I’m pretty sure I’m just in this for the snark value (of which there is much this year) because with the exception of Crystal, everyone else shouldn’t be on that stage.
Aaron - nice kid - how the HELL did he get this far? This proves they need to revamp the voting procedures. He’s no David Archuleta.
Casey - there’s no there there. Oh yes, there’s hair there but no there there. The goat was in full attendance last night and … it’s just time for pretty boy to go home. I’m sorry but you bore me to damn tears.
Big Mike - I don’t give a rat’s ass how well you “sing” - I do not like you, think you have an attitude that doesn’t match your talent and would go out of my way to avoid your songs on any station. (This from someone who adores Luther Vandross, yet) You can stay but it’s in spite of my objections.
Lee - props to ya - you’ve come a long way (baby). You need lots of polish and perhaps a stiff drink or twenty to go truly professional but you’ll be alright.
Crystal - Ah, the things we do to support our babies, right? I am glad you’ve retained your “Crystal-ness” whether you are wearing a gown or some god-awful dishrag dress. I hope you find much success.
I am firm in my belief that Casey will walk off the AI stage and go sell a billion records as the next Keith Urban - that is, if he is smart enough to get out of his own way and go with what he’s actually good at, not what he thinks he can do. And get that goddamned vibrato out of his voice - I hate that shit.
I think what we’re seeing this year more than anything is how big an issue in star-making the “it” factor is. Everyone in the top 10 can sing (except TUrban); what most of them are missing is the star quality that makes them shine when they hit a stage.
Aaron - shows how shallow the talent depth was in this field this year. Previous seasons he would have been ousted around #10, when the cheek-pinching grandmother vote lost its significance.
Casey - genre kiss of death for him this week. Harry Connick’s “you killed it in rehearsal” good words may save him though.
Big Mike - Same lounge ship performance as prior weeks, and isn’t showing us anything new. He’s actually has the best stage presence of anyone though, which again shows how frighteningly shallow the talent pool is. Also interesting is how quickly a lifestyle change from working out, to just working on a catering diet, affects a guy of his build and metabolism.
Crystal - Her performance was swallowed, not subtle. Big difference. Not her genre, but she’ll survive until top 3.
Lee - Best of the night, but still tentative. He’ll be top 3 at the end, as the requisite grunge-lite demographic contender. He’ll still suffer comparisons to Daughtry and Cook though, to which he is vastly inferior.
My daughter decided a few days ago to record the “America’s Funniest Home Videos” series on our DVR. Because my new and improved DVR doesn’t warn of conflicts in advance, my DVR recorded that instead of “American Idol.” Or perhaps it was simply overcome with patriotism and couldn’t function properly. Or, after reading everyone’s reviews, it’s possible that it determined that AFHV from 12 years ago was more entertaining than this year’s AI…
In any event, I did catch the 10:00 news on Fox. Their experts and viewer panel predicted Mike and Aaron in the bottom 2 with Aaron going home. Of course, their panel is comprised of people who were up at 10:00 and watch the news, so they probably don’t vote 1,000 times like the girls that kept Tim Urban on five shows too many.
Damn, I didn’t realize Harry Connick Jr. was the judge this week, or I’d have made certain to watch last night. As it was, I forgot, so I had to catch up now on Rickey.org. I didn’t even realize HCjr was the pianist until I caught Crystal’s playful beginning. Dang he is still a cutie! No wonder the orchestra sounded better than usual.
Was Harry a good coach, guys? I didn’t see anything but the actual performance videos. It’s hard to tell with these mediocrities – they suck the life out of pretty much every song, no matter how brilliant. And you can’t get much better than Sinatra’s repertoire. Still, since no one went nuts with melismas and I saw no bagpipers on stage, my guess is that Harry ran a tight ship.
Sinatra’s canon seems like a good test of the contestants’ taste. With songs this good, it’s about letting the gorgeous melodies shine through and imparting the emotion/meaning of the lyrics. Vocal pyrotechnics aren’t not needed here. If they still manage to make bad choices despite having umptillion classic, varied songs in a library to choose from, they’re beyond hope. Aaron, Crystal and Casey, I’m looking at you.
Aaron is out of his league. He’s a top 24 contestant (if that!) who’s inexplicably made it to top 5. A decent but immature voice. Not a bad interpretation, but he’s just too callow to pull off a song like this and add depth. He reminds me of a little girl playing dress-up with her mom’s clothing, clomping around in shoes too big for her wee feet to fill.
Casey - oy. Son, I think you’re adorable and I’ve enjoyed your voice, fast-vibrato notwithstanding. But this was an awful song choice. Blue Skies isn’t a competition song – it’s neither achingly emotional nor a thrilling showstopper. He tried to blues it up but… no. Just not vocally strong enough to make this interesting.
Crystal didn’t pick very well – Summer Wind is a nice song but it isn’t a wise option in its truncated version, especially for a contest like this. I appreciate the selection, and her instincts to get subdued make an interesting counterpoint to the others, but subdued doesn’t really work in a competition. She sounded good but I didn’t feel much for the song. Can’t imagine she’ll be knocked out, and she shouldn’t be.
Mike! Best technical singer of the season by far, when he lets himself just sing. And he chose a fabulous song (God, this song makes me meeelllt when done right). Best of all, didn’t try to tart it up. Simple, confident, and right at home with this type of music. Great job. I know for some reason everyone dislikes the guy, but since I don’t watch interviews I guess I don’t know what people are holding against him. He’s not usually a very exciting singer, but this week with such a classic, he doesn’t need to be. This was a pleasure to listen to.
Lee - I still like his voice and he’s the most “contemporary” guy left. Also a terrific song choice, since it tells a story and has a dramatic/musical arc that’s perfect for this venue – building to a crescendo to end with a bang. Orchestra sounded great on it, btw. And yet I didn’t love the performance. Sometimes I get the sense he’s botoxed: has he ever worn some facial expression that reflects an emotion? He’ll probably be top two, though. The Daughtry/Cook fans seem to like this kinda rough/offbeat style.
So for me, in order, I’d say the week went:
Harry Connick Jr. (hey, he was on stage, so I’m counting him!)
Mike
Crystal / Lee
Aaron / Casey
Oooh, it’s top 5 week, they didn’t do the “two groups, make the last contestant choose the bottom/top three to go stand with” at 7, will they do that tonight?
Watching Lady Gaga’s performance makes me suddenly understand how nonplussed my parents were watching Madonna writhe around on the floor in a wedding dress twenty-five years ago. More spectacle than song and screw her for making me feel old! :mad:
I think DialIdol has lost its glitter with texting coming into full play these days. (At least that’s what I’m hearing over on TWOP)
HCJ should be a permanent mentor and/or judge. He brought snark, intelligence, musical knowledge and candor to the show. Loved him! (Telling Mike to get over himself with the baby stuff! hehe)
It was way beyond time for Aaron to leave and I really missed Siobhan’s WTF moments. What a seriously sucktastic season this has been. (sigh)
Want to “save” AI when Simon leaves? New judges - HCJr (artist), Quincy Jones (producer), and an A&R guy who isn’t Randy… or leave Randy there. I don’t grasp what makes a “good” A&R man.
