voice and I like her look, too. BTW, all Tyler fans, take note: He prefers to be called "Steven"!

Jerome ("Let's Get It On") - eh, I don't know about this one. When he's good, he's good, but there were points where his voice was kind of shrill. I certainly wasn't as impressed as the judges.

Thia ("Chasing Pavements") - another mature 15-year-old who gets through. Yep, it's demographic marketing. Has to be. That said, I like her voice - but once again, it copies the nuances of the original singer (in this case, Adele). I don't think a lot these kids have their own sound and it's going to be a problem when they try to do other songs, I think. We'll see. In fact, since the first guy Scott sounds so much like Josh Turner, he probably has the same problem.

Molly ("Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay") - Harvard graduate, White House intern... girl, go back to your promising future that does not involve public humiliation! I like her voice but it's not the kind that wins AI, especially since you can already hear the tremble of nerves in it.

Haley ("Oh Darlin'") - Her voice has spirit and she has great range but it doesn't really seem distinctive to me. Every season has a girl with a voice like that. We'll see if a more distinctive sound emerges as the contest progresses.

Tiwan ("Twisting the Night Away") - Like Haley, nice voice but not distinctive - one we've heard before in past seasons. Again, we'll see.

Steve ("The Man Who Can't Be Moved") - this mature accountant will be competing against people born in 1996. He's 27, but looks older than that! Anyway, his voice IS different from your typical AI contestant. I like him, but I doubt he'll make it far.

Scott ("Dreamin'") - ok, Steven Tyler needs to stop singing before or after every contestant. I love his voice and he's cool, but it's not about him. I hope he doesn't do that while judging during the season! Now to Scott. Good voice - again, I wasn't as impressed as the judges - but like JLo, I like that he puts his body into it. The Idol contestants that stand up there stiff and trembling are not as appealing in that regard.

Alyson ("Dream On") - Remember how I said Steven was making it too much about him? His "you can could be one of my..." then going to hug her and saying "It gets better..." Woah there - what if she sucks? 'Cause he is talking about her auditioning and not something else, right? lol Luckily, she does not suck, and I like her. She does have her own sound and it's a good one. I don't blame Steven for singing at the end, though. She was doing Aerosmith! It was very cute. She didn't sound "Pitchy" to me... ah well. Having her hero Steven go last when he usually goes first and having him be the "deciding vote" seemed like a lot of fake contrived drama... but maybe I'm just cynical. I do have to say, though, if she is truly as hardcore of a fan of Steven Tyler and Aerosmith as she claims, she held it together well. I can't imagine auditioning for something like this with a member of the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac on the panel.

Chris ("Break Even") - I tried to skip his sob story, but then they wheeled out the brain-damaged girlfriend at the end of his audition (!!!) Woah. Could that be more exploitative? Sorry. I didn't think he had a strong voice despite the fact that he can hit high notes. Shoot, that poor girl.

[sodascouts]

And from last night to tonight in Nashville!

Chelsee and Rob ("To Love Somebody") - hmmm, exes auditioning together? It's the Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham of American Idol... only not nearly as awesome. Watch them get put on a team together in Hollywood, get in a fight, and create some Major! TV! Drama! lol Still, I did like their vocals.

Stormi Henley ("Father Can You Hear Me") - any relation? lol They were a bit heavy on the 'glam' shots for the former Miss Tennessee! I liked her voice well enough, but she didn't floor me.

Adrienne ("American Honey") - I wasn't moved to tears by any means, and I don't find her voice memorable. Certainly she wasn't bad, but she didn't stand out.

Jackie ("Until You Come Back to Me") - ooh, I like her voice.... but she got a little shrill at the end... eh, it's OK, I still like her. Woah, wait a sec... that gray-haired dude is her BOYFRIEND? He looks like he has three decades on her! Ick!

Paul ("Maggie May") - I like this guy - very distinctive voice - and they barely gave him ten freaking seconds, much less a prepackaged "film the guy at home with his sick grandma" bit. Seems really unfair but that's the way AI rolls.

Jimmie ("Sunday Morning") - eh. Good voice, not a standout.

Danny ("Papa was a Rolling Stone") - I don't know what to think of this guy's voice because I couldn't hear him sing over the judges in his super-short bit. Come on, judgery!! Guess we'll have to take their word for it that he's "so good."

Matt ("You Raise Me Up") - He did a Josh Groban song - successfully! Good job! But that outfit... come on. This isn't the Beverly Hillbillies.

Lauren ("Like We Never Loved At All") -And this 15-year old has a cousin with brain cancer. I feel bad for their hardships but it's just so blatantly manipulative. At least she didn't have to be wheeled out like the girl last night. I blame the producers, not these kids. The producers encourage them to tell their sob story for the drama aspect, and these desperate kids don't want to say no. That said, her voice was strong and I liked her. (Randy: "We gotta give mad props to Holly." Seriously Randy? You are too old to use the phrase "mad props".)

Next up... Austin. Is that the last audition city? I hope so. It's time to start winnowing all these people down.

[Brooke]

The show was interesting last night. My picks for the night were:

Brett-wild red hair-I thought he sounded great, but all the hair tossing was a bit much.

Scotty-that deep voice just gets me!

Paul-loved his version of Maggie Mae and thought he was really cute and different.

Jacob-wonderful Luther Vandross song.

Casey-sexy!

[Molly]

I can't believe how much Tim Halperin resembles my son. Sadly, I don't think Tim will be making the top 12.