Oh baby, there are only four more Idols left ... which means, only a couple more weeks of hearing Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler tell everyone they're "in it to win it" and that the song is like listening to their concert. Seriously, guys, not everyone'se song is absolutely perfect. Give some sort of critique! Tonight, they only one to which they said anything other than "YOU ARE AMAZING" was one of the best performances of the night. *eyeroll*
Tonight the theme was songs by songwriting duo Leiber & Stoller with mentor Lady Gaga (the "theme weeks" have been sort of weak and random this year), but before that lovely drama we had to suffer through the songs that inspire our Idols. Gag.
James sang one of the best sing-loudly-in-the-car songs ever - Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." First of all, could you get a dorkier song? Maybe it's just my general dislike for '80s rock, but that song is just sort of silly. James sang it well, but it was a basic, standard rock song - no different than listening to your super talented friend sing the song while you play Rock Band on a Saturday night. Randy said that it was a song with the "highest degree of difficulty," but considering how easy it is for me to sound good while singing it in the car, I think Randy is full of crap.
Haley sang Michael Jackson's "Earth Song," and it was great. Like, give me goosebumps great. She really inserted a lot of passion into the song with her finally-contained growl. Haley has that wonderful bluesy quality to her voice - a bit of an Adele feel, which I love. It was a bit of her own invention, and not just a karaoke version of Jackson's song. She just really got into it and performed the heck out of the song. So, of course, the judges hated it. The one really original song in the group of inspirational songs, and J.Lo. and Randy didn't like it. (Steven Tyler, to his credit, told J.Lo. and Randy they were wrong and that she "nailed it. Which she did.") Apparently the judges want boring mediocrity this year, because Haley's version of "Earth Song" was a wonderful, fresh take on a bit of a dated song, and she was the only one who did that in the "inspirations" round. Thankfully, Haley defended herself and shot horrible looks at the judges - and rightly so. If looks could kill, they'd be on the phone begging for Simon Cowell to come back.
Scotty sang "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?" by Alan Jackson and, once again, he sang it really, really, really well. The man is a born country singer. But it was really standard, basically like listening to Alan Jackson sing it. It was your super talented friend singing karaoke in a bar. WHY do the judges keep praising that kind of thing? It's not Karaoke Idol ... the singers need to be doing more than just parroting their favorite singers.
Lauren sang "Do It Anyway" by Martina McBride, and it was definitely "just OK." She has a lovely country voice, but this song was just terribly "blah." Karaoke rendition for sure. And it wasn't even your super talented friend singing karaoke - it was your slightly less talented friend who has a nice voice but isn't really great at staying on pitch all the time. And she needs to fire her stylist, because her mullet dress was unflattering and her hair was greasy, stringy and trashy-looking.
OK, after the excruiating "inspiration" round, it was time for some fun! And, thankfully, Our Lady of Gaga stepped it up. She brought the crazy, but also gave the Idols some truly excellent advice that made three out of the four Idols perform incredibly well.
First up was Haley, singing "I Who Have Nothing." She was singing it well, but Gaga told her "go psycho" during the song and make it more theatrical. Umm, yes please. It was FANTASTIC. The judges, being egomaniacs, of course took credit for Haley's crazy eyes during the song, but I think she actually just completely committed to the character of a sad, lonely woman in love. That's because Haley has hit her stride and is really becoming a true performer and an artist instead of just a parrot. I said it last week, and I stand by it ... give Haley the Idol crown NOW! She definitely deserves it.
Next, Scotty sang "Young Blood" by the Coasters. Gaga told him to "make love to the microphone," which caused Scotty to have a mini-spazz attack over ... the fact that she was acting like Gaga? I thought she was pretty tame, but he looked like a frightened bunny the whole time he was in the room with Her Gaganess. Anyway, his performance was also spazztastic, but, really, in a good way. This song was SO MUCH younger than his general feel, and I loved to see Scotty strutting around having fun while he sang. He sounded good, too, but the feel was what I really liked about it. More silly, fun songs, Scotty!
Then, Lauren sang Elvis' "Trouble." She inexplicably was concerned about singing the line "Because I'm evil," but Gaga convinced her that's she's just playing a part and nobody really believes that she's evil. However, whoever dressed Lauren in that horrendous "Dynasty"-esque outfit is, in fact, evil. She looked dowdy and awkward and weird, and I absolutely hated her styling. (In fact, the long dress she was wearing when she was working with Gaga was rather hideous, too.) After I finally tore my attention away from the sequined monstrosity she was wearing, I heard that poor Lauren also wasn't singing terribly well. I liked the arrangement, but she was out of tune and uncomfortable with the song, and she had a lot of problems getting her words out when she was singing fast. Not good, Lauren. Sorry, dawg.
Finally, the show ended with James singing a wicked rock version of "Love Potion No. 9." Gaga convinced James to put his body into it, and even came up behind him and started moving his hips for him. (I would have loved to have seen what Scotty would have done if Gaga would have done something like that.) It was great to end the show with a creative arrangement of a song that really showcased what the singer is good at. James got slightly screamy at points - he doesn't have the command of falsetto that Adam Lambert has - but, hey, it's rock music. A little screaming is OK! It was a great end to a show with a lot of ups and downs.
So, who goes home? Well, if there's any justice in the world, it will be poor Lauren. She has a great, sweet little country voice but she absolutely cannot go outside the box and tonight was just a completely off night for the poor little sweetheart. I think she'll do fine when she gets out in the music world, but there is just no way that she deserves to be in the competition over Haley, James and Scotty.
No comments:
Post a Comment