WOULD SHE GO OUT WITH YOU TO A THEATER? That's it, right there. That single bowdlerized Alanis Morrisette line exemplifies everything that's wrong with American Idol this season, a season in which weak nonsense was treated like the real thing, over and over again.
We are left with three competitors -- Lauren, who needed to grow as an artist as Alison Iraheta did two seasons ago but never quite did, leaving her always sounding outmatched by the emotional content of her songs (in particular, her "I Hope You Dance" tonight was painfully cold); Haley, who has developed into more than a growl but still sounds out of her depth as an interpreter; and Scotty, the baritone country prodigy who entered this competition fully formed and hasn't been tested -- not by genre, not by other competitors, and certainly not by the judges.
So one of the women will go home tomorrow -- I'm guessing Lauren -- and then Scotty will triumph in the finale. Yawn. Four months 'til X Factor, and we find out if America has its own Jedward.
Honestly, the line wouldn't have gotten past the censors anyway. Radio doesn't play it unedited either.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Crystal Bowersox perform this song with the same fake lyric last season?
ReplyDeleteIt's a grownup song with grownup anger; if you can't let her sing it unedited (or bleeped), go with a different song.
ReplyDeleteHaley plus Stevie Nicks plus wind machine of COURSE makes me think of this...
ReplyDeleteShe did and Didi Benami sang Rhiannon last season. What's with the song repeats? (Although I thought Rhiannon was the better choice.)
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely rooting for Haley out of this trio even though I know Scotty will take it all next week. i hope Lauren at least goes home tomorrow and Haley makes the final two.
It took me a looooooooong time to warm to Haley. I wanted her gone in, like, week 2. But that was long before she gave four of the great performances of the season. Really, if you think about what the best performances of this season actually were, did Scotty or Lauren give any of them? Haley, meanwhile, has given us "I Who Have Nothing" and "You and I" (which inexplicably left the judges cold) and "House of the Rising Sun" and, tonight, "What Is and What Should Never Be". NOTHING that Scotty and Lauren have done has been as good as any of those. Not that I think Haley is as good as, say, Bowersox or Lambert or Cook or Fantasia or Kelly... but she's easily - easily! - the best of the remaining finalists. She should also get votes from James' supporters... will it be enough to get her to the finale?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why they didn't just let her sing the original line and then just bleep/silence it. They do that almost every week when Steven Tyler talks.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch idol, but there is a ninety percent chance I will be going to an x factor taping tomorrow. I will report back if I do.
ReplyDeleteJedward finished 5th their season. The best comparison is arguably Sanjaya, though they've managed to make more hay than Sanjaya did.
ReplyDeleteAnd X Factor and American Idol are tied in terms of number of internationally famous singers they've produced--one. (Kelly for AI, and Leona Lewis for X Factor.) While some of the other Idols have done well in the US (Carrie Underwood and Daughtry being the big two) the international track record is spotty. Lewis went to #1 in 10+ countries with Bleeding Love.
Motown week I e-mailed my sister about the performances, and closed saying something like "Haley was in danger the last couple weeks, stunk up the joint, and performed in the middle of the show. Least suspenseful elimination ever?" Now I am actively rooting for her to win.
ReplyDeleteThey were Ireland's EuroVision entry this year, they've had a #1 album, they've sold our arenas around the UK. That's much more staying power than Sanjaya.
ReplyDeleteI've been on the Haley train since "Bennie and the Jets," which song never made sense to me until I heard her sing it.
ReplyDeleteThat was me.
ReplyDeleteMy ratings on the night (I missed Scotty's last performance when the DVR cut off at 9:30; I'm given to understand that it was about the same as his other two):
ReplyDelete1. Haley -- "What Is and What Should Never Be" Gutsy pick, interesting interpretation, really well sung. And she looked so at ease up there! I don't think it was quite as good as "House of the Rising Sun," but it was amazing how well she recovered from that fall.
(fairly big gap)
2. Scotty -- "Amazed" Very well-executed karaoke, more range than he's generally shown.
3. Lauren -- "I Hope You Dance" Ditto.
4. Haley -- "Rhiannon" It was pretty but it felt oddly restrained in parts.
(gap)
5. Scotty -- "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?" I don't know the original. His pitch wasn't great and it was kind of meh.
6. Lauren -- "If I Die Young" She really sounded her age on this, and not in a good way. I felt like she didn't really get the pathos of this. Imagine how much better the beginning would've been if she'd added a bit of rubato and made it more conversational.
7. Haley -- "You Oughta Know" Yeah, they shouldn't have picked a song that required them to bowdlerize. This is a really tough one to rank because the verses were too low for her and there was that obvious lyrical flub. But she brought an incredible amount of firepower on those choruses. I can see why the studio audience was on their feet halfway through the last one.
(gap)
8. Lauren -- "Wild One" She cut off the ends of almost every phrase and sounded out of breath. This just didn't work at all.
I missed the entire third round, but otherwise, tend to agree with Tori. I might flip Scotty's Are You Gonna... and Lauren's If I Die Young, but they were pretty close in quality, really.
ReplyDeleteI actually loved Lauren's If I Die Young, even with all of the issues. Her voice sounded perfect on it, and I thought she actually managed to capture some of the emotion (as opposed to Hope You Dance, which was just bleh karaoke). I also thought Scotty's Are You Gonna Kiss Me was terrific, but I know the original and like it.
ReplyDeleteBut for me, the clear winner of the night was Haley, if for no other reason but that she was the only interesting contestant up there.
I really liked Didi's Rhiannon -- I'm not crazy about the original, but I remember being so struck by Didi's performance. I liked Haley's, too, but didn't find it as surprising as Didi's.
ReplyDeleteI live in Portland, OR and it's played uncensored on the (top 40, not alternative) radio here.
ReplyDeleteBe wary of picking "interesting" performers with "character" voices to win on Idol. They're often the ones sent home. It's not hard to imagine a finale of Scotty and Lauren: old country vs. new country.
ReplyDeleteAll I can hope is that Scotty and Lauren split the 'Merican vote that typically dominates Idol finales leaving Lauren the winner. All the best singers are gone, so I'm obligated to root for the pretty girl who fell in love with the dorky-looking bearded guy.
ReplyDelete