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.
# posted by Thatchermom @ 10:04 PM 
