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DOOL Discussion Group
THEME ~~The Neil Diamond Songbook
Did I mention that I LOVE Neil Diamond?!! He's right up there with my Barry and Tony!
''Neil Diamond , 67, began writing songs about the time Simon was born!! His catalog is richer and more varied than most, from the folk rock of ''Cherry, Cherry'' to the anthem rock of ''I Am I Said'' to his '80s work. How will Neil's songs, which have been covered by Johnny Cash, The Monkees and Barbra Streisand, suit the final five? His catalog is a wealth of riches.''
Diamond could be an Idol's best friend or worst enemy. We'll soon find out. We see him greet each contestant. He encourages each to bring their own ''thing'' to his songs. However, will they listen to him??? Each singer will perform 2 songs with the judges withholding comments until both songs have been performed.. The best to all the performers tonight.
ROUND 1
Jason Castro - ''Forever In Blue Jeans'' - He's relaxed, happy, and interprets the song well. However, he chooses to play it safe again, taking no chances. Fun and pleasant performance.
David Cook -''I'm Alive'' - This is a lesser known song and Neil is impressed with him. He's doing Neil proud and sounds a bit like him. Good vocal and interpretation.
Brooke White - ''I'm A Believer'' - She's finally out of her comfort zone. We are seeing a very different Brooke. She's not weepy or nervous but smiling and happy while playing her guitar.
David Archuleta -''Sweet Caroline'' - Neil calls him a kind of prodigy. He changes the song up a bit with his usual 'runs', the first singer of the night to do so. ''Caroline'' is OK, nothing special.
Syesha Mercado - ''Hello Again'' - Neil thinks she does a wonderful job with her song choices. She brings a lot of feeling to the song, and we finally hear a more restrained Syesha.
Ryan's Spontaneous Idea~~an instant review by all the judges. We're not waiting until the end, after all. The judges are caught off guard. Confusing critiques follow:
Randy - Yada, yada, yada..(I've completely missed what he said)
Paula - The poor woman is commenting on TWO performances but we've only seen ONE!!!!
Simon - He expected more from everyone, even David A
NOTE: I didn't tape this so you're getting what I'm able to grab from this RUSHED MESS. This show never learns. To make matters worse, Neil's songs are being cut to shreds to fit 10 of them into one hour.
ROUND 2
Jason Castro - ''September Morn'' - It's OK. At least he isn't gasping for air this week. He plays it safe.
Randy - OK
Paula - safe
Simon - forgettable
David Cook -''All I Ever Really Need Is You'' - He changed it up and made it his own but I preferred ''I'm Alive''.
Randy - rocked the house
Paula - pulled it of
Simon - brilliant & made it his own
Brooke White - ''I Am I Said'' - Sitting at the piano she's singing with feeling but the old Brooke is back, the nervous one. She should have never chosen this song.
Randy - nice job
Paula - showed vulnerability
Simon - much better than the 1st song
David Archuleta -''America'' - He's singing his usual power ballad with a few 'runs' to make it his own. Same old, same old. The vocal is much better than ''Caroline''.
Randy - good
Paula - perfect song for him
Simon - clever song choice
Syesha Mercado - ''Thank The Lord For The Night Time'' - She is power singing again. However, her vocal is strong. I much preferred ''Hello Again''.
Randy - liked it
Paula - showed off her pop voice
Simon - good actress singer
COMMENTS~~ Neil need not worry about losing his career. I apologize for this disjointed recap, but you work with what you're given. This show was an insult to Neil Diamond who had his songs edited beyond belief to fit a ONE HOUR time slot. What a ''throw-a-way'' night! You cannot sing 10 songs in one hour and have them critiqued properly in that time frame. WHY THE RUSH this season? I don't know about you, but I feel as though I've wasted an hour of my time and it's due to the production values of this pathetic show, not necessarily the contestants and their usual dubious song choices! No wonder why their ratings are down!!! The end of this season cannot come soon enough.
RESULTS~~ Wednesday at 9:00 EDT
Special thanks to Linda for posting for me last week and to those who wished me better health. Everything was / is much appreciated.
Last night was just stupid. The thing is for as long as I can remember when they hit the top five they have the contestants sing two songs... but it has NEVER felt as rushed as last night, so do they usually extend it to an hour and a half for that night? I could barely keep up with the pace and I felt like some or most of the songs really were cut short. Frankly I'd rather they let them sing the whole song of just one song than less than 2 minutes of 2 songs each.
And I feel kind of bad for Paula. It's obvious that she made notes from the rehearsal and then was thrown when Ryan threw it at them that they suddenly had to critique all five super fast. I mean, WTF?
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I wanted to condense this more but so much came in that I didn't get a chance. So here are my quick thoughts--
First Song
Jason--Much better than last week but still doesn't have that edge that I wanted to hear on this song. I kept wanting it to go someplace but it didn't.
David C.--I think that was his best performance! Fantastic! Got the edge of Neil in that song yet it was all David. Ryan--Did not like the little exchange between them. They could have cut that to give someone more time on their song.
Brooke--She had fun with it. She looked more relaxed. I liked it but not sure if it was right for her. Maybe I'm too used to hearing the Monkees sing it, LOL!
David A.--He sang it well but he made it into a ballad, which I didn't care for. It seems he doesn't know how to clip his words. Randy--"da Bomb"? I don't think so.
Syesha--Good job. Very pretty.
Second Song
Jason--It was just okay. Nothing special.
David C.--Beautiful. It was so different from the other song but did a great job.
Brooke--I liked this much better but there is still something missing. Maybe because I'm used to a man singing the song. This one just ended short. Here's where the extra time from that exchange between Ryan and David C. could have gone.
David A.--It was better than the first song but I didn't get that enthused spirit. His ending notes were good.
Syesha--Loved it! She is really showing us what she is about.
Judges
Paula--I think she just got confused because of the way this was done. They were supposed to give critiques on two songs at once. Probably to save time either all of the judges or at least Paula saw the dress rehearsal so she had something down ahead of time. She seemed coherent to me so I don't think that was the problem. Did not like her crowning David C. the winner when just last week she and Randy especially declared David A. the winner. They should not do this. It is totally unfair to the rest of the contestants. Then they wonder why the others don't give it their all. Simon--He didn't like the idea of taking notes and I agree with him that it was "a strange night".
COMMENTS: It definitely was Speed Idol last night. Now tonight for the Results show when we want it to go faster, we will have all this extra stuff when it should only be a half hour show, especially now that they are down to only 5. I think Nigel is getting too mixed up trying to run this show and getting SYTYCD ready to start in just a couple of weeks. Does anyone else here think he treats that show a lot better simply because he is a judge?
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I guess Traci and I are on the same wave length. I already posted the same link up on my Idol News of 4/28/08. You can either read through Traci's link or go up there. I have another link that I posted with it that has an interview with Paula on Ryan's radio show this morning telling what exactly happened. Again, Ryan was just going along with what Nigel told him to do. It was all decided while Syesha was singing her first song. Ryan was told to go out and have the judges do a quick critique. Paula got mixed up because the judges were only told to do two songs at one time and she just happened to be in the studio when Jason was singing at dress rehearsal and wrote down some notes that she was referring last night because they really didn't have time to take notes. Simon hated the idea also and stopped taking notes. The whole thing was a big mess.
The theme for next week's show is also up. Check out the post up on the Idol News to see what it is. It contains more current songs.
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I just came across this article, written by someone is apparantly there in person, and it's interesting to see what took place back stage as Paula was talking.
http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/04/on-the-scene-th.html
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I'm starting to like Syesha more!! The last couple of weeks she's gotten my attention. Perhaps because Kristy isn't there anymore holding my attention. LOL I loved her singing without shoes, even though she's not the first to do it.
Jason does NOT have my attention any longer. He's def become boring.
Brooke - Didn't like her first song, loved the second one.
David A -- I don't get why everyone likes him so much.
David C -- Still love him!!!
I actually missed the whole thing with Paula last night. I wasn't expecting them to critique in the middle (obviously she wasn't either), so I think I probably FF through that without knowing. I've still got it on one of my DVR's though so I'll have to check that out tonight.
That does explain my confusion when Ryan was asking Brooke about what the judges said about her first performance. I was wondering what I had missed. Now I know. :)
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Paula, Paula, Paula. We hardly knew ye.
I do believe this show is rigged. Young David seems the forerunner, unfortunately. He's so browbeaten by his father, the kid looks like he's going to have a breakdown soon.
Jason does NOT want to be there!
David Cook should be the winner. Don't think it will happen.
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My take on last night's show:
Jason Castro - does not care. He will be the downfall of AI. He knows something, and wants no part of this show anymore. And.... he's been warned to shut up.
Paula - proof the show is rigged. Her comments are written in advance for her.
Randy - Saying that David A. is "the bomb" Please...... Rigged. David A. was not the bomb. He did the same boring thing he does every week. David could sing 100 bottles of beer on the wall like a zombie, hit one great note at the end and he's the bomb.
Simon and Ryan - laughing their asses off wondering how long this charade can go on, but happy to be on a #1 hit show raking in the money. Publicists are already grooming them for book deals.
David C.? Love him. He's really trying, but now that AI is so close to being exposed as rigged, he just looks stupid. I loved his first song. Didn't like the second song as much, but the judges put their pre-written dribble into everyone's mind. And it does stick!
My prediction? David A. is being told to "hold back" until the final two - David A. and David C. compete for AI2008! Boy wonder will then belt out a song that will blow America away and win the competition, leaving David C. and his hair gel on the sideline looking upset (but not really because he's got a record deal and knew that David A. was the winner all along).
Then there will be the books and interviews:
"Behind the scene's at AI"
I truly think this will be the last season. At least I hope it's the last season for the annoying arm waving 12 year olds.
Nicky
PS - My favorite was Jason's "Forever in Blue Jeans". He stayed true to himself and it was the perfect song for him.
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I pretty much completely agree with LisaP's comments....David Cook is by far the best on there. To me, he seems to be the only one that puts serious thought into his song choices and arrangements. He also appears to be the only one that reallllly practices....it just seems the others learn the song and the lyrics and then party the rest of the week. What was up with Brooke writing a line on her wrist? DUMB. I hope she's gone tonight. As for Jason, I wish someone would kick him in the pants....if he put half as much effort into it as David C, then he would do much better. He really does have a nice voice, but he doesn't seem to care too much! He always appears high on weed to me, haha.
Oh, and did anyone notice that for Syesha's second song, Paula began her critique by calling her Brooke???? If someone has it on tape can they check it out? I swear she did, although no one here in the office noticed lol. I think this, together with prematurely critiquing Jason's "second" song, is going to give the media fuel to burn her this week!
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"I hope everyone enjoyed tonight’s edition of “Speed Idol”. I didn’t exactly…"
That quote was from the site that has the video clips - Season 7 Top 5 Performance - Recap
-
http://mjsbigblog.com/season-7-top-5-performance-recap.htm
and an eventual written recap (usually by the next day), but the videos are up now if anyone missed the show or would like to see a performance over again. On the purple line to click you have two spots. The left side is for just the song but if you click on the right side that says, "w/Neil Diamond comments", you will get the mentoring session with ND and the contestant and then their song afterwards. That it just for the first five songs. The second five, only the song is listed since there was only one session shown with Neil.
To see the clip of the judges remarks for the first set of songs, click on the words (again in purple), "Paula is wasted" - not very nice but that's because she was confused with answering tonight. I really can't blame Paula. She sounded very coherent tonight. I think it was because this thing was rushed through. Going to two songs, the show tonight should have been expanded to an hour and a half to give them more time in between to critique the performance and give the kids a chance to sing the song. It sure sounded like the songs were cut short tonight, more than usual. Anyway, to see these remarks, in case you missed them or didn't quite hear them because it was done so fast, click on that part about Paula and you will get the video of those remarks.
The critiques of the second song are shown after each second song.
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TV-Show-Blog/American-Idol/Episode-Recap-Perform/800038585
I agree, this was "Speed Idol"!
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I am going to watch the rest of show on tape now and start calling. I want Jason to go now! I am going to vote a lot for Syesha today! Ok,oh I feel bad for Paula, she said it was David's song the 2nd one!
I am going to do them by singer confusing to jump around, LOL
Jason--*Forever in blue jeans* just nice and sweet but no omph, feeling, or anything new. * Sept. Morning* I almost fell asleep during that, he seems to be on something for anxiety that keeps him sleepy sounding! Please go home!
David Cook *I am alive and All I ever* 2 songs I don't know, are they from his newer stuff? the first one was short so hard to tell, didn't seem to sing that much. The 2nd one was better. did good not great but good.
Brooke *I am a believer* had fun played the guitar. I liked it! The 2nd one, *I am I said* should of kept it to New York, bc it sounded dumb, adding the Arizona thing to it, and she laughed when she sang *Today I am lost between 2 shores*
should be:
LA's fine, sunshine most of the time
The feeling is laid back
Palm trees grow and the rents are low
But you know I keep thinking about
Making my way back
Well, I'm New York City born and raised
But nowadays, I'm lost between two shores
LA's fine, but it ain't home
New York's home but it ain't mine no more
I am I said...
was the writing on the hand a joke or was she really going to forget, that gets me worried about her!
David A. *Sweet Caroline* such a song I like, but he sounds off key, too slow. ruined it! I wish he would get called on it more. *Coming to America* was better, like Randy said In the zone! ha, but he closed his eyes!
Syesha, she is my new girl! *hello again* really good, sexy, slow, smooth. She looks really good tonite. *Thank the Lord for the nightime* Fun, she did good. I like she comes out of herself and maybe yes, its a bit of acting, but she does well!
so off I am voting! I hope Neil has time on Wed. so he will sing!
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I'm so angry. What's with AI?? They run the kids through the show like cattle, sing a few bars of ND songs, move on to the next, Ryan ''speed talks'', critiques are to be held off until after the 2nd performance and then Ryan gets all the kids on stage and tries to have the judges do a real fast critique of everyone after ONE song, Paula is so confused she's recapping 2 songs each. blah, blah, blah. This is ridiculous tripe and is NOT entertainment. No wonder the kids are tense.
What kind of show was THAT tonight???? Then, they shredded Neil's songs all to pieces. Do you think they allotted a minute to each song??? I don't want to hear a 'segment' of a song. I want to hear the SONG. Can things get any worse??? Obviously, they can!! Frankly, I don't care who leaves. This is no singing contest and it's not even a popularity contest anymore. Someone needs to reign in Ryan and this show DOES need more time if they do 8 or more songs. I've had it. Boo to Nigel. He should be fired!
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I agree, Songbird, a total waste of my time. I enjoyed David C's first song and other than that it was lame. I think that Neil nailed it when he called David A a prodigy and that if he wants to be a musician, he needs to find himself.
So, let's chat...how are you? How is your daughter?
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OMG, poor Paula. She just tipped her hand that she reviews the performers off of their dry runs. YIKES. When Simon and Randy were trying to help her, she looked like she wanted to die. I felt soooo bad for her, it was obvious she took notes and was trying to do a good job...but just WHEN were those notes taken??? It's going to open up an Idol scandal now...
Syesha's first song was good. Brooke's piano song was touching. But beyond that....David C by a mile!!!!!!!!!!
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