Sir Elton John for Simon Cowell on American Idol?
The most recent name to feature as the replacement of Simon Cowell on ‘American Idol’ is that of Sir Elton John! Bloggers all over the world are debating whether it would be a nice idea to have Sir John on board. There are many who feel that he could step in Cowell’s shoes, though they are hard to fill. In terms of achievement and fame, Sir John qualifies better than anyone else. In fact, he’s a much bigger name to music lovers than Simon Cowell can ever be. Sir John’s knowledge, experience and album sales all point that he has the potential to not just be a judge, but also a role model for the contestants.
The single most important aspect that the producers have to keep in mind is that Simon Cowell is an entertainer. He’s a livewire on the judges’ panel. People flock to watch American Idol to listen to his satirical and sometimes acerbic comments. He alone makes the audition rounds interesting. Will Sir John match up in this regard? Sir John is known to be brutally honest when there is a need. The question is, will Sir John be able to hold the viewers when Simon Cowell launches his own show as well? These are some questions that need answers. Have them?
Katie Stevens among American Idol Top 10
Katie Stevens made it to the Top 10 on American Idol, Season 9. She was among the bottom three when the votes declared her to be safe. That left Tim Urban and Paige Miles. Finally it was Miles who was voted out. Miles took all the negative criticism in her stride as she got bludgeoned by the judges every single week. She took it in the right spirit: "It was the roller coaster of a lifetime. I still had a blast. It was a great learning experience." Simon Cowell made it clear to her that she would not be saved by the judges even before she performed to save her skin: "It got to a point where it's not working, I don't want to give you false hope here. This is the end."
Katie Stevens remained unfazed by the possibilities of being shown the door of the American Idol platform. She said, "I do what feels right to me, and that would be pop and R&B, like Kara said. As for country, she said, "I'll try it for you Simon." Stevens spoke at length about her father and why he didn’t show up. She said, "My dad can't watch me and brother in competition, cause if we lose, he hates seeing like, the sadness on our faces. So right now, my dad is across the street, um, probably having a drink or something and he's getting the play by play from friends back home who are watching it live. So right now somebody is probably texting him saying 'They're talking about you on "American Idol."'
American Idol: The Lacey Brown Interview
Lacey Brown made quite an impression on American Idol, but not enough to make it to the top of the heap. She was the first one to be voted out from the Top 12 slot. But the 24-year old student from Amarillo, Texas, is happy about the experience she gathered on the show. Here are excerpts from the interview:
On feedback: The feedback has been amazing. I am a church girl, and when you sing in church, they don’t critique you afterward. It’s been a new experience for me to be in that situation and hear what people have to say. It’s been very humbling at times and very encouraging most of the time.
On mementos at American Idol: I have a couple things. Wednesday night, American Idol handed over my number, which is the little sticker you wear on all your auditions and all the remaining contestants signed it for me, so I am going to keep that for a while. I have tons of pictures and me and Paige just had funky mirror pictures every day, and I have a necklace that Katie gave to me last night that’s really cute that I’ve worn to all my interviews. I want to go home and make a scrapbook of my American Idol journey. I’m really just going to treasure the contestants’ friendships. We’ve all grown rapidly and even though I’ve only known them a couple of months, I’m going to have very long and happy friendships with them.
On the future: I’m not just an artist that just sings one type of music. I’m going to have a definite fresh outlook on music but it will have a folky tinge to it just because I’m a Southern belle and I have a lot of roots there. It will also have an indie new fresh twist on old folk music that I think people will really enjoy and get in to. It’s going to be something you can listen to while chillin’ at home or going somewhere. I want to make some good music that people will listen to, to feel good.
Simon Cowell, Ryan Seacrest Lock Horns on American Idol
Aggressive play of words and gestures took center-stage on American Idol this week. Simon Cowell, who is used to being the boss of the show, felt challenged by the host Ryan Seacrest. When Simon was lambasting Michael Lynch’s performance, Ryan makes a comment in favor of the hapless contestant. Simon, visibly annoyed, glared at Ryan and said, "Do you want me to talk to you or talk to Mike?" At this provocation, Ryan stepped off the stage very somberly, walked up to Simon Cowell and said, "I'm actually trying to help him out a little bit, buddy, because I want him to stay on the show. You all right with that?"
This was a never-seen-before-scene on American Idol. Simon pushed his chair back, laughed and directed Ryan to get on stage! But there was no mistaking the fact that he was rattled. Simon had the last laugh on this, though. The very next day, Simon told Ryan, "You want to get the eyeballing out of the way?" Ryan replied, "I just thought that you needed to be a bit more constructive with them." Simon testily retorted, "Do you want my job? Because it felt like an audition. Can we agree that we don't cross the line?" Again the focus is on aspects other than the contestants!
Meanwhile, Ryan Seacrest is also under fire for tweeting away the results of the elimination round on American Idol. Ryan tweeted: “Packed radio show tomorrow… got tonight’s voted-off Idol Lacey Brown.” This was posted when the show was not aired! No one is saying so, but the tweets could be the reason that American Idol registered its lowest number of viewers on that particular elimination round. The buzz has been stifled on this one. There’s no comment from the network, from the producers or anyone associated with the American Idol. We so hope that the show remained a talent churner instead of a controversy churner.
Bizarre Night on American Idol!
American Idol contestants performed at the Rolling Stones Night this Tuesday. The performances ranged from bizarre to the dismal. Admitted it’s not easy to perform to Rolling Stones numbers and Mick Jagger is a tough act to live up to. Some of them did give us a good feeling in the stomach, while some left us with a lot to be desired. Tim Urban’s rendition of ‘Under My Thumb’ in the acoustic reggae mold fell flat and sounded like a zombie on a high. All that Randy Jackson could say was: “Very bizarre!” Ellen, who is generally easy on the contestants said, “It didn’t wow me.” The good part was that Urban confessed that he knew he was taking a risk, but persisted to do something different.
The star performers, like Siobhan Magnus and Crystal Bowersox, did their bit. Magnus did a great job on ‘Paint It, Black’. Her performance was definitely one of the better ones for the night. Bowersox did ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’. Because she’s such a strong contender, the judges are not impressed unless she does something really spectacular, which this one was not. Lacey Brown did well despite the nervous wreck that she tends to be at times. Aaron Kelly was another standout performance. He picked the right song, ‘Angie’, and did wholesome justice to it. Just 16, this one is the talent that the American Idol show generally likes to foster.
P.S. A word on judge Simon Cowell. Seems he’s softening up on the contestants, now that he’s about to take a bow from the American Idol stage. He’s given up on his sarcastic, biting tone and the worst that he got was a simple, tame, “It didn’t work!”
Why Alex Lambert Lost Out on American Idol
Let’s face it; Alex Lambert was never going to win American Idol Season 9. But did he deserve to leave so soon? That is the question millions of fans are asking. They want to know what prompted Alex to be voted out when he was clearly improving. There’s no doubt that he disappointed in the first couple of weeks, primarily because he was nervous. The judges pointed that out without any mistakes. But it’s ironic that the week he performed the best, he was given the boot. Just when he was making improvements on his stage fright, the stage was taken away from him. Nothing can be made from the indifferent comments of Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi liked his improvements, but that couldn’t keep him on board.
Some feel that Alex Lambert was choosing the wrong songs. He sang numbers which didn’t go down well with his personality. It can also be said that Alex Lambert was not consistent in his performances. But each time he seemed to get better. He made deeper impacts and his songs made sense to the music lovers who pile up in living rooms across the country. It may be a little demotivating for music lovers when they watch an improving contestant is voted out. After all, American Idol is a show for the hopefuls! Hope the judges will take note of that when the next voting happens.
