we're gonna shoot you.

[semisweet]

two quick american idol complaints while my stolen wireless holds up. (i should be home tonight, yay!)

01. i knew carly had a big ($2 million) record contract previously and all, but i didn't realize that randy jackson was the senior vice-president of A&R at the time. sketchy, sketchy, sketchy. i was willing to overlook the contract, but the connection to randy seems wildly inappropriate.

02. this shit nigel lythgoe said:

Next week’s theme: Songs from the 60’s. It’s the first time the semifinals will feature a theme. According to Nigel, the producers made sure the singers will sing more familiar songs. Says Nigel, “These are the 50 songs you can choose from the 60s…as opposed to letting the semifinals pick a potentially obscure song or one that doesn’t get cleared and they’re forced to swap out at the last second.”

HATE HATE HATE. i've always loved the semi-finals because they give people a chance to show the kind of the music they really love; the kind they sing the best and that they'd want to make in the post-idol world. god forbid anyone pick something as dangerously obscure as fucking jamiroquai or 311 again, right? OH NOES WHO ARE THEY?!?! *eyeroll x a million* so now we get three extra weeks of bad covers of "i can't help myself" and stevie wonder and leanne rimes or whatthefuckever.

in happier news, plz enjoy travie and patrick's dog and 3 seconds of patrick.

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of FUUUUUUR!!! from Travie McCoy on Vimeo.

Comments

[afavoritemelody.livejournal.com]

Nigel needs to pull the stick out of his ass, as of yesterday.

That video makes me smile every time I watch it :D

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

nigel is full of fail these days, grrr. which sucks 'cause i always like him on sytycd, but when it comes to idol, just...blah. :x

travie/penny ftw! ♥

[hearthisvoice.livejournal.com]

The Penneh Puppeh/Travie lovefest was the topic of much discussion during our Cobra adventure! bb Gabe Saporta was drunkenly dancing on my street corner last night! :O

[afavoritemelody.livejournal.com]

That would be amazing to see. Oh Gabe.

[hearthisvoice.livejournal.com]

I wasn't there to see it, sadly, but apparently he was quite a handful!

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

he should drunkenly dance in my pants living room!

[stickykeys633.livejournal.com]

Heylady! Okay, you are my official goto for idol business, but how up are you on eljay idol? I could have sworn there was a comm for american idol iconage, but I can't find it! I MUST HAVE ICONS OF DANNY!

Yep, I likes em young and gay evidently...

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

young & gay is always excellent! did you hear the rumor that byrd said danny is going to be the watercooler performance this week!? \o/

i don't know about icons, but i'll let you know when i spot some!

[stickykeys633.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard that, but I did know that the first night is '60s week (which I'm kind of sad about because I like when they get to pick their own), and I know Danny's going to kill. I wish he would do Dusty Springfield, just for kicks, heh.

Thanks lady!

[heatherlovesca.livejournal.com]

yea, apparently they only had 50 songs to pick from too. should be interesting. I kinda see his point though. It always was a little odd to see them do their thing for 3 weeks, then have to stick themes, mind as well always make it themes.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

but i like seeing them do their own thing - i think it's a good way to get an idea of what they're about musically, dammit.

and yeah, 50 songs for 24 people? utter fail!

[bijou.livejournal.com]

ugh, i'm so stealing this video and putting it in my journal because it is travis and a PUPPYFACE AND MY OVARIES ARE LIQUIFIED AND SO IS MY HEART.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

TRAVIS AND A PUPPY ARE MY NEW OTP OMG.

[bijou.livejournal.com]

I KNOW. EVERYDAY. THE WORLD SHOULD BE FILLED WITH PUPPIES AND TRAVIS. OR JUST TRAVIS. BUT TRAVIS/PENNY STUMP ARE FOREVER. LIKE DIAMONDS.

[singingrl.livejournal.com]

I've got to admit that I never really enjoyed when contestants got to pick their own songs. Idol is a show about conformity. If a contestant can conform to their appropriate AI "box" then they usually do pretty well post-Idol. Also, I like 60s music, so I won't mind it too much...I just wish Nigel and Crew were a little more creative with their theme choices. How many years in a row can we really listen to an AI contestant butcher "Ma Cherie Amour" ? LOL!

[thegirliscrazy.livejournal.com]

ikr, especially since I have yet to hear anyone actually sing MA Cherie Amour. Now MY Cherie Amour has been done to damn death!

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

i like 60's music, too. it's not the theme itself i object to, but i always liked it when the contestants were free to pick what they wanted. i loved hearing pearl jam and ray lamontagne and jason mraz and things. sigh.

[alowishus812.livejournal.com]

I'm torn between totally throwing in the towel on this season, or watching without really caring.

I STILL haven't really found someone that I feel I can get behind (though, Luke, baby, call me, and maybe I'll vote for you after I hear you sing).

And it's stupidSTUPID that they're giving them theme weeks for the semifinals. Beyond stupid.

The best performances are from the semi finals!!

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

dude, luke is SO HOT, right? altho i'm sad to say that his interview on the AI site left me cold. he wants to be a role model? yawn. you're 29, dude, little kids will not care about you.

themes are totally for the lose. i LOVED the free choice aspect of the semis, dammit.

[thecowboycliche.livejournal.com]

tooooootally hate the idea of themes in the semis. and the 60s is the most boring theme ever ugh.. they do it every year as an excuse to use ancient Stevie Wonder songs.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

i don't mind the 60s in theory, but with a list of 50 songs, you know it's going to be the same shit that's been done to death year after year. hate!

[notesinmydrawer.livejournal.com]

i still like carly, despite everything. she's far away from being my favorite, but....
(but, on the other hand, i know what you mean. she's getting a second shot, while some people, like JOSIAH, didn't have at least one. but anyways.)

also, i HATE HATE HATE HATE HAAAAAAAATE the now themed semifinal weeks. it was the only time during the competition when we could actually get an idea of what the contestants are, or wanna be as artists! and now they've taken that from us. DAMN YOU, NIGEL, IHU.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

i don't dislike carly. and none of this is necessarily her fault. but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. the randy connection especially - that dude tom lowe (he was in the group with blake in hollywood) wound up being disqualified because he'd had a contract in england while simon was at the label. why is it ok for carly and not for him? O.o

themed semis are total fail. i'm really disappointed.

[glitterglamgirl.livejournal.com]

It’s the first time the semifinals will feature a theme.

:|

I'm with you...I loved the semifinals because the contestants got to bring their own influences and their own musical tastes to the table. I can't even tell you how much I freaked out when Blake did "Somewhere Only We Know" and Chris did "Geek in the Pink". It was different and awesome and exciting and that's what started my love of the two of them. And even Sligh doing "Trouble" and "Typical" had me grinning like a fool.

This bs rule just further dampens my spirits regarding season 7... :\

But on a lighter note, I'm now actually kinda happy Josiah didn't make it because they would have totally stifled his creativity this season.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

I'm now actually kinda happy Josiah didn't make it because they would have totally stifled his creativity this season.

totally. as much as i adore him and i would've liked for him to get a chance, AI is not remotely what he's about and it's just the wrong platform for him.

i'm still pissed about themed semifinals. it was the one chance contestants had to show the audience the kind of music they'd want to make. i always felt like people's song choices actually told me something about them, so this is just...suckage. :(

[thegirliscrazy.livejournal.com]

UGH NIGEL YOU ARE SO FUCKING STUPID! I agree with you so much; semi-finals (even under the old format when they only got one shot, or two if they made the wildcard episode) were the only time that we got to hear what the contestants wanted to sing. It was the only time we ever got a true feel for the kind of artist they'd actually be, given the creative freedom to actually BE that artist. And now even that is gone.

You know what? This makes me hop off the tentative Michael Johns as TCO train and get on the David Archuleta conspiracy theory. Because while this doesn't hurt Michael, it sure as hell isn't going to help him.

Think about it, the "obscure" song choices actually made semi-finals more fun! And, done well, they garnered the contestant more popularity. See your and several of your friends' icons for evidence for that. There are actually a lot of people who have never heard of Jamiroquai or Keane so I think it speaks to Blake's talent that he made so many like a song they'd probably never heard before. People looked forward to Blake because they never knew what to expect from him next...and that was a GOOD thing.

I think Nigel took note of that so why would he want to take someone's potential popularity away? It only makes sense if TCO is someone who isn't going to have such broad musical taste.

Who knows, the themes could turn out good this year. Blake made inspired choices even with them. But more often than not people play it safe, and like I said above, we aren't getting a chance to see how these guys (and gals) would envision themselves,given the opportunity. Ugh, ugh, UGH.

And I mildly like Archuleta so this is awkward now. I haven't actually semi-liked a TCO since like, season 3, and even then I think I jumped off the train halfway through the season at the latest.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

Because while this doesn't hurt Michael, it sure as hell isn't going to help him.
probably you're right, but my friend donna told me that someone on some board (vftw maybe, idk?) found some old profile on michael and he said his favorite kind of music was...

60s music. so, hee.

i hate the idea of themed semis for all the reasons already stated, but i SUPER hate the idea of a list of 50 songs. for 24 people. lame as shit. and i'll be shocked (but thrilled) if the vast majority of that list isn't songs that have already been done to death on this damn show.

[thegirliscrazy.livejournal.com]

That is interesting about Mr. Johns. Something about that random 's' on the end irks me and it also prevents me from making toilet jokes. Well, not really, but it makes them not as funny as they would be if it were just John.

I am still sooooooo mad. Not even so much about the theme anymore (though that too, still) but the 50 songs limit. All these damn "professionals" that should have made the season good (hey, I admit it looks like a good bunch overall) and Nigel just totally squandered it.

There is a small part of me that thinks there may be a few gems in that 50 songs bag but knowing Nigel...does this mean that EVERY theme is going to be limited to 50 songs, because that just takes half the fun out of the whole show, the concept of the contestants picking their own songs without such a restrictment.

[tiggz.livejournal.com]

ugh. haaaaaaaaaaate. stfu nigel and let the contestants do their own genre at least once on the show.

i'm still not all that impressed with Carly and don't see what the big deal about her is. all the songs she chose were too big for her voice.

[cinandtonic.livejournal.com]

um, hi, your icon made me LOL

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

right?! the semis were the one chance people had to show what they're all about, and now it's gone. HATE.

i like carly well enough, but the way they're pimping her you'd think she was the second coming. and, not so much.

[15north.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not too into anyone being on the show who has had a pretty decent record deal (or one with a decently well known label), but the fact that Randy was involved at the time does seem sketchy.

I don't know if you've mentioned it or not, but Blake is going to be on Free Radio on VH1 this Friday.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

the randy thing is what really bothers me. that dude tom lowe (he was in the group with blake in hollywood) wound up being disqualified because he'd had a contract in england while simon was at the label. why is it ok for carly and not for him? O.o

i knowwww! i'm excited to see him! the show looks kind of dumb but he's so ridiculous that it'll probably be funny.

[jadro.livejournal.com]

That vid is SO CUTE! I seriously need a Travie icon.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

travie/puppy=otp, fo realz.

i need MORE travie icons; i just have this one and while i enjoy it, it's only fitting in certain situations!

[fluffers.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Great. Now this season's going to be even more boring.

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

right?! i loved the semis because you never knew what you were going to get. this is so lame.

[cinandtonic.livejournal.com]

PUPPY!!!

It looks like he/she's at least part pomeranian (which is what I have). Cute little furball!

[inlipstickred.livejournal.com]

isn't she?!?! of course patrick stump WOULD have the cutest puppy evar!

[akari-hayashi.livejournal.com]

I already knew about the Randy connection. But I kinda think she would be hated on and eliminated really quick.

As for the other news, WTF NIGEL! What's wrong with obscurity? CONSPIRACY!

[lillijulianne.livejournal.com]

oh, SO annoyed at the theming of the semis. as you say, song choice was one big way blake (and others, like c-rich and sligh) set himself apart. you're dealing with a lot of people...seeing what they choose really helps pin down who they are. bleargh.