Top 6 Perform - Back in the Saddle Edition
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Ok. I'm back this week, on time, and live-blogging. I missed last week's performances because I was at Taylor Hicks' show in Baltimore - TOTALLY worth it. If he's coming to your town, GO SEE HIM. The show is awesome.
I did finally get to see last week's performances - I watched them Thursday night. I thought Jordin was the best with Phil close behind. It goes without saying that Sanjaya was awful, but I want to know - what is UP with Lakisha? My mother describes her performances as "phoning it in". I made the comment that she looked like she was on tranquilizers these past few weeks. What gives? Thoughts? I thought Chris R. deserved to be in the bottom 3 more than Blake, but Jimmy, loyal watcher and reader of this blog, pointed out to me that he constantly sounds like the singer from Spandau Ballet. BINGO! That is exactly it. Let's hope he just sounds like Blake this week. Follow past the click for this week's recap!
So we're off! This week is the "special American Idol". Same three judges, same six finalists - but the calls for votes will save lives in Africa. Let me pump www.one.org here yet again as we launch into Idol Gives Back. So I guess that means tomorrow's results show is the extravaganza bonanza, right? Cool. I can get into that.
Ryan enters in another great suit and the crowd goes wild. We are reminded about Idol Gives Back. If we don't know what it is already, though, I don't know how we would get on board at this point. But hey - they're trying. They're pushing it - pushing the sponsors, pushing the money. Tomorrow's results show is 2 hours long, and it will function like an elimination telethon. Bono will be joining (newly added name). That's like a gold-standard blessing of the entire effort. We meet the judges. I haven't heard any more about the so-called "controversy" of Simon's comments after Chris Richardson sent a shout out to Virginia Tech. Thank God - what a tempest in a tespot that was. Now Ryan directs us to watch the footage of his and Simon's trip to Africa. We're pulling out the tearjerker footage this week - good. These people live in horrible, abject poverty. These children live in this hopeless environment. They are completely deserving of our compassion and should receive a whopping proportion of our generous nature. Not for nothing, I totally believe and buy Simon's outrage when he sees the conditions and refers to Africa as "hell on earth". I bet that was a quietly life-changing event for him.
Ok - back to the show. Each contestant will have TWO numbers that you can call. Chris Richardson is up first, singing Change the World by Eric Clapton. Lovely song - hope he doesn't sing it through his nose. Chris starts seated. The opening vocals are a little bit shaky for me. As he goes to the higher notes at the beginning he gets the nose thing, but some of his interpretation is quite lovely. He's in the chorus and I think he sounds flat. Not consistently flat, but noticeably flat in spot. He rises and does a run that distracts from the song (bummer). He dances around as he goes to the second chorus. Overall, I would say this performance is mediocre. We're in the final 6 - not good enough. C.
Randy: Randy loves this show to see who's in it to win it and he thought Chris was (???).
Paula: Chris did fantastic - great song choice. She's proud of him.
Simon: It feels that the competition starts properly tonight. It reminded Simon of the very first time they saw him - good vocal, more soul, sexy performance - he did really well.
I'm flabbergasted. I really didn't enjoy that. 1-866-IDOLS 01 or 07 and text 5701 (only one text number). There will be four hours to vote (did they tell the donors this??!! Heh.).
www.myspace.com/idolgivesback is the MySpace pimp for the charity week. We are returned to the poverty subject right here in the USA, the richest country in the civilized world. Yet some of these kids live in a form of poverty every bit as obscene as that we saw in Africa. Randy goes back to Louisiana and visits Katrina survivors. They also go to Kentucky, and the Navajo nation in Arizona. Ryan went to Atlanta to see the devastating effects of homelessness. Seen but ignored - obscene. Paula went to Oklahoma, and they've teamed with programs all over America. They pimp donations for these kids abroad and at home.
Melinda Doolittle is singing There Will Come a Day by Faith Hill. I don't know this song. Melinda starts off center stage. She seems to be feeling the words. She sounds great. It's obvious that she feels the meaning of this song - she conveys it through her performance. I like her look. They've softened her up. She takes the key change beautifully. She's a skilled pro - I hope that doesn't get her in the long run, because right now, she's absolutely the most deserving in the competition. She shows up EVERY WEEK and tonight is no different. She sounds perfect. She gets an A.
Randy: Every week he sees her she's dope and has it all together. He doesn't know waht to say anymore.
Paula: She thinks it must feel great to get the praise and love and critiques week after week. She's magical.
Simon: What he loved was that it wasn't a copycat performance. She took it and made him believe she recorded it originally. A vocal master class.
1-866-IDOLS 02 or 08, or text to 5702.
We're back. We're changing thousands of lives. The target is 50 million calls and they'll make $5 million off of just one sponsor. Excellent.
Blake Lewis gets to answer the viewer question. From Eric in VA - what's the biggest sacrifice he's had to make? A: He's missing is family and friends at home but he has their support being here. Blake's singing John Lennon's Imagine. I can hear that. I dig his hair this week. This is one of the most beautiful songs ever. Blake starts off softly - very appropriate. He's seated, almost reclining. He is singing the song straight so far and his vocal is the dominant sound on the stage. He transitions from verse one to two nicely. This song carries itself and Blake really seems to believe what he's singing. He goes to the bridge and so far I am really liking this performance. This isn't power-challenging like Melinda's song, but this song speaks for itself and Blake just owned it, imo. A.
Randy: Great choice of song. An amazing song. It was just ok for him performance-wise, though - wanted him to do more with it (NOT).
Paula: She talks about the beautiful simplicity of that song and she really loved it.
Simon: This is a tricky one because he chose one of THE big songs of all times and it's not a belter song. It felt sincere, but it didn't go anywhere, but he sang it with sincerity, so it was good.
1-866-IDOLS 03 or 09 or text to 5703. I thought it was lovely, if anyone's asking.
Ok. We're back from commercial and our votes are saving lives. iTunes and Ford will donate videos from tomorrow night's performances. You pay, they give the $$ to the needy. Cool. We're back with Ryan in Africa, and he's in a town where 1/3 of the children are malnourished. ONE THIRD. The children are orphans. They are at a feeding center that not only feeds them but helps them get into school so they can have a future. It costs FIFTY CENTS a day to feed these children three meals a day. That's about $15 a month, folks. Dig deep and do it.
Lakisha Jones is singing I Believe by Fantasia. Interesting choice. She's dressed beautifully and the girls are reasonably tucked away. I think the key sounded a little weird in the beginning - like she started one place and the music went another, but I can't tell if it was just the way the song goes. The verse was a little rough for me vocally but the chorus is much better. She's gesticulating a lot but honestly - it doesn't really reach her eyes or her face. While her vocal is very diva-great, I have to say this is one of my least favorite Lakisha tunes. It was weird for me pitch wise. B-.
Randy: Great song choice - a few pitch problems - not her best but he did like it.
Paula: No doubt that she's a powerhouse vocalist. She took on a monster song - and Paula can't get past Fantasia but it shouldn't take away from Lakisha's vocals.
Simon: He thinks Paula preferred the Fantasia version. It was very emotional - he's having an issue with the shouting. Before he thought that she was... (and we don't hear the rest).
1-866-IDOLS 04 or 10 or text to 5704.
Two left to perform, and Phil Stacey is one of them. He gets a viewer question: What do you miss most about home? A: He misses his two baby girls most, but he knows it will be all worth it. Phil's singing The Change by Garth Brooks. It had a profound effect on him. Interesting that he's doing country again, and probably smart. He starts stading next to a pianist that is on the stage. No hat tonight. The beginning of this song is very nice - I don't know the song - but I find it sweet. As with Melinda's performance and Blake's, I think Phil feels this song. You can see it all over his face. He vocal through the verse and chorus is nice. He's in the bridge now. He has to watch a bit of shoutiness, but it doesn't distract (at least I don't think so) - I'm just nitpicking. His vocal is lovely. I give him an A as well.
Randy: Back again this week with another strong performance.
Paula: She feels like he found his comfort - it was fantastic. His best.
Simon: Good song choice. The only thing he'd advise is that the country tone from last week suited his voice and he needs to connect that up to his performances. People like him.
1-866-IDOLS 05 or 11 or text to 5705.
We're back. And for the record, I REALLY loved that One.org commercial. We're back with just one left, and that's Jordin Sparks. But first we're going to see another pitch for the charities (which is good). Simon is at ConAgra and he's at a food bank. There are 50,000 food banks in the US. Simon states the obvious, yet it needs to be said: he had no idea there were places like this in the US. There are fifty people at the bank yet only four are paid - the rest are volunteers. And it's America's Second Harvest - another of my fvorite charities. www.americassecondharvest.org. They do wonderful work.
NOW we have Jordin Sparks, singing You'll Never Walk Alone. This is a beautiful song - a classic. Jordin looks beautiful and sophisticated. She's singing softly at the start and I have to say - there are a few tiny pitch problems through the softer parts in the first verse. She recovers nicely into the chorus and does some beautiful phrasing and intonation as she sings. She means this song - she looks like she's going to cry. My one criticism is that she shouts a lot of it. Love her generally, but not my favorite performance from her. A for sincerity, B for vocals.
Randy: One of the best vocals by any contestant every in six seasons (that's a huge stretch).
Paula: Picked a haunting song and she did a lovely job. She's glorious.
Simon: He thought she was fantastic (apparently she's the annointed one).
1-866-IDOLS 06 or 12 or text to 5706. Don't get me wrong - I thought it was a lovely performance and I truly believed she felt it. But the vocal was sporadic for me - pitchy in some spots and shouty in others.
Here is the final rankings on the night:
1. Melinda Doolittle
2. Phil Stacey
2. Blake Lewis
3. Jordin Sparks
4. Lakisha Jones
5. Chris Richardson
I'll think about it more tonight, but I would say my bottom two are the two I have listed here tonight. I'll make it official tomorrow.
Labels: American Idol, Finals, Performance, Top 6
posted by RenaRF @ 6:54 PM,
7 Comments:
-
At 7:53 PM,
said...
-
Rena --
Cindy here. I'm on the phone with my sister for a loooong conversation and missing Idol -- don't know if it's recording or not -- so am reading the blog live. Good one! -
At 11:11 PM,
RenaRF said...
-
If you didn't get it recorded, Cindy, let me know and I'll burn it to a DVD and send it out to ya!
-
At 12:32 AM,
SuperflyTNTdaShizzle said...
-
We're close to being in sync this week. I don't know what was up with the judges. Maybe all this Idol gives back week stuff has them in such feel-good mode that even Simon can't criticize.
Chris: You gave him an A but then put him bottom 2. I agree with the latter. The beginning was shaky and of course he was nasal and he had to oversing a song that needs to be done straight. Worst of the night.
Melinda: I also didn't know the song. Didn't matter because once again whatever Melinda's song choice she makes it compelling. She ALWAYS connects to the song and makes it her own. She is amazing. Also her best look yet. I actually found her very attractive tonight, perfect look for her.
Blake: He got this one absolutely right. It's the first time I've ever felt him really "get" a song, not jsut hit the notes and make it sound cool but sing it with conviction. Randy was crazy! Did he want some beatbox? It's not a blowout vocal song and definitely a song that needs to be sung straight. Beautiful job.
Lakisha: Again don't know the song and really thought the beginning was weird, just don't know if it was the song or the performance. Overall, even though she said it was a song that really meant something to her, I didn't feel real emotion. She sounded like it was a competition.
Phil: I didn't not like it, but I didn't like it. It's not that it was bad. I just don't think he registers. Nice voice with no personality. Mr. Bland. (I also didn't get the big deal last week. I agree it was his most relaxed and comfortable performance but not very demanding. I had trouble judging that because the song he did was the kind of country song I really hate. The typical hat act song that sounds pretty much like every other hat act song. Very formulaic and generic.
Jordin: I like Jordin and generally think she's the 2nd best there. I didn't get this. What were the judges listening to? It wasn't even close to the best of the night, much less best in 6 seasons. THe vocal was very shaky. Screechy in parts. I've always wanted to believe the judges were impartial but it sure seems like they're trying to push who they think is most marketable. The teenager and the Justin Timberlake clone.
That being said, I think with the people voting at home, one bad performance will get you voted off, but when it comes down to winning, the entire body of work is more important. IF this is true, Melinda is so far ahead, someone would have to really be phenomenal all the remaianing shows to beat her, (naybe the judges are pushing others just to make it more interesting), of course I expect her to be the most phenomenal the remaining weeks.
My order:
Melinda
Blake
Phil
Jordin
Lakisha
Chris -
At 11:08 AM,
RenaRF said...
-
Jimmy,
I gave Chris a 'C'! It was the going nasal and vocal vomiting towards the end that pushed him tothe bottom for me.
I'm worried for Melinda. She is consistently great but she's not the "young one" or the "cute guy one" or even "the scary one". When you read around other boards, most people always characterize her as excellent and then qualify that with "but boring". Aiee!!
My bottom two will be Lakisha and Chris, and I'm still torn on who goes. And yeah - I worry that 19e and AI are wondering about the marketability of Melinda and so they've backed off on her praise a bit and are pimping Jordin. That performance last night was not very good - couldn't believe all the praise, even from Simon! -
At 1:47 PM,
said...
-
Hi RenaRF,
I read your blog regularly and think you do an outstanding job. I'm not one to usually post, but after the judges major praise for Jordin's performance last night I am inclined to agree with you in your critique. I recall a young Shirley Jones singing that song in the movie version of Carousel, and that was a memorable performance. Jordin, although a very talented vocalist and my favorite after Melinda to win, was OK at best. I also didn't get Chris's performance being so highly praised. It just didn't do anything for me. Maybe Paula has been sharing whatever is in her cup with Randy and Simon this week! Keep up your good work. Your blog is a very interesting read and I enjoy it and appreciate your efforts. Regards, Dave -
At 4:19 PM,
SuperflyTNTdaShizzle said...
-
When she opens her mouth and starts singing Melinda is never boring. Once again last night, before she started I was questioning her song choice. But again chice didn't matter. It seems like she makes anything she sings compelling. Maybe she doesn't skew to the desired demographic, but I've never bought an album by an AI contestant, (no not even your vaunted Taylor Hicks), but if she had an album out I'd own it.
-
At 7:18 PM,
RenaRF said...
-
DAVE - THANK YOU! I appreciate your words. I occasionally track my site hits and I know people are reading, so it's nice to hear your comments. I'll stick with it through to the end provided my schedule doesn't pull me away. ;-)