Break out your dancing shoes and bell-bottoms, boys and girls! It’s “Disco Week” on Idol. This is always one of my least favorite weeks on the Idol calendar, but I’m interested to see what this season’s batch can bring me to change my opinion. Disco is hard to pull off because it is so irrelevant in the music industry today in terms of actual songs played. Sure it still helps inspire P. Diddy to have some samples to choose from, but other than the occasional loop from a rap song, we rarely hear anything that sounds like disco on the radio. With that said, everyone still loves to occasionally go back and rock some disco tunes. It was a fun era with high energy music, and people like that.
Once again, I have no official list to go on, so I’m using the list provided below to choose my songs. There are tons of other disco songs out there, so don’t be surprised if our hopefuls choose something not on this list, but most of them should be.
http://www.alaskajim.com/lists/disco_songs.htm
Now, onto the picks!
Adam Lambert – Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive” or Vicki Sue Robinson “Turn The Beat Around”
Last week I said that Adam should sing “Stayin’ Alive” for movie week. I’m going to hold on to that pick this time for Disco Week. He might be the only contestant this season that could risk doing a song so iconic and pull it off. The song has PLENTY of high notes for him to revel in and ample energy so that he can perform it easily. However, I’d love it if he took this song and completely rearranged it into a smooth, laid back version, reminiscent of “Tracks of My Tears.” That would get a lot of people’s attention. Another song I think he’d sound surprisingly good on is “Turn The Beat Around.” I know a lot of you are thinking “the Gloria Estefan song?!” Yes, she remade that from Vicki Sue Robinson. I think he would have a lot of fun with this song, interacting with the band and getting the crowd revved up. Do I expect Adam to do either of these songs though? Not really. He has proven most weeks this season that he will come up with something that you least expect, just to keep you on your toes.
Danny Gokey - KC & The Sunshine Band “That's The Way (I Like It)” or The Trammps “Disco Inferno”
This week is critical for Danny, whether he knows it or not. Though his singing has been consistent, his performances have been lackluster for the past few weeks. If he wants to maintain his hold over the rising Kris Allen, he needs to come out with a good, entertaining showing tonight. I think he could do that with “That’s The Way (I Like It)”. I can hear his raspy tone grunting out the chorus in a way that would fit the song rather nicely. The same is true with “Disco Inferno.” I can see him ripping this song up, complete with some cheesy dancing that would make me want to vom. The vocals would be great though. I want the judges to continue to be critical on him this week if he stumbles. They are doing him a big disfavor if they continue to shower him with praise when they need to be giving him constructive criticism. He’s not quite at the level where he can sing anything he wants to and kill it, although I do think he thinks he is. And that could be bad in the upcoming weeks. Again, no need to sweat about him being in the bottom 3, but no longer a lock for the finals unless he delivers.
Kris Allen - Kool & The Gang “Celebration”
After a week where Kris (arguably) stole the show from the other contestants with an emotional version of “Falling Slowly,” all eyes will be fixed on him to see if he can muster the performance needed to top Danny Gokey. If it were not for his speed bump with “All She Wants to Do Is Dance,” I think that he would have already accomplished this feat, but he gets a second chance tonight. I think that he would sound very good on “Celebration.” It’s not terribly difficult to sing. It’s not terribly high out of his range. It IS very catchy and memorable. If he can manage to do a fast song that people will enjoy, then I think he will be in a great position. This could be hard though, seeing as fast songs have been judged extremely harsh for any contestants not named Adam Lambert. Most of the contestants aren’t willing to throw themselves into an up tempo piece to sell the song like he does, but if Kris can do that he will give a memorable performance that will possibly vault him to number 2.
Allison Iraheta - Lipps Inc. “Funkytown” or Bee Gee’s “Night Fever”
When I thought about Allison’s tone and flair for rock and roll, I immediately thought of “Funkytown.” The judges get on her from time to time for not being herself, or for not acting her age. I don’t understand, because I feel like she does a good job of that, but this song would allow her to have a good time and not be overly serious. She is a natural performer, so this would be a great way for her to work the stage, strut a little, and win some people’s votes. I think she is in a dangerous position because she’s remaining static. She hasn’t given me the type of consistency that I want to see- the consistency that is needed to pull away from the middle of the pack and actually be a contender. She has not improved anything in how she sings or performs, so she isn’t proving to people that she DESERVES to be the American Idol. Simon is right, she is the girl’s only hope, but at the rate she is going, her only hope status isn’t good enough to challenge the current front runners. She needs to start picking up some steam here, and quick.
Matt Giraud - Earth, Wind & Fire “Let's Groove”
This song reminds me a lot of “Part-Time Lover” in how I envision Matt performing it. If Matt has been taking notes on his performances, he should realize that people are not really digging the whole Billy Joel- Piano Man act. That worked ok for Scott, but Matt has more to offer than just that. People like when he does songs with a driving, catchy melody, sings them with plenty riffs, and performs them with a swagger. He would be able to do that with “Let’s Groove.” After being saved by the judges this past week, I expect that Matt’s fans will come through to keep him in the competition for a little while longer, but again, he faces the middle-of-the-pack dilemma and needs to do something to show that he deserves to be there.
Anoop Desai - Earth, Wind & Fire & The Emotions “Boogie Wonderland” or Andy Gibb “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”
I’m really grasping at straws for Anoop this week. Of all the contestants, I feel like he might have the hardest time finding a suiting song for his voice. Earth, Wind & Fire has several songs that he MIGHT be able to pull off, like “Boogie Wonderland” or even “September.” The problem he faces here is that this is DISCO week. There were not many ballads written in this musical era. What is good though, is that he should be able to find a song where he can’t strut as much as he would normally do on a fast song. He might be able to give an entertaining performance that will not come off as over-pretentious and forced. All this is nigh though, for Anoop does not have that great of a shot of lasting past this week. Two people are going home, and as a consistent resident of the bottom 3, I think his time has finally come.
Lil Rounds - Chaka Khan “I'm Every Woman” or Donna Summer “Hot Stuff”
What’s funny is that I have the exact opposite problem for Lil that I had for Anoop. There are SO many songs that Lil could sing this week. If she can sing like she’s capable of singing, then I think that she has the ability to do very well. “I’m Every Woman” or “Hot Stuff” are my two picks for her. Chaka Khan and Donna Summer both have similar voices to Lil, and while she runs the risk of the “copycat” remarks, I feel like the biggest thing for Lil to worry about is getting a song that she can sound good on and try and convince America to keep her on the show. These two songs are very popular and could help her in that fight. “Best of My Love” by The Emotions and “Last Dance” by Donna Summer are also possibilities. “Last Dance” would allow her to do a ballad-esque into that leads into a high energy, up tempo chorus. This would also be a good way to broadcast her dynamic range. I called that Lil was going home this week, but there is a slight chance that she can sway people to vote for her again. She just needs to ball it out.
Group Song - Sister Sledge “We Are Family”
With all of the talk about how close this group is this season, I don’t see how they can’t do this song, complete with cheesy hugs and inside jokes overflowing from the performance.
A few more things to address:
There were so many songs that made me laugh when I pictured Adam singing them. “It’s Raining Men,” “Dancing Queen,” “I Love the Nightlife,” etc. etc. Haha.
Megan Joy would have sang “Fly, Robin, Fly” by Silver Connection. CAW! CAW!
John Travolta is the rumored mentor this week. I’m not sure what he can possibly do to help them sing, but maybe he can show them some Saturday Night Fever moves…hmmmm.
There you have it my little disco dancers, my predictions for this week’s sure-to-be-interesting performance episode of Idol. You know the deal, leave your comments after the beep.
Your American Idol Junkie,
Billy
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