I came into tonight with much trepidation, and I somehow suspected that the rock and roll music used to introduce the theme of the night (things like, go figure... Sweet Emotion) were, at best, misleading. This group, aside from James and *maybe* Casey are not rockers. Like we discussed on my wish list blog, there were hundreds of inductees and thousands of songs that could have been chosen to fit this particular theme. Since song choice remains a point of contention with me for our Season Ten finalists, I wasn't especially optimistic.
Overall it was a good show. These were solid performances that make it hard to pick which finalists will actually make the bottom three. The problem is I didn't *love* it. There's only one performance I was really excited about, but those I was looking forward to disappointed me and those who I didn't expect much from surprised me.
It was a weird night.
Jacob started out the night with a song change from the sexy Get Busy anthem "Let's Get it On" by Marvin Gaye to the more noble "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson. Smart move - he ran the risk of being hokey and inauthentic with the Marvin Gaye classic. He did well because he generally always does well. But unlike Motown night he didn't blow me away. Being in the first position meant he had to and he just didn't make the impression I feel he needed to make. This could mean the first trip to the bottom three for our favorite male diva.
Haley actually picked one of the songs I wanted to see her sing with "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin. For the most part she gave me chills with her more authentic performance that I felt was a definite window inside the artist she truly wants to be. It's a performance where she abandoned the sex kitteny stuff for legitimate emotion AND her growl added to rather than detracted from the vocal. It fit, it made sense... but she also fights the tide going early in this show where other girls (especially fan favorites) maybe made more of an impression. If she does end up in the bottom three, it won't be because her performance wasn't good enough to keep her out. If anything, it'd be bad timing.
Casey returned to his roots by bringing out his bassy to deliver a more mellow version of CCR's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain." The only thing this performance was missing was a set of steel drums, an ocean breeze and a nice margarita. I loved how it felt Casey-fied, and I hope that his fans didn't mistake the praise he got as a reason to get lazy with the voting push to keep him out of the bottom three. He's obviously got a legion of fans who forgave such missteps as "Smells Like Teen Spirit," so I think his placement in the bottom three and possible elimination had little to do with his not having support. Last week proved his fans weren't willing to let him go. But they have to keep the momentum going, and we won't know until tomorrow if has.
Lauren took on some Aretha Franklin, which was quite ballsy of her. I had wanted her to avoid anything that required any real depth or emotion because she's a bit of the cotton candy of this bunch. To my surprise she did fairly well given the material she chose, and dug deep to deliver a performance that I never would have expected from her given her Idol journey thus far. Having done so she may be fresher in the memory of the voters than Haley, who simply had the misfortune of performing early on.
Admittedly I gave James a blank check this week to pick whatever song he wanted to sing. I guess I never expected a ballad, or else I might have advised against it. It seemed like a wasted opportunity. When else this season is he going to have access to the gritty rock stuff we've never seen on Idol before? I wanted something a little dark and sinister, like "Paint it Black" or something more theatrical like Alice Cooper. Instead I got treated to yet ANOTHER Beatles tune from James. And a slow one. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. He was my one chance to actually see some ROCK on R&RHOF night, and I felt somewhat cheated.
HOWEVER...
It was shrewd of him to lay himself bare and show another side of himself as a performer. While it was slow, it was still authentic to who he is and better yet - he got to do a song that meant something to him. You could feel that by the tender vocal performance that was far deeper and richer than his normal "glory" note. This gave him one of his best vocal performances of the season so far, and even though it was a ballad my ballad-hating hubby did NOT fast forward through it and - even more miraculous - even liked it.
I think it just adds another color to his palette that proves he's in this thing for the long haul. I wasn't sold on him before they hit the finals, but now he's a contestant I look forward to seeing every week. No one is as surprised by this as me, and it really kind of maybe makes me like him more.
Like I had wanted, Scotty picked an Elvis song. Unlike the one I chose for him (a ballad) he decided to do something more uptempo and ran the very real risk of being hokey or corny by digging up some kind of half-baked Elvis imitation. He's still quite green as a performer and that manifests itself in awkward ticks, which he fell prey to as he attempted to bring a little rock to the stage. I thought it sounded great, but he has some work to do in order to refine his performance. Having said that, Scotty has a pretty staunch fan base that consistently keeps him in the top three over on the Dial Idol prediction site. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't make it to the top three, especially since he attempts to grow each week.
Pia came through on her promise to sing "River Deep, Mountain High." It was uptempo, it was a song I loved... but imagine my surprise when I was still *bored* by her... I guess it was a performance? I didn't buy it and it made me miss BOTH Celine and Tina Turner. Pia sings. She sings amazingly well. But when it comes to a performance she still has a lot to learn - which might be why she opts for the safer ballad route. She's safe, because her fans aren't going to let her go anywhere, but if she goes back to the ballads and stops pushing herself and following JLo's very astute and needed advice, she's not doing herself any favors to become the artist she wants to be.
American Idol is a turbo-charged training ground that she needs to utilize to the fullest, or else she'll fall the wayside just like the other wannabe divas who came before her.
When I heard that Stefano wanted to do a "romantic" song I immediately knew we were going to be "treated" to yet another ballad on a night when I wanted to see how people could rock. Or at least do pop. Then of course he does the almost hackneyed "When a Man Loves a Woman," so I immediately know he's going to make it all Broadway; overblown and overdone.
To my surprise he started out the performance the way I have been *begging* him to do. A spotlight... and just his voice tenderly singing a song to the millions of women just waiting for him to live up to the potential of his good looks. But of course he had to go and "Stefano" it and blew his chance to make it really, truly special. This performance lands him in my bottom three. He just doesn't have the "it" factor like some of the other performers, and I think that will be his undoing in the very near future... if not this week then at least before the top 7.
Paul took the pimp spot with a rousing version of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues." I have long been on the fence with Paul. I love his voice, but watching him perform can be a bit of a train wreck. He's either spastic or inappropriately cheerful, and the best I could hope for was that he would put an instrument in front of him and otherwise occupy his nervous energy so I wouldn't be subjected to the discomfort of watching him flail about the stage.
I was even more concerned with Jimmy and Will.i.Am both advised him to sing the song like he was out of his mind - which I felt might have been like putting a match to a powder keg when it comes to the near manic style we've seen thus far from Paul.
Imagine my surprise when Paul gave me THE performance of the night. For the first time since we started I felt like I saw who he really was as a performer and I enjoyed everything about it. It was authentic and "right in his lane." He involved the crowd, which I love, and most important he had FUN. THIS is how you perform. This is what I want to pay money to see.
I can hear anyone sing on the radio... but when it comes to a concert I want to see a *show.* Thanks to Paul, I think this year's Idol tour could be just that - and it doesn't have to just rest on the shoulders of the more seasoned and interesting James and Casey.
So... picking the bottom three at this point is a coin toss. No one had a performance *worthy* of the bottom three (unless you count Stefano, and that was only by a hair.)
All I can hope is that my Jacob and Casey can escape the bottom three or going home altogether.
But I'm worried. I won't lie.
Only elimination night knows for sure... and I hear that Constantine will be making an appearance. That fangirly squee you hear resonating from Texas will be from me.
So get out your earplugs and wrap your crystal. That's the only warning you're going to get.
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