We haven't had a finale gap this big between performers since The Battle of the Davids. Of course, in that finale year, I had Presumptive "American Idol" Winner David Archuleta dominating David Cook on my score card. The voters didn't care (and they made the right choice). I have no objection to people voting for Lee because they liked him all season. He had a good season. He also saved the worst for last. Crystal, in contrast, delivered one of her best performances at the end of her biggest night and didn't seem to be at all in awe of the environs.Tomorrow night, this predictable and uninspiring season ends. We have not been inspired to CoverItLive, but we'll be around to talk.
added: Claire Zulkey: "In general I find it tedious when people say of any TV show 'This season sucks compared to season X,' because generally I think previous seasons always seem deceptively warm, genuine and sepia-toned in hindsight while the current one always seems played. But I mean it when I saw I think this season of Idol sucks compared to last season."
WNTS: "As Season Nine of American Idol limps to its repose, all eyes are already on Season Ten. Thus far, we know only two things about it. One, the rightmost seat at the judges' table will have a new occupant. Two, if that's the only significant change the producers make this off-season, then there won't be a Season Eleven.... Our colleague The Idol Guy has theorized that American Idol runs in three-year cycles, which he calls "epochs". Year One of the epoch brings significant change to the fabric of the show (AI1: genesis; AI4: musical diversity; AI7: well-rounded musicians and artists). In Year Two, most of the bugs are worked out and the cycle reaches its apex. Finally, Year Three brings a sharp downslope as the motif becomes predictable, at which point the epoch naturally plays itself out."
Ann Powers: "After a season that included several highly individualistic singers who never turned into Sanjaya-style jokes (Didi Benami, Siobhan Magnus, Casey James) and only a couple of achievers in the classic eager-to-please mold (Michael Lynche, Aaron Kelly), we were left with two of the most insistently unadaptive top singers in the show's history. There was Lee, beloved by his fans for his bold and often pitch-oblivious way with a ballad, and Crystal, a generally more accurate singer but one also fond of roughening up what Simon might prefer she prettified. Neither brings a particularly new flavor to the pop scene, but both have that quality American fans have treasured throughout the rock era: They can't help but be true to themselves."
I thought that was the most one-sided finale since Jordin Sparks vs. Blake Lewis, but a look at Dial Idol indicates the rest of the nation must have heard something different from what I heard. If Lee wins after getting whipped that bad in the finale, I'm not sure we're ever going to have another female victor again.
ReplyDeleteI looked at Dial Idol too. Truly depressing.
ReplyDeleteRemember, Idol isn't a singing competition, it's a non-threatening boys competition.
ReplyDeleteYup. I'm just hoping that other Crystal fans are, like me, more apt to vote by texting.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't think that I can put a single Lee performance in the top half tonight, and that's despite the fact that I love, love, love each of those songs and was open to liking him singing the songs, as I do like a raspy voice. When it hits the notes.
I also have to say: what gives with giving Lee two commercially attractive songs (REM and U2? Are you kidding me?) never before sung on Idol and giving Crystal an Idol audition favorite and an obscure if absolutely gorgeous Patti Griffin song? I say this, despite the fact that (1) I adore Patti Griffin and (2) Crystal did a very good job on Black Velvet and absolutely killed on Up on the Mountain. At least last year, the producer's choice for each finalist was a civil rights era classic and they had to do the same (albeit crappy) coronation song.
Anyway:
(1) Up on the Mountain
[gap of surprisingly large dimension, given that Crystal's other songs were great]
(2) Me & Bobby McGee
[smallish gap]
(3) Black Velvet (tie)
(3) The Boxer (tie)
[Truly impressively sized gap]
(5) Beautiful Day
(6) Everybody Hurts
And, really, choosing between Beautiful Day and Everybody Hurts is difficult. He did poorly by both songs. Ugh.
I loved Up on the Mountain, but it's not really a song most of America will be humming to themselves tonight or tomorrow or thereafter. Black Velvet is, and forever will be, a stripper song. And Me and Bobby McGee is sung by every Crystal Bowersox in every coffee shop in every city in this country. Not saying she didn't sing them all beautifully, but I don't know that she did anything to win the voters over.
ReplyDeleteLee winning will make me spout out at least 5,000 words about why American Idol proves we still need feminism.
ReplyDeleteIf Lee wins, we're going to have to endure another bout of "cougar" talk. Which, ugh. I'm not sure why it's okay to be both ageist and sexist at the same time, but that irks me so much.
ReplyDeletePlus, I may be a woman over the age of 30, but you know, it didn't stop me from dropping 200 text votes for Crystal last night.
I really liked Up On the Mountain, but I have to confess that I'm not so excited about hearing it as a single for the next three months. Of course, I'm really not interested in listening to Lee's Beautiful Day, which I thought was pitchy and weak. Did they say who chose the singles for the contestants? Did Crystal choose it herself, or was it chosen for her?
ReplyDelete10 best moments from the worst "American Idol"
ReplyDelete(Full disclosure, written by a friend of mine, and since I don't watch AI I can't vouch for it's veracity, but I laughed).
I saw on line that the contestants chose the singles. Which confused me, as it did not seem like Lee was terribly familiar with Beautiful Day, plus he had to redo the song to fit within his range. Very confusing.
ReplyDeleteI don't see either of those songs getting much airplay. I will gladly buy Up on the Mountain. [She said, having already poked around itunes this morning, to see if it was available.]
So, okay, here's a question: if a third straight Non-Threatening Kinda Rootsy Non-Coastal Boy wins, what should Idol do about it?
ReplyDeleteI do see some significant differences between David Cook, Kris Allen, and Lee DeWyze, beyond the "hitting of notes" and "having range." But setting that aside... At least part of the answer this year is "Don't pimp someone who shouldn't win." They have been telling voters the entire season that Lee's inability to hit notes doesn't matter, that his stiffness on stage is a sign of his emotional connection, that everyone should be proud of him for growing, etc. If voters decided, hey, you know, I will overlook his flaws and go for the guy who sounds more like what I listen to on the radio, should Idol, or anyone else, really be surprised?
ReplyDeleteBut ultimately, if Idol wanted to avoid having winners in the same genre, all it has to do is not to include contestants in that genre in the Top 24.
I would be very excited to hear Up On the Mountain on the radio as a single for a long time. And to buy it as soon as I can.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch Idol last night....
ReplyDeleteCan we get a thread though about last night's Glee?
The amazingness that was Kurt's dad
The wonder that was Kurt doing Modern Romance in those shoes
The glorious hotness of Santana
The perverseness of Shelby and Rachel singing Poker Face
It was an episode that merits further discussion, I think.
I discuss it, but my Glee posts are a bit more niche-market.
ReplyDelete