Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine American Idol

Lash, I LOOOVE Lucinda Williams! I went to see her last year when she did that open air concert out at Shelby Farms here--I didn't think I was gonna go 'cause the tickets were so expensive--but the day of the show, someone gave me FREE tickets!
I almost wonder if artists like Lucinda would give "clearance" for their songs on American Idol. I think that's why I am always so blown away when AI contestants sing songs I'd never expect--like Fantasia with "Summertime" or Bo with "Whipping Post" or even Carrie with Tiffany's "Could Have Been"!
I get so tired of the Whitney, Celine, Stevie Wonder, Brian McKnight, Motown, etc. songs that are always performed.
Let's hear some classic Cure, Elvis Costello, Dusty Springfield, Hollies...and the girls with "pipes" should totally do some Laura Branigan songs! Cheesy, I know; but a lot of her songs are MADE for girls (or even boys!) with big voices.

Jackie, I came VERY close to going to that same concert, but had already seen her twice fairly recently-- once when she came with Tom Petty and more recently at the New Daisy, where she TOTALLY rocked! Now I wish I had gone to the outdoor concert. There's just something about her voice, it's monotone and husky and weird yet also so pretty... I'll take her over the divas any day. Has her live double-cd come out yet? It was overdue last I checked.


re: AI... has anyone heard any information on Camille Velasco or Jennifer Hudson from last season? They were my favorites. I'll never forget Jennifer's IN-KUH-REDIBLE rendition of "Weekend In New England" (and THAT'S the week she was voted out or whatever)!

I just reread this entire thread! Very interesting to reread comments on last year and the season so far this year.

I'm such an AI addict it's awful.

sorry Lash....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...u=/ap/20050314/ap_en_tv/tv_american_idol

Aww... bummer. Mario has quit, only stating that he had "personal reasons" but of course, the message boards and yahoo groups are buzzing with speculation. Poor kid. I hope everything will be okay with him.

He quit? Ooh, I wonder why. That leaves the field rather more open. Any word as to what they're going to do this week then? Will they bring someone back, or just not have anyone leaving this week? Very odd.

OK, slightly late in the day but here we go:

Scott: Meh, he can sing but he just freeps me out. I don't like him much.

Bo: Yay Bo! We like Bo. Not a great song, but I think it was a perfect example of what the judges were talking about with regards to song choice. It shouldn't matter what sogn you do as long as you do it well, and Bo did it very well.

Anthony: I like him, but I'm not too sure why. He's not blown me away at any point but nor has he been really bad. Could be a sleeper hit, but could be aone hit wonder too. I did think Simon was being very harsh though. He did look a little uncomfortable, but I think that was more likely nerves than it not being his musical style.

Anwar: Once again he started very badly but managed to pull it back together at the end. I like him, but if he's going to stay the distance he has to sing well all through at least one song. I liked the puppy comment from Simon.

Mario: Well, OK, so now if he's gone it's a bit beside the point but I never quite got him. Very pretty (and if he's gay then that would have been cool to see a gay man get anywhere on AI) and he can sing and perform but I think he was just too cocky for my taste. Nice to see him fdo something a bit different last week, but I wasn't really gung ho for him.

Constantine: He was out of tune people, all the way through the bloody song. He was *bad*. I mean, really, really bad. Don't like him at all and I hope he goes early.

Travis: Not a good performance, but i liked him and I think it's a shame he went instead of Constantine or Scott. Plus he's a cutie.

Nikko: He's just so blah. He can sing, but he just leaves me cold. Not a shame he went in my book.

Not a bad bunch left from the boys, but I would have preffered for Travis and David to have staye dinstead of Scott or Constantine. Or to have kept cutie Judd. But no....

And the girls:

Carrie: She really has to avoid resting on her laurels. She is by far the best singer out of the girls and deserves to be in the final two with Bo but she really needs to pick her songs well and put her heart and soul into her performances. Paula was right, that fun was missing this week.

Nadia: Nadia is a star. Not too sure about her personality-wise but in terms of sheer performance she's great. I wasn't sure about her song when she started this week but once the rawk kicked in she nailed it. Not the best singer in the bunch, but good enough to be great performer, if you know what I mean.

Mikalah: Hmmm. She was very, very bad this week. Out of tune, her timing seemed off and she just looked a bit subdued while performing. I personally think she needs to go away for a year or two, have lots of training and come back brilliant. At the moment she's just relying on her personality which has started to grate. She can certainly sing, but i don't think she has the control she really needs.

Jessica: Blimey, this girl is a surprise. i think she could be the sleeper hit of the season. She's got a great voice but hasn't shown it's full potential yet and I think she could turn into a damn fine performer. She's been a bit overshadowed by some of the other girls earlier in the series but this week she showed what she can do, and I suspect even that wasn't at her top level. I'm keeping my eye on her because she could be fabulous. Good boobs too.

Lindsey: Uh... who? She's a little dull isn't she? She's good, but not very interesting. Says a lot about the girls that someone as bland as she is got through to the final twelve through lack of real competition. I completely agree with Simon about her being the musical version of Seacrest. Quite nice, does the job, not hard to look at but you do feel there's something missing.

Vonzell: I liked her a lot this week. Didn't quite get what Simon was talking about with regards to her outfit though. She could get a lot better, but I think she'll probably be a fairly early casualty of the voting process.

Amanda: Well, she wasn't really much different from Lindsey but she really shouldn't have tried to do River Deep, Mountain High. The only other version i have ever heard of it that even comes close to Tina is Annie Lennox, and even she couldn't quite manage it. Now if Annie Lennox can't match Tina's version then what hope did Amanda have? To be honest though i think I'd have preffered Amanda to stay instead of Lindsey, but I'd have preffered Aloha over either.

Janay: Ugh. I just don't get why she was in the final twelve girls to start with. No personality on stage (the nerves and shy little girl thing can only be taken so far and then you start to think she's not a performer) and at best a weak voice. She was out of tune for the third time in a row and looked a like a dead fish on stage. Maybe it's just her age, maybe with some training and experience she could be really good but the last three week she just struck me as not being in the right place at all. I'm just surprised she wasn't voted out earlier.

So a final twelve I can live with. Lindsey and Constantine should eb the first two to go, but after that... dunno. There are a few that I could see going early if they're not consistently good and varied (Anthony, Scott, Vonzell and even Carrie and Anwar) and some that might get flumoxed byt the theme weeks (Nadia and Bo) but at this point I wouldn't like to call the final two.

Uh, so Nikko is back. Humph, I'd have been happier if it were Travis.

Well, I am very disappointed.

Mario was many people's pick to win this thing, including mine. He was my early pick to win before I saw Bo in action.

Perhaps Marc demanded he return home for that haircut.

I should think Bo, Carrie and Nadia as well as other top contenders are breathing a sigh of relief. With Mario out, this became a little bit less of a firefight for the top spot.

Too bad about Mario. I don't get the "Bo" thing, I don't think he has a chance in hell in winning this thing, I won't say he's terrible, but I don't think he's very good. <shrug>

I'm now thinking the winner will be a woman, either Carrie or Nadia, with Anwar being the only guy who now has a shot.

I wasn't a Mario fan, but I do feel sorry for the guy, getting this far and having to drop out.

I bet the other contestants are secretly glad though--I think he was one of the ones to beat.

I know she's been a little boring lately, but I still think Carrie has a good chance to win.

I must be the only one here who doesn't like Carrie. She's just so boring for me, like a Kelly Clarkson type whom I also find painful to watch. I'd like someone with an edge or at least vocal virtuosity to win for a change

I find it verrrrry suspicious that Mario's dropping out came hot on the heels of the release of the name and occupation of his alleged boyfriend back home in NYC, on top of other rumours (rumours that appear rather likely) that he was a well-known former "club kid" in the NYC gay scene. *sigh* Dont let your past come back to haunt you, kids, but don't be ashamed of who and what you are, either.

Semi, I was a Carrie-booster originally, but she bores my tits off now. I'm much more a Nadia, Jessica, Lindsey guy nowadays.

I can't help but be just a little less excited now, with Mario gone. Nikko is NO replacement for Mario, I'm afraid.

I'm hoping that someone will REALLY surprise everyone tonight. I love when someone who hasn't been a "frontrunner" emerges as someone to watch. I'd really love it if Lindsey can knock it out of the ballpark tonight.

I'm rooting for Lindz too tonight! C'mon girl, DO it! DO it!

It's great we Legion Worlders have such great music tastes! Maybe we need to make a Legion World Mix Tape???

I'll be home tonight! I can't wait to see the show, though I do have a lot to get done between now and then....

The REST:

Jessica: I was very disappointed. Average-plus at best.

Anwar: Wake me up after you sing-sing; your voice just makes me want to sleep and dream-dream. *yawn*

Mikalah: Eh. It was a'aight.

Anthony: Thought the judges were a tad harsh, it was just a'aight for me.

Linsdey: High hopes smashed into a million peices.

Vonzell: I thought she did very well.

Scott: A'aight, but can he sing anything other than vintage Motown?

Carrie: Ummm... I'm afraid I'VE outsung her on this one in karaoke before. Not feeling it, Carrie.

Nikko: His voice fit the song. It was a'aight.


And now... THE BEST!


CONSTANTINE: Hello! Best he's done yet... thoroughly enjoyed it, awesome song choice!

BO: Bo's back after last week's snooze-song! He kicked some ass.

NADIA: I've probably enjoyed her more consistently than any other of the top 12. I *always* like her song choice, I *always* like her song interpretation. She was the highlight of the night for me, camera mugging or not. She looked awesome, and she sounded even better. I can't picture anyone else in the top 12 singing "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and making me *LOVE* it like Nadia did.

Well... except maybe Constantine... I think he's beginning to prove himself on a diverse variety of songs, too...

Lash I could not agree more with every word. Constantine, Bo and Nadia were light years ahead of the rest of the pack.

I'm thinking that Nikko came back to only do one show. If he doesn't go then I think it'll be Lindsey.

Oh, and I have to say, this was the 60's? Where were the Stones, Beatles and Elvis? Shame on the majority playing it safe with the same boring type of songs we get all the time. I would have loved to hear Carrie come back and do the Janice version of Another Piece of My Heart, just to show Simon the difference.

Ok, I only saw a few of them but...

The Bo thing, DON'T SEE IT AT ALL!!! <shrug>
I actually thought Anthony kicked ass, very surprised by the harsh judgements. Lindsay, this girl couldn't sing an upbeat song if her life depended on it, she sounds like ManleyStanley, stick to slow and sultry. Nadia, great performance but again to me it came off too scripted, turning to the camera at just the right moment, hand gestures too well placed, facial jeers ad nauseum.

I'm in love with Vonzell... va va va voom, what a siren tonight! She's absolutely gorgeous!

As for who I think will go first... reviewing the likely suspects...

Nikko: His fan base, ecstatic that he (barely) made it to the top 12, will vote rabidly tonight, keeping him safe this week.

Mikalah: She's beginning to prove that she isn't the vocalist (most of) the others are, but I think her fan base is large enough to keep her safe one more week.

Scott: He's called an underdog for a reason. Does he have enough fans to keep him in?

Vonzell: After tonight, some of Vonzell's fans may have swayed more toward Nadia after Nadia's stellar performance.

Lindsey: A lacklustre performance all the while done to the bane of beginning vocalists-- "the hunchbacked crouch" stance? This in my eyes makes her the # 1 candidate to go home, but she's surprised me before.

One interesting thing to note about Nadia, Bo & Constantine, my 3 favorites of the night... they are the eldest of the bunch, aged 27-29. Mario also fell in that age bracket.

Raising the age limit from 25 was the smartest thing American Idol ever did.

I agree with most of what everyone has said. Nadia was perfection. She's now my favorite to win. I don't think of her as scripted --- I just think she knows how to command the stage and she's definitely no amateur.

Bo and Constantine were both very good, although I've never liked Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Vonzell (and Nadia) both looked fabulous. I thought Vonzell, Anthony and Nikko both did their songs well.

Lastly, I still think Anwar is one of the best, although his performance tonight wasn't up to par.

I'm missing Mario. Any news?

I actually don't really take the judges comments to heart, especially when they will change their minds after seeing the performances on video later. I'm sure being in the audience gives a different perspective. Sometimes I change my mind after hearing a song again, too.

My reviews, from least favorite to favorite...

12. Mikala- My hopes for her are not being realized. Bummer.

11. Lindsey- A super cute girl, but just not very interesting

10. Anwar- It hurts me to rate him so lowly, but he dropped the ball. On season 1, Tamyra did a WAY better version of this song. I'm sure he won't get cut and I hope he will kick it up a few notches from now on.

9. Nikko-Yeah, congratulations to him on getting back on the show, but he's not an interesting performer.

8. Carrie-I've missed some of the girls' performances, so I don't have that regular recollection of how they look as they perform. I've always known that Carrie was cute, but she's actually a lot cuter, live, than I remember. However, her performance was still middle-of-the-road to me.

7. Jessica- She sounded fine and looked good, but I wasn't really moved.

6. Anthony- I think he's good. The judges were way too hard on him.

5. Scott-As always, a very good voice and his stage presence is better. I thought he did well.

4. Constantine- Probably his best performance. I think he must be training his voice. He's controlling it better. His last couple of songs have worked for him.

3. Vonzell-Well, I have a huge crush on her! She looked like Miss America up there. The song she chose is really hard, and she did well. (She's no Dionne Warwick, yet, but she did well.)

2. Nadia- She looked stunning and she did that song really really well. I love her!

1. Bo- He just has it all together. He knows what songs work for him and the audience and the judges. He looked great, too. Is he losing weight? He worked the hair.

I love this show. I was trying to think of all the drop outs there have been within the top 12...in season 1, a guy lied and said he was under the age limit, but he was actually too old. In season 2 we had the Frenchie mess AND the guy who was in a legal mess. In season 3, there was that guy who had a criminal record or something, and was replaced by George Huff. Now we have Mario dropping out. Man, it's tough to get 12 or so people to stay on that show!