American Idol Running Diary: April 17
It's country week, and they couldn't have chosen a better vocal talent than Martina McBride to coach. Seriously, she is fantastic. Phil, however, is creepy, and not in a fantastic way. The strangely-detached-from-the-situation-that-is-this-show bald dude is first up this week.
Phil Stacey: "Where the Blacktop Ends"
What more do you write about Phil? It's better when he wears a hat, as his baldness weirds me out. I can't explain why, so don't ask. But as always, he's mostly in tune, but it seems like his head is in a different place. Keith Urban rules, and he's got a lot better songs than this that could be used in a singing competition. "You'll Think of Me" comes to mind. Anyway, this is unremarkable.
Rating: **
Jordin Sparks: "Broken Wing"
Jordin has the chops to do this song, but it's either going to be awesome or a complete disaster. There is no in between. The dress she is wearing is a disaster, though I usually don't comment on the attire of our fair contestants. It reminds me of a kimono. But anyway, the song. The first half was a disaster, but the second half was really good. Also, I just want to point out that I quoted the first part of Randy's feedback before he said it. I've seen this show a lot. So yeah, Jordin is really good, and with the toss-up that this season is turning out to be, she's got a serious shot at making the finals. Good stuff.
Rating: ***
Sanjaya Malakar: "Something to Talk About"
Now it's time for our weekly dose of obnoxious. Sanjaya makes my head hurt on so many levels. He's doing Bonnie Raitt, which is decidedly un-fantastic. His goal is to do her justice, so he says, and he will fail. He is curiously dressed like an Indian Bruce Springsteen with a perm, and it does not work at all. Also, neither does his lower register. You know, I could kind of understand when he was getting voted through earlier, what with the shy demeanor and the huge white teeth. But now, count me among the confused masses that watch this kid get more full of himself every week, for Lord knows what reason, while teenage girls and their moms continue to fall all over themselves to vote for him. Lo and behold, this is another horrible performance. Simon is so annoyed that this guy is still on the show, and it's hilarious. His feedback is the one good thing that comes from suffering through a minute and a half of aural cruelty.
Rating: negative *
LaKisha Jones: "Jesus Take the Wheel"
I've never been a huge fan of this song, as I find it a bit corny and contrived, but it's a good way to show off the vocals. LaKisha nailed the first verse, showing great control and restraint, but she got a little shaky on the chorus, and it sounded like she was trying just a little too hard to pour everything into it. That's actually okay for this song, though, because it was obvious that she was "feeling it", as they say. So it was a little shaky, but the voters will probably respond favorably anyway. Jesus is popular, after all. I didn't think it was as bad as the judges did, but it certainly wasn't her best. Rating: **1/2
Chris Richardson: "Mayberry"
He sounds exactly like the lead singer of Rascal Flatts (read: nasal), so this should be pretty "good", as far as that goes. But then he comes out and butchers the first few notes. Of course, it's not helping that the fiddle is WAY out of tune. Seriously, my ears are bleeding. That's embarrassing. They should turn off the fiddle's mic. Chris seems to be distracted by the disaster that is the group of instruments surrounding him, and I can't say that I'm hearing anything he's singing at all. I can't rate this debacle.
Rating: I need a nap. If a song could perform a lobotomy, this one just did. I don't know what that means, other than some of my brains just leaked out of my ears.
Melinda Doolittle: Trouble is a Woman"
Not to sound like Paula, but Melinda looks great this week. I like the song she's singing, too. Julie Reeves isn't all that well-known, but she's good. She's a Gretchen Wilson-type that filled that niche before Wilson was well-known. But anyway, Melinda is nailing this. Shocker. The band is a bit loud, and drowns her out at times, but she's just money. The only problem I see is the fact that this is such a niche song, and it's hard to sing it in a way that's universally appealing. Melinda is tremendously likable, though, and she'll be fine.
Rating: ***
Blake Edwards: "When the Stars Go Blue"
I like this song, but the one that Bono did with The Corrs blows this version out of the water. That version was actually a cover of the Ryan Adams original, and this is the Tim McGraw version. I'm just sayin'. Blake gives a relatively solid vocal, but the instruments are way too pronounced in this arrangement. This is more of a soft song, and the band is killing it. It's rushed, and it just didn't work at all on the whole. It was in tune, but that's about all I can say. Randy compliments the arrangement, and sometimes I wonder how he's a producer.
Rating: *1/2
So altogether, not such an impressive night. There are so many country songs that can really show off vocals, and Jordin was the only one who really took advantage of that. The ratings are out of 5 stars, by the way, so as you can see, I was pretty underwhelmed. I don't know how much I'll re-dedicate myself to the live blog of this show, but it's fun to check back in to this particular blog. As for predictions, you heard it here first:
Should be in the bottom three:
Phil
Chris
Sanjaya (eliminated)
Will be in the bottom three:
LaKisha
Phil
Chris (eliminated)
Phil Stacey: "Where the Blacktop Ends"
What more do you write about Phil? It's better when he wears a hat, as his baldness weirds me out. I can't explain why, so don't ask. But as always, he's mostly in tune, but it seems like his head is in a different place. Keith Urban rules, and he's got a lot better songs than this that could be used in a singing competition. "You'll Think of Me" comes to mind. Anyway, this is unremarkable.
Rating: **
Jordin Sparks: "Broken Wing"
Jordin has the chops to do this song, but it's either going to be awesome or a complete disaster. There is no in between. The dress she is wearing is a disaster, though I usually don't comment on the attire of our fair contestants. It reminds me of a kimono. But anyway, the song. The first half was a disaster, but the second half was really good. Also, I just want to point out that I quoted the first part of Randy's feedback before he said it. I've seen this show a lot. So yeah, Jordin is really good, and with the toss-up that this season is turning out to be, she's got a serious shot at making the finals. Good stuff.
Rating: ***
Sanjaya Malakar: "Something to Talk About"
Now it's time for our weekly dose of obnoxious. Sanjaya makes my head hurt on so many levels. He's doing Bonnie Raitt, which is decidedly un-fantastic. His goal is to do her justice, so he says, and he will fail. He is curiously dressed like an Indian Bruce Springsteen with a perm, and it does not work at all. Also, neither does his lower register. You know, I could kind of understand when he was getting voted through earlier, what with the shy demeanor and the huge white teeth. But now, count me among the confused masses that watch this kid get more full of himself every week, for Lord knows what reason, while teenage girls and their moms continue to fall all over themselves to vote for him. Lo and behold, this is another horrible performance. Simon is so annoyed that this guy is still on the show, and it's hilarious. His feedback is the one good thing that comes from suffering through a minute and a half of aural cruelty.
Rating: negative *
LaKisha Jones: "Jesus Take the Wheel"
I've never been a huge fan of this song, as I find it a bit corny and contrived, but it's a good way to show off the vocals. LaKisha nailed the first verse, showing great control and restraint, but she got a little shaky on the chorus, and it sounded like she was trying just a little too hard to pour everything into it. That's actually okay for this song, though, because it was obvious that she was "feeling it", as they say. So it was a little shaky, but the voters will probably respond favorably anyway. Jesus is popular, after all. I didn't think it was as bad as the judges did, but it certainly wasn't her best. Rating: **1/2
Chris Richardson: "Mayberry"
He sounds exactly like the lead singer of Rascal Flatts (read: nasal), so this should be pretty "good", as far as that goes. But then he comes out and butchers the first few notes. Of course, it's not helping that the fiddle is WAY out of tune. Seriously, my ears are bleeding. That's embarrassing. They should turn off the fiddle's mic. Chris seems to be distracted by the disaster that is the group of instruments surrounding him, and I can't say that I'm hearing anything he's singing at all. I can't rate this debacle.
Rating: I need a nap. If a song could perform a lobotomy, this one just did. I don't know what that means, other than some of my brains just leaked out of my ears.
Melinda Doolittle: Trouble is a Woman"
Not to sound like Paula, but Melinda looks great this week. I like the song she's singing, too. Julie Reeves isn't all that well-known, but she's good. She's a Gretchen Wilson-type that filled that niche before Wilson was well-known. But anyway, Melinda is nailing this. Shocker. The band is a bit loud, and drowns her out at times, but she's just money. The only problem I see is the fact that this is such a niche song, and it's hard to sing it in a way that's universally appealing. Melinda is tremendously likable, though, and she'll be fine.
Rating: ***
Blake Edwards: "When the Stars Go Blue"
I like this song, but the one that Bono did with The Corrs blows this version out of the water. That version was actually a cover of the Ryan Adams original, and this is the Tim McGraw version. I'm just sayin'. Blake gives a relatively solid vocal, but the instruments are way too pronounced in this arrangement. This is more of a soft song, and the band is killing it. It's rushed, and it just didn't work at all on the whole. It was in tune, but that's about all I can say. Randy compliments the arrangement, and sometimes I wonder how he's a producer.
Rating: *1/2
So altogether, not such an impressive night. There are so many country songs that can really show off vocals, and Jordin was the only one who really took advantage of that. The ratings are out of 5 stars, by the way, so as you can see, I was pretty underwhelmed. I don't know how much I'll re-dedicate myself to the live blog of this show, but it's fun to check back in to this particular blog. As for predictions, you heard it here first:
Should be in the bottom three:
Phil
Chris
Sanjaya (eliminated)
Will be in the bottom three:
LaKisha
Phil
Chris (eliminated)
Tha Docta's two cents. | 9:10 PM
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