It's like we're back on Season 1 Idol
Remember season 1 of American Idol, when you got really excited waiting for Kelly Clarkson to perform, and you also liked Tamyra Gray and thought Justin Guarini was okay--and pretty much everbody else kind of sucked? Or season two, when you looked forward to Ruben and Clay, and to a lesser extent Kimberly, and everyone else was doing karaoke? Well, after a number of seasons of American Idol that may not have had anyone as popular as Kelly but did often have a number of entertaining singers and performers, we've now regressed to those early days of Idol--where most of the top 12 can't sing and the only reason to watch the show is to wait around for Crystal Bowersox to take the stage -- and to a lesser extent Sioban Magnus (Tamyra?). If you want to say Mike Lynche is the Justin, fine, but that's it. Otherwise, this is a depressing batch of Idol contenders.
Some of that is America's fault--I guarantee whatever Katelyn and Lilly would have sang would have been better than much of the group last night. Some of that is what the judges gave us to start with. But it really is remarkable, that after the metamorphosis of this show from a straight singing competition in its early years to one that also focused on musicianship and what you could do to reinvent well-known songs (starting with Daughtry and Blake Lewis and culminating in David Cook and Kris Allen winning), we're really, other than mostly Crystal Bowersox, back to those early Idol days of just singing, and often badly. As much as I often got annoyed at how too many contestants tried to fit every theme into their own little niche, this year is really a step backward for the show. At least in year one and two, I was stil fascinatd with the whole format of the show, we were still getting to know the judges, etc. Now, the next 10 weeks are just going to be a slog until we hopefully crown Crystal the winner.
Anyway, a few thoughts on last night:
No one has ever done a good job on "Against All Odds" on this show, so why would Paige Miles think she could? I have no idea. That was terrible.
Miley Cyrus as a mentor is kind of strange, but you can't tell me that "Party in the USA" isn't a great pop song.
The fact that Tim Urban is on this show is a joke. And Miley, no one told him he was boring. They told him he couldn't sing. And they were right. He sang a song with about three notes in it and still wasn't that good.
Katie Stevens should be renamed Pitchy Stevens.
Gotta love Kara saying they've talked to much about Andrew Garcia's version of "Straight Up." You think? But it's becoming more and more evident he just can't sing that well.
Aaron Kelly seems like a nice kid, and has an OK voice, but could he be more middle of the road with his song choices? "Don't Want to Miss a Thing"? A song by Lonestar a couple weeks ago?
Only on this season's Idol is the boring competence of Casey James (on key singing, occasional good playing of the guitar) deemed album-worthy by Kara. Kara (who actually isn't bothering me as much this year), were you listening or just, um, looking? First of all, Casey James seems to swallow the last word of every line in the song. Second, he sounded just like Huey Lewis last night--he didn't change the song at all. In fact, if I close my eyes, I would have thought that was Huey Lewis. Which is fine for karaoke, but not for Idol.
Crystal was great. But I have no idea why Kara and Ellen want her to "go crazy." I thought you're supposed to know who you are, etc. And she does.
Didi wasn't perfect. But she sure didn't seem as bad as the judges seemed to think--and she's hot and Jewish, so I liked her.
I don't like when singers on Idol scream in the middle of a song. But the first time Siobhan did it, it was a really good scream. And the second time, it fit really well in the song. But now, it's getting repetitive and boring. It's like waiting around for the twist ending in a M. Night Shyamalan movie. Didn't fit in her fairly unexciting performance of "Superstition." She's the only thing that may be saving us from a one-person race, but she's going to have to diversify if she wants to do that.
Bottom three: It's always better to be sort of bad than really bad, since people then feel sorry for you. But there were so many bad singers, I can't believe they'll all survive. Bottom three will be Paige, Katie and Andrew and I think Andrew is going home--but if it is Paige, Katie, Tim, or Aaron, it won't matter.
Some of that is America's fault--I guarantee whatever Katelyn and Lilly would have sang would have been better than much of the group last night. Some of that is what the judges gave us to start with. But it really is remarkable, that after the metamorphosis of this show from a straight singing competition in its early years to one that also focused on musicianship and what you could do to reinvent well-known songs (starting with Daughtry and Blake Lewis and culminating in David Cook and Kris Allen winning), we're really, other than mostly Crystal Bowersox, back to those early Idol days of just singing, and often badly. As much as I often got annoyed at how too many contestants tried to fit every theme into their own little niche, this year is really a step backward for the show. At least in year one and two, I was stil fascinatd with the whole format of the show, we were still getting to know the judges, etc. Now, the next 10 weeks are just going to be a slog until we hopefully crown Crystal the winner.
Anyway, a few thoughts on last night:
No one has ever done a good job on "Against All Odds" on this show, so why would Paige Miles think she could? I have no idea. That was terrible.
Miley Cyrus as a mentor is kind of strange, but you can't tell me that "Party in the USA" isn't a great pop song.
The fact that Tim Urban is on this show is a joke. And Miley, no one told him he was boring. They told him he couldn't sing. And they were right. He sang a song with about three notes in it and still wasn't that good.
Katie Stevens should be renamed Pitchy Stevens.
Gotta love Kara saying they've talked to much about Andrew Garcia's version of "Straight Up." You think? But it's becoming more and more evident he just can't sing that well.
Aaron Kelly seems like a nice kid, and has an OK voice, but could he be more middle of the road with his song choices? "Don't Want to Miss a Thing"? A song by Lonestar a couple weeks ago?
Only on this season's Idol is the boring competence of Casey James (on key singing, occasional good playing of the guitar) deemed album-worthy by Kara. Kara (who actually isn't bothering me as much this year), were you listening or just, um, looking? First of all, Casey James seems to swallow the last word of every line in the song. Second, he sounded just like Huey Lewis last night--he didn't change the song at all. In fact, if I close my eyes, I would have thought that was Huey Lewis. Which is fine for karaoke, but not for Idol.
Crystal was great. But I have no idea why Kara and Ellen want her to "go crazy." I thought you're supposed to know who you are, etc. And she does.
Didi wasn't perfect. But she sure didn't seem as bad as the judges seemed to think--and she's hot and Jewish, so I liked her.
I don't like when singers on Idol scream in the middle of a song. But the first time Siobhan did it, it was a really good scream. And the second time, it fit really well in the song. But now, it's getting repetitive and boring. It's like waiting around for the twist ending in a M. Night Shyamalan movie. Didn't fit in her fairly unexciting performance of "Superstition." She's the only thing that may be saving us from a one-person race, but she's going to have to diversify if she wants to do that.
Bottom three: It's always better to be sort of bad than really bad, since people then feel sorry for you. But there were so many bad singers, I can't believe they'll all survive. Bottom three will be Paige, Katie and Andrew and I think Andrew is going home--but if it is Paige, Katie, Tim, or Aaron, it won't matter.
posted by Eric Fingerhut at 1:52 PM
2 Comments:
"Miley Cyrus as a mentor is kind of strange, but you can't tell me that 'Party in the USA' isn't a great pop song." - Fingerhut
I might tell you that. But I would also tell you that Miley Cyrus in HD makes me salivate.
Also, Siobhan is kind of dull when she's not screaming. I mean, she's a drugged-out hoot when she's talking, but when she just sings, it's pretty bland.
Good post! Keep 'em coming. And I agree on Party being a great pop song and the increasing attractiveness of Miley Cyrus, too.
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