American Idol gets current with songs from this century

 
The remaining seven finalists sang sing songs from the 21st Century Wednesday on American Idol.

REVIEW BELOW:

One can almost sense Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart and Scotty McCreery's relief: finally the chance to sing a song that they might actually know. Scotty can certainly do a Josh Turner country hit like Would You Go With Me or Your Man although that might be too predictable.

James Durbin could take on one of Green Day's conceptual songs. Haley will probably attempt a jazzy Amy Winehouse number. And one bets Stefano Langone fires his inner Grenade by Bruno Mars. Whatever Jacob or Casey does, it's sure to be irritating if recent weeks are any indication. Jacob will stand there like a statue and lecture viewers afterward and Casey will grunt and make faces.

Just guesses. What are your picks?

Could American Idol be in for another surprise results show? Twitter buzz has the seemingly infallible Scotty McCreery in the bottom, maybe the very bottom, for his mediocre performance of a lame LeAnn Rimes song, Swingin'. My guess is that Scotty's young female fan base is large enough to let him swing into the finals. While the Rimes song is cheeseball, banal contemporary country (ie: the kind of pseudo country someone who hates country would write just to irritate fans of real country music), the kind of music this young traditionalist is better than, Scotty transcended the limitations of Rimes' dopey ditty. Barely. But, unlike, say Jacob, Casey or Stefano, Scotty was in tune all the way through even if he looked bored singing those lightweight lyrics. The dreadful song also had the unfortunate effect of making us pay too much attention to Scotty's weird way of holding a mike like a flute.

Speaking of Stefano Langone, his Ne-Yo cover was his season's best thus far. His vocal was hit-n-miss, sometimes losing the key, but the song's flirtatious style suited him well and Stefano worked it to the hilt. He wasted not an inch of stage as he worked the audience on every side. Maybe not a download-worthy vocal, but entertaining and committed-looking on TV.

Pity Jacob Lusk still hasn't learned to work the stage. He's every bit as rooted in glue as Pia was and his choice of Luther Vandross' Dance With My Father was every bit as predictable as Scotty doing a country tune -- but even moreso. At least Scotty chose a bad country song -- who would have predicted his taste would fail him? -- and bypassed Josh Turner when he had the opportunity to pick from current material from an established millennial artist he clearly emulates. Jacob's vocal wasn't technically bad. At least, it wasn't as pitchy as in weeks' past. But he's lacking in charisma, he still has the grating tendency to preach and talk down to viewers and, my guess, my hope, is that Jacob is even more in danger of going home than Scotty.

Speaking of grating, Casey Abrams put some necessary grit into the wimpy Maroon 5 but his constant clenching of jaw and the maniacal faces he keeps making at the camera should be his undoing. He's not nearly a good enough singer to transcend the gimmicks and quirks and his all-around lack of marketability. The best part of Casey's performance? When he kissed JLo at the end because it meant the singing was over.

 Haley Reinhart got good marks from fans and the judges for her Adele cover of the current Rollin' in the Deep from last week's No. 1 album, 21. But Haley's neither bright enough, nor musically knowledgable enough, to convincingly deliver a soulful Adele song. Haley doesn't seem to understand the lyrics of a song. Mentor/label boss Jimmy Iovine had to seriously push her to read the lyrics and find some understanding of the song's subject before she even began rehearsing. She might have hit most of the right notes --certainly better than last week's screeching Blondie car wreck -- but compared to Adele, Haley's performance was soulless, plastic and meaningless. She's safe though. Idol viewers don't want to leave Lauren Alaina as the only female contestant just yet.

Lauren hasn't quite had an "Idol Moment" yet but she's consistently been the most market-ready contemporary country singer. So if her rendition of Sara Evans' Born to Fly wasn't one for the books, that's the formulaic song's fault, not a problem with her delivery. Lauren sang a perfectly radio-ready contemporary country No. 1 hit and that's what Nashville will be looking for. Someone who can convincingly sing the music the factory pumps out to radio and who can entertain an audience. Lauren is all of that and she earns second best of the night. But how cool, not to mention memorable, would it have been had Lauren chosen a Dixie Chicks song, like Not Ready to Make Nice, and captured that Natalie Maines-sized sassy attitude? She'd have had her moment.

Far out front of the bunch, though, was James Durbin for his brilliant performance of Muse's Uprising. While I like "the cliche guy who does metal on Idol," as Iovine warned against, I also am impressed that James can also do a modern rock song as well as he does older metal tunes. James used all his weapons in this performance. He put all sorts of range into the vocal, outdoing the original. He conveived a theatrical backing drum corps and he worked the audience with the confidence of an established rock star. His Rob Halford-style high range won't be every Idol viewer's cup o' tea but, tonight, he's vaulted to the top of the pile for this critic.

 

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Comments

[Alexia]

James - I think he should step outside his genre this week. Rumours from his hometown claim that he can sing other genres like country, R&B & Broadway. His cover of Maybe I'm Amazed (pop) was excellent, so I think he's more versatile than he's shown so far. But if he's gonna stay in his genre then I suggest something by Linkin Park - excellent fit for his voice & range.

Casey - something by Coldplay. I would like to see his rocker side again, but unlike Nirvana, I think he can actually pull this off.

Haley - lots of current singers to choose from: Nora Jones, Corrine Bailey Rae, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Lady Gaga.

Scotty - I'm not familiar with country artists who's music doesn't reach beyond America's borders (I'm a foreginer) so no suggestions for him from me.

Jacob - no more diva ballads! Give him a hip hop number.

Stefano - anything by one of the big R&B boys (Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Jason Derulo), as long as it's UPTEMPO!

Lauren - Something that's either pure pop or pop rock: Dido, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morisette, Katy Perry.

[cycling apparel]

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[MrEvans]

Hello all.

[MrsEvans]

Oh hai!

[Lane]

yo yo

[Lane]

wtf is this?

[MrsEvans]

Um, If we wanted to see these girls perform, we wouldn't have voted them off!

[MrEvans]

Really? He'll be begging for change on the overpass in that suit 6 months from now...

[MrsEvans]

Is this really how we are starting the show? Oy, it may be a long night!

[Lane]

is that the only piece of clothing Paul owns?

[Lane]

that was awful, my teeth hurt

[MrEvans]

Will.I.Am left because Scotty called him a bad name...

[Lane]

his facial contortions are annoying
I am over this show.

[MrsEvans]

He could pick any song he wanted and chose this snoozer? Zzzzzzz

[MrEvans]

I would pay $1,000 to hear Scotty sing "Lollipop" on this show - the Lil' Wayne version, not the 50's "Stand by Me" version.

[Lane]

he must have already signed his record deal, he's a smarmy, c*cky, bast*rd

[Lane]

wait, the judges are critiquing again? What just happened?

[MrsEvans]

I wouldn't exactly call that critiquing. More like back handed compliments.

[Lane]

when are we doing The Palms?

[MrsEvans]

Must.hit.mute.immediately.

[MrEvans]

Of course Scotty would wrap himself in the American flag, literally and figuratively...

[MrsEvans]

I HATE HIM!!!!

[MrEvans]

Sloth Vader.

[MrsEvans]

We are free this Sat or next Sat.

[MrsEvans]

Sloth Vader...teehee

[MrsEvans]

He sure is number 2.

[Lane]

T.Rex the band or dinosaur?

[Lane]

I don't mind him

[Lane]

we can do whenever

[MrsEvans]

Let's do the 30th then.

[MrEvans]

I'm starting to lose a lot of interest in the show as well.

[Lane]

I call James' percussionists the Tourettes Drumettes

[MrsEvans]

Haha!

[MrEvans]

So here's what I took away from that... Stefano tried to bang Haley and she told him to "f" off.

[Lane]

I like Haley. There. I said it.

[MrsEvans]

Me too Lane.

[MrEvans]

I like her too - she's a great underdog.

[Lane]

ok I booked The Palm for 6pm the 30th.

here's more info on the special menu http://www.thepalm.com/italian

[MrsEvans]

Nice! Thanks Lane!

[Lane]

than Dance with my Father song? Pathetic.

[MrEvans]

The earlier, the better for Allison - perfect.

[Lane]

I hope someone pulls out a Paul Lynde impersonation

or the Klumps

[MrEvans]

A-hole. It's a coincidence, not ironic.

[MrsEvans]

Hey! I am not an old lady ya know!

[MrEvans]

Her-ka-leeze, Her-ka-leeze...

[Lane]

Taco Flavored Kisses means that much to J-Lo

[MrEvans]

Lulz, Lane.

[MrsEvans]

Taco taco..Burrito!

[Lane]

oh good lord, Maroon 5? Really?

[MrsEvans]

Casey should sing this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IueDj96fhqI