Six songs crammed into one hour! Can we do this without going overtime and making us miss the beginning of LOST? I think it's possible! Wouldn't want to miss that second-to-last episode, would we?
Each contestant has two songs tonight: one personal selection and one judge selection. Who gets sabatooged tonight?
Casey James gets the death spot with his personal choice, "OK, It's Alright With Me" by Eric Hutchinson. I don't know this song, so I have no preconceived notion of what it should sound like. After hearing it a bit it sounds like an OK tune, but Casey, on the other hand...he exudes no soul, just a cheap facsimile. It doesn't feel like there's any connection between his vocals and the music. Though he may look comfortable singing it, it belies the poor job he's doing. The judges all agree it was nothing special and Simon says it was like the salad before a meal. I can hear the cougars making bad jokes already.
Crystal Bowersox chooses Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window." That seems like a suitable song for her. It's got passionate vocals with a female singer-songwriter vibe. She starts with the harmonica and launches into a fairly straightforward rendition. She changes the timing of her vocals in the chorus a little to help make it her own. The guitar seems to be a prop, because you can see her playing it but not hear it at times. Another solid performance from Crystal, though not one of my favorites. I know she's capable of better. The judges are OK with it, but agree it wasn't her greatest moment. They all seem to agree that the song choice was good.
Lee DeWyze is next with Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man." He tells us he picked it because he relates to it well. I agree, he does project a fairly uncomplicated persona. I can hear him succeeding with this. In fact, he does. His rocker rasp works well here, since this is a Skynyrd song that doesn't limit itself to a southern rock interpretation. The final note's a little off, but that's hardly serious enough to ruin the rest of the performance. Randy talks about Lee winning again, and Simon and Kara both tell him he won the first round. Ah s'pose Ah'd 'gree with that.
Judges' choice time! Kara and Randy have chosen John Mayer's "Daughters" for Casey. OK, I sort of like this song, even though I'm not really a big John Mayer fan. Casey sounds a lot better here than he did on the first song, and he plays the bluesy solo himself. This isn't the type of song that's going to wow anyone, so it requires a bit of coolness and feeling to pull off. I'd say Casey does a decent job here. The first three judges think it was good, but Simon thinks it was a bad song choice because it lacked a wow factor. Hey, just what I said! Idol, I'll cut to the chase here: I need a better job, you need a judge to replace Simon. Let's talk!
Crystal's song choice comes from Ellen: "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney (and Wings!). She decides to set aside her instruments and let her vocal cords do the talking for this one. Heh. The piano part during the verse between lines reminds me of the music at ComedySportz when they rotate during the game Four Corners. You know what I'm talking about? Forget it. Crystal talks about being a "lonely man" and a woman helping her. Geez, between the Melissa Etheridge song earlier and now this...is she trying to tell us something? Should her boyfriend be expecting a big revelation soon? I kid, I kid. About the performance, great vocal power. Definitely more inspiring than her first performance. Randy gives Crystal some pimpage as being "in it to win it." Kara says we heard parts of her voice we hadn't heard before tonight. Really? Where? I didn't notice them. Simon says she proved she has soul and should probably make the finale tomorrow. Could it be any more obvious that they want a Lee-Crystal finale?
Finally, Simon's chosen Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" for Lee. I hereby nominate this as the most overrated song in the history of the world. I've never understood why so many people love this thing to death. I mean, it's OK, but I wouldn't call it some incredible masterpiece. As for the performance, Lee doesn't seem very connected here. He forces some upper register stuff in there to show us he can hit the big notes. Whoopee. The backup singers walk out behind him to simulate a choir and then the music picks up. I kind of like the upbeat part better, but...eh. The whole thing seems a bit overblown with all the theatrics and Lee's apparent "emotion" when it ends. I'm sure the judges will lap it up though. Randy again talks about Lee winning, calls it his biggest moment, Ellen says it's stunning, etc. etc. I don't need to recap all their comments. It's almost as if they want Lee to win at this point. For crying out loud, guys, we already have David Cook among our winners! Crystal should be this year's winner to make it different!
Hey, what do you know! The show ended with plenty of time for LOST!
My performance ranking:
Lee - Simple Man (7.5/10)
Crystal - Maybe I'm Amazed (7/10)
Crystal - Come to My Window (6/10)
Casey - Daughters (5/10)
Lee - Hallelujah (4.5/10)
Casey - OK, It's Alright With Me (2.5/10)
Predictions:
Well, tonight was pretty much Lee's "King For a Day." If he's not in the finale I'll be shocked. Crystal definitely performed better than Casey, but I'm almost wondering if she'll be the one to suffer from the loyal southern voter bloc supporting Captain Cougar Bait. What the heck. I hope it doesn't happen, but since I've been bored with this season for a long time, the only possible joy I can get from these recaps is the possibility of seeing a bold prediction come true.
Going home: Crystal
Yes, it'll be a shocker that plunges this already-boring season into no man's land and relegates the finale to anticlimactic obligation!
See you tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I was kinda getting the "Crystal's history" vibe too. I can tell you that I'm not looking forward to another final two sausage fest. Oh well! Not too much longer and we're DONE!
My first instinct was that Crystal would be out, but I think it will be Casey. But I've gotten virtually everything wrong this year, so don't listen to me.
Post a Comment