It's American Idol Season Again

What do you think of the new judges panel? I for one loved them during the kinder, gentler auditions this season, but Steven and Jennifer are looking a little weak in the (semi) live judging. Randy, however seems to be stepping up to the Simon slot.

In any case this season's talent pool has been strong, as every blogger and commentator has pointed out. During last week's two sing -offs, I noticed something else about them. It was apparent to me in the performances of Robbie Rosen and Jacok Lusk, that the contestants are getting good advice. Bother of these over the top performers were nicely toned down. Jacob gave an especially beautiful performance.

Here are your AI 10 Top 13 with my very rough predictions:

Ashton Jones (13th place)

Casey Abrams (top 3)

Hailey Reinhart (11th place)

James Durbin (5th place)

Jacob Lusk (6th place)

Karen Rodriquez (10th place)

Lauren Alaina (top 3)

Naima Adedapo (12th place)

Paul McDonald (4th place)

Pia Toscano (8th place)

Scotty McCreery (7th place)

Stefano Langone (top 3)

Thia Megia (9th place)

That was alphabetical. Here they are in order of leaving:

Ashton Jones

Naima Adedapo (I love her, but America won't)

Haley Reinhart (so forgettable)

Karen Rodriquez (forgettable)

Thia Megia (a little freaky)

Pia Toscano

Scotty McGreery

Jacob Lusk

James Durbin

Paul McDonald

Lauren, Stefano, Casey (in no order yet)

I may be wrong about Pia, Scotty, and Stefano, under rating the first two and over rating the last. Here is a link to mj's big blog, the repository for all things AI, and her power list.

News: Grammy noms., the numbers, health bulletin

Pink has scored the number one song in the nation with "Raise your Glass" according to Billboard's Hot 100. This is the young artist's third number one.

Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin has cancelled all of her concerts and appearances until next may due to health problems. She recently underwent surgery in Detroit that was reported to be successful. She is recovering.

In welcome contrast to the zillion "best of" lists that fly around this time of year, The Village Voice is counting down the 20 worst songs of 2010. Starting at #20 ("Rocketeer" by Far East Movement), they are currently up to #16, Lil Wayne's "Paradice". I can't wait to see what will be their number one pick.

The 2011 Grammy Nominations were announced this week. Rapper Eminem led the list with 10 nods including song, record, and album of the year. Next most nominated is newcomer Bruno Mars with seven, followed by Jay-Z, Lady Antebellum, and Lady Gaga with 6 apiece.

Mr. Excitement

I'm back with the Niles PL classic R&B album playlist.

Previously I had the deep and unequivocal enjoyment of hearing Ray Charles, The Birth of Soul , Fats Domino, Walking to New Orleans, and Etta James, At Last. Today's performer, Jackie Wilson, presents me with a problem. I'm not that crazy about him. I can recognize that he was an early and distinctive voice in the development of rock and roll. His vocal power and quality is simply amazing, at times operatic. He is said to have been an electrifying stage presence, the godfather of the godfather of soul, James Brown. This should add up to pure enjoyment, but the problem is the sentimentality, the dripping strings, and overall cheesiness of many of his arrangements. As Allmusic puts it, "...there is a consensus...among critics that Wilson was ... an underachiever in the studio, due to the sometimes inappropriately pop-based material and arrangements that he used." He misses.

But when Jackie Wilson is good, he rocks. Here he is singing, very soulfully, Higher and Higher.



Here, in contrast, is To Be Loved, an arrangement dangerously dipped in schmaltz (but you can tell what a great voice he has):

Wilson is listed at # 68 on the 2004 Rolling Stone list of greatest artists and his 1992 album, Mr. Excitement, is listed as # 235 of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Problem is, Mr. Excitement is out of print and unavailable in its entirety through our library system. The partial version I was able to hear had way too many egregious numbers such as the most dramatic and cheesiest Danny Boy you've ever heard. Fortunately better albums are available to borrow such as The Ultimate Jackie Wilson and The Very Best of Jackie Wilson. He is worth checking out.

Next time, I'll let you in on his short and tragic life story.

Holla for Lollapalooza! Grant Park, Chicago Aug 6-8

The much anticipated 3 day summer festival is back this weekend in downtown Chicago. It begins just after 11am Friday morning and ends Sunday night. Oh and don't forget about all the after shows that will be going on all weekend.

This year's festival is headlined by the likes of Lady Gaga, Green Day, and Soundgarden. Lady Gaga will undoubtedly put on a legendary performance, and I'm sure Green Day and Soundgarden will not disappoint fans. Some other highlights are Arcade Fire, Devo, Rogue Wave, Erykah Badu, Gogol Bordello, Yeasayer, and Wolfmother. Check out the entire line up and schedule at http://2010.lollapalooza.com

This is a great chance to enjoy some of your favorite bands and discover new talents as well. So bring your sunscreen and stay hydrated for this weekend of musical fun!

Hallelujah

This is an American Idol post, posted minutes before the start of the Wednesday elimination show that will reveal the final two. I was not inspired to dish about the final three performances, because I would just be repeating myself. Casey was indifferent, Crystal was good but not moving, and Lee knocked my socks off. The collective wisdom of the web is unanimous that Casey is going home tonight, but I wouldn't be surprised if Crystal were voted off. Critics have been predicting Casey's demise for weeks and it hasn't happened. And surprises are what American Idol is all about.

I loved, loved, loved Lee's Hallelujah. But I am posting tonight to call your attention to the reason why Hallelujah doesn't need to be sung by anyone else, even Lee. And that reason is kd lang. Without further ado, here she is:



Stunning. Idol Chatter has posted video of other performances that I haven't yet had a chance to listen to. But I did hear the late Jeff Buckley, who made the song famous, and he also does a wonderful job, but lower key than either kd or Lee. His version is included on Idol Chatter.

American Idol: 4 to 3, Movie Night

Well the competition is getting hot. We're going down to the final three. I would be able to whip up a frenzy of excitement if only movie night hadn't been so lame. What a disappointment. What stupid song choices. And Jamie Foxx? A great performer, but as a judge, Puleese!

4. Casey James personified lameness in his solo performance of "Mrs. Robinson" from The Graduate. First off, this song choice, about an older woman who seduces a young man, was embarrassing given the jokes throughout this season about Kara wanting to seduce Casey. Second, this song is satirical and only makes sense in that mode. Casey sang it wistfully, as if longing for Mrs. Robinson, while strumming a tiny guitar. Stupid, and as Simon said, the performance lacked substance. However, I predict that Casey is not going home this week.

3. That role belongs to Michael Lynche who sang "Will You Be There?" from Free Willy in a cheesy and insincere way. I guess that goes without saying, but Michael has more raw vocal talent that Casey, so I rate his performance higher. But why that song? Michael Jackson owns that song; it's sentimental, but while M. Jackson can transcend that, M. Lynche cannot.

2. As he does on rare occasions Lee DeWyze disappointed me a little in his solo performance. "Kiss From a Rose" from Batman Forever. This is a smoothly romantic song as sung by Seal, but I never would have picked this for gruff rocker Lee. As Randy sometimes says, it was a little sleepy. But I guess you could say that Lee was original in his version. It doesn't matter though. Lee is already a great musician as amply demonstrated in in this recording session:


1. Crystal Bowersox won the day with her big, energetic performance of "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack, a truly lame song and therefore a questionable choice. But Crystal was hands down better than Kenny Loggins, the originator of the song.

As for the duets, Lee and Crystal's version of the achingly beautiful "Falling Slowly" from Once was stunning. Their voices blended well, but I do think Lee outshone Crystal. Mike and Casey also did a nice job with "Have You Ever really Loved a Woman?" from Don Juan DeMarco. As opposed to all of the other songs presented tonight, these last two were really good choices.

American Idol: 5 to 4

How adorable is Harry Connick, Jr.? Almost as cute as Lee DeWyze, and that is saying a lot about why Mt. Prospect's own Lee DeWyze has a good chance of winning American Idol this year. Based on the judges' reaction to his performance tonight, they're pimping him for the win. They must think that he is a more marketable performer than Crystal Bowersox, and they are probably right.

Getting back to Harry Connick, Jr., what an awesome mentor. He arranged each song from the Frank Sinatra (aka Great American) Songbook to suit each voice and style, and he played the piano too. Impressive. But he couldn't work miracles. Here are my picks of the top 5, worst to best.

5. Casey James has to be headed home. He took a great song, Blue Skies, and used it to prove that he is in no way a solo performer. He was stiff, thin-voiced, uncomfortable, and bleating. Even the bluesy arrangement did him no favors.

4. Michael Lynch won strong praise from the judges for his rendition of The Way You Look Tonight, but I thought his performance was a travesty. This is one of the most beautiful and romantic songs ever written. It has to be sung warmly and kind of humbly, directed outward to the one who is being loved and admired. But Big Mike made it all about him and his drama. There was no sense of appreciation of the loved one. Watch this version by Phil Collins to see how it is supposed to be sung.



3. Why did Crystal Bowersox seem so draggy, especially in the first part of her version of Summer Wind? The judges liked her phrasing, but I thought that it was bad at the beginning of the song. She did pick up in the second half. She looked great, but is she losing her moxie? I also thought that this relatively obscure and unmelodious ballad was a poor song choice.

2. I loved Aaron Kelly's classic version of Fly Me to the Moon. I listened to most of it with my eyes closed so I wouldn't be distracted by Aaron's littleness, and I thought he sounded romantic and a little jazzy. It was a beautiful arrangement. Why didn't the judges like it?

1. In contrast to Crystal, Lee DeWyze made a great song choice, perfect for him. The band and the arrangement were also fabulous. I loved the interactions between Lee and his mentor Harry, and I loved that Lee wanted to give Harry the credit at the end. I was actually a little disappointed by Lee's voice quality on this song, but as usual it was a sincere and authentic performance.

This week it was easy to pick the worst. Did you vote for Casey to be eliminated in our American Idol Elimination contest? Keep voting for a chance to wind the grand prize. Three ipod shuffles will go the three people with the most right guesses throughout the run of the final six.