Biggie B

Thanks, Dee, for the Tiana recap! I remember most of it but definitely not all.

Please refresh my memory: did Hakeem dump Tiana for Camilla, or did Tiana dump him? I can't quite recall how their relationship ended, but I'm sorry it did. I feel as if Tiana is the only woman who can go toe to toe with Hakeem - she's his equal on many levels, and they'd be an awesome power couple. She's drop dead gorgeous as well! I, too, wonder why she gave such a longing look at Hakeem. Does she still desire him? That's why I want to remember how they broke up. Was that a look of regret or one of unrequited love? No good will come of Hakeem and Laura's engagement. Anika's pregnancy will see to its demise. The showdown between Lucious and Andre was rough! As soon as Lucious admitted being embarrassed by Andre, I feared for the worst - this will push Andre to the outer limits. No amount of prayer or medication is going to help him, I fear. And I totally get Rhonda's reaction - she loves Andre but has been consumed by his issues for so long. I don't think she wants their marriage to end, but she needs a break and some support of her own. Unfortunately, Anika is NOT the appropriate person to turn to! Will Rhonda see a pair of red-soled shoes at Anika's house, triggering some flashbacks? Agreed^^^!!

He did. She answered, "Thompkins," but Jim said nothing and as he was sitting there holding his phone, Barbara knocked on the door. So he did call, even though nothing came of it at that moment. I'm glad Oswald is back to his old self. His new-found happiness and bond with his long lost father was all too fleeting, and if he can't have that, then it's time to get back to business! I'm glad he killed all three of those terrible people. Very bummed about the dog, though, but it served its dramatic purpose. I'm getting tired of Selena always assuming that Bruce thinks she's gutter trash. I think he's been nothing but deferential to her in many ways. He thanked her for mentoring him. She has such a chip on her shoulder - it's not Bruce's fault that he was born into a very wealthy and renowned family, and I think it's been clear that Bruce has never flaunted his wealth or social status for selfish reasons. He's been pretty straight forward about using the resources he has for a better purpose, not just screwing around. If Selena can't figure that out, that's her problem. I know she's young and for all her toughness, she's still got a lot of vulnerability, but she has the same knee jerk reaction any time Bruce does anything: "Oh, you think you're better than I am? You think I'm trash?" Enough already! He clearly respects Selena but she's too stubborn - or something - to see it. I hope that changes in due course.

Kromm, yes, I agree - the contestants have no say in what is shown to us viewers. They do, however, have control over what they say out loud. And after so many years of this show being on the air, if I were a contestant, I'd be VERY concerned about anything I said on tape being taken completely out of context.

I haven't voted for anyone on Idol for over a decade but I were a regular voter, I think I'd sort of lean towards not letting the contestant's personal lives influence me one way or the other. I totally get that money - having it or not having it - impacts your life in a huge way. Being able to have a place to live, food to eat, clothing, health care, access to transportation, education - these are all things that vastly improve one's life, to name a few, and their common denominator is so often the money it takes to obtain and to keep them. So...when I hear a contestant get up there and say, "I want/need to win Idol so that I can help my child/my family," all I hear is, "I need money and hopefully, I'll get it via winning Idol." I feel as if they see winning Idol as a quick and immediate influx of cash - which it may well be, I truly don't know - and that has, for me, tainted my view of that contestant to an extent. The more the contestant mentions how life-altering winning would be; the more he or she talks about "improving" their situation; the more I hear, "Give me money." I know that's a huge exaggeration on my part, and an unfair conclusion for me to reach, but on some level, that's what I'm hearing: "I need money. Winning Idol will give me money. Vote for me so that I can get money." I understand that there are a million ways to make a living, and that performing music is one of them. But being so bald-faced about it rubs me the wrong way. I don't begrudge La'Porsha or any other contestant for having a baby at a young age and now perhaps facing financial hardships as a result. Having a child exhausts every single resource you have, and if you don't have adequate resources to begin with, you're even further behind the eight ball. If, however, you come on a show like Idol and willingly expose your personal life to those responsible for your fate on the show, it's bound to be met with a variety of reactions, some of which may be really critical. I acknowledge that the show itself highlights some of these situations - we did not necessarily need to see 875 shots of La'Porsha's daughter each time we tuned in. We get it - she has a child and is a single mother. Got it, got it, got it! Is her singing ability affected by that? Doubtful. Is the emotion and context behind her singing affected by her single motherhood at a young age? Very possibly, sure. It's a fine line - I want to know a little about what makes a contestant tick and don't mind some context, but at the same time, I pretty much don't care if you're a young, single mother or that your family is looking to you to help them financially, or whatever your tale of woe may be. Just sing. If you flub the lyrics or sing off-key or smile during a very sad song, it is highly unlikely that I will think, "Well, he needs the money...I'd better vote for him so that he has a better chance of winning and thus be in a better financial situation."

Unless I hear it directly from Adam, that he willfully declined to appear because he didn't want to be there, I will not assume that is the case. If he is off filming a movie or doing whatever, then it's possibly he just could.not.make.it. He wasn't there - unless or until he says publicly, "I was asked and I chose not to go. I was at home Thursday night," then as far as I'm concerned, he had a conflicting obligation and could not make it. Period. He was on the retrospective Tuesday night and was nothing but effusive. There are only so many hours in one's life - personal and work obligations might just take priority, even if the performer had a positive Idol experience. A friend of mine is a HUGE Casey Abrams fan - massive. She was distraught that he wasn't on the show Thursday night, but upon checking his webpage, she found that he's over in Europe doing whatever. So...she was fine with his absence. With a show that ran 15 seasons and involved a very large number of participants, there's only so much that can be done when attempting a reunion of sorts. Hey, I planned and organized my 30th high school reunion, and while absolutely no one involved (about 250 people) is a celebrity of any sort, some folks just couldn't make it and were really bummed about that. Even giving people a year's advance notice wasn't always helpful. While it seems that Josh Gracin flat out said nope, not doing it, is there any other contestant who has publicly gone on record as saying, "I was asked and said absolutely not, no way."?

All this back and forth over Adam not being there Thursday night, wow! Now, I watched the "American Dream" retrospective on Tuesday night, and Adam was all over that. So for me, that was sufficient. Sure, it would've been great if he'd been on the finale on Thursday, but...there was SO much jammed into those two hours that if he had been there, he'd have sung one song and that would've been it. It almost would have been more frustrating. For example, I love, love, love KLo - seeing her sing 'Eighth World Wonder' made me very nostalgic and left me wanting so much more, which of course was impossible. Same with seeing Clay - I was thrilled that he got a solo but it was so fleeting, as were all the performances. There just wasn't enough time to highlight so many people. The show could've easily been four hours, and that would have been amazing. So while I absolutely missed Adam, I felt that seeing him on the retrospective show two nights earlier was OK for me. I don't any impression or reason to think that he was intentionally snubbing the show. It is what it is. We each have our favorite performers and there were just too many participants to give each of them dedicated time. I also really like P2 and would have truly enjoyed a solo performance but that wasn't happening either. I think they did the best they could under the limitations they had. Some things worked and some didn't.

This harks back to what Carrie talked about on Tuesday night's retrospective - how at first, we the viewers saw very little or nothing about the contestants' personal lives and their backgrounds. But then it changed - the show found a new angle. Let's see Carrie on the tractor at home! I think it was compelling at first, but then it just became too much of a soap opera. Every contestant seemed to have some sort tragedy and heartbreak. To this day, my husband and I still call Danny Gokey the “dead wife guy.” I think the show never found a good balance in trying to show us a more fleshed out, 3D version of these contestants as opposed to playing the pity card. Vote for this one because she was homeless for a while! Vote for this one because his dad died one day before he graduated from high school! Vote for this one because she almost died as a kid! And so on and so on. Again, I think it's interesting on some level - to understand someone's motivation, to get a bit more insight. But once the contestants started saying, "I'm trying out for Idol so that I can improve my/my child's/my family's life," I began to tire of it. Of course everyone wants to improve their life - whether it's on a financial level or an emotional level, or whatever. But I'm not necessarily going to vote for you just because you were in an abusive relationship, or you had a baby when you were a teenager, or you have suffered or are suffering in some difficult way. I guess it's all about what makes for a more compelling show? If they just trotted out 10 singers and we knew nothing at all about any of them, other than their names and ages, would that be better? As stated, I don't think Idol always did such a good job of finding the right mix of focusing on their singing while letting us know a little bit more about them as people.

Sadly, Elliot's mom passed away in 2008. His homecoming visit with her was one of the sweetest moments on Idol.

Some say he was, others say he wasn't! He's like a phantom...

My mistake about Blake - I thought someone else posted that he wasn't there last night. Will look for him. I assumed Archuleta would be there, I just missed him in that opening number crowd! Same with Elliot - just didn't see him. I'll watch again for sure.

I'm sooo glad I DVR'd this, because there was just too much to take in - for example, I never saw David Archuleta or Elliot Yamin! I ***LOOOOOVE*** KLo, and was thrilled to see her. I listen to her music all the time, and "Eighth World Wonder" is one of my all time fave songs. Blake Lewis - not there. He was one of my favorites, and I even bought his CD after his season, but alas - I thought it was truly wretched, and I actually threw it out! Sorry, Blake... I was pretty ticked off that so much time was used for JLo's performance. Now don't get me wrong: I was actually entertained by it, I was. It was indeed very, very Vegas, and I do like that "Let's Get Loud" song a lot! But...this night was supposed to be a retrospective...one last chance to see some dear old friends, relive some memories, and say farewell. All that time devoted to her number could have been much better spent, and that's a shame. Ditto for Kara performing - was there a point to that?? Was Casey Abrams there? I know they showed his judges' save on the American Dream show Tuesday, when he almost fainted - which was a classic moment - so if he wasn't there last night, it evens out. They never did do any group sings this season, did they? I didn't start watching this year until post-Hollywood, but I don't recall any group sings. I guess there just wasn't enough time. But seeing so many group sings last night made me miss them. Sometimes the singers sounded better together than separately. I liked the 5 WGWG segment. I did, and I don't care! I have no bad feelings towards any of those guys, none at all. It's not their fault that they won. I can't sit here and slam Lee DeWyze for winning, he had no part in the voting outcome. All any of them did was get up there and sing. Whether we the viewers liked their singing is another story. Whether we'd ever spend a penny on their music is up to us. But I don't have it in me to say bad things about any of them. They are who they are. They do what they do. I wish them all well, and if nothing else, just seeing them evoked a lot of fun memories. I thought Tamyra looked very unfortunate, but she's got great thighs. Joshua Ledet seemed to be having a seizure. During his season, I got into some very heated debates about him with a friend of mine, who swore up, down, and sideways that Joshua was THE NEXT BIG THING and would storm the world with his popularity, that he'd be this generation's Michael Jackson. I maintained that he'd be forgotten as soon as the season ended. Now, I have no idea what Joshua's been doing since his stint on Idol, but I'm pretty sure he's not a world wide sensation. The whole thing was definitely sensory overload - just so much to take in at once. It could have been four hours long and I wouldn't have minded. Additionally, it was during season two that I discovered TWoP and I think I will forever link Idol and TWoP. It got to the point where I couldn't even imagine watching Idol without the accompanying TWoP commentary. So many of the most iconic nicknames and phrases were borne of the Idol/TWoP connection: Spinkles; the seal; "...heat of a thousand nuns" (I think, right?); God is in the tub (I think). Well, you get the idea - Idol provided us with no lack of material and it's hard to imagine any other show doing so.

I heard Ryan say to Simon, "I thought you were in London." So maybe it was truly a surprise.

I heard an "Oh shit" just as they cut the sound during the Simon/Paula/Randy segment. Loved Ryan's genuine surprise.

Seeing and hearing Clay made me cry with happiness. I went to the tour concert after season 2. Ruben sounded great on 'Here, There and Everywhere.' Carly Smithson's eyes are so stunning. I thought Harry let little Marly shine and be the dominant voice when they sang at the same time. It was sweet.

Sweet baby Jeebus - Ace Young! Bucky Covington! I didn't recognize Diana DeGarmo. Or Pia Toscano either, for that matter.

Bo Bice is HOT HOT HOT!!!! So many memories. It's a bit of sensory overload. Who is Larry Platt from season 9? I have absolutely no memory of him. I'm so glad I'm DVRing this; there's too much to take in all at once.

We haven't seen that yet. The stuff they show at the end of the episodes includes what's happening over various upcoming episodes, not just the next one. Anika wasn't in last night's episode at all.

Was I hallucinating, or, when Lucious was first being visited by that reporter on the set of his video, did he mention sending "a basket of dildos" to Mimi and Camilla as a wedding gift? Or something like that? Please, someone confirm this for me!

Biggie B, on 06 Apr 2016 - 5:37 PM, said: You might have been saying that tongue in cheek - if so, forgive me, and I'll deserve the Captain Obvious award - but prior to 2002, there was no Idol and thus, no access to all of that coaching and support and mentoring.

Sparkling Beth, I agree that Kid Rock is not the standard by which too much should be judged!! :-) Indeed, many contestants toiled for a long time trying and doing anything to get a foot in the door. Which is exactly why I always preferred older contestants over the 15 and 16 year olds, who may well have come out of the womb singing, but sure haven't slogged around the country working any gig they could find, and don't have the emotional mileage. In the end, though, I think you have to look at Idol as another resource to be used to get one's career to a higher level. It's sort of like online dating services - those didn't exist a generation ago. Now they do - and while you have to proceed with caution, and there are no guarantees, they really are just another strategy or option you can pursue to find a partner. Perhaps some folks look down their noses at online dating but I'm sure we all know folks who found their life partners online, and it should be regarded as a completely viable method of meeting someone. Similarly, a format like AI shouldn't necessarily be dismissed out of hand as not legitimate. Times change. But I do see where the criticism comes from, and it's not without some merit. Access to a stable of professionals helping you from head to toe - how to hold the mike, how to work the crowd, how to use the stage, what to wear, vocal coaching, etc. - is something most aspiring performers would love to have and don't, not when they're schlepping around from gig to gig, working a day job, going to school, raising a family, struggling financially, and so on. It cuts both ways, it seems, and as for those "old pros," maybe they're a little resentful.

At least it was within the context of Nigel admitting that some of his decisions didn't work out so well.

I enjoyed seeing this very much. I didn't watch Season One. I definitely remember hearing people talk about, and hearing about it on the radio, so I finally tuned in for the Finale. What really struck me was how Kelly's coronation song was on the radio the very next day! I found that completely amazing and it was at that point that I recall thinking, wow, this "talent contest" could really change the winner's life in a massive way. To go from pretty much nothing to having your song being broadcast all over the airwaves is the chance of a lifetime. I think this documentary also did a good job explaining how things worked behind the scenes. They did a good job explaining how they went from an arena of 25,000 people down to 600 people down to 60-70 people, and I really got the sense of how tedious yet interesting that must have been for those nameless producers we never saw or knew about. The amount of effort it took to make this show work must have been completely insane. It was also interesting that they touched upon the criticism that the contestants didn't "pay their dues." In some ways I agree. I don't dispute that the contests aren't worked to the bone - they are run ragged! Kelly almost destroyed her voice as a result. Every waking moment of their days are scheduled and packed to the brim, and it is mentally and physically demanding. But as hard and grueling as that is - doing the show, going on the tour (when there was one), making all of the public appearances, etc. - it's not the same as spending years working one's way up through the system: playing the small venues, having no money, suffering one rejection after another. The Idol contestants are guaranteed a place to sleep - meals - a paycheck (for those who did the tour). Yes, they worked very, very, very hard - I absolutely give them full credit for that - but none of them had to book their own appearances, make their own travel arrangements, pay for transportation, pay for their equipment/instruments/costumes. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the definition of "paying one's dues" doesn't necessarily just mean "working hard." It could also mean having absolutely no support system, no exposure, no access to those who could help/influence, no entre into the upper stratosphere. I mean, I listened to Scotty talking about how bowled over he was to have met Beyoncé, I thought, yes, that was amazing, but if he weren't on Idol, that never would have happened. Not that she directly helped his career in any way, but if he even learned one thing from her, that's something he never would have been exposed to if he were trying to make his career happen on his own. Several times last night, it was said, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." You could argue that the Idol contestants/winners had the chance to network with the crème de la crème. Some other singer wouldn't necessarily have that opportunity at such an early stage of his/her career. Perhaps in time - but not straight away. So, I do sort of agree with some of that criticism. The Idol participants do pay their dues in a particular way, but perhaps not in the "traditional" manner that Kid Rock or Tom Petty did. Anyway, I felt quite emotional by the end of the show and could have easily watched more. What a long, strange trip it's been, to quote an oldie but goodie, and I suspect will take a long time for something similar to fill its shoes, if ever.

That's correct. A judge will issue the final order. No one need be present, the judge will do it as part of his/her regular paperwork in chambers, and then it will be entered on the record and become final and binding. So just because Jackson and April signed the documents in a conference room in one of the attorney's offices does not mean they are officially divorced just yet. Of course, emotionally, it's pretty much a done deal, but logistically, it's not quite over. I'm speaking very generally as well - of course each state has its own rules pertaining to procedure, but for the most part, in many, many situations, you do not need to appear in a courtroom. And right, no attorney can deem a couple divorced - they're just the conduit to making it happen.

I would disagree. Just because he was able to get up every day and go to work does not mean he was fine. Not communicating doesn't necessarily mean a person is OK - it could mean the exact opposite. No, it's not the same for either of them. Of course April suffered the physical trauma on top of the mental anguish. But that doesn't negate or minimize anything that Jackson was going through either. It's not a matter of who is more devastated - it's the fact that both of them were affected, each in his and her own way. I think they way they showed Jackson in the immediate aftermath was pretty realistic - he was floundering to find something - anything - to say to April that might help. Yes, suggesting they try for another baby sounds simply brutal coming just days after Samuel's death - but I think you can surmise that he said that out of desperation...looking for simply any words at all...and did not say it to minimize Samuel's existence and death, or to whitewash April's grief and shock. We've all heard that a million times - someone loses a baby and well-meaning friends, co-workers, and relatives will say, "Well, you can always try again!" I don't buy for a minute that Jackson was fine.