Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I. 5
Mandisa?!?!? The hell?!?!?! I am seriously bummed that one of my favorites is already out of the running. My dream top 4 is shot. I have some theories as to why Mandisa was eliminated, and none of them have anything to do with her talent or singing ability. In any case, I am not happy. I threw all my votes at Katharine and Elliot last week, since I perceived them to be in the most danger. I guess I was right about Elliot. Grrrrr….
By the way, what is happening when you try to vote and you just get dead air? Did your vote go through? Is the line busy? I don’t get it. Again, I say grrrrrr….
I’ll try to get over my snit enough to review this week’s show, the music of Queen. It seems pretty cruel to make the kids sing after Freddie Mercury. I mean, come on. But the music is great so the show should be entertaining at least. Anyone who sings one of my two favorite Queen songs (Best Friend and Somebody to Love) gets an automatic vote from me. And anyone who sings either Fat Bottomed Girls, Bicycle Race or the theme from Flash Gordon gets 5 votes. The show must go on!!!!!
Bucky – “Fat Bottomed Girls”
Bucky wastes no time on taking me up on my offer of 5 votes. I have never been in the Bucky camp, I think he’s way past his time to leave. However, I though this was really good. It even sounded country-ish, it was a great fit. I was really pleasantly surprised, and I was happy to give Bucky his five votes. Good job! Cool leather blazer, too. “Freddie Mercury ain’t nobody you want to jump up behind.” Ha! That’s funny on so many levels.
Ace – “We Will Rock You”
I feel bad for Ace. It’s one thing to make the kids sing in such a narrow genre (can you call one band a genre?), it’s another to not even let them tweak the songs to fit their own style. I feel like Ace got screwed over a little here. He didn’t really pick a good song for himself, it’s not really a “singer song”, to quote Randy. It’s more of a crowd sing along. And the verses are really hard because the words are almost the same each time, but not quite. And Ace is not a “rocker” in any way, shape or form. All in all, a tough night for Ace. I didn’t think it was terrible, it was actually better than I expected, and some parts of it were pretty good. But, once again, I think this might be the end of the line for Ace, although I’ve thought that before. He was wearing leather pants, which never hurts.
Kellie – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Who let Ashlee Simpson on AI? Oh, it’s just Kellie. Uncle Tony thought this was a pretty good performance. I was meh. It was OK, but her voice just always sounds thin and nasally to me. There were some parts in the beginning that sounded pretty good, I thought the “rocking” part was horrible, she had some serious pitch problems, but for the first time ever, her long-held-out last note actually sounded good. I’d give her 5 out of 10, one point of which was just for being able to walk in those boots. Why am I not surprised that Kellie doesn’t know what “on paper” means? 8th place is often a “shocker” in Idol history, so this could be Kellie’s week to go. Although last week’s shocker probably negates that – everyone’s probably voting like crazy this week.
Chris – “Innuendo”
I’m not the biggest Chris fan, I think he’s pretty good, but he’s just not my style. But I thought he did really well tonight. I think Simon was way off base for criticizing Chris for not singing a well known song. I thought the song sounded fresh and modern, and it fit Chris’s style perfectly. And to echo Bucky’s comment, why set yourself up for a comparison you know you’ll lose? Why not do something that gives you a chance to be noticed, rather than do a pale version of something everyone’s heard a million times? I think Chris was excellent. He should cool it on the eyeliner though, he looks like a pirate.
Katharine – “Who Wants to Live Forever”
I’m glad Katharine changed her song (I read that Mandisa was going to sing this song, so I’m guessing Kathy jumped on it when Mandisa got booted – grrrrrr). It was a good show for Kathy. She did go pretty sharp on the high notes, which is of course the part they showed in the recap clip (gee, thanks). But the rest of it was really good, and there were some parts near the beginning that sounded absolutely gorgeous. I really liked her outfit, too. Kathy’s been pretty style challenged, but she looked beautiful tonight. I gave her several votes. I really really want her to outlast Kellie.
Elliott – “Somebody to Love”
Ding ding ding!! We have a winner! Elliott picked one of my two favorite songs, and I’m thrilled it was one of my favorite singers. Elliott really sank his teeth into this song, and there were parts where he actually sounded like Freddie Mercury. He let his voice sail on some of the big notes. I played this back and listened with my eyes closed – no offense to Elliott. He does seem a bit awkward on stage, but it doesn’t usually bother me. But I wanted to hear what it really sounded like with no distractions, and it was awesome. Many votes for Elliott tonight. Woo hoo!!
Taylor – “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
Another good song change, and it’s nice to hear the old rockabilly version of this song again. It seems like I only hear that big band Michael Buble version anymore. Taylor did really well, and the last half or so was really, really good – Joe Cocker would be proud (I had to check www.deadoraliveinfo.com to make sure Joe Cocker was still alive – where’s he been?). Taylor is the rare singer that actually sounds better when he’s “shouting” – most people just go flat or sound strained, but he just gets stronger. I liked his little dance steps on the stairs along with the music, and the mike stand miss was hilarious. He looked like he almost fell on his ass, which would have also been hilarious. He probably would have just laid on the floor and sang till he got to the “shakes all over like a jellyfish” part, when he would have shook all over, and then got up. Also would have been hilarious.
Paris – “The Show Must Go On”
This started out good, but on the big chorus parts, either the band got too loud or Paris pulled too far away from the mike or something. It just wasn’t as good as it should have been. Paris could be in trouble again this week – I think people don’t respond to her as well when she’s not being perky and sassy. She had one really good glory note that probably helped her. I’ll say one thing, she did a helluva lot better with this song than Nicole Kidman did in Moulin Rouge. I love Nicole, but she just didn’t have the singing pipes for that movie.
Rankings for the night
Elliott and Taylor,
Chris and Katharine,
Bucky and Paris,
And Kellie,
And Ace. Poor Ace. So pretty. So probably going home.
By the way, what is happening when you try to vote and you just get dead air? Did your vote go through? Is the line busy? I don’t get it. Again, I say grrrrrr….
I’ll try to get over my snit enough to review this week’s show, the music of Queen. It seems pretty cruel to make the kids sing after Freddie Mercury. I mean, come on. But the music is great so the show should be entertaining at least. Anyone who sings one of my two favorite Queen songs (Best Friend and Somebody to Love) gets an automatic vote from me. And anyone who sings either Fat Bottomed Girls, Bicycle Race or the theme from Flash Gordon gets 5 votes. The show must go on!!!!!
Bucky – “Fat Bottomed Girls”
Bucky wastes no time on taking me up on my offer of 5 votes. I have never been in the Bucky camp, I think he’s way past his time to leave. However, I though this was really good. It even sounded country-ish, it was a great fit. I was really pleasantly surprised, and I was happy to give Bucky his five votes. Good job! Cool leather blazer, too. “Freddie Mercury ain’t nobody you want to jump up behind.” Ha! That’s funny on so many levels.
Ace – “We Will Rock You”
I feel bad for Ace. It’s one thing to make the kids sing in such a narrow genre (can you call one band a genre?), it’s another to not even let them tweak the songs to fit their own style. I feel like Ace got screwed over a little here. He didn’t really pick a good song for himself, it’s not really a “singer song”, to quote Randy. It’s more of a crowd sing along. And the verses are really hard because the words are almost the same each time, but not quite. And Ace is not a “rocker” in any way, shape or form. All in all, a tough night for Ace. I didn’t think it was terrible, it was actually better than I expected, and some parts of it were pretty good. But, once again, I think this might be the end of the line for Ace, although I’ve thought that before. He was wearing leather pants, which never hurts.
Kellie – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Who let Ashlee Simpson on AI? Oh, it’s just Kellie. Uncle Tony thought this was a pretty good performance. I was meh. It was OK, but her voice just always sounds thin and nasally to me. There were some parts in the beginning that sounded pretty good, I thought the “rocking” part was horrible, she had some serious pitch problems, but for the first time ever, her long-held-out last note actually sounded good. I’d give her 5 out of 10, one point of which was just for being able to walk in those boots. Why am I not surprised that Kellie doesn’t know what “on paper” means? 8th place is often a “shocker” in Idol history, so this could be Kellie’s week to go. Although last week’s shocker probably negates that – everyone’s probably voting like crazy this week.
Chris – “Innuendo”
I’m not the biggest Chris fan, I think he’s pretty good, but he’s just not my style. But I thought he did really well tonight. I think Simon was way off base for criticizing Chris for not singing a well known song. I thought the song sounded fresh and modern, and it fit Chris’s style perfectly. And to echo Bucky’s comment, why set yourself up for a comparison you know you’ll lose? Why not do something that gives you a chance to be noticed, rather than do a pale version of something everyone’s heard a million times? I think Chris was excellent. He should cool it on the eyeliner though, he looks like a pirate.
Katharine – “Who Wants to Live Forever”
I’m glad Katharine changed her song (I read that Mandisa was going to sing this song, so I’m guessing Kathy jumped on it when Mandisa got booted – grrrrrr). It was a good show for Kathy. She did go pretty sharp on the high notes, which is of course the part they showed in the recap clip (gee, thanks). But the rest of it was really good, and there were some parts near the beginning that sounded absolutely gorgeous. I really liked her outfit, too. Kathy’s been pretty style challenged, but she looked beautiful tonight. I gave her several votes. I really really want her to outlast Kellie.
Elliott – “Somebody to Love”
Ding ding ding!! We have a winner! Elliott picked one of my two favorite songs, and I’m thrilled it was one of my favorite singers. Elliott really sank his teeth into this song, and there were parts where he actually sounded like Freddie Mercury. He let his voice sail on some of the big notes. I played this back and listened with my eyes closed – no offense to Elliott. He does seem a bit awkward on stage, but it doesn’t usually bother me. But I wanted to hear what it really sounded like with no distractions, and it was awesome. Many votes for Elliott tonight. Woo hoo!!
Taylor – “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
Another good song change, and it’s nice to hear the old rockabilly version of this song again. It seems like I only hear that big band Michael Buble version anymore. Taylor did really well, and the last half or so was really, really good – Joe Cocker would be proud (I had to check www.deadoraliveinfo.com to make sure Joe Cocker was still alive – where’s he been?). Taylor is the rare singer that actually sounds better when he’s “shouting” – most people just go flat or sound strained, but he just gets stronger. I liked his little dance steps on the stairs along with the music, and the mike stand miss was hilarious. He looked like he almost fell on his ass, which would have also been hilarious. He probably would have just laid on the floor and sang till he got to the “shakes all over like a jellyfish” part, when he would have shook all over, and then got up. Also would have been hilarious.
Paris – “The Show Must Go On”
This started out good, but on the big chorus parts, either the band got too loud or Paris pulled too far away from the mike or something. It just wasn’t as good as it should have been. Paris could be in trouble again this week – I think people don’t respond to her as well when she’s not being perky and sassy. She had one really good glory note that probably helped her. I’ll say one thing, she did a helluva lot better with this song than Nicole Kidman did in Moulin Rouge. I love Nicole, but she just didn’t have the singing pipes for that movie.
Rankings for the night
Elliott and Taylor,
Chris and Katharine,
Bucky and Paris,
And Kellie,
And Ace. Poor Ace. So pretty. So probably going home.
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I. 5
Holding this spot until I can come back and review Country week (which I will do - I swear!!)
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Four Paws Up - Guitar Hero
Uncle Tony and I go to Best Buy all the time. We spend so much money there that we don't even have to bring receipts if we have returns or anything - they just pull up our file and give us whatever we want. It's one of our favorite places. Often, when we are there, we push the 8 year olds out of the way and try out the Play Stations and Xboxes and such. Invariably, the game is something so complicated that get killed in about 10 seconds, and I can't figure out how to even work the controllers. So, I quickly leave Uncle Tony there to play against little Timmy and I go look at DVD's. But the other day, they had a demo of Guitar Hero, complete with the guitar style controller. In the 10 seconds it usually takes me to die, I had figured out how to work the controller, and I played "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand. It was the funnest video game ever. I wasn't even watching the points, but apparently they were racking up like crazy, and I ended up with a 3rd place spot. But even better, all those 8 year olds had to come over and watch. It looks like you are running down a giant guitar neck, and you try to hit the proper chords and strum when you're supposed to, along with the song. What's great is that the chords you hit, you can actually hear in the song. So if you mess up or miss a chord, you can tell. So when the song sounds right, it means you are actually playing it right, and it actually feels liks you are playing a rock song. I could have stood there and played that game all day. We might have to get a PlayStation after all.
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I.5
Last week, we said goodbye to Kevin Covais and to my chances at winning Ultimate Elimination. Oh, well. Kevin was a smart kid, so I think he knew he was living on borrowed time. Unfortunately, this means that the tv show lost some of it’s sense of humor, and it could have used it this week.
This week’s theme is 21st century songs. There were a few definite problems this week. First, picking a new song is really difficult. They don’t have the benefit of years of distance from the original release to separate the song from the original artist, maybe be covered a couple of times in different arrangements, and stand the test of time that separates a good song from a novelty act. I mean, “Who Let the Dogs Out” was probably a number one record, but you wouldn’t want to sing it on AI! Also, we’ve all heard most of these songs 1,000 times over the last few years, so it’s hard not to compare against the original. With a classic song, you can kind of imagine other people singing it; you’ve probably heard other people sing it at karaoke, etc. But with a new song, the original is so close, you can’t get away from it. Plus, the last 5 years haven’t been a boon for “singer” songs. Rap and Punk-pop have dominated the charts. And finally (!), with the show only one hour, the kids basically got 60 seconds to cram in their song. No one felt like they got a chance to even get going, and the arrangements were terribly awkward. Most of the contestants just looked uncomfortable, and no one wants to start singing a song in the middle, which is what several had to do.
Soooo, after all my pre-complaining, let’s get on with the show!!
(I’m writing this from memory, so my apologies if I get the order or the song names wrong! Sorry for all my typos, too, both in this post and all my previous ones. I haven’t had time to edit! Eeep!!!)
Lisa – “Because of You”
Oooohhhh, Lisa. You had to know that there would be a huge crossover between Idol viewers and Kelly Clarkson fans. Taking on a Kelly song, especially one that’s so personal to Kelly, is a huge risk. I think Lisa did an OK job with this song, but it’s kind of a downer, and she can’t afford to be a downer at this point. Lisa has really struggled to find her groove, and this week didn’t help. I think this is the end for little Lisa.
Kellie – “Suds in the Bucket”
I thought this song was a pretty good pick for Kellie. I could see her performing in a musical comedy revue in Branson, singing songs like this. The judges were so wrong about Kellie being better than this song, though. Almost any song stretches Kellie’s musical talent to the breaking point. Instead of criticizing her song choice, why don’t they point out that she sings the high notes through her nose, and any time she holds a note for more than half a second it goes horribly flat? I’m worried that Kellie will outlast some much better singers on this show, and that’s just wrong. Maybe she’ll hit bottom 3 this week?
Ace – “Drops of Jupiter”
Again, Ace did OK with this song, but you just can’t compare to the original. This is a song that really needs about 3 minutes to get going, too. It builds up from the beginning all the way to the end, and Ace didn’t get a chance to do that. I feel like Ace has potential, but he just needs to sing, rather than trying to do all this sexy crap. When he actually supports and projects his voice, he sounds pretty good, but the “sexy” simpering whimper voice just doesn’t cut it. He always seems so nervous, too – it makes me nervous to watch him. Still pretty, though.
Mandisa – “Wanna Praise You”
For a minute, I thought Mandisa was going to do the Fatboy Slim song (“Praise You”), which I couldn’t for the life of me imagine, and yet I thought would be awesome! It actually was sampled from some old blues song, which would have been a great fit for Mandisa. But, she did some kind of funked up gospel song. It was pretty good, but I think she got really sharp on some of the runs in the middle. I really like Mandisa, but this wasn’t her best show. She needs a “wow” song in the next couple of weeks.
Taylor – “Trouble”
I think Taylor did the best job picking a song. I had never heard it, so it sounded original to me. Plus, it really showed off his voice and was a complete 180 from last week. Taylor did a really good job, he sounded great, and she showed he’s not just a one-trick pony. This song had some real soul to it, and I thought Taylor captured it perfectly without overdoing it. Bravo!! I liked the leather jacket, too, although I admit that it looked like something Taylor would have never picked for himself. But it did help him not look so old.
Chris – “What If”
Chris got a chance to clarify that last week’s song (Walk the Line) was a cover by Live. AI must have gotten wind of all the scuttlebutt complaining about that. I’m guessing that Chris never intended to bluff anyone, but the producers figured no one would care. So, Chris gets to slide for that. He does not get to slide, however, for picking a Creed song. I know Creed is popular, but to me, they are the worst band since Survivor in the 80’s. I just can’t stand them. I tried to listen to Chris’ performance objectively, but part of the reason I don’t like Creed is because their songs are just bad. This song had about a four-note range, no discernable melody, and was basically an excuse to shout a lot. Chris did the best he could with a crappy song, but he picked it himself. I was bored. I totally get what Simon said about Chris needing to shake it up – HOWEVER, if he did come out and sing something different, the judges would rip him apart for crawling out of his designated box. So I think he’s better off sticking to his strengths. But he needs to pick better songs, dude!!
Katharine – “The Voice Within”
This was another song that started in the middle, so Katharine had a hard time getting going. But she did get it moving in the last half and finished strong. I thought she did a real nice interpretation – her voice is more sweet and subtle than Christina’s, and it fit the song well. I could hear a lot of difference from the original version – sometimes, “making the song your own” doesn’t mean changing the melody or messing with the arrangement; it means just singing it in your own voice and with your own emotions. And I thought Kathy did that very well. She had on one of her worst outfits yet, though. What was that? Fugly. Her hair was pretty, and I liked her necklace.
Bucky – “Real Good Man”
Bucky sounded good on the parts he actually sang, but the low parts and the loud parts were bad as usual. I’ve given up on understanding any of the words while he sings, so his poor diction doesn’t bother me that much. And it amuses me how much he sounds like Boomhauer when he talks. Maybe Gedeon could come back and give Bucky elocution lessons. He did good job of moving around – I especially liked his little one-foot shuffle across the stage. But Bucky is just hopelessly outmatched. He’s another potential bottom-3/elimination this week.
Paris – “Work it Out”
Wow, did I not need to see or hear this. Paris sounded great as usual, but this performance was not sexy, it was just disturbing. Paris was one of the only contestants smart enough to pick a real repetitive song though, which sounded fine squashed into 60 seconds, so I’ll give her credit for that. But the whole thing was just creepy. I’m pretty sure Paris will get a record deal out of this show, one way or another, and I think when she’s singing songs written specifically for her, she’ll be awesome. But, like Diana DeGarmo before her, she suffers from the disconnect between her real age and her “perfoming” age. She’s not believable as either a teenager or an adult. But, with all that said, she was one of the best this week.
Elliott – “I Don’t Wanna Be”
This was the best performance of the night for me. Elliott has been on a slow rise since his lowpoint of “Heaven”. He jazzed the song up, but just a bit, not enough to make it sound weird. He threw some more growls in this week, and he’s sounding more and more confident. I think he might have bobbled the words at the beginning, but I couldn’t tell for sure. But he really got the song going fast, and just did a great job. Elliott has a really fast vibrato that sounds bad on slow songs (shades of the old “goat girls” like Christina and Carmen), but it sounds fine on faster paced songs. Plus, he can really nail those fast interval changes. He got the benefit of getting to show a different ending in the recap clip too, which shows how much he is actually ad-libbing when he sings. After Simon criticized his dancing, he did a little prospector-leprechaun dance. Hee! I’m encouraged that the producers are starting to like Elliott and are giving him a shot. I’d love to see Elliott, Taylor, Katharine & Mandisa as the final four. Long shot, I know.
My rankings for the night:
Elliott, closely followed by
Katharine & Taylor
A little gap to
Paris & Mandisa
Another little gap to
Chris
A bigger gap to
Kellie & Ace
Another little gap to
Bucky & Lisa
I think Lisa will go home tonight. But at least she’ll get to go on tour!
This week’s theme is 21st century songs. There were a few definite problems this week. First, picking a new song is really difficult. They don’t have the benefit of years of distance from the original release to separate the song from the original artist, maybe be covered a couple of times in different arrangements, and stand the test of time that separates a good song from a novelty act. I mean, “Who Let the Dogs Out” was probably a number one record, but you wouldn’t want to sing it on AI! Also, we’ve all heard most of these songs 1,000 times over the last few years, so it’s hard not to compare against the original. With a classic song, you can kind of imagine other people singing it; you’ve probably heard other people sing it at karaoke, etc. But with a new song, the original is so close, you can’t get away from it. Plus, the last 5 years haven’t been a boon for “singer” songs. Rap and Punk-pop have dominated the charts. And finally (!), with the show only one hour, the kids basically got 60 seconds to cram in their song. No one felt like they got a chance to even get going, and the arrangements were terribly awkward. Most of the contestants just looked uncomfortable, and no one wants to start singing a song in the middle, which is what several had to do.
Soooo, after all my pre-complaining, let’s get on with the show!!
(I’m writing this from memory, so my apologies if I get the order or the song names wrong! Sorry for all my typos, too, both in this post and all my previous ones. I haven’t had time to edit! Eeep!!!)
Lisa – “Because of You”
Oooohhhh, Lisa. You had to know that there would be a huge crossover between Idol viewers and Kelly Clarkson fans. Taking on a Kelly song, especially one that’s so personal to Kelly, is a huge risk. I think Lisa did an OK job with this song, but it’s kind of a downer, and she can’t afford to be a downer at this point. Lisa has really struggled to find her groove, and this week didn’t help. I think this is the end for little Lisa.
Kellie – “Suds in the Bucket”
I thought this song was a pretty good pick for Kellie. I could see her performing in a musical comedy revue in Branson, singing songs like this. The judges were so wrong about Kellie being better than this song, though. Almost any song stretches Kellie’s musical talent to the breaking point. Instead of criticizing her song choice, why don’t they point out that she sings the high notes through her nose, and any time she holds a note for more than half a second it goes horribly flat? I’m worried that Kellie will outlast some much better singers on this show, and that’s just wrong. Maybe she’ll hit bottom 3 this week?
Ace – “Drops of Jupiter”
Again, Ace did OK with this song, but you just can’t compare to the original. This is a song that really needs about 3 minutes to get going, too. It builds up from the beginning all the way to the end, and Ace didn’t get a chance to do that. I feel like Ace has potential, but he just needs to sing, rather than trying to do all this sexy crap. When he actually supports and projects his voice, he sounds pretty good, but the “sexy” simpering whimper voice just doesn’t cut it. He always seems so nervous, too – it makes me nervous to watch him. Still pretty, though.
Mandisa – “Wanna Praise You”
For a minute, I thought Mandisa was going to do the Fatboy Slim song (“Praise You”), which I couldn’t for the life of me imagine, and yet I thought would be awesome! It actually was sampled from some old blues song, which would have been a great fit for Mandisa. But, she did some kind of funked up gospel song. It was pretty good, but I think she got really sharp on some of the runs in the middle. I really like Mandisa, but this wasn’t her best show. She needs a “wow” song in the next couple of weeks.
Taylor – “Trouble”
I think Taylor did the best job picking a song. I had never heard it, so it sounded original to me. Plus, it really showed off his voice and was a complete 180 from last week. Taylor did a really good job, he sounded great, and she showed he’s not just a one-trick pony. This song had some real soul to it, and I thought Taylor captured it perfectly without overdoing it. Bravo!! I liked the leather jacket, too, although I admit that it looked like something Taylor would have never picked for himself. But it did help him not look so old.
Chris – “What If”
Chris got a chance to clarify that last week’s song (Walk the Line) was a cover by Live. AI must have gotten wind of all the scuttlebutt complaining about that. I’m guessing that Chris never intended to bluff anyone, but the producers figured no one would care. So, Chris gets to slide for that. He does not get to slide, however, for picking a Creed song. I know Creed is popular, but to me, they are the worst band since Survivor in the 80’s. I just can’t stand them. I tried to listen to Chris’ performance objectively, but part of the reason I don’t like Creed is because their songs are just bad. This song had about a four-note range, no discernable melody, and was basically an excuse to shout a lot. Chris did the best he could with a crappy song, but he picked it himself. I was bored. I totally get what Simon said about Chris needing to shake it up – HOWEVER, if he did come out and sing something different, the judges would rip him apart for crawling out of his designated box. So I think he’s better off sticking to his strengths. But he needs to pick better songs, dude!!
Katharine – “The Voice Within”
This was another song that started in the middle, so Katharine had a hard time getting going. But she did get it moving in the last half and finished strong. I thought she did a real nice interpretation – her voice is more sweet and subtle than Christina’s, and it fit the song well. I could hear a lot of difference from the original version – sometimes, “making the song your own” doesn’t mean changing the melody or messing with the arrangement; it means just singing it in your own voice and with your own emotions. And I thought Kathy did that very well. She had on one of her worst outfits yet, though. What was that? Fugly. Her hair was pretty, and I liked her necklace.
Bucky – “Real Good Man”
Bucky sounded good on the parts he actually sang, but the low parts and the loud parts were bad as usual. I’ve given up on understanding any of the words while he sings, so his poor diction doesn’t bother me that much. And it amuses me how much he sounds like Boomhauer when he talks. Maybe Gedeon could come back and give Bucky elocution lessons. He did good job of moving around – I especially liked his little one-foot shuffle across the stage. But Bucky is just hopelessly outmatched. He’s another potential bottom-3/elimination this week.
Paris – “Work it Out”
Wow, did I not need to see or hear this. Paris sounded great as usual, but this performance was not sexy, it was just disturbing. Paris was one of the only contestants smart enough to pick a real repetitive song though, which sounded fine squashed into 60 seconds, so I’ll give her credit for that. But the whole thing was just creepy. I’m pretty sure Paris will get a record deal out of this show, one way or another, and I think when she’s singing songs written specifically for her, she’ll be awesome. But, like Diana DeGarmo before her, she suffers from the disconnect between her real age and her “perfoming” age. She’s not believable as either a teenager or an adult. But, with all that said, she was one of the best this week.
Elliott – “I Don’t Wanna Be”
This was the best performance of the night for me. Elliott has been on a slow rise since his lowpoint of “Heaven”. He jazzed the song up, but just a bit, not enough to make it sound weird. He threw some more growls in this week, and he’s sounding more and more confident. I think he might have bobbled the words at the beginning, but I couldn’t tell for sure. But he really got the song going fast, and just did a great job. Elliott has a really fast vibrato that sounds bad on slow songs (shades of the old “goat girls” like Christina and Carmen), but it sounds fine on faster paced songs. Plus, he can really nail those fast interval changes. He got the benefit of getting to show a different ending in the recap clip too, which shows how much he is actually ad-libbing when he sings. After Simon criticized his dancing, he did a little prospector-leprechaun dance. Hee! I’m encouraged that the producers are starting to like Elliott and are giving him a shot. I’d love to see Elliott, Taylor, Katharine & Mandisa as the final four. Long shot, I know.
My rankings for the night:
Elliott, closely followed by
Katharine & Taylor
A little gap to
Paris & Mandisa
Another little gap to
Chris
A bigger gap to
Kellie & Ace
Another little gap to
Bucky & Lisa
I think Lisa will go home tonight. But at least she’ll get to go on tour!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I. 5
Last week, we said goodbye to Melissa. It seems like the whiskey voiced girl never makes it very far on Idol – Kim Caldwell was the most successful. Melissa was very pretty and she had an interesting voice, but she just struggled too much last week. So, I'm 1 for 1 in Ultimate Elimination so far – woo hoo!!
This week, the contestants picked songs from the 50's, and they got some actual coaching and arrangement help from Mr. Barry Manilow. I was surprised at how many didn't really seem to know him or like him, but I guess I forget how young some of these kids really are. I was pleased at their song choices from the 50's, there was a good variety and no one tried Rock Around the Clock or anything like that. My favorite 50's style song is Town Without Pity, which might actually be 60's, so what do I know?!? Here we go with songs from the 50's!!
Mandisa - “I Don't Hurt Anymore”
I didn't know this song, but Mandisa nailed it! It was awesome, and when she was done, I actually said “I hope she wins”. I loved her curly hair and her dress – she always looks so glamourous. She did a fantastic job, so I'm giving top rank of the night. And Simon said she was sexy – the world is turning upside down!!! She's too old for him anyway.
Bucky - “Oh Boy”
Poor Bucky. He just seemed so outgunned after Mandisa. He did an OK job, but it seemed kinda dreary. Like Barry said – a 2 minute song seemed long. Bucky has one of those voices that, somehow between the microphone and being broadcast over tv, his lower register just disappears. So if he's not singing in just the right range, it's like he's not singing at all. And too much of that song just sounded like nothing. He has pretty good stage presence, but it was just obvious tonight that he's not the same caliber as some of the other performers. I'm sticking with my Ultimate Elimination pick that Mr. Covington leaves us this week.
Paris - “Fever”
Paris has a great voice and a lot of potential, but she just does too many gimmicky tricks and overperforms for me. She seems to be calming down a bit, so I think she just needs more experience on a big stage, or maybe she needs more experience on the small screen, I don't know. Either way, she's good, she's just not one of my favorites. I liked her yellow dress and Josephine Baker hair. I love the girls that dressed all glammed up this week. Simon was in heaven with all the girls doing their sexy little acts.
Chris - “Walk the Line”
I am so on the fence about Chris. On the one hand, I think he arranged this song himself, which is impressive, and I think Johnny Cash would have liked it, seeing how he did versions of songs by Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden. On the other hand, it almost seems like a cop-out that Chris does the same act every week, regardless of the song or genre, and never tries anything new. But, on the third hand (yes, I need to borrow some hands), it's nice that he does stick to his own groove and doesn't let the show push him around. On the fourth hand, I heard some serious bum notes in his performance. But on the fifth hand, I heard this performance on the radio this morning (in an AI recap) and it sounded really good. So, I have enough questions about Chris to rank him below my top group, but I'm leaving the door open for him.
Katharine - “Come Rain or Come Shine”
I think Katharine knows she's coming in second to Mandisa at this point, so she's using all her assets to the best of her abilities. I swear, that dress made me more nervous than Paris' strapless number a few weeks back. But I'm sure Katharine is increasing her fan base by leaps and bounds. Anyway, she looked beautiful, she sounded fabulous, and she's just all around appealing to me, which lands her in my top group of the night.
Taylor - “Not Fade Away”
Taylor needs to quit screwing around and actually sing. He's a great performer, with tons of energy and flair, but he really needs to show off his voice more. This week's song did nothing for him singing wise. I did like the silver-blue suit, and the fact that he actually respected Barry Manilow. But I think Taylor is slipping in the ranks, so he needs to redeem himself pretty quick.
Lisa - “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”
This should have been the perfect song for Lisa. She looked adorable (loved her hair!), and she showed some spunk. But, in order to get those 4 key changes in and end in a good key for her, they had to start out way too low. So most of the song was in a too low key and just didn't sound good. She would have been better off singing the whole song in whatever key she ended in. I think Lisa might be back in the bottom 3 this week.
Kevin - “When I Fall In Love”
Every week I expect Kevin to be really bad, and then he actually sounds pretty good. He can actually sing. I think that might be what's keeping him in the contest, that he exceeds low expectations. I did like his intro this week, it was less sarcastic than usual, and I think he sang the song in exactly the right way. Barry steered him right and he listened. I think Kevin will be around a few more weeks. He got the Uncle Tony quote of the night...
Thatchermom: “How did you like the show?”
Uncle Tony: “I thought everyone did really good. Anyone could win.”
TM: “Even Kevin?”
UT: “No.”
Elliott: “Teach Me Tonight”
Elliott so loves Al Jarreau, I can hear it now. He sings runs just like Al Jarreau, likes he's been singing along with his records all his life. He must have cried when Katharine sang “Since I Fell For You” and stole it away from him. Anyway, Elliott doesn't quite blow me away like I've been hoping, but he sure is getting warmed up. He has a lower range you can actually hear, he threw in some growls and some cools runs, and he's starting to look a little better too (makeover magic??). He's becoming a real contender. Yay Elliott!!
Kellie - “Walkin' After Midnight”
Kellie “I never heard me no Barry Manilow before” Pickler called her grandpa, who told her to sing Patsy Cline. I'm assuming Barry was making fun of Kellie by pretending he had never heard this song before, like she pretends she's never had sal-mon before. Whatever. Kellie is cute, she performs with pizazz, but she just hits way too many bum notes. Every big last note finish she has is so off key it's not even in the same song. And her voice isn't all that pleasant to listen to. I was amused when Ryan gave her a chance to say something stupid and she couldn't think of anything. Ha! I don't dislike Kellie and I can see her appeal, but I just think there are several others who are much better than her.
Ace - “Still of the Night”
Ace gets the last spot of the night, plus the push from Sammie the audience gnome, to hopefully save him from another bottom 3 appearance. I don't think Ace is singing to the best of his abilities. He started out really rough, but he had a couple of big power notes that sounded awesome! Why doesn't he sing like that more? The last falsetto note was awesome too. But three awesome notes stirred in with a bunch of mediocre ones doesn't make a great performance. He needs to get his act together to stick around. And he needs to fight off the hairdressers when they try to put so much gel in his hair that it goes totally flat by the end of the show! Poor Ace. He is pretty, though.
Soooo, my rankings for this week:
Mandisa
Elliott
Katharine
Chris
Paris
Taylor
Kevin
Ace
Lisa
Kellie
Bye Bye Bucky.
This week, the contestants picked songs from the 50's, and they got some actual coaching and arrangement help from Mr. Barry Manilow. I was surprised at how many didn't really seem to know him or like him, but I guess I forget how young some of these kids really are. I was pleased at their song choices from the 50's, there was a good variety and no one tried Rock Around the Clock or anything like that. My favorite 50's style song is Town Without Pity, which might actually be 60's, so what do I know?!? Here we go with songs from the 50's!!
Mandisa - “I Don't Hurt Anymore”
I didn't know this song, but Mandisa nailed it! It was awesome, and when she was done, I actually said “I hope she wins”. I loved her curly hair and her dress – she always looks so glamourous. She did a fantastic job, so I'm giving top rank of the night. And Simon said she was sexy – the world is turning upside down!!! She's too old for him anyway.
Bucky - “Oh Boy”
Poor Bucky. He just seemed so outgunned after Mandisa. He did an OK job, but it seemed kinda dreary. Like Barry said – a 2 minute song seemed long. Bucky has one of those voices that, somehow between the microphone and being broadcast over tv, his lower register just disappears. So if he's not singing in just the right range, it's like he's not singing at all. And too much of that song just sounded like nothing. He has pretty good stage presence, but it was just obvious tonight that he's not the same caliber as some of the other performers. I'm sticking with my Ultimate Elimination pick that Mr. Covington leaves us this week.
Paris - “Fever”
Paris has a great voice and a lot of potential, but she just does too many gimmicky tricks and overperforms for me. She seems to be calming down a bit, so I think she just needs more experience on a big stage, or maybe she needs more experience on the small screen, I don't know. Either way, she's good, she's just not one of my favorites. I liked her yellow dress and Josephine Baker hair. I love the girls that dressed all glammed up this week. Simon was in heaven with all the girls doing their sexy little acts.
Chris - “Walk the Line”
I am so on the fence about Chris. On the one hand, I think he arranged this song himself, which is impressive, and I think Johnny Cash would have liked it, seeing how he did versions of songs by Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden. On the other hand, it almost seems like a cop-out that Chris does the same act every week, regardless of the song or genre, and never tries anything new. But, on the third hand (yes, I need to borrow some hands), it's nice that he does stick to his own groove and doesn't let the show push him around. On the fourth hand, I heard some serious bum notes in his performance. But on the fifth hand, I heard this performance on the radio this morning (in an AI recap) and it sounded really good. So, I have enough questions about Chris to rank him below my top group, but I'm leaving the door open for him.
Katharine - “Come Rain or Come Shine”
I think Katharine knows she's coming in second to Mandisa at this point, so she's using all her assets to the best of her abilities. I swear, that dress made me more nervous than Paris' strapless number a few weeks back. But I'm sure Katharine is increasing her fan base by leaps and bounds. Anyway, she looked beautiful, she sounded fabulous, and she's just all around appealing to me, which lands her in my top group of the night.
Taylor - “Not Fade Away”
Taylor needs to quit screwing around and actually sing. He's a great performer, with tons of energy and flair, but he really needs to show off his voice more. This week's song did nothing for him singing wise. I did like the silver-blue suit, and the fact that he actually respected Barry Manilow. But I think Taylor is slipping in the ranks, so he needs to redeem himself pretty quick.
Lisa - “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”
This should have been the perfect song for Lisa. She looked adorable (loved her hair!), and she showed some spunk. But, in order to get those 4 key changes in and end in a good key for her, they had to start out way too low. So most of the song was in a too low key and just didn't sound good. She would have been better off singing the whole song in whatever key she ended in. I think Lisa might be back in the bottom 3 this week.
Kevin - “When I Fall In Love”
Every week I expect Kevin to be really bad, and then he actually sounds pretty good. He can actually sing. I think that might be what's keeping him in the contest, that he exceeds low expectations. I did like his intro this week, it was less sarcastic than usual, and I think he sang the song in exactly the right way. Barry steered him right and he listened. I think Kevin will be around a few more weeks. He got the Uncle Tony quote of the night...
Thatchermom: “How did you like the show?”
Uncle Tony: “I thought everyone did really good. Anyone could win.”
TM: “Even Kevin?”
UT: “No.”
Elliott: “Teach Me Tonight”
Elliott so loves Al Jarreau, I can hear it now. He sings runs just like Al Jarreau, likes he's been singing along with his records all his life. He must have cried when Katharine sang “Since I Fell For You” and stole it away from him. Anyway, Elliott doesn't quite blow me away like I've been hoping, but he sure is getting warmed up. He has a lower range you can actually hear, he threw in some growls and some cools runs, and he's starting to look a little better too (makeover magic??). He's becoming a real contender. Yay Elliott!!
Kellie - “Walkin' After Midnight”
Kellie “I never heard me no Barry Manilow before” Pickler called her grandpa, who told her to sing Patsy Cline. I'm assuming Barry was making fun of Kellie by pretending he had never heard this song before, like she pretends she's never had sal-mon before. Whatever. Kellie is cute, she performs with pizazz, but she just hits way too many bum notes. Every big last note finish she has is so off key it's not even in the same song. And her voice isn't all that pleasant to listen to. I was amused when Ryan gave her a chance to say something stupid and she couldn't think of anything. Ha! I don't dislike Kellie and I can see her appeal, but I just think there are several others who are much better than her.
Ace - “Still of the Night”
Ace gets the last spot of the night, plus the push from Sammie the audience gnome, to hopefully save him from another bottom 3 appearance. I don't think Ace is singing to the best of his abilities. He started out really rough, but he had a couple of big power notes that sounded awesome! Why doesn't he sing like that more? The last falsetto note was awesome too. But three awesome notes stirred in with a bunch of mediocre ones doesn't make a great performance. He needs to get his act together to stick around. And he needs to fight off the hairdressers when they try to put so much gel in his hair that it goes totally flat by the end of the show! Poor Ace. He is pretty, though.
Soooo, my rankings for this week:
Mandisa
Elliott
Katharine
Chris
Paris
Taylor
Kevin
Ace
Lisa
Kellie
Bye Bye Bucky.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I. 5
Last week, we lost 4 good singers, I think at the profit of some who were not as good.
Kinnik - I still think Kinnik is a really good singer, and I like her better than Lisa personally. But she did struggle last week, so I can understand why she got eliminated. If anything, it shows that you can't afford to have an off night this season. Although I'm sure some will and still escape, so it really doesn't prove anything.
Will - WTF?? This one totally baffles me! He was easily 10x better than Kevin and just as adorable. What gives? I was truly surprised and not happy about this one.
Ayla - Again, I think Ayla is easily better than Kellie or Melissa, probably on par with Lisa. I'm guessing people couldn't connect with her and her picture perfect life? I don't know. I thought her performance last week was her best yet, but I suppose she could have been ranked 7th in the girls all along and her time just came up. We'll never know...
Gedeon - I would have put Gedeon ahead of Kevin, Bucky and Ace. Were his odd mannerisms and over-enunciation just too weird for America? I liked him, but I guess I could see how people might be put off by his personality.
I really really think the young age limit should be 18. I have heard so many 16 & 17 year olds that I think would just be so much better in 3 or 4 years. It's not like their talent is going to go away, and I just think 16 is too young to be competing with 28 year olds. It's like a whole different ballgame. But youth is such a highly regarded trait in our society. Whatever. I guess I'm old so I'll always like the older contestants.
Soo, a sad goodbye to our dearly departed, and on with Stevie Wonder week!!
I love Stevie Wonder, especially his older stuff. I'm not sure it's the best theme for Idol though. His songs are beautiful, but they are geared toward a certain type of singer, and having 12 songs in a row by any one artist is going to get dull. This show is much more entertaining with the broader themes that let the contestants really shine. Each contestant spoke about meeting Stevie, and most seemed pretty overwhelmed. I know I would be. Miracle of miracles, no one sang My Cherie Amour!!
I'm thrilled to finally learn that the music in the opening montage is "Keeping the Dream Alive" by Freiheit. I can't find it for download anywhere, but it's on the Say Anything soundtrack, which I just ordered of Half.com. They used that song in a montage last year too, and I've been wondering what it was ever since. Yay!! OK, for tonight's recap, I'll include a few comments from Uncle Tony too, since he actually sat and watched the show with me.
Ace - "Do I Do"
It can't be easy to go first, and Ace doesn't seem like the most confident guy. But I thought he did OK. He was upbeat and seemed like he was having fun. He gave a good solid middle ground performance to start things off. I have two problems with Ace. First, he doesn't really have a vocal identity - he just sort of sounds like whatever song he's singing. I would never be able to pick his voice out and say "Oh, that's Ace". That's not neccesarily bad, but with others in the competition that are so distinct, it won't help him either. My other problem is that I get that he's supposed to be the sexy one this season, but he's like a super-safe Disney kind of sexy. He needs to come out shirtless in leather pants and writhe around on the floor a la Jim Morrison - then we'll talk. And he needs to lose the sneakers - the look juvenile and a better fit for Kevin.
Uncle Tony picked Ace to go home this week - I guess the eye candy factor doesn't do much for him.
Kellie - "Blame It On the Sun"
This was drab, dull, boring, pitchy, uninteresting, and just not worth the 2 minutes it took to watch it. But she's Kellie Pickler so she'll survive another week. Uncle Tony first picked Kellie to go home this week, then changed his vote to Ace.
Elliott - "Knock Me Off My Feet"
This was a good performance by Elliott. I'm still waiting for him to just blow me away. I hope he can at some point, else he'll probably leave in the Anwar-Jennifer spot (7th place). I must find Elliott the most interesting contestant, because he's the only one I've sought out any info on the internet for. He has diabetes and wears an insulin pump, and he got kicked out of school at 16 for "being a waste of space", although he did earn his GED later. I feel like Elliott has a lot of pain and sorrow and darkness he could tap for this show to really connect with the downtrodden masses. I'm rooting for him. He seemed to really be awed by Stevie Wonder, and I was glad that Stevie encouraged him.
Mandisa - "Don't You Worry Bout a Thing"
I WAS worried at the beginning of this song. It was way too low for her, but then she jumped an octave and it was much better. I thought the end was really good. I think Mandisa will be one of those contestants that just never really has a bad night. I love that she doesn't let being a big girl stop her from moving around the stage, and she has so much confidence. She's a great role model. I read some speculation that she's actually too classy for this show and that's why she won't win. Could be. Her outfit looked nice tonight, and her hair was soo pretty. Uncle Tony said something like "She's really good!!"
Bucky - "Superstition"
Color me surprised! I was expecting this to be really awful, but it was actually pretty good. Bucky should indulge that little bit of funkiness he obviously has. Man, that was some serious Farrah-hair, though. Maybe next week he'll have the Rachel. Uncle Tony was also pleasantly surprised, but thinks Bucky is way out of his league.
Melissa - "Lately"
I didn't mind the goofed lyrics that much. It was pretty obvious, but it was only one word (twice). I was more bothered by the fact that Melissa's voice of swallowed razor blades was back. I did not think this was good at all. Tied with Kellie for the worst of the night. She looked really pretty though. She reminds me of Sarah Michelle Gellar for some reason. And I love me some SMG, so that helps her a bit. But I pick Melissa as the bootee tonight.
Lisa - "Signed Sealed Delivered"
I think Lisa is more the performing doll than Paris. I truly believe Lisa will be much better in about 4 years - she just hasn't grown into her voice yet. And maybe that's what Idol is looking for, so they can mold her in the way of their choosing. She's definitely a good singer, but I found this performance pretty boring.
Kevin - "Part Time Lover"
Kevin is so out of his league, and I think he knows it, so he is just making the most out of every second he can get. His performance wasn't all that bad really, just not anywhere near the true contenders. He is very smart, funny and quick witted though, and he's really going for it, so I have to respect the effort. He might be bottom 3 tonight, but I think he'll live on a little longer. Uncle Tony: "horrible".
Katharine - "Until You Come Back to Me"
Call me crazy, but I thought this was a Dionne Warwick hit, not Aretha Franklin. Maybe they both did it? I'm too lazy to go look it up, all that Freiheit research wore me out. Anyway. Katherine is da bomb!! I love love love her! Her voice is beautiful, and her singing style is just perfect for me, not boring but not all cluttered & melisma'd up either. Paula's right, her voice just cuts though everything. And even though I didn't really care for the color and pattern of her dress, it was the perfect fit for her. Her tummy and her butt just vanished, and I'm sure the low cut top won her some new fans. Witness Uncle Tony: "She's really pretty. She looks like a movie star!" Katharine could never be a movie star because she weighs more than 95 pounds, but I think she could be a singing star for sure. Yay Katharine!!!
Taylor - "Living for the City"
I imagine Taylor has a music collection that takes up a whole room in his dingy little apartment which is all he can afford because he can't keep a real job because all he cares about is music. He rattled off the album and date of that song like a true music-head. He really is the real deal. I don't think this week's performance measured up to last week's, but Taylor is a true performer, and he really has a lot of style and flair. Uncle Tony thought he let the backup singers do too much of the heavy lifing near the end, but we both really liked him.
Paris - "All I Do"
Paris seems to be going for the Diana DeGarmo spot. She's 16 but she seems like she's 35. I really like Diana DeGarmo though, so I better give Paris a chance. She does seem to be getting better at balancing the performing against the singing. She seemed genuinely touched by meeting Stevie too. Uncle Tony said her singing responses to Ryan's questions were not.helping.her.at.all.
Chris - "Higher Ground"
Chris never should have admitted he didn't know Higher Ground was a Stevie Wonder song. Makes him sound like the opposite of a music-head. And he didn't really make the song his own, me made it the Red Hot Chilli Pepper's. He should have done better with this song. The thing Chris has going for him (as does Taylor, Paris, Katharine, Mandisa and even Bucky) is that he always sounds like Chris. As Simon would say, he knows who he is (unlike Ace, as I mentioned above). And if you think about previous winners of this contest (Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia & Carrie), and even most of the 2nd & 3rd placers, they all always sounded like themselves, they didn't get buffeted around by the song or the theme. That seems to be a strong factor in this contest. Anyway, for Chris tonight, Uncle Tony said "If I was rating it from 1 to 10, it would be way less than 10." Hee.
Rather than rate tonight's performances, I'll list how I voted in the Ultimate Elimination game on idolonfox.com. In order of elimination:
Melissa
Bucky
Lisa
Kevin
Kellie
Paris
Ace
Elliott
Katharine
Taylor
Mandisa
Chris
Kinnik - I still think Kinnik is a really good singer, and I like her better than Lisa personally. But she did struggle last week, so I can understand why she got eliminated. If anything, it shows that you can't afford to have an off night this season. Although I'm sure some will and still escape, so it really doesn't prove anything.
Will - WTF?? This one totally baffles me! He was easily 10x better than Kevin and just as adorable. What gives? I was truly surprised and not happy about this one.
Ayla - Again, I think Ayla is easily better than Kellie or Melissa, probably on par with Lisa. I'm guessing people couldn't connect with her and her picture perfect life? I don't know. I thought her performance last week was her best yet, but I suppose she could have been ranked 7th in the girls all along and her time just came up. We'll never know...
Gedeon - I would have put Gedeon ahead of Kevin, Bucky and Ace. Were his odd mannerisms and over-enunciation just too weird for America? I liked him, but I guess I could see how people might be put off by his personality.
I really really think the young age limit should be 18. I have heard so many 16 & 17 year olds that I think would just be so much better in 3 or 4 years. It's not like their talent is going to go away, and I just think 16 is too young to be competing with 28 year olds. It's like a whole different ballgame. But youth is such a highly regarded trait in our society. Whatever. I guess I'm old so I'll always like the older contestants.
Soo, a sad goodbye to our dearly departed, and on with Stevie Wonder week!!
I love Stevie Wonder, especially his older stuff. I'm not sure it's the best theme for Idol though. His songs are beautiful, but they are geared toward a certain type of singer, and having 12 songs in a row by any one artist is going to get dull. This show is much more entertaining with the broader themes that let the contestants really shine. Each contestant spoke about meeting Stevie, and most seemed pretty overwhelmed. I know I would be. Miracle of miracles, no one sang My Cherie Amour!!
I'm thrilled to finally learn that the music in the opening montage is "Keeping the Dream Alive" by Freiheit. I can't find it for download anywhere, but it's on the Say Anything soundtrack, which I just ordered of Half.com. They used that song in a montage last year too, and I've been wondering what it was ever since. Yay!! OK, for tonight's recap, I'll include a few comments from Uncle Tony too, since he actually sat and watched the show with me.
Ace - "Do I Do"
It can't be easy to go first, and Ace doesn't seem like the most confident guy. But I thought he did OK. He was upbeat and seemed like he was having fun. He gave a good solid middle ground performance to start things off. I have two problems with Ace. First, he doesn't really have a vocal identity - he just sort of sounds like whatever song he's singing. I would never be able to pick his voice out and say "Oh, that's Ace". That's not neccesarily bad, but with others in the competition that are so distinct, it won't help him either. My other problem is that I get that he's supposed to be the sexy one this season, but he's like a super-safe Disney kind of sexy. He needs to come out shirtless in leather pants and writhe around on the floor a la Jim Morrison - then we'll talk. And he needs to lose the sneakers - the look juvenile and a better fit for Kevin.
Uncle Tony picked Ace to go home this week - I guess the eye candy factor doesn't do much for him.
Kellie - "Blame It On the Sun"
This was drab, dull, boring, pitchy, uninteresting, and just not worth the 2 minutes it took to watch it. But she's Kellie Pickler so she'll survive another week. Uncle Tony first picked Kellie to go home this week, then changed his vote to Ace.
Elliott - "Knock Me Off My Feet"
This was a good performance by Elliott. I'm still waiting for him to just blow me away. I hope he can at some point, else he'll probably leave in the Anwar-Jennifer spot (7th place). I must find Elliott the most interesting contestant, because he's the only one I've sought out any info on the internet for. He has diabetes and wears an insulin pump, and he got kicked out of school at 16 for "being a waste of space", although he did earn his GED later. I feel like Elliott has a lot of pain and sorrow and darkness he could tap for this show to really connect with the downtrodden masses. I'm rooting for him. He seemed to really be awed by Stevie Wonder, and I was glad that Stevie encouraged him.
Mandisa - "Don't You Worry Bout a Thing"
I WAS worried at the beginning of this song. It was way too low for her, but then she jumped an octave and it was much better. I thought the end was really good. I think Mandisa will be one of those contestants that just never really has a bad night. I love that she doesn't let being a big girl stop her from moving around the stage, and she has so much confidence. She's a great role model. I read some speculation that she's actually too classy for this show and that's why she won't win. Could be. Her outfit looked nice tonight, and her hair was soo pretty. Uncle Tony said something like "She's really good!!"
Bucky - "Superstition"
Color me surprised! I was expecting this to be really awful, but it was actually pretty good. Bucky should indulge that little bit of funkiness he obviously has. Man, that was some serious Farrah-hair, though. Maybe next week he'll have the Rachel. Uncle Tony was also pleasantly surprised, but thinks Bucky is way out of his league.
Melissa - "Lately"
I didn't mind the goofed lyrics that much. It was pretty obvious, but it was only one word (twice). I was more bothered by the fact that Melissa's voice of swallowed razor blades was back. I did not think this was good at all. Tied with Kellie for the worst of the night. She looked really pretty though. She reminds me of Sarah Michelle Gellar for some reason. And I love me some SMG, so that helps her a bit. But I pick Melissa as the bootee tonight.
Lisa - "Signed Sealed Delivered"
I think Lisa is more the performing doll than Paris. I truly believe Lisa will be much better in about 4 years - she just hasn't grown into her voice yet. And maybe that's what Idol is looking for, so they can mold her in the way of their choosing. She's definitely a good singer, but I found this performance pretty boring.
Kevin - "Part Time Lover"
Kevin is so out of his league, and I think he knows it, so he is just making the most out of every second he can get. His performance wasn't all that bad really, just not anywhere near the true contenders. He is very smart, funny and quick witted though, and he's really going for it, so I have to respect the effort. He might be bottom 3 tonight, but I think he'll live on a little longer. Uncle Tony: "horrible".
Katharine - "Until You Come Back to Me"
Call me crazy, but I thought this was a Dionne Warwick hit, not Aretha Franklin. Maybe they both did it? I'm too lazy to go look it up, all that Freiheit research wore me out. Anyway. Katherine is da bomb!! I love love love her! Her voice is beautiful, and her singing style is just perfect for me, not boring but not all cluttered & melisma'd up either. Paula's right, her voice just cuts though everything. And even though I didn't really care for the color and pattern of her dress, it was the perfect fit for her. Her tummy and her butt just vanished, and I'm sure the low cut top won her some new fans. Witness Uncle Tony: "She's really pretty. She looks like a movie star!" Katharine could never be a movie star because she weighs more than 95 pounds, but I think she could be a singing star for sure. Yay Katharine!!!
Taylor - "Living for the City"
I imagine Taylor has a music collection that takes up a whole room in his dingy little apartment which is all he can afford because he can't keep a real job because all he cares about is music. He rattled off the album and date of that song like a true music-head. He really is the real deal. I don't think this week's performance measured up to last week's, but Taylor is a true performer, and he really has a lot of style and flair. Uncle Tony thought he let the backup singers do too much of the heavy lifing near the end, but we both really liked him.
Paris - "All I Do"
Paris seems to be going for the Diana DeGarmo spot. She's 16 but she seems like she's 35. I really like Diana DeGarmo though, so I better give Paris a chance. She does seem to be getting better at balancing the performing against the singing. She seemed genuinely touched by meeting Stevie too. Uncle Tony said her singing responses to Ryan's questions were not.helping.her.at.all.
Chris - "Higher Ground"
Chris never should have admitted he didn't know Higher Ground was a Stevie Wonder song. Makes him sound like the opposite of a music-head. And he didn't really make the song his own, me made it the Red Hot Chilli Pepper's. He should have done better with this song. The thing Chris has going for him (as does Taylor, Paris, Katharine, Mandisa and even Bucky) is that he always sounds like Chris. As Simon would say, he knows who he is (unlike Ace, as I mentioned above). And if you think about previous winners of this contest (Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia & Carrie), and even most of the 2nd & 3rd placers, they all always sounded like themselves, they didn't get buffeted around by the song or the theme. That seems to be a strong factor in this contest. Anyway, for Chris tonight, Uncle Tony said "If I was rating it from 1 to 10, it would be way less than 10." Hee.
Rather than rate tonight's performances, I'll list how I voted in the Ultimate Elimination game on idolonfox.com. In order of elimination:
Melissa
Bucky
Lisa
Kevin
Kellie
Paris
Ace
Elliott
Katharine
Taylor
Mandisa
Chris
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I. 5
The pack is down to 16, and since I'm writing this recap as the results show is going on, I'll just cram it all into one post. Last week, we lost 4 more contestants. Suprisingly, it was the 4 I ranked the lowest. Amazing!
Brenna - Apparently, Brenna thinks coming in 20th on Idol will land her a lucrative show business career. Brenna, why don't you call up Celena Rae and see how her career is going. Except Celena is actually cute, so she's probably not a good role model for Brenna.
Heather - Heather wasn't bad, but she just wasn't very interesting. She just got outgunned by the other contestants. I wouldn't be too surprised to see her turn up on some D-list cable tv show, because Idol has-beens seem to be the cream of the crop of the reality also-rans, and she is very pretty.
David - David had a limited range, and he seemed ready to go home. Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. The kid is only 17 and this show was just too big for him. When I was 17 I could barely walk and chew gum, let alone get up and sing in front of people. So, props to David, who will totally be the most popular boy in the arsty set at school.
Sway - Sway sounded much better on his sing-out. I think he feel prey to nerves and pressure. I think he was a good singer, but he just couldn't connect. He seems like a nice grounded guy, so I hope he does well in whatever he tries.
The Top 16!!!!!
I didn't really think anyone deserved to go home this week, so everyone is a keeper or a maybe for me this week. Sadly, 4 will leave us, though. Here's my take...
Paris - "Conga"
Paris seemed out of breath to me during this song. I still think she needs to "perform" less and sing more. But she is good vocally, and she's cute and spunky. I liked her hair much better this week. And even though I know the dress over jeans look is "so over", I thought it really worked for her. She looked much taller than normal, and the jeans emphasized her kicky dance moves. The green eyeshadow needs to go though.
Lisa - "Here's Where I Stand"
Where is Lisa getting these songs? They are dull! She's a beautiful singer, but she's losing my interest fast. And I didn't like her hair. Why does Idol try to take every curly-haired girl and give them hair like a board? Bring back the curls!! I like Lisa and I think she did a good job, but she needs more pizazz or "wow" or something.
Melissa - "What About Love"
I liked this perfomance by Melissa. I'm not a big fan of hers, but I thought this was her best yet. I did not think she yelled, as Simon said. It sounded good to me, and she really seemed to be throwing her heart and soul into it. Good job, Melissa!! She does seem to like showing us her tummy, though. I'd like to see her in a more flattering top, and a better hairdo. She is pretty, and her audience outfit on boy's night was cute. I'm afraid she might be on her way out this week, though.
Kinnik - "If I Ain't Got You"
Poor Kinnik. She lost her pitch in the middle of this song, and that can be really hard to deal with. I think she could have done a good job with this song, but she just lost it. It can happen to anyone. She seemed already defeated at the end, and I'm afraid she may go home this week, too. It's too bad, because I think she could be better than what we saw on the show.
Katharine - "Think"
Katharine is my favorite girl contestant so far this year. Her voice is just so rich and easy, and she sings pretty straightforward without a lot of distracting runs and junk. She's funny and cute, and she seems like she's be fun to hang around with. Plus, she finally found a more flattering outfit this week, in a simple black long-sleeved tee and jeans. She's the real deal. Loved it!!
Ayla - "Unwritten"
I understand what Randy means about a "singer's song", but this week was actually the best Ayla performance yet for me. Like Lisa, I can agree that's she's a good singer, but she just hasn't really appealed to me. But I liked this performance, I was entertained, and that's important. It might be what keeps Ayla in the finals. She had some kind of crazy hairdo, too. The girls must have a "do each other's hair" party before the show.
Mandisa - "I'm Every Woman"
I usually hate this song on Idol, because the contestants usually let the back-up singers do all the heavy lifting, and they just "wooooaaaa-woooaaa" some. But Mandisa rocked it! She sang the hard parts, and you could hear her over all the backup. Plus, I could actually understand some of the lyrics. This was a great performance, and her pretty hair was back. Yay!!
Kellie - "I'm the Only One"
Kellie is picking better songs, but I'm still not a big fan. She's getting by on cuteness rather than talent. She's not bad, though, and she is a good performer. She gets into her songs and seems to enjoy performing, so that's a plus. I'll excuse her for not knowing what a minx was, since you don't hear that term much these days, but there's no excuse for saying "sal-mon". Come on!!
Gedeon - "When a Man Loves a Woman"
Gedeon sure is an odd duck, but I like him. He enunciates everything so well. And that bit about knowing how to love his mom and grandma was funny. He does that style of music really well, but it would be nice to see him stretch. However, based on my own advice, he shouldn't try to "show another side" for a couple more weeks. How come he doesn't get the "I'm 17 but I sound 50" comments from Simon that the girls get? I guess Simon doesn't care if the guys are old.
Chris - "Broken"
This song was a little dull for me. Chris can certainly sing, but he may have actually hurt himself a bit by being so good last week. I don't know how he's going to improve, but I hope he can figure it out, because I want to see it. But if he sings Creed, then he and I are through. Hate Creed - LOVED the spiky hair - he looked like Seth Green!! Hee!! I love all Chris's shirts - I want to get some for Uncle Tony. They're just regular guy shirts, but they all have some wacky design on them. Super cool.
Kevin - "Vincent"
The audience got whiplash going from Chris to Kevin. I was actually impressed by Kevin's song. I think his voice sounded the best so far for him, in that kind of sweet, folksy genre. I actually said "wow, that was really good" when he finished. He obviously has a sharp sense of humor and is quick witted, so he'd be fun to have around for a while.
Bucky - "Wave on Wave"
Another identical twin. This show sure brings them out. Too bad Becky and her twin are gone, else we could have had some weird trippy doppleganger action going on. Bucky did fine, he's certainly not the strongest singer, but he has a certain charm about him. I don't know if it will be enough to keep him around.
Will - "How Sweet It Is"
Will is certainly no James Taylor, but then again, James Taylor has the voice of an angel sent straight down from heaven, and I am totally serious about that. I think Willl suffered the same comparison that the girls do when the dare to sing Whitney/Mariah/Celine. You just can't compare to James Taylor. That said, Will was way better than a karaoke performance, and he's adorable. Like Katharine, he seems to have a voice that just sails out with no effort. They never strain, their voices just happen. I like that, it makes me feel comfortable and happy.
Taylor - "Taking it to the Streets"
Taylor just leapfrogged all the other guys for me, and for several reasons. First, his voice was perfect for the song, and the song was awesome. I love his song choices and I would love to hear them all season long - it's like my iPod. Second, his "dancing" was crazy nuts. He totally doesn't care if he looks foolish. Like the old saying goes "the worst dancer on the dance floor is usually the person having the most fun". JPL would be proud. But the third reason is the most important to me - I think Taylor totally got that this song was a call to riot against injustice, and even thought the music is fun, the lyrics are totally serious. He didn't smile, laugh or hoot during the song, and it took a few seconds afterward for him to wipe the snarl off his face and get his goofy smile back. I think Taylor truly thinks about the songs he's singing, and he loves music with a passion, more than any other contestant I've seen so far on this show. He would be singing even if he had to do it in the subway for quarters. And that's impressive.
Elliott - "Heaven"
I like Elliott a lot, but this just wasn't the song for him. He'll never make it as a romantic ballad glory note singer, that's just not his forte. He is so good at the songs that are musically complex, lyrically complicated, and technically difficult, he could sing rings around the other guys in that style. I really want him to wow everyone, like Kelly did with "Stuff Like That There". I'm not sure what songs he should sing, because those kind of songs seem to be a thing of the past, but I for one would love to see them make a comeback.
Ace - "Butterflies"
That was one of the weirdest songs I've ever heard. I had to listen to it again because it was just so bizarre. Way too much falsetto, although I liked the really weird part in the middle. This wasn't really pleasant to listen to, but it was intersting, it stood out, and I actually kind of liked it, almost in a morbid kind of way. It made Ace more interesting and less wimpy seeming to me, and he looked good in his little hat. All that fluffy hair is a little distracting. So, good show from Ace.
The only thing tougher than ranking this week, is predicting who will go home!
Keepers:
Mandisa
Katharine
Ayla
Paris
Lisa
Taylor
Gedeon
Will
Chris
Elliott
Maybes:
Melissa
Kellie
Kinnik
Kevin
Ace
Bucky
Going home is a crap shoot, but say it will be Melissa, Kinnik, Kevin and Bucky.
Brenna - Apparently, Brenna thinks coming in 20th on Idol will land her a lucrative show business career. Brenna, why don't you call up Celena Rae and see how her career is going. Except Celena is actually cute, so she's probably not a good role model for Brenna.
Heather - Heather wasn't bad, but she just wasn't very interesting. She just got outgunned by the other contestants. I wouldn't be too surprised to see her turn up on some D-list cable tv show, because Idol has-beens seem to be the cream of the crop of the reality also-rans, and she is very pretty.
David - David had a limited range, and he seemed ready to go home. Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. The kid is only 17 and this show was just too big for him. When I was 17 I could barely walk and chew gum, let alone get up and sing in front of people. So, props to David, who will totally be the most popular boy in the arsty set at school.
Sway - Sway sounded much better on his sing-out. I think he feel prey to nerves and pressure. I think he was a good singer, but he just couldn't connect. He seems like a nice grounded guy, so I hope he does well in whatever he tries.
The Top 16!!!!!
I didn't really think anyone deserved to go home this week, so everyone is a keeper or a maybe for me this week. Sadly, 4 will leave us, though. Here's my take...
Paris - "Conga"
Paris seemed out of breath to me during this song. I still think she needs to "perform" less and sing more. But she is good vocally, and she's cute and spunky. I liked her hair much better this week. And even though I know the dress over jeans look is "so over", I thought it really worked for her. She looked much taller than normal, and the jeans emphasized her kicky dance moves. The green eyeshadow needs to go though.
Lisa - "Here's Where I Stand"
Where is Lisa getting these songs? They are dull! She's a beautiful singer, but she's losing my interest fast. And I didn't like her hair. Why does Idol try to take every curly-haired girl and give them hair like a board? Bring back the curls!! I like Lisa and I think she did a good job, but she needs more pizazz or "wow" or something.
Melissa - "What About Love"
I liked this perfomance by Melissa. I'm not a big fan of hers, but I thought this was her best yet. I did not think she yelled, as Simon said. It sounded good to me, and she really seemed to be throwing her heart and soul into it. Good job, Melissa!! She does seem to like showing us her tummy, though. I'd like to see her in a more flattering top, and a better hairdo. She is pretty, and her audience outfit on boy's night was cute. I'm afraid she might be on her way out this week, though.
Kinnik - "If I Ain't Got You"
Poor Kinnik. She lost her pitch in the middle of this song, and that can be really hard to deal with. I think she could have done a good job with this song, but she just lost it. It can happen to anyone. She seemed already defeated at the end, and I'm afraid she may go home this week, too. It's too bad, because I think she could be better than what we saw on the show.
Katharine - "Think"
Katharine is my favorite girl contestant so far this year. Her voice is just so rich and easy, and she sings pretty straightforward without a lot of distracting runs and junk. She's funny and cute, and she seems like she's be fun to hang around with. Plus, she finally found a more flattering outfit this week, in a simple black long-sleeved tee and jeans. She's the real deal. Loved it!!
Ayla - "Unwritten"
I understand what Randy means about a "singer's song", but this week was actually the best Ayla performance yet for me. Like Lisa, I can agree that's she's a good singer, but she just hasn't really appealed to me. But I liked this performance, I was entertained, and that's important. It might be what keeps Ayla in the finals. She had some kind of crazy hairdo, too. The girls must have a "do each other's hair" party before the show.
Mandisa - "I'm Every Woman"
I usually hate this song on Idol, because the contestants usually let the back-up singers do all the heavy lifting, and they just "wooooaaaa-woooaaa" some. But Mandisa rocked it! She sang the hard parts, and you could hear her over all the backup. Plus, I could actually understand some of the lyrics. This was a great performance, and her pretty hair was back. Yay!!
Kellie - "I'm the Only One"
Kellie is picking better songs, but I'm still not a big fan. She's getting by on cuteness rather than talent. She's not bad, though, and she is a good performer. She gets into her songs and seems to enjoy performing, so that's a plus. I'll excuse her for not knowing what a minx was, since you don't hear that term much these days, but there's no excuse for saying "sal-mon". Come on!!
Gedeon - "When a Man Loves a Woman"
Gedeon sure is an odd duck, but I like him. He enunciates everything so well. And that bit about knowing how to love his mom and grandma was funny. He does that style of music really well, but it would be nice to see him stretch. However, based on my own advice, he shouldn't try to "show another side" for a couple more weeks. How come he doesn't get the "I'm 17 but I sound 50" comments from Simon that the girls get? I guess Simon doesn't care if the guys are old.
Chris - "Broken"
This song was a little dull for me. Chris can certainly sing, but he may have actually hurt himself a bit by being so good last week. I don't know how he's going to improve, but I hope he can figure it out, because I want to see it. But if he sings Creed, then he and I are through. Hate Creed - LOVED the spiky hair - he looked like Seth Green!! Hee!! I love all Chris's shirts - I want to get some for Uncle Tony. They're just regular guy shirts, but they all have some wacky design on them. Super cool.
Kevin - "Vincent"
The audience got whiplash going from Chris to Kevin. I was actually impressed by Kevin's song. I think his voice sounded the best so far for him, in that kind of sweet, folksy genre. I actually said "wow, that was really good" when he finished. He obviously has a sharp sense of humor and is quick witted, so he'd be fun to have around for a while.
Bucky - "Wave on Wave"
Another identical twin. This show sure brings them out. Too bad Becky and her twin are gone, else we could have had some weird trippy doppleganger action going on. Bucky did fine, he's certainly not the strongest singer, but he has a certain charm about him. I don't know if it will be enough to keep him around.
Will - "How Sweet It Is"
Will is certainly no James Taylor, but then again, James Taylor has the voice of an angel sent straight down from heaven, and I am totally serious about that. I think Willl suffered the same comparison that the girls do when the dare to sing Whitney/Mariah/Celine. You just can't compare to James Taylor. That said, Will was way better than a karaoke performance, and he's adorable. Like Katharine, he seems to have a voice that just sails out with no effort. They never strain, their voices just happen. I like that, it makes me feel comfortable and happy.
Taylor - "Taking it to the Streets"
Taylor just leapfrogged all the other guys for me, and for several reasons. First, his voice was perfect for the song, and the song was awesome. I love his song choices and I would love to hear them all season long - it's like my iPod. Second, his "dancing" was crazy nuts. He totally doesn't care if he looks foolish. Like the old saying goes "the worst dancer on the dance floor is usually the person having the most fun". JPL would be proud. But the third reason is the most important to me - I think Taylor totally got that this song was a call to riot against injustice, and even thought the music is fun, the lyrics are totally serious. He didn't smile, laugh or hoot during the song, and it took a few seconds afterward for him to wipe the snarl off his face and get his goofy smile back. I think Taylor truly thinks about the songs he's singing, and he loves music with a passion, more than any other contestant I've seen so far on this show. He would be singing even if he had to do it in the subway for quarters. And that's impressive.
Elliott - "Heaven"
I like Elliott a lot, but this just wasn't the song for him. He'll never make it as a romantic ballad glory note singer, that's just not his forte. He is so good at the songs that are musically complex, lyrically complicated, and technically difficult, he could sing rings around the other guys in that style. I really want him to wow everyone, like Kelly did with "Stuff Like That There". I'm not sure what songs he should sing, because those kind of songs seem to be a thing of the past, but I for one would love to see them make a comeback.
Ace - "Butterflies"
That was one of the weirdest songs I've ever heard. I had to listen to it again because it was just so bizarre. Way too much falsetto, although I liked the really weird part in the middle. This wasn't really pleasant to listen to, but it was intersting, it stood out, and I actually kind of liked it, almost in a morbid kind of way. It made Ace more interesting and less wimpy seeming to me, and he looked good in his little hat. All that fluffy hair is a little distracting. So, good show from Ace.
The only thing tougher than ranking this week, is predicting who will go home!
Keepers:
Mandisa
Katharine
Ayla
Paris
Lisa
Taylor
Gedeon
Will
Chris
Elliott
Maybes:
Melissa
Kellie
Kinnik
Kevin
Ace
Bucky
Going home is a crap shoot, but say it will be Melissa, Kinnik, Kevin and Bucky.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I. 5
Last week we lost our first 2 guy semi-finalists:
Bobby Bennett: I found Bobby entertaining and unique, like a Louis Armstrong impersonator. There was no way Bobby would ever win this contest, but he might have a future in musical comedy. He’s only 19, so he has a lot of time to grow into his act.
Patrick Hall: Patrick was easily in the top half of the group vocally, but I think he just didn’t make a strong enough impression. You never want to use your first week of performances to “show a different side” of yourself. You need to show your first side, your best side. If you’re still in it 5 weeks later, then try something different. Hopefully Patrick can still make it as a musician, and I hope we hear from him again.
Week 2!!!!
Taylor - “Easy”
Ahhh, I love this song, and I thought Taylor was really good. He needs to cool it on the hoots while he sings, though. He’s in danger of becoming like Fantasia with her “yeah yeah”s. I really love his enthusiasm though - he just seems so happy to be singing and performing. Plus, he should appeal the 40+ crowd that watches this show. They may not be the producers target audience, but they (we) can be a powerful voting block.
Elliott - “Moody’s Mood for Love”
Elliott is a technically great singer. He will be fighting an uphill battle on this show, because he’s not pretty like Ace, and he doesn’t have the stage presence of Taylor or Chris. Plus, the songs he’s picking, while I really like them, probably don’t have mass appeal. I’d like to see Elliott make it into the finals doing what he does best, and then turn up the heat to scare the frontrunners. I think he can do it.
Ace - “If I'm Not Made For You “
Ace reminds me of those sensitive coffee shop singers from the 90’s, like Phoebe Buffet spoofed on Friends. He’s fine, and he’ll go far on looks alone, but he doesn’t appeal to me that much. He did look cute in his “beanie” though. (Taylor called his a “toboggan”. Again, I am so out of the loop, because I would have called them both “stocking caps”.) I liked how Ace was listening so hard to Simon’s comments, trying to glean whatever little helpful bit he could get. He strikes me as earnest and a hard worker, and that can take you far.
Gideon - “A Change is Gonna Come “
I love listening to Gedeon talk. He cracks me up. He almost has the opposite problem of Elliott, in that his “performing” (facial expressions, dance moves, etc) actually distract from the fact that he is a very good vocalist. If he can calm down a bit, I think he has a good shot at the finals.
Kevin - “Heard it Through the Grapevine”
Kevin certainly has charm and a sense of humor. I think he’s aware of his own limitations, and he’s confident in himself and does his thing when he performs. I think he’s very near the bottom of the group in terms of talent, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like him.
Sway - “Overjoyed”
Sway seemed very nervous and struggled with this song. Several of the singers have seemed more nervous this week than last. Sway is a good singer, but he can’t seem to find his groove. I think this might be the end of the line for him.
Will Makar - “Lady”
Will did a fine job, and he has a very nice voice. But I think he needs to keep it light and upbeat, for now at least. I’m very sad that his highlight moment was meeting Justin Guarini, and that he watched the first AI Finale when he was 12. Oy!!
Bucky - “The Thunder Rolls”
AAAAaaahhhh!! I haven’t heard this song in years! Awesome! I am surprised that Randy was right - when Bucky doesn’t oversing, he actually has a nice voice. He certainly is a change of pace for the show. And he has that awful shaved underneath haircut from the 90’s, which proves his hickness even more than his love of biscuits.
David - “The Way You Look Tonight”
Oh wow. This is worse than last week. It’s like even David is sick of his own schtick. He sounded nervous, uncomfortable, and just not good. Plus, his story about using his mom’s car charger as a belt was just sad and not funny. I give him credit for taking all the bad comments and not making excuses, though (Ace, Sway, I’m looking at you).
Chris - “Hemmorhage”
Chris really does sound like he could be on the radio right now. He’s one of the only contestants to seem current and modern. But can a contestant from Idol ever make it as a hard edge rocker? Maybe in Europe, but I doubt it in America. He’s probably the current favorite to win the show right now, but what would happen to him then? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I rank him second tonight because of that, and because I don’t want to fall into the trap of liking whoever went last best.
Keepers:
Elliott
Chris
Tayor
Gedeon
Will
Maybes:
Bucky
Ace
Kevin
Losers:
Sway
David
And I actually think Sway and David will be going home.
Bobby Bennett: I found Bobby entertaining and unique, like a Louis Armstrong impersonator. There was no way Bobby would ever win this contest, but he might have a future in musical comedy. He’s only 19, so he has a lot of time to grow into his act.
Patrick Hall: Patrick was easily in the top half of the group vocally, but I think he just didn’t make a strong enough impression. You never want to use your first week of performances to “show a different side” of yourself. You need to show your first side, your best side. If you’re still in it 5 weeks later, then try something different. Hopefully Patrick can still make it as a musician, and I hope we hear from him again.
Week 2!!!!
Taylor - “Easy”
Ahhh, I love this song, and I thought Taylor was really good. He needs to cool it on the hoots while he sings, though. He’s in danger of becoming like Fantasia with her “yeah yeah”s. I really love his enthusiasm though - he just seems so happy to be singing and performing. Plus, he should appeal the 40+ crowd that watches this show. They may not be the producers target audience, but they (we) can be a powerful voting block.
Elliott - “Moody’s Mood for Love”
Elliott is a technically great singer. He will be fighting an uphill battle on this show, because he’s not pretty like Ace, and he doesn’t have the stage presence of Taylor or Chris. Plus, the songs he’s picking, while I really like them, probably don’t have mass appeal. I’d like to see Elliott make it into the finals doing what he does best, and then turn up the heat to scare the frontrunners. I think he can do it.
Ace - “If I'm Not Made For You “
Ace reminds me of those sensitive coffee shop singers from the 90’s, like Phoebe Buffet spoofed on Friends. He’s fine, and he’ll go far on looks alone, but he doesn’t appeal to me that much. He did look cute in his “beanie” though. (Taylor called his a “toboggan”. Again, I am so out of the loop, because I would have called them both “stocking caps”.) I liked how Ace was listening so hard to Simon’s comments, trying to glean whatever little helpful bit he could get. He strikes me as earnest and a hard worker, and that can take you far.
Gideon - “A Change is Gonna Come “
I love listening to Gedeon talk. He cracks me up. He almost has the opposite problem of Elliott, in that his “performing” (facial expressions, dance moves, etc) actually distract from the fact that he is a very good vocalist. If he can calm down a bit, I think he has a good shot at the finals.
Kevin - “Heard it Through the Grapevine”
Kevin certainly has charm and a sense of humor. I think he’s aware of his own limitations, and he’s confident in himself and does his thing when he performs. I think he’s very near the bottom of the group in terms of talent, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like him.
Sway - “Overjoyed”
Sway seemed very nervous and struggled with this song. Several of the singers have seemed more nervous this week than last. Sway is a good singer, but he can’t seem to find his groove. I think this might be the end of the line for him.
Will Makar - “Lady”
Will did a fine job, and he has a very nice voice. But I think he needs to keep it light and upbeat, for now at least. I’m very sad that his highlight moment was meeting Justin Guarini, and that he watched the first AI Finale when he was 12. Oy!!
Bucky - “The Thunder Rolls”
AAAAaaahhhh!! I haven’t heard this song in years! Awesome! I am surprised that Randy was right - when Bucky doesn’t oversing, he actually has a nice voice. He certainly is a change of pace for the show. And he has that awful shaved underneath haircut from the 90’s, which proves his hickness even more than his love of biscuits.
David - “The Way You Look Tonight”
Oh wow. This is worse than last week. It’s like even David is sick of his own schtick. He sounded nervous, uncomfortable, and just not good. Plus, his story about using his mom’s car charger as a belt was just sad and not funny. I give him credit for taking all the bad comments and not making excuses, though (Ace, Sway, I’m looking at you).
Chris - “Hemmorhage”
Chris really does sound like he could be on the radio right now. He’s one of the only contestants to seem current and modern. But can a contestant from Idol ever make it as a hard edge rocker? Maybe in Europe, but I doubt it in America. He’s probably the current favorite to win the show right now, but what would happen to him then? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I rank him second tonight because of that, and because I don’t want to fall into the trap of liking whoever went last best.
Keepers:
Elliott
Chris
Tayor
Gedeon
Will
Maybes:
Bucky
Ace
Kevin
Losers:
Sway
David
And I actually think Sway and David will be going home.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I. 5
Last week, we said goodbye to two of our female semi-finalists.
Becky O’Donahue – Although I thought Becky was better than some of the other contestants, I don’t think she had any chance of winning this show, so she would have left sometime. I saw her Maxim pictures with her sister, and I hope they do well in modeling. They both look athletic and healthy, and a nice change from the stick-thin sickly twigs you normally see in magazines. Good luck, Becky!
Stevie Scott – I’m not sure if Stevie really just isn’t very good, or if she just botched her song. Her singout after she was eliminated was better than her earlier performance, but it still had a lot of problems. I think Stevie is a good example of someone who would have done well to wait about 5 years and then try out for Idol. I think she needs more time to learn to control her voice and use it well. And yes, I do believe Idol will still be around in 5 years, as scary as that may seem. Anyway, best of luck to Miss Stevie.
On to this week's show!
Katharine – “All Is Fair in Love”
I really like Katharine, and I think the judge were a little off in their comments. I agree that her performance wasn’t fabulous, but I think they gave her the wrong advice. Randy essentially told her to sing more runs and other showy junk, but I think she sounds best when she’s just singing the melody and holding out the long notes with her beautiful, warm tone. The runs she did sing sounded forced and awkward to me, like she doesn’t want to sing them but she knows this is American Idol and you can’t win without them. I hope she makes it through this week. She’s still in my “keeper” group.
Kinnik – “Here for the Party”
This was just wrong. Her outfit was bad, the song choice was bad. She didn’t sing it badly, but it just didn’t do her any favors. I think Kinnik has great potential as a smoky jazz singer, but this performance dropped her to the “maybe’s” for me.
Lisa Tucker – "Who's Loving You"
Lisa is definitely a good singer, but again, this song just didn’t do a whole lot for her. I’m starting to sound like the judges! Ack!! I think Lisa could also use about 3-4 more years of experience to learn how to best use her voice. But she’s still better than most of the young popsters I hear on the radio. Lisa’s outfit looked like mustard and ketchup, but her hair was cute. Still a keeper.
Melissa – “Why Haven’t I Heard from You”
Melissa sounded a lot better to me this week. I think the long, held notes last week emphasized the weakness in her voice. This fast paced song was much better, and the style suited her. Last week, her voice sounded like she’d swallowed a package of razor blades; this week she moved up to “smoked 10,000 cigarettes”. If she can move up to “Kathleen Turner”, then I’ll reconsider moving her from a “maybe” to a “keeper”.
Heather – “Hero”
This girl just does nothing for me. She’s drab and dull. Her voice is serviceable, she sings in tune, but she’s just not interesting. She has that robotic prettiness that seems to be so popular with casting directors for shows like The Bachelor. I just can’t help but think that someone much better and more interesting lost their spot to Heather, and I hope she goes home this week.
Brenna – “Last Dance”
I don’t get this girl. She doesn’t seem particularly contentious to me (she’s certainly not in the league of, say Juanita “I’m axing you, what about da chirdren” Barber.) She’s like Mikalah Gordon, but not funny. Her singing was a little better this week, but she’s nowhere near the caliber of some of the other girls. On the plus side, her sparkly disco dress was cute and I really liked that color green on her. But cute outfits aren’t enough to keep you in the contest, so I say it’s time for her to make like a tree and leave.
(This week’s aside: Mikalah proved on Tyra Banks’ show again that she just can’t sing, but she is funny, and her humor is self-deprecating rather than spiteful. Tyra offered her a job as a correspondent on her talk show, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for her, because she is entertaining.)
Paris – “Wind Beneath My Wings” Paris must have read about my nervousness from her strapless top, because this week she’s wearing a bustier with straps, with a white button down underneath. She is well covered. But that weave on top of her head is horrible. It looks like a Halloween wig for a 60’s Medusa costume. I realize that makes no sense, but neither did her hair. Paris sings beautifully, and this performance was better than I expected. She maintains her keeper status.
Ayla – "I Want You to Need Me"
I just don't have a lot to say about Ayla, except she's very tall. She's better singer than I expected, but her song choices leave me pretty cold. I still have her in the keeper group, but she just hasn't grabbed my attention, yet.
Kellie – “Something to Talk About”
This was a much better song for Kellie than last week. Her voice on the high notes sounds strained and thin, so a faster song that skips right over the high notes is a better choice for her. I still don't think she's a very good singer, and her appeal seems to be all about her cuteness. I do agree about calamari though - tastes like eating a plate of rubber bands. ick.
Mandisa – “Cry”
Mandisa is obviously a great singer, and she did a nice job with the song. I liked her “dogjaw” bit. I thought her outfit looked nice this week, but I didn’t like her hair. She has such pretty flowy hair with snappy highlights, and that tight topknot made her look like a East German schoolmarm. I pick Mandisa as the best of the night, but not by much of a margin. In fact, this week my “keepers” were all about equal for me, as were my “maybes”. Only the “losers” really stood out. On the plus side, I don’t think anyone wore gauchos this week. Yay!
Keepers:
Mandisa
Ayla
Katharine
Paris
Lisa
Maybes:
Melissa
Kellie
Kinnik
Losers:
Brenna
Heather
My prediction for the homebound this week: Heather and Kinnik
Becky O’Donahue – Although I thought Becky was better than some of the other contestants, I don’t think she had any chance of winning this show, so she would have left sometime. I saw her Maxim pictures with her sister, and I hope they do well in modeling. They both look athletic and healthy, and a nice change from the stick-thin sickly twigs you normally see in magazines. Good luck, Becky!
Stevie Scott – I’m not sure if Stevie really just isn’t very good, or if she just botched her song. Her singout after she was eliminated was better than her earlier performance, but it still had a lot of problems. I think Stevie is a good example of someone who would have done well to wait about 5 years and then try out for Idol. I think she needs more time to learn to control her voice and use it well. And yes, I do believe Idol will still be around in 5 years, as scary as that may seem. Anyway, best of luck to Miss Stevie.
On to this week's show!
Katharine – “All Is Fair in Love”
I really like Katharine, and I think the judge were a little off in their comments. I agree that her performance wasn’t fabulous, but I think they gave her the wrong advice. Randy essentially told her to sing more runs and other showy junk, but I think she sounds best when she’s just singing the melody and holding out the long notes with her beautiful, warm tone. The runs she did sing sounded forced and awkward to me, like she doesn’t want to sing them but she knows this is American Idol and you can’t win without them. I hope she makes it through this week. She’s still in my “keeper” group.
Kinnik – “Here for the Party”
This was just wrong. Her outfit was bad, the song choice was bad. She didn’t sing it badly, but it just didn’t do her any favors. I think Kinnik has great potential as a smoky jazz singer, but this performance dropped her to the “maybe’s” for me.
Lisa Tucker – "Who's Loving You"
Lisa is definitely a good singer, but again, this song just didn’t do a whole lot for her. I’m starting to sound like the judges! Ack!! I think Lisa could also use about 3-4 more years of experience to learn how to best use her voice. But she’s still better than most of the young popsters I hear on the radio. Lisa’s outfit looked like mustard and ketchup, but her hair was cute. Still a keeper.
Melissa – “Why Haven’t I Heard from You”
Melissa sounded a lot better to me this week. I think the long, held notes last week emphasized the weakness in her voice. This fast paced song was much better, and the style suited her. Last week, her voice sounded like she’d swallowed a package of razor blades; this week she moved up to “smoked 10,000 cigarettes”. If she can move up to “Kathleen Turner”, then I’ll reconsider moving her from a “maybe” to a “keeper”.
Heather – “Hero”
This girl just does nothing for me. She’s drab and dull. Her voice is serviceable, she sings in tune, but she’s just not interesting. She has that robotic prettiness that seems to be so popular with casting directors for shows like The Bachelor. I just can’t help but think that someone much better and more interesting lost their spot to Heather, and I hope she goes home this week.
Brenna – “Last Dance”
I don’t get this girl. She doesn’t seem particularly contentious to me (she’s certainly not in the league of, say Juanita “I’m axing you, what about da chirdren” Barber.) She’s like Mikalah Gordon, but not funny. Her singing was a little better this week, but she’s nowhere near the caliber of some of the other girls. On the plus side, her sparkly disco dress was cute and I really liked that color green on her. But cute outfits aren’t enough to keep you in the contest, so I say it’s time for her to make like a tree and leave.
(This week’s aside: Mikalah proved on Tyra Banks’ show again that she just can’t sing, but she is funny, and her humor is self-deprecating rather than spiteful. Tyra offered her a job as a correspondent on her talk show, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for her, because she is entertaining.)
Paris – “Wind Beneath My Wings” Paris must have read about my nervousness from her strapless top, because this week she’s wearing a bustier with straps, with a white button down underneath. She is well covered. But that weave on top of her head is horrible. It looks like a Halloween wig for a 60’s Medusa costume. I realize that makes no sense, but neither did her hair. Paris sings beautifully, and this performance was better than I expected. She maintains her keeper status.
Ayla – "I Want You to Need Me"
I just don't have a lot to say about Ayla, except she's very tall. She's better singer than I expected, but her song choices leave me pretty cold. I still have her in the keeper group, but she just hasn't grabbed my attention, yet.
Kellie – “Something to Talk About”
This was a much better song for Kellie than last week. Her voice on the high notes sounds strained and thin, so a faster song that skips right over the high notes is a better choice for her. I still don't think she's a very good singer, and her appeal seems to be all about her cuteness. I do agree about calamari though - tastes like eating a plate of rubber bands. ick.
Mandisa – “Cry”
Mandisa is obviously a great singer, and she did a nice job with the song. I liked her “dogjaw” bit. I thought her outfit looked nice this week, but I didn’t like her hair. She has such pretty flowy hair with snappy highlights, and that tight topknot made her look like a East German schoolmarm. I pick Mandisa as the best of the night, but not by much of a margin. In fact, this week my “keepers” were all about equal for me, as were my “maybes”. Only the “losers” really stood out. On the plus side, I don’t think anyone wore gauchos this week. Yay!
Keepers:
Mandisa
Ayla
Katharine
Paris
Lisa
Maybes:
Melissa
Kellie
Kinnik
Losers:
Brenna
Heather
My prediction for the homebound this week: Heather and Kinnik
Teeth Bared - Gauchos!!
Apparently, I did miss the memo on gauchos being in style. This picture was in the Sunday newspaper ads this past weekend
The gauchos displayed here make even these girls look stumpy, and they’re models! Doesn’t bode well for the average 5’4” woman who tries to wear them. Just say “No” to gauchos!!
The gauchos displayed here make even these girls look stumpy, and they’re models! Doesn’t bode well for the average 5’4” woman who tries to wear them. Just say “No” to gauchos!!
Teeth Bared - AI Rant
I give American Idol a lot of credit for offering us a wide variety in the male singers this year (and actually, over all the years). We get lots of different styles, and a few guys that are not attractive at all. It’s OK for a guy to be fat or short or homely or look like he’s 55 years old. They seem to go out of their way to pick a mish-mosh of guys, and I think that’s great. But why, oh why, can they not even come close to the same philosophy with the girls? This year’s crop in particular, all seem like clones of each other, of earlier seasons, of current popular artist. Even though there are a few girls his year that I can say I like, that I think are talented and entertaining, as a whole, they are drab and predictable. They are either “perky”, “sassy” or “sultry”. No other stereotypes need apply. I cannot believe that in the thousands of people who auditioned, there weren’t at least 50 really unique female singers. But, because they were fat or homely or looked old, they were turned away at the door. They act like letting Mandisa through was a massive risk, but I guarantee that the only reason they let her through was because she reminds them of singers like Aretha Franklin, Patty LaBelle, etc, who are undeniably popular. A big white girl would have never stood a chance. I think American Idol is horribly short-changing us year after year in the female singers, and I wish they would open their minds a bit and let America decide.
Last year, there was an auditioner named Sara Sue Kelly. I still remember her to this day, because she was obviously very talented, intelligent and well-adjusted. But she looked like someone who worked in the back room of the library and she sang a sweet, 1940’s type of ballad. And while the judges approved one bland, blond girl after another, they decided Sara was “not right” for American Idol. I guarantee that the male version of Sara would have made it to the finals. The interesting thing was that LL Cool J was a guest judge at her audition, and he loved her. He even pushed the other judges to let her through, but to no avail. Isn’t it possible that if LL Cool J (of all people) loved her, maybe other people would too? But American Idol couldn’t take the risk that a dumpy white girl might do well and appear on their commercials, even if she sang like an angel. How many Sara Sue Kelly’s did we never even get to see? How many did the judges never even get to see?
Although I place a fair share of the blame on the makers of American Idol, I have to admit that the American public itself probably drives their decisions. I think the Idol competitions in some other countries have been much more open to a variety of women. Look at Michelle McManus, Pop Idol winner from the UK. Simon was her biggest supporter. I don’t think she would have even been given a chance here. And to be fair, American Idol has given us a shot at few different females in the past. We failed to vote through Lisa Leuschner, Charly Lowry or Briana Ramirez-Rial in Season 3, Hadas or Candace Coleman from Season 2, or Aloha Mischeax from Season 4. But we did vote for Vanessa Oliverez, Amy Adams, Camille Velasco and Nadia Turner. We voted Nikki McKibbin and Kimberley Locke into 3rd place finishes. We gave Fantasia a win. And America loves Kelly Clarkson, who doesn’t fit the cutesy pop-star mold at all. I wish the producers would give us a little more credit for wanting something beyond the cookie-cutter female vocalist – we want someone interesting!!
Now that I’m done with my rant, I’m willing to give this year’s girls a chance to impress me, but I still don’t trust that Idol is truly giving us a chance to see and vote for the best singers available.
Last year, there was an auditioner named Sara Sue Kelly. I still remember her to this day, because she was obviously very talented, intelligent and well-adjusted. But she looked like someone who worked in the back room of the library and she sang a sweet, 1940’s type of ballad. And while the judges approved one bland, blond girl after another, they decided Sara was “not right” for American Idol. I guarantee that the male version of Sara would have made it to the finals. The interesting thing was that LL Cool J was a guest judge at her audition, and he loved her. He even pushed the other judges to let her through, but to no avail. Isn’t it possible that if LL Cool J (of all people) loved her, maybe other people would too? But American Idol couldn’t take the risk that a dumpy white girl might do well and appear on their commercials, even if she sang like an angel. How many Sara Sue Kelly’s did we never even get to see? How many did the judges never even get to see?
Although I place a fair share of the blame on the makers of American Idol, I have to admit that the American public itself probably drives their decisions. I think the Idol competitions in some other countries have been much more open to a variety of women. Look at Michelle McManus, Pop Idol winner from the UK. Simon was her biggest supporter. I don’t think she would have even been given a chance here. And to be fair, American Idol has given us a shot at few different females in the past. We failed to vote through Lisa Leuschner, Charly Lowry or Briana Ramirez-Rial in Season 3, Hadas or Candace Coleman from Season 2, or Aloha Mischeax from Season 4. But we did vote for Vanessa Oliverez, Amy Adams, Camille Velasco and Nadia Turner. We voted Nikki McKibbin and Kimberley Locke into 3rd place finishes. We gave Fantasia a win. And America loves Kelly Clarkson, who doesn’t fit the cutesy pop-star mold at all. I wish the producers would give us a little more credit for wanting something beyond the cookie-cutter female vocalist – we want someone interesting!!
Now that I’m done with my rant, I’m willing to give this year’s girls a chance to impress me, but I still don’t trust that Idol is truly giving us a chance to see and vote for the best singers available.
