Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine American Idol

Uh oh, you guys... our reviews are starting to be very similar! Is that because it's getting easier and easier to be objective? Or are we assimilating? Nah, not us Legion fans!

Random thoughts....

I kept imagining if Fantasia had done Vonzell's first song, I bet it would have had more flare.

What if Constantine had done Poison Ivy? Bet it would have been kewl. I still would have thought of Uma, though. I'll always think of Uma when I hear that song....

I really, REALLY don't want to fall into the trap of comparing Scott to Ruben, but I couldn't help it tonight...Ruben would have done a STELLAR job on the songs Scott picked.

Randy should be more cautious about calling vocal performances "perfect." I'm sure he'll take it back when he hears them again.

I just saw the finale for Nashville Star and the girl that won was cute and sang well and everything, but she's no Carrie Underwood.

I just read the article about Paula in People or Us or whatever (it was in the dentist's office). I really feel sorry for her because she had to live with a lot of pain for a long time. It sounds like it's all working out, now. That's cool. (Disclaimer: Back in the 90's, I really only liked "Straight Up" by her, otherwise, I respected her dance talent but didn't pay much attention to her.)

Scott just turns my stomach.

It was near-impossible to get a vote through last night; after much trying, I managed to pass 1 vote through for Vonzell, about 5 through for Bo and about 8 through for Anthony. I tried to vote for Carrie multiple times with nary a call getting through.

Here's hoping Slappey "Crappy Attitude" Savol has sung his last and can get back home to his busy schedule of phone-throwing and baby-abduction-threatening.

All I can say is:

<font size="7">It's about frackin' time!</font s>

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! My Mom and I were all sad and stuff, figuring Anthony was gonna get ditched on his birthday, but when Slappey was cut, we screamed, hooted & hollered for joy!

And it looks like Ms. Abdul might be more saucy than sweet... I watched the "Fallen Idol" thing too. I guess Corey Clark learned HER not to dump a guy after he gets thrown off the show for hiding his arrest record!

Oh well thank bobbins for that. He's been around for far too long and I've been really worried that Vonzell was going to go before him. OK so she's not exactly blown me away yet, but she's been at least good pretty much every show and is so much better than bloody Slappy the Giant Squirrel.

Hmm, so Anthony, Vonzell, Bo and Carrie. Unless Anthony or Vonzell really step up their game (or Bo or Carrie screw up big time) I think it's fair to say the final will be the rocker and the country girl, but I do hope that Vonzell is in the final three as well. Anthony could hang on in there though and I wouldn't be hugely shocked if either of the other two go simply because there have been some completely bizarre choices so far.

If it *is* Bo and Carrie though, that's going to make the final very interesting. Two completely different musical styles, two completely different public sectors they'll be appealing too and neither of them are your traditional All American Pop Star, which is probably a good thing. I wonder if they'll both have to do the same song and if so what it'll be like. Course I may well be jumping the gun in speculating on the final since almost anything could happen in the next two weeks.

Interesting. It seems like Scott's fans have been strong enough to get him half way through the competition, but now that it's getting closer, the majority is really kicking in.

I hope Anthony goes next, but I do think it'll be the adorable Vonzell who goes next.

I also believe it'll be Bo and Carrie as the final two, and I hope Bo wins it. If Bo gets cut before then, I'll probably only watch if I'm around and have nothing else to do. If Bo stays in, I'll have the shows taped, etc.

THANK GOD, the world has returned back onto its proper axis, normalcy reigns, life is now as it once was. <exhale>

I don't care who wins anymore, just as long as it's not the creepiest person on the planet.

But I would love to see Baby V take it all, love that girl!

I can't get enough of Vonzell's solo performance of "When You Tell Me..."

Just watched her again, on watchidol.com.
I LOVE a beautiful woman that can SING!

That's why I am now and forever a resident of the Nadia Nation!

Hmm, interesting...

Anthony. Blah. His first song was pretty off. Not awful, but certainly not very good. His second one was just boring. To be honest in terms of that night's performance it should have been Anthony that left, but...

Scott. Urgh. Ok, so he didn't actually perform that badly (given that he still thinks that warbling like a sink emptying out of a plug hole makes a great singer) but the songs weren't that great and he still creeps me out hugely. All the stuff about how he was going to stay and planning what he was going to sing next week were all the more amusing knowing that he was getting the boot. Meh heh heh heh.

Vonzell. Well she certainly deserves to be in the top three, but I still feel like she needs a little something extra. Her Elvis song was good, and it was a nice reworking, but I kinda felt like it was a dress rehearsal or that she still wasn't quite comfortable with it. It wasn't bad at all, I don't think she had any duff notes or anything, but she just didn't look quite comfortable. Kinda like she'd like to do it slightly differently but hadn't quite worked out *how*, if that makes sense. Her second song was much better and she looked gorgeous. Maybe not her strongest vocal ever, but better than either of the first two boys. I could see her lasting to the final, and I hope she's there in the final three but I have a horrible feeling she might go next week. So glad she's made it this far though.

Bo. Yay Bo! OK, so this is what we're talking about. To be fair both the songs were ones that Bo could do in his sleep but they were both great. He looks so relaxed on stage. He struts his stuff and plays the audience perfectly. He never looks uncomfortable like Carrie or Vonzell and never looks stagey and rehearsed like Constantine. He's also pretty hot without even vaguely being my type. Lovely voice (even if he does sound spookily like Michael Bolton at times) and if he's not secured his place in the final then American is seriously off kilter.

And finally Country Carrie. OK, again, *that's* what we're talking about. With Bo you get the perfect performance, with Carrie when she's on you get a near perfect vocal. Ok so she is a little limited in what she does well and she can still look a bit stiff or tense on stage (and really, did anyone believe a word of what she was singing in 'Trouble'?) but when she's doing what she does well she has a clarity and a tone that I think is just stunning. 'Trouble' was a good, fun, up song and the country song afterwards was... well, maybe not the most exciting country song ever but she did perform it beautifully. I'm still not convinced she really is the next American Idol simply because she doesn't have the whole stage presence thing down yet but purely on her vocals she deserves to get to the final.

So on this week's performances I'd say it's gonna be Bo and probably Carrie but maybe Vonzell in the final. Anthony should go next week, but it could easily be Vonzell. Ach, what do i know though? I've been completely flumoxed by a lot of the eliminations so far so anything could happen.

Actually, I just put something together in my own mind.... I find that the people who have won the American Idol title so far are the ones who have seemed like they're already ready, while the ones who come in second or third seem like they still need some more development.

In season 1, all of the top 10, yes including Tamyra, were pretty green. Justin and Kelly really were the most comfortable. Honestly, I feel like if Justin won, Kelly might have easily fallen through the cracks, but who knows? Still, I believe Kelly won because she was so powerful on stage and had such great control of her instrument. Justin's voice could be pretty thin sometimes. Even though he came in second, he still released an album and it flopped. Kelly is *still* making records that are on Billboard's Top 40.

In season 2, Ruben consistently gave great vocal performances, while Clay was sometimes a touch off. Clay definitely had (has) the "it" factor, and a lot of people love him, but he's "in development" so it would seem. Ruben won, and has been successful, though it seems more so with r&b and/or gospel charts.

In season 3, it seemed like Latoya was the most competent singer, but she wasn't very charming. Frankly, I thought all the others seemed like amatures, even Fantasia. The thing that happened though, was that Fantasia got better and more interesting as the competition went on. Diana is clearly a strong singer and adorable, but she needs more time and experience to really be a star.

So now, in season 4, again, I think we've seen a lot of really green performers come through, and this time Bo stands out as the most accomplished. I guess I agree with Simon about that. I think that Vonzell has been the "most improved" from beginning til now, but Carrie has a lot of fans. I think Carrie is lovely and has a great voice, but she seems really really inexperienced onstage, on tv. She has a ton of potential and I wish her the best, but I hope Bo wins this year.

I crack my own self up, sometimes!

Very good analysis of the AI seasons, Sketch! I agree. I still want Carrie to win, mainly because I shudder to think how Bo will sound if he's forced to make an album of "Moments and Dreams Like This If You Believe" crappy AI songs.

Yes, excellent analysis, Sketchy.

Jackie, I wouldn't worry about Bo.... they're going to market him to his audience, I think. I noticed how he's really playing up his hippie appeal lately. I like it!

"Vote For The Worst" dot com has thrown their support into the Anthony Fedorov camp, so I fully expect a Vonzell exit this week, if VFTW truly have the numbers to make a difference.

I researched the site a bit, and some things about this season are SOOOO much clearer.

Remember cute li'l Janay, who sang so awfully and looked like she was going to throw up in every performance during the top 24 eliminations? VFTW supported her the entire time, and you may recall she was thisclose to making the top 12. Freaking scary.

And guess who else VFTW supported until he actually started getting popular? Our cheese whiz himself, Constantine! Could the VFTW pullout and switchover to Scott have doomed Connie? I think it might have!

I actually think this is pretty damned hilarious, but it's still irritating! I mean, GAWD! If Janay had made top 12.... *shudder*

Hey anybody watch tonight?

Where is Lash and his report!

Yipe! Lash....c'mon!

Well, I watched. I found last week to be more entertaining, but it's probably because I have something against country music that I can't help.

Carrie opened the show with "Sin Wagon," a Dixie Chicks song. She did it perfectly well, but I always wonder if Carrie has some kind of physical injury or something that keeps her from letting go, freely. She just seems tense or distracted when she performs. Luckily she's really pretty and has a great smile, which keeps her from being totally dull onstage.

Next, Bo did a Travis Tritt song that *was* DDDUUUULLLLLLLL!!!!! I mean, he did it well and he was all Bo, but the song just didn't go anywhere.

Then, Vonzell did "How Do I Live Without You." Now, that's a beautiful song and of course Vonzell looked gorgeous, but she did flub up the words and she seemed kinda off. Overall, as Randy said, she pulled it together. Well, during her critiques, she admitted that she'd had a hard day and that the pressure is amazing and she let tears out! Even Simon took it easy on her. I'm SO curious about what's up!

Anthony did "I'm Already There" which is a song I know and think is pretty good. Anthony has a way of making every song sound the same...starts off in a whisper and builds to the great big notes. I think it works most of the time, and not sometimes. This time...yeah, I liked it.

Now, the next round is the sounds of Philadelphia. Sorry, but I can't recall the name of the writing team. I'll do my best trying to describe the songs....

Carrie did "If You Don't Know Me" (by now, you will never never never know me....ooooooo....). I agree with Simon about how it seemed like the arrangement was weird. It was kinda like an Anwar performance. She started off mellow and quiet and then had a giant note or two near the end. The judges didn't care for it and neither did I.

Bo did "For the Love of Money." (Its the song used as the theme to Donald Trump's Apprenctice show.) Well, Bo redeemed himself with that! He was electric and authentic, as he always is, but more fun and funky and just cool. Major applause from the audience and each judge loved it.

Vonzell did "Don't Leave Me This Way" which was awesome. She must have gone backstage after her last song and decided to put all her drama into the next performance. It was really good and really fun and she looked great. Whew!!

Anthony did the same song as Carrie, and he did it in a very Anthony way. So, if you like Anthony's style you'd like this performance. The arrangement was better, it seemed closer to Simply Red's version. I liked it. My wife does not like Anthony, never has, has wanted him out for a LONG time.

I have no idea what will happen tomorrow night. Carrie got her worst reviews ever, but that doesn't always equal low votes. Bo did very well even though one of his songs was bland. Anthony fans will keep voting for him and Vonzell was half great half not so great.

I was shocked at how they slammed Carrie for her second song. I didn't think it was bad at all, in fact, I rather liked it. And this song writing team has tons of hits, but Carrie and AFed STILL had to sing the same song??? WTF?
I'm trying really hard not to start spouting my 'crazy conspiracy theory thoughts' about last night!
I wonder what's up with Vonzell???? I actually got a little choked up when she teared up. She's just so darn sweet, I did NOT need to see her cry!! :-(

Gamble and Huff?

Oh I felt so bad for Vonzell, and whatever was going on it seemed that the judges were aware of it because it was Paula who brought it up. I thought the first round of songs were awful w/the possible exception of Carrie, who was terrible on her second song, it was like the song had no melody, she was hitting great notes but it just didn't seem to tbe in sync with the arrangement, REALLY weird. Bo (whom I've never been a big fan of) ROCKED the second song, he friggin' sizzled out there with sex and raunch (damn man gave me a case of the vapors! ) Vonzell was sweet and much better, but the enthusiasm seemed forced. And Anthony was great, he redeemed himself with his rendition of this song.

Hey guys, since last Thursday work has gone to heck in a handbasket so I totally missed the show last night. My Mom gave me the breakdown and her opinions, which were...

Carrie: Country: good; Philedelphia: bad.

Bo: Country: HORRIBLE; Philedelphia: excellent.

Vonzell: She didn't care for either of V's songs; Mom has always been put off by Vonzell's "little-girly-girly" act and last night's boo-hoo-fest didn't help. Direct quote from Mom: "She's a whiney-butt!"

Anthony: Mom really liked both of Anthony's songs and voted for him last night.


Hopefully work will settle down soon and I won't miss any more episodes!!

Not many more to miss Lash!

The only songs I cared for last night were Carrie's "Sin Wagon" and Bo's rendition of "Money". I agree with Randy about Bo. He needs to put that song on his first album.

Rumor has it Vonzell's dog died which is why she was such a mess.

To her credit, she didn't try to use it to get sympathy votes, she could have totally milked it, youjust know Scott would have, lol.