Lee Mead Forum

My head’s in a bit of a whirlwind. Funny I swore I’d never watch reality tv at all and within a year have gotten hooked! While everyone across this country is watching “American Idol” I’ve been tuning into whatever BBC can offer on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows instead! Now that ALW flew to Vegas I get the best of both worlds. “I’d Do Anything” goes on while he observes on a screen and I get to pick the ALW bits out of “American Idol”.

Now bear in mind that unless you love “Phantom” a lot of Americans don’t know much about ALW or even who he is. They know him as “that British guy who writes music” and little else. So never mind the other dozen or so shows he wrote, the many awards he has received, and the number of castles/theatres/homes he owns. They see an eccentric composer on AI so some will raise their eyebrows. Others don’t care and just want to hear good pop music. Like my peer, April.

I cornered April at work and asked her what she thought of AI/ALW night. She is a die hard AI fan and admitted up front that she doesn’t like musicals at all. She prefers recorded music anyway so AI is just the sort of thing she enjoys to socialize, get together with friends, and watch the candidates. How amusing that ADWD got me to network with overseas friends and the only reason I’d watch American Idol was for the ALW parts! I explained to April that ALW was doing his own reality shows on BBC but I don't think she was interested at all. Especially when I talked about the Josephs getting their coats ripped off and the locket-tugging with the Nancys. To each his or her own….

Honestly? I think these American Idol wanabees did fine. Considering we’re down to the last 6 so they should be halfway decent. IMHO, bringing in ALW was a fun and interesting challenge. I like listening to him give the candidates particular comments, especially positive feedback where it’s needed. But I’m curious to know what the Lovelees think as well so I’m posting what I found on youtube. Just be aware that I haven’t kept track of these guys so I don’t play favorites.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BzhsMrZkgjY
Carly Smithson takes “Jesus Christ Superstar” which I thought was strong vocally but didn’t wow me over because I’m so used to looking for a person’s stage presence. But I forget which show I’m watching and on AI, your voice sells the most. I’m still rooting for Lee and Keith’s version of JCS.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=D6NwGfR_SZU
Please stop saying “like” all the time! I’m pleased ALW told her to free it up as Syesha Mercado gave what I call a thundering performance from “Starlight Express”. Moreover, she didn’t seem worried at all about hearing which songs would suit her voice so if not AI, I'm sure she could fine a good career.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=o7jzNIP2_xA
Aww, he’s so cute! I don’t think David butchered the song at all and instead turned out something sweet. Nice poppy version of “Think of Me” from Phantom. Definitely a bit of a shocker for people out there who don’t go to musicals but for those of us who do, a voice like that could probably bring more people into a theatre.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MgAbsVyLTa4
Dreadlocks? Not knowing “Cats”? Well like I said, they’re not theatre performers. It was all right but too breathy for my taste, Jason Castro.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4XTXOpVOWrA
Everyone says David Cook was the rock music man on the show. (Dare I force myself to backtrack and watch his previous performances?) Am I going crazy or does he remind me a little of Josh Groban? It’s really good. This song has depth and romance holding it into place that he doesn’t need to bounce around the stage. Just from this clip I found him to be smooth and strong.

Looking forward to seeing the show tomorrow Rosefire. Did they show any footage of Lee and/or Connie at all?

Surprisingly no! I thought they'd at least give a short mention about ADWD or HDYSAPLM . That would ensure the folks at home that ALW knows what he's doing since he's worked with young aspiring singers in the past. But nothing turned up.

What a pity. It would've been cool to see even just a short clip of Lee singing "Gonna Make You a Star" or "Paint it Black" on this show. But maybe there's rules about showing different shows on countries channels or Fox would need permission to mention a BBC show. I don't know.

Not if Simon Cowell gets his way Rose

Well no wonder Simon is such a tough cookie to work with. If he'd just go see Joseph....but alas, he never will and so he will continue to miss out on the wonderful things in life. His loss. :-P

On a positive note, I read feedback from a lot of AI followers. Many of them were glad to see Andrew Lloyd Webber on the show for giving good mentoring advice to the candidates. I think they need more positive coaches on these shows.