*sigh*
But this week the theme was "Rock" for our Top 4 contestants... a very, very broad genre which resulted in an interesting, and at times horrifying, performance show.
Adam Lambert kicked off the show with his rendition of Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love". Now, I am not familiar with Led Zepplin music, so I had nothing to compare this version to, but I like Adam's performance. I liked that he had his "rock outfit" on - complete with loads of guyliner. He had his stank face on, really getting into it and interacting with the guitar player. I must admit, the man is comfortable on the stage and that ease only enhances his performance each week. I think this was the Adam I was hoping to see all season. Another solid vocal. Of course.
Allison followed up with her own strong performance of Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby", but there was no way she was going to get better judge's remarks than Adam. That's just not humanly possible at this point in the competition. Allison gave it her all, though I would have liked to her her version of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love". For only being 17, Allison is a strong competitor and a brave young woman for getting on that stage each week and proving that she does deserve to be there among her older male peers. Props to Allison for saying that she didn't want to sing "Piece of My Heart" because it's been done so many times on the show... the voice of reason!!!!
The next song was a duet of "Renegade" from Kris Allen and Danny Gokey. Not one of my favorite Styx songs, but I was so excited to see/hear duets from the Idols last night!!! I thought Kris and Danny complemented each other very well during the harmonies, but when they sang their little solos here and there, they felt lacking. If they would have selected a song that fit them better they would have been amazing. Too bad they got upstaged later by the Rock God/dess combination of Adam and Allison.
Kris and Danny's solo performances followed their duet and both guys sang songs that were sung last season of Idol. (Come on, guys, pick new material!)
Despite the judge's harsh comments about Kris, I actually really dug his take on the Beatles "Come Together". Carly Smithson sang a rockin' version last season but I enjoyed Kris's "man-with-guitar-who-also-sings-out-of-the-side-of-his-mouth" performance. Kris is not a rock guy the way Adam is a rock guy, so it was nice to see him not try to make himself into the type of artist he could never be. Kris stuck with what he knew, and I liked it. I still think he's the only one of the four left right now who is contemporary and unique enough to be on the radio right now.
And then there was Danny Gokey... oh Lord, Danny Gokey. So, remember last season when Michael Johns sang "Dream On" from Aerosmith and then got the boot from the show? I have a feeling this year will be a repeat of that. Danny, like Kris, is not a rock singer. Gokey, unlike Kris, decided to take on one of the most well known rock songs from one of the biggest rock groups ever. And boy, did that risk not help his cause... You know how at the end of that song, there is that big, long scream? Well, Danny's entire performance was off pitch and then when he attempted to hit that final note, the strobe lights started flashing and the camera was at such an angle on Gokey that it looked like he was possessed, or being riddled with bullets (which is how my ears felt). And it pains me to write that, as I love Danny Gokey, but DAMN SON, that was one of the worst song choices ever made on American Idol.
To close the show, Adam and Allison did their duet of "Slow Ride" and rocked the stage, of course. There's no way to ignore the wardrobe changes - Adam was wearing the tightest pants I've seen seen on a man since high school (I believe we referred to those as "nut crunchers"). Vocally, though, Adam and Allison are a perfect match for each other and for once Randy/Kara/Paula were right - they should do duets on each other's albums because everything about their performance just worked. Unlike Danny and Kris's performance, where they just kind of stood next to each other and held their mic stands like they were trying to be badasses (which Danny Gokey should never, ever do again), Adam and Allison interacted with each other and played off of each other.
Simon was probably right - Allison's duet with Adam might save her from being voted off this week. That leaves Danny or Kris to get kicked off tonight. As much as I hate to say it, but I think Danny should go home. His performance was just not good (though in his defense, he is not a rock person... but maybe he could have tried to make a rock song his own?) and I think Kris really didn't deserve the harsh comments he got last night.
Regardless who goes home, the Top 3 will be solid because everyone left in the competition is awesome and could easily have won prior seasons.
Happy Idoling!!!!
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