Less than 24 hours after THE Season 10 American Idol--or at least the Season 10 Idol finalist who will make the biggest impact on the music industry sang on the elimination show on a certain dance contest, the remaining six Idols (a veritable six-pack of Idol wannabes) took to the stage to sing songs written by Carole King...assuring us of a selection of songs not only older than the Idols performing them, but potentially older than those same Idol's parents! I wonder how long it will be before one of the judges comments on a chosen Idol's song and how it doesn't fit their style...oh wait, that won't happen this year because the judges aren't there to offer any critique--whether relevant or not.
Anyway, back to that mystery Idol and her singing performance last night. Of course I am talking about Pia and the show was "Dancing With the Stars". Pia sounded...wait for it...AWESOME! She sounded so good, in fact, it prompted my good friend, Tom Bergeron, to query: "How did you get voted off that other show?!" The defense rests.
But that was last night, tonight it's up to the remaining six Idols to convince you to pick up the phone and cast your vote for them so they can live to sing another day. With that rather long-winded set up, let's check out how the Idols did with Ms. King's songs.
One other note that you may be interested in knowing about tonight's show: the Idols will be mentored by uber producer and hit maker, Kenneth Babyface Edmonds.
The first Idol to get the Babyface treatment was Jacob who chose to sing "Oh No, Not My Baby". I like Jacob (probably more than most), but I was a bit confused tonight--not by his song selection, but by his clothing choice! Jacob paired a canary yellow shirt, a purple and blue bow tie, with a light blue sweater, and a blue-plaid jacket. Very distracting, young Jacob! As for the song, Jacob got his scat n' groove on along with a group of musicians who joined him on stage. When he finished, the audience gave him a HUGE round of applause and the judges joined in on clapping. Steven complimented him on "shaking your tail feathers". Jacob seemed to perform well enough to stay out of the B3 for the second week in a row, but that decision isn't up to me...I don't vote! I know, shocking!
Following Jacob's strong performance was Georgia Peach, Lauren, who sang "Where You Lead". During her time with Jimmy (Producer) and Babyface, Lauren was visited by pop princess, Miley Cyrus, who gave Lauren some advice and instilled some confidence in her. Dressed in what looked like a dress that either got washed with a box of crayons or a bad tie-dye job and rockin' a pair of cowboy boots, Lauren worked the stage, her back up singers, the judges, and some lucky fans who was seated on the stage. I wasn't into the song, but her performance was certainly entertaining. J-Lo credited her with "pushing" which is hardly a critique...Randy thought it was a "safe and boring" song (I hear ya, Dawg!). As Steven rambled on about her voice cracking, tears welled up in her baby blues...Ryan called them tears of joy, but even Lauren couldn't explain them, so I'm not going to try.
Splitting up the solo performances, the Idol producers decided to pair the Idols for a non-judged song. The first duo to perform were Casey and Hailey who after some silly banter in a pre-taped video package sang one of Carole King's best known hits, "I Feel the Earth Move". I'm a big fan of Casey's, but in the early going of the song, I believe Hailey out sang him--her smokey, bluesy voice is perfectly suited to the song...but just as I write that last line, Casey started warming up and his grizzly growl really hit its stride...overall, a good pairing and a good performance. After the song, Steven pulled no punches in asking Casey "how much in love are you with Hailey?!" Oh, Steven, behave!
Back to the soloist and country crooner, Scotty (the Body as Ryan called him). This week, Scotty tried to switch things up a bit and went with "You've Got a Friend"...a romantic and non-country song. When Scotty started the song, I could tell it was going to be a snooze fest...and even halfway through when the assembled string section that flanked him on either side of the stage joined in on the song, it didn't help. It was a very sleepy performance and could mark the end of Scotty's Idol run. Boring! The crowd seemed to like it, though...and as Randy started with his comments, it was obvious that I was in the minority. Randy called the performance "flawless" and said that "Scotty is in it to win it". Steven and J-Lo piled on with the positive notes...what did you expect?
As I try to wake up from Scotty's performance (or lack thereof), I am looking forward to what the resident Rocker, James, has in store for his adoring fans. Turns out he's going to answer the musical question "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"? During his time with Babyface and Jimmy, James pretty much blew the mentors away, so I have high hopes for a great performance on the Idol stage. Here we go...James and his electric guitar bathed in a back-lit spotlight and an a Capella start; then the rest of the band kicked in and I could swear I was watching a 1950's sock hop! Now THAT is a flawless performance, Randy! After James got the audience (and the judges) swaying in their seats, the judges readied their praise for him...and Steven went so far as to tell James and the rest of the Idol faithful that that song was the first one during which he made out with a girl! TMI, Steven! I repeat, BEHAVE, Steven! When it came time for Randy to do his thing, he said James not only had the performance of the night, but possibly the best performance of the past few months...and then predicted that James could very well win it all! We'll see, the Idol voters a fickle bunch, aren't you?!
Duet time again: Scotty and Lauren were set to do yet another song together--call it the Country Cousins and they were going to sing "Up On the Roof". Lauren lead off the song and it sounded a bit like a cat being swung around by its tail (or some I'm told), but when Scotty joined in, things settled down a bit and the country bumpkins did an OK job. But if I'm honest--and that's what you expect of me, so I don't want to disappoint, it was the second sleepy performance of the night for Scotty and I wasn't all that convinced that Lauren was that much better. J-Lo, who heard something different than I did, piled on the compliments...what am I missing?
In an effort to right the ship (at least for me), it was Casey's turn to take on a Carole King song. For his selection he chose "Hi De Ho" a song written by Ms. King, but made popular by Canadian 70's Rock/Jazz/Blues band, Blood, Sweat, & Tears. Casey arrived on stage dressed like the lost Blues Brother and scat n' scooted his way around the Idol stage and weaved his way around the brass band gathered on stage to help him deliver another strong performance--one that may rival that of Mr. James Durbin. Randy liked what he heard equated it to something he would hear walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Steven talked about his scalp itching and J-Lo made some nonsense comments about wanting Casey to loosen up a bit--the last time she "attacked" an Idol for not moving enough, America booted Pia from the Idol stage...I hope history doesn't repeat itself because Casey deserves to stick around for a few more weeks.
The final solo performance was delivered by Hailey who chose "Beautiful" from Carole's album Tapestry. Before Hailey could sing her song, there was a technical issue with her in-ear thingies. When that issue was resolved, Hailey got right into the groove of the song. I wasn't thrilled with the arrangement of the song--there were too many time/tempo changes which broke the song up a bit more than I liked. But in the end, Hailey did a good job. As expected, Steven included the song's title in his comments...he's such a D-O-double G! Oh, if you think I am too hard on the judges for their lack of judging? Well, check out this little gem from J-Lo: "You have one of the best voices left in the contest"...really?! That's all you could muster?
While you ponder that comment, it's time for the final duet of the night brought to you by James and Jacob who sang "Into Something Good" a Herman and the Hermits song that has never been a favorite of mine. And for the first time in quite some time, Steven offered a less than flattering comment when he said "I don't know where you were going with that performance". Agreed, but at least they were having fun.
OK, all performances are over--solos and duets, it's time for you to vote and for me to predict how you are going to vote. I believe the Idols in trouble come tomorrow night's elimination show will be Scotty, Lauren, and Jacob (in spite of what I wrote earlier--call it the curse of going first). And the Idol going home...Lauren, although I think Scotty should pack his bags.
That's how it went down. Tune in tomorrow to see what happens when all of your votes are tabulated. Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don't have to...
Charlie
No comments:
Post a Comment