Idol Tidbits – Baseball, Last Minute Disco and Song Choice!
I’m hearing from a reader who has a friend at tonight’s LA Dodgers baseball game that the Idols are there and got to throw out the first pitch! Pretty sweet.
Speaking of the Top 7, Richard Rushfield told a group of post Idol chatters today on his LA Times Idoltracker blog that he had dinner with the Top 7 after Wednesday night’s results show.
He posted a few tantalizing tidbits from his report, set to run on Saturday:
-  During a break on Wednesday night’s show, the the 6 safe contestants began the “Save Save” chant during the judges deliberation of Matt Giraud’s fate. The Idols hatched a plan during break that no matter who was eliminated, they would start chanting.
- Richard says there was total jubilation amongst the Idols after the save.
- The producers only settled on Disco as a theme Wednesday morning after a previously scheduled mentor canceled their appearance.
- Adam’s quote on his personal life, “This is a singing contest, not a kissing contest.” Adam took a tip from David Cook, “He programs his song list thinking about the whole season as a set list rather than living week to week.”
- Danny is nice and thoughtful, but instense. Allison is “completely irrepressible…hilarious.” Anoop is aware of the perfectionist streak that makes him appear frustrated and angry–he’s hardest on himself.
So, make sure to check out Richard Rushfield’s story on Saturday. Should be a good one.
Idol music director, Rickey Minor, had some insight to share on that last-minute Disco theme with Brian Mansfield of the USA Today Idol Chatter blog. Did he just give up some song spoilers?
“The tempo of disco is all about the same à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ it’s marching tempo, 120 beats per minute,” he told me after Wednesday’s results show. “For those that are used to singing those big ballads, it’s going to take some showmanship.
“It’s going to challenge them in a couple ways à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ tempo and, then, these songs are signature songs. Last Dance, We Are Family, Ain’t No Stopping Us Now à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ people know these songs. They’ve heard them all hundreds of times.”
Hm. All three songs are iconic disco songs that will be tough to pull off.
Also, Rickey had an interesting tidbit about last week’s movie theme:
Both Adam Lambert and Scott MacIntyre had Seal’s Kiss From a Rose (from Batman Forever) on their short list. Ultimately, neither performed the song: Scott was eliminated, and Adam opted for Steppenwolf’s Born to Be Wild, one of the night’s few uptempo numbers.
“I think Adam made a wise choice,” Minor says.
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61 Responses to “Idol Tidbits – Baseball, Last Minute Disco and Song Choice!”
(This is totally OT, but I was watching Scrubs the other night and someone sang a slowed-down, acoustic version of Hey Ya! and I thought, well, if that can be done with an OutKast song, it can be done with nearly anything. It gave me some hope for disco night.)
This. I actually think folking up an old disco tune is safer than keeping it uptemp without sounding corny/dated. Everyone seems to think this is a slam dunk for Adam, but I think Kris has the easier path. To illustrate, here’s KT Tunsell doing Chaka Khan …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTDqhiavP3E
(I really gotta learn how to do a pretty link.)
ETA That first paragraph should’ve been in blockquotes. Oops.
Yes it is very sad but unfortunately if there are some things you want in life you have to make subtle changes. I don’t think by his deflecting the question or toning it down on stage he is in any way denying who he is, I think he has just made a conscious decision to win this thing and in order to do it he has to compromise some. Should he have to? No he shouldn’t but if he has made the decision that he wants this career and in order to have it he has to deflect his orientation some, then who are we to question him on it? I honestly think if the press would leave it alone, it would not be such an issue but unfortunately they are obsessed with it…..talent doesn’t matter to 99 percent of them or those who would not support Adam because of his orientation.
Does anyone know whether Matt is gay? or Anoop? They don’t seem to have a girlfriend…and in Anoop’s case he did go the music, performing route in college.
Those lines were perfectly awful and I am sorry that I had to type them out. IT IS NOBODYS DAMN BUSINESS what anyone’s sexual orientation is…anytime, anyhow, anywho. Now that I am over 60 and widowed I wish I were gay. I don’t want to ever have to put up with a man again….does that make me a bad person that I prefer the company of women over men at this time in my life?
I just want the Adam needs to “come out” stuff to stop. It infuriates me and makes it that I tune out the posters who keep bringing it up…and on a lot of stuff they have some good things to say.
I totally agree. He can just play whatever song on his acoustic guitar and he’s automatically: (1) original!1! and (2) excused from working the stage or dancing and potentially looking cheesy or awkward. It should be a breeze for him.
The results for next week are practically written in stone anyway, so I think most of the contestants will have an easy time pulling through even if disco is not their strength. The people they want in the top 5 sort of have a freebie, although I guess they’ll need to put someone in the bottom 3 with Anoop and Lil before they send them home.
I don’t know if this was directed at me, but I am not saying Adam needs to come out. I understand why he hasn’t. I am just sad that the world is such that he has to be put in this position in the first place.
But I do get those who want him to come out, because nothing ever changes as long as we call keep playing the game. I just don’t want to make that kind of call for Adam, because it is not my life and my career at stake.
I don’t think this is an issue with easy answers, frankly.
Thanks, Suzanne. It’s always fun to meet someone who “gets” my screen name. Especially in Idolland.
To Tess:
Not a bad person. Only an intelligent and discriminating one. :wink_wp: Men: can’t live with ‘em, can’t stuff ‘em in a sack.
But I have to respectfully disagree that it’s no one’s damned business. When I encounter a celebrity, their talent catches my eye. But who they are is what will get them my love. I started watching Idol after a reading a blog comment somewhere about what David Cook had just done to “Hello.” His voice and presence were impressive, but it was his personality that cookified me. If I had never had a chance to “get to know” the real guy, I wouldn’t have cared about his music nearly as much.
And, IMHO, sexual orientation is a huge part of who we all are, gay or straight. So yeah, if a celeb is going to put him or herself out there for me to love, I want to know who they love, because that will give me another insight into what sort of person they are.
I’m just looking forward to the day when being not-straight is no longer held up as some sort of villainy.
See, I really can’t agree with this. To me sexual orientation is just another superficial excuse to judge one another. And as far as the character of the musicians I listen to, as long as they haven’t done anything so off the chain, against humanity, that it clouds their image irrecovably, I really don’t care. Character is pretty subjective anyway.
So anyhow, go Adam.
I agree 100% with this statement and I also think Adam had a great answer.
Yeah, I suppose somewhere in the back of my mind I’m thinking it’s a sad state of affairs that these questions are even being asked … but … enough about that! We’re at the 3/4 mile mark and if I look closely I can almost see the finish line around the bend up ahead! Let’s win this sucker! I’m keeping my focus on the prize, which is (for me) a win for Adam and (for Adam) a win, I’m pretty sure. As some poster said somewhere, all I want to see is that high wattage beam of a smile on his face when the confetti comes down. THAT would make me happy. Why? Because by every measure of talent and character, he DESERVES it.
I’m actually kind of hoping that Adam, too, goes the acoustic route. We already have seen him boogey. What would be surprising–and potentially awesome–is if he doesn’t go the “safe” route (which for him would be another OTT performance), and just stands in place and emotes a damned good song. Something like “How Deep Is Your Love” or “The Love I Lost.”
And I would have floved (!!!) to have heard Adam sing “Kiss From A Rose,” but I’ll just thank my lucky stars that I didn’t have to hear Scott butcher it. It’s a favorite of mine, and I won’t apologize for it! :rolleyes_tb:
I think Adam will slow it down this week, precisely because most of the others will do more uptempo songs and he will want to stand out. Also, if he does check online, he must know that his ballads have more mainstream appeal than the rockified songs. It would be cool to slow down a really well known disco hit ala TOMT. Although, since the category selection was so last minute, will any of them really have time to change things up that much?
Besides, once we get to F5, don’t they get two songs each? Then he can do a ballad every week and something else.
Thanks for the youtube link, monleo1705! I like how the author has already declared Adam the winner. *smirk*