American Idol - Wild Card Selection - 07/10/02
 

No thread, yet? Guess people were watching BB3. :)

Anyway, interesting night. Lots of disappointment and surprise. Very disappointed to see Kelli instead of Adriel and Angela instead of Jazmin. Kelli just strikes me as a mega-bitch ... blaming her mom for her average performance isn't cutting it with me. And Angela, as I said before, is just too-ooo-oooooooo-oo-ooooo muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-u-u-u-u-uuuuuuuu-uu-u-chhhhhhh, yeah ooo-oooooooo. All that said, the biggest disappointment was Chris. He was my third pick from the first round, a round packed with talent, but he didn't shine tonight, and that's a shame, because I love his voice.

Overall, I liked all the performances, each having their strengths and weaknesses, but nothing dreadful like some we've seen before now. My favorite was also R.J. He has a naturally beautiful sound (much like Chris) and doesn't need to spice it up with other stuff. He was better than the other 4 and deserves to move on.

That being said, I cannot wait to see some of these performers perform again. While there are still some duds left in there, there are some serious superstars. Tamyra's still out in front of the pack, but Ryan and Justin and Kelly are right on her heels. Plus, while I don't expect her to win, I'm looking forward to hearing Nikki sing again.

das

I think this show is Justin Guarini's to lose. Unless he screws up, he is gonna win. Wasn' t the all-time voting record set the week he won? I have a feeling it's because so many people called to vote for him. Something about him is so special. (Heck, even I actually called in to vote for him that night -- six times!)

As far as tonight's show is concerned, I too was surprised that Adriel was not present. I was not a big fan of his, but I recall the judges were. Perhaps he opted to not come back? The hosts (major tools BTW) said something to RJ about him initially saying he wouldn't come back for the Wild Card and it got me thinking that's what happened with Adriel. Maybe he got an opportunity already based on his performance?

I wasn't surprised that Jazmin was not there. She was the one person who didn't make it that I hoped would have, but if I recall not all the judges liked her. Too bad. While all the judges remarked how "unique" Nikki is with her straight from the Hot Topic at the mall-ternative look, Jazmin, I thought was very unique.

I don't understand the hoopla about Chris. I thought he was terrible, and I thought his last audition was terrible. He always sounds like he is singing off-key to me and his hair is just awful.

One of the finalists, Kelly Clarkson (the "Respect" girl) doesn't seem to have the right look for this competition. She looked kind of cute in her audition, but the last two shows she's come on looking horribly plain. I know they just bring the finalists on for show, but girl, put some makeup on! She's looked like she's just rolled out of bed or something.

I did think RJ gave the best performance tonight, even though I was not a fan of his previous audition. He needs to not pluck his eyebrows so much. It makes him look like Ricky, the gay kid from My So-Called Life.

There is actually some serious vocal talent in this group of kids...I was supprised.

There is also a lot of over-singing which I hate...and I hate to see that being fostered in this show, which it is. Nobody sings naturally anymore...it's more about vocal acrobatics which the "common" listener mistakes as talent...for me it's nails on the chalk board.

It's also nice to see some decent song shoices from some of them..some real music.

RJ was definitely the best because his performance, while powerul and confident, was understated and smooth... my kind of singer.

Definitely looking forward to the full band performances.

Well I pretty much agree with all of you - how boring is that? ;) I too was shocked that Adriel wasn't there. Though I wish Jazmin had been given another shot, I wasn't too surprised - they just didn't seem to appreciate her like we did.

I also agree that the vocal acrobatics are just too much - they're like nails on a chalkboard to me, too. That sound is the "modern r&b" sound to me - don't care for it at all. While RJ did a little of that, the last stanza he performed was really pleasing to my ears, and the boy can sing when he doesn't try so hard to do all those vocal acrobatics. So I'm not upset he was the one picked, though I honestly think he's got no shot - Justin and Tamyra are by far the best.

While her last two performances didn't show her talent - I really liked Alexis. Like Simon said - she just doesn't yet know what she's really got. Her voice had a power that the other girls just didn't have - unlike them, after singing loudly and using her full range her speaking voice wasn't worn out and squeaky. I think a lot of those singers are actually ruining their vocal cords - they always sound so hoarse after singing just one song (and not even a whole song at that). I believe Simon really summed it up well when he said that she is choosing the wrong type of music to sing. She should sing more unique songs - and latin might just be the way to go. But she's got plenty of time. :)

(oh, and while I'm usually posting right after watching the show, we've been in the middle of a horrendous heat wave, so I was out having dinner and daquiris. :D )

It's hotter than Satan's nuts here in the ATL. I would go out, but I'm stuck to my chair like the jackass in the Zima commercials.

I too liked Alexis. She reminds me of Ryan a bit, in that she could have a very distinct style with her talent. Where Ryan found a way to express that, Alexis is still searching.

das