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!
30 Comments
Bottom two will be Adam and Micheal. Adam should go home after butchering that song….
“To Make You Feel My Love” is a Bob Dylan song and wish AI would credit the original writers/singers of the songs.
If this were a musical theater competition Adam would have the whole competition wrapped up. But though Adam can certainly sing, his rendition of this song should cause Johnny Cash to rise from the dead and at least slap him around if not murder him. I loathed the performance with every fiber of my being. However, if it was part of a Broadway show, I would have thought it amazing. But AI is not musical theater. I almost took Simon’s advice and threw away my TV. Randy Travis was a hoot…totally unable to hide his disgust.
Overall there were some fabulous performances tonight. Loved Kris Allen, loved Allison the young red head, loved Anoop (for more than his pretty face!!), loved Danny Gokey, loved Matt Giraud.
And the judges were all pretty good tonight, too.
Adam has ensured he will never get a vote from me. Ring of Fire is perhaps one of the greatest country no greatest of all songs ever written and he mocked it. I have seen it sung by Sheryl Crow, I believe, on a tribute to June and Johnny Cash in a non-Cash way and I loved it so it was not the different twist it was the mockery. June, who wrote the song, is rolling over in her grave and Johnny is ready to kick some fingernail painted behind over that travesty. Seriously, the Cash/Carter heirs should revoke the license to sing that song ever again (or any other song writen by Cash or Carter) on the basis of what Simon called that *self-indulgent rubbish*.
I didn’t think Lil was as bad tonight as the judges thought and actually appreciated her desire to honor the country nature of the song.
Anoop was wonderful. I have not been a big fan of his although I have always liked him personally. I love that song and he did it justice. Danny and Scott were fine. Actually, I thought Scott was better this week than last week.
I hoped Megan would sing Patsy Cline and frankly I think the judges were kind to her tonight. I kept wondering why she seemed a pitch too low but the flue explains it I guess. I hope she sticks around.
I think they were too hard on Michael Sarver. They want him to sing ballads and ballads only but then when Scott does exactly that he gets criticized for it.
I have no idea who is going to go home tomorrow. I would vote out Adam for his arrogance but he will get the save if the public wants him out so thats not going to happen either way.
Man…I wanted to throw a tomato in his face soooo bad tonight!
I think we saw in Adam a weakness that will cause him some grief later on. Daughtery was in my estimation one of the best singer to come from AL but he was one or at best two demensional. Adam is starting to look that way. American is a country that loves their music and by the dollars spent – they love country best.
okobserver has a good point. I think I now understand why I don’t like Adam’s performances. They are not about the music. They are all about him. As Simon said, all self-indulgent. Sorry to rant on and on but man he hit a nerve tonight with me on that performance.
I’m disappointed with these comments regarding Adam’s performance tonight. Time for a history lesson.
Quiz: What do Tom Jones, Hank Williams Jr., Ray Charles, Olivia Newton-John, Blondie, Social Distortion, Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, The String Cheese Incident, Coldplay, Joaquin Phoenix and 67+ others have in common with Adam Lambert? They ALL have covered Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” In fact, there’s been at least one cover of the song nearly every year since Cash released his version 46 years ago. (Only 13 random years slipped by without one.)
To Justin: Adam didn’t butcher the song—he performed someone else’s version of it. A cover is a new rendition of a previously recorded song. He covered a cover, if you will. It’s no different than David Cook’s acclaimed performance of Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean last year. Only it wasn’t David’s version—it was former Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell’s—and people weren’t savvy enough to know it. Frank Zappa did a reggae version of “Ring of Fire” and Social Distortion did a punk version in the 90s—this is nothing new folks.
To Hawkmama and Monica: Not only would Johnny Cash not slap or murder Adam, he would probably respect and praise him for attempting/risking such an unusual rendition. Johnny Cash himself was a master cover artist. If you were fans you’d know this. He covered Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor’s “Hurt” and Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” He made those songs his own—even changed some lyrics to remove profanity, etc. And most die-hard NIN and DM fans don’t hate him for it. They love his versions b/c they honor the originals in some way. Remember, “Imitation is the best form of flattery.”
Having mentioned Soundgarden, I also have to add that Cash had great success with his cover of their song, “Rusty Cage.” His was nothing like the original, but that didn’t make it “rubbish,” “mockery” or a “travesty.” Chris Cornell has said he likes the cover b/c Cash made it sound like he wrote it. Cornell wasn’t mad at all. Why are you? Monica, you’ll have to do better than reference the “Walk the Line” film to make a valid point, sorry.
And I don’t think Randy Travis was disgusted, he just didn’t know what to make of an alternative/rock/goth/eyeliner-wearing-musical theatre-kid. He didn’t “get” him. It’s like asking Marilyn Manson to mentor a barbershop quartet. It’s like oil and water, baby.
To quote, “(Cash) recorded songs that could be considered rock and roll, blues, rockabilly, folk and gospel, and exerted an influence on each of those genres. Moreover, he had the unique distinction among country artists of having “crossed over” late in his career to become popular with an unexpected demographic — young indie and alternative rock fans.”
That’s right kids — people like Adam. People like me. I always loved Johnny Cash. Loved Soundgarden, NIN and DM, too. Then loved Cash even more for recognizing such seemingly different genres and for creating a newfound relevancy by choosing to cover them.
Open your minds a little. I for one will be buying Adam’s “Ring of Fire” off iTunes.
I totally see both sides of the coin when it comes to Adam Lambert. While he was singing my husband who was working across the room on the computer stopped and commented…I wont repeat what he said…but my first gut reaction was “He’s NOT a county artist, he’s trying to make the song something as far from country as he can, he’s trying to show his range, etc” As the song continued I could definately see that the guy has a voice, but this was definately not the genre for it. I know some people will never care for his style but hey, to each his own. At least he doesn’t sound like the rest. He stands out and you at least remember his performance. I even had to admit that Megan wasn’t as bad as I thought she’d be. I liked the fact that I couldn’t really see that freaky hip shakin thing she does and then ol Simon goes and comments that he doesnt like how she’s dressed because he thought it took away a bit of her quirkiness (in other words he couldnt see her hips shakin) Anyone else notice how quickly Simon jumped to Scotts defense during the judges reviews? I dont know that I’ve ever seen Simon go to bat that much for someone. Anyway, I thought Scott does great considering his disability and the fact he has one week to learn to play and sing these songs. BUT…of all the contestants..I kind of thought he was one of the weaker ones…I really like Allison, Danny Gokey and Kris. Those were probably my favorites. I think they all really put forth a good effort though.
When I first hear Adam start singing Ring of Fire I was hesitant, but it did grow on me. Would I go out and buy an album of Adam’s? Probably not, but you have to admit that he really has a set of awesome pipes on him. I was taken aback by Paula last night, telling Scott that he needs to get out from behind the piano! Excuse me, that is where he excels! I was pleasantly surprised when Simon told her that it was a “stupid” comment! Will he be in the bottom 2 tonight? Nope, My guess will be that Michael & Lil will end up there. I believe we will be hearing Michael sing his goodbye song tonight. I do enjoy him, but his vocal ability is no where near the rest of the singers this season. I loved, loved, loved, did I mention I loved Anoop and Kris last night. Beautiful… Megan, I wasn’t that impressed with, until after the show and when I heard her coughing, I realized she did darn good for being sick! Danny did great(as usual) along with Alison and Matt.
I have yet to watch last night’s show, but seeing the responses to the performances is not inspiring! I’m no Adam fan and I’m sure I’ll contemplate fast-fowarding through the whole thing. However, I wish thre was something more interesting to talk about than Adam Lambert…ick.
One of the things I look for when watching this show is if each performer is trying to stretch him or herself. Adam Lambert isn’t doing it. He’s staging a theater act with every performance and, guaranteed, there will be a point in the song where he screams and screeches rather than sings. Regardless of the song he chooses, it’s the same thing, the same sound. This is also true for Scott and Megan and, to a certain extent, Allison. I thought I would be able to say the same thing for Lil. I’m not a fan of hers but I thought her performance last night was actually pretty good, because it wasn’t the same old thing we’ve already heard from her. I like Michael, but the song he chose did nothing to showcase his vocals or his ability to carry a tune. The best performance of the night would have to be Anoop, followed closely by Matt and Kris. I think Michael and Scott will be the bottom two unless there are many others who think like me that Adam should be on the Thespian Idol show, not this one.
I agree with most of the comments here, that Adam was horrible. I love musical theatre, so for me it’s not his voice that is bad, but the performance. I felt like I needed a shower after his performance last night, after all of the creepy staring he did. I think it’s great to make a song your own or “cover a cover,” but that just took it too far. It was Johnny Cash after all! I agree with Monica that he came off like he was mocking the song. Every performance he has done has been self-indulgent and all about him. He’s not drawing the viewer in and “piercing my heart”(as Paula would say!). With that said, he will have no problem moving on.
My favorites of the night were Anoop, Matt and Danny. None of them are “country” singers but were able to make the song their own and stay true to the country roots of the song. I think it will be Scott or Megan going home tonight.
I love Adam……….but I hated his rendition of Ring of Fire. I hope Megan (sp) hits the road tonight. Can’t believe the judges thought she did great. Did not like her AT ALL. Oh well, we’ll see.
meemo to Mel:
get over yourself hoss. Talk about a bunch of self indulgent rubbish. Keep your posts to yourself as you come across as a pompous, know it all searching for someone to listen or read your dribble. Lose it. t it
Put Michael out of his misery! He is completely out of his league and he looks so awkward when he’s performing I find it difficult to watch. It’s worse than watching Scott. His back-talking to Simon when everyone knows he didn’t have a good performance makes me like him even less. Send the roughneck home.
Not a single person mentioned Alexis. I guess Simon was right when he said no one would remember her the next day. I still love her and didn’t think it was that bad.
Adam is starting to grow on me just because he is unpredictable and entertaining but last night was pushing the limits.
If one more person says “I was just having fun” after a horrible performance, I’m going to scream. That is my biggest pet peeve this season. If you’re just there to have fun and not be serious about the opportunity than give it to someone else.
Does anyone have any information on why Megan Corkery now goes by the name Megan Joy?
Can the contestants just change their names along the way?
When I think of flu, I think of vomiting and dehydration. I generally don’t associate the flu with a cough. A cough is generally an upper respiratory infection.
Ok. I am a huge country music fan, but last night i wanted to start smacking people upside the head and ask what they were thinking.
I first had an issue with the fact that several songs by the same artist were performed. (ie. 2 Garth, 2 Martina, 2 Carrie…)
Second, this is country week, the purpose was to get the performers out of their comfort zone. Some of them acted like you had just shoved a hissing cockroach in their mouths and asked them to chew. (Lil…bless her heart.)
Third..kareoke (however you spell it). I heard alot of it!
Overall, some of my favs let me down and some of my not favs surprised me. Michael had a bad song choice. I love him, but geez, he may have shot himself in the foot with that one. Danny…I still like him, but i think he could have picked a better song. He was kind of shaky until he got to the chorus on Jesus Take The Wheel. Anoop…I’m totally surprised by him. I loved his version of Always on my Mind. The best lol moment of the evening is when Randy Travis was mentoring Adam and Adam started singing. I swear that Randy’s eyes about popped out of his head. And then when Simon actually said that he would say what Randy and all of us were thinking “What the hell was that?” I still can’t tell you…I really just have no words for it. It was just too painful to listen too!
Overall, I think we have established that this is a real competition and some people are stepping it up a notch. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
I think that is Megans whole name. Anyway about last nite I think it would be really hard to do country if you were not into that kind of music or whatever the music was at the time. Personally I was kind of dreading last nite, I hate country music especially that kind, so I think some of them did the best they could with what their choice was. I liked Adams song it was better than the original.
Did any one notice the range of Adam’s voice? Wow. The Ring of Fire reminded me of a 70s Queen song. Very dramatic. I loved it. He is not and never will be a country star, but what the heck. He is singing the music he is told to sing and singing it his way. Open your minds music lovers! Just because a certain artist has made a hit of a song one way, doesn’t mean it has to be sung just that way forever! I have predicted since the beginning that he or Allison will be our next “Idol”. We’ll see.
The big shock to me last night was Scott stating that he did not have any luck with the “hat pick”. Hat pick? The contestants have to pick 11 songs from a hat? No wonder some of them struggle. No wonder it was Carrie Underwood night.
I picked Adam weeks ago. I stand by that pick. He will be in Ryan’s bottom 2 tonight, and not because he received the 2nd least amount of votes. Just to “scare” him. It’s either Megan or Michael, and I say Megan. That spastic had no business being in the final 13.
Adam, Megan, Scott…adios. I don’t like any of them. I thought tonights best were Kris and Matt. I don’t think Lil was all that bad. I appreciate that she stayed true to the “country” sound, even though she was a bit uncomfortable with it. 10 x better than Adam in my opinion. I really haven’t liked his screeching since the beginning, and I usually root for the Rocker in the bunch.
Johnny Cash rolled over in his grave last night. Adam has a great voice, but come on! I thought Anoop was wonderful last night. I knew he had it in him. Still like Lil, but could tell she was very uncomfortable. Danny is still my favorite. I also like Megan.
To Sheila56: Megan has been Megan Joy since tryouts.
I also think Michael and Scott will be in the bottom 2, but could also see Allison there.
Enough has been said regarding Adam. He is one-dimensional – theatre/broadway. Now, on to the REAL “American Idol” contestants: Danny Gokey, Anoop, Matt, Lil, Allison and Kris – those are the ones who can have a long, successful career in the music business. I don’t think any of them would be a one-hit wonder and I truly believe their music can be played on many radio stations (except country
)
I agree Jerry about Megan, I dont even know why she is there.
I think she’s there because the judges like her “quirkiness” and she’s “current”…meaning cute…and could sell product. That is after all what this show is all about. Selling tickets to idol concerts, selling idol merchandise, cd’s, etc. Sad but true…it always comes back to the almighty dollar.
lol… k… I have to admit… I actually cried tears to Anoops performance. Beautiful. So glad he sang it so well.
Adam…..one word… UGH. Okay maybe another one. Conceited. Self indulgent defines him to a T.
I am so… mad alexis didnt deserve to go home! why didnt the judges save her? Whats his face should have went. Phil what happened to AmericanIdol-Extra? I looked forward to that every week.
I was shocked that Alexis left, too. One bad performance and America gave her the boot. Unfair. Michael won’t be the next American Idol, but if I got to choose who was booted tonight it would have been Megan Joy. As much as I detested Adam’s crucifixion of a country song, he does have amazing talent. Creepy dude though.
In the grand scheme of things, when you look at what the two (Alexis and Michael) would have contributed to the Idol On Tour show, I think Alexis would have been much more worthy to continue on and tour with the group. I just dont see Michael as being that much of a performer (0ther than country music) Perhaps that is why the judges offered Alexis a chance to sing one more time and save herself. Unfortunately, she didnt do too well. I thought it sounded like she forgot some words or something and then her voice kept cracking. Poor thing, I really thought she was much better than this weeks performance. Oh well, Michael will probably be gone next week.
I think I’m the only personn who appreciates Megan from the sounds of everyones responses. I really think she has a unique sound that we haven’t heard–ya, she dances a little weird, but her voice is similar ones that are extremely popular right now. I just think she has yet to find a really fantastic song. And at least she doesn’t scream at you or creep you out with awkward camera glances. However, I will say that Anoop and Matt were my favorites of Tuesday’s show…and I’m disappointed in Alexis leaving. She has a lot of talent–more than Michael Sarver–but the song choice got her. She should’ve picked a song that wasn’t done by Dolly..you just can’t compete with Dolly. She has a unique voice and if you can’t match her brilliance, don’t try to do it. So many fantastic country songs, so few of them were sung on the show this week.
I was sorry to see Alexis go but then thought…who else should go? I like them all at this point so anyone leaving is going to be sad. Well, I liked Adam before his self-indulgent performance this week which contrary to Mel’s expertise had nothing to do wih the arrangement and everything to do with his mannerisms while singing (oh yeah Mel…we do know what a *cover* is). So…it was just rotten luck for her. I think some people thought she would be safe because she had scored pretty high in earlier weeks.
With this group it really is going to be a week by week deal.