American Idol: Discussion Thread

[Soapsuds]

Adam losing was the first Idol finale shocker. Kris Allen the winner has done nothing with his career. Btw….I don't believe Adam was there either but Kris Allen was.

Agreed...I think Phillip Phillips was the last correct winner to win. After him the rest of the winners were a blur and I don't even recall who won.

[NothinButAttitude]

The issue with AI was that it was always more about the judges than the contestants. That's why only a small few of them have gone on to have true success.

 

I am actually glad LaPorsha didn't win b/c she'd be locked in that sh-tty contract with all those demands and scams they stay putting the winners in. I hope she goes out and finds a real record company that'll back her and support her b/c she does have a gift.

 

I give this Trent dude a good year or two before he falls into irrelevance. He's a dime a dozen and unless he puts out some killer music, he'll be left in the dust. 

[YRfan23]

The show really was missing Simon and Paula's presence the last few years....it just never really was the same, and I also feel like having all the WGWG for the Bowie tribute, was just another gag to remind viewers of what the show really became about midway....not that they aren't talented, but so many talented people went, way before they should have got farther IMO......

I don't really have anything against Trent (though I really didn't want him to win, for reasons sated above) but.....that F**king song grated my nerves.....my goodness, such an unemotional finale song for the "farewell season".....They should have just redone "A Moment Like this" if anything for cheese factor purposes.....

[Soapsuds]

Did you see the one that won last year? Its been over a year and nothing from him music wise...a total bust...the runner up, Clark Beckham, was more of no pop artist. And told the judges if he won he was going to release his kind of music not what Idol wanted...that soured the judges and they started dogging on him and pulling for the eventual winner. Twitter went crazy after Clark lost.

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None of the winning songs have been popular or hits...they have been so cheesy....this year's choices for the 3 finalists were the worst...

[YRfan23]

I think Kelly, Ruben's and especially Fantasia's winning singles are still the best (just like the first 3 seasons in general) but after Carrie the cheese factor escalated more and more....though I did like David Cook's song......I honestly don't even remember the last 5 year's of winning songs...

[All My Shadows]

I think they ended it at the right time. Ending it any earlier than maybe s11 or s12 would have just been ridiculous, IMO. It was no longer what it had been in its biggest hit years, but it was still far from being a dead horse.

That being said, I think whomever is crowned champion has been very irrelevant for so long, first, because we all know that you don't have to be the winner to be successful, and then, for the more recent years, winner or not, no one from the last five seasons have tasted anything close to success. Each year, I got in the loop long enough to figure out who the top 2 were and then see who wins, and everyone always pulls out that line about the runner-up taking off and being a bigger hit, but the show hasn't made a real hitmaker in so long. No one from this season is going to blaze the Hot 100 any time soon.

[quartermainefan]

I loved seeing the original three back   (well mostly Paula and Simon).   Brian Dunkleman was a nice touch but it would have been cooler if he had co-hosted the entire evening.    I knew, just knew that William Hung was going to show up because how can you celebrate AI without William Hung?   I was very surprised Sanjaya didn't get to perform.     Who made me happy to see....Bo Bice and Latoya London for reasons I have no idea.   I guess they remind me of when the show was good and for some reason those two made me smile most.    I am surprised Adam Lambert wasn't there.   Justin Guarini looks good, Clay is starting to look freakish, Bo looks great and much better this way than the long hair.   Latoya looks great but Diana DeGarmo looks weird.  Bucky Covington hasn't aged a day, neither has Constantine.  Tamyra Gray still sings well, and Scott McCreery has been blessed with an amazing deep voice.   I have no idea why Jennifer Hudson wants to look perpetually pissed, but she does.  J Lo puts on a great show.

 

Anyway, where did the show go wrong?  They gave Paula the shaft and once she left the show was as good as over.   It was only when she was gone that it became apparent how essential she was.   Also, you can see when the show jumped the shark when they brought out those five guys with guitars.  Just terrible how the show went in such a wrong direction.  David Cook was good but some of those winners were never heard from again.  Lee DeWyze?  Danny Gokey?  How they won is a mystery.    The show should have hung it up after Phillip Phillips I guess. 

[DRW50]

The show began taking itself way too seriously and played too many mind games with contestants and viewers. The David Cook season in particular was a dirge, as they savaged the rest while they praised him for wrist-slitting pop covers you can find on a Youtube tribute video. That and the heavy hand for annoying Jordin Sparks were my lines in the sand. I drifted away after that. I think I watched up to the time that dumbass Kara was parading around in a bikini and I said, "This is too embarrassing to bother with." 

[Soapsuds]

Ah…I thought David Cook was good and deserved to win. I completely can't remember one other contestant during his season or who he beat in the finale. I actually bought his CD. I loved Jordin's voice as well but her success was short lived and she became more of a b star actress. I also don't recall who she beat in the finals…LOL

For me the show wasn't the same after Paula left. 

As for Adam Lambert not being there…eh…Im sure people don't need to see him to remember who he was….he has become more popular than the singer who beat him. His albums haven't sold millions but his been seen …i.e....Michael and Kelly to name a few shows….IA might have been his big break but he still would have been where he is without it….I wonder if all the rumors and speculation that he lost IA because Idol didn't want a gay Idol winner were true?

[Soapsuds]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/04/07/american-idol-season-15-finale/82771922/

[Soapsuds]

Idol finale got a 3.0 (tied for number 1 with TBBT) in demos….up from a 1.7 from last years finale….and an average of a 7.7 HH rating.  The last half hour of the show had a 3.4 in 18-49 demo….a 4.6 in 25-54 demo and a 8.5 rating.

[quartermainefan]

Didn't Jordan beat Blake?   I Liked Blake's version of You Give Love  A Bad Name.   Also, I think David cook beat baby faced David Archuletta? 

[DRW50]

I think it was viewers who likely didn't want a gay winner more than anything else. The show pushed him, probably hoping he'd be a big star win or lose (he did decently enough post-show but not compared to the hype surrounding him). 

 

The Jordin thing bothered me mostly because the hype just did not match the talent. One of the guest judges said if she won she'd become the most successful female singer of all time. Well...not so much, as it turned out. 

 

They became too focused on pushing "stars" because of their own credibility, rather than having a singing contest that was enjoyable and entertaining. 

[quartermainefan]

Rolling Stone  had a great post mortem:

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/the-lonesome-death-of-american-idol-20160408#ixzz45HEegcWp
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