American Idol starts tomorrow.

[2centsworth]

this clip freaked me out



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxOytYLlhiQ

[duncan228]

We watch it as a family, it's one of the few TV shows we can all watch together. We've done it for years now, it's something we look forward to even if we don't get into it like we used to. My daughter used to vote, she doesn't anymore. But we like the time together, as the kids get older we try to grab any time we can with them.

The auditions are always good for a laugh, or a shudder, we each pick our favorites and see how it plays out.

[atxrocker]

jesus fucking christ i wish this show (and others like it) would go away

[Pistons < Spurs]

jesus fucking christ i wish this show (and others like it) would go away
:clap :clap :clap

[duncan228]

jesus fucking christ i wish this show (and others like it) would go away

That's why they made remotes.
So we can watch it and you don't have to. :)

It's light fluff. Meaningless. A break from everything else.
You don't have to think, you can critique the singers and the judges like you know what you're talking about.

We enjoy it.

[2centsworth]

That's why they made remotes.
So we can watch it and you don't have to. :)

It's light fluff. Meaningless. A break from everything else.
You don't have to think, you can critique the singers and the judges like you know what you're talking about.

We enjoy it.
don't sweat the :donkey . every once in while you get performances that are crazy good mixed in with a lot of comedy. My kinda show.

[SpursWoman]

That's why they made remotes.
So we can watch it and you don't have to. :)

It's light fluff. Meaningless. A break from everything else.
You don't have to think, you can critique the singers and the judges like you know what you're talking about.

We enjoy it.

Didn't you know? It's far more meaningful to post picture after picture of girls that wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. Because God knows, we all care what the guys around here jerk off to. :spin

Anyway, I keep hearing there's much better talent coming out of this one, but who knows. The auditions are funny no matter what anyone says. :)

[T Park]

Please let the talent be better this year.

Last year at times was painfull to watch.

[bendmz]

We watch it as a family, it's one of the few TV shows we can all watch together. We've done it for years now, it's something we look forward to even if we don't get into it like we used to. My daughter used to vote, she doesn't anymore. But we like the time together, as the kids get older we try to grab any time we can with them.

The auditions are always good for a laugh, or a shudder, we each pick our favorites and see how it plays out.



We've been doing this also... my daughters come in just watch this show together.... one is 25 and the other is 30... kinda cool

[duncan228]

We've been doing this also... my daughters come in just watch this show together.... one is 25 and the other is 30... kinda cool

That is cool.

It's a good show for that, all ages can watch it. We were turned onto it by my 70ish year old mother-in-law!

[Sonia_TX]

We watch it as a family too and a few of my friends will be joining in this year. A few years ago (either season 1 or 2) my grandfather watched one of the auditions and laughed so hard he was crying. It was some old guy trying to be Elvis. I had never seen my grandpa laugh that hard to where he had tears rolling down his face. It was cute and a great memory for me that we talk about every time Idol starts.

[johngateswhiteley]

people still watch this crap?

[mrsmaalox]

Didn't you know? It's far more meaningful to post picture after picture of girls that wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. Because God knows, we all care what the guys around here jerk off to. :spin


Ain't that the truth!!! :lol

Well I've never seen the show, but I know alot of people who never miss it. My impression though is that the audition part is a bit "Gong Show"-esque.

[2centsworth]

Ain't that the truth!!! :lol

Well I've never seen the show, but I know alot of people who never miss it. My impression though is that the audition part is a bit "Gong Show"-esque.
watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxOytYLlhiQ , and then tell me if you feel the same way.

[johngateswhiteley]

jesus fucking christ i wish this show (and others like it) would go away

:tu

[mrsmaalox]

watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxOytYLlhiQ , and then tell me if you feel the same way.

Oh yea I saw that guy's story on CNN. Pretty amazing. I wonder if anything has happened for him since then?

[2centsworth]

Oh yea I saw that guy's story on CNN. Pretty amazing. I wonder if anything has happened for him since then?
he has a fantastic album out called "One Chance".

[mrsmaalox]

he has a fantastic album out called "One Chance".

:tu. Oh,what is his name?

[2centsworth]

:tu. Oh,what is his name?Paul Potts

[duncan228]

Here's what to expect this season. (It's long.)

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-etlede5537838jan15,0,5233786.column

'American Idol' Changes Tune For 7th Season
Verne Gay

We can all agree to disagree on "American Idol" and pretty much always have over the past six seasons.

Some editions have been grand, some less so. Which was which? That was strictly a matter of opinion and the maddening and unpredictable hobgoblin known as "taste."

Then, something happened last year. It started quietly enough - maybe a sort of revulsion at the early contestant rounds, which featured a tsunami of false notes and bad hair. Then, there was Sanjaya, who became a national joke. Melinda Doolittle, the finest singer in "Idol" history, was prematurely ejected. Ratings slid slightly, teens abandoned the show by the millions, the summer tours were sparsely attended and potential buyers remain allergic to winner Jordin Sparks' self-named CD.

In other words, there was no disagreement whatsoever on the sixth season: It stunk.

That's why change is afoot at "Idol." Nothing dramatic, mind you. But change. As the world's most popular TV show starts its seventh season Tuesday at 8 on Fox/5, we offer five reasons why this could be the best one ever. Then, five reasons why seven could be "Idol's" unlucky number:

1. Much better performers this year

That's the advance word - or spin, anyway - from the "Idol" camp, and there's no reason not to believe this. The focus this year was improving the front line, and in a recent conference call, Simon Cowell said, "We got a better top 12, more interesting than [the 12] last year."

In a separate phone interview, "Idol" brain trust/exec producer Nigel Lythgoe slightly disagreed: "I said last season that we had the strongest top 12 and I still stand by that, were there any outstanding individual performers? No, I don't think there were." He added that there were previous seasons "where I wanted to curl up and die [because] I was constantly surprised Americans kept in the competition."

Of this year's crop, he says three or four "could easily be signed" by a label.

And the flip side:

May I remind you of the Sanjaya effect? The tendency for the outrageously bad or silly to survive and for the outrageously good to occasionally get dumped? "Idol" may have some fine singers in season 7, but who's to say they'll survive?

[B]2. The Writers Guild Strike

The theory goes: Because there's so much junk on the air now - "American Gladiators!" - that viewers will give "Idol" an even bigger bear hug. There's reason to believe this; after all, "Idol" is huge even when there's good scripted stuff on. The calculus now suggests: Huger.

And the flip side:

Nice little theory, but even Cowell and Lythgoe think it's bunk, and they may be right. Ever pragmatic, Cowell says: "People will [still] have a choice with other channels and we have to make a better show than last year and that's the reason we'll gain or lose viewers." Says his pal Lythgoe: "We're going to have to be successful hopefully in our own right. If there's nothing on TV, [maybe] the American public will go outside and play sports - or my favorite would be to go learn a ballroom dance."

He also adds, the other networks rarely air anything solid opposite "Idol" anyway.

3. More kids, fewer superstars

This is one of the biggest changes of the new season. "Idol's" cutting back all those so-called mentor sessions that in past years tended to be more about the mentor - Diana Ross or Andrea Bocelli - than the mentee. Good reason for that: Some of the mentors are massive talents with worldwide fame. Says Lythgoe, "When these huge stars were made available, we really wanted to put them in there with the kids, we forgot there's only a certain amount of time that we had to fill, and we were filling it with stories about the mentors and not celebrating the contestants. That's where we made a mistake." He added, "We were having other people singing their songs" - like Maroon 5 - "that had nothing to do with 'Idol.'"

"This season, we go back to what we used to do, which is tell the kids' stories."

And the flip side:

Well, maybe viewers watched because some of those superstars were (in fact) more interesting and the jam sessions were (in fact) reasonably good TV. And nothing wrong with a couple of hyped performances by the likes of Jennifer Lopez (Is there?).

[B]4. The bad performers will be among the most horrific ever.

Oh joy. Bring out the earplugs. Early rounds are an "Idol" staple and crowd pleaser - in the sort of way that lions and Christians were crowd-pleasers for the Romans. Cowell seemed to suggest the other day that they will in fact be worse (though not perhaps as bad as last year's Seattle sessions), while Lythgoe says they will remain "a staple.... It shows a lot of the stupidity that goes on in audition and I personally love it."

And the flip side:

Some of last year's sessions were needlessly cruel and petty. What if this year's are even crueler and pettier?

5. New set!

That's right - even superhits need a face-lift now and then, and "Idol's" getting one. No details on the new set or new opening graphics but we'll see them soon enough. Yeah, viewers don't tune in to watch a set, but it can give the (subliminal) impression that they're watching something fresh and brand new.

And the flip side:

Hey, we kinda liked the old set, and will hams like Taylor Hicks still be able to come up beside Paula for a little personal serenade action?

Male 'Idols' have trouble with labels

While "American Idol" winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have become two of music's A-list stars, the recent exit of Taylor Hicks from JRecords means no male "American Idol" winner has a major-label deal now. (Ruben Studdard left J Records in December.)

Neither one, despite their wild popularity on the TV show, ever really connected with the mainstream pop audience with their albums. It's the difference between likable personalities who make for good TV and singers who make music that lots of people want to hear all the time. They're generally not the same thing.

The success of Chris Daughtry - who, let's face it, was kind of a pain on the show - is a good example and he's become the example for the new breed of "Idol" contestant who perform to get more attention for their careers, believing that winning doesn't really matter. It's something last season's runner-up Blake Lewis said over and over again. And look for this season's contestants to use that as their mantra.

The plight of Hicks - and Studdard to a lesser extent - also shows how hard it is for male pop singers who don't fit into a rock or R&B mold to establish careers.

"The important thing for all of you to remember is that I've been a working musician my whole life," Hicks said in a statement on his MySpace page. "This is turning the page on a new chapter of my career. Artistic freedom and control is an exciting prospect. The things that are most important to me is creating my art, performing it, and my fans."

And just to note: Season 5's "Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee is now off RCA Records, according to Entertainment Weekly. That leaves Lewis and Clay Aiken as the only runners-up still signed to major-label deals. --Glenn Gamboa

Here's what to expect for the first part of the "American Idol" season (all shows start at 8p.m. on Fox/5):

Jan. 15: Philadelphia auditions (two hours)

Jan. 16: Dallas auditions (two hours)

Jan. 22-23, 29-30, Feb. 5-6: National auditions continue.

Feb. 12: Hollywood round, part one (two hours)

Feb. 13: Hollywood round, part two. Top 24 revealed.

Feb. 19: Top 12 men perform (two hours)

Feb. 20: Top 12 women perform (two hours)

Feb. 21: First live results show; two men and two women leave.

Feb. 26: Top 10 male vocalists perform

Feb. 27: Top 10 Female vocalists perform.

Feb. 28: Two men and two women eliminated

March 4: Top 8 male vocalists perform

March 5: Top 8 female vocalists perform

March 6: Top 12 finalists revealed

March 11: Finalists' first performance show (two hours)

March 12: First finalist voted off (90 minutes)

[angel_luv]

Simon has been a lot less mean so far this season than in years past.

I wonder what has him so mellow?

[Pistons < Spurs]

OK, so I'm trying to watch this, and give it a chance.....

But so far all it's done is remind me why I think it's a complete waste of time. Seriously, you're giving all the weirdos and freaks (and that includes Paula and Simon) a chance for their 15 minutes. It's not about singing. It's not about talent. They've pulled idiots off the street who know they can't sing, and ask them to enter and pretend that they really want this.

I just don't get peoples love for this show.

[2centsworth]

OK, so I'm trying to watch this, and give it a chance.....

But so far all it's done is remind me why I think it's a complete waste of time. Seriously, you're giving all the weirdos and freaks (and that includes Paula and Simon) a chance for their 15 minutes. It's not about singing. It's not about talent. They've pulled idiots off the street who know they can't sing, and ask them to enter and pretend that they really want this.

I just don't get peoples love for this show.
I like watching some of the dumb and dumber moments, but I agree it can go overboard. What I truly like is once you get a really good performance.

[Pistons < Spurs]

You are my Brooooooother!



Are you fucking kidding me? :bang :bang :bang

[2centsworth]

You are my Brooooooother!



Are you fucking kidding me? :bang :bang :bangAre you telling me melinda doolittle's "My Valentine" wasn't any good?

[T Park]

What I wish would happen is people who don't like the show, to keep their fucking comments to their selves and find another thread to pollute.

[angel_luv]

You are my Brooooooother!




Those You-Tubers need to stop slacking and get the video up on the net.

[Sonia_TX]

What a night! Dallas was crazy.

[Pistons < Spurs]

Are you telling me melinda doolittle's "My Valentine" wasn't any good?
Must have been before I started to watch. The first act I saw was the wife...with the husband standing off to the side of the judges while she performed.

The only performance I saw that was decent was the young guy Colton? I believe was his name.

[MoSpur]

This is the only part of American Idol I like.

[angel_luv]

You are my Brooooooother!




http://youtube.com/watch?v=TU7Oq29zHQw

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Anybody still watching AI?

[duncan228]

I watched part of it tonight.
It's Michael Johns to lose so far. He was way out of every other guy's league.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

I watched part of it tonight.
It's Michael Johns to lose so far. He was way out of every other guy's league.I thought David Archuleta was damn good, better than Johns even

[duncan228]

I thought David Archuleta was damn good, better than Johns even

My daughter is rooting for him, by the end she voted for both.
It's early, there's a long way to go.

[Sonia_TX]

I love Archuleta but didn't reallly like his performance last night. But he was so cute afterward when Ryan was talking to him. Adorable. I wanted Josiah Leming in the top 12 though but I think he'll do good on his own. I think (hope) that the Elvis guys (Noriega and Berry?) go home tomorrow, if not one of them then maybe MoonRiver guy (Yeager?).

And I wonder why there were only 11 girls there last night... Carly Smithson was missing and I like her. I guess we'll see tonight if she's there.