Wednesday, April 1, 2009

American Idol: What Say You?


What do I like about American Idol? I used to be able to answer "everything," but familiarity does seem to be breeding some contempt in me when it comes to this show. Especially the last couple of years. (I think my loss of enthusiasm began with Sanjaya and went on from there.) Still, something about the show pulls me in, and unlike most of my friends, I am still watching.

This year, I'm even enjoying it. The talent is better than ever before, though some of them seem to be getting worse each week rather than improving. Matt, for instance. When he's good, he's very, very good...and when he's bad, he's pretty mediocre. I think Simon has him psyched out––or maybe it was almost getting voted off last week after one of his best performances––but whatever it is, he needs to figure out what's up with himself and fix it.

Here's my take on all of the contestants, including my two current favorites, Adam and Kris:

Anoop - nice ballads last week and the week before, but I still don't know why he's so popular.
Megan - a great look, and I still like that funny quality to her voice, but she's lost her way on this thing.
Danny - the guy can sing, but he seems a bit smug (or maybe just icky), and that puts me off.
Allison - amazingly talented, a real natural, and I look forward to her performances.
Scott - nice guy, nice-ish talent, and better last night than he has been, but I think at this point that he's getting a sympathy vote.
Matt - lots of talent (love him on the piano), but in need of a confidence boost...fast.
Lil -  another one who seems to have lost sight of what got her into the competition in the first place. She chose the wrong song last night, that's for sure, and is trying too hard when she doesn't need to. 
Adam - crazily talented and creative, bordering on genius...or maybe he's already crossed that border.
Kris - talented, appealing, and getting better by leaps and bounds every week.

I'm beginning to think that the contestants who succeed are the ones who don't listen to the judges. Those who do listen and try to adapt wind up turning themselves into caricatures of somebody else's vision of them. (Which is even a little worse than being a caricature of yourself...At least in that case you're still in the ball park, since you actually are yourself and might discover that while you stumble around faking it.)

Anyway, that's my take on Idol. I wouldn't be sad to lose either Anoop, Megan, or Scott this week, and by all rights one of them should go...which means Matt will probably be the one booted off, because that's how Idol works.

The good thing is, I don't care as much as I did when Daughtry got sent home. Over time, the show has kind of inoculated me against itself. 

Which, on second thought, is probably not a good thing...

=)

8 comments:

Alisa said...

My favorites are Allison and Adam. When Adam sang last night I was laughing the whole time. Holy crap that guy has balls. I can't believe he actually pulled that off.
And I agree with the judges that Allison looked ridiculous. Poor girl is trying too hard but she's got some chops for sure. Love her.
I think maybe Matt is going home but I would love to see Scott go home. I am not a fan at all. I really dislike his style.

Snarky Belle said...

No surprise, I agree with your entire take on things, seriously, everything you wrote!! :)
I'm prepared for Matt to go, just because I really think he should stay!!

And, I actually shed a tear or two a few years back when Chris Daughtry was sent packin'. Loved him back then, and I still do!

jen said...

We live in Phoenix, so everyone here is pulling for Scott, but I think he's a better pianist than a singer. Adam . . . I can't help but like him, but . . . And I think my fave is Matt. So I hope he doesn't go yet. I have last night's show TiVOed, so I have yet to see the carnage.

Momza said...

I'm with you on this...sometimes I think the judges mess up the contestants with alot of double-talk it seems.
I like Matt and Lil has some great pipes. Adam has more talent than any of them, and I think he'll make a great "product" even if he doesn't win. I personally don't think of him as an American Idol, but more of a cabaret/stage artist.
And bless his heart, Scott will be gone soon.

Snarky Belle said...

No book yet, but things seem to take a really long time getting here. No worries, I'll let you know as soon as it arrives! :)

Em said...

dang, i wished i watched so i could join in!

Fiauna said...

I really wanted to like Megan, Anoop, and Lil, but I find myself cringing when they perform. I like them as people ( though I don't even know them) too much to watch them perform. You know what I mean?

♥CHRISSY♥ said...

I really like your outtake on the Idol contestants of this season I have to agree with what you posted about each of them, this is the first season I have really watched American Idol, but I think the talent on it is GRAND, it seems to be a real competition. The only one that seems to really be able to bring it every week is ADAM and is one of my favorites for that reason.