A MULATTO, AN ALBINO, A MOSQUITO, MY LIBIDO: Two years ago when Allison Iraheta scaled Mt. Wilson, we discussed whether singing "Alone" was a fair metric for a singer or whether, as I think Alan put it, it was like hitting home runs with a corked bat.
Well, damn: Jacob Lusk done hit himself a home run tonight in the first truly memorable performance of the season. Yes, he's affected. No, he's not going to win the whole damn thing. But those are pipes he's got, and he was only one of two contestants to impress me tonight.
The second was Lauren Alaina. Not that her "I'm The Only One" was particularly great, but it was a wise choice done with spunk. (Scotty may well have been a third, but his genre is so Not My Thing that I skipped past after the first few bars.)
I'm glad Casey introduced Nirvana to the show, but this was the wrong song, performed oddly. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is not a fundamentally angry song meant to be sung with a demonic glare; it's about alienation and rebellion and release and, performance-wise, it's about losing control and throwing yourself into the song heedlessly. None of this can fit into an Idol performance, between the context and the stage and the annoying and distracting Horns of Idol. (Maybe "In Bloom" works better? I still prefer my choices. And P.S. to J-Lo: I guess you didn't get the memo, but one does not evaluate grunge based on whether it sounds "pleasant.")
Everyone else was either mediocre or worse, with the women in particular choosing snooze-worthy songs which do not belong in a competition to locate the next contemporary music star. And then there's Paul: that shambolic stuff needs to be tethered to slightly better performing.
Bottom 3: Haley, Karen, and the gonna-be-going-home jasminetriastic Thia Megia. And it doesn't matter what order they go home; they're all going home. (I know Dan thinks it's Naima, but I think she's got enough goodwill from last week still.)
I laughed my butt off throughout Jacob's song. How do you get me alone, Jacob? Don't sing that song at me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGood: Lauren, Scotty, Stefano.
A bit off vocally, but still better than a lot of other people: James
Boring but vocally strong: Pia
Boring but less vocally strong: Thia
Crappy vocals but at least interesting: Naima.
Boring as hell and/or crappy and should be up for the boot: Haley, Karen
Trainwreck: Casey, Paul, and especially, Jacob
Really, a disappointing night.
So, because I don't start watching until semi-finals, I've only seen Casey perform three times. And I like him... but I'm still not sure if he can actually SING. He can growl, and he can grumble, and he can scream... but can he sing?!?
ReplyDeleteAny of Naima, Thia, Haley, Karen could go home. Which isn't making my hitfix pool boot pick any easier.
I agree with Jenn. Jacob's performance freaked me the heck out. It was creepy and did not make me want to be alone with him. While naima was kind of a train wreck vocally, I like that she actually appears to have some natural stage presence.
ReplyDeleteLiked Lauren and liked James more than I expected to. Thought everyone else was either a snooze or actively bad. And karen may be lucky - people were probably distracted from her singing by the animal on her head
I really, truly don't think Jacob has any interest in being alone with you, Jenn. You are not his type.
ReplyDeleteWell, fine. But still.
ReplyDeleteAs long as they don't edit out Adrianne Palicki, I'm ok with it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just me, but I think playing Nirvana was probably a no-win for Casey Abrams. If there's anything we've learned from the mid-90s grunge bubble and the ensuing nu-metal/buttrock fallout it's that Kurt Cobain was as singular a talent as rock music has ever seen. It's pretty easy for someone who loves Nirvana to retch at the thought hearing one of their songs on Idol, and it's just as likely to simply freak out the general Idol audience, of whom a plurality were born after Cobain's death.
ReplyDeleteAnd, if it's me, I go with "Sliver". It's simpler, less enigmatic, and probably allows Casey to get the growly/screamy intensity he wanted. He may have done his best Krist Novoselic imitation, but so much classic Nirvana leans on Dave Grohl's hyper-muscular caveman drumming (doubly so for "Smells Like Teen Spirit"), and there's no way the American Idol Super Muzak Orchestra was going to allow for that.
Wrong post, I think. But editing Adrianne Palicki out of ANYTHING should be a crime punishable by death. Preferably death at the hands of noted spree-killer Landry Clarke.
ReplyDeleteCasey sounded like a dead ringer for Adam Sandler. With the guy from Cake playing trumpet for no good reason.
ReplyDeleteIt was not a Krist impression; he neither threw the bass in the air and conked himself on the head nor spoke about the necessity for instant-runoff voting.
ReplyDeleteWild divergences again between the WhatNotToSing overnight numbers and (my submission).
ReplyDelete<span>Naima: 17 (30)Paul: 26 (30)Thia: 40 (15)James: 62 (40)Haley: 33 (12)Stefano: 35 (40)Pia: 76 (40)Scotty: 48 (65)Karen: 25 (30)Casey: 41 (60)Lauren: 65 (75)Jacob: 46 (82)
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I have to say that the orchestrations and arrangements are drastically better this year. Not that they're great, or even good, but they're better and somewhat less muzak-ey. The band is at least working with sounds that are present in modern pop music. And even if they can't really rock out well (and WTF was up with the guitar player being on stage with the guy who sang the terrible Bon Jovi song? What was the point of having him on the stage?)
ReplyDeleteHaving Interscope's producers work on the arrangements with the singers has produced somewhat more listenable results than the Ricky Minor lite-FM orchestra. During Jay Leno's tenure on the Tonight Show, he's now had a steady decline in the interestingness of his musical directors: from the awesome Branford Marsalis to the bland Kevin Eubanks to the aggressively boring Ricky Minor. (Maybe his Tonight show stuff has been more interesting than his Idol work. I doubt it, though. And I'm not that curious to watch that combination.)
Totally the wrong post. And I can't even blame drinking for my mistake!
ReplyDeleteMy husband accompanies a lot of high school students for solo & ensemble competitions, and when I saw Thia was doing "Colors of the Wind" I had to laugh, because that is a very popular song for high school girls to sing in those competitions. Cheesy, doesn't require much range. We cringed at a few of her notes...I'm not sure she woudl have even gotten a "gold" in a local high school competition.
ReplyDeleteI did think it was interesting to hear Jimmy Iovine talk to Haley about how there can be multiple people who "win" AI this year. It's always been the case that some non-winners will get record contracts, but if it's true that Jimmy himself will have a say in who gets a contract, that creates an interesting dynamic. In the past, "work ethic" hasn't mattered much at all, except to the extent it shows in the performance. But singers like Haley (who Jimmy seemed to be saying had no chance to actually win) have to compete on two levels now - go as far as possible on the show to build up a fan base, but also win over the producers who could be working with her in the future.
Idol could use a little editing in of Adrianne Palicki.
ReplyDeleteSliver was the wrong year, though.
ReplyDeleteOverall, kinda a meh night really. Stephano, Pia, Scotty (even if I was only 50% on my pick) good. James owned the performance, but it didn't quite reach where it should've for me (let's blame Steve Jobs).
ReplyDeleteI love Jacob when he's in the right space. Alone...should have been left alone. I thought it was horrid.
Lauren. Lots of potential, but needs to pick songs she understands. And then sing them well.
Naima. Great recording/artist potential, but not sure her Idol career is long.
Paul. Still don't get it. Just don't.
Thia, Haley, Karen should prepare to go home. One of them will. Not even bothering with specific critiques. Alright, one. What's with the "work ethic" comment? Is Jimmy trying to tell us something?
And Casey. Oh, Casey. Entertaining, but I found the intensity misplaced. You can do better, dawg.
But yeah, I'm with the Known Universe that the night was full of teh suck. Is it just me, or do the Interscope peeps potentially get in the way here? Or, are they waiting for the contestants to start pushing back on their suggestions and create a better product? Y'know, acting like artists. Dunno.
Well that explains whay ya'll're fancy lawyers and I'm a simple cornpone business major.
ReplyDeleteLike I said about somebody before -- maybe Jasmine Murray or Ramiele Malubay -- this is the kind of music that a person sings if she doesn't actually like music but thinks she should have a career in music because she has a nice voice. It is music written and sung to make money, not for any other reason. There is so little expressive content that it should not qualify for the First Amendment, the same way that factory steel stamping or semiconductor etching does not qualify for the First Amendment. If a person has so little love for music that she sings a Disney ballad, she should be banned from music forever.
ReplyDeleteI still get promos mailed to me at home from the Bellagio for Krist, since I booked his room for the first YearlyKos conference since he was on my panel. (I've told that story before, right?)
ReplyDeleteTrue story: "Colors of the Wind" was a running joke with a group of my friends in high school. Whenever things suddenly took a turn for the serious, or someone took something too far, I would start singing it in a hyperdramatic style. Eventually, everyone learned it enough to join in.
ReplyDeleteHeh. I dearly love that Paul F. Tompkins is now recapping Idol. I just had to share.
ReplyDelete