Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A.I.: THE TOP 13
This week on American Idol the theme was songs from the catalog of Michael Jackson. And that's never not going to be a tad creepy. Last year David Cook found a way to completely transform "Billie Jean" into something all his own; that isn't easy to do with a Gloved One song. Shall we see who "made it their own" this week? I shall now bring in Senior American Idol Correspondent "Smooth", who I keep locked in my basement but rest assured he is given water and vitamin supplements and at no time is his health in danger.
Smooth: First up was Lil Rounds, who sang "The Way You Make Me Feel". It was a good vocal if a tad shouty, and she gave an energetic performance. Although I must say she had on some weird clothes. Lil is easily good enough to sail through to the next round.
E.K.: So far, Lil has proven to be rock solid. She hasn't missed a step yet, and she shows no signs of doing so. However, in order for me to be truly interested in her, she's going to have to do something remarkable, like a Fantasia "Summertime" type thing. She's sort of falling into a routine. Maybe she's doing that because she thinks she'll be in the competition for weeks to come and she can save her best stuff for later. She was quite good last night if a bit showy and slightly over-the-top, but I agree, she'll be back next week.
Smooth: With Michael Jackson's catalog, it's not a great idea to pick a relatively unknown song. But that's what Scott MacIntyre with "Keep The Faith". It was a decent performance, with a just-OK vocal. On a night with mostly very strong vocals, his was towards the bottom. However, everyone loves him and he'll still be fine. He'll make it to next week.
E.K.: I wasn't a big fan of this performance; I wasn't enthralled by the song, which I don't think I recall hearing before, and Scott's vocals were just okay, as you said. I thought he'd shine a lot more behind a piano, but maybe he was a little overwhelmed by being on the big stage. I wonder how different it must be getting acclimated to a larger crowd if you can't see most of it. But there's no way he's getting the boot this week.
Smooth: Danny Gokey took to the stage next and sang "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)". He gave a vocally excellent, confident performance, with a busload of goofy dancing mixed in. Unless you are a really good dancer, it's tough to avoid that in this setting though. He was very strong overall, perhaps the best of the night.
E.K.: One thing about the title of this song: If you're going to abbreviate it, why add what it stands for right afterwards? Anyway, I know what you're saying about his dancing; it kind of seemed like he was forcing it on himself a bit. It did not seem authentic. But I know what he's saying about being on stage and singing and dancing at the same time and how it's sometimes tough to mix it together; when I'm singing in my band and I'm not playing an instrument at the time, I barely know what to do with my hands let alone know how to dance successfully. But enough about me. Danny's a great singer and proved it again last night and he's not going anywhere, well, except to the next round.
Smooth: Oilrigger Michael Sarver went on next -- and yes, producers, we know he's an oilman already, sheesh! -- and he was a million times better than his previous song choice. His vocals aren't quite up there with the best (not as much power, and slightly pitchy at times) but they're pretty good, and he does have more charisma than you'd expect. Paula has already decided he is "in the finals"...so I guess we should stop with the viewer vote and just put him through.
E.K.: I thought Michael was the best he's ever been last night. He was very confident and gave a smooth performance, so much so that I actually thought he was lip-synching for a moment; I didn't realize he was that good. As for the charisma, I'm not sure I've seen it yet. But he'll have at least one more week.
Smooth: Now on to Jasmine Murray, who did "I'll Be There". One of the cardinal rules of this show is, don't go where Mariah has been (and I suppose I mean that in every sense). It wasn't a bad vocal at all, but making MJ songs "your own" is hard enough; when you throw in Mariah's version this song is basically untouchable. I like her and her voice is a lot better than I originally thought, but I don't think she's ready for this.
E.K.: Jasmine's going to have a rough time advancing far if she keeps doing songs like this. Forget that Mariah Carey once did it and that the comparisons are inevitable; she needs to do something richly soulful that we would expect from Lil Rounds. This is a very tinny song and it doesn't show off what Jasmine can do. She's undeniably cute, but it's going to take a lot more than her looks. Also, the arrangement was bad; seemed like most of it was just her singing the line, "I'll be there" over and over. The producers really need to give the singers more time on stage to perform their songs, and I know I say this often, but I don't care. I also know they need their advertising money, so whatever.
Smooth: You know, we were talking about how Kris Allen made it into the top 13, and when he came on my wife immediately remarked on him being cute. So he's got the female appeal going on, I think.
E.K.: Yeah, didja see who he got to be his wife? Wow. Hot with a capital H-O-T, my friend. But what was Simon talking about, that Kris should have "kept her hidden a couple more weeks"? I'm not quite sure where he was going with that.
Smooth: Kris seemed more comfortable performing with the guitar and he does have a very nice voice. He was mostly on pitch but he missed a few notes pretty bad. Weird song choice but it actually turned out better than I originally expected.
E.K.: I thought the guitar element was completely fake. As far as I could tell, he played two chords the entire song and they were on the same fret. I felt like he did this to seem more talented than he probably is. It wasn't bad, it was just blah. Up next was Allison Iraheta, who did "Give In To Me", which I had never heard before and I hope to Stevie Ray Vaughan* that I never hear it again. I don't know how Michael's arrangement was but here it sucked. Allison's a great singer but this one missed it by a mile. It just seemed too unpolished and she couldn't show off her vocals enough. I'll chalk it up to a bad song choice. She's much better than this.
E.K.: Come on, you're not that dynamic.
Smooth: I meant Allison, and I shall punch you. Up next was Anoop Desai, and as the judges pointed out "Beat It" is another "untouchable" song that automatically sounds karaoke. At least it sounded like pretty good karaoke, right?
E.K.: No, it didn't. It was awful.
Smooth: Oh come on. Anoop showed tons of personality, which is what he needs to do to keep going in the show.
E.K.: If by "personality" you mean "ridiculous over-the-top hotel-lounge crap" I totally agree with you.
Smooth: I thought you liked him.
E.K.: I thought I did too. But come on, dude, that was atrocious. The posturing, the horrible mini-attempt to move remotely like MJ, it was appalling. He made a fool of himself. I still can't believe he did this. Fortunately for him, I think the voters like him enough and they were probably willing to overlook this train wreck.
Smooth: Well, I'll wrap up with this: Likable + decent vocals + dork charm will get him through this week. Next we had Jorge Nuñez. "Never Can Say Goodbye" has been done before on AI, with poor results, if I recall correctly. I love the song, but it just isn't that exciting. He started out pretty rough and had some pitchy parts at the end as well. The accent and attempts to cover it up are slightly distracting at times.
E.K.: The judges were way harsher than you, and I thought it was totally uncalled for. I thought he did a nice job. I would not buy the record, but I thought he was quite solid if not spectacular. I'm not particularly worried or bothered by the accent; he's from Puerto Rico, for cryin' out loud. Up next we had the joy that is Megan Joy Corkrey, and I think I know where you're going to go with your criticism.
Smooth: Sorry EK, but this may have been the worst of the night.
E.K.: I thought you might think so.
Smooth: I'll number these so you can fight me in a more orderly fashion: (1) She looked hot, I will grant you that. (2) But the choice to sing "Rockin' Robin" was just awful. It sounded incredibly dated, even more than the Jackson 5 stuff. (3) Plus, it did not allow the better qualities of her voice to come through. (4) She grinned all the way through it. (5) Chalk it up to inexperience, because I don't think there is anything she could have done to make that song come off well. (6) The vocal was not horrible, but it's certainly nothing special. (7) And the "caw, caw" at the end? Horribawful.
E.K.: (1) Damn right. (2) I agree it sounded dated...horribly dated...and I do admit my heart sank a bit when Seacrest announced that was her song...but tell me if "Beat It" doesn't sound dated? (Aside: Immediately after I watched Idol I put in a Season-Three DVD of The Office. And coincidentally, the episode I watched was the one where Jim and Pam steal Andy's phone and put it above the ceiling and keep calling it so that Andy goes crazy trying to find it, and his inability to find it plus the ridiculous ringtone and its repitition compels him to smash his fist through the wall. The ringtone that drove him bonkers? A recording of Andy singing all four parts to an a cappella version of..."Rockin' Robin." Made Megan's version sound much better by comparison. (3) I suppose you're right about that. It didn't sound as much like Megan singing as I would have liked to hear. But she had fun doing it, and I love watching her have fun. (4) And isn't her grin cute? (5) Then she did the best she could and should be rewarded. (See MacIntyre, Scott.) (6) Everything about Megan is special. (7) Do you know how many times you would have to kill me before I would recommend she do that "caw caw" again? So...my verdict is...: It wasn't her best. She had an off-week. And I love Megan Joy Corkrey, and I really don't think anyone can do anything about that, not even choosing to do "Rockin' Robin" on American Idol during Michael Jackson Week.
Smooth: I think Adam Lambert must come off better live than on TV, because the judges basically worshiped him after he sang "Black Or White". I know he's talented, but his personality is just incredibly off-putting, and I don't like the screechy tone of his voice. He does exude confidence on stage, but I still don't like it. Whatever, he'll be around for months.
E.K.: Given what I said last week about Adam, namely that I couldn't stand it, this is probably the biggest about-face I've ever done about an AI contestant in a one-week span or however long it's been since we saw him last: I liked it a lot.
Smooth: You're joking.
E.K.: Nope. I'm not sure why I liked him this time and hated him last time, because he didn't change his persona at all. But his vocals were really, really good, and he pretty much electrified everyone, and I'm going to give him all the credit in the world for it. If there is one positive about the screeching, it's that he hits the notes he strives for. If he missed them, this would be a whole different series of sentences.
Smooth: Okay, well, why don't you start off with Matt, 'cause I need a few more seconds to recover from what you just said.
E.K.: Fine by me. Matt Giraud was in his element this week, right behind the piano. He's good at piano and he's good at singing and he's good at doing both at the same time. Might I say he's like Brooke White in that regard? I would have liked to hear him unaccompanied by the band; while I like "Human Nature" I've never particularly liked the arrangement of it, and I think he could have stood out even more by going solo on it. But never mind; he'll be back next week fo sho.
Smooth: Behind the piano is indeed Matt's comfort zone. Good song choice which minimized the effect of his usually-excessive vibrato, and he added his own touches here and there. A few pitchy spots but this was the best we've seen him thus far, I think. He got screwed out of screen time during the judges' comments because the show was running long.
E.K.: That's 'cause Paula's an attention whore and can't shut up. She alone causes shows to last six extra minutes.
Smooth: Finally, Alexis Grace wore a jumper that I believe was a size negative 6. Again, her growly vocals and downright angry stage persona are startling after seeing her interviews. It was weird but effective. I was worried the song choice would make this a train wreck but she rocked it out and I think she managed to pull it off. The ending is a bit weird. Due to phone sex conflicts, she has a different phone number than expected but I am pretty sure that won't matter, she'll be
just fine.
E.K.: I thought it was closer to a train wreck than a masterpiece. It wasn't special by any means, and for some reason the lighting guys kept her in the dark, it seemed, through most of her song. But she definitely has a powerhouse voice in that little body of hers, and if I thought David Eckstein were any good at baseball I'd say she's the David Eckstein of American Idol Season 8. She'll have at least a couple more weeks for sure. And yes, it was kind of weird, the first 12 contestants got phone numbers 1 through 12, and she got 36. 36? 'Cause they had a Top 36? Okay, whatever. Predictions, sir?
Smooth: Overall this really may be the deepest season of AI yet. There was not an absolute stinker in any of those performances, some weren't great, but nothing even approaching Kevin Covais-level bad. A number of people have really great vocals. Predicted bottom 3: Jorge, Megan, Jasmine. If they throw in a fourth I'll go with Allison. Predicted boots? Jorge, Jasmine.
E.K.: As for me, I'll guess that Jorge and Allison will be headed home and that Jasmine will have to sweat it out in the bottom three. I'm curious as to what change in the voting they said they've added this year. I wonder if the judges get a percentage of a vote to add to a singer's total? We shall see tonight.
Smooth: First up was Lil Rounds, who sang "The Way You Make Me Feel". It was a good vocal if a tad shouty, and she gave an energetic performance. Although I must say she had on some weird clothes. Lil is easily good enough to sail through to the next round.
E.K.: So far, Lil has proven to be rock solid. She hasn't missed a step yet, and she shows no signs of doing so. However, in order for me to be truly interested in her, she's going to have to do something remarkable, like a Fantasia "Summertime" type thing. She's sort of falling into a routine. Maybe she's doing that because she thinks she'll be in the competition for weeks to come and she can save her best stuff for later. She was quite good last night if a bit showy and slightly over-the-top, but I agree, she'll be back next week.
Smooth: With Michael Jackson's catalog, it's not a great idea to pick a relatively unknown song. But that's what Scott MacIntyre with "Keep The Faith". It was a decent performance, with a just-OK vocal. On a night with mostly very strong vocals, his was towards the bottom. However, everyone loves him and he'll still be fine. He'll make it to next week.
E.K.: I wasn't a big fan of this performance; I wasn't enthralled by the song, which I don't think I recall hearing before, and Scott's vocals were just okay, as you said. I thought he'd shine a lot more behind a piano, but maybe he was a little overwhelmed by being on the big stage. I wonder how different it must be getting acclimated to a larger crowd if you can't see most of it. But there's no way he's getting the boot this week.
Smooth: Danny Gokey took to the stage next and sang "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)". He gave a vocally excellent, confident performance, with a busload of goofy dancing mixed in. Unless you are a really good dancer, it's tough to avoid that in this setting though. He was very strong overall, perhaps the best of the night.
E.K.: One thing about the title of this song: If you're going to abbreviate it, why add what it stands for right afterwards? Anyway, I know what you're saying about his dancing; it kind of seemed like he was forcing it on himself a bit. It did not seem authentic. But I know what he's saying about being on stage and singing and dancing at the same time and how it's sometimes tough to mix it together; when I'm singing in my band and I'm not playing an instrument at the time, I barely know what to do with my hands let alone know how to dance successfully. But enough about me. Danny's a great singer and proved it again last night and he's not going anywhere, well, except to the next round.
Smooth: Oilrigger Michael Sarver went on next -- and yes, producers, we know he's an oilman already, sheesh! -- and he was a million times better than his previous song choice. His vocals aren't quite up there with the best (not as much power, and slightly pitchy at times) but they're pretty good, and he does have more charisma than you'd expect. Paula has already decided he is "in the finals"...so I guess we should stop with the viewer vote and just put him through.
E.K.: I thought Michael was the best he's ever been last night. He was very confident and gave a smooth performance, so much so that I actually thought he was lip-synching for a moment; I didn't realize he was that good. As for the charisma, I'm not sure I've seen it yet. But he'll have at least one more week.
Smooth: Now on to Jasmine Murray, who did "I'll Be There". One of the cardinal rules of this show is, don't go where Mariah has been (and I suppose I mean that in every sense). It wasn't a bad vocal at all, but making MJ songs "your own" is hard enough; when you throw in Mariah's version this song is basically untouchable. I like her and her voice is a lot better than I originally thought, but I don't think she's ready for this.
E.K.: Jasmine's going to have a rough time advancing far if she keeps doing songs like this. Forget that Mariah Carey once did it and that the comparisons are inevitable; she needs to do something richly soulful that we would expect from Lil Rounds. This is a very tinny song and it doesn't show off what Jasmine can do. She's undeniably cute, but it's going to take a lot more than her looks. Also, the arrangement was bad; seemed like most of it was just her singing the line, "I'll be there" over and over. The producers really need to give the singers more time on stage to perform their songs, and I know I say this often, but I don't care. I also know they need their advertising money, so whatever.
Smooth: You know, we were talking about how Kris Allen made it into the top 13, and when he came on my wife immediately remarked on him being cute. So he's got the female appeal going on, I think.
E.K.: Yeah, didja see who he got to be his wife? Wow. Hot with a capital H-O-T, my friend. But what was Simon talking about, that Kris should have "kept her hidden a couple more weeks"? I'm not quite sure where he was going with that.
Smooth: Kris seemed more comfortable performing with the guitar and he does have a very nice voice. He was mostly on pitch but he missed a few notes pretty bad. Weird song choice but it actually turned out better than I originally expected.
E.K.: I thought the guitar element was completely fake. As far as I could tell, he played two chords the entire song and they were on the same fret. I felt like he did this to seem more talented than he probably is. It wasn't bad, it was just blah. Up next was Allison Iraheta, who did "Give In To Me", which I had never heard before and I hope to Stevie Ray Vaughan* that I never hear it again. I don't know how Michael's arrangement was but here it sucked. Allison's a great singer but this one missed it by a mile. It just seemed too unpolished and she couldn't show off her vocals enough. I'll chalk it up to a bad song choice. She's much better than this.
* Some people say "God" here.Smooth: It was indeed another relatively obscure song. I thought she did a nice job with it, but I'm a little concerned for her because it did not really allow her to show off her personality as much as she probably needed to. The vocal was great, but overall it didn't really grab my attention, which is surprising for someone who is usually very dynamic.
E.K.: Come on, you're not that dynamic.
Smooth: I meant Allison, and I shall punch you. Up next was Anoop Desai, and as the judges pointed out "Beat It" is another "untouchable" song that automatically sounds karaoke. At least it sounded like pretty good karaoke, right?
E.K.: No, it didn't. It was awful.
Smooth: Oh come on. Anoop showed tons of personality, which is what he needs to do to keep going in the show.
E.K.: If by "personality" you mean "ridiculous over-the-top hotel-lounge crap" I totally agree with you.
Smooth: I thought you liked him.
E.K.: I thought I did too. But come on, dude, that was atrocious. The posturing, the horrible mini-attempt to move remotely like MJ, it was appalling. He made a fool of himself. I still can't believe he did this. Fortunately for him, I think the voters like him enough and they were probably willing to overlook this train wreck.
Smooth: Well, I'll wrap up with this: Likable + decent vocals + dork charm will get him through this week. Next we had Jorge Nuñez. "Never Can Say Goodbye" has been done before on AI, with poor results, if I recall correctly. I love the song, but it just isn't that exciting. He started out pretty rough and had some pitchy parts at the end as well. The accent and attempts to cover it up are slightly distracting at times.
E.K.: The judges were way harsher than you, and I thought it was totally uncalled for. I thought he did a nice job. I would not buy the record, but I thought he was quite solid if not spectacular. I'm not particularly worried or bothered by the accent; he's from Puerto Rico, for cryin' out loud. Up next we had the joy that is Megan Joy Corkrey, and I think I know where you're going to go with your criticism.
Smooth: Sorry EK, but this may have been the worst of the night.
E.K.: I thought you might think so.
Smooth: I'll number these so you can fight me in a more orderly fashion: (1) She looked hot, I will grant you that. (2) But the choice to sing "Rockin' Robin" was just awful. It sounded incredibly dated, even more than the Jackson 5 stuff. (3) Plus, it did not allow the better qualities of her voice to come through. (4) She grinned all the way through it. (5) Chalk it up to inexperience, because I don't think there is anything she could have done to make that song come off well. (6) The vocal was not horrible, but it's certainly nothing special. (7) And the "caw, caw" at the end? Horribawful.
E.K.: (1) Damn right. (2) I agree it sounded dated...horribly dated...and I do admit my heart sank a bit when Seacrest announced that was her song...but tell me if "Beat It" doesn't sound dated? (Aside: Immediately after I watched Idol I put in a Season-Three DVD of The Office. And coincidentally, the episode I watched was the one where Jim and Pam steal Andy's phone and put it above the ceiling and keep calling it so that Andy goes crazy trying to find it, and his inability to find it plus the ridiculous ringtone and its repitition compels him to smash his fist through the wall. The ringtone that drove him bonkers? A recording of Andy singing all four parts to an a cappella version of..."Rockin' Robin." Made Megan's version sound much better by comparison. (3) I suppose you're right about that. It didn't sound as much like Megan singing as I would have liked to hear. But she had fun doing it, and I love watching her have fun. (4) And isn't her grin cute? (5) Then she did the best she could and should be rewarded. (See MacIntyre, Scott.) (6) Everything about Megan is special. (7) Do you know how many times you would have to kill me before I would recommend she do that "caw caw" again? So...my verdict is...: It wasn't her best. She had an off-week. And I love Megan Joy Corkrey, and I really don't think anyone can do anything about that, not even choosing to do "Rockin' Robin" on American Idol during Michael Jackson Week.
Smooth: I think Adam Lambert must come off better live than on TV, because the judges basically worshiped him after he sang "Black Or White". I know he's talented, but his personality is just incredibly off-putting, and I don't like the screechy tone of his voice. He does exude confidence on stage, but I still don't like it. Whatever, he'll be around for months.
E.K.: Given what I said last week about Adam, namely that I couldn't stand it, this is probably the biggest about-face I've ever done about an AI contestant in a one-week span or however long it's been since we saw him last: I liked it a lot.
Smooth: You're joking.
E.K.: Nope. I'm not sure why I liked him this time and hated him last time, because he didn't change his persona at all. But his vocals were really, really good, and he pretty much electrified everyone, and I'm going to give him all the credit in the world for it. If there is one positive about the screeching, it's that he hits the notes he strives for. If he missed them, this would be a whole different series of sentences.
Smooth: Okay, well, why don't you start off with Matt, 'cause I need a few more seconds to recover from what you just said.
E.K.: Fine by me. Matt Giraud was in his element this week, right behind the piano. He's good at piano and he's good at singing and he's good at doing both at the same time. Might I say he's like Brooke White in that regard? I would have liked to hear him unaccompanied by the band; while I like "Human Nature" I've never particularly liked the arrangement of it, and I think he could have stood out even more by going solo on it. But never mind; he'll be back next week fo sho.
Smooth: Behind the piano is indeed Matt's comfort zone. Good song choice which minimized the effect of his usually-excessive vibrato, and he added his own touches here and there. A few pitchy spots but this was the best we've seen him thus far, I think. He got screwed out of screen time during the judges' comments because the show was running long.
E.K.: That's 'cause Paula's an attention whore and can't shut up. She alone causes shows to last six extra minutes.
Smooth: Finally, Alexis Grace wore a jumper that I believe was a size negative 6. Again, her growly vocals and downright angry stage persona are startling after seeing her interviews. It was weird but effective. I was worried the song choice would make this a train wreck but she rocked it out and I think she managed to pull it off. The ending is a bit weird. Due to phone sex conflicts, she has a different phone number than expected but I am pretty sure that won't matter, she'll be
just fine.
E.K.: I thought it was closer to a train wreck than a masterpiece. It wasn't special by any means, and for some reason the lighting guys kept her in the dark, it seemed, through most of her song. But she definitely has a powerhouse voice in that little body of hers, and if I thought David Eckstein were any good at baseball I'd say she's the David Eckstein of American Idol Season 8. She'll have at least a couple more weeks for sure. And yes, it was kind of weird, the first 12 contestants got phone numbers 1 through 12, and she got 36. 36? 'Cause they had a Top 36? Okay, whatever. Predictions, sir?
Smooth: Overall this really may be the deepest season of AI yet. There was not an absolute stinker in any of those performances, some weren't great, but nothing even approaching Kevin Covais-level bad. A number of people have really great vocals. Predicted bottom 3: Jorge, Megan, Jasmine. If they throw in a fourth I'll go with Allison. Predicted boots? Jorge, Jasmine.
E.K.: As for me, I'll guess that Jorge and Allison will be headed home and that Jasmine will have to sweat it out in the bottom three. I'm curious as to what change in the voting they said they've added this year. I wonder if the judges get a percentage of a vote to add to a singer's total? We shall see tonight.
