This thread is for non-fiction TV, including but not limited to reality television (So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef: Masters, Project Runway), documentaries (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel), and sundry (Expedition Africa, Mythbusters), et al. [NAFDA]
David Archuletta, for all he can sing, bores me to tears.
So much yes to this. Sweet voice, but totally overwhelmed by his stage father.
What kat says is pretty much how I feel. DC knew what he was buying into when he auditioned, so he should quit trying to repaint it, sand the corners down, and dismantle it. WYSIWYG and you gets what you pays for.
kat, I was one of those who thought Danny on SYTYCD was arrogant. The difference between him and DC is that Danny finally realized what was giving folks that image and became more approachable. He was selling all ballet, all the time and coming across as culturally superior. Once he toned down the toe point and became a little more pop, people started liking him. I had a seriously hard time choosing between him and Sabra for the final vote. Heck, I still voted for him, but not as many times as for Sabra because I honestly thought he had it sewed up and my votes were more for Sabra's moral support.
Anther thing for me is that AI is a pop singer contest. So you may the rock band front man kind of singer, but the production company is looking for a pop solo artist kind of singer (and my personal preference is for people who can really SING, you know, dawg?) That's a strike against David Cook with Simon, for example.
I don't remember AI being so much a "imitate/cover badly other people's versions of songs" in past years, but I haven't watched it regularly since season 3 or so. It's disappointing; a real singer needs to make a song his/own (again, to quote Randy.) That seems to be one thing David Archuleta can do, which I think is why the judges like him.
Yeah, the two Davids are out in front on that measure, I'd say.
That's a strike against David Cook with Simon, for example.
I think that's right.
a real singer needs to make a song his/own (SNIP) That seems to be one thing David Archuleta can do
I know what all these words mean separately, but arranged together this way DOES NOT COMPUTE!
Heh. I guess tastes are allowed to vary! I really liked Archuleta's Imagine and his Dolly song - they didn't feel like covers. They felt sort of the same, but they felt like they were genuinely him. (I liked David Cook's Dolly song, too!)
They felt sort of the same, but they felt like they were genuinely him.
I think the "felt the same" is the problem for him. It means he's playing it safe, within his comfort zone. He's doing it right, but in the wrong way.
Oh, I agree, he's sort of a one-trick pony - heartfelt, emotional ballads R him. But, you know, he's 17 and doesn;t seem like the world's most mature 17 year old at that; I would hope that with maturity he'd come to have more than 1 thing that's his thing. He's really still a kid in many ways. A nice & talented kid, but not ready for the level of attention this is bringing, I'm afraid.
Yeah, I gotta go with tiggy and Amy on this one. I love David Archuleta (not so much that I want to squish him and pop his head off, though) but I don't think he's been bringing strikingly original takes on songs to the table on a weekly basis. In fact, I think one of his problems has been that he tries to sing every song exactly as he heard it on the radio, even when he doesn't have the voice for it. I'm thinking specifically of his Stevie Wonder debacle. Even if he hadn't had a total meltdown and forgotten all the words that week, it still wouldn't have been a good performance for him, IMHO, becuase he was doing a spot on, note for note take on the song and he doesn't have a Stevie Wonder voice. He has a great voice, but it doesn't sound anything like Stevie's.
I actually think a lot of the kids in this year's crop of contestants do a good job of changing up the songs that they choose and "making it their own". From Chikezie's joyful Beatles to Carly's lovely "Here you Come Again" to Jason's very interesting "Fragile" to Michael John's Dolly. Hell, even KLC did something different (heinous, but different) to "Eight Days a Week." I wish David A. would do more of that, but I think he's really just too young (and too controlled by his father).
