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Idol 9
OK, so one day a week I get catty and give my American Idol recap to a couple female work friends via email, but I figured, why not just do it here as well? So, if you saw tonight's episode, you know the theme was really wide open--pick songs that are popular downloads. In other words, big hits from today to as far back as you want to go (provided the show has cleared them, of course). So with such room to maneuver, there was really no excuse for a poor choice of song, and yet in several cases that's what we got.
Anoop Desai - some song by Usher, I think it's called "Caught Up." I didn't know the song but kind of liked it as Anoop sang it, but I have to agree with the judges that he seems like kind of a wannabe R&B singer, pretty nervous and without good moves. He sang it pretty well but it wasn't a song that really got people going. He could be in trouble.
Megan Joy Corkrey - absolutely awful take on Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low." Easily the worst of the night, since no one else was flat-out bad. Bad, deeply uncool, un-reggae arrangement by the band and Megan's stiffest, most labored phrasing ever. I have to admit, I liked Megan fairly well at first, and her looks helped, but they just can't save her. She's way out of her element here and should be in the bottom three.
Danny Gokey - I want to hate Danny, I really do. I'm a miserable, cynical agnostic like that, and don't like his Jesus bling and his everchanging eyeglass frames and feel deeply that, church music director or not, once he starts his career he will be a total animal. But damn, dude can really sing. I thought his version of the Rascal Flatts song was emotional and showed great control, and it seemed to be a really well-written song, too, without the typical modern country bombast or corn.
Allison Iraheta - although it makes me feel old for saying it, singing No Doubt's "Don't Speak" is not really a good choice to show you can be a relevant, contemporary young artist at this point. That said, I thought she sang it well and with her own spin, though a little overdone near the end. The judges made perhaps too big a deal of her outfit, which was sort of cool but admittedly distracting. Also, the lighting on her was really bad at the beginning and made her look like a mole. I think Allison has one of the best, most real personalities on the show and she's extremely talented, but she probably won't last much longer. Paula was dopey to say she will skate through to the finish line, especially since she's been in the bottom three before. She may be there again.
Scott McIntyre - what happened to telling it like it is? Even Simon seems too scared to say that Scott's version of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" is no better than 1,000 lounge singers, and had some crazy, off-putting runs. Ryan's teaser made me think Scott would be doing "Piano Man" and I thought, hmm, at least for Scott (and only Scott) that's sort of an edgy choice. But of course he picked Joel's sappiest song. And yeah, I do like the original, even with its dated '70s synth, but Scott didn't find anything fresh by stripping it back down. I found the performance laughable and I really think the judges are just going to try to say nice things until the votes dry up for Scott, then they'll choose not to save him but make it look close. Feh.
Lil Rounds - huge voice and you got a little of her appeal as the song went on and she tried to inject just a little soul into it, but come on--Celine Dion? Ugh. Another bad hairdo for Lil, too, but a nice dress. She really needs to do something with more honest emotion and soul. She has the pipes to get through but the public can only take so many different looks and disconnected songs.
Matt Giraud - this guy is my favorite, not so much for his talent but just that I can relate to him more than the others. He's trying so damn hard to please and he has immense talent, but somehow he's just not reaching the judges on a regular basis. I thought his version of The Fray's song was good and sounded very radio-friendly, but not knowing the original I'll have to concede to the judges that maybe it's too soundalike. The audience seemed to dig him, so hopefully he gets through, but I'm worried the bad reviews from all four judges may send him to the bottom three again.
Adam Lambert - probably the one to beat at this point. I mean, Danny and Kris are really strong competition, but even though I can't say I care for Adam's screechy parts, the guy really makes every song an event. As Randy said, he's in the star zone now, and I admit I look forward to what he's going to come up with. He's found fresh takes on the Stones, Smokey and now he had the balls and wit to refresh a total '70s track like Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music," which has some very dated lyrics to overcome. Great arrangement that kept changing things up and then getting back to the familiar, un-messed-with hook. Really good job.
Kris Allen - despite being sort of my namesake, I wasn't digging this guy early on, but he's really stepped up his game week after week, and he's got a great voice that works really well in quieter arrangements. Here, he does a terrific "Ain't No Sunshine," a song I always liked, in a smart new arrangement. He might be just a little too boring (and married) to win, but I can really see him having a career. We'll see.
Final notes: Ryan touched Danny too many times. Simon's compulsion to disparage Paula's comments or act like they don't make sense is really old. His comment to Matt about how he should be happy this week since the judges didn't like him (the context is that Matt had said in his interview that the judges liked him last week and yet he ended up in the bottom three) was nearly as uncomfortable as a racial slur. Kara is taking her "artistry" fixation and trying to make it work to her favor, and she failed. I do like her, though. Finally, Ryan's shtick with Lil Round's daughters was awkward, stupid, invasive and exploitative. Leave the kids out of it. Oh, really finally--the current David Spade is about as far removed from the David Spade people first got to know and like, as roided out Joe Piscopo was from the skinny, funny SNL Piscopo. Did Spade trade comedy for a big cock or what?
Anoop Desai - some song by Usher, I think it's called "Caught Up." I didn't know the song but kind of liked it as Anoop sang it, but I have to agree with the judges that he seems like kind of a wannabe R&B singer, pretty nervous and without good moves. He sang it pretty well but it wasn't a song that really got people going. He could be in trouble.
Megan Joy Corkrey - absolutely awful take on Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low." Easily the worst of the night, since no one else was flat-out bad. Bad, deeply uncool, un-reggae arrangement by the band and Megan's stiffest, most labored phrasing ever. I have to admit, I liked Megan fairly well at first, and her looks helped, but they just can't save her. She's way out of her element here and should be in the bottom three.
Danny Gokey - I want to hate Danny, I really do. I'm a miserable, cynical agnostic like that, and don't like his Jesus bling and his everchanging eyeglass frames and feel deeply that, church music director or not, once he starts his career he will be a total animal. But damn, dude can really sing. I thought his version of the Rascal Flatts song was emotional and showed great control, and it seemed to be a really well-written song, too, without the typical modern country bombast or corn.
Allison Iraheta - although it makes me feel old for saying it, singing No Doubt's "Don't Speak" is not really a good choice to show you can be a relevant, contemporary young artist at this point. That said, I thought she sang it well and with her own spin, though a little overdone near the end. The judges made perhaps too big a deal of her outfit, which was sort of cool but admittedly distracting. Also, the lighting on her was really bad at the beginning and made her look like a mole. I think Allison has one of the best, most real personalities on the show and she's extremely talented, but she probably won't last much longer. Paula was dopey to say she will skate through to the finish line, especially since she's been in the bottom three before. She may be there again.
Scott McIntyre - what happened to telling it like it is? Even Simon seems too scared to say that Scott's version of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" is no better than 1,000 lounge singers, and had some crazy, off-putting runs. Ryan's teaser made me think Scott would be doing "Piano Man" and I thought, hmm, at least for Scott (and only Scott) that's sort of an edgy choice. But of course he picked Joel's sappiest song. And yeah, I do like the original, even with its dated '70s synth, but Scott didn't find anything fresh by stripping it back down. I found the performance laughable and I really think the judges are just going to try to say nice things until the votes dry up for Scott, then they'll choose not to save him but make it look close. Feh.
Lil Rounds - huge voice and you got a little of her appeal as the song went on and she tried to inject just a little soul into it, but come on--Celine Dion? Ugh. Another bad hairdo for Lil, too, but a nice dress. She really needs to do something with more honest emotion and soul. She has the pipes to get through but the public can only take so many different looks and disconnected songs.
Matt Giraud - this guy is my favorite, not so much for his talent but just that I can relate to him more than the others. He's trying so damn hard to please and he has immense talent, but somehow he's just not reaching the judges on a regular basis. I thought his version of The Fray's song was good and sounded very radio-friendly, but not knowing the original I'll have to concede to the judges that maybe it's too soundalike. The audience seemed to dig him, so hopefully he gets through, but I'm worried the bad reviews from all four judges may send him to the bottom three again.
Adam Lambert - probably the one to beat at this point. I mean, Danny and Kris are really strong competition, but even though I can't say I care for Adam's screechy parts, the guy really makes every song an event. As Randy said, he's in the star zone now, and I admit I look forward to what he's going to come up with. He's found fresh takes on the Stones, Smokey and now he had the balls and wit to refresh a total '70s track like Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music," which has some very dated lyrics to overcome. Great arrangement that kept changing things up and then getting back to the familiar, un-messed-with hook. Really good job.
Kris Allen - despite being sort of my namesake, I wasn't digging this guy early on, but he's really stepped up his game week after week, and he's got a great voice that works really well in quieter arrangements. Here, he does a terrific "Ain't No Sunshine," a song I always liked, in a smart new arrangement. He might be just a little too boring (and married) to win, but I can really see him having a career. We'll see.
Final notes: Ryan touched Danny too many times. Simon's compulsion to disparage Paula's comments or act like they don't make sense is really old. His comment to Matt about how he should be happy this week since the judges didn't like him (the context is that Matt had said in his interview that the judges liked him last week and yet he ended up in the bottom three) was nearly as uncomfortable as a racial slur. Kara is taking her "artistry" fixation and trying to make it work to her favor, and she failed. I do like her, though. Finally, Ryan's shtick with Lil Round's daughters was awkward, stupid, invasive and exploitative. Leave the kids out of it. Oh, really finally--the current David Spade is about as far removed from the David Spade people first got to know and like, as roided out Joe Piscopo was from the skinny, funny SNL Piscopo. Did Spade trade comedy for a big cock or what?
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