How do you do my peoples!? Ok, so I’m ridiculously excited about this weeks theme: “Rock Week.” This is, arguably, the most talented final four that we’ve ever seen on the show in 8 seasons. With two thoroughbred rockers in our primero cuatro and two other performers who can perform serviceably if the right song is chosen, I think we are going to see the best performance night of the season. With so few contestants and so many great songs, it was hard for me to pigeonhole each performer into one or two song choices. Letting go of my control, I am just going to offer a stream of consciousness with what I think they should sing. There might be 2 choices given. There might be 80. I can’t promise anything. Also, rumor has it that this is going to be the first time in Idol history that the contestants are going to be allowed to sing a duet with another contestant! This should be awesome! Anyway, below is a list that I chose from. Let’s get on with it!
http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_songsddd.html
Adam Lambert – Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” or Guns N Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” or Aerosmith “Dream On” or Kansas “Carry On My Wayward Son”
As you can tell, I’m just a tad excited about what Adam is going to bring to the table this week. Everyone in America was shocked that he was in the “Bottom 2” last week (though it’s hard for me to believe that it was REALLY the bottom 2). After that revelation, paired with the fact that this is HIS genre, I can’t see a situation where Adam does not perform amazingly this week. His songbook is somewhat infinite, but I’m choosing these 4 songs. This makes the third time that I’ve pushed for “Eye of the Tiger.” I don’t expect him to do it, but I’d love it if he did. I’ve also been an advocate of “Welcome to the Jungle” for some time now. Either of these would be ridiculous. I expect that he’ll be out of trouble this week. Here is a clip of one song that I almost picked, but he had already done it prior to Idol.
Danny Gokey – Guess Who “American Woman” or Jefferson Airplane “Somebody to Love” or U2 “With Or Without You” or Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA”
Danny now stands as the only contestant that has yet to taste the bitterness of the bottom 3. After a rousing rendition of “Come Rain or Come Shine” last week, Danny has put himself back on the map as a legit frontrunner. He has always held that status, but this was one of the first weeks where he’s proven that he is deserving of such a title. I can see Danny rocking “American Woman.” Either the original Guess Who version or the Lenny Kravitz remake will suit his voice exceptionally well. He’d get to growl it out and play with the melody a bit. I can also see him going the popular route with U2 or the patriotic route with Springsteen. These two choices would cater more for the intelligent approach to the song choice. Either of these would have people voting in flocks for him, a la Kristy Lee Cook in her performance of “God Bless the USA” last season. We’ll see how he can follow up last week with a genre that isn’t necessarily promoting his strengths as a vocalist.
Kris Allen – Eric Clapton “Tears in Heaven” or Bob Marley “No Woman No Cry” or “I Shot the Sheriff” or Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge”
At first glance, one might think that Kris is out of his element this week, but I beg to differ. Granted, he is by no means a “rocker” by conventional definition, but he still has a shot of doing something great. There are plenty of smooth voiced front men in the world of rock and roll and I think Kris could have a great week if he doesn’t try anything too over-zealous. My obvious choice for him is “Tears in Heaven.” 1) Lady Killer. 2) Great melody. 3) Lady Killer…oh wait, I already said that. That’s because it’s doubly important this week. He needs to get all of the teeny bopper girls, their cousins and their old decrepit Aunt Mildred’s to flash flood the telephone lines. For the course of this season, he has received the most love when he has done ballads or showed off his creativity in arranging. Here enters the Bob Marley songs. I think these songs are verging on “iconic,” but I also feel that, with the right spin, he can create something memorable and impressionable to gain peoples votes. I don’t want to see him do anything cliché. It’s crunch time and cliché is for pansies!
Allison Iraheta – Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse of the Heart” or Stevie Nicks “Edge of Seventeen” or Guns N Roses “November Rain”
The most anticipation for a contestant this week might be for Allison. As the only girl left standing, and the highest ranked “rocker chick” to ever come through Idol, there is a great deal of pressure for her to be phenomenal. If she does any of the songs I have listed above, she could achieve that. I think she could murder any one of these songs. I’ve pushed for “November Rain” several times before, but granted that she did a ballad last week, I doubt we’ll be sing that side of her this go round. Shame, because I liked that side of her. “Total Eclipse” would be perfect for her. She’s got the tone, she’s got the range, and she needs the familiarity of such a classic song to help catapult her past her male competitors. I hope she does well this week, because no matter what Idol tells us, I have my suspicions that Allison was in the top 2 last week.
Duets:
Adam and Allison – Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” or Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way”
This is the duet that everyone would want to see- two rockers going at it. So, it’s obvious that I think Allison should be singing some Stevie Nicks. I like Stevie a lot and I think that Allison could do her justice. She is one of the premier dueters of her era and either song would be a good fit for her. Adam would be able to do either Tom Petty or Lindsey Buckingham. I really, really hope that this is the combo we get to hear and they choose one of these songs.
Kris and Danny – Boston “More Than a Feeling” or ZZ Top “Sharp Dressed Man”
Should they sing together, Kris and Danny would definitely be wise to do “Sharp Dressed Man.” Complete with suits, some shades, and suave demeanors, this would drive all of the women crazy. Apparently, that is my deciding factor this week. I’m not sure if their voices would fit together as well as A & A, but I still think it’d be an entertaining duet.
There you have it folks. Don’t pencil anyone in the finals just yet. With this group, there is no guarantee that anyone won’t be eliminated at any given time from here on out. I really think that it all comes down to the performances from this point on. If one person falls behind, the voting public will leave him/her behind with no reservations. One stumble is all it takes to fall from eminent superstardom to irrelevant obscurity. I’m expecting a great show, folks. I hope you are as jacked as I am.
Your American Idol Junkie,
Billy
2 comments:
Allison could also rock the mess out of "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar. I might would like to see that more than the others...but that is a strong "might."
I want to comment while the show is fresh in my head.
The best performance of the night was the duet between Adam and Allison. They rocked, and it looked like they were having so much fun singing together. Simon said Adam is keeping Allison in the competition with the duet, but I think Allison is the one that made Adam better.
The worst performance was Danny's solo. I know lots of people love him and will probably vote for him anyway, but the notes at the end were awful. Dogs were howling somewhere. The whole performance seemed forced to me, and I'm kind of mad, because the judges said Kris wasn't good, but then weren't as harsh on Danny. Kris was better than Danny tonight.
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