SIMON, PAULA, RANDY ... AND YOU 'AMERICAN IDOL' FANS GIVE US A PIECE OF THEIR MIND.Not since the 2000 presidential election has there been such a voting controversy. Readers - some from as far away as Florida and Hawaii - weighed in on ``American Idol'' and the subjects of the judges, jammed phone lines, accusations of racism (including ELton John's charge) and even the singers themselves - sometimes all in one letter. What follows are some excerpts from your letters and e-mails, which represent the spectrum of opinion. Believe us, we couldn't come close to getting everybody's letter printed, but we thank everyone who took time to write or e-mail us. SIMON Simon, in the Bible. 1 One of the Maccabees. 2 or Simon Peter: see Peter, Saint. 3 See Simon, Saint. 4 Kinsman of Jesus. 5 Leper of Bethany in whose house a woman anointed Jesus' feet. AND THE JUDGES Maybe we were wrong, but we always thought the ``American Idol'' show was the choice of the voters, not the choice of the judges panel. We liked Jasmine jasmine (jăs`mĭn, jăz–) or jessamine (jĕs`əmĭn), any plant of the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae (olive family). Trias, and we voted for Jasmine Trias - that simple. Both Simon Cowell Simon Cowell (born 7 October, 1959) is a British artist and repertoire ("A&R") executive for Sony BMG in the United Kingdom and a television producer, more commonly known as a judge on television programmes such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, American Idol and Randy Jackson This article is about the American Idol judge. For the former member of The Jacksons, see Randy Jackson (musician). For other uses, see Randy Jackson (disambiguation). Randall Darius Jackson were too caught up in their disappointment of the ``voting off'' of La Toya London that evidently no thought was given to what their remarks of implied rigging rigging, the wires, ropes, and chains employed to support and operate the masts, yards, booms, and sails of a vessel. Standing rigging is semipermanent, consisting mainly of mast supports, the fore-and-aft stays, and the stays running from the masthead to each side and racism were doing to Jasmine Trias. We think they owe her an American apology. - Ted and Yasmin Ramirez My husband and I are in our 60s and have been watching ``American Idol'' from the very beginning. We love Simon and feel he's been very honest. Maybe a little harsh sometimes, but he knows his stuff. - Chuck and Helaine Howard I am ... tired of Simon's rudeness to the contestants. Constructive criticism is what should be given from the judges. Just because he is the producer, it shouldn't allow him the right to have bad manners and be rude. - Christine Rife (There is) a backlash against the cruelty of the judges - not only Simon Cowell. A lot of their criticisms are pure crap. If I hear the word ``pitchy'' again, I may puke Puke Slang for selling off a losing position even if the loss is substantial. Notes: The point at which an investor decides to sell regardless of price has been dubbed "the puke point. . I would like to hear those three judges sing to see if they can sing on pitch. Let's quit kidding ourselves ... it's a POPULARITY contest, not a talent contest. - William W. Bayes What I don't like ... is Randy going on various talk shows and saying how much he wants Fantasia fantasia (făntā`zhə) [Ital.,=fancy], musical composition not restricted to a formal design, but constructed freely in the manner of an improvisation. In the 16th and 17th cent. to win. I think that is just inappropriate for a judge of ``American Idol'' to be so partial toward one contestant that he feels it necessary to influence the voting public in that way. - Pamela Sprott First of all, thanks a lot for opening up a forum for us to speak to for the ``American Idol'' fiasco. Our family watches the show every week, and we are so appalled by the way the judges blasted Jasmine. Well, granted the other contestants are better than her, they (the judges) are not supposed to be obviously biased on their comments. - Veronica Velarde-Delos Santos The ``American Idol'' judging is quite confusing. Randy will almost always praise or give good credit to African-American contestants no matter how they perform. Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American multi-platinum selling Grammy Award-winning singer, dancer, television personality, jewelry designer, and Emmy Award-winning choreographer. is very liberal - she always has something good to say to any contestant, maybe to give them encouragement. The most rudest and uneducated comments come from Simon Cowell. What gives him the right to judge harshly some contestant out of prejudice or bias? Who does he think he is? - Greg Sanchez I first noticed it last year - Simon's belief that he could control the votes when he shepherded Ruben to the top. ... Message to Simon: In America when we vote - it is our heart, not what you tell us to do. Quit grumbling and sign a contract with La Toya and Fantasia on your own time - we've made you rich enough! - J.M. Brown THOUGHTS ON RACISM My dear, what is going on in the universe? This is either fixed or America is telling us we are racist. We just lost the two best singers. Because of color not of the white race; - commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. See also: Color , come on! Jasmine could not even remember her words. And I'm raising children in this world. What is going on? If this happens again I will be ``out on 'Idol,' '' like Ryan says. Out. Well, I will be watching ``Navy NCIS NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service NCIS National Coroners Information System (Australia) NCIS Nebraska Career Information System NCIS National Crime Intelligence Service NCIS National Coalition of Independent Scholars .'' At least I can watch positive solutions on ``NCIS.'' - Liz Hodson As a fan of ``American Idol'' since season one, I haven't missed one show. I am sick to death of the supposed ``race'' issue. If this is the case, Ruben from the last season would not have won. His last three performances were flat and off-key. Face it guys, this is mostly a popularity contest anyway. - Jolene Collins I would like to think at this stage of the American public's life, that prejudice would NEVER play a part in the decision process of who's going to stay or leave ``American Idol American Idol is an annual American televised singing competition, which began its first season on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the British reality program Pop Idol. .'' My husband and I vote each week (when we can get through) for the person we honestly feel is the best overall singer. We don't just judge for that evening's performance - and quite frankly no one else should either. I vote for their continual weeks of doing a fantastic job, not for what they did that night. That doesn't make sense to me. I certainly don't vote for someone because they're black or white. That's ridiculous. - Debbie DeVinna Racism? Bunk. This is the typical answer from the person who has no intelligent answer. Elton John Sir Elton Hercules[1] John CBE[2] (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March, 1947) is a five-time Grammy and one-time Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist. is an absolute jerk. Simon backlash? Never this late in the game. Besides, everyone knows Simon is correct a large majority of the time. - Sharon Johnson The way in which racism might be involved is that for those who would only vote for a black contestant, the vote was split between La Toya and Fantasia. But to imply an anti-black racist vote in the world of popular music is absurd, especially in a venue where Ruben won over Clay Aiken Clay Aiken (born Clayton Holmes Grissom on November 30, 1978) is an American pop singer who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. . - Barbara Cross It was obvious that Jennifer, La Toya and Fantasia measured heads above the rest of the contestants. Amazingly the top two of the three have been eliminated. ... How could this possibly be. ``American Idol'' producers should surely rename Re`name´ v. t. 1. To give a new name to. Verb 1. rename - assign a new name to; "Many streets in the former East Germany were renamed in 1990" the show, ``American Idol Racism,'' because it is blatantly so. - Nadine J. Levitt I tend to believe that the voting off of La Toya London and Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981) is an Academy Award-winning American actress and singer. She first gained notice as one of the finalists on the third season of the FOX television series American Idol. is most likely racially motivated. The majority of the votes are coming from Middle America Middle America 1 A region of southern North America comprising Mexico, Central America, and sometimes the West Indies. Middle American adj. & n. and are most likely the votes of age 12 to 16 white girls. Another theory is that people tend to pity the underdog. Americans are not used to the bitingly honest mentality of Simon Cowell. - Linda Oaknine VOTING, JAMMED PHONE LINES One suggestion for next year: Voting should be held over the Internet for a 12- to 18-hour period. But only one vote per e-mail should be permitted. This year's ``Idol'' is fixed, flawed or being manipulated. Something is wrong - and it should be investigated. - Katharine L. DeCota Phone company conspiracy was the main reason why we (my family, friends, relatives and office mates) cannot vote for Jasmine. We have been calling nonstop for two hours, but not even one vote went through. It is obvious that Fox and the telephone company has something to do with it. - Bobby Quitco Regarding the voting, it stinks and is so unbalanced. Just allow one call per phone number. - Patricia Bisceglia Instead of voting for the best or most popular, votes should be cast for the person that people think should be eliminated. - Robert Olen Everyone I work with, including myself and my daughter, tried phoning in to vote, and the phones were always busy. They need for people to vote on the Internet instead of by phone. - Nedra Ware The voting on ``American Idol'' is a joke. The last vote I got in was for Jennifer, and then I hit redial In telecommunication, an automatic redial is a service feature that allows the user to dial, by depressing a single key or a few keys, the most recent telephone number dialed at that instrument. and I could have redialed for two hours, instead I only did for 15 minutes. You can block other callers if you had a large phone bank. I could not get in this week at all. - Brenda Jo Winchell More than ever, it now comes down to popularity, then population of the contestants' home states. And finally, pop the question, who will be the next pop star? Do not question your phone - it's too busy! - Pamela Taguinot My take is that the voting is a farce. ... It's not fair that the speed dialers can vote or text hundreds of times, while most of us are lucky if we can get through once. - Bernie Halio I don't think the voting is rigged, but it is quite flawed. The fact that some people are able to vote as many as 100 times and others don't get even one vote is ridiculous. ... The voting system Noun 1. voting system - a legal system for making democratic choices electoral system legal system - a system for interpreting and enforcing the laws needs fixing, plain and simple. - Virginia Arnold I think there should be another way to vote, in this day of technology they should have a way to log in using your personal Social Security number or driver's license Noun 1. driver's license - a license authorizing the bearer to drive a motor vehicle driver's licence, driving licence, driving license license, permit, licence - a legal document giving official permission to do something number, thereby keeping track of everyone only voting once. The idea that a person can clog the phone lines voting for one person is not giving everyone a fair chance. I believe in one vote for every person voting. - Connie Ceo I think there are two ways they can change (the voting). The first is when someone calls in to vote, they should have to input their phone number - that way after voting their number is blocked from calling again. The second way would be to have larger (studio) audiences and they would be the ones who vote (like the way they use to do on ``America's Home Video''). - Leslie Reese Our family are big ``American Idol'' fans. Throughout this season the contestants that have been the ``wrong choice'' and not voted off, have been the youngest people. I think it's because the 15- and 16-year-old kids that have text messaging Sending short messages to a smartphone, pager, PDA or other handheld device. Text messaging implies sending short messages generally no more than a couple of hundred characters in length. or the time to sit on the phone for two hours and make repeat votes are keeping these contestants on the show. - Janet Hinde If the voting isn't changed for next season, I'm no longer watching the show. I think it's ridiculous that a bunch of teeny Teeny 1/16 or 0.0625 of one full point in price. Steenth. boppers redial their phones 500 times! This is about talent, not popularity. I think we should only be allowed to vote once for the person we want to keep - or we should vote for the person we want booted boot·ed adj. Wearing boots. Adj. 1. booted - wearing boots shod, shodden, shoed - wearing footgear off! I'm so mad! - Debra Palermo What's wrong, Fox, not enough phone lines? ... Use the computer vote! It was successful and quick for a rival network and their lone ``Survivor.'' Why, even the Daily News gets it. We e-mail our reply. Everyone gets to vote. - Larry Kane TALENT AND OTHER THOUGHTS Initially an exciting showcase for talented young singers, it has gone from a popularity contest to an outright joke which has produced William Hung
William Hung (Traditional Chinese: 孔慶翔, Simplified Chinese: 孔庆翔, Cantonese Yale: Hung2 Hing3 Cheung4, Pinyin: Kǒng Qìngxiáng) (born January 13, 1983) is an . - Jerry Spartz I don't believe that America is voting solely for the most talented singer. I do think that America is basing votes on looks over talent. - Janice Bolves People respond emotionally rather than just voting for the best singer. Crying when you do poorly really helps. - Barbara Stark Frank La Toya London was rejected for two reasons. One, since the beginning of this season, people have been saying that they are tired of singers that feel they have to yell all of their songs. Two, she has no personality. - Ray Perkins As an arranger/pianist from the big band time and a producer with Atlantic, Mercury, Columbia and vice president at ABC Records ABC Records started in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records, the record label of Am-Par Record Corporation (a subsidiary of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc.), formed in New York City in 1955. in the '60s and '70s, I'm not impressed by the voting on the so-called talent being shown each week. - Lee Lovett The show is all about being an ``American Idol,'' not an American singing sensation. The judges' comments, I believe, are only about the song and its delivery. Being an ``American Idol'' is much more than singing. The controversies generated (last year) and now, I believe, were designed to promote the show. - Adolfo Garcia I've been a professional singer for many years. I've performed in Vegas, Reno, Tahoe, etc. - you get the picture. I don't think ``America'' should vote on the people in these competitions. I think these judges are certainly knowledgeable enough to choose the talent. - Jelsa Palao Remember that Robin Williams lost at the San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden Comedy Competition when he was young. - R.J. Johnson ``American Idol'' needs to define itself once and for all if it wishes to survive. It must decide whether it wants to be simply another reality show or something more meaningful. Is ``American Idol'' nothing more than a television popularity contest influenced by the visceral visceral /vis·cer·al/ (vis´er-al) pertaining to a viscus. vis·cer·al adj. Relating to, situated in, or affecting the viscera. visceral pertaining to a viscus. reactions of the show's viewers and meaningless beyond its own broadcast boundaries? Or is it meant to be a true reflection of American musical taste - a prediction of what America will and won't react to outside the confines of a television reality show? - Jon Thompson Jon Thompson (born 1936) is an artist, curator and academic known for his involvement in the development of the so called YBA artist generation. Thompson was instrumental is changing the way the art school system in the UK worked. AMERICAN IDOL What: The face-off between the two finalists - Fantasia Barrino Fantasia Monique Barrino (born June 30 1984), or simply Fantasia, is an American pop, R&B, soul singer and Broadway / television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the television series American Idol in 2004. and Diana DeGarmo Diana Nicole DeGarmo (born June 16, 1987 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American singer and Broadway actress. She was the second place finalist to winner Fantasia Barrino on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol - and the two-hour season finale. Where: Fox (Channel 11). When: 8 tonight for the face-off. 8 p.m. Wednesday for the finale. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) JUDGES SIMON, PAULA and RANDY (2) JENNIFER (3) JASMINE (4) JOHN (5) LA TOYA |
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