Archives for March 2011

I’m a little late getting started tonight because I HAD TO WATCH the first few minutes of “Survivor” to see who won the Redemption Island duel between Matt and Russell. I won’t give away the outcome in case you haven’t watched yet, BUT I MOST DEFINITELY HAVE SOME THOUGHTS.

All righty. Idol. Away we go.

Lauren Alaina – “Any Man of Mine” – My biggest issue with this song is that it tends to err on the side of karaoke, and maybe the reason I feel that way is because I personally have attempted to BREAK IT DOWN on several occasions when playing “Rock Band” with my family. This wasn’t Lauren’s strongest performance by a long shot – a little holler-y in parts – and she didn’t seem very comfortable on stage (nerves, maybe?). It felt a little herky-jerky, but I’m hoping the voters will extend her some grace because she really could win the whole kit and kaboodle in the end.

Casey Abrams – “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends” – It’s tricky for Casey to pick a Joe Cocker song because, well, there will be comparisons. But listen: there was not one false note in that performance; it was original and modern and compelling. Loved it (especially the falsetto on “I just want someone to love”). So, so enjoyable to watch him and hear him – he really is, as Steven said, “a rainbow of talent.” (Let’s just all nod and pretend that we know what that means.)

Ashthon Jones – “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” – I just need to pause for a moment and mention how much I enjoy Ashthon’s hair. It is spectacular. As for her song – well, it started off pretty rough. She was a little flat, then a little sharp, and while there were places when it seemed like she was going to get on a roll, she never completely recovered from the pitch problems. On top of all that was the fact that the song was hard to follow (I appreciate that she chose a lesser-known Diana Ross song, though). In the end, the judges seemed to like it more than I did.

Paul McDonald – “Come Pick Me Up” – Is this the first time someone on Idol has sung a Ryan Adams song? This development is very indy and folksy and good. I was a little thrown off by Paul asking the audience how they were doing tonight, but hey – new season, new traditions. This wasn’t the best song choice in terms of reeling in your listeners – it made for a performance that was definitely quirky and maybe even a little bit weird. That being said, I’m a fan of his voice, and I’ll give him a pass on this week’s performance in the hopes that he’ll break out something a little more relatable next week.

Pia Toscano – “All By Myself” – As a brief personal aside, I would like to point out that this was my all-time favorite song to sing in the car during the road trips of my mid-20s. You haven’t lived until you’ve rolled down the windows of your sah-weet maroon Altima and BELTED ‘ER OUT on I-55.

Given all that, this song choice didn’t surprise me at all – Pia seems to enjoy the Moving Ballad. She did a great job with the song; the only negative, at least to me, was that she didn’t do anything terribly original. At some point she’s going to have to break out and show us a little individuality. And at the end of her performance, I couldn’t help but think, “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CONTESTANT NUMBER FOUR, PIA TOSCANO!” However, there’s no question that she’s really, really talented.

p.s. – I was somewhat confused by the train on her dress. And I just needed to share that.

James Durbin – “Maybe I’m Amazed” – Before he even sang a note, I was intrigued – because this song has a BIG OLE chorus. And y’all, he nailed it. I loved that the whole thing wasn’t one big screamfest; the more subdued parts at the beginning and the end were a great contrast to the chorus. Here’s the other thing: there’s a real sincerity from him when he’s on the stage. I can’t explain it; I just know it when I see it. He may be the biggest surprise of the competition – I wasn’t expecting him to be nearly as consistent as he has been.

Haley Reinhart – “Blue” – Even though the melody of this song sounds simple, it can go south fast if the singer is even a teensy bit sharp or flat or pitchy or whathaveyou. She did a nice job with the song, but it was just sort of what I expected (though definitely with more of a country twang). It was a little pageant-y, and since the arrangement was so straightforward, it didn’t really feel special. It wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination – it was just a little boring.

Jacob Lusk – “I Believe I Can Fly” – To be clear: I DO NOT LIKE THIS SONG. I feel like Jacob is way better than this song. But I have to say: the slower arrangement worked in his favor, especially at the beginning. There was a LOT of vibrato and a LOT of runs packed into a short amount of time – maybe even a little too much for my taste. I wouldn’t have minded if he’d dialed it down a notch or four; he hit the crescendo of the song so early that he didn’t really have anywhere left to go for the last half of his performance. So he just kept on with the vibrato and the runs. He gave it everything he had, though – and even though the song wasn’t my thing, he did a good job.

Thia Megia – “Smile” – I’m not sure if this particular Michael Jackson song is the best choice for Thia, but maybe that’s just because I feel like she needs to break out from performances that make it seem like she’s auditioning to be a Disney princess (not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you). She’s remarkably understated and comfortable on stage for someone who’s 15 years old, but it may take awhile before we get a sense of who she is as an artist. It was a lovely performance, but it wasn’t necessarily a memorable one.

Stefano Langone – “Lately” – I am of the opinion that it’s almost impossible to go wrong with a Stevie Wonder song. Unfortunately, though, this one seemed to get away from Stefano. I couldn’t tell if he was ahead of the music or behind it at the beginning, but he was all over the place pitch-wise until the tempo picked up. It felt a little manic to me (maybe because I had that sense that he was playing catch-up), but I was glad that he seemed to grab hold of the reins about mid-way through. Not my favorite performance, but I’m rooting for him. (Does his voice remind anybody else of Jimmy Needham? Because his voice really reminds me of Jimmy Needham.)

Karen Rodriguez – “I Could Fall In Love” – I’m gonna step out on a limb and say that JLo will have a special appreciation for Karen singing a gorgeous Selena song (I thought JLo was really good in the Selena movie, by the way), but this performance was so subdued that I was a little bored in parts (I think she has laryngitis, though, so she’s probably off her game). It was another one of those straightforward, way-too-similar-to-the-original arrangements that left me wishing that I’d seen something unique or different from the person doing the singing.

Scotty McCreery – “The River” – Scotty is a fella who knows his strengths, and the song choice was perfect for him. The first part of the song was a little choppy, but he hit his stride on the chorus. It remains to be seen if Scotty can change up a song and really and truly make it his own, but he did a nice job with this one. I imagine that somewhere in Oklahoma, Garth Brooks is mighty proud of the North Carolina boy who sang his song on TV tonight. Purely speculation on my part, of course. Since I don’t really know whether or not Garth is, you know, at home. Or whether he watched Idol. SO LET US JUST PRETEND.

Naima Adedapo – “Umbrella” – I have so enjoyed Naima so far – she’s unique and memorable and oh-so-talented, not to mention that she sang her heart out during last week’s wild card competition (seriously – it was one of my Top 5 Idol moments ever). I loved that she put her own twist on the song, and even though she as a little off-key in parts, she was one of the few people tonight who showed us who she is as an artist. It was courageous to go with something new and different as opposed to the status quo, so good for her.

Best of the night: Casey, James, Pia
Should go: Haley or Karen (they’re both talented – but they didn’t stand out from the pack)
Will go: I have no idea. Since Lauren sang first and didn’t wow us, she could be in trouble. So could Ashthon. And I think Haley and Karen are in danger, too.

By the way, I SO enjoyed seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff from rehearsals, and the feedback from the producers was really interesting. Thumbs up for that little addition to the AI line-up.

What did y’all think?