What if these people entered American Idol before they were famous:

Kate Bush
Bob Dylan
Bjork
Yoko Ono
Joni Mitchell
Prince
Roger Waters
David Gilmour
Alanis Morissette

How long do you think they would last?

Kate Bush never heard her sing
Bob Dylan never heard him
Bjork she wouldn't get past auditions
Yoko Ono she wouldn't get past auditions
Joni Mitchell she might get to the first round
Prince he wouldn't get past the first live show in hollywood..but then again he might now get that far
Roger Waters never h eard him
David Gilmour never heard him
Alanis Morissette she wouldn't get past round one

Moonwalkbjrain said:

Are you outta your mind?
Bjork's voice is AMAZING, just extremelyunique. Kate's too.
Now Yoko Ono would be the 1st to go.

I think Kate would win, considering their "standards". (only she's not American ) Oh, I forgot about Bob Dylan....vocally, I don't know who's worse, him or Yoko.

They're all amazing artists. But American Idol isn't about talent, it's about who can easily be marketed to a mainstream audience and has at least an okay voice. I don't think any of them would make it very far.

meow85 said:

that's what i was thinking...

All of the people on my list have been recognised as musical revolutionaries and sell, even Yoko Ono who now is critically acclaimed and sells well. I don't think anyone musically interesting would ever make it past the first round, because their standards are dull 1980's R&B cliches -- like Paula, actually. I can just see a young Kate Bush performing Wuthering Heights for the judges - "You've got no fashion sense, your voice is all over the place..."

meow85 said:

Yoko Ono is hardly an amazing artist.....

HelloKittyIsMyFriend said:

i'm not outta my mind the judges r...i like bjork..but b real u kno they wouldn't let her thru.

boriquateddy said:

You'd be surprised...





.
[This message was edited Tue Jul 13 22:18:56 2004 by MrSquiggle]

MrSquiggle said:

i wouldn't. pretentious people with no clue have been pretending to like her bullshit since the late 60's. pretentious people with no clue still pretend to like her bullshit.



they must REALLY love John Lennon to put up with her nonsense and treat her as legit.
[This message was edited Tue Jul 13 22:28:04 2004 by GrayKing]

Moonwalkbjrain said:

yeah that's true. But Fantasia won though....so you never know.

MrSquiggle said:

this is an review from cdnow.com. They gave "Season of Glass" 5 stars. you sure this wasn't your review?

An Enormously Moving Collection, August 27, 2002
Reviewer: slave4uboi (see more about me) from University Park, PA
Recorded after the death of John Lennon, Yoko Ono's "Season Of Glass" is probably among the 10 best albums of all time. For an artist as unique and widely criticized as Ono, her music certainly does not reflect all the negative vibes she has received from the world. "Season" is a deeply personal, heartfelt album. In "Goodbye Sadness," Yoko says just that. ("Goodbye sadness/I don't need you anymore") It's a beautiful track. "Mindweaver" has a haunting opening with Yoko on the phone with a mysterious caller, and the track itself is amazing. "Even When You're Far Away," one of my personal favorites, and "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" are gorgeous love songs. "No, No, No" is an exruciatingly desperate song featuring gunshots, and "She Gets Down On Her Knees" is superb. The quiet but luminous "Toyboat" brings tears to my eyes with every listen, Yoko's voice at her most beautiful and most peaceful. The brilliant "Walking On Thin Ice" is a bonus track, as is an a capella version of "I Don't Know Why." "Season Of Glass" is nothing short of a masterpiece. Ono is a talented woman who will go down in history as one of the most influential artists of our time.

HelloKittyIsMyFriend said:

Not mine, but you can read mine here. She's a legend who is now recognised as such with a major cult following. "Walking On Thin Ice" was No. 1 on the US dance charts last year, and in recent times her singles "Open Your Box", "Kiss Kiss", "Yang Yang", "Will I/Fly", and most recently "Hell In Paradise" have all done really well.

GrayKing said:

Honestly? I hate John Lennon. I think he is a prat and his music is vastly overrated. In the end, Yoko was the far more revolutionary and interesting musician.

MrSquiggle said:

I don't believe any would make it, because none of these artists are ordinary, and all have defied standard musical conventions. I don't think Alanis would deserve to make it. Terrible.

MrSquiggle said:

GrayKing said:

Listen to something like Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band or Fly. No-one knew what to make of these albums when they came out in 1971. They have now become classics recognised as the grassroots of the punk revolution. She has been named as an influence by basically every female rocker, and a lot of the New Wave movement. Also, try and find a 71-year-old who can rock harder.

MrSquiggle said:

if they did what it is that makes them amazing, they would transcend a silly TV show audition and get deals on the spot. if they had to stand around and sing air supply soft rock bullshit like the kids on AI have to do, it would just come off looking like a bad SNL skit.

MrSquiggle said:

yes, thanks to John. and even then, if he wasn't attatched to them, they'd rightly be dismissed as the garbage they are.
[This message was edited Tue Jul 13 23:28:53 2004 by GrayKing]

MrSquiggle said:

all you need is yoko's RISING album. that shit's beautiful, i don't care what anyone says.

GrayKing said:

I doubt you've ever even listened.

Anxiety said:

MrSquiggle said:

i have. when i was getting into the Beatles, i downloaded some of her stuff because it was coming up when i was looking for John's Plastic Ono stuff....

hers is godawful crap

the jury would probably say something like: "try to lighten up a bit...people these days don't want artistry...try singing about genies in bottles & about doing it again (whoops). Furthermore you can play your own instruments, that doesn't fit with being an idol, we need repetitive, heard it all before, pop-tunes, not real music...you write your own songs, bad one...we have a whole line-up of untalented writers ready to write album after album of crap for you...you're music maybe good, but we're not looking for good music, we need a product that'll sell by the milliobs...sorry we're gonna go with the guy that gargels gerschwin".

GrayKing said:

Which tracks and why didn't you like em?

MrSquiggle said:

specifically? i have no idea. i downloaded several of them about 6 years ago and listened to them once. i have a great memory for minutiae, but not that great.

This has become the Yoko thread!

Most of these people wouldn't make it. The majority of them have a great deal of talent, and are artists. But American Idol isn't looking for artists; they're looking for unpolished talent, i.e., somebody with a good, versatile voice. I think they've mostly found that with the 3 winners. Whether or not they make it in the long run is yet to be determined, but they're all got pleasant enough voices.

I'd be surprised if any of them would've ever made it. American Idol deals strictly in how commercial/image friendly someone is, and talent seems to take a back seat. Ruben was a nice step towards changing it a bit, but isn't he just a younger version of Luther? After a while-they all sound the same.

Here's my take on these:

Kate Bush-would be deemed too "quirky" and "odd" by the judges. Kate's cool.

Bob Dylan- Paula: "Bob, you need to speak up when you sing-every word clearly-and can you lose the guitar? We need to see some moves." Love Dylan.

Bjork-A general "dumbfounded look." Bjork's great, but thankfully not American Idol "great".

Yoko Ono-Laughter, tears and an astonished look. Yoko's just Yoko. Not a big fan, but some of her work I've liked-with Lennon. I don't think a lot of people give her a fair shake because of the simple fact she's Yoko.

Joni Mitchell- Simon: "Off to your Big Yellow Taxi then." She's good, not a favorite of mine, but I like what I've heard.

Prince- Simon: "Can you put your shirt back on? This is a family show you know. Get a haircut and lose the 'high-pitched' thing-nobody wants to hear that." Again, I doubt they'd know true talent if it bit them in the ass.

Roger Waters- Simon: "Mr. Waters, can you come out from behind the backdrop? An audience needs to see the performer-I don't care what your 'concept' is." Big Pink Floyd fan. They just wouldn't get it.

David Gilmour- Simon: "Perhaps you and Mr. Waters could form some sort of art project, but American Idol? No. I might see you painting a cat blue and calling it a dolphin." Again, they see easily commercial "talent".

Alanis Morissette- Simon: "Whoever this man is that has done you wrong, I'll go find him and kill him if you'll stop now." Some of her work I've liked, has to grow on you.

MrSquiggle said:

Hate's a strong word.

and you mean, WAS a prat.

subhuman09 said:

to be honest, if she wasn't John's widow, nobody would be giving her a shake at all.