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”?
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15 Comments
Dude, Phil, you’ve got to step up your game, dawg. Was this really the best blog you could write? I guarantee some comments on this thing are going to be more insightful than this. What happened to insider comments? Opinions? All you gave was a very abbreviated version of what the judges said. C’mon, give us more!
That’s an emphatic NO to your question, does Matt G. deserve to go home. Even though he is my favorite, I still think I judge their performances fairly and while it may not have been his best, it was certainly better than what the judges said. And I disagree that he can ONLY do soulful jazz. That’s certainly what he does best, but I don’t think its fair to say that’s all he should do.
Couldn’t wait to hear Megan…keep thinking she might figure out how to use her uniqueness, but disappointed yet again. If she doesn’t go home tomorrow, I totally blame it on Votefortheworst. They applauded themselves last week on saving her.
I was very impressed with Scott McIntyre for the first time. Don’t know that I would say he was the standout of the evening, but more so, the most improved.
Adam has never been my favorite, but he’s starting to grow on me. Whether you love him or hate him and his screaming, the boy can sing. He has fantastic control. Not sure if I’ve ever heard him off pitch, except maybe once. Very creative and a great performer.
Kris is really making a place for himself. He was awesome tonight. I barely noticed him until the last couple of weeks. May be a serious contender.
Still don’t get the excitement for Lil….never have. And if I have to look at Anoop’s puppydog look after a bad review once more….
I’m becoming increasingly irritated at the judges especially my top irritant Kara.
The judges told Anoop to bounce around more last week and he bounces around this week and while they say his vocals are good he doesn’t bounce around well enough. Well…maybe they should have let him do his R&B ballads then.
Megan was not a disaster but the judges are sick of her and she is the Vote For the Worst pick and they are afraid one of their favorites might go instead of her. They told her she was *boring* and to make her more interesting Paula suggests she sit on a stool next week. I think she may be sitting on her last stool tomorrow night but who knows?
Once more Danny Gokey sings a song about losing the love of his life and tells us how emotional it is for him. And bitches about his song selection last week..evidently he couldn’t get clearance for *My Girl* or *Touch Me in the Morning* and had to go with his 5th choice which had nothing to do with losing the love of his life. He is still a David Cook wanna be to me without the humility.
Scott McIntyre finally gave the performance I thought was in him and I’m happy for him and his new makeover. They put him in black leather instead of dorky pink pants which had to boost his confidence.
Allison’s stylist failed this week trying to make her into the rocker Kara says she is, but her performance, while not her best, was darn good and I voted for her.
Matt Girard, Kara does NOT want you to be a rocker…she doesn’t think you are sexy as a rocker so get back to singing R&B if you are still here next week.
Adam Lambert has ditched the overly thick eyeliner and nail polish and opts for an Elvis look. He is good when he sings the music and not of his awesomeness. Kara, who is rapidly making Paula look serious, refers to the legendary disco *Studio 57*. Even I know it was Studio 54.
Last week they told Lil she needed to do the big diva songs but this week, according to them, she picked the wrong diva. Will Lil not understand that she is supposed to sing Mary J Blige every single week no matter what the theme is because Kara wants her to sing Mary J Blige?
Chris Allen chooses an oldie of an oldie (I forgot who wrote and sang it..so I had to google…Bill Withers 1971..I wasn’t legal yet). Chris is a dark horse, I think. While not a Jason *Allelujah* moment for me it was pretty good and Kara proves she can too count the words even if she has to use her fingers to do so.
I think all of the idols out-did the judges in showmanship and class tonight. Can we vote Kara off?
Did you even watch the show tonight? Lil sang “I Surrender”.
Matt should totally go because he took all that is beautiful about “You Found Me” and growled and howled and riffed it into unrecognizible oblivion.
If Megan doesn’t go home this week it will be a shame. Yes, she is unique but she isn’t in the same league as Danny, Kris and Adam. I wasn’t that impressed again this week with Lil, even though we all know she has a voice on her. Scott did MUCH better, he still won’t win the competition but he did well last night. Kris again blew me away, and I still find Adam my guilty pleasure. I didn’t get to hear Danny except maybe the last 30 seconds of the song so I didn’t see the tape regarding last weeks song choice, but there is no denying that he can sing well. I didn’t care for the song that Matt chose last night. Matt can sing, but I just didn’t like the song. Anoop, oh poor Anoop, He will definitely be in the bottom 3 tonight.
My predictions will be Anoop, Lil and Megan…..Buhbye Megan.
Danny-YAY…once again loved him!!!! He sings from the heart and you can tell.
Anoop and Lil- They could pick almost any song they wanted and that’s what they picked? They can do much better. Both of them have lost their appeal.
Megan-Can someone please put her out of her misery? Her warbling has got to stop. It used to be unique and interesting and now its just unique and creapy.
Scott-He’s on his way down. Every week his songs get slower and slower and more forgetable.
Adam-Still scares me. His hair and makeup are getting better though.
Matt-I’m scared for him. Normally he does great, but last night he killed the Fray song. Very out of character for him.
Alison-She’s not too bad. I don’t really see why they were criticizing her clothes. She was just channeling her inner Gwen Stephani. lol Her performance was ok. Not my favorite, but not the worst.
Kris-Where the heck did he come from? Each week he’s been forgetable, but this week, he rocked it. I loved his performance.
I think the bottom 3 will be Megan, Scott and Lil.
Top 3 – Kris, Alison, Adam (I know, I haven’t been an Adam fan, but he is growing on me). Bottom 3 – Anoop, Megan, Scott – any of those three can go and I wouldn’t miss them. I’m still a fan of Matt, but that was NOT a good performance last night. I like him better on bluesy R&B stuff too.
I recently came across a song that Kara D. co-wrote that is making me quickly a fan of her songwriting skills – check out Theory of a Deadman’s, “Not Meant To Be” from their new CD Scars & Souviners. Also, Chris Daughtry Co-Wrote a track on this CD called “By the Way”. These are two of the best songs on the CD as far as I’m concerned.
Celia, your post is right on the money. Stacey blogs for multiple papers, i.e. Jacksonville, Chattanooga and the LA Times. Most are cut and paste but here is his entry from the Times:
“I can’t believe we are already down to the Top 9 on “American Idol” Season 8. The theme tonight was the most popular downloaded songs. The gates were wide open and each contestant had an opportunity to show us exactly what kind of record they would make as recording artists.
I am not absolutely positive, but I believe I saw my dear friend and fellow Season 6 finalist Brandon Rogers singing background vocals…. If so, it sure was great to see him.
Another Season 6 finalist, Gina Glocksen, is staying at my house tonight with her husband because she is working on an album here in Nashville. I would take the time to mention all of her comments about the show, but instead I’ll just say she ALWAYS agrees with Kara.
Tonight was interesting to me because the contestants had this great opportunity to be current. Last year, people complained that the contestants could not sound current with themes like “Songs of Andrew Lloyd Weber.” But given the opportunity to go current we still heard songs like “Play The Funky Music,” “Just the Way You Are” and “I Surrender,” by Celine Dion. Song choice was key in determining the good performances from the bad.
Kris Allen and Scott Macintyre (pictured) owned the night. Kris pulled out an intimate performance of “Ain’t No Sunshine,” showing off his skills on the piano. Scott gave his best performance of the season with Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are.”
Anoop Desai and Megan Joy both enjoyed incredibly tough criticism and are each on the chopping block. As with every week, there will be a bottom three. Who do you think will join Anoop and Megan center stage tomorrow night?”
Note: Please join us for our regular postgame chat with our panel of Idol experts at noon Wednesday (Pacific time) at latimes.com/idoltracker.
–Phil Stacey
At least it is more insightful even though he has NO clue on talent. Scott owned the night? REALLY? He finally sings a song on pitch and he owns the night. With the competition this year it was maybe the 4th best, probably #5. Gawd-awful BORING.
Monica is spot on with the Danny Gokey assessment. His manipulation is repulsive.
Kris was great, but make no mistake. This is no longer American Idol. It’s “The Adam Lambert and Friends” show.
Bottom 3: Anoop, Matt, Scott. Matt gets axed. But it should be Megan. She is flat out horrific.
Wow…interesting difference in copy between LA and Wichita, isn’t it? I wasn’t going to be too hard on Phil for the short blog this week but….maybe Denise can come back on the weeks when Phil is too busy to blog for Wichita.
It sure is, and I frankly would prefer Denise to Phil ALL the time! And obviously, if Denise was out…:)
The difference in postings is pathetic. Dude…if you can’t give us any better than this, at least have the courtesy to “copy” and “paste”….
Megan has gotta go. She is beautiful and can sing, but she has no stage talent what-so-ever and is sooooo boring. Adam is getting better every week – like his new hair-do.
I really loved Kris Allen this week. His version of “Aint No Sunshine” was awesome. I wasn’t that impressed with Adam this week. I thought he did fine but didnt care for the screaming this week. Maybe its becoming his “trademark” or something but each time I hear him sing its like he has to show his huge range. Hey, we know he has the chops to sing like that but not every single song calls for it. I liked Allison but I totally agreed that her “look” was very distracting. I agree that she needs to stop trying to have the “look” and just bust out the songs. Puleeze!! Send Megan HOME!! Put the poor girl out of her and everyone elses MISERY! Geez! Good for Scott…his “Just the way you are” was pretty good but I dont know if I’d say he was the standout of the evening. I think Matt had a bad night…he still doesn’t deserve to go. I think he’s got alot more to show us. Bottom three,…Megan, Lil and Matt although I dont think he deserves it…
Personally, I thought they all pretty much sucked last night. And even though I think Adam is a front runner… last night he was one of the worse ones out there… just one step up from tattoo woman. All he did was scream!
I totally agree that Phil is putting about as much effort into this blog as he would say shining Simon’s shoes.
Let’s really say what needs to be said. Adam Lambert is a freak. If anyone would like to research this just go to youtube and search his name. You will find all kinds of interesting things. Best of all his version of the Star Spangled Banner is not only disturbing but, makes me want to slap a good ol’ U.S.A. beat down on his abnormal *&^%$.
If anyone would seriously consider buying an album of his then good for you. I hope you and your Goth children are happy being unhappy.
Kris Allen was definitely the best of the night by using advice from Kara “broken record” Diguardi and being artistic. I will not dive into the Kara issue at American Idol other than to say I would be extremely surprised to see her back next year.
Until we meet again.
Gravy Train out.