Reality Ravings

Joke, joke, joke. Jason and Brooke were by far the worst on Tuesday, and Carly, Syesha, and my personal favorite David Cook were the strongest. So what the hell? It's just become a popularity contest, though I just learned that the anti-Idol site is pushing for people to vote for Brooke (the way they voted for Kristy Lee this season and for Sanjaya last season), so that partially explains it. At least Brooke tries; Jason can't be bothered. But if the American viewing public is stupid enough to vote for Jason, fine, go right ahead. At least David C is still fine, and I will continue voting for him over and over just to help him win. :)

The idol who wins by power votes are destined to 'fail' in the industry. The dedicated/obsessed(?) fan may spend two hours voting on multiple phones to get in a thousand+ votes, but how many CDs/downloads copies will that fan buy?

The current voting system accounts for the total number of votes, but not number of unique voters...so it can't even be said that Idol is a popularity contest.

Chris Daughtry comes in fourth and sells over 4 million copies of his debut CD. Taylor Hicks and Ruben Stoddard come in first and sell about 500,000 copies of their CDs combined. It's not who wins, it's how talented you are. It's just unfortunate b/c I wanted to see more Carly and far less Jason and Brooke. Oh, well.

BTW, I vote (not obsessively, but I do vote) and I would download a *good* CD by Michael Johns or David Cook in a heartbeat. I actually was going to download Blake Lewis's CD, but it's so tepid (I previewed it on iTunes) that I decided I would stick with Daughtry and One Republic (who helped Blake with his CD)instead.

It's not who wins, it's how talented you are.

I agree with the first point but not the second. There are plenty of talented individuals strugging and mediocre performers succeeding in the entertainment industry.

Their music is not my cup of tea, but I think Taylor and Ruben are talented. Even if their album sales are considered 'failures' (note the quotes) by their record labels, selling hundreds of thousands of albums is still quite a personal achievement. It is possible that their market niche is simply not as big as Daughtry's.

What I am trying to say is that the number of votes does not necessarily (and most likely not) translates to album sales number...that is all.

I understand what you're saying. I am not saying that Ruben is untalented (alas, I think that I overestimated Taylor, and in retrospect think that I erred in voting for him). I am just saying that the winner is not necessarily the most talented but is, perhaps, more of what the Idol audience seeks.

I have to say, thought, that I actually disagree with my own statement. :) Chris Daughtry didn't win b/c people (like me) stopped voting for him, believing that he didn't need my votes (wrong). Same thing with Michael Johns (again, wrong). Do I think either fit the typical Idol demographic? I don't know. I think David Cook will win this year, and he is not Mr. Broadway/Belter/Tween Idol, as many others have been. He is, I think, the most versatile of the Idols (and, as Paula keeps saying, has it all: looks, personality, and heckuva voice). It doesn't matter if he wins or not, and maybe it's better if he doesn't, b/c he won't be labelled "The Idol" and have to do "The Idol" p.r. things.

David Archuleta is a tween favorite (my niece who is 11 adores him), so if you are looking for a large number of Idol viewers/CALLERS, he wins. But I am far older (ugh) than she is, and I still (guiltily) vote, so...either I am totally geekish or there are others like me (and since David C is has a 60 percent voter percentage, whereas David A's is around 20 percent and the others are waaay down there).

Sorry for being wordy. :)

This is a blog entry you might find of interest, from TVGuide.com:

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/04/on-the-scene--3.html?cid=112061078#comment-112061078

Anon I like your point about the people voting mulitple time will only buy the CD a few times.

I think with Idol as in Australia, some years the voters vote for the most "talented" singer like Damien Leith and Guy Sebastian.

And other years they vote on other factors - like those who make the most improvement during the show, or a backlash against the other persons there.

I think that happened last year in our Idol with Natalie Gauci winning, for those two reasons. The runner up (who was more marketble) managed to alienate some voters by the end of the series.

I will be surprised if David Arch wins as I think other fans who lose the Idols they have been voting for will back someone else.

That's suprising what you say about Natalie, RR, as I thought that she was a *lot* more talented than Matt Corby.

I'm not watching American Idol this year, but I enjoy reading your recaps. I was wondering, is Jason Castro like Marty Simpson last year in Australian Idol? I just couldn't stand him, but from your recaps I can see some parallels (like doing the same thing week after week, etc).

Dinorawr: Thanks for your comments always appreciated.

Regarding Matt Corby in the last few weeks of Idol there was really no improvement from him, and I thought he developed a bit of 'tude.

Calling police because he thought it was illegal for the paps to be taking photos of him getting out of his wetsuit.

I think also in the end he did not want to be there, and started to believe in his own hype.

Personally I think if he does not get a CD out by the time Idol starts again this year there will be another talented good looking young guy for the fans to follow.

I think the viewers kind of noted a touch of arrogance in him. Whereas I did think Natalie improved and was enthusiastic about the show and this is appealing to voters.

Jason Castro does have a bit of a stoner look about him. However he has put in a few really good performancers. But he probably does not much versatiltiy as some of the others.

Personally I thought Marty was a shocker. He struggled just about every week, and then would say not my style. This is Idol they don't have stoner acoustic guitar night. I presume he is back on the Central Coast with his musical career going nowhere.

The one I thought was most talented last year was Ben McKenzie, if he had waited 2 or 3 years he would have gotten very close to taking the title.

I never watched Australian Idol, but I will say that Jason does the same thing week after week. He would make a good coffee house singer, but I can't imagine him on stage (though he will be on the tour, and I might go). Tackling Memories from Cats was ridiculous, but he has a huge fan base (he is very cute, I think, with his dreadlocks), and that's mostly why he is still on, I believe.

Oooh, RR, I agree very much with you. Ben was one of my favourites last year as well. I was shocked when he was voted out. I agree with what you wrote about Matt, and yes, Natalie did seem to want it and enjoy it and dare I say it, appreciate it more. I think because she's been in the music industry more, she has that maturity.

Matt bored me to be frank, I thought he was very derivative and pretty much a slightly improved Dean Geyer. They even looked similar! Haha. I'm sure there will be another just like him next season.

Marty Simpson... Ah, words cannot express how much I detested his presence on the show. Sorry, I'm blathering and taking up space in your American Idol thread about Australian Idol!

I've gotta say, tackling Memory sounds like it has fail written all over it, especially if a stoner is involved!

It just wasn't the right song for Jason. At all. (He also looked very odd in a white suit, rather than his jeans look.) And Andrew Lloyd Webber told Jason that it was the wrong song, and made suggestions, and Jason still went ahead and botched it. Arrogance? Cluelessness? Who knows? He won't be in the final two (I hope), it will be the Davids, but it was still bizarre.

I think that when Matt Corby is 25 he will realise he had a great opportunity and he blew it.

I think he thinks he is more talented then he actually is.

I suppose he can always go into Christian Rock - make a lot of money in the US. I was surprised Dean Geyer did not head down that path. I actually think Dean has a lot more likeability due to not being a sullen teenager.