Tuesday, March 31, 2009

American Idol Report 3-31

Well I'm back with another American Idol report. I missed doing my report last week but would have been accurate with my guess of who would be eliminated. Michael Sarver seemed like a nice enough guy, but not talented enough. I was off on the second to last. Matt was too good to be down there. You know the drill. My comments and grades are made before I hear the judges' comments. Its some tough typing but I'm up to the task. So buckle up, hear we go. PS, I hope the pictures show up but I think the IdolOnFox page is messed up.

Allison's wearing purple poodle hair and I like it.

Anoop Desai Caught Up by Usher
Uh oh, too new for me. Not sure if Anoop is really an R&B singer or just a poser. That said, he sounds good. He's got a solid voice and seems to be hitting most of the notes. OK, but not great. It wasn't that challenging a song, but he did ok with it. Grade: B-
I'm watching with closed captioning and its cool because the vocals are showing as they're singing.
Anoop is a bit touchy with the judges' comments. Its a touchy subject and no one is actually going to say it out loud. Should an Indian guy from North Carolina be singing R&B? I'm fine with it and think the performance should be judged by the quality of the singing not by any sort of dues paying or street cred perceptions.

After the break, Megan singing Bob Marley. That sounds like it might be a most delightful train wreck.

Megan Joy - Turn Your Lights Down Low by Bob Marley, slash Lauren Hill.
Megan seems to make every song into a kids song with her gestures and expressions. Her voice does not sound good tonight and she's pitchy as Randy would say. It seems like an 8 year old's attempt at sultry. Pretty bad. Grade: D


Danny Gokey - What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts
Oooh, sincere song. Violin intro. 5 seconds in and my daughter says she doesn't like. OOh, I'm not liking the chorus and I think the arrangement is too much. He needs a simple acoustic guitar arrangement. I like Danny, but I didn't like this performance. It was too orchestral for me, both the arrangement and the performance. Grade: C+
Well, the judges disagree with me. But you know I'm right. Wow, Simon was effusive with his praise. Maybe I was wrong. Nah.


Allison Iraheda - Don't Speak by No Doubt
Cool, cool hair. Sounds good on the intro with just her guitar. But I like stripped down arrangements. Voice isn't great, but she commands the stage. I really like her and am amazed that she's only 16. She's not the best singer, but is one of the best performers. The first half was better than the second and the part with just Allison and her guitar were the best part of the performance. Grade: B
Hey Randy, her clothes are fine. She's 16! And is dressing like a 16 year old. Good for her.


Scott McIntire - Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel
I just don't like Scott's voice. It doesn't have enough depth. I saw a Billy Joel "Behind the Music" interview and after several years, even Billy hated this song. Scott's trying too hard on this. Its not winning me over. The song is too simple for me and it was too calculated of a performance. It shouted "Love Me, Love Me!" Sounded kind of desperate to me. Grade: C+
Once again, the judges are disagreeing with me. Well I'm prejudiced against Scott, but stand by my commentary.

So far, I haven't been bowled over by anyone yet. But most of the better contestants have yet to sing.

Matt Giraud - You Found Me by the Fray
Bottom 3 for Matt last week? That wasn't fair. He's good.
I know this song. I like the Fray.
Kind of cool, playing the piano out amongst the crowd. His performance of a current song is completely credible. He sounds just like the singers on my wife's radio station. It was pretty good, but was formulaic, like the songs on Mix 107. Grade: B-
Well the judges are being tough and actually kind of mirror my comments. It was more of a cover than his own performance. I hope Matt stays around. I like him.


Lil Rounds - I Surrender by Celine Dion
Well I don't really like her glamour look. She's prettier in the film clip than in the performance.
I'm not fond of this. Her voice doesn't sound good on the song and she's shouting it (as Simon would say). She's got a big voice, but doesn't have great control over it. I like Lil, but I have to say, C+. Just not great.

Coming up next, Adam gets funky with Wild Cherry. Well that can only be one song. I never see them on the list of one hit wonders, but I'm not aware of any other hit for them. Its a way cool song though.

Adam Lambert - Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry
Its always scary when they talk about taking the song and "changing it up"! Let's see how it goes. Daughter likes his "awesome hair". She says she's going to marry him. I try to subtly tell her that nothing personal, but I don't think he'd be interested. Not really liking it so far. His voice doesn't sound so good. Ah, there are the changes. I think the song is carrying him rather than the other way around. As Simon would say, quite indulgent. I like Adam and even on his bad perfomances he's good. But this one to me is only a B-. The song has so much funk, that it makes you move even without vocals. So it wasn't great in my eyes. Still Adam's got star power.


KrisAllen - Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers
Keep the arrangement simple! I like it so far. His voice is very powerful tonight and its a very powerful song. This is the best performance of the night. In contrast to the Danny's number, the orchestration (violin and cello) was tasteful. I think it was the best of the night and Chris is low key, but one of the most talented of this group. Grade: A-

My ratings:
1. Adam
2. Kris
3. Danny
4. Allison
5. Lil
6. Scot
7. Matt
8. Anoop
9. Megan

Bottom 3: Matt, Anoop, Megan
Who should go home: Meganl
Who will go home: Megan

1 comment:

AM Kingsfield said...

We mostly agree, Dan. I rarely get to see the whole show, so thanks for the re-cap. I like Megan, but that's not enough. She can definitely continue pursuing a career in singing.
I'm liking Adam more and more.
I think you are right that race is an interesting factor with Anoop. I am comfortable with an Indian as a bright college student, but I can't see him morph into a sexy rock star. Maybe it's just him.