New URL for the American Idol buzz blog!
Please go to the new American Idol Buzz blog at http://blogs.ajc.com/american-idol-blog/
Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > April > 08
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
4/8: Top 8 performance show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Overall, I was expecting lots of Celine Dion/Bette Midler/Michael Bolton crap. But on the most part, the top 8 picked quality songs and the performance levels were pretty good. There is not a really weak Sanjaya/Haley type character this year. And we are forever grateful.
That doesn’t mean some folks aren’t dancing on the edge of elimination. I’d say the bottom three are going to be Carly Smithson, Syesha Mercado and for the first time, Michael Johns. (We need a surprise!) And who will go home? Syesha, sadly enough. But Carly isn’t in the clear. This wasn’t a great David Cook performance but I think he has enough residual goodwill to avoid the bottom three. And Kristy Lee Cook is picking good songs for herself and staying just out of trouble. It’s a perfect time for her to pick up the pace while others struggle to define themselves.
Here are my rankings: 1- Jason Castro 2- Kristy Lee Cook (who woulda thunk it that I would ever rank her this high?) 3- David Archuleta 4- Brooke White 5- Michael Johns 6- Syesha Mercado 7- David Cook 8- Carly Smithson
I did my rankings before reading anybody else’s comments or checking dialidol.com. Let me do that now. (If dialidol is accurate, I have the bottom three correct though only the top 3 are safe—the same three I ranked at the top.)
And somebody lifted Paula’s pups a bit much. They must have been screaming in pain!
First up: Michael Johns (“Dream On” Aerosmith) He used this song as a template for his own life. “Dreams come true and it’s happening to me,” he said. As noted in the last blog entry, the pure rock thang doesn’t work quite as well for him as the bluesy-soul stuff. This song has some bluesy elements to it so it’s actually not a bad fit but he isn’t quite as edgy or dirty as Steven Tyler to truly pull it off from a performance standpoint. Vocally, he hit it, even those high notes. Randy: “I thought it was a pretty good song choice but it had some pitch problems but I still don’t buy you as an Aerosmith. That’s not the singer you are.” Paula: “I couldn’t disagree more. It was a perfect song for you to pick. You sound as good as you look. The high notes, I think my chihuahuas are going to join you on stage.” Simon: “It was a very good performance. What I’m slightly with Randy. I don’t like it when you do an impersonation of a rock star. I prefer the more blues/R&B of last week… it was a little bit wannabe-ish.” B-plus/A-minus. (I tended to agree with Simon on this one.)
Syesha Mercardo (“I Believe” Fantasia) Oh, boy. Talk about risky. Taking on Fantasia’s signature “Idol” winning song. I’ve seen Fantasia do this live and it’s a sight to behold. I’ve gotten those dreaded Paula goosebumps. I can’t imagine Syesha could match it no matter how much I like her. She does a fine job but it may come to connecting with the audience. And like being compared to Whitney last week, being compared to Fantasia is a losing proposition. She simply doesn’t connect to that emotional level. Randy; “You took another tiger this week. Fantasia is one of the best singers. She has that special connection I didn’t find with you… she sang the living daylights out of it.” Paula: “She has her own unique style. You flipped it and made it your own. This was one of your most shining nights.” Simon: “To be fair, there’s going to be a comparison.. technically, I thought you sang it very well. However, what it lacked was that big wave of emotion when Fantasia sang it. I want to find out what you are all about.” B-plus/A-minus
Jason Castro (“Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Israel Kamakawiwo’ole) - This is my favorite version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” You might remember it from the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore film “50 First Dates.” Jason pretty much apes that version with the ukelele but it’s still lovely, his best performance in weeks. Great song choice. And the crowd is no longer waving their arms out of sync, thank goodness. Randy: “Dude. Jason Castro is back in the hunt. That was the hottest tonight.” Paula: “You have the most definitive sound… it was the perfect song and I loved that version.” Simon: “Fantastic!” A/A-minus
Kristy Lee Cook (“Anyway” Martina McBride) A smart song choice but can she surpass Martina? That won’t be easy. Our perennial bottom three singer lacks the purity of Martina’s voice but she puts her heart into it. The chorus is a nice touch. I actually liked it a lot. She might have sung herself into the safety zone. This was my favorite Kristy Lee Cook performance so far. Randy; “I loved that. That was really good.” Paula: ” You outdid yourself tonight. It was your best by far.” Simon: “Randy made a point. With a choice this broad, you have an opportunity to show who you really are. And I thought you were very very good indeed.” A-minus.
David Cook (“Innocent” Our Lady Peace). The spoilers got it right. He’s taking a risk by offering up a song that hardly anybody knows. (I know a handful of Our Lady Peace songs. This was not one of them. I see that it barely scraped the top 20 on the modern rock charts in 2003.) I thought he was very pitchy early on but the ending was better, with the inked “give back” on his left hand. It felt a bit stagey and for once, he didn’t feel quite so organic. I wasn’t thrilled. Randy: “I’m not sure this was one of your strongest weeks. I didn’t quite get it tonight.” Paula: “You are so well defined as being the whole package. You are it and I believe in you.” Simon: “I didn’t like this performance very much. I thought it was a teensy bit pompous. The whole white jacket… we say this week after week, originality, choice of song..” B
Carly Smithson (“The Show Must Go On” Queen) Speaking of pompous, this song is deeply indulgent. We want her to be warmer and this does nothing of the sort. She has a weakness for this theatrical pomp. And she ended it kind of abruptly, allowing the chorus to finish it. Randy: “Just okay for me. Disconnected for me.” Paula: “There’s something I’m going to agree with. Your voice as always is totally pretty perfect. I didn’t feel the connection. I didn’t feel engaged with you.” Simon: “You look good. I thought it was an unusual choice of song. I’m being honest. I think you oversang it to the point you did lose control of the song towards the end. It came over strangely an angry performance, which felt out of kilter with the night. You might be in a bit of trouble after tonight.” B-minus (She said she lost focus when she looked at Simon. That’s not good.)
David Archuleta (“Angels” Robbie Williams) This is a solid song choice for David. It’s not terribly well known here in the United State, though, where it peaked at No. 41 in 1997 (but No. 4 in the U.K.) He’s quite at ease behind a piano. Very Josh Grobin. Treacly? Hell, yeah! But what do you expect from David Archuleta? Randy: “That’s the David Archuleta I love. Crazy hot. Loved it!” Paula: “Fantastic.” Simon: “Best song choice of the night so far. It was never a hit here but one of the best pop songs written… it was a bit nasally… I’m nit picking. You will sail into the next round.” A-minus
Pimp spot: Brooke White (“You Got a Friend” James Taylor) This may be the first time Brooke has gotten the pimp spot and that’s always a good thing, especially at this stage. And this is a brilliant song choice. Given her Carly Simon, early 70s singer-songwriter vibe, picking a Carole King piece is perfect. She decided to ditch the piano and just stand there. Her voice sounds kind of rough tonight in the first verse. But she’s so sincere and captures that “connection with the audience” feel that Carly missed this week. Brooke was born like 35 years too late! Randy: “For me, I don’t think it was your best performance. It was okay.” Paula: “My sister played it over and over again. And I think it’s a perfect way to close the evening.” Simon: “It was a pleasant walk in the park. It was nice. Was it original? No. Was it pleasant? Yes. Thank you.:” A-minus/B-plus
Permalink | Comments (190) | Post your comment |
4/8: Advice for Michael Johns, judges on Larry King, Clay Aiken single
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I just spoke with Josh Gracin about his new album “We Weren’t Crazy,” which came out on April 1, nearly four years after his successful debut CD, which sold nearly 700,000 copies.
While he wasn’t intimately revealing, he gave me more than I expected about why the album was pushed back so many times and how his life is now. There’s plenty of material already in this blog entry so I’ll post the interview tomorrow morning.
-And speaking of Michael Johns, USA Today has four vocal coaches dissect why Michael and Carly Smithson aren’t doing better and what they need to do so..
Here’s a bit of what Rona Elliott says Johns needs to do:
You need to review the above and step into and own, at the cellular level, the concept of being a rock star. You need to long to be looked at, like Mick and Sting. You need to want to be desired and admired by men and women. You need to develop a self-indulgence and self-love that enhances your charisma. You need to discover the exhibitionist within who needs, like food and water, other people’s admiration and envy and being the object of their attention, to shine.
I agree with her. Good points. Embrace your inner rock god! Just let it go!
And thoughts about Carly, which are also spot on:
Carly needs to embrace her beauty, femininity and vulnerability. As a girl, I can also add, she needs to soften up some: change her makeup from harsh black to browns, lighten that lip gloss (sorry guys!) and pull her hair off her face in a different style that’s more revealing. This will all communicate more openness.
-MJ’s Big Blog posted the entire hour of Randy, Simon and Paula (plus Ryan) on “Larry King Live.”.
She was kind enough to provide a summary, which offers no surprises. As conventional wisdom states, they think it will be David vs. David but Simon prefers Cook. Randy thinks Kristy Lee can make it as a country singer; Simon, not so much. Randy thinks Syesha can end up on Broadway; Simon doesn’t think she’s strong enough vocally. Simon thinks Jason it too laid back and Randy wouldn’t sign him. Everyone agrees Brooke should stick to singer-songwriter stuff. They think Carly hasn’t figured out who she wants to be as a singer while Michael Johns should stick to blue-eyed soul and not so much the rock stuff.
Spoilers have David Cook singing this song tonight.. And here’s what David Archuleta mght sing tongiht.
Preview Clay Aiken’s sugary new ballad “On My Way Here” here.. Email me at rho@ajc.com any questions I can ask him on Friday.
