American IdolTop 7 (Again...)
Original Air Date: April 21, 2009
Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com
The annual and much hated Disco Night wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. That’s because several of the contestants turned their songs around (to quote disco singer Vicki Sue Robinson) and gave us — gasp—non-disco versions.
Plus, all four judges commented on each performance and a TV miracle happened — the show doesn’t go over 60 minutes!
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[photo: FOX]
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The annual and much hated Disco Night wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. That’s because several of the contestants turned their songs around (to quote disco singer Vicki Sue Robinson) and gave us — gasp—non-disco versions.
ReplyDeletePlus, all four judges commented on each performance and a TV miracle happened — the show doesn’t go over 60 minutes!
Yet, as we get closer to the finals, it’s amazing at how the contestants fall neatly into three distinct groups —Group One: Never deserves to win (Lil). Group Two: Can’t win but enjoyable (Anoop, Matt and Danny). Group Three: Really has a shot (Adam, Kris and Allison).
And while I think that Adam is the inevitable winner (and I’m not saying that because he’s my favorite, because he’s not — he’s just clearly more talented), Kris gave the best performance of the night.
LIL: I’m Everywoman
It’s not a very melodic song and she’s still flat a lot. Once again, a new wig adds about four inches of hair and once again she mouths off to the judges. It is so time for her to go home.
Randy says she got the party started, but didn’t show the kind of artist she is. Kara agrees, adding that everyone wanted to hear her do a Chaka Kahn song, but she “wasn’t sure it was worth the wait.” Paula mentions that Lil had been on vocal rest the day before and she’d made a remarkable recovery. Simon calls her version copycat and says the vocals were a mess. “I think this is the last week we’ll see you,” he adds.
KRIS: She Works Hard for the Money
While Kris blows the short interview with Ryan, Ryan hints that we’ll like the song and I sure do. He’s stripped the tune down to its melody using a guitar and giving it a Latin edge. His vocals start off weak, but he quickly gets them under control and totally nails the rest of the song.
Kara says, over the insistent crowd’s cheering, his risk paid off big time and that he’s ready to record now. Paula says the arrangement had a classy, Santana feel to it. She adds that, “some women are willing to shop in the men’s department, but you shopped in the women’s department and found a perfect fit.” Simon says he doesn’t understand Paula’s comment (which was pretty clear), but he agrees that the arrangement is original and well thought out, and his performance is “not karoake” (a swipe at Lil). Randy says he’s ready for the big time.
DANNY: September
It’s not his best performance, but it’s good. He should not be allowed to dance in public, although he pulls back from some of the horrible moves we’ve seen in the group numbers. Trouble is, while Danny’s voice continues to be great, he never takes any real risks or does something completely original.
Randy says he turned the song “into something that suited you.” Kara praised his pitch, proclaimed it another solid performances. Paula is surprised by his range and calls his voice “one of the sexiest ever.” Simon couldn’t fault the vocals, but didn’t feel his “star power.”
ALLISON: Hot Stuff
Man, she has a great voice. I liked that she started soft and then changed it up a bit. The new, girlish hairdo is fun.
Randy didn’t love her performance, calling the arrangement overly indulgent, but proclaims her one of the best singers in the competition. Kara also didn’t care for the arrangement but gave her a 9 or 10 for the performance. Paula says the word “compromise” isn’t in Allison’s vocabulary and she hit the last note off the charts. Simon calls her an underdog and her performance “brilliant.”
ADAM: If I Can’t Have You
We get cleaned up, nonrocker Adam tonight and once again I enjoy this side of him more. However, the back and forth (Jekyll and Hyde style) of his performances is starting to get predictable. The arrangement is amazing and Adam shows major class, when the judges go gaga over it, by crediting it to Michael Orland.
Randy tells Adam he’s ready right now (for a recording career). Kara calls him brilliant and his performance the most memorable of the night. Paula feels like he’d tore out his heart and left it on the stage and says he will be in the finals. Simon calls his arrangement original and says, “I’ve never heard that song that way before.” He adds the Adam’s vocals are immaculate and promises that people are going to remember the performance.
MATT: Staying Alive
This song should be taken permanently off the list. Matt tries to give it an R’n’B feel. He doesn’t hit the first falsetto, but does the second. But nothing about the performance really is compelling. (Nice dancing though — he should give Danny lessons!)
Randy didn’t love the song choice or the arrangement, but compliments his singing. Kara says it’s a solid performance and he has brought disco back. Paula compares it to her bowling, where she gets either strikes or gutter balls and says this is a strike. “You saved your life,” she adds, a play on the song title. Simon didn’t like the performance because he thinks it came across as desperate, plus he didn’t hear any originality.
ANOOP: Dim All The Lights
Misses the first note and the last. He’s been given the pimp spot, but gives only a so-so performance. My guess is that he killed it in dress rehearsal and they gave him the best spot — but he blew it. I was hoping he’d last one more week (which, frankly, was as far as I could see him going) but now I don’t. Too bad because I love his voice and he really looked sharp with small changes to his “look.”
Randy says he didn’t love this one but he loves Anoop’s voice. Kara loves this choice and thinks it could be on the radio, adding that she thinks he’s given his best performances during the last two weeks. Paula didn’t go crazy over his performance but says he hits a magical zone with his voice. Simon calls it “mediocre at best” and his “worst performance by a mile.”
Before Disco Night, I saw Lil and Matt going home this week (remember, because of Matt being “saved” last week, two will be eliminated this time). But I think there’s a better chance now that it’ll be Lil and Anoop. And Matt may get votes just because of that save.
I think we’re heading for an Adam, Kris and Allison (what some folks are calling an AKA) Top 3. And truly, each of these three is going to have a recording career, even if they don’t win. But I also think there’s no way that anyone can outshine Adam this year: The crown is so obviously going to be his.
Here are my rankings: Adam, Kris, Allison, Danny, Anoop, Matt, Lil.
Do you agree? Or disagree? What two contestants do you think are going home? And will we be seeing Adam as Jekyll or Hyde next week? What are your Two Cents?
Kris was for sure my fav of the night... that performance might actually be in my Top 5 of the season. I predict Lil and Matt going home, but I agree that there is a slight chance it might be Anoop.
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