![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
It seems some people seem just don't understand certain basic things about us, and I thought I'd address them here... and open them up for discussion. I feel this is necessary, since CERTEN TROLLS WHO DON'T NO HOW TO SPEL OR MAKE PUCTUATION'S GOOD feel the need to take time off from their OMG, BFF myspace bulletin posting to shout us down for our deplorable, dream-wrecking, true artist spoiling, America hating, Simon Cowell annoying activities.
Myth #1 - Worsters (VFTW supporters) hate American Idol
Wrong. We actually love AI... for the show's POTENTIAL. It's not living up to its potential though. "Diana Ross night"? Really? "Gwen Stefani Night"? Please tell me there's some pressing reason to have theme shows like this other than to entertain us with their laughable lameness, or the opportunity for Randy to astutely point out that non-R&B divas can't pick "the right song" on Diana Ross night. "Sorry, Dawg, not the right song for you" vs. "you need to do something to make the song YOURS" vs. "you just need to leave the song the way it is" - it's prepackaged criticism that allows the judges to choose their pre-ordained final few chosen contestants. More on that later.
We also love the show for its HUMOR POTENTIAL, particularly those chuckles afforded by pitting luke-warm, amateur or downright awful singers against those so far out of their league that the judges mention it EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. Clearly the American Idol producers agree that this makes great entertainment because the judges - not VFTW - set the lineup for the top 24. But more on that later.
Myth #2 - VFTW is responsible for poor ol' Sundance losing to Sanjaya
Hilariously Wrong. We at VFTW actually *wanted* Sundance (and Antonella) to make it to the top 12. They were our picks. Just scoll a little down the posts here in the LJ community, or go back in the bulletins on VFTW. And even though we debated switching to Sanjaya, we didn't do so until after Sundance didn't make it. The true fact is that EVEN WITH US voting for Sundance as much as we possibly could, Sundance didn't have enough support to beat Phil Stacy OR Brandon Rogers OR even Sanjaya.
Now, we ARE responsible for helping Sanjaya beat Brandon, for which we take full credit/blame, and danced around our living rooms. THAT was the VFTW VICTORY, not Sundance going home.
Myth #3 - VFTW is "ruining the lives"/"shattering the dreams" of the (oh so) talented contestants by MANIPULATING Am. Idol.
Sorry... but AI beat us to the punch on this one. American Idol is so heavily manipulated from the get-go that it would be much much more accurate to say that it is AMERICAN IDOL ITSELF that is "ruining the lives" and "shattering the dreams" of talented singers... as in, the actually talented singers that don't make it to see the judges, or don't make it to Hollywood, or once there, are not chosen for the top 24. Tell me something... if it was so unjust, so endangering to the dreams of the likes of Phil Stacy, Haley Zzzzcarnato, Beat Box Blake for us to vote for Antonella, Sundance, or now Sanjaya...
THEN WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN THE VOTING POOL TO BEGIN WITH?
I'm sorry, but if you review the unbelievably boring "chair episode" - and drink a case of red bull to stay awake through it - you'll notice two very telltale events at the end. Both Sundance and Antonella are advanced over considerably more talented singers who didn't fit what the producers/judges were "looking for". I guess this means the judges were looking for "easy cannon fodder" and "hot-looking easy cannon fodder", in this case. Just like when they "picked Pickler" and Chicken Little last year, and the red-headed crooner, or Scott Savol, etc. etc. Hilarious? Yes. Do I love it? Yes. Did I vote for them? HELL YES!
But was it the fault of VFTW that these contestants could even *be* voted for? We hear constantly that Sanjaya, Sundance, Antonella, Chicken Little, etc. were "not talented enough" and "didn't deserve" to be kept on over other contestants. So, I ask again: what are they doing in the voting rounds?
If they (AI producers/judges) are going to open that door, then they have to live with the consequences. Simon reminds us week after week that it's a singing competition. If this were actually true, we'd have 24 actually talented singers in the top 24, instead of a few contestants they feel are worth pimping, a couple they think will add drama, and a whole slew of second and third tier shills who are not (supposed to be) a threat to their faves.
Don't believe it? Think about season three (I think) where Lisa Leuschner was up for a chance to compete for an additional slot in the top contestants. Randy Jackson actually formed a complete sentence without "yo" "dawg" or "good lookin' out" to say to her: "Well, you may be the most talented singer we have this year, but no, you won't be performing". Instead, Jon Peter Lewis got the chance and went on into the finals where he looked like a runaway from an emo band having a seizure while perfoming Elvis, bringing in more tweeny OMGZCUTEE ratings, and posing no threat to Fantasia or the other "serious contenders". There are so many examples of this, it's not funny: Jasmine Trias, Ace Young, spring instantly to mind, but every year it's the same thing.
AMERICAN IDOL DELIBERATELY PUTS LESS TALENTED CONTESTANTS THROUGH TO MANIPULATE THE OUTCOME. Our manipulation pales in comparison, and any displeasure they feel at our voting tactics is due to their policies.
Non-Myth #4: We're trying to annoy the judges and shock America.
This is true, and we're proud of it. Who doesn't want to tool with judges who say to the pimped "dawg you can blow" when LaKisha sings Whitney Houston, and "people shouldn't sing Whitney/Stevie/Chaka" to the unpimped. If you don't want contestants singing those songs/artists, then MAYBE they um, shouldn't be on the approved list. And as above, we're all painfully familiar with the "dude you have to do something original" followed by "you shouldn't have messed with a classic" bait-and-switch routine. It's just like the "you should be more modern"/"I'm not familiar with that unknown modern song" like recently with Blake doing a 311 song, neither unknown (album was triple platinum) nor modern (it's from the mid-90s) or last years Daughtry "you need to do it with your own style"/"you need to do things in different styles" dichotomy. Or with very good perfomances from the 2nd and third tier artists getting the "it's ok, but not memorable" or "it's like a lounge singer/karaoke/high school musical" comment when a comparable or even less proficient song by a pimpee is praised to the nines. It's annoying, obvious, simplistic, and worth lampooning.
Just like AI. And that's why we're here.
You're welcome.
Wrong. We actually love AI... for the show's POTENTIAL. It's not living up to its potential though. "Diana Ross night"? Really? "Gwen Stefani Night"? Please tell me there's some pressing reason to have theme shows like this other than to entertain us with their laughable lameness, or the opportunity for Randy to astutely point out that non-R&B divas can't pick "the right song" on Diana Ross night. "Sorry, Dawg, not the right song for you" vs. "you need to do something to make the song YOURS" vs. "you just need to leave the song the way it is" - it's prepackaged criticism that allows the judges to choose their pre-ordained final few chosen contestants. More on that later.
We also love the show for its HUMOR POTENTIAL, particularly those chuckles afforded by pitting luke-warm, amateur or downright awful singers against those so far out of their league that the judges mention it EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. Clearly the American Idol producers agree that this makes great entertainment because the judges - not VFTW - set the lineup for the top 24. But more on that later.
Myth #2 - VFTW is responsible for poor ol' Sundance losing to Sanjaya
Hilariously Wrong. We at VFTW actually *wanted* Sundance (and Antonella) to make it to the top 12. They were our picks. Just scoll a little down the posts here in the LJ community, or go back in the bulletins on VFTW. And even though we debated switching to Sanjaya, we didn't do so until after Sundance didn't make it. The true fact is that EVEN WITH US voting for Sundance as much as we possibly could, Sundance didn't have enough support to beat Phil Stacy OR Brandon Rogers OR even Sanjaya.
Now, we ARE responsible for helping Sanjaya beat Brandon, for which we take full credit/blame, and danced around our living rooms. THAT was the VFTW VICTORY, not Sundance going home.
Myth #3 - VFTW is "ruining the lives"/"shattering the dreams" of the (oh so) talented contestants by MANIPULATING Am. Idol.
Sorry... but AI beat us to the punch on this one. American Idol is so heavily manipulated from the get-go that it would be much much more accurate to say that it is AMERICAN IDOL ITSELF that is "ruining the lives" and "shattering the dreams" of talented singers... as in, the actually talented singers that don't make it to see the judges, or don't make it to Hollywood, or once there, are not chosen for the top 24. Tell me something... if it was so unjust, so endangering to the dreams of the likes of Phil Stacy, Haley Zzzzcarnato, Beat Box Blake for us to vote for Antonella, Sundance, or now Sanjaya...
THEN WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN THE VOTING POOL TO BEGIN WITH?
I'm sorry, but if you review the unbelievably boring "chair episode" - and drink a case of red bull to stay awake through it - you'll notice two very telltale events at the end. Both Sundance and Antonella are advanced over considerably more talented singers who didn't fit what the producers/judges were "looking for". I guess this means the judges were looking for "easy cannon fodder" and "hot-looking easy cannon fodder", in this case. Just like when they "picked Pickler" and Chicken Little last year, and the red-headed crooner, or Scott Savol, etc. etc. Hilarious? Yes. Do I love it? Yes. Did I vote for them? HELL YES!
But was it the fault of VFTW that these contestants could even *be* voted for? We hear constantly that Sanjaya, Sundance, Antonella, Chicken Little, etc. were "not talented enough" and "didn't deserve" to be kept on over other contestants. So, I ask again: what are they doing in the voting rounds?
If they (AI producers/judges) are going to open that door, then they have to live with the consequences. Simon reminds us week after week that it's a singing competition. If this were actually true, we'd have 24 actually talented singers in the top 24, instead of a few contestants they feel are worth pimping, a couple they think will add drama, and a whole slew of second and third tier shills who are not (supposed to be) a threat to their faves.
Don't believe it? Think about season three (I think) where Lisa Leuschner was up for a chance to compete for an additional slot in the top contestants. Randy Jackson actually formed a complete sentence without "yo" "dawg" or "good lookin' out" to say to her: "Well, you may be the most talented singer we have this year, but no, you won't be performing". Instead, Jon Peter Lewis got the chance and went on into the finals where he looked like a runaway from an emo band having a seizure while perfoming Elvis, bringing in more tweeny OMGZCUTEE ratings, and posing no threat to Fantasia or the other "serious contenders". There are so many examples of this, it's not funny: Jasmine Trias, Ace Young, spring instantly to mind, but every year it's the same thing.
AMERICAN IDOL DELIBERATELY PUTS LESS TALENTED CONTESTANTS THROUGH TO MANIPULATE THE OUTCOME. Our manipulation pales in comparison, and any displeasure they feel at our voting tactics is due to their policies.
Non-Myth #4: We're trying to annoy the judges and shock America.
This is true, and we're proud of it. Who doesn't want to tool with judges who say to the pimped "dawg you can blow" when LaKisha sings Whitney Houston, and "people shouldn't sing Whitney/Stevie/Chaka" to the unpimped. If you don't want contestants singing those songs/artists, then MAYBE they um, shouldn't be on the approved list. And as above, we're all painfully familiar with the "dude you have to do something original" followed by "you shouldn't have messed with a classic" bait-and-switch routine. It's just like the "you should be more modern"/"I'm not familiar with that unknown modern song" like recently with Blake doing a 311 song, neither unknown (album was triple platinum) nor modern (it's from the mid-90s) or last years Daughtry "you need to do it with your own style"/"you need to do things in different styles" dichotomy. Or with very good perfomances from the 2nd and third tier artists getting the "it's ok, but not memorable" or "it's like a lounge singer/karaoke/high school musical" comment when a comparable or even less proficient song by a pimpee is praised to the nines. It's annoying, obvious, simplistic, and worth lampooning.
Just like AI. And that's why we're here.
You're welcome.
March 20 2007, 16:29:38 UTC 5 years ago
The producers WANT you to vote for certain contestants.
VFTW's choices are almost never the same people The Powers That Be want you to vote for.
P.S.: If you wonder why I nickname Nigel Lythgoe "Charles VanDoren", it goes back to something I learned in my high-school history class. My classmates and I, while studying the 1950's, learned about the "Quiz Show Scandal", in which a number of popular big-money TV game shows were rigged so certain (and usually popular) contestants would win.
The most infamous of the rigged game shows was "Twenty-One" (not to be confused with the short-lived revival a few years ago). Contestants were given the correct answers to questions asked by the host, some contestants were deliberately told to give wrong answers, etc.
The idea was that popular contestants would keep winning and dorks would lose.
Charles VanDoren was the name of the most famous contestant, who
"defeated" Herb Stempel, who was a 1957 version of a nerd. VanDoren, on the other hand, was telegenic, handsome, and smart. In fact, he could have beat Stempel in a straight contest. But the producers didn't want that.
Although VanDoren didn't rig "Twenty-One" himself, and only went along with the rigging, I nickname Nigel Lythgoe "Charles VanDoren" because I suspect he's trying to right the show to keep VFTW's picks from being in a position to win.
Imagine what would happen if Our Sanjaya this year, or Jasmine Trias in Season Three were in The Final Two and in a position to win it all. Lythgoe wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
So tonight, vote for Our Sanjaya. If he survives this week, the nation will get to see him on the concert tour this Summer (since the Top Ten Idols go out on the tour). And the teenyboppers will go wild.
March 20 2007, 17:02:11 UTC 5 years ago
March 20 2007, 17:24:26 UTC 5 years ago
March 21 2007, 04:00:58 UTC 5 years ago
That's a ****VFTW VICTORY****
March 20 2007, 20:57:44 UTC 5 years ago
I'm so putting this post in the memories. Love your "Myths"!
March 20 2007, 20:58:24 UTC 5 years ago
March 21 2007, 04:09:05 UTC 5 years ago
March 21 2007, 04:07:53 UTC 5 years ago
Good to see you again, openarms!
March 20 2007, 22:13:28 UTC 5 years ago
As was stated in your post, they're already putting a loaded deck up in front of the public so that their favorites can run the table against the duds that the VFTW faithful vote for. Is it really a singing competition? No, it's more like a reality television program with a pre-set cast that kind of involves performing.
March 21 2007, 02:36:32 UTC 5 years ago
I am here to defend someone though. Your comment about season three is a little uncalled for. Lisa Leuschner was incredibly talented, but you're making it sound like Jon Peter Lewis was the worst thing that ever happened to Idol. He wasn't. He's also incredibly talented, and if you'd take the time to listen to his album, you'd know that. The producers could have very easily picked someone else to not let perform a second time so Lisa could, namely Leah.
If you're going to make a comment to make Idol sound bad, make it an acurate one.
March 21 2007, 03:57:54 UTC 5 years ago
But this isn't about them individually, it's one example of the American Idol selection process whereby they do NOT send contestants into the voting rounds based on singing talent, or even singing talent AND performing talent. They're looking for ratings, and reality TV drama, and to STACK THE DECK FOR THEIR FAVORITES. Like many contestants on the show, JPL was there to bring in ratings. Which he did. But not with his singing.
March 23 2007, 16:07:29 UTC 5 years ago
"Jon Peter Lewis attempted an Elvis song and added his own ridiculous choreography to make this an instant VFTW classic. The public agreed when they voted him into the top 12, yet soon gave JPL the nickname "Just Please Leave" once he kept up his over-the-top antics."
I rest my case. JPL's nickname says it all, regardless of what he may have done later.
Deleted comment
March 22 2007, 15:33:15 UTC 5 years ago
Until the results show where I got to see Chris R, whom I can't stand, sweat it in the bottom 2, and look absolutely disgusted standing there with Stephanie. Also got to see Sligh basically give birth facially to a cow when Sanjaya was told he was safe.
Best.VFTW.Week.Ever.
Deleted comment
March 22 2007, 20:27:37 UTC 5 years ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDww-0HI
What's so great about it, is that b/c Sanjaya's up with Haley and Gina, they so clearly think "oh great, I'm in the b3" and then they're so very relieved that they hug. Right above them in the second row when they hug, you can see Sligh looking in disbelief and disgust over to Sanjaya. This all goes down at about the 2 minute to 2:10 or so mark on the vid.
and in case you missed Chris' shoutout to Dave, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psFTyc2Z
March 24 2007, 03:31:52 UTC 5 years ago
I found this site because my mother and I got into a fight about why he's still on. Here I am naively defending him saying 'there is just something people love about him' and she goes 'No! It's those god damn websites set up to get people to vote for the worst!' And I sat there and argued that she was wrong. lol But like a good debater (or maybe bad because it's AFTER the fact) I decided to look it up and get my facts straight.
And now here I am and I am not sure WHAT to think. A part of me is livid that you all are voting for someone who you don't even like, and another part of me agrees that AI manipulates things and it feels kind of good to say 'Take this, BITCHES!' hee hee
Still, I am worried that if he gets anywhere close to winning we will be seeing the last season of AI. Kind of the 'Quit while you're ahead' mentality. They won't want to continue if AI just becomes some manipulatable (I know it's not a word, shush XD) joke.