Really Really Liked
I must be more suggestible than I think I am, because my two favorite performances this week are renditions of two of my absolute favorite songs.
- Anoop. After last week's debacle of debaclean proportions, which came on the heels of a fun but not terribly singerly outing, which in turn followed that glurdgey song from his semi-final performance, I was starting to think that I must have hallucinated Anoop's early promise. But I was moved by his "Always on My Mind." If you're going to sing a ballad, you want to do it like this -- open and honest.
- Megan. I can't help it. I love Megan. I love her voice. I love her dopey accent. As soon as I heard what she was singing (perhaps my favorite country song of all time), I knew I was going to love it, and I did. But let's focus on the bigger issue here: the Megan Waggle needs more supportive undergarments.
Going into country night, there are always some people you worry about. Can the chick rocker and the R&B diva find something in their wheelhouses, or will they end up tackling one of those overly chatty non-melodic country songs with too many words in a line, which have never served anyone well in the history of this show despite the fact that someone tries to do them at least once per season?
- Allison. She's one of the ones I was concerned about. Apparently I needn't have been, because you can always find some big belty song somewhere in the country catalog. Allison sounded great, as always, although I did feel like she was running out of breath in the middle of that big long string of adjectives -- somewhere between lying cheating and cold dark beating, or whatever it was she was trying to get out before expiring.
- Danny. I have a visceral dislike of this song. I like my shout-outs to Jesus to be more subtle. Nothing subtle about this song. (Paraphrasing a friend's comment: Wouldn't steering into the skid be a better tactic in this situation?) And what the hell was with the Snow Miser outfit? You could practically see the icicles dripping from his glasses. But neither the song choice nor the take-me-up-to-heaven parka could hide the fact that Danny Gokey can sing his ass off.
- Kris. I know I like Kris more than most people around here, but I really kinda liked this. I think Anoop stole his tender open honesty thunder to some degree, and I'd never heard Kris's song before, but it's basically the same idea. Sing a good, pretty song, sing it well and with emotion, and connect with the viewer.
- Alexis. I liked this more than the judges did. I also liked it a lot better than Brookie's effort to sing it last season. Not everything she sings needs the full-on dirty. I also like how Alexis interacts with the judges -- polite, respectful, and she defends herself without being defensive.
Not Sure
Okay, this is as good a time as any to talk about Adam. I felt like I was watching one of those weird drug-soaked performance scenes from The Doors. I didn't like that movie, and I can't say I particularly liked this performance. I found myself sitting there thinking hm, I don't particularly like this, but I'm sure Adam's fans will eat it up -- but then I remembered hey wait, I am one of those Adam fans who loves everything he does, but I don't particularly like this. The vocals were great, as always, so it wasn't that, and I like a good sitar as much as anyone (although I was waiting for Katee and Joshua to bollybop themselves onto the stage at any moment). I think it was the standing still. Usually, Adam channels his dramatic tendencies into a performance from his whole body, but tonight, with his feet planted, he was relegated to squirming from the waist up and making fucky eyes at the camera. In any event, the whole experience gave me the oogies to some degree, but he did sing it well.
S'OK
- Lil. I actually thought the chorus was quite good. But then, I think Independence Day has one of the best choruses out there. And I got some chills during that not-overblown last note. But when you choose to honor the genre, you also choose to bury your own style. I don't think Lil is going home this week, but I do think she's at serious risk for bottom three.
- Matt. I don't get Matt. I think he's second rate Gokey. I don't particularly like Michael Buble or Justin Timberlake, so the fact that he's their genetic love child doesn't do anything for me.
Not So Much
- Sarver. Mumble mumble. Someone stop letting people pick these songs every damn year. Mumble.
- Scott. I spent the whole time thinking how does Scott learn these songs on the piano? does he have special sheet music, or does he just figure it out? And doesn't this song have the same name as the band from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure? Wyld Angels? Or was it Wyld Horses? Wyld Stallions? So yeah, I guess he was singing, but it wasn't having much of an impact on me. Interesting, though, about "losing a lot of hat picks." So I guess he would have been dancing it up to "Satisfaction" or maybe writhing to "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" but for that damn sorting hat.
I don't care whether it's Sarver or Scott this week, but let's get one of them off the show and off the tour.
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