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!!)
