i hope Diana's gonna win. i'd not want to buy an album of Fantasia, even though i respect her and her power. but she just bores me. jasmine is just as boring.

Fantasia bores you and Diane excites you? Jesus. I'd hate to see what your idea of a Friday night is.

Good thing Jazzy left. She lost all confidence in her already mediocre voice weeks ago.

DeGarmo sucked on "Because You Loved Me" but she did do a great job on "Don't Cry Out Loud." She wasn't so hot on the first song ever. Just funny stuff (unintentionally).

Diana will beat Fantasia. I was the first to say it on this site a couple of days ago and Simon agrees with me. It'll be close but JonBenet wins.
It's simple:
1. The judges screwed Fantasia over. Paula said she didn't need the win and Clive Davis has said he'll sign her no matter what. People won't be motivated to vote for her.
2. JonBenet DeGarmo is desperate and crazy and America loves that. They want someone who has an absolute void in their soulless lives that can only be filled by the attention that American Idol brings.
3. White voters in the South and Midwest will go for the fake cutesy, chubby white girl doing her best high school talent show Shirley-Temple-grown-up act over the single mom from the hood. No, MacDiva, I'm not racist for pointing out America's racism. I think it's a shame since Fantasia rules, even if she did skip some words in her first couple of songs. I love her "Listen ..." gospel thing she does though during songs. That's just cool.

America, Diana's your girl. Go ahead and vote for her and prove what a mockery this season has been. You know none of you will buy her records and she fits NOWHERE into the pop market. Watch her terribly plastic smile, annoying chatter, and fake laugh fill your screens for about 2 weeks before her "career" fizzles out. Vote early and often, all you soccer moms and obese people in Omaha.

I'm just looking forward to Simon's criticism of the show and unwillingness to sell Diana after Fantasia loses. Fantasia will undoubtedly be the star of this year's crop; Clive Davis appears to love her from his comments on Entertainment Tonight and on AI and he'll promote her accordingly.

It takes some luster off the finale that for the second straight year, the runner-up will outshine the winner.

I didn't watch the results show yet, but I'll have some more to say perhaps after I see the tape.

That is all, peons.

I think America has voted fair throughtout this entire season. There were a few flaws as for as voting goes(Latoya London). Anyways I think what people tend to forget is, it's not about color,or their downfalls.This competition is about true talent. Fantasia has everything that American Idol stand for. Diana on the other hand to me is not a pop singer but more of a Country Singer and I believe that in that field she will be successful. Regardless of who wins both girls will be winners in the end. But only one crown is given and I think America know who it should go to based on talent.

Based on talent? Fantasia, hands down. If Diana wins, it will prove AI has become worthless. (And it will validate my suspicions about young American people.)

If the vote were solely for talent alone, then Fantasia would beat Diana. But what makes a star isn't talent alone. Look at Madonna or Britney Spears. There are bigger factors behind their success than talent, actually they both have very little talent. But I bet I would have a blast if I ever got to go to a Madonna concert.

While Fantasia has more talent than Diana. My vote is for Diana.

Why? Because Fantasia has talent and an annoying personality. Diana has potential in regards to talent and a much better personality.

Since racism seems to be a big topic on AI threads, before someone accuses me of racism, let me say that LaToya will always be my number 1, even if she is no longer there. She had talent and as far as personality goes, she had class. She was the best. But she's not there anymore, it's between the two. And so my vote will be for Diana.

Look, here's a reality-check:

If a black woman does not win this thing, the cries of "racism" will be heard from the rooftops far and wide.

Let the black chick win. For the sake of the country.

RJ, your tokenism argument is laughable and insulting. I think Fantasia should win ON MERIT and that racists shouldn't vote for Diana as well, but I doubt it'll start a race war and another LA Riots.

BoomCrashbaby: what TV are you watching? Diana's possibly the most annoying human being alive. Look at the way she squints her eyes and makes that big broad dumb smile and mouths the number to call after she sings. The fake giggle is the worst. Listen to her fake "awww thank you so much Simons" and insincerity and "c'mon y'alls" at the beginning of every damn song. She's hideous. Fantasia and her family seem to think AI is a little too much like sports, what with all the pointing to the Big Man Upstairs and Sammy Sosa style chest thumps, but I think that makes her a good competitor.
I don't think she's all that annoying, actually. Just not very feminine in her affectations (Simon called her "Fred Flinstone"); she sings like a woman, though. Diana sings like a demented infant with huge lung capacity -- you can still hear her youth in her voice when she sings.

I agree with whoever said Diana's not really pop. I think Simon said it, but she'll be hard to market unless you make her a LeAnn Rimes type (someone who can't sell a record today herself with better looks and more talent).

Madonna is famous because she's a self-promoting genius and provocateur extraordinaire. You're comparing her to Diana DeGarmo, princess of bland? Diana's going to get her votes from the Religious Right, farmer hicks, and other social conservative types. She's the dream of the GW Bush side of the culture war -- manic energy fused with an absolute lack of uniqueness or controversy in personality. I give her a break on this because of her age and who she is, though. It's not realistic to think ANYONE on American Idol could ever become as controversial and notorious as Britney or Madonna. If you WERE provocative and used sex to sell, you wouldn't stay on the show very long because the show is all about being advertiser-friendly and getting broad viewer support with mass-appeal product. The show itself is fundamentally conservative in that it's a talent show and attracts the throwback kind of singers like a soul/gospel chick from North Carolina or a JonBenet Ramsey talent show brat complete with overbearing stage mom in tow. These type of human beings don't really exist anymore (or at least shouldn't); that's why it's an entertaining freakshow. It's great to see people so out of touch with the culture competing. Camp, anyone? It's another reason old people like the show as well as young kids -- it's palatable, never too interesting for people who have no concept of irony, i.e., most of you posters. Another reason Fantasia will lose: she's not out of touch enough to be as out of touch as the voters and viewers who make up most of the country. She's a lil too hip for Omaha, which has never heard of Macy Gray.

Oh, and the reason Britney's famous is cuz she's kinda hot. Diana's not hot at all and she's at least 40 pounds overweight. I don't condone criticizing young people for their body types, but she's in for some unpleasant advice once she wins the contest and gets that contract. They'll also make sure her boar of a stage mom mother never appears with her on camera again because they're snakes. Simon today on Howard Stern mentioned that he was debating whether to tell her on-air or backstage that she needed to lose weight from the beginning of the competition.

Natalie: stop having suspicions about young people. We're alright, as a whole.

That is all.

Madonna is famous because she's a self-promoting genius and provocateur extraordinaire. You're comparing her to Diana DeGarmo, princess of bland?

No, I'm not comparing the two. I'm using Madonna as an analogy to say that it takes more than a good voice to make a star. The similiarity ends there.

Granted, Diana could tone down the 'perky' factor, but jeez she's only 16. She'll grow out of it I'm sure.

Some things that turned me off about Fantasia were her coming out on stage barefoot (make yourself at home, dear), bringing her daughter out on stage (I'll steal that cute vote from you Diana, you slut), and then the whole gospel thing.

As far as your cutdown of Diana, remember my favorite(s) aren't even in the competition anymore. But I still believe Diana has potentiial. And I happen to like her smile. And I did agree that Fantasia has more talent.

Everyone is talking of racism which I don't think has anything to do with this competition. For anyone to make such remarks you must look within yourself to see if that's what your problem is. As far as who wins the two ladies that is in the finals is there for a reason, both have talent. Yes one may be better than another we all know that, but certain comments that people make is silly and petty. Not to start any argument the person who made the comment that she(Fantasia) brought her baby on stage it was actually Ryan who brought her baby on the stage after her performance. I think about last year when it was Reuben and Clay everyone made a comment saying that AI was being racist,the polls were busy when people were calling to vote, basically they came up with every excuse they possibly could come up with for the reason that Reuben won. But throughout it all Clay was still being advertised and even came out with a cd way before Reuben. And both gentleman are doing very well. The same will be with these young ladies people make comments about who will win, but if your vote isn't helping either one your comments don't count for nothing but words of critism.

Cold Fact:

If the black chick doesn't win, there will be cries of "racism."

I don't like to have to read/hear bogus cried of "racism."

Let the black chick win, fer godsakes!

Diana DeGarmo is a sweetheart, guiless, there isn't a bad bone in her body.

RJ you are really one of those people that I despies, it is not about a black girl or a white girl winning. Everyone has their own choice of who they want to see as an AI winner. Just like black people are voting for Fantasia Barrino so are the whites, and vice versa for Diana. I think both girls are trully wonderful to be honest but as I said before it's not based on their personality or the color of their skin. What I don't understand is why does that have to be the factor in your eyesight? So I guess that if Dianna losses then you will feel that you have made your poing very clear. Well it is not up to me to judge but at the same time you have your opinion just the same that I have mine, and futher more I don't feel that neither one of those girls will be losers. Like every other AI competition at the end the last two finalist gets a contract, it may not be the one that AI was promoting but they dream still comes true. That is a fact starting with Kelly to Justin to Rueben and Clay. The same will go with these too and will probably continue throughout.

RJ you are really one of those people that I despies, it is not about a black girl or a white girl winning. Everyone has their own choice of who they want to see as an AI winner. Just like black people are voting for Fantasia Barrino so are the whites, and vice versa for Diana. I think both girls are trully wonderful to be honest but as I said before it's not based on their personality or the color of their skin. What I don't understand is why does that have to be the factor in your eyesight? So I guess that if Dianna losses then you will feel that you have made your point very clear. Well it is not up to me nor you to judge, at the same time you have your opinion just the same that I have mine, and futher more I don't feel that neither one of those girls will be losers. Like every other AI competition at the end the last two finalist gets a contract, it may not be the one that AI was promoting but their dream still comes true. That is a fact starting with Kelly to Justin to Rueben and Clay. The same will go with these too and will probably continue throughout.

DEAUN:

I don't know why you hate me. I'm just trying to point out a FACT:

Elton John and the Media have alleged "racism" in AI. The only way to defeat this argument, to make t go away, is to let the black chick win. If the white chick wins, the "AI is racist" crap will continue, tarnish the show, and be all over the media. I don't want that. It;s not a good thing for the country, for race-relations, for anything.

Let the black chick with the gigantic fucking mouth win.

Mr. Elliott, I would doubt that AI is racist. I would argue, however, that the voting system blows and that some of AI's viewers/voters are racist, which can be reflected in the voting.

In a democracy, you are always going to have "racists" casting their vote. It's a given.

I suspect there are some black folks who always vote for a black singer on AI because he/she is black. And I suspect there are white people who will vote for a white singer on AI solely because he/she is white.

And I agree with the idea that AI has a horribly flawed voting system.

Still. The Media will not get this deep on this subject. They will either say AI is racist, or AI isn't. Their POV will become the Conventional Wisdom in a matter of hours.

In order to prevent the "AI = racism" meme from spreading, I support the black chick.

"I suspect there are some black folks who always vote for a black singer on AI because he/she is black. And I suspect there are white people who will vote for a white singer on AI solely because he/she is white."

Yup, but that's because those idiots go along with the fallacious categorizing pushed by a rotten society in the first place. Shame on them all.

And you do know that "conventional wisdom" may be conventional, but is rarely wise, right?

Point in fact, there is no "black" chick. There is are two women, one who happens to have pink-colored skin and one who happens to have brown-colored skin. One can sing phenomenally well, the other not nearly so well. I would choose the one who is the best singer, period, and I don't give a flying fuck about what she looks like. As for society, it will do what it does -- and probably for hideous reasons, whatever it does. Society sucks.

"Society sucks"

Thank you, Margaret Thatcher... ;-]

Please. I am NO friend of Ronald Reagan.

LOL...

LOL HATE U I don't know you to hate you. What I do hate is for someone to make certain comments based on their beliefs and count them as a FACTS. What I do believe is that society SUCKS!! They will make this out of what they want whether it is fair or based on racism. Elliott what is a FACT is that your comments would make anyone assume that you are part of that society. If it was up to me Fantasia would win, there are many that will agree with me but at no point does that make me racist. Dianna is good yes but my reasons for not voting for her is based on soley because her talent does not make her a POP singer, which is something that I said before. I never intended for this to be an ongoing battle on race, nor racist. I wanted to voice MY opinion that Fantasia is awesome whether she has a big mouth, black, or a single mother.

I found a great article at MSNBC, that puts the finger on why I want Diana to win. I knew/know that Fantasia is talented. At one point early on, she was my favorite. Then it switched to LaToya, but once LaToya was booted, it went to Diana.

I couldn't figure out why I didn't prefer Fantasia anymore. Well this article says it perfectly for me:

"...Finally, Diana has far more potential to improve. Fantasia has maxed out at this point. The way she sounds now is the way she will sound five years from now. Diana, however, is on an upward swing that shows no sign of slowing down. What weaknesses remain in her voice, particularly in the area of the ability to interpret music with subtlety, are precisely the kinds of things that get better with time and exposure to audiences."

"There is a strange phenomenon in music known as She Is Wildly Talented But I Can't Stand Listening To Her Sing, (BCB says a la Mariah Carey) and that is the category to which Fantasia belongs. You can't miss the power of her voice or the flourishes she's capable of. She's substantially more advanced than Diana, speaking in terms of sheer power and technical facility. Fantasia also has a lot of personality, particularly if you like loud. But the fact remains that her voice is more impressive than it is pleasing. The tone is grating and not hospitable to melodies, and for all the rips at Diana's youth, something about Fantasia's voice has a distinctly irritating little-girl quality of its own."

source

Anyone who in anyway tries to make the argument that Diana is better than Fantasia or deserves to win over Fantasia is simply not voting for the rightful winner of this singing/entertainer show. The point is to choose an original, unique, fabulous singer, Fantasia has it, Diana does not, I don't care if Diana will or will not have it in five years, she's in the competition now and Fantasia is FAR superior in EVERY way except superficiality. I'm sick of people saying "well Fantasia's good but she brought her baby on stage and her voice is kind of grating," so what???? She is a star, she has "it," she's a great singer and she is the better entertainer and singer in this competition.

The point is to choose an original, unique, fabulous singer

Actually people will vote for whatever reason they want. That's the great, and yet flawed, thing about voting.

When Jasmine was in the running, Hawaii was the third state in terms of votes placed. Was it because of talent or because she was from Hawaii? People vote for whatever reasons they want.

If ALL we looked for was vocal talent in a singer, then Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, most rock stars, et. al. wouldn't have enriched our lives the way they have.

I'm sick of people saying "well Fantasia's good but she brought her baby on stage and her voice is kind of grating," so what????

There are a lot of people who don't like Madonna because of what she does off stage, rather than on stage. When you like a star, it's because you like the whole package, more often than not.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry, I think there's a 99.9% chance Fantasia will win.

Me? I've always been partial to the underdog in anything. There's a lot of things Diana can do to improve. She's young, and I think she will.

One of the reasons Madonna's so successful is that she constantly reinvents herself. If you pick somebody who's at their peak now, because according to you, there can be no improvement, then in 5 years, the only place you'll be able to see them is on VH-1's, Where Are They Now? show.

The verdict is in and FANTASIA IS THE AMERICAN IDOL YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!

Good. The black chick won. Like I predicted (and hoped for).

Now maybe Elton John will apologize? Naaa...