American Idol 2: There's Always Room for J.Lo

[jynni]

Good god this James kid is horrible. I'm not sure if he's hit a single note on pitch. That was straight up mediocre karaoke.

And the judges have never been more useless.

[GoldenFleece]

Might as well start packing up now, Haley. Fourth's not so bad considering she wasn't a sure bet to make the tour.

[Deleted]

Haley is such a brat.

[twodollars]

Yeah, Randy and Jennifer did everything but throw feces at Haley after that first performance. Then, after the first 4 performances with all the contestants on stage, Randy attacked her again. Even Simon wasn't this mean to contestants.

Haley is definitely going home but I love her for telling Randy that she heard his critique and that he didn't have to keep repeating it and for the fuck you daggers she was shooting Randy and Jennifer the whole show.

If the judges actually criticized the other 3 contestants 1/10th as severely as they did Haley, I would say her attitude is uncalled for. However, James and Scotty have never gotten one critique as bad as Haley's multiple shitty critiques and Haley has never been as off-key as James is almost every freaking week.

[GoldenFleece]

Randy was trying to tell Haley she should have put more runs toward the end of "Earth Song". Yeah, because oversinging really helped Jacob all those weeks. But you cannot lose your cool like that with the judges, especially at Top 4 when there's not much room for error or "redemption".

Their double standards are ridiculous. Why can Lauren sing "Trouble" and "Unchained Melody" and "The Climb" and that Sara Evans thing she did a few weeks ago, without ever getting ripped for not knowing who she is as a singer? Why did Pia get told to stop singing ballads so much while Scotty doing the same thing every week is just great? Is an unreleased Gaga song that she's performed in concerts and on morning shows really more obscure to people who watch Idol than that 30 Seconds to Mars song James sang last week? Haley gets told she's shouty or hit a bum note, but not James, ever? No, he's emotionally perfect. They should just have Sandman Sims come out to chase Haley off the stage and be done with it.

[margojata]

Oh Lord, this show is horrible. Haley is a snot because the judges haven't said anything bad ALL SEASON. So when they all get tongue licked, and Haley get the tiniest bit of critique (seriously, telling her she was shouting was not near as bad as it should have been), she felt empowered to be a little talk back bitch.

Again, Jimmy the Idiot screws with the arrangements. Trouble? Elliott made that one fairly famous, and I thought Princess might do well with it. But then it dissolved into that dumb section of the song where she just started precociously running around. If Princess actually came into the live shows with the voice and the chutzpa that she had in the audition rounds she might be a runaway winner. Amazing how shell-shocked she is. I have yet to really hear the same voice we heard way way back.

This just needs to end. I don't know what they do for next year. I wonder if Steven and JLO will have made the money and the statements they needed to make and might bail. It's just all so bad. I can't stand to hear the sound of Randy's voice at all anymore.

[Deleted]

I’m not seeing a brat. Okay, I am a little – and the girl certainly seems to be on the high end of the sass continuum by nature – but I feel that it’s a somewhat justified at this point. Haley’s absolutely gotten her share of praise, but I also feel like she’s been the one to get a disproportionate amount of negativity. It’s like the judges, well Randy and J.Lo, suddenly remember that all the indiscriminate tongue bathing makes them look stupid and try to remind us all of their legitimacy by dog-piling on Haley. It’s been mystifying me actually. And it’s not a new thing. I don’t feel like she’s reacting like a child to her first bit of criticism. She’s been getting it all season; they just used to be more subtle about it. So, from the beginning she’s been hearing – often legit – critiques, but she’s been hearing them alongside the undeserved, unremitting praise given to worse performances (I’m looking at you, Screechy McOffkey). I’d get frustrated too.

Of course, this could just be my own bias showing since I think she’s the most vocally interesting and inventive competitor they’ve had on the show in a while, and I feel like she’s never really gotten credit for how technically good she can be.

I still do cringe any time a contestant sassbacks the judges, though. Even if it’s deserved.

ETA: I should maybe avoid rhyming my attempts at snarky nicknaming with actual contestant's names. Screechy McOffkey = James.

[divasahm]

Anyone else thinking that Scotty went home after his encounter with Gaga and hid under his bed in the fetal position?

[Deleted]

I must be missing something, because I haven't heard the judges "attack" Haley. They certainly haven't said anything approaching what Simon would be telling this group. I agree that she seems to be getting a disproportionate amount of criticism compared to the other contestants, but that still doesn't make it okay for her to act the way she does. And she has been that way for the whole competition-- not just when the judges criticize her, but also when she was in the bottom three, rolling her eyes and making exaggerated facial expressions. And that was when the public put her there, not the judges. I can only imagine how bad she is behind the scenes if she's willing to act this bad in front of the cameras. I don't think she's inventive, she's just trying out everything to see what sticks. So far she has been hippie, rocker, country, jazz, soulful... oh and now she's a budding actress who has a "connection" with Lady Gaga. I don't see anything special in her and I'm tired of watching her every week. It's not that I'm that nuts about the other three, but at least they have the good sense to seem grateful for having this opportunity and aren't acting like we are the ones who should count ourselves lucky for getting to watch them every week.

This is not to say that I think the judges are doing a good job, but I do think that the contestants should show them respect whether or not they agree with what is being said.

Trust me, every time I see Lauren's outfits, Scotty's ridiculous facial expressions, or hear James's screeching, I wish that Simon were around to knock some sense into these kids.

I forgot to mention Paul sitting in the front row of the audience with his arm around Nikki Reed, looking very proud of himself. Who needs American Idol when you can date a second tier Twilight actress?

[Deleted]

Yeah, Randy and Jennifer did everything but throw feces at Haley after that first performance.

The constant barbs being thrown Haley's way is becoming annoying. Is she a great singer? Hell, no, but come on, this is ridiculous! At least she's willing to try something different. Unfortunately for her it may be too little, too late. They desperately want Baby June Suddeth to be the last girl standing.

Speaking of which, where did they find the old can-can costume from Moulin Rouge for Baby June Suddeth to wear? In fact, both fashion choices were a distraction from her singing.