- Naima Adedapo (1984) - It's the year of Purple Rain, but I have no idea if any of it's in her arsenal. "Baby I'm A Star"? I'm sure "The Glamorous Life" is, but for an oddball choice why not Alphaville's "Forever Young," repopularized for the youngsters thanks to the Jay-Z sampling?
- Paul McDonald (1984) - Totally in his box would be one of the twitchy-mumbly hits from R.E.M.'s Reckoning -- "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" or "So. Central Rain. (I'm Sorry)." It's also the year of "The Unforgettable Fire," which I think he could nail. Can he do a ballad? Because there's this Cars song called "Drive," and he could be awfully good at it.
- Jacob Lusk (1987) - Yes, I have a soft spot for Prince. "Sign “☮” the Times" is this year ... "If I Was Your Girlfriend"? Okay, let's get creative here: New Order's "True Faith" ... but effort into finding something off-beat doesn't matter here. It's the year of Terence Trent D'Arby's debut album and Michael Jackson's Bad, and they're just too obviously right for him.
- Pia Toscano (1988) - Can she, in fact, rock? "Like The Way I Do" by Melissa Etheridge would prove it. If not, Anita Baker, "Giving You The Best That I Got" or, oh dear lord, Bette Midler, "Wind Beneath My Wings" is what I'd expect.
- James Durbin (1989) - "18 and Life," Skid Row. Done. Isaac wondered about Nirvana's "About A Girl," and noted that it was also the year of Aerosmith's Pump, but is he ready to sing "Janie's Got A Gun" or "What It Takes" back to Steven Tyler?
- Karen Rodriguez (1989) - "If I Could Turn Back Time," Cher. Don't f--- it up.
- Stefano Langone (1989) - Anything from Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked.
- Casey Abrams (1991) - One of the greatest years in rock history. "Hunger Strike," Temple of the Dog or anything off Pearl Jam's Ten will do. Or "Don't Cry" or "Civil War" off the Use Your Illusion discs?
- Haley Reinhart (1991) - One of the greatest years in rock history, and I have no idea if she knows what to do with it so I assume we'll get something like Lisa Stansfield, "Real Love" or Mariah Carey's "Can't Let Go."
- Scotty McCreery (1993) - I don't pretend to know country, but you know what he could pull off? A countrified cover of Aerosmith's "Cryin." I do not expect a gender-swapped "Divorce Song" by Liz Phair, but Sheryl Crow's "Strong Enough"? Sure.
- Lauren Alaina (1994) - Bonnie Raitt, "Love Sneakin' Up On You" or Mary Chapin Carpenter, "Shut Up and Kiss Me." Stay in the box.
- Thia Megia (1995) - It's the year of Jagged Little Pill. "Hand In My Pocket" won't tax her. Natalie Merchant's "Wonder" or "Jealousy" could test her. Or, yawn. Mariah Carey, "One Sweet Day," a mountain she likely cannot climb.
Research source: Wiki's [Insert Year] in Music pages.
Man, if someone was gutsy enough to do Dan Bern, that'd be fantastic. "God Said No" could be a good "I can sing quiet and emotional for a while... annnnnd HERE COMES THE BIG LOUD FINISH!" if arranged correctly. Of course, any Dan Bern song would probably (definitely) be AI suicide ("Jerusalem" especially so), but it'd sure be fun to see.
ReplyDeleteEven Dog Boy Van was 1996, so it's not going to be this week. "Tiger Woods"?
ReplyDelete"Tiger Woods, " "The Cure For Aids," or "Marilyn Monroe" would be the greatest AI meltdowns of all time short of someone doing "Closer" once "The Downward Spiral" finally becomes available.
ReplyDeleteVia MJs, Melissa Etheridge tweets, and I swear I didn't see this before:
ReplyDelete"<span>Melissa fans would agree that American Idol contestants consistently make excellent song choices. You might want to tune in his week!"</span>
Dollars to donuts Karen will do a Gloria Estefan song. "Here We Are"?
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree about So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) being within Paul McDonald's box. I mean, I would not be sorry to find that he owns and loves Reckoning, but there's no way that he manages to pull off the howling "I'm Sorry."
ReplyDeleteGreat. There's an Idol contestant born after I graduated from college. I'm so thrilled.
1985!
ReplyDeletehttp://ericschreiber.com/dan-bern/
I like "Forevery Young" but it would be a terrible Idol song - it has so little rise and fall; even the original's not sure where/how to end.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably the last year any of the contestants are born the same year as me. Paul should sing "The Ghost in You" by the Psychedelic Furs. Although I might faint from the dreamy.
ReplyDeleteThere's an Idol contestant born after I graduated from law school. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteOh, geez. Did not notice. "Don't Want To Lose You" and "Get On Your Feet" both in play.
ReplyDelete... which got me thinking, what song would I choose for this category? 1973... Not a whole lot on this list is jumping out at me. But 1973 also brought The Rocky Horror Show, so "Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul" it is!
ReplyDeleteI think Paul McDonald should totally do "Marilyn Monroe." Then he can continue bleeping profanities by going "eeeaaaah," which I think is a good gimmick for GoatBoy.
ReplyDelete...
ReplyDeleteI had previously decided on "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" for 1972. "Duncan," maybe. Selections from Neil Young's Harvest are not quite Idol material.
ReplyDelete1972 would also get you anything from Exile on Main Street. What would I get for Stones in 1973? "Angie"? Gee, THANKS.
ReplyDeleteBeen thinking about Scotty and 1993. Good year for country, in general, but not a lot of good options for him. I think it's too soon to do more Garth, but I wouldn't put it past him to attempt Ain't Goin' Down (Til The Sun Comes Up), though it's a killer song and probably won't top Josh Gracin's version anyway (which I didn't think was all that amazing to begin with). There's also American Honky Tonk Bar Association, but again, two weeks of Garth is a bad direction for him. That leaves maybe T-R-O-U-B-L-E if he can pull off Travis Tritt, but don't know there, either. Toby Keith does have an album in '93, which is more in his range, but not a lot of good chioces from that album, IMHO. That leaves Hard Workin' Man or some other Brooks & Dunn, but he shouldn't. Given those choices, Travis is my call, though I doubt he'll do it. Time for something up-tempo after The River.
ReplyDelete(He really needs to pull in Toby, Trace, or Randy if he wants to find good, popular, stuff in his range.)
For Lauren ('94), I have this horrible feeling she might try to tackle Faith Hill. Feels up her alley, but after the horrible attempt at Shania (who ain't that good in person, either), she might want to go elsewhere. And, likely, based on Byrd's comments on EW(?), she's probably headed for something ballad-y.
Otherwise, agree on the potential MCC choice, though she could risk bombing badly and attempt Martina. I can also see Tricia on her, as well. Not finding a lot of good ballad-y stuff looking around online, but I could be surprised. She needs to hit one out da box, yo, or her fans aren't going to keep her in it for long.
Not a lot of thoughts on everyone else, though I'm thinking the chances of Prince are pretty slim. Just sayin'. ;)
1972 has some great options. I'd probably be tempted to go with Carly Simon, but I'd need to think about it, given how many good choices there are.
ReplyDeleteI've got tons of good options, though many are too iconic. While tempted to go with Simon and Garfunkel's "America" just because I love it, it's too quiet for Idol. I'd have to go with another song I adore which is showier, Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love."
ReplyDeleteWonder if I could pull off a more contemplative version of "Chain of Fools" and have them like a different take on it, or would they just find it too different from Aretha to be acceptable.
He may not be able to pull it off, but he should at least make an effort to apologize. :-)
ReplyDelete1969 has an embarrasment of riches but I think I'd have to go with "You Can't Always Get What You Want."
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I'd have to do the song that not only came out the year I was born, but has (with a variant spelling) my name as the title. Pure Prairie League, here I come!
ReplyDeleteBut I'd love to get the weird girl vote with Janis Ian's "At Seventeen." I love that song so, so much.
I'd make my mom happy if I did Judy Collins' "Send in the Clowns."
Oh, and look! AI staple "All By Myself" is from my year.
This is, of course, all moot, as I can't sing a lick.
Two more spoilers in -- Casey's and Thia's songs confirmed. The first one could be brilliant, the latter confirms a severe case of jasminetriasitis.
ReplyDeleteALL the Idol contestants were born after I graduated college. I would sigh, but I'm so old it might leave me out of breath.
ReplyDeleteHave to second the love for "At Seventeen."
ReplyDelete1971 here...I don't watch Idol, but even I know that "Just My Imagination" isn't going to work there. And I'm sure "Me and Bobby McGee" has been done 5 million times, although I'd enjoy doing it.
ReplyDelete"Love Her Madly" I could see doing, but there isn't a lot of singing there.
Ultimately, I think I'd go with "So Far Away", but I'd actually be trying to do the Rod Stewart version. (Which is ironic, since I'm also passing on "Maggie May" and "Reason to Believe".)
Not that I could do a good version of any of these, of course.
Wow--I've actually got a nice selection, ranging from bizarro ballads ("Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft"), classic rockers ("Don't Stop," "Blinded By The Light," and "Give A Little Bit"), countryish ("Margaritaville"), vocal nastiness ("We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions"), an easy choice for those preparing to scale Mount Mariah ("Tomorrow" from Annie), and the entirety of "Bat Out Of Hell" to work with.
ReplyDeleteRemember that Disney's Jasmine Trias finished third her season. Admittedly, not much of a career since then (she's apparently presently singing with Hawaiian group Society of Seven in their Vegas show, while the top two from that season have had decent Broadway appearances), but it may not be a bad strategy to last.
ReplyDeleteThat was the last year which didn't include rock music, contestants as old as 28, or a gender-balanced finals.
ReplyDeleteWatts, we could duet!
ReplyDelete1970 here, and an embarrassment of riches. Shall I do "Southern Man," one of my favorite songs, or "War Pigs," which, by contrast, is one of my favorite songs? Or "Sweet Jane," which is actually in my shrieking range and a real crowd-pleaser, or "Hand of Doom," which is one of the greatest heavy metal songs about Vietnam veterans and heroin addiction that relies principally on a descending bass line in history? Or how about I try to cram "Since I've Been Lovin' You" into 90 seconds -- approximately a quarter of its running time? Or "Bell-Bottom Blues" or "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" or "Lola"?
ReplyDeleteProbably "War Pigs," though.
That's my year too, and I would totally want to do Olivia Newton John's "Please Mr. Please."
ReplyDelete"Pull Up to the Bumper," Grace Jones, and it would be BADASS.
ReplyDelete1975, which calls out to the AM Gold lover in me.
ReplyDeleteI'd be torn between "You're No Good" by Linda Rondstadt But "Run Joey Run" is an all time (crappy) favorite. It's too bad her version of "Willin" is 1974, because if there's one thing AmIdol needs it's weeds, whites and wine.
Though maybe Idol needs a version of "Chevy Van"