Kellie Pickler - Season 5

[MsFroggy]

I think there's a confusion about what an act is. An act is when you pretend to be something you're not. Pickle pretends to be this dim bulb, second coming of a third rate Jessica Simpson with a country twang. Is she that stupid, that much white trash? From what I've read online about her, while she's not the sharpest tool in the shed she knows that the stupid blond act works and the fact that we can pretty much all tell that she's going for the stupid hick act just proves that she sucks even at that.

Chris has a very distinct personal style... in the way he sings. When he talks he doesn't resort to some shtick or an angle, at least not in the shows I've seen so far. What pray is his act? The fact that he sings rock? Singing a balad, and singing it a bit more straight up country to do it justice, doesn't mean he's putting on a new act to please the country demographic. It means he can sing country if he wants to or he's forced to.

Pickle needs her act because she can barely sing anything, even country is a hit or miss for her. She is now identified with her gimmicky image, and should she suddenly decide to lose it as of next week, I bet she'll be voted off in the blink of an eye.

From what I can tell the only person with a real act on the show is Pickler. Even Paris, as bad as she is, is just pretty much this young girl with an annoying voice. I don't like Bucket either but I don't feel that he has an act the way Pickle has. They all appeal to a certain segment of the voting public but that doesn't mean they're pretending to be something they're not.

[Muduh]

Well, we certainly each have a right to an opinion, and to totally disagree, which I do.

White trash? Believe me, I know what an act is, and as I said, they all have one, but white trash? I don't think so.

We disagree strongly on whether Kellie can sing or not. I think she's very good, as many others must since she's still there. I don't think that she gets votes because she doesn't know what Calamari is. I think that much of her dumb personna is caused by Ryan, and I wish he'd stop. His comment about the car was uncalled for and just stupid. He's trying too hard for a laugh, at her expense. She is trying to be nice about it in order not to rock the boat. I'd love to know what her opinion is after the show is over.

I can't believe that anyone can't see through Paris' act, either. and as far as the person that you call BUCKET, he is very good and I like him, but just as all the others, he has a act.

If someone pretends to be something they're not, would they choose to be stupid? Naive and stupid are not synonymous. I think that Kellie has a lot to learn, but that doesn't make her stupid. Maybe she just hasn't had the life experiences that some of the others have.

I don't expecty Kellie to make it till the end, but for me, and many others, some of the fun and a lot of the talent will be gone from the show when she leaves.

[Celestique]

Ryan, the producers, and sometimes the judges do play up these acts or exaggerate these personalities. I'm sure they dig around message boards and keep their ears open for things like the way Kellie says calimari or keeping us up to date on whether Ace is single or not or Fantasia doing the bobo. And yeah, it may get annoying for some, but others like it and find it endearing/amusing so I don't think it's individual to Kellie.

The contestants are also good readers, well some of them. So I think Chris did very well in toning it down. I'm sure Taylor will probably amp it up next week. And I'm starting to think they'll lighten up on the Kellie one-liners, unless they find another gem. Then they'll pump it for all it's worth.

[angelic_one2002]

Well....bottom line, this IS a singing talent show. Singing talent. Not an acting show. If one is allowed to put on this dumb act, then it's turning in to an acting talent show. where's is going to stop? If one does it (Pickle), then the rest by rights can stand up there, put on an act, to get votes. If this happens, then the show has totally lost it's point -singing.

[angelic_one2002]

It's success if it gets you votes and you win the contest. As for why nobody else "has to do that"? Well, maybe some of them who are being tossed off the show might get further if they have an angle of some sort. Think about Lisa. She had weak vocals, sure, but they weren't any weaker than Kellie. Lisa went because she was boring as drying paint. She had no angle. Nothing even remotely interesting about her. So, she went.

Not that I'm endorsing this (frankly I hate this tendency), but if we are being realistic about why Kellie is doing so well, it's because she has an image people are responding to, be it fake or real.

You should not need an 'angle', or need to be 'fake' to get votes on a SINGING talent show. All you need is a beautiful voice that can surpass the rest. If you allow the angles and the fakiness, then you're changing the whole premise of the show into an ACTING show.

[shaynas_mom]

Angelic_one: So true, but isn't it unfortunate how they become caricatures? "The Country Girl". "The Country Boy". "The Little Black Girl". "The Fat Girl". "The Fat Guy" (Scott, Ruben, that other guy who liked Barry Manilow), "The Dork". "The Beauty Queen". Ad nauseum. It's a shame, and that's the mass media for ya. All for our entertainment.

In the old days (before my time, of course!) this would've all been on the radio (and it was!), and we would've not even known what these people looked like for the most part.

[Celestique]

The thing is eventually the voice does matter. We can argue about who possesses the better voice out of the two, but I don't see anyone arguing about the personalities of Kelly vs. Justin, or Ruben vs. Clay. They basically talk about who is/was more talented. It really does matter which voice you prefer, and there are those that like Kellie's voice. Justin got to the final two on mostly personality, I'm sure some will say and I partly agree, but I think he did have a decent voice. Not an amazing voice like Kelly, but decent. Since its inception, AI has been more than a singing competition. Kelly's personality and voice won her the competition, but primarily her voice. It will probably be the same this year, with stronger singers like Mandisa being voted out early because they're missing one half of the equation, and at the end, we'll get a person whose voice wins over the majority of the voters. I like both Mandisa and Kellie, but if you ask me who entertains me more, it's Kellie. I'd still buy a Mandisa album before a Kellie one, especially if it's done well. The actual competition is different. It's just the way public voting works.

[angelic_one2002]

I thought Mandisa'a voice 'quality' was/is way above Kellie's. SO I would sooner buy Mandisa's music, too. What this show is about/and should boil down to is the voice. While I think Elliot seems like a sweetheart of a person, I do like Chris's voice better..so, Chris would get my vote out of those two.

[Grisabella]

Angelic_one: So true, but isn't it unfortunate how they become caricatures? "The Country Girl". "The Country Boy." "The Little Black Girl." "The Fat Girl." "The Fat Guy" (Scott, Ruben, that other guy who liked Barry Manilow [Bobby Bennett?]), "The Dork." "The Beauty Queen". Ad nauseum. ...

Yeah, they do seem to have the same sort of "cast of characters" every year, don't they? Except now they've added "The Rocker" and expanded the "country" category.

The thing is eventually the voice does matter. ... Since its inception, AI has been more than a singing competition. Kelly's personality and voice won her the competition, but primarily her voice. It will probably be the same this year, with stronger singers like Mandisa being voted out early because they're missing one half of the equation, and at the end, we'll get a person whose voice wins over the majority of the voters. I like both Mandisa and Kellie, but if you ask me who entertains me more, it's Kellie. I'd still buy a Mandisa album before a Kellie one, especially if it's done well. ...

I agree. I think all the winners have been very good singers but not necessarily the best voices in the competition. The public votes on a lot more than just voice. Otherwise Jasmine Trias would not have beat Jennifer Hudson and LaToya London, Scott Savol would not have beat Anwar Robinson, Nicki McKibbon would not have outlasted Tamyra Gray, Josh Gracin would not have beat Trenyce, and I'm not sure Carrie Underwood would have beat Jessica Sierra.

But, hey, if pop music can embrace Jessica Simpson's act (?), why can't country take the Pickle girl to their bosom too? She sings as well and looks at least as good as J. "Is this chicken or fish?" Simpson.
It's just too bad they already made Dukes Of Hazard: The Movie. Kellie would've been a perfect Daisy!

[live4romance]

Well, we certainly each have a right to an opinion, and to totally disagree, which I do.

White trash? Believe me, I know what an act is, and as I said, they all have one, but white trash? I don't think so.

We disagree strongly on whether Kellie can sing or not. I think she's very good, as many others must since she's still there. I don't think that she gets votes because she doesn't know what Calamari is. I think that much of her dumb personna is caused by Ryan, and I wish he'd stop. His comment about the car was uncalled for and just stupid. He's trying too hard for a laugh, at her expense. She is trying to be nice about it in order not to rock the boat. I'd love to know what her opinion is after the show is over.

I can't believe that anyone can't see through Paris' act, either. and as far as the person that you call BUCKET, he is very good and I like him, but just as all the others, he has a act.

If someone pretends to be something they're not, would they choose to be stupid? Naive and stupid are not synonymous. I think that Kellie has a lot to learn, but that doesn't make her stupid. Maybe she just hasn't had the life experiences that some of the others have.

I don't expecty Kellie to make it till the end, but for me, and many others, some of the fun and a lot of the talent will be gone from the show when she leaves.

Thank you for this great post! I could not have said it better myself. I actually think Kellie is refreshing and call me stupid if you want, but I don't think her act is anymore of an act than some of the others. She is like a breath of fresh air. I certainly don't expect her to be the final contestant standing, but I'm gonna enjoy her while she is around, same with Ace (hee hee)