Looks like tonight's theme is iTunes Top Downloads. American Idol is nothing if not commercial and since they are in partnership with Apple's iTunes store, this is hardly surprising. I guess this leaves the field open as to song selections (we'll soon find out...)
Anoop Desai got the show off to a commercial start by performing an Usher song and fell flat with the judges, even Paula was underwhelmed. Simon said, "actually it gave me a headache" while Kara felt it appeared as if Anoop did the song as if by dare by fellow frat boys. Oddly, I didn't hate the performance despite considering Usher's songs utter, tuneless and soulless garbage. (Yes, I know they are popular, so what?). Anoop sang it well enough given the quality of the material but his problem is he lacks charm. He's an ordinary guy who can sing but hasn't star quality. He won't last much longer and his hamhanded way of defending himself against the judge's opinions won't win him votes.
Megan Joy similary didn't do herself any favors by unleashing her nasal, warped record of a voice, on a Bob Marley song (a boring one named Turn Your Lights Down Low, I can't recall) and Simon was probably correct when he said 'no one is going to like that song" and Kara found her voice "irritating" and in the wrong register. If a nose could sing it might sound like Megan.
The four-eyed Taylor Hicks, aka Danny Gokey, did a better job on the execrable Rascal Flatts tune, What Hurts the Most and partially redeemed the night thus far. No, Danny and I likely will never see eye to eye (or spectacles to spectacles) given the depth of dislike I have for his voice, personality and taste in music (Rascal Flatts is the worst group in country history and, yes, they are popular, so what?) But for what it was, he sang this ballad well enough and earns another week on the show.
Allison Iraheta: Oh, she plays guitar too? Is there anything this talented 16-year-old can't do? The judges made a bit too much of the outfit -- looks like she raided Tina Turner's closet for a wig and Kelly Osbourne's for the outfit -- but she did a solid vocal job on No Doubt's Don't Speak, injecting the rock edge, soul and swagger original vocalist Gwen Stefani could never hope to muster. Paula, in a rare moment of lucidity, correctly notes that this girl has a voice equal to those twice her age. I'd say better than most. And she's certainly superior to her age group peers Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift in the vocal chops deparment even if this solid performance tonight was Allison's weakest of the season. She'd set the bar pretty high.
Scott MacIntyre says he learned so much from Billy Joel -- but, alas he hasn't learned Billy's showmanship. Another predictably dull performance from Scott on Joel's 1977 classic Just the Way You Are. Every tune he sings has the same arrangement: the slow, funereal-paced opening verses followed by crescendo close ala Barry Manilow's 70s singles. The difference? Manilow was a master arranger and can sing much better. One positive thing I'll say: Scott wore Richard Marx's hair real well. He looked well styled tonight. Not his worst, but not thrilling either. Randy, however, liked it "best of the night" thus far. (Given what we've seen, not counting Allison, that's not much praise).
Matt Giraud's sole saving grace tonight on The Fray's instantly forgettable song, You Found Me, was performing while standing at the keyboard in the midst of the audience. It was an interesting setting. Vocally, not the worst, not the best. The judges, even Paula, panned it.
Kudos to Lil Rounds for choosing one of the most difficult songs in Idol history -- Celine Dion's I Surrender -- and for doing a decent job with it. This song requires a hell of a vocal range and breath control, especially the note change at the end. It wasn't effortless for Lil, as Kara overpraised -- Lil had to pause and then go for the money note near the end wheras Celine goes through it the way the transmission on a Lexus smoothly shifts gears. Still, Lil did it justice. She was much better than the other judges said. They wanted her to sing some machine-driven, generic R&B tune by a Mary J. or a Mariah or some such. I strenuously disagree. She might have won them over a bit had she put more flair into the actual performance the way Celine does when doing this song live. Put a little body language into it, perhaps. Still, Lil looked lovely and did a strikingly beautiful song that even stumped Kelly Clarkson in Season 1. Not as effortless as the rendition from Season 4's Anthony Fedorov but a good, classy shot from a contestant whose voice never did much for me previously. I'll download Lil for the first time.
Adam Lambert flustered Paula so much she said he was one of the rock greats, naming "Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler and Adam Lambert" and then had Kara feeling as if she were in "Studio 57" after his terrific performance of Wild Cherry's 1976 disco hit, Play That Funky Music. Unless there's a Studio 57 in L.A. I don't know about, I think she meant N.Y's Studio 54. Whatever the case, Adam's proving his versatility and the Teflon-strength of his Axl Rose-like high falsetto. Every week, lately, I've tried to find some fault with his performances because he can be over the top and has been annoying but I've got to give it up to this guy. He's the front runner for good reason: He can sing anything, has flair and originality and he's the one we really tune in to see what he's going to do next.
Kris Allen: Idol was really backloaded tonight. The first part of the show was dull and pretty bad, while these last few performances have been stellar. Kris took an old, old Bill Withers song from 1971, Ain't No Sunshine, and freshened it with a catchy new arrangement and didn't lose any of its soul along the way. He played keyboards, looked natural doing so, and proved a frontrunner. I'd say Idol's Top 3 are, no doubt: Kris, No. 3, Allison No. 2 and Adam the winner No. 1. Tonight, I'd put Kris in runner-up position to Adam.
Predictions for who is going home: Megan, once again, just has to go. She'll be joined in the Bottom Three by Anoop and Matt (with Scott a wild card for the bottom three).
See Idol Watch's print version in tomorrow's Miami Herald, page 8A.
