Yesterday, my "American Idol" post ticked a few people off. I went back in and edited it, deleted every post, and then planned to come in today and restate exactly how I (emphasis on I) feel. Those who wish to respond in a civil manner certainly may, otherwise expect your post to get dumped.
For all of the Taylor Hicks fanatics. I didn't mind him last year. He reminded me of a young Michael McDonald at times. For the record, I do have his album and I think it sucks. And I did see a news story - tabloid or not, I can't exactly remember who had posted it so I can't cite my reference as some have demanded - that said he was disappointed that his fans had suddenly become absent in terms of record sales. He may be the greatest guy in the world, but I can also truly believe he would wonder where all of his fans were when his record failed to sell extremely well.
Kelly Clarkson fanatics (funny how there were about a dozen of Kelly's #1 fans who posted, I'm afraid you cannot have multiple #1 fans, and I would be her immediate family get to truly claim that title) - I did happen to see her in the Reba M. tribute and yes she was great there, she and Martina worked well together. I'm also sure she really got to practice. I saw her aired live before a Nascar concert a few weeks ago and she was horrible. Again, maybe it was an off day, but based on that one live show I wouldn't pay money to see her.
Let's see. Clay Aiken - he has a few fans too, but I still don't like him. That's my opinion and telling me that I have to see his concerts before I judge him. I think not. I have better things to do with my money. I heard all I wanted on American Idol.
Kellie Pickler - again, still don't like her and all the fans in the world won't convince me to change my mind.
For those who then wondered exactly where my music tastes do stand. They vary. I would far prefer to spend my money on people like Jonny Lang or Shannon Curfman who can play guitar better than some "pros" and never seem to break out into the limelight. I expect Stevie Ray Vaughn quality from my musicians. I want to hear a voice and not have to name fifteen others before getting the right artist. Louis Armstrong, you'll identify his voice every time. The same is true of Maria McKee, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, etc. There are other bands that sound so much alike that they've become boring to me. Many of the Idol "stars" follow down that sound-alike, boring path.
That's one of my things. For an artist to have true talent, let's see these American Idols pick up an instrument, write their own music, and have America judge those songs. It worked extremely well for Chris Young - he took the Nashville Star win. Though I'm not fond of his style of country, I hate twang, he wrote a song, performed it, and won the competition. To me, that is true talent.
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4 comments:
Hi Tracy, I saw your post yesterday but didn't comment on it. I was surprised at the "Taylor wonders where his fans have gone" news story because, like many of your readers, I follow Taylor's interviews etc., and never saw anything like that. He may be thinking it, but I don't recall him ever saying it. Of course, news stories have also claimed that no one else on Idol liked Taylor (which is interesting, since Elliott thanked him in his liner notes) and that Taylor is a diva because he wanted to go to the bathroom by himself. So, eh, I take it with a grain of salt.
As a fan I am not too pleased with the CD. I wouldn't go so far as to say it sucks, because I do like some of the songs on it, but it's definitely not one of my favorites. I do have both of Taylor's prior CDs, though, and they're great--especially the earlier one. In response to your call for the Idols to pick up an instrument and write their own songs--Taylor has been doing exactly that for years. I think that his songwriting is inconsistent, and some of his songs are better than others. I think he's at the top of his game when he's writing about heartache and loss; when he writes happier lyrics--and most of this recent CD is very puppies and rainbows--he tends to resort to cliches. If you're interested, I encourage you to check out some of his older stuff at http://www.graycharles.com/index.php/2006/01/01/mp3-downloads/ (under "Off Show" and "In Your Time") if you haven't already. If you don't like it, you don't like it; that's cool, but that's Taylor's self-written, self-composed music for you to judge. :-)
I will certainly check out his older stuff and see what I think.
It's funny - Billy Joel is the same way. If he's happy, his music becomes syrupy stuff that I just don't enjoy (i.e. Uptown Girl). But other music, especially his older albums - Piano Man being a favorite - is I think some of the best out there.
Hey parker -- what happened to being such a HUGE Elliott Yamin fan..You failed to mention him or was that intentional??
Not sure who "Parker" is, but I find it coincidental that Elliot is mentioned now.
I did like him during American Idol but he seemed to fade into the background after getting booted.
I was in a store last night and saw his album. I'm listening to it right now. Based on the clips, it's not bad. I don't know that it is anything I'd buy - too much like Babyface's sound for my taste, but it does sound better than some of the other offerings.
I'm also listening to clips from Half Past Forever, Chris Sligh's band. I like him on the show but I think I'd have to get used to this album. It just doesn't have that "wow factor" that I expect from an album I'm shelling out $18 for around here.
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