The 12 Dumbest Comments to Date from This Season's American Idol Judges
3. Simon
Comment #1: "I've gotta give you ten out of ten for trying."
Spoken to: Katie Stevens, after her performance of Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway"
Comment #2: "I wasn't quite such a fan of that. I thought from the interview beforehand, to the performance, to what you're wearing, it was all a bit weird. You didn't do anything with the song. There were no real moments in there."
Spoken to: Siobhan Magnus, after her performance of "House of the Rising Sun"
Pitch Problem: You can't call Katie Stevens daring for choosing a Kelly Clarkson song and then condemn Siobhan Magnus for her wholly original choice and spin on "House of the Rising Sun." "No real moments in there"? You mean, besides the towering a cappella, Ronstadtian phrasing, and feminine overhaul of a gritty '60s rock anthem? It's this kind of skewed judgment that makes me nauseous -- because it confirms that Simon prefers conventional female contestants who wear skirts, boots, and megatoothy grins. This kind of boorish authority is just no fun. (And of course, Simon shows none of this bias with the male contestants.)
2. Kara
The Comment: "I know we want you to smile and have fun. But if you knew the guy that I wrote that song about, and my relationship, and how upset I was... you wouldn't have been smiling when you were singing. It's kind of a bit angry! And that's what I missed from you -- kind of connecting to the fact that, you know, Kelly and all of us writing it were kind of not feeling the guys so much. So we wouldn't have been smiling when we were telling him to go take a hike."
Spoken to: Paige Miles. after her performance of Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away"
Pitch Problem: How disturbingly literal. If Paige is "smiling," that means she doesn't understand the song? More than any other comment, this superficial judgment discolored Kara's place at the Idol table.
1. Randy
The Comment: "Yo, Crystal, what up, baby? I'm chillin'. Listen, to me, I know this is a reality show, right? To me, truth is reality, right? What I mean by that is you are the truth. You do what you do."
Spoken to: Crystal Bowersox, after her performance of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long As I Can See the Light"
Pitch Problem: What. Crystal's soulful rendition was no time for Randy to pretend he understands slam poetry. What provoked this statement in the first place? Did Randy see a girl in dreadlocks and figure she spoke in high school sophomore platitudes? This was excruciating, and it substantiates Randy's position as the pitchiest dawg on the panel.
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Comments
"How disturbingly literal. If Paige is “smiling,” that means she doesn’t understand the song?"
Uh, if it's an angry song, and there's no anger behind the smile, then yes, that's a good indication that she didn't connect with it. Would you want someone breaking into a big grin while singing Eleanor Rigby? You Oughta Know? Top of the World?
If you really wanted some bad comments, how about the universal praise Lily was given after she butchered I Fall to Pieces? (Which also featured some inappropriate smiling.)
Lol, Crystal is the truth and the light and the way.
It seems to me that the judges try too hard to not step on any toes while giving constructive criticism. When Paul was a judge, she would sugarcoat too often to be straightforward. Simon definitely more straightforward, but I think he's been asked to soften up because he is not as direct as he used to be.
david- you're right about lilly's version of i fall to pieces... no smiles should've been in that song either, so why wasn't she criticized like paige? b/c it's all b.s. and gut instincts and kara is too busy trying to push her lips out to look full, and trying to connect with anyone but her husband to 'get it right.' she's a d.b., or, as my friend likes to say, a cocky w-bag.
With the judges focusing so much on "interpretation," it seems puritanical and limiting to rag on someone for getting too smiley. There's more than one way to interpret a song, particularly a singalong number like "Walk Away." It's not "You Oughta Know," where the lyrics are an evisceration. In fact, the line, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, just walk away" is downright unassuming.
Am I the only one who thought the whole ripe banana comment by Ellen was stupid! I can't believe it didn't make the top 12.
I find the judges were very harsh and mean the first 2 weeks of semi finals and soften up on the 3rd week. Ellen was so bad the first week as the first to judge with very limited vocabulary of 'great' and 'adorable' and tended to side with the other judges when asked again. I find her useless.
Kara should be told not to keep going because the more she carry on, it's the KISS of DEATH for the contestant. She acts like a prosecutor exacting a death verdict in absolute dismissal how unconscionable the contestant is in rendering a bad performance. She should leave it to Simon and just focus giving constructive critique. Kara is very destructive in ending a contestant's dream. She gave that KISS of DEATH to Alexis Grace last year when she dismissed her, "You have lost your edge, right?" How can one redeem oneself after that?
Simon has softened up but it's too late for some. Their confusing and contradictory advices have warped the natural talents and belief of the contestants in themselves. And they heaped undeserved praises. You can see through their hidden agenda.
Mr. Virtel, I don't picture you as the small town grocery store type . . .
I think Kara's comment about "smiling" is the most telling moment on Idol. That is the main problem> Everyone is worried about being "pitchy" so no one bothers to actually feel the song... Siobhan Magnus singing "Paint it Black" was technically perfect but completely soul dead.
Many of the greatest singing artists of our time were pitchy all over the place. Who cares about technique when they rock your world?
Justin screams like a sissy girl on this video. He is so childish yet. LOL!
http://www.vida.tv/video/Justin_Bieber_Sissy_Girl