Tonight the top 8 finalists are singing songs from the totally awesome 80's!
Debarge took I Like It to #31 in 1983 and Deandre Brackensick brought it right into the present. Once again he chose a song that allowed him to show off his extremely impressive vocal range while highlighting his smooth and wonderful falsetto. Deandre is totally ready for his videos to get millions of views on YouTube.
Foreigner hit #1 in 1984 with I Want To Know What Love is. Elise Testone hoped this power ballad would sustain the energy from her rocking performance last week, but unfortunately it just exposed her vocal and performance limitations.
Colton and Skylar got together to perform Islands In The Stream that Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton took to #1 in 1983. For the most part they just appeared to be going through the motions, but their voices are good enough that it wasn't all bad.
Genesis took That's All! to #6 in 1982. Phillip Phillips was out there showing off a combination of awkwardness mixed with anger. He couldn't seem to connect with the song at all and he made it very obvious that he didn't like it.
Hollie and Deandre served up some pure entertainment with their very fun rendition of The Pointer Sisters #9 hit song I'm So Excited from 1984. It was bouncy, energetic and showed off the lightness in their youthful personalities while also highlighting amazing vocals.
Simply Red had a #1 hit in 1989 with If You Don't Know Me By Now. Joshua Ledet once again took the song to his gospel comfort zone and performed with passion. One thing that he hasn't shown off yet is if he can actually sustain a single note for an extended period of time. There's lots of gasping up and down but no controlled blowing us away.
Whitney Houston took How Will I Know to #1 in 1985. Jessica Sanchez really makes it all look so easy. She can perform outstanding vocals live so incredibly well that it's going to be wonderfully impressive to hear what she produces in the studio. She's wonderful.
Phillip and Elise got together to drag down the fantastic classic rock song from 1981 Stop Dragging My Heart Around. Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty took it to #3 on the Billboard HOT 100 and were a completely natural pairing, but these kids just painfully strained their voices trying to force it out.
Irene Cara had a #1 song for 6 weeks in 1983 with Flashdance, What A Feeling. Hollie Cavanagh looked spectacular in a very cute sparkly blue dress while she strutted and showed off her great legs in some very cute shoes. Along with her working the stage so well came more of her fantastic voice that belted out this great song to perfection.
Jessica and Joshua paired up on the 1987 #1 smash I Knew You Were Waiting from George Michael and Aretha Franklin. It's a good song, but it didn't provide Jessica with any great moments to shine and Joshua just over sang it.
Cyndi Lauper won the Grammy for Best New Artist after releasing great material like Time After Time that hit #1 in 1984. Colton Dixon has a unique ability to transform an amazing song into his very own showstopper. He tore the roof off the place while taking us all on the ride with him.
Bette Midler hit #1 in 1989 with Wind Beneath My Wings. Skylar Laine wanted the crowd to see that she can belt out the big notes and this song easily allowed her to do that. She also managed to interpret the song lyrics very well.
My prediction for the bottom three this week is Elise, Phillip and Joshua. They all have the same problem of lacking range and versatility. They serve up the exact same thing every week, but instead of getting better, it just ends up being more tired and boring. I think that Elise will be going home.
Showing posts with label Bette Midler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bette Midler. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
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
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