American Idol

[mamadeb]

Thing to say upfront - I'm sort of tone-deaf. This means I can't differentiate between similar notes unless they're played one right after the other, and often not even then, and I cannot reproduce them.

However, I can tell if someone is grossly off. It has to be bad, but if it is, I can tell.

It also means that for me to enjoy a song, I have to know or hear the words.

I still like it if someone rocks.

So, last night was dreadful for me. First of all, I knew exactly one of the songs. And that one was "Drops of Jupiter." Which, yeah, is stfnal enough for me to appreciate, but Ace wasn't great. He was pretty. He does pretty very well, but pretty shouldn't be enough.

Then - things got confusing. Because I didn't know the songs, and often not the singers, I had no basis for comparison, and a performance I liked would be called "bad" or "karaoke" by the only judges I could stand to listen to. And a performance I heard as *awful* - screechy and loud and off-tune - was called "the best so far" and "almost like [the original singer]."

Yeah. Katharine. I'm not familiar with the song, but I have heard Cristina sing other songs and she's not screechy (I'll never forget her a capella performance on SNL - just her, no music (well, yeah), no back-up singers. No tricks. Just pure voice. I couldn't help thinking, "Take that, Britney.") This was unbearable.

But I am tone-deaf and the judges are not.

Comments

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my roommate and I were watching last night, and we kept going, "Um... will someone save this episode?" Paris was okay (though I dind't know the song--I haven't listened to pop stations since the 80s--and Elliott was fair to middling, but the whole show was awful. What's with music in the last few years? Even Mandisa couldn't make something exciting, and she's usually dependable.

I miss the 50s. The fifties are better for shows like this, and, yes... you can hear the damned words. I dislike a lot of alternative rock for that exact reason. And when I do understand the words, I'm not sure I want to.

Katherine isn't bad, but I don't understand the petting she's gotten since she showed up at auditions. Last night, she was certainly no better than anyone else. And the front of her outfit was too close to her skin tone for that lighting. She looked bad, too.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Songs used to rock. They used have a real, driving rhthym that worked with the words, not against them (or, if you didn't know the words, the beat just...showed the way, you know?)

And if they didn't rock, they had melody. Okay, not all of them, but my goodness. These were all boring.

[lmondegreen.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not tone deaf and I thought most of the songs last night were awful. Paris and Eliott were good, Chris would have been if he hadn't overdone his one-trick-pony routine. The judges praised Katherine but I thought she was one of the worst! Sad to say, I think they need to hire Barry Manilow full time - he actually made them sing well.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I totally agree about Barry. He understands what this is about. (I hated that the recapper assumed that only senior citizens were his fans. Yeah, fine, he's in his twenties. I'm not old. I just know who's *good*. He earned his status, he did.)

And apparently, the voters agreed about Katharine.

My opinions, not that you asked for them... ;-)

[psu-jedi.livejournal.com]

I thought Mandisa was way off on pitch, an no one said a word (not to mention the song choice offended me--I'm here for "pop" music, not a sermon!). I thought Katherine started bad (sounded like she messed up either on words or notes--I don't know the song, only that the beginning she sounded like she had no confidence)and only made it to "enh." Paris did okay, but I thought the song was way too suggestive for a 17-year old, but maybe that's just me showing my age. ;-) I really like Elliot, I'm not sure why. Last night's performance wasn't his best, but it was better than most. Ace seems like he can do better. Taylor, IMO, nailed his song, though I don't know the original, I just think he did a great job. Kellie irratates the living crap outta me, and her and Bucky can leave any time now.

Re: My opinions, not that you asked for them... ;-)

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I'm thrilled to get your opinions.

I can't tell sharp from flat unles it's egregious, so I find this all fascinating. I love Mandisa usually, and I think her sermon could have been worse - she could have been lecturing us to find Yoshke. I like gospel rhythms, so that was okay.

And I so agree with you about Paris. I like teenagers to be teenagers, not oversexed...well. You know.

Elliot's a landsmen. :) Also, he's a fellow diabetic. And, oh, yes. He can sing.