Another Dallas recap! Just for you. I’ve got one more I’ll be posting in a bit.
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Let me preface this by saying that I am a 28 year old guy who has never been to an American Idol concert before. To be honest, I would never have watched this season of American Idol or paid money for an Idol concert if the incredibly talented Siobhan Magnus wasn’t on the show. I went to the show because I’m a hardcore Siobonbon, but I still had hopes that the other contestants could keep me entertained.
Before I get to the recap, I have a pet peeve that I would like to get off my chest. This concert was EXTREMELY loud. In fact, it was borderline deafening at times. I think they’re trying to make the contestants sound better by jacking up the volume to insanely high levels. This is probably why so many people think these Idols sound better on tour. Please don’t believe the hype. For the most part, they all sounded the same as they did on TV.
Here is my recap of the show (with grades and song highlights):
Didi Benami – Very boring and forgettable. Didi is a charming girl with a fairly beautiful voice, but the tepid audience response really says it all. The songs she performed were too similar to each other.
My grade: B-
Highlights: N/A
Andrew Garcia – He has a certain amount of talent, but there is nothing spectacular about him. “Straight Up” is too pretentious for my taste. I can’t even remember the other song he performed.
My grade: C-
Highlights: N/A
Katie Stevens – This girl was criminally underrated on the show. I think her somewhat aloof and stiff personality rubbed voters the wrong way. Fact is, she has a very interesting, radio-friendly voice. “Fighter” impressed me a lot. That’s the type of singing I want to hear in an arena setting. She seemed a lot more spunky and outgoing than when she was on the show.
My grade: B+
Highlights: Fighter
Tim Urban – His hilariously inept renditions of Apologize, Under My Thumb, and Sweet Love are the stuff of American Idol legend. We obviously aren’t dealing with a talent for the ages, but he actually managed to connect with his fans tonight. The Coldplay song sounded fairly decent. Shocking as it may sound, this adorable little Ted Bundy lookalike was only the third worst male vocalist of the night.
My grade: B-
Highlights: Better Days
Siobhan Magnus – Siobhan is performing three songs on tour: “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones, “Spiderwebs” by No Doubt, and “Stockholm Syndrome” by Muse. Suffice it to say, the rock goddess did not disappoint. Her dramatic, alt-rock interpretation of “Paint It Black” was widely hailed as the finest performance of the season. The version she performs on tour is essentially the same as her iTunes version. Siobhan is one of those rare performers who sound better in a live setting than in a recording studio. The 17 second note she hit at the end of the song was nothing less than amazing. Some people call it “screaming”. I call it talent.
No Doubt’s catchy anthem “Spiderwebs” was an excellent change of pace. Listening to Siobhan singing this on tour, I can’t help but notice that it’s a huge improvement over the original. I love that Siobhan isn’t your typical rock/punk singer. She can sound very heavy, but still very melodic. In fact, she has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. Siobhan was positively charming as she bounced around the stage in her deranged gothic princess outfit. I’m in love!
“Stockholm Syndrome” was a risky choice, but I LOVED it! I would have enjoyed it even more if the audience showed any interest in the song. If the people who attended this show are representative of Idol voters at large, then it’s a miracle that she made it to sixth place. The cougars and tweenies who dominate American Idol voting will never “get” someone like Siobhan, but those with more discriminating taste can appreciate an artist of her caliber. More Siobhan, please!
My grade: A+++
Highlights: EVERYTHING!
Aaron Kelly – Big voices come in small packages. “Walking In Memphis” was my favorite, but all three of his songs sounded extremely solid. I think the country music scene could use another singer who can actually sing. That said, Aaron needs to look into joining a gym. He’s so tiny and frail.
My grade: A-
Highlights: Walking in Memphis, Fast Cars and Freedom
Mike Lynche – Idol viewers seem to have a love/hate relationship with this guy. In my case, it was more of a hate/hate relationship. I went into this with an open mind, but my opinion of him hasn’t changed. “This Woman’s Work” is wedding singer material. The highlight of his set was easily “Ready For Love”. His voice sounds really good here when he isn’t doing that girly falsetto crap, and it almost single-handedly saved the set. Unfortunately, he had to wrap things up with some godawful rap song. Why, Mike? WHY???
My grade: C+
Highlights: Ready For Love
Casey James – If you look up “one trick pony” in the Urban Dictionary, you will find a picture of Casey James. Easily the weakest vocalist of the night. The guy spent most of his time banging out guitar solos. Very lame. I will admit that “Don’t” was pretty catchy, but the rest of his set was bluesy bar-band drivel we’ve heard a thousand times before. The hometown crowd definitely took a liking to him.
My grade: C+
Highlights: Don’t
Crystal Bowersox – I hated how Crystal was constantly pimped out on American Idol at the expense of better singers *cough*Siobhan*cough*. She doesn’t have a particularly pleasing voice, and it sounds worse in a super loud arena setting. I just couldn’t enjoy anything about her set. The Janis Joplin song was surprisingly weak, and “Come To My Window” was equally unimpressive. With the possible exception of “Up To The Mountain, ” she didn’t connect on an emotional level to any of her songs. I stand by my belief that Crystal is a soul/gospel singer at heart. I give her a relatively good grade because she obviously has a strong voice.
My grade: B+
Highlights: N/A
Lee DeWyze – The Season 9 winner utterly failed to leave an impression on me. Lee shouted his way through a bunch of songs, butchering the melodies in the process. Something which has always bugged me is that his voice doesn’t seem to have any vibrato at all. It’s a joke that such a spectacularly deficient vocalist could even sniff the Idol crown. I was waiting for a bagpiper to save the day, but it didn’t happen.
My grade: C-
Highlights: N/A
GROUP PERFORMANCES: “The Climb” was solid, and “My Life Would Suck Without You” is a fun little number.
