Last night's 'American Idol' had me wondering two things: 1) What will it take to get them to fit into an hour-long slot and stop messing up my DVR settings for 'Fringe'? 2) Could movie night redeem itself in guest commentator Jessica's eyes? See for yourselves:
Oh. My. GOOOODNESS!!! As Ryan would say, “We’re back on American Idol!”
Last night’s show managed to pull me back in. Was it the band being onstage? No. Was it Quentin Tarantino’s gosh-darn-ain’t-life-grand take on things? Maybe. Was it having a theme that allowed me and my roommates to belt out exceptionally cheesy movie song faves? Quite possibly. Was it seeing Gokey with no glasses? Almost definitely.
But what really made me happy was seeing these singers that have truly decided (in accordance with my belief, of course) that the judges don’t matter, and they are going to just go ahead and “do their thing.” And you know what? I enjoy that. Like I’ve always thought, the reason I like 'American Idol' is that it gives me a chance to watch singers: fairly good to great singers, doing something they really care about.
So, after my quavering last week, I’m back on board. Still hatin’ on the judges though (it’s not about you), and wishing that they could freakin’ figure out how to fit the show into an hour spot. (Which reminds me…is next week when everyone starts doing two songs? YES! I LOVE that!)
Instead of reviewing the performances chronologically this week, I’ve made three groups (in tribute to one of my recaps last year): Bleh, Meh, and YEAH!
Bleh:
Matty Matt Matt Boston A-Hole J.T. Wannabe Giraud: Wow, they really reamed you a new one. In a lot of ways. Ryan asking you about your confidence level? Rude. Not including castanets (thanks for pointing this out, Melissa) in the arrangement of “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?” Thoughtless. Allowing you to pronounce love as “luuuu-uuurrve”? Yipes! The recovery from the falsetto was really rough, and Randy and Kara harped on it. All that “for me, for you, tonight” crap from Randy could be interpreted as they don’t really think you’re the shiz anymore. Even Kara, who only wants to say wonderful stuff about you and is your main champion, ooquestions why you tk away the core melodies and in turn ruined the song. Should have followed QT’s advice: Do the gravel and the soul, but don’t lose the song, and enunciate the lyrics.
Allison Muppet Hair that matches belt and tights Iraheta: Quentin “pushed her to a performance level” on her version of “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (which is soooo blah), and she didn’t do super poorly, but she did achieve boring. Paula didn’t make any comment on her actual performance, and Simon verified that she may have more confidence than before. (Who cares??) At least she was comfortable with her song, and not just because her outfit was an old mechanic’s jumpsuit turned rocker dress.
Danny “this touches my heart” Gokey: Looked like he was in pain during his performance. Maybe I am usually so distracted by his glasses I don’t notice that he’s always pulling faces? “Endless Love” seemed endless and hardly lovely, although Paula found “a magical place in the tambor of his voice” and Simon was disappointed but congratulated Danny on the emotional trial he went through to perform. So maybe it was real pain? I couldn’t be certain. Can I take this moment to comment on how MUCH I HATE GRAVELLY VOICES? It is not acceptable any longer, folks. I will not support grumbling as singing.
Meh:
Adam “does not look good in tight jeans, especially super faded gray ones, which is funny because he should look good in everything” Lambert: Oh where to begin. This guy is, as QT stated, the Real Deal and yes, all of us enjoy a taste of Adam too, 'tino. But how do I even react when I know what he can do? It’s so over-dramatic and I felt like it was “Born to Be Wild” from the musical version of 'Easy Rider,' which is not exactly the same as a movie song? Paula praised Adam for, get this, “daring to dance in the path of greatness” which means “daring to wear those pants and dance” I believe. Simon joked that Adam needs to learn to express himself, but was probably right in judging that this performance wouldn’t be as popular as last week. Which brings me to another point: Why do they compare week to week so much? Just tell me WHAT YOU THINK NOW. Judge. Simple, easy command, and your title, by the way. My thoughts: Adam, I want to support you morally, but every time you pull a stunt like this, I question if I would listen to your music, and often think I wouldn’t. You can honestly do anything…so impress me, don’t scare me away.
Lil “Takes it all in and gets it done” Rounds: I AM SO HAPPY FOR HER THIS WEEK. I loved it. Why is she not a "yeah!"? Well, all the talk back. It makes me fear for her. She sang a really well-known song, which I think is good, and tackled it in “her” way. And I really enjoy gospel, so it made me happy. I also loved how she took (once again, great one!) Quentin’s advice to commit to being simple in the beginning before the gospel break down. I thought that girlish innocence in the beginning was really great on her, and it showed a whole other side to her. I am not even going into the judges opinion—let’s just say it wasn’t at all on par with the performance. I hope Lil makes it past this week and gets to keep doing inventive stuff like this that is much more truly her than the Mary J. wannabe they are trying to create. You know what, she is definitely verging on Yeah for me. Woo!
On to….YEAH!
Anoop “do you have anything else to wear that isn’t from the college bookstore?” Desai: Boy, he gave me goosebumps last night with “Everything I Do”. He did everything RIGHT. Gave heart and soul, and even started sweating on his ‘stache with effort. Quentin instructed him to growl a little, much to our enjoyment, and he kicked it into gear as the song developed. And that’s the key—he made the song have a crescendo, something he could teach to a few of his colleagues. Very happy with him.
AND FINALLY...
KRIS “You made me run around the house like a maniac with your song choice and awesomeness” ALLEN!: I once told Ashley and Trevor that I believe Madonna is a genius [Editor's note: A statement that led to relentless mocking for years, mostly due to the incredible stress placed on the word: GENIUS]. Last night, by choosing “Falling Slowly” from 'Once,' Kris stepped into that musical genius realm that I reserve for artists that make awesome choices. First of all, it fits him. Second of all, it may not be well known, but it is a truly difficult vocal to perform. Don’t believe me? Try to sing that song and hit every note on pitch. It’s hard. Third, it’s romantic. Fourth, he is amazing!!! Okay, sorry, I will look at my notes and see true commentary, not just my silly reactions. Quentin said that Kris is “living up to the spirit of the competition” and “playing with the casino’s money” which are both awesome things to say. I thought that the key was a little too low in the beginning, but at the first chorus everything got adjusted. Randy and Kara didn’t totally glob on, but who really cares about them. It was a great choice, performance, and HE WAS AMAZING!!!
Hugs and kisses and lots of Glen Hansard’s deep sexy voice,
Jessica
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