RoxiP

Thanks for your response and I apologize for my error. I'm new to this forum and not really good yet at following the posts and responding to them. I agree that once you become a parent you should start behaving like one but I'm willing to give Alex a little grace...but only a little...in order to do the best for his baby. I think Alex's grandmother probably is a decent person (although I still am irritated that they stood there and let Tyra unload all the stuff from the car and carry it in the house instead of meeting her at the car and helping her...of course I was irritated that they stopped on the way home from the hospital in the first place - the last thing you want to do after giving birth is stop and visit relatives on the way home!). Loved your "female Austin powers" description of the clueless mom.

Somebody commented that Alex didn't know how to speak and compared him to a young NBA player...those up and coming NBA players have agents, publicists, and are taught from a very early age when they are becoming prospects how to be seen in public...Alex has none of those things. He is caught between his grandmother, who raised him, his mother, who abandoned him, and like any 18 or 19-year old kid (and yes, he's still a kid) he just wants to please them. Asking him to stand up and be a man at this point is going to be difficult. He is just trying to do the right thing. I think he eventually will but he's going to make mistakes.

Their past performance/recording history doesn't bother me at all. Anybody can "sign" someone to a label - but whether the label has enough clout to get the artist noticed is another thing altogether. Grant and Ashlund both talked at length about performing in front of larger audiences when they introduced themselves. Also, anybody can put out a self-produced and financed EP these days. In no way does that guarantee a career. I thought Ian was the best of the bunch (and unlike some of you I really liked most of these kids - and I am a better than good singer and have worked teaching children to sing in the past and have a good ear for pitch). I thought Ashlund and Cravetay's voices were overrated - Cravetay because she was more about attitude than singing and Ashlund because she was more about performance than singing - but Ashlund has the ability to learn whereas Cravetay is going to have to learn the hard way. So many of today's youngsters are all about becoming famous instead of actually working at their craft. It is unfortunate because there just isn't enough true talent out there. I think Ian has a lot of true talent and I am happy he won, although I feel like he will have to be marketed very carefully to make certain he doesn't loose what makes him unique and special. He isn't the definition of a "pop" artist but he is an intense young man who seems to be very talented and hopefully will be well managed.

I honestly think Madysyn has an amazing voice but I agree that her personality is mediocre. She would need to be surrounded by other singers to have a chance at a career - perhaps a girl group? Grant could, with the right handling, make somebody a lot of money simply because of his looks and his voice. His voice is very good and he has those clean, All American looks that would make him popular among young teen girls and their moms. He wouldn't even need a personality. Ian has the most raw talent but I'm not sure he would fit in the "pop" genre. He is (in my opinion) much more of an emo-type singer. I'm not sure he should settle for pop stardom. Cravetay...just no. Ashlund has the personality and charisma that Madysyn lacks. if the two of them were molded together they would make a really good performer. It all depends on what Timbaland wants...does he want true talent? Then I think it is Ian's competition to lose. Does he want pure vocals? Madysyn. Does he want to sell a lot of records fast? Grant. Does he want nubile sex appeal? Ashlund. Does he want sass and attitude? Cravetay. Don't forget - it today's recording world it isn't so much about talent as it is about what is going to sell...auto-tune makes singing ability an almost nonexistent factor.

Oh and then Cravetay was horribly off tune (and again Timbaland didn't call her out on it) on the entire bridge. It was the weakest vocal of the video. I like Ashlund but I think that her "look" is entirely inappropriate for a girl who is "only 13." Her look is way too sexy for somebody who is barely in her teens. I also think her voice is pretty weak - she is prettier than her voice. Madysyn's biggest problem is her mother. Her constant criticism denigrates Madysyn's confidence. Ian seems to be the total package of songwriter/artist if he can just get out of his own head. I like Grant and his voice is amazing (and his face will sell a million albums just because he's so pretty). I think his father has decided that he needs to "manage" him and has really started pushing him. I wondered why my video cut off - I finally was able to get the end of the last episode on On Demand last night.