When American Idol first aired I was a regular viewer and totally enjoyed the first few seasons. But over time Idol overlapped with other programs I watched and it slowly faded from my weekly schedule. However, it seems like even if I only caught a few Idol episodes here and there.. I almost always showed up for the Final 4 each season. One year, I actually caught an incredible live performance by Prince that stuck with me afterwards.
Well, thanks to Ronnie posting about Idol and the arrival of new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler .. I decided to follow this season from the beginning. And it has been a blast .. I miss Simon's blunt honesty.. but overall the idol hopefuls have been entertaining to watch.
So we are now down to the Final 4 contestants .. that will be a final 3 after tonight:
James - the rocker appears to be the favorite and his backstory about the loss of his father makes it hard not to root for him.
Haley - she isn't always consistent.. but if you get her feisty with the right tunes.. wow.. she might actually have delivered two of the best performances of this season.
Scotty - the deep voiced country crooner has proven that he is more than just a young George Strait. I love his nice guy persona and he is my favorite idol hopeful.
Lauren - I like Lauren and she has had some excellent moments on stage.. but not enough for me to vote her as the next American Idol.
So even if you haven't been watching American Idol to this point.. give it a chance tonight and definitely more over the next couple of weeks.
So who's watching? And who do think will be in the Final 3?
[ 12. May 2011, 10:34: Message edited by: Valley ]
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
I've been watching from the beginning as well. I think Haley will go home tonight, although, the judges gave her a hard time last night and that sometimes gets some sympathy votes. I think I'm in the minority, but I actually like Haley the best....I dig her raspy voice and the girl can sang!
*I'd like Scotty to go home tonight.....great guy....good singer....already has a huge fan base with country fans and young girls...he'll have a great career no matter what...I'm just not a big country fan.
* I'm not as big a fan of James as others seem to be....a great voice, but he doesn't seem to be consistent unless he's in the "belting out" zone, which he does great, but it eventually just gets on my nerves. He's attempted a couple of ballads, and I feel he's done poorly with them....you gotta be able to sing a good ballad...not just excell at the screaming...
* Lauren is good too...a great voice but doesn't seem to push herself enough. She's young, cute, and can sing...I think she'll have a good country career as well....maybe some competition for Ms. Underwear...I mean Underwood.....
I'm sidin' with the girls on this one....like to see Haley and Lauren in the final....but unlikely this will happen....I'd bet on Scotty and James in the final....with the surprise shocking ending....Scotty wins!!!
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
thanks valley! i'm glad you stuck it out, watching this season with me haha.
well, i love Scotty. not just because i am a country music fan, but his voice is awesome, and he's true to himself. we all already know what kind of music he is going to make and that he will be successful.. he's already won, in my book. i think he's a cutie, too.
James...i like him..but i definitely agree with Kev, the yelling is a bit of an overkill to me. it's a crutch, in some ways. but i think he's a fantastic performer and he too, is true to himself with his rocker voice and rocker style.
Haley is a good singer, she's beautiful, but she's not consistent. sometimes she sings great and sometimes her voice is all off. her grunt tends to be too much.. how many times is that needed in just one song? i love her raspy voice too, but it's almost like she's not in control of her range..at times.
Lauren has a good voice but still doesn't use all her potential.. she could be great but she's a bit of a chicken..she won't let loose. and with any bit of criticism, she gets butt-hurt. but i do think she could win if she'd just let go and really perform. but i don't see that happening.
btw, i love Lauren's dress in that picture, you posted above, val!!! i love all her cute outfits.
i think it would come down to Scotty and James too. as far as voices go, Scotty wins, as far as performance goes.. James wins. in my opinion. but either way, i think all 4 singers will do great without the win.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Idol shocker!!!
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
Oh Valley you are such a tricky little bugger!
I'm rooting for Haley I really like that her voice is unique and she's a little different then Idol's in the past.....cause remember I haven't always been an Amercian Idol fan......that second number she did last night was beautiful!!!
I'm with Ronnie on James........his singing and screaming makes me cringe....I think he's good at what he does.....but American Idol? his type of singing isn't extremly popular anymore?
ok Valley I can't wait to see what this shocker is.......I bet Lauren or James is going home?
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
Going to see Haley reinhart's hometown performance at the Arlington race track this Saturday! Her and James have been my favorites throughout this season.
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
well, that was an interesting elimination.
who wins, now?
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
Just got home after seeing Haley's hometown concert at the Arlington Race Track (right outside Chicago). It was cold and rainy but there were still thousands of people there to see her. She arrived to the racetrack in a big black limo with the American Idol logo on it, and she stood through the sun roof waving and smiling to everyone before getting on the stage. She was presented with a key to her hometown of Wheeling and then the audience was prompted by the producers to do some chanting and cheering for the cameras, apparently not only for footage to be on the show but also for Season 11 commercials.
After that, she finally started singing, with Benny and the Jets the first song of the night. Her Mom, Dad, and Sister were her backing band for the set which was sweet She ended up doing 6 songs in total...Benny and the Jets, Piece of My Heart, House of the Rising Sun, Oh Darlin, Sweet Home Chicago, and Mercy (by Duffy). Her voice sounded great, she looked beautiful, and she interacted a lot with the audience. She told us her background story a little bit...and in the middle of that, the cameras ran out of tape so she had to stop and then finish what she was saying later. Kind of interesting to see the behind the scenes of this sort of thing.
I took some pics but they are pretty crappy quality..but oh well, you will get the gist..I hope! Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
cool Vern! i'm glad you had fun Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
I will say nothing about the top 3 other than "Don't get me started!" I am not a happy camper right now.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Veronica.. cool that you made it to the concert and back after the Friday the 13th scare.
Too bad about the rain and wow.. I'm not a fan of the premeditated hype that Hollywood demands. But Haley sang some excellent tunes.
I already know that Ronnie will be praising "Benny and the Jets" and didn't you say your fav was "Piece of My Heart"? While I was most impressed with her raspy voice version of "House of the Rising Sun"!
And who's gonna win with the surprising early departure of James?
I'm hoping for Scotty.. but I think it is totally wide open now!
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
Veronica that's awesome you got to go and see Haley.
Petty - haha i was going to post here, saying...'uh-oh, Petty isn't gonna like this'.. sorry, i know who you're NOT rooting for haha.
i love when she sang Bennie & the Jets. but when she sang The Earth Song, which is a song i love, i was like.. wow, that was...flat.
i have to say, that when Lady Gaga was mentoring them, i thought she was quite good. she was pushing them beyond their limits and i think they needed it.
Scotty cracks me up. he's just gonna go out to the stage and do what he wants to do. his funny eyes are silly, but i looove his voice when he's trying to have fun on stage. and the judges are right, he's going to be a star, regardless.
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
Ronnie, here is a video I found of her performing Benny and the Jets yesterday at the show...she sounded so good!
thanks, V! so cool to see her sing that song again, i found the one she sang on Idol.. i love when she gets going. Haley - Bennie & The Jets (Idol)
i'm such a fan of the original, i think she did such an awesome job with it.
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
I had missed that Bennie & the Jets on idol.....she was awesome! I just love her little self with that big voice!
Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
Yes, Ronnie, you know me well LOL. Let's just say I'm gonna be votin my behind off for the other two Wed. night!!
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
The Final 3!
Haley
Scotty
Lauren
Well, round one is finished and though Scotty and Lauren were impressive.. it just feels like Haley went out on a limb and stole the lead. Having her dad playing on stage with her was an excellent touch!
[ 18. May 2011, 17:43: Message edited by: Valley ]
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
lots of people i know are really pulling for Haley to win. maybe she will win it??????
but at this point it doesn't matter much, because even though i want Scotty to win, he's still going to get his big chance, anyway.
but there is the fact that a female hasn't won the competition in a long time..so..
what if Lauren wins!?? haha Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
They are replaying their original auditions for Idol.. very cool!
Ronnie.. at this point.. I think Lauren has a chance to win.. I would not have expected that three weeks ago.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Round two is finished .. and it was totally Scotty in my opinion. Haley and Scotty are impressing me.. Lauren is doing good.. but not in the same league.
Go Scotty! Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Round three.. Lauren? The judges gave Haley a tough tune for that round and Scotty a Kenny Rogers tune??
Overall .. Scotty #1.. Haley #2.. Lauren #3
But it is actually too close to call
Better vote now
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
Valley and your updates! ok Ronnie you will kill me for saying this and I will say I like Scotty.....I just can't get past him looking like a baby to me....and Alfred E. Newman ....hehe Ronnie don't kill me.
I'm not really wishing one person would win ( just partial to Hayley)for the first time I have enjoyed watching Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
aww Muffs.. did you watch "Mean Girls" tonight or just "Heathers"?
I think Scotty needs to win the least.. the fact he is a good dude along with his talent has him setup for after Idol already. I would totally go see him in concert.
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
Needless to say, I loved Haley's first performance of the night! Yeah, she fell but she recovered gracefully, and I was so happy her dad got to play guitar with her! Her second song was pretty and haunting, and the third song was a little all over the place but the end of it rocked.
I liked Scotty's last performance, but overall I didn't think he did his best of the season with any of the songs. I was not really impressed with any of Lauren's performances, but I think Idol is pulling for her to win because she has that Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift corner of the market. She's a good singer and she's cute, but her songs sound very karaoke to me.
I really have no clue what will happen tonight...I'm scared for Haley, but you never know...
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
yes Valley I did! hehehe
I like Scotty! just c'mon doesn't he??? and I agree he will get a record deal you know it.
After last night and thoise were some fun performances to watch!!!
I want Haley.........all her songs blew me away i'm actually mad at the judges for picking Alanis Morissette?? c'mon talk about wrong song choice then they pick on her about not singing those parts fast enough? her voice at the end made me go whoooooooooooooooooa she can sing!
I like Lauren and Scotty but Haley is different and is a bit unique and I love that!
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
quote:Originally posted by Veronica Sawyer: I was not really impressed with any of Lauren's performances, but I think Idol is pulling for her to win because she has that Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift corner of the market. She's a good singer and she's cute, but her songs sound very karaoke to me.
i totally agree, Veronica. which would explain why they have been so hard on Haley about which direction she was going in, as an artist.
i love the song Lauren sang by The Band Perry, 'If I Die Young'.. but she sort of messed up twice in the show and the second time, the judges put a positive spin on it.
when Haley fell, i thought "noooooo"..but she got up quickly and still performed like it was nothing. she did great on her first song.
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
Muffy, I agree with you about the Alanis song. Crystal Bowersox just did this one last year with Alanis so I don't see how anyone could really top that. JLO had her mind made up about her opinion of the song before the girl even sang it, so I think that says something.
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
whoops, forgot about Muffy's post.. you little monster it's all good, everyone has their favorite, who they want to win.
oh and i don't like alanis' music so when they said Haley was singing it, i thought 'yuck!' i think Scotty's last performance was the weakest of the 3 he did.
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
totally agree about Alanis you two!!
haaaaaaaaaa Ronnie Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
So let's get it out.. who's going home tonight?
I'm thinking Lauren.. but way too close to be sure.
Been rooting for Scotty since the beginning.. but I'm digging the risks that Haley is willing to take. But is it too much?
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
Hopefully, everyone has watched last night's elimination by now so I'm not spoiling it!
Of course, I am bummed that Haley didn't make it to the finale..but on the upside, I think she is better off starting her career away from Idol and its constraints. And also...How awesome was that exit performance??
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
omg I had to bring up that weird Italian group I kept expecting it to be a prank??? I kept waiting for a joke to happen am I the only one? hahaha
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
Muffy, my Mom is obsessed with that group now!
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Idol finale is tonight as well..
Vote for Scotty!
Sorry about Haley.. but she did jam on her way out!
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
Well that was fun. Glad for the top 3..they should all do great! Until next year..
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i'm glad you stuck it out, watching this season with me haha.![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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sorry, i know who you're NOT rooting for haha. ![[Cool]](cool.gif)
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