Phil Stacey's Idol Thoughts

Tonight’s theme was based on the most popular digital songs. It was open-ended and gave the contestants the opportunity to show America what kind of record they would make.
While Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud and Adam Lambert definitely impressed, the standout of the evening was Scott MacIntyre who performed a stripped down version of the Billy Joel classic, “Just the Way You Are.” Scott needed this performance to fuel up an Idol run that was running out of gas. Another standout came from Kris Allen. Kris, who usually accompanies himself on guitar, played piano tonight and gave us an interesting arrangement of “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
On the flip side, Megan Joy and Anoop Desai were both highly criticized for their performances of “Turn Your Lights Down Low” and “Caught Up,” respectively.
Matt Giraud gave a rough performance, but does he deserve to go home? What did you think of Lil Rounds’ take on Celine Dion’s “All By Myself”?

American Idol’s Top 10 grooved to 50 years’ worth of Motown hits with Smokey Robinson mentoring tonight’s show.
Matt Giraud started off the night with Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” I loved his falsetto and soulful licks. The judges are now official fans and he joins the front-runner club.
Kris Allen impresses Smokey and the judges with his unique and easygoing “How Sweet It Is.” Simon thinks he needs Simon lessons in swagger.
Scott MacIntyre sang Diana Ross’ “You Can’t Hurry Love.” He chose to stick with the piano and go against Paula’s advice from last week. Simon has finally turned on him with a classic “rubbish” review and has now given America permission to say what they have really been thinking about his performances.
Megan Joy sang in her standard style “For Once In My Life.” This really didn’t have any great standout moments, and she seemed to drown in the song. It really was not good.
Anoop Desai stayed with his serious sensitive side singing “Oooo Baby Baby.” He continued his return to favor with a clean solid performance. I agree that now he has found his vocal sweet spot, he needs to start bringing his showmanship back into his performances. If he can merge the last two weeks of great vocals with his first couple of weeks of energy then he is in the running for Top 5 or higher.
Michael Sarver attempted “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” He just didn’t hit his stride, and it felt as if he was fighting with the song the entire time. He admitted as much to Simon … sometimes we as performers just know it isn’t going to work as we walk on the stage. I thought he handled the judges well.
Lil Rounds sings “Heat Wave” in the classic Motown way. She obviously can sing, but I was hoping she would do something a little more relevant, more reflective of something that could be on her album. I think she really lost an opportunity to jump back in the front of the pack by not giving America a “moment.”
Adam Lambert reigned in the craziness and tenderly sang Smokey’s own, “Tracks of my Tears.” He cleaned up his image, literally taking off the black nail polish, and sang the entire song in his great falsetto. This is one of the first times that I not only appreciated his talent, but enjoyed it.
Danny Gokey used his Michael McDonald voice to give America “Get Ready.” I liked it – but no secret that I really love his voice. The judges didn’t think it was his best of the season but for the most part thought it was solid.
Allison Iraheta wailed out “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.” I really love this girl’s voice. She came out and used her pipes to SING! She was by far the best of the night.
Scott MacIntyre, Megan Joy and Michael Sarver should be nervous about continuing on to next week. We only have three females so I don’t think Megan is in real trouble and despite his lackluster performances, I really think America has a spot for Scott so my prediction is that Michael will be sent packing … I’m sure the “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and Judges’ Save Jokes are being written right now.
What do you all think? Who do you think will be sent home?

American Idol has gone country, choosing tonight’s songs from the catalogues of the Grand Ole Opry’s members.  I have had the honor of singing on the Grand Ole Opry stage several times, a highlight of my career!  I obviously have a soft spot for the Opry and country music, having released my first album in the country market.  Thanks to all of you who bought the record this week.  I re-entered the charts and those who ponder these things attribute it to this blog!  Now on to Idol…   

Some of tonight’s Idols honored country music’s greatest stage with their performances. Anoop Desai left the silliness and returned to solid singing with Willie Nelson’s “You Are Always On My Mind.”  He reminded us that he is a great singer.  He saved himself, because if this performance was not great, he probably would have gone home tomorrow night.

Allison Iraheta rocked out “Blame It On Your Heart.”  I loved her raspy powerful vocals on this song.  Thought it was great!

Kris Allen is winning me over, more and more each week.  I thought his version of Garth Brooks’ “To Make You Feel My Love” was a great song to highlight his talent.  It was a simple and nice performance that will definitely carry him through to next week.

Matt Giraud sang Carrie Underwood’s “So Small.”  He did a great soulful job but seemed a bit out of breath during the entire performance.  I have been a Matt fan from the beginning and tonight is no exception.    

Danny Gokey also sang Carrie Underwood.  My Christian brother was anointed while singing “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”  You could tell he was singing from his heart. I don’t see him coming to Nashville for country music but I hope he does join me here in the contemporary Christian music scene.  

Lil Rounds and Adam Lambert probably will not be hitting Nashville’s Music Row for a country record deal anytime soon either.

Lil Rounds was the least comfortable we have seen her all season.  She sang Martina McBride’s anthem “Independence Day.”  She obviously did fine and will have no problem moving on but I think there were better songs for her, as did the judges.  I am waiting for the season when the “R&B” gal sings Rebecca Lynn Howard’s “Forgive.”  LaKisha Jones would have blown it out of the water during my season.

Regarding Adam Lambert’s “Ring of Fire,” let me first say that I am a Johnny Cash fan. I live in Johnny Cash’s hometown of Hendersonville, Tenn.  My house is right off of the Johnny Cash Parkway.  I just didn’t like this rendition of “Ring of Fire.”  Honestly, I felt like Adam knew country wasn’t his thing so he just went completely over the top and a bit gimmicky/ tongue-in-cheek with his performance, ensuring everyone will be talking about him tomorrow.  That, I can understand and can even respect; his version of “Ring Of Fire”…not so much.   I couldn’t imagine him not sailing through.

I think that Scott MacIntyre and Michael Sarver will be in the bottom tomorrow.  Both performances were just too forgettable.     

So you think anyone from this crop of Idols will end up singing at the Opry? Did you love or hate Adam’s performance?  Who do you think did the best tonight?

I will be writing my blog from the road for the next couple of weeks.  I am actually on the “American Stars in Concert: Spring Break Tour” with Melinda Doolittle, Gina Glocksen and Chikezie.  Check out www.philstacey.com to check out the dates.  Hope to see you sometime soon! 

The Top 13 of American Idol took to the stage and vied for America’s votes tonight singing songs made famous by Michael Jackson. The stakes are very high. Two Idols will be voted off in order to compensate for the extra finalist added during the wild-card round. And to top it off, new rules that will change Idol will be announced tomorrow. Interesting … I wonder if it is going to a system much like “Dancing with the Stars” – giving the judges more power. I wonder if they are going to change the name of the show to “American and Judges’ Idol.”

I am actually in L.A. and was able to watch the show live with my soon-to-be tour mate, Season 7’s Chikezie. It was very surreal to experience American Idol sitting in the audience instead of on the stage. I felt like I was returning to high school a couple of years after graduation. I loved my time on Idol but would not want to trade places with any of the contestants! I still get nervous when I hear the show’s theme music.

I did have a chance to meet some of this year’s group. As expected, they all were class acts.

Tonight’s shining stars included Lil Rounds, the mother of three from Memphis. She continued to dominate and started the night off by belting out “The Way You Make Me Feel.” It was no surprise that the judges gave her rave reviews.

Danny Gokey, one of my early favorites, brought the house down with “PYT” (Pretty Young Thing). I thought this was a soulful and energetic performance. He knocked it out of the park and I agree with Paula saying he is well on his way to the finals.

Allison Iraheta, the spunky red-headed 16-year-old, turned “Give In to Me” into a great rock anthem. She is really carving out a place for herself on the show.

I also really enjoyed Matt Giraud. I think he is a contender and steadily earning new fans.

The judges absolutely loved Adam Lambert, the rock-goth “Wicked” star, who performed “Black and White.” This was too theatrical for me. The energy was amazing, but I do feel like it was over the top. He obviously has a great voice and will stay around for a long time.

There really wasn’t a complete dud performance but Louisville auditioner Kris Allen and Anoop Desai should be worried tomorrow.

Kris Allen, the newlywed from Conway, Ark., sang, “Remember the Time.” He has a nice voice but his performance really got lost in the crowd tonight. I don’t think he has enough momentum to carry him on in the competition.

Anoop Desai, the son of Indian immigrants and an early favorite, sang “Beat It.” This was a bad song choice. It bordered on gimmicky, like watching an “American Pie” character perform for Idol. But, I would not be surprised if his fans pulled through for him and he makes it through.

With two finalists getting axed and no major flops, each Idol should be worried about going home.

What do you all think? Was Adam as great as Paula thought?

Tonight’s show started with a glimpse of a producer’s desire to be current. The final group of 12 smiled vigorously as they crooned Katy Perry’s “Hot ‘n’ Cold.” All this time I thought that it was the group SONG that made these performances so cheesy. You learn something new every day.

It was so clear that Lil Rounds and Scott MacIntyre would make it through to the finals that their victory announcements were made obviously anti-climatically. They knew that whoever won that coveted third seat would be a shock. It didn’t matter who it was.

My guess was that it would be between Felicia Barton, Von Smith, Ju’Not Joyner and Jorge Nunez. Because of personal connections, I was rooting for Felicia, but alas, Jorge is declared the victor.

I am very glad for him. This guy is an amazing artist. He has great control on his vocals and a fantastic sound. But now there are only three girls in the Top 12 so far and I can almost guarantee a wild-card spot for Anoop Desai, which would only leave two more spots even available for the girls. And given the level of talent that the guys brought to the table, I would be surprised to see either of those spots taken by girls. But I’m still rooting for Felicia.

So what do you think? Do you have any guesses at who will take those final two spots?