I have a quick request. If anyone finds a spoiler for the current week, could you go ahead and start the thread for the entire week? I'm just too lazy to open 10 threads about this week when I could just read them all in one place.

Tonight's show was good if you like musicals and crap if you don't. I didn't know half of the songs, but I don't follow musicals.

Scott - I thought he was pretty weak and he wasn't singing in tune for parts of the song. He's kind of blah on stage.

Carrie - It's so funny that Simon said she looked like she belonged in a washing powder commercial from 1965 (or something like that) because it's EXACTLY what I was thinking when I watched her tonight. However, I might've dated it to 1955, not 1965. Her vocals were strong as usual, but I really didn't like the song, even before the judges said it.

Constantine - I think most people know that Constantine was in a touring production of Rent, so it's not surprising that he would feel comfortable in the musicals theme. His vocals still aren't wonderful, but he seemed to really try tonight.

Vonzell - She looked great and I thought she did a great job with a Barbra Streisand song. Of course, she's not Barbra, but she really did a good job. She is fast becoming my favorite because she really connects with the camera and looks so comfortable on stage.

Anthony - Very weak performance, and his karaoke roots are showing. He looked nice tonight because his light blue shirt really matched his eyes. I think this might be Anthony's week to go.

Nikko - Throughout the whole song I was saying that Nikko was out of tune again, and then Simon made the comment that he thought it was out of tune. Right on that one, Simon. His time is coming soon...

Anwar - The Anwar we met in the semi-finals was back tonight. His voice sounded really nice, but not on the entire song. I liked most of it anyway, so I hope he stays.

Bo - It was his weakest performance by a mile. I liked his faux leather outfit, though. That was cool.

Nadia - I thought she did the best job tonight because her voice sounded better than it's been in weeks and she really connected with the song. It was a very professional performance, and she looked great.

I expect Scott, Anthony or Nikko to go this week, but I could be wrong...

Not a great show, but more enjoyable than last week's, possibly because I knew more of the songs.

Scott
Looked better this week in a suit, but I didn't like how he sounded at all singing "The Impossible Dream". He doesn't have a strong enough voice for it.

Constantine
I think he bumped his nose w/the mic when he started singing -- anyone else catch that?
Randy noted that really isn't a rock singer. He and Paula liked his version of "My Funny Valentine". I wasn't impressed, but I think it's because I don't like the song. When they played his clip back at the end, he did sound better to me than some of the others.

Carrie
Sang "Hello, Young Lovers" from The King and I. I think it was her performance that Simon thought sounded a bit old and like a laundry detergent commercial (I think an apron was all that was missing), but otherwise she was praised as always. I thought she sounded good.

Vonzelle
I think Paula must be reading these forums and read where someone said she was tone-deaf, because she made a point of saying that hit the high note on "People" from Funny Girl that Barbra Streisand never hits. I don't think this was Vonzell's best performance, but she's definitely got more charm than any of the other performers and is one of the better singers.

Anthony
Sang "Climb Every Mountain" from The Sound of Music. Vocally, I thought he did pretty well, but he sang it w/the same motions and movements that he always does. I think that Simon was unduly harsh on him and would like him out of the competition straightaway.

Nikko
Sang "One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story and did a decent job with it--he looked like he could have been performing in the play. This song was better suited to him than some of the other singers' choices.

Anwar
"If Ever I would Leave You" from Camelot was the perfect choice for him, I think. He did a good job with it, however, his performances have a sort of sameness about them -- building up to that big finish at the end. This week, I would say he was very good, but taken overall in this competition, I still think he needs to break out and vary his routine to stay in much longer.

Bo
This performance tonight that leaves me the most confused. He sang "Corner Of The Sky" from Pippin which is a show & song with which I am unfamiliar. I thought he did a great job with it, throwing more life into it than most of the other performances tonight (albeit more subdued than his more rocker performances). Simon didn't like it at all. Is Simon turning against Bo or was his performance really that bad? [i]And jmsjmsjms, you didn't mention Bo at all!!!

Nadia
sang "As Long As He Needs Me" from Oliver. Vocally, she was fine, but seemed to be missing some of her spark from previous week's. It actually fit the song better that way.

Paula - slightly more subdued than usual
Randy - his usual self
Simon - more terse than usual and not enjoying the show much.
Ryan - Was he pacing the show or trying to save some of the contestants from Simon's wrath?

As each week goes by what we learn is that these young Americans seem to have very little musical education behind them as a group and make incredibly ignorant choices of song from potentially vast selections. It's simply not the case with musicals that artists will not release material for AI in this case because all of these songs are in the general song book for even amateurs to perform on a wet, windy night in Galashiels - yet they did not choose well with three exceptions (Con/Anw/Nad).

Scott opened the show and probably lost a million viewers straight away. No idea what he was doing. The Impossible Dream was a nightmare, and impossibly unimpressive. Fat ugly bloke warbling on a cruise ship and we're not talking QE2, more tin bath doing the Nordic Fjords. I'd hire him because people would head straight to the bar and spend money to drown the sound out. His voice is average at best, but what will he do when he loses his looks?

Constantine - My Funny Valentine. Way sophisticated and thrillingly sung, if we could only just hear him over the overmiked band. Constantine said in his VT he knew about musicals (he got the theme from first clue 'Prof Higgins' from Ryan Sealist, the others obviously haven't even heard of My Fair Lady) and he showed his advantage here. Elevated himself into pole position. Talent. Craft. Class. Ten feet tall. Or is Ryan just a wee bloke?

Carrie - rave reviews from the judges who said the song itself was boring. I disagree. They are all out of genre. Go see The King and I and you will see this is a hearbreaking bittersweet romantic song achingly, tenderly sung by a middle aged widow whose beautiful past is behind her. In every theatre for sixty years audiences have wept. Cue Carrie who looked great and came out at one billion deicibells and belted out a rousing drinking version of this song with gusto and all muscles rippling, far too old for her and America went mad for it. Why? Because subtle and art are missing from the American vocabulary. This is a country which couldn't find Siam on a map but carries guns, executes murderers and just lurves cheerleaders. Carrie knows it, so I'm not denigrating her. If they could do intelligentsia Stephen Sondheim would be a commercial success - but guess what - not one Sondheim song sung tonight. Best hair of the series. Result - hit in US, bomb in Europe.

Vonzell. Peee-pull. Coined by Streisand, an error to touch it, as it is an iconic emblamatic anthem - but Vonzell, no fault of hers, hadn't heard of Bacharach or Dionne in a previous week let laone this, so we'll just blame the American education system and society in general. She sang very nicely, looked lovely but she's not big enough to fill Barbra's huge voluminous shoes - who is - no one, of course? A creditable effort but she should maybe have done something else as she simply can't match the original. Gorgeous though and still a possible winner.

Anthony. Climb Every Mountain. Please. Lonely goatherd Anthony has no lower range - I had to turn the volume up from 18 to 54 to even hear the first half, in the valleys before the icy peaks were approached. This is a song sung by a Mother Superior to our very own lovely Julie Andrews. There is nothing superior about Anthony. He has a one tone voice with no meaning in it. A misfire.

Nikko. One of the better choices but it did not quite, in the end, ignite. He does little for me but I can't criticise him either because there is an intelligence about his choices and his thoughtful attempts at his own thing. Good arrangement too.

Anwar. I think Camelot is not a popular choice and I didn't really know this song but I do think he put it across and almost, but not quite, hit the old Anwar we were thrilled by a few weeks ago. A very accomplished, professional performance.

Bo. Yeah, well, ridiculous he was even going here. I am a Bob Fosse fan - seen Fosse on Broadway and went to the premiere in London bla bla bla and even I only know Pippin from its write-off reviews. He did say he stuck a finger in a catalogue and landed on this. Why not sing Tommy, Bo??? There are a million (Ok ten) ROCK musicals!! Still love Bo and he can get away with this.

Nadia. Nadia came out looking a million dollars. Does she get her wardrobe from somewhere the others aren't allowed to go? If any woman in PI/AI in any country has ever known how to look good and possess the space on stage it is the brilliant Nadia. (Ok, I like her). She sang As long as he needs me from Oliver, excellent choice of a recognisable, adaptable standard - she never has the best voice but you believed it and she hit all the notes with real feeling. Personally, I thought this was the runner up of the night. And so did Niger Lythgoe or he wouldn't have put it last.

Final result, Scott to go, Anthony wearing brown trousers, Bo third bottom but only due to this week's theme. That's if it were up to me. No doubt fat America will save Scott and we'll see Anthony, Nadia and Anwar in the bottom three, especially if middle America has heard Anwar is gay.

Loved your reviews, duncann and your comments on Carrie's rendition brings up an interesting point... Are they supposed to be "popularizing" the songs or showing that they can sing in different genres? (Granted, they ARE supposed to put their own unique twist on things... but how so?)

I think you hit the nail on the head w/Carrie, though.. that is why I didn't really like her performance, even though I couldn't fault the singing. It was not an interpretation of the song, it was just another Carrie-style performance.

Thanks for the reviews............much appreciated

Can`t understand Bo`s choice of song! So many rock musicals with great songs and he choses something that`s out of the mainstream for most viewers. Great opportunity lost.

As for Scott & Anthony with "The Impossible Dream" (too right! ) and "Climb Every Mountain"............

Constantine, Vonzell and Carrie (though she could have picked a better song) sang well. The music was alittle too loud when Con and Carrie sang. Anwar and Nadia were ok. I agree with Simon about Bo not singing well. Constantine out sang him again. Bottom three should be Anthony ( and I like him) picked"Climb Every Mountain"? Could he have picked a worse song to sing. He didn't do well at all. Scott was bad. Nikko picked a good song (from "Westside Story" ) but sang out of tune. One of those should go home but you never know with the voters.

Thanks for the great quick reviews as always people

Very enjoyable show with an unusual theme for AI.
Hate Constatine but enjoyed his performance a lot so that says something.I also thought Carrie did well I have heard "nicer" versions of the song but they probably had to put a "pop" edge to it to work for the show.
Vonzell was a star again covering Babs (thank the lord marble mouth's not in the competition anymore!).
I thought Bo wasn't up to much and does have to come back with a stunner next week.
Nadia ended the show well but didn't like her head movements at the end of the song as she reminded me of a drag queen.
Scott (still wearing his court outfit for the show) or Anthony to go...

Was Paula drunk or on drugs again this week?

I hope not. Hopefully, words were said to her last week by the show producers to sort herself out or she gets the bullet.

Thank you. I was on my own and in the mood to discuss.

I think you put it better than me: there is a Carrie style and it's always the same. I preferred her in the heats when I thought there was a touching break in her voice. Now I just find her trying to fill a stadium every week, making sure the folks in the back row can hear both vowels in every dipthong and go home happy. I feel similar with Anwar: I think they see all those people in front of them so do more for more people. Sometimes less is more, obviously. On TV you are singing to one person - the person at home.

If you think about it the producers have to turn these shows around very fast with a shedload of inexperienced performers. I suspect there isn't that much 'choice' and a lot of 'why not sing this it'll suit your voice and we have the rights to it and the band can play it in any key.' Since it's clear many of the idols have never heard their songs before they must just spend the time learning the lyrics and basic melodies with little time to interpret - the band has to learn them too.

There must be some agreement as to who is going in what order and the mix of tempos (tempi to be strictly accurate) to give the one hour show shape - we always get a mix of upbeat and blue, never 10 very slow songs one after the other.

If I had been Carrie I would have sung hello young lovers incredibly slow and deep and kept a voice break back for the end and tried to cry in the middle of it. I did like Simon's comments on her outfit: there was a bit of Doris Day in that dress. Or Stepford Wives.

As one theme I would like to hear all contestants sing exactly the same song but in any style/tempo/key they choose. I think that would separate the wheat from the chaff and show us what they can actually bring in for themselves. Otherwise it's a song contest as much as a singer contest.

Bottom three.

Nikko
Vonzelle
Scott.

Vonzelle sent back first.


Nikko was sent home.

What the hell are Americans listening to? Anthony was the worst last night, closely followed by Scott, how are they surviving and the likes of Nikko and Jessica are sent packing, it really beggers belief

Well I had Anthony, Scott and Nikko in my bottom three but I really expected that Scott would go. I was surprised that Vonzell was in the bottom three. If you look at the aol poll, it is so close between Anthony, Scott, Nikko, Vonzell, Nadia and Anwar with about 4 to 6 % between them. Bo, Carrie and Constantine are way ahead of the pack. They had another record vote (nonfinale) like 32.8 million? I would have been more upset if Vonzell had left.

Here are the songs the contestants performed, the musicals they were in, and some judges comments.

Scott Savol - The Impossible Dream - Man of La Mancha
Randy - just alright for me
Paula - one of the most heartfelt songs so far in the competition
Simon - I thought it was ordinary

Constantine Maroulis - My Funny Valentine - Babes In Arms
R - this is the best you've ever sang anything
P - I admit I'm falling in love with you
S - I'll give your pouting a nine and a half this week

Carrie Underwood - Hello, Young Lovers - The King and I
R - you sung it well, good job
P - you're a well-oiled machine with your vocals
S - rather like watching a washing powder commercial in 1965

Vonzell Solomon - People - Funny Girl
R - you keep getting better every week
P - you hit that high note that Barbra doesn't even go for
S - it was good; it was clinical, a little bit cold

Anthony Federov - Climb Every Mountain - The Sound of Music
R - I didn't think it was very good at all
P - you made it more like a pop song, you did a good job
S - hideous

Nikko Smith - One Hand, One Heart - West Side Story
R - you keep it contemporary, a good job
P - you're the comeback kid
S - the first part of the song sounded out of tune

Anwar Robinson - If Ever I Would Leave You - Camelot
R - you're one of the best voices here and it's good to see you show that tonight
P - you are technically the best singer at this stage
S - you seemed very confortable

Bo Bice - Corner of the Sky - Pippin
R - consistently great
P - you're a winner, you're brilliant
S - you've had two bad weeks

Nadia Turner - As Long As He Needs Me - Oliver!
R - great performance
P - you look lovely tonight
S - the strongest you've been in three weeks

How does the block-like granite-faced lobotomized-brained Scott survive?

His singing was painful, his song choice dumb, he looks terrible, dresses appallingly. But much worse than that he has the personality of someone with a terminal illness and a humour bypass - remember when he had to perform in a trio in the heats? Tonight he looked graceless, devoid of charm, lacking warmth, stoney-faced, like a manic depressive.

His shrunken utterly self-serving God-strewn religious speech was cliched and petulant - do Americans (any of them) seriously believe God is concentrating not on Iraq, AIDS, third world poverty or even the election of a new Pope but tuning into the fourth series of a reality TV talent contest to bring forward some great new average talent. (Answer, yes, they do, they believe God cares about reality TV contestants, they've flipped.) (So do I ,of course, so it's a perfectly rational thing to care about but that's not the point ...)

America has some very strange people in it. These people clearly have phones. They can only be voting for Scott of the Antarctic because his progress reflects well on them.

Vonzelle and Nikko shone in defeat by comparison. Vonzelle could only be there because her supporters thought she was well and truly safe. Woops. Go forth and multiply thy votes. Nikko must always have knowh his days were numbered since he came back so not a great shock he was the first boy off. He was not good this week but Anthony and Scott were much worse and Bo was so out of genre that only past weeks could save him.

Only little miss Goody Two Shoes and the two rockers have not been in the bottom three yet. Big hair is the clue to this competition (see Nadia - big hair weeks, big votes, hair scraped back, she scrapes through). Miss Carrie's walking it, obviously. But then she does have the two good shoes in which to do it.

Not really surprised Nikko went. He was so slick it`s a wonder Greenpeace weren`t sent in to clean him up. Never took to the guy. Thought he`s survive further than Scott though!

Not surpised about Jessica either. She just wasn`t memorable. Good voice but you need more than a voice. A personality would have been a start.

Because, as someone cleverly suggested in one of these threads, Mr Savol most closely resembles what a great many couch potato, beer-chugging, Bush voting, red-neck Murkans look like. They're voting for themsevles.

I'm listening to the same crap that you are unfortunately I am unable to vote since I am here in the UK Do you think perhaps that Scott may just sound better and look better on American TV? He really does give me the creeps!
I still love Bo... I think that his recent not so great performance just shows that he isn't made for musicals, which is ok for me because I don't wanna hear him sing that type of music... I just want someone different to win this year... Carrie seems just too wholesome ....seems nice..... just boring...Nadia seems cool, but annoys my husband who is British and annoyed with reality shows in general...(as soon as the show dancer left he lost interest ) ...Anwar just seems genuine...very good voice... Constantine (is that how you spell it?) Is great...wouldn't mind him winning!...Scott just freaks me out... America, what ya do'in??

Cant believe Vonzell was in bottom 3!! honestly.
Bo is the only one for me nut I can appreciate what a great talent she is, and I think Scott did a lot worse. He must have a huge fan base or something!!!

two words!
Michelle Mcmanus

I'm bored with the whole thing, I'm just downloading the episodes - watching lovely Carrie, and flicking through everyone else, perhaps seeing what Simon has to say, then watching the reprise.

I am not surprised you are bored if you are only watching Carrie she has to be one of the most boring performers ever.

I just listened to the show this week to judge them soley on their vocals and to see if I could see what everyone seems to be seeing in Carrie, but again even her vocals although pitch perfect are lifeless:yawn: Never thought I would say this but the faux rocker Constantine was by far the best.

Nikko was sent home awww I liked Nikko. I knew he wouldn't win and didn't have the greatest voice, but I just liked the bloke.

Nikko probably knew he would be going home soon, just wish Scott had got sent home out of that three and Vonzell in the bottom three instead of Anthony

Hope there is plenty of Simon to keep me happy and glued to AI this week then

glad vonzell survived,keep her in it!

I was a little surprised Nikko went home last night, but I figured he'd be going next week or the week after that anyway. I don't know why Vonzell would be in the bottom three, other than what someone else said about her fans thinking she was safe and not voting. I'll have to put in extra votes for her next week because I like her.

Listening to Fantasia scream throughout both of her songs last night reminded me why I didn't like her last year. Awful performance.

WTF? Vonzell was in the bottom 3???? I can't believe it! Let's hope something good comes out of this and people vote more for her in the coming weeks! I'm gutted to see Nikko go! Did Paula cry when Nikko was told he was going home, like she did when La Toya London was voted out last season?

When are you guys going to get rid of Anthony and Scott?