Top 9: Performance Results

Another week down, another batch of performances to critique. So, the category was more or less right this week: “ITunes Top Downloads.” This was pretty wide open for the contestants, seeing as they were not limited to the top 100 like I was. This should be a good thing, right?! They get to pick any song that they would like as long as it’s popular on ITunes. They should KILL it tonight! … Never underestimate the power of stupidity. Though (again) I had an inaccurate list to go on, I still got 2 predictions correct this week. At this rate, I should be able to accurately predict the songs the contestants will sing in the finals, since I’m averaging 2.3 right a week. Let’s move on to the reviews, shall we?

Anoop Desai – Usher “Caught Up”

Poor Anoop. He really defines the term “inconsistent” on this show. After two solid weeks, he gave another subpar imitation of an up-tempo song. It’s making me start to worry about how seriously he is taking this competition. I also think that he has an overly inflated image of who he is as a vocalist. As the pride and joy of the UNC Clef Hangers, it’d be easy to see how that could go to his head. Anoop is good, and he knows he is, but he doesn’t realize that he can’t just come out and sing any song he likes. Usher is a tough act to pull. Not only is Usher a great vocalist, but he’s also a great ENTERTAINER. And when you choose a song like this and don’t PERFORM it well, it comes off as karaoke and dull. This was the same issue that Anoop had during Michael Jackson week. He simply can’t pull off these kinds of songs. He’s proving to be a one trick, balladeer pony, and in order to win this competition, you have to show a little more versatility than that. Anoop is in trouble this week.

Megan Joy – Bob Marley/Lauryn Hill “Turn Your Lights Down Low”

According to my roommate, Kara HAS to be reading this blog! HEY KARA!! Seriously though, she and I are on the same page every episode. The same holds true this week. Megan completely missed the mark. She, again, showed that she has an innate ability to pick the complete wrong song. I suggested that she sing “Chasing Pavements” by Adele, and Kara reiterated this suggestion (this counts as a correct pick for me). Her tone and phrasing screamed this song, but she went with a song that she loved rather than what she would sound good on. Even though I didn’t like the performance, I did feel pretty bad for her. This makes two straight weeks that the judges have ripped her a new one. She is in trouble this week, but her face when she did the mock dial motion was PRICELESS!

Danny Gokey – Rascal Flatts “What Hurts the Most”

As news broke late in the day Tuesday that Danny’s Grandfather had passed away, I had a feeling he would go with a more heartfelt, sentimental choice. I am glad, however, that Idol Producers didn’t feel the need to publicize it on the show. As for his choice of song, I felt that this was a surprisingly good pick for Danny. The past two weeks have been decent, but a bit lackluster in my book for what I expect from him. This week he delivered. There were a few high notes that he didn’t quite hit, but the passion that he put into the song more than made up for that. I’ve always said that Danny was a good vocalist, and I think he made a statement with his performance tonight. He is still a front-runner in this competition and can still sound good on any song. Don’t mistake this as my endorsement for the crown, because I’m still not routing for him, just a subjective observation. Props are given where props are due on this blog.

Allison Iraheta – No Doubt “Don’t Speak”

Allison got some bad reviews this week, but they might have been a little unmerited. Most of the critiques addressed her ensemble more than her actual performance. She did not look completely and utterly foolish up there, so I won’t talk about that. As for her performance, this was a little below par for the standard she has set for herself. Her guitar playing at the beginning was incredibly sloppy. The tempo fluctuated greatly when she played and she seemed completely uncomfortable until she switched to just vocals. My advice to her: don’t do anything on that stage that you aren’t comfortable doing in your sleep. It comes off as amateur. But for what it was worth, her ok performance this week is still better than Megan or Scott’s best performances all season.

Scott MacIntyre – Billy Joel “I Love You Just the Way You Are”

So, Scott finally did a song that he could perform pretty decently. His piano playing was pretty epic tonight, and the vocals weren’t half bad either. I would have chosen a few different phrasings- specific notes that he could have held out longer, parts where he could have went higher in his range, etc. Overall, it was good for him, but it still left me wanting more. I think I will feel this way after a majority, if not all, of Scott’s performance. The dynamics are just not there in his vocals and his tone always bugs me for some reason. It’s because when he sings it’s a mix between being nasal and yawning, if that makes sense. He needs to drop his jaw, raise his soft palette, and get some good resonance out of his notes. With the issues that Scott has shown, plus the overall talent level of the other contestants, there is no possibility of him winning this competition, so I expect him to be in trouble this week.

Matt Giraud – The Fray “You Found Me”

Second correct pick of the show! So, the judges said that this was the wrong song for Matt. I disagree. I think it definitely started out rough with a few pitchy areas and some nerves taking over, but once he settled into the song I thought it was actually quite good. I liked the innovation of performing amongst the crowd. I liked how the band cut out for the first part of the chorus, ultimately crescendoing into a pretty impressive ending. There was a lot of energy in his performance and he sounded good singing it. I think the judges were a little too harsh on him. Just because you sing R&B mostly doesn’t mean that you should be pigeon-holed into that one genre. You should be allowed to express yourself in whatever ways you want. Matt toned down that runs and didn’t oversing the song. I think his fans will appreciate that performance.

Lil’ Rounds – Celine Dion “I Surrender”

So when the video was playing for Lil’ and she said that she thought long and hard about what song would be perfect for her, I was excited…until I heard what song it was. Sorry, dear, but this was not the perfect song choice for you. The entire first half of the song was off pitch and you could tell that the judges comments from the previous two weeks were taking their toll on her. Once she got into the chorus, she found her pitch and showed the big voice that we expect to hear from her, but it was still only ok at best. Lil’ needs to learn that her voice is not well suited for big-belter, white girls songs (remember “Independence Day”). She is an R&B singer and she has gotten away from that. Simon hit it on the head when he suggested Mary J’s cover of “One.” I believe that Lil’ could possibly be in trouble for the first time this season, given three weeks of less-than-stellar performances.

Adam Lambert – Wild Cherry “Play That Funky Music White Boy”

Dang it! I was really hoping Adam would do Journey, but alas, I was still entertained nonetheless. His vocal range is absolutely frickin’ ridiculous. I’m going to try to put this into perspective for you. Last week, Paula gushed over Kris Allen hitting a high A in his song. Tonight, Adam hit the A# above the octave above what Kris sang last week! (that is up one octave and then one half-step if you couldn’t follow that). I’m sure that some people might label it as “screaming” but there is something to be said for him being able to do that live! His riff at the end was pretty baller too, something that people haven’t seen from him yet. Yes, it was slightly indulgent, as Simon would say, but Adam still managed to get away with it and have fun. It was no “Tracks of My Tears,” but it was vintage Adam, it was original, and it was something that people will talk about.

Kris Allen – Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine”

Kris Allen is a machine right now. Aside from Adam, he is more consistent than any other contestant on this show (dare I say, even Gokey?!). This was his best performance of the season so far (though “Just To Prove My Love” is very close). The fact that he went to the keyboard impressed me as well as his arrangement of the song. A string quartet?! You know I have a soft spot in my heart for some staccato string parts! Kris was pitch perfect, his tone was great, and his piano playing was actually quite good! I’m seeing Kris as the ultimate dark horse this season. I’ve always been a Kris fan, but I never truly thought he had what it takes to overthrow the current front-runners. Each week, though, he is proving me wrong and wrong again, consistently inching closer and closer towards Gokey and Lambert. This season is going to have a nice little showdown towards the end, I think!

Overall, tonight’s performances were average. There weren’t many that blew me away, but the one’s that did (Kris Allen specifically) were great. Now is the point in the show where we are seeing which contestants are serious about winning this thing. Some are remaining stagnant while others are consistently pulling away from the herd. It is still up for grabs among the top 5. A few good performances in the next coming weeks can vault anyone from pretender to contender. In my opinion, the contestants who should be the most worried tonight are Anoop, Megan, Scott, and Lil’. I expect that Scott will be safe, given that he performed better than last week, but I don’t think it will save him for long. Megan can’t continue to dodge the bullet and Anoop and Lil’ have been far too inconsistent. My vote as for who SHOULD go home is Megan, but I think that votefortheworst.com will save their poster child again and we will be watching the goodbye video for Anoop. If that is the case, I doubt that the judges will use their save on him. He’s gotten too many second chances on this show already.

A new section is going to be added to the end of each performance review consisting of my power rankings as they stand in MY mind. This does not necessarily mean that the bottom 3 in my rankings are in my bottom 3 predicted for the results show. This is an overall, cumulative ranking whereas the weekly bottom 3 fluctuates due to weekly performances.

1. Adam Lambert
2. Danny Gokey
3. Kris Allen
4. Allison Iraheta
5. Matt Giraud
6. Lil’ Rounds
7. Anoop Desai
8. Scott MacIntrye
9. Megan Joy

You know the deal by now- give me your opinions and discuss openly in the comments section. I expect to get a lot of flack for my homeward-bound prediction, so convince me why I am wrong. Take care, and keep voting for your favorites!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy