Ugh. I am not happy that Joey Cook left the competition tonight. She had an off night last week, ended up in a sing off with Rayvon Owen and could not prevail.
For one thing, Rayvon, on his 3rd sing-off, has got this twitter save down to a science. He’s just one of those people who performs really well under pressure. Joey is not one of those people. Also, tonight’s sing-off illustrated the disadvantages of conducting a sing-off without a save-me song. So Rayvon’s song pick for this week was a show stopping, emotional rendition of “You Were Always On My Mind” while Joey sang, like, a bluegrass version of “Somebody to Love.” THAT was a fair fight. It’s amazing the vote was so close. 52 to 48 percent! If Joey had pulled out something like “Mad World”? She would have stuck around.
I was fully expecting her to make the tour. Now, after Quentin Alexander’s kerfuffle with judge Harry Connick Jr, there’s a good chance he’ll end up in the bottom 2 next week. Ugh. I hope he’s up against Rayvon again and wins. I voted for Quentin and Quentin only tonight. I’m sorry. Harry can be an astute judge. I even AGREED with his assessment of “Are You Going to Go My Way,” but he TOTALLY over-reacted to Quentin’s remarks about his friends landing in the bottom 2.
I think Quentin was surprised and upset to see his friend Joey in the hot seat. Should he have kept a lid on it? Yes. But YOU try operating while cameras and lights are pointed at YOU on Live TV. My point is–these kids should be given room to be HUMAN. It ticks me off that some Idol viewers expect the contestants to be “Yes M’am. No M’am” at all times. The singers wind up sanding down their rough edges and are LESS interesting as a result. If we wind up without two of the more creative contestants on the tour? That will be a shame. I never believed Joey or Quentin could win, but I thought they both had a good shot at the Top 5. Scott has been advocating for quirky, but he can’t control how America votes.
If you haven’t already, you’ll want to watch the kerfuffle in question, embedded below. Harry called Quentin “disrespectful” after he verbalized a strong reaction to his friends being in bottom two. Someone on my feed pointed out the way Harry disrespected the contestants when he called Clark Beckham the only musician left in the competition. As he said it, he tried to qualify it a little, but it still sounded like a diss. The director cut to the contestants who were all pretty slack jawed. Nick looked bemused. Meanwhile, the remarks came as Harry was calling Clark out on his cocktail piano tinklings on “Moon River,” suggesting he learn more chords. So whatever.
The disagreement between Quentin and Harry introduced a weird vibe that stayed for the duration of the show. Quentin attempted to clarify his remarks after his second song, but the situation continued to be awkward.
I knew it was too soon to predict Nick Fradiani’s demise. Not only did he make it another week, but he appears to be energized and focused on winning this thing. He still hasn’t given what I consider a WOW performance. But I don’t think he’ll ever need to do that. He’s picking the right songs, and singing them with energy and appeal. He was getting by just being a HAC white guy dude, but the extra layer of ambition he’s acquired will take him far. I still don’t think he can beat Clark, but he could come close. He’s making that tour for sure.
Jax came out to play tonight too. I’m hoping she finally realizes that she can make a song her own without a radical rearrangement. She’s one of a kind, and has the ability to transform a song with her unique phrasing and vocal ability.
For more of my outrage and contestant musings, read my American Idol 14 Top 7 Recap – There are videos of ALL the performances at that link!
So OK. It’s time to TAKE THE POLLS PEOPLE! Vote for your favorite PERFORMANCE. I threw in a overall category for contestant. And vote for who you think SHOULD and WILL go home next week. Also: Team Harry or Team Quentin?
American Idol 14 – Top 7 – Favorite Performance
American Idol 14 – Top 7 – Favorite Contestant Overall
American Idol 14 – Top 7 – Who SHOULD go Home next week?
American Idol 14 – Top 7 – Who WILL go Home next week?
American Idol 14 – Top 7 – Grade the Episode
Are you Team Harry Or Team Quentin?
Watch and Decide
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