Alyoshka

"God must be, like, wicked stoked."

MrHappyToes

Group 2 is definitely the magic group. Ruben, Kim, and Clay were all in Group 2. As well as my favorite, who should have made the top 12 but who was eliminated way too early, Candice Coleman. Hadas, who was very good, was also in Group 2. Also last year, Justin and Kelly were in Group 2.

Pay special attention to Group 2 next year.

goofee girl

Is it true that Simon won't be doing anymore AI shows?

das Monkey

• Quoth MrHappyToes •<HR SIZE=1>next year. <HR SIZE=1>

I think I'm going to be sick ...

das

Jadzia

What I heard is that he is only willing to do it if Fox agrees to only air it once per year.

I agree with him. I'm sure Fox would love to have an AI ratings hit every seasonn but I think it's dumb to do it more often than annually.

If they want the ratings on the off season, I would suggest that they do something like an "American Rock Idol" where instead of auditioning singers, they try to find the best unsigned bands in America.

Now, that would be a cool show.

goofee girl

Since I'm at work can people post their comments about the performances? I could use a good laugh right about now...

zuffy

What are the judges smoking tonite? I say Kim and Ruben's first song suck. I missed the last half of Clay's song so I didn't hear him missed a few notes.

zuffy

Am I having a hearing problem tonight? Horrible from everyone so far. I think it's time the judges need to stop kissing Kim and Ruben's asses tonight.

movieking

I disagree.

Clay's first song was horrible, but since he didn't pick it, I guess he should be cut some slack. It was by luck of the draw that the other two got songs that they liked and were comfortable with, but forgetting the lyrics could hurt Clay.

I couldn't believe that Kim bashed the song that the judges picked for her. She backed off on it shortly after, but it was written by Burt Bacharach, who has done a lot for American Idol, so to me, she came off extremely bitchy.

Ruben was pretty good throughout IMO. I thought that his version of If Ever You're... was his strongest of the night.

After the first round, I would have said that Clay was gone, but after his last two performances I don't know. I thought that he did a superb job on his last two songs.

If I had to guess, I would think that Kim is gone.

Off topic, but WHAT THE HELL WAS QUENTIN TARANTINO DOING THERE? I know millions of people watch it, but he just lost some cool points...

Brooke Burke

palebluedot

Yo yo yo dawg...word...me too baby.

das Monkey

Poor Clay ... his first song sucked. I also hate the double time arrangements they always use. "Mack the Knife" and "Unchained Melody" are two of the greatest songs ever recorded (each by many artists) ... speeding it up like that ruins them. Still, Clay did an excellent job considering.

Ruben was consistent, and Kimberley wasn't too bad either. I was impressed that they all came to win. Last year, it seemed like the contestants were just trying to avoid losing (except for Kelly). I would guess that Kimberley is gone, but it's really a toss-up at this point. I assume women vote a lot more than men, and Ruben and Clay will likely split the majority of those votes. If Kimberley were hot, she could get all the leftover male votes, but that's probably not going to happen. How those votes will fall, then, is anyone's guess.

das

briank

I thought Clay was the best, loved his last song.

I just don't like Kim so I'm biased against all of her performances, not my cup of tea, so I'll let others give an unbiased review.

Tonight, I thought Ruben's voice was WAY too scratchy at times.
And after the third song I thought he was going to pass out he was breathing so hard.

MrHappyToes

So Kim just happened to pick Band of Gold out of a big bowl? Okay, if you say so. The conspiracy theorists are gonna have a field day with that one.

Anyhow, I've been wanting to hear her sing that song since the Kim/Frenchie duet. And she did well.

Kim: A, B, A
Clay: B, A, B
Ruben: B, B, B

In my opinion, Kim was clearly the best of the night. But I don't really think she's got a shot at making the finals. She's been too inconsistent and she doesn't appear to have nearly as many fans as Clay/Ruben.

Of course, if several million new viewers tuned in tonight who've never seen the show before, she might have a chance.

goofee girl

Can somebody please post the phone number to call in for Clay? I missed it.

Groucho

Poor Clay. You do NOT want to be stuck singing any Don McLean song that isn't called "American Pie."

mediabear

1-866-IDOLS-03 Clay

1-866-IDOLS-02 Ruben

1-866-IDOLS-01 K-Lo

conscience

what is everyones fascination with ruben?

the worst of the three tonight.

potvin48

Anyone feel like posting a recap of the songs each person sang and the judges reactions? For some reason my tape stopped at 8:30, and I missed everything after Ruben's second song...

Goldberg74

The first round are songs they picked out of a hat...

01- Kim Locke- "Band of Gold"- good, the judges loved it

02- Ruben - "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered"- more up tempo than he usually does, it was good, but it didn't floor me, Randy said not his best, but good, everyone else said great!

03- Clay- "Vincent"- no Josh Groban, but great anyway, Randy thought it was kinda boring, Paula said it wasn't his best, Simon said it was terrible... good thing he has two more songs


The next round are songs that the judges picked...

01- Kim Locke- "sorry, I missed the title" good job, the judges liked it, Simon didn't love it, but it was good according to him

02- Ruben- "Smile"- pretty good, about the same as usual, and as usual the judges LOVED him

03- Clay- "Mac The Knife"- awesome!, standing O from Randy and Paula, Simon said brilliant


The next round is contestant's choice...

01- Kim Locke- "Inseparable"- good, the judges liked it

02- Ruben- "If Ever you're in my Arms Again"- good, not the best that I have heard him, judges liked him... As usual

03- Clay- "Unchained Melody"- great, judges thought it was good too, Paula said the best performance of the season

Thank my wife for this run-down.

TheAllPurposeNothing

Just got finished watching the show.

A few notes:

- Both a good and bad night for Clay.

The first song was wretched, but to be honest, is there any way in hell to pull off that song when following two upbeat numbers? Missed lyric didn't help, but I"m guessing that if it hadn't been brought up by the judges, most people wouldn't have noticed. My wife didn't know the song and didn't pick it up.


"Mack the Knife"...really good performance, but let me clear this up...its not an American classic! The Bobby Darin performance might be a classic, but it was written by a couple of German songwriters (Brecht/Weill) in the late 1920's. The judges need to be better educated.

"Unchained Melody." Decent performance, but am I the only person who was really bugged by his voice crack about 1/3 of the way into the song? Also agree with Randy...bad arrangement.

- Good night for Kimberly

"Band of Gold" was decent, but a bit too easy.

"Anyone Who Ever Had a Heart." Really nice vocals and probably the toughest song of the evening (covers a couple of octaves). Didn't make me forget the Dionne Warwick or Dusty Springfield versions, but very good.

"Inseparable." The vocal highlight of the evening. For my money, tonight's equivalent to Clay's "Solitaire" and Ruben's "How Do You Mend a Broken Heart."

One thought...I"m amazed she didn't tackle something by the Fifth Dimension since more and more her voice reminds me of Marilyn McCoo. She would kill on "One Less Bell to Answer!"

- Ruben's weakest night yet.

"Signed, Sealed, Delivered." Made me actually pine for the Peter Frampton version. His vocals seemed weak all night and he seemed like he was coasting the whole way.

"Smile." Okay I guess, but once again, Ruben proves himself lacking in interpretive skills. Its a mild, bittersweet song and was performed a bit over the top. And while I've always liked the rasp in his voice, tonight it was just scratch city. Rough but with no feeling.

"If Ever You're in My Arms Again." His best performance of the night but only okay compared to the other two in this category.

Was it just me or was Simon almost avoiding actually judging Ruben's performances? The "it wouldn't be the same without you in the finals" comments are getting tiring and have nothing to do with the song just performed. Anyone else he would have nailed on those performances tonight.

Final assessment: Clay and Kimberly should move on. Ruben's just coasting now and its showing. When I asked the missus who she thought should go, I was suprised she said Ruben as well. Up to now, she's been saying he should win. Guess I wasn't the only one highly disappointed in him tonight.

pantala

Heh, that's exactly what I was thinking when Paula said it was an American classic.

.. and how did that not make Clay a lounge singer? Granted, it's not really a lounge song, but it didn't exactly show me his range of style as Paula was so sure it would.

TheAllPurposeNothing

Entirely agreed.

In fact, during the performance, I kept having this indescribable need to donate to Jerry's kids

ChefWinduAZ

I have to say I thought this was Clay's worst night of all of his performances. He ruined all three songs he sang. His interpretation of Mack the Knife was horrible and he should have never attempted Unchained Melody. Based on tonight's performances the final two should be Kim and Reuben. If Clay were to win this contest I don't see his album doing half as well as Kelly Clarkson's. Looking at him tonight proved that his best bet is Broadway or as a minstrel. I think Clay's style of singing is thirty years too late. He would have been a big star in the 70's before MTV.

Patman

Kim just deflates my musical interest. That raspiness in her voice don't cut it for me. I got bored with her first song. Randy is smoking some serious crank. The Bacharach song she tried to "sang" was terrible, she couldn't sing the necessary quick tempo of the song when needed to save her life, her delivery through the words was horrible. Her third song was instantly forgettable, mostly all over the map to my ears.

Ruben started okay with the upbeat first song (sweating up a storm while moving within 4 square feet I think), but his voice got scratchier and scratchier, by the time he got to the 3rd song, the finish was just unpleasant to listen to because he was out of breath on the long finishing notes and was supporting amphibian life in his throat it would seem.

Clay had a rough time with that first song, you could tell he was unfamiliar with it, but did what he could to salvage it when he did sing the lyrics (of which you get the gist of the song from what Clay did sing, even if he forgot some of the words). Clay has this way of starting okay, but finishing really strong, we're talking "getting the audience out of their seats" strong, and he did so with Mac The Knife. That was a good finish. The last song he sang was just middling to above average, but had a nice finish, though that last high note was just a bit outside his comfort range.

I think America wants to see a Clay-Ruben final two, so that's my prediction.

UKingdom

Why all the hype surrounding Ruben? I DEFINITELY agree with Josh Gracin's analogy of his to the overhyped college draft pick who ends up winning big because of media hype and support, but not necessarily because he's the best. Bar none, in terms of talent, it's obvious that Clay is the best singer of the group. Ruben is excellent, don't get me wrong, but the way he's been portrayed on the show and with all the sympathy towards him I'm guessing he's already got a lot of votes that way. I find him rather drab and predictable. And I totally agree with others that tonight demonstrates that he's just coasting at this point simply on momentum and not making attempts to up the bar. What I think though is that the momentum is so high (especially after the "shocker" that put him in the final two) that America will give him the crown.

It doesn't really matter though at this point. I seriously think that probably they'll all nail contracts. Clay would be much better suited on Broadway though.