The Boys - Round 2
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Yay!! It's performance night!! I am SO hoping the boys had some uniquity scared into them. I know some of them have it, damnit, and I want to see them...
Ryan starts us off about how "every vote counts" and the guys are back and "this time it's personal" (??). There are the guys - looks like Phil's up first and Sundance is up last tonight. Ryan's all casual with a suit jacket and button down with jeans. He congratulates Jennifer Hudson as "our first" Oscar winner. I'm not sure it's cool for them to be taking credit for that...
The order tonight is interesting with what I consider the strong ones in the back of the order (with the exception of Phil). All the guys are ready. The girls are "scoping" the boys out. We meet the judges again. Simon looks un-stinky tonight. Randy implores the boys to be better tonight. Paula tells them to have fun, that they're celebrities now. It appears Simon and Ryan have made up, and Simon declines to comment on the boys. We are reminded that the guys WILL be performing tonight and two will go home (duh), and we are further informed that the guys are supposed to perform around the them of "people that inspired them". Hm. Keep with me after the click to hear my reviews of all the contestants as they perform.
Phil Stacey is up first. He's dedicating his performance to the Navy Band Southeast (believe me - the military bands are full of badasses). He is honored to sing for them, and they encouraged him to audition. This is a good theme, I think. Very patriotic. And he's singing Ain't Missing You. It starts out a little bit shaky, frankly. It's all kind of in a slightly lower register at the beginning. As he hits a few of the higher notes he is MUCH stronger. He gets better towards the middle, and he's markedly better in the chorus. Someone needs to teach him mic technique - he's blocking his face with his mic! He's good in the bridge, then goes to a high power note with an ok effect. Overall, I thought it was pretty safe. Not bad - just safe.
Randy: Yo - he thought he was the best last week and he had the vocals on "blast" this week. He loved it.
Paula: She loves his tone, can hear him on the radio.
Simon: He's not jumping out of his chair (boos). He thinks he's very popular, a nice guy, but has a completely unoriginal voice. He liked the end of the song, but he's not hearing anything unique. He's hearing a very, very good karaoke singer.
We're off to Ryan and Phil, and Simon chimes in he thinks Phil's not going anywhere, he'll be back next week. 1-866-IDOLS01 or text 5701. Break time.
And we're back, with Ryan in the Red Room. Ryan talks to Sundance, and Sundance heard from people that he shouldn't be so "crappy", and he's going to try to do that this week. AJ has mixed emotions - the show is unpredictable, but he thinks they were fair. He wants to redeem himself. Now Jared, who's up next, and he's going to be more adventurous.
Jared Cotter. He's dedicating the performance to his parents. His mother is the whole reason he's there - he didn't know about the audition until the day of the audition and she literally woke him and made him go. His father introduced Jared to a bunch of music, and he credits him with his talent. He's singing Let's Get It On, all time greatest make-out song. He's in a suit. He isn't mellifluous like Marvin Gaye, but his falsetto sounds good. As the song progresses, he modulates and interprets the song much better than at the beginning. He needs to watch what I consider short, ending notes at the end of verses - sloppy. If he tightens them down, he'll be much better. He kind of shouts his way out of the bridge. He looks good on stage, but I find the signing sloppy frankly. Not bad, just sloppy. I'm not overwhelmed.
Randy: He doesn't know if he took a chance, he kind of liked it, but it was pitchy in spots. He liked his "steamy" face.
Paula: She likes the "steamy" face too. She thinks Jared is a good looking guy, but he doesn't have to push that kind of song.
Simon: He's glad he made the attempt to make a statement, but it reminded him of the Love Boat. If the Love Boat had a cabaret singer, it would have been like that because it was a bit corny in spots.
Jared is now with Ryan. Ryan regales us with the things he's done to that song. 1-866-IDOLS02, text 5702. Jared poses for the ladies.
Next up is AJ Tabaldo. He's on the mom and dad bandwagon, too. They've been there for him for everything, have always instilled in him that he never give up, and he has a tenacious drive and mentality to go for what he wants. It's for them. He's singing something I don't recognize just yet - it seems similar. It starts softly. OH - I think it's I'm Feeling Good. I wouldn't put this song with a guy - I'd put it with a diva. While AJ is doing a good job, he's not very diva-esque and his performance suffers by comparison. It is a risky song though, and he's doing a reasonably good job with it. He's had the fewest pitch problems of the ones who have gone tonight. It was good. I'm not blown away, but it was good.
Randy: It was so much better than last week. It was kind of nice.
Paula: Props to the band - nice. And she things he has a real real real real real good voice.
Simon: He thought it was actually nearly very good. He absolutely did the right thing - he made himself different and stand out, and we saw his personality. He also looked comfortable doing it.
AJ's with Ryan, and Ryan wants to know if he listened last week. AJ totally agrees, and went outside of his comfort zone this week. 1-866-IDOLS03 or text 5703. Break time!
And we're back! The guys are doing their best!
Sanjaya Malakar is dedicating his song to his grandfather, who was a strong person in his life. He was always there for him, but he died when Sanjaya was 5. He wears his grandfather's wedding ring on stage for support from a higher place. He's singing Steppin' Out - he's wearing a hat. He looks good - very retro. This song suits his voice. He sounds good singing it - his voice is kind of soft, very smooth. I can't say this song is particularly challenging vocally except that it moves around a lot with notes jumping here and there in a very precise fashion. I think he sounds good, but again, this just doesn't impress me. He does get credit for taking a risk with the song. The ending is a little weak, and he looks a little scared towards the end, but not bad.
Randy: He's a nice kid, Randy likes him, but it was weird for him - like a bad high school talent show.
Paula: He sang on pitch, but he's 17 and has an old soul. He finds it odd at such a young age to do that song. After needling from Simon, she says she liked it.
Simon: He thought it was a ghastly lunch like after lunch someone's parents ask the kids to dress up and sing. It made absolutely no impact, and he doesn't get why he did that.
They want to know why he did it, and he wanted to celebrate the great years of music and dedicate it to his Grandpa. Ryan's there now, and wants to know what he thought. Sanjaya intones that he has to step it up next week. Frankly, I don't see it happening - he's too young and too green. 1-866-IDOLS04, text 5704. Break time again!! The teaser - is Chris Sligh singing Trouble?? Taylor-Famous-Season 5-Trouble??!!
And we're back!! We're pimping AmericanIdol.com! And here's Chris Sligh and his crazy hair! Chris thinks he has the right song. He picked on he loves.
Chris Sligh is dedicated to his wife, Sarah. Oooh - she's pretty!! Seriously pretty!! He talks about being a struggling artist, and how she has been the one to keep him from quitting when he got really run down. He can genuinely say he'll be with her for the rest of his life. And yes - he's doing Trouble. This is going to be hard for me to review because I thought Taylor KILLED it last season. Chris sounds different than Taylor, but he's got really good nuance and interpretation to his voice. He knows when to punch and when to pull back, and he has good mic technique (it matters). I think his vocal is strong, frankly, and it shows off his voice. He's singing right to his wife, which is also nice. This is a different arrangement from Taylor's, and it lets him finish strong. I really liked it.
Randy: Good to see Chris return. He was good last week, and this week was even better. He liked it.
Paula: She liked it too! She wants him to watch his pitch and timing a bit, but he's awesome.
Simon: They put him through because he's a very good singer and tonight he's a very good singer. Simon like it. Excellent!
Ryan references Taylor, and Chris talks about doing it a bit differently, and he hoped people liked it. 1-866-IDOLS05, text 5705. Commercial AGAIN, and we are led to believe Nick will do Fever after the break.
We're back, and we're halfway through. We are reminded that the guys are singing tonight, girls tomorrow. Duh.
Nick Pedro is dedicating it to his girlfriend Caitlin, and she's also a pretty girl. She's been supportive and understanding, and that means a lot to him. He's singing Fever. I think this song suits his voice. Again, he's got that wispy kind of crooner thing happening. He sounds good - his voice is smooth and his timing is very good. He does some things with the song, but not too much so as to make it a parody, which is always a risk with a standard like this. I'm not so sure I'm hearing the kind of bite I would like on the high notes, though. Simon's snapping along - is that good? He does this weird interpretive jazz-kind of thing that does NOT work towards the end, but then he gets it back. He should have stuck with the melody, because that was the only weird part to the whole thing. It was good - not great, but good.
Randy: He thinks it's cool that so far everyone has come back and done better this week. Nick returned to his roots - pitchy in spots and he has to watch his timing, but it was nice.
Paula: She likes the crooner thing, too. Just let go and go for it.
Simon: He thought it was good, but if you're going to attempt to pull that song off, it's about charisma, and he lacked charisma. He has a good voice, but there's a charisma issue to deal with.
Ryan's with Nick, and Nick's outfit is all wrong and Simon's not a stylist. We switch to Caitlin, who is there in the audience. 1-866-IDOLS06 or text 5706. Nick gets in a "vote for Pedro" as Ryan's giving the numbers, which is funny and very inside for Napoleon Dynamiters. ;-) Another break! And Blake will be doing Jamiroquai - wow. I saw on his profile that he loved Jamiroquai, and this should be interesting.
And we're back!! Just four left to go. We're in the Red Room. Blake agrees the girls are very good, and that they made him step up his game.
Blake Lewis is dedicating his performance to his parents. His dad is the hardest working man he knows, and gave him the work ethic he has. His mom gives him all his talent, and we learn she plays guitar. His parents are excited for him, and they should be. Virtual Insanity is his choice. The start is ROUGH - it's almost like he couldn't find his key but he corrects it quickly. He handles the pre-chorus bridge well, and it's a tricky part. The chorus is a little rough. He beat boxes the next verse, and that's pretty cool. But the second chorus is rough - he's WAY sharp. His pitch is everywhere tonight. Damnit, I like this guy, but that was not good.
Randy: Randy loved it. I'm shocked. I mean seriously - shocked.
Paula: She thought he made a smart choice, and she loved it.
Simon: He disagrees with Randy and Paula. He thought Blake was terrific last week, but this week the first part was copycat, the middle section was great, and the last part his tuning went. I have to say, I'm with Simon on this one.
Blake's with Ryan, and wants to know what Simon thought he copied. They're all arguing, etc. I think/hope Blake will survive, but this was not a good performance. Onward and upward to other things next week, I say. Blake talks about vocal entendre (?) and we get the numbers. 1-866-IDOLS07 or text to 5707. We're at another break, with Brandon Rogers after it.
We're back and we're in the Red Room. Ryan's talking to Brandon and Chris. Chris is going with uptempo, and Brandon is going with a tortured song choice (is it too slow??!).
Brandon Rogers dedicates his song to his grandmother. She always wanted him to succeed, always encouraged him, and wanted him to bloom. She's be proud of him in the competition and his life, and he dedicates it to her. He chooses Time After Time. Interesting. This is hard song, and I can't remember a guy performing it. He sounds good at the beginning, which is kind of low. The chorus is not as strong as I would like, but he handles it well and he impresses me with the really high run in the chorus. He comes back to the verse nicely, which is hard from the high chorus. I liked it, but I'm waiting for Brandon to blow my socks off. I know he can.
Randy: He liked the sentiment, and he thought the song spoke to it, but he didn't think it did enough vocally to show what Brandon has. Boring for him. Brandon interjects - he was trying to feel and put himself into it, and it didn't need extra.
Paula: She felt his heart. He has a beautiful voice.
Simon: He wants to take it back to a singing show. Simon loves grandmas. Randy's absolutely right. Brandon has to come out when he's as talented as he is and make a wow impact. I agree with that as well. Brandon talks about next week, and Simon says he keeps saying that and he's a good singer.
Ryan's with Brandon, and Brandon had to walk out with his ears covered during the package so he wouldn't cry. It's his Dad's birthday, and he sends a shout out. Simon is a turd and says his mom's birthday is in November so happy birthday. 1-866-IDOLS08 and text 5708.
Chris Richardson is dedicating his performance to his grandma, his "big momma", back home in Virginia. She's awesome - spunky and energetic, and everything about her is great. She's opinionated, and if she doesn't like a song or how he looks, she tells him. She's at home watching, but she's supporting him 110%. He's doing a song he mentioned earlier that I can't remember the name of. It's weird but uptempo. This is kind of rap hip-hop song. I don't know it, and I guess he's on pitch, but it's a bit too Justin Timberlake for me. Also, he has kind of an acid edge to his voice, like he tightens his throat while he goes for things and it squeezes the note itself. He's much better at the high spots. I guess it was good. It was definitely original.
Randy: He thinks Chris is in it to win it. He thought it was hot, hotter than the original.
Paula: She loves that he dedicated THAT song to his Grandmother.
Simon: He thought Chris was the best tonight by a mile.
I gotta say - I disagree. I don't know if it's his tone or the style or WHAT, but he's middle of the pack for me tonight. 1-866-IDOLS09 or text 5709. One more break and Sundance closes the show.
Sundance Head will close the show. He dedicates his song to his 2 1/2 month old Levi. He didn't think he'd get this far in the competition, and being away from his son is hard. He almost cries when he talks about his wife telling him Levi is starting to smile. He wants Levi to have a good shot at life. Mustang Sally is his choice. This may be smart from an audience perspective - it's one of the most recognizable songs by everybody everywhere. He's doing a strong band version and has started with the chorus, which is interesting. The audience claps. He's in tune and not red at all. He goes into the verse. He's showing off his big voice with great effect I think, but the problem with this song is that it is dreadfully repetitive. He puts hair on everyone's chest by hitting a WAY HIGH note and doing strongly and well. And we're to the chorus outros, and that's it. It was good, and it will probably be popular.
Randy: Wow! What a difference a week makes - welcome back Sundance. Randy clearly loved it.
Paula: He's got to bring it like that every week and she loved his range.
Simon: He's glad they've got the Sundance back that they really liked. Simon brings up the popularity of the song, and thought he did great, but he can do a lot better.
Ryan's with Sundance, and Sundance feels good. He's glad he got out of the "box" he's been in since the LA audition. 1-866-IDOLS10 or text 5710.
We review everyone's performances and their voting etc.
Here are final rankings:
Chris Sligh
Sundance Head
AJ Tabaldo
Phil Stacey
Brandon Rogers
Nick Pedro
Jared Cotter
Blake Lewis
Chris Richardson
Sanjaya Malakar
Now I don't believe for a second that Chris is going home, despite the fact that he was one of my least favorite of the night. I think poor Sanjaya will go home (and he really should - he's not ready for this), and I'd guess either Nick or AJ, possibly Brandon could be in that second slot. I'm basing this solely on the "grab" factor. If it was my choice, it would probably be Nick. He just doesn't do it for me.
So that's what I've got - see you tomorrow night for the girls!
Labels: American Idol, Boys, Round 2, Semi-Finals
posted by RenaRF @ 8:15 PM,
