Whew! That Was Close!

Well we got a little bit of a scare – more like outright shock and horror – but we survived the experience. Matt is the right person to be gone. And the right four are left. But what’s up with Adam falling into the Dreaded Bottom Three? Guess that opens things up quite a bit. And with Rock Week coming next week, it’s even more open since all four can credibly do well with that.
Speaking of rock week – did you guys hear Diandra (and, uh, OK, her dad) SCREAM when Ryan said Slash will be the mentor? Dude better play something on Wednesday's Fox Gets Paid Idol Results Show.
And speaking of Matt, I think the shot of him counting his dollars at the piano bar was so cool. You have to love seeing someone go from that to millions of fans each week on the biggest stage of them all. Props to Matt although he probably would have done better if he had used that piano more.

Oh, I loved Jamie Foxx as mentor. Who knew? But his performance tonight was dreadful. When that is the No. 1 song in the country, why are we shocked at the Idol voting results?
Question? How did Taylor Hicks win when he's just not that good of a singer? Because he had a great, high energy stage presence and winning personality. I was happy to see him doing a song that fit him rather than stuff like the dreadful first album created for him as the Idol winner.

Finally, I love hearing Carrie Underwood’s take on Motley Crue's Home Sweet Home each week during the "goodbye, loser" portion of the Fox Gets Paid Idol Results Show. Didn’t think it possible to like a Motley Crue song and even saying “song” and “Motley Crue” in the same sentence is a paradox.

OK, the Final Four. Somebody good goes each week. It’s fun and painful at the same time – the genius of American Idol.

Best Week of the Year

This was the best week of the year in terms of overall performances. I had trouble deciding who was best so I had to go back and re-watch my three favorite performances. Well, technically, not “re-watch” because what I like to do when I replay a performance is listen with my eyes closed so I can just focus on the singing. It is, as Randy reminds us, a singing competition. While the difference between my Top Three of the Night is small, I was clearer the second time around.

#1. Adam – superior from beginning to end. I do get that you either love him or you hate him but he demands and commands attention and is the most complete package ever as performer, singer and even arranger.

#2. Danny – his best week in a while and he needed it because, ironically, he was getting kind of boring just being good each week. He was incredible in the way he built the song up from a slowly paced beginning to a passionate ending - and he totally tore up the end of the song. He is so, so good but his problem is Adam - kind of like all the great basketball players who never won championships because they had to play against Michael Jordan.

#3. Allison – but this is a 3rd place with honor because she was fabulous, too. She just sings beyond her years and finally showed a broader stylistic range than we had previously seen. I could find no fault in her performance. It’s just that Danny and Adam were ever so slightly better. I, like Simon, do fear for her as I did last week. But I wish he hadn’t said that so emphatically, especially since he apparently likes her as a singer (just not as an ego) and since he knows how much his opinion matters in the voting.

I’m willing to allow that others may rank these three differently and I won’t think bad thoughts about you as long as these were your Top Three of the Night.
Which brings us to the back of the Idol Rat Pack:

Kris – sorry, Kris Lovin’ Ladies of Scottsbluff, it takes more than great eyes to impress this writer. I agreed with Simon here rather than the other gushing judges. Look, he sang fine. But it was a pretty forgettable performance unless you’re remembering how cute you think he is. Jazzy standards aren’t his style of song at all and I give him credit for doing as well as he did. He’s just not a good enough singer to go outside his narrow range of strengths.

Matt – was absolutely, positively dreadful. He was so pitchy and My Funny Valentine – a true classic among classic songs – was way bigger than his talent. I suggest he take lessons from Kris on how less = more; and from Danny on when and where to place your vocal runs; and he should have watched a video of Melinda Doolittle doing that song two years ago to realize he can’t sing it.

I hope Simon is wrong about Allison. Matt has deserved to go and deserves to go this week.

By the way, best Rat Packer album ever is Sinatra's Songs for Swinging Lovers.

What, Donna Summer Wasn't Available?

True – I hate the results show like I hate lima beans. But this week? Who could have guessed that the Idolist Group Sing would be better than the medley of guest, uh, “performers”? A quick recap, as painful as it is to bring back those memories I tried to bury into my unconscious:
Freda Payne – still singing her one song, just now she sings it badly. And the, uh, "dress," was worse. And apparently her plastic surgeon appreciates her business.
Thelma Houston – still singing her one song and can still sing it but clearly pulled a, uh, "dress," to wear out of Freda’s closet.
K.C. minus the Sunshine Band (always the best part of K.C.’s act) – still singing his one song (although he was clever enough to make the same song into five different hit records) and, well, K.C. still can’t sing and is not even fun anymore.
What, Donna Summer, who can still sing and had lots of songs, wasn’t available?

The Idolist Group Sing is worth mentioning because it was a reminder that, with all of her weekly buffoonery, Paula should be respected for her place in the industry as a dancer and choreographer. Yeah, she had some cute songs, too, but seriously, let's focus on the dancing.

David A. is still as adorable as ever but dare I say that he was pitchy?

Oh, yeah, Lil and Anoop are gone. No big. But for Anoop, I think it's cool that he was the first ever 13th Idolist and then went on to justify that choice by going on to 6th place.

So, can we now get rid of Matt? I fear that he will be with us longer than Allison, who does little wrong, yet continues to find a place in the Dreaded Bottom Three. And I guess there is still no chance of bringing Alexis back?

Disco Week - and No Disco!!

So here I sit in a living room in Scottsbluff, NE with two of the Kris Lovin’ Ladies of Scottsbluff – Karla and Margo – having watched Idol. No, they didn’t act like screaming, crying teenagers at a Beatles concert. They were adult and orderly yet insistent that Kris was the best of the night. They were wrong, of course, but I admire their devotion.

So, how do you like Disco Week with almost no disco songs? Basically, only Danny and Matt did disco arrangements.

Anyway let’s rank order them and then comment.
1. Adam
2. Kris
3. Allison
4. Danny
5. It really doesn’t matter from here does it? OK, in order, Matt, Anoop, Lil.

Gone: Lil and Anoop.

I am somewhat torn between Kris and Adam. I really can’t believe this Kris guy is growing on me and I am putting him in the same category as Adam - but only for this week. But his risky take on Donna Summer totally was credible and totally worked.
Adam was brilliant as usual. He is totally captivating. We were talking – well at least I was – through each performance except Adam’s. He is the best singer and best performer ever in Idol by a long shot. Yet, I still found Kris’ uniqueness quite engaging.

Allison – I disagree with Randy in that I liked the bluesy arrangement of a classic song, kind of like Etta James meets Disco.
Danny – horrible song choice but he “worked it out” as Randy would say. Great voice but I think Kris is gaining momentum and maybe has passed him. Kris Lovin' Lady Karla thinks he passed him a long time ago but she would wrong.
Matt – Stayin’ Alive – prophetic? - may be enough to save him although it was just OK. Bad song choice, though.
Anoop – still wants to be in Boyz II Men
Lil – still doesn’t get the difference between original and karaoke. She is so gone.

Disco Week - and I pick the songs!

Disco week. In spite of the genre’s shameful reputation, there are a LOT of great disco songs but most were played in the clubs and not the radio. So chances are we won’t hear what I would call the good stuff because it’s too obscure.

To wit: The Greatest Disco Song of All-Time in the History of the Cosmos and Even When the Cosmos Was Just an Idea in God’s Mind - is Risky Changes by Bionic Boogie. Raise your hands if you’ve ever heard of it. Didn’t think so. It was actually the B side of Dance, Little Dreamer (probably never heard that one, either) which was a #1 song on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1978. Risky Changes featured an unknown at the time singer named Luther Vandross! I could rattle off a bunch more great disco songs like this that we won’t hear on the show because they are too obscure - unless you spent much of your early adult life in dance clubs as I did.

OK, here’s The Greatest Disco Song Everybody Has Heard Of: Vicki Sue Robinson’s Turn the Beat Around. And please, keep Gloria Estefan’s version away from me.

Here are the songs that should NOT be sung and, if so, the Idolists, the guest mentor, Ricky Minor and the band, and the producers of Idol should all be flogged:
YMCA or anything else by the Village People unless it’s San Francisco – their fabulous first single which I'm sure nobody has heard of.
Do Ya Think I’m Sexy – I LOVE Rod Stewart and this song is proof I am a forgiving person.
Copacabana – Barry Manilow. I rest my case.
Dancing Queen or anything else by Abba – sorry Mama Mia fans but a movie with Abba songs? I have no words for how deep and excruciating my pain is that such a thing is even possible.

This week could challenge the Idolists as much as Country Week but here are some popular songs that I think would be interesting to hear from each of them. I tried as much as possible to recommend songs that most Idol watchers would be familiar with.

Adam –Disco Inferno (Trammps), You Make Me Feel Mighty Real (Sylvester)
Lil – Don’t Leave Me This Way (Thelma Houston), I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)
Allison – Hot Stuff (Donna Summer); or a rocked-up Turn the Beat Around (the aforementioned Vicki Sue Robinson) - but we've never heard her sing a fast song
Anoop – Boogie Nights (Heat Wave), Rock With You (Michael Jackson)
Danny – Don't Leave Me This Way – (Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, in case Lil doesn’t do the song); or Livin’ It Up (Friday Night) – Bell and James
Matt – Got to Give It Up (Marvin Gaye) – he could totally slay this
Kris – a "Kris-ed up" version of More Than a Woman (Bee Gees) will have ladies in and out of Scottsbluff, NE going totally nuts
Alexis - Shame (Evelyn "Champagne" King). What's that? She was? Really? When did that happen? Wow, that is SO wrong.

Speaking of Danny and Lil, I don’t know the rules around Idolists singing the same song or even if the two versions of Don’t Leave Me This Way are considered the “same” since they are by different artists. But I think it would be WAY cool to hear the female vs. male versions of the song – kind of a competition within a competition.

Judge's Save? No Big Deal.

Forget the drama about the Precious Judges’ Save – both Matt and Lil are gone next week, anyway. Unless, of course, Anoop-Dog goes back to trying to channel his inner brother and succumbs to oversinging a disco song next week. More on the disco later, after I ask some important questions.

How bad a song is “Maniac” (the Idolist Choir song)? So bad, that none of them including Adam, sounded good in it.

How bad is Miley Cyrus? So bad that Diandra said it makes her appreciate Britney Spears who, at the same age, had the good sense to just breathe heavy and make cooing noises into a microphone, and not actually try to sing.

How good is Jennifer Hudson? Real good.

How annoying is Ryan getting with his safe or Dreaded Bottom Three teases? Very.

And how much fun will disco week be? A lot of fun!! I’m looking forward to reliving some awesome years spent gettin’ down on the dance floor – and lifting Christine off of the dance floor and spins and death drops and dance contests and Dance Fever . . . . . . How over the top will Adam be was my first thought. Can Danny sing a disco song? Can Kris for that matter? Should be interesting.

I Hate Music in Movies

Yes, the addiction rules. I am out of town, having a fabulous Flounder in Black Bean Sauce at a nice Asian restaurant, aware that, with my usual cut-it-so-close sense of time, I am possibly going to be late for Idol if I dawdle. So, I pay and dash to the car. Fortunately, I’m not as fast as I used to be because a staff person was able to chase me down with my credit card that I left behind. Nothing like being distracted, huh?

The rule change that allows judges to speak only two at a time is stupid. A core element of the show is the judges differing opinions and Simon acting as the final authority – right or wrong. What – demanding them to be brief wasn’t an option? I guess Paula isn’t capable of doing that.

Any Springsteen fans catch the shots of Little Stevie?

Since this blog really is all about me, I should tell everybody – and some of you already know this – that I don’t like “songs” in movies. With some exceptions for specific reasons, I detest musicals (and the Sound of Music - just seeing those words makes me ill - is particularly nefarious). So, tonight’s theme was hard for me and I didn’t really connect with the show. Yes, these are great songs but the second I get a mental image of the song as it was in the movie, I get a complex that a Jungian analyst could not unravel.

I thought about rank ordering the Idolists but I think I can be more conversational this week.

I liked Allison best this week because she was really good and because I liked Born to Be Vegas Adam less. Close your eyes when she sings and you don’t hear a 16-year old singer. Regarding Adam, I might be feeling a bit of what the Ring of Fire Defenders were so mad at me about. This is a classic straight-ahead rock song and his take on it was a bit too odd and over the top for me - like something I would see in a Vegas show. His vocal prowess is amazing but I was surprised that Simon didn’t break out “indulgent” regarding his performance. I thought it was. But I do agree with Simon in this regard, that some will like it and some will not.

Lil is gone. If not her, it’s Matt. But it should be her. She has no sense of artistry and despite her protests to the contrary, she didn’t bring either the R&B or gospel flavor. And Matt just doesn’t know who he is as an artist.

The rest – Anoop-Dog, Hottie Kris and (no-nickname) Danny – all good. None great. I think Danny got caught up in the emotion of the song until he settled in; the 2nd half was much better than the first.

I think Adam and Allison are in the final three. Then it’s either Kris or Danny who joins them.

It's worth a buck!

Legend has it that before Motown founder Berry Gordy would release a record, he would pull people off the street, have them listen, and then ask them if they only had a dollar and were hungry, would they buy food or the record?
I bring up this story because the studio version of Adam’s Mad World is available on iTunes and, if you are hungry, it’s way better than anything on the value menu at Mickey D’s. 99 cents is all it costs to have a remarkable performance of music on your iPod or computer. This song definitively clears up the one doubt I had about him – does his obvious giftedness as a performer translate to the recording studio as a pop star?
This was the Taylor Hicks Curse. Taylor was a marginal singer who won a singing contest because he was a fun performer. He’d get the studio audience whipped up shaking their “Soul Patrol” signs, get you, me, and millions of other TV viewers at home all excited and then everybody would go vote for Taylor. Problem was - nobody bought the album. Aside from the fact the he wasn’t a pop singer in the first place (also Melinda Doolittle’s problem, Chris Daughtry’s problem, and perhaps, ultimately, Allison’s undoing), his stage charisma could not be captured on a CD.
Despite far-and-away being the best singer in the history of Idol, I worried about that with Adam. When you can’t see him and his outsized, yet captivating, stage presence, can you feel the same about him? Can he make the same magic on a studio mic as he does on a stage mic?
The full, final definitive “YES” answer is on the studio version of Mad World (which, by the way, is actually an obscure 2001 rendition of Gary Jule's version of the original by Tears for Fears). It is beautiful beyond words and announces him as a real talent to be reckoned with on Idol and eventually on the music charts.
He should, beyond a shadow of any doubt, win Idol this year. But, as we have seen with Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson, the public’s tastes are, using a pet Simon word – bizarre. And even Simon voted against Daughtry in his audition and disparaged Jennifer Hudson, proving that he, too, can get it wrong. So becoming a music star is a tricky business. And Melinda once held the title of Best Singer in the History of Idol and she went out fourth. Still, I am hoping Adam’s combination of incredible vocal ability and live performances make him unbeatable, and even if you like rocker chick Allison or hot Kris, go buy Mad World, anyway!

Goodbye Scott (finally)

Scott is gone - rightfully and finally so on merit.

Now I need to editorialize. While I like the “Judge’s Save” in concept, I detest the way it plays out on TV. I think it is demeaning and humiliating to the Idolist who stands there in front of tens of millions of people while the fate of what they believe is their future hangs in the balance of the judges' own drama. This is somehow very different to me than the trainwreck weeks. In Scott’s case, it even became patronizing, as Paula ("you're an inspiration blah-blah-blah") could not contain herself against Simon’s candid pronouncement that Scott just isn’t good enough.

OK, a few random notes about the show. Frankie Avalon – that was cool. The Dreaded Group Sing was among the worst ever. Kellie Pickler still isn’t a very good singer but who cares? How can you not LOVE Kellie? On the other hand, we had to endure Flo Rider perpetuating negative stereotypes of women and black males. With confetti.

I re-watched Matt and decided that he was better than I previously thought.

Last thing - I came across this interesting page in Wikipedia listing Kara's songwriting credits. Pretty impressive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Songs_written_by_Kara_DioGuardi

It's Not a Mad World. It's Adam's World.

Tonight's Official Don’t Argue With Me Because I’m Right and You’re Wrong Rankings*
Adam
Allison
Danny
Anoop
Matt
Kris
Lil
Scott

Now let’s talk about ‘em a bit:

Emo-Chic aka Funky White Boy aka Adam – Simon’s standing ovation says it all.
Allison – OK, I think we drop the “for sixteen” descriptor (did she do enough for you this week, Jenny?). When she gets a song that fits her, you can hear her artistry, if I can steal a word from my girl Kara. She should give Lil lessons on how to sing in her lower register.
Danny – Danny’s problem is Adam. He’s consistently good to great but Adam is consistently amazing.
Anoop-Dog – the vote is over - the black guy Anoop should be is the 5th Boys to Men. Not Usher. Not Michael Jackson. Not Bobby Brown. He really did do a legitimately soulful version of a Cyndi Lauper classic that sounded “his own”.
Matt – Matt’s strengths are the Justin thing but I just wasn’t enthused as the judges were. Maybe I couldn’t get Stevie out of my head enough to appreciate the JT/jazzy version of Part-Time Lover.
Kris – sorry Kris Lovin’ Ladies of Scottsbluff (and I apologize if I have left out other chapters of Kris Lovin’ Ladies), but the judges totally got it right – the arrangement took over the song and you lost both Kris and the song
Lil – is in trouble. The judges were totally right about her, too. She just hasn’t defined herself beyond having a good voice. At this point, she is just a good karaoke singer, and at times, not even good.
Scott – can we be done now? Finally, he was really bad. Usually, he’s just bad but he may have finally done enough to get him voted off.

We’re down to the point where predictions make sense and, once Scott is gone, those that are left are pretty good with the possible exception of Lil who has failed to live up to her audition promise. So, here goes:

Should Win – Emo-Chic aka Funky White Boy aka Adam
Would Win in A Different Year – Danny, Allison
Good But Never Had a Chance – Kris, Matt, Anoop-Dog
She’s Done – Lil
Gots-to-Go - Scott

*(except my Mom has already called to tell me I'm wrong)

She’s gone. We’re happy.

She’s gone. We’re happy. Diandra said it best: “She doesn’t know anything about, like, pitch.” So . . . . moving to on more substantive issues . . . .

Lots of shots of Alexis!!!!!! Lots!!!!! OK, so it will be Season 28 and I still won’t be over Alexis.

From cringe to joy: when Ryan said the Idolists were going to group sing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’”, Christine pulled a blanket over her head, and Diandra and I stared at each other, slack-jawed in a mutual combination of horror and alarm. Some of you know that Journey is, for me, holy ground, and Steve Perry is the high priest. And, let’s face it, Journey songs are at the top of the list for Bad Karaoke so this had the potential for unmitigated disaster. But Allison kicked it off fine with her bluesy-rock thang and Kris – can I believe that I am starting to like this guy? – held his own. We had some dull and some downright scary moments but then – I knew THE NOTE was coming and we really hadn’t seen Funky White Boy Emo-Chic, yet. THE NOTE came, our boy was there, and c’mon, you can count on less than all your fingers the number of people who can hit Steve Perry notes with Steve Perry power and Steve Perry clarity. Pure joy.

David Cook. Gotta love David Cook. Yes, I am going to review his album. And maybe comment on some others, too: Melinda Doolittle, Chris Sligh, and Mandisa.

Lady Gaga – and the judges were concerned about what Allison was wearing? I LOVE Lady Gaga’s album but, frankly, she was disappointing live. Already knowing about her stage get-up, I was anticipating a call from my Mom – and Mom didn’t disappoint!

What about Allison? Why is she in the Bottom Three again? This bugs me, really bugs me. She’s not the best but she’s better than Bottom Three.