JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum American Idol Finals

Hey Joe, I went back and read all you asessments each week that came BEFORE the results were announced and you loved James or at least thought he was clearly making the finals. But the time you posted after the results, you seemed you knew he'd be gone all of the sudden? = )

The two best of the season went 6th and 4th. The 3rd and 4th best of the season went 1 and 2. I can live with that (as I have no choice) but it's a shame the top 4 couldn't have finished in the top 4. Some of those who remained above Casey were an embarrassment (Jacob and Haley?). Ironically it was Casey who SAVED Haley in their two duets, but Haley got all the credit and to her credit parlayed it into a typical case of a really weak contestant finishing 3rd. (Remember year 1 where Tamyra went out in 4 and left that red headed girl, (Nikki?) who couldn't sing a note into 3rd and the even more heinous Justine into second? That has traded with this season as the most unfair in idol history. Perhaps people figured James and Casey were safe because they were so dominent every week. That happens a lot. People vote for someone they like who had a bad week to "save" them and let someone more deserving go home. It was 100% clear that as each contestant went home, there were only 3 real shocks among fans and judges: Casey Twice, Pia Once (though she really deserved it with really bad performances even though we all knew she had potential, she sucked on the big stage) and James. No others when they got voted off surprised or really saddened anyone.

What sucks for me even more than Casey who I believe musicians "got" more than fans, was James who had never been worse than second best in any week getting the boot in 4th. He'll still be a star and I knew trouble might be ahead when Ryan said "this is the week Daughtry was voted out" because they must have seen a disconnect between the voting and the performances. After all, look at how terrible the guest performers have been? Some of those Pop/R&B performances have been among the worst I've ever seen (though last season had the all time worst "star" performances). There were songs that had no verses only forgettable programming and forgettable hooks (though my wife disagreed and thought the hooks were obviously going to be hits, but I still listen for some semblence of an actual story or point to the song and not just musical/verbal masturbation). Though Haley "performed" better than the other two in some of the last 5 weeks shows, she's not a fraction of the singer. Lauren has always had the most upside and we all know it. In fact, they'd both (Scotty and Lauren) the youngest finalists ever. So you know who the biggest winner is? Country music. Both Scotty and Lauren and more old school than pop country (Lauren's best were when she was channeling 60's-70's country divas). Scotty is still no Chris Young (though Chris has already had 2 number 1's this year) but I predict he's the front runner to win. He performs far better than Lauren (not sings, performs). But he's far from an "artist" still in that he doesn't connect very often to the songs he sings. He just sings the words with a mimic style but no real mental/emotional connection. Nevertheless, he's the most ready. Which means this season, he probably WON'T win since the deserving people don't do well this season do they?

I predict the highlight of this seasons finale will be Casey and James and who they get to sing with. Most folks will be most excited to see that. But we're going to get a whole lotta Country and Country-Hybrid artists in the finale. Jimmy Iovine's closest Country connection seems to be Hannah Montana's alter ego, but I suspect we may see Taylor Swift, at least 2 Country Hall of Famers and Steven Tyler singing with someone, perhaps James. I think we might see Casey play with a famous Jazz player (he named one earlier in the season, but I can't remember who, but I could see it happening). Jimmy's connected like nobody's else in business (though Country isn't his deepest suit, he'll get whoever he wants). So I expect the finale to be among the best ever. And if Lauren wins, she'll be the youngest ever and might turn into the Lebron James of the music world... her upside is sick. If Scotty wins, he's pretty much the best he can be already short of connecting with songs better. Ironically, I think we might see a return to old school country in music and we might see Scotty and Lauren team up (they do sing very well together) like those old 60's-70's team ups in country music and grand ole opry days. People are finally done with Rap/R&B. I had hoped (and still think it might happen) that we'll see some Rock comeback, but if you remember when Rock last had it's heyday with hair bands, the other massive movement was country music and Garth Brooks. It's all a cycle after all and the pendulum might be swinging away from Rap once and for all (until Spoken Word/Rap combos breaks through which could happen one day). That would be far better than what anyone unfamiliar with the style has ever heard in that vein. We've been hearing fantastic Spoken Word artists and recently our Male, Female and Horizon artists have been from the Rock, Country and Spoken Word realm. Perhaps we've been a harbinger of what is coming all along.

It doesn't matter who wins, both will be country stars for years to come. Chris Young blew away the field in record numbers during his Nashville Star run (just after his most active JPF days) and he's got that old school voice that Scotty has. I bet they are battling it out for many years to come. Lauren will be the Kelly Clarkson of Country for years to come. (And Kelly, who had a similar voice and look seems to be switching to country of late as well.. Lauren can (and should have) sing Rock, Pop or Country equally well just like Kelly. But she'll help kick start country music like Kelly helped kick start Rock/Pop a decade ago.

2 out of 4 ain't bad I guess.

Brian