Tuesday, March 2, 2010

AI9 - Boys Back For More

Tuesday night is performance night in Idol world, which also means another recap is in the making. In a surprising turn of events, Crystal Bowersox has taken ill, and the boys will be performing tonight, giving Crystal some time to recover. That means Big Mike, John Park, Aaron, Todrick, Tim, Casey, Jermaine, Lee, Andrew and Alex will be performing tonight.



Although many thought Tim was a sure goner last week, after a bad performance of a song not suited for his voice, it seems voters were willing to give the last-minute replacement another week to get his feet under himself and another chance at the microphone. Let's hope he warrants the good thoughts of the audience. I will say that although Tim will not be hurt by a picture that has been making the rounds on the internet - my friend David Dust had to forward this to me, after he found it at Queerty. I would say his fanbase just grew a little bit...



Big Mike admits to being a theater geek as well as a football jock, which makes him a natural choice for Glee, right? This week, he is performing some James Brown, It's A Man's Man's Man's World, which was released in 1966. He does a fine job with it. The judges are loving it much more that I do. It was good, but not superb. Brown made that song come to life, a little dirty and painful, but breathing. There were no rough spots, it just didn't feel inspired to me. A little antiseptic to me. Next up we have John who will be singing John Mayer. He belonged to an acapela vocal group named Purple Haze. Yikes! Do they all have to have names like that? John is singing Gravity, the 2007 release. Wow, John is doing well with this. So much better than last week. The reviews are not great, but Simon thinks he is heading home. And we hear Casey is up next, and I can't help but wonder what Kara & Co. have planned for this week that might disrupt the performance...

Casey, who had never seen American Idol before, and in fact hasn't had a TV since he was a child. He is singing Gavin DeGraw's I Don't Wanna Be, which has been heard often on this show, to varying degrees of success. He is playing the electric guitar, which sounds great. The vocals are not as consistent, but certainly good enough to get through. The solo at the end is fantastic. Kara and Simon get mean, and leave the panel a bit mixed on Casey. He needs to let his voice loose, get it out of his throat. After a commercial break, we will see if Alex Lambert can get over his nerves and deliver this week, singing John Legend's Everybody Knows. We get to hear about how he tends to throw up before a show. He plays the guitar and hopes that will help. Wow, he is so much better, more relaxed this week. I am liking this performance. He has a nice voice. He is stealing the night for me. Oh, no, the judges agree with me. But really, Ellen is so on the money so far, I am loving her even more.

Ryan warms us that Todrick is going to rock some Tina Turner. They give Todrick play nice, and then run a package about him as a dancer, and his desire to infuse singing with the dance. He slows down What's Love Got To Do With It, and sounds much better than last week, but is still overworking the song a bit for me. And I could have done without the end note. And immediately Randy disagrees with me. Randy loved the falsetto, not so much the rest. And Simon thinks he is getting it completely wrong. Todrick is confused by the judge's feedback. They seem to want people to mix it up, not be 'sound-alike,' yet they don't want him changing it up, and want him to just come out and sing it as written. See, he is much smarter than some of those judges, he gets it.

Jermaine is all kinds of silly in his 'onesy' and a steam mask. He decides to sing Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, the iconic song from 1971. For me, his voice is far less pleasing than, say, Todrick's, but he over-sings a bit less. There were a couple of rough spots, but does not remotely sound current in the least, nor as pertinent as that song deserves. The judges are not positive, and Jermaine is confused, and claims God is making sure he will be around next week. Andrew Garcia is a break-dancing fool. He is going to steal a little of Alex's thunder, with James Morrison's You Give Me Something. I loved the first Morrison album. Wow, this isn't really working for me. Boring, really. The judges, except for Ellen, agree with me, which makes me uncomfortable.

Aaron is ready to go, and go 'old school' or so Crusty tells us before the break. Turns out he is a bit of a shutterbug, and gives him insight into watching the performances on tape. He is bringing out the Temptations, a little My Girl. He has a nice voice, but it is falling apart a bit on the runs, hitting just below or above where it needs to be. The end was pretty nice, really. Randy, of course, liked the beginning and not the end. They keep tossing the name of Justin Bieber out there, like they are one and the same. AI, they are not even close, OK? On deck we have Tim Urban, and we all can't wait to figure out if he will bring it this week, and at least try to get most of the notes of whatever he sings. And apparently his prayers didn't help the singing last week, but maybe the voting. He is singing Matt Nathanson's Come On Get Higher, a folkie pop song that has been everywhere since last summer. He is so much better than last week, it isn't even close. That was respectable, not great. The judge's didn't like him, except for Simon, who was overly gracious about it all. And the boy practically glowed. Good for him. And it was great to see Matt Nathanson getting a little attention, go singer/songwriters.

So, we are left with Lee Dewyze in the pimp spot, and I am eagerly awaiting his performance. Some disagreed with me last week, so I am hoping I hear something different this week. Like him actually hitting the notes. He is bring out Hinder, singing Lips of an Angel. I really like Hinder, and this is more up his alley, to be sure. Better than last week, but still not loving it. Too many notes that have no home. The judges are loving him way more than I am. Simon thinks he is the best male singer this season. Really? Really Simon?

For me, Alex Lambert was by far the best of the night. A week ago, I didn't think I would be saying that. His nerves were in check, and he sang the song so very well. I may not be loving the mullet, but I can hear that voice on the radio. There were no disasters, and since I had no luck with the bottom last week, you guess is as good as mine about who might be going home. I would suspect Tim might be one of the two leaving, but hey, I was wrong about that last week. I am understanding what the voters are doing as well s Todrick is understanding what the judges want. Yes, I am mixed up. On to the ladies tomorrow night!

2 comments:

  1. WOW! - WHAT A SIXPACK!!!

    The next "5 on the fifth" is a few days away and you are very welcome to take part. You can either take 5 random pictures of anything that happens to you on the 5th of March (or the days leading up to it) or perhaps go for my suggested theme. This month, the theme is... People (perhaps pictures of people you have met this week or even the first 5 people you see on the 5th?)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the reminder, Stephen! And indeed, that is quite the sixpack!

    ReplyDelete

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