Tuesday, March 27, 2007

AI Review, 2007/03/27

Was it just me, or did Gwen not seem very helpful for the Idols? We've had fantastic insights and imparted wisdom in the previous two weeks from the other guest artists - Gwen just seemed to listen to the kids and not offer much except for her star power. Oh, well.

LaKisha

Let's get something straight right now - every time LaKisha opens her mouth, it is a vocal tour de force. I mean, her pipes are an absolute gift, she could cruise to the top five on that alone. And always, always with the professional presence, too. But I keep waiting week after week for the same kind of mind-blowing, goddamn-this-woman-is-a-star intensity that we saw in the first voting week when she made Jennifer Hudson look kinda sick. Come on, LaKisha, bring that back!

Chris S.

His voice sounded a bit weird at the beginning, with some tempo problems. But I think it picked up a bit later on, although I don't think he caught any of the charm of the song. Chris doesn't seem to be picking up and improving week-to-week, which I hate, because he's one of the few genuinely cool people in this competition.

Gina

GREAT vocal. Really, I think the best we've heard out of her yet. And a really good match with her style. Good vulnerability in the performance, too. I just wish I could get past the horrible hair and wardrobe choice. Ick! (Except for the boots. The boots were kinda cool.) But good on Gina - very good stuff.

And now, a commercial break, during which I shall retch from the two-second clip of Sanjaya's hair. What the HELL?!?

Sanjaya

Pretty good vocally. But honey - oh, HONEY. I just can't buy the "bad boy" thing. No. And come on, even Nadia had a hard time pulling off the fauxhawk. Remembering all the words would be good, too. Simon was bang-on - the boy is in his own damn universe. I'm even kind of numb to the pain now.

Haley

Meh. It was nice. Sounded nice, looked nice...nice, nice, nice. Whatever. Simon nailed it with 'sweet and forgettable'. Next?

Phil

If you ignore the horribly cheezy runs right at the end, that was GREAT. His voice sounded fantastic and he brought the right creepy intensity to the performance that this song needs. Highly highly enjoyable. Way to go, Phil.

Melinda

Disco queen! :) She could've brought a bit more fun to the performance, but hell, that was damn good anyway.

Blake

I genuinely liked that. Nice intensity, and there was something very sincere and caressing and all-the-time-in-the-world about it. I didn't find it boring. I especially liked the verses - his voice sounded excellent in them. Unfortunately, not so excellent in the choruses, though. I like Blake's softer voice much better - I find his voice too strained when he goes strong.

Jordin

I've never seen the video, but this struck me as being highly imitative. There seemed to be much more of the teen-girl-singing-into-her-hairbrush than the genuine performance about it. To the point that I found some of it to be a bit painful/embarrassing to watch. That said, there were a few really dynamic moments (especially right at the beginning) where you could really see what kind of an electric, exciting, highly current popular artist she could be.

Chris R.

Didn't believe it at all. Well sung, but with lyrics like that, you have to bring out the heartbreak - I felt zero heartbreak emanting from him. Actually, I don't think I felt much of anything emanating from him.

Strongest:

  • Gina
  • Phil
  • Melinda
  • Blake

Middling:

  • LaKisha
  • Chris R

In danger:

  • Chris S (please stay, please stay, please stay...)
  • Sanjaya
  • Haley
  • Jordin

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

AI Review, 2007/03/20

Great night tonight! Good TV. Nice job, kids. The voting could go very weirdly this week. Personally, I'd like to keep all the Idols around and vote Ashley the hell off the show, NEVER to return.

Haley

I agree with bits of what all the judges said. I think the song choice was very good. I think she showed more personality than we've ever seen from her. It was fun, and pretty well sung. Unfortunately, she was often overpowered by the band and backup singers, and frankly, I'll be remembering her legs more than the performance or the singing. But I do think it was the strongest thing I've seen from her yet, and from all the post-performance banter with Seacrest, I'm liking her personally more every week.

Chris R.

That was quite good. Well sung, nicely brought up-to-date without losing the charm of the melody, and a pretty honest performance. I'm still not a fan of the quality of his voice, but I have to admit that the overall effect was very strong.

Stephanie

Simon made a very good point about Stephanie losing her 'edge'. I thought this was a good song choice for her and that it sounded really good, but it didn't pack the emotional punch that it totally, TOTALLY could have if she'd really thrown her soul into it. With that arrangement and her voice and presence, she could have had hearts completely crying for her all over the continent. Instead, it came off as adequate.

Blake

Really good use of the beatbox thing to 'accessorize' the song. Verrry seductive verses. Unfortunately, slightly painful choruses, hearing his voice strain to hit the high notes. A lower key would have served him better. But good stuff.

LaKisha

Meh. I'm with Lulu, she really, REALLY should have gone for the other song. Ack. It sounded good, but it was very hokey/cruise ship-ish. Underwhelming.

Sinéad Phil

Lots of fun. Sounded awesome! I still wanted him to really pull it out more - as Simon said, with more 'grit', but I mean with the performing, not the voice - but overall, I liked what he did with it. (P.S. to Phil: Clean your shirt. Seriously, dude.)

Jordin

Niiice. Very wow. And, uh, hello, Simon? The fact that you felt like jumping off a bridge means that her emotional connection with the song and audience was spot-on. This performance was also noteworthy for provoking a bee-yew-tiful dis of Simon by Ryan.

Sanjaya

What. The. FUUUCK!!! Was THAT?!? I think that was the most unbelievable week-to-week turnaround ever in the history of Idol. Sanjaya was actually...um...good. There was rock. There was oomph. There was even - dare I say it - a bit of Mick Jagger channelling going on. The only truly annoying part of the whole thing was the constant cut-out to tearful Ashley (which was hardly Sanjaya's fault). I think I sat with my mouth hanging open the whole time. Way to go, kid. You turned something I fully expected to be unbearably painful into something genuinely entertaining. The shock value alone allows me to ignore the fact that it got kinda weak in the second half.

Gina

Loooove the hair. Not so sure what I thought about the performance, though. The vocal was weak in a lot of spots and the intensity sometimes fell down. but there were also bits I really liked. So, tough to call. She could be in real danger this week, though.

Chris S.

As always, glorious vocal. And great song choice. (I really dig Chris' taste in music.) Honestly, I could close my eyes and listen to him for ages. But I don't think he took Peter's advice to find the real (tragic) meaning of the song and sell it.

Melinda

Beautiful. Totally pro. The only bone I have to pick is that nobody who covers this song on this show EVER seems to have actually SEEN the damn musical! I wish someone would bring out the TRAGEDY of this song: The character singing is in an abusive relationship with a man who eventually BEATS HER TO DEATH. This is not a love song, people! Imagine how powerful it would be if someone played it properly! But still - a great performance.

Strongest:

  • Chris R. (although not as strong as the two ladies I've put into this category)
  • Jordin
  • Melinda

Solid:

  • Stephanie
  • Blake
  • Phil
  • Sanjaya
  • Chris S.

At risk:

  • Haley
  • LaKisha
  • Gina

Hard to say who's going home - I'm thinking it's a toss-up between Haley and Gina.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

AI Review, 2007/03/13

Brandon

Unfortunately, a certain little girl succeeded last night in doing quite a bit of bedtime stalling, and I didn't get back downstairs in time to catch Brandon's performance. From the quickie recap at the end, though, it looked like his usual cheezy fare.

Melinda

She has it. She just has It. I mean, that was a pretty boring song, but Melinda is a star and a pro - she owned the stage and she sold the song.

Chris S

I was pretty disappointed. Vocally this sounded terrific. But stylistically this was a huge clash. He tried to bring the melody into his style, but the backup band remained all Diana Ross, and it was just a big disconnect. I think it should have been the reverse - keep the original melody intact, but have the band playing alternative-style. That would really have been his bag. Alas. Also this week I realised that Chris kind of reminds of Penn (as in 'and Teller') - just cuter. :) And I really respect the way he truly listens to the judges' critiques. You can tell he's really taking into consideration the things they're telling him.

Gina

This was pretty fun, sounded good, and was just about the best thing she could have chosen from the week's theme to suit her style. I wasn't wowed, but I thought it was solid.

Sanjaya

The boy must be sent home. Really. He is very, very much out of his league here. This week, not only was it as bland and hokey as ever, but even his vocals fell down. Come on, America. I know he has great hair and everything, but PLEASE!

Haley

I thought she sounded quite good and had a few good moments, but I thought it kind of fell apart after she muffed the words. Add in the usual meaningless Haley hand gestures and I found it pretty weak.

Blake

I didn't like it. From the intro I expected something really up-to-date and exciting, but I just didn't find that it ended up that different from the original. Despite what Randy said, I don't think it was "Blake-ized" at all. I was bored.

LaKisha

Why are Melinda and LaKisha even in this competition? Shouldn't they be very busy already playing live to huge audiences every night and selling gobs of records?

Phil

Vocally excellent - it was a real pleasure to listen to. I also thought the performance itself was quite charming. Not spectacularly oomphy, but definitely charming.

Stephanie

This sounded good and she had good stage presence, but I found the whole thing kind of boring. I didn't know the song, either, which didn't help. My husband explained what the judges were talking about - the song apparently has this seriously up-tempo part in the middle, and the lack of that from Stephanie's arrangement just made the whole thing fall flat.

Chris R

Vocally this was pretty nightmarish. Although there were some very solid-sounding parts, the majority of it was pretty painful to listen to. He did do a pretty good job of making the song contemporary, but in my book, if it sounds bad when you do that, say goodnight.

Jordin

This is the most mature performance I've seen out of her yet. Good job. I don't think it was vocally as perfect as the judges let on, but Jordin is showing growth and more depth, and that's great.

Top of the heap:

  • Melinda
  • LaKisha

Third: Jordin

Middle of the pack:

  • Gina
  • Phil

Boring:

  • Chris S
  • Blake
  • Stephanie

Unknown: Brandon

Should be in the bottom three but be safe:

  • Haley
  • Chris R

Must go home: Sanjaya

Other important items of note:

  • Diana Ross, you are a legend and a star, but there is NO SUCH FRICKIN' WORD AS "PRONUNCIATE"! Augh!
  • Ugliest cleavage of the night: Haley
  • Most delicious cleavage of the night: Melinda

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

AI Review, 2007/03/07

Ahhh...nothing like a Wednesday night to highlight how pathetic Tuesday night was. The ladies are showing the men up sooo bad this year. Ouch.

Jordin

You either have to have courage or stupidity (or both) to take on the Benatar. Considering the song choice, I think Jordin did a pretty good job. She certainly has the raw vocal talent. There were off notes, yes. And jiggly, teenage energy is NOT the same thing as aggressive angst, which is what this song requires. But she did have a few moments where she almost reached out through the screen and grabbed you by the scruff of the neck. So not bad. Solid. Probably could have been more solid if she hadn't been overshadowed, volume-wise, by the band and the backup singers.

Sabrina

A few bum notes and overly shouty tones did mar this performance a bit, but the quality of her voice and her on-stage presence cannot be denied. I would like her to show a little variety in her song choices, though.

Barbie Antonella

Sigh. Okay, in Antonella's favour, this was a VERY good song choice for her, especially compared to the horrendous choices she made the last two times out. Unfortunately, the girl just doesn't have the vocal chops (or ability to stay in-tune) to compete here. And her stage presence is not enough to make up for it. She is gorgeous to look at, and Simon's right, she seems to be handling the crap that's being dumped on her in the media very well. However, she does not belong in the top 12 and needs to be sent home post-haste. And you know that Marisa girl that Antonella beat out for a place in the top 24? She must be gnawing on her liver right now for having been passed over in favour of this kind of crap, poor thing.

Stephanie

Very solid, as usual, although I think there were a couple of faintly iffy moments vocally. But she's going to have to change it up a little bit to keep me interested over the long haul.

Haley

I think Haley's doing the best she can. She sounded great, she chose a song that I thought suited her just fine. It's just that she suffers in comparison to the consummate professionalism that runs rampant within her competitors. Also, her hand movements are kinda annoying.

LaKisha

Most people are fools to invite comparison to A Voice such as The Whitney. But hooooo, can LaKisha hold her own vocally! That sounded dee-licious. Unfortunately, I have yet to see a return of that STUNNING stage presence that we saw in Top 24 Week. And this song NEEDED it. When she got to that part about 'don't you walk away from me', we all should have been BLASTED back in our seats. But it never went there. Sad She should have DEMANDED attention from the audience towards the end, and didn't. So I was a bit disappointed, even though by comparison to almost everyone else it was terrific.

Gina

Ack! So weak vocally tonight! Her voice sounded stretched very thinly, and she missed several key notes. But I enjoyed the performance, I liked watching her have fun, and I especially liked the totally different style she brought to the evening. Not so much liking the peekaboo thing with the pink bra, but hey, stuff happens. Smiley I agree with Simon, I think we need her in the top 12. I hope America puts her through.

Melinda

What is there to say? I mean, really, WHAT IS THERE TO SAY?!? I so love her. LOVE. HER. That was amazing.

Standout winner: Melinda

#2: LaKisha

Into the top 12:

  • Sabrina
  • Stephanie

Not so certainly into the top 12 but I sure as hell hope so:

  • Jordin (who gets my thumbs-up for making us laugh at Seacrest's shortness without being at all mean about it)
  • Gina

Cannot win in this crowd: Haley

Must go immediately: Antonella

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

AI Review, 2007/03/06

Do you suppose that maybe...MAYBE...if we stuck all of these boys into a wading pool and tossed in a live wire carrying 6000 volts of electricity...that we might actually get a show out of the guys with some friggin' ENERGY?!?

I mean, damn! Show some life, people! Augh!

Blake

Well, technically this was good, unique, entertaining, etc...but I really keep wishing he would bring out more magnetism to really make his performances shine.

Sanjaya

There was a moment near the end - just a moment - where his voice started to get really fired up and I thought, "Oooh! We're going to see something here!" And then...no. Just overall a sweet, smiley, decently-sung piece that was entirely forgettable.

Sundance

Ouch. I think this was a good song choice...I just think he screwed the pooch on it. Most of the notes were off, and the energy was very restrained.

Chris R.

This was a very interesting song choice. I think Chris decided to show America this week that he can sing and be versatile. So in those respects I think he absolutely achieved what he was going for. The performance was fairly believable. What brought it down for me is that I don't give a scrawny damn about that kind of music.

Brandon

More life and energy than we've seen from him yet - a definite plus. Which brings him up to the energy level of...the rest of the guys. Not so much of a plus. And what was someone I know was saying last week that SUNDANCE shouldn't be dancing ever again? Brandon pulled out some very - uh - unique foot movements of his own this week. Overall, a good effort, sounded good, showed some life.

Jared

I see that Jared is still working in cruise ship/lounge singer mode. Big yawn. Plus, his voice wavered 'off' on some of the notes. And to top it all off, he invited comparison to Elliott Yamin, who absolutely KILLED this song last season. BIG mistake. Elliott has real, honest-to-goodness soul. You can see it shining out of his soul in every head shake, handswipe and otherwise groovy movement. Jared does not have this by any stretch of the imagination.

Phil

Rather painful at the beginning. Some very iffy pitch moments throughout. Not as emotionally convincing as his other performances. Great falsetto, though.

Chris S.

I agree with Randy - vocal prize of the night. This sounded great. And he was certainly one of the top energy-bringers of the evening, which unfortunately isn't saying much. Chris! Can you hear me?!? It is time to BUST OUT!!! Please!

Probably quite safe:

  • Blake
  • Chris R
  • Chris S

Anybody's guess:

  • Brandon
  • Jared
  • Phil

My choices for bottom two:

  • Sanjaya
  • Sundance