I never thought I’d say this, PopWatchers, but I miss Corey the Warm Up Comic. Yes, it’s true, on Tuesday nights now C the WUC defects to ABC’s Dancing With The Stars one studio over on the CBS Television City lot, leaving American Idol to seek out a replacement funny person to rile up its audience for its all important performance nights. (For the time being, it appears C the WUC has kept his Wednesday night gig. Not that you were worried.)
I’m told by my esteemed Idol colleague Shirley Halperin (out this week for vacay) that last week’s warm-up guy was actually funny, pulling audience members on stage not to enact cringe-inducing bootie jiggles but to, you know, sing, which makes so much more sense given Idol’s a singing show and all. More importantly, suddenly it looked as if my long dashed fantasy of actually busting out a big note on the Idol stage (oh, c’mon, you know you’ve all imagined it at least once while warbling in the shower) had new life after all.
Even when I turned to the press colleague next to me to ask if thisweek’s replacement for C the WUC was the same dude from last week, andshe shook her head no, I still kept my spirits up. Surely, someone hadclued in this new guy, Billthe Stand-In Warm-Up Comic, what the audience was feelin’ and what itwasn’t, right? He’d see me dutifully scribbling in my steno notebookand think "I’ve gotta see this cat’s ‘Desperado,’" right? What’s that?Bill the SIWUC’s pulling up an elderly woman on stage to shake herbooty? And now he’s asking her to spank him? And she’s obliged? Well,at least Bill’s passing out t-shirts. Corey never did that. Hmm? NowBill’s onto fanny-pack jokes? Ah. Corey never did that either.
Indeed, Bill the SIWUC was so, shall we say, undercooked, that Debbiethe Stage Manager (i.e. the boss of Studio 36, the one who keeps thewell-oiled machine running on time every week) felt the need toreprimand him via her live mic more than once — No, Bill, we can’t pull up audience members to dance on the catwalk behind the judges table five minutes before the show’s going to begin — providing by far the most off-camera entertainment of the night.
Otherwise, during the ad breaks, I watched the crew set Phil’s micheight, Gina and Sanjaya racing over to hug Jordin after herperformance, and the judges, Ryan and exec producer Nigel Lythgoewarmly conversing with So You Think You Can Dance judge and choreographer Brian Friedman(kinda the only "celeb" any of us could see). Exciting. And I can tellyou there was a scary moment when Debbie the Stage Manager wasliterally pushing LaKisha to her mark for her coming-up-next shot rightbefore the final ad-break — Kiki literally made it up there with notime to spare. Ummm, what else… If you couldn’t tell, the dude Ryanwas aggressively hugging while introducing LaKisha was Papa Malakar.Oh, and that hot mic squeal during Jordin’s stand-up with the judgeswas the result of Jordin bringing the singing mic in her hand too closeto her interview mic clasped to her shirt. Scintillating stuff, I know.
Speaking of sound, though, I must say the in-studio sound system playedsome serious tricks on my ears once again. Jordin’s "On A Clear Day"grated when I heard it live — it sure was big, but it had none of thewarmth and grab-you-at-your-seat snap of Mindy Doo’s "I Got Rhythm"(more on that in a sec), and many of Jordin’s notes felt sharp withinthe studio’s walls. Watching it back on TV, though, I realized thatJordin was playing to the cameras, not the audience, and singing to hermic, not the back row, so it read (and sounded) so much better onscreen. Gina had the opposite problem; I loved the subtle restraint shebrought to "Smile," especially in her final note, which soared withjust the right tone — and which for some reason you barely heard athome. (It also helped that I couldn’t so much see Gina’s hair from Sec.F, Row 7, Seat 2.) And though Blake may have underwhelmed on TV, Igotta say his "Mack the Knife" came off with such assured polish andstyle in person that for the first time the guy gave me goosebumps.(And goosebumps, you know, they don’t lie.)
Finally, turning back to Mindy Doo (pictured), I think it was pretty obvious shewas an audience favorite, but maybe not that she was by far theaudience favorite. Most everyone instinctively leapt to their feet asshe rounded towards home on "I Got Rhythm," a thrilling moment ofgenuine, rousing, spontaneous connection with an audience that’s beenall too rare this season and was never really replicated the rest ofthe night. But as Slezak’s pointed out in his TV Watch, on the screen Mindy’s biggest problem is that she doesn’t come across as, well, spontaneous.The camera craves the (seemingly) unrehearsed moment, and, as Simonalluded last night, Melinda’s such a consummate pro, she’s pretty muchincapable of providing one. That may make her the best live performerof the Top 9, but I can only hope that she can find a way to translatethat into people’s living rooms. Otherwise, with no true standout toget viewers on their feet, the reign of Sanjaya will only continueunabated. And while that may make the 9-year-old sitting in front of mevery happy indeed, my nerves would just as soon not have to experienceanything close to the unique torture of the first few bars of his"Cheek to Cheek" again.
Comments (1-30) of 42 Add your comment
Okay, question to loyal American Idol viewers. This is the first season I’ve actually watched regularly, so I’d like to ask more seasoned viewers this: is Blake actually any good compared to other Idol wannabes (past and current) or is he just considered good this year because the rest of the guys are kind of bleh? For me, every time he comes on screen I kinda want to punch him in the face, but every critic seems to gush over him, so I will admit that he may just be inexplicably irritating to me. Inquiring minds want to know…
Yeah, Ive heard the judges mention how different something suonds on camera…but honestly I didnt think Jordin’s performance sounded that great on camera either. While I love the tone of her voice, I didnt actually think Jordin did more than a nice copy.
I was blown away by Lakisha & Melinda..think Chris connected well. Blake was ok, but something got lost in his visual this week.
I agree with the “want to punch him in the face” sentiment towards Blake! Glad I’m not the only one.
the appeal to Blake this year is that he’s so “different”, meaning he discusses how he changes programs on his computer & fiddles with electronic sound. Plus he adds beatboxing (which I think 1 contestnat got ridiculed for in the top 24 a couple years ago) and does current dance moves (tho not very good, because Ciara, a GIRL, does that foot slide thing in her “like a boy” vid. way better than he does).
Yet mainstream America think its ‘cool’ since that stuff mostly isnt done on AI, so hes the resident cool kid.
Blake is allright. I think the reason he gets all the attentions is because he’s the best GUY. However, there are three girls that are much better than him so saying he’s the best guy doesn’t mean much.
Also, he’s cute and entertaining. Vocally, I’m with you. I just don’t get the hype at all.
I’m very glad I read this. I do think some of Melinda’s presence translates to the small screen, but she obviously doesn’t *play* to the small screen the way others do, and I think in some ways, people read that negatively.
Stacey, I do think Blake is talented, but not overly so. I don’t think it’s a weak season for the boys… I think it’s been tough for Idol in SIX seasons to find a lot of high quality male vocalists. If you look at the pop charts, there are many more females than males – I think it’s much tougher for men to break through than females.
I like Blake a lot and think he’s definitely the best guy this year — but if you put him up against some of AI’s past very best male vocalists Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin and Clay Aiken he wouldn’t stand a chance
Truthfully I think that the only people that are marketable to the young audience at this point are Blake, Chris R.,and Jordin. Mindy is amazing, but a bit too professional and too mature. She is the female Luther and I am really shocked that no producer asked if she would have considered cutting a record before becoming an Idol contestant. Haley looked like Amy-Lynn Baxter minus boob job as Tinkerbell. It was too risque.
I’m not sure which is scarier…Phil’s eyebrows or you wanting to punch someone in the face.
Interesting that, good or bad, every single comment to this article is about Blake… he’s obviously the attention getter.
Please, PLEASE punch him in the face! He’s so freakin’ annoying, and not talented at all!!!
For the record, I wouldn’t actually resort to violence if I were to come across Blake face to face. I’m not that kind of girl. I would, however, call him a tool under my breath and try not to laugh as I walk away.
So, I guess the answer to my question (which seems to have hijacked the comments – sorry), is that Blake is 1) different than everybody else, which in AI terms equals cool and noteworthy 2) Good, but not as good as his predecessors and 3) prone to making people swoon or rage, depending on whether you love or hate blonde beatboxing boy-bandy types.
Got it. Thanks everyone.
I really like Blake because he is different and he brings the now factor into choosing his songs. He is modern. And yes he is getting the attention because he is the best guy and let’s face it, the guys aren’t that good this year. I like the girls, but the fact that they seem to sing a ballad almost every time bothers me. And when Melinda does her little innocent “really? me?” look when the judges say she is good really bothers me. I don’t know why. Hello? She has to know that she is good.
I agree that Blake may not have the most powerful voice of the competition, but I do think he sings pop music well and we all know that there are a bunch of people on the pop charts that have no voice (Ashley Simpson, Avril, Brittnay Spears, Fergie, that annoying chick from the Disney channel – oh yeah, Hilary Duff -in case you need names). I think thta Blake is better at singing than all of them, so imagine what he would sound like in the studio with the same producers that work with these pop-tarts – it would be great. As for Melinda – eh – sure she sings well but she has ZERO personality and frankly who is her audience going to be? If ya’ll LOVE her so much have fun when she’s the opening act for the Gladys Knight/Anita Baker tour. Same for Lakisha (altough she’ll open for Mary J – which would be cool). For me it comes down to Jordan and Blake – they have the most potential to reach the biggest audiences so I am sure the producers are hoping for them too.
Say what you will about them all. But if an undeserving charlatan wins this year, be prepared for ‘The X Factor’. The Brits cancelled Idol because the voters were choosing ‘Sanjayas & Haleys’.
Mark my words…….
Erin,
I agree. Either it is an act or someone needs a lecture on self esteem. If it is an act, it is getting old.
djm, i disagree. i think melinda and lakisha could be headliners. there are plenty of artists who aim for the adult contemporary sound who have big careers – josh groban, celine dion, il divo, etc. just because it might not be YOUR cup of tea doesn’t mean it’s not deserving of success.
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
Sanjaya…out!
It happens every season. Someone is knocked for their personality that some view as faked or staged. These same types of remarks were made at Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Katharine McPhee among others. Maybe Melinda, having been a backup singer all this time, is still amazed that people think she’s a good LEAD singer. How about having a little tolerance instead of assuming everything is an act?
Honestly though…3 of the past 5 posts on Popwatch have been about American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and The Bachelor.
Now I’m no snob (I watch the first two every week), but how about some attention devoted to the return of the terrific “Shield” last night (this sentiment was echoed on the DWTS post)
Anyway, I’m with Chardonna, in that I don’t think Melinda’s attitude is an act. She’s also far and away the best singer in the competition, and no one is even in her league.
This season is SO mediocre that merely adequate-to-good performances (like Chris R. last night) are being WAY overhyped. Honestly, has that guy (or Blake, or Gina, or Phil, etc.) honestly blown any of you away with their vocal talents. Each of them is just varying shades of mediocre every week.
Melinda, Jordin and Lakisha are clearly the cream of the crop, though I fully expect Lakisha to be “shockingly” sent home because she’s just not as good as Melinda and not as adorable as Jordin.
I’m really going to be angry if Lakisha goes home tonight.
No, she’s not quite as good as Melinda, but she is a better singer than Jordin (though, yes, she is “less adorable”) But she’s still one of the best, and given how boring most of them are, it’s really going to hurt the show to do in one of the only really good singers.
Oh well, we’ll have Sanjaya around for another 3 or 4 weeks (yes, I do think he’s likely to crack the top 5).
I think if Lakisha is off tonight, I’ll just DVR it and fast forward past every singer who isn’t Melinda.
Oh, I would pay any amount of money to see Blake punched in the face. I can’t put my finger on it either, but the boy drives me nuts…and not in a good way! There’s just such a subtle smugness about him that makes me detest his performances. Go Melinda & Jordin!
Am I the only one who noticed how openly LaKisha didn’t follow Tony Bennett’s advice? Tony told her she should cut the ending she tagged to “Stormy Weather,” where she threw in the line “Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone.” But when she performed last night, it was still there. Personally, I agreed with Tony, and I was surprised the judges didn’t at least mention it in their evaluations.
I haven’t read all the comments, but I’m guessing I will be the first ot note that “mindy doo” is the most annoying finalist in the history. If I have to see her “what? you think I’m a good singer?” reaction one more time, I will throw a brick at my TV. Yes, her vocals are perfect. But her performances are robotic. She does not have the charm or energy that come naturally to Kiki and Blake. Melinda may have the best voice, but she is not the best performer. Jordin or Blake will walk home with the title.
Was Mindy Doo going bungee jumping last night? Because that’s the only explanation for the halter contraption she wore around her dress.
She’s a geat singer, but girlfriend needs a new stylist.
Melinda’s reaction to praise is not an act. What makes people think that she doesn’t think she isn’t good? She simply is grateful and appreciative of the compliments she’s receiving. It has nothing to do with what she thinks of her ability. When she starts to sing, she’s totally committed to her song and that can’t happen if you think you’re no good, especially when you’re in front of millions of people.
I wish she would sing more contemporary material but but I think she’s the best singer in AI history. It doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll sell more records than Kelly, Carrie or Daughtry but she is a better singer.
Kiki has ignored every single recommendation the coaches have given her.
Blake’s appeal??? He appears as if he can create a radio hit without the need of 10 producers. Not sure the same can be said about the other contestants. Melinda, god bless her voice, is aodrable, but she doesnt strike me as the creative type who can engineer a new sound. Maybe the viewers are drawn by Blake bc we’ve already had the fabulous voices win (kelly, fantasia, etc), maybe we are craving a diff type of idol…not as the best singer but as the best entertainer. Classic examle: Gwen Stefani, who’s weak voice is often overlooked by many bc of her “appeal” and style.
Gotta admit, I didn’t like Blake in the beginning, but he’s beginning to grow on me. The one I don’t get is Chris Richardson. His voice just grates on every last nerve & I don’t think he’s at all cute. (don’t think Justin T. is cute either, maybe thats my problem) Jordin is by far the most marketable of all the contestants, as Paula keeps saying, she is the total package. Kiki & Melinda may have great voices but as stated by others, who is honestly going to buy their cds? Ah yes, thats right, the same people who buy Celine Dion. Yup, thats American Idol’s target audience… I’m just grateful that at least Chris Daughtry came out of this crazy mixed-up show and put out the best cd I’ve heard in years.
Wand3rful, thank you for your explanation of Blake’s appeal. Some of you haters–if you’re so inclined, go on youtube, and search for some of his Seattle pre-Idol performances. Here’s a head start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL4tMp8wH-s
You may understand his appeal a little better. He’s a legitimate musician. He may not be the best singer in the world, but then again were John Lennon, Mick Jagger, or Bob Dylan the greatest vocalists? Was Madonna, one of the most successful recording artists of the past 25 years? Please don’t get me wrong–I’m not saying Blake is anywhere near their caliber. I’m merely saying that pure vocal ability is not always a determining factor in how well a musician or artist connects with an audience.