We’re almost there – can you believe that the finale is next week? Boy, this season has certainly flown by! It’s been an interesting, entertaining yet strangely familiar ride from the auditions to now, sort of reminding us of another vocally powerful “Search for a Superstar” – the season of Clay/Ruben/Kimberley (Season 2). The caliber of vocal talent this year has been nothing short of spectacular with a nice variety of shades and stylings — with, of course, a few characters thrown in for effect. Actually, I haven’t been bored much or wanting to slap the voters too often this season and that in itself is a GOOD thing! With a strong Top 3 there will be a deserving winner no matter who gets the most votes and we ALL win when that happens. Kudos to the judges for getting it RIGHT this season and giving us a strong field from which to choose from.
Speaking of choices, this was “Pick” night, when everyone gets to pick a song: Judges, contestants and even the dreaded PTB. It’s a night when the judges have to be really careful NOT to harp too much on song choice because in 2 out of 3 cases the contestants had no real say in the matter. In fact, I got really annoyed when they briefly started to go down that road but I guess old habits die hard. Now, we had a little twist this time around where the two male judges ceased an opportunity to jab each other’s choices for their Idol but that proved more comical than detrimental. Paula actually chose well for her Idol and was refreshingly coherent tonight – good for her!
So, with the DH and puppy by my side, here’s what it looked like from my comfy red leather couch for this week of interesting picks and very few pans:
David Archuleta
And So It Goes – Billy Joel (Paula’s pick)
That. Was Beautiful. Sigh. Absolutely gorgeous! Most mature vocal and performance of the season from this young man. What more can I say – but, as if we didn’t know, Simon tried to let some steam out of the kid’s engine. Nasty Brit.
With You – Chris Brown (Arch’s pick)
Thank God he finally did something upbeat however he was bottoming out on many of the lower notes and I couldn’t tell if it was a register problem or if he was out of breath. Give him his props for trying to be current and interesting.
Longer – Dan Fogleburg (TPTB’s pick)
This boy wants to win it bad. That was another very mature and vocally sound performance. This was the first night I saw him trying to connect with the lyrics and he did a stellar job, IMHO.
Syesha Mercado
If I Ain’t Got You – Alicia Keys (Randy’s pick)
Nice controlled vocals but a little too close to the original for me. I hate it when the Brit and I happen to agree. She does have a solid instrument.
Fever – Peggy Lee and others (Syesha’s pick)
Best. Song. From. Her. Ever! Definitely made the song her own (and a difficult feat with this overdone number) and performed it with style and sizzle. Send this child to Broadway now and get her away from Simon…FAR away! Personally, I don’t want her to win Idol because she has a better career waiting for her than being lead around by the nose by 19 Entertainment. Let the Davids fight it out. Seriously, she has grown on me over the course of the season and I could kick myself for ruling her out at the beginning of the Top 12. She’s got talent and chops to spare and I hope she goes as far as she can, with or without Idol.
Hit Me Up – Gia Farrell (TPTB’s pick)
At the risk of showing my age, I was not familiar with this song at all. In any case she sang really well tonight, this one included. Was it enough to get to next week? Vocally I would say “hell, yeah!” but I’m not sure she has enough of a fan base to pull it off. That is, unless she gets the sympathy vote tonight for being run over by the judges (could that have been some reverse psychology on their part?). BTW, Simon’s remarks after this song were the most intelligent ones I’ve heard him utter this season. About. Damn. Time!
David Cook
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Roberta Flack (The Brit’s pick – what WAS he thinking?)
He HAD to do something with that song and, dang it, he did!!!! Nice upper register work and a solid, money note ending. Go figure.
Dare You to Move - Switchfool
Ok, I have heard this song – now I don’t feel so old. It was classic Cookie and, like Paula, I wanted to hear more of it as well. That’s the problem with songs that can’t do a beginning, middle and end in a minute thirty. No surprises but no fouls either.
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – Aerosmith
Two words: SLAM DUNK! And, no surprise, we all know who the Brit wants to win…I know, it’s only a TV show…
I won’t pick a bottom two or a “das boot” this week because no matter which way it plays out, all three deserve kudos for what they’ve done to get this far and with any combination it is setting up to be a great finale this year. Just remember, we could end up seeing another “Melinda elimination” this year so don’t rule anything out. Either way, I’ll be buying my tickets tomorrow for the tour this year because this is a very interesting and entertaining group of contestants and I would like to see them live.
Carry on!
J
Hey J. Of course we know now how it actually fell out… but here were my comments last night. I said over on Simply’s thread that whichever pairing we get it will be a phenom finale, and I will stand by that remark… even though way, way back I predicted the pairing we actually will get. (Gee, I did that Season 2 as well…)
David A
“And So It Goes” ~ He really slowed it down a lot, almost made it sleepy. It did showcase the purity of his voice though, which is his strength. The choice of strings only was a great choice for accompaniment. Simplicity was the key here.
“With You” ~ It’s alright, but I wasn’t all that excited. I’m not sure he had the power or the energy to pull the song off with conviction.
“Longer” ~ Another ballad to bring out little D’s vocal strengths. He did a little changing up the melody as well. Connected well emotionally. Better than the last song.
Syesha
“If I Ain’t Got You” ~ The smoky sound shows the vulnerable side of her voice; she used some of her power as well. Great arrangement, very versatile.
“Fever” ~ Once again that smoky, sultry tone goes in her favor, as well as her acting talent shown. I also like her control in this performance. I totally disagreed with the judges’ assessments on this one. Pardon me, TPTB, your hand is showing again…
“Hit Me Up” ~ She’s doing her best to work the crowd and have fun. (Seems to me she sees what’s coming…) Good power, good energy, good control. But like I said, it seems blatantly obvious to me who TPTB have pre-selected to send home… in spite of the fact that she outperformed both the boys on a song or two. Fortunately past seasons have shown that merely being on the show can get one a satisfying and successful career. I wish you luck, Syesha… hold your head high, you were the “Most Improved” this season, and the true dark horse that should have gone farther!
David C
“First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” ~ Intriguing choice of songs doesn’t even begin to describe it. We saw a stripped-down, very vulnerable start, and it picked up momentum and instrumentation as it went along. He really re-invented the song; I was impressed.
“Dare Ya To Move” ~ Of course I don’t know the original, so I have nothing to compare it to… does this whole genre naturally come off with notes under the pitch, or is it just DC? I’m guessing the latter if Randy agreed with me, but then again we know that’s one of the dawg’s stock putdowns. Not my fave of DC’s stuff.
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” ~ Surprisingly sang the beginning while straightforward, but then halfway or so through cranked up the juice on the power and instrumentation. It was a very unique blend of subtlety and just plain pow.
How I felt that they really performed: David C and Syesha in the finals (no particular order there), and David A very honorably goes home having done the best that he could.
How TPTB will make darn good & sure it happens: David C, David A, and Syesha goes home with more criticism than she deserved for fighting the odds.