It's going to be a long, painful season of Idol
First, a couple words on last week's eliminations. Yes, Janell and Ashley are very attractive women, but I can't really take much issue with either their eliminations or either of the guys who went--none of them sang particularly well last week. Still puzzled why Janell said afterwards that she planned to bring her guitar and sing next week--why not go with your strength the first week? As for Tyler Grady criticizing the judges, I actually sympathize with him. We saw them tell him, "Oh, Tyler, we love your 70s Jim Morrison vibe, keep doing that" and then he did that and they complain that he needs to break out of that box. Still, he wasn't that good.
Anyway, my quick reaction from tonight was that I was disappointed we didn't get to see the girls--since they're better--and while the guys were better tonight, it's still going to be a long year.
Michael Lynche ("This Is A Man's World") -- Wow, didn't see that coming. When he said he was doing James Brown, I thought, "Oh, this isn't going to end up well" but I was wrong. I mistakenly compared this guy to Michael Sarver and Matt Rogers last week, as the big, friendly guy who was a decent singer and everyone liked but had no chance of winning. Not saying Michael is necessarily a contender yet, but he showed much more soul -- and much more in the way of vocal chops -- than i think most of the viewers suspected he had. Oh, and Ellen, you may have liked his song choice last week, but no one else did.
John Park ("Gravity")-- Well, the vocals were better than last week, but I began to doze off about 25 seconds in. Just didn't do much for me. And Ellen with her "I think you have it in you" crap--she's now Paula but without a music background. Not a good combination. I didn't like Kara's joining the panel last year, but at least she had something to say with her "artistry" stuff. It was annoying and often off-base or unfair, but at least it was something. All Ellen is giving us is dumb platitudes when she feels bad for the singers.
Casey James ("I Don't Want to Be") -- No TV since he was seven years old! I don't even want to imagine that... (I'm reminded of course of the Simpson episode in which Homer punishes Bart by not allowing him to go to the Itchy and Scratchy movie but says, "You can watch TV." Bart responds, "TV sucks" and Homer, upset, says, "I know you're upset, so I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Anyway, a lot of people may have done this song on Idol, but I don't remember any of them being particularly memorable (I remember Elliot was OK, but he had much better performances.) And Casey, I thought, was fine, but also unmemorable. I like the fact, though, that Casey has a somewhat limited voice, but seems to pick songs that fit that voice pretty well (I'm not as concerned about the "grit" as Kara and Simon). He's looking pretty good for the final 12.
Alex Lambert ("Everybody Knows")-- Love the sound/tone of his voice, and he looked more comfortable than last week with the guitar (although still not particularly confident). Not sure it deserved the cartwheels it got from the judges--there was nothing particularly unique about it, was there? I thought that was the key this year. Or was that only last week with the girls?
Todrick Hall ("What's Love Got to Do With It?") -- A great song, but Todrick didn't sing it great. It wasn't terrible, but I do agree with Randy, that Todrick changes everything too much--but it's understandable why he's confused, because Randy and Kara are constantly saying how important it is to show artistry and interpret a song or whatever. So don't worry, Todrick, if you're around next week, you'll come out, sing a song straight and they'll complain that you didn't change it up at all.
Jermaine Sellers ("What's Going On?") -- Also a great song, and I was thinking "the kind of performance you'd see in a hotel lounge" before Simon threw out the "cabaret performance" line we haven't heard in a while (and personally, I've missed it--although I think I like "performance I'd heard on a cruise ship" better.) I thought he did OK in the chorus, but otherwise was just too much for me. As for Jemaine's remarks at the end, was he saying that he's a God-fearing person and therefore he thinks God will get him through to the next round, or that he fears God more than Simon, or what? Anyone who could explain would be much appreciated.
Andrew Garcia (A James Morrison song I don't remember the name of) -- Wasn't anything to remember, but didn't think it was the disaster that the judges did. Last week, they told him he shouldn't have taken the song he did and reworked it, so this week he chose to not rework a song and sing it straight and got knocked for it. Oh, well. And, really, it's not totally fair for them to judge every performance with the "Straight Up" performance as the baseline that he has to equal or else he's failed. But I have a feeling that's what we're going to be seeing for a while.
Ryan Kelly ("My Girl") -- Did Ellen call the song "My Girl" forgettable? Whatever. Why is she on this show again? Anyway, this guy's got a good voice, but I'm not sure I need a country-tinged version of "My Girl." Most interesting thing: Simon telling him he needs to show the kind of artist he's going to be, and Kara disagreeing, even though she said that about three different women last week. Actually, I think he did show what kind of artist he's going to be: An lite-country artist. Not really my thing, but it's something.
Tim Urban ("I Can Take You Higher" or something like that) -- Tim was much better than last week. I still don't think it's good enough to warrant a place in the final 12, but this was OK, not an embarassment like last week. Actually, most of these guys don't deserve a place in the final 12, but I suppose six will get one.
Lee Dewyze ("Lips of an Anglel")-- This was fine vocally, but I wasn't impressed with the song choice--boring and lacking in a strong melody. He seems like a poor man's Chris Daughtry--nothing wrong with that, but if he's really far and away the best of the guys as Simon says, it's going to be a long season.
I'm going to say Jermaine Sellers and John Park are going home, but if it was Todrick or Tim Urban or a couple other guys, it wouldn't really matter.
Anyway, my quick reaction from tonight was that I was disappointed we didn't get to see the girls--since they're better--and while the guys were better tonight, it's still going to be a long year.
Michael Lynche ("This Is A Man's World") -- Wow, didn't see that coming. When he said he was doing James Brown, I thought, "Oh, this isn't going to end up well" but I was wrong. I mistakenly compared this guy to Michael Sarver and Matt Rogers last week, as the big, friendly guy who was a decent singer and everyone liked but had no chance of winning. Not saying Michael is necessarily a contender yet, but he showed much more soul -- and much more in the way of vocal chops -- than i think most of the viewers suspected he had. Oh, and Ellen, you may have liked his song choice last week, but no one else did.
John Park ("Gravity")-- Well, the vocals were better than last week, but I began to doze off about 25 seconds in. Just didn't do much for me. And Ellen with her "I think you have it in you" crap--she's now Paula but without a music background. Not a good combination. I didn't like Kara's joining the panel last year, but at least she had something to say with her "artistry" stuff. It was annoying and often off-base or unfair, but at least it was something. All Ellen is giving us is dumb platitudes when she feels bad for the singers.
Casey James ("I Don't Want to Be") -- No TV since he was seven years old! I don't even want to imagine that... (I'm reminded of course of the Simpson episode in which Homer punishes Bart by not allowing him to go to the Itchy and Scratchy movie but says, "You can watch TV." Bart responds, "TV sucks" and Homer, upset, says, "I know you're upset, so I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Anyway, a lot of people may have done this song on Idol, but I don't remember any of them being particularly memorable (I remember Elliot was OK, but he had much better performances.) And Casey, I thought, was fine, but also unmemorable. I like the fact, though, that Casey has a somewhat limited voice, but seems to pick songs that fit that voice pretty well (I'm not as concerned about the "grit" as Kara and Simon). He's looking pretty good for the final 12.
Alex Lambert ("Everybody Knows")-- Love the sound/tone of his voice, and he looked more comfortable than last week with the guitar (although still not particularly confident). Not sure it deserved the cartwheels it got from the judges--there was nothing particularly unique about it, was there? I thought that was the key this year. Or was that only last week with the girls?
Todrick Hall ("What's Love Got to Do With It?") -- A great song, but Todrick didn't sing it great. It wasn't terrible, but I do agree with Randy, that Todrick changes everything too much--but it's understandable why he's confused, because Randy and Kara are constantly saying how important it is to show artistry and interpret a song or whatever. So don't worry, Todrick, if you're around next week, you'll come out, sing a song straight and they'll complain that you didn't change it up at all.
Jermaine Sellers ("What's Going On?") -- Also a great song, and I was thinking "the kind of performance you'd see in a hotel lounge" before Simon threw out the "cabaret performance" line we haven't heard in a while (and personally, I've missed it--although I think I like "performance I'd heard on a cruise ship" better.) I thought he did OK in the chorus, but otherwise was just too much for me. As for Jemaine's remarks at the end, was he saying that he's a God-fearing person and therefore he thinks God will get him through to the next round, or that he fears God more than Simon, or what? Anyone who could explain would be much appreciated.
Andrew Garcia (A James Morrison song I don't remember the name of) -- Wasn't anything to remember, but didn't think it was the disaster that the judges did. Last week, they told him he shouldn't have taken the song he did and reworked it, so this week he chose to not rework a song and sing it straight and got knocked for it. Oh, well. And, really, it's not totally fair for them to judge every performance with the "Straight Up" performance as the baseline that he has to equal or else he's failed. But I have a feeling that's what we're going to be seeing for a while.
Ryan Kelly ("My Girl") -- Did Ellen call the song "My Girl" forgettable? Whatever. Why is she on this show again? Anyway, this guy's got a good voice, but I'm not sure I need a country-tinged version of "My Girl." Most interesting thing: Simon telling him he needs to show the kind of artist he's going to be, and Kara disagreeing, even though she said that about three different women last week. Actually, I think he did show what kind of artist he's going to be: An lite-country artist. Not really my thing, but it's something.
Tim Urban ("I Can Take You Higher" or something like that) -- Tim was much better than last week. I still don't think it's good enough to warrant a place in the final 12, but this was OK, not an embarassment like last week. Actually, most of these guys don't deserve a place in the final 12, but I suppose six will get one.
Lee Dewyze ("Lips of an Anglel")-- This was fine vocally, but I wasn't impressed with the song choice--boring and lacking in a strong melody. He seems like a poor man's Chris Daughtry--nothing wrong with that, but if he's really far and away the best of the guys as Simon says, it's going to be a long season.
I'm going to say Jermaine Sellers and John Park are going home, but if it was Todrick or Tim Urban or a couple other guys, it wouldn't really matter.
Labels: American Idol
posted by Eric Fingerhut at 7:06 PM
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