Top 20 from home -- Production Comment

[Zob]

I was really pretty wowed by the job that American Idol did in
presenting the top 20 show while the nation is in isolation. I've seen
as lot of celebrities singing from their homes in the past few weeks
on various shows, and many other non-singing shows being broadcast
from homes. And outside of a few news channels (like MSNBC), NONE of
the shows broadcast from home come even close to the level of American
Idol's Top 20 production. I can't imagine the expense and work, the
travel involved, the health precautions taken, in setting up the
lighting, cameras and equipment in the homes of each singer. And the
behind-the-scenes direction in switching between cameras in a live
broadcast from so many locations -- the judges as well as the
contestants -- really was wonderful. I had serious doubts that it
could be pulled off, but ABC/Disney managed to do it. This was a real
music competition show.
I'm usually one of the first to be critical, so I thought I'd give
kudos where they're deserved. The only thing I could have done
without was Katie Perry in her pump bottle of sanitizer, LOL.

[Giggles]

Post by Zob
I was really pretty wowed by the job that American Idol did in
presenting the top 20 show while the nation is in isolation. I've seen
as lot of celebrities singing from their homes in the past few weeks
on various shows, and many other non-singing shows being broadcast
from homes. And outside of a few news channels (like MSNBC), NONE of
the shows broadcast from home come even close to the level of American
Idol's Top 20 production. I can't imagine the expense and work, the
travel involved, the health precautions taken, in setting up the
lighting, cameras and equipment in the homes of each singer. And the
behind-the-scenes direction in switching between cameras in a live
broadcast from so many locations -- the judges as well as the
contestants -- really was wonderful. I had serious doubts that it
could be pulled off, but ABC/Disney managed to do it. This was a real
music competition show.
I'm usually one of the first to be critical, so I thought I'd give
kudos where they're deserved. The only thing I could have done
without was Katie Perry in her pump bottle of sanitizer, LOL.

I thought all the homes were too perfect. Maybe even sets. That distracted me. I wanted to see at least one in a trailer park or a house as run down as mine. LOL I'm sure lack of time is the reason for not really addressing it, but I wanted to know if that one guy put the Christmas tree and disco balls up for this or does he always have them up. Then I started wondering if the set designers wore hazmat suits to keep the contestant safe. There were a lot of distractions. I liked the last performance best because there weren't odd paintings or anything hanging on the wall and he didn't have 1,000 candles surrounding him. There were a few performances where I wondered if they were really performing live because there didn't seem to be enough time to get the family back out of the room for the judges comments. Even with all the many, many distractions, I was able to notice that we were able to hear their voices much better this way than on the regular shows. God bless our legends for wanting to entertain us, but many of them don't sound as well from their living rooms. But I love that they aren't afraid to show their goof ups or wayward children or animals wandering in. I think in future episodes I'd like to see a little less perfection and more fun. Have them sit on a ladder and perform for their neighbors across the fence. Have them perform from the back of a truck in a parking lot with the audience in their cars like a drive in movie. Get creative.

[Zob]

On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 21:11:50 -0700 (PDT), Giggles

Post by Giggles

Post by Zob
I was really pretty wowed by the job that American Idol did in
presenting the top 20 show while the nation is in isolation. I've seen
as lot of celebrities singing from their homes in the past few weeks
on various shows, and many other non-singing shows being broadcast
from homes. And outside of a few news channels (like MSNBC), NONE of
the shows broadcast from home come even close to the level of American
Idol's Top 20 production. I can't imagine the expense and work, the
travel involved, the health precautions taken, in setting up the
lighting, cameras and equipment in the homes of each singer. And the
behind-the-scenes direction in switching between cameras in a live
broadcast from so many locations -- the judges as well as the
contestants -- really was wonderful. I had serious doubts that it
could be pulled off, but ABC/Disney managed to do it. This was a real
music competition show.
I'm usually one of the first to be critical, so I thought I'd give
kudos where they're deserved. The only thing I could have done
without was Katie Perry in her pump bottle of sanitizer, LOL.

I thought all the homes were too perfect. Maybe even sets. That distracted me. I wanted to see at least one in a trailer park or a house as run down as mine. LOL I'm sure lack of time is the reason for not really addressing it, but I wanted to know if that one guy put the Christmas tree and disco balls up for this or does he always have them up. Then I started wondering if the set designers wore hazmat suits to keep the contestant safe. There were a lot of distractions. I liked the last performance best because there weren't odd paintings or anything hanging on the wall and he didn't have 1,000 candles surrounding him. There were a few performances where I wondered if they were really performing live because there didn't seem to be enough time to get the family back out of the room for the judges comments. Even with all the many, many distractions, I was able to notice that we were able to hear their voices much better this way than on the regular shows. God bless our
legends for wanting to entertain us, but many of them don't sound as well from their living rooms. But I love that they aren't afraid to show their goof ups or wayward children or animals wandering in. I think in future episodes I'd like to see a little less perfection and more fun. Have them sit on a ladder and perform for their neighbors across the fence. Have them perform from the back of a truck in a parking lot with the audience in their cars like a drive in movie. Get creative.

Yeah, my sister also remarked to me about how most of them seemed to
be in very upper-class homes, some obviously downright wealthy.(But
not all). Like you said, it would be great to see the technology set
up in a trailer park for a couple of contestants, lol. It would be
nice to see some "regular people" like us. But... I suppose that the
reason the top 20 made it this far is that most had every advantage in
life.

There have been several Idol stars in the past who didn't come from
advantaged homes: Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler to
name just a few.

[Zob]

Post by Zob
On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 21:11:50 -0700 (PDT), Giggles

Post by Giggles

Post by Zob
I was really pretty wowed by the job that American Idol did in
presenting the top 20 show while the nation is in isolation. I've seen
as lot of celebrities singing from their homes in the past few weeks
on various shows, and many other non-singing shows being broadcast
from homes. And outside of a few news channels (like MSNBC), NONE of
the shows broadcast from home come even close to the level of American
Idol's Top 20 production. I can't imagine the expense and work, the
travel involved, the health precautions taken, in setting up the
lighting, cameras and equipment in the homes of each singer. And the
behind-the-scenes direction in switching between cameras in a live
broadcast from so many locations -- the judges as well as the
contestants -- really was wonderful. I had serious doubts that it
could be pulled off, but ABC/Disney managed to do it. This was a real
music competition show.
I'm usually one of the first to be critical, so I thought I'd give
kudos where they're deserved. The only thing I could have done
without was Katie Perry in her pump bottle of sanitizer, LOL.

I thought all the homes were too perfect. Maybe even sets. That distracted me. I wanted to see at least one in a trailer park or a house as run down as mine. LOL I'm sure lack of time is the reason for not really addressing it, but I wanted to know if that one guy put the Christmas tree and disco balls up for this or does he always have them up. Then I started wondering if the set designers wore hazmat suits to keep the contestant safe. There were a lot of distractions. I liked the last performance best because there weren't odd paintings or anything hanging on the wall and he didn't have 1,000 candles surrounding him. There were a few performances where I wondered if they were really performing live because there didn't seem to be enough time to get the family back out of the room for the judges comments. Even with all the many, many distractions, I was able to notice that we were able to hear their voices much better this way than on the regular shows. God bless our
legends for wanting to entertain us, but many of them don't sound as well from their living rooms. But I love that they aren't afraid to show their goof ups or wayward children or animals wandering in. I think in future episodes I'd like to see a little less perfection and more fun. Have them sit on a ladder and perform for their neighbors across the fence. Have them perform from the back of a truck in a parking lot with the audience in their cars like a drive in movie. Get creative.

Yeah, my sister also remarked to me about how most of them seemed to
be in very upper-class homes, some obviously downright wealthy.(But
not all). Like you said, it would be great to see the technology set
up in a trailer park for a couple of contestants, lol. It would be
nice to see some "regular people" like us. But... I suppose that the
reason the top 20 made it this far is that most had every advantage in
life.

I think Just Sam is one of those "regular people." In fact, I kind of
feel bad for her. I'm assuming they kept her in Los Angeles because
they wouldn't have been able to safely set up the recording and video
equipment in her grandmother's New York apartment where she lives.

[Larc]

On Mon, 27 Apr 2020 02:01:10 -0400, Zob <***@yahoo.com> wrote:

| I think Just Sam is one of those "regular people." In fact, I kind of
| feel bad for her. I'm assuming they kept her in Los Angeles because
| they wouldn't have been able to safely set up the recording and video
| equipment in her grandmother's New York apartment where she lives.

Also, she may be safer in LA than in her grandmother's apartment in Harlem. Plus her
grandmother is probably safer without all the ins and outs of Just Sam if she were
there. I see it as a likely win/win situation for both.

Larc

[Patrick Finucane]

Post by Zob

Post by Zob
On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 21:11:50 -0700 (PDT), Giggles

Post by Giggles

Post by Zob
I was really pretty wowed by the job that American Idol did in
presenting the top 20 show while the nation is in isolation. I've seen
as lot of celebrities singing from their homes in the past few weeks
on various shows, and many other non-singing shows being broadcast
from homes. And outside of a few news channels (like MSNBC), NONE of
the shows broadcast from home come even close to the level of American
Idol's Top 20 production. I can't imagine the expense and work, the
travel involved, the health precautions taken, in setting up the
lighting, cameras and equipment in the homes of each singer. And the
behind-the-scenes direction in switching between cameras in a live
broadcast from so many locations -- the judges as well as the
contestants -- really was wonderful. I had serious doubts that it
could be pulled off, but ABC/Disney managed to do it. This was a real
music competition show.
I'm usually one of the first to be critical, so I thought I'd give
kudos where they're deserved. The only thing I could have done
without was Katie Perry in her pump bottle of sanitizer, LOL.

I thought all the homes were too perfect. Maybe even sets. That distracted me. I wanted to see at least one in a trailer park or a house as run down as mine. LOL I'm sure lack of time is the reason for not really addressing it, but I wanted to know if that one guy put the Christmas tree and disco balls up for this or does he always have them up. Then I started wondering if the set designers wore hazmat suits to keep the contestant safe. There were a lot of distractions. I liked the last performance best because there weren't odd paintings or anything hanging on the wall and he didn't have 1,000 candles surrounding him. There were a few performances where I wondered if they were really performing live because there didn't seem to be enough time to get the family back out of the room for the judges comments. Even with all the many, many distractions, I was able to notice that we were able to hear their voices much better this way than on the regular shows. God bless our
legends for wanting to entertain us, but many of them don't sound as well from their living rooms. But I love that they aren't afraid to show their goof ups or wayward children or animals wandering in. I think in future episodes I'd like to see a little less perfection and more fun. Have them sit on a ladder and perform for their neighbors across the fence. Have them perform from the back of a truck in a parking lot with the audience in their cars like a drive in movie. Get creative.

Yeah, my sister also remarked to me about how most of them seemed to
be in very upper-class homes, some obviously downright wealthy.(But
not all). Like you said, it would be great to see the technology set
up in a trailer park for a couple of contestants, lol. It would be
nice to see some "regular people" like us. But... I suppose that the
reason the top 20 made it this far is that most had every advantage in
life.

I think Just Sam is one of those "regular people." In fact, I kind of
feel bad for her. I'm assuming they kept her in Los Angeles because
they wouldn't have been able to safely set up the recording and video
equipment in her grandmother's New York apartment where she lives.

Hey Zob. This may have been asked and answered a while back but if so I missed it. Could you tell me how the name Zob came about? Is it a blend of your first, MI, last name? Or is there some young kids fantasy book with a Zob hero? A curios mind wants to know.

[Zob]

On Wed, 29 Apr 2020 07:18:10 -0700 (PDT), Patrick Finucane

Post by Patrick Finucane
Hey Zob. This may have been asked and answered a while back but if so I missed it. Could you tell me how the name Zob came about? Is it a blend of your first, MI, last name? Or is there some young kids fantasy book with a Zob hero? A curios mind wants to know.

LOL! You'll laugh when you find out the meaning.
I've been using "Zob" for years as a "handle" on various forums since
the beginning of the internet. Where did it come from? I chose "Zob"
as a sort of a self-deprecating inside joke, until now known only to
myself. My heritage is French Canadian and I'm French-speaking; "zob"
is a term in French slang that's used in a derogatory manner.
Plug it into Google Translate and you'll see exactly what it means. I
just checked, and GT does translate the French word "zob" accurately
into English. :-D

[Giggles]

Post by Zob
On Wed, 29 Apr 2020 07:18:10 -0700 (PDT), Patrick Finucane

Post by Patrick Finucane
Hey Zob. This may have been asked and answered a while back but if so I missed it. Could you tell me how the name Zob came about? Is it a blend of your first, MI, last name? Or is there some young kids fantasy book with a Zob hero? A curios mind wants to know.

LOL! You'll laugh when you find out the meaning.
I've been using "Zob" for years as a "handle" on various forums since
the beginning of the internet. Where did it come from? I chose "Zob"
as a sort of a self-deprecating inside joke, until now known only to
myself. My heritage is French Canadian and I'm French-speaking; "zob"
is a term in French slang that's used in a derogatory manner.
Plug it into Google Translate and you'll see exactly what it means. I
just checked, and GT does translate the French word "zob" accurately
into English. :-D

In Bosnian it means "tooth". In Croatian it means "oats". In Polish it means "see". In Romanian it means "smashed". In Somali it means "a ring". In Swahili it means "the". Yet you chose the French translation. See oats dick, a ring smashed the tooth. That's what your name means.

[Zob]

On Sun, 3 May 2020 22:03:01 -0700 (PDT), Giggles

Post by Giggles

Post by Zob
On Wed, 29 Apr 2020 07:18:10 -0700 (PDT), Patrick Finucane

Post by Patrick Finucane
Hey Zob. This may have been asked and answered a while back but if so I missed it. Could you tell me how the name Zob came about? Is it a blend of your first, MI, last name? Or is there some young kids fantasy book with a Zob hero? A curios mind wants to know.

LOL! You'll laugh when you find out the meaning.
I've been using "Zob" for years as a "handle" on various forums since
the beginning of the internet. Where did it come from? I chose "Zob"
as a sort of a self-deprecating inside joke, until now known only to
myself. My heritage is French Canadian and I'm French-speaking; "zob"
is a term in French slang that's used in a derogatory manner.
Plug it into Google Translate and you'll see exactly what it means. I
just checked, and GT does translate the French word "zob" accurately
into English. :-D

In Bosnian it means "tooth". In Croatian it means "oats". In Polish it means "see". In Romanian it means "smashed". In Somali it means "a ring". In Swahili it means "the". Yet you chose the French translation. See oats dick, a ring smashed the tooth. That's what your name means.

No, my pseudonym "zob" means just plain old "dick". LOL

[Zob]

On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 21:11:50 -0700 (PDT), Giggles

Post by Giggles
I thought all the homes were too perfect. Maybe even sets. That distracted me. I wanted to see at least one in a trailer park or a house as run down as mine. LOL

Just for the heck of it I googled a few of the top 20. I'm amazed at
how many of them are actually professionals, with the AI backstories
not mentioning it.
Example: They made a big deal about Dillon James being a recovering
drug addict and was living on the street with not money. I guess it
must have slipped their minds that he won an international modeling
and songwriting competition; had a full album released on iTunes last
year (2019), and he is an actor who has his own page on IMDB. His
acting career included at least one starring role in 2014 opposite
Dolly Parton in "A Country Christmas Story"
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3990955/

As you say, not exactly a poor kid from the trailer park. Many others
have similar pro backgrounds; that is why this top 20 group is better
than most in the past. If one were cynical it would be easy to infer
that these are mostly ringers that were planted in the auditions. And
apparently Seacrest might have thrown a monkey wrench into the plan by
finding Just Sam on street and bringing her into the audition. That's
probably why the judges acted so shocked when he did it.

[Patrick Finucane]

Post by Zob
On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 21:11:50 -0700 (PDT), Giggles

Post by Giggles
I thought all the homes were too perfect. Maybe even sets. That distracted me. I wanted to see at least one in a trailer park or a house as run down as mine. LOL

Just for the heck of it I googled a few of the top 20. I'm amazed at
how many of them are actually professionals, with the AI backstories
not mentioning it.
Example: They made a big deal about Dillon James being a recovering
drug addict and was living on the street with not money. I guess it
must have slipped their minds that he won an international modeling
and songwriting competition; had a full album released on iTunes last
year (2019), and he is an actor who has his own page on IMDB. His
acting career included at least one starring role in 2014 opposite
Dolly Parton in "A Country Christmas Story"
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3990955/
As you say, not exactly a poor kid from the trailer park. Many others
have similar pro backgrounds; that is why this top 20 group is better
than most in the past. If one were cynical it would be easy to infer
that these are mostly ringers that were planted in the auditions. And
apparently Seacrest might have thrown a monkey wrench into the plan by
finding Just Sam on street and bringing her into the audition. That's
probably why the judges acted so shocked when he did it.

Here's a vid from The View where the judges of AI discuss the taping of the show at home.

[Zob]

On Wed, 29 Apr 2020 21:20:08 -0700 (PDT), Patrick Finucane

Post by Patrick Finucane

Post by Zob
On Sun, 26 Apr 2020 21:11:50 -0700 (PDT), Giggles

Post by Giggles
I thought all the homes were too perfect. Maybe even sets. That distracted me. I wanted to see at least one in a trailer park or a house as run down as mine. LOL

Just for the heck of it I googled a few of the top 20. I'm amazed at
how many of them are actually professionals, with the AI backstories
not mentioning it.
Example: They made a big deal about Dillon James being a recovering
drug addict and was living on the street with not money. I guess it
must have slipped their minds that he won an international modeling
and songwriting competition; had a full album released on iTunes last
year (2019), and he is an actor who has his own page on IMDB. His
acting career included at least one starring role in 2014 opposite
Dolly Parton in "A Country Christmas Story"
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3990955/
As you say, not exactly a poor kid from the trailer park. Many others
have similar pro backgrounds; that is why this top 20 group is better
than most in the past. If one were cynical it would be easy to infer
that these are mostly ringers that were planted in the auditions. And
apparently Seacrest might have thrown a monkey wrench into the plan by
finding Just Sam on street and bringing her into the audition. That's
probably why the judges acted so shocked when he did it.

Here's a vid from The View where the judges of AI discuss the taping of the show at home. http://youtu.be/BMPGvDJfcjQ

Thanks for the link. I record The View every day but hadn't watched
Wendesday's episode yet.

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by Giggles
I thought all the homes were too perfect. Maybe even sets.

I'm going to say something I don't think you're going to like.

I get the impression that the suits at AI, going back to FOX, don't want "certain types of people" getting on the show -- and one of those "types" is the lower-income diamond-in-the-rough.

This is an offshoot of creating the field of ACTUAL contestants from agents and such back-work and that the auditions are largely complete farce.

That these are upper-class homes is NO ACCIDENT. They don't want anybody from the lower class to get too far in this thing.

Mike