Wednesday, March 10, 2010

American Idol Unpluged? Season 9 - Top 16 - 8 Guys Perform




Hello Idol Watchers!  Interesting night wasn't it?   It seemed like an endless string of acoustic guitars for awhile and a pretty ho hum night with exception of a performance or 2.   I think we need to open up with a little Simon quote to Kara tonight don't you?  "What you said is complete and utter rubbish."   LOVE IT!   It hurt Kara so much that she was reduced to tears 2 performances later crying about how she has no children!  Yeah yeah yeah, I know it wasn't related but just give me that one.  This woman is no Paula Abdul.   Sorry!  Can't even make myself feel bad for her or even believe that she was that emotionally affected by the song.  Anyway, enough Kara bashing for now.   This is definitely going to be a rough week for my picks.  I absolutely have no idea what America will do tonight.  But I have some theories!  

Let's break it down.  Randy, stop booing Simon!  I am seeing enough deja vu's on LOST this season!   


  1. Lee Dewyze - "Fireflies" by Owl City - Lee is a likable guy, isn't he?  I like the song too.   I think based on likability, the catchy tune and his mixing up of the beats a little bit he is fine to make it to the top 12.  But, I do worry about his longevity.  I see the same thing every week with him.   He stands there with his guitar, brings a hard edge vocal to a song and does his little guitar riffy thing to play through it.  Every song and every vocal performance of his is starting to blend together.  The judges are convinced he can do better.  We'll see! 
  2. Alex Lambert - "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne - And here we go.  The first of several REPEAT IDOL performances.  Both Taylor Hicks and Chris Sligh have tackled this song in previous seasons.  Great song, still love Alex. Still love that crazy mullet (is it getting longer???  Sure seems like it)   His awkward presence was back a little more this week with him attempting to stand up.  No fear, Simon told him to imagine Randy in a bikini and Kara afraid that she wasn't in the spotlight for a second screamed out "I do that!!!"   Great Kara, no one cares.  Oh right and the whole binky comment and the touchy feely stuff with Simon again.  Please, I was over it before I even saw it the first time!   As for Alex, I hope he's going to get through, but we have to be honest.  Do we really think he's going to get his act together and go for the win?   Kara seems to think he can go all the way.  I'm not sure I see that!  2 people have to go home, and I'm thinking one of the guitar wonders tonight will be in that list! 
  3. Tim Urban - "Hallelujah" - by Leonard Cohen (Jeff Buckley version) - Here we go again.  Jason Castro pretty much put his stamp on this song for Idol a couple years ago.  He even caused a boom in iTunes sales of the Jeff Buckley rendition.  So, I was prepared for the worst.  Amazingly, Tim sounded pretty decent on it.  He kicked the band out and just stuck with his guitar.  Right after this is Andrew Garcia, one of these guys is going to get lost in the mix.   Tim probably had the smallest fan base.  But, we'll just have to see what happens!   Was this the one where Ellen ran over and hugged a contestant?  That was really bizarre wasn't it?  Do people really want to stick around and see this show once Simon is gone?   I'm losing faith each week with this crew! 
  4. Andrew Garcia - "Genie in a Bottle"  Christina Aguilera - I think after this performance I am officially off of the Andrew Garcia bandwagon.  He is definitely a case of peaking too early.  He had the one trick and has nothing left to offer.  He thought he was just going to relax and "feel" his way through "Genie in a Bottle" and he really didn't do ANYTHING to the song.  He played is little quick guitar riffs and sang the straight melody from the song.  What's creative about that?  He looked a little goofy doing it too.   I don't know, I thought he was a Top 12 lock, but now I'm questioning it.   Who of these first 4 might get forgotten?   It's a toss-up! 
  5. Casey James - "You'll Think of Me" by Keith Urban - Oh my...ANOTHER guitar mellow song.  Yeah, Casey is all dreamy and stuff (so say the ladies!) and it's a good Keith song.   But I think at this point I was falling asleep.  I don't see Casey having much versatility either down the stretch.  This performance was very much like his Bryan Adams performance 2 weeks ago.   And last week when he tried to mix it up, it didn't work as well.  I think his strength is in his guitar playing and not so much the voice.  But, I'll keep the faith and maybe he can pull something out once he gets into the theme weeks.   So that is pretty much 5 performances we won't be remembering very well.  When you start thinking about it that way, then maybe you have to think about who is the most popular at this point?  
  6. Aaron Kelly - "I'm Already There" by Lonestar -  Ah yes, the performance where Kara tried to educate Aaron on the purpose of the song and how he's too young to sing it.  REALLY?!  I like this kid.  I couldn't really tell if he was trying to do a raspy thing with his voice or he was just losing it.   I think he has the mom vote in the bag though.  I can't see him going home just yet.  Winning?  No, I don't see that either.  But this guy has top 12 "poster boy" written all over his face!     
  7. Todrick Hall - "Somebody to Love" by Queen - Oh my.  I don't even know where to start.  Yes, thank God he didn't play guitar (not that he plays one anyway!)   But WHY oh WHY did he have to do my favorite Queen song?  I have always thought that this song would make or break a contestant on.  It actually got me on the Elliott Yamin bandwagon back in season 5 after he tried to tackle it during Queen Week.   Todrick's performance started off as a train wreck but wasn't the worst thing in the world by the end.   He definitely sang the notes and did his own spin on it.  But I cannot take this guy seriously.   Here comes some sarcasm.  I love how now that Adam Lambert is no longer competing, it is safe to call performances TOO BROADWAY again.   I made such a big deal about the hypocritical judging last season.  Here we are again.   The thing is, I have to agree.   Any other week, this performance would have been a joke.  But with the producers lining up 5 mellow guitar performances in a row, they may have given Todrick a chance to stay in this competition.  Then again, they put him right before the most memorable performance of the night.  So maybe not! 
  8. Michael Lynche - "This Woman's Work" by Maxwell - I will be the first to admit that I have never heard the song that all 4 of the judges love with a passion.   But I do know when someone is KILLING IT (good thing) out there!  Mikey was owning that stage, commanding every note.  He felt that whole performance and it was a sight to see!  Did he just put himself in league with some of the girls?  Quite possibly!  One thing is for sure, he slayed it and is in the top 12!   Love that dude.  And when you look at Michael and Todrick side by side, which one can you take more seriously?  That's what I thought, the one not dressing like the kid from Big Daddy.



So this is a rough one kids.  I'm not sure what I'm gonna do!  Well, let's do the ol' process of elimination!

Safe: Michael Lynche, Casey James, Aaron Kelly
Should be okay: Lee Dewyze
Probably next on the chopping block before this week: Todrick Hall, Tim Urban
On the hot seat: Andrew Garcia, Alex Lambert

(putting the names in a hat, shaking, closing eyes, picking out)

Elimination Picks: Todrick Hall, Alex Lambert    Bonus Pick: Andrew Garcia

I believe in the mullet power, but it's crunch time and I don't know.  I'm nervous for the kid!  I could easily see it being any of the last 4 I mentioned before my picks.   I am fully prepared to go 1 for 4 this week (Yes, Paige Miles is out of here!) but it's okay.  There is nowhere to go from last week but back down!   Tune in on Wednesday night to see how I did!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you after the results! 


Ending Credits

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lee: Fireflies? I would not have picked that song for him-- though it's an improvement on Hinders. He was a bit pitchy (dawg), and Bandzilla takes away the cool electronic aspect of the music. Not bad, but not anything special. And definitely not a better song like Kara said.

Alex: That was the first time I actually really liked Alex. It could be because I was in the kitchen and could only hear him, or maybe it was the song choice. But aside from going flat a bit in the middle, I actually really loved his voice on this.

Tim: My reaction upon hearing the song choice: "Oh no. Oh god please no." But huh, I actually really liked that. So… apparently Tim Urban does have some singing ability. Who knew? Hopefully he's figured out his voice and he keeps it up (since I think he's sticking around).

Andrew: I agree with Simon about that. It seemed like he just wanted to do something SHOCKING and COOL. It just seemed very forced.

Casey: I'm not a big country fan, but I enjoy Keith Urban and I thought that was actually his best of the semi-finals.

Aaron: Groaned at the song choice. Then he sang and I groaned again because his vibrato was out of control and he was pitchy as hell. I'd be okay if he left. Then Simon chastised Kara for saying Aaron is too young and said, "It's a nice song. Get over it." Katie Stevens says, "WTF"?

Todrick: Oh good god, Queen. Why? And Somebody to Love? Elliot Yamin would like you to back the hell off his Idol catalog. At least he didn't re-arrange it into a disco number or something. So there's that.

Mike: Big Mike brought it. Great voice control, great range. On another note: LOL, Kara. All I could think about was if Paula were there. You think Kara was all over Simon?...what would've happened had it been Paula crying up a storm? Good gawd! LOL

Bottom two: Aaron and either Todrick or Andrew

Jason Mennesey

Anonymous said...

Hey MikeV....not capturing much love from this season of Idol, are you? These...THESE!!!!!?????...are the top 8 men this year??? Ugh!

Where do I start?

- First of all, what is this, acoustic guitar idol? What a snoozefest. 5 out of the first 5 performances were safe and all too similar. If I were going to vote, I'd vote for Todrick tonight simply for waking me up and not being boring as poop.

- Can Ellen retire "adorable," Kara retire "honest," and Simon retire "a moment," please? (I'd ask Randy to retire "pitchy" but based on the last... every episode, he won't get the memo.)

- Andrew's problem is that with all the harping about "Straight Up," I think he thinks the judges just want to hear him strip down female pop songs. The problem is that this only really works on Idol when it's either surprising, epic, or brings something totally worthwhile and new to the song. When Cook did "Hello," he made it current and edgy. When he did "Always Be My Baby," it built immensely (the violins!) and created something haunting from a pop song. When Kris did "Heartless," it came out of left field and ingested soul into a song that was formerly autotuned and robotic. Andrew just thinks all he has to do is gender bend and play his guitar, but it's like he isn't even trying to be creative with it. I wish the judges could articulate this better; instead they come off as hypocrites by telling him to do other things and then do the same thing they formerly liked from him and then that it didn't work for some reason.

- I'm pretty sure after Ellen had a (somewhat sweet, genuine) moment with Tim Urban, Kara started planning that crying stunt to get the attention back on her. Hate. Kara. A. Lot.

- Speaking of Kara hate, thank God Simon laid the smackdown. Even though he's just as guilty of shoddy advice as she is, that whole "You didn't sing from the heart, what do you know about this song" is crapola and way too literal. Allison Iraheta didn't know anything about love when she rocked "Alone" in the semis last year. Personal connection means nothing if you can sing a song really well in an interesting way. Aaron's problem is that HE SUCKED TONIGHT.

Ugh, so frustrated, and I actually have NO idea who is going home besides knowing that Big Mike is safe. Isn't that odd for this stage?

Pete

Ian said...

I don't think Aaron's as safe as you think. Only Andrew was worse than him, I thought.

Mike V. said...

Ian, i really don't think much after last night lol I made a wild guess that Aaron has the mom vote locked up. if he goes home...no big shocker! Like Pete said....Big Mike is all that is safe!

Maybe Alex is safer than I thought too. Which would be fine with me.....i love the mullet!!

great comments Jason too!

Unknown said...

Mike, I can't believe you don't know the song 'This Woman's Work' By Kate Bush. It is from the best scene ever in the movie She's having a Baby with Kevin Bacon. It is really different. You can YouTube the scene. Awesome!

Missed half the show because of Modern Family/Criminal Minds. Doesn't appear that I missed much!

Mike V. said...

Well, Laura, I know that now! LOL Every crying woman last night let me know today about that movie and that song. I'm sorry, but I never went out of my way to see that one! lol

Modern Family was definitely worth watching over this trainwreck!