Tuesday, April 13, 2010

American Idol 9: Top 11

This episode’s theme was “Bad Song Choice.”

Wow. This has to be one of the most entertaining WTF nights on Idol ever! Really. Can we just vote them all off and start over?

Just looking at the song choices, this week was bound to be a mess - especially with the change of theme late in the game. I mean, is it really that hard for these contestants to run a Google search and figure out the list of songs you should not sing on Idol? Some of these songs are so overdone, it's just beyond belief. To top it all, they keep making predictable song choices - boring and sad.

As for Miley Cyrus, she's not really that bad of a mentor. Some of her comments were a bit contrived but whatever.

Here we go!

11. Paige Miles
Against All Odds
So, I guess her laryngitis is gone because she sounded terrible! WTF! This performance was far worse than Smile, and I thought that was as bad as Paige could sing. Seriously. This was a travesty. Pick a pitch, Paige. Any pitch! Geez. She started out really pitchy as hell but improved when she went into her upper register and kicked it up a notch. Sadly, I didn't care for her performance anymore when she was almost able to recover. Oh, and when Miley Cyrus tells you that you have pitch problems, it's really a PROBLEM! Takes one to know one. Haha.

10. Andrew Garcia
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
It’s sad to think about how powerful Andrew Garcia once was in this competition, but now it’s clear that he lost his mojo already. His performance was just flat in vocals and delivery. He's voice is not versatile enough and he has got absolutely no range and this song really highlighted that. Andrew sang the song too smooth that he needed to hit a big note or two to make an impact. I'm beginning to think now that Andrew is contestant who wasn’t put here because of his voice, but because of his artistry. Sad. I had so much high hopes for him and he is just not cut for this show. And for you Kara, STFU! It's messing with his head because you bring it up EVERY single week!! Drop it already.

09. Tim Urban
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Two things that should never be said in the same sentence: Tim and Queen! Haha. Look, this performance was just stupid, but at the same time, his antics crack me up. I mean, this is like a John Peter Lewis caliber performance. So goofy. That being said, at least he was on pitch. I don't like his tone but this performance was really interesting. I liked that he was using the stage much more in this performance and I probably give Tim a 10 out of 10 just for the stage slide - something we barely see on the Idol live stage. And Kara now wins the prize for dumbest comment of the year, "You acted like you already made it" WTF. Haha.

08. Aaron Kelly
I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
So does Aaron can sing anything but ballads? This vocal performance clearly paled in comparison with Allison Iraheta's and David Cook's versions. Sure, he's got a nice country vibe and this really allowed for the audience to sigh and say “Aww.”  But he was really struggling on some of his notes. Super pitchy. Terible vibrato. Stupid song choice. Meh.

07. Casey James
Power Of Love
"I'm a big fan of your.. dad." Haha. Ok. I'm really getting mad Michael Johns vibes off of Casey, though he massively lacks soul in his performances unlike Johns. Personally, I just can't get into him. I don't know. Yes. He sounded great this week but he, yet again, lacked a certain energy during his performance. He did took a little more command of the stage this week but it still felt like the bass player was having more fun on stage than him. Whatever.

06. Lee Dewyze
The Letter
So Alex was a banana, Lee is a pen. What's next? Aaron's a cucumber? Oh Ellen! You're hilarious. Haha. Well, Lee came out wanting to prove something and he did a pretty good job of maintaining some of his momentum. I liked the soulful arrangement of the song as it allowed Lee to let loose with some of the vocal melodies. Sure, he still looked very awkward and uncomfortable on stage but at least he tried moving around the stage. And seriously? He now reminds me of Elliott Yamin, and I mean that in a good way. I don't know. It must've been the movements he was making combined with the blues/soul sound. Sigh. If only Lee's voice was that good.

05. Michael Lynche
When A Man Loves A Woman
Big Mike is too schmaltzy for my taste but I thought his performance was really good. As long as this dude isn't dancing, I'm alright. Haha. To be perfectly honest, I was surprised that the judges did not praise this like I thought they would. Vocally, I thought that performance was good with a nice big note towards the end and a subtle ending in his falsetto. On top of that, he has the most charisma out of all the contestants and he was able to connect to the audience pretty well. I agree with Simon though, I would've liked it if it was just him and the piano, with a more tender and vulnerable performance.

04. Katie Stevens
Big Girls Don't Cry
Trivia: Katie is the first person to pick a #1 song from this decade. Haha. I’m starting to think that Katie just needed to get to this big stage. Something about the small stage in the semi-finals round was warping her into this desperate performer. Now, this performance was yet another step in the right direction. Nothing earth shattering, but at least she went contemporary. Sure, she sounded flat on some parts and sharp during the chorus but this, to me, was her best performance to date. Oh, and was Simon seriously serious about Katie going country? I usually agree with Simon but just NO! I think I'm going to go with Kara on this one.

03. Didi Benami
You're No Good
Let the judges say whatever they want but they seriously got this one wrong. Just because she had stage presence doesn't mean she is rehearsed? Boo! Judges suck.  I thought Didi's performance showed some personality, took some risks and mixed it up. It wasn't perfect vocally but she did a pretty good darn job with the song arranged in a very jazzy, sexy vibe. And Simon, what constitutes screeching? I definitely didn't hear any. Pitch issues? Yes. Screeching? No.

02. Siobhan Magnus
Superstition
This was a very old-school American Idol performance that relied purely on impressive vocals and very little artistry.  Vocally, the placement of her notes this week was such an improvement that it really let some clarity shine through in her upper register. That being said, does she have to scream like that in every song? I mean, that performance would've been perfectly fine without it. I hope for a reprieve from the scream entirely next week from her. She's going to get herself dismissed as one note if she doesn't chill out on them. Dial back Siobhan. Please.

01. Crystal Bowersox
Me And Bobby McGee
Why do I get the feeling that Siobhan and Crystal will frequently be trading spots in my top 2? Haha. I'm not complaining though. Well, this performance proves why most of them will NEVER be anyone's American Idol: they just got schooled by Crystal Bowersox! Really. Nobody can touch her. She's so far ahead of the others, they aren't even visible in her rearview mirror. This, to me, was the least boring one and her most personable performance EVER. Somehow, I liked how she upped the tempo at the end and made it all interesting. Hate to say it but Crystal owes Miley for telling her to start it out higher, which Crystal did and worked suprisingly well. It made the performance less formulaic and gave it the personality it needed.

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