American Idol Review: California Dreamin' Comments (Page 2)
22 Comments
Steve T
May 10th, 2012 10:03 AM
...the show has reduced itself to this and I mostly blame the judges. The theme nights are very hit-and-miss. I think this year's talent has be somewhat wasted, which really is too bad.
Steve T
May 10th, 2012 9:54 AM
It's interesting that I was thinking last night, just like Robert D, that Simon is horribly missed on this show. The judges are basically useless as mentors... they have reduced themselves to fans. Randy is generally the only one with the guts to attempt to critisize, but then backs off if the audience boos. Based on last night's performances, I'd guess it will be Hollie who packs it in tonight (but, her songs were definitely not "butchered"). The odd thing is all of these kids can sing, but I'm not pulling hard for any of them specifically, anymore. They are all good enough to do something significant in the industry... but the judges comments like "one of the best in America" and "best in the last 50 years" are a bit much and way to early to contend. And, I'm not duped by fake emotion that equates to the pained face of a Russian figure skater. Most of the duets and most guests are only moderately entertaining, equating to fill-time. I think it's dissapointing that the show has redu
Robert D
May 10th, 2012 7:55 AM
(continued).... last night's spellbinding rendition of Damien Rice's Volcano! It was awseome!!! Mt wife and I had never heard that before and we were both blown away. We listned to the mp3 after the show and it sounded amazing!!! I hope people "get it" these next couple weeks, and vote for someone who has some originality as an artist, someone who is not a one-trick-pony, someone who has demonstrated versatility and musicianship and range as a singer and an artist!
Robert D
May 10th, 2012 7:47 AM
Joshua is a very talented young man, but he has shown ZERO in the way of versatility throughout this competition. Every week, every song, its basically the same thing, the same "formula" every song. He'll bring the choir out, growl, scream, and the judges melt and cheer, give him his standing ovations, tell him how wonderful he is. Basically do what JUDGES are not supposed to do! Pick favorites and openly root and lobby for them. I can't help thinking that if Simon were still judging, he would have had some harsh things to say about Mr Ladet. Tell him, and the blind masses, that Joshua needs to show more versatility, and range and show he's not just this one-trick-pony he's proven himself to be every week, every song!
Phillip is somone I can imagine writing, and making music that matters. Interesting music, different music, music with variety, and freshness that people will buy. He's anything BUT a one-trick-pony. He's sung songs from Usher to Genesis, to Billy Joel, to last night
Miranda Wicker Rank: Staff Member
May 10th, 2012 7:17 AM
@Tim--she's not "my" Hollie. I pan her just as often as I pan Jessica.
@Terrie--I think you bring up an interesting point about the songs. I think that for some of them, it's not that we're complacent with the originals. It's that we love them so much as they are that unless something really amazing is done with them, we're biased against what basically amounts to karaoke.
@meg816--I totally agree with you that the last two performances were self-indulgent. (And I agree with whomever said they both growl.) The difference is that Joshua seems genuinely humble and shocked that people like him this much. Jessica's so confident it's coming off as cocky and arrogant.
Tim
May 10th, 2012 6:12 AM
Again, I still don't understand your harshness with Jessica. Could be because she's way better than your Hollie, eh?
Terrie Rank: Regular Character
May 10th, 2012 12:45 AM
Jessica's second performance was a bit better than her first. I still feel she is WAYYYYYYYYY over confident and over sings a lot. She's getting to where she screams as well........
I feel it's between Phillip, Joshua, and Jessica and I think Hollie goes home this week...........I will be shocked if it is any different...........
Terrie Rank: Regular Character
May 10th, 2012 12:42 AM
Hollie, unfortunately, butchered bother her songs.........especially "I can't make you love me" ..that arrangement pretty much sucked and was more up tempo than the original...........she should definitely be leaving tomorrow night..........
I really didn't care for the duets.........they seem forced. Maybe if the songs were actually duet songs it may have played out differently.
I'm sorry but I liked Juliet Simms from The Voice version of "This is a man's world" better than Joshua's. I wish he could get through one week WITHOUT screaming!!!!!!!!!!!! I do, however, give Joshua kudos for the emotion he put into it.
One last thought.......Do any of you think we, as the audience, have become so complacent with the original versions of songs that we find it hard to like another rendition??
Daniel G.
May 9th, 2012 11:49 PM
Honestly, I respect most of your opinions, but I think that Joshua "growls" everyone of his songs. Is he good? Yes, but at the end of the day, Jessica is the better "singer", and let's not forget that this is a singing competition. Jessica also has the most buzz around her name and she is the most commercial out of all of them, she will win, plain and simple. American Idol Winner 2012: Jessica Sanchez.
xmeg816x
May 9th, 2012 11:34 PM
(continued) more imperfect performance of man's world by juliet simms on the voice that I found to be much more emotional and vulnerable which made it more powerful. and Jessica, well honestly i think that anyone who has her type of big voice is gonna sing that song good at this point so someone singing it doesn't impress me anymore and her performance of it standing still and stiff like that (sorry if it was the show who made her perform it that way) really rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. Phillips second performance last night just reinforced for me why i love him so much. I was legit like hypnotized by it and that has happened to me multiple times with him (like with his usher performance) and its what i love. Yes he is a good looking guy but that's not what it is about him its the quality of his voice and the emotions his voice evokes. ok i'll stop now lol.
xmeg816x
May 9th, 2012 11:33 PM
I feel like the competition has been divided into holly/jessica/joshua vs. phillip and I think thats how the fans are split too which honestly works in phillips favor because the fans of the other three have the votes split between them. Holly Jessica and Joshua all would come out with the exact same type of cd and if you aren't into that type of music or over the top singing (aka singing the big notes just because you can and singing nonstop ballads) then really Phillip is your choice. Phillip may not have the technical talent that the other contestants have but that's not the type of musician he is. He is more understated and I would much rather listen to his music than the other three. It's just a personal preference for me though. I would never deny the other three are incredibly talented vocally but I'm just over it. The two performances that they loved so much tonight, well i just found them to be very self indulgent and I honestly wasn't as impressed as them. I much prefered the
rover
May 9th, 2012 10:41 PM
I'm a Hollie fan. I wanted to feel both her performances and I did feel it, because I knew the journey she on. But when I look at it as if I just decided to watch the show for the first time or if I was a Philp/Joshua/Jessica fan, I didn't feel it. She did sing both songs beautifully.
Jimmy has brainwashed these 4 contestants to hate each other. I could see it in the group performances and the duos. The hugs and laughs and looks at each other, are just fake to me.
I feel as though "I Am Tell You..." has been sung too much and it's just a vocal gymnastics song. The song has lost meaning and emotion. I honestly don't know what the song means because people just use it and abuse it. I didn't enjoy that song at all.
Joshua takes me to church on every song. He has a great voice, I enjoy some of his performances, but it's just repetitive. Joshua I don't want to go to church anymore. I want to go to the mall or the gas station, heck even wal-mart.
May 10th, 2012 10:03 AM
...the show has reduced itself to this and I mostly blame the judges. The theme nights are very hit-and-miss. I think this year's talent has be somewhat wasted, which really is too bad.
May 10th, 2012 9:54 AM
It's interesting that I was thinking last night, just like Robert D, that Simon is horribly missed on this show. The judges are basically useless as mentors... they have reduced themselves to fans. Randy is generally the only one with the guts to attempt to critisize, but then backs off if the audience boos. Based on last night's performances, I'd guess it will be Hollie who packs it in tonight (but, her songs were definitely not "butchered"). The odd thing is all of these kids can sing, but I'm not pulling hard for any of them specifically, anymore. They are all good enough to do something significant in the industry... but the judges comments like "one of the best in America" and "best in the last 50 years" are a bit much and way to early to contend. And, I'm not duped by fake emotion that equates to the pained face of a Russian figure skater. Most of the duets and most guests are only moderately entertaining, equating to fill-time. I think it's dissapointing that the show has redu
May 10th, 2012 7:55 AM
(continued).... last night's spellbinding rendition of Damien Rice's Volcano! It was awseome!!! Mt wife and I had never heard that before and we were both blown away. We listned to the mp3 after the show and it sounded amazing!!! I hope people "get it" these next couple weeks, and vote for someone who has some originality as an artist, someone who is not a one-trick-pony, someone who has demonstrated versatility and musicianship and range as a singer and an artist!
May 10th, 2012 7:47 AM
Joshua is a very talented young man, but he has shown ZERO in the way of versatility throughout this competition. Every week, every song, its basically the same thing, the same "formula" every song. He'll bring the choir out, growl, scream, and the judges melt and cheer, give him his standing ovations, tell him how wonderful he is. Basically do what JUDGES are not supposed to do! Pick favorites and openly root and lobby for them. I can't help thinking that if Simon were still judging, he would have had some harsh things to say about Mr Ladet. Tell him, and the blind masses, that Joshua needs to show more versatility, and range and show he's not just this one-trick-pony he's proven himself to be every week, every song!
Phillip is somone I can imagine writing, and making music that matters. Interesting music, different music, music with variety, and freshness that people will buy. He's anything BUT a one-trick-pony. He's sung songs from Usher to Genesis, to Billy Joel, to last night
Rank: Staff Member
May 10th, 2012 7:17 AM
@Tim--she's not "my" Hollie. I pan her just as often as I pan Jessica.
@Terrie--I think you bring up an interesting point about the songs. I think that for some of them, it's not that we're complacent with the originals. It's that we love them so much as they are that unless something really amazing is done with them, we're biased against what basically amounts to karaoke.
@meg816--I totally agree with you that the last two performances were self-indulgent. (And I agree with whomever said they both growl.) The difference is that Joshua seems genuinely humble and shocked that people like him this much. Jessica's so confident it's coming off as cocky and arrogant.
May 10th, 2012 6:12 AM
Again, I still don't understand your harshness with Jessica. Could be because she's way better than your Hollie, eh?
Rank: Regular Character
May 10th, 2012 12:45 AM
Jessica's second performance was a bit better than her first. I still feel she is WAYYYYYYYYY over confident and over sings a lot. She's getting to where she screams as well........
I feel it's between Phillip, Joshua, and Jessica and I think Hollie goes home this week...........I will be shocked if it is any different...........
Rank: Regular Character
May 10th, 2012 12:42 AM
Hollie, unfortunately, butchered bother her songs.........especially "I can't make you love me" ..that arrangement pretty much sucked and was more up tempo than the original...........she should definitely be leaving tomorrow night..........
I really didn't care for the duets.........they seem forced. Maybe if the songs were actually duet songs it may have played out differently.
I'm sorry but I liked Juliet Simms from The Voice version of "This is a man's world" better than Joshua's. I wish he could get through one week WITHOUT screaming!!!!!!!!!!!! I do, however, give Joshua kudos for the emotion he put into it.
One last thought.......Do any of you think we, as the audience, have become so complacent with the original versions of songs that we find it hard to like another rendition??
May 9th, 2012 11:49 PM
Honestly, I respect most of your opinions, but I think that Joshua "growls" everyone of his songs. Is he good? Yes, but at the end of the day, Jessica is the better "singer", and let's not forget that this is a singing competition. Jessica also has the most buzz around her name and she is the most commercial out of all of them, she will win, plain and simple. American Idol Winner 2012: Jessica Sanchez.
May 9th, 2012 11:34 PM
(continued) more imperfect performance of man's world by juliet simms on the voice that I found to be much more emotional and vulnerable which made it more powerful. and Jessica, well honestly i think that anyone who has her type of big voice is gonna sing that song good at this point so someone singing it doesn't impress me anymore and her performance of it standing still and stiff like that (sorry if it was the show who made her perform it that way) really rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. Phillips second performance last night just reinforced for me why i love him so much. I was legit like hypnotized by it and that has happened to me multiple times with him (like with his usher performance) and its what i love. Yes he is a good looking guy but that's not what it is about him its the quality of his voice and the emotions his voice evokes. ok i'll stop now lol.
May 9th, 2012 11:33 PM
I feel like the competition has been divided into holly/jessica/joshua vs. phillip and I think thats how the fans are split too which honestly works in phillips favor because the fans of the other three have the votes split between them. Holly Jessica and Joshua all would come out with the exact same type of cd and if you aren't into that type of music or over the top singing (aka singing the big notes just because you can and singing nonstop ballads) then really Phillip is your choice. Phillip may not have the technical talent that the other contestants have but that's not the type of musician he is. He is more understated and I would much rather listen to his music than the other three. It's just a personal preference for me though. I would never deny the other three are incredibly talented vocally but I'm just over it. The two performances that they loved so much tonight, well i just found them to be very self indulgent and I honestly wasn't as impressed as them. I much prefered the
May 9th, 2012 10:41 PM
I'm a Hollie fan. I wanted to feel both her performances and I did feel it, because I knew the journey she on. But when I look at it as if I just decided to watch the show for the first time or if I was a Philp/Joshua/Jessica fan, I didn't feel it. She did sing both songs beautifully.
Jimmy has brainwashed these 4 contestants to hate each other. I could see it in the group performances and the duos. The hugs and laughs and looks at each other, are just fake to me.
I feel as though "I Am Tell You..." has been sung too much and it's just a vocal gymnastics song. The song has lost meaning and emotion. I honestly don't know what the song means because people just use it and abuse it. I didn't enjoy that song at all.
Joshua takes me to church on every song. He has a great voice, I enjoy some of his performances, but it's just repetitive. Joshua I don't want to go to church anymore. I want to go to the mall or the gas station, heck even wal-mart.
Phil, hmmm, I could care if