Brian Dunkleman was a co-host with Ryan on the first season. He was deemed to be useless and was not hired back for subsequent seasons.
I don’t know why Seacrest would kick a man when he’s down though. Not all of us have the capacity to work 124 hours a week like Ryan.
On recap…I give the win this week to Lee.
I’ve never heard of this Dunkleman.
Adam looked yummy.
It was hard to tell if it was good natured ribbing or kicking a man when he’s down. That said, Dunkleman’s self parody on My Name Is Earl was classic.
I thought Lambert did a good job with the mentoring. Andrew should be one of the two going home. The rest of them were “slightly above average” to “great.” “Vote for the Worst” is probably keeping TUrban in the competition, but he did a good job tonight.
My guess is that Aaron is going home along with Andrew. Although the 12 yr old and Granny votes are keeping Aaron in the competition.
What does it say about me is that all I could think about during the Big Mike performance is Eric Cartman singing In the Ghetto.
I thought Lambert did the best mentoring job this season. He actually gave them real suggestions in how to improve instead of just saying, “sing from the heart…” like everyone else always does.
I liked Lee best.
I didn’t care for Michael’s version of “In the Ghetto.” Not sure why the judges loved it.
I actually like Katie and Aaron. Not to win, but I like their voices. I think I always tend to like the young’ns with good voices.
Crystal and Casey were solid as usual.
Tim surprised me with his competence, although I found it boring.
I didn’t hate Andrew’s voice tonight, but overall it was a terrible song choice and sort of cheesy performance.
Siobhan…Siobhan. I really want her to do well, but tonight wasn’t great. I hope she stays though.
It’s time for Andrew and Aaron to go.
Hunh, I really liked Crystal’s “Saved.” It was fun.
I can’t quite put my finger on what was wrong with Andrew’s performance - just, not very good.
Tim’s performance was actually quite lovely. What the hell is Kara talking about - does she think “singer/songwriter” is just a generic compliment, like, “That was very cool?” Tim was not singer/songwriter. Come to think of it, I think I’m going to start using that in my daily conversation - “Hey, this food is singer/songwriter!”
I was reading back & have to make a point to say I can think of lots of other past contestants (well maybe mostly David Cook) with more personality and intelligence than Adam Lambert. Well, that I would like to see anyway.
I thought Casey sounded bad for him. The original song is bluesy, but he changed it to a monotone grunt. Lee also sounded constipated but with more rhythm.
Wow, it’s almost upside-down week! The good were bad, the bad were mediocre. With two people being booted off, this was a week where almost anyone could be nuked. In a way, I kind of hope it’s Crystal and Casey, because A) It would serve this stupid show right, and B) I wouldn’t feel any hesitation at all about canceling my series recording on the DVR and washing my hands of the whole mess.
Ah well, time to recap.
Crystal: That was just aaight fer me, dawg. You know what I’m sayin? I dunno, but for me? Dude.
The problem with her performance was that her vocal was one-dimensional. She didn’t modulate the volume or tone - it was basically a high-pitched, semi-monotonous wailing that went on and on. That was the first performance of hers I don’t want to watch again. Of course, grading on the AI curve it was still pretty good, but no where near the level of her best performances.
Neck Tat: I’m sorry, but this guy comes across as the biggest pussy to ever step foot on a major television stage. His vocal style is, “Please like me. PLEASE!”. And you can tell that he’s scared to death and/or pissed off while singing it. He always looks like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world than be on that stage performing his putative art in front of the biggest audience he’ll ever have. A true artist would embrace that moment. A guy with marginal talent trying to win a talent show, knowing all the while that he’s way out of his depth… not so much.
Big Mike: This is the first time I’ve somewhat liked anything he’s done. I wouldn’t run out and buy an album of that, but it wasn’t bad. However, he needs a melismarectomy. I swear one of those words had a whole 'nuther song in it.
Lee: That was pretty good, but he just doesn’t blow me away. He still sounds like a poor man’s David Cook to me. Still, that’s good enough to make him the third-best performer on the show in general, and probably second-best of the night.
Tim: That wasn’t bad. The fingerpicking was basic but okay. I think this is the best performance he’s ever done. You know what would be cool? If this guy suddenly found another gear and became the front-runner. It would be cool because he would have gotten there thanks for Vote-For-The-Worst, which would have meant they actually voted for the best. This would represent a violation of the principles they hold dear. Sadly, I don’t think Tim has that gear.
Andrew: His voice just doesn’t have enough maturity in it. It’s totally uninteresting to listen to. Even when his pitch is perfect, his vocal just plods along. He might be better in 10 years. Especially if they’re hard years. So get cracking with the Export ‘A’ and whiskey, Andy. I think you’ll have some free time for it fairly shortly.
Katie: She cannot pull off serious attitude. It’s like when a puppy growls at you, and you think, “Aw, it’s mad. That’s so cute.” The little head snap from the 'hood is such an obvious affectation that it just looks kind of desperate. But she does have a pretty good voice, and this was one of her better performances.
Siobhan: I said last week that I was really losing the plot with her, and this week was worse. I thought this was actually one of the worst performances of the night. Yeah, you’re unique. You know who else is unique? Rain Man. Definitely. In other words, originality without purpose isn’t really all that interesting. And her voice loses its tone and power when she takes it down and tries to sing softer. I think that’s what the judges were picking up on when they said she was singing two different songs. The louder she gets, the better she gets. But then, you can only take the loud for so long. Then what have you got?
Casey: A solid performance. Although I must say I really would have liked to hear the straight acoustic version you were playing for Adam. That smoked. Once again, Ricky Minor converts a great performance into a professional one. And Casey’s vocals were much better than the judges gave him credit for. They were better than Crystal’s tonight. And hey, the world can always use another Bob Seger.
Actually, now that I think about it, every great contestant on this show has had one thing in common - their performances were held back by the band. David Cook, Kris Allen, Casey, Crystal - they all sound better doing their own thing than they ever did with the band.
Anyway, tonight I’d rank them:
Casey
Lee
Crystal
Big Mike
Katie
TUrban
Siobhan
Kid Andrew
Andrew Garcia
Just a nitpick, by Andrew, you mean Aaron.
Ok, so I’m watching it really late as usual…
but my order of preference would be:
Lee - best of the night by far
Casey - I noticed the goaty quality more than ever but I did like it alot
Crystal - well done but the sameness of her choices is wearing on me
Big Mike - pretty vocals as usual and pretty dull as usual
Tim - didn’t expect that at all; maybe there is more to him than I thought. Nah.
Siobhan - not great, not terrible. And someone mentioned it upthread - serious crazy p.o.'d face was going for a minute for sure.
Aaron - jeez. This kid seems so sweet and has a great voice but he is SO young. And it shows.
Katie - no thank you. Not a good choice for her.
Andrew - pack those bags. Diogenes touched on this earlier, but I don’t recall a contestant who has ever been such a disappointment. Go home please.
Lee – best of the season. I’d buy that song.
Casey – didn’t even notice him until last week. Great voice.
Big Mike – my least favorite Elvis song (and yeah, I thought of Cartman, too) but his voice is so pretty and his performance so sincere that I forgot how much I hate it.
Crystal – nothing new or exciting, but a decent performance.
Katie – better than Simon gave her credit for, but not good enough to put her in the top three.
Siobhan – I actually liked her singing better than her reaction to the panel. I got the feeling that if there was a bedroom door on the set, it would’ve been slammed.
Aaron – a little goofy, but really not bad at all, especially for a little kid.
Please go home:
Tim – Why did everybody like this? The song sounded choppy, tentative and robotic to me. A pause between I/Can’t/Help for emphasis, fine, but it almost sounded to me like he he sang
Wise (breath) /Men (breath) /Say (breath) /
Only (breath) /Fools (breath) /Rush (breath) /In (breath) /
But (breath) /I (breath) /Can’t (breath)/ Help (breath)/
Falling (breath)/ In (breath)/ Love (breath)/ With (breath)/ You/
Andrew: Just terrible, but then I didn’t even like the Pauler song.
The Fast-Forwards:
Andrew: Good God, man. Cheesy, lounge-singer karaoke crap, which he has neither the voice nor the personality to pull off. As such, get off my TV, and hope you make enough money on the tour to get that tattoo lasered off so you can get a real job, because this isn’t gonna be it.
Aaron: As hard as a pillow, as gritty as talcum powder. Totally the wrong song, as he said it was in the pre-cap. So why sing it?
Lee: Did he screw up the words at the beginning (“A little less spark, a little more spark”) or is it just me? Plus, EVERY song he does sounds exactly the effing same, and it all sounds like what happens when Adam Sandler gets his growly-voice. “Sloppy joes, slop-sloppy joes.” He is boring the shit out of me. I loved it when Lambert told him he had a dead-face.
The Mediocres:
Katie: Pulled off the growly a little better than Aaron, but still not good. Too much teenage-girl head flipping as a substitute for attitude. Seems to be hitting the buffet too much–she looked good in her clothes, but she’s developing quite the double chin. Voice sounds good for the most part, though, which is better than those in the bottom 3.
Tim: This was almost good.
Siobhan: This was almost bad. Plus, WTF are they doing to her hair? She looked SO CUTE during the rehearsal video with her hair straight and normal, and then she comes out looking like Bride of Frankenstein. Who thinks this looks good?
Can Stay:
Big Mike: I like him more than most people here. I think that was the perfect song choice for him, and I loved the understated way he did it, rather than the goofy dated Elvis version. I actually voted for him, and I haven’t voted at all since David Cook’s season.
Crystal: I agree that this was not her best performance, but it wasn’t the DTC “Safe and Easy” pick–she actually picked a song she could wail on. It was one-dimensional, but her one dimensional is better than anyone else’s, pretty much.
Casey: Tends toward the goaty, but has a good voice and is a damned good guitar player. He loses points for grinning through a song about a woman who runs around on him.
Oh, you hurt my heart, Dio! David Cook would be a GREAT mentor! And I say that not just as someone who really gets him, but he knew how to play the game without sacrificing his soul and he’s got great stage presence.
That said and as a non-Glambert fan, I thought Adam did a good job with the mentoring. He was honest but kind and gave some good suggestions. I’m glad that Lee took his advice.
What a wacky night.
Crystal - solid, but all her performances are starting to sound the same. It’s funny because I have the same complaint about Bonnie Raitt, too. Love her in short doses but after a while I start to wonder what’s on tv…
Andrew - Oh my. Just an embarassment. I’ve finally come to the conclusion that the Emporer has no clothes. Too bad because I was so rooting for him because the kid came from nothing and he’s so earnest. But he’s just outclassed up there.
Lee - solid, but he still looks like he’s got hemorrhoids on stage. His humility is endearing, though.
Tim - I’ve finally put my finger on who he reminds me of:
It was nice, but not as soulful as Mike’s “In the Ghetto.”
Casey - Bluesy and great energy. Every now and then he has a Bob Seger sound to his voice. Methinks Simon was extra critical of him to make sure people picked up the phone for him. His scared look after Simon panned him was honest and touching.
Big Mike - Changed it just enough to make it his own, though I would have preferred less vocal gymnastics.
Siobhan - Oh my. I hated this. She was such an ingenue, and now she’s just weird and boring. She has great pipes, but she only seems to know how to sing softly (and beautifully), or shriek. No in between. Argh.
Kid Aaron - Great voice. Bad, bad song choice. And he has no “X” factor. It’s a bad night when Tim Urban beats you handily. Time for him to go home.
Katie - Little girl putting on high heels for the first time and strutting around. Didn’t buy the 'tude and hated the song. If she wasn’t competing against the suckage that was Andrew, I’d want her to go home.
Rankings:
Casey
Lee
Big Mike
Crystal
Tim Urban
Katie
Siobhan
Aaron
Andrew
Andrew was so awful that I put in a DVD and watched that instead.