MLM Leads Generation And Life With Brent

He did it!  Kris Allen, from a town of population around 50k and a state that has less people than the city of Los Angeles, has made it into American Idol finale.

Kris is an amazing talent, both vocally and musically.  He had some rough spots in the season, in particular judges berating him, but his imaginative arrangements of songs, smooth voice, and humbleness propelled him into a showdown with Adam Lambert, a contestant that may just have the best middle-range vocals of anyone I’ve heard.

In this week, Kris took a song that has been covered twice, once by The Fray and once by Kanye West and made it “better than the original” according to Randy Jackson.

And I love the song “Apologize.”  I remember it best from the Jermain Taylor/Kelly Pavlik rematch in February of 2008 (JT, another Arkansan, lost by decision).  Tough song choice but performed well.

I’ll post some YouTubes of other Kris Allen songs over the next week.  For now, enjoy the song that most likely put him in the finale, “Heartless.”

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Brent Miscellaneous adam lambert, american idol, American Idol Top 2, Kris Allen

So my first 90 day challenge went well.  I did “fail” in the aspect that I did have some days where I simply could not market as much as I wanted, but I did find some new marketing niche’s and outlets that has brought a lot of traffic (in particular my P90X blog, which I have not monetized yet.

But with some new products coming up from my primary opportunity I am going to focus on a couple of niches that should be quite profitable.

I’m not starting quite yet as I’m gathering my thoughts on what all I’m going to do.

I’m going to give more emphasis to blogging, article marketing, and videos, but don’t rule out social networking sites quite yet.

And I have not written much recently, especially about Kris Allen on American Idol.  All I can say is he has done incredibly well and the entire state of Arkansas is proud of him.  He is the most overall talented individual on the show, although not the best “entertainer” (that belongs to Adam).

So good luck Kris in  the next few weeks.

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Brent Internet Marketing 90 day internet marketing challenge, american idol, Kris Allen

Tatiana Del Toro - American Idol Season 8

With American Idol rounding out the top 12, we can all happily say “goodbye” to the biggest two drama queens the show probably has ever seen (and no, I’m not talking about Paula):

Tatiana and Nathaniel.

Tatiana has talent.  She has a good voice.  But I swear, if I had to watch the season to cheer for Kris Allen and Lil Rounds and hear more of her, I think I’d go nuts!  In my opinion, she had the vocals to make it but her personality made her an easy target for elimination.

Combine that with the fact that she did the same song as many times as she did and it only makes sense why the four judges would choose her not to come back (I could tell in Simon’s post-performance remarks that he had become bored and frustrated with her, and her choosing of “Saving All My Love For You” again was the straw that broker the camels back).

So no hearing that annoying laugh, the overly emotional thank yous, etc.  Yes, she wanted it, and we all got that….but so did everyone who auditioned for the show.

Nathaniel Marshall - American Idol Season 8

And who will ever forget Nathaniel, the “drama queen” in Hollywood week even moreso than the “Bikini Girl”, Tatiana, and every other female combined.

Flamboyant.

Over the top flamboyant.

The real world version of “Noman Gentle” (Nick Mitchel’s alter ego on this season of American Idol)…except I don’t believe Nathaniel was acting…he was just being Nathaniel.

Fortunately, he never had to worry about showing his same emotions during Hollywood week but probably sealed his fate from making the top twelve with a horrific song choice and even less-than-impressive singing of the song.

And with the final selections done, I believe we have an entertaining final 12 that will not thrive on emotional drama but rather pure suspense and anticipation.

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Brent Miscellaneous american idol, Drama Queens, Kris Allen, Nathaniel Marshall, Tatiana Del Toro

Tonight the producers of American Idol could not rig the competition in post production.  So tonight, America got to see Kris Allen.

First off, I was concerned with everyone on American Idol picking horrible, horrible songs.  It made me worry that Kris might have picked the wrong song.

And at first, it might have appeared that way when he sang Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror.”  My initial reaction, never had heard him sing before, is that the song started to low keyed for him and he sounded a bit nervous.

But he quickly got over that.  The chorus and mini-bridge in the song were performed very well.  I felt better about his chances after he got through.

Of course, one judge (Kara) had to believe it was the wrong song.  But all the other judges disagreed and thought he showed them something tonight (Simon seemed to think he could show a bit more confidence…).

So now, we get to wait until tomorrow night to see how he did with America.  I know I did my part and voted for Kris quite a few times.

Other thoughts on tonight:

• I thought only one girl really did well, one did okay, and the rest were really, really marginal.
• Only Kris and Adam Lambert performed well top to bottom for the men.
• I don’t see how this is the “most talent packed season of American Idol yet” as Ryan Seacrest has said multiple times in his voice overs.  Talent this year is okay but lacking compared so far compared the last two years.  Of course, this format does not lend to seeing everyone have a chance to get over first-performance jitters.

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Is American Idol Season 8 rigged?

(Note:  The views expressed here are solely my opinion.  I base my opinion on watching the show, seeing how the contestants are portrayed, and drawing my own conclusions.  If this offends you, form your opinion and blog about it…but I still hold to mine).

For anyone who has read my blog over the last 12 months you will know that I am a casual American Idol fan.  Being a music minor and enjoying all forms of music the show interest me.  It is amazing how they find some of the talent (or, if you watched the auditions, the lack thereof).

But something bothers me so far about Season 8.

Now, remember, I have not watched American Idol since its inception but rather the last 3 seasons only.  I never knew about the format change for season 8 being the original format for Idol.

But based on the auditions and the Hollywood week, it appears that, for ratings sake, American Idol picked who they wanted to see in the finals through their post-production editing.

Notice how a few names in the top 36 have no air time?

Take for instance Kris Allen.  Kris is from my hometown of Conway, Arkansas.  I do not know him personally but know many who do.  From the mintue (or less) that I have heard him sing on the show, he appears to be quite a talented singer.

But we heard only about 5 or 6 seconds of him from the Louisville auditions, a bit of him on group day, and some random candid shots from the rest of Hollywood week.

For instance, Danny Gokey has had a TON of airtime.  And while he’s talented, I’m not convinced he is the best.  But because America has been connected with him through his story (his wife dying, he and his best friend both making it to Hollywood week, etc), there is a connection there that will gather him votes.

What does America know about Kris?

Not much.

Kris Allen American Idol Top 36

We do not know this young man’s story, how talented he really is, or anything else about him.  But what we do know is that due to American Idol not giving the contestants equal time in the previous rounds, he comes in as a major underdog to the semifinals.

So what do we do?

Easy…similar to “Vote For The Worst” I’m working on organizing a group to follow Kris and vote for him.

Personally, from what I do know of him (he is on the worship team at his church here in Conway), the man is the type of American Idol we need:  One deeply rooted in his beliefs yet talented enough and brave enough to take on the competition.

So as the next three weeks play out, watch for Kris and vote for him.  We know he is not in Group 1 (which airs this Tuesday live on Fox), so it will be either this week or next.

But lets vote for a guy who is talented enough to not be on “Vote For The Worst” but still stands little chance.  And lets show American Idol that you cannot attempt to rig a competition that should be fair to all contestants, not just a select few.

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Brent Miscellaneous american idol, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen

As I expected, it comes down to the two Davids.

However, I think one is a HUGE favorite.

David Archuleta, while vocally the most talented on the show, has worked himself into a peciliar situation coming into the final. He has only showed one genre that he excels in: Ballads. Take away the chance for him to show off those crooning pipes to a slow, lyrical toon, and he gets mediocre reviews. His Chris Brown performance last week proved that.

And while he has the vote of most teeny-boppers, he is not the complete package or star material. In fact, he is a little awkward. He has shown us throughout this season that he does not know how to communicate in a one-on-one interview. Only in the taped moments did he ever seem comfortable.

Archuleta has one other factor working against him: He is not original. In fact, I would guess that, minus some slight movement of notes in some songs, he has not had an original moment. It appears that most of the differences he put into his music was the prodding of his father, not from his own imagination on how a song should be.

The “Goliath” in this match-up is definitely David Cook.

Lets fact it, Cook is the complete package for a star. Vocally, he is extremely talented both within and outside of his comfort zone. The minute-and-a-half time limitations have not served him well in the last couple of weeks, but his originality has. He has the look of a star, the ability to communicate like a star, and the ability to make songs his own through arrangements.

And while not all of his performance this season were his originals, the ones he performed that he did arrange were nothing short of incredible. He not only brought the house down on the re-arrangement of “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey but this rendition of Aerosmith was incredible (regardless of what Randy says in the end).

So what will it take for Cook to win it all?

Not much.

If Cook shows up with an original arrangement in hand and rocks the house in one of the many songs he’ll get a shot at this week, he’ll capture an overwhelming majority of the votes of anyone over the age of 16.

If an older demographic votes this week, Cook will win in a landslide.

The final airs live this Tuesday on Fox. Lets hope for a knockout performance from both contestants.

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Brent Miscellaneous american idol, David Archuleta, David Cook

To the voting public of American Idol:  Huh?

Granted Carly Smithson has been taking heat from Simon for weeks, her performance on Tuesday should have been enough to put her through to the next round.  In fact, that song proved that she can have a great time, perform, and not feel like she is trying too hard to impress everyone.  In fact, even Simon liked it (for once).

Instead of picking the person who blew it (Brooke White) or the guy that has no business making it this far (Jason Castro), you pick one of the two females that have some real talent and chance of making it in the music industry.

But there is an obvious reason why Brooke made it through:  She has a huge following based off of her looks and previous performances.

In fact, one forum I participate on continually has post about how “hot” Brooke is.  Of course, most of these guys are 18-23, single, and “living life” so to speak.  But this may have had a lot to do with who all continues to vote for her.

Had this been the first time she has slipped on her performance, it might be a little more easily forgiven.  However, this is a second time.

Brooke’s following is that similar to viral marketing techniques.  Consider it a “bandwagon” mentality of followers.  Her popularity has spread quite rapidly since Hollywood week was over.  Her fans have been contagious in how they promote her looks and talent, as is evident by the buzz on the Internet and now the voting.  Through this viral spreading of her fan base, the show became about popularity and not about performances (especially recent performances).  Brooke is talented…just not the most talented this week.

One good thing did come out of this week:  It left hope for a finale with the two real superstars of this season:  David Cook and David Archuleta.

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Brent Miscellaneous american idol, carly smithson, David Archuleta, David Cook, jason castro, viral marketing