Should American Idol Return To Its Roots???

I agree with most of what you said. I've not watched Idol in years & I'm sure I won't miss it if I never watch it again...I'm just as sure that Simon won't lose any sleep if I don't tune in. I never said adding the instruments was a negative thing. I just feel Idol has lost their initial goal...finding good raw talent!!! They seem to expect the contestants to be professionals coming in the door. Very few pure raw talents know how to be professional!!! I loved Adam but he was way above the others due to his stage performances the previous 16 years. To me, that gave him an unfair advantage!!! Yet his exposure will surely give him opportunities never before afforded him!!! I felt Adam should have won due to his consistent performances. Kris ran hot & cold weekly. I never knew which Kris was going to show up, so he never won my full support. Even though I loved Adam, I never felt he & Allison belonged in the same competition as most of the others. They had semi-professional experiences the others hadn't been exposed to. To me, that seemed very unfair!!! I agreed mainly with Clay's comments on Idol moving away from the pure raw talent goal. I found Idol more interesting when they went with pure unprofessional talent!!! I felt Clay should not have commented on Adam or Kris since by his own words he hadn't seen either of them enough to know what he was talking about. If he didn't want to do a duet with Adam, he should have just refused.

I'm a HUGE Adam fan & fear that the recording industry will eat Kris up & spit him out by the end of the day. He is a good All American cutie who is innocent & naive. He is supposed to be very religious too. He made it clear he loves his wife & she comes first (as he should). However, ALL those things don't usually make HUGE stars. Yes, a few make it with those values & I hope Kris does. Actually, looking back, losing could possibly be the best thing that ever happened to Adam!!! Kris is now locked into a year long contract with Idol. He does what they say, when they say, & where they say. He's required to sing that silly little song ten thousand times over the next year. In the meantime, Adam is free to start his own career. If I know Simon, he's already working as his manager hooking him up with the right people & collecting his commission!!! A fellow in another discussion said Adam would make a great frontman for Queen. I think that is a fair statement. After hearing him sing with Kiss & Queen, I feel he could also be a good replacement for Aerosmith & Pink Floyd too. I'm sure there are a lot of younger bands that will be needing a great lead singer & Adam will fill the bill perfectly. When he sings on his own terms, he doesn't try & showcase his vocal ranges quite as much as he did with Idol. I fully believe that he & Allison could be the next Sonny & Cher...with Adam being the protective big brother rather than the lewd lover!!! Ok, OK...the next Donnie & Marie!!!

I've not watched since Season 2. I was rooting for Justin in Season 1. I didn't have anything against Kelly, I just liked Justin better. Season 2 I was a HUGE Ruben fan so was THRILLED when Ruben beat Clay. I was sorely disappointed when Ruben just kinda disappeared into obscurity & Clay flourished. By Season 3, I no longer cared who was running nor who would win. Once I stopped watching, it just didn't matter anymore. I found it much easier on me to just wait & see who won & embrace them as the winner. I was visiting a friend the first night of Season 8. Once I heard Adam I was hooked. He was so polished, well versed in showmanship & ready to go. Kris came across as shy, uncomfortable with his abilities & not sure of which way to go. I think Kris has a lovely voice but I'm not sure he is ready for the world ahead of him. I was a little shocked this year as to how professional the judges expected the contestants to be. The last time I watched, the contestants were untrained unknowns that would have never been discovered. This season two had some formal performance training. Neither had had the chance to be discovered. So, should they be banned from the competition??? Technically they are unknown. Yet they most definitely had some professional-type training. In Season 1 & 2, they most definitely allowed the contestants to sing the songs chosen for them basically in the manner performed by the original artist. This season, they were expected to perform as well-trained artists themselves. Idol was originally designed to find the obscure, unknown artist & pull them to the front & center. I found Idol sorely MISSED that objective this season. It wasn't the contestants fault as it was what was expected of them & they tried to provide it. I didn't enjoy Idol very much this year even though my favorite contestant was the one that was praised the entire season. I felt something was missing but just couldn't lay my finger on what it was. In reading what Clay said, the light bulb came on...that's it. Idol has lost its way in trying to grab the ratings!!! They turned their back on the contestants in order to be flashy. Why do they need so much time to tell us who wont the previous week. Why do they need so many stars to grace their stage. Why did it take 2 hours to say "the next American Idol is Kris Allen"??? This show is supposed to be about the contestants NOT Idol's rating!!! Sometimes plain is flashy!!!

I was pulling for Adam to win...still I'm happy for Kris!!! Kris had a good voice & he was good on the piano & guitar, but I found Adam to be the best all round performer. Even pulling for Adam, I found the judges comments to be very tactless. If I remember correct, Simon did tell Kris one week that he might as well pack his bags as that way probably his last week. Well, Allison was voted off & Kris got to stay. Simon was shocked & made some snide comment about how little he knew. When all was said & done this season, I felt like I had been gypped. NOT because Adam lost, but because of little things that were said & done. I've heard enough contestant comments to know they have little to no control over their future. I hope Kris does make it BIG!!! I still hope Adam gets his chance too. Clay proved that you don't have to win to take advantage of being there!!! I felt Clay's comments on Adam & Kris uncalled for as he didn't watch either of them enough to even know!!! I agree with him on the pure raw talent of the first several Idol seasons. Now it's almost like you have to come into the show being professional or the judges vote you off. I thought the purpose of the show was to discover that pure raw talent & bring it to the light of day. What happened to that concept???

Clay admitted he saw Adam once & NEVER saw Kris perform. So, he should have kept his mouth shut. There was talk of Clay performing a duet with Adam & he knew he'd come out looking bad. So, he said something totally stupid to make sure that he didn't have to do the duet. Stabbing Idol in the back was not the way to show his gratitude for where he is today!!! Both Adam & Allison were semi-professionals. I think they should have been allowed to join in the competition, but I don't think the others should be held to the same standards. I thought Danny hung in there well considering he didn't have the same stage experience as those two. It was easy for Adam to look confident & flashy as he had been doing it on stage for something like 16 years. Allison should have had confidence because she had at least 10 years on stage under her belt. I didn't care for her style, but that girl could belt out a tune!!! I found Season 2 to be just as gut wrenching as Season 8 & Season 2 was just pure raw talent. I agree with Clay on that part. I don't plan on ever watching Idol again. I saw too many flaws that gave me too many doubts as to the validity of the show!!! I think I'm going back to just waiting & enjoying the winner that comes out of it. If they are going to have semi-pros on there, then ALL contestants should be semi-professionals. Simon is always so shocked as to the talent. Hell, he's part owner of the show. He knows who's going to be on there before anybody else. Ryan admitted he goes in early just to see the results so he can practice how to drag it out longer. I'm tired of the political aspect of the show. Every one of the contestants that was eliminated were on a talk show the next day. Every one of them was better when on their own than they were when on Idol. Idol makes it sound as if the contestants chose their own songs. They do...but it's out of the songs offered them...& they are coached on how to sing it. They all kept thanking their mentor. Their mentor was provided by AI. So it wasn't them & their talent that got them voted off. It was the way they were coached that got them voted off. Since Simon is one of the bosses, the mentors answered directly to him. I think America needs to vote Simon off the show!!! What talent does he have??? (except being rude!!!)