Idol Thoughts...
Judging this week was something of a mixed bag. While I think there was an overall improvement in the quality of the comments (for the second week, Randall had some fresh commentary to offer up!) there were a few things that left me scratching my head.
Mara: Gareth told Deidre that her days in the competition were basically numbered. Mara declared Gareth a "sucker" but then summed up by referring to Deidre as "Dead Man Walking". Isn't that exactly what Gareth was saying? And while I don't have any room to talk, because I'm probably guilty of the same thing, Mara just seems determined to damn V with faint praise. "It was okay," she said. I can't deny that V delivered a flawless technical performance, which means, to me, that she did far better than "okay", even if she still failed to grab me emotionally. She does seem to be reigning herself in a bit, though, and isn't going over the top in her praise, and even seems to be buffering her criticisms. All in all, much improved, if a bit puzzling at times.
Randall: First off, he looks absolutely miserable sitting there, as if he'd rather be anywhere else in the world but sitting in that auditorium. Sure, I know the Hippodrome can be unpleasantly hot, but he doesn't look uncomfortable, just totally uniterested. But his somewhat surprised-sounding praise for Deidre (Pretty damn good!) was a highlight of the evening, and for the second week in a row, he's had some fresh commentary to offer up instead of falling back on the standard Randallisms.
Gareth: Continuing to make progress in finding his own voice, and his own opinions, he seemed much more comfortable in standing by his own opinions, and is no longer sounding like Dave's sock puppet.
Dave: He's an impossible read, that man. When he starts with his comments, I can never tell whether it's going to be congratulatory or critical, but all in all, his opinions seem pretty well-founded.
As we near the middle of the final stages, I think it would be a great idea to have some celebrity judges join the panel. It would add a little bit of interest to the show, and break up the repetition, and, well, celebrities never hurt ratings. Get a few big local names to sit up there each week, toss them a little plug about whatever project they're working on, and everybody wins. I think they should start when it gets to the Top 5. Surely there are 5 decent celebrity personalities out there who would be willing to lend a little star power to (and borrow a little publicity from) the Idols effort?
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As of last night, the voting lines open at the beginning of the show. Some complain that this will give the first contestant an advantage, but I don't see it that way. Each performance will bring its share of "real-time votes". Each contestant will get a number of real-time votes while they're singing either from their die-hard supporters or those they win over with their performance, whether they're first up or last. And the contestants already have established voting numbers, so it's not like someone has to wait for their contestant to come up to start voting for them, if they're so inclined. I read that 25% of the votes cast each week have been cast during the live shows, before the voting lines opened. That's a huge number of missed votes, and a lot of wasted airtime for those casting them. Overall, this strikes me as a good decision, and a completely fair one.
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In the forums, Steinie mentioned an idea that I rather like: having the Idols sing unpublished numbers. It would be an interesting way of levelling the playing field a bit, and force them to come up with completely original interpretations of previously unheard material. If the contestants worked with Johan to pick suitable selections from a list, and then worked with him in coming up with their take on the piece, and then with Malie on polishing it up, I think it would be a great approach for the weeks when the Idols begin performing more than one number (assume that there will be such a week). One song, judges' choice of something tried and true, the other song, something completely brand new. As these contestants start striking it out on their own, they're going to have to start generating original music; relying solely on stuff that has gone before will ensure a stagnant, uninspiring career.
Mara: Gareth told Deidre that her days in the competition were basically numbered. Mara declared Gareth a "sucker" but then summed up by referring to Deidre as "Dead Man Walking". Isn't that exactly what Gareth was saying? And while I don't have any room to talk, because I'm probably guilty of the same thing, Mara just seems determined to damn V with faint praise. "It was okay," she said. I can't deny that V delivered a flawless technical performance, which means, to me, that she did far better than "okay", even if she still failed to grab me emotionally. She does seem to be reigning herself in a bit, though, and isn't going over the top in her praise, and even seems to be buffering her criticisms. All in all, much improved, if a bit puzzling at times.
Randall: First off, he looks absolutely miserable sitting there, as if he'd rather be anywhere else in the world but sitting in that auditorium. Sure, I know the Hippodrome can be unpleasantly hot, but he doesn't look uncomfortable, just totally uniterested. But his somewhat surprised-sounding praise for Deidre (Pretty damn good!) was a highlight of the evening, and for the second week in a row, he's had some fresh commentary to offer up instead of falling back on the standard Randallisms.
Gareth: Continuing to make progress in finding his own voice, and his own opinions, he seemed much more comfortable in standing by his own opinions, and is no longer sounding like Dave's sock puppet.
Dave: He's an impossible read, that man. When he starts with his comments, I can never tell whether it's going to be congratulatory or critical, but all in all, his opinions seem pretty well-founded.
As we near the middle of the final stages, I think it would be a great idea to have some celebrity judges join the panel. It would add a little bit of interest to the show, and break up the repetition, and, well, celebrities never hurt ratings. Get a few big local names to sit up there each week, toss them a little plug about whatever project they're working on, and everybody wins. I think they should start when it gets to the Top 5. Surely there are 5 decent celebrity personalities out there who would be willing to lend a little star power to (and borrow a little publicity from) the Idols effort?
--
As of last night, the voting lines open at the beginning of the show. Some complain that this will give the first contestant an advantage, but I don't see it that way. Each performance will bring its share of "real-time votes". Each contestant will get a number of real-time votes while they're singing either from their die-hard supporters or those they win over with their performance, whether they're first up or last. And the contestants already have established voting numbers, so it's not like someone has to wait for their contestant to come up to start voting for them, if they're so inclined. I read that 25% of the votes cast each week have been cast during the live shows, before the voting lines opened. That's a huge number of missed votes, and a lot of wasted airtime for those casting them. Overall, this strikes me as a good decision, and a completely fair one.
--
In the forums, Steinie mentioned an idea that I rather like: having the Idols sing unpublished numbers. It would be an interesting way of levelling the playing field a bit, and force them to come up with completely original interpretations of previously unheard material. If the contestants worked with Johan to pick suitable selections from a list, and then worked with him in coming up with their take on the piece, and then with Malie on polishing it up, I think it would be a great approach for the weeks when the Idols begin performing more than one number (assume that there will be such a week). One song, judges' choice of something tried and true, the other song, something completely brand new. As these contestants start striking it out on their own, they're going to have to start generating original music; relying solely on stuff that has gone before will ensure a stagnant, uninspiring career.
posted by Julie at
1:50 AM
