Well, sue me, but I really don’t care for inspirational songs. In fact, the only one I can really embrace is “One Shining Moment,” and only then when it’s played over clips of the JAYHAWKS WINNING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! ROCK CHALK, SIMON! ROCK CHALK!
But we digress.
My aversion to songs — so adeptly described by Brooke as “feel good songs that make you feel happy” — is hard to explain. I guess I can only say that when a song sets out to make me happy, it’s already trying too hard. That makes me unhappy.
Maybe that’s why one of my favorite performances of the night was by Michael Johns, who chose Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” a song that is really only inspirational in the loosest of classic rock terms. Though he didn’t add much of an original twist to the song, at least it wasn’t sappy or syrupy. Plus, M.J. seems to have discovered a little confidence over the past few weeks, which is translating into much more convincing on-stage rockouts. (Granted you are able to ignore the sissy man-scarf trend he is apparently trying to launch.)
The only other performance I truly enjoyed was delivered by Jason Castro, a man who knows how to work a ukulele. And how many men can say that? His island version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was effortless and unforced, qualities that really set Jason apart from the rest. He never seems even slightly rattled, which is an appealing quality in a professional performer. And is there a voice more radio ready than Jason’s left on this show? The correct answer, students, is no.
The rest of the performances … eh. Even Brooke White, one of my favorites, disappointed with her deadly dull “You’ve Got A Friend.” Let’s see. … You’re in the bottom three for the first time. It freaks you out thoroughly. So your course of action to save your hide is … a hippy-dippy James Taylor/Carole King song? Brooke looked petrified up there, and she should be.
David Cook, another one of my favorites, was off this week. His “Innocent” was random and strange, and the background singers were drowning him out through 50 percent of the song. He gets a pass, though, in my opinion. He’s been so good and so original for so long, eventually he’s not going to be able to completely live up to his own standards.
I also wasn’t wild about David Archuleta’s “Angels,” which was OK but pretty shaky in spots. This little prodigy creeps me out more every week, and more every week, I get the sneaky feeling that the judges are instructed by that frizzy-haired guy who “hired them all” (and was, um, sitting on Simon’s lap???) to keep pushing Mr. Teen Dream through.
Still, I say the bottom three are Syesha Mercado, Kristy Lee Cook and Carly Smithson. I know it’s predictable, but the trio terrible failed to impress this week.
Syesha proved with her “I Believe” that she’s no Fantasia, and Carly proved with her “Show Must Go On” that she’s no Freddy Mercury (even when she raids his costume closet).
And don’t be fooled by the faint praise the judges gave Kristy Lee and her take on Martina McBride’s “Anyway.” Translation: “Kristy! You weren’t nearly as awkwardly awful as in past weeks. You’re ever-so-slightly less bad, which for you is actually pretty good. Bravo!” Though I wouldn’t crown her my “American Idol,” I would gladly support her being appointed Queen of Sparkly Tops.
So what did you think? Was the mini-gospel choir slightly overused? Was Paula slightly over-corseted? And who will be in the bottom three?Speaking of, I might pop in on Wednesday to make a few observations about “Idol Gives Back,” then I’ll see you back here Thursday for the results.
20 Comments
Well, I had high hopes for inspirational songs, because at heart i’m a big softy. Unfortunately, there were only two songs that were truly inspirational and they were from my favorites, Jason Castro and Brooke White.
Michael Johns had me until his high pitched screaming which Paula’s dogs could only relate to their trip to the vet for castration so I really didn’t get her comment on that one. Plus, I didn’t notice the scarf last week, Denise, but it stuck out like a thyroid tumor this week. Not cool at all. A little too love boat for me.
Syesha..who the judges refuse to ever fully criticize and give credit for doing songs far beyond her range lived up to her its all about me reputation (at least with me) by singing a song about how she believes in herself. Not mankind, not children, not God, not country, but her own self. Well Syesha you don’t have to convince me you believe in you it is just that I emphatically do NOT!
Jason took what has to be one of my top 10 favorite songs and broke my heart with it. Yes, the first time it was broken was on ER when it was played as that guy was dying, but Jason broke it again tonite.
Kristy…another self-indulgent inspirational song about how she is going to sing anyway even if people don’t like her. She was ok but will she please stop rocking on that one foot like she needs to go to the ladies room soon?
And..what the heck was David Cook thinking? Too low of a key for his voice a woman has cancer and this is inspirational? I still think he is the best talent on the stage but this week this song and this voice was just not inspirational.
Bless Carly’s heart..she tries so hard and she threw away the tunic and looked pretty but she is so obsessed with how hard she has had it in making it in the music industry that she does come across angry as one of the judges noted ( I believe it was one of Paula’s only negative comments).
David Archuleta…yawn. They had to kill those piano keys because I did not hear a piano note in that arrangement as hard as I was looking for it and his hands may have struck one or two three chords in the performance. It was the same old same old.
Now..here is where I disagree with Denise. Brooke’s version of You’ve Got a Friend brought tears to my eyes. I did not think she looked scared until the judging where they trashed her when I think she thought she had given it her all. No..it was not original in terms of taking it and makin it into disco or rap or reggae but when have David A or Syesha done anything original with their songs? She should have played the piano but they probably could not unlock the keys in time after David A’s performance.
Does anyone get the feeling that the judges are afraid to criticize David A?
Sorry for the long comment…and I fundamentally agree that nothing can take away from last night and the Jayhawks win. Denise I hope you had the guts to watch the game because I did NOT! My old heart cannot take it!
David Cook original? You are stupid. Now that he can’t play his little cover a pop song with a rock arrangement no one has heard of, he sucks! And now he comes off as beyond arrogant. The only two that were any good tonight were Jason and David A. And David A. doesn’t have to be “pushed through.” He is the most talented vocalist by a mile. Get a clue.
Jason Castro was in a different league last night; young, fresh, touching. When he turns it on, he turns it on. I loved it.
I did not get to see the whole show, only the first half. But I totally, absolutely agree with Denise on Jason. All along, he has showed poise and grace. Terrific song choice (yes that was Anthony Edward’s character dying on ER – what a memory!) He does it for me every week, even when the judges don’t agree with me (how dare they!)I did enjoy the Syesha bashing – NO WAY is she close to Fantasia’s talent. Why in the heck does she keep picking these power songs and then appear so surprised at the criticism? Next week – Celine, Mariah? Maybe Kathleen Battle? hmmm we’ll be so surprised NOT.
Denise, loved your KU game blog, that was hysterical!
MJ- liked the song, didn’t LOVE it. I’m glad he is finally picking better songs for his voice.
Syesha- Ok girl, We understand that in your mind you are the BEST, unfortunately the songs that you are picking are not suited for you voice. You certainly have a better voice than some people(me included) but you don’t have the voice needed to carry the songs your picking. Please get over yourself, we have and are ready to move on.
Jason- One of my favorite songs of all time. I love any version of it and have that particular version on my playlist at myspace. Good choice.
KLC- Yes again this week you didn’t stink but buhbuy.
David C- I have always loved him this season. Yes, I realize he is just singing the versions of the songs that he probably has already heard but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That man has some great pipes but I didn’t care for his song at ALL last night. Does he belong in the bottom 3???? NO.
Carly- Well she did sound angry tonight. I’m not sure the clothing was any better than last week. I think she will be in the bottom 3 this week.
David A- Great voice but I did think his voice got lost in the midst of the back up singers.
Brooke- A little timid on that song but I do love her and think her voice is fantastic. Hope she makes it to the top 3 but I don’t believe she will make it into the top 2.
I’m glad I am not the only one that gets a little creeped out by David A. Even though I think that he was in the top 3 last night, I wish he would leave.
Jason was the best last night. I wish Syesha would try something other than a diva song. Carly needs to cheer up.
All the others were godd, but just good.
I just wish Brooke would have sung the the Coke-a-Cola song.
Best performance of the night goes to the backup singers, by far!
Jason Castro was absolutely amazing. That was the perfect version of that song for him and he sang it effortlessly.
I’d really rather not say anything bad about my favorite, David Cook, so I won’t comment at all.
Michael Johns has really caught my attention over the past few weeks. I didn’t think he’d have the guts to try those Steven Tyler high notes at the end. And I was pleasantly surprised to hear him go there. It’s that kind of song – and it was fun.
David A. butchered one of my all time favorite songs. You’re supposed to have chills when the lyrics say: “And through it ALLLLL”. Nobody got chills – except baseball-cap wearing stage-dad.
Kristy Lee Cook was as expected – country, sparkly top, and marginal. The background singers made her performance tolerable, but I’m so tired of her.
Syesha can’t understand why she’s being “compared” to Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Fantasia?? Really? Because that’s all you’ve sung! And they’re all amazing singers – of course you’ll always pale in comparison!
Why did Carly sound angry? I couldn’t put my finger on it until Simon said “angry”. But she did. Bummer.
And I used to love Brooke White. But I’m getting bored of her deer-in-headlights look. She twists her face all up like she’s being tortured. Just sit, smile, and be normal. I did like her song, but I also agree it was a bit boring.
I agree with the bottom three predictions. Although, it maybe Brooke swapped out with Carly.
Also, here’s a link to a video of David A. perfecting Angels long ago. So that “it was so hard to pick a song” video was just an act??
http://www.tmz.com/2008/04/09/archuleta-saw-angels-way-before-idol/
The only ones who impressed me at all last night were Jason and Michael. I actually found myself FF through many of the other performances…yawn! David Cook is still a favorite of mine, and I will allow him this one stinky week, but he better get back on track. Paula needs to put the girls away…that was NOT attractive and I thought they would pop out at any minute. Did Kristy Lee pluck her eyebrows??? I think they actually were a little LESS distracting this week. Pretty much in agreement on the bottom three……
Anyone besides me starting to get bored with AI?? the only reason I am continuing to tune in is to see if David Cook will once again astound me and to be enchanted by Jason Castro. I do like to hear David Archuleta when he hits the mark…
So…last night? I agree with everyone…Jason Castro had me with the uke and I ended up teary eyed…MJ was OK. David C. confused me. David A. was pretty good I thought.
I thought KLC was nasely and shrieky in parts but I think she made another good song choice and don’t think she will go home. Syesha is my choice for taking the walk out of there but…
So I gotta agree with whoever said bottom three will be
Syesha, Carly and Brooke.
Okay..but who will the top three be???
David Cook, Jason Castro and Michael Johns? or will David Archuleta replace one?
Last week my favs were David Cook and Michael Johns. This week they disappointed in a big way. Song choice. I liked Dream On but when Michael escalated to his high range it was just screechy and painful. Jason Castro’s performance was great but if he made an album of his best performances they would all sound exactly the same and possibly be a bit much. Maybe? I do like him, though. David A was David A. He’s good. I don’t want him to win.
Carly was a train wreck vocally although, wow, “whoever dresses her” got it right this week, finally. But she’s my pick to go. Her performance really exposed her flaws musically. Syesha is really getting on my nerves. Her song and interview totally exemplified that no one is more important to her than Syesha. That’s not an endearing personality trait and it doesn’t translate well in music, either. Then there’s Brooke. She was a deer in the headlights last night. She looked very uncomfortable even though her vocals were pretty good. But, hey, she didn’t TALK as much!! Gotta like that.
Ummmm, I liked Kristy Lee again this week. She shouldn’t win it all and I don’t want her to, but she was better than Carly or Syesha and even Brooke although it pains me to admit that.
And Denise, ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!! Idol was anti-climactic after Monday night’s game. How fun was THAT!!!!
David A. has got to go along with Syesha. They are just awful. I am so tired of teenybopper Idols, it is time to have a true performer win this thing, and that isn’t either one of them. Jason rally stole the show last night, although, Michael was good, and David C. was good, but a little arrogant. Carly picked a very difficult song to try to sing, so shouldn’t she get points for that? I like Brooke, but her song was safe and easy, especially compared to Carly. I just get up and go do something when David A. comes on as he is so bad. I really feel like they are trying to push him through. The judges don’t ever criticize him or Syesha, and they are off tune more than anyone. Something is up there.
Have you ever tried listening to the singers and not watching them? You get a different perspective. David A. has a natural voice and is spot on. I thought that Syesha was extremely good while singing a very difficult song. The others did not choose their songs well and it showed. Simon says that song choice is everything and only a couple of the singers chose well.
Michael J – parsley. I think his 15 minutes might have come and gone with that Dolly song
Jason C – getting tired of his scrunched-up emotive face and his ridiculous hair
Kristy LC – her “best” performance is still incredibly mediocre
David A – aren’t all his songs more or less the same one? BORING.
Carly C – evidence that trying hard isn’t always enough
Brooke W – I loved her in the beginning, but I’m officially getting sick of her
Syesha – absolutely nothing at all original about her. Buh-bye
David C – if you’re going to f*&k up, f*&k up royally. And he did. Love him anyway.
My favorite Brooke – I was so disappointed in the way she sang last night – no orginality did not make it her own – rather boring.
I wasn’t really crazy about the gang at all last night. I just don’t know where to start. There wasn’t one that I was really blown away by. I really like Brooke, but the song she picked I thought was going to be great but it wasn’t she looked like she was scared, not into the song at all (and what was with that dress she was wearing!!!)
Speaking of clothes who dressed Paula?? That dress she was wearing was not her…… The “girls” were about the pop out the top!
I still like David A. I just wish he would sing something more up beat and move around the stage. I’m sure he will get a record deal from someone when this is all over with.
I just don’t see a American Idol in this bunch.
But I have my three (3) picked for the final 3 tonight.
For those of you who did not like David Archuleta, too bad. Obviously you are clueless when it comes to appreciating great young talent. What did you expect him to do get up on the piano and dance for you, so you did not yawn? It is a SINGING competition. They are judged on their vocals not their entertaining skills, needless to say they had to sing inspirational songs.
David ARchuleta has such a unique talent, needless to say, he is one of the best role model we had on American Idol since it started. AI history has proven that the ones with the greatest vocals WIN this competition. He is already a WINNER not a loser like some of his critics who truly have no recognition of musical talent. Vote for David Archuleta. Not a teen but a woman in my late 30’s.
Jason Castro’s performance was ODD last night. He is adorable (needs a haircut), this is not a REGGAE Musical contest. His performance last night reminded me of Tiny Tim’s “Tip Toe through the Tulips” For those of you who are too young to know, google this and you will see what I mean. The haircut, the instrument, the voice. OK Jason is more adorable, I give him that.
Geez…. this week was bad! I’ll be erasing this Idol from my DVR asap. I’m puzzled, though, as to all the love for Jason’s Over the Rainbow. Talk about being unoriginal…. it was exactly like the Israel Kamakawiwo’ole version! Listening to Jason sing it only made me want to go listen to Israel instead.
Enough with the rhapsodizing over Jason’s “Over the Rainbow.” It was an OK cover of the truly moving version by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole, but that song has now been done to death and Jason’s version just seemed frat-boy cynical.
Also, could someone tell Bono to lose the complicated shades when he’s talking to orphans? That just epitomizes the whole maudlin excess of “Idol Gives Back.” Ugh.
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[...] Idolatorhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/article/702991/american_idol_jason_castro_performs.htmlSo cheesy I need a cracker Well, sue me, but I really don??t care for inspirational songs. In fact, the only one I can really [...]