It’s Kinda Hard to Lip Sync if You’re Blind
When it comes to the DVR, I use the fast forward a lot, probably to a degree that makes my wife a little uncomfortable, if I’m being honest. I consider it a challenge to try to blow through the commercial breaks without stopping and to land on the moment the show resumes. And some shows I zip through as well, such as the results show of American Idol. Thanks to the handy DVR, you can turn Fox’s hour of useless drivel into maybe 15 minutes of actual viewing, of which only about 30 seconds are of interest, when you find out who gets booted off the show this week.
One of the pieces of weekly Idol drivel we usually skip is the group performance, featuring all the remaining contestants. It’s perpetually so corny as to almost undo any interest I have in the show at all, and the corn factor went way up last week, when it became painfully obvious that the contestants aren’t even singing…they’re lip syncing. The advanced choreography is too much to handle when you have to sing as well, I guess.
I hadn’t ever really thought about the fact that they would lip sync those numbers before last week, but know it’s all I see when I watch them, and it makes the performances all the more hilarious because of how hard they’re trying to look like they’re actually singing. It was totally cracking me up last night watching them pull their best “singing with fervor” faces along with the pre-recorded track.
But the gem of the evening came when Scott MacIntyre (the blind one), who I’m really, really bored with by now and ready to dismiss, had a vocal solo at the piano and, just as he had been instructed I’m sure, put on his intense emotional vocalist face and sang his heart out…while the microphone on its stand was about a foot to the left of his mouth.
Call me cruel, if you will, but I laughed and laughed; not at Scott, but at the whole ridiculous performance being unraveled right there. My wife made the golden comment then: “Wow, it’s kinda hard to lip sync if you’re blind.”
Nice try, Fox.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
There’s a blind guy on Idol?? See, this is stuff you miss when you shut off your cable…
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
CORRECTION: The microphone was to the RIGHT of his mouth…at least from his perspective. It was particularly funny, though, because he is obviously used to leaning into the microphone, so he did lean forward to where the mic *usually* is when he sings, but someone played a rotten trick on him, apparently.
Comedy gold.
Thankfully, Megan the idiot is gone now. That leaves only Adam the drama queen (which I might add is a perfect anagram for “a damn queer”) left to be rid of before the show will be totally tolerable again. (Although, Lil Rounds is doing her best to annoy me these days).
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I would add Anoop to that list. That guy bugs the crap out of me. I hate the wannabe tough guy faces he makes every time he sings a song like the Usher number from this week. After Beat It and My Prerogative, I thought he’d gone away from that kind of crap, but apparently that’s what he thinks he’s got in him.
I agree about Lil Rounds, though: annoying, and Adam Lambert bugs too. I liked his song from last week, when he looked and sang like a normal person, but this week he was again screaming like a little girl. Scott himself is also driving me nuts. He’s so BORING, with his elevator music every week, and his voice is mediocre at best.
You know who I’m really digging? Kris Allen. He’s getting better every week, and I thought his Ain’t No Sunshine from last night was awesome.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Kris is better than I thought he was, but his faces bug me enough to make me cringe a little. And to me, he’s not a star, just a pretty talented singer.
If Matt would lay off the music that he apparently *likes* (i.e. Coldplay and such) and stick to the bluesy stuff, he could actually be very good. He’s turning into a great performer and he seems to really understand the music. So I think he’s someone to watch.
But I’m standing firm on my prediction that I made from the first moment I saw his audition: Danny Gokey is far and away the best. He’s got a great, soulful voice, kind of gravely, but with surprising range. He really draws you in when he performs.
So really, if pattern holds true, he will be out at like 4th or 5th in the competition, even though he is the best. I think the show manufactures it that way for the best singers because they want to try to get them started on an album for Christmas release. We’ll see what happens though.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
This made me laugh eventhough I was there. And was the one with the hilarious comment. I think the only people who don’t bug me are Danny, Allison and Kris. Everyone else can take a hike.
And seriously Suz, what do you do without tv? I couldn’t do it.