Two idol videos for your viewing pleasure

[jlh]

I know a lot of you are a bit dubious about American Idol, but just do me a favor and watch this video of Blake Lewis and Doug E Fresh. The kid in the red jacket was this year's runner-up.

I cannot wait to hear this kid's record. I have faith that Simon will find him a producer that will keep him from his worst excesses, which is better than having to find someone to actually give him some style.

Behind the cut: So that moment of Rymon staring at 1:44 in Wednesday night's show?

Do yourself a favor and don't listen to the audio. The Rymon stare is at 2:40 (which on this countdown clock is about 1:10) and happens very fast, but you know how I said in HD we'd be able to see Simon? I was so right! Damn that cameraman that passes through the shot.

Comments

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

LOL! There it is!

[jlh.livejournal.com]

It's like this wistful glance of "I wish we could be dancing" and I'm all, awww, you guys.

The Rymonistas on my flist report that Ryan, who never takes time off, skipped out on E!News Daily on Friday (reportedly to "get a jumpstart on his weekend") and that Simon has to be back in England by Sunday to film something or other. So I reckon they got that dance this weekend after all.

[eilujspark.livejournal.com]

Yeah he also didn't do his Larry King interview with the contestants that he normally does. I wonder if he's going to England to film that "This is your life" thing for Simon. Apparently Simon was suprised by it during the finale(in a break obviously) and they are doing it over the weekend.

[dana-kujan.livejournal.com]

This just in: Ryan's in London!

[eilujspark.livejournal.com]

Where did you hear that?

[dana-kujan.livejournal.com]

I can't find the article, but I did find this (http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?nbc1=1&navtyp=CAL====276042&ym=200705). Scroll down. Ryan's pics should be on the bottom right.

Hmmm... Ryan. On the bottom. Right? ::g::

[toastoos.livejournal.com]

haha, awesome!

[ali-wildgoose.livejournal.com]

HAHA! Oh man...you really called it. XD

[evil-erato.livejournal.com]

Thanks for these! Blake = awesome, the Rymon = aww, and wow does Bette = teh suck! o_O

[misscake]

I missed the Doug E. Fresh bit as I was watching the Lost recap but wow, that was awesome!

There is indeed a look there!! Stupid cameraman.

And, omg, what was wrong with Bette? That is one of my favorite songs by her and she sang it like a early-level contestant.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

They said that Bette was a last minute sub for Celine and that she's getting ready for a Vegas stint so maybe she just wasn't quite as ready as she thought she was. She suffers because we've all heard that song at a billion commencements, etc.

I love that everyone is seeing The Look because sometimes I wonder if I'm actually crazy. Then I remember that my fandom doesn't need manips because these two are all over each other all the time.

[aome.livejournal.com]

Every time I saw Blake Lewis mentioned in the paper, they referred to him as a "beat boxer". What the heck does that mean? That he's a rapper, as we saw with Fresh E? (I didn't see Blake perform at all, so I have no idea what his preferred style is.)

[aome.livejournal.com]

Er, sorry - Doug E. Fresh. Don't choke on your laughter. :P

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Have you watched the video? Because it's much easier to explain in terms of that video I embedded, what with the difficulty of writing about sounds and all. Beatboxing is making the noises of a backing track or a turntable. Which isn't the same as rapping—it's really replacing the DJ, rather than replacing the MC.

Basically, they're not rapping at all, except at the very very beginning on the platform behind the judges. After they say, "This is the Show" they move onto the main stage and do a bit of get your hands up business and then at -1:40 in the video they both start making noises with their mouths. That beat you hear? That's Fresh, making the noise with his mouth—you can see that he's doing it in the close up at -1:38. All of the sound of a record scratching with the occasional "Oh my god" is Blake, doing that with his voice, as you can see in his close up right after Fresh. Everything except those horn blasts is coming from either Fresh or Blake. That's beatboxing.

If you watch his performance of "You Give Love a Bad Name" here (http://youtube.com/watch?v=C4IGm9E4W9g) it's easier to tell because you're more familiar with the original record and you can hear where he's making these noises that imply that a record is being scratched, that he has a DJ in the band, but he doesn't; he's making those noises with his mouth. At 1:14 he goes into a 16-bar break with the drummer; he's making those noises with his mouth, as you can see, then the drummer goes, then he goes, then the drummer again, and then he starts doing vocal effects that sound like his own record is being scratched, and then he kicks back into the song. That's all beatboxing.

Justin Timberlake does it, too; at the end of Rock Your Body he does an extended beatbox break, when all the music sort of stops? He's making those noises with his mouth, too.

Slate did an article on beatboxing recently (http://www.slate.com/id/2166757/) that comes complete with youtube links so you can hear what they're talking about.

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

Man, that thing with Doug E Fresh was just COOL. I'm kind of wishing Blake could've figured out a way to go further in that direction with more of the songs he was required to sing; but on the other hand, given that his strengths and interests are so much different than what I typically think of as American Idol style, I'm that much more impressed with how far he got in the competition. I totally agree with you, I can't wait to hear what he comes up with on a record.

The Simon/Ryan look: aw! I totally missed that when it aired, so thank you for posting it. <3

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

given that his strengths and interests are so much different than what I typically think of as American Idol style, I'm that much more impressed with how far he got in the competition

That kind of maybe came out wrong. What I was trying to say was, I think I was wrong about my rather extreme assumptions regarding AI. Yes, it does encourage a certain kind of style, but my impression had been that uniqueness was not really welcome at all. On the other hand, the judges, and obviously the people watching the show, encouraged Blake's unique style when it worked. Which is what impressed me.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you, and I think over the last three weeks Simon couldn't make up his mind. Like, his reptile brain said, 'black diva big voice' but he also could see dollar signs coming off Blake, and he couldn't tell which way to throw it, and ultimately it became about that lousy fucking single. Randy, OTOH, clearly is all diva, all the time, and like, yawn. Enough. Which is why I worry for Jordin. Paula was on the Blake train the entire time and as he isn't her kind of cute I think it was more the dance girl in her responding to how he was laying down the beat, etc.

But that's also why I think Simon will be able to get Blake the right producer, because you could see from that show that Blake needs another ear, an ear that he trusts, to tell him when to go all out and when not to.

oh, RYMON.

[locumtenens.livejournal.com]

Man, it's a good thing the Rymon stare was worth listening to Bette's performance again. :) I should've taken your advice and muted the volume! My ears...

[toastoos.livejournal.com]

Oh, Rymon. How I'll miss you.