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Before we begin, let me get this off my chest – am I the only one who’s bugged by the way “American Idol” insists on referring to the contestants as “boys” and “girls” when so many of them are not only technically adults, but parents? It’s weird and sort of condescending.
Lee Dewyze, “Fireflies” : I love the roughness of his voice. I just close my eyes and imagine him in a coffee house rocking out. It’s so authentic and heartfelt and beautiful. Love this guy. He’s like a scruffier Kris Allen, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that. Glad the judges mostly seem to get it, although Simon had the most interesting comment, that he’s better than the version of the song. And that’s really good criticism.
Alex Lambert, “Trouble”: Every time I hear this song I think of the dog in that commercial wracked with fear that his precious bone isn’t safe in the bank, and it makes me both laugh and then want to check the 5 dollars and 67 cents in my 501K. He did a great job, but not a “Wow” job. I actually agreed with Randy about that, but Ellen booed him, which I thought was sort of funny, because every time Randy boos Simon I wanna beat him up. Kara told him that the only thing standing in his way of winning was him…Please don’t start that mess again. It’s too early in the season to be declaring winners again, because we know how well that works out.
Tim Urban, “Hallelujah”: I think this song has achieved “I Will Always Love You” status, in that it’s a bad idea – so overdone, so identified with previous performances (anyone see k.d. lang at the Olympics? Mind-blowing.) But Tim did an amazing, if not earth-shattering, job. Anyone who gets you to sit up and pay attention to this song, now that it’s so expected, deserves a hug. From Ellen. Aww.
Andrew Garcia, “Genie In A Bottle”: If Santana did a “Saucy Jailbait of the ’90s” tribute, it would star this song. It was weird and sort of sexy. But not great. He has a great ear, and like David Cook and Kris Allen, is a heck of an arranger. Kara, actually, has something worthwhile to say, in that Andrew’s been chasing the moment that he freaked everyone out with his version of “Straight Up.” He needs to feel what he’s doing and try to top it, not recreate it. It’s a quandry, and Andrew says that he wouldn’t change anything. Good for you, kid. Here’s a suggestion for next week – “Hopelessly Devoted To You.” If you’re gonna go with girl hits, why not try extracting something rocking out of that sap tree? (No offense, Olivia.)
Please allow the following digression from our acoustic fest: Hey! “Iron Man II” Trailer! Makes me wanna see it. Mickey Rourke’s the man. Can you think of anyone else who’d be commanding and sexy with dirty stringy hair and enough bad gold teeth to make T-Pain nervous? No, you can’t. Also, hello Don Cheadle! I might not even miss Terrence Howard! Hope it’s good.
Casey James, “You’ll Think Of Me”: It was a little slow and plodding at the beginning, but I believed when he sang that he’s been in that position of being taken for granted and hurt that he’s ready to divvy up the cat, the sweater and her freedom, because he’s outta here. His confidence is something you can’t fake or manufacture, and it’s why some of the more experienced singers do so much better on the show. It was sort of safe and obvious, but not many of the other guys could’ve pulled it off.
Aaron Kelly, “I’m Already There”: No. No. No. It’s a bad choice for such a young kid, who is an actual boy, to sing a song about a long-suffering father apart from his family, because he just can’t inhabit that. Wait…am I agreeing with Kara? Simon tells her she’s talking rubbish. Oh geez…I’M DEFENDING KARA. Simon is right that you can’t just say “You are always too young to do this song,” and maybe some kids could pull this off. But he didn’t. And he couldn’t keep it from being pitchy and maudlin. Randy’s right that the power notes were good, but it just didn’t work for me. Didn’t like it. You can do better, kid.
Todrick Hall, “Somebody To Love”: The secret to this song is having just enough control to keep the giddy emotion that runs through it from taking you into Sam Harris/Teena Marie uncontrolled freakout territory. (Sorry, Sam and Teena). Todrick showed a lot of restraint. Maybe too much – it never took off emotionally for me, although that could have just been the arrangement. It was note-perfect, though. I have never been more impressed with him.
Michael Lynche, “This Woman’s Work” : I am not a crier- ask anyone – but this made me teary. This song always makes me think of the Kate Bush version playing in “She’s Having A Baby,” where a sobbing Kevin Bacon sits in the waiting room to find out whether his wife and new baby have survived childbirth, and…waterworks. Michael summed all of that up, better than maybe even Maxwell (did I say that?). Maybe it’s being a new dad. Or maybe just being awesome. It’s been so long since there was a male contender on this show who could tackle R&B, and Big Mike can do that so much more. Welcome, welcome my friend.
My favorites this week were Big Mike, Tim and Alex. What say you?
Leslie… Favor to ask ya. Longtime reader here, online. Can you please click onto the editorial page this morning and tell me what you think of that headline to the left, that presumably will be up for 5 days until it drops off?
You’re young. You’re hip (enough). You cover entertainment, not editorial judgment, but… Any chance I can get you to internally register your dissatisfaction with that gratuitous headline? It echoes Mr. Phelps language, on signs protesting at funerals. I get that. I get the First Amendment too.
But just like we don’t gratuitiously print the n-word in our headlines, and avoid using such hateful language in stories covering such slurs, why the double-standard for gay readers? Why the slap in the face for 5 days if we want to read that page?
At a funeral, on a sign, you can avert your eyes. The Supreme Court is taking the case, presumably to see if these fall under the “fighting words” exception — meaning it could rile mourners to such a level as to deliberately court physical confrontation.
I’m not PC, trust me. Run the photographs of those hateful signs. Use it in the text of the story, if it’s unavoidable. But don’t trumpet such hateful words in the headline for 5 more days. Change starts now. Are you on board with such language gratuitously used in your paper? If not, please speak out.
Thank you.
Wow. That is startling. I wonder if there were supposed to be quotes around that horrible word, which I’m not even gonna type here because I hate it, too. Maybe someone made a choice to emphasize the obvious whallop it packs. I can’t really say, since I’m not a copy editor, and since I wouldn’t want another staffer publically commenting on my stuff before checking it out, I can’t really speak to the choice. But I will ask about it, because it’s important that we know that what readers like and don’t like. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
And thanks – I don’t consider myself young anymore, or even all that hip. But I’m hanging in there.
THank you, sincerely!!!!!!!!
Your young and hip (yes — compared to the average So Florida age) voice can be heard on our behalfs inside the Post there, and if enough of you are willing to speak up, you can help bring the Editorial Board under Mr. Schultz into the 21st Century.
It’s not PC to ask that Board to think about how other readers, for the next 5 days, might think about viewing that head in your publication, and if indeed it was necessary language — the best possible choice — to highlight and draw readers’ eyes to the stories. Thanks again for the quick response, and for doing what you can — I bet your voice has more power than you think. (Oh no — I’m sounding like an AI judge now! :-) Thanks so much again!
Leslie,
I thought you hit it right with Tim’s song. Rolled my eyes when I heard he was doing it, but the 15-year-old LOVES him so we had a listen. Shockingly good.
This is the first season that I’ve watched from the beginning, and I now get the attraction of seeing the talent in these young people emerge. And the appreciation that it’s a lot harder than it looks.
I loved the top 5 Idol group medley last night. It was a pity to see Aaron Kelly eliminated however I think the others were better singers hence he needed to go!
I understand American Idol winner Lee has just signed up to RCA records. Cannot wait to get his upcoming album.
I consider Donald Trump would be a better American Idol judge than Harry Connick Jr. – Trump is not at all afraid to express what he thinks and can be as outspoken as Simon Cowell.