Top 10 - Performance
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Ok. First, I'm late getting started with tonight's recap. My bad. But only by about 25 minutes, so I'll more or less catch up by the end of the show. Second, I'm going to do a little twist in my recapping. I'm going to do my own in-the-moment analysis of an individual's performance, but then I'm going to guess what my mother would say about it. My mother watches this show as avidly as I do. Last season, musical "purists" were pretty unhappy with Taylor's choice to do Play That Funky Music. I thought it was full-on brilliant, because my mother was going to LOVE that. And my mother is pretty much like just about everyone else out there when it comes to American Idol - she likes especially what she knows. So I'm going to add to my recaps and reviews whether or not mom would love it.
Tonight's guest coach is Gwen Stefani. Pretty impressive. We get the Gwen intro, hear about all of her many and varied accomplishments, and I like her. She seems pretty down-to-earth and she seems like she wants to do this. Because it's an hour-long show, we're getting right to it. Follow over the click for the rest.
Lakisha Jones is up first. From the second I hear the piano during her time with Gwen, I know she's doing Donna Summer's classic Last Dance. GREAT choice, I think. It suits Lakisha's very diva-ness in a fun and unpretentious way. Gwen kind of sums it up when she indicates that she (Gwen) should be taking lessons from her (Lakisha).
Lakisha chooses the slow part, the normal start to the song and it sounds great. I'm a little surprised that she didn't go for some of the more recognizable high notes, but hey - she's making it her own. She's now into the uptempo disco part, and it sounds made for her. She doesn't sound like Donna Summer, but she definitely is suited for this song. I like her funky retro-disco outfit, too. She ends strong. What else can you say? She doesn't hit a bad note the whole time. The only criticism I can make is that she didn't entirely lose herself in the song, but only with the caveat that it's not that kind of song. She gets an A.
Randy: He thinks it's good to see her "rock it". It was hot.
Paula: Reminds us Donna Summer isn't easy and says Lakisha did her proud.
Simon: It's great - because she's 30 years younger this week. Loved the big notes at the end, loved the uptempo song, and she had a great vocal.
My Mom: My mom loved it because she loves that song.
She's with Ryan. Lakisha's work friend are in the house and they're excited. 1-866-IDOLS01 or text to 5701.
Commercial time.
We're back, and Ryan's sitting with Chris Sligh. The glasses are back. The hair is still curly. He gets a viewer question: How much downtime do you have and how do you spend it. A: Not a lot, but he spends it knitting and crocheting and playing bongos in boxer shorts. But seriously - he tries to get as much sleep as possible when there's downtime. He's with Gwen, and he's singing Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. Gwen thinks his voice is great but he has to work on his timing. The band will help.
So we're to Chris' live performance. He starts the way the song starts, standing behind the mic stand. He's a teensy bit ahead of the band for a moment, but gets it back at the chorus. I like this performance, but it's not flawless by any measure. I'm not sure if this song is the right choice for Chris - not a bad choice, but he's really having trouble with the tempo. It's weird. The guy has a band for God's sake. I'm not loving this performance. B-.
Randy: Good song choice, biggest problem was the timing. He never quite got in the pocket. Chris thinks it's because he's never sung the song before, but he did the best he could, but he agrees.
Paula: Biggest amount of criticism she's had all season is his not being in the pocket, but vocally it was good.
Simon: Forget timing, he thought it was a mess. At this stage - assume it's the first time - what is he supposed to think? It was a mess and it didn't represent him.
My Mom: She liked the song but didn't love the performance.
Ryan's with Chris. He wants to know if Chris thought he was taking a risk. Chris didn't think it was a risk, but it's one of those songs either you get or you don't, and he didn't - his bad. 1-866-IDOLS02 or text 5702.
Gina Glocksen - we're going right to her package with Gwen. She's crying - Gwen's a big inspiration for her. She's singing I'll Stand By You. Probably a good choice, frankly. She's dressed all rocky, and she starts the song out sounding quite good. She does a nice soft falsetto in there that you wouldn't expect - very pretty. She's really putting me in mind of Kelly Clarkson in the beginning of this song. The chorus is good, but the bridge is better - it's lets her power through it with her voice. They take a key change and then the song ends. Quite good - she gets an A.
Randy: He talks about boot night. He thought it was one of her best performances ever. It was a perfect song for her.
Paula: She loved that Gina's improving and coming into her own. It was a great song choice. It was the best so far.
Simon: Wasn't one of her best performances - it was her BEST performance. This is all about knowing who you are and choosing the right song. She's transformed from three or four weeks ago. He loved it.
My Mom: Hm... Don't know if she knows that song and she probably won't like Gina's look and her tongue stud so she's pretty neutral on Gina.
1-866-IDOLS03 or text to 5703. We're to another commercial - everything at a fast tempo tonight.
Oh groan. We're back and it's Sanjaya Malakar. He's with Gwen, and he's singing a No Doubt song - Backwater. Gwen thinks he's nervous and it's a hard song, so good luck for him. Sanjaya's got this WEIRD HAIR going on - a ponytail mohawk. I don't know this song. It's not awful, but it's sloppy - it's a stacatto song that calls for precision in what he sings, but verbally and vocally and he's not getting it done. He's noticeably slightly flat or sharp in spots. This is like he's singing while he's falling down the stairs. I'm serious. Jesus. D-.
Randy: He's speechless every time. The hairdo is interesting. He likes the look. At the end, it reminded him of someone who could sing, but he has to put it out there.
Paula: If he had the ability to totally go for it it would fit the hairdo. But he didn't, and they're left flat. Come on.
Simon: I presume there was no mirror in your dressing room. Sanjaya mouths Simon - bad move. It doesn't matter any more what they say, Simon thinks. He's in his own universe, and if people like him, good luck.
My Mom: She hated it. Hated the song, hates that the kid can't sing or perform, and will be pissed beyond belief that he did a "faux-hawk" as a gimmick to stay around.
Ryan's with him. Sanajaya's getting cocky. I think that will work against him, frankly. I hope. 1-866-IDOLS04 or text 5704.
Haley Scarnato is up next and she better not butcher my favorite song, True Colors. Gwen wants her to tone it down when she changes the song. Haley starts seated. She's back to her sweet, soft forgettable voice. She's not showing any boob this week - bad move - they didn't vote for her great voice last week, folks. The skirt is short, so she's smart there. Vocally this is just ok. This song is not meant for a Muzak interpretation, and that's what she's giving. You need some edge and ass in this vocal, and she doesn't have it. I give her a solid unenthusiastic C. Yawn.
Randy: It started a little rough, got better, but it was just all right.
Paula: It's a beautiful song. She did an adult contemporary performance it didn't stay younger.
Simon: He wants to know how she thought she did - she thought she did well - he thought it was sweet but forgettable. There was nothing to remember.
My Mom: Liked the song, doesn't like Haley. She's not strong enough.
1-866-IDOLS05 or text to 5705.
Commercial time.
Phil Stacey is up next. He's wearing the hat again. He gets a question: How does it feel to go from an unknown to a household name in weeks? Phil thinks it's a good question, They're so busy they don't even really hear abut it or see it. Phil's doing Every Breath You Take, and Gwen is pleasantly surprised. She doesn't think he needs to do any extra stuff. Phil starts out this wildly recognizable song and it really really suits his voice. He's super strong on this song. He's not shouty at all with it - he sings it softly without losing quality where he needs to. He's to the power the song and I'm telling you - his pitch is absolutely spot-on. He does a very nice high falsetto at the end of the power bridge - nice balance. I loved that. A.
Randy: He liked that. It was a solid performance and he didn't push it.
Paula: Good choice. He has personality and color to his voice. The verses he played it safe. Work on building more character in the verses, but a good performance.
Simon: He thought it was very good. Great choice of song, and he felt Phil was taking it seriously.
My Mom: She thinks he shouts, but I bet she liked it.
1-866-IDOLS06 or text to 5706.
Melinda Doolittle is up next. Heaven Knows is what she's going to do. Gwen loves her. she was amazed to watch her. She doesn't think she needs any luck. Melinda starts out dancing in the middle of the stage. She's all 70-d out, too. It looks good. She has a ot of attitude in the song. The first verse is lowish and she sings it well. She gets to the chorus and she takes it up higher, and she still sounds great. She repeats the chorus and she improvises a bit, and it fits. She's like Lakisha - you can't really say anything bad about her. Not a wrong note, she was totally believable, and she owned the song. A+.
Randy: Randy gives her snaps about how she "owns" the song. It was the bomb again.
Paula: Melinda has charisma from the word go. She's joyful.
Simon: I don't think this is going to be the performance that was the best. Vocally she was outstanding. He hated the outfit.
My Mom: She'll love it. She loves the song and loves Melinda.
Ryan's with her. 1-866-IDOLS07 or text 5707.
Commercial time.
We're back with Blake Lewis. Come on, Blake. Stop letting me down. He's doing a love song by the Cure. Gwen thinks the melody is strong and he needs to not distract with the beat boxing. Blake has his hair kind of mushed down. I kind of sort of know this song and it suits Blake's voice. Very smooth and he's in tune this week. The song itself isn't a super vocal show-off tune, but Blake gets to do some softer stuff. He wanders a bit off key in the second verse and comes back when he goes into the chorus. He gets a solid B from me this week.
Randy: I'm no sure it was the perfect song choice, but he made the most of it and he liked it.
Paula: She loved what he did with the song. She thinks he's being original and he's hip.
Simon: Definitely the strongest guy in the competition. But he's in the Chris Daughtry zone and don't become too indulgent so that it gets boring. I agree with the boring thing.
My Mom: She won't know the song and won't like the performance.
1-866-IDOLS08 or text 5708.
Jordin Sparks is doing Hey Baby Hey Baby Hey, a mega No Doubt hit. Gwen likes her. Jordin's kind of having trouble with the very first part of the first verse. She gets it back as the verse continues. When she gets to the part preceding the chorus, she's better. In what passes for the chorus, she's a little pitchy and kind of out of tune. She's definitely attitudinally into the song - I'll give her that. The second bridge part is much better and she's in tune as the song winds down. Not my favorite. It was kind of sloppy, with some obvious problems. She gets a C for this one.
Randy: He thought it was risky. He thought she did great (!!!). Gads.
Paula: She loved it.
Simon: Probably the most improved contestant over the last few weeks. The song was younger, but the song was also copy-cattish.
My Mom: She won't like the song, and because she likes Jordin she'll think it was just ok.
1-866-IDOLS09or text 5709. Commercial time.
And we're BACK. Chris Richardson is singing Don't Speak. Gwen's seen him to "vocal Olympics" and she hopes he sticks to the melody and focuses on the song and the emotion. Chris starts out well enough for me. He's behind the microphone and he's singing kind of softly and it's nice. He's in the bridge and there's a bit of a rough patch vocally. Now he's gone to the run stuff, and he's started singing through his nose. As the song modulates it's literally a mess. He gets it back in the final chorus somewhat, but that earlier part was out of tune and weird. Truly unpleasant. I'll give him snaps for trying a really difficult song, but overall, not good. C-.
Randy: Very interesting. He liked the R&B Ska and flavor. Not his best vocal, but he liked it. (!!!)
Paula: She thinks he's good and it was good.
Simon: He thought the song choice was much better, but he wasn't crazy about the vocal (I totally agree). He struggled in the middle and he's got to pay a lot more attention on his vocals.
My Mom: She won't know the song and she hates that Chris sings through his nose.
1-866-IDOLS10 or text 5710.
My final rankings with a following caveat:
Melinda Doolittle
Gina Glocksen
Phil Stacey
Lakisha Jones
Blake Lewis
Chris Sligh
Jordin Sparks
Chris Richardson
Haley Scarnato
Sanjaya Malakar
The caveat: For me, the first four in the rankings were all very very close. I liked them all immensely for different reasons. Haley and Sanajaya are worlds away from the rest of them.
Labels: American Idol, Finals, Top 10
posted by RenaRF @ 7:15 PM,
5 Comments:
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At 9:20 PM,
Bridgette said...
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I've read your blog the last couple of weeks, I love reading what other people think about the show. I think your reviews are almost 100% spot on and I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the effort you put into your recaps. Thanks for the reading material!
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At 10:07 PM,
RenaRF said...
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Thanks bridgette! I appreciate the note. I can tell people are visited but I get very few comments, so it's much appreciated. More than anything, this is my way to determine, in writing, whether or not I'm full of s**t. :-D I can look back on it when the season's over and see how right or wrong I was. ;-)
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At 5:43 PM,
said...
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Hey Rena, love your recaps. I think you think a lot like me. The winners this week for me were Melinda and Lakisha is ok. Something about me doesn't like Lakisha. Melinda is just better to me overall. I really want Blake to step it up because I think he can. He may be saving himself for later.
I could just about care less for any of the others, no one was inspiring this week. Last year i use to put several of the performances on my iPod. I've got 2 so far from the entire season. Sigh. -Marc -
At 6:59 PM,
RenaRF said...
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Hey Marc! I think Melinda and Lakisha are givens as the top two in terms of talent and consistent talent at that. I hear you about Lakisha - next to Melinda, Lakisha just falls short of delivering the whole package.
As for last night, my surprises were Phil Stacey and Gina Glocksen. They were excellent!
And Sanjaya - sheesh. I wish people would spare the kid and stop voting for him. I thought hit attitude last night was annoying, and has perhaps eroded some of his support (hopefully). -
At 6:43 PM,
SuperflyTNTdaShizzle said...
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I'm in complete agreement on Melinda and Lakisha. Lakisha is very good but Melinda is the consumate pro. Really head and shoulders better than anyone else. She always knows when to hold back and when to go big. She never oversings, (which Lakisha occsionally does), and most of all, even when I don't think she's picked the best song, she proves me wrong by making anything she sings compelling. At this point I see those two in the final, with Jordin having an outside shot. Of course they could easily blow it with that gremlin that's cost others before, song choice, (think Mandisa last year, "Any Man of Mine").