What's the biggest lie constantly heard on American Idol?
What's the biggest lie constantly heard on "American Idol"?
From MSNBC. The article is VERY interesting and I can't help but comment on it.
"This is a singing competition."
Well, it's not a complete lie. After all, the judges were in complete control until the Top36 so I'll give it to them that they have narrowed thousands of hopefuls to 36 who can REALLY sing. But when control goes to America, that's when this becomes less of a singing competition and more of a popularity contest. Or answering the question, "Who has the bigger fanbase?"
Take Anoop for example. Sure the dude can sing but if I had control over everything, I would've voted him off with Jasmine during Michael Jackson week instead of Jorge. After this week's "frat boy dare" performance, I keep on seeing on blogs/discussions, "Oh I'm voting for Anoop because he's so adorkable and I wub him so much." Uh.. singing, guys? Forgive me, but even SCOTT did a better job than him.
And for the girls, Megan Joy. She has the VFTW vote. The reason(s) Simon said she's one of his favorites is now a distant memory.
"This is the most talented group ever!"
Subjective. Talent is not only their ability to play multiple instruments while singing. If that's it, then Season 7 is the most talented group. But how about seasons 1 to 6? No instruments allowed.
Evaluating this season's crop, there are (so far) 3 pianists, 3 guitarists, an actor/dancer, a font designer (that's a talent haha), and... some moms (for the lack of anything else to say.
"Country music is about telling stories."
It ain't no lie, boy. Bring on the LULZ with hardcore country music, y'all! "Independence Day" is about domestic violence ("but Daddy left a proof on her cheek"). "Last Name" is about getting wasted and pulling a Britney in Vegas. "Before He Cheats" is about destruction of property. "Goodbye Earl" is about organized crime. "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" is from GTA San Andreas. Haha.
"You can't touch Whitney/Celine/Aretha/etc."
I guess they say this because contestants who sing Whitney/Celine/Aretha/Mariah songs run the risk of being copycat and/or below par. The least, and at times the ONLY thing they can do is do the songs justice. They will ALWAYS be compared to the original whether they like it or not. Unless you're a guy and put your own spin on it like David Hernandez on "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and David Cook on "Always be My Baby". I remember the judges liking Fantasia's "Greatest Love of All" because out of the 3-4 remaining, she's the only one that was good.
"This is my only chance!"
In today's business, if you don't have the right connections; if you're not attractive/rich enough - American Idol MIGHT be your ONLY chance of being seen. Making it big is another thing. In today's music business, never mind the REAL talent. Just look pretty and let the synthesizers do all the work for you.
"You could sing the phone book."
Imagine: "Anderson, Alton 555-0110.... ooohh yeah... Andres, Natalie 555-1254..." NO. They said Allison can sing the phone book. Huh? I can't even IMAGINE her singing a mere ballad. You know, along the lines of what Adam did, one week it's crazy and the next it's mellow.
I'm not saying Adam CAN sing the phone book (well, he probably could if given the chance). I'm just saying that it depends on the voice. Lil and Allison are great when they are RIGHT THERE in their genres but stray but a little, especially for Miss Rounds, and it's a trainwreck.
"I want to be an inspiration to others."
Why not? In America, or so I'm told, the dream is to make it big. Everyone wants to make it big. If a particular contestant is doing great on Idol - coming from a small town and all - then people with the same situations can get inspired. The contestants need not say it out loud that they want to be an inspiration to others to be one.
Look at Carrie Underwood. From a small town, never been on a plane before... ended up being the winner and an Opry member. Aspiring country singers from her part of town can get inspiration from that. And Adam Lambert said it once or twice, that he wants to inspire "that weird kid in school who gets picked on... that you can do something with your life".
"Forgetting the lyrics is inexcusable."
Yes. The reason why, particularly Filipino singers seldom forget the lyrics is because I doubt they memorize it at all. That's what teleprompters are for (thus CRAP-performances). But it's different on Idol. Ryan might have a prompter but when it comes to the contestants, they have to marry singing AND performing. Looking blankly at a teleprompter doesn't count as performance.
But if you can get away with forgetting the lyrics with inventive adlibs (or choosing a VERY obscure song), props for you.
The Ford "music video."
Is an example why American Idol contestants SHOULD NOT perform/record a song together. The kids are WAAAAY too conscious of the camera and quite frankly, uncomfortable.
"I had fun up there."
Hey why not? Some do look like they're having fun. But hah, the sound of denial. I often hear this line after a particularly BAD performance such as "Beat It" and anything Haley Scarnato. But Adam did say it after his "Play the Funky Music" thing and it DID look like fun. To level it up with Anoop, his "My Prerogative" did seem fun.
"I'm not being rude."
Says Simon. Well, yes and no. Simon is English and he's in America. Sure, the same language but different cultures. What might seem okay in the UK might be rude in US, and vice-versa.
What IS rude is the contestants talking back... even going as far as questioning and cutting off the judges at mid-sentence. Lil Rounds, Alexis Grace, and Michael Sarver, I'm looking at you.
"You're going to regret not putting me through."
Says Ricky Braddy. Him > Michael Sarver. Him > Anoop Desai. Him > Matt Giraud.
"You've got a huge career ahead of you."
Remains to be seen. It's all in luck. Fanbases, especially those riddled with YOUNGER ONES, are as fickle as fickle is. They're with you while Idol is airing... but once that's over, they'll move on to the next David or the next cute guy.
And besides, "career" is not restricted to just singing. There's musical theater, screen acting, hosting. It's in the contestant's hands -- what to do with the opportunity and exposure given to them.
"I want this more than anyone has ever wanted anything before."
Why not? Some cry, lose sleep, starve, bleed, kill for it. Some of them already are recording artists or have music as their bread and butter.
"You're current."
Again, it's subjective. There are so many genres of music and each genre does have a "current" sound. I think the more appropriate term is TREND. Adam Lambert is praised as being "the most current" of the lot. Sure, I can see that he's right there along these Fall Out Boy, Jonas Brothers... "rockers". But I consider Kris Allen also current. Old-fashioned are Scott and Sarver. Allison and Matt are bordering on copycat-ish really, for me. Megan... is DIFFERENT.
The lines the judges throw out on American Idol are almost scripted at times. Randy's "pitchy, da bomb, and check it out, baby" became taglines ala Paris Hilton's "that's hot". Now, it's "From day one... you're the most current... you got that fals up there..." especially for Adam. For Paula, the word was "niche". And of course, Kara... keep them numbers away from her.
There are more WTF moments/lines from the judges and the show in general. I'll look out for them and comment if I feel like it.
From MSNBC. The article is VERY interesting and I can't help but comment on it.
"This is a singing competition."
Well, it's not a complete lie. After all, the judges were in complete control until the Top36 so I'll give it to them that they have narrowed thousands of hopefuls to 36 who can REALLY sing. But when control goes to America, that's when this becomes less of a singing competition and more of a popularity contest. Or answering the question, "Who has the bigger fanbase?"
Take Anoop for example. Sure the dude can sing but if I had control over everything, I would've voted him off with Jasmine during Michael Jackson week instead of Jorge. After this week's "frat boy dare" performance, I keep on seeing on blogs/discussions, "Oh I'm voting for Anoop because he's so adorkable and I wub him so much." Uh.. singing, guys? Forgive me, but even SCOTT did a better job than him.
And for the girls, Megan Joy. She has the VFTW vote. The reason(s) Simon said she's one of his favorites is now a distant memory.
"This is the most talented group ever!"
Subjective. Talent is not only their ability to play multiple instruments while singing. If that's it, then Season 7 is the most talented group. But how about seasons 1 to 6? No instruments allowed.
Evaluating this season's crop, there are (so far) 3 pianists, 3 guitarists, an actor/dancer, a font designer (that's a talent haha), and... some moms (for the lack of anything else to say.
"Country music is about telling stories."
It ain't no lie, boy. Bring on the LULZ with hardcore country music, y'all! "Independence Day" is about domestic violence ("but Daddy left a proof on her cheek"). "Last Name" is about getting wasted and pulling a Britney in Vegas. "Before He Cheats" is about destruction of property. "Goodbye Earl" is about organized crime. "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" is from GTA San Andreas. Haha.
"You can't touch Whitney/Celine/Aretha/etc."
I guess they say this because contestants who sing Whitney/Celine/Aretha/Mariah songs run the risk of being copycat and/or below par. The least, and at times the ONLY thing they can do is do the songs justice. They will ALWAYS be compared to the original whether they like it or not. Unless you're a guy and put your own spin on it like David Hernandez on "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and David Cook on "Always be My Baby". I remember the judges liking Fantasia's "Greatest Love of All" because out of the 3-4 remaining, she's the only one that was good.
"This is my only chance!"
In today's business, if you don't have the right connections; if you're not attractive/rich enough - American Idol MIGHT be your ONLY chance of being seen. Making it big is another thing. In today's music business, never mind the REAL talent. Just look pretty and let the synthesizers do all the work for you.
"You could sing the phone book."
Imagine: "Anderson, Alton 555-0110.... ooohh yeah... Andres, Natalie 555-1254..." NO. They said Allison can sing the phone book. Huh? I can't even IMAGINE her singing a mere ballad. You know, along the lines of what Adam did, one week it's crazy and the next it's mellow.
I'm not saying Adam CAN sing the phone book (well, he probably could if given the chance). I'm just saying that it depends on the voice. Lil and Allison are great when they are RIGHT THERE in their genres but stray but a little, especially for Miss Rounds, and it's a trainwreck.
"I want to be an inspiration to others."
Why not? In America, or so I'm told, the dream is to make it big. Everyone wants to make it big. If a particular contestant is doing great on Idol - coming from a small town and all - then people with the same situations can get inspired. The contestants need not say it out loud that they want to be an inspiration to others to be one.
Look at Carrie Underwood. From a small town, never been on a plane before... ended up being the winner and an Opry member. Aspiring country singers from her part of town can get inspiration from that. And Adam Lambert said it once or twice, that he wants to inspire "that weird kid in school who gets picked on... that you can do something with your life".
"Forgetting the lyrics is inexcusable."
Yes. The reason why, particularly Filipino singers seldom forget the lyrics is because I doubt they memorize it at all. That's what teleprompters are for (thus CRAP-performances). But it's different on Idol. Ryan might have a prompter but when it comes to the contestants, they have to marry singing AND performing. Looking blankly at a teleprompter doesn't count as performance.
But if you can get away with forgetting the lyrics with inventive adlibs (or choosing a VERY obscure song), props for you.
The Ford "music video."
Is an example why American Idol contestants SHOULD NOT perform/record a song together. The kids are WAAAAY too conscious of the camera and quite frankly, uncomfortable.
"I had fun up there."
Hey why not? Some do look like they're having fun. But hah, the sound of denial. I often hear this line after a particularly BAD performance such as "Beat It" and anything Haley Scarnato. But Adam did say it after his "Play the Funky Music" thing and it DID look like fun. To level it up with Anoop, his "My Prerogative" did seem fun.
"I'm not being rude."
Says Simon. Well, yes and no. Simon is English and he's in America. Sure, the same language but different cultures. What might seem okay in the UK might be rude in US, and vice-versa.
What IS rude is the contestants talking back... even going as far as questioning and cutting off the judges at mid-sentence. Lil Rounds, Alexis Grace, and Michael Sarver, I'm looking at you.
"You're going to regret not putting me through."
Says Ricky Braddy. Him > Michael Sarver. Him > Anoop Desai. Him > Matt Giraud.
"You've got a huge career ahead of you."
Remains to be seen. It's all in luck. Fanbases, especially those riddled with YOUNGER ONES, are as fickle as fickle is. They're with you while Idol is airing... but once that's over, they'll move on to the next David or the next cute guy.
And besides, "career" is not restricted to just singing. There's musical theater, screen acting, hosting. It's in the contestant's hands -- what to do with the opportunity and exposure given to them.
"I want this more than anyone has ever wanted anything before."
Why not? Some cry, lose sleep, starve, bleed, kill for it. Some of them already are recording artists or have music as their bread and butter.
"You're current."
Again, it's subjective. There are so many genres of music and each genre does have a "current" sound. I think the more appropriate term is TREND. Adam Lambert is praised as being "the most current" of the lot. Sure, I can see that he's right there along these Fall Out Boy, Jonas Brothers... "rockers". But I consider Kris Allen also current. Old-fashioned are Scott and Sarver. Allison and Matt are bordering on copycat-ish really, for me. Megan... is DIFFERENT.
The lines the judges throw out on American Idol are almost scripted at times. Randy's "pitchy, da bomb, and check it out, baby" became taglines ala Paris Hilton's "that's hot". Now, it's "From day one... you're the most current... you got that fals up there..." especially for Adam. For Paula, the word was "niche". And of course, Kara... keep them numbers away from her.
There are more WTF moments/lines from the judges and the show in general. I'll look out for them and comment if I feel like it.