“I saw him interviewed on TV last week and he mentioned something about all of the Idols being together recently.”

This was for the opening of the “Idol Expereince” at Disneyland. There are some great photos out there of all seven Idol winners. I would have loved to see that.

The MOTOWN tribute theme will be on shortly. I am so excited! Then I will go back and see how the music was handled by previous contestants. I loved Smokey at the Finale for Season 6. Just awesome.

I won’t say I am so excited to see what Adam will sing. LOL! I am hoping that Anoop has another excellent performance like last week!

Basically, I just wanted to say that if Taylor is ever asked back onto the show as a guest, then I would be so happy if he made a comment about how badly they have talked about him since his season ended. The judges (mainly Simon) needs to realize that a big mouth can get you in a very uncomfortable and awkward position. You can say what you want about how unsucessful you think Taylor is, but the truth is that he if far better off and reached more of his dreams than 90% of the rest of the world has. I call that successful.

About David Archuleta, I COMPLETELY agree with every word you said, skids. When I said that he is becoming an exceptional performer, I didn’t really mean that he NEEDED to be a great performer in order to be successful. As you said, all that David needs is his amazing potent vocals to achieve monumental success. I was just commenting on how I was thoroughly impressed by how significantly he has improved as a performer since his Idol days. Already possessing an amazing voice, his better performance skills are not necessary, but definitely an added bonus!

MCL, I completely agree with what you said about Taylor Hicks as well. He is constantly being made fun of on the show and seems to be unfairly labeled with the title of “worst Idol winner.” The bottom line is this. Taylor Hicks may not be a Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson (few are), but he has been more successful in his career than people give him credit for. His sophomore CD just came out and there already a few singles on there that are doing reasonably well. I agree that Taylor is a blast to watch perform and I would not hesitate for even a nanosecond to go see a concert of his where I given the chance. You know what I hope happens? I hope sometime down the line that Taylor comes back to visit Idol. When he does that and the judges and Ryan are all acting real nice to his face, I hope he makes a very direct comment about how he is made fun of the show–on live T.V.–With struggling for words and the judges looking like deer in headlights. That would be one of my favorite Idol moments ever!

Anyway, I’m very excited about Motown week. I’m not overly familiar with those type of songs, but I look forward to some surprises!

Galen,

This has nothing to do with AI, but I just wanted to comment on your name. Years ago I met a man named Galen, and yours is the first time I’ve seen that name since. Not a very common, but nonetheless, a very nice name. Even though I didn’t know him, well, and haven’t seen him in years, he has such a distinct first (and last) name, that seeing that name again made me think of him. (Just wanted to share that bit of useless info/trivia with you.)

I’m glad to read that David A. has gotten more comfortable with performing live, but I do think in his case, as more and more people hear him, and REALLY listen to him on the radio, he very well might be one of those performers whose voice alone will generate real interest, and who people will want to go see based on just his voice alone. IMO, he’s one of only a handful of singers today who could get away with that. I dare say, most others could not. Most others voice alone just isn’t enough to carry them through. But as long as he’s marketed correctly and gets the exposure and guidance he needs, David A. is good enough to have that happen to him.

Ok, I’m done rambling now. And I agree, it is nice to be able to have these discussions, disagree, and not have them turn into full blown wars as they often do on message boards.

P.S. I like Danny’s voice, but there’s just something about him that doesn’t ring true to me. I won’t go into what I (personally) believe that to be, other than it sticks in my craw enough that it makes me “distrustful” of him. But yes, he does have a nice, soulful voice; and I could easily see him as being “crowned” the winner of this year’s show.

Nice chatting with you!

I don’t think the Ford commercial that he did right after he won helped him–it was on TV constantly and I heard a number of people complain about how sick of it they were. I think that was enough to turn a lot of people off from wanting to purchase his music–without giving his music a chance.

The way I see it is that Taylor was not TCO, and AI wanted to prove the fans made a mistake. He deserved so much better.

Oh, I have been lucky enough to see several MOTOWN acts in the early years. The social implications cannot be overstated! Much of the music is still relevant. Music to fall in love; music to mourn the death of a relationship; music to promote social issues; silly lyrics; and music to shake your booty and dance, dance, dance.

In reference to Kariann’s comment, “. . . Regardless of what some people think about Taylor Hicks – he is most definitely an entertainer.” I completely agree with you. When I saw him in concert, I definitely left with a smile on my face and felt completely entertained. I’m just sorry that his music hasn’t been more popular with the general public.

“Adam Lambert is NO Elvis. And he never will be.”

This is indeed true!! I will say that Adam is the most polished performer we have seen on AI. He is also an enteretainer. Regardless of what some people think about Taylor Hicks – he is most definitely an entertainer.

Well, at least that’s how I see it.

Though I may not like it, I absolutely cannot deny that what you said about the Cook/Archuleta thing was true. I also agree with you that Archuleta had the best voice of an Idol contestant to date. I have actually seen a few of his live performances though, and I am very pleased to say that he is much more comfortable on stage now and is becoming an exceptional performer.

And, hey, I completely agree that the performance side of a singer is vital. Of course, the voice is the most important asset, but it certainly helps to have excellent stage presence as well. I will definitely admit that Adam has the best stage presence of any Idol to date, owing of course to his vast theatrical background. To be honest, he is not my favorite singer (Danny is), but I respect him 100% as a performer. I will also try each week to be more open to him and will try my best to like his performances more. As I have said before, he may not be my favorite, but I sincerely wish him the best.

Anyway, thanks for your polite and in-depth response, skid. It is nice to be able to disagree and debate with someone about your favorite show without it turning into a vicious confrontation. God bless!

Thought I needed to say that the last paragraph of my previous post was not directed at you. It was just a general statement to other things I have read in some of these posts.

Just wanted you to know that I wasn’t trying to be snotty, or start an argument with you.

Thanks for the respectful reply. Hopefully continuing in that vein….Yes, David A. should have won last year, but he didn’t, and again, that only helps to solidify my point. David Cook, good voice, good performer. David Archuletta, EXCEPTIONAL (Idol’s best ever) voice, very little performing experience. You tell me what won out. Sad, but true.

As for whether or not one should try to get on Idol with the sole goal being to win, I think that is strictly up to the individual. In the majority of cases, it seems that the exposure has meant more than the win, so yes, I can see why many of the contestants would want to at least make the top twelve to be noticed, but not necessarily to win. In my opinion, doing the best one can should be the goal. If the win comes with it, all the better. If not, the experience itself is victory enough.

And if I made it seem as though I did not think a singer’s voice was their most important asset, I did not mean to. I would very much agree, but again, I’m willing to accept (begrudginly of course) how things work in the music industry today. And again, I have to revert back to a Michael Jackson, or Brittney Spears type artist, whose voices alone would not have garnered them the success they achieved had people not “seen” their performances. People get reeled in by what they see, and they so fall in love with that, that they are then willing to listen to that artist more than they would if they had only ever heard just their voice. We can even apply this theory to the Beatles and Elvis. Can you deny that their live performances were a BIG part of their success, and that after people saw them they craved them even more? That’s because when hearing them on the radio, they could “envision” what they were hearing? So I would say, especially in today’s industry, that a stellar voice will sustain you, but if you can perform, really perform, then you will have your share of success too. It just won’t last as long. Success vs. longevity. Two entirely different things.

And as much as I love Adam Lambert, and I do, I just have to say, as talented as he is, as much as I think he has the ability to change music as we know it today, Adam Lambert is NO Elvis. And he never will be.

It’s not that the song was bad, or the performance was bad as such – what I think rubbed many people the wrong way, was that it was absolutely not what people sat down for and expected to hear on the country night. He didn’t even try to sing country, which he knows isn’t what he’ll be famous for, so he just did his thing all the way. Simon called him indulgent, which is correct, but it was awesome and ballsy nonetheless.

I was hoping Alexis made it through last night,she had great potential.

The head tone is breathtaking. So gorgeous. Even non-fans will appreciate it.

When Simon said people would talk about Adam, did he have any idea it would be on this scale? LOL.