HERO TO MOST? I have preciously little to say about Elvis Night on Idol, which rapidly tumbled downhill after Crystal Bowersox's opening number. The only other performer who impressed me was Big Mike Lynche, with his fine acoustic reading of "In The Ghetto." Siobhan was scattered; Lee, Casey and Katie forgettable; Andrew and Aaron actively bad. But there's a special circle of Idol Hell for Tim Urban -- or, as Seacrest called him, "Turban," for taking a perfectly lovely song like "Can't Help Falling In Love" and half-assing his way through what's supposed to be a gorgeous falsetto like the guy below the fold:
Crystal was clearly the best, but I thought Lee also did a good job. I'm hoping Siobhan doesn't get eliminated this week. Her early performances (Paint It Black, Wicked Game) are still my favorites of the season, though she hasn't been the same the last few weeks.
ReplyDeleteAt least Adam Lambert gave actual advice. I think the contestants could relate to him because he had gone through the same thing. Outside of that -- it's Crystal's to lose, and you have to love how they're slowly making her over, so that by her coronation she'll be looking like Jessica Simpson.
ReplyDeleteI think Crystal is going to rock the hippie chick thing until there are 3 people left or then she's going to mix it up. I loved how Siobhan kind of morphed into Adam Lambert.
ReplyDeleteBlogger appears to have eaten my comment, so if the prior comment reappears and I end up with two largely matching comments, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea magna culpa.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Crystal was the best, followed by Mike and Lee, followed by Casey. These four should survive to next week, for sure.
Next tier: Katie, Tim (sorry, Adam, he wasn't awful. And he just may be your Next American Idol!). Inoffensive, not great, but not seriously flawed like....
Third tier: Siobhan (I so rarely like an entire performance from her, and this one was just a mess), Aaron (karaoke).
Bottom tier: Andrew. Ugh.
I'd drop Aaron and Andrew, It would not be very surprising if Katie goes instead of one of those two. And I wouldn't be utterly shocked if Siobhan went, with two people leaving this week. But Tim? Tim is going to stay, just so that he can torture us with the possibility that He! Could! Be! The! Next! American! Idol!
Ahem: I've always preferred Adam Lambert speaking to Adam Lambert singing, and he did have some helpful things to say. [Not terribly surprising, given that he has experience as an Idol contestant. It might have been more interesting to see someone who has toured a lot like Kelly, Carrie, or Daughtry, or who has a lot of Broadway experience like Fantasia, be the first alumnus mentor, but whatever.] But I also have to say: I didn't enjoy them pushing Adam last year, and I didn't enjoy it tonight. Unless the mentors always appear on stage with the contestants, and I've just missed it in the past?
"..but he never meant shit to me."
ReplyDeleteJust loved the header.
A "meh" night in what is turning out to be a "meh" season.
Did you mean that Bono half-assed or that he had a gorgeous falsetto in that clip?
ReplyDeleteThat Bono did it right. Yeah, ambiguous phrasing.
ReplyDeleteWas it me or was Katie the only one who took Adam's advice? Can't remember all the specifics now but Urban was going to sing the ending in his head voice - didn't. Siobhan was going to speed it up -- didn't. I guess Crystal took the advice on electric versus acoustic.
ReplyDeleteI agree for the most part, but I actually preferred Mike's and Lee's performances over Crystal's. Not because they were better, really, but because there was a tension to not knowing if they'd pull it off and what their arrangement would be. Crystal has been kind of one-note for me the past few weeks. I like her, but there's not much excitement in waiting to see what she'll sing next or how she'll sing it. Does that make sense? I feel Crystal deserves much of the same criticism that Casey receives (good, solid performance but we know you can do more).
ReplyDeleteI probably like both Casey and Crystal best, and Big Mike is sneaking up on me. I feel like the more I listen to Mike - particularly since the India Arie performance - the more I appreciate his phrasing and his song choices. I also like Lee, but I don't know if he can hold it together long enough to get a good run going.
Adam - Whew. I thought we might have to fight. ;) That's a top-ten cover for me. The studio version, which is even sparer, and which features an Elvis interview in the background (which sounds horrid but actually works) is even better, in the way it makes the three-octave progression clearer.
ReplyDeleteCrrystal was good (and shouldn't be penalized for being consistent), but it's Big Mike who continues to surprise me, not just with his vocal chops but with his versatility. In the audition rounds, I figured he was one of those "big guys who seem better than they are because they can carry a tune and we don't expect it" (e.g., Michael Sarver, Scott Sabol). But he's really quite good. He's got power, he's got range, and his singing is much more nuanced than almost anyone else left. I like Casey's voice, I like Lee's voice, but they don't get into a song the way Big Mike does. He's not just trying to sing, he's trying to convey something, and I give him credit for that, even on the nights (like last week) when it doesn't quite work.
ReplyDeleteI definitely appreciate Big Mike's phrasing, although I thought that the performance last night was a wee bit sleepy, so I put it a notch below Crystal's. But the boyfriend and I actually voted last night for the first time this season. We dropped a number of votes for Crystal and Mike between the two of us, and I dropped one apiece for Lee and Casey so that I could kvetch with righteousness if America votes one of them out this week.
ReplyDeleteI've given up on Idol this season. The only performer I care about is Crystal, and I know already that I love her and will want to hear her music whenever she gets a contract. I just don't care enough about the rest, don't find them interesting enough to even watch, and with a LOT of TV on my Tivo, I just had to delete the pass.
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