Idol Watch

American Idol Motown Night

 
Motown night on American Idol. Really, Idol? So much for trying to make changes from the passe format of the previous nine years. Teenagers will still be singing outdated songs from the 60s and criticized for not sounding current.

Hopefully, some of this year's talented crop will transcend the tired theme. Follow for live commentary on Twitter. I'll post a wrapup here at some point tonight.

Three contestants transcended the moldy Motown karaoke theme tonight: Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and James Durbin.

 
Producers had promised that unlike previous seasons, contestants wouldn't be forced out of their style to fit a theme. They didn't keep their word but only Scotty, the 17-year-old country baritone, truly delivered on that promise even as he did stretch a bit. Scotty proved he'd have been a hit in any decade. He chose Stevie Wonder's cornball lounge tune For Once in My Life, an overexposed ditty that has never been done particularly well on Idol. At least, it's never been interesting once removed from its lounge roots. He put a bit of pop in his country, though, and sounded like a Glen Campbell No. 1 record circa 1969. Scotty is, by far, the best singer in the finals and one of the best ever in this show's history. That's because he just sings. No needless gimmick, shtick or overreaching for earsplitting glory notes. He won't win. The best seldom do on Idol. But he'll be the first to score a major label deal and will no doubt make the best, most honest and mature, albums in a lengthy career.

Lauren was an early highlight tonight by transcending the karaoke nature of the dreaded Motown Night by showcasing a rich voice, poise and performance ease that is remarkable given her age -- 16.

James, like Scotty, also honored his gift by delivering a rock-edged vocal on Stevie Wonder's Living for the City. The song's arrangement wasn't rock but James' high, controlled hard rock voice was not unlike Axl Rose's. If Slash wants to relive the glory years -- without the madness -- he could do worse than hiring this guy. Before Guns N' Roses fans overreact and suggest that the names James Durbin and Axl Rose should never be said together, I'm not saying that James has Axl's edge and who knows if he has the writing talent Axl displayed in the late 80s and early 90s. But the vocal tones aren't all that far removed and James is one of the most convincing rockers Idol has had on its stage. He's not the Adam Lambert wannabe I thought he was during the auditions. He's actually a more convincing rock vocalist. Adam was always more glam rock than hard rock.

Fourth best was Naima Adedapo. She -- like Jacob Lusk -- is inconsistent. (I thought Jacob was a mess tonight.) But tonight everything worked for her on Dancing in the Street. Her vocals were in the pocket, her African-inspired dancing was expressive and she had flair. Naima earns another week and her place on the tour of the Top 10.

The news isn't quite so good for my bottom three: Casey Abrams, who is falling faster than Christina Aguilera's career this last year, Haley Reinhart and Stefano Langone. I'd make it a bottom 5 by adding Paul McDonald and Pia Toscano to the dishonorable mentions.

Casey's shtick has worn thin. From my favorite to near least favorite in a mere few weeks. His facial expressions are creepy. He's hard to watch and he's getting too cocky. His overbaked, forced, growling style of singing has gone from jazz influenced to obnoxious novelty -- Taylor Hicks passing a kidney stone. His grating I Heard It Through the Grapevine was the hardest to take ...

Unless you consider Haley, a constant bottom 3 dweller, who similarly growls instead of sings and has a irritating, entitled persona. She's going home on Thursday's results show I'd bet.

Stefano seems like a nice son as he constantly gives props to his mom. Maybe he should let his mom sing instead. He has such a cheeseball overproduced vocal style he rendered Lionel Richie's pretty Hello unrecognizable, inert and plastic. Oversinging does not equal soul. Even the easily pleased judges noted that he failed to connect emotionally with the song and with the audience. If they were being honest they would have said what I did: plastic and cheeseball.

Speaking of shtick, Paul's sole attribute, a megawatt smile, is all he has to offer. Alas, this is not Dental Idol. His chipmunk raspy delivery of Tracks of My Tears could be like what flu-stricken Rod Stewart might have sounded like had he performed in the tour-opening concert with Stevie Nicks that he cancelled on Saturday at BankAtlantic Center. (That's if you buy that "flu" excuse.)

Pia also has worn her ballad style into the ground and I'm fed up with her predictable end-of-song screaming. She has a lovely, if pageanty, vocal style for 2/3 of a song but always ruins a nice moment by screaming a few words at songs' end. Between being a boring, one-note ballad machine with little performance ability (shades of Season 5's Katharine McPhee) and a screamer, this front-runner and likely Idol winner is starting to work my nerves.

Speaking of annoying: the judges tonight were hysterical with overpraise, J.Lo keeps trampling over Randy whenever they differ and Steven Abdul Tyler needs a dictionary so he can learn another word other than "beautiful." If Randy could learn a few new words beyond "pitchy" (it only took him 9 seasons) there's no reason Tyler can't pick up a few.

This leaves Thea Megia. She chose an uptempo tonight for a change (Heat Wave) and though it's yet another Motown song I never ever want to hear again, by anyone, she proved she has a sweet, controlled voice in uptempo mode, too. But she could also find herself in the bottom 3. Much as I like her, she's forgettable among the bigger personalities.

American Idol Top 12 Year They Were Born Show

 Idol judges, James Durbin/Photos: Getty Images
Tonight, the 12 American Idol finalists perform songs from the year they were born.

 
Follow live commentary on http://twitter.com/HowardCohenand return here for a review later tonight. There was no column last week as I was on furlough and there won't be live commentary or a blog item to advance Thursday results show as I will be reviewing the Kiss concert at Hard Rock Live.

Hit and miss performance show tonight. Former favorite Casey Abrams earns points for bringing Nirvana to the Idol stage (much as James Durbin earned points a couple weeks ago for introducing Idol families to Judas Priest) but Casey's screaming, demonic troll through 1991's Smells Like Teen Spirit smelled like garbage left out in the sun for a week. On second viewing, it was even worse.

Not the night's worst tho, at least Casey was OK on the verses. Worst of night dishonors -- and most likely to go home -- belongs to show opener Naima Adedapo for a woefully offkey, pitchy, whatever you want to call it, molestation of Tina Turner's 1984 comeback hit, What's Love Got to Do With It? Or, in Naima's world, What's Pitch Got to Do With It? Ike Turner's coming back to beat her for that atrocity.

Also on the chopping block: Haley Reinhart for a soulless, vanilla tapioca dip into Whitney Houston's 1990 hit, I'm Your Baby Tonight. Karen Rodriguez played the Spanish card once too often (at mentor Jimmy Iovine's urging) but was bland again on Taylor Dayne's 1989 snoozer, Love Will Lead You Back. No one can do a thing to make Dayne's dreadful catalog palatable but that performance will lead Karen to a seat among the Bottom 3.

I wasn't hot for Thea Megia or Pia Toscano tonight. Both have pure, clear voices. But Thea, once again, sang a pageanty ballad and is on the verge of boring everyone to the point they'll forget to vote for her. Pia sang her 1988 Whitney number, Where Do Broken Hearts Go, well all the way until the end but then oversang the last few bars and it grated.

Also, I'm a stickler for dates so, sorry, Pia or Idol listmakers, but that song was released on Whitney's second album in the summer of 1987. Ditto Paul McDonald's choice of Elton John's 1983 tune, I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues. Paul was told it was from 1984. He should have done Elton's 1984 hit Sad Songs (Say So Much) if he had to sing Elton. In any case, it was pretty bad. His raspy, tiny voice made him sound like a baby with a head cold. I guess that's why they call it the blues. He's so darned likable, tho. He'll be safe another couple weeks.

Stefano Langone "cheated" a bit by selecting a pop classic from his birth year of 1989, but since there weren't many pop classics released in that lame year for pop (aside from Madonna's magnificent Like a Prayer, which no one chose), Stefano chose Simply Red's cover of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' 1972 hit, If You Don't Know Me By Now. Stefano's a nice young man, loves his mama, but I find everything he sings and his whole style so cheesy.

So who stood out? Once again, country baritone Scotty McCreery reigned with his confident, pitch perfect reads of older country songs. He's so young, tho, 17, his choice, Travis Tritt's 1993 number Can I Trust You With My Heart wasn't old at all. Scotty is so ready to record a classic country album already. Nashville has to be panting to sign this guy. Even Scotty's parents can sing, as we saw in a videoclip. No wonder he's so gifted.

Lauren Alaina finally redeemed herself after showing such promise in her auditions and disappointing so far in the performance shows. But tonight, despite the flu, she rocked out on Melissa Etheridge's 1994 hit, I'm the Only One, and put a slight country lilt into it. Most importantly, she made the tired song feel fresh and hit all the right notes. She also is a born entertainer. I love how she tosses in verbal asides in her songs to engage the audience. She knows what she's doing.

James Durbin once again did a good job but of all the viable Bon Jovi tunes from 1989 to choose from, why did the rocker pick the wimpy ballad, I'll Be There for You? At least James put some Axl Rose-like grit into his delivery. It worked and redeemed the Bon Jovi ballad, but I wish he'd have selected Bad Medicine instead. But, now that I think of it, both of those songs are from Bon Jovi's 1988 album, New Jersey, the last decent Bon Jovi album. James would have won me over with, say, Motley Crue's 1989 rocker Dr. Feelgood.

Jacob Lusk continued his inconsistent ways by shining tonight on Heart's 1987 rock ballad, Alone. He navigated the night's most challenging vocal number by riding all the key changes in the song with skill and he's always at his best when he dials it back a bit and sings the melody straight without over-ornamenting. For the most part, Jacob was in the pocket. One week I can't stand him, the other, he wins me back. Thus, I'm worried about next week with this guy.

So, four top notch performances. And even two hours of subpar Idol this season is better than any episode of tone-deaf Glee lately or last year's Idol. Even the turkeys from Naima, Casey and Haley tonight far outscored anything "winner" loser Lee DeWyze did last year. In fact, they are better than 2008's "winner" Kris Allen, too.

Plus, J.Lo and Randy's judging was excellent, especially J.Lo who offers astute constructive criticism. The only disappointment is Steven Tyler who has become inhabited by the ghost of Paula Abdul. He might not be as loopy and is much more quotable, but he's also way too nice. And when he told James "not to get too poppy on me" I about dropped my Twitter. Memo to Mr. Aerosoftie I Don't Want to Miss a Thing: the same can be, and should be, said about most of your entire post '70s Aerosmith output.

American Idol picks baker's dozen for Season 10 finals

 
Photo: FOX

American Idol kept the cliffhangers coming by first revealing, bit by bit, who America selected as the 10 sure finalists.

Voters, some 40 million of them Ryan Seacrest announced at the top of the show, made the right picks into the Top 10 when you consider the five guys who sailed through: Scotty McCreery, James Durbin, Jacob Lusk, Casey Abrams and Paul McDonald.

These were the right picks. Scotty, the 17-year-old country baritone, won't likely win the entire competition because the best contestant seldom wins Idol. (It's only happened once, 10 years ago, when Kelly Clarkson won.) Scotty will be the first one to get signed to a label, tho, I would bet. And he probably will sell the most CDs if he gets the traditional country songs he deserves.

Casey Abrams, Jacob Lusk and James Durbin are also deserving. These are three of the most interesting Idols yet. Casey is a musician's musician. Jacob and James could be polarizing if they go too far over the top, but there's no denying Jacob's rich voice and James' metal edge. He might not be an Adam Lambert retread after all. Given his convincing and welcome performance of Judas Priest Tuesday and his stated fondness for metal, he has more rock cred than Lambert's glam style. Rock on, metal guy. Paul's a bit of a happy surprise. I wasn't hot for his Rod Stewart cover Tuesday, but he has a mellow '70s Kenny Loggins voice and look and a smile that radiates.

The voters' choices for the girls, however, were wack. Lauren Alaina, Thia Megia and Pia Toscana were smart picks. Pia could even be the darkhorse to win the entire competition. But Haley Reinhart, who has an entitled air about her and an out of control voice, and pageanty, bilingual bland Karen Rodriguez have no business on the Idol stage. Not when superior talents such as Lauren Turner have to go home.

The judges didn't help too much when they selected six of the non-picks to sing-off for a chance at a Wild Card save. They played it safe and let three boys, three girls, sing and picked wrong. Twice. First, they gave Ashton Jones another shot and then compounded the mistake by putting her into the Top 13. Ashton delivered attitude, but also the worst, weakest, most feckless rendition of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going I have ever heard. Two weeks ago I judged the semifinals of the Young Talent Big Dreams city-wide competition at Actors' Playhouse and an 8-year-old sang the Dreamgirls song and it was 10 times more convincing than Ashton's tepid take. The song's a stunt by now, anyway, but Ashton really is the wrong choice. And, sorry, m'dear, but that's not a Jennifer Hudson song. It's a Jennifer Holliday song. Get it right.

The judges also wasted shots on Sly Stallone-lookalike Jovanny Barreto (sappy Secada song), Robbie Rosen (Elton John's dreary 1976 ballad, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word) and Kendra whose screeching Georgia was NOT on my mind. When your chances are on the line, singing "What do I gotta do to make you love me?" before celeb judges just reeks of desperation, Robbie.

Happily, Naima Adedapo, the quirky jazzy throwback seized the opportunity on her second chance and earned her way into the finals.

This means that Boca Raton's amiable, but too quirky for voters, Brett Loewenstern, was out without any second shots. He went to hug the judges, anyway, and it was a nice ending. I'd have given him a chance to sing again instead of the boring, personality-free Jovanny and sleepy Robbie. Robbie's only a junior in high school, he'll have other chances. I'm a bit surprised early judge's fave Clint Jun Gamboa wasn't a wild card pick, but that's fine. Didn't like him from the start. Maybe karma bites the karaoke singer back for booting the charming 15-year-old Jacee Badeaux from his group during Hollywood group rounds.

 Here is who you will see next Wednesday in the finals:

Top 10:
Casey Abrams
Lauren Alaina
James Durbin
Jacob Lusk
Scotty McCreery
Paul McDonald
Thia Megia
Haley Reinhart
Karen Rodriguez
Pia Toscano

Wild Cards:
Naima Adedapo
Ashton Jones
Stefano Langone

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American Idol Top 12 Girls Disappoint

Would it be alright this season if we just had an all-male American Idol?

No one wanted to see a girl win Season 10 more than I did. We haven't seen a female win Idol since Jordin Sparks four seasons ago -- an eternity in pop music. But after 12 uninspiring song choices and/or bland, ordinary, forgettable or off-key performances from the Top 12 girls, I'm convinced a guy's winning Idol again.

 I'd hate to be stuck on a long car ride with any of these girls if they had control of the radio. Their taste in music is awful. A bilingual Hero. ¡Que horror! Alicia Keys' banal Fallin' on the Idol stage. Again. Zzzz. The Pretenders' sappy I'll Stand By You. An unrecognizable Fiona Apple song. (Natalie Cole did a good cover of Criminal on one of her CDs. Listen to that one instead.) Christina Aguilera. It's 12 Steps Into Musical Hell.

Of the 12, five automatically make the finals based on viewers' votes. That should mean Lauren Turner, America's Got Talent contestant Thea Megia, Naima Adedapo, Lauren Alaina and Pia Toscana move forward. No one else deserves a Wild Card save. The judges should give two of the guys the Wild Cards if they must use them.

 
Of those five, Naima has the most imagination. She chose the overdone Summertime, forever owned by Fantasia on the Idol stage, but she did it as an uptempo, jaunty swing number and it was at least fresh. She has some flair.

Thea, the youngest at 15, has the best voice. She chose the tired 1980 Fame ballad, Out Here on My Own (a song her parents probably slow danced to in junior high) and she sang it sweetly and in tune and with some nuance. Still, it wasn't exciting. She's talented, though.

 
Turner has the most potential if she can really tap into her inner Bette Midler. J.Lo had compared her to the younger Divine Miss M, but she needs to own it considerably more than she revealed tonight. Her jazzy cabaret-like number, Seven Day Fool, was the right kind of song for her voice but it lacked sass and attitude. If Turner can tear the inner bawdy babe from within, she'll be worthy.

Pia sang that godawful Pretenders ballad I'll Stand By You and Alaina chose the all-time worst Reba single, Turn On Your Radio, and both were major step backs from the huge promise shown in the audition rounds.

The rest of the contestants really don't merit a mention. What does merit mention, however, is the much improved performance of Randy Jackson as a judge. Randy's bringing it this season. The dawg's a JUDGE! His criticism is constructive. He's really listening and he's demanding. Steven Tyler, however, proved he can't say no to a lady. He was useless tonight.

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American Idol's Top 12 guys have 4 of the best yet

American Idol has been promising the "most talent yet" and we've heard that claim so often every season we've stopped believing. But given the performances tonight from Scotty McReery, Casey Abrams, James Durbin and Jacob Lusk, I've become a believer. And we haven't even seen the girls yet.

Idol hasn't had four talented people in its cast since Season 5. Last year there wasn't even one talented artist. It's hard to believe this is the same show that has crowned drips like Lee DeWyze and Kris Allen recently. 

Perhaps that's because Idol finally has three judges who seem to care about finding talent to showcase as oppose to calling attention to themselves with forced, tiresome quips (Simon Cowell, I'm talking to you) or looney tunes from C-list '80s pop singers (Paula Abdul). Steven Tyler and JLo, I applaud you on this first live show of the season. Even Randy has never been so astute and on the game. The judges' constructive criticism, engaging banter and professionalism was a breath of fresh air. Best panel in years.

Top of the class:

 
Casey Abrams. Could well be the most purely gifted, most naturally voiced and musically accomplished contestant Idol has found in 10 years. Though he went just a touch over the top on Screaming Jay Hawkins' I Put a Spell on You, the growls served the blues tune. No one has ever looked like Casey, 19, on Idol and no one has had this broad appeal. Win or lose, he's the real find the judges have promised. Unlike Season 8's gifted Adam Lambert, he's not polarizing or overly full of himself, either.

 
Scotty McReery is the heir apparent to country legend Randy Travis. And he's only 17. In fact, in terms of vocal range, style and the kind of voice one can listen to for hours on end in a swank country club, this solid country baritone is better than country star and one-time Travis heir, Josh Turner. McReery sang John Michael Montgomery's Letters From Home and made it sound like a new country standard -- a true country standard, not the kind of bland country-pop or contrived cornpone country radio favors these days. This kid is the real deal. Nashville should sign him up no matter his fortune on this program. With once-great country stars like Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw coasting on past glories with one bland, formulaic release after another, and overhyped, offkey stars like Miranda Lambert collecting the awards, the country music industry needs a voice and persona like Scotty's right now.

 
James Durbin has gone from the most annoying to the show's most convincing rock star. For once, James reigned in the misplaced screeching and used his high range to good effect on a Judas Priest classic, You've Got Another Thing Coming. I'd give him points for introducing the routinely bland Idol to the almighty Priest in the first place. But he wowed me with his natural flair for performance and personality on this British steel classic. He followed a handful of generic performances from some Idol hopefuls who were dwarfed by the big, live stage (Clint, Jovanny, Jordan) and proves he's got some more weeks coming to him.

 
Jacob Lusk was my fourth standout. He's always had a velvet smooth, beautiful voice. But his manic, over the top, nutso performances during the auditions have always made me dread his appearance on this show. Tonight, he sang the overdone A House Is Not a Home and did it as well as Luther Vandross ever did. If he can continue to sing like this without over ornamenting, he's going to become another favorite.

By comparison, everyone else can go home. Boca Raton's Brett Loewenstern is an original, but his Light My Fire was mostly a fizzle. Considerably worse, Robbie Rosen and his limp Sarah McLachlan ballad, Jordan Dorsey's ill-advised Usher cover, Jovanny Barreto's boring, seen-it-all-before Idol cliche, I'll Be (he won't), Tim Halperin's overproduced and vocally anemic Rob Thomas tune, Stefano Langone's lame Bruno Mars mauling, Paul McDonald's soulless (but curiously likable) take on Rod Stewart's Maggie Mae, and Clint Jun Gamboa's generic, passe and nerve-rattled Stevie Wonder oldie.

 
In any other season, Brett and
Paul and even Clint would be worth another look, that's how strong this season seems to be. If the girls have an equal amount of talent Wednesday night, we're going to be in for a fine season.

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Eye-popping new Adam Lambert video

 

 Adam Lambert has released a video for his current single, the infectious If I Had You. It's an eye-catching affair and, unlike Lady Gaga's derivative, overstuffed videos which court controversy for the sake of controversy (the ridiculous Alejandro), If I Had You is just colorful fun.

Billboard.Com posted the video. Check it out by clicking here. 

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Crystal & Lee sign record deals

19 wasted no time in signing both winner Lee DeWyze and runnerup Crystal Bowersox to recording deals, less than 24 hours after Lee's crowning. Lee winds up on RCA, Crystal on Jive. Both are under the same 19/BMG banner. Expect both to release albums post tour for the Christmas market as in years' past, reports Billboard.Com.

Billboard.Com article here.

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American Idol Season finale: Lee DeWyze wins

 Photo: AP
 Just two hours and seven minutes left of American Idol's ninth season. Lee or Crystal? Eh, that's not what we're tuning in for. Rather, we want to see how the show bids farewell to its top judge, Simon Cowell. Follow along and on http://twitter.com/HowardCohen for one more time.

• Does Lee know where he is or have the zombies eaten his brain? He looked so dull during Ryan's blustery introduction.
• Alice Cooper joins the contestants to sing 1971's School's Out and the Top 12 are all wondering: Who is this old guy and why's his mascara running down his face?
• Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees reunite to ask the musical question, How Deep Is Your Love? Mine's deep enough to forgive the worn voices (especially Barry's) -- mostly cuz I'm hoping these two reteam to write some new songs. RIP Maurice. The Gibbs were joined by the season's most likable finalist Aaron Kelly (prematurely booted) and Siobhan Magnus.
• Yacht Rocker Michael McDonald joins Michael Lynche to sing the Doobies' Takin' it to the Streets which, four seasons ago, became Taylor Hicks' song. Given how ragged it sounded tonight, one has to wish Taylor would have come out of his seat and grabbed the mike away from the Mikes and sing the tune. That's how bad McDonald sounded.
• Alleged comedian Dane Cook did an aborted roast to Simon. Aborted, because a commercial popped up right in the middle. Humourous Interruptus. Several Idol audition rejects -- including my favorite in the cape -- return but don't do anything.
• Can someone get Amber Riley from Glee to take the mike on this Beautiful remake?
• Christina Aguilera bailed on her summer tour so she could promote this tuneless ballad she just sang? Talk about bad career moves. And, sweetie, Gaga called and wants her hair and eyelashes back.
• The guys start off singing Hall + Oates I Can't Go For That (No Can Do). I can't go for that, no really. No can do. Daryl and John turn up to rescue the performance. Of the grizzled vets so far none of these kids have heard of, Daryl Hall sounds the most passable.
• Then, Alanis Morrissette joins Crystal to sing You Oughta Know and I'd have loved to hear her sing that line. You know the one I'm referring to. But, alas, no lyric malfunctions.
• Bret Michaels is one tough dude. And, thank you, Apprentice winner for rescuing your Poison oldie from Casey's goat throat. Bret earned the night's biggest hand, thus far, it appears.
• So THIS is why Peter Cetera quit Chicago so long ago: the prospect of having to sing his oldies with Lee DeWyze on Idol.
• What's it tell you about this season of Idol when Gen. Larry Platt & William Hung, singing the former's Pants on the Ground, shows more flair and personality than the two finalists?
• Best moment of the night; the return of Paula Abdul. The return of Paula reminds us what Idol has missed all season on judge's panel: chemistry. She jokes about the real reason she left the show: A shared love child. "It's your turn to feed him," she quips. "It won't be the same without you but it will go on," she says. Simon, almost emotional, responds: "I didn't think I was going to be this emotional but the show goes on. Whoever's going to replace me, the truth is, you are the judges and you've done an incredible job,'' he says as every Idol winner except David Cook and many finalists sing a song in his honor. Was very nice.
• The return of the living dead: Joe Cocker sings With a Little Help From My Friends with Crystal and Lee.
• Lee wins. The fix was in. He's choked up. "I don't know. It's amazing. So happy. Never been happier. No words to describe it." After Lee once again butchered his band's Beautiful Day, ailing Bono pressed the button on his hospital bed asking for more morphine.
• I have some words, but am on deadline now for print column. Thank you Idol Watchers. Simon out. Howard out. Have a great summer.