Ah, the old American Idol nugget of “song choice.” It torpedoed most of the ladies who sang last night–some picked songs that were too big for them, others picked songs that were too small, and only one selected a song that was just right. But are the producers helping put the singers in a pickle? Some Idol insiders are claiming that while the judges, especially Simon, are dinging the singers for selecting songs that don’t fit them on camera, the producers actually have more of a say as far as what the singers bring to the stage–and that those picks are resulting in the favorite sons and daughters being given a slightly less obstacle-filled route to the Top 12. (A conspiracy theory that kind of makes sense, given that stage kid/probably favorite David Archuleta’s been working “Imagine” on the televised-singing-competition circuit for years.) Keep that in mind when you read my rundown of last night’s show, which ranged from passable to abysmal to me reaching for the mute button.
1. Carly Smithson. She started off the show with an example of her Guinness-pulling skills and a pretty fiery version of “Crazy On You,” and no one touched her; her voice worked well on the big notes and she’d obviously recovered from the flu that felled her last week. (She didn’t have to keep telling the judges how much she luvvvvvd the song, though. It was pretty obvious!)
(Big gap here.)
2. Alexandrea Lushington. Covered Chicago–a risky choice, but I liked her version of the sleepy “If You Leave Me Now,” especially the song-ending key change. The judges were not as impressed, but then again they were unimpressed with the whole evening. There’s something about Alex’s energy that I really dig, and I actually was moved to send a few text-message votes her way because I don’t want her to be sent packing instead of, say, Kristy Lee Cook. (I also sent one in for Carly. Really.)
3. Brooke White. Somewhat predictably, she went the Carly Simon route (although you’d think she’d have kept her hair sorta-frizzy in keeping with the singer she was honoring). Her performance of “You’re So Vain” was competent, but I couldn’t help but think that the lyric “you had me several years ago, when I was still quite naive” was a little far-fetched coming out of the mouth of a woman who’s proud to say that she’s never seen an R-rated movie.
4. Asia’h Epperson. Closed the show with “All By Myself”; she botched the first big note but recovered quickly, although I don’t know if emulating the Celine Dion cover was the best route for her. The song’s in the top 10 on Google Trends right now, which could be a good sign for her–or it could just be people wanting to search for the Celine version to which Randy gave the requisite props.
(Another gap.)
5. Syesha Mercado. Completely forgettable except for her flipping the gender of “Me and Mrs. Jones.” But not out-and-out bad, which will help her this week.
6. Ramiele Mulabay. A hint for future Idol contestants: Do some research on how often your song is played at weddings, since the band this year is more weddingy than ever. “Don’t Leave Me This Way” is a wedding/’70s night on your local Lite-FM affiliate staple, and as such, it should be relegated to the dustbin.
7. Alaina Whitaker. Her pageant-ready performance of “Hopelessly Devoted To You” was fine, although I remembered her prommy blue dress and cute shoes more than anything about her actual singing.
8. Kristy Lee Cook. Should never, ever sing songs that were performed by soul singers ever (even if they were introduced to the Billboard Hot 100 by Linda Ronstadt)–especially if those songs are titled “You’re No Good,” because the jokes just come too easily. I bet she’s really hoping for “Amazing Grace” week to come soon!
9. Amanda Overmyer. Her frightwig, scary pants, and frightening performance of Kansas’ “Carry On My Wayward Son” probably freaked out more of American Idol’s 60something audience members than they did inspire people to call in to support her. And the prevalence of rockers on the guys’ side means that the producers probably don’t feel like they need her around for much longer. But I don’t think she’ll be going home this week! (See why, below.)
10. Kady Malloy. She almost took a tumble down the stairs while singing the opening lyric of Heart’s “Magic Man,” and part of me is wondering if she wishes she had, since it would have given her a pretty easy excuse for her off-key, completely swallowed-up performance. Just terrible all around, and I have to think that she’s going home unless her home state of Texas mobilized in her honor last night.
WHO’S GOING HOME: I was going to say Amanda and one of the non-Brooke blondes (with Kady as the front-runner), but it turns out that Amanda’s zebra-striped hair has made her the Vote For The Worst favorite. Here’s hoping this doesn’t doom Alex’s chances, as I think she was torpedoed by (sigh) song choice.
PAULA ABDUL OUT-OF-IT SCALE: 2/10; she was actually on her best behavior last night, leading me to believe that her straitjacket-looking shirt actually had some sort of effect on her overall mood.
So, I’m not the only one that saw Amanda’s hair and went “WTF did you do - and what were you thinking!?”
It looked like a total fright wig, as though she wanted to emulate Grace Slick and Lily Munster at the same time.
@Chris Molanphy: “The Butters Song” - Ha! I kind of love you for that. When she started to sing, I immediately thought of Butters. {Then again, I’m a total South Park geek.}
Oh, shame on you for voting Smithson.
Lushington’s song choices have been my favorite thing about her - Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears are unlikely choices for a girl in her age range that style. Maybe I’m crazy, but I thought Asia’h killed it again (not counting the majorly flubbed note at the very beginning.)
@Maura Johnston: Yeah but she should be able to do more than hit most of her notes. I’m not predisposed against her, but I’m putting her to a higher standard.
I’m in agreement on Lushington. And I don’t know why, but I hope Ramiele Mulabay lasts a while.
@janine: I’m with you on Ramiele - she comes across as the most personable (or maybe nicest?) of the remaining contestants, and she has a very good voice. However, she definitely needs to pick better songs than the one she sang this week…
I really don’t get this Carly Smithson thing. She sounded winded from the start.
@janine: but she hit most of her notes, which is something that can’t be said for pretty much everyone else.
I thought Asia’h started bad and got worse from there, so I ended up channel surfing for the 2nd half of her performance, and flipped back in time to see everyone but Simon praise her like business as usual, which really confused me. I hate when the judges excuse a performance that was lousy on the whole if they can just nail one big note at the end.
I was wondering if you’d go ahead and give it up for Carly this time, even with all the bullshit surrounding her involvement in the show she really was pretty much the best last night. Also glad to see the judges call out Overmyer for how contrived she comes across. She could probably really turn things around if she came out one week in regular hair/clothes and did a really good straightforward performance.
Also, you should’ve put Syesha way lower, shit was weak.
My rankings are about the same as yours, Maura, with maybe a flip of Alex and Brooke (perhaps I couldn’t get over Alex’s cargo shorts and general “I’m on a weekend campout” getup). I was surprised that the judge’s didn’t seem too impressed with Carly, who handled a tough song with aplomb.
I really enjoyed Brooke White, much more than I expected to since I’m usually turned off by that 2nd grade teacher shtick. Her guitar strumming was quite charming. I could easily see her performing in a packed coffee house (that’s a compliment in my mind although maybe not what’s needed to win Idol).
Asia’h Epperson was the mute-button moment for me. Missed every note in the verses, then made up for it by screaming the choruses as loudly as she could.
Carly Smithson did not do a good version of “Crazy On You” IMO, she bores me. Alexandrea and Brooke nailed their performances, and the rest of the lot were absolutely unlistenable — especially that Kansas monstrosity. Mute button was in full effect last night!
Yeah, Amanda totally lost it last night. It was embarrassing. But how dare you suggest that the producers manipulate the show in any way!
I thought Bride of Frankenstein was clearly the worst last night. I want to like Amanda, but I just can’t; she isn’t good.
I thought all the women were pretty snoozy. I can’t think of a single performance I really liked. A few were passable, like Brooke, but nobody was good. Usually I find the women stronger in the early stages, but this year it’s been all about the men.
Mostly agree with everything above, so I’ll just focus on one key thing…
I *love* Alex Lushington. Her style, I mean. I think she’s the most underrated singer, period, in the whole competition, and thank you for ranking her No. 2 on your list. I’d even put her above Carly (who, grudgingly, I agree was mostly excellent last night — little shouty toward the end, though).
I thought Alex’s version of The Butters Song was subtly brilliant, because — I don’t say this just because of the color of her skin — it legitimately turned one of the whitest songs of the ’70s into a believable R&B song. She has a very contemporary singing style — I’m talking post-Beyonce contemporary — and frankly I’m boggled that Simon isn’t pulling for her; she should be exactly what he’s looking for.
To me, her “If You Leave Me Now” was like the sequel to the kinda-tacky, but huge-on-the-charts 1998 hit by K-Ci & JoJo, “All My Life” — remember how that song sounded like one long homage to Peter Cetera? (At the time I half thought it was a remake of “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.”) So last night, girlfriend does an actual Cetera song, funks it up a little, and winds up with something as legit as K-Ci and JoJo but less gushy and tacky. Honestly, I don’t think the judges have been more wrong on anything in the competition thus far as they were on that performance.
By the time I finished watching my TiVo’d version of the show, it was two minutes past midnight, and I’d missed my window to vote. I was kicking myself — I would’ve dialed in for her a dozen times. Will be sorry to see her go.