Full Article Text

JANUARY 7, 2011
FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH
LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS
Michael Giltz
Freelance writer and raconteur
Posted: March 5, 2010 03:57 AM
BIO
Become a Fan
Get Email Alerts
Bloggers' Index
0
0
views
0
37Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyIdol Season 9: Top 20 -- The
Elimination
What's Your Reaction:
Read More: American Idol , Ellen Degeneres , Kara DioGuardi , Pop Music , Randy Jackson , Reality TV ,
Ryan Seacrest , Simon Cowell , Talent Contest , Entertainment News
RATINGS COVERAGE: American Idol's results
show hit 19.3 million viewers, according to March
Berman of MediaWeek, well above the competition
but down about 10% from the 21.5 million viewers
that tuned in one year ago.
SHOW COVERAGE: Four more Idol contestants
said goodbye, none of them surprises. John Park and
Jermaine Sellers were the two guys sent packing while
on the gals' side it was time to wave farewell to
Michelle Delamor and Haeley Vaughn.
The show began with another godawful lip-synced group performance. The group performances with 20
folks crowding the stage invariably have a painful, Up With People aura about them. But lip-syncing goesagain everything the show is supposed to stand for. Mind you, I also hate, hate the Black Eyed Peas song
"I Got A Feeling" though it was kind of delicious to see white-bread mullet-wearing Alex Lambert shout
out "Mazel Tov!" with a street swagger.
I assume the logistics or vocal mix is just impossible with this big a crowd and that's why they don't sing
live. But if that's the case, they should shoot a music video a la those Ford commercials. Come up with aconcept and do something fun with the kids rather than just have them trudge around the stage andmouth the words. It's painful for them and the audience.
Todrick Hall and John Park faced off and John was sent home, which was no surprise to him. Jermaine
Sellers and Andrew Garcia faced off (that ought to wake him up) and Jermaine was done. Sellers was
polite but his comment about being a church singer is either disingenuous or silly. If he was a good
gospel singer, America would have embraced him. (Does he think Yolanda Adams or Tonex would haveflamed out this early? Really?) And plenty of singers on the show have brought a gospel flair to various
performances. But a lot more singers have brought an undisciplined indulgence via endless runs and trills
and acrobatic vocalizing they associate with the church or with Mariah Carey but which have nothing to
MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOSTBIG NEWS: Ellen Degeneres | Celebrity Body | Playboy | Movies | Smarter Ideas | More...

LOG IN | SIGN UP
Get Entertainment Alerts
Email Comments 37







More Dead Birds, Fish
Found Across The World
Comments (2,638)
WATCH: Demi Moore In A
Teeny Bikini
Comments (402)
Elizabeth Edwards' Will
Revealed
Comments (573)
Lindsay Garvey iPhone
Alarm Glitch: How It Cost
Me My Job
Comments (912)
Intestinal Parasites May Be
Causing Your Energy
Slump
Comments (133)
Rudeness Is A Neurotoxin
Comments (33)
WATCH: Ashton & Natalie
Get Naked, Have Sex In
New Movie
Comments (197)
Two House Republicans
Violate Constitution With
Voting Blunder
Comments (8,860)
BECK IN TROUBLE?
Dropped From New York
Radio Station, TV Ratings

Comments 37 Pending Comments 0View FAQ
Ellen DeGeneres &
Portia de Rossi's
Exotic...
Ryan Seacrest:
Simon Cowell Was
Jealous Of...
Camille Grammer's
Porn Past Comes
Back To...
Taylor Swift & Jake
Gyllenhaal Break
Up:...do with good singing, no matter what the setting. It was nice to see him end on a positive note and
acknowledge God; to often, God only gets a shout out when the person has won it all, so good on Sellers
for that.
Danny Gokey sang his new single "My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me" pretty energetically, though he
seemed over-caffeinated during the interview segment.
Then Didi Benami and Michelle Delamor and since it was a toss-up who would go first, they both
handled it graciously when Delamor was cut. Finally, Haeley Vaughn and Lacey Brown faced off and
Simon rightly told Ryan to put Haeley out of her misery without delaying the results.
None of the contestants proved a wrong decision was made with their performance, though John Park
was probably the most improved. But poor, sweet Haeley Vaughn was painful. Her off-key warbling was
so hard to watch, it made you really resent the judges for ever letting her get into Hollywood Week, much
less the Top 24. It just wasn't right. I doubt she'll ever gain enough experience to become a good singer
(she just doesn't have a voice) but she should never have been put in this spotlight. Surely they must have
known it by Hollywood Week. Vaughn can at least hold her head high for being a trooper and
maintaining her good spirits.
Thanks for reading. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of
celebrity interviews and his weekly music radio show at Popsurfing and enjoy the weekly pop culture
podcast he co-hosts at Showbiz Sandbox . Both available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and
gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
Related Blogs On Huffington Post:
Michael Giltz: Idol Season 9: Top 20 -- The Women
The women took to the stage and after a very strong Crystal Bowersox, so
many of the women crashed and burned that the not-bad women towards
the end seemed pretty good in comparison.
Ken Levine: American Idol : The Girls Will Be Boys
Because Fox is trying to milk two hours out of a one-hour show, there was awhole lot more filler this week. Startling revelations like the big fat guy
who cried all through Hollywood Week likes musical theater. No!!!
Michael Giltz: Idol Season 9: Top 20 -- The Men
A good improvement for a number of men this week on American Idol ...
but then, so many of them had so much room for improvement.
More in Entertainment...
1 of 5
Sen. Jon Tester
Tester Pushes to Reform Senate
Rules With Greater Transparency,
Efficiency
Steve Ballmer
My Keynote Address at the 2011
International Consumer
Electronics ShowDON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS
HOT TRENDS
TOP VIDEO PICKS
1 of 9
camille grammer jennifer
connelly baby
bump jersey shore
raven symone weight
loss rebecca budig
More Celebrity News at People.com
More Celebrity News at Popeater.com
Fall
Comments (5,618)
Camille Grammer: Kelsey
Made Me Do Real
Housewives
READ MORE
Rihanna to Launch Her
First Fragrance
READ MORE
POLL: Take Sides in JerseyShore's Explosive First
Feud
READ MORE
John Legend Parties With
Pauly D, 'Precious'
John Edwards Proposes to
Mistress Already?
J.Lo's Ex's Girlfriend Files
For Restraining Order
249 Fans
21 Fans
Follow
59 Fans
116 Fans
59 Fans
1 FansI think Adam done broke this show. No one is going to come anywhere close to his talent, or his
ability to hit those high notes. That's why they seem to be going for a singer/son gwriter type.
Obviously they want a female winner this year. Hopefully someone not as boring as Kris. He's a
really nice guy, but bland as all get out.
I'm not impressed with anyone but Crystal, and she doesn't fit the Idol mold, so I'm just kind of
embarrasse d for the show this season. After last season's amazing discovery of Adam Lambert, and
then America's nasty rejection of his sexuality, as evidenced by Kris Allen's win, this season had ahigh bar to go for, and it's failed.
ZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZz
I happily disagree that people rejected Adam, much less rejected him because of his
sexuality. Adam let his freak flag fly proudly throughout the competitio n and yet he received
tons of positive press and made it to the finals ahead of literally 100,000 other people,thanks to the votes of the public. Now he's launched a solo career and is enjoying a top 20hit that's still rising, the cover of Rolling Stone and much more. He's not going anywhereand has a ton of fans, all thanks to the platform of a show that embraced him. If that'srejection, most artists would kill for it. Adam is from California and it's actually a disadvantage to be from a big state like that or New York or Texas. The entire state is not going tofeel an identity with him the way Arkansas did for Kris (and Alabama did for its twowinners). And when an entire state (even a small one) is pumped up for you, that cantranslate to a ton of passionate voting.
This show passed its prime several seasons ago. I didn't read the article because I just don't care.But I did want to express my thought that this show should be out of the lineup.
Unfortunat ely for you, Idol remains the #1 TV show in the country for the sixth straight year,
a record unmatched by any other show in history. It will be around for years to come. TheX Factor will perhaps take a huge bite out of its audience in 2011 but I doubt another verysimilar show supplantin g it will be any comfort to you.
I think this is the best season yet. Kara DioGuardi is coming into her own and making great
Paltrow Dishes on Cruise
Kiss
Raven Symone's HugeWeight Loss
Jessica Szohr's Sobe StripDown
MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW
HOT ON FACEBOOK
HOT ON TWITTER
Celebrity Body
Barack Obama
Gulf Oil Spill
Soccer
Celebrity Skin
Howard Dean
Sex
Housing Crisis
AirlinesHUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES
MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »Recency | Popularity
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
MsMassachusetts 10:11 AM on 3/06/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
VicksieDo 09:02 AM on 3/06/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Michael Giltz 01:43 AM on 3/10/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
tlgeiger62 07:33 AM on 3/06/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Michael Giltz 01:44 AM on 3/10/2010
Permalink | Share it
Yappa 06:18 PM on 3/05/2010Camille Grammer's Porn
Past Comes Back To
Haunt Her
636 Comments
Seth Rogen: I'm Not
Getting A Prenup
84 Comments
Most Anticipated Indie
Albums of 2011
(SLIDESHOW)
9 Comments
PHOTOS: Olivia Wilde
Dons See-Through Bikini
32 Comments
Beastie Boys Rapper
Beats Cancer
42 Comments
Which Stars Will Play The
Lead Roles In 'The Three
Stooges' Remake?
66 CommentsComments are closed for this entry
View All

59 Fans
23 Fans
65 Fans
39 Fans
Follow
43 Fanscomments. Overall I think the comments are very good. If they repeat the comment that the song
sounded like kareoke, well, a lot of them do sound like kareoke.
Why I'm writing though is a comment Simon made in the results show last night (March 4 2010). He
said that when the judges listened to the playbacks of the contestant s after the show they felt that
they had over-estim ated a couple of them. I think he said "We thought: What were we thinking!? "
I wonder if one of those was Lilly Scott. When I heard her sing, I thought she was dreadful: thebottom end disappeare d and it sounded almost like she was talking instead of singing. But the
judges said it was amazing and so on. At the time I wondered if she was holding the mike too farfrom her mouth, and maybe the judges could hear more live than we could at home.
Anyway I wondered if anyone else noticed this.
I haven't written that yet in my main comments but when Kara isn't goofing around, I do
think she's become a stronger judge as well. And randy early on was very focused. Theyseem to be stepping up their game. Maybe it'll take a season for Ellen to settle in and notfeel like the new kid on the block. I'll bet Simon did think they over-prais ed Lilly's singing a
bit. But the opposite is true from what you suggest: as they pointed out, on set the band islouder and can support the singer more. The viewers at home hear a mix where the vocalsare much more prominent and up front. Sometimes it sounds like the band is in the nextroom.So we're hearing their vocals more nakedly than the judges do.
This season is a train wreck . . . agree with the poster who says the bar was set so high byLambert, that nothing can compare . . . think of all the real talent that has emerged over the pastseasons . . . Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, , etc. This season's pool of singers is the weakest
I have ever seen . . . and none are in the ballpark of some of these past contestant s. I think Simon
has checked out and the magic has been lost . . . predicting this may be the last season of AI.
What's interestin g is that the thought never crossed Jermaine's mind that God might be smiting him.
No matter what happens, God did it, and it is good. Such an interestin g phenomenon , this religious
faith is.
agreed. if he had done well it would have been gawd's will. if he failed it was gawd's will.
this way he avoids any responsibi lity or introspect ion.
Poor Haeley. She seemed like a very long shot during auditions, but had a cute way about her.
Plus she had a country connection , which she promptly lost once she reached Hollywood. She also
"grew" a lot of hair, which I assume were extensions . In Hollywood, she became just another
contestant - her uniqueness was erased. I wonder who advised her of that? Mom?
Plus, and it has to be said, her lisp did nothing to add to her singing. But the depth of how young and how badly she sings wasn't truly realized until she was chosen forFOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Michael Giltz 08:12 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
beatrix 05:01 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
StephenDedalus82 04:32 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
goodgravy 06:33 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
Charity 03:25 PM on 3/05/2010

59 Fans
470 Fans
59 Fans
39 Fans
Follow
43 Fans
59 Fansthe top 24, and frankly, last night I switched the channel as she was singing her good by number.
You're right - she should have never gone this far.As for Delamor, she should have stayed a bit longer, but was never going to make it to the top. I
was shocked that Garcia was in the final bottom - he's one of the better boy singers. Let's hope hesteps up his game next week.
Go Crystal!
I don't think they characteri zed the pairings as the bottom two (or four). Sometimes the
producers get tricky and put someone in that bottom two that hasn't necessaril y received
the second lowest votes. So Andrew might have been put there for dramatic purposes.
Unless Ryan specifical ly says they both have the lowest vote totals that week, I don't think
you can assume anything.
I think Didi will surprise.
You could be right. I know producer Steve Lillywhite agrees with you.
i have been a big fan of AI since the fantasia season (2003-04). i don't know if i am just burnt outon the show or if this year is spectacula rly under par. i program the show on DVR and, honestly, i
have zipped through it in 20 minutes. i think i am watching only out of loyalty and if the singers don'tstep it up SOON i fear i may not be completing the season. i wonder if other AI fans feel this or if itis just me.
i think adam lambert raised the bar so high that no one this year can get close to bringing the kind
of excitement to the competitio n that he did. listen to the judges comments. they all but say 'we
want you to choose a song and bring your own twist to it, just like adam did." and then when thecontestant s mix it up they get shot down...'yo u changed it up too much.'
Agree with the eliminatio n choices but not your verdict on bringing Gawd into the mix. It takes an
incredible amount of hubris and self-delus ion to believe that Gawd "has a plan" for every person on
the planet, or has so little on His mind that he is obsessed with what happens to little self-absor bed
Jermaine today or any other day.
However, if that is true, perhaps Jermaine should assume (while he's at it) that Gawd HAS heard his
church singing, and is doing his best to convince him he should find another line of work.Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Michael Giltz 08:14 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
MaryscottOConnor 03:07 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Michael Giltz 08:15 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
goodgravy 01:34 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
filmex 01:04 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Michael Giltz 01:29 PM on 3/05/2010
43 Fans
77 Fans
7 Fans
11 Fans
24 FansIn general, I agree with you. God does NOT care who wins Idol or he World Series or your
high school basketball game or the Academy Award. Nothing could be further from the truthfor a true Christian than believing God wants fame and glory for you (even if you imagineit's to give you a bigger platform to praise Him). That said, I was just trying to think ofsomething polite to say about him. I try not to forget that these people like Jermaine andHaeley Vaughn are just regular people who've never been on local TV before and aresuddenly on national TV and being examined under a microscope . So you know, I'll trash
his performanc e and defense of it (it's church singing!) but if I can say something nice as
they walk out the door, why not?
Fair enough, Michael. I would try and find the positive with most of these kids andcould easily do so with the other three eliminated , regardless of their performanc e
difficulti es. But, Jermaine always displayed more arrogance than humility. He felt
the need to answer back to every bit of constructi ve criticism offered him,
challenged Simon to "come hear me in church" and generally acted like he was the
second coming of John Legend, as if the judges were just too dense to realize it.
Having said that, I think this contest is more of a psychologi cal endurance event
than a singing competitio n. How these kids maintain their sanity when criticized
one week for not making the song their own, then criticized the next week for not
respecting the original melody is beyond me.
There are More Comments on this Thread. Click Here To See them All
I think Haeley's performanc e last week was vivid and showed her talent. This week trying to follow
the bogus advice she received last week to choose something young which is such a general vaguefeedback they habitually give to anyone younger than 18 led her to attempt a shallow white girl poptune was doomed, and there was nothing left to sparkle through the performanc e. At least Simon
acknowledg ed its tough because they give such contradict ory advice, especially from one week to
the next, in their attempt to encourage the performers to find their own way. It is especially frustrating to me when they tell one kid to get out of his comfort zone, and then the next to stick to whatthey're good at. Huh?
No, she just sang it poorly. If she had even a decent voice and some musicality she couldhave made it work. It's really not a very complicate d song.
This show has lost its 'sizzle" also, 90% of the judges comments for several seasons have been'you chose the wrong song". I don't fault the talent but the producers and judges for this, regardlessof talent if you choose the right song you will win. Its time has come and gone!
I agree and also wonder WTF about the vocal coaches? Why don't they do a better job ofguiding the contestant s to the best songs for their voice and style? It seems like the vocal
coaches don't do a good job because "you picked the wrong song" is the constant refrainPermalink | Share it
filmex 01:57 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
seerickson 12:40 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
pangursperson 09:11 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
Thumbody 12:11 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mlrlmsw 06:00 PM on 3/05/2010
7 Fans
177 Fans
21 Fans
Follow
51 Fansfrom the judges. And, Randy - "pitchy" is all he can say...
I think they're instructed not to influence song choices at all, precisely because
song choice is considered a measure of their, dare i say it, artistry.
I've noticed that Randy only complains about the singer being pitchy when they are
sharp. He seems to love it when they are flat. Oh well.
...wrong song, too old for you, too big a song for you....pitchy, all over the place, a mess
Same old, same old. ZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZ
That was one loooong hour last night. I think Danny has discovered cocaine and Ryan and the
judges are on Valium! That opening number was embarrassi ng and lame; I too, cannot stand the
Black Eyed Peas. Glad to see Jermaine and John outta there, Jermaine was really annoying.

FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH
LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS
Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ | Contact Us
User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type
Copyright © 2011 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Permalink | Share it
pangursperson 09:13 PM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
libwingoflibwing 12:34 AM on 3/06/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
VicksieDo 09:04 AM on 3/06/2010
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
RhiannonRings 11:10 AM on 3/05/2010
Permalink | Share it