The results show opened with fun little group performance of some more pop standards. It wasn't quite as much fun as Danny had celebrating his birthday last Friday. True to is image of being a screaming doofus, he turned baking a cake into a messy food fight. He was presented with the $6,000.00 bill that the maid service charged to clean it up.
Ryan put Adam in the middle and made him choose who he belonged with: either Allison and Danny or Kris and Matt. Adam decided to go stand with Allison and Danny, but he was wrong. In a very unpleasant twist, Adam had to join Kris and Matt as the bottom three.
In 1975, the daughter of Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole was honored with the Grammy for Best New Artist. At that time she was singing disco influence R&B hits. It wasn't until 1991, when she decided to do an album of pop standards influenced by the music of her father, that she became a Grammy darling again winning Album of the Year for Unforgettable. After another dry spell of over 10 years, Natalie released an album in 2008 called Still Unforgettable and walked away with the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. She graced the American Idol stage tonight to gave an example to Danny Gokey of how to sing with style and energy without being a screaming doofus.
The Season Five Miss American Idol winner was the leader of the Soul Patrol, Taylor Hicks. In the time since he was crowned he hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 with his first single, Do I Make You Proud, but disappeared from the charts after that. He's got a new album coming out called The Distance and he performed an energetic, bluesy song from it. One of Taylor's best qualities throughout Season Five was his genuine passion for performing and making music. It was that sincerity that ensured he would take the top prize at the end of the finals and he still exudes the same enthusiasm.
Back to the bottom three, Kris Allen was sent back to safety leaving Adam and Matt as the bottom two.
The latest single by this week's mentor, Jamie Foxx, is at #7 on the Billboard HOT 100. It's called Blame It and he took the American Idol stage with his distortion microphone and tried to convince the crowd that he's one of the cool kids.
Thankfully, it was revealed that Adam is safely coming back next week and Matt Giraud was given his long overdue walking papers. The bad part was having to suffer through Matt's "nails on a chalk board" version of My Funny Valentine one more time.
This week I only got one of my predictions correct, but at least it was the one who is going home. I feel like I have to take a little bit of credit for Adam ending up in the bottom two this week because I didn't get a chance to call in any votes for him. I usually vote for him a few times, but I wasn't able to watch the show live last night and I missed the voting period. Believe me, that will never happen again!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Top 5 sing the Rat Pack
Why in the world did they call this "the rat pack" week? Tonight the top five finalists are singing pop standards, some of which may have been performed at one time by members of the Rat Pack - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. etc. in addition to numerous other artists having nothing to do with the Rat Pack. And why is the mentor for this theme Jamie Foxx? He's never done an album of pop standards. I guess when you won an Oscar for Best Actor playing Ray Charles, you have a hit single, Blame It, in the top 5 on the Billboard HOT 100 this week and your movie, The Soloist, is new in theaters this week you can rationalize that it's a good fit.
Kris Allen was first selecting to sing the tender ballad, The Way You Look Tonight, that Fred Astaire took to #1 all the way back in 1936 - long before the Rat Pack era. Kris gave a very sincere and straightforward rendition of this song. While gazing into his dreamy eyes is all that some may need to become completely entranced, his vocals were quite pure and on the mark. I've said before that he doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, but he continues to make up for it with his winning personality.
Allison Iraheta, who just turned 17 yesterday, performed Someone To Watch Over Me. This was a huge departure for her that allowed her to show she can do more than just sing everything with a hard rock edge. This mature ballad allowed her actually sing a full range of different notes we haven't heard from her before. She belted them out with a rawness and intensity that was still very true to her personal style her fans have come to love and expect from her.
Matt Giraud demonstrated once again that he should have gone home weeks ago as he took on a song that is way too big for his limited abilities, My Funny Valentine. The first three quarters of the song was just painful to listen to as every note sounded flat and emotionless. The big notes he threw in at the end were simply too little too late.
After hearing his version of Come Rain or Come Shine I am left once again asking how in the world Danny Gokey has made it this far in the competition. He has no star quality whatsoever. It's like watching some drunk doofus get up on stage at your cousin's wedding every week. While in that environment his limited vocal range that is really just different levels of screaming might be considered mildly entertaining, here on the American Idol stage it's just insulting.
Adam Lambert has star quality in every sense of the word. He genuinely has stage presence and he can take command every time he stands up there. You can tell that he has a passion for providing entertainment that is worth paying for. His vocal range is everything you would want it to be. As he showcased with his performance of Feeling Good, he can go from low notes to beautiful high notes effortlessly. In addition, when he belts out the big notes, he has mastered the art of making it sound like SINGING and not just screaming like a doofus.
The four American Idol judges serve no purpose at all. They gushed praise all over all five finalists tonight. It's as if they weren't listening to how awful Matt and Danny were at all. My prediction for the bottom three is Matt Giraud, Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta. I don't really think Allison belongs there, but unfortunately she has been struggling to get votes every week and she's been there before. If things go as they should, Matt should finally be the one going home.
Kris Allen was first selecting to sing the tender ballad, The Way You Look Tonight, that Fred Astaire took to #1 all the way back in 1936 - long before the Rat Pack era. Kris gave a very sincere and straightforward rendition of this song. While gazing into his dreamy eyes is all that some may need to become completely entranced, his vocals were quite pure and on the mark. I've said before that he doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, but he continues to make up for it with his winning personality.
Allison Iraheta, who just turned 17 yesterday, performed Someone To Watch Over Me. This was a huge departure for her that allowed her to show she can do more than just sing everything with a hard rock edge. This mature ballad allowed her actually sing a full range of different notes we haven't heard from her before. She belted them out with a rawness and intensity that was still very true to her personal style her fans have come to love and expect from her.
Matt Giraud demonstrated once again that he should have gone home weeks ago as he took on a song that is way too big for his limited abilities, My Funny Valentine. The first three quarters of the song was just painful to listen to as every note sounded flat and emotionless. The big notes he threw in at the end were simply too little too late.
After hearing his version of Come Rain or Come Shine I am left once again asking how in the world Danny Gokey has made it this far in the competition. He has no star quality whatsoever. It's like watching some drunk doofus get up on stage at your cousin's wedding every week. While in that environment his limited vocal range that is really just different levels of screaming might be considered mildly entertaining, here on the American Idol stage it's just insulting.
Adam Lambert has star quality in every sense of the word. He genuinely has stage presence and he can take command every time he stands up there. You can tell that he has a passion for providing entertainment that is worth paying for. His vocal range is everything you would want it to be. As he showcased with his performance of Feeling Good, he can go from low notes to beautiful high notes effortlessly. In addition, when he belts out the big notes, he has mastered the art of making it sound like SINGING and not just screaming like a doofus.
The four American Idol judges serve no purpose at all. They gushed praise all over all five finalists tonight. It's as if they weren't listening to how awful Matt and Danny were at all. My prediction for the bottom three is Matt Giraud, Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta. I don't really think Allison belongs there, but unfortunately she has been struggling to get votes every week and she's been there before. If things go as they should, Matt should finally be the one going home.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Results - DISCO!!!!
Before she became an American Idol judge she was a chart topping hit maker hitting #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 six times from 1988 to 1991. And before that she was the most sought after award winning choreographer. Everybody wanted their video choreographed by Paula Abdul. Tonight, while the top 7 finalists performed the Jacksons top 10 smash from 1979, Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground), they danced to smoking hot disco dance moves provided courtesy of Paula Abdul.
Lil Rounds was the first finalist to learn that she is one of the two finalists to be going home tonight. She performed I'm Every Woman one last time.
Freda Payne hit #3 in 1970 with Band of Gold. She came out to the American Idol stage to start a medley of dance hits. Freda was followed by Thelma Houston who spent one week at #1 in 1977 with Don't Leave Me This Way. After singing her chart topper Thelma introduced Harry Casey who is better known as KC from KC and the Sunshine Band. From 1975 to 1980 they had five huge #1 smash hits on the Billboard HOT 100. With so many hits to choose from he decided to entertain the crowd with the one that started it all, his first one - Get Down Tonight.
Kris Allen then learned that he is safely returning next week to perform again. We can also look forward to another exciting musical interpretation from Adam Lambert. Unfortunately, Danny Gokey is going to come back to torture us again next week. Anoop Desai got the news that he is once again in the bottom three. In an unpleasant turn of events, Matt Giraud, who should have gone home last week, managed to get enough pity votes to keep him safe for another undeserved week, putting the very talented Allison Iraheta in the bottom three with Anoop.
In another example of what should have been, the finalist who was robbed of the Miss American Idol crown last year, David Archuleta came back to the American Idol stage to sing his latest single, Touch My Hand. David is even more charming, adorable and talented than he was last year and this song is a fun, uptempo slice of pure entertainment. If you haven't checked out his self-titled debut album, you have to hear what you're missing.
Turning things around, we don't have to complain about what should have been tonight. Anoop is finally going home tonight after consistently being one of the lowest vote getters every week. His dreary rendition of Dim All The Lights closed out the show.
This week I got two out of three predictions correct, but only was right about one of the two going home. Matt is over staying his welcome for another week. With just five remaining, who is going to be good enough to stand next to Adam in the finals?
Lil Rounds was the first finalist to learn that she is one of the two finalists to be going home tonight. She performed I'm Every Woman one last time.
Freda Payne hit #3 in 1970 with Band of Gold. She came out to the American Idol stage to start a medley of dance hits. Freda was followed by Thelma Houston who spent one week at #1 in 1977 with Don't Leave Me This Way. After singing her chart topper Thelma introduced Harry Casey who is better known as KC from KC and the Sunshine Band. From 1975 to 1980 they had five huge #1 smash hits on the Billboard HOT 100. With so many hits to choose from he decided to entertain the crowd with the one that started it all, his first one - Get Down Tonight.
Kris Allen then learned that he is safely returning next week to perform again. We can also look forward to another exciting musical interpretation from Adam Lambert. Unfortunately, Danny Gokey is going to come back to torture us again next week. Anoop Desai got the news that he is once again in the bottom three. In an unpleasant turn of events, Matt Giraud, who should have gone home last week, managed to get enough pity votes to keep him safe for another undeserved week, putting the very talented Allison Iraheta in the bottom three with Anoop.
In another example of what should have been, the finalist who was robbed of the Miss American Idol crown last year, David Archuleta came back to the American Idol stage to sing his latest single, Touch My Hand. David is even more charming, adorable and talented than he was last year and this song is a fun, uptempo slice of pure entertainment. If you haven't checked out his self-titled debut album, you have to hear what you're missing.
Turning things around, we don't have to complain about what should have been tonight. Anoop is finally going home tonight after consistently being one of the lowest vote getters every week. His dreary rendition of Dim All The Lights closed out the show.
This week I got two out of three predictions correct, but only was right about one of the two going home. Matt is over staying his welcome for another week. With just five remaining, who is going to be good enough to stand next to Adam in the finals?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Top 7 sing DISCO!!!
With no celebrity mentor to introduce and seemingly in an effort to try and get all the performances done on time the disco party got started immediately:
Lil Rounds has an outstanding voice and a great look and style. Every week she has demonstrated that she has a natural vocal talent. Unfortunately, she has not found a way to showcase that talent with her unique and personal stamp. Tonight she sang the anthem I'm Every Woman, that Chaka Khan took to #21 in 1978 and Lil once again transformed herself into just another disco diva rather than a spotlight superstar. And I didn't put this prediction in writing, but at the lunch table last Thursday I successfully predicted her song selection for tonight's theme!
While the disco era had already reached its end at the start of the 1980's, the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, was still having big hits like She Works Hard For The Money that hit #3 in 1983. Kris Allen sat with his guitar and rearranged this song into a Latin flavored festival of fun. This risky interpretation totally worked. He showed that he isn't going to be lazy and rely on his good looks to coast through the competition. Even though he doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, he's showing off that he does have some impressive talent behind that pretty face.
Earth Wind and Fire took September to #8 in 1978. What a nightmare that Danny Gokey decided to take on this fantastic song and add his dreadful vocals to it. Making it even worse was having to watch the awkward and clumsy train wreck happen on stage as he fumbled from one side to the other.
In 1979 when Donna Summer spent three weeks at #1 with Hot Stuff, it was always regarded as her successful fusion of rock and disco. Alison Iraheta took that hard rock spirit one step further and blew the roof off the American Idol stage. She stayed true to her personal style and showed off her great raspy vocals while dressed in a fabulous glittery ensemble.
Yvonne Elliman's version of If I Can't Have You, that spent one week at #1 in 1978 came from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that completely defined the disco era. Adam Lambert threw the original BeeGees production out the window and gave us yet another outstanding and exceptional performance. He stood in a spotlight center stage and performed it as a vulnerable ballad. Every lyric was an expression of raw emotion. Every note was clear and pure. And to top off all of that, he looked incredibly handsome and polished like an American Idol winner.
Matt Giraud was the lowest vote getter last week and he shouldn't even be here tonight. But since the judges had some kind of aneurysm and decided to save him we had to suffer through his sloppy version of the BeeGees huge smash, Stayin Alive, that spent four weeks at #1 in 1977. His vocals were just as flat and bland as we would expect them to be. His dance moves were silly and unoriginal. Matt has already peaked in this competition. He has nothing new or interesting to show us.
Donna Summer hit #2 in 1979 with Dim All The Lights. Anoop Desai completely butchered the arrangement of the song by slowing it down from the uptempo original. His vocals were done as though he was singing a lullaby. Anoop once again showed that he has absolutely no stage presence whatsoever. This was just as bland and boring as usual. Not even his pink sweater could save the audience from falling asleep.
Where are the judges coming from as they continue to shower praise on Danny Gokey and save Matt Giraud? Who do they think is going to buy their albums? Don't they remember Taylor Hicks? The best performances of the night came from Allison and Kris while Adam is continuing his rise apart from all of the others. That leaves Danny, Matt and Anoop who are repeatedly failing to impress me. Sadly, Lil also seems to be using up her chances not to her advantage. My prediction for the bottom three is Matt, Anoop and Lil. With two people going home this week, it should be Matt and Anoop.
Lil Rounds has an outstanding voice and a great look and style. Every week she has demonstrated that she has a natural vocal talent. Unfortunately, she has not found a way to showcase that talent with her unique and personal stamp. Tonight she sang the anthem I'm Every Woman, that Chaka Khan took to #21 in 1978 and Lil once again transformed herself into just another disco diva rather than a spotlight superstar. And I didn't put this prediction in writing, but at the lunch table last Thursday I successfully predicted her song selection for tonight's theme!
While the disco era had already reached its end at the start of the 1980's, the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, was still having big hits like She Works Hard For The Money that hit #3 in 1983. Kris Allen sat with his guitar and rearranged this song into a Latin flavored festival of fun. This risky interpretation totally worked. He showed that he isn't going to be lazy and rely on his good looks to coast through the competition. Even though he doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, he's showing off that he does have some impressive talent behind that pretty face.
Earth Wind and Fire took September to #8 in 1978. What a nightmare that Danny Gokey decided to take on this fantastic song and add his dreadful vocals to it. Making it even worse was having to watch the awkward and clumsy train wreck happen on stage as he fumbled from one side to the other.
In 1979 when Donna Summer spent three weeks at #1 with Hot Stuff, it was always regarded as her successful fusion of rock and disco. Alison Iraheta took that hard rock spirit one step further and blew the roof off the American Idol stage. She stayed true to her personal style and showed off her great raspy vocals while dressed in a fabulous glittery ensemble.
Yvonne Elliman's version of If I Can't Have You, that spent one week at #1 in 1978 came from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that completely defined the disco era. Adam Lambert threw the original BeeGees production out the window and gave us yet another outstanding and exceptional performance. He stood in a spotlight center stage and performed it as a vulnerable ballad. Every lyric was an expression of raw emotion. Every note was clear and pure. And to top off all of that, he looked incredibly handsome and polished like an American Idol winner.
Matt Giraud was the lowest vote getter last week and he shouldn't even be here tonight. But since the judges had some kind of aneurysm and decided to save him we had to suffer through his sloppy version of the BeeGees huge smash, Stayin Alive, that spent four weeks at #1 in 1977. His vocals were just as flat and bland as we would expect them to be. His dance moves were silly and unoriginal. Matt has already peaked in this competition. He has nothing new or interesting to show us.
Donna Summer hit #2 in 1979 with Dim All The Lights. Anoop Desai completely butchered the arrangement of the song by slowing it down from the uptempo original. His vocals were done as though he was singing a lullaby. Anoop once again showed that he has absolutely no stage presence whatsoever. This was just as bland and boring as usual. Not even his pink sweater could save the audience from falling asleep.
Where are the judges coming from as they continue to shower praise on Danny Gokey and save Matt Giraud? Who do they think is going to buy their albums? Don't they remember Taylor Hicks? The best performances of the night came from Allison and Kris while Adam is continuing his rise apart from all of the others. That leaves Danny, Matt and Anoop who are repeatedly failing to impress me. Sadly, Lil also seems to be using up her chances not to her advantage. My prediction for the bottom three is Matt, Anoop and Lil. With two people going home this week, it should be Matt and Anoop.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Results - Movie Music
In 1983 Flashdance became a surprise hit at the box office. Much of it's success has to be attributed to the soundtrack that was jam packed with smoking hot smash hits. The finalists opened the show with one of those #1 hits. He became a one hit wonder, but Michael Sembello spent two weeks at the top of the charts with Maniac. While this performance was fun, it was much more exciting to learn that the finalists all went to the premiere of the new movie 17 Again which opens this Friday. The star of the movie, Zac Efron, was in the audience watching the results show tonight. Seriously, with Zac sitting right there, who can pay attention to anything else...
Adam Lambert and Alison Iraheta are safe while Anoop is in the bottom three again this week. I wonder what Zac Efron thinks of the results so far?
Just about every week it has to be mentioned how Carrie Underwood is the Supreme Miss American Idol selling millions of albums and accumulating a huge collection of awards. The only other American Idol finalist who comes close to Carrie's accomplishments is the amazing Season Three finalist, Jennifer Hudson. While there are a few other American Idols who have a Grammy like Jennifer does, it's doubtful that any other American Idol finalist will ever be able to be called an Oscar winner. The winner of the 2007 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress performed her latest single, If It Isn't Love, from her Grammy winning album. Let's hope this exposure on the American Idol stage will lead to an impressive bump in sales and airplay. How cool that Jennifer had the chance to sing for Zac Efron!
Kris Allen is safe while Lil Rounds had to join Anoop in the bottom three. Danny Gokey is safe while Matt Giraud is also once again in the bottom three. In a very disappointing twist, it turns out that Anoop is safe leaving either Matt or Lil as the lowest vote getter. I wonder what Zac Efron thinks of this turn of events.
One guess as to who the musical guest would be on the Movie Music Theme night. It's the artist who stars in the #1 movie at the box office last weekend and she is sitting at #10 this week with her hit single from the movie on the Billboard HOT 100. If you guessed that the Hannah Montana Movie starring Miley Cyrus is the #1 movie you'd be right. Miley performed her song The Climb for the fellow Disney star Zac Efron and the rest of the American Idol audience.
Thankfully, Lil Rounds is safe and Matt Giraud weakly screeched out his song Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman to see if the judges would save him. It was even worse than last night and for some reason the judges decided to use their one and only save so he is coming back next week.
This means that two finalists will be going home next week and there isn't a "judges save" that can be used any more. As for my predictions, I got two out of three correct this week. I can already predict that I'm going to predict that Anoop, Matt and Danny are going to be the bottom three again next week. It's doubtful that any of them will miraculously get some talent in one week, so hopefully we'll be getting rid of two of them next week.
Adam Lambert and Alison Iraheta are safe while Anoop is in the bottom three again this week. I wonder what Zac Efron thinks of the results so far?
Just about every week it has to be mentioned how Carrie Underwood is the Supreme Miss American Idol selling millions of albums and accumulating a huge collection of awards. The only other American Idol finalist who comes close to Carrie's accomplishments is the amazing Season Three finalist, Jennifer Hudson. While there are a few other American Idols who have a Grammy like Jennifer does, it's doubtful that any other American Idol finalist will ever be able to be called an Oscar winner. The winner of the 2007 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress performed her latest single, If It Isn't Love, from her Grammy winning album. Let's hope this exposure on the American Idol stage will lead to an impressive bump in sales and airplay. How cool that Jennifer had the chance to sing for Zac Efron!
Kris Allen is safe while Lil Rounds had to join Anoop in the bottom three. Danny Gokey is safe while Matt Giraud is also once again in the bottom three. In a very disappointing twist, it turns out that Anoop is safe leaving either Matt or Lil as the lowest vote getter. I wonder what Zac Efron thinks of this turn of events.
One guess as to who the musical guest would be on the Movie Music Theme night. It's the artist who stars in the #1 movie at the box office last weekend and she is sitting at #10 this week with her hit single from the movie on the Billboard HOT 100. If you guessed that the Hannah Montana Movie starring Miley Cyrus is the #1 movie you'd be right. Miley performed her song The Climb for the fellow Disney star Zac Efron and the rest of the American Idol audience.
Thankfully, Lil Rounds is safe and Matt Giraud weakly screeched out his song Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman to see if the judges would save him. It was even worse than last night and for some reason the judges decided to use their one and only save so he is coming back next week.
This means that two finalists will be going home next week and there isn't a "judges save" that can be used any more. As for my predictions, I got two out of three correct this week. I can already predict that I'm going to predict that Anoop, Matt and Danny are going to be the bottom three again next week. It's doubtful that any of them will miraculously get some talent in one week, so hopefully we'll be getting rid of two of them next week.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Top 7 sing Movie Music
Quentin Terentino, the director of movie hits Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, is a HUGE American Idol fan and he worked with each of the finalists as they prepared to perform music from the movies.
Alison Iraheta chose to sing the song I Don't Want To Miss A Thing from Armageddon that Aerosmith took to #1 for four weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1998. It started out kinda slow, but as it went on she proved she has one of the strongest voices in the competition. I would have liked to hear her sing a different more interesting song, but she really made the best of the material.
Anoop Desai chose to sing the song Everything I Do, I Do It For You from Robin Hood that Bryan Adams took to #1 for seven weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1991. As we have heard in the past, Anoop has a pleasant vocal quality, but the fact is that he has no stage presence whatsoever. While it sounded nice, there was nothing special about it.
Adam Lambert chose to sing the song Born To Be Wild from Easy Rider that Steppenwolf took to #2 for three weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1968. Week after week Adam has stepped apart from the crowd with his dynamic and energetic style. Whether it's a ballad or a rock anthem, like it was tonight, he has complete command of the stage and totally entertains.
Matt Giraud chose to sing the song Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman from Don Juan DeMarco that Bryan Adams took to #1 for five weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1995. Matt sat at the piano and brought his strained and weak vocals to this song that isn't very catchy to start with. The combination of his boring song choice with his drippy vocals made for a very forgettable effort.
Danny Gokey chose to sing the song Endless Love from the movie of the same name that Lionel Richie and Diana Ross took to #1 for nine weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1981. It's such a huge hit and popular favorite that Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey brought it back to the charts in 1994 taking it all the way up to #2. Danny is so far from being in the same league as these accomplished artists there was no where to go but down with his version. It was boring, flat and uninteresting. He brought nothing except bad vocals and dreary stage presence to this wonderful love song.
Kris Allen chose to sing the song Falling Slowly from Once that won the Oscar for best Original Song in 2008. He has the same things working for him every week. He looks great and he brings a warm sensitivity to everything he does. This song is very low key, so it didn't give him much to work with. His limited vocal range ended up becoming a more prominent factor as a result, but he can still out shine much of the competition.
Lil Rounds chose to sing the song The Rose from the movie of the same name that Bette Midler took to #3 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1980. Just like I never want to hear Lil do another song by Celine Dion again, I never thought I'd hear her do Bette Midler. The fact is that Lil can do these songs very well, but you don't necessarily imagine them being on her first album. With this adult contemporary ballad, she added some more gospel and R&B style than Bette Midler ever could. It worked out pretty well, but her chances to really steal the competition are running out.
My favorites are continuing to impress me while the others are sinking deeper and falling flatter. While they should be stepping up and offering some surprises we are getting more bland efforts. The biggest culprits who seem to be the laziest are my prediction for the bottom three this week. They just seem to be coasting at this point: Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai and Danny Gokey. None of these three have done anything exceptional so far and all should be afraid that this week could be their last. I predict that Anoop will be the one sent packing
Alison Iraheta chose to sing the song I Don't Want To Miss A Thing from Armageddon that Aerosmith took to #1 for four weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1998. It started out kinda slow, but as it went on she proved she has one of the strongest voices in the competition. I would have liked to hear her sing a different more interesting song, but she really made the best of the material.
Anoop Desai chose to sing the song Everything I Do, I Do It For You from Robin Hood that Bryan Adams took to #1 for seven weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1991. As we have heard in the past, Anoop has a pleasant vocal quality, but the fact is that he has no stage presence whatsoever. While it sounded nice, there was nothing special about it.
Adam Lambert chose to sing the song Born To Be Wild from Easy Rider that Steppenwolf took to #2 for three weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1968. Week after week Adam has stepped apart from the crowd with his dynamic and energetic style. Whether it's a ballad or a rock anthem, like it was tonight, he has complete command of the stage and totally entertains.
Matt Giraud chose to sing the song Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman from Don Juan DeMarco that Bryan Adams took to #1 for five weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1995. Matt sat at the piano and brought his strained and weak vocals to this song that isn't very catchy to start with. The combination of his boring song choice with his drippy vocals made for a very forgettable effort.
Danny Gokey chose to sing the song Endless Love from the movie of the same name that Lionel Richie and Diana Ross took to #1 for nine weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1981. It's such a huge hit and popular favorite that Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey brought it back to the charts in 1994 taking it all the way up to #2. Danny is so far from being in the same league as these accomplished artists there was no where to go but down with his version. It was boring, flat and uninteresting. He brought nothing except bad vocals and dreary stage presence to this wonderful love song.
Kris Allen chose to sing the song Falling Slowly from Once that won the Oscar for best Original Song in 2008. He has the same things working for him every week. He looks great and he brings a warm sensitivity to everything he does. This song is very low key, so it didn't give him much to work with. His limited vocal range ended up becoming a more prominent factor as a result, but he can still out shine much of the competition.
Lil Rounds chose to sing the song The Rose from the movie of the same name that Bette Midler took to #3 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1980. Just like I never want to hear Lil do another song by Celine Dion again, I never thought I'd hear her do Bette Midler. The fact is that Lil can do these songs very well, but you don't necessarily imagine them being on her first album. With this adult contemporary ballad, she added some more gospel and R&B style than Bette Midler ever could. It worked out pretty well, but her chances to really steal the competition are running out.
My favorites are continuing to impress me while the others are sinking deeper and falling flatter. While they should be stepping up and offering some surprises we are getting more bland efforts. The biggest culprits who seem to be the laziest are my prediction for the bottom three this week. They just seem to be coasting at this point: Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai and Danny Gokey. None of these three have done anything exceptional so far and all should be afraid that this week could be their last. I predict that Anoop will be the one sent packing
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Results - Beginnings
Last night the finalists all sang a song that was a hit the year they were born. Tonight the show was opened with the song that was #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 the date that Simon was born. Frankie Avalon spent five weeks at the top of the charts with Venus in 1959 and he was there live on the American Idol stage to reveal to the world Simon's real age. The finalists then performed a song that was a top 5 smash from 2002, the year that American Idol started. That's when Australian artist Kylie Minogue came back to the American charts after a 14 year absence with Can't Get You Out Of My Head.
Adam Lambert was the first to hear that he is safe. Kris Allen is also safe while Anoop Desai is the first to be in the bottom three.
The #1 song for all of 2008 was Low by Flo Rida. Now we are only a few months into 2009 and Flo Rida is already the top contender for the biggest hit of this year as his latest smash Right Round is dominating sales and airplay. He brought the party to the American Idol stage as he performed it live complete with energetic dancers, streamers and confetti.
Danny Gokey and Matt Giraud are safe while Scott MacIntyre had to go join Anoop. With only the two remaining girls left turns out that Allison Iraheta is not in the bottom three while Lil Rounds has to go there for the first time.
Kellie Pickler competed in the Season Five Miss American Idol competition and has done a great job capitalizing on the success of the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner, Carrie Underwood. Kellie really has made the most of her opportunity releasing some very fun country songs and appearing at many high profile events. While she didn't win any awards like Carrie, Kellie also performed at the Academy of Country Music Awards. The same song, actually, that she sang tonight, but this time it was better because Taylor Swift was no where to be found this time around.
Thankfully, Lil was sent back to safety leaving just Scott and Anoop as the lowest vote getters of the week. Unfortunately, the sweet and charming Scott MacIntyre was left standing alone and needing to sing The Search Is Over one more time in the hopes that the judges would save him. It was very clear that serious consideration was given to saving him, but the final decision was to not use it.
I only got one of my predictions correct this time around. Anoop is clearly the weakest link in the competition and he barely squeaked by to come back next week. The loss of Scott MacIntyre changes the show completely. Few of the other finalists demonstrate his genuine love and passion for making music. And he did it every week with a rare and genuine sincerity and vulnerability. The show must go on next week, but the emotional heart and soul isn't going to be there. :(
Adam Lambert was the first to hear that he is safe. Kris Allen is also safe while Anoop Desai is the first to be in the bottom three.
The #1 song for all of 2008 was Low by Flo Rida. Now we are only a few months into 2009 and Flo Rida is already the top contender for the biggest hit of this year as his latest smash Right Round is dominating sales and airplay. He brought the party to the American Idol stage as he performed it live complete with energetic dancers, streamers and confetti.
Danny Gokey and Matt Giraud are safe while Scott MacIntyre had to go join Anoop. With only the two remaining girls left turns out that Allison Iraheta is not in the bottom three while Lil Rounds has to go there for the first time.
Kellie Pickler competed in the Season Five Miss American Idol competition and has done a great job capitalizing on the success of the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner, Carrie Underwood. Kellie really has made the most of her opportunity releasing some very fun country songs and appearing at many high profile events. While she didn't win any awards like Carrie, Kellie also performed at the Academy of Country Music Awards. The same song, actually, that she sang tonight, but this time it was better because Taylor Swift was no where to be found this time around.
Thankfully, Lil was sent back to safety leaving just Scott and Anoop as the lowest vote getters of the week. Unfortunately, the sweet and charming Scott MacIntyre was left standing alone and needing to sing The Search Is Over one more time in the hopes that the judges would save him. It was very clear that serious consideration was given to saving him, but the final decision was to not use it.
I only got one of my predictions correct this time around. Anoop is clearly the weakest link in the competition and he barely squeaked by to come back next week. The loss of Scott MacIntyre changes the show completely. Few of the other finalists demonstrate his genuine love and passion for making music. And he did it every week with a rare and genuine sincerity and vulnerability. The show must go on next week, but the emotional heart and soul isn't going to be there. :(
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Top 8 sing their Beginnings
The finalists will all sing a song from the year they were born:
Danny Gokey is 28 years old and was born in 1980. Country singer Mickey Gilley became famous when his nightclub, Gilley's, was featured in the movie Urban Cowboy. His version of Stand By Me, which was also in the movie peaked at #22 in 1980. Danny did his best with his limited vocals to make an impression. The best I can say is that he didn't scream the whole song like he usually does.
Kris Allen is 23 years old and was born in 1985. Don Henley continued his solo success from the Eagles in 1985 when he peaked at #9 with All She Wants To Do Is Dance. Don Henley's version was always kinda bland even though it's a song about dancing. Kris did a great job mixing things up and making the song so much more vibrant and energetic than it ever was before. Combine the jazzy horns with his handsome face and smooth vocals and we are left with a great performance.
Lil Rounds is 24 years old and was born in 1984. Tina Turner enjoyed one of the best comebacks of all time when she won the Grammy for Record of the Year and spent three weeks at #1 with What's Love Got To Do With It in 1984. Lil has once again demonstrated that she has a wonderful voice and that she can sing anything exceptionally. But at the same time while proving herself as a gifted musical chameleon, she is missing out on her remaining chances to step away from the crowd as a unique artist. Still one of the best in the competition, though.
Anoop Desai is 22 years old and was born in 1986. Cyndi Lauper spent two weeks at #1 in 1986 with True Colors. Anoop Desai has been struggling every week to decide what his true colors are. Sometimes he's a complete hot mess trying to be an uptempo soul singer, but he's usually better when he does a simple ballad. But when he does a simple ballad, like he did tonight, he is so boring he puts everyone to sleep. He has yet to learn how to do a ballad with any style or personality.
Scott MacIntyre is 23 years old and was born in 1985. When I was in high school concert choir I was required to take voice lessons and perform a solo for the rest of the choir. The song I chose was the #4 smash by Survivor, The Search Is Over. Scott stepped away from his piano, picked up his electric guitar and did this song a million times better than I did. This different setting exposed some vocal limitations but nothing can take away this young man's genuine sincerity he brings to everything he does.
Allison Iraheta is 16 years old and was born in 1992. Bonnie Raitt took I Can't Make You Love Me to #18 in 1992. While Allison is the youngest finalist in the competition she was able to take this very mature song and be completely convincing. Ignore the pink hair and the youthful fashion sense so that you're not distracted from the great voice that lies beneath.
Matt Giraud is 23 years old and was born in 1985. Stevie Wonder continued his decades long hit making streak when he hit #1 for one week in 1985 with Part Time Lover. Matt took this fun and bouncy dance jam and completely sucked the life out of it. His vocals were totally generic and the beat felt slow and cumbersome.
Adam Lambert is 27 years old and was born in 1982. Before Tears For Fears became chart topping hit makers in 1985, they were a totally cool alternative band that released a song called Mad World in 1982. Adam Lambert took this new wave synth pop song and performed it as a haunting ballad with his flawless silky tenor voice. He needed nothing but a spotlight on him and he commanded the stage with a completely showstopping rendition.
Adam has very clearly stepped WAY ahead of the others as the only stand out finalist and he is the clear and obvious front runner. He is the only one who is completely safe and on a clear path to the finals. All of the others are at risk of ending up in the bottom three. As I have stated in previous weeks, I don't really expect to get any of my predictions right any more. The ones who are falling completely flat to me are getting high praise from the judges. It makes no sense to me. So going completely against the judges, I think the bottom three will be Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai and Danny Gokey. This should finally be the week that Anoop goes home.
Danny Gokey is 28 years old and was born in 1980. Country singer Mickey Gilley became famous when his nightclub, Gilley's, was featured in the movie Urban Cowboy. His version of Stand By Me, which was also in the movie peaked at #22 in 1980. Danny did his best with his limited vocals to make an impression. The best I can say is that he didn't scream the whole song like he usually does.
Kris Allen is 23 years old and was born in 1985. Don Henley continued his solo success from the Eagles in 1985 when he peaked at #9 with All She Wants To Do Is Dance. Don Henley's version was always kinda bland even though it's a song about dancing. Kris did a great job mixing things up and making the song so much more vibrant and energetic than it ever was before. Combine the jazzy horns with his handsome face and smooth vocals and we are left with a great performance.
Lil Rounds is 24 years old and was born in 1984. Tina Turner enjoyed one of the best comebacks of all time when she won the Grammy for Record of the Year and spent three weeks at #1 with What's Love Got To Do With It in 1984. Lil has once again demonstrated that she has a wonderful voice and that she can sing anything exceptionally. But at the same time while proving herself as a gifted musical chameleon, she is missing out on her remaining chances to step away from the crowd as a unique artist. Still one of the best in the competition, though.
Anoop Desai is 22 years old and was born in 1986. Cyndi Lauper spent two weeks at #1 in 1986 with True Colors. Anoop Desai has been struggling every week to decide what his true colors are. Sometimes he's a complete hot mess trying to be an uptempo soul singer, but he's usually better when he does a simple ballad. But when he does a simple ballad, like he did tonight, he is so boring he puts everyone to sleep. He has yet to learn how to do a ballad with any style or personality.
Scott MacIntyre is 23 years old and was born in 1985. When I was in high school concert choir I was required to take voice lessons and perform a solo for the rest of the choir. The song I chose was the #4 smash by Survivor, The Search Is Over. Scott stepped away from his piano, picked up his electric guitar and did this song a million times better than I did. This different setting exposed some vocal limitations but nothing can take away this young man's genuine sincerity he brings to everything he does.
Allison Iraheta is 16 years old and was born in 1992. Bonnie Raitt took I Can't Make You Love Me to #18 in 1992. While Allison is the youngest finalist in the competition she was able to take this very mature song and be completely convincing. Ignore the pink hair and the youthful fashion sense so that you're not distracted from the great voice that lies beneath.
Matt Giraud is 23 years old and was born in 1985. Stevie Wonder continued his decades long hit making streak when he hit #1 for one week in 1985 with Part Time Lover. Matt took this fun and bouncy dance jam and completely sucked the life out of it. His vocals were totally generic and the beat felt slow and cumbersome.
Adam Lambert is 27 years old and was born in 1982. Before Tears For Fears became chart topping hit makers in 1985, they were a totally cool alternative band that released a song called Mad World in 1982. Adam Lambert took this new wave synth pop song and performed it as a haunting ballad with his flawless silky tenor voice. He needed nothing but a spotlight on him and he commanded the stage with a completely showstopping rendition.
Adam has very clearly stepped WAY ahead of the others as the only stand out finalist and he is the clear and obvious front runner. He is the only one who is completely safe and on a clear path to the finals. All of the others are at risk of ending up in the bottom three. As I have stated in previous weeks, I don't really expect to get any of my predictions right any more. The ones who are falling completely flat to me are getting high praise from the judges. It makes no sense to me. So going completely against the judges, I think the bottom three will be Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai and Danny Gokey. This should finally be the week that Anoop goes home.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Entertainer of the Year!
The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner, Carrie Underwood has done it again!! She is continuing to add more and more awards to her collection. Tonight it was on the Academy of Country Music Awards.
She performed on the show twice and she had three costume changes. The first time she sang All American Girl in a beautiful short white dress that showed off her amazing legs. The second time she exuded class as she flawlessly performed her current hit single I Told You So. She stood center stage dressed in a grand red gown that surrounded her like fabulous rose petals.
After these two showstopping crowd pleasers it's no surprise that Carrie was first called up to the stage to accept the award for Female Vocalist of the Year. The next time she graced the stage I'm sure it came as a surprise to some. With top notch competition like George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban who would have thought that Carrie Underwood would rise above them all and be named ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR!!!!!
I had no doubt in my mind that she would win. :)
Carrie continues to set the standard and raise the bar for all American Idol finalists to live up to. It's unlikely that any will ever get close to achieving her status, but let's hope they never stop trying!
She performed on the show twice and she had three costume changes. The first time she sang All American Girl in a beautiful short white dress that showed off her amazing legs. The second time she exuded class as she flawlessly performed her current hit single I Told You So. She stood center stage dressed in a grand red gown that surrounded her like fabulous rose petals.
After these two showstopping crowd pleasers it's no surprise that Carrie was first called up to the stage to accept the award for Female Vocalist of the Year. The next time she graced the stage I'm sure it came as a surprise to some. With top notch competition like George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban who would have thought that Carrie Underwood would rise above them all and be named ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR!!!!!
I had no doubt in my mind that she would win. :)
Carrie continues to set the standard and raise the bar for all American Idol finalists to live up to. It's unlikely that any will ever get close to achieving her status, but let's hope they never stop trying!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Results - itunes
After peaking at #9 in 1981, Journey's Don't Stop Believing really has become one of the most downloaded songs of all time. Here we are 27 years later and this classic song is currently #83 on the itunes Top Songs list this week. So tonight the finalists actually gave a literal interpretation of this week's theme and performed this favorite song.
Ryan put the finalists into three groups of three:
Group One: Kris Allen, Meagan Joy, Matt Giraud
Group Two: Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta
Group Three: Scott MacIntyre, Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai
While the finalists had to wait to find out which group was the bottom three, The Season Seven Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, came back to the American Idol stage hoping to finally have a hit. His first single, Light On, never really managed to get enough airplay or sales to reach the upper portion of the charts so he's hoping the exposure of this live performance of Come Back To Me will ignite some significant action. The good news is that in just three months his debut album has gone Platinum (sales of 1 Million copies) and he was presented with a shiny plaque.
Breaking the finalists into three groups is just as much of a sloppy mess as the lame "itunes top downloads" theme was. In group One, both Kris and Matt are safe while while Meagan is in the bottom three. In group Two, both Lil and Adam are safe while Allison had to join Meagan. In group Three, both Danny and Scott are safe while Anoop rounded out the bottom three.
Lady GaGa spent three weeks at #1 in January on the Billboard HOT 100 with her debut single, Just Dance. This week she has accomplished the rare feat of having her second single, Poker Face, also reach #1. Only artists like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera have managed to do this in the past. Mariah and Christina also went on to win the Grammy for Best New Artist. Lady GaGa brought her exciting and entertaining performance art to the American Idol stage and brought the house down. Could she be on her way to a Grammy?
Allison Iraheta and Anoop Desai were sent back to safety leaving Meagan to perform for the last time. The judges even went so far as to say that they had no plans of using their Judges Save tonight before she sang.
This week I got two out of my three predictions correct. While I thought Anoop would be going home, I'm not surprised that it ended up being Meagan. Do you realize that Season 8 is now left with 6 boy contestants and only 2 girls!?
Ryan put the finalists into three groups of three:
Group One: Kris Allen, Meagan Joy, Matt Giraud
Group Two: Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta
Group Three: Scott MacIntyre, Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai
While the finalists had to wait to find out which group was the bottom three, The Season Seven Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, came back to the American Idol stage hoping to finally have a hit. His first single, Light On, never really managed to get enough airplay or sales to reach the upper portion of the charts so he's hoping the exposure of this live performance of Come Back To Me will ignite some significant action. The good news is that in just three months his debut album has gone Platinum (sales of 1 Million copies) and he was presented with a shiny plaque.
Breaking the finalists into three groups is just as much of a sloppy mess as the lame "itunes top downloads" theme was. In group One, both Kris and Matt are safe while while Meagan is in the bottom three. In group Two, both Lil and Adam are safe while Allison had to join Meagan. In group Three, both Danny and Scott are safe while Anoop rounded out the bottom three.
Lady GaGa spent three weeks at #1 in January on the Billboard HOT 100 with her debut single, Just Dance. This week she has accomplished the rare feat of having her second single, Poker Face, also reach #1. Only artists like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera have managed to do this in the past. Mariah and Christina also went on to win the Grammy for Best New Artist. Lady GaGa brought her exciting and entertaining performance art to the American Idol stage and brought the house down. Could she be on her way to a Grammy?
Allison Iraheta and Anoop Desai were sent back to safety leaving Meagan to perform for the last time. The judges even went so far as to say that they had no plans of using their Judges Save tonight before she sang.
This week I got two out of my three predictions correct. While I thought Anoop would be going home, I'm not surprised that it ended up being Meagan. Do you realize that Season 8 is now left with 6 boy contestants and only 2 girls!?
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