American Idol- Shania Week

Quick thoughts on what’s clearly becoming a subpar season of American Idol. What’s weird about tonight is that despite the lack of bad performances, the show still felt flat. Maybe this has to do with my personal indifference towards Shania Twain’s music. I think most of it, however, is owed to my lack of attachment to any contestant not named Crystal. I’ll break down tonight’s show by talking about the positives and the negatives:


Positives:

Casey, Aaron, and Michael sounded better than ever tonight. Again, I didn’t feel as much electricity from their performances as I thought I should have, but I thought they gave the three best performances of the night. In Casey and Aaron’s cases, this is exactly the kind of music that fits perfectly for them. I haven’t been the biggest Casey fan, but he was the best tonight.

American Idol- Top 7 Performances

I know I’ve been slacking on my American Idol posts, but does last night really deserve a lot of attention? You would think that getting rid of deadweight would result in a show jam packed with great performances. Ok, since we’re talking about Season 9, I would have been happy with mostly pleasant performances. Instead, I found myself covering my ears to Aaron and Tim, bored to tears by Casey, Siobhan, and Michael, and perplexed by the overreaction to Lee. Only Crystal delivered something positive last night. If it is possible to make up for six mild to horrible performances with one song, Crystal is the one to do it.

I’ll once again voice my disbelief that Siobhan has turned into a boring singer who tries to wow us with her technical skills instead of just delivering wow performances. Yes, she can hit notes others may not be able to hit. Yes, she can scream at the top of her lungs and occasionally make it sound like something we’d want to hear. But strangely she has lost almost all of the quirkiness that made her cool. Where did that punk girl go? Oh Siobhan, no.

Bottom three tonight can be anyone besides Crystal and Lee. I’m guessing it will consist of Aaron, Casey, and Michael. I’m thinking it’s the end of the road for Aaron.

American Idol- Top 9 Performances

Here’s something you may not know about me. I really like the Beatles. Ok, that’s a bit of an understatement. I’m infatuated with them. So while part of me cringes at the thought of semi-talented singers covering some of the greatest songs ever, a larger part of me looks forward to hearing the greatest melodies ever created. That’s the beauty of the Beatles songs. It’s really hard to give a bad performance as long as you stick to the melody. That’s why Tim sounded strong tonight. He didn’t take a Lennon-McCartney song and turn it into a reggae performance. By sticking to the script and staying in tune, he proved that any average singer can sound good covering the Beatles.

American Idol- Top Ten Performances

We’re headed for a very interesting results show tomorrow night. If Tim Urban survives, as Simon predicted tonight, then who will be sent home. We’re going to start seeing just how strong certain fan bases are. I’m also getting the feeling that the judges save will be put to use tomorrow night. Instead of giving my detailed reaction to tonight’s performances I’m going to just give each a letter grade along with their chances of getting the least amount of votes and the chances the judges will use a save on them.


Siobhan Magnus:
Tonight: C
Chance at being lowest vote getter: No chance
Will the judges use a save on her? Absolutely

Not a step in the right direction for Siobhan. Based on her reputation, there is no way she is going tonight even if she did get the lowest amount of votes.

American Idol- Top 11 Performances

Quick Thoughts on Tonight’s Top 11:


Lee Dewyze-“The Letter”: What a coincidecen that someone performs “The Letter” the same week Alex Chilton died. I don’t think it was done as a tribute since sadly, noone mentioned his passing on the show. I’m usually not a Lee Dewyze fan, but I thought he was very good this week. It was nice to see him tackle something different. Grade: B+

Paige Miles-“Against All Odds”: Have you ever heard Randy Jackson give such negative feedback? This was as awful as it can get at this stage in the season. I don’t know what Simon is remembering when he recalls a good Paige performance. Please let this be her last week. Grade: F

American Idol Contest- Everybody's Picks

It looks like we have a lot of Bowersox fans! I'm sure we're going to look back at a lot of our picks at the end of the season and laugh. Here are everyone's picks...

American Idol- Top 12!

Quick thoughts on the top 12 since I have work that awaits me. Overall, I think this was a somewhat surprisingly good start to the final round. I’ll group contestants into categories based on tonight’s performances:



Top Of The Class:
Siobhan Magnus
Crystal Bowersox

I’ll post everyone’s Top 12 predictions tomorrow night, but for now I’ll just say I’m happy I have these two as #1 and 2 right now. I completely agree with Kara that Siobhan brought the Adam Lambert treatment to that song, and how that may not be a compliment for some people. I thought it made her stand out in a good way tonight. My one problem is with that high note towards the end. I kind of saw it as an overly calculated attempt to recreate her previous “moment”. When it happened on “Think” it felt natural. This time, it felt forced and actually sounded too much like a scream. Other than that, go Siobhan!

American Idol Semi-Finals: Cumulative Grades

Here’s how it works. I calculated a numeric grade for each contestant based on all the letter grades I’ve given over the three semi-final weeks. Since singers are supposed to improve each week, I progressively increased the value of each round. For instance, the first semi-final week is graded out of 20 points, the second is out of 25, the third is out of 30.This gives each singer a score that is out of 75 points. I came up with a scale to determine how many of the remaining 25 points each singer should earn so that the score is out of an even 100 points. For instance, if a singer earned anywhere between 59-61 points out of 75, they will be rewarded 20 points out of the 25 that was left to earn. I also gave an extra credit point to each performance I gave an A- or better. The complete number system will be included at the end of this article.
Final grades (out of 100)
Guys:
Alex Lambert- 88
Michael Lynche-85
Casey James-84.5
Lee Dewyze-81
Tim Urban- 81
Aaron Kelly-77
Andrew Garcia-76
Todrick Hall- 76

American Idol- Top 8 Guys Performances

What an exciting night of American Idol! It’s not that the performances were spectacular; in fact, most of them did not rise above the “good” rating. What’s interesting is that the two contestants who were set to make the final semi-final elimination night fairly predictable gave two of the best performances of the night. And while I agree that this should not be solely a what have you done for me lately competition, it certainly makes me rethink what Tim Urban and Todrick Hall are capable of doing on the show. I can’t believe I’m thinking about Tim Urban in such a positive way! What made this such a memorable night was also the worst performance of the night. In fact let’s start the recap with the once untouchable Andrew Garcia.


Andrew Garcia- Genie In A Bottle: We have a great American Idol tragedy in the making. A great, early front runner is in position to coast into the top 12 and beyond until the judges unfairly criticize him week after week because he can’t duplicate one of the finest performances ever in the 9 seasons of American Idol. At first, the comparison to Straight Up was only annoying. I didn’t think it would have any lasting effect on Andrew. Since then, the constant comparison has led Andrew on a quest to find another “moment”. It all culminated with tonight’s train wreck. To say Andrew was trying too hard is an understatement. Simon is quick to take all the credit for Tim Urban’s turnaround, but he’s even more responsible for Andrew’s collapse. I’m hoping there are a few more chapters to Andrew Garcia’s American Idol story. Grade: D

American Idol- Top 8 Girls Performance Night

1. 

Welcome back to the competition, Lacey and Didi! Prior to tonight, I would not have cared too much if either of them were voted off. Thursday night will be interesting. I feel there are two clear cut choices for who should not make the top 12. But as we’ve seen many times on Idol, who should go home is not always who does go home.


Katie Stevens- Breakaway: Katie has had enough chances to give a wow performance or at least perform a song that gives me some idea that she’s somewhat close to being a star. This was just a safe song choice with a not so great vocal performance. Grade: C-

American Idol- Girls' Top 10 Performances

As Christina said in her comment on last night’s show, the guys are so far behind the top four or five girls right now. And while there were some bum performances in the bunch, none of them reached the pitiful levels of John Park, Todrick Hall, and Jermaine Sellers. Last week, we started to get a glimpse at some potentially great singers who got little camera time in the ore-recorded part of the season. This week was about separating talented from the less talented. With that in mind, I’m going to do a recap based on tiers instead of chronological order.


Go Straight To The Finals:

Crystal Bowersox- “As Long as I Can See The Light”- Last week’s “Hand in My Pocket” was solid but predictable. This week Crystal proved she’s more than just a folksinger. What a great, powerful voice. Grade: A

American Idol- Top 10 Guys

Although tonight didn’t feature any outstanding performances, there were more hints that some of the male singers could get to that point during the season. They theme of this week (and last week) is nerves. It seems like more than any previous season, singers are visibly nervous on stage. It got to a point where Simon had to end the show by telling Lee to get over it. If you’re going to be a frontman, you’re going have to overcome it. While these types of feelings can be expected from a show whose goal is to take unseasoned singers and turn them into professionals, the inexperience can negatively affect the quality of the performances. I think the best singers tonight were the ones who started overcoming their anxiety issues. Here are my grades for the week:

Michael Lynche: “This Is A Man’s World”- This was definitely a “I’m going to go for it and show that I’m serious about winning” choice of song, and I think he did a very nice job with it. I disagree with the comment that he’s potentially a great artist, but I see him potentially being a good singer for awhile on American Idol. Grade: B+

Hollywood Week!

Hollywood Week is here! I actually like the way the show builds certain contestants up during the first round only to send them packing without much further airtime. I also like when I feel vastly overrated singers get a ticket to Hollywood only to be sent home when the judges come to the realization that they weren’t that good. Case in point for this was Vanessa Wolfe, the “authentic” country girl who turned into a deer in headlights on the Hollywood stage. American Idol rightly gets criticized for its overly sappy moments, so it was surprising to see Vanessa’s exit interview conclude with “ I took a risk, and it didn’t pay off.” So much for being better because of the experience.


My Top 5 Favorites:

1. Crystal Bowersox- She is the one who performed at the very end. I feel like the judges shortchanged her by giving most of the credit to her infectious personality. I had a different impression. I think the audience got so into her performance because of how great of a singer she is. Regardless, it looks like she has what it takes to make it very far this season. The same goes to…

2. Andrew Garcia- I thought it was funny choosing a Paula Abdul song to sing in honor of the former “judge”. There was nothing funny about a performance that was a hundred times better than the original. To alter a song like that so early in the competition shows supreme confidence. Usually the plan at this stage is to play it safe and not polarize the judges with bad song choices (see Maddy Curtis) or surprise arrangements (see Josia Leming from a few seasons ago). I hope he continues to be this brilliant.

American Idol: An Episode That Doesn't Even Deserve A Photo

To commemorate the one week anniversary of perhaps the worst audition episode in American Idol history, Fox decided to air another candidate for that infamous title. I think I can say more about my ongoing dislike for Avril Lavigne and the obnoxious (but kind of funny) Katie Perry than I can about the quality of these performances. Of course Kara is a fan of the dramatic back stories that ruin our chance of seeing 75% of the people ho make it to Hollywood. So I’ll give a golden ticket to Katie for snapping at Kara by saying, “This is not a lifetime movie.” I was relieved to know I’m not the only one who thought Chris Golightly was overhyped. As Simon often says, Chris was very self-indulgent. Why can’t they just take a great song and sing it without ridiculous runs. Amazingly, 23 people made it to Hollywood despite the fact we saw around five of their performances. This criticism is nothing new, but it stands out even more after an episode that was mostly void of talent.

American Idol Auditions: Orlando

Orlando, Florida. Disney World. The place where wishes come true. Unfortunately based on the last two nights of auditions, I think most of us are wishing we can skip right to Hollywood week. I've had enough of the heartbreaking back stories (some of which are starting to border on ridiculous) and people who can win screeching contest not a singing contest.

The guest judges have for the most part been an improvement over Paula and last night was no exception. First let me say this about Kristen Chenoweth. The first time I saw her was as Glinda when Wicked first opened on Broadway in 2003. She was absolutely amazing then. The funny thing is now, I keep picking up on that perky kind of attitude, and it's a little annoying. However she did give some of the most constructive criticism out of any of the guest judges we've seen so far.

On to the singers worthy of mention in this post (of which there weren't many):

American Idol: Chicago

*Starting this week, Christina and I are going to attempt a back and forth discussion on the American Idol episodes. Instead of posting a separate blog, Christina will continue this blog with her comments. I will then do the same for her post on Wednesday's episode.


Well, this should be an easy one to talk about. In one of the worst audition shows ever, there were only a few contestants who really stood out as long term potentials.

First let's start with Shania Twain! I think she would fit perfectly as the new Paula. She's pretty, nice to the contestants, and doesn't make me want to fast forward my DVR the way Paula did. She may have not offered too many great critiques other than "nice bottom", but do you really expect that from the judges at this point? It's unfortunate that we had to sit through two hours of Victoria Beckham and only an hour of Shania. I think she should have made it to Hollywood.

American Idol: Boston

The first night of Season 9 of American Idol!  While I absolutley love this show, I'm not a big fan of audition weeks for two reasons: 1. I have no tolerance for hearing bad singing. My t.v. gets muted as soon as the first note comes out of their mouth. 2. I thinking hearing all the contestants backstories can get a little tedious after a while (however I have found they're extremely useful for identifying contestants).  I know those two aspects are part of the draw of these few weeks, but I would just rather hear more good singers.  Anyway, while I'm still anticipating the best part of this show to start, I do enjoy getting to see the occasional impressive voice and seeing moments such as the following:

Best moment of the night: Kara giving that arrogant kid an attitude.  "I am now angry at you who I do not like at all." I liked seeing that side of Kara; she has to start taking a side on people. (Although she's still using the word "authentic". Somebody please tell her to stop.)

But onto the more important part...

5 favorite American Idol Contestents/American Idol Preview

As I said in yesterday's post, I expect this season to be a lot better than the last one which was marred mostly by the horrible job by all judges and the production team. There is no excuse in the DVR age that we live in for the #1 show in America to exceed the listed ending time. Of course I should have learned from my mistake and taped the show for an extra two hours just in case. Of course, I never learned my lesson. Anyway, a few points before unveiling my top 5 favorite contestants of all-time (Except for Season one which I still have never seen in its entirety.)


- It’s amazing how much television has changed. I remember when any show that did not have the traditional September-May schedule was considered garbage even before it aired. Right now most of my favorite shows including American Idol, Lost, Chuck, Mad Men follow an “unconventional” schedule.

The End Of An Era

           When I first saw the news that Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol after this season I reacted as if some celebrity just died. Was that an overreaction? Well, yes it was. But Simon was always what separated American Idol from all the other talent shows on television. I think his presence on his show is even more important than the talent level of the contestants. When Simon was fully invested in the show, there was added drama for the audience to see whether the Real Judge echoed our own opinions on the couch. I’ll always remember the many times my mom exclaimed “That’s exactly what I said!” when Simon agreed with her. Can you remember the last time you were proud that Randy too thought a singer was pitchy? Or were you ever beaming with delight when Paula and you agreed that a singer’s dress looked fabulous? Simon served as a barometer for our own abilities to judge these singers. Sure we can argue about how everyone has their own musical opinion, but you have to admit that your opinion felt just a little more validated if Simon agreed with you.