Tuesday, April 27, 2010

American Idol: Six to Five

I'm usually really good at being opinionated, but this week, I don't know. None of the performances was that bad given the poor quality of the material they were handed. Yes. I said it. Boo to Shania Twain whose cheesy ballads were co-written with her husband, who gets lead writing credit. No, she is not a great songwriter despite the American Idol hype machine, and I suppose that on Wednesday night we will find out that she is only an OK singer in a sexy costume.

6. Big Michael Lynche gets the boo-boo spot this week. Since I have no clue as to who will be going home, I might as well put my least favorite in last place. Last week, he did a good job. This week he was his usual schmaltzy self, trying too hard to be sensitive, overly dramatic, and coming off as insincere. Shania loved him-- he brought tears to her phony eyes-- as did the judges all except for Simon who called him "wet". I'm not entirely sure what he meant by that, but it somehow fits. He sang the egregious It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing.

5. Someone has to come in next to last, so I'll plug in Aaron Kelly who sang You've Got a Way. Actually he wasn't bad, and as the judges pointed out, he is country. Based on this performance I can't imagine that he'll be going home, but he is overall the weakest of the final six.

4. I was so surprised by the judges' love for Casey James rendition of Don't, that I had to hear it again. I also listened to Shania's performance of this song. First off, it's a whiny song with a weak melody, but on second listening I could see that Casey did a good job with it. Still, I find him weak. His voice is too small and tight and he is terminally stiff. I see him as a band member but not a lead performer.

3. I enjoyed Siobhan Magnus's performance of Any Man of Mine, and loved judge Randy's description of her as "country punk". She did well to choose an upbeat country-sounding song rather than one of Shania's tiresome ballads.

2. Lee DeWyze-- fill in the blanks. Loved, loved, loved. In You're Still the One he picked what has to be far and away the best song of this sorry songbook. And it fit him perfectly. Of course he suffered from being the first to sing.

1. Why did the judges react badly to Crystal Bowersox's warm and charming performance of No One Needs to Know? Were they trying to level the playing field? I thought it was great, and I loved her little band as well. Like Siobhan, she made the right song choice.

Who do you think will be eliminated? This week it's a hard question to answer, but come on and give it your best shot in our American Idol Elimination Contest. We'll have two winners drawn from the right choices. The ballot box is across from the AV desk on the first floor of the library.

2 comments:

bp said...

Hey, easy girl. Don't kick Shania to the curb. She was the first country singer to cross over and gain popularity on the pop side. Her songs lend themselves to this venue as the arrangements can be country, pop or rock. Speaking of rock, this year's resident "rocker" Lee did a merely adequate job with her song. This is only the second time I have watched the show, but I don't get why the judges love him. He is boring. THey also love Crystal. WHile she does have a good voice, she reminds me of the acts one sees at a coffeehouse, i.e., Fitzgeralds in Berwyn. Enjoyable, but no starpower.
Shiobhan, who I understand was eliminated on Wednesday, has a great powerful well-rounded voice which she unfortunately loses control of, and her shrieking at the end of the song (don't know if she does that all the time as I have only watched twice)is unnecessary. However, she dresses quirky and cute, has command of the stage and is very confident. Too bad she is out. As for the other singers....nothing special. Although the 17 year old kid did a really good sincere rendition of the song.
Liked Shania, thought she was helpful in her mentoring, and some of her songs are really melodic. I guess I don't care that her husband wrote them. bp

bp said...

faiEasy, girl. Don't kick Shania to the curb.She was the first country singer to cross over to pop.Her songs really fit this venue as they can be arranged for country, pop and rock. Speaking of rock, the resident "rocker" Lee did a pretty ho-hum job with her song. I have only watched this show twice this year, and do not waste and hour watching the "results" show, butI don't get why the judges seem to love Lee. I think he is boring. Crystal, who they also love, has a great voice, but no energy. She reminds me of someone who plays at the coffeehouses, i.e. Fitzgerald's in Berwyn. Now Shioban, who I heard was regrettably eliminated on Wed., has a full, wonderful voice. Unfortunately, she has a hard time controlling it. However, she does have a lot of stage presence and confidence. Her outfits are cute and quirky. The rest of the singers are nothing special. Back-off Shania. I think she was a decent mentor to the singers and I think many of her songs are very melodic. I guess I don't mind that her husband writes them.