I’m knee-deep in laundry and trying to catch up on All Things Home, so I’m not going to do a contestant-by-contestant recap of last night’s American Idol. I’m just going to hit on some highs and some lows and then let y’all chime in with your reactions. If you feel so inclined, of course.
Lows:
– Pia’s off-white jumpsuit with the elasticized waist. #wardrobefail
– Casey’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” performance – I appreciate that he takes risks, but one of his strong suits (so far) is that he’s been charming and endearing and sort of a throw-back to a time when people could really sing. Last night’s performance was way too screechy and yell-y and didn’t do his talent justice (in my humble opinion). America will extend him great grace, I think, because he’s SO TALENTED, but I hope he’s a little less edgy next week.
– Naima’s pitchiness – I am rooting for her, but she was all over the place last night.
– Jacob’s scream-a-thon – He has such a powerful voice, but his performance was too much for me. I halfway expected a wardrobe change mid-way through and then some fireworks to go off at the end. I’d just like to see him sing something more subtle.
Highs:
– Stefano – I thought he did a great job making a classic song sound super-modern. And in a night that was filled with lots of flats and sharps, he was pitch-perfect.
– Pia’s big voice – She nailed her song, and even though she picks songs that are a little pageant-y to me, she’s consistent.
– Scotty – It was great to hear him do something that was a little higher and a little less Josh Turner-esque.
– The producers – The behind-the-scenes stuff is so interesting to watch, and working with the same “mentors” week after week will reap big benefits for the contestants, I think.
– Lauren – I loved that she was more calm on stage this week, and even though she was sick, she sounded great. I actually liked the raspy quality in her voice, and I was a fan of the country twist on a rock and roll song.
Best of the week: Stefano
May be in danger: Paul, Karen, Haley – not because they’re not talented – but they just weren’t memorable
What did y’all think?
Oh, Casey. I didn’t love that. At all. Plus I still, to this day, have never understood a single word of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Lots of words ending in “o,” and that’s all I got. Although hearing the song again after so many years was kind of neat. It gave me flashbacks to high school, big plaid shirts, and Dr. Martens.
I think all Idol contestants need to STEP AWAY FROM “ALONE..” Carrie Underwood owned that song. I just had to Youtube her version to enjoy its awesomeness…and her hair teased up to Heaven. It was amazing! LOL. However, Jacob and his mom were too adorable for words.
I thought that Casey was over the top. Pia, agree on wardrobe fail and she is boring to me. Karen, wardrobe fail and I did not like her performance. Jacob was disappointing but I still like him.
My fav of the night was Stefano and Scotty. Lauren did good too. Going home: Haley
Just know that when Jacob started singing Alone, all I could think of were your words about that song needing to go into the vault (or something) after Carrie Underwood’s rendition. I don’t like him. I just don’t.
Karen: I, too, think of pageants when she sings. And mercy does she have to sing everything in Spanish, too?
Casey: My son and I rewatched it this morning then went to YouTube to see the Weird Al version. What a laugh we had! I thought he was good. It’s not my kind of song.
Naima should go home.
I liked Scotty (he reminds me of Forrest Gump and I mean that in a good way, plus I thought he did well with Travis Tritt) and I strongly disliked “Teen Spirit”, yuckola.
Pia – I totally agree -COMPLETE WARDROBE FAIL and these are my husband’s thoughts:
http://wimberlys.blogspot.com/2011/03/this-man-of-mine.html
Stefano – rocked it! He is my husband’s favorite
Haley – I wish she could figure it out because I LOVE her voice, but I agree with Randy, she doesn’t know who she is yet. I think she needs to do blues for sure
Thia – great voice, but I don’t think she articulates enough, I have a hard time understanding the words
Paul – I love him, but I am also a Wilco fan, so I can see why he might not make it too long because most of America won’t get him
Anyways, I love reading your takes on the contestants! Always entertaining!
Stefano — yes. Best of the night.
Jacob — he warbled all up and down the beginning of that “Alone” tune.
I laughed at the judges saying that they wished Lauren was sick every week. :)
I agree with your assessments, Boo. I love Pia’s voice, but she’s so stiff. It looks like she practices standing still, now move right arm, shake head, don’t move feet. She needs to do an up tempo number and move a bit more. No more power ballads.
I like Scotty but last night, The Hubster said, “I can’t look at him. He looks like Alfred E. Newman.” You know, the Mad Magazine guy? And he’s right!
I’m so glad the judges are calling the kids on the pitchiness this year. Naima just can’t get to the pitch, she so concerned with dancing. She’ll get a recording contract even after she gets voted off because they can fix that in the studio. But compared to the other kids, she just doesn’t have it.
And Jacob, sweet Jacob. Please, sing an Al Green or Luther or Temptations or something MoTown or Soul. Please. Stop screaming at me. I have a five octave voice, too, but you only want to hear about two of those octaves. Sing the pretty octaves and stop showing us how you can scream.
Finally, the Casey thing: Never was a Nirvana fan; The Hubster thought it sounded like a parody. I think he was right. Go back to the soulful stuff and leave the kitschy stuff to the amateurs.
Sort, stuff, fold, hang, Boo. I feel your pain.
OH MY! I agree 100% about the white jumpsuit. Being a child of the 80’s I thought she brought that back last night and soooo should NOT have. Do they look in the mirror before they go out there?
I was bathing my kiddo last night when I heard Casey’s song. Didn’t realize it was him. I walked out the bathroom to see who was butchering that song. Then I felt bad. I really like him but way to scream-ish.
And Jacob, he’s so good. Why did he do all that screaming? Screeching? Whatever it was.
I really liked Haley!
Oh Paul, I love your voice. But your dancing? I swear, you look like an addict having withdrawals when you try to dance. Can you not just stand there and sing? I have to close my eyes when you perform!
Ok, I think that’s enough of my rant. Oh, wrong. I love the producers stuff too. Makes the show long enough.
When my son heard it was “Sing a Song from the Year You Were Born Night,” decided to play a little game. He’d pause the show once he heard the contestants’ birth year, look up the chart toppers for that year, and speculate on what the contestant would pick. I TOTALLY called Lauren’s! My son also found Pia’s jumpsuit weird, but it sort of looked like the 80’s to me so I felt like it was ok – not for every day wear, just ok for singing a song from the 80’s. If you’re on American Idol, you know, cause I wouldn’t recommend it at other functions. I LOVED little Thia & Lauren & Scottie, and that was about it for me last night.
I don’t want to take up a lot of valuable Idol talk space as I don’t watch, but I just wanted to to throw this out – BooMama, did you remember to fill out your bracket?
What is wrong with me? I keep forgetting to watch the show. My kids are cursed by the time change and aren’t departing for bed early enough this week. Hulu, here I come!
Well, due to the fact that we DO NOT HAVE DVR (shock!horrors!whateverwillIdo?!) at our current (temporary) residence, I did not see all of the perfomances. But I did see Naima (bless her heart), Paul (little pitchy there, dawg), Casey (he frightened me, just a smidge), Lauren (HUGE improvement from last week), and Thia (the 15 year old with a 30 year old voice, has anyone checked her birth records?).
I think Naima is in danger of going, as is Paul (which would be a shame).
that’s all I got.
the end.
Oh and GO KENTUCKY!
The end.
For real.
Ok, I’ll admit I haven’t watched but 1 hour of AI this year. I know. I just forget about it on Wednesday night, and we all know Thursday is all about our beloved Must See TV on NBC. We also do not have a DVR, which should not be at all surprising in a household where our largest TV is a whopping 19″ (both wide _and_ deep, I think).
But here’s something funny I can share about last night. My sister’s children, who love the show, watched last night and heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time in their little lives (no surprise there). My 5-year-old nephew, forever “in it to win it,” decided to sing along the best he could. He spent the last few seconds of the song running around his living room screaming, “Avocado!! Avocado!! Avocado!!”
I think I like his version better.
Best performance of the night? Oh, the interview with Casey’s parents ~ hands-down!
I might have clapped my hands a little bit when they asked for hair and makeup. Delightful!
Stefano blew it out the water. I ran my DVR back and back and back and back. Then I bought his song on the iTunes. Best performance of the night. =)
I too am a fan of Stefano. I thought he was fantastic last night. And Lauren Alaina is a close second too, although I cannot believe she is so young! There were some poor wardrobe choices, and I couldn’t even tell you what song Karen sang the other night because I was too busy focusing on her hair and the extra large, flat, bun. Whoa.
Sister, AS USUAL, you are dead on in your assessment! ;-)
From beginning to end.
Casey kind of scared me.