Thursday, April 30, 2009
DOWN TO THE FINAL FOUR ON A.I.
This week's theme on the world's biggest karaoke contest was "The Rat Pack." And who did they bring in as the mentor for the week? Jamie Foxx. ANd who am I bringing up from the basement? E.K. Nation's Senior American Idol Correspondent "Smooth". What up, dawg.
Smooth: Jamie Foxx really makes me think "Rat Pack". Also, Tony Danza makes me think "Cirque du Soleil". Foxx actually seemed to give good advice, though. All right, let's start with Kris, who did "The Way You Look Tonight", and who was excellent. The crooner theme calls for a very pure, clean tone, and that's exactly what Kris brought to the table. The first half of the arrangement was a very nice, mostly straightforward rendition. The second half was more uptempo and Kris playe around with the melody slightly in a few spots to keep it interesting. The only minor quibble I had was that his falsetto, while on key, sounded a bit weak. Simon called it "wet"; perhaps he's referring to Kris' female fans? Hello, vicar!
E.K. Hey, hey, hey, family blog here.
Smooth: Yeah, not really. Anyway, I think Simon meant that it was safe and verging on boring, which... kind of, but it was so well done that I think it was entertaining.
E.K. In explaining what he meant by "wet", Simon said, "Not dry," so he pretty much surrounded that one. I still don't know what that meant. But I do know that Kris pretty much nailed this song, except for, as you noted, the falsetto, which I didn't think worked at all, either as a style of Kris' own or as an element of a performance of a standard. Imagine Sinatra doing falsetto. See, you can't do it. I did not feel he was going to wind up in the bottom 3, but of course we know now that he did.
Smooth: Allison is kind of a black hole of personality in her interviews, isn't she? Nerves, perhaps.
E.K. Or maybe because she's 17.
Smooth: The arrangement of "Someone To Watch Over Me" had some similarities to the one Kris did in that it sped up halfway through and gave her a chance to show off her pipes. She sounded very good, but Allison's voice is naturally a bit hoarse. It's a rock voice, and it doesn't fit the theme very well. In addition, she appears to be the contestant least familiar with the source material (unsurprising, considering her age). The main problem is that she's simply the least charismatic singer left right now. She can really sing, but she can't win this competition.
E.K. I thought she was excellent here. I'm not so sure I was reminded too much of her raspy-rock-style voice; I think she made a nice adjustment to her voice to make it fit in to the style of the song. I'm glad the voters recognize that she is so much better than Lil, or Scott. I can't think of a 16-year-old, or I guess just-turned-17-year-old, singer on this show who has been better than Allison. Paris, maybe, from a few years back? She doesn't need to be much of a star during the interviews, 'cause chick can sing. Maybe she won't win, but...maybe she will. I'm still thinking Adam is going to win, but it would not surprise me at all to see Allison in the finals. And by the way, how many people has Paula said "See ya in the finals" to? Five? Does she know that the finale will be contested between two people? Has she done this show before?
Smooth: Foxx counseled Matt to hold notes longer instead of riffing constantly. He did seem to try to hold back in a few places, but in some parts of the song, he just couldn't help himself. The crazy runs just sounded way out of place in this genre. Also, Matt's performance was a bit cheesy; I think he does really try to get into the Rat Pack feel, but that led to him overperforming the song, especially in the first half of it. He altered his tone and phrasing; combined with the hat, it's like he's in a musical or something. Oddly, Simon loves it and calls it "believable" and "authentic". I usually agree with Simon, but in this case I definitely cannot.
E.K. I can't either. Simon was a weird case this week, loving the mediocre performance and expressing disappointment in the other four strong performances. I don't think Matt was awful by any means but there were a few minor pitch problems in there that immediately put him in the bottom 3. Maybe he should have tried the piano; he usually seems the most comfortable there. Next up was Danny, who started off his song doing the same thing he's been doing for weeks now, namely singing well but showing little charisma. However, the song picked up tempo and out came the outgoing, energetic Danny he's been needing to be for a long time. He blew this one out of the box. A very nice, dynamic performance.
Smooth: I also thought this was definitely his best performance in recent weeks. He, too, has a slight rock edge to his voice, but his song choice is much better than Allison's. The bluesy arrangement and big finish to the song complemented his vocals well. He really got into it at the end and did some nice runs, staying on pitch as usual. It's a good theme for him and he did well with it. The only bad thing I can say is that during the judges critiques he often stands
there with a Muppet-like half-grin on his face that reminds me of (shudder) David Archuleta.
E.K. I'm still not convinced Archuleta is not an actual Muppet.
Smooth: As for Adam, forget what I said about Matt acting like he's in a musical. Adam essentially performed a musical, complete with dramatic entrance, backlighting, and a white suit. It's almost pointless to comment on his vocals at this point, although this wasn't his best by a long shot. He's become a Taylor or Clay-like figure in the competition: clearly talented, but with a style that makes him massively polarizing. Ninety percent of people already have cemented their opinion of him, no matter what he does from now on. The question is whether his fan base will carry him to the end, and whether an anti-Adam backlash could actually send votes to Danny (or possibly Kris) in the finals. Wait, did Kara just call him "sleazy"??
E.K. Yes, she did. And I think she meant it as a compliment. However that works. Anyway, Adam was his usual stellar self and I still would never buy his CD. I don't think the yelling at the end fit the song at all, but he's definitely in his groove, not jolting our eardrums with the misfires he had early in the top 13. I'm not too surprised he landed in the bottom 3, because most people do at least once when they get this far, and he certainly is the polarizing type. I still think he's the favorite because of his uniqueness and I'm thinking most people will say he's the most memorable.
Smooth: I thought the bottom two would be Matt and Allison and that she would be the one to leave. Allison was better, but I think she was also more boring. Boring is the kiss of death on this show.
E.K. I too thought it might have been Allison, simply because Matt might have more of the young female voters in his pocket, and that's a huge chunk of the Idol demographic. I'll say right now that this is the second-most talented Final Four they've had on Idol, after 2006 when they had Daughtry, Elliott, Katharine and Taylor. Next week, rock and roll!
Smooth: Jamie Foxx really makes me think "Rat Pack". Also, Tony Danza makes me think "Cirque du Soleil". Foxx actually seemed to give good advice, though. All right, let's start with Kris, who did "The Way You Look Tonight", and who was excellent. The crooner theme calls for a very pure, clean tone, and that's exactly what Kris brought to the table. The first half of the arrangement was a very nice, mostly straightforward rendition. The second half was more uptempo and Kris playe around with the melody slightly in a few spots to keep it interesting. The only minor quibble I had was that his falsetto, while on key, sounded a bit weak. Simon called it "wet"; perhaps he's referring to Kris' female fans? Hello, vicar!
E.K. Hey, hey, hey, family blog here.
Smooth: Yeah, not really. Anyway, I think Simon meant that it was safe and verging on boring, which... kind of, but it was so well done that I think it was entertaining.
E.K. In explaining what he meant by "wet", Simon said, "Not dry," so he pretty much surrounded that one. I still don't know what that meant. But I do know that Kris pretty much nailed this song, except for, as you noted, the falsetto, which I didn't think worked at all, either as a style of Kris' own or as an element of a performance of a standard. Imagine Sinatra doing falsetto. See, you can't do it. I did not feel he was going to wind up in the bottom 3, but of course we know now that he did.
Smooth: Allison is kind of a black hole of personality in her interviews, isn't she? Nerves, perhaps.
E.K. Or maybe because she's 17.
Smooth: The arrangement of "Someone To Watch Over Me" had some similarities to the one Kris did in that it sped up halfway through and gave her a chance to show off her pipes. She sounded very good, but Allison's voice is naturally a bit hoarse. It's a rock voice, and it doesn't fit the theme very well. In addition, she appears to be the contestant least familiar with the source material (unsurprising, considering her age). The main problem is that she's simply the least charismatic singer left right now. She can really sing, but she can't win this competition.
E.K. I thought she was excellent here. I'm not so sure I was reminded too much of her raspy-rock-style voice; I think she made a nice adjustment to her voice to make it fit in to the style of the song. I'm glad the voters recognize that she is so much better than Lil, or Scott. I can't think of a 16-year-old, or I guess just-turned-17-year-old, singer on this show who has been better than Allison. Paris, maybe, from a few years back? She doesn't need to be much of a star during the interviews, 'cause chick can sing. Maybe she won't win, but...maybe she will. I'm still thinking Adam is going to win, but it would not surprise me at all to see Allison in the finals. And by the way, how many people has Paula said "See ya in the finals" to? Five? Does she know that the finale will be contested between two people? Has she done this show before?
Smooth: Foxx counseled Matt to hold notes longer instead of riffing constantly. He did seem to try to hold back in a few places, but in some parts of the song, he just couldn't help himself. The crazy runs just sounded way out of place in this genre. Also, Matt's performance was a bit cheesy; I think he does really try to get into the Rat Pack feel, but that led to him overperforming the song, especially in the first half of it. He altered his tone and phrasing; combined with the hat, it's like he's in a musical or something. Oddly, Simon loves it and calls it "believable" and "authentic". I usually agree with Simon, but in this case I definitely cannot.
E.K. I can't either. Simon was a weird case this week, loving the mediocre performance and expressing disappointment in the other four strong performances. I don't think Matt was awful by any means but there were a few minor pitch problems in there that immediately put him in the bottom 3. Maybe he should have tried the piano; he usually seems the most comfortable there. Next up was Danny, who started off his song doing the same thing he's been doing for weeks now, namely singing well but showing little charisma. However, the song picked up tempo and out came the outgoing, energetic Danny he's been needing to be for a long time. He blew this one out of the box. A very nice, dynamic performance.
Smooth: I also thought this was definitely his best performance in recent weeks. He, too, has a slight rock edge to his voice, but his song choice is much better than Allison's. The bluesy arrangement and big finish to the song complemented his vocals well. He really got into it at the end and did some nice runs, staying on pitch as usual. It's a good theme for him and he did well with it. The only bad thing I can say is that during the judges critiques he often stands
there with a Muppet-like half-grin on his face that reminds me of (shudder) David Archuleta.
E.K. I'm still not convinced Archuleta is not an actual Muppet.
Smooth: As for Adam, forget what I said about Matt acting like he's in a musical. Adam essentially performed a musical, complete with dramatic entrance, backlighting, and a white suit. It's almost pointless to comment on his vocals at this point, although this wasn't his best by a long shot. He's become a Taylor or Clay-like figure in the competition: clearly talented, but with a style that makes him massively polarizing. Ninety percent of people already have cemented their opinion of him, no matter what he does from now on. The question is whether his fan base will carry him to the end, and whether an anti-Adam backlash could actually send votes to Danny (or possibly Kris) in the finals. Wait, did Kara just call him "sleazy"??
E.K. Yes, she did. And I think she meant it as a compliment. However that works. Anyway, Adam was his usual stellar self and I still would never buy his CD. I don't think the yelling at the end fit the song at all, but he's definitely in his groove, not jolting our eardrums with the misfires he had early in the top 13. I'm not too surprised he landed in the bottom 3, because most people do at least once when they get this far, and he certainly is the polarizing type. I still think he's the favorite because of his uniqueness and I'm thinking most people will say he's the most memorable.
Smooth: I thought the bottom two would be Matt and Allison and that she would be the one to leave. Allison was better, but I think she was also more boring. Boring is the kiss of death on this show.
E.K. I too thought it might have been Allison, simply because Matt might have more of the young female voters in his pocket, and that's a huge chunk of the Idol demographic. I'll say right now that this is the second-most talented Final Four they've had on Idol, after 2006 when they had Daughtry, Elliott, Katharine and Taylor. Next week, rock and roll!
