Nice 'burns.

Now sing for me.


And by the way, nice thread title, katiedid.

From his bio at the Fox website:



Anyone who likes Ryan Seacrest unironically is dead to me. DEAD TO ME. And the MOAM love doesn't help either.

Oh Jesus.

That's either the worst thing I've ever seen or the best joke ever played.

I'm impressed that he's a guy that's willing to admit he owns and listens to a Clay Aiken album. But hell, I barely listen to MOAM anymore. And if he was trying to suck up, it wouldn't work. He should've said he was listening to Fantasia's Free Yourself.

Nice eyes, although they might be contacts.

I think he's just having some fun with his profile knowing how boring most people's are. I don't reckon he'd make up his house burning down to be funny but maybe it was him giving himself a 'dramatic backstory' which would crack me up. Not as much as someone answering the 'lucky' question with "They're always after me Lucky Charms!" but still I could dig it.

Danville is in no way a bustling metropolis, he likely does live on a farm given the area. That's down in the "Other State of Illinois" as we Big City Livin Chicagoans say; think more stereotypical farmin town Wisconsin...

I wonder because he is riding the AI jock something hard in that profile, which is sad and scary if true.

Danville is the antithesis of a metropolis! It is a depressing rust-belt town - where some of my relatives live. You wouldn't have to drive more than 5 minutes to be on a farm. I've met Jared's Grandma - she is exceptionally nice and sooo proud of her grandson. So, just for that (and those eyes!) I hope he sings up a storm. I knew he had gotten through to Hollywood and had done well, but was very perplexed that they didn't show him at all in the preliminary shows.

When I saw the "ha!" in this, I actually thought he was waving a bit of snark in Seacrest's general direction.

But after reading the rest of the profile, I don't know what to think.

I think he's trying to kiss up to fan bases with those answers.

He sure is pretty. In my mind he's tied with Travis and Mario in the "Hottest AI4 Guy" sweepstakes.

His answers aren't gonna make him friends with Simon. Which makes him O.K. in my book!

I was expecting hotter guys to be in the final 24, but I suppose he will do nicely. Hope he can sing...

*

Suck up bio + fake blue contacts = Hate.

First cut.

A friend of mine went to high school with Jared. The eyes are not fake, if that decreases the hate at all.
Also, he seems to be a very nice guy and his performance was pretty good. He might make it.

Weird-they looked brown to me in the chair episode. Yes it decreases the hate exactly one iota.

When Jared was sitting in the chair, his eyes were definitely NOT blue. Perhaps he has orbs like mood rings - they change colors and everything! ;)

Naah.

Fucking fake contacts. HATE.

I was inclined to think that Jared was wearing blue contact lenses because his eyes later appeared to be very dark brown when they showed him in "the chair" facing the judges. However, I remembered that actor James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader in "Star Wars," the voice "CNN," and, of late, pitch man for Verizon) has very blues eyes that register as dark brown on TV unless he is being shown in extreme closeup. It's rare to have such vivid blue eyes with Jared's complexion, but not impossible, I guess.

Also, I didn't get the impression that he was being at all ironical with the answers he gave on his bio page on the American Idol 4 Website. My first impression of him is that he probably is a sincere, sweet, sheltered gay kid with a predilection for singing sappy, over-the-top ballads. That surely doesn't make him a bad person, just not someone I'll be rooting for to win this thing.

I student teach in Danville and the chorus teacher there was talking about this kid. Apparently he's shy and sweet and loves his family. He doesn't seem bright enough to eke out irony. Actually, he seems pretty dim but nice.

Oh, and Danville sucks. The town is depressing and it sucks the life out of you. (I'm just bitter that I have to drive 45 minutes one way to get there from the U of Illinois campus).

There's an article about the final 24 in People magazine - apparently Jared grew up on a farm in Wisconsin. I hope he doesn't start playing up the "I'm rural, sheltered, and naive" thing like Carrie.

Is Menudo still collecting members? 'Cause that's what this guy was auditioning for.

Is it any wonder that EVERY other male performer got bumped to the first page of posts in the 50 minutes after the show EXCEPT this idgit? He wasn't horrible per se, but was just... unnecessary in every way possible.

Total cannon fodder. No previous singing time, plus he was incredibly boring and not even that good.

Sorry dude. I know you like Clay's album, but following in his footsteps is not meant to be, at least on American Idol.

Motherfucker butchered a Mr. J-Lo song. How is that possible?

Wallpaper, much?

Jared, you seem like a nice kid, but...See ya.

Exactly. I'm trying hard to recall what he sang, or how he did. Nothing's coming to me, he's gone on Wednesday.

Does anyone out there remember what he sang? I'm drawing a blank.

He sang "How Could I" by Marc Anthony (thank you, Google!)

Of all the bad song choices last night, I think Jared made the worst choice of all. Since no one had ever really heard him sing before, he needed to make a huge impression to build a fanbase. He picked an unfamiliar song that was bland and boring and utterly forgettable. Buh-bye, kid.

According to the AI Website, he sang "How Could I".

Bye Jared, we hardly knew you. If he doesn't leave tomorrow night, I will be in an utter state of shock.

Wordy McWord. I couldn't even remember his name from last night to this morning. Boring, and IIRC, universal bad reviews from the judges. Adieu!

He has a great smile and the prettiest eyes I've ever seen, but I think Wednesday's the last time we'll ever get to see him. Bye, Jared.

Alright, someone's gotta step in and defend my Muffin. Looks like it'll have to be me. Maybe the cuteness is blinding, but I thought he was great--maybe the third or fourth best of the night where I thought all were quite good. Just because he's got a few of the boy-band signifiers going on doesn't mean that he's not talented. Yes, he's put himself somewhat in the AJ Gil mold, but he's got a great voice to back it up. Maybe cheesy is the worst you can say about him. But I still have the love and don't want him to leave.

Is it just me, or does this guy remind anyone of C. Thomas Howell in that awful movie where he pretended to be black to get into college? I hardly listened to his singing, I couldn't stop laughing at the resemblance. Hey, maybe it is C. Thomas Howell, he needs a job right?

I love Marc Anthony and am very familiar with "How Could I". I listened to Jared again and he actually did a good job. Then I read his bio from the official site and was surprised to see that he had only been singing for 4 years! I think it's sad that he has been left totally umpimped by AI. He has tons of potential and hopefully this exposure will lead to something big for him. Unless TPTB took a second look at his performance and have decided to give him a second chance I believe he will be one going home.

Poor guy. He was so bad, nobody came in here to argue with the voters for booting him out.

And yet? He really was that bad. Nowhere near the right notes, either Monday or Wednesday.

His sing out was actually good. Dammit. I woulda voted for his super pretty self had he sung like that in the first damned place.

I feel really bad for him. Was he the first guy to ever cry on the show? Then I think about it the fact that he's only 18. He's just a baby. Poor guy. I think it was the right decision though.

I also thought he sounded way, way better tonight than he did on Monday, Lindsey. He would have been much more likely to be safe--after all, Joe the Nobody pulled off the "no exposure/bland song" routine just fine. Jared was a nice guy, but it was over for him from the beginning.

Lindsey C.,
I was thinking just the opposite. He sounded worse than he did Monday night. Maybe it was nerves. He should have never been there either and I believe it had a lot to do with his looks, just like Mikalah's personality got her there.
Unfortunately Jared is cute and boring.

He's gotta go back to Danville, I'd cry too. Sorry, I've spent many boring nights crackin' on Danville and Rantoul and I had to get that one out.

Wow, Jared, chin up! That Simon is a bastard to the end.
You made it to the top 24, you're young and hot and earnest,
and there's a lot more you can do with your life than sing to Randy and Paula.

Heh. Did you hear his mother on the radio this morning? She said he's really devasted. Like Melinda, he also felt that more screen time could have helped him, and he said that "they" (not sure who -- producers?) had said it was a good song choice.

I have to defend him. The boy was robbed and treated very poorly. Yes, he has some cheesy mannerisms and affectations, but a lot of talent. His pitch is actually very good, and he has a nice, versatile tone. His problem? The boy band thing. And the fact that he's pretty obviously gay and Simon tries to weed out that "element" for the sake of the almighty dollar. It pisses me off; he could be guided away from the cheesiness and learn to own his own style. I think he was certainly in the top half of the boys, voice-wise. I just want to give him a hug.

I think that's the biggest problem. He was the youngest guy there so it's understandable if he's still figuring out his singing identity. He'd probably had success doing karaoke and talent shows with the boy-band-Marc-Anthony-impersonation thing, so, being young, he figured that's what he'd keep doing, but it came off as a boring imitation. The good thing about his youth is that there's plenty of time for him to get more direction.

Maybe it is a too much makeup thing, but there is something plasticky and Ken-doll-ish about this kid. I cheered when he was declared out. And then I felt bad because he looked about to cry, and I suddenly remembered that he is a real person. But that's why I watch this show...to boo off the stage the people I don't like. Buy CDs from the winners? No way.

I saw him perform this morning on Fox Chicago and I thought he had a very nice voice. He certainly was better than many of last year's top 12, at least on that performance. I haven't been watching the show yet (I tune in for the top 12) so I can't really speak for his other performances.

Yes, he does have a beautiful voice. I think he just cheeses out a lot of people, and the masses do whatever Simon says.

Duuuude. I know this kid! Err, sort of. He used to go to the same elementary school I did, same grade as I was - different teacher, though, don't think I ever really spoke much to him. I do remember he had this doofy little rattail, though. Well, at least in 3rd-5th grade, I might've known him in 2nd... either way, it's kind of weird. I looked up his hometown to make doubly-sure, and, yep, Ft. Walton Beach. Weird to think someone from around here made the top 24 of Idol (albeit as cannon fodder). Wonder what he's up to these days?

Hopefully he is a productive member of society and not trying to make it in the music industry. The world would be a better place if more ex-Idols followed that route.