Thatcher Planet

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