Due to complications from diabetes, Crystal Bowersox had to sit the bench tonight, so the producers decided to switch the guys’ and the girls’ performance night. Tonight the Top 1o Guys are performing, and tomorrow night the Top 10 Girls will perform. That’s live television for you, folks!
After the guys’ complete suck-fest last week, hopefully they’ll come out swinging tonight. Otherwise, it’s going to be a loooooooooooong night. Judge banter: Randy doesn’t think this switch will affect the guys, Ellen recalls being in bed with Ryan, Kara watched the rehearsals and think the guys have improved, and finally Simon thinks the girls are ahead “by a smidge.” I think it’s more like a mile. First up is…
Michael Lynch- “This is a Man’s World” by James Brown- Little known fact: Michael used to be in musical theatre at a performing arts school. Never would’ve guessed. Michael can curl fellow finalist Aaron Kelly and can bench 505 lbs, or “2 or 3 Ryan Seacrests.” Michael rips into the song with power, something I didn’t know he had; at least from a vocal standpoint. He trades in his guitar, which looks like a ukelele when he’s holding it, for soul and that’s cool. Vocally, he sounds miles better than last week. This kind of vibe works better for him, though I know he’d rather stick with light stuff like last week’s choice. ”This season is really getting rolling,” says Randy. The dawg says he’s “unbelievable” and gives him a standing ovation. ”I’ve liked every song you’ve chosen so far,” says Ellen. ”That’s the one to beat… fantastic,” says Ellen. Kara has a confession, “I’ve got to say, but I didn’t get it… until now. You went from being a singer to an artist.” ”What a difference, like a pussy cat to a lion,” says Simon. ”By far the best you’ve done so far.” Well, I think they liked it. B+
John Park- “Gravity” by John Mayer- John talks about his group back home, called Purple Haze. His friends want him to lose so he can come home; I doubt they’ll be waiting much longer. Just kidding. Not really. John feels he tried to hard last week with his vocals. John reveals that English is his second language, though he was born in Chicago. As a singer, John is fine; but he’s the personality equivalent to Siobhan on the girls’ side of the Top 20 (though she’s interesting enough to keep my attention.) Like Michael, John is about seven trillion times better than last week. He’s got no falsetto to speak of, but unlike his fellow falsetto-deprived competitor Tim Urban, he knows this and doesn’t try to use it. Still about as much charisma as a bucket of Elmer’s Glue, but miles better vocally. ”You didn’t bring anything new,” says Randy. ”Much better song choice… better than in rehearsal. Try to feel the song more,” says Ellen. ”Way better than last week. But my concern is with your honesty, connection. When you sing I don’t always believe it. Let loose,” says Kara. ”I think Purple Haze may get their lead singer back this week (Simon and I are on the same level). In 20 minutes, we’ll forget that,” says Simon. If history serves us right, Simon just saved John for at least one week. B-
Casey James- “I Don’t Wanna Be” by Gavin Degraw- Casey hasn’t watched American Idol before he was on the show, so in his ignorance he picked this song before noticing that it’s been beaten to death on the show. Casey’s family lost his TV to lightening when he was 7 and just never bothered to get a new one. He bought and restored his own house, which is pretty cool. Casey has a secret ritual he does before performing, but he’ll only reveal it if he makes the Top 10. Casey brings out his electric guitar tonight, which he’s pretty good at playing. Casey’s vocals are a bit shaky during the verses; this is the first time I can remember that being a problem. Cool little guitar shred at the end, I’ll give him that. To me, this performance was more to show he’s a performer, whereas last like was to show he can actually sing. ”I love you jamming it like Hendrix through the whole [useless mumble] thing. Not the best vocally… but that’s what you should do,” says Randy. ”I think it sounded great. On paper, everything about you is great. You have this stiffness about you… I want to see you perform more,” says Ellen. ”We all got the memo, The Cougar is a fan,” says Kara. ”I think you took two steps back with that one. The notes were off, you didn’t hit everything. Still a fan, but two steps back,” Kara continues. ”He must not have returned your calls, Kara,” says Simon. ”I’m kind of with Kara. Last week you stood out, this week you are like someone you can see in any bar across America.” B-
Alex Lambert- “Everybody Knows” by John Legend- Alex says he usually throw up before everything because he gets so nervous. When he was younger, he made up his own language to help him develop the melodies of songs. That’s…… weird. Alex says he was trying too hard to be likable and that made him not likable. Alex is totally in his element on a stool with his guitar. I think he should definitely go for this vibe, it’s much better than the awkward performance he gave last week. Wow, I’m shocked at the difference between this week and last week; it’s like two totally different performers. The vocals are also much better this week. This kind of thing totally works Alex. If this isn’t too little too late, he could stand to do well. ”Such an improvement over last week… love the confidence. It didn’t sound too sound alike. Way legit,” says Randy. ”It’s like someone took the unripe banana and put it in a paper bag. I don’t know how you did that so quickly,” says Ellen. ”There isn’t a person out there that isn’t rooting for you. You have an incredible, recordable voice,” says Kara. ”That was a million times better than last week. However, I don’t get the feeling from that that you want to win,” says Simon. B+
Todrick Hall- “What’s Love Got to do with It” by Tina Turner- Todrick watched the show back and didn’t think the judges were as harsh as he thought. He chose Tina Turner to avoid comparisons with the original artist. Todrick started dancing when he was 9. He also does a few quick push-ups before each performance to get the blood pumping. He thinks it’s a great platform for him to dance and sing. Well, it would be if you could sing, Todrick. Todrick has slowed the song down, and I’ve got to admit that I actually like the arrangement a lot. Having said that, the vocals are still not there for the majority of the song. ”We really think you’re run of the best we’ve found. But what I found hard is that a great song doesn’t need a new wild arrangement. I didn’t love this at all,” says Randy. ”I would not say just sing… sing and move. You should always go with your strengths. It’s a hard song to sing, and it’s not current… I don’t think it earned you any votes,” says Ellen. ”We like YOU… the first song you ever sang, you wrote, was a simple melody and it was great. Now you’re all over the place. Crazy all over the place,” says Kara. ”I would say move, but don’t sing. This is not working out. It was like a performance I had the misfortune to see at a theme park,” says Simon. Todrick puts the A in annoying. C-
Jermaine Sellers- “What’s Goin’ On” by Marvin Gaye- Jermaine is the most annoying contestant I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching. I took a bathroom break during his video package. The singing starts off miles better than last week, but of course he can’t keep it simple. Plus, he looks ridiculous; I think someone planted cauliflower on his head. The closer he gets to the chorus the more this falls apart. He just doesn’t have the voice for what he tries to do. Jermaine is one of those singers that makes it blatantly obvious that they look at a song on paper and just add runs and crap to it for hours and hours. ”Better than last week, but so close and so far. A couple of bright moments, but it just wasn’t great,” says Randy. ”I love your style, and I’d like to see you.. I don’t know it just didn’t work for more. Pushed too hard,” says Ellen. ”You can do all these things (NO HE CAN”T), but you always do too much. Look at the meaning.. we don’t need every trick,” says Kara. ”We’re frustrated and disappointed. You water songs down and make them lose their importance with all that you do to them,” says Simon. Jermaine invites Simon to come to church with him and watch him and Simon accepts. Jermaine then asks for the judges to pick next week’s song, and Simon he doesn’t think he’ll be here. For my sanity’s sake, I hope he’s right. F
Andrew Garcia- “You Give Me Something” by James Morrison- Andrew has been breakdancing since middle school, which is pretty surprising. Andrew says he respects what the judges have to say, but he feels that what he’s done throughout the competition is who he is. Tonight he goes up without a guitar for the first time since his audition. For the first time, I noticed a little strain in Andrew’s voice tonight. Nothing really special with this performance, honestly. When you take away Andrew’s guitar and his innovation with classic pop tunes, he’s really not super special. ”Honestly, that wasn’t the vibe for you. Pitchy all over the place,” says Randy. ”I disagree with Randy, a couple pitch problems, but I liked it. You set the bar so high with the Paula Abdul song.. never going to live up to that,” says Ellen. ”Since “Straight Up” it’s been kind of going down. You got to surprise us,” says Kara. ”It’s frustrating, you haven’t managed to choose the right song for two weeks and it’s beginning to become a problem.. you’ll never look back on that and say it was incredible.” B-
Aaron Kelly- “My Girl” by the Temptations- Aaron says he loves photography because he can do it his way. The camera doesn’t lie, and I’m seeing things about myself through the camera, he continues. He didn’t think he’d make it this far, so he’s still working on confidence. Simon told him did well backstage after last week, which he thought was awesome. I agree, pretty awesome. I will say that I don’t think I’ve seen such confidence growth between a week’s time in any season of Idol like I do on this one. Aaron was probably better vocally last week, but he’s much more confident. Having said that, this isn’t the song for Aaron. He needs to stick to Rascal Flatts type stuff because he rolls on that. ”I didn’t know if I was going to like that, but the first half was brilliant, the last half got a little strange. 200% better this week,” says Randy. ”A whole lot more confidence. I liked that you moved around, it was a little forgettable,” says Ellen. ”I liked it, I really liked it. I like you.. you’re consistent. Great vibrato, great control,” says Kara. ”I didn’t like the song, it was all over the place. I think you went backwards, you’ve got to work out what kind of artist you want to be. It’s all too old fashioned,” says Simon. C+
Tim Urban- “Come On Get Higher” by Matt Nathanson- Tim’s got 4 brothers and 5 sisters; I’m sure that’s crazy. He says he has bad nerve problems. He reflects on last week saying it was “huge confidence booster”, sarcasm I’m sure. He brings out his guitar this week and vocally it’s better than last week. Tim’s problem is that he’s absolutely nothing special. His voice is pleasant, but he’s about as exciting as cucumber soup. He’s lucky that other guy got disqualified because otherwise he’d have no shot. I will speak for Tim’s great judgement in removing all falsetto from this song because that is one thing he doesn’t at all have. ”I didn’t really get it, very karaoke. Nothing special, nothing jumped out. Pitch problems everywhere,” says Randy. ”You should act. If you were on Glee and you sang an acted, girls would love you. Your voice isn’t strong enough, but you’re just so adorable,” says Ellen. ”I liked the song choice, I see you in that lane. But you didn’t make it your own. You look the part, you play the part, but it’s not all there yet,” says Kara. ”I’m going to disagree with these three. I think you really listened to the criticism. I thought you were more relevant tonight than a lot of other singers. I’m impressed by your attitude, I thought you did great,” says Simon. I will say that I like Tim, he seems like a nice guy. He’s probably inexperienced of the Top 20 and he’s just likable. Echoing what Simon said, he is definitely the most relevant of the guys. C+
Lee Dewyze- “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder- I. HATE. THIS. SONG. Lee made bad choices in high school and was put in alternative school. He says he’s always been a nice guy, he just made decisions. Everyone that reads this, make note of what I’m about to say: My critiques of Lee are going to negatively biased each week because he sums up the genre of music that I hate most. So don’t expect me to ever really be impressed with him. This type of singing damages my ears and makes my throat hurt. ”It was a bold move, and I could feel you were uncomfortable, but I like that you’re taking chances,” says Randy. ”A couple pitch problems, but It doesn’t matter. It came out as a great performance,” says Ellen. ”I thought it was a big improvement. The pitch problems are still there, just less. You’re very commercial,” says Kara. ”Vocally, you are head and shoulders above everyone else on your side of the competition. But you look terrified. You’ve got to take the center. I’m waiting for you to connect,” says Simon. Simon says he may be the one to beat, which is horrible news for me. F………………………….. (Not really, more like B)
What do you think of tonight’s show? Who was your favorite? Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to theconservativejournal@gmail.com. Don’t forget to bookmark The Conservative Journal and sign up for the RSS Feed and the daily e-mail newsletter.
Also, Deluxe Membership is now available, click here to join for free. View the results of the “Best of 2009″ by clicking here. To enter to win a $250 Visa Gift Card from The Conservative Journal, click here.
Thanks for reading!
Rick
Related Posts - American Idol Top 7 Recap
- American Idol Top 16- Top 8 Girls Perform- Watch: Siobhan Magnus, Didi Benami, Crystal Bowersox, Lilly Scott
- American Idol Top 6 Power Rankings: Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze, and Siobhan Magnus Lead the Pack
- Congratualtions to Kris Allen for His American Idol Win!
- American Idol Top 3 Prediction and Analysis
Related Websites - Enough Bruno Mars! (and Personal Finance Links)
- Week Eight, Someone Stole My Whole Case of BistroMD!!
- Firestone Finishes with Adam Scott at the Top of the Leader Board
- And People Wonder Why I Call 'Most' Americans Sheeple
- Americans Win The Ryder Cup
It was a dreary day here yesterday, so I just took to messing around on the internet and found