- Obviously, someone's singing "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." Probably goes to Jacob, because he can go full diva on it.
- If Thia Megia sings "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?", don't say I didn't warn you.
- Paul McDonald should go for "Tiny Dancer," since it doesn't require much actual singing and lends itself to his shambling, crowd-pleasing demeanor. (So would "Sad Songs.") "Levon" is similarly well-suited for Casey Abrams; it's just Cocker-y enough for him to work.
- This is not the week in which Pia busts out of her box. "Circle of Life," "Nikita," "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," or "Daniel" -- she'll apply her big, boring voice to something and coast again.
- Scotty's the hardest one to peg for this week, but I can imagine a very nice country cover of "Your Song." I also know Tim McGraw has covered "Tiny Dancer," so that's possible too.
- The only hit of John's I can think of which matches up with James Durbin's general energy level is "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting."
- If I'm Haley or Lauren, I try to find a way to turn Kiki Dee's parts of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" into a solo performance.
added: Oh, the suck! If you've forgotten how bad the show was before they raised the age limit....
Joe Cocker actually covered "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word," to great effect, on Two Rooms -- I think Casey would rock that one.
ReplyDeleteWhat'sisname Soul Patrol did "Levon" a few years ago so you're probabbly right on with the Casey prediction. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" will probably be used for the schlocky group sing tomorrow night. "Honky Cat" would be a great choice for Paul, IMO. With regard to Pia and Thia, I am afraid you are correct. Both have great voices and are atreactive (Pia is hot while Thia is merely cute but that's OK for a 15-year-old), and both bore the crap out of me.
ReplyDeleteI was going to say that the obvious song for Scott was "Honky Cat," but -- on further reflection -- it's a different kind of country song than he's done in the past. He's been more the crooner than the honky-tonker. Although if he's going to spend the season in a box, it wouldn't kill him to make the box a little bigger. (Of course, if he doesn't want to step out of his box, there's always "Country Comfort.")
ReplyDeleteI think "Levon" would be a huge mistake for Casey. Taylor Hicks did that one, and I think what Casey desperately needs to avoid is becoming the next Taylor Hicks. He could try something less obvious: "Burn Down the Mission," maybe.
Similarly, I hope Jacob doesn't go for the obvious diva numbers. He could take something like "Candle in the Wind," which doesn't have the paint-by-numbers here's-my-glory note predictability, and give it an interesting twist if he tried. The thing about Elton John songs is they have this incredible range that surprises people. Think about the stretch from the low-register verses in "Candle" to the falsetto in the chorus, Jacob is one of the few people who can handle that.
And, yes, "Saturday Night" for James. The Who did a cover of that song on the "Two Rooms" album, and that's kind of what I imagine James' version would sound like.
Being the next Taylor Hicks means you win the competition, but I hate you.
ReplyDeleteOh, there's no WAY Thia doesn't do "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" I suppose "Hakuna Matata" is out of the question?
ReplyDeleteIf Jacob sings "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," I'm not entirely sure that I can prevent myself from fast-forwarding. [bleep-bloop]
ReplyDeleteI'll just note that William Hung covered Can You Feel on his album and leave it at that. (By the way, just for the heck of it, I looked up what the Oscar win for the songwriters was over; seriously, there was an Oscar-nominated song from Junior?)
ReplyDeleteJust realized: John's guest hosting of SNL this week affords him the opportunity to complete the EGOT. Embarrassingly (for the Grammys), his first Grammy was in 1987 for <span>"That's What Friends Are For", (Best pop performance, duo/group.)</span>
ReplyDeleteI thought "Honky Cat" as well. But I could also easily see a country version of "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" - I mean, you could country OUT on that "Time on my hands" line.
ReplyDeleteOh, if only they'd done this Lambert's year. How much fun could he have had with "All the Young Girls Love Alice" or "The Bitch Is Back"?
ReplyDeleteI miss badoop badoop badoop so much. TiVo, I loved you so. Why did you have to leave me?
ReplyDeletePaul already did "Guess Why they Call It The Blues" a couple weeks ago so that's probably out.
ReplyDelete"Country Comfort" and "Burn Down the Mission" are both great choices for those singers but the masses don't know those songs, making them poor vote-getters even if the performances are stellar.
ReplyDeleteI just now read that "Daniel" was supposed to be about a guy who was blinded in Vietnam and decided to leave America to live in Spain. I had always assumed that John and Taupin had just used the word "brother" in lieu of "lover" because you couldn't be gay on the radio in the 1970s, and that the song was one man lamenting the loss of his partner when he sees someone who looks like him. For me, it had always read as a proto-AIDS song, even though the timing is obviously wrong. Huh.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I could watch Idol without the DVR, but I feel pretty damn certain that my boyfriend could not.
ReplyDeleteRats - serves me right for holding off watching until tonight.
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot he has a Tony, winning over a show I'd give a body part to get a cast album of (James Joyce's The Dead).
ReplyDeleteActually, this feels like a good week for James to pull out another restrained performance. I tend to think that he should pull out one of those about every three weeks, which makes this a good time for one, but Elton John provides some good options for that. If Scotty doesn't snag Your Song (and, yeah, he should), that might be a good choice for James. Granted---Your Song is both great and malleable, so I could see a lot of people pulling it off.
ReplyDeleteI can't watch without the DVR. I wait until the show's been running for at least 30 minutes before I start watching, preferably 45. That way I can skip through the commercials, AND over any performances that are too dull/histrionic/terrible to bear.
ReplyDeleteThe Envelope did an EGOT Watch -- http://theenvelope.latimes.com/env-egots-on-deck-pictures,0,6828478.photogallery
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who insists on doing "Hakuna Matata" at karaoke. It rarely goes well.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with John/Rice winning for a Lion King song, but "Circle of Life" is much more impressive songwriting and more significant to the film. That said, unnominated that year was Madonna's "I'll Remember (Theme From With Honors)," which is a good song from a bad film.
I was really hoping you weren't rememebring a Brendan Fraser-Joe Pesci movie, and sadly I was wrong. *shudder*
ReplyDeleteI think the killer app for this theme is Sinead O'Connor's version of "Sacrifice," but I'm not sure anyone in this field has the musical chops and emotional range to pull it off. Pia does, but she pretty much has to go up-tempo this week. She would've been better off doing something non-ballady one of the last three weeks and doing a ballad today.
ReplyDeleteCasey ought to go with "Your Song" or "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," but I think he'll end up with "Bennie and the Jets." I am crossing my fingers for Thia or Haley to do "Crocodile Rock" and go full trainwreck.
Also, someone (Naima? Jacob?) ought to do "Border Song"; it's the kind of song someone could have an Idol Moment (TM) with.
Scotty should totally sing My Father's Gun. Someone would have to rewrite the lyrics of course, but pitch it low enough so he could growl his way through a melancholy dirge and it would not only get him lots of votes (as if he needed the help) but might actually be worth listening to more than once.
ReplyDeleteHey, Tori! If Casey doesn't show up with a ballad and his upright bass, then he really isn't very bright.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Elton John cover is Sting's Come Down in Time from the Two Rooms album. What a gorgeous, gorgeous arrangement. Alas, a subtle jazz arrangement of, anything, seems . . . unlikely.
ReplyDeleteI usually find "artist catalog" weeks a bit boring and generally wish for the originals. Either way, I think most of the comments above cover my take on the possibilities. Though I will admit I haven't decided if Saturday Night or something more low-key is better for James.
ReplyDeleteAnd really hoping Casey's claim of going bold and Adam's Twitter prediction of the should-be-verboten Benny and the Jets does not happen.
That being said, whenever there's an Elton John theme night, someone will butcher or forget Bernie's name. Always happens. I'd put money on one of the youngins to mess that up, probably Thia or Lauren.
This thread has made me want to pull out the Two Rooms disc when I get home from work. I forgot how many great covers are on there.
ReplyDeleteWe already saw Jacob potentially desecrate Carrie Underwood's version of Alone. Now does he have the chutzpah to try impoving upon John Stevens' classic take on Crocodile Rock?
ReplyDeleteOh, there was one worse that week:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/v/CP_233A-ykw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="170" height="140
No good will come of this. Mark. My. Words. (And *please* let me be wrong.)
ReplyDeleteWhat's your beef with "That's What Friends Are For?" Are you a Bacharach-hater?
ReplyDelete....Oh, man. Yowch.
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