Rating the 10 Finalists
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Rating the 10 Finalists
Adven | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 03:43 pm     In the interests of stimulating debate and, with a bit of luck, an ugly flame war, I've ranked the 10 AI finalists according to how I would have voted. You don't have to agree, of course, but I'll plug my ears and make silly noises if you don't. 1. Kelly. She just edged out Tamyra in my estimation. That girl can flat out sing. I thought Tamyra was just as good and maybe a little more polished, but I thought Kelly was slightly more consistent and her second version of "Without You" was as good as it gets. 2. Tamyra. How the American public could keep Nikki in and vote her out still amazes me. Tamyra and Kelly were in a league of their own. 3. Ejay. Yeah, I know he finished 10th, but I thought he was a better singer than Justin and a better dancer, too. He just didn't have the looks to capture any of the teeny bopper faction. I thought if he had been able to stick around another week or two, he would have developed a substantial following. 4. Christina. I thought she was very good and, when she stayed within her comfort zone, was as good as Kelly and Tamyra. 5. Justin. I thought he was the best at first, but as the competition wore on, I came to believe he was exceptional with certain types of material (mostly ballads), but less so when given more difficult songs. 6. Nikki. Okay when singing certain types of rock songs, but not an exceptional singer. 7. R.J. Not bad, but I agree with Simon that he is strictly "boy band" material. 8. Ryan. Like Nikki, okay when singing songs within her register, but her flaws were evident with more difficult material. 9. A.J. Liked his rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner', but his voice was too whiny and nasal. 10. Jim. Kind of freaky looking and out of his element in a competition of this calibre. Next? |
Kitt | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 04:01 pm     I'm not sure I can remember most of the lower ranked competitors well enough but here's my guess: Joint 1st (what a cop-out ): Kelly and Tamyra 3rd: Justin, on a good day he just has that star quality 4th: Christina Joint 5th: Ejay and RJ, I was surprised by Ejay in the finale, he seemed much better than I remembered, and I always had a soft spot for RJ's sweet voice Joint 7th: Nikki and Ryan, both very good at times, but very bad at times too. I can't forgive Ryan for ever thinking she should have done that punk song! 9th: AJ, this sounds a bit cruel, but he looks a bit too lecherous for me, it puts me off (sorry AJ) 10th: Jim. Nice story, but he was always a sympathy vote. |
Webkitty | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 04:24 pm     ...........webkitty faints.............. |
Moondance | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 04:30 pm     *Moon rushes in with cold water for MsKitty!* |
Fluff | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 04:32 pm     1. Kelly 2. Tamyra 3. Justin 4. EJay 5. RJ 6. Christina 7. AJ 8. Nikki 9. Ryan 10. Jim |
Webkitty | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 04:37 pm     What happened? Did I faint? Thanks MsMoon...is he still here? I thought I had found a little corner of tvch that I could hide out from Adven's strange powers over me..... does this mean that Juju will be here soon with dolls?  |
Adven | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 04:41 pm     Boo! |
Puttergirl | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 04:49 pm     You'll probably think some of my choices are strange: 1. Kelly- without a doubt. 2. Tamyra- best of the rest. Just didn't develop a fan base among the target audience who did the most voting. 3. R.J.- believe it or not. He may not have had the best voice, but I thought he was adorable and had good stage presense. 4. A.J.- again, not one of the best voices, but adorable. I think a good agent and coaches could turn both A.J. and R.J. into big names. 5. Justin- good voice and great stage presense, but a bit boring in his style for me. 6. Christine 7. Nikki 8. Ryan 9. A.J. 10. Jim- did not belong in this group!!! |
Moondance | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 04:59 pm     MsKitty I must do an intervention of sorts (not sure just what yet)... yes I think Juju could help out with some of her magical dolls.... |
Moondance | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 05:01 pm     *Moon calls Jujudollmaker* |
Webkitty | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 05:11 pm     Ack! There are strange vibes going around this board tonight. It feels like the "old" days when we had nothing to do but be silly......er, I meant talk about reality tv shows, of course  |
Essence | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 07:48 pm     1. Tamyra 2. Kelly 3. EJay 4. Justin 5. Christina 6. RJ 7. AJ 8. Nikki 9. Ryan 10. Jim (Is it me, or is he just plain out of his league with the rest of the group?) |
Webkitty | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 08:04 pm     1. Kelly 2. Tamyra 3. Christina 4. AJ 5. Nikki 6. Ejay 7. RJ 8. Justin 9. Ryan 10. ~wobbly lips Jim~ Thanks for starting this thread Adven (I never knew you were a fan, what took you so long to come over here?) Notice I didn't vote the way you did, the ~shield~ is holding  |
Adven | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 08:39 pm     I am a man of many moods, Webkitty - okay three moods, but enjoying AI is one of them. I started watching it because I liked all the really bad singers of the first few episodes, then developed an overwhelming desire to slap Justin when they got down to 10, but had to settle for firing spitballs at the TV whenever he sang, instead, and then became awed by Kelly's voice. And the shield is holding, but in the words of Scotty from "Star Trek", "Captain, we need more power! She canna hold forever!" |
Wcv63 | Friday, September 06, 2002 - 11:05 pm     I can't believe Adven has been an AI fan and never came over here to taunt us. It's so unlike him. 1) Kelly- She had me at Respect and I was hooked forever with "Ducka Ducka Ducka". The girl can sing and I absolutely adore her personality. Stuff Like That There, Natural Woman, Without You, I Surrender...all gave me goosebumps. Heck, I've already prepurchased this girl's single because I want to help her be a success. 2) Justin- Granted, just a few days ago he would have been lower ranked but his graciousness and his obvious support of Kelly gives him the edge. I simply have to say that Justin's cheese has grown on me. 3) Tamyra- She has a good voice and I think she'll succeed. Her "pageant polish" made her seem a little "icy" at times but other than that I think she's wonderful. 4) Christina- I know her vibrato makes some people cringe but I think her voice has a very unusual quality and I think with the right training and song selection she could really do well. 5) RJ- I still think he's the best of the J's. Not powerful but smooth and stays on pitch. I don't like that weird straddle dance squat wobble thing he does but I could see him doing some light Christian pop. 6) EJ- Can't get past the divaesqueness, girly twirly dancy Adventureland quality and when he sings his "runs" are very....runny. I don't like that so much. 7) Nikki- Overall, I just didn't like her voice. She was flat and sharp and had pitch issues. But she certainly has a fan base and I hope for her sake that she does well. 8) Ryan- Ryaniffany was entertaining when she did "Frim Fram Sauce" but nothing else since then has caught my ear. I think she has a future as a model. She's very pretty. 9) AJ- I loved the Star Spangled Banner...since then..eh. Not so much. His voice is thin and just doesn't do it for me. 10) Jim- Looks like a concensus. Jim with his weird face contortions during his songs and his limited ability confirms for me that he made into the final 10 with the sympathy vote. |
Adrian | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 03:09 am     1. Kelly 2. Tamyra 3. Justin 4. Nikki 5. Christina 6. RJ 7. EJ 8. Ryan 9. AJ 10. Jim |
Yuhuru | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 12:33 pm     1. Tamyra 2. Kelly 3. EJay 4. Justin 5. RJ 6. Christina 7. AJ 8. Nikki 9. Ryan 10. Jim |
Hummingbird | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 01:09 pm     Okay, this may not be nice but when discussing an American Idol looks are a big part of the equation. Ejay is good but his face is sort of pushed in. Jim makes ridiculous faces when he sings and is not that good. Maybe someone could work with him on mouth thing but he just isn't star quality. A.J. has sort of an evil Mexican look although in fact he seems like a nice guy. He has the smallest shoulders on a man I've ever seen. He should start lifting weights or something. Also A. J.'s dancing looked silly. Loved his Star Spangled Banner. Whew! Ryan can't sing. Best thing Justin has going for him is his looks and stage presence. And does that kid ever look just like his Mother! Nikki is really cute although I hate the tongue stud. Sorry, those just look plain nasty! Sings okay and will probably improve. R.J. - mediocre voice and heart-shaped cupid face. Total boyband. Top four Kelly, Tamyra, Justin, Chistina. I sure hope none of them read this. I wouldn't want to hurt any feelings. All are cuter and more talented than me I'll admit. |
Hummingbird | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 01:14 pm     Puttergirl listed AJ twice. |
Luvmom | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 02:16 pm     Looks like I'm not in the concensus as Wcv suggested.I guess I'm a little crazy Here is my list!! 1.Kelly: She is amazing!!! 2. Tied Tamyra and R.J.: Tamyra for obvious reason and I just think RJ is amazing!!His voice is smooth,He is very sexy,innosence is sexy to me! and did you see that nice dance in the finale with Tamyra and RJ?! 3.A.J. When he sang "All or nothing at all" he had me.I loved the Star Spangled Banner too!!He can be my daughter American Idol anytime!! 4. (Okay,this is where I'm going to shock everyone)Jim!! He is sweet and cute and has a real gentle voice.I find him real,not phony!! 5.Christina:She sounded better than she ever has in the finale.She didn't quiver at all. 6.Justin:I like his voice but he is way too cocky for me.He seems kind of phony !!And the Hair!! 7.Nikki:She's cute but is way too often off key.She is okay with certain rock song. 8.Ejay:I can't stand his voice and my 3 year old daughter is afraid of him.I guess he is a little scary for her. 9.Ryan: don'yt find her to be a good singer at all.Could be a model or an actress.She always looks drunk to me when she is on stage.Of course I don't think she is. Go ahead and critique me.I deserve it ,but I can't help who i like. |
Adven | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 04:27 pm     Hi, Wcv. I decided to do the mature thing and not bring my particular brand of idiocy over to the AI side. For reasons that still confound medical science and have nothing to do with me, my posts tend to send a thread reeling into the stratosphere. Unfortunately, I am suffering AI withdrawal and no one I know is remotely interested in the show despite my subtle efforts to pique their interest (i.e. tying them to a chair and expounding rabidly on why Justin should be held down and shorn like a sheep), so I've dropped the "mature thing" facade and have decided to go back to the "infantile thing", which I'm a lot more comfortable with, anyway. BTW, and you probably already know this, you can download most of Kelly's songs from the show at the KaZaA website. |
Shortnsweet | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 07:55 pm     1. Kelly - The best by a landslide 2. RJ - Love his voice and looks 3. Tamyra - she is as good as Diana Ross! 4. Justin - so-so 5. E-Jay - good voice, don't like his style 6. AJ - too sweet 7. Nikki - style, no substance 8. Ryan - style, no substance 9. Christina - tweet, tweet 10. Jim - didn't belong in top 30! |
Hotlantan | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 08:56 pm     1. Tamyra - the total package, will still have a major crossover career for 10+ years. 2. Kelly - winning will give her short term Pop stardom, but her long term future is in AC/country music. 3. Christina - has THE look and the studio can fix the vibrato. Will have some Pop success, then move on to acting and modeling. 4. EJay - best male vocalist by far but probably won't overcome the look factor. Broadway bound and will get a Tony nomination. 5. Ryan - will get signed but album won't sell - will have more success as a character actress. 6. Justin - First album goes platinum, but won't have a Pop career past second album. Also headed for Broadway/Vegas success. 7. Nikki - Will be more famous for scandal than singing. Playboy in 2003, arrest in 2004, rehab in 2005. 8. RJ - will have some sucess on the dinner theater circuit and as a psuedocelebrity personality, but not as a Pop singer. 9. AJ - will abandon music completely within a year and have a nondescript private life. 10. Jim - his 15 minutes should end as soon as AI 2 begins, but will attempt a Kato type "career" as a B-level gay icon. |
Muse | Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 10:15 pm     1) Kelly & Justin (tie) - Kelly has the strongest voice out of the top ten. Justin has a weaker but gorgeous voice (he can't do most song styles like Kelly, but he can really nail certain kinds), and tons of natural charisma. Both seem like nice, slightly goofy/dorky people. Which is kind of endearing. 2) Tamyra - She's such a close second that I almost tied her with Kelly and Justin. Strong voice, seems very classy. 3) Nikki - There is a *huge* gap between her and Tamyra. And I have to admit...the only reason she's ranked this high is because I enjoyed a few of her songs. The majority of her performances were not good, though. I could see her possibly having some success in a rock band. 4) Ryan - Has the look and an okay voice. She needs to work on finding out what works for her. 5) RJ - Cute (I guess - he doesn't appeal to me at all, but he might to some) and pleasant voice. I don't see him going far, but he's okay. I find him kind of obnoxious and whiny in his interviews. 6) EJay - It is *really* unfortunate that he is so unattractive, because he has a nice voice and a great range. He hasn't demonstrated a particularly likable personality to help matters much, either (just kind of blah - probably a nice guy, but not memorable). And this probably sounds terrible, but the fact that he's so obviously gay probably doesn't help him win female fans, either. 7) Christina - I never really liked her much. Her voice seemed weak. Her vibrato was awful. And she seemed to lack energy on stage. I'd use one of Simon's favorite words to describe her - average. 8) AJ - Weak boy band material. Not bad, but nothing special. Not very dynamic on stage. And he looks like a corpse. 9) Jim - He just annoys me. I wouldn't be impressed if I heard him sing in a high school concert or musical, so I definitely think he's out of his league with the likes of Kelly, Justin, and Tamyra. |
Wcv63 | Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 05:11 am     Adven...I have video of many of Kelly's performances. I can email you a performance on video if you like. I have: Stuff Like That There, Natural Woman, I Surrender, Don't Play That Song, Walk On By and You're All I Need. Email me if you want me to send you any of these. |
Adven | Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 05:37 am     Thanks, Wcv. That's sweet of you to offer. Luckily, I started taping the shows, too, once I discovered Kelly, so I've got that avenue covered. |
Wcv63 | Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 06:54 am     I never could tape the shows. For some reason I couldn't figure out how to work the VCR. I do have computer windows media video clips for any who are interested. I ordered the VHS tape from the official website. Am I sad or what? |
Bluie | Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 09:22 am     1. Justin 2. Kelly 3. Tamyra 4. RJ 5. AJ 6. EJay 7. Ryan 8. Nikki 9. Jim 10. Christina |
Shortnsweet | Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 11:30 am     Wow, Bluie! Our ranking is really close! Same top 4 (slightly different order) and the rest are just flipped by one number. And we both think Ice-T would make a good judge. Great minds think alike! |
Djgirl5235 | Monday, September 09, 2002 - 07:41 am     My picks are close to Wcv's for the same reasons!!! 1) Kelly - absolute talent!!! Her dorkiness is endearing, and she is definitely "America's Sweetheart" - I think she'll go far, whether she's under the AI umbrella or not! 2) Tamyra - very strong, talented girl. Too polished for the stigma of an American Idol, per se, but will definitely go far! 3) Justin - most women adore him (I say most, because I'm not one of them) for his looks and charisma on and off stage. He has risen in my rankings simply because of his behaviour over the past week just before and after the winner was announced - his class, looks, charisma and stage presence will take him places for sure! 4) RJ - I rank him higher than Christina simply because there are ways to control vibrato, and Christina simply doesn't seem to want to learn how. RJ may just go places if he can find a group to sing with - he's a great group singer, not great with a solo career though. 5) Christina - definitely has the look, but if she gets further training to control her vibrato and her nerves, she will have a definite future ahead of her. 6) Nikki - I put her above the rest of the "bunch" since they are all tied in my books - Nikki at the least knows what style she suits, and I think in her own arena would do very well. More performance away from the karaoke arena will help her for sure! 7) EJay - I didn't really like this guy, looks aside - his voice bothered me from the get-go. I don't see him going anywhere at all. 8) AJ - bothered me for his "hiphop" style, and his voice is rather weak. 9) Ryan - Only because I think that Jim belongs in #10, if even on the list, is why Ryan is here. I don't think that she has enough musical talent to take her places there, and the attitude all balled up in that little girl is just too much!!! 10) Jim - lip warbler - need I say more??? I too am preordering the DVD version of the show, and will buy the single on the 17th when it comes into the stores!!! |
Luvmom | Monday, September 09, 2002 - 08:06 am     I'm not sure how to paste a link in here so I hope this works. I have a lot of faith in RJ's solo singing career,especially since I heard his songs from his demo CD.Go to this website,click on songs and take a listen to his singles.I think the best is: "Maybe Manyana" and "Eye of A Sparrow" Take a listen and tell me what you think. http://rj-firstclass.cjb.net/ |
Hummingbird | Monday, September 09, 2002 - 08:50 pm     I just watched the tape again and was apalled by Ryan's singing. She needs some training or something. That was awful. Christina's hairdo was comical but what a pretty girl. Sort of a flying wig look. |
Jenhavins | Tuesday, September 10, 2002 - 06:59 pm     Okay, my 12 cents: Kelly...Unbelievable powerful voice and isn't intimidated or scared on stage...simply amazing. Tamyra...Another strong voice and I think she should have been 2nd. R.J....Yes, I love this kid. Amazing smooth voice and although his nervousness and dance moves kinda scared me, I love his voice. Justin...He has an good voice, but his stage presence and whole package got him as far as he got. Christina...Has the looks, but the vibrato needs some major work. If it wasn't as fast and shrill. EJay...Liked his top 30 performance, but the rest was just so so Nikki...Her best performance I thought is when she did the Stevie Nicks song. She wasn't off key and I thought she did quite well then. Alot of the other times, she was off key. She has a cool unique look that teens love. Ryan...Has the look but not the voice...I thought there were others that were better in the top 30. AJ...sometimes he was good and sometimes he was so bad. Jim...Bless his heart, at least he tried. I thoroughly loved this show. I just hope someone out of this group is around 10 years from now. I have a pretty good voice and I would have peed my pants getting in front of all those people!!! Kudos to all of them for their bravery. |
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