Top 16 Reveal Discussion Thread *** SPOILERS ***

[BerryCrazy]

I'm glad Simon brought back Melanie, but that's who he should've chosen over Tiah. Simone wasn't that great either. The Anser was way better than the new girl goup Paula picked. I was glad she chose the Brewer Boys though. I'm not too sure L.A. Reid made a good choice on that 14 year old kid. I would've vote for him. He needs to mature as an artist and person first. Didn't Mr Reid comment on the boy's attitude as well?

[Shoepie]

The last two shows were preempted by baseball, so I didn't see them all perform with their mentor. From the comments here I have come to the conclusion that they, especially Simon and LA, are focused on who is marketable. A good voice is only part of the package with looks, style, entertainment ability and where there is a demand in the music industry now.

LA commented that the 14 year old kid was too young at one point in the eliminations so I was surprised to see him get through. He may have hopes for a rapper Justin Beber that the tweens take to the bank. The viewer votes with either confirm this or he will be gone early.

I have never liked Stacy so not pleased about that one. Perhaps a stylist can help with her appearance and Nicole can reel her in on the screaming and vocal theatrics. I am not sure there is a huge demand for LeRoy Bell either.

[jmb]

I agree that the judges made some not smart decisions.
Tia is irritating and not a very good singer. I think she should be one of the first to go home. The rugby player from Buffalo Caitlyn? was sooo much better.
Paula keeping the 2 made up (mediocre) bands over 4Shore??? She and the other judge really liked 4Shore. Strange.
I also wasn't happy with keeping Stacy over Elaine.
For LA Reid I was surprised that he kept Astro who will only appeal to a very specific audience... and who LA thought was too young for a rapper.
Soooo glad that Simon brought Melanie back!!

I'm curious... why do all of these people say in their interviews that this competition is their only shot at saving their lives?? Obviously, since they made it to this stage of the competition, they have something marketable. Can't they try a different route? Any under 30's that didn't make it through can try American Idol... and others like Tiger the weekend DJ could start auditioning to perform at local clubs etc... Strange that they think that XFactor is the only way to make money through music.

[ibot2much]

I don't know who the various people are by name as I didn't really pay close attention to that. I would know them more by description/appearance so I will have to wait for the first show to see who made it. There were some people whom I really liked

Saying that, I am not really warm to the show. I was never a huge Simon fan who thought that the show should have been called BRITISH JUDGE in his honor rather than AMERICAN IDOL. I think he over estimated his popularity and expected the show to totally wipe AI off the screen. Time will tell.

I also did not like the use of the judges' homes. I guess it was to make the contestants think that the winner could have such digs after the show is over. It just seemed pretentious to me.

[jammyjoe]

I agree that the judges made some not smart decisions.
Tia is irritating and not a very good singer. I think she should be one of the first to go home. The rugby player from Buffalo Caitlyn? was sooo much better.
Paula keeping the 2 made up (mediocre) bands over 4Shore??? She and the other judge really liked 4Shore. Strange.
I also wasn't happy with keeping Stacy over Elaine.
For LA Reid I was surprised that he kept Astro who will only appeal to a very specific audience... and who LA thought was too young for a rapper.
Soooo glad that Simon brought Melanie back!!

I'm curious... why do all of these people say in their interviews that this competition is their only shot at saving their lives?? Obviously, since they made it to this stage of the competition, they have something marketable. Can't they try a different route? Any under 30's that didn't make it through can try American Idol... and others like Tiger the weekend DJ could start auditioning to perform at local clubs etc... Strange that they think that XFactor is the only way to make money through music.

Totally agree with you and most of the FORT fans. Simon and Paula made the worst choices, although Simon tried to make up for it by adding one more girl...Melanie being the afterthought. How is it possible that Simone, Tiah, and Rachel are better than Tora, Caitlin and Jazzlyn? Simon just lost his credibility after those choices. Obviously, there will be a double elimination in the Girls category next week and i'm quite certain that Simone and Tiah will be gone quickly because their attitude suck and they lack talent. As for Paula, she has no credibility to begin with so her choices were no surprise. She's always on drugs so it is expected that she makes stupid choices. I mean...how can you put both manufactured Groups (and the Brewer Boys who bombed) thru? Paula went for the really young demographics which begs us the question on why even let these groups perform when she already made up her mind.

Nicole went with her heart in two of her choices. I understand she had to choose between Stacey and Elaine. And although Elaine is the more pro of the two and technically superior, she thought Stacey needed it more. Same thing with Dexter, I would have chosen anyone else (especially Tiger) because I think Dexter was the worst of the over 30s. She went for the homeless dude over the dude who will lose his house to foreclosure in 30 days. I like LA Reid's choices except for the arrogant Astro boy. That was the surprise for me since he really doesn't sing. They seem to be going with personality and not talent. Brennan would have been the better choice. Ranking their credibility as judges:

1. LA (3 very good choices; 1 bad choice)
2. Nicole (2 very good choices; 2 bad choices)
3. Simon (2 very good choices one of which is to make up for a mistake; 3 bad choices)
4. Paula (1 very good choice; 3 bad choices)

I think that given the fact that Paula had the easiest category to pick from, she still managed to mess it up. Interestingly, the polls think that Nicole is the worst judge and not Paula. If you were in one of the Groups category and you didn't make it, it must be real tough to learn that the manufactured groups made it over your group.

[Jexter]

I think that given the fact that Paula had the easiest category to pick from, she still managed to mess it up.

I think Paula made the right selections. They are absolutely the groups I would have selected.

I actually really liked all the judges' decisions (although I adored Jazlyn and would like to have seen her go through) , AND I wish ALL the over-30's could have advanced - but esp. Caitlyn, the former Disney star and Elaine.

Can I just say that I find this show a refreshing change from Idol?

[Debb70]

I'm not sure if the judges/coaches, really had their pick. I have heard the selection is done by the producers and they pick certain ones not based on their talent, but for the rolel they will fill in the show. Like, the diva, the smart ass, the old pitiful person, the hip guy, the sexy young woman, etc. They have a formula they want to fill and it's done that way. I kind of believe it, since it makes more sense than believing the judges selected only on talent.

I have read elsewhere a lot of thumbs up for Drew. Really? I guess she sings as well as Taylor Swift, so I guess she'll go far. I think Melanie and Rachel are already my favorites. I really like them both. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

Oh, Simon picking a fifth girl in the end was so staged IMO. Please. Glad he did though. She is really good.

[Babbred]

Ok...worst judge is Paula. What was she thinking? The only legit group that she put through were the Stereo Hogzz. It would have been a travesty if they didn't make it. I thought only one of the manufactured groups will make it but am very surprised that both made it. I thought Lakoda Rayne is the more deserving but inTENsity is a joke, it's a Six Flags kind of group. Who would actually take those kids seriously as a group? Maybe Nickelodeon? And speaking of which, The Brewer Boys who sucked big time in their performance made it. You can't possibly say that the 3 groups that Paula put through are really better than The Anser, 4 Shore and Illusion/Confusion. She was on drugs.

That's basically what I said in the thread about last week's shows. And I also totally agree about the Brewers. They have been nothing but blah for me from the beginning. My mouth kept falling open as I listened to Paula make these choices. I must say, though that I'm glad Rain made it through because I did think they were pretty good for having been thrown together at the last moment. They definitely deserved it more than the other manufactured group.

Simon was the 2nd worst judge. I wish Mariah Carey made it to his house because she would have put him in his place.

I mean Simone over Tora???? How could you put through someone who forgot her words? And she wasn't even a better singer than the others who got cut. Then there is Rachel. Even Simon said that Drew was the best teenager singer so I thought Rachel was done after going against Melanie. Then shockingly Melanie was the one cut...my jaw just dropped! I was like "Are you f'ing kidding me??!!". Among Simon's picks, I only agree with Drew. I mean, how can you put through Simone, Rachel, and Tiah and cut Melanie when she is the best singer of all the girls? Fortunately the other judges told him that he's mad. Because he may have had the eventual winner in his hands and he let her slip away. All this banking on potential like Drew, Tiah, Rachel and Simone seems to be Simon's theme and had a feeling that he already knew who he wanted to go thru from the beginning, especially Tiah who he fought for (Tiah was lucky he got Simon as her mentor).

Again, my mouth fell open. It wasn't like she fluffed a word or two. She blew the whole flippin' song!!! Simon even said he was worried about her forgetting the lyrics again. That was just pathetic.

Nicole did alright. I expected that Josh, Leroy, and Stacey would make it. Dexter is the one enigma. I especially don't care for his imitation sound (of whatever artist he's impersonating). I would have selected someone else, maybe Tiger but Nicole felt sorriest for Dexter so I think he got her sympathy vote.

I'm happy with all of Nicole's choices. Yes, Dexter can be over-the-top, but he has a good voice, so I'm hoping Nicole can reign him in.

As for LA, I really thought he was going to cut that Astro boy. He's a rapper, and rappers aren't suppose to be cute. Maybe if it was still the 80s. LA even said that he's too young. I would have selected Brennin or Tim. Also he already have Chris as the rapper in the group. I expected the other three (Marcus, Chris, and Phillip) of his selections would make it.

Don't even get me started about the kid rapper....

I am so bummed. I really loved this show in Britain, and so was looking forward to the American version. Now, though, I feel like I'm about to watch a high school talent show. Honestly, I'm just going to watch now for the over-30's and the Stereo Hogzz. Ok, maybe for Chris, too, and Skylor the jazz singer. I love those old songs so I hope he does well.

As for judges, I love Nicole. I have totally changed my earlier negative opinion of her. She's got Paula's sympathy but without being clueless.

[jammyjoe]

Simon made some really bad choices. It should have gone this way:

Tora vs. Simone = Tora sings much better and has the X-factor
Melanie vs. Tiah = no contest, Melanie is the best singer among the girls
Jazzlyn vs. Caitlin = This is a toss up, but I prefer Jazzlyn
Drew vs. Rachel = Drew is the better vocalist so she should make it as the youngest solo contestant, it's an either/or, can't take both.

Simone's choices were almost a disaster saved only by the fact he brought Melanie back.

[Misty8723]

I'm not sure if the judges/coaches, really had their pick. I have heard the selection is done by the producers and they pick certain ones not based on their talent, but for the rolel they will fill in the show. Like, the diva, the smart ass, the old pitiful person, the hip guy, the sexy young woman, etc. They have a formula they want to fill and it's done that way. I kind of believe it, since it makes more sense than believing the judges selected only on talent.

That's it exactly. They aren't looking for the best singer / performer, they're casting a reality show. There's no difference for me in this show and American Idol, just some different trappings, etc. I was very bored with last night's show in fact, watched some of it, had it on in the background for some of it, and turned it off before it was close to being over. I will probably enjoy it once it gets to the live shows, but we'll see.