AimzsterAustralian Idol 6 - will you be watching the finale?
November 18th 2008 00:57
They say Australian Idol jumped the shark before the 2nd season even began (reality TV haters would say it jumped the shark when the idea was brought up). And save for the second season, and only because I couldn’t believe the final two was between an inaudible girl with no personality and a vertically challenged guy who dreamt of being a Backstreet Boy, I can’t remember other contestants from all the other seasons – only how appalling each of the ‘winner’s single’ had been. We’re in the 21st century but producers of these so-called ‘winning’ singles seem to be permanently stuck in the 80s with their soppy ballads, complete with high notes about ‘the night’ and ‘dreams coming true’.
This year, channel Ten seems to have gone into overdrive in the hopes Australian Idol doesn’t follow the fate of Big Brother. They got rid of Mark Holden, signed up Ricki-Lee to become a backstage host, gone beyond Australian shores to London and enlisted the help of Darren Hayes and Tina Arena to discover potentials, released a video teaser of the Top 40 idols, and had international artists like Pink, Chris Isaak and Cyndi Lauper being guest judges and/or performing live.
But is it enough? According to wikipedia, ratings this year have dropped by 19% compared to last year – which seems impossible considering last year’s talent was as dismal as a cold spam sandwich; and major sponsors like Telstra and Procter & Gamble had pulled out their support (but, hey, I’d take the Cadbury gorilla over the Heads & Shoulders commercial by past idol contestants anytime).
For me though, this season was a definite improvement to the past three seasons. I love the fact that Mark Holden is gone and the atmosphere between the current judges seem to be more fun – heck, I can even believe they actually like each other. I applaud that the bottom 3 contestants are revealed at the beginning of each verdict show; that the eliminated contestant gets to sing his or her favourite song as their goodbye song, as opposed to the song that got them booted out in the first place; the guest judges and international guest performances (how great was Chris Isaak!) and scrapping the one-minute drawn out silence by James and Andrew before revealing who got booted out.
Some improvements could be made though – if there’s going to be a seventh season. For one, get rid of Ricki-Lee. Even with a teleprompter, I don’t understand how she still manages to sound awkward and unrehearsed; the verdict show should be shortened to just half an hour – it only gives Ricki-Lee more airtime to ask the bottom 3 contestants how they feel about ‘not connecting with the audience’(duh, how do you think they feel?), to gush about her multitude of favourite songs and artists and how it was like for her being an Australian Idol contestant.
After a disappointing start where I spent most of the early weeks booing some of the Top 10 performances and wondering why the judges voted them in the first place, the last few episodes have shaped up to be pure entertainment with some noteworthy performances. Yes, we’ve lost the belters along the way who could hold high notes that sent my mother reminiscing about Aretha Franklin (think Chrislyn Hamilton) but as surprised as I was, I was glad the Top 3 were guys who didn’t place as much importance on their vocal technique but rather reaching out to the audience and entertaining them. And frankly, I was getting sick of soppy ballads anyway.
Mark Spano, the ‘Italian Stallion’ whose main criticism was his tendency to close his eyes instead of ‘trying to connect with the audience’ was booted off last night, much to Marcia’s obvious shock dismay. And angry fans are blaming a technical glitch on the show’s website which saw their votes being misdirected to another contestant for 25 minutes. But then what else is new? Everytime someone gets voted out, there’s a new conspiracy theory involving Channel 10.
So we’re left with Luke Dickens, a sheep-shearer from Young and Wes Carr, who’s not afraid to showcase his cheesy YTT days. The judges’ and bookies’ favourite from the very beginning has always been Wes Carr who only once found himself in the bottom 2. Dubbed a ‘true musician’ because he had the ability to ‘tell a story through the song’ with many guest judges claiming they’d buy his CD if Wes released an album then and there, Wes’ performances have been quite consistent all season and I honestly can’t remember a bad criticism based on his performance. He flew under the radar at the start with me and didn’t think he deserved all the praises, hoopla and touchdowns he was getting. But now that the number of contestants has dwindled, his ability to entertain the audience, make each song his own and getting caught up with his performances has heightened and I (though a little shame-faced to admit), along with many others on the Australian Idol forums, am crying out for Luke Dickens’ blood.
Last night, they revealed what could potentially be the winning single. A testament that the network is finally listening to their audience is the fact that the winning single is tailor made for each contestant. Surprisingly though, Luke chose a more mellow song, ‘When We Hear Hallelujah’ which I didn’t think suited his gravely voice which is quite prone to breaking and being monotonous. Ironically, I felt he put more emotion into this song than he had ever done previously but the delivery was a little thin at times and at one point in the end, he lost his voice.
Wes’ winning single was a bit of country and blues called ‘You’. The song isn’t my cup of tea but from the time he came out onstage with that infamous jittery leg, his voice effortlessly switching between rasps, high-pitched yells to strong wholesome notes worthy of a boy band member, he had me hooked.
So will I be tuning in to the finale? Call me a nerd, but yes, I am.
This year, channel Ten seems to have gone into overdrive in the hopes Australian Idol doesn’t follow the fate of Big Brother. They got rid of Mark Holden, signed up Ricki-Lee to become a backstage host, gone beyond Australian shores to London and enlisted the help of Darren Hayes and Tina Arena to discover potentials, released a video teaser of the Top 40 idols, and had international artists like Pink, Chris Isaak and Cyndi Lauper being guest judges and/or performing live.
But is it enough? According to wikipedia, ratings this year have dropped by 19% compared to last year – which seems impossible considering last year’s talent was as dismal as a cold spam sandwich; and major sponsors like Telstra and Procter & Gamble had pulled out their support (but, hey, I’d take the Cadbury gorilla over the Heads & Shoulders commercial by past idol contestants anytime).
For me though, this season was a definite improvement to the past three seasons. I love the fact that Mark Holden is gone and the atmosphere between the current judges seem to be more fun – heck, I can even believe they actually like each other. I applaud that the bottom 3 contestants are revealed at the beginning of each verdict show; that the eliminated contestant gets to sing his or her favourite song as their goodbye song, as opposed to the song that got them booted out in the first place; the guest judges and international guest performances (how great was Chris Isaak!) and scrapping the one-minute drawn out silence by James and Andrew before revealing who got booted out.
Some improvements could be made though – if there’s going to be a seventh season. For one, get rid of Ricki-Lee. Even with a teleprompter, I don’t understand how she still manages to sound awkward and unrehearsed; the verdict show should be shortened to just half an hour – it only gives Ricki-Lee more airtime to ask the bottom 3 contestants how they feel about ‘not connecting with the audience’(duh, how do you think they feel?), to gush about her multitude of favourite songs and artists and how it was like for her being an Australian Idol contestant.
After a disappointing start where I spent most of the early weeks booing some of the Top 10 performances and wondering why the judges voted them in the first place, the last few episodes have shaped up to be pure entertainment with some noteworthy performances. Yes, we’ve lost the belters along the way who could hold high notes that sent my mother reminiscing about Aretha Franklin (think Chrislyn Hamilton) but as surprised as I was, I was glad the Top 3 were guys who didn’t place as much importance on their vocal technique but rather reaching out to the audience and entertaining them. And frankly, I was getting sick of soppy ballads anyway.
Mark Spano, the ‘Italian Stallion’ whose main criticism was his tendency to close his eyes instead of ‘trying to connect with the audience’ was booted off last night, much to Marcia’s obvious shock dismay. And angry fans are blaming a technical glitch on the show’s website which saw their votes being misdirected to another contestant for 25 minutes. But then what else is new? Everytime someone gets voted out, there’s a new conspiracy theory involving Channel 10.
Wes Carr
Luke Dickens
So we’re left with Luke Dickens, a sheep-shearer from Young and Wes Carr, who’s not afraid to showcase his cheesy YTT days. The judges’ and bookies’ favourite from the very beginning has always been Wes Carr who only once found himself in the bottom 2. Dubbed a ‘true musician’ because he had the ability to ‘tell a story through the song’ with many guest judges claiming they’d buy his CD if Wes released an album then and there, Wes’ performances have been quite consistent all season and I honestly can’t remember a bad criticism based on his performance. He flew under the radar at the start with me and didn’t think he deserved all the praises, hoopla and touchdowns he was getting. But now that the number of contestants has dwindled, his ability to entertain the audience, make each song his own and getting caught up with his performances has heightened and I (though a little shame-faced to admit), along with many others on the Australian Idol forums, am crying out for Luke Dickens’ blood.
Last night, they revealed what could potentially be the winning single. A testament that the network is finally listening to their audience is the fact that the winning single is tailor made for each contestant. Surprisingly though, Luke chose a more mellow song, ‘When We Hear Hallelujah’ which I didn’t think suited his gravely voice which is quite prone to breaking and being monotonous. Ironically, I felt he put more emotion into this song than he had ever done previously but the delivery was a little thin at times and at one point in the end, he lost his voice.
Wes’ winning single was a bit of country and blues called ‘You’. The song isn’t my cup of tea but from the time he came out onstage with that infamous jittery leg, his voice effortlessly switching between rasps, high-pitched yells to strong wholesome notes worthy of a boy band member, he had me hooked.
So will I be tuning in to the finale? Call me a nerd, but yes, I am.
| 66 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by D. Armenta
The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
L.A.M.P.
But I'm glad to see you posting. Aimzster. I lost track of you for awhile there!
Hope all's well with you?
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
I can't believe there's more than a handful of people in the country who'd buy a CD of Luke's work! He's a gimmick, and a generic, ever-more irritating one at that! I can't stand the way he moves either, he's become robotic and boring.
I swear to God I want to kick the screen in when I hear him singing now! :0
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
Comment by Aimzster
Health and Beauty
Reality TV
The Jeepney Stop
David, hahahaha...wow, you really feel strongly about it, huh? Thank goodness I lent my support to Wes, otherwise you'd be wanting to bash my head in!
Morgan, I think that's what's great about this year - the fact there are no 'divas' in the top 2. Frankly, I was getting sick of those ballads anyway - unless Beyonce herself comes on the show to perform, I say adios to r&b singers.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
i think the guys this year probably actually have a chance of selling some records!
Comment by Aimzster
Health and Beauty
Reality TV
The Jeepney Stop
Comment by D. Armenta
The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
L.A.M.P.
I hope you'll find time to post a pic or two later on...