...and the judges wanted to know who they thought they were
Last night's American Idol reminded me of Groucho Marx's show, You Bet Your Life, and the theme song for CSI, "Who are you." The judges used a few words and phrases so often I waited for the audience's shout out of the word, and the birdie to come down from the ceiling. The word of the night was surprise, and the phrase was 'who you are'.
Paula used to use the phrase, "you are who you are", a lot. That made about as much sense as the judges' comments for most of the ladies last night. In the opening, the judges said that last night's performances should be the contestants' best because the viewers would be voting for American Idol's top twelve finalists. Ryan said the girls were fighting for a spot in the top twelve.
I am beginning to think that Simon is writing the material for the judges. First, we find Kara inching closer and closer to Simon in the last few weeks, then last night Ellen is on Simon's lap, whispering sweet whatever in his ear. Enough is enough, and Simon is not charming enough to make it believable. They should stop that and concentrate on what they are there to do.
Who surprised us, and who could not figure out who they were as an artist? Who was a knockout, and who went down for the count? We will find out on tomorrow night's results show. In the meantime, here is what I thought.
Katie Stevens sang a Kelly Clarkson song called "Breakaway". I thought the song was dull and boring. I thought Katie sounded good, though, and she followed the judges' advice from the week before and did a current song. Simon told Katie she needed to figure out what type of artist she wanted to be.This girl has talent and she is young and told him she knows what type of artist she wants to be.
The judges thought her rendition paled in comparison to Kelly's. I was more surprised by the judges' dislike of her performance than I was with the Kelly comparison. The judges also said that although she chose a song that suited her young age, that her voice sounded too old and was not perfect. Who is perfect?
I have to give it to Katie, though. Katie explained, respectfully, that she took their advice and chose a song geared toward the younger audience, and knew who she was as an artist. Personally, I think the judges do not want the responsibility of a contestant who is a minor. They could be worried that they would have to deal with 'stage parents', as they did with David Archuleta. Whatever the reason, they came down too hard on Katie and did not give her the kudos I thought she deserved for her performance.
I give Katie a B+ for her performance. I would give her an A but she did a funny thing with her voice a couple of times that sounded like it came from the back of her throat. I gave the boring song a D and I do not care who sang it originally.
Siobhan Magnus sang the Animals' version of House of the Rising Sun, from 1964. I think she has a strong voice with a unique sound. I also believe, that although I may be the only one to think so, that Siobhan sounds better than Kelly Clarkson. Randy said that she surprised him by making the performance, "hot", while Simon blathered on about her not knowing what kind of artist she wanted to be. I think Siobhan is showing that she can sing any genre of song well. He also told her she was an "unlikely character" in the competition. I think he is wrong.
I give Siobhan an A- only because the arrangement was a little slower even for a slow song.
Lacey Brown did not do anything for me again last night. I do not think she has what it takes to be in the competition this year, when too many girls have an enormous amount of talent. Lacey sang "The Story" by Brandy Carlisle. I never heard this song either, and the younger viewers have that advantage over me for most of the songs on American Idol.
However, knowing the song Lacey sung would not have changed my mind about her voice. I think she is too nasally and her voice borders on sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks, no matter what she sings. Believing that she should have been gone in Week #1, imagine my surprise (surprise!) when the judges said they loved it. Simon said she sang it well but did not connect with the song and her performance was forgettable. I wish I could forget it.
The other judges thought it was an effortless performance, and they meant that in a good way. They also thought it was her best performance to date. If that was the best she has, I cannot figure out why she is still in the competition.
I give her a D- for her performance last night.
Katelyn Epperly sang a Carole King song from her Tapestry album, entitled I Feel the Earth Move. I feel Katelyn should move on to another venue besides singing. I know this has nothing to do with her singing ability but Simon said the only thing he liked about her, was her hair, so I have to say then that there is nothing I like about her. The hair is a throwback from the 1980's when the big frizzy perm was in. Katelyn all but put me to sleep with her performance last week, but I was wide-awake for last night's performance and did not like anything I heard.
Kara said it was not a "wow" song for her. For Carole King, it was a major "wow" song, and as much as I hate to do it, I agreed with Kara when she said that Katelyn's performance did not show that she wanted to be in competition with the other ladies. I also agreed that it seemed like a 'put on' performance. History shows that some contestants get overconfident from positive comments one week and do something silly the next week that they thing the viewers will give them a pass on. I think the voters will pass over her this week. If, as Simon said, I paid Katelyn to sing I Feel the Earth Move in a restaurant, I would want my money back.
I give her a D- for that performance.
Didi Benami performed Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" last night. Although the slow arrangement of the song was weird, I still think her voice is unique and similar to one of my favorites from last season's Megan Joy.
Didi, however, seems to have better control over her unique sound than Megan did, and I like the tone of her voice a lot. The word, surprise (surprise!) appeared again as the judges told her that they liked what she did with the song and that as Randy put it, "a ho lot better". I guess he meant a "whole lot better", or at least I hope he did.
Didi received her official "sucking-up" apologetic moment from the judges for her performance last night. The judges apparently watched their critiques of Didi from last week, when they tore her performance to shreds and brought her to the brink of tears. For someone with Didi's talent, I imagine the judges realized how stupid they sounded last week, ripping into her the way they did.
I give Didi a B for her performance last night and an A+ for not coming back like the walking wounded, because I felt hurt for Didi after hearing the judges' comments last week.
Paige Miles sang "Smile" but no one was smiling during the performance or after. I think the girl can sing, but so far, she does not appear to want anyone to know it. She also seemed nervous, almost scared to death, on stage last night. The judges could not figure out what type of artist Paige wanted to be, (big surprise!) and partly blamed the arrangement of the song on her dismal performance. Paige even got in on the act of trying to blame the arrangement. Apparently, she thought the arrangement was okay before the performance or she would have had them change it, would she not?
Randy said it was his favorite song. I think he says this a lot about many songs, but I could be wrong. I noticed Ellen seemed annoyed while Randy gave his critique. What was that about? Simon went as far as to say that Paige sounded like she was singing at a Howard Johnson's in 1974, while people were eating peanuts at a bar, or something crazy like that. Whatever he was saying, I agreed that Paige's performance was not worthy of a spot in the top 12, and blaming the arrangement will not get her the votes.
I give Paige a D for her performance, and an E for effort in trying to agree with the judges about the arrangement of the song.
Crystal Bowersox sang a Tracy Chapman song. I did not like the song, but I love Crystal. She, like fellow contestant, Lilly Scott, has the rare talent that might otherwise have gone unnoticed, if not for American Idol. That is what I like about this show; it gives exposure to those with mad talent who, on their own could not get a large enough audience to pay attention.
Crystal is like a toned down version of Janis Joplin. Other girls in past years have tried the 'rocker chick' thing, like Allison Iraheta, whom I never liked. I thought she was overbearing, loud and trying too hard to be the tough cookie. Additionally, Crystal's vocals are at least 10 times better and stronger than most of the female rockers I have heard in past years. If the rumors were true about Idol considering disqualifying Crystal if she was not well enough to perform last week, that would have been a huge mistake, for the show not for Crystal.
I give Crystal an A+ for her performance. I regret to say that I give a D- for the Jason Castro look-alike locks and I wish she would lose them.
Lilly Scott, for me was one of only five girls who acted as if they wanted to remain on American Idol for another week. She performed Patsy Cline's I Fall to Pieces, and with that performance, she tore three other contestants to pieces.
I said this before, and I will say it again, she has natural talent, stage presence and the makings of a star. She appeals to different age groups for different reasons. She definitely has the voice; she is current but not too current to scare away the older crowd. She has the look of a celebrity from this era, but also reminds me of the female singers of the 1970's like Lulu of "To Sir with Love" fame. I also love her hair color and I do not think many girls can pull that color off, even though American Idol is not supposed to be about those things.
Kara made an idiot out of herself again by saying that Lilly made Patsy Cline sound current, giving the song a contemporary sound, but instead of stopping there, she went on to say, "I have to give you that." If that is all Kara could bring herself to give Lilly, she does not know what she is hearing, and she is an idiot.
I give Lilly an A+ and I see her as one of two girls worthy of being in the finale.
Slicing the performance show in half was the best part of the show last night. That meant less commercials and more singing. Additionally, that meant that I could watch LOST when it aired, instead of watching it after American Idol ended, but that is irrelevant.
I think Crystal, Lilly, and Siobhan will do well even if they do not win this year, or make it into the finale. Only four out of the eight girls did what the judges said they should do, sing like they mean it and as if their career depended on it. Those four girls are Lilly, Crystal, Didi, and Siobhan. My picks for elimination tomorrow night are Lacey and Katelyn, for their performance alone, but I think Paige may go just for her remarks about the arrangement of a performance that did not measure up in a fight for the top 12.
Any combination of the three out of Lacey, Katelyn, and Paige would be the right ones to go tomorrow night. Any of these will come as no surprise (surprise!) and they can then go in search of the question asked by The Who, "Who are you?", because what they are, is not worthy of winning the title of American Idol.
In addition, is anyone else tired of hearing Kelly Clarkson's name mentioned? Last time I checked with my kids, her career is still going strong so she does not need the publicity.
Do the judges want to keep reminding us of how successful the first American Idol winner is?
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