American Idol 4/21 to 4/22

Cafe Society
61

In a word: disappointing.

Idol moment of the week: n/a

Nice job: Adam, Kris

Blandly competent: Danny, Matt, Anoop

Badly misguided: Allison

Just Bad: Lil

I think Allison is in real trouble this week. She needed to pull out an awesome Kelly Clarkson-esque moment with a fun, uptempo song, and she took it in a dark, slow direction that didn’t quite work. This is her age and inexperience coming through, which is a shame because she deserves to go farther in the competition than she will. Danny will take her rightful spot in the final three.

62

I agree to a point. Sure the vocals were lovely and flawless, but we’re starting to expect that. He needs to keep surprising us in new ways. I am reminded of David Cook around this same time last year. With Broadway night approaching, everyone wondered what sort of wacked-out arrangement he’d bring to Andrew Lloyd Webber. Instead he sang it absolutely straight and blew everyone away. Adam needs to do something like that before his “innovation” thing gets boring.

Plus his look bothered me. He can’t just wear a suit, he has to wear a pointy, shiny suit. He looked like an action figure.

Still love him, though.

63

It’s hard to keep pulling a rabbit out of a hat every week, and the amount of work he puts into planning every performance might be starting to take its toll.

I think he has a standard of consistency, though. He never sucks and he never walks through it.

64

My take -
Lil - taking on Chaka Khan! Nice aerobics video; she hit most of the notes. Boring. Bad choice of song. She is still missing whatever it takes to be a superstar.
6/10

Kris - Nice and funky - very Doobie Brothers. He can be boring, but when he gets it right, he gets it very right.
9/10.

Danny - Michael Bolton sings Earth, Wind & Fire! Not bad, not inspired. Sounded like everything else he has sung. His performance looked like someone’s dad trying to dance on stage, though.
8/10.

Allison - Rocked it up real good, just like everything else she has sung. She’s getting pretty one note for such a strong singer.
7/10.

Adam - Plaintive is not a bad choice for this song; he has to watch the high, shrieky notes and nasal tone, though.
8/10.

Matt - Again, nice and funky (and I loooove funky). Looking pretty good on stage there. That last note was very Aldo Nova.
7/10.

Anoop - Missed the first notes and the last notes; some pretty good singing in the middle. Strange song choice. This was nowhere near good enough, though. I think he’s peaked.
6/10.

In order from best to worst for me:
Kris
Adam
Danny
Matt
Allison
Lil
Anoop

65

Kris and Adam are the only true ‘stars’ coming out of this show. They’re the only two who can stop conversation when they’re performing on TV and make you pay attention to them. They’re the two whose records people will go out of their way to buy. Every time they do a song on a talk show, they’ll win more fans. That’s star power, and those two have it.

I’m not sure which one of them had the best performance tonight, because they were both stellar. Adam for his emotional impact - being able to deliver that level of feeling is actually a very rare thing to find in a singer. Even in some technically great singers. And Kris for just sheer musicianship. This guitar playing was fluid and confident and tasteful, he sang with near perfection, and he stayed in the ‘pocket’ of the groove through the entire song. And if that was his arrangement, it’s just icing on an already very impressive cake.

After that, we have the also-rans, who you judge basically on varying degrees of technical competency and energy, but who really have nothing to offer you can’t find in a million good singers. Even Allison, who’s been one of my favorites to date, is starting to show her limitations.

Of that group, I’d have to say Allison did the best job, followed by Anoop, Lil, Gokey, and Matt.

I still don’t know what it is about Danny Gokey - he’s got one of those pleasant ‘soulful voices’, and he stays in pitch and all that, but frankly if you gave me the option of listening to his CD, or being strapped down for the same length of time while being repeatedly hit with a mallet, I’m probably going mallet. And I don’t know why.

Matt Giraud just bugs me. He’s trying WAY to hard to be Justin Timberlake, but he’s nowhere in that league. He doesn’t have the moves, the charisma, or the voice. On the bright side, he does have the hat.

I’m guessing that tomorrow night Lil and Matt go home. If not Matt, then Allison or Anoop. I think Danny’s got too much of the Churchy midwestern vote locked up to be really in danger.

But really, at this point, I’m just looking forward to Kris and Adam show. The rest are filler.

66

Here’s the bottom line for me: I do not watch every moment. I will be making dinner, doing other things. So…who grabs me? Who makes me stop and pay attention?

I have enjoyed Allison consistently. The kid is amazing, and when she’s got some time and experience, she’s going to be jaw-dropping.

Kris has been off and on, but I’ve always like him. He really grabbed me this week, and I think he’s got what it takes to have a real career.

Everyone else is strictly “Idol” - level (hang on, I’m getting to him!) - which means really good-to-excellent karaoke.

And then there’s Adam.

I have watched Idol every year since the beginning. I have really enjoyed many singers, both because they rocked and they sucked.

But I have never before this year found one that was absolutely crucial for me to watch each week, AND, having watched once, I have yet to not watch 2-6 more times after that. I am fascinated and thoroughly entertained and thrilled at every note. Yeah, he’s got a terrific voice and he’s seasoned. But so do a thousand other singers/entertainers. Adam Lambert has IT, that indefinable you-know-it-when-you-see-it something that simply can’t be manufactured, learned or trained. He’s a Star.

He’s something very straightforward, but when you think about it, very rare: he’s interesting. Not just his theatrics, costume, etc. But the simple detail of the actual singing…I’m interested in how he’s going to play with the notes and the melody. I don’t find myself feeling like that about many other singers. Can’t think of any at all right now.

In eight years of watching, I’ve never considered once making it a point to purchase the albums or follow the careers of winners (oh, okay, I really enjoyed Clay - I just loved that he was such a nerd and had that amazing voice and was so damn closeted…), but I find myself thinking: I want to make sure to watch and listen to everything that man does, because I know I will always be thoroughly entertained.

His win is an absolute certainty, and I very much look forward to enjoying his career.

(And Allson or Kris will be second. I predict Allison.)

67

And Lil Rounds REALLY needs to get the news: if you have to argue that you really were original, you weren’t. It speaks for itself, hello.

sheesh…

68

I feel the same way. I didn’t get home until late last night, but I just had to watch the DVR of Adam’s performance before I went to bed. No other contestant has that kind of pull for me.

I do worry about his marketability though. He’s a wonderful interpreter of songs, but I have trouble imagining what an album of original material would sound like.

69

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record but… what are y’all hearing when Allison sings, that I’m not? I’m rarely able to hear any actual words coming from her mouth. And I have to turn the volume down so my cat’s don’t go into heat.

I liked Adam and Kris.
I hope the bottom two are Lil and Allison.

70

I’m almost with you. I’m definitely not in the camp that says he’s the Second Coming of Mick Jagger (gawd, Paula…get a grip) but he does stand out from the rest. I feel, though, that most of “how he’s going to play with the notes and melody” consists of just taking it up into a register that only dogs can hear.

Just out of sheer evil, I’d love to see him in the bottom 3 just to see the judges’ set their hair on fire, having blown the save on Matt.

71

(bolding mine)

I think Adam is awesome, and I too look forward to see him come on just to see what he’s going to do. But he definitely follows a pattern. He alternates slow performances with crazy ones, so even though last night was disco night I called him doing a slow song before he even got on stage.

week 2: Ring Of Fire (crazy)
week 3: Tracks of My Tears (slow)
week 4: Play That Funky Music (crazy)
week 5: Mad World (slow)
week 6: Born To Be Wild (crazy)
week 7: If I Can’t Have You (slow)

So next week he’s going to do something uptempo, throw in several signature screeches, and possibly Simon will call him “indulgent.”

I still think he’s among the best of the bunch, though.

72

Has anyone else looked at DialIdol today? Last night’s voting seems to have confused them more than usual. They are showing Lil as the top vote-getter, but everyone is in danger of being in the bottom three and voted off. I don’t think I’ve seen a result like that before. I’m really having a hard time believing that Lil was anywhere near the top in last night’s voting.

73

Notice that last night’s show had no celebrity mentors; no home videos of the contestants. Just sing, judges, sing, judges. And they managed to get the show in on time.

This would make another fascinating chapter in the Behind the Scenes at Idol book. I can imagine some really heated conversations between Fox and the producers of Idol…where Fox says that the Fringe people are screaming; the affiliates are screaming; and Idol doesn’t have the ratings numbers to keep screwing up like this. And then the shit rolls downhill, and producers decide to cut into the judges’ face time… and Randy/Paula/Kara/Simon throw a hissy fit where they claim that they’re the only reason the viewers tune in…etc etc. Must’ve been a really fun week.

74

I 100% agree with you. From the first week of the top 13 I thought that this was the guy who is going to be a superstar in 5 years.

75

I can only imagine that part of that conversation involves three judges wondering out loud (loudly) why they needed a fourth judge. And telling Simon and Paula to quit screwing around with the grade school shit.

76

Interesting. I feel that way about Adam and Allison. I was working on my computer last night (actually working, not updating Facebook, etc.) and the only singers who broke my concentration and made me look up to watch the TV were Allison and Adam.

I tend to forget that Kris exists. I know others love him. I think he’s a cutie, but I totally can’t remember him when I go to list off the singers.

77

I agree too. My wife and I were talking about this last night. He’s BY FAR the best contestant the show has ever seen.

He’s the only Idol contestant who’s had performances that I bought from iTunes. I’ve bought every one of them and I’ll listen to them just like any other music in my collection.

78

Let us not forget, Jennifer Hudson was voted off seventh. And who would have dreamed she’d be the most accomplished contestant thus far? (I say accomplished because of the range of her accomplishments, vs. the bazzilions of albums sold by Kelly and Carrie, etc.) If any contestant ever did not need the win to go on to have a great career, it’s Adam.

I’m sure someone has doggedly charted all the data, (and I’d actually be very curious to see it if anyone knows of it) but off the top of my head it seems that a win is not in any way a guarantee of the career to follow. Among the winners and losers, who has either strong careers or at least lasting visibility?

Jennifer Hudson (7th)
Clay Aiken (2nd)
Daughtry (? 5th?)
Still visible:
Nikki McKibbon - Celebrity Rehab and Sober House! Heheheh
Snajaya! - the A-list Awards

And of the winners?

Among the winners, the only ones I think have actually built on their Idol win, as opposed to either coasting or trashing it, are:

Kelly
Carrie

Who has dropped off the edge of the earth? (compared to the win and the year following)

Ruben
jordin (the biggest snore win of all time)
taylor
fantasia (I think she’s got a solid career, just very middle-of-the-pack)

David Cook is a question mark, too soon to tell. But I don’t think he’s interesting enough to really sustain.

So out of six who are at least a year out from their win, only two really went on to be true stars.

And it makes me sad, because looking back (i’m checking the website) I remember some contestants that I really, really liked. I LOVED Elliott Yamin, and I know he’s recording, but I havent’ given a damn about what I’ve seen and heard. (I think he is in the wrong genre, actually…I think he should go the Buble route.) Other faves of mine were George Huff (just for the Elton cover, if nothing else.) I loved Brooke White, I thought she was darling and I always wanted to see her.

Anyway, all of this to say, what 7 seasons of Idol has shown is that if you can make the top 10 and you’ve really got the chops and something to offer, you’ll be fine.

And looking back at the past seasons again…I reiterate what I said last night, just multiplied. He pretty much kicks every contestant that has ever been all the way around the block.

To whomever questioned his ability to make an interesting record of new material…are you kidding? If he can take a song I would rather shoot myself than listen to again (only because I’ve heard it probably literally a thousand times in my life) like “Tracks of my Tears” and make me want to listen and watch him sing it 6 times, I wouldn’t wonder for a second what he can do with fresh material.

And I’d happily buy his albums if they consisted of nothing but covers forever. He makes songs that are dead to me sound brand new.

Even though Simon bitched him out for the Cash rendition, in my opinion Adam is the only contestant that has been virtually flawless from week to week. I don’t recall anyone having the effect or getting the response he has, and frankly I think Simon loses all ability to think straight when it comes to country, whether it’s reimagined or straight up, so his opinion on that didn’t count.

79

The thing I’ve noticed since bringing in whats-her-face is the change in Paula: she’s coherent. That has been so plain, and so funny, that she felt seriously threatened and realized she had to stop phoning in her drug-fueled dream sequences.

80

Taylor Hicks is playing Teen Angel in a touring company version of Grease. I think that qualifies as dangling on the edge of the earth.