It’s the music of the 60’s, that maybe the contestant’s mothers choose. Wha??
Carly Smithson is NOT sitting with the girls tonight! Drama! What’s up with that? Blake Lewis gets a little plug. His failed single, “Break Anotha” plays as we see the guys find out they made it into the Top 24.
The pre-performance video packages feature the guys describing their Amazing! Idol! Experience!–plus little bits of each contestant’s initial and Hollywood auditions. Thank you Powers That Be! Why couldn’t we have seen Garrett or the Lukes sing during the auditions? And that crap about being “distressed and distraught” or whatever the hell it was Nigel was nattering on about NOT showing Jason Castro during the audition rounds. Bah, we saw his audition tonight, so I’m calling shenanigans! But I digress.
Overall, decent show. Simon, the bitch is back. As is loopy Paula and her rainbow colors! Yippee! Randy? Well, he never changes.
The performances:
David Hernandez – “Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett – Remember Simon telling him he didn’t vote to advance him? Now David’s plan is to prove Simon wrong! David’s got a strong, soulful voice, but he seems pretty nervous. He loses focus, and hits a bad note at the end of the song. Randy likes the “gospel vibe in the front.” Paula begins babbling about all his “colors” and it becomes the running joke of the evening, with Simon asking Paula about the “color” of each performance. Good stuff. Simon says, “It was better than I thought it would be, ” and he suggests that David, “loosen up a bit.” David is happy to have gone first, but, at this stage of the game, first often means forgettable…
Chikezie – “I Love You More Today Than Yesterday” by Spiral Staircase – When Chikezie trys to explain to the judges what he is doing–taking a song of a particular genre and singing it in the style of another genre of the same era, I totally get what he’s trying to do, even if the judges do not. Chikezie takes a bubble gum song of the era and gives it a 60’s/70’s R&B spin. Fine. Unfortunately, Chikezie is a little wobbly on his feet (ditched the last name, eh?) and the arrangement and the performance is on the corny side. Randy thinks it’s, “Pretty good man, ” but old-fashioned. Paula babbles some nonsense–I swear she’s high, and I like it! Simon says, “Here’s my problem, I absolutely hated the whole performance. The suit is hideous, the wink was hideous, the woo was hideous…” Chikezie makes the fatal mistake of arguing with the judges. The arguing, the shaky performance and performing early could all hurt him. Oh, and that ugly-ass pumpkin colored suit? Could definitely hurt him.
Before the break, Colton Berry tells us that he looks just like Ellen DeGeneres “from all angles.” Ellen DeGeneres–if she feathered her hair.
David Cook – “So Happy Together” by the Turtles – I think I’m officially on the David Cook bandwagon. I really like what he’s doing with this great classic Turtles song. His phrasing, intonation, the way he’s working the stage–yeah, I like it. Until now, I thought he was a by-the-numbers rawker, but damned if he doesn’t put an interesting twist on a great song, despite a couple of pitchy things here and there. Randy is all, “You worked it out! It was crazy!” Paula says, “You rocked it!” Simon says, “I thought it was good, though you shouted in the middle. You made it almost believable.” Whatever, Simon. That twirling mic stand thing David does at the end of the number? I really dig that.
Jason Yeager – “Moon River” by Andy Williams – Jason has a very nice voice. And I’m sure all the little old ladies in Branson where he lives just love his performances at what-ever theater he performs in as the opening act for who-ever. It’s all very Osmonds circa 1972. Simon compares it to a cruise ship performance. Jason says it’s the first time Simon said something negative to him. Hm… Lots of talk about his son in his video package, but I don’t see a mama anywhere. Double hm… Jason may not make it out of this week, unless scores of little old ladies are dialing their fingers bloody.
Robbie Carrico – “One” by Three Dog Night – Robbie is totally upfront about his boybander past. He tells us that as soon as he came off the Britney tour (his band, Boyz IV Girlz opened for one of Britney’s European tours), he knew he wanted to Rawk. Britney made him want to rawk, y’all! Despite the fact that “One” is a good song choice for Robbie, like Simon, I’m not convinced that Robbie is really a rock singer. He still sounds like a boybander to me. He’s still got the boybander moves, with the finger-pointing and the hand gestures. You can take the boy out of the boy band… Or the Boyz IV Girlz, as it were. The thing is, Three Dog Night ain’t rock. Nope, it wasn’t rock back in the day and it isn’t now. Robbie should just ditch the damn wallet chain and let his pop flag fly. C’mon, Robbie. Do it!
David Archuleta – “Shop Around” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – Yeah, yeah, Pimped one. Golden Boy. And Randy says, “OMG, he’s only 17!” and then Paula’s all “You’re an old soul” cakes. And I feel like I’m in a time warp. Bleah. I really hated that David performed this great, classic soul song as if it were a show tune. He really is a pageant kid, in the negative sense–a little too slick and put together, like he’s been doing this by rote for years. Which he has. Simon calls it the best performance of the night. Gah. He really is getting the full on treatment. I think it’s just a’ight.
Danny Noriega – Jailhouse Rock by Elvis – Danny can definitely sing, he’s just way over the top. If Danny wanted to perform a novelty song, he really needed to choose a song that is less iconic. Because, he really can’t do this song justice. It feels like he’s rushing through the performance. Maybe his nerves got to him. Randy doesn’t think the song allowed him to “do his thing.” Paula says he played it safe. Simon rips into him with relish, “I thought the performance was verging on grotesque…the whole performance was hideous.” The judges start that fake arguing thing they do sometimes, and I realize that Danny is being set up as this year’s lightening rod. Because Simon let him have it, he won’t be going anywhere next week. That is how the game is played. I’m OK with that. For now, Danny amuses me.
Luke Menard – “Everybody’s Talkin'” By Harry Nilsson – The judges don’t agree with me, but I think this is a good song choice for Luke. He sings in a high falsetto, which is a little weird at times, but he’s got an unusual tone. It’s perfect for the kind of a’capella jazz he sang with his former band, Chapter 6, but it’s hard to imagine where he would fit on pop radio. He could be a smooth jazz singer. Or, if he can muster up the soul, he could go the Robin Thicke route. It’s hard to tell right now. But, since his performance was right in the middle of the pack, he may not make it past next week. If music doesn’t work out, he could model or act. He’s really that good looking.
Colton Berry – “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley – Colton sings one of the great Elvis Presley songs –a song about fear and jealousy–with a great big smile. Colton knows how to work the camera, but the smiling is inane. He has no clue what he’s singing about. Colton is in way over his head. He’s a nice kid, but I could probably grab someone out of my neighborhood high school who could perform better. Ugh. Such obvious cannon fodder. Simon says, “I got nothing from that performance. You have no relevance to today’s music.” Simon is hilarious. He keeps telling these kids they are either old-fashioned, not current or not relevant. Yet, the kids are force-fed 40 year old songs to sing. Go figure.
Garrett Haley – “Breaking up is Hard to Do” by Neil Sedaka – Garrett reminds me of the sweet stoner kid who sat in the back of the class. You know the one? Quiet, until he had something–usually funny–to say. Garrett is preternaturally sunny and super-nice. And, he’s not a bad singer. A little dull, but he’s really got a beautiful tone to his voice. Garrett gets the cannon fodder’s bum rush. Randy says, “You didn’t do anything with it. you have to bring something new to it.” Paula, instructs Garrett to “tell Ricky Minor what to do, ” because the arrangement of the song is dull. Simon says, “I thought it was boring, whiny, and it looks like you’ve been shut up in your bedroom for about a month.” When Simon really wants to ditch someone, he makes fun of their looks. Just because they’re trying to get rid of him, I hope Garrett lasts at least another week.
Jason Castro – “Daydream” by Lovin’ Spoonful – Could it be true that Jason has only sung in front of an audience five times before his Idol audition, or did I mis-hear that? Because, as Simon says, Jason is a natural up on stage. He’s got an easy confidence and charisma, and a simplicity about his performance that’s appealing. His rough-hewn vocals remind me a little of Dylan, or John Prine. Jason is completely out of the ordinary for Idol, and I like it. Simon is solidly in his corner. Jason may be the contestant who breaks out of the cannon fodder pack to make it into the Top 12. That would be totally awesome.
Micheal Johns – “Light My Fire” by the Doors – He’s playing it safe tonight…singing a song he did in Hollywood. I’m a little disappointed. He works the stage, a little too hard. Nevertheless, Michael knows not only how to work the stage, but how to work IT. Simon says Michael is the most consistent of all the contestants, and has the natural charisma of a lead singer. Randy compares him to Michael Hutchence. Laying it on a bit thick, Randy? Still, Michael can sing. I look forward to Micheal wrapping his raspy soulful vocals around a song…that isn’t “Light My Fire.” Heh. He’s totally one of the pimped ones, but I don’t care. Really, I don’t.
