Idol didn't run over this week thanks to lack of a mentor and pre-packaged segments. I didn't mind that they didn't have any Idol Spirit-Guides this week, but I love the pre-packaged segments because it's the only time we, the audience, get to see the personalities of the Idols when they aren't singing/doing those Ford video shoots. So, props to Idol for staying within their hour limit this week, but bring back the pre-packaged segments!
Lil started off the show this week with a less than inspired rendition of "I'm Every Woman", a song that has been done on Idol before by other (better) female contestants. This performance was not an original spin on this iconic disco track and featured Lil strutting around stage in a black jumpsuit singing her little heart out. It wasn't a horrible vocal performance, but it wasn't interesting either. For once Kara was right - Lil has been "every woman" on that stage but herself. And once again, Lil tried to defend herself by saying she had fun... yeah, that's nice, but this is a singing competition... you need to sing well and entertain your audience too. I have fun when I sing that song when I play American Idol on my Wii... does that mean I deserve to be on the show too? Nope. Please, America, let this be Lil's last week.
Kris Allen chose "She Works Hard for Her Money" (Donna Summer Track #1 of the evening) and worked it out! He took another very popular song, but mixed it up, Kris-style. He had his little guitar and Jason Mrazed the song, though out of the side of his mouth. Great arrangement. Kris has the ability to do what Lil cannot - he takes very, very popular songs, but sings them in a style all his own instead of karaoking a carbon copy of the original. (Take notes, Lil) Kris has grown on me these past few weeks and I hope he's around for a few more.
Danny Gokey brought us the Elements - Earth, Wind & Fire - with his *almost* White-People-Church rendition of "September". Not one of my favorite songs, but he worked it out, Gokey-style. There was some awkward dancing, some interactions with the back-up singers, and a whole bunch of Gokey-shouting of the lyrics. I don't even know how to best describe his "singing" voice... don't get me wrong, I love the tone of Gokey's voice when he performs, but doesn't it always sound like his voice is escaping through his throat by clawing/frantically scrapping its way through his vocal chords? I like Danny... I don't think he is going to win, but I like him enough to hope he's around for another week :)
Allison Iraheta brought us Donna Summer Track #2 with "Hot Stuff". Every time I hear this song, I am reminded of the movie "The Full Monty"... admit it, you do too. I actually agreed with Randy and thought the arrangement was self-indulgent, but I still dug it. Props to Allison for singing a version of the song that fits her vocal stylings instead of sticking with the up-tempo original (again, Lil take note!). Allison is another contestant who I like a lot, and she stands out as someone who had a clear idea of who she was before the competition and seems to have carried that with her throughout the run of the show. She's never compromised her image or genre of choice to try and placate anybody.
Adam Lambert continued his every other week routine of Crazy song/reserved performance by bringing us a stripped down version of "If I Can't Have You". It was good, but I was secretly hoping that he was going to rip off his suit half way through the song and be in a bedazzled shirt and bell bottoms and disco it up for the back half of the song. Alas, that did not happen. I still love Adam Lambert, but I'm not buying into it as much as I once did. He's an actor, folks, so of course he's going to be able to look all pained and sad when he's singing "If I can't have you, I don't want nobody baby". I took acting classes for three years, I'm sure I could make myself cry/have that "I love you and need you so much, I feel like I'm going to throw up" look on my face while singing that song too. I just wish he would be himself during a performance, instead of some sort of character that he thinks the public wants to see. I've seen some of his other performances on youtube... and I thought he was great. Idol is a singing competition... I just think Adam is keeping it too PC and not really showing us who he is.
When Ryan announced that Matt Giraud was going to be singing "Staying Alive", I cringed. When Matt actually started to sing "Staying Alive," I was pleasantly surprised. For most of the song, he was on pitch and looking like he was having a good time... looking very, very Justin Timberlake in his little hat and tie/coat combo. Matt put his own soulful vibe into a Bee Gees classic and I actually dug it... but then he hit a couple crunchy notes when he went up into his falsetto right at the end. He seems to do this with every song, and that's sort of disappointing. I love Matt Giraud (like, enough to call 1-866-IDOLS-06 last night for an hour and a half and vote for him), but I wish he didn't use his falsetto in every single performance. The judges used their save on Matt last week and I think his performance was good enough to warrant him at least one more week in the competition. But, if he is around for another week, he's going to need to pick the perfect song and nail it 100% if he wants to stick around any longer. There are a lot of talented people this season and I think Matt is one of the more marketable contestants... he just needs to make good song choices and not botch his high notes.
The show ended with Anoop Desai (sporting a horrible trash-stache) singing Donna Summer song #3, "Dim the Lights". This was the only song I was not familiar with from the whole show, and I was not impressed. From just his outfit alone, I knew Anoop was going to sing a ballad (btw - I am a fan of pink, but I thought Anoop would have been better served if he chose either the sweater/tie combo OR the suit... the combination of the two was fashion overkill). I like Anoop. I like Ballads. I'm getting a little tired of Anoop Ballads, though :( I understand that ballads are his niche, but he's been playing it super safe the past few weeks and I am ready for Anoop to go home. Nothing personal, but there are some really great singers this season, and pretty soon, really great singers are going to be sent home to make way for an Adam Lambert and _________________ finale.
So, I am predicting/hoping that Lil and Anoop are this week's Idol casualties. It's getting down to crunch time, and there is no way either of these two singers are going to win the competition, so it's better to let them down gently now than string them along for another couple weeks. Plus, I don't want Lil to make it to when each contestant sings two songs... that's twice as many harsh comments from the judges that she doesn't want to hear, trust me.
I wonder what next week's theme will be? Hopefully something way awesome like last year's Neil Diamond week :)
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