Randy Jackson bashes musicals and showtunes...

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 8:53pm

Did anyone just see American Idol?
Some girl auditioned with WHEN YOU GOT IT, FLAUNT IT from The Producers, and Randy went on a whole rant on how "showtunes turn him off, and he can't stand the vibrato of musical theater performers." Thankfully, Jennifer Lopez stood up for showtunes.
I know this is nothing new for American Idol, but it still made me mad, lol.

Updated On: 1/25/12 at 08:53 PM

[showchoirguy]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 8:58pm

People are entitled to their own opinion... So did she sound good?

[bryan]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 9:02pm

randy jackson can go to h@ll musicals and showtunes rock.

[Frank thebellhop]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 9:09pm

Randy Jackson's inability to give a clear, constructive critique turns me off, and I can't stand that he puts the word " dawg" in every sentence.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 9:34pm

The only wise thing he ever did on that show was putting Jennifer Hudson into the top 12 as a wild card. I guess if it were not for him Bill Condon and the producers of 'Dreamgirls' would not have been able to see her magic.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 9:58pm

When they are looking for a POP idol, a b'way tune is a bad choice. It's not what they are looking for.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:01pm

I didn't hear him say that. All I heard was the sound of that girls knee caps shattering as she fell to the floor.

[HumATune]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:19pm

But dramamama611, he could simply say Broadway tunes are not what they're looking for, without wholly bashing show tunes.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:24pm

^ Exactly.

[Owen22]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:26pm

Randy Jackson remains, as always, useless.

[lull89]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:34pm

Who cares what he thinks? All he and Simon Cowell and all them care about is finding people who will sell a lot of records. They're purely business minded and I wouldn't take their artistic opinions seriously for one second.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:36pm

Nothing new. Remember this very site (in one of BWW's classic "this really has nothing to do with theatre" moments) interviewed Simon C at length. He clearly hated showtunes, though he had some admiration for ALW and dismissed Sondheim quickly. I know the show before (even with having ALW as a judge sometimes--) has always made a habit of using "that sounded musical theatre" as an insult. I wouldn't sweat it.

(Though I gotta ask--what Broadway vibrato does he mean?)

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:43pm

Simon Cowell also uses the adjective "cabaret" as if he is describing Nazi death camp guards. And yet he once wept in the presence of a hack like Diane Warren.

He and Jackson are not people whose opinions we should worry about. Industry folk such as they are the reason a phenomenal talent like Whitney Houston recorded nothing but mediocre songs (and one Dolly Parton hit).

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:15pm

Eric, he dismissed Sondheim in that interview, but I got the impression that he really didn't have a clue who Sondheim was...as I recall, he said Saturday Night Fever was his favorite musical.

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:43pm

Well Randy is fat.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 5:15am

I guess my thought is: who CARES if he doesn't like b'way style music? LOTS of people don't. He IS entitled to his opinion and free to state it publically.

[sueb1863]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 6:26am

In the end it didn't matter, they passed the contestant on to the next round anyway.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 8:05am

I was all excited because this girl was doing FLAUNT IT and then the whole Randy thing... It made me sad ... I have a much different opinion of him now.

But then she knocked BLUE BAYOU out of the park and deserved to go on

[tazber]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 8:10am

It's so ironic because so many idol finalists end up in musical theater, dog.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 9:58am

^ haha, Taz!

For the life of me,though, I can't remember Randy Jackson ever uttering a meaningful comment on that show.

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 10:21am

I don't know who Randy Jackson is, but really, who cares if he likes show tunes or not? Plenty of people don't. And those who do are not going to stop liking them because of him or anyone else.

Re: Simon Cowell:

"Eric, he dismissed Sondheim in that interview, but I got the impression that he really didn't have a clue who Sondheim was"

He's probably better off. I don't see Sondheim's music being his cup of chrysanthemum tea. On the other hand, he might very well like the nastiness of his work.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 10:21am

Every season Randy or another judge calls someone's voice too musical theatre or somesuch. I always want a contestant to shout back "Yeah, what do Sinatra, Barbra, Judy, Liza, etc know about music or singing!"

Or, they could bark out a list of post-Idol musical actors- Ace Young, Fantasia, Taylor Hicks, Justin Guirini, Jennifer Hudson, Diana Digarmo, Tamyra Gray, Adam Lambert, Clay Aiken, Rubuen Studdard, and many more. It's ridiculous they keep using that as an insult. He's allowed his opinion, sure, but don't act like people in musical theatre can't sing. I'd like to see him tell Patti Lupone she can't sing or has too much vibratto.

[newintown]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 10:25am

Jackson shows pretty frequently that his knowledge of music and his tastes are very, very limited.

Of course, they are limited in a way that enables him to make a lot of money pandering to the multitudes who also possess limited taste and knowledge.

In other words, he's a rather large cow in a rather boring herd.

[goodoneinlou2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 10:39am

Randy Jackson, when regularly asked what his favorite American Idol performance is, always answers with a resounding "Fantasia singing Summertime."

Summetime is from Porgy and Bess, a musical. And Fantasia's performance of if on American Idol was nothing different than one you'd see on Broadway any night of the week.

So obviously Mr Jackson is either uninformed, unintelligent, or just talking to hear himself speak.

I suspect it's all three.



Updated On: 1/26/12 at 10:39 AM

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 10:43am

I don't know who Randy Jackson is, but really, who cares if he likes show tunes or not? Plenty of people don't. And those who do are not going to stop liking them because of him or anyone else.

Unfortunately, his and Simon's dismissive attitude towards musical theater can influence many AI watchers from potentially trying and enjoying the world of theater. It's one if they're educated on the subject and dislike the medium for a specific reason, but their negativity seems to be bred from ignorance. This effectively suggests to millions of viewers that theater and showtunes and their inherent vocal technique is of lower quality and value.