Oh my. The Idolsphere has apparently worked itself into a lather over Jessica Sanchez ending up not just in the bottom three. With zero warning, like Pia Toscano last year – she was at the very bottom and would have gone home save for the save. The Idolsphere is outraged – with good reason. However, let’s save the outrage for the right people. And it’s not America.
First, let’s discuss Jessica’s boot. Frankly, what I said right after the top 13 results – when Jessica was receiving fantastic reviews right after I Will Always Love You – still applies:
She can sing, no doubt. There are lots of people giving her great reviews. But how many voters really like her? How many people will essentially say: “she has a nice voice, but that’s not my cup of tea. Somebody else is, and I’ll be voting for them instead.” On Idol, there can be a huge divide between agreeing that somebody is a good singer and liking them enough to vote for them. It’s a subtle, but important, difference.
I wrote that more than a month ago – and Jessica really hasn’t done much to change. She’s no longer stuck in ballad territory, even though that’s still when she’s at her best. But… she hasn’t cracked how to connect to audiences yet. The surprise is that it happened now, and that it was a complete fall to the bottom. I was expecting something more like what happened to Kris Allen – that Jessica would end up in the bottom three – but not that she would end up like Pia in the bottom with zero warning whatsoever.
There’s another factor at work here – vote-splitting. If you want a big voice, you’re exceptionally well covered. There’s no noticable voice-splitting for the other contestants – except maybe for the “screeching fangirl” group. But evidently, there’s plenty of that to go around – I mean, Phillip Phillips was the worst of last night, by far, and he wasn’t even close to being in danger. In the current Idol voting clime, the excess of hormone-driven power-voting fangirls is as reliable as a Swiss watch.
The real outrage here shouldn’t be aimed at America. They just voted the same way they’ve been doing so for years. No, the real outrage should be aimed squarely at two groups of people: the judges, and the Idol PTB. Let’s take the judges first.
Randy, Jennifer, Steven. You say that Jessica Sanchez is one of the best singers. That America got it wrong. Well, you have no one to blame but yourselves. See, you’ve been praising crappy performances left and right. You’ve thoroughly devalued what a “good performance” is, what a standing ovation represents. So how is the lay voter – someone who just watches every now and then, may not even vote all that much – supposed to differentiate what is good or bad? All the contestants “gotta have it”, you said. What you ended up doing was telling all the contestants: you’re a Special Snowflake. You can keep doing what you’re doing.
In the last two seasons of Idol, we have seen remarkably little growth from contestants. Why? Because they lack the one thing you need to improve: feedback. You three have been a complete and utter failure at providing useful feedback for two years running. You need to move beyond “goosies”, useless catchphrases, and “beautiful”. Do your damn jobs.
Next, the Idol PTB. Dear god in heaven, you are bleeping idiots. We’ve been warning you – for years – that the voting system is broken beyond reason. That instead of rewarding contestants who sang well, you had a system that rewarded those who could attract power voters – which tended to be young, hormonally driven teens/tweens. Unfortunately, the ability of those fans to vote has not translated to the ability to sell. That is what an Idol winner should be capable of doing: he/she has to be able to use the three or so months of weekly TV exposure to define themselves as an artist, excite fans all over American (and, hopefully, the rest of the world too), and get them to wait a couple of months to buy their music. Succeed at that, and good TV will follow.
Yet you did nothing. This week, you were saved – literally – by the save, but don’t bet on the effects being permanent. Blatant favoritism doesn’t really help contestants nowadays. Jessica still might be kicked off next week – and if that happens, you might, horror of horrors, end up with a worse winner than Lee DeWyze in Phillip Phillips. Good luck with that; if that happens you just killed all the positive buzz Season 10 created.
Mark this day down in history. The past two years of American Idol has seen Nigel Lythgoe do much to clean up the mess than the departing Simon Cowell left behind. Yet much work still needs to be done, and we just got a dramatic demonstration of what has to be fixed. Much like Jimmy Iovine delivers a hard slap of reality every week, this shocker needs to deliver reality into the highest levels of Idol-related decision making.
I’m starting to resent the not so subtle implication that those of us who are voting for Phillip do so only because we think he’s hot. I’m sure there are Phillip fans who feel like that, but there are also plenty of us who enjoy the way he sings and like his style of music. Musical taste is subjective, and just because someone doesn’t have a great voice doesn’t mean his singing can’t be enjoyable.
Thing with Phillip is: he’s a vaguely competent version of the White Guy with Guitar Winners before him. And let’s get real here: His performances are beginning to look like copy-pasted versions of the last couple of months. Sure, his Maroon 5 take was one of his better performances since the past few weeks, but at this point, it just felt tired and antiseptic. His competition has practically shown different facets in their performances, but him? Not really. And don’t even get me started on the attitude he showed on last week’s results show. If he doesn’t want to push himself musically and just wants to “be himself,” that’s fine. I’m just gonna send my vote to the one who brings more to the table.
And you have every right to vote for someone whom you find more enjoyable. Nothing wrong with that. For me, the only person whose performances are as enjoyable to listen is Elise, and therefore I split my votes between the two. Sure, it’s likely that eventually that strategy is likely to get one of them eliminated, but so be it. If I like Elise better next week, I might spend what little voting time I actually use on her behalf since she’s frequently been in danger of leaving.
The blatant “bus Hollie to get her votes to go to Jessica” strategy backfired big time. It’s sort of like Haley last year; they dismiss her and she wasn’t even in the bottom. Hopefully the theme will allow Hollie to be comfortable and really start a DeGarmo-esque comeback, because for me (for you) I really enjoy her tone, the fact that she isn’t polished and we do get to see some growth from her in the group numbers and stage presence. I really wish she would watch some drag queens and really learn how to command and demand attention instead of teetering up there on those 8″ heels. She or Elise will probably kick off the show next week.
We definitely got some classic Idol race realness this week, with your 2 minorities and your next closest thing to a minority, Elise, in the bottom. While not necessarily racism and more-so a reflection of the Idol audience’s viewing preferences, it’s still somewhat disturbing/depressing that 2 very talented performers can’t sway the tweens/frau/fasn of Philton.
Colton is irritatingly playing the Idol game very well. He and Phillip shouldn’t be able to compete with the other 5 singers who can circle them vocally, but Colton is able to Blake his way up through the rankings. I don’t know who will be able to stop him. He’s like DeWyze plus Jesus. What is so frustrating is that he hasn’t had a “moment” yet, and I don’t think he is capable of pulling one off.
Skylar may be our last hope for a girl winner, though she technically now is a WGWG lol. While the country vote cold get Lauren and Scotty to the finale unscathed, I’m worried that Skylar has already dipped there without having someone to split her fanbase. Even Kellie Pickler made it to the top 6 without landing in the bottom once, and I am pretty sure that Fancy aside any one of Skylar’s performances scores higher than Pickler’s body of work.
Phillip I feel is going to Jason Castro his way through this competition. He’s the honey badger of VFTW, not really giving a fuck. I would hope he would man up and remove himself from the competition if he doesn’t care about it anymore, but that’s probably not going to happen. I don’t know why TPTB cast him in the first place, like they didn’t know he would be a threat; maybe they were hoping he would have to withdraw from the competition due to medical stuff?
Elise is running on fumes. I think she’s a goner next week. Had the best duet and a pimp spot and was still in the bottom 2. They can’t give her the pimp spot again 2 weeks in a row, and not 3/4 weeks. They may just mercy kill her and put her first. She’s just not catching fire with the audience, which sucks. But she probably needs the vocal rest before the tour anyway.
Joshua….well it’s clear that the audience didn’t buy him this week. The fact that his modern pop is a throwback number is probably why. I just don’t see Joshua selling as urban.
Jessica I guess has nowhere to go but up. She’ll have the pimp spot this coming week, for sure.
I agreed with everything you said @____@
I keep comparing this season’s contestants to past ones, in particular Philip. I’ve been saying that he’s going out in 4th, but unlike you, I’ve compared him to James Durbin. Someone who people found to be spectacular but really wasn’t. I see now that it’s a mistake since James Durbin had a few excellent performances like, “Will you Still Love Me Tomorrow” and some middling others. Likewise, Jason Castro (who also went out in fourth) had “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and was the originator of the “Hallelujah” Performance and in my opinion, remains the best. Philip however has had no such performance in his repertoire. He even had the pimp spot in the top 13 where Jessica definitely deserved it. His only good performance in my opinion was his first Phil Collins ditty in the top 13 boys and since then he’s just gone down hill.
As for Jessica, I agree with you. She’s set for the next three weeks. She’ll have the pimp spot, make a real big comeback (from what exactly though? She hasn’t had any disasters and her last performance of “Stuttering” was her most endearing). I’m really trying to make peace with Hollie being ousted (if she is) so that if it comes down to it, we can support two women and hurl them to the finale cause any of the remaining women are miles better than Philip and much better than Colton.
I don’t necessarily agree that Hollie was the victim of an attempted “busing” this past week. I think she was better than a week ago (and Randy even agreed this was the case), but it was a strong week for almost everyone, and I think it’s very hard to argue that Hollie and Phillip weren’t, in whichever order, the two weakest of the night.
What’s ironic is that what Jessica’s detractors accuse her of being–a pageant robot who can just do ballads–is what Hollie actually is. She even threw a concluding glory note into the Pink song that’s not part of the original, because it’s the only way she knows how to sing. Jessica’s song, on the other hand, was a true r&b number, not a pop ballad.
Re the last part of the post: what has to be alarming to the PTB is that Colton and Phillip are the only ones left who haven’t been in the bottom three, and you can make a good case that they’re also the two left who are most similar to each other, and should thus be splitting the vote the most (Hollie and Jessica also share a vague “type,” but Hollie has been in danger and Jessica has actually been voted out). It’s looking obvious that either of them will easily win a one-on-one with anyone else in the field, and equally obvious neither one will sell a lick.
It’s starting to look like the only way to not get a WGWG winner is to simply not cast any (you can make a case they did this last year, since Scotty’s country status gave him an obvious commercial niche, and since Casey and James were respectively too eccentric and too “rock” to challenge him). It’s like back in the early days of The Amazing Race, when it started to look like only teams made up of fit young men had any chance to win–the show just stopped having them on.
Ed, I always look forward to your voice of reason amidst all of the hysteria! I agree with you completely as usual. In fact, I would not be surprised to see a “backlash” from the totally inappropriate way the judges behaved last night. Running up on the stage and ‘reprimanding” America! Seriously? I wouldn’t vote for Jessica now for any reason. Why? She showed herself totally unready for the demands and trials of becoming a professional artist – she fell apart under the pressure!
What the judges just don’t seem to “get” is that most voters listen to the singers and then think – but would I buy their record? And sadly, for most of them, the answer is NO! Another big ballad girl singer? No thanks! You hit the nail on the head when you said the judges praise everything – and what happens is that we end up with a bunch of kids with mediocre singing talent who have inflated egos and all expect to win.
The sad truth is that most will end up like James Durbin – who was happy to have sold 100,000 records. Not everyone is guaranteed stardom!
Isn’t it asinine to take your resentment out on Jessica just because of the way she was handled? She’s just a 16 y/o participant of a reality talent contest that was caught in a crossfire between the Idol PTB and the audience.
To NOT vote for Jessica for such petty reasons is just low. Sure, vote for your fave but have some sense of respect and dignity for these folks.
Idol Guy, I agree with you 100%. The nonjudging judges even make it worse by rewarding less than stellar performances with standing ovations. The exchange between Colton and JLo about him not getting a standing ovation yet was telling. I got the strong impression she wanted to remedy that. I remember the show when most of the contestants got standing O’s from the judges.
Part of the problem may be that the judges are doing a much better job of screening out the clearly unready and/or less talented contestants than was done in Simon’s later years with the show. There is clearly less cannon fodder. All the remaining contestants have What Not to Sing average ratings between those of Kelly Clarkson and Scotty McCreery. All but Hollie and Phillip have average ratings above 60%. It may be harder for the cream to rise to the top when the contestant pool is so talented.
I LOVED last night. My daughter and I laughed until we hurt. Possibly not what AI was hoping, but it was my favorite episode ever in its absurdity. The faces on the contestants and judges was enough to make me rewatch the entire scene. The scolding of America had me falling off the couch. Steven putting out the save card before they even knew whom to save was the best of all. Great TV.
It seems the entire AI cast and crew carries no history. America isn’t voting for the best singer – not even asked to do so (until last night) they are to vote for their singing idol which is different. It allows for performance and likability to play in. There are very few “shocking” things on this show anymore. Most of these events have some historical basis. The great singer that isn’t bonding, the underdog who gets votes to spite the judges, the girl with a big voice who doens’t know how to perform – it has all been done before and yet the judges refuse to learn. Jessica isn’t likable – even the other idols haven’t bonded with her. SHe may be very nice, but that isn’t the way she is portrayed. Take that with Hollie getting runover by the judges almost iwthout listening to her perform, you had a true underdog fight. My daughter started voting for HOllie (for the first time this season) right after the judges finished dumping on her (we DVR) and we did a check of all the lines and found no busy signals except on PP. Last year we tried to vote each week for Scotty and never got through. I am wondering if there aren’t that many votes this year and if maybe the contestants run pretty close each week despite the clear pushing by the show. And don’t blame the little girls who power vote since they also buy music and will for their favorite without question. Scotty is doing very well and is probably ranked 3rd in success for winners and he isn’t even done with his first year. He didn’t have the best voice but he is doing well and deserved the votes by those fans.
Finally, the favorites on the show haven’t explained to me where they fit on the radio. Skylar, Colton, and Phillip have been very clear but the rest are just singing songs
O.K., so here’s the thing- there have been what, 10 comments here as well as the original article? And we all feel differently about the various singers; I am very open to Elise, (really, she’s kind of hot and cold) I love Phillip, but I can see where he’s kind of same same- HOWEVER, I would buy his stuff, I would pay to hear him sing live. I thought Joshua was really good with the Bruno Mars song, but I hate the gospel-y stuff. Skyler? sheeeesh….ah….O.k., I’ll go out on a limb here and just say I think she’s really obnoxious, and I don’t enjoy watching her sing- she sounds all right, but she has an odd face in my opinion. However I’d still vote for her over Jessica any day of the week. Jessica is not a likeable teen; That BB Chaz thing was lame, and unfortunately when I hear someone sing that I think sounds screechy, and the judges fall all over themselves to praise her?
I say, NO. She’s had some great songs, I’ll give her that, but it is so blatent that TPTB have decided that they’ve found themselves the new Whitney, and to hell with what America thinks, that I am totally turned off to her. Sorry Jessica.
I will say that the one contestant that I really like and am enjoying seeing the weekly growth is Hollie. She’s not getting shit in the way of mentoring or confidence building, but she has an awesome voice and she is without a doubt, probably the most natural, nice girl they’ve had on the show in awhile. Those judges looked like huge bullies the other night when they all trashed her. I’m guessing most of the viewers were a little ticked at it as well, hence no bottom three for Hollie.
Colton? Meh. He’s O.K.. I still think he sounds nasel and has a really hard time bringing his notes down. I’d never buy his stuff or go see him live. And for Gawd’s sake, get rid of the rooster hair. It looks dumb.
It’ll be very interesting to see how next week goes; After the bizarre behavior of the judges last night, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jessica and Joshua end up in the bottom again- the judges love isn’t doing them any favors this year.
That’s just pathetic: Throwing someone under the bus just because of how SOMEONE ELSE handled the situation that person was in. Ludicrous!
And sorry for you, but P2′s copy-pasted performances week after week has lost me all patience for him. After Top 11, I was trying to get what people see in him talent-wise, beyond his usual treatment of songs. By Top 8, looks like people are seeing some of his limitations: his “artistry” has made all of his performances indistinct. Never have I ever seen that kind of thing happening. What’s sad is that he has become the Gokey *gasp*: Same sh*t, different day yet gets more than enough votes to make him sail through to the late rounds of the game. Pity, really.
Elise, well, she’s seasoned, but she doesn’t have a lot of charm for me. At least Haley before her had a whole bunch of that to spread around. I question her longevity in the game at this point.
Colton, I respect his talent and passion. And it doesn’t hurt that it shows through his performances. But to put all that talent to CCM than pop-punk, I say, “Really?!”
Skylar and Joshua, I’m warm towards and I wouldn’t mind seeing at the Finale. However, I’m guessing that only either one will survive in the next couple of weeks. I’m expecting the former to outlast the latter, if it goes “business as usual.”
Hollie and Jessica, those I’d WANT in the Finale. However, based on both their histories in the game, it’s cloudy, at best. Moreso with the former than the latter. Sad sh*t, I’d say.
NOT loving the direction this season’s going. Ugh!
And this is why musical taste is subjective. Different people like different things, and the viewers who bother to vote are entitled to vote for what they like. Apparently for the majority of those who do vote (at least those who are willing to power vote) that person is not Jessica. Maybe Phillip gets more votes because more voters like him. To each their own. I don’t need the judges, the producers or anyone else telling me what to like; I like what I like, and those 3 idiots at the judging table aren’t going to change my mind.
I think we’re getting some revisionist history here regarding what the judges said about Hollie on Wednesday night. Just for the record, this is what they said:
Jennifer: “You look beautiful tonight, Hollie. So beautiful. I feel you fighting. I feel you fighting and wanting to be perfect, and wanting to be everything. It’s not always about that, you know? You sang beautifully tonight. You should be very proud of yourself…we’ll see how it all pans out. I’m rooting for you.”
Steven: “I gotta say, you know, it’s not about being perfect. I’m not sure if you were–I am sure. It wasn’t perfect tonight for me. It kinda laid there a little bit for me, compared to how you usually sing. But you look good tonight, girl.”
Randy: “No, it wasn’t perfect, but it was a lot better than where you were last week. I think you definitely helped to kind of redeem yourself a little bit this week…I mean listen, you can sing. You’ve got a big voice and you hit those big notes. All of them weren’t spot on–the only thing I was missing was a little bit of the feeling from them, but I think you were so much better than you were last week, so you’ve got to be proud of that.”
Reading here and elsewhere, I am amazed at how the legend of Hollie’s epic “bullying” has grown up in less than 48 hours. Even by the standards of post-Simon AI, this is very, very mild stuff.
I don’t believe it’s revisionist history. In fact, I would go as far as to say that you’re being a tad bit naive. The judges have been irredeemably slathering praise onto every contestant and playing a severe game of favoritism since season 8. It really isn’t hard to see that in comparison to the other judgments handed out for Top 7 night Part 1, that the judges were sincerely uninterested in evaluating Hollie or the rest of group with any kind of seriousness. They play favorites all season long which is why there was such an uproar with Haley last season. She was the only contestant that seemed worthy of criticism to them when James Durbin would twitch and yell his way through a number or Scotty and Lauren would mediocre it up. It’s quite a sad thing to see Hollie on the chopping block and everyone else in the ball-pit at Chuckee Cheese.
“It’s quite a sad thing to see Hollie on the chopping block and everyone else in the ball-pit at Chuckee Cheese”–well, not really. That’s the nature of the show. At some point, all but one are on the block. But I do think Hollie’s track record of crying at the drop of a hat and her pixie-like nature–she’s actually older than Skylar and Jessica, but I suspect most viewers believe otherwise–has a lot to do why so many voters seem to be taking the plight of the 7th most talented remaining contestant so personally.
I would agree the show needs more true criticism–EVERY contestant has been under-criticized this season.
But I don’t understand your problem with “favoritism,” which just seems like another word for the judges thinking some performers and performances are better than others. Of course they do. Don’t you also feel the same way? Idol Guy didn’t rank the performances this week, but he seemed to believe that Hollie, Phillip, and Colton, while not bad, were at least a little below the other four. Those were my opinions as well, and apparently the opinions of the judges, since Phillip and Hollie were the only ones who really took any flak. This doesn’t mean I think the judges are always right by any stretch, but it’s not as if they were saying things that were wildly at odds with reality on Wednesday.
It’s not what they said so much as how they said it. Some of their critique of Hollie’s performance was perfectly valid, but their whole attitude was very much “thanks for playing, here’s your parting gift” and I think that’s what voters were reacting to.
Why don’t they just hand Holly a box of razor blades while they are at it?! When Steven Tyler told her “But you look good,” my food almost shot out of my mouth! I think Colton and Phillip suck big time! BBBOOORRIINNGGG! Skyler can sing well but when you show someone gleefully hunting on tv, you lose my figurative vote. Elise is talented but lacks charisma. Jessica seems to think that the title should be handed to her on a silver platter. Can we get an AMEN for the Holy Roller Joshua?
I am tired of Jennifer’s critiques. I mute her (yip!yip!yip!) every time she pip squeaks and her “advice” holds no water since she can’t sing or act. It’s time to stop the self glorifying, ho-i-fying, LOOK AT ME AND LOVE ME videos! That tired dancing routine was already old in the Shitty Diddy and Bennifer years! Basta! ENOUGH!
I think people are going way overboard at trying to criticize the judges for ‘talking down to America’. What percentage of viewers vote? 1% or 2%? I took the judges comments in the way they probably meant them… that the other 95+% of viewers should get voting if they don’t want the 1-2% of powervoters ruining the show for them by elimating the best singers. And that the 1-2% of powervoters should try to be more objective as to who is a top tier talent and who is comparable to someone you’d find in the Top 3 at your local country fair or university.
The judges and producers have an obligation to all AI fans, not just the power voters, to produce a good show with top tier talent. I am not always the biggest fan of What Not To Sing but it is arguably the most objective compilation available of opinion from columnists and critics and Jessica has been consistently at the top and Hollie and Phillip and Colton have been consistently at the bottom. Does it really surprise anyone that the consensus best candidate is supported and the consensus worst candidates are de-pushed? (Not that there is much criticism at all, even for mediocre performances – totally agree with TIG that this is a huge self-inflicted problem). Why wouldn’t there be outright disgust that the top 3 consensus best singers comprise the bottom three this week? That’s the general opinion of AI columnists the past couple of days, so why should we be surprised that Randy, JLo and Steven share it?
American Idol tries, with lesser and lesser credibility as each season passes, to have the American Idol come across as the olympic champion of the talent search. Obviously you don’t win the gold medal in the olympics by popular vote, but to maintain any semblance of that guise, you can’t have the best singers consistently being eliminated before the worst. Fans of the show should (and generally do, as evidenced from the general disappointment at the results) understand that that clearly undermines the credibility of the show’s basic premise. The power-voters don’t care of course, they just keep thinking Hollie is so nice and deserving, so they’ll self-interestedly vote for her even if she’s terrible. That’s a problem of the show’s own making and the producers really need to change the make-up of the jury pool or nothing will change and the show will be come less and less must-see-tv for the 95% of the general viewership. This audience is from whom AI makes most of its money and it’s about time the show be rescued from the mercy of southern preteen powervoters and their indolent mothers who seem to think that brown girl comes across with a bad attitude.
Hollie’s numbers show a different story, with her first three performances coming in at 5 stars each. Frankly, I think a lot of people were affected by the judges opinions and her top 10-top 8 performances to objectively evaluate “Perfect” as it was one of the finest of the night. I think her bad song choices from weeks past and this ridiculous stigma that you can’t sing ballads has given her a raw deal.
Allison Iraheta didn’t sing only ballads and look where it got her. Haley Reinhart didn’t sing only ballads and how did she fare?
Both of those contestants, I would say, are very much in their own tier of talent but they did well what they knew and honestly, I don’t think Hollie stuck with what she knew. She made bad decisions for “Honesty”, “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Flashdance” and she paid for them with two bottom 3 appearances. But “Perfect” was superb in choice, lyrics and the delivery was quite lovely so I don’t think that she’s getting away with bad performances just because “She’s a nice white girl.”
I agree with a lot of other things you’ve said though. TPTB have a responsibility to their show and tot he viewers, not just the power voters. The real problem is the obssession with contestants like Colton and Philip. It’s not just from the power voters but from the judges, the producers and a lot of critics (like Michael Slezak over at Tvline who talks a big game about guys getting undeserved support but then giving them the same. Don’t get me wrong, I love him, but he’s a hypocrite when it comes to that).
In any case, I’m really starting to cheer for a Jessica comeback story, an all girl finale and a female winner. Any of the top four would be talented enough by the finale to win. Just my opinion, but I think they’re superb.
I think you’re confusing American Idol with a show that’s actually about choosing the best singer each season. It isn’t, and hasn’t been for several seasons. It’s about the viewers who vote (yes, a very small percentage of AI viewers) choosing the contestant they like the most, for whatever reason makes them vote. Sometimes it is the best singer, sometimes not, but it’s who AI voters choose.
Here again you have posters that want to declare who is the “best” singer up there- “You have to vote for the best”. Music is subjective, music is personal. Yeah, at the end of the season you can say, “Jessica was best, she won the title” but you will never be able to say, “EVERYONE agrees that Jessica deserved to win and we’re all going to buy her stuff” (Hello- Taylor Hicks?) Why bother with the voting if we’re being instructed by the three stooges on stage TELLING us who is worthy?
Like it or not, it is a contest DESIGNED to be a popularity contest. It is what it is, and if the tweens decide they love Colton or Hollie instead of Jessica and Skyler, that’s who’ll win. I will never stop believing in the likeability factor either; People form their opinions based on what they think of the contestants even before they open their mouths. I love Elise’s music NOW, but she really had to grow on me- as they continued to give her an opportunity to speak, you could see more of where she was coming from.
I ssatnd by my prediction that Jessica will be back in the bottom three next week, thanks to the judges, although I have to say, I have never been entirely confident that the whole show isn’t rigged anyway- that the producers chose whoever they think can make money for them- like Scotty Mccreary. He’s doing big stuff in country.
Sigh. I wish I wasn’t so interested in all this.
So if the show was American Artist, it sounds like you’d be ok for voting for little Jimmy from Arkansas rather than Van Gogh or Picasso, because, y’know, the former is more likable?
While the show may be designed as a popularity contest, the purpose of the judges is to differentiate and highlight what is truly special and unique talent compared to what is, in the broader picture, really rather ordinary. Vote for who you like but get off your high horse in thinking that your ability to discern that is in any way comparable to veterans of the music industry.
If Phillip Phillips wins, that’s fine, but it’s a pretty pyrrhic victory for him and his fans if there’s no legitimate claim to made that the reason he wins is because of superior music talent. The show might as well be a lip-syncing contest for all that musical talent has to bear on the results? Do you think the judges or Interscope or any fans of the show that want musical talent to be the focus of the show want that? No, and hence the backlash against the tendency of the American people to vote for the worst. If it continues, AI will continue to lose relevency and the best contestants will go to The Voice or other shows. ALL fans of AI should be concerned about that, whomever they support.
Simply put…..the present judges need to be fired. Nigel and Jimmy should be judges next year along with someone from SYTYCD
No! Just no.
I concur with Wiggle Foot!