I was dreading tonight. Seriously. As much as I love Broadway I have NEVER wanted the contestants on Idol to ever come anywhere near the stuff. Trust me – I never once thought that they couldn’t handle the genre. Maybe it was one too many times hearing the Brit tell some poor kid that he or she sounded “too Broadway” – like that was some kind of vocal malady that no respectable singer should be subjected to. While most of my friends were looking forward to this week, I was silently praying for it to be over in a quick and painless way.
Now, I may some song suggestions for tonight like I did for the Beatles weeks and I’m happy to say I got one right. How I wished I had gotten at least one more correct because one contestant could have benefited from my insight – but, what do I know? Anyway, the night wasn’t a total bomb but I truly felt for ALW having to sit there while these kids had a go at his songs. That HAD to be tough.
One more thing – I truly believe that the judges have outlasted their usefulness. There are becoming caricatures of themselves and thus irrelevant. I won’t go into this too much in this blog but maybe it’s time to get some new blood in those chairs and I might have a few suggestions as to how to go about that – but not right now. Later. Like anyone would listen anyway…
Anyway, let’s get to the view from my comfy red leather couch, shall we?
Syesha Mercado – One Rock N’ Roll Too Many (STARLIGHT EXPRESS)
My, oh my! Talk about kicking butt and taking no prisoners! That performance was exactly what I needed to believe that this night might not be so bad after all. She was vocally on target, stylistically effervescent and paid attention to the lyrics and story of the song, which made her performance authentic. It also helped that she picked a song that few people could identify with another singer. Smart girl. Now, if the “curse of the first” doesn’t kick in she should be around for another week. That performance certainly doesn’t warrant a trip to the chairs this time around.
Jason Castro – Memory (CATS)
Three words: ABOSLUTE. TRAIN. WRECK. Need I say more. He had NO business attempting that song and from the delivery to the choice of key it was just plain WRONG. I hear he was feeling ill tonight but even if he was running on all cylinders he still couldn’t have pulled it out of the nose dive it was in starting on the first note. Deserves to be and should be in the bottom three this week, if not finally sent home but, unfortunately, his fan base won’t allow it.
Brooke White – You Must Love Me (film version of EVITA)
Well, well…I got one right – but it went sooooo wrong. While I can give her many props for handling the false start with great professionalism, it shook her enough to directly affect the performance. She sounded detached and out of breath most of the time, even though the song fit her range and vocal color. I’m not sure how much she’s acted before but ALW saw something in her performance that she might benefit from by tapping into in the future. Sadly, this performance will land her in the chairs this week and could send her home even though she could have one or two more weeks in her.
David Archuleta – Think of Me (PHANTOM OF THE OPERA)
Ok, I REALLY wasn’t sure that this was going to work but in a weird sort of way it actually did. He sang it in true boy band style and he was spot on vocally, gymnastics and all. It wasn’t my cup of tea but it was “aiiight” and shouldn’t get him into the bottom or “das boot” for the week.
Carly Smithson – Jesus Christ Superstar (JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR)
Boy, am I glad ALW talked her out of singing All I Ask of You because that could have been a bigger disaster than the dreadlock man doing CATS. I had not entertained this song for our Irish Miss but after reading an article today I remembered that another young lady had recently sung this on another reality show and really impressed the hell out of ALW. And guess what? SHE DID IT WAAAAY BETTER AND IN HIGH HEELED LEATHER BOOTS! While I didn’t care for some of her vocal embellishments, she was solid otherwise and actually looked as if she was having a good time. I hope the t-shirt gag doesn’t make her lose votes because she doesn’t deserve the bottom this week but the fans and the judges have been fickle with her throughout this competition and it could go either way.
David Cook - The Music of the Night (PHANTOM OF THE OPERA)
A theatre geek? Really? I haven’t been even close to picking up that vibe. Is he another Constantine in rocker clothing? While I ponder that one, I have to say that he was doing a halfway decent job with both the vocal and emotion of the song UNTIL THE VERY END, and then it was like he jumped into hyperspace and landed in a totally different musical universe. I didn’t care for THAT at all. I’d love to see him land in the chairs for that little maneuver but his fan base may be too big for that to happen.
All in all, here are my choices to occupy those uncomfortable chairs for this week:
Jason Castro
David Cook
Brooke White
with “das boot” going to the dreadlock master Jason Castro. I got it all right last week but I doubt that I can make it two in a row – but I’d like to come close!
And I hope that Idol has learned its lesson and will stay away from this genre in the future. It’s the kindest thing they can do for all of us – contestants and viewers alike.
Carry on!
J
I disagree with the bottom three. I think they will be Jason Castro, Carly Smithson and Brooke White, with Jason going home. I predict that Brooke will be sent back to the blue couches first.
David Cook was incredible! I also loved Syesha, but Jason was just plain painful. I think Carly has a lot going against her, and it is going to take a powerful fan base to keep her safe much longer. Ditto for Brooke.
I loved, loved, LOVED David Cook’s performance tonight!
Hi!
Some quick comments:
Syesha–I’ve got to admit this girl is growing on me. Not a favorite, don’t want her to win, but she does seem to get better with time. A great performance last night!!
Jason–still a favorite, but last night he–for want of a better word–STUNK BIG TIME! Despite the poor performance, I’d still like to see him stick around for couple more weeks. I suspect the teeny-boppers will keep him in the hunt.
Brooke–in addition to being horrible last night (in my opinion), she told a whopper of a fib–didn’t anyone (the judges) catch it??? She said it was the first time on the show she had to start over. Who remembers “Every Breath You Take” about a month ago??? She just can’t keep starting over when the notion strikes her. Bottom feeder for sure!
David A.–amazing as usual. I admit I cringed when I heard his song choice in that it’s identified by a woman’s voice, but he nailed it! I hope to see him in the final 2 with the “other” David.
Carly–great job, but I don’t think it will keep her safe this week. Just hope she’s here next week.
David C.–what can I say?? He rocks!! The voice, the looks, the delivery, etc., etc., etc….He’s got it all! My first and still favorite! It’s looking better and better that a rocker could finally win this thing!!
So–cellar dwellers this week should be Brooke, Jason, and Carly with Brooke finally going away–FAR away.
Talk soon…
Hey J… here is the way my review looked last night when I posted it on Simply. When it comes to bottom feeders I *SHOULD* have been right… but you know how rabid fan bases are.
Ryan… hand over the baton and no one will get hurt. (You could poke an eye out with that thing!) Don’t quit your day job.
Tonight they are singing the songs of one of the most legendary Broadway composers of our time… Andrew Lloyd Webber. Certainly my favorite contemporary Broadway composer… believe me, I’ve seen Phantom twice.
Syesha – “One Rock & Roll Too Many” – Started on top of the piano, a gutsy move right there… and then she climbed off of it! (If I had tried either of those things wearing heels, there woulda been a casualty or two.) She definitely had fun with it. It seemed to me her pitch got a bit off after the key change, but it was still smokin’. For her sake, we hope that going first won’t make her performance forgettable.
Jason – “Memory” – Brave choice indeed. I was kind of shocked that he connected that well with it emotionally. I agree that he didn’t quite catch the musical aspect of the piece (it was kinda messy), but he did emote well. So far the weak link of the evening, but the night is still young.
Brooke – “You Must Love Me” – False starts won’t help anyone at this stage of the game, but only she knows whether she could have made it work without starting over again. It’s a very vulnerable song, and she drove to capture that element. Good thing, because that emotional connection is her strong point. Not sure it will be enough.
David A – “Think of Me” – Awwww… I loved the sister hugs… cute… Anyway, I thought this was a very intriguing song choice, considering my two decade-long love affair with Phantom. DA gave it a gentle pop vibe that I was quite surprised to find that I liked. I haven’t found anything I’ve loved so much that I had-had-had to purchase it from i-Tunes (still debating about Billie Jean though), but I think I might make an exception for this one.
Carly – “Jesus Christ Superstar” – Soooo glad that she listened to the composer on this one, his advice was right on! She was rockin’ out and having a total blast, and aside from the shouting stuff sounded great. Oh, and thank you for covering up that ugly tattoo… I also loved the T-shirt.
David C – “Music of the Night” – THANKFULLY he did not tinker with this classic, classic piece… I would have been seriously upset. That said, the truth is that he’s better as a rocker, and this wouldn’t have been the piece to rock out on. He made a very wise move in that respect, to sing it very straightforward and vulnerable. While I personally did not think this was the song for him, the look in his eyes after the power notes (yes, the bedroom eyes) will wring enough emotion out of the voters (especially the TV audience) to keep him QUITE safe.
Ryan… no pun intended, but singing isn’t your forte either. Stick to hosting and DJing, those are your strengths.
My honest opinion is that the weakest links of the night were definitely Jason and Brooke… I would have been hard-pressed to pick a third. (Though I was not as impressed with Cook this time as the rest of his gi-normous fan base was.) My prediction was originally Brooke going home, only because I knew the teens and tweens would give Jason the edge to keep him in one more week. Somehow I’m not surprised to see the way it shaped out, in spite of the fact that America got it wrong.