American Idol

stubby · Post by **stubby** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:30 pm

I hate to admit it but my (young) children - 8 and 12 - watch American Idol religiously. Did I mishear their adverts or is "Yes" going to be the featured band for next week? This seems to me to be a weird juxtaposition of pop culture and music. As the show usually features the band, are we going to see some Ricks? Or, was I hallucinating last night while I was watching?

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:20 pm

I can't imagine they'd put Yes on American Idol . . .

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:07 pm

...not Yes, Rod Stewart. I can't imagine they would put Yes on American Idol either...would be cool though.

dswp · Post by **dswp** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 1:41 am

Are you sure that they are not thinking of "Queen", who was just on???

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 1:49 pm

I was kind of glad / bummed that Queen did not actually back them on the show. They had to sing with the house band.
And that Queen did not come on and "flog their latest hit" like Kenny Rogers and Barry Manilow did. Whew!
I couldnt believe that guy asked them to re-arrange "We Will Rock You"!! Brian was like, um, NO.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:05 pm

I love that Green Day song ... "Don't want to be an American Idol" ...

wints · Post by **wints** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:36 pm

I still can't believe "Queen" were involved with Idol in any way. I quite like Idol in a few ways, but "Queen" should never be involved in this format.

It shows to me just how poor they have become.

Having Paul Rogers front a band that possibly had the greatest frontman of all time speaks more than I could ever say...

John Deacon must be sitting at home laughing his arse off...

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 10:27 pm

Jeff: what record is it from? I don't have it yet...

(i do get the "play-upon-words, just kiddin'...)

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:21 am

Is it just me or is it not seriously sad that the most oft subject people have talked about when it comes to pop music in this country, for years now, is nothing more than a glorified Star Search?

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:30 am

Glenn: None of my 'idols' would have ever made it through the 'American Idol' auditions. Certainly Bob Dylan wouldn't have. I think they're trying to find an early 1960's idol. Someone who can sing someone else's songs (any style), dance at little, and maybe act a little. They are looking for the next Frankie Avalon or Annette Funicello!

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:30 am

Yes. It is quite sad. "Quite" meaning "incredibly and horrifyingly".

Frankly, I think a real idol for America would be anything but a young, impeccably groomed pop singer. I nominate B.B. King as American Idol. Or maybe Bruce Springsteen. Or Bob Dylan.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:55 am

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:12 pm

Steve said:

... I couldnt believe that guy asked them to re-arrange "We Will Rock You"!! Brian was like, um, NO. ...

I read a news blurb about that in which Brian clarifies the situation:

http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/31620391

Queen's Brian May Addresses 'Idol Fallout'

04/13/2006 2:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Lyndsey Parker

After Queen appeared on this past Tuesday's episode of American Idol to coach the remaining eight contestants--who all sang Queen songs this week, with varying degrees of success--many assumed the band would perform on Wednesday's results show, as this season's previous coaches (Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers) have done. So when Queen was a no-show last night (in their place, viewers got a Queen medley performed by the finalists), some fans jumped to the conclusion that the band had bailed because they were displeased with how their songs were performed (some would say mangled) by the contestants.

This speculation can likely be traced back to the on-air bickering between Queen guitarist Brian May and finalist Ace Young, regarding Young's suggestion to turn "We Will Rock You" into an R&B number. (Said May, flat out, "I can't do that to my song.") But now May himself has addressed the Idol rumors in the "Brian's Soapbox" section of his official website, BrianMay.com.

"Well, no - there was never a plan for us to perform on the AI show," May writes. "We only wanted to do the coaching thing, (done at our sound-check in Anaheim), to give as much as we could to the participants ... ... not go into the TV studio and 'advertise' ourselves ... I'm happy about that decision."

May also discusses the Ace Young controversy, or as he calls it, "the fallout from American Idol," in a separate blog entry:

"Some of you have written in accusing me of undermining ACE with his interpretation of WWRY. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm afraid this is an illustration of exactly what I have been quoted as saying about the programme ..... that the critical process would be better off done in private, like we do in auditioning for our musical ...

"We had an interaction with ACE, a conversation, in which we gave him the best advice we possibly could, based on studying the demo's which we already had in our iTunes - which I'd personally given a lot of time to study. This conversation, in my book, ought to have been private, but that is not the style of the show, sadly. But the even more unfortunate thing is that you are then in the hands of the video editors, who seem to seize with glee anything that looks negative. It was edited in such a way that it looked as if I was purely negative - they very naughtily inserted a bit that I said about "not on my own song" so it appeared that I said it AFTER we had played together, which was not the way it happened ...making me look like I was against the whole thing. But this was not the case. Having said that I wouldn't be able to play the arrangement exactly like his demo, and that I didn't think it would work without the stomps and claps which are foundation of the song, we then discussed how we could improve his ideas and with a mixture of a quick conference and spontaneous creation we came up with a kind of mixture of his thoughts and ours - WHICH WAS THE BASIS FOR THE ARRANGEMENT THAT YOU SAW THE HOUSE BAND PLAY ON THE NIGHT ! It was actually pretty damn good, I thought, for a quick attempt ... and he sang it very well live. If you talk to ACE he will confirm that we parted on the very best terms, and he thanked me for the input. I made it very clear that I respected him for taking chances and trying to make the song his own. The version you saw on TV used a straight sample beat with stomps and claps which set up the song in the first verse in the classic way, and then a working in of an underpinning riff (close to what I had done in our rehearsal period together, in response to Ace's idea) and then back to a straighter 3rd verse, but ending in his delayed phrase end stop, again, just as we did it together .... and I thought it was damn good.

"Just in case any of this isn't clear .... the version of WWRY that ACE performed on AI last night was a DIRECT RESULT of his own ingenuity and the advice we gave him, with our full encouragement and blessing. And he definitely rocked. And we wish him much luck in the contest."

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:06 pm

watching Queen and American Idol would be pure hell for me ... both give me the creeps ... but I know many people like the show and the band ... I'd rather do something else ... like watch mythbusters ...

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:12 pm

"I'd rather do something else ... like watch mythbusters ..."

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

I have to watch AI every night here (It's on every night to catch up with the live ending) because mom makes me watch it. I would much prefer Mythbusters every day.. I absolutely love that show. Best show on the Discovery Channel. I like the newer ones with Kari.. she's purdy...