Top 8: Song Predictions- Year They Were Born

Welcome back, everyone!  It’s been a few days now and I have been deep in preparation for this post.  As we all know, Megan is no longer with us.  Most of you readers are in state of euphoria because you no longer have to put up with an amateur contestant on American Idol who “caws” on every episode and can be showed up at any Karaoke bar on any given night.  Sorry, but I do believe that to be very true.  Last week proved to be only an average week in my predictions with 2 correct, but this week provides the toughest task yet.  The theme for this week’s show is “Year They Were Born.”  After EXTENSIVE research, I have made my picks.  Since there was no definite list to choose from, I used the top 100 songs from each year to base my predictions on.  I found the contestant’s birthdays on wikipedia, so they are subject to error, but I believe they are correct.  Click on the contestant’s birthday to see the list that I used.  Here goes nothing. 

Adam Lambert – January 29, 1982 – Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” or Journey “Open Arms”

This should be Adam’s dream week.  I know he has done great so far, but he should be able to murder everyone this week.  He is finally in HIS genre.  Well, maybe not his “genre,” since his style is more unique than one genre can encompass, but he definitely has a list of songs that cater to his strengths.  These two songs were the best fits for him, in my opinion.  I would be happy if he sang either.  It just depends on how he feels he needs to strategize.  Should he go upbeat or mellow?  I think he would sound great on “Open Arms” but “Eye of the Tiger” is extremely popular and he has the pipes to kill it.  This could go any way though.  Look at that list.  I can see Adam singing so many of those songs.  “I Love Rock and Roll,” “Tainted Love,” and “Edge of Seventeen” are all very possible choices.  He should do well, no matter what he sings this week.

Danny Gokey – April 24, 1980 – Journey “Any Way You Want It” or The Romantics “What I Like About You”

From what Danny has showed me so far this season, he has a pretty simple formula for picking songs.  So far, he has varied from fast to slow every week.  If he does a fast song, the next week, he’ll probably do a slow song, and vice versa.  After a moving performance of “What Hurts the Most” last week, expect Danny to spice it up again.  I personally wanted to hear him sing AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” but I think that those lyrics are too provocative for one of our resident Jesus Freaks to pull off.  I’m thinking that he would sound better on “What I Like About You” and he can even put a new spin on it to fit his soulful side.  For “Any Way You Want It,” I think that he would have to lower the key considerably.  He has some range, but not Steve Perry/Adam Lambert range.  Musically, however, I think this song would be a better arrangement for Idol’s stage/fans.  He has consistently delivered on vocals, so his task for this week is to calm down the ridiculous dancing and cheesy demeanor on the up-tempo numbers.

Kris Allen – June 21, 1985 – Don Henley “All She Wants To Do is Dance” or Bryan Adams “Summer of 69”

Kris Allen is in his niche right now.  Surprisingly, he has been more solid and consistent than many of the other contestants up to this point and is quietly making a stance as a legit contender.  However, this week is CRUCIAL.  Right now he has the buzz around him, but that could all quickly fade if he botches this performance.  He’s getting people’s attention, but I don’t think he is quite safe enough to provide a lackluster performance and not feel the effects, like Danny or Adam could do.  We have seen him use instrumentation the past two weeks, so I would like to see him go without it this time and have some fun with “All She Wants To Do is Dance.”  I think this would be a really cool song for him to do.  It would show some range, prove that he can sell a pop song, and allow him to do a little of the dancing that he pulled out for “Man in the Mirror.”  1985 was also a big year for Bryan Adams, and I’m sure it’s very tempting for him to do “Summer of 69.”  He would sound good on “Heaven” too, but after David Archuletta killed that in Hollywood last year, I hope he has a little more sense than to pick that song. 

Matt Giraud – May  11, 1985 – Huey Lewis & The News “The Power of Love”

Matt is in a bit of a predicament this week.  There aren’t many songs on this list that I could see him doing.  This was a year more for the acoustic rock scene, not the bluesy piano scene.  That being said, I do think that he would give a very serviceable performance of “Power of Love.”  It’s full of energy and a lot of people like it.  It would also be one of the best ones to add his R&B spin on.  People are perplexed with him right now.  We can see that he’s talented, but I feel like he is finding himself running in the middle of the pack, not able to fully break out and be a front-runner.  I don’t think that he is going to do much to help that cause this week, but he could surprise us.

Scott MacIntyre- June 22, 1985 – Mr. Mister “Broken Wings” or Simple Minds “Don’t You (Forget About Me)

So, I’m prepared for another less-than-spectacular showing from Scott this week.  I don’t have much to say about him other than I think it might be his week to go.  This would make “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” a HILARIOUS choice for him this week- a subtle plea to his fans to go out and vote for him to keep him on the show.  It was also the most popular song of 1985, so that’s also a plus.  If he wants to play off the recent success of the E-Trade commercial, he could do “Broken Wings.”  His voice would actually fit well on this song I think.  But again, I don’t have much to say about Scott.

Lil Rounds – November 14, 1984 – Tina Turner “What’s Love Got To Do With It” or Phil Collins “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Know)” or Prince “When Doves Cry”

Lil has fallen victim to her own poor song choice selection the past 3 weeks.  I honestly don’t know how she hasn’t been in the bottom 3 and Allison has, but I digress.  Lil needs a lil bit of a confidence booster right now.  The poise she showed in the first two performances, “Be Without You” and “The Way You Make Me Feel,” has dissolved and she does not look like the front-runner most of us pegged her to be.  Both of those songs have a lot of personality and sass, and Lil needs to get that back.  She could do that with “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”  If she is trying to go up there and just sing and show off her vocals again, “Against All Odds” would be a good choice for her, but not the Phil Collins version.  She’d more than likely do the Mariah Carey rendition instead, which would showcase much more than the original song would allow her to do.  “When Doves Cry” is a long shot for me, but she might pick that one based on it’s popularity.  1984 was a bad year for Lil’s genre, so she could have trouble.  If she chooses to pick another God-awful song selection, expect something along the lines of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

Anoop Desai – December 20, 1986 – Steve Winwood “Higher Love” or Ben E. King “Stand By Me”

So this is what I like to call my Psalm 100 special.  My two picks include songs that Psalm 100, the a cappella group that I participated in while at UNC, did over the course of my membership.  Anoop does not have much to work with, but either of these choices would allow him to show off his vocals without strutting like a peacock too much.  I really have started to dislike Anoop just based on his personality and his feeling of some deserving entitlement that he has not earned.  Last week helped cement that for me, but hey, maybe I’m the only one.  Anoop only has two gears, apparently- crooning a slow ballad or pimping himself over an over-zealous song choice.  Sadly, only one of those is good.  He needs to be himself and stop trying to show off for the judges (because they obviously don’t like it).  People can tell that he is acting fake and it’s driving away some of his votes.  He needs to figure himself out, and with a quickness.

Allison Iraheta – April 27, 1992 – Guns N’ Roses “November Rain” or Mr. Big “To Be With You” or U2 “One”

Well, we have one contestant who was born in the 90’s.  Man I feel old.  1992 was the year of some iconic 90’s classics, such as “Baby Got Back,” “I’m Too Sexy,” “Jump Around,” “Tennessee,” “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and the oh-so popular “Achy Breaky Heart.”  For all of our sakes, I hope Allison does not choose any of these.  I have been saying that Allison needs to take it down a notch for some time now, but she has yet to do it.  I’m hoping she takes my advice this week.  I think she would put a hurting on some “November Rain.”  I can already hear the violins being tuned and see the blue lights shining from behind.  She could have a very amazing performance of this song if she can do it like I can envision it.  The other two songs are ok choices for her, and she would do them well, but I’m not sure if those two would be able to get her back out of the bottom 3 (even though I don’t think she should be there.)  Come on Allison, do the right thing.

I have to say that this is the most time that I have spent, thus far, in making my predictions, so I hope that they are at least partially accurate.  I really would like to have some good come out of me spending as many hours on this as I did, haha.   Let me know your thoughts on these picks.  Am I right in my predictions or am I crazier than Megan Joy?  I would like to know!  Enjoy the show, folks!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy