American Idol Attraction

I think you hit the nail on the head. The American Idol, while not a "flash in the pan" is certainly very time sensitive. It would be like making an attraction on the Lawrence Welk show. At the time it might seem pervasive and permanent, but will probably not be that relevant in 10 years. Very similar to the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" game. They're making a conscious decision to have to tear it down in the not too distant future.

The whole thing leaves me non-plussed...

I think "the money could be better spent elsewhere" is the exact argument. I think it will have somewhat limited appeal and definitely a short lifespan. Of course i would have said the same thing about the show, so it shows what I know.

I'm soo NOT excited about American Idol going in.. it doesn't make sence because it's not a disney program.. We didn't like the millionare show there either though..
maybe we're just party poopers?

I think the show will appeal to a certain market, but fall flat for everyone else. Then again, Disney's done very well with market segmentation--look at the tremendous success of things like Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, etc...

Although I'm not excited about the attraction either, it will certainly bring out the teens, which I think is a market Disney has been targeting lately. And parents will do anything to make their teenagers smile...

Maybe we should phrase this as is there anyone who IS excited about this? Maybe some karaoke stars out there?

Hi,

Though not a "karaoke star", I actually did sing some karaoke last night (Saturday, July 25, 2009). I joined a few local (to me) groups on www.meetup.com and went to a Voorhees Boardgames and More game night on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at a coffeehouse in town. Last night I went to Tavern 17, a bar in the Radisson Hotel at 1701 Locust Street in Philly for a meet with another such group, South Jersey Friends. Met a couple friends there and, as it was a little early, we went to Barnes and Noble Cafe for some sweets. When we returned, the karaoke was in full swing. I filled out a song slip and sang my favorite song, "Hotel California", my knees shaking the whole time. I needn't have worried: though a difficult song to sing, it's well loved and people in the audience were singing along. I got some loud applause, a few high fives and a few comments for "awesome job". Why were my knees shaking? A deep-seated (and unfounded) fear that people won't like me.

Jim

No reason to fear that Jim, everyone likes you! I've always been too nervous to do Karaoke. Can we pick your song for next time?

Hi,

Posting this to correct an error.

The Meetup.com group with ehom I was, is called South Jersey Evening Adventures, not South Jersey Friends. Got them mixed up.

Thank you, dsoup, for the kind words.

Jim

I'm not proud of it (in fact, I normally keep it to myself), but I do watch Idol. I used to only watch the first part of the season where so many are awful bad. With the easy access to DVR's though, the show has taken on a whole new life for me. When you can fast forward through all the garbage (AND commercials), it's actually an enjoyable show. This past season was the first one I (along with my wife) watched from start to finish. It was extra special because Kris Allen - the winner- was one of my favorites from day one.
With that, I am looking forward to the AI Experience. I'll be sure to let you guys know what it's like.

Great! Please do tell us how you like it. Now, are you two going to audition?

Also, one reason I like Idol (The show) is because it rarely goes into the "drama" focus that other reality shows do. It's focused on the singing, not on the backstage cat-fights or sabotage that I'm SURE happens. Any other reality show would be focused on that.

I don't think so. My wife can sing, but I don't think she'd want to.

Too bad. You could youtube it and everything!

So was this the first season you watched in its entirety?

I think I watched last season too. What's worse, I don't even like pop (as in popular/top-40/etc.) music but have become a fan of Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, and some others. "My wife" even has their albums

And your wife strangely keeps the CDs in your CD player all the time? Or in your IPod?

If you don't like Pop, what do you like? Have you played the Randomizer?

I'm a music nut. Off the top of my head, I enjoy: ska, some reggae (also dancehall/dub), hardcore, early emo, indie, classical/symphony, industrial, synthpop, dance, punk, folk, vocal jazz, some blues, country, motown, late 60's/early 70's rock (ie CCR), big band/swing, metal, singer/songwriter (not a genre per se, but a style no less), Christian music that is outside the P&R bubble (such as "White Metal" which is the antithesis of "Death Metal", as well as a lot of hardcore bands - many of whom are on secular labels - which have a positive, uplifting message), I do enjoy some P&R but not the typical variety. As a rule, I like music that is evocative. It needs to have 'heart' for me. I don't much care for songs that are written from a business perspective, not one of life experience. When I get home, I'll post in the Randomizer.

One of my favorite bands you've never heard if...The Weepies. One of my all time favorites. They can do no wrong in my eyes (or ears, as it were). I love every one of their songs. They're an indie pop/folk band for those afraid it might be something 'heavy'.

The Weepies - find them, know them, love them.

What do you consider 'early emo?' That has a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people. We have quite a few people here who are into music.

Well, I was speaking in very general terms. The earliest emo was very different from what most would consider emo (as in fast, loud, and EMOtional). I, though, was referring to early emo like Sunny Day Real Estate, the Gloria Record, Promise Ring, Elliott Smith (not typically regarded as such, but emo no less) he was emo before emo was emo), early Bright Eyes, etc.

Are you familiar with a band called "Texas is the Reason?"

Indeed, I have some Texas.

Elliott Smith is one of my favorites. Talk about emo -- in music and in life.

Also have some weepies on my ipod, though everything seems to sound the same from them, so I only have a couple of songs. I have a few of Deb Talan alone as well.

*High-fives Bali*

I have everything the Weepies have done and everything I could find by Deb Talan and Steve Tannen. What songs do you have? Which one( do you like? I may be able to recommend some good ones you haven't heard.

Far as Elliott Smith, you should watch [url=]this Youtube video[/url]. It's XO (Waltz #2) acoustic, and it is just haunting. That's one of my favorite songs and you can just see the pain in his face [shivers]. Also, I always found his manner of death a bit questionable (hard to do yourself). Don't doubt he would have, just seemed out of sorts.

I have to admit that I've never been an Idol fan and we really had no plans on doing the attraction. Although, when we were there in June one of the afternoon shows just happened to be loading as we walked by, in the pouring rain, so we decided to watch it.

It was actually really nice. The 3 teenaged girls who auditioned during our show were SO enthusiastic & excited about the experience & they were excellent performers. The set was gorgeous & it was fun to vote with the audience.

I guess the only thing that was kinda annoying were the judges; the "Randy" type guy was too much like him, both in acting & looks, but the woman judge was NOTHING like Paula Abdul, & the cranky guy was just 'blah.' We couldn't decide if they were TRYING to mimick the real judges or not, I think they should have just stuck with totally different judges for the attraction.

I probably won't go out of my way to do it again, but to try it once, it was pretty cool.

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That's really interesting. I haven't been yet, but it sure sounds like they're trying to mimic the judges. Just the fact that there are two guys and a girl and one is cranky sounds like they're definitely making an effort to get "stand ins" for the real judges. I totally agree with you that they would have been better off just having some other judges who had their own style. I'm sure they were worried as to whether the formula would work without that mix though.

I can see how that part (the judges) of the attraction could come up short, but I wouldn't expect any different. You have to consider, love them or hate them, those judges and their dynamic are an integral part of the show. Making a faithful reproduction is so often the goal with Disney attractions and I don't think it would feel like AI without [at least] similar judges. That said, I don't think they should go over the top trying to be JUST like them. I'm interested to see what the experience is like in any case.

Thanks for the review DL4U. This might end up on our plans this upcoming trip.

We did this attraction and LOVED it! It was so much fun! More thorough review to come later.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it...now...did you sing?