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American Idol 2007
- Thread starter leekohler
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Simon actually went as far as to say that he'd quit if Sanjaya actually won the whole thing.
Good- because I'd quit watching if he won.
i think this particular show is looking for a huge star, yet a short term "idol" which could go the way of david cassidy or leif garrett (or similar type of star)
we are not looking for the next yes, fleetwood mac, rolling stones, michael jackson, or diana ross
but maybe one of the top 12 from one of the seasons will have a high profile 20 or 30 year career, but that remains to be seen
what makes the music industry so interesting is that you have the long careers and the one hit wonders, and rock and roll would not be the same if it was missing either
long live american idol, even if sanjaya wins...he's still technically a better singer than mick jagger, gene simmons, or neil young (who i think are great for other reasons than their singing ability)
if sanjaya is groomed to have a show which includes a lot of pyrotechnics and dancing, i am sure teeny bopper girls would flock to it...he has that type of appeal
'Idol' Stakes High If Sanjaya Wins
Mohawk-Wearing Singer Survives Another Week
By EDNA GUNDERSEN, USA Today
(March 28) - The question tantalizes and terrorizes American Idol viewers: What if Sanjaya wins?
The toothy teen with the big hair - crafted into a fauxhawk Tuesday night - and minimal voice sailed into the top 10 last week, ensuring a spot on this summer's Idol tour. His timid version of No Doubt's 'Bath Water' this week baffled the judges but nonetheless pleased viewers. He didn't even crack the bottom three, vaulting the Seattle native into the top nine.
In the short run, his presence makes for spirited debate, but if Sanjaya Malakar, 17, is standing in the winner's circle, "it would destroy credibility the show's built up in the past five seasons," music consultant Tom Vickers says. "Instead of 30 million viewers a week, it might draw 20 million."
A Sanjaya victory "will ruin the show," says fan Catherine Schloss of Folsom, Calif. "If he wins, I really don't think American Idol will be back."
Says Bryce Smart of Seattle, "The franchise would be cheapened greatly, perhaps beyond repair." He says Idol's integrity would be shattered if Sanjaya wins or even outlasts a superior talent such as LaKisha.
Radio host Howard Stern and votefortheworst.com have rallied Sanjaya support, but they "have very little influence when you're talking about 30 million votes," says Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. "People with talent have always won it. We've lost really good people a little too early, and sometimes the Sanjayas, Chicken Littles and John Stevens have lasted a little longer perhaps."
An upset isn't unprecedented. The Eurovision song contest that launched ABBA globally in 1974 shocked many when voters gave the 2006 prize to Finnish horror metal group Lordi.
In addition to prank voters, Sanjaya draws tweens (such as last week's tearful fan Ashley Ferl). "Who's swooning? That little chick and millions just like her," says Idol blogger Cole Bronn (coledishesonidol.blogspot.com). "Sanjaya won a million votes with his sobbing when his sister got axed. What girl doesn't want that sweet guy to keep going? He'll never stomp your heart, will hang with you at the mall and hula-hoop with you into the sunset. He's got McDreamy hair. Oh, by the way, he sings OK."
OK enough to record a marketable album? Possibly, says USA TODAY's Idol coach Don Waller, suggesting the enlistment of Swedish pop maestro Max Martin, who propelled 'N Sync and Britney Spears.
"I see Sanjaya as a Leif Garrett or Shaun Cassidy. He can talk-sing light ballads and uptempo kid-friendly pop. Since looks are a big part of the sales job, they've got to take pages out of bubblegum. He has to do wistful puppy love stuff, no double entendres. Crotch-grabbing is a disconnect.
"I'm sure (BMG chief) Clive Davis can throw an army of producers at the kid. The guy can't sing? What's new? This archetype keeps coming back."
Mohawk-Wearing Singer Survives Another Week
By EDNA GUNDERSEN, USA Today
(March 28) - The question tantalizes and terrorizes American Idol viewers: What if Sanjaya wins?
The toothy teen with the big hair - crafted into a fauxhawk Tuesday night - and minimal voice sailed into the top 10 last week, ensuring a spot on this summer's Idol tour. His timid version of No Doubt's 'Bath Water' this week baffled the judges but nonetheless pleased viewers. He didn't even crack the bottom three, vaulting the Seattle native into the top nine.
In the short run, his presence makes for spirited debate, but if Sanjaya Malakar, 17, is standing in the winner's circle, "it would destroy credibility the show's built up in the past five seasons," music consultant Tom Vickers says. "Instead of 30 million viewers a week, it might draw 20 million."
A Sanjaya victory "will ruin the show," says fan Catherine Schloss of Folsom, Calif. "If he wins, I really don't think American Idol will be back."
Says Bryce Smart of Seattle, "The franchise would be cheapened greatly, perhaps beyond repair." He says Idol's integrity would be shattered if Sanjaya wins or even outlasts a superior talent such as LaKisha.
Radio host Howard Stern and votefortheworst.com have rallied Sanjaya support, but they "have very little influence when you're talking about 30 million votes," says Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. "People with talent have always won it. We've lost really good people a little too early, and sometimes the Sanjayas, Chicken Littles and John Stevens have lasted a little longer perhaps."
An upset isn't unprecedented. The Eurovision song contest that launched ABBA globally in 1974 shocked many when voters gave the 2006 prize to Finnish horror metal group Lordi.
In addition to prank voters, Sanjaya draws tweens (such as last week's tearful fan Ashley Ferl). "Who's swooning? That little chick and millions just like her," says Idol blogger Cole Bronn (coledishesonidol.blogspot.com). "Sanjaya won a million votes with his sobbing when his sister got axed. What girl doesn't want that sweet guy to keep going? He'll never stomp your heart, will hang with you at the mall and hula-hoop with you into the sunset. He's got McDreamy hair. Oh, by the way, he sings OK."
OK enough to record a marketable album? Possibly, says USA TODAY's Idol coach Don Waller, suggesting the enlistment of Swedish pop maestro Max Martin, who propelled 'N Sync and Britney Spears.
"I see Sanjaya as a Leif Garrett or Shaun Cassidy. He can talk-sing light ballads and uptempo kid-friendly pop. Since looks are a big part of the sales job, they've got to take pages out of bubblegum. He has to do wistful puppy love stuff, no double entendres. Crotch-grabbing is a disconnect.
"I'm sure (BMG chief) Clive Davis can throw an army of producers at the kid. The guy can't sing? What's new? This archetype keeps coming back."
Bye bye Sligh. I guess the vote for the worst.com strategy backfired- that and singing badly. Haley is next, then Phil. I actually think Sanjaya has a few more weeks.
there were times i thought chris sligh would be the last male standing, but that isn't saying much at all
haley is cute but she got lucky...and her "cute" factor saved her as it did with sanjaya
i know both haley and sanjaya have a certain x-factor, but i still wish just plain vocal ability would factor in over 50% percent for this competition
anything can happen and that's what i really believed the year carrie underwood beat bo bice
and when katherine mcphee got into the finals over better singers, then i realized that this may not actually be a singing competition like simon wants it to be
...but at least the show is not called "american singer"
and while i don't like fame or grease as much, at least those contestants have to have a decent voice...even star search finds better singers most of the time and that could be due to the target audience of american idol (like tweens mentioned from the above article) who may control the voting on this show
if i were a marketing exec, i would pay very close attention to what these tweens are buying because they don't have any issue calling into idol at 95 cents a call, maybe over and over each week
haley is cute but she got lucky...and her "cute" factor saved her as it did with sanjaya
i know both haley and sanjaya have a certain x-factor, but i still wish just plain vocal ability would factor in over 50% percent for this competition
anything can happen and that's what i really believed the year carrie underwood beat bo bice
and when katherine mcphee got into the finals over better singers, then i realized that this may not actually be a singing competition like simon wants it to be
...but at least the show is not called "american singer"
and while i don't like fame or grease as much, at least those contestants have to have a decent voice...even star search finds better singers most of the time and that could be due to the target audience of american idol (like tweens mentioned from the above article) who may control the voting on this show
if i were a marketing exec, i would pay very close attention to what these tweens are buying because they don't have any issue calling into idol at 95 cents a call, maybe over and over each week
Yep, Haley's getting the guys with her legs the same way Sanjaya's getting the girls with his hair and smile. I don't really like Haley's voice though. Now if it were a legs competition, I'd definitely vote for Haley.
Ehh... The calls are toll-free, so that's probably the text messaging charge. I'm not entirely sure if they charge for texts or not, though.
Yep, Haley's getting the guys with her legs the same way Sanjaya's getting the girls with his hair and smile. I don't really like Haley's voice though. Now if it were a legs competition, I'd definitely vote for Haley.
Ehh... The calls are toll-free, so that's probably the text messaging charge. I'm not entirely sure if they charge for texts or not, though.
i have never called or text messaged in but i thought at least one of those was 95 cents and that it was a good pile of money each week for idol
Sanjaya must die!
I'm so sick of that untalented kid. He makes me want pull my hair out. Simon has even given up critiquing his performances. Never the less, he will be around another week, I'm afraid.
I think this could be it for Haley or maybe Phil.
Once again, I think Melinda gave the performance of the night.
I'm so sick of that untalented kid. He makes me want pull my hair out. Simon has even given up critiquing his performances. Never the less, he will be around another week, I'm afraid.
I think this could be it for Haley or maybe Phil.
Once again, I think Melinda gave the performance of the night.
pardon me, but I thought Tony Bennet was about as useful as limp rag last night.
I didnt think Phil was that bad but he might go home tonight.
I didnt think Phil was that bad but he might go home tonight.
But, but, but, but... what about all the tween girls who love him? And his personality, man! He's just so damn charming! If that doesn't win a personality contest like AI, then what does?!
Also i thought Haley pissed off randy and paula with her comments to ryan last night. She made it sound as if Simon's opinion was the only one that counted.
I agree- it's bye-bye Haley or Phil. Sanjaya does need to be killed. Ms Lakisha slipped a bit last night for me- OK, but not great.
1. Melinda
2. Jordin
3. Blake
4. Lakisha
Gina was good too- she gets an honorable mention.
Well...all you Sanjaya haters might be pleased to hear this:
My little nephew called and asked me to vote for Sanjaya because it was too easy to get through last night (apparently he's voted every week and has always had trouble getting through for the first hour, last night he called me about 15 minutes after the program ended saying "something horrible is happening...help!"). Poor little dude, he was all in a panic over it.
My little nephew called and asked me to vote for Sanjaya because it was too easy to get through last night (apparently he's voted every week and has always had trouble getting through for the first hour, last night he called me about 15 minutes after the program ended saying "something horrible is happening...help!"). Poor little dude, he was all in a panic over it.
Please tell me you didn't vote for him.
BTW- It was relatively easy for me to get through for a lot of people last night. Well, it took forever to vote for Melinda and Blake, but everybody else was easy.
I was actually thinking about it, until he said "Sanjaya is my hero"...then I just couldn't...why should he look up to Sanjaya when he can have more respectable heroes like Wilson Cruz, Bryan Singer or, heck, even John Waters.
I agree- it's bye-bye Haley or Phil. Sanjaya does need to be killed. Ms Lakisha slipped a bit last night for me- OK, but not great.
1. Melinda
2. Jordin
3. Blake
4. Lakisha
Gina was good too- she gets an honorable mention.
blake is hit and miss with me, but i know he can be good and is always better than sanjaya and former idol contestant chris
melinda and lakisha are always very good, even if they are not at their best
jordin is a top four at best, but not this year's idol, unless she really steps it up somehow (and i would like to see her do that)
gina is pretty and has stage presence, and like blake, she can hit it on some nights, but not as much as him...at very, very best she can make top four but if that happened people would be screaming for her to get kicked off the way they are harping on sanjaya
i think gina, and sanjaya, can only sing rock tunes with any validity...the rest can do rock and some other styles, and maybe only melinda can do everything well and pull it off...i can't picture lakisha doing heart or pat benatar
but back to bath mouthing sanjaya...he he
some time back, people were saying how bad antonella was as a singer
point is, the three judges, and america put our top 12 where they are and it would be hard to think that any of them are bad singers...however, every year most of the top 12 are nowhere near being crowned the idol for the season
i wish the judges were better in their screening process from now on so we wouldn't get singers who made the top 12 who were obviously less seasoned than the others (simon is a great producer and music businessman, randy a great bassist and he could sing, and paula a great singer and dancer, but obviously none of them are really good judges and the likes of antonella and sanjaya making it to hollywood are exampes of that since the judges are solely responsible up to that point)
the judges need to get real who and who they don't send to hollywood
what a great season it would be if all 12 were great and worth of being chart topping stars
Part of me wants Sanjaya to win just because it would remove American idiot from the air because Simon stated that if Sanjaya won he would quite and with Simon there is no American Idol. They just are making fun of people on national television.
That and it is funny seeing how the judges have just completely given up on Sanjaya and do not even attempted to comment any more. I honestly do not think Sanjaya will win and Fox will make sure of it. I mean how hard would it be for them to fact the results. There really would be no way to prove it and I would not be surprised at all to see fox pull that stunt just to keep the show going.
As for Sanjaya he has 2 things going for him right now. He has that little teenage crowd going for him who for some reason thinks he is good and he as Votefortheworse.com rooting for him so he getting votes their like crazy as well.
That and it is funny seeing how the judges have just completely given up on Sanjaya and do not even attempted to comment any more. I honestly do not think Sanjaya will win and Fox will make sure of it. I mean how hard would it be for them to fact the results. There really would be no way to prove it and I would not be surprised at all to see fox pull that stunt just to keep the show going.
As for Sanjaya he has 2 things going for him right now. He has that little teenage crowd going for him who for some reason thinks he is good and he as Votefortheworse.com rooting for him so he getting votes their like crazy as well.
If you don't like the show, don't watch it. For someone who seems to hate it as much as you do, it sure seems as if you know a lot about it. So you must watch right? Why put yourself through it?
I think Phil had a good performance last night, I liked Gina's too. I have never heard so many backhanded comments before then what the judges gave Sanjaya last night. Randy saying I can't even comment on the singing anymore but will say you are a good entertainer. I don't get why the judges are so upset, after all they did pick these people. Maybe if they picked talented singers then we would have a good show. I think this years talent is far worse then years past.
please please please
let Sanjaya go.
Or Phil or Haley.
I did not think Gina's was great, but I think she does better with rock songs.
If she makes top 5, that would be nice.
Top 3 - Melinda, Jordin, Lakisha
I think it is a toss up between Chris and Blake as to who is better, but I think at least one of them will make it to final 3, just because too many people will vote for a guy "just to have a guy in there".
let Sanjaya go.
Or Phil or Haley.
I did not think Gina's was great, but I think she does better with rock songs.
If she makes top 5, that would be nice.
Top 3 - Melinda, Jordin, Lakisha
I think it is a toss up between Chris and Blake as to who is better, but I think at least one of them will make it to final 3, just because too many people will vote for a guy "just to have a guy in there".
Support must be growing for that sentiment. Haley ("Legs") Scarnato lives to strut her stuff another week. As to the continuing Sanjayay phenomenon, reporter George Lewis of NBC Nightly News provided these reasons for his survival in his report last night.
1. The effect he seemingly has on the prepubescent set ... 2. Howard Stern exhorting his listeners to vote for him in order to damage the show's credibility ... 3. The likely existence of large phone banks operating from India that register many votes for him every week.
I like 17 year old Jordin Sparks and believe she has a decent chance of making it to the final four or beyond. Much praise is regularly bestowed upon Melinda and Lakisha, but there are weeks I feel they are somewhat overrated.