Michael Sarver (first +2)
"Aint Going Down Til the Sun Comes Up" (Garth Brooks)
A clever performance, and a fairly enjoyable one even for an avid Garth-avoider like me. I think Michael needed to show he had some energy and he managed to do that while sounding good, if not mind-blowing.
Allison Iraheta
"Blame It on Your Heart" (Patty Loveless)
Somewhere between last week and this, I listened to Allison's "Give In to Me" about a dozen times and she became my clear favorite of Season 8. This was another excellent performance, though I couldn't tell you a single word of that song if asked to recall it now. I love the ones who completely come alive in a performance, and Allison's stage presence not only sheds the 16-year-old image but also runs counter to the pageanty kind of hyper-self-possessed way most teens appear on this show. Simon called her "precocious" and I don't think he could be more wrong.
Kris Allen
"To Make You Feel My Love" (
Oy. Not a Garth Brooks song! It's a Bob Dylan song originally, covered by Billy Joel and Adele and, yes, Garth, but if you want to hear the song done heartbreakingly right, track down the Joan Osborne version, will you? (Also, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith wrote "Because the Night," did you know??) Anyway, it's not as bad as Blake Lewis lying to our faces and saying that "When the Stars Go Blue" was a Tim McGraw song, but still. As for Kris, he's so cute I could die, and if there were still such a thing as boy bands (albeit boy bands who don't dance), he'd be in the world's greatest one. Another clever performance, even if the stool-sitting and some of the runs were kind of gross.
Lil Rounds
"Independence Day" (Martina McBride)
I wasn't so sure about Lil's choice to tug on Superman's cape and cover Carrie's Favorite Song, but while the verses were shaky, the chorus was strong. Weirdly enough, Paula's critique about how the verse-verse-chorus arrangement didn't help Lil was spot on -- wouldn't a verse-chorus-bridge-chorus (does "Independence Day" even have a bridge?) structure have been better? I say yes. I also love how Simon seems to honestly believe that it's "Lil' Rounds" like Lil' Kim. I mean, god knows I've been saying it that way, but I realize it's Lil-short-for-Lillian not Lil-short-for-Little. Simon, apparently, does not.
Adam Lambert
"Ring of Fire" (Johnny Cash)
WTF?
Scott McIntyre
"Wild Angel" (Martina McBride)
When Ryan said Scott would be singing Martina, I was so sure he would be singing either "Concrete Angel" or that one about how "God is great but sometimes life ain't good" that I would have lost money on it. Anyway, another bland, sappy performance from Scott.
Alexis Grace
"Jolene" (Dolly Parton +2)
Better than Brooke's version last year, though that's not saying much. I didn't like the arrangement, that's for sure, and at times I didn't like Alexis's performance either. I can't really pinpoint why. Maybe I just can't accept any covers of this song that aren't Jack White's.
Danny Gokey
"Jesus Take the Wheel" (Carrie Underwood +2)
OF COURSE! Of course Danny sang this song. At least Carrie's version, while unbelievably embarrassing because of all the words, at least sounds genuine, and her voice really is dynamite on that chorus, much as I'd like to resist it. Anyway, all that "PYT" goodwill? Right out the window. Soulless God-baiting in a douchey white coat from Danny. I'm sure he'll get crazy votes for it.
Anoop Desai
"You Were Always on My Mind" (Willie Nelson)
So it seems Anoop's performances are divided between the Brian McKnight ones and the Bobby Brown ones. Of the two McKnights he's done, this was the better. Very pretty to listen to, if a bit hollow.
Megan Corkrey
"Walkin' After Midnight" (Patsy Cline)
This song SHOULD have been a good choice for her, and if you only listened to certain parts, it kind of was. I have no idea what is wrong with her, though, because I'm pretty sure her technique was solid here, but the voice that comes out of her mouth is so unpleasant! That can't be just the flu, either, because it's been that way for four performances now. She sounds like a demon from the underworld sent to serenade us across the river Styx. Naturally, the judges loved her.
Matt Giraud (last, +3)
"So Small" (Carrie Underwood +2)
Yes! This is the Matt performance I've been waiting for. Controlled, tuneful, committed, and oh so pretty to my earholes. I kept waiting for him to pull a Lambert and trill all over the last thirty seconds or so, but he held back, to great effect. Best of the night, worthy of the pimp slot.
Best Three: Matt, Allison, Anoop
Worst Three: Megan, Scott, Danny
WTF?: Adam (Though, seriously, I hope he sticks around to freak out America for weeks to come.)
Who's Going Home: The three worst this week were either sympathetic faves (Scott, Danny) or propped up by the judges (Megan), so this could spell trouble for Michael or Kris or (I don't even want to say it) Allison. That #2 slot is cursed for a reason.
7 comments:
For what it's worth, my female roommate basically orgasmed after Adam's performance and made us rewatch it 3 times.
Honestly, Danny surprised me by picking "Jesus Take The Wheel," mostly because if he was going to dip into the Underwood well, I'd've put large, bleeding chunks of money on "Just A Dream": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8khHqMntkbQ. I mean, really. It's got God, the military, a wedding and a funeral, ALL HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME.
"Jesus Take The Wheel" was pretty fucking insulting on its own, though.
I like Adam, but if he doesn't find a way to make his performances a little more personal and less bombastic, he's going to go home.
I HATED Alexis's performance. I don't like her anyway, but if you're going to take on one of the most overplayed "country song for people who hate country music" songs on earth, you'd better be able to flip up your voice on those "Joleeeeeeene" runs or I'm not going to give a shit. Sure enough: didn't give a shit. The problem isn't that there wasn't enough "dirty," whatever the F that means. It's that Alexis is a try-hard.
Kris Allen is adorable, but I don't know what performance everyone else heard; the one *I* heard had maybe seven notes in tune total. Boy is overmatched.
As for who's going home, I have no idea. I'd like to send the judges home, especially Randoof, for pulling the "get out of your box more, except when it's better to stay in it, and make the song your own, except when it's An Untouchable Song" crap more egregiously than usual. I hope it's Alexis; it's probably Megan.
This is Sarah and I've had too much coffee.
Hmm, weird performances, for me.
Sarver: I was on the edge of my seat waiting for him to biff a line, but it never happened. Dude finally got some swagger in his step and was really working the crowd, plus he showed some decent chops, so I'm sure he's fine.
Allison: Excellent. Now if she could only work on her non-singing persona... Also, I agree that Simon was dead wrong about her "precociousness."
Kris: Meh.
Lil: I thought it was frustrating to watch. I understand her decision to "respect the genre," or whatever, but it came across as flat and pandering, to me. Didn't love the performance or her awful attire.
Adam: Oh, brother. Listen, the guy's got a voice. A serious one. But I hated this arrangement. I also hated that right after the judges criticized Lil for not "making the song her own" (Like Whitney did with "I Will Always Love You"), they then criticized Adam for making it too much his own. Whatever, I guess I don't really care because I didn't bet on Adam, but at least he took a risk. I just want some consistency from the judges.
Scott: Yes, another sappy one from easily the most overrated contestant. However, he did amuse me with his quips about moving the piano closer to the audience after Paula's comments. Another judge annoyance:
Randy Jackson: It's all about the song choice, dawg.
Scott: Yeah, I know, I've just been getting kind of shafted by being forced to choose last the past few weeks, and I only got, like, three to choose from.
Randy Jackson: Yeah, but it's all about the song choice.
Ack!
Alexis: Horrible arrangement, rushed performance...I hated it, and I love that song. I haven't liked her since the beginning, and I hope she goes home soon, if not tonight.
Gokey: Don't love the song, and the jacket was many layers of bad, but he can sing. 'Nuff said.
Anoop: I don't know if it's the subtle Idolism of lowered expectations or that he sang the song really well, but I thought it was great. I just realized last week that I like the kid and that the show needs someone to be the hype man and not necessarily the best vocalist. Last night I realized he's actually quite a good singer when he's not bouncing around the stage and trying to get everyone out of their seats. Good job. He's safe, for sure.
Megan: Her performances since she arrived in the top 36 have all agreed with me on an elemental level, and I know why: her voice does not work with such well-produced, slick-sounding music. Her timbre is too unique, and tends to hover in a more intensely (and narrowly) mid-range register than other singers. If Dolly Parton has a voice like a whistle, Megan has a voice like a horn, and she would be way better off singing stuff more along the lines of Feist. She needs to really sit down with whoever does the arrangements and get them to LoFi it up for her a little bit, and she could do well...assuming she doesn't get the boot tonight, which she may very well. On the other hand, they put a pretty fine point on letting everyone know she had the flu, so she may get sympathy votes. Still, I think she's in danger.
Matt: I wasn't as in love with it as the judges and audience seemed to be, but he's still great. He's got a terrific dynamic range, and he shreds on that keyboard! There's something about him I just like a whole bunch.
PS I like coffee, too.
"the subtle Idolism of lowered expectations" = nice.
-- Sarah
I wish that Adam had been around last year for Dolly Parton week, because seeing those two interface would have been brilliant.
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