Saturday, April 2, 2011

American Idol Top Nine Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Wish List

I almost hesitantly do this blog given how badly things went awry during EJ night and how wide-the-EFF-open the next theme night happens to be.

Yes, I realize that I did kind of step into it by asking for a theme night not centered on any one artist. Lesson learned... be careful what you ask for.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame began inducting members as far back as 1986 and the choices are as varied as you can imagine. Good news for folks like Scotty there are some country icons available like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, and I wouldn't even *know* where to start with James given the wide range of actual rockers available.

Though Journey remains to be snubbed by the R&RHOF, other favorites of mine made the list. Bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Who, the Eagles, ABBA and Fleetwood Mac join folks like Rod Stewart, Prince and Bob Seger on this rather comprehensive list of available artists that span the past six decades.

This one is going to be fairly hard to call and I'd be lucky to hit the broad side of a barn picking a specific artist much less a song.

But I'm up to the challenge. So here we go.

First up is Pia... who sealed her fate by promising to do "River Deep, Mountain High." Since Ike & Tina were inductees I likely would have picked this singer's song with a trademark "wall of sound" for our balladeer anyway. After years of going to drag shows I have a preference for the Celine Dion version - which has the kind of impressive vocal performance Pia will be shooting for anyway.

Truthfully, this is the only song that she could sing that has even a remote chance of winning me back at this point.



The great thing about R&RHOF week is that for the Idols who have already demonstrated to us who they are it's a lil easier to pick the songs I would like them to sing... even if I'm not completely sold on them yet. Such is the case of Haley.

The two songs I wanted to give Lauren (one because of it being remade later into a country hit) I ended up having to give back to Haley because they just fit her better.

I mean... after the Janis comparison we've heard from Steven - how could we not give her a Janis tune? Although "Me & Bobby McGee" is my favorite, I can see Haley doing her gravely, growly thing through:



Another where she could strut her sexy stuff and it fit appropriately:



I ended up giving Lauren Bonnie Raitt. But not just ANY Bonnie Raitt. Just like "Candle in the Wind" was the deal-breaker last week, anyone who sings "I Can't Make You Love Me" this week - especially given the wealth of great songs they could have chosen - will get an automatic zero.

Instead I think Lauren should return to the fun with:



I also can see her being impish and young with something like:



James can pretty much do whatever he wants from this particular theme. Acts like AC/DC, Metallica, Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones, Queen, Pink Floyd and Alice Cooper alone open the possibilities up endlessly. I'm going to follow the advice I gave to Jimmy last week and let the man just do his thing with one caveat:

I think he should go out of his way to break away from the Adam Lambert comparison by avoiding songs that Adam did on Idol. This includes:



And:



Other than that, I'm pretty well open. (And I'm actually pretty excited to see what he does next.)

For Jacob I think he needs to go back and dig out those old rock and roll roots with serious gospel ties. I know this one has been done before on Idol but I think Jacob is significantly signature in his style he can pull it off:



And my own personal favorite that just makes me happy whenever I hear it... which is why I want to hear Jacob put his own spin on it:



Paul is another very stylized performer this season, and I'd like to see him do something that sets him apart from the very obvious comparison to Rod Stewart. A song I think he could pull off:



In fact, I think I'd even give him:



As one of our more eclectic and unpredictable finalists, Casey could literally do *anything*. I may end up giving him the same carte blanche I gave James.

Although... wouldn't mind seeing him do something like...



This could be Scotty's week in that he can show us his stuff with an Elvis tune (which I've been waiting for since we learned he was an Elvis enthusiast.) The urge might be strong to allow him to "perform," but I think he should play to his strength - and his female fans - with a love song that fits his country vibe.



Another option, take the Dylan tune that has been made by artists like Adele and, most notably for this Idol, Garth Brooks:



We know it's been cleared for Idol in the past, but again I think Scotty is fairly stylized that he can put his own unique spin on it without making it a karaoke version of someone else.

Speaking of...

I have no idea what Stefano will sing because I really have no sense of him as an artist yet (which I think is what bugs me most.) This is probably where the rubber meets the road and gives him that final chance to show us what makes him stand apart, other than being just another good looking guy with a good voice.

(And can I say I thought his performance with the guys on elimination night was one of his better performances? Get that boy behind an instrument more often!)

Since he's got that kind of Broadway show tunes thing going for him I kinda want to see him do something like...



As you can see, the possibilities are endless - both to have a really great, exciting show, or yet another ballad heavy snoozefesty dud.

I'm going to try my best to stay optimistic and say I'm cautiously looking forward to Wednesday.

**fingers crossed**

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