TV Talk Discussion Group

Topic: AI RESULTS SHOW - (4/23) *SPOILER*

Sorry this is later than what Songbird puts it on. If you saw my previous post you will see that I was gone too, and had to watch my tape when I got home. So here is the night as it unfolded--

The Andrew Lloyd Webber Songbook Results Show

Group Number - "All I Ask Of You"--Very nicely done except it seems the girls are a little weak when by themselves. Afterwards, I thought that it might be my tape and listened to the video of it (I will post the links separately.) and they sounded a lot better. There just seemed to be a little problem when the girls came together with the guys but they got back on track and it sounded lovely. You could even see Sir Andrew singing a bit with them and when it was over he seemed quite pleased. He actually smiled which was more than he did last night.

RECAPS of last evening are shown

Interview with Sir Andrew: Ryan asks if the discipline of singing for television is different versus singing for the stage. Sir Andrew says that it is because on the stage you can get away with the mannerisms that you couldn't use on television, but says that because they have a live audience here, they have the combination of both. Was asked if the contestants took his advice and ALW said he thought that Jason would not have taken his advice no matter what he said. "That was probably the most curious song choice that I have ever heard in my career."

FORD video is shown -- "Tainted Love" is the song. David A. is a cartoonist and the other Idols are in his story. Some of the Idols are the villians trying to get away in their FORD and the others are like superheroes. I think, LOL! Strange commercial. Not one of my favorites.

Within Ryan's many announcements of IGB and the song contest, he tells us that starting this week there will be a limited edition of Idol stamps featuring a different Idol winner each week until this year's winner is crowned. This week's stamp features Fantasia Barrino. Net proceeds go to Idol Gives Back.

President George W. Bush & First Lady Laura Bush thank the country for donating over 65 million dollars to help so many people around our country, Africa, and in other parts of the world.

Who will be the one to leave tonight? (38 million votes)

ELIMINATIONS BEGIN

Ryan has the contestants come out in twos.

David A. - safe --Lots of screams for these two coming out together.
David C. - safe--Asked why he sang his song straight when he is known for changing things around and David C. said that ALW is "the most definable songwriter he has ever known", and David thought "what could be more unpredictable than to sing the song the way it was written."

What are past Idols doing now?--Since this is theater week, they explore what past Idol contestants are doing on Broadway this year. Diane DeGarmo is in "Hairspray", Fantasia is doing "The Color Purple" and Lakisha Jones did it before her, Tamyra Gray is appearing in "Rent" and Clay Aiken is appearing in "Spamalot. They show clips of both Tamyra and Clay as contestants on the show and now backstage at their respective theaters showing us around. Clips of them in their current roles on Broadway are also shown.

Leona Lewis (Simon's latest discovery) sings "Bleeding Love". Very well. She has an amazing voice but also reminds me of Mariah Carey. I guess I would have to hear some other songs to decide what I think about her. JMO. She is #1 in Europe and in America.

Ryan calls out Brooke and Syesha. He asks Brooke why she didn't say much last night in front of the judges. She said that because there have been times where she has interrupted the judges and she apologized for having done that so she just wanted to listen to what they had to say.

Brooke W - safe - and has a very shocked look on her face. She apparently figured that she would be the one to leave. She tells Syesha that she is sorry and Syesha tells her not to apologize. Brooke seems to still be in shock as she has to be pushed over to the couches.

Ryan then brings out Jason and Carly. After asking Carly why she chose the song she did instead of the group song that she first planned on singing, Carly said because it was "more fun, more me". She said that throughout the competition she was always choosing songs that showcased "singing ability" and now wanted to have fun. Jason was humming while Ryan is going over the judges comments on each of them. He hardly responded to Ryan's questions and said that he didn't want to sing right now. I don't know what he would have done if he had been in the Bottom 2. I've read so many sites where people don't think he really cares about this contest and after tonight, I'm beginning to believe them. I hope he does better with Neil Diamond week because I think he will be gone after that.

Jason C - safe

BOTTOM 2

Syesha and Carly both have to sing their songs over one last time. Carly reprises "Jesus Christ Superstar"--Carly's sounds the same as last night with possibly a little more yelling on the power notes. She does tell Ryan at the end of the song that she remembered all the words tonight. Last night she messed up words and the judges never called her on it. Syesha reprises "One Rock & Roll Too Many" and does a great performance again.

Syesha M - safe - and seems just as surprised as Brooke was.

Carly S is ELIMINATED --

We hear Ruben's ''Celebrate Me Home'' as a video of Carly plays.

NEXT WEEK: Neil Diamond week.

COMMENTS: I was glad that they did away with the phone call questions. I would have preferred to hear a second number by ALW but it appears these mentors just get one song and that was it. The other theme week's the group did a Dolly or Mariah number and then those two performed so why couldn't they do two ALW numbers or have someone else sing while he played for the second number. I guess I can't have everything.

I wanted to keep this as short as SB does but there were so many extras tonight so I hope you don't mind. We are down to the Top 5 now. How do you think they will all handle Neil Diamond's songs?

I'm sure with this exposure, Carly will be able to do better with an album this time around. Good Luck to her!

Songbird should be back next week for the recap.

SB, what does

"Vh, we don't need the ''Catskills'' anymore!!!" mean?

Hope you are feeling better.

Well, I was surprised to see Carly go and Syesha to be in the bottom two.  I really enjoyed Sy for the first time, finally some life.  I didn't like Carly's performance-too Celine for me, but it certainly wasn't worthy of leaving.

I really thought Jason would go.  If ever there was a time to liven up a song, this was it and he didn't do it.  Even though I thought it was his time to go, I have really started liking him even though I don't think he's delivered what he has to offer except for a few times.

I wasn't familiar with most of these songs (I know Memory, have heard You must love me and Jesus Christ Superstar a handful of times, so their original form was not particularly important or influencing to me.  I thought David C sounged great.  David A was okay but ZZZZZZZZ.  I thought Brooke did pretty well considering.  I figured her nervousness may have helped add the emotion ALW said she needed.  I was surprised she did as well as she did considering her initial blunder.

What happens in the next two weeks will determine if the finale will be totally boring or have  the potential to be interesting.

Replies: (list all replies)

vh--I will let songbird know your question and maybe she can answer next week in her new topic or if she feels better, she'll come on here. Keep checking. ~~ I was surprised to see them both also. Syesha finally had a very good performance that I was surprised to see her there and Carly, even though I didn't care for her performance, didn't think she would be there instead of Jason. I really thought that he would go plus it didn't look like he cared much for the theme or even being there yawning around like he was forced to stand there. He had time to check out what that song was about and he had the chance to change to something that would have suited him and he did neither. That shows that he could care less, to me. He did have a few good performances but mostly they seem lackluster to me. JMO. David C. did a good job on a song different than what is his usual and Brooke did well but the messing up is what is remembered most. I think the emotion she showed came from the fact that she has a husband and sang it as if she was talking to him. David A. was okay but there were songs that would have been much better for him to sing. Why take a girl's song? I think you are right about determining the finale. Hopefully it will be an interesting one. ~ eom. Linda

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Posted by: Smacks
Date posted: Thu Apr 24 13:44:23 2008
Message:

I don't watch the show every week, but I did disagree. I think Syesha did a great job Tuesday. I think her issue is that she's boring but cute. If you're attractive, you have to have some quirky element to you (e.g., Brooke) or you have to really sing well (e.g., Tamyra), or you have to be brash and/or borderline obnoxious (e.g., Jordin Sparks) or having a bubbly personality (e.g., Kimberly Locke). The point is you have to have something to root for about her. Syesha ain't got it. She's talented but bland.

What I don't like is that Brooke is still here and so is Jason. They're performances haven't been great. And I'm SICK of Brooke's whining and talking over the judges. What's Brooke's shtick--folksy pop?? Yawn. Jason is a white guy with dreads. Whoa that's original.

Does anyone else think this show blows? I started really watching in Season 2 and loved Kim Locke but Ruben and Clay were great too. Season 3 was another good one b/c it was really a tight competition there with the 3 divas. And I did like Fantasia's performances and personality. Season 4, well it started going downhill. OK so what if you find good to great singers. It only helps if you have people the audience wants to cheer on. And I'm not talking about the "I'm doing it for my child b/c I'm a single parent" crap. It makes the show less predictable, more entertaining, and fun to watch.

The 2 Davids are good this season, but pretty bland too, despite the rock n roll edge. When do we see these folks being funny? (But I may have missed it--bring it to your 90 sec. face time on Tuesday)!

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Syesha has been somewhat bland up until last week. I think she finally showed us that she does have something. Now, the problem is, can she transfer that to a regular pop song. Apparently, from what she told ALW, she has it in her head that she can't move around much while singing and get too ''animated''. I think she should do a little bit and that would give her a ''something'' about her. We'll see what she does with the Neil Diamond songs. Brooke and Jason have become pretty much predictable, so has David A. This show was a lot better when they had more amateurs. It seems going the way of professionals that didn't quite make it, thinking that would be a better show, has proven to be more boring. Everyone has already settled into the type of singer they want to be and have stayed there not wanting to try change. David C. is the only one trying to do a little different thing but even with the rock edge to any song, there still hasn't been any real standout. Yes, standout in comparison to the other performers but nothing big otherwise. I think those other seasons were, by far, better and I agree, it did start to go downhill. I was surprised that they still want to extend this show to 2010. Ratings are so down this year and it is not as original a show anymore. The only ones cheering anyone on are the pre-teens it seems. Then why, after all that you, I and a lot of others have said in complaints here, are we still watching, LOL! ~ eom. Linda

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Posted by: Dot
Date posted: Thu Apr 24 13:42:35 2008
Message:

Thank you Linda for your excellent recap of the show.

I can't believe that I am saying this, but I have become a fan of Syesha.  I did not care for her in the beginning but she has grown on me.  David A and Brook have had the opposite effect.  I started out liking them, now I would just like them to get the boot.  David Cook is by far my favourite.  I think that Jason has ''zero'' personality.  I like some of his songs, but more often than not I don't care for him.   Having said that I think that the finale is going to be the battle of ''the Davids".

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You're welcome, Dot, and thank you so much for the compliment. Just trying to help out songbird. ~~ I have liked Syesha before but have wished she would have toned down those power notes more. She tends to go off a little when she does. Same with Carly and Carly would use those power notes a lot more. I loved Syesha the other night and was glad that she was still in it to see what she really is like. Because she was so good and seems more suited to something like that, it might be better for her that she doesn't win and get tied down to doing albums when it seems that her first love is the theater. I, too, liked David A. at the beginning but am now getting bored at the constant sameness of his song choices. I wouldn't want to hear an album of 14 or 15 songs all sounding the same. Brooke, I keep going back and forth on and Jason just doesn't do it for me. I'm with you on his ''zero'' personality and lackluster attitude about the whole contest. David C., I wasn't sure of at the beginning but am liking him more (especially since Michael Johns left) because he seems to be the only one that tries to challenge himself. But I agree with you that it will probably a battle of the David's. We have a month to go to find out. ~ eom. Linda

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Posted by: Mimi
Date posted: Thu Apr 24 10:12:48 2008
Message:
Does Syesha have something over Nigel or what? Why is she still here?

Jason yawning and later faking anxiety once he realized the camera was on him - priceless, I cannot say I would buy his album (I am not a Jack Johnson or John Mayer fan), but other than David Cook, he is the last redeemable thing about the show, if only for his personality.

What does piss me off is the fact that they had to use ALW to further praise Brooke for her amazingness and then proceed to have him back the truck over Jason some more. We get it. He sucked last night. Move on. You don't like dreads. We know. Jason even thought he was going home.

I cannot say I am shocked that Carly left. She always seemed way too desperate and screechy for me. She has had a few middle of the road performances, but nothing that really stood out to me. I do think she should of lasted longer than Syesha and Brooke though.

Gah! Leona Lewis singing "Bleeding Love". Blech!

ArchuD2 must be stopped - I cannot. handle. his. damn. nonterviews. Little David makes Castro sound like Maya Angelou. Hate. I hate David Archuleta's whole deal now - so thanks for that show - I'm now mentally kicking a puppy.

When Randy stated that it was a bit of a popularity vote tonight rather than a talent based vote...Oooohh, I wanted to throw things at my TV. Hmmmm. Maybe if you people actually judged the show instead of pimp your favorites or slam your "non-sellables" when they aren't that bad, these things, they might not backlash so much, no?

I am so sick of Brooke and her meltdowns.

I know Jason will not win, but I guess I want to see him get a wee bit further in the competition. I really just want him to last longer then Syesha and Brooke. Since Michael Johns left, it has been DCook and Jason and a bunch a people I could care less about.

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Yes, I completely agree about Syesha. I do not understand how she keeps getting saved! She did okay Tuesday night because she is comfortable with theatre performance but IMO she should have been gone awhile ago. Her body of work just isn't consistent enough to justify her being there over Michael Johns and poor Carly who got the boot last night. Arg! It's just like leave already lol but at this rate I'm wondering if she'll make it to the final three (horrific, definitely not deserved IMO) Anyways so I adore Jason. He is just so funny. Like obviously when he said he didn't want to sing it meant, singing means i'm in the bottom 2 lol so why would I want to do that. It's just so funny. The boys seem to be doing much better than the girls this year for sure. Linds EOM

Syesha probably will be around in the final three. Usually someone who should not have been in the top three makes it there. I fully expect that DCook will be out fourth or fifth and be the 'shocking' boot. While I do not think Jason should win. I love his personality. He always says something to crack me up. I would like to him last longer than Syesha and her screaming. eom Mimi

Syesha just took over for Kristy, I think. I have never seen so many people go so many times in the Bottom 3, now 2 and not leave. Kristy was four times before she left, and Syesha, if it wasn't for her performance the other night maybe would have gone but now has passed up Kristy by one. Carly was the next one in line by having been in the bottom three times so I wasn't shocked that she was there especially after her performance. Syesha was way better than her that night. That was Syesha's element. Carly still doesn't know where she fits. Carly just oversang that song. It needs power but not as much as she put into it plus she messed up the words. The back-up singers were singing one way and she was going completely different. She admitted it herself in her singout on the results show that she finally remembered the words. The only thing with her was that she went on because it was in the middle of the song. You can't really start a song over at that point. Brooke was right at the beginning so it was okay for her to start over. The trouble is, it was her second time which looked bad for her. Carly's problem was that there were a lot of people out there who knew that song and did not like what she did to it and how she messed it up. I was surprised myself that the judges didn't say anything to her about the words. Maybe they wanted her to go, that's why they finally gave her a really good review. Simon himself said that he probably gave her the ''kiss of death'' by telling her she had a good performance. As for Jason--Why is HE still there? He is so breathy all the time. I'm afraid he is going to collapse on stage because he can't get enough breath to make it through a long note. And then to not know anything about the song he is singing? He has known the song choices for weeks and could have researched what his song was about. ALW told him not to sing the song. It was not right for him, but he did it anyway and it almost got him into the Bottom 2. I think his ''cuteness'' saved him. But I would hate for him to win because he is funny or cute. Personality alone is not going to sell records. I don't know whether Brooke is trying to get a sympathy vote or what, but no matter if it is her or David A., I'm tired of the judges-or in Brooke's case, ALW-fawning over these people instead of treating them more equal. Criticize, yes, but don't go giving them the crown way beforehand. I hated Randy the other night yelling that David A. was ''the one to beat''. Yet tell Syesha that she had the ''performance of the night''. You can see by the ''little girls'' that came up to hug David A. that these are the main voters and that's why Michael Johns left before Syesha. I agree with Linds that MJ should have stayed longer than Carly too, but look who is voting. Neil Diamond week might get rid of Syesha. If Jason picks the right song, he could last another week. I'm getting fed up with most of them sounding the same every week and nothing outstanding. If David C. makes the final 2, I'm not sure if I want him to win or not. Sometimes I think it would be better if he comes in second. He might have a better opportunity that way and if David A. is the winner, let the record people figure out how to market him and deal with his father. Maybe TPTB will all learn from this and do things differently next year. One can only hope, LOL! ~ eom. Linda

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Posted by: Linda
Date posted: Thu Apr 24 4:58:13 2008
Message:

As I said above, I would post the extra links separately. Here is the more detailed recap link - The Top 5 Revealed! at http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TV-Show-Blog/American-Idol/American-Idol-Facts/800038212

And the video link in case you missed the show or would like to see the Group Number, Leona Lewis' performance, the Ford commercial or any of the eliminations over again. Go to - Season 7 Top 6 Results - Recap at http://mjsbigblog.com/season-7-top-6-results-recap.htm

Don't forget more Idol News next week!

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