Ellen!!!!

Ellen Degeneres the new Idol judge? How GREAT is that? This is so huge. I was seriously worried a bit about Paula leaving not so much because of Paula but because of the chemistry with the other judges and the audience. Whatever you thought of Paula’s wackiness, she was an essential element of the Idol chemistry. But – sheesh – Ellen is her own freaking chemistry! She loves music like the rest of us Idol geeks – I have long said that her dancing through the studio audience each day on her show is the best moment on TV – and c’mon, she will be funny on purpose!

The BIG question is, though, who has the power? Isn’t Ellen arguably a bigger star than Simon? She certainly is as big or bigger a personality. How will you not want to always hear what she has to say? How will Simon deal with that? And how much fun will she be with Ryan? Dude, this is so delicious!

Can you tell I love this?

MJ Tribute Week - how did Adam not win? Ah, Alexis!

How in the ^&^#%*(&&%^$^^(*) did Kris win? Travesty is the word that immediately comes to mind.

Alexis. Heart Be Still.

Favorite MJ songs? That is way too hard a question but here’s a few that immediately come to mind: Beat It (Eddie Van Halen!), Jam, Human Nature, Scream (with sis); maybe my favorite Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, Morphine (from a not so well known mostly remix album called Blood on the Dance Floor), Heartbreak Hotel, Dancin’ Machine . . . . yes, Thriller (100 million copies worldwide? Are you kidding me?)

Tonight’s replay of MJ week was a lot of fun to be able to both relive and re-evaluate the season. More than ever – if such a thing is possible – I think Adam and Alexis were robbed. But I am ahead of myself, so on with the re-evaluations.

Lil – The Way You Make Me Feel – her bluesy, R&B take on this was so good. What happened to her that she got so bad?

Scott – Keep the Faith – boring, no pop, sizzle and pitchy. It’s nuts that he kept moving on each week.

Danny – PYT – dude, Danny can flat out sing. Yeah, he can’t dance! I still can’t believe he lost to Kris. Crazy.

Michael (Oil Rig Dude) – You Are Not Alone – What can I say? I got up and went to the restroom. Really.

Jasmine – I’ll Be There – nice start but got really pitchy when the song got big.

Kris – Remember the Time – OK, apparently I didn’t because it was better than I remember. But Danny and Adam were better, and at the time, so was Lil. And Allison.

Allison – Give In To Me – I love her voice but I wouldn’t have picked that song. Not enough range in it to show off her voice but still, she has amazing pipes.

Anoop – Beat It – in his interview he said he wanted credibility. So he picks this song? Arrogance? Lunacy? Naïveté? All three. Painful.

Jorge – Never Can Say Goodbye – I wanted him to do well but this was so bad. I remember liking it more the first time and after seeing it again, I have no idea why.

(Simon-Crushing) Megan – Rockin’ Robin – Mute Button! Stat! That was painful. And she lasted longer than Alexis?

Adam – Black and White – this was the one that put him on the map. Nobody even close – a class by himself in every regard – vocally, performance, look, stage presence. A travesty that he didn’t win. I am angry again!

Matt – Human Nature - I seriously forgot he was on the show. The words from the song, “Why? Why?”, perfectly capture Matt. I still don’t get what the judges saw from this performance.

Alexis – Dirty Diana. OK, she is still so totally hot. But this is a really hard song to sing because of the flow of the words and she didn’t really pull that off. Did I mention that she is so cute? And then Country Week came the next week and finished her off. Still, she was better than over half the people on the show. Yes, I am still angry!!!!

Idol Update - Carly Smithson

This has me REALLY excited. Much as I like David Cook, Carly Smithson was my fave last year and, in my opinion, was a leading contender for Best Idol Singer Ever - a list made completely irrelevant by Adam. And now Carly has something really going on. She is the lead singer in a band named Fallen which is the original Evanescence band that singer Amy Lee fired before hiring a new band for "their" second album before she fired them, too. But I digress although I must admit that Amy is one of my all-time favorite singers and most captivating performers ever.

Anyway, the first Evanscence band's album Fallen (get the connection between this and the band's new name?) only sold 15 million copies! And that band and the new one has Ben Moody who wrote much of that album as well as songs for Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion and co-wrote Daughtry's smash "What About Now"? Carly is as close to an Amy-Lee sound-alike as you can get - she even sang an Evanscence song during the Idols tour - which tells me this band and album will probably be really close to the original Evanescence. I seriously cannot wait for this!

Check out this link (after 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday) for more on this cool development http://www.wearethefallen.com/

or her MySpace http://www.myspace.com/carlysmithson

Idol update - Adam

In a shameless but can-you-really-blame-them money grab, small-time record label Hi Fi Recordings is rushing out an album of some Adam Lambert recording sessions he did a few years ago as a struggling, young artist. They have just "released" a "single," called "Want," from the sessions, and the album, On With the Show, is due out later this summer. Here is a link to the song: http://www.hifirecordings.com/

It's clearly Adam and we can clearly expect better from his more legitimate, upcoming fall album which is being produced by RedOne, Lady Gaga's producer (and I cannot wait!!!!). For his part, he has released a statement distancing himself from the label and the material. Still, it feeds the Adam's already huge publicity machine.

I'm Down off the Ledge (and giving love to Kris)

OK. Kris won. It’s been a week and I will learn, in time, to forgive. Now to restore order to the cosmos, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and President Obama need to give Adam a Grammy and a Presidential Medal of Honor, respectively, for making Kiss sound good.

Seriously, here’s what great about Kris. The last seasons prior to this one Jordin Sparks, and then David Cook, came from back in the pack to win. They each beat out the early, presumptive favorite (Melinda Doolittle and David Archuleta) by getting better each week and gaining momentum until they created a buzz. Kris followed in their footsteps. It became enjoyable watching Kris grow into his stardom as it was with Jordin, and David C.

Listen to Matchbox Twenty/Rob Thomas or The Fray and you can hear Kris and understand that he can be a credible artist. With the right songs, he can be a star beyond his first CD. Forget his looks – certainly to his advantage and a large part of his success – because he does also have an exceptional ability to create an emotional bond with his listeners in the way that the above bands have (as the Kris Lovin' Ladies have insisted). He really can sing, too, when the song is right for him and the fun of Kris is that the right songs can be quite unexpected – She Works Hard for the Money and Heartless were pure magic. And Ain’t No Sunshine? In the Finals, that was just plain one of the best Idol performances I’ve ever seen.

The challenge for Kris will be to get good enough material that establishes him as more than a pretty boy with a built-in following from idol as opposed to a real artist who will be around for the long haul. The other challenge will be for him to grow even faster now into stardom. The “Adam is way better than me” thing works best if he believes - and acts like he believes – that he’s good, too.

Adam, as runner-up is more than fine. He already is a star and winning or losing Idol will mean nothing to his success. He is far and away the most captivating performer ever on Idol. Even if you didn’t like his singing, he commanded your attention. I believe that “losing” has already enhanced his career as the shock of his finishing second has generated even more media and public attention than he had before. I know I cited stats in my last entry but here’s another one: YouTube videos for Kris – 2,930; for Adam – 8,640.
Speaking of video, here is an amazing one that recently surfaced and, speaking of star power, the song was just made into a single for iTunes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwcJUhIa0U

A story about the video (one of many) can be found here: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1608947/20090409/story.jhtml

This was a typically fun, funny and frustrating Idol Season. My competitiveness, criticality and passion for music always get the best of my objectivity. My favorites NEVER win and probably never will. Next year, my heart will be broken by another Alexis just as it was Asia’h the year before and Sabrina the year before that. I stay more upset about good singers that leave too soon rather than good singers who don’t win.

I look forward to the careers of Kris and Adam. I hope that we hear from Allison and Danny, too. And I promise to keep up the banter throughout the off-season. Expect to see me comment soon on the Elliott Yamin concert I went to Sunday as well as his new CD (I LOVE it!).

Is Kris Really the "American" Idol?

Don’t worry Kris Lovin’ Ladies, I PROMISE that I will eventually get around to giving Kris some well-deserved dap but the Feeler has been put back into the corner and Mr. Objectivity has been put back in charge as a way of working through my grief.

First, let’s deal with the story first reported by a Fox affiliate in Arkansas that ATT claimed 38 million votes in that state were cast for Kris. 38% of the votes cast by 1% of the national population. ATT has since claimed “erroneous data” had been given out and can neither confirm or deny any voting results. Putting aside what clearly is an in-house spat between Fox and one of their major sponsors, the governor of the state has proudly boasted of the success of his get-out-the-vote campaign. Truth, angry rumors or conspiracy theory? Who knows? Maybe Kris is the American Idol or maybe he’s just the Arkansas Idol.

Indeed, Kris won the popular vote among Idol voters. But who has made a bigger impact on the American psyche? Here are some real, verifiable facts:

Google Adam Lambert, excluding Kris or Allen – 12m hits
Google Kris Allen, excluding Adam or Lambert – 9.4m hits

Google News Adam Lambert, excluding Kris or Allen – 429 hits
Google News Kris Allen, excluding Adam or Lambert – 223 hits

Adam’s Myspace 960,000 views; 2760 friends
Kris’ Myspace 433,000 views; 1817 friends

Adam’s Facebook 206,000 fans
Kris’ Facebook 88,000 (according to PageData)

In the real-not-the-American Idol-TV-show world, winning the show isn’t much different than winning an election primary. It’s not who sends text messages or dials 866-436-57xx a gazillion times for their favorite (hey, I voted for Adam around a dozen times) that matter. Rather, it’s who actually spends dollars after the contest that matters. That’s the real election. Kris’ devoted fans may vote multiple times but they each won’t buy 40 albums.

To wit, some more numbers:
Idol Winners Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Taylor Hicks album sales: 5.8m
Idol “Losers” Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, Daughtry album sales: 12.4m plus a Grammy and Oscar for Jennifer.

So, a little perspective on our maddening TV show is in order. Kris won a particular popular vote but is not the most popular as measured by who has the larger social network that “idolizes” him, not to mention that Adam has much greater media interest. Adam lost the Idol text/phone vote but has a support base and media attention that may generate Aiken-Hudson-Daughtry-like sales.

Part of me hates the fact that you can vote multiple times because it does obscure who is really the most “popular”. But it does make for good TV. Would we still be rabid fans – or would the show even exist – if it was one vote per? Or if the Vote for the Worst website didn't exist? The genius of the show is it's ability to consistently generate such overdone emotions and responses over who or what you like or don't like. It is brilliant and it is fun - and my favorites NEVER win!

OK, I am done “bashing” Kris. The competitor and music critic in me hates to lose. The data makes me feel a lot better. As I move to the Acceptance stage of grief, I PROMISE to give Kris – and Adam – their deserved propers in the next post.

Idol Giveth and Idol Taketh Away.

Idol giveth – Carlos

Idol giveth – many shots of Alexis – work those thigh-high boots, girlfriend!

Idol giveth (quite sadly) – the return of Oil Rig Dude and Simon-Crushing Megan

Idol giveth – a reminder of how good Allison is

Idol taketh – Adam

More to say after I work through the stages of grief. I seem to be cycling between shock and anger.