The Top 10: Live | American Idol S:7 E:24
The Top 10 Mix It Up
By CouchCritic , 03/30/2008, 2 Comments
(Originally posted as a blog Monday night)
After two weeks of the good, bad, and ugly (ahem Kristy Lee?) performances of Beatles songs, we get a new theme this week - songs from the year each contestant was born. I actually liked this theme more than some of the cheesier ones in season's past like "Disco Week" or whatever.... it was nice to have a little variety and it gave the contestants more room to pick a song that fit their style. Some did a fabulous job finding the right song and some not so much. Before we get to it, I'd be remiss if I didn't say something about Paula's outfit - I mean, seriously? Did she dig up a costume from her 'Opposites Attract' heyday in an attempt to support the (mostly) '80s babies on the show? Or does she just think that leather fingerless gloves are a good look for her, particularly when paired with oodles of diamond bracelets over the gloves. Wow.
Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let's start with Ramiele who sang Heart's "Alone." I didn't hate this rendition of the song, despite some pitch problems. It was less dreary and elevator music-esque than some of her previous performances and showed off her voice a little better. For me, the problem with her song choice was that "Alone" has been done several times before on Idol, and done much better than she did it tonight. Carrie Underwood memorably sang it on Idol and then sang it again later in a duet with a member of Heart. We also saw Carly Smithson nail "Alone" this year during Hollywood Week. As Simon has said in the past, when you pick a song by a big singer like Whitney Houston, you have the problem of never living up to the original. In Ramiele's case, her performance doesn't live up to previous Idol performances of the song. I think she deserves to be in the bottom 3 this week for consistently failing to deliver. I also have to mention how much her using her "cuteness" to get sympathy votes is starting to bug me. This week she actually said that her voice "went byebye" followed by her trademark nose crinkle. What self-respecting adult talks like that? Yes Ramiele, I get that you are little and cute. You don't have to talk (and act) like a toddler to get my sympathy votes.
Next up was Jason Castro who sang Sting's "Fragile." I mostly agreed with the judges about his performance - I didn't think it was particularly revolutionary, but I do find him charming and I enjoy hearing him week to week. I think that Jason's problem for the past two weeks has been that he has chosen low-key, medium tempo songs that don't demand the intensity and emotion that a song like "Hallelujah" or even "Let It Be" would showcase. Because his voice is just good, not great, he has to pick the right songs that show off his personality and artistry. I actually agreed with Simon when he told Jason that he needed to take to take the competition more seriously - not because I think Jason doesn't care or isn't trying, but because I think that song choice is all the more crucial for a contestant like Jason who hasn't got the pipes of David Archuleta. That being said, I think his charm and this week's performance will carry him through to the next week and I hope he will nail the song choice next time.
Syesha Mercado followed Jason with "If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight (I think she originally did the song, although many others have covered it.) She kept her momentum from last week and delivered another solid vocal performance. While I thought her voice sounded great, she sort of reminds me of a lot of other third to fifth place finishers from season's past like Trenyce, LaToya, or Tamyra: all had undeniably great voices but none brought a ton of uniqueness or pizazz to the songs they sang. It will be interesting to see if she will start to come out of her shell more as she gains confidence.
Chikezie was next, singing "If Only for One Night" by Luther Vandross. I think Chikezie was right to be hesitant to sing another ballad. For some reason, Chikezie seems to only do dull, lounge singer renditions of sappy love songs when he does ballads. I don't think that means he is destined to only sing bluesy up-tempo rock songs every week - he just needs to learn how to mix-up ballads in the same way he was able to change up "She's a Woman" so successfully a few weeks ago. Despite his inconsistent performances, I really find myself liking Chikezie enough to want him to stick around for at least one more week. I just worry that all of America won't feel the same - my prediction is that he will be in the bottom three.
Next was Brooke White, seated at the piano to perform The Police's "Every Breath You Take." I was a little shocked when Brooke stopped after only two notes, but once I heard her hit the first note on the piano I realized she was very smart to start again. She started in the completely wrong key the first time and it would have been pretty difficult to save had she kept going. I really liked the simple beginning with the piano because it seemed like she was going to make it her own and I agreed with the judges that it would have been smarter to keep it that way throughout. Once the band came in, she was mostly drowned out and reduced to belting the chorus and her voice is much better suited to soft and throaty. Still, she did well enough to stick around for another week.
After Brooke came Michael Johns, singing Queen's "We Will Rock You" AND "We Are The Champions." Unlike last week where his performance felt very rushed and choppy by trying to cut a big song to fit a two minute time frame, these two songs seemed to flow together pretty naturally without seeming as schizophrenic. I'll give Michael Johns two things - he knows how to sing "Queen" and he knows how to put on a show. Was it just me or were the lights during his dramatic conclusion insane? And what about the cheering and clapping (not to mention girls swooning, I'm sure) when he finished? I'm still not entirely sure that Michael has lived up to all the hype the judges and producers have created about his talent, but this is definitely the closest he has come to doing so since Hollywood Week. He's safe for another week.
Next, our other international Idol contestant, Carly Smithson singing Bonnie Rait's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." I have to say - I was shocked to see her in the bottom three last week and was really rooting for her to blow everyone out of the water with this song, but I just wasn't feeling it. Like Simon, I couldn't quite place it, but something just didn't add up. Her vocals were mostly on par, except for the gratuitous glory note at the end. I don't really think the song choice was all that terrible either (although I cracked up when I saw Michael Slezak said on Idolatry that "Total Eclipse" was the one song she shouldn't do and then she sings it). Carly just seemed freaked out, tense, and kind of desperate throughout and her tension and lack of passion ruined a lot of the magic of her performance. Once again, Simon's comments were right on the money. I don't think she deserves to be in the bottom 3, but I didn't think she should be in the bottom 3 for another week, so who knows.
David Archuleta sang some song no one has ever heard by some random artist (it was called "You're the Voice" by John Farnham). I thought it was a hot mess personally, not that it will matter since the legions of "Arch Angels" (I just gagged a little as I typed that) will vote him through to the next week. Yes, we know he has a great voice, but he has to know that he is in a pop competition. He looked very cheesy and lite FM up there singing that song. I was laughing hysterically when Simon said it reminded him of a theme park performance with animated animals. I had been thinking "little kids choir singing an important message song" but I think the theme park performance comparison is apt too. David needs to start choosing his songs a bit more wisely - he would be smart to pick more contemporary, relevant songs or at least find more contemporary arrangements. I, for one, would love to see him sing something unexpected - what if he sang Coldplay's "Fix You" or even tried another John Mayer song?
Now we get to the truly awful: Kristy Lee Cook singing (I kid you not) God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood. I still can't decide if her choice of songs was brilliant or idiotic. The music lover in me wants to say that her choice of songs was awful - all schmaltz and cheese with no real talent or heart to back it up. However, I'm also aware that she must appeal to a certain demographic since she has made it through for several weeks despite some truly horrific performances. I think the conclusion that I've come to is that the people who vote for Kristy Lee week after week are the same people who probably get a little misty anytime they hear "God Bless the USA." So, in that sense, she was brilliant to pick such a schmaltzy, patriotic song. As I watched her performance with a friend, she said, "Watch, the judges are all going to tell her how great it was. Not one of them is going to want to rag on the performance because if they do, they will seem unamerican." And what do you know? They all gave it rave reviews. It all seemed a little "Twilight Zone" especially when even Simon had nothing negative to say after weeks of ragging on Kristy Lee. I will give her one concession - her vocals were considerably better than they have been in recent weeks. I still think she is clearly the weakest contestant in the competition. I'd like to say she'll be in the bottom three yet again, but I'm not so sure.... I'll bet there are a big group of voters who don't want to seem unamerican....
And finally, they saved the best for last: David Cook singing "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. I thought his rendition was fantastic from beginning to end. Not only did I like his arrangement and take on the song (although I'm aware he mostly got the arrangement from Chris Cornell), but I also thought his vocals were killer this week. He seems to mostly get attention for his unique song arrangements, but the guy can really sing too! It was also nice to see that all the traces of his earlier smugness were gone. He certainly is a contender for the win and I'm willing to bet that his performance skyrockets on the iTunes charts tomorrow (I know I will be downloading it!)
And there you have it. The Top 10 certainly mixed it up this week. Several Idols who haven't been doing it for me jumped ahead (Syesha and Michael) and two supposed "shoo-ins" (Carly and David) have failed to deliver. It really just proves that it is still anyone's game at this point. If I had to guess, I'd say that Chikezie, Ramiele, and Carly will be in the bottom three this week. If you enjoyed this recap (my very first ever), please give me good feedback. I welcome all constructive criticism!
Comments
CouchCritic 03/30/08
I know it is hard to read without the paragraph breaks... how do you make the line breaks in TVFan? I'd appreciate some tips on formatting. Thanks!
JRTR 03/30/08
after each paragraph you can put this symbol < then a "p" followed by this symbol >
Sorry if that is confusing, but if i actually put it all together it wouldn't show up as anything.
I found that general formatting in TVFan, like to get things to be <b>bold</b> or <strike>strikeout</strike>, is basic html codes. Not knowing much html, I did a google search of html and what I wanted to do like "paragraph break" to find easy lists of codes.
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