Post by Walker, Texas Ranger on Mar 25, 2009 23:04:54 GMT -5
Thanks to President Obama's press conference on Tuesday, my normal television viewing schedule was thrown off this week in regards to American Idol. I've been covering the show since Season 3 (first for Alive 105, now for The Pulse) but had to DVR the second hour of the show and watch it later due to the fact that there is no way I was going to miss Lost. So, it ended up being a rather strange night, watching the first five sing, then Sayid do his thing for an hour, then back to the second five Idolists. But for all you Lost fans out there, you'll understand it was worth it. If Sayid was a performer, he would have won the entire night. Well, maybe he would have tied with Adam Lambert, but definitely better than the rest.
For those that know my background, you'll understand why I was both greatly looking forward to Motown night and approaching the evening with trepidation. I've played in some fantastic R&B bands over the years and have a deep love for the incredible music that has come out of Hitsville, U.S.A. in the past fifty years. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson's impact on music will be felt for a very long time, and deservedly so. Which is also why I was a bit fearful, worried that many of the contestants wouldn't be able to step up to the material.
And in some cases (yes Megan, I'm looking at you, dear) my fears were justified. But overall, it was easily the best night musically for Idol this season. It is the first time I have handed out four A grades this year, and the vert first time I gave any contestant an A+ since David Cook and his stunning "Phantom Of The Opera" performance last season. I also have a bonus A to Paula Abdul for the best prop comedy bit with the crayons and coloring books for Simon. I am sure Carrot Top was sitting at home thinking, "How come I didn't think of that!"
Alas, that was the highlight of the judges moments. Nothing against Kara, but having four judges is making things even messier and less focused than in years past. Too much spent early on bickering and rambling, forcing later contestants to get a bare mention of criticism or praise. However is actually in charge of Idol this season (come back Nigel, we miss you) really needs to put his or her foot down and keep things moving along to as to give each contestant a fair shake. Too much chatter, not enough signing.
With that off my chest, now it's time to grade the evening.
Superb
Adam Lambert rates the first A+ of the season. No makeup, no fingernail polish, hair slicked back in an Elvis pompadour with a silver suit that looked like it was purloined from Graceland, Adam gave one of the most beautiful and restrained vocal performances I have ever heard of the Smokey Robinson classic "Tracks Of My Tears". He has an amazing upper register, clean and pure and just a delight to hear. Plus, after last week's Bizarro World "Ring Of Fire", it was even more amazing to see him dial it back and show that he truly is a very serious contender for the Idol crown.
Excellent
Matt Giraud kicked things off very well with a soulful take on "Let's Get It On" that Smokey felt Marvin Gaye would have enjoyed. I can't speak for Marvin like Smokey can, but I couldn't find myself disagreeing. The same goes for Kris Allen and his nicely funky take on "How Sweet It Is" that came across very originally and didn't make me think of either Marvin or James Taylor. Both of them have been living a bit in the shadow of Adam and Danny the past few weeks but have come out determined to make this contest a lot more interesting. Whether they can bring their game up to Adam's level remains to be seen, but there are both performing better each week.
Allison Iraheta, inexplicably in the bottom three last week, redeemed herself with great poise and style this week around with a blistering hot version of one of my all time favorite Temptations tunes, "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". Her ending of the song threatened to bring the roof down on the Idol theater. Now if only the judges would help us remember how old she is... yes, we get it folks, she's 16. Enough already. Her talent is far more interesting than her age.
Good
Danny Gokey gave an expected solid performance with the up-tempo "Get Ready", but hurt himself by not taking Smokey's advice of singing the backup lines himself. Why the intro piece was all about him doing so made it distracting to watch his performance, as we were all waiting for him to step out instead of leaving it to the backup signers. It was a bad decision on his part, and it didn't help that he really didn't put any personal spin on the song. It was well sung and he has very good stage presence, but he needed to step it up and didn't.
Just Okay
Simon was right: L'il Rounds should have had a moment tonight and she didn't. As soon as she finished signing "Heatwave" I thought, "Bad song choice." My thought was echoed by the judges, who while they acknowledged her fantastic voice all questioned when she was going to break out and show us L'il Rounds the Artist instead of L'il Rounds the Solid Voice.
I've been accused, by my mother of all people, of having an Anoop Bias. Well, I'm not going to change her mind this week, either, as I was once again left feeling just so-so about his performance. "Oooh Baby Baby" is a great song that calls for a soaring powerful voice and at times I left Anoop was far too restrained. I wonder if he has a powerful enough voice to go along with his undeniable charm. The judges still really like him, but I have yet to get onboard the Anoop train.
Scott MacIntyre is also undeniably a nice guy with some amazing skill at the piano. But even more so than Anoop, his voice is not in the same league as the contenders. And I agree with the judges that he is not making very good song choices. I also think he is spending too much time over arranging the material instead of focusing on just singing. If he wants to stay in much longer, he is going to have to bite the bullet, set the piano aside, and sing like he's never sung before. Otherwise, he is going to have to pack his bags pretty soon.
Umm...No Thank You
If Scott needs any help packing, he can look to Michael Sarver, who shouldn't be planning on an extended stay in the Idol mansion either. However, in his defense, he was obviously quite sick and still managed to bring some gruff intensity to "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", a song that honestly was too big for his rather limited vocal range. And he gets bonus points for admitting on camera that he knew his performance wasn't very good and not making any excuses, not even a well-timed coughing fit for the cameras as we saw last week from Megan Joy.
Ah yes, Megan Joy. In my notes from the show, I have one simple word jotted down: "Trainwreck". Grammar purists can argue amongst themselves whether or not that should have been two words, but they're my notes and as long as the purists argue quietly in the corner where I can't hear them, I'm okay with that. As for Megan Joy's performance, it was simply dreadful. Off key, off pitch, off timing, and I'm not even sure she had all the words of "For Once In My Life" correct. Sure, she's cute, and sure she has one of the more unique voices heard on Idol in several years, but this was just a disaster.
Predictions
Bottom three tomorrow night will be Scott, Michael and Megan Joy with Megan going home. It is conceivable that Michael might end up with the (cowboy) boot, but based soley on performance, Megan Joy should be the one to go.
For those that know my background, you'll understand why I was both greatly looking forward to Motown night and approaching the evening with trepidation. I've played in some fantastic R&B bands over the years and have a deep love for the incredible music that has come out of Hitsville, U.S.A. in the past fifty years. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson's impact on music will be felt for a very long time, and deservedly so. Which is also why I was a bit fearful, worried that many of the contestants wouldn't be able to step up to the material.
And in some cases (yes Megan, I'm looking at you, dear) my fears were justified. But overall, it was easily the best night musically for Idol this season. It is the first time I have handed out four A grades this year, and the vert first time I gave any contestant an A+ since David Cook and his stunning "Phantom Of The Opera" performance last season. I also have a bonus A to Paula Abdul for the best prop comedy bit with the crayons and coloring books for Simon. I am sure Carrot Top was sitting at home thinking, "How come I didn't think of that!"
Alas, that was the highlight of the judges moments. Nothing against Kara, but having four judges is making things even messier and less focused than in years past. Too much spent early on bickering and rambling, forcing later contestants to get a bare mention of criticism or praise. However is actually in charge of Idol this season (come back Nigel, we miss you) really needs to put his or her foot down and keep things moving along to as to give each contestant a fair shake. Too much chatter, not enough signing.
With that off my chest, now it's time to grade the evening.
Superb
Adam Lambert rates the first A+ of the season. No makeup, no fingernail polish, hair slicked back in an Elvis pompadour with a silver suit that looked like it was purloined from Graceland, Adam gave one of the most beautiful and restrained vocal performances I have ever heard of the Smokey Robinson classic "Tracks Of My Tears". He has an amazing upper register, clean and pure and just a delight to hear. Plus, after last week's Bizarro World "Ring Of Fire", it was even more amazing to see him dial it back and show that he truly is a very serious contender for the Idol crown.
Excellent
Matt Giraud kicked things off very well with a soulful take on "Let's Get It On" that Smokey felt Marvin Gaye would have enjoyed. I can't speak for Marvin like Smokey can, but I couldn't find myself disagreeing. The same goes for Kris Allen and his nicely funky take on "How Sweet It Is" that came across very originally and didn't make me think of either Marvin or James Taylor. Both of them have been living a bit in the shadow of Adam and Danny the past few weeks but have come out determined to make this contest a lot more interesting. Whether they can bring their game up to Adam's level remains to be seen, but there are both performing better each week.
Allison Iraheta, inexplicably in the bottom three last week, redeemed herself with great poise and style this week around with a blistering hot version of one of my all time favorite Temptations tunes, "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". Her ending of the song threatened to bring the roof down on the Idol theater. Now if only the judges would help us remember how old she is... yes, we get it folks, she's 16. Enough already. Her talent is far more interesting than her age.
Good
Danny Gokey gave an expected solid performance with the up-tempo "Get Ready", but hurt himself by not taking Smokey's advice of singing the backup lines himself. Why the intro piece was all about him doing so made it distracting to watch his performance, as we were all waiting for him to step out instead of leaving it to the backup signers. It was a bad decision on his part, and it didn't help that he really didn't put any personal spin on the song. It was well sung and he has very good stage presence, but he needed to step it up and didn't.
Just Okay
Simon was right: L'il Rounds should have had a moment tonight and she didn't. As soon as she finished signing "Heatwave" I thought, "Bad song choice." My thought was echoed by the judges, who while they acknowledged her fantastic voice all questioned when she was going to break out and show us L'il Rounds the Artist instead of L'il Rounds the Solid Voice.
I've been accused, by my mother of all people, of having an Anoop Bias. Well, I'm not going to change her mind this week, either, as I was once again left feeling just so-so about his performance. "Oooh Baby Baby" is a great song that calls for a soaring powerful voice and at times I left Anoop was far too restrained. I wonder if he has a powerful enough voice to go along with his undeniable charm. The judges still really like him, but I have yet to get onboard the Anoop train.
Scott MacIntyre is also undeniably a nice guy with some amazing skill at the piano. But even more so than Anoop, his voice is not in the same league as the contenders. And I agree with the judges that he is not making very good song choices. I also think he is spending too much time over arranging the material instead of focusing on just singing. If he wants to stay in much longer, he is going to have to bite the bullet, set the piano aside, and sing like he's never sung before. Otherwise, he is going to have to pack his bags pretty soon.
Umm...No Thank You
If Scott needs any help packing, he can look to Michael Sarver, who shouldn't be planning on an extended stay in the Idol mansion either. However, in his defense, he was obviously quite sick and still managed to bring some gruff intensity to "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", a song that honestly was too big for his rather limited vocal range. And he gets bonus points for admitting on camera that he knew his performance wasn't very good and not making any excuses, not even a well-timed coughing fit for the cameras as we saw last week from Megan Joy.
Ah yes, Megan Joy. In my notes from the show, I have one simple word jotted down: "Trainwreck". Grammar purists can argue amongst themselves whether or not that should have been two words, but they're my notes and as long as the purists argue quietly in the corner where I can't hear them, I'm okay with that. As for Megan Joy's performance, it was simply dreadful. Off key, off pitch, off timing, and I'm not even sure she had all the words of "For Once In My Life" correct. Sure, she's cute, and sure she has one of the more unique voices heard on Idol in several years, but this was just a disaster.
Predictions
Bottom three tomorrow night will be Scott, Michael and Megan Joy with Megan going home. It is conceivable that Michael might end up with the (cowboy) boot, but based soley on performance, Megan Joy should be the one to go.