The nine remaining singers on American Idol spun their way through Dolly Parton’s catalog, and hearing them all perform her songs made me really excited about tonight’s elimination episode… because we’re going to hear Dolly sing her own songs, which is the way it should be. Rankings and reactions to last night’s performances after the jump.
1. Michael Johns. Talk about comebacks? Every performance on last night’s show had serious flaws, but Michael’s big-voiced spin through “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” was good enough to be the best. Although the lyrical presence of the word “sexy” might turn off the conservative-Grandma crowd, but hey, if he gets voted off there’s always Rock Star: Velvet Revolver.
2. Jason Castro. Jason’s take on “Travelin’ Through” was sweet, both in a sincere way and in a “dude, sweet” way. I could totally see this blaring as four barefoot (and maybe shirtless) dudes in shorts played hacky sack on some Christian college’s quad.
3. Carly Smithson. If I wasn’t looking at the TV, I would have thought I was listening to a Very Special Celine Dion Performance–the more I hear Carly, the more I realize that she’s a vocal ringer for the Quebecois hit machine.
4. David Cook. A restrained-for-him performance of “Little Sparrow” that sounded rushed and veered a little too close to Collective Soul territory. (Yipes!) The arrangement was his own, which proves once and for all that he should stick with jacking already-tested “rock” arrangements of popular songs.
5. Brooke White. Her performance was just fine, although I still dispute Paula’s assertion that she makes an “emotional connection” with the songs she picks. “Jolene” was a case in point: Smiling while singing the pleading chorus undermines any urgency and sadness the song might have. (Save that stuff for the judging panel, OK?) I love the tone of her voice but the “vinegary” quality that so many other writers have been praising consistently gets undermined by her personality.
6. Syesha Mercado. Did anyone think that she wasn’t going to do “I Will Always Love You”? The arrangement was kind of strange, with the first half’s rushed restraint (her attempt at being “Dolly-like,” I guess) obviously setting up for the big Whitney-like note at the end. Which sounded really pitchy and set her up for some obvious comparisons that she can’t live up to. (But hey, look on the bright side, Syesha–at least this way you know Bobby Brown won’t get you hooked on crack.)
7. David Archuleta. After last week’s trip on the Staten Island Ferry, he went back to the ballad well, singing “Smokey Mountain Memories” and making it sound good but… hollow. The fact that he botched his high note was completely ignored by the judges, who seem to be firmly in the tank for him once again.
8. Ramiele Malubay. She admitted that she was starstruck by Dolly, and that gave her her more personality than she’d shown in weeks, although if she’s somehow granted a pass to next week she should have one of those Coke-branded chats that focuses on exactly why she’s so into high-waisted overalls. Her performance of “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” was awkward in a girl-flailing-around-her-bedroom way and way pitchy. And she even did the pouty thing when Simon threw down the “cruise ship” gauntlet.
9. Kristy Lee Cook. Picking “Coat Of Many Colors” camouflaged many of her vocal flaws and allowed her to go for a mini-glory note at the end, but her bland blondeness receded into the background of the show despite the efforts of the makeup team, which plastered so much glitter onto her eyelids I thought she was actually the makeup dummy for the inevitable Disco Night.
WHO’S GOING HOME: I’m waiting for the day that Kristy goes home, but I’m thinking that this is (finally!) Ramiele’s week to pack up her unfortunate fashion choices and head on out. She’ll pout about it, for sure, but she should take solace in the fact that she stayed on for about three weeks longer than she should have.
PAULA ABDUL OUT-OF-IT SCALE: 8.5/10. I’m thinking she got a haircut recently since she was babbling about awesome hairdos; I’m also thinking that she was on something because she got into what could be best described as a “crowded barroom argument” with Randy over the quality of Carly’s vocals last week, to the point where she was yelling. Even though there was no music playing and no beer on the table, unless Coke’s product placement is being sabotaged.
[Photo: rickey.org]
every week i wait for simon to finally say “this isn’t the most talented group ever, but it’s a very close competition because everyone has big flaws and we have to find the best of a bad group.”
and can it get any more obvious that the judges are on the nuts of archuleta? kid puts up a bland performance every week and he can’t get enough praise from all three of them.
Just get rid of Ramiele. PLEASE get rid of Ramiele.
Syesha would have won my vote, even if she isn’t as trained as Whitney - she appears genuine and doesn’t sound like any current pop singers. However, she was off-key during the majority of her number. Why has no one else mentioned this?
David A. has by far the best natural vocal instrument, and he’s got the technique. He also reads as having a lot of personal magnetism — too bad he (or his dad, or AI, or his church) seems to be confining him/self to a limited choice of safe songs. Does anyone else see him as a tragic figure?
Michael Johns has the pipes, but I don’t find him particularly appealing.
David Cook does well, but he’s nothing special compared to a lot of other singers I’ve heard.
Jason Castro — face it, he’s become the new Sanjaya.
Carly and Ramielle started out as intriguing, but, well, it seems like everyone is getting “Idol”-ized to fit TPTB’s idea of what a pop singer should be. And maybe they’re right. I usually lose interest in the competition at this point in the season anyway because the songs get blander and the clothing looks more like costumes (worn by understudies), what you’d see in ads or catalog pages.
Probably too much to wish that people this young could be original, interesting AND have the strength to prevail over the pap-singer idolmakers.
Yes to the intro. What we heard last night was further proof that the key to a kick-ass Dolly Parton song is Dolly Parton.
Also, Simon’s commentary on Carly’s fashion style — on not “looking like a star” — was bizarre and, I think, to use his word, “rude”. But I believe Simon channels the producers and TPTB, so I’d expect to see some different looks from Carly in the coming weeks — should she survive this week, of course.
Dolly wrote “9 to 5″ on her nail file. That’s why music sucks these days. Everyone’s gettin’ their nails did, do your own and the music will flow!
“Her career has been red-hot for 40 years and counting …”
???
@Rob Murphy:
Simon’s commentary was rude but true - usually at this point in the competition the contestants have gotten their makeovers and look way better - Carly, I would say, has been looking worse. As if she bought her entire outfit at Forever 21 in a size that was too small for her.
Also, I think Simon tends to say what everyone is thinking - minutes before he said that several people around me said some variation of “girl, your pants are too tight.”
Loved Michael Johns, and I still think Ramiele can pull something out of herself that we haven’t seen yet. Her big-voice-in-a-little-body reminds me so much of paris bennett, who still needs to put out a damn record. What’s with your hate for ramiele! I do agree with your hate for KKKristy, though.
I wouldn’t say Kristy was the worst (although it doesn’t reflect well on her that the only country singer was nowhere near the best last night), but my girl and I really rolled our eyes at her bare feet, such a trite move.
@trakkie: I think Simon was right on target. Carly isn’t a bad looking girl, at all. But she hasn’t worn any clothes that are flattering. That’s hurting her in the competition.
@ Maura:
I agree with you that Ramiele’s number is probably finally up, and I think the next to go are Kristy Lee, Syesha, and Jason.
That top 5 competition is gonna be brutal.
@Rob Murphy: Ramiele is working the Pinoy vote so she might not leave us just yet. Remember Jasmine? Hopefully Ramiele won’t stay THAT long.
Regarding Carly: Simon has a history of commenting unfavorably on wardrobes. Carly really, really needs the help of a stylist and some sleeves and a new makeup look. She just seems to be a mass of contradictions, looks wise, and it distracts from her vocals, which are good.
@Varina: In some ways, I’d be surprised if Ramiele left now, as she’s yet to appear in the bottom 3. I’d be less surprised if Kristy Lee left us after that perfectly forgettable performance.
@Varina: @Thierry: re: eliminations…
Good points, all.
At the end of last nite’s show, I found it particularly difficult to do a 1-to-9 ranking of the performances. Sure, I thought Michael was noticeably better than Ramiele, for example, but I think the differences between 2 and 3, or 3 and 4, for example, were difficult to parse. And who exactly was “in the middle” last nite? That could easily have been 5 or so of the 9.
It’s become almost cliche to say that “this year’s crop is the most talented ever!” — whether that’s true or not — but it’s fast becoming very difficult to differentiate #3 from #8. And it will only get harder from here.