The contestant who consistently does not stay on pitch gets chosen…or am I the only one who noticed this? 
My wife got hooked on the show a few weeks back and from all the bits I’ve caught Carrie seems to always stray both sharp and\or flat. It is said there is no accounting for taste but…
Cheers,
David
P.S. Vonzell’s vocal talents are far superior to Carrie’s but since she isn’t a white blond with a toothpaste grin (and favoring country music as well) :roll:
No great surprise I suppose
The celebration has started here in the Republic of West Ozarkia! 
My wife and I watched the entire season. We both agreed that Bo and Carrie were the best of the bunch. (Nadia may have the most potential, but she shot herself in the foot with song selection.) I disagree with your opinion that Vonzell has better pitch than Carrie; Vonzell was truly atrocious sometimes. Carrie also has a much broader range in the types of music she can sing. I thought she did every bit as well doing Pat Benetar as doing Dixie Chicks. Vonzell pretty much turned everything she sang into a Whitney song.
I personally thought Bo should have won because there are fewer Bos out there than there are Carries, but not because I thought Carrie didn’t deserve it.
PS – I think Vonzell has damn near as much babe factor going for her as Carrie.
Yes indeedy. Those billboards in Telsie Town paid off.
I’m actually glad Vonzell got bumped when she did. Winning American Idol would have hurt her career in the long run.
I can’t stand that show but my mom loves it. Yes, I did watch one eisode and I did notice that Carrie’s pitch was off.
Is this one of those TV things?
Should I get one?
Denny
Umm…no. 
I don’t think any racial charges can fairly be lodged against AI, whatever else you might say about it.
But I do think her All American good looks, couple with the crappiest original songs ever, did Bo in.
…no to “TV things” or “get one”
I didn’t like TV that much last time I saw it. Is Mitch Miller still doing a show?
Lawrence Welk?
Denny
Yeah… posthumously…
http://www.oeta.onenet.net/welk/index.html
This is the only one of the American Idol shows I’ve mostly watched - the other years I’ve only seen bits and pieces. I liked Constantine. But I didn’t vote, so I guess I can’t gripe that he didn’t make the finals.
Figures, I guess. Grandpa used to watch them. 'course he has been gone for forty some years…
Carrie can sing. Some of the songs were new to Carrie, and performing live in front of every one you know has got to be nerve-wracking. How many Chiffers have reported being flustered just playing whistle into a mic for recording? Magnify that about a million times and then imagine trying to sing on pitch with no teleprompter, no lyrics in front of you, singing a new song that no one knows. Knowing that the next 90 seconds may make or break your career. It is amazing to me that any amateur sings on pitch under those conditions.
I can remember one early round contestant that sounded nice while rehearsing in the restroom, but when it came time to sing for the judges, sounded like a dying bird. Nerves can and will do that.
I do think Bo got the short end of the songs. Carrie’s final song was made popular by an Australian Idol winner, and was performed at the AI Christmas special. I believe that familiarity gave Carrie a big enough boost to win.
Carrie and Bo are the most marketable. Anwar, Vonzell, and some others had there moments, but I have no problems with the finalists. In the past, two out of four AI winners, Fantasia and Reuben were African Americans. So if there is any bias, it is the other way, that it is twice as hard for a white person to win as a black person, considering that two blacks have won and less than a third of all finalists from all seasons were black. Playing the race card here is inappropiate.
What is clear is that finalists from big cities have a tough time getting from week eight to week three. Small town voting where a finalist is big news is a decisive factor in the middle rounds. For that reason, I wasn’t at all surprised to see Constantine and other big city contestants from previous seasons booted off during those middle weeks.
The most extreme example of local support was Jasmine from Hawaii where that state with 1% of the population usually weighed in with 5% or more of the total phone-in vote. That was enough to carry Jasmine to the top three. Even in a relatively sparsely populated county where Carrie is from, I’m sure they can muster many thousands of dedicated voters all on speed dial. That just isn’t going to happen in New York, Philadelphia or other big cities.
My first season watching, aided by a workmate who taped the shows so I could fast forward thru the B.S.
As someone who didn’t know the ropes, I gravitated around thru the season and had temporary faves which slowly changed. I can’t figure out for the life of me why Mykaela was ever allowed on the stage. I favored Anwar to win it all for a few weeks, but he definitely peaked. I came around to Constantine but always considered him a father with a teenage daughter’s worst nightmare and I didn’t buy the cheezy grins. I think Anthony should sing classical music or something eclectic because he has a powerful voice that deserves more than just pop songs.
After Anwar, I was with Vonzell all the way as the winner until about two weeks ago, when I realized that she was great at emulating existing acts but did not bring anything new to the table, except her incredibly infectious enthusiasm. She would have been perfect to be the original one to sing “Walking on Sunshine.” She lit up the stage with energy, which I found really heartening.
I still don’t know why Bo carries a mike stand around. To me its lame, especially with a cordless mic.
Anybody who criticizes the talent on that show hasn’t watched it (I heard a “why I hate American Idol” segment on radio this a.m.). I consider myself an aficionado of singing, partly because I wish so much I had a better voice. I have been truly impressed, as a new viewer, in the very high quality of singing.
Both Carrie and Bo were good, but I can hear Bo’s voice in my aural memory while Carrie is somewhat indistinguishable from many of the young country singers..I would imagine Carrie having a very successful career in that genre, singing patriotic songs at the current White House etc. To me, that is just not as exciting as Bo’s talent, but I am not looking for an idol per se, as I am more inclined to straight out musical talent. Bo proved he can sing anything. Even though he comes right out of the southern rocker pool of talent, he is way more than that.
Though I favored Bo, I think that for a 20 year old, that girl has near perfect phrasing and I was really struck by it last night.
They both deserved to win. Now if only they could get a new host, and three new judges, the show would be perfect.
Oh yeah, and I am slightly annoyed that more credit isn’t given to the back-up band and arrangers. They are the complete pros.
it was fun watching but I hope to get tapes again next year. They drag things out to much, especially on elimination shows.
Yeah…I’m sure you’re right…I guess that came from feeling disgusted with the whole sheebang. Interesting how Simon had no problems calling the over-weight gentleman ( I forget his name ) on being off pitch. But I kept waiting for him to say something to Carrie. I suppose when you slim & lovely being off pitch can be forgiven but if your too fat… :roll: Sorry you AI fans but as far as I can tell it really isn’t a show that is a fair judge of talent. And those segments, not to mention one entire show, of the truly awful auditions!!! Gee…lets bash these poor folks self esteem even more why don’t we? I gave my wife a bit of grief for gleening entertainment from other peoples pain 
Ahhh…American television…ya just gotta hate it
Cheers,
David
Monday evening I had dinner with one-time American Idol contestant Clay Aiken. I had never heard about him before, but I guess he’s pretty famous. He seemed like a nice guy. Unpretentious, laid back and pretty darn normal.
Peace,
Chris
Yeah, that’s how Clay Aiken seems like he’d be.
Speaking of off-key though…anyone hear the other 10 finalists singing the Beach Boys Medley? I have to imagine that they spent most of their rehearsal time practicing for the duets they were doing with celebs which were much better.
Actually, if I remember correctly, Simon called Carrie off pitch just Tuesday night (during Independence Day, which I agree she was off). I liked 'em both, but I was rooting more for Bo, because I agree he’s more unique than Carrie. It’ll be interesting to see in what directions each of their careers go. I definitely think Carrie will end up being in the country camp more.
Beth