Last night on American Idol, a rock star was born. If you haven't been following, meet 20-year-old Elise Testone originally of Kinnelon, New Jersey:
She's twelve years older than the youngest female contestant and not only has a woman not won for the past five years straight, the oldest woman to win was Carrie Underwood at a mere 22-years-old. What chance does Elise have against all the young and old female votes for the male cuties?
On the other hand, like Haley Reinhart, Elise could win by losing. She builds the core fan base that's all the more adamant due to any injustice in the voting and gets the make the record she wants. Like Haley, she does so many interesting things with her voice, makes great choices, and records just as well as she performs live. Like Haley, she's got the blues in her and a rock & roll heart.
Because I'd be hella surprised if people aren't paying to see her sing within the next 24 months.
An extraordinary week on American Idol - the theme was The Billy Joel Songbook, and it didn't end up feeling dated. Several contestants really made the songs their own, including my three top favorites.
Elise Testone is the oldest contestant -- 28 -- and easily the most sophisticated. She's my favorite for her bluesy rasp, her unbelievable musicality, her range and passion, and her tremendous sense of rhythm. And watch/listen how beautifully she works her voice with the piano -- seamless, touch of swing -- to make the best-ever version of "Vienna":
Phillips Phillips is just so his own, excellent man. At age 19 his voice sounds eight to twelve years older, but his energy and edge is for real. His radical re-making of "Movin' Out" is the coolest this song has ever, ever been:
At age 16, Jessica Sanchez is a phenom. Yes, she has crazy range, (clearly) great training and God-given vocal chords, but she also has a surprising bluesy/urban strain in her and it belies her age. She's clearly the most marketable of the three, ready to be a young fashion icon as well as a musical one. Will the pop world accept a young Filipino-Mexican American in the footsteps of Celine and Whitney? She does wonders with "Everybody Has a Dream"?
Sorry, haters. It's an incredibly gifted cast of contestants this year, #11. And any of the Top Ten Finalists this year would have knocked out all but winner Kelly Clarkson in Season 1. Justin Guarini would have been lucky to be #8. And it's a tribute to the show that they can have a performer as individual as Phil or Elise on the show, making it so their own.
I like the song "When a Man Loves a Woman" as much as the next guy, but I've never loved it like I did when Joshua Ledet performed it on Idol this past Wednesday night:
He took it to church, but when he drops his jacket, it's Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Percy Sledge all rolled up in one extremely powerful, soulful, gospel trained voice. It's the right kind of throwback -- same training, lots to draw on both gold and contemporary.
Want to see what Josh does next. Because I've never seen that song done so well as that young man just did.
This is easily my favorite performance from the first live week of American Idol, onstage in Hollywood. Say hello to Skylar Lane. She's just turned 18, but I think she's going to be around for awhile:
What an excellent song choice to introduce yourself to America. Note not changing the gender -- hot. I'm not a big country music fan, but this was rock & roll -- and the only R&R of the night, better not be of the competition.
My favorite reality show has returned and it's loaded with talent. And there's even a contender for personal favorite this year like Haley Reinhart was for me last year, only this time it's a young dude with a very unusual energy and a killer rasp in his voice named (I kid you not) Phil Phillips.
This past week the contestants sang 50's and 60's tunes in groups in Las Vegas and these were the four that stood out to me, with annotations on my emerging faves. By standing out, I mean that I've listened to these versions numerous times since Thursday night, like released music. Roughly in order of overall quality (IMHO), they are:
Sealed with a Kiss, with harmonies right out of The Mamas and the Papas, sounds like a professional recording act already:
Jen Hirsh is the one to watch for top four honors as the season progresses. She clearly has range and when she goes big, it's still in control, while hinting at awesomeness to come. Creighton Fraker is unusual and powerful in his own right.
I Only Have Eyes for You feels like a 1950's act come back to life. The early part of the song, their movements and the sway, it feels like water lapping the shore:
Neco Starr is perfect as Little Anthony and the unfortunately (and, I think, erroneously) cut Jairon Jackson is flawless and mellow in tone as well. But it's the other two guys that are breaking out bigtime.
Yep, Heejun Han could be the first Asian-American Idol, so strong is his tone and the crazy surprise of the polished voice that comes out of him, when he's very drily humorous in accented English offstage. And then there's Phil Phillips, who doesn't get very much solo time on this number but it's timed for maximum impact, as if a little of his personality-rich voice goes a very long way. He's the first one this season who's music I could see actually purchasing...like Haley last year.
I Really Doesn't Matter Anymore: Has anyone ever done a Buddy Holly song as a slow-but-hard-driving blues grinder before?
Crazy, unusual harmonies. Again, an African-American cut (in the end-of-episode paring down, not this clip) that feels unfair and unwise, as Candice Coleman does a great job. Deandre Brackensick has the sick high-end vocals that impress as well.
But it's Jessica Sanchez who just made a name for herself this week. Did anyone expect a Jennifer Hudson-sized voice to come out of this girl? With such soul. At age 16. A star may have just been born.
The Night Has a Thousand Eyes: This was an early performance for this batch and the only one I saw that received a standing ovation from the judges. Whether that was due to the early spot or the high-quality revision of this '50's classic into a jazzy 1970's SoCal groove, you be the judge.
Eban Franckewitz is Idol's shot at a Justin Bieber but he doesn't seem to have the full control yet and could use a year or two. Chances are he'll be in the top 12 anyway. Haley Johnson is strong as well but, to my mind, the other two are the standouts.
Reed Grimm is this year's Casey Abrams, extremely musical, improving any group he's in, a good part showman, quite an instrument. He's got a signature bent-leg dance posture and even did one his Hollywood Week solo performance behind a drum kit. Could be the guy to watch for a top four spot.
Then there's Elise Testone. I'm not sure if her breaks on the top notes are planned or not, but she's got a crazy amount of soul and guts, and I love her style of singing. Some funk to come, perhaps? Some hard blues? A Janis number should she make the Top 12?
There you go: Jen, Creighton, Phil, Heejun, Jessica, Reed and Elise are my faves, as in I'm very interested to see what they do next. Others may emerge -- I want to hear more from Hallie Day, in particular. In early seasons sometimes it was a question of whether the top contestants could even stay on pitch, so that picking the final few was easy. Since last season it's felt like pitch talent isn't a problem, so what's going to make the difference is something distinctive in the voice, the musical choices and the personality that comes through.
No doubt American Idol graduated this year, with a hard-rocking barnstorming U.S. tour (then to the Philippines, I believe) and at least five record deals. The 9th place finisher, Pia Toscano, has a hit single already, f'goss sakes. And, of course, the incomparable Haley Reinhart, the jazz improviser with a rock & roll heart, no two performances exactly alike.
One of the best new twists is the proliferation of user videos from the live shows, which tell a narrative tail of 13 kids going from fire-tested amateurs to confident pros in dozens of cities, now second nature playing in front of huge, filled arenas.
The Manchester, NH performance last night benefitted from the best (a.k.a. closest) UGC video I've seen yet. Check out how Haley and Casey have grown, bringing Art Blakey to all-age audiences all across America:
Hard to believe that earlier this year when they performed it together, on national television, for the first time, they were just kids.
But by far my favorite clip, from every show where there's a UGC version to be had, is when four of the women - Pia, Haley, Naima and Thea, do their house-shaking collaboration on Janelle Monae's already classic Tightrope. You can't get too high; you can't get too low:
I love how 16-year-old Thea gets nicely featured in starting the verses, love how Naima takes over when they start moving, it's noce to hear Pia harmonizing with the women since she left the show so long before they female duets as the cast got whittled down.
And then there's Haley, go-go chick playing her part so happily throughout, then taking it all home in the end.
I believe there will be a lot of people looking forward to her first album, hoping it's really good.
With the departure of Haley Reinhart as my favorite #3 finisher, a category that includes Casey James and Melissa Doolittle, I have one less show to watch next week, as I'll be skipping the all-country, youngest ever (16 and 17) American Idol finals. I'll definitely watch the grand finale episode, not because I care who wins anymore, but to see some of the great diverse talent from this season, paired up with established stars, usually with at least one legend thrown in as the climax. Maybe Randy Travis with the country kids?
Nothing against Scotty McCreery or Lauren Alaina who seem like fine young people, both very talented, with Scotty poised to be the male Carrie Underwood when he wins and starts selling a kazillion records and downloads, but it's not my genre unless in the Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Allison Kraus, even Willie Nelson vein. And in its quest for audience, Idol has become a kids show. With alternatives like X Factor and The Voice, I wonder if the future Casey Abrams and Haley Reinharts will choose to take their quirky, professional, potentially brilliant career starts elsewhere.
The iTunes studio track of Haley's Led Zep cover from last night, "What Is and What Should Never Be," is awesome. It misses the smouldering blues lead guitar of her father's from the live show, but makes up for it in production value, listenability, and lack of tumble in the middle. So may of her tracks have been great, rotation ready -- "Benny and the Jets," "Rolling in the Deep," "You and I," "House of the Rising Sun," even "Blue" -- but this one may be the best. What a way to go out. I'm just bummed not to get those last three Haley Reinhart competition performances next week.
Here's her sing-out. "Benny" all the way, the song that first separated her, this awkward sexy yodeling girl who was supposed to be cannon fodder, from the rest of the pack:
Here's my favorite take on the above, from the tvline.com blogpost comments:
I usually get a feeling after the show about how the contestants are reacting. Just from the way Haley was singing to the others in the audience who went before her, it truly seemed to me that she was hanging with the cool kids while the pristine prom king and queen were anchored to the stage having to hold court, unable to join the party. I’ll bet none of them are surprised who the two finalists turned out to be. Haley was the last of the artists, and she made it further than all the others in what has always been a predestined finale. The fact that she came so far from where she started takes some of the sting out.
Comment by agrimesy – May 19, 2011 09:11 PM PDT
Two kids trapped in the grown-up world of network television meets music business. No more adults left to watch on the show, they're on their own.
Gotta think the Idol factory might have preferred Scotty vs. Haley. Ratings will have to go down next week as large blue state percentages drop off. And with the top two headliners be in country on the tour, won't that be something of a deterrent to ticket sales?
I do blame the judges song choice for Haley -- the Alanis Morissette song was a bad choice eight ways to Sunday, including being past it's expiration date Crystal and Alanis duetted it on the final last year), requiring editing for TV and still containing "is she perverted like me" to turn off mothers, has a general bitchy feel that seems designed to confirm what the Haley haters fantasize about her personality, not a great "singing" song with a low verse that's not great for Haley, lots of words to learn quickly when you lose a couple days for homecoming week and have 3 rather than 1 or even 2 songs to do, and they put it at the end of the show rather than earlier, so Haley could have ended on the Led Zeppelin moment.
But I truly believe, in the grand post-Idol scheme:
Beyonce said it: Haley's a rock star. No one with tone like her. And she's got the balls to choose to do a Led Zeppelin number on Idol -- onstage with her dad on lead guitar (a show first):
She was raised on rock & roll and has been in her parents' band since she was 8.
The drama is on, and it's ugly. Fans are accusing the American Idol judges of being pointedly hard on Haley Reinhart week-after-week while glossing over the pitch disasters and safe choices of the other contestants with endless praise. One starts to wonder if it's actually orchestrated by the producers to get Haley's fans voting, but the Haley haters are out in force as well. At this point, it appears she's getting more sympathy for actually speaking up for herself and her song:
The show was announced as Leiber-Stoller night, but either because they couldn't find 8 of their songs for the 4 contestants, or perhaps to pander to some of the contestants, they split it into two sections that didn't fit together, the first half being songs that Inspire You. Per Branden at American Idol Net:
Can we please just pretend the first round of “American Idol’s” Top 4 performance show never happened? From the incredibly boring and lame songs to Randy Jackson’s nasty attack on Haley, I thought it was going to be the worst “Idol” I’ve ever seen.
Why does Randy seem to really have it out for Haley. She’s the only person to receive bad critiques from him for weeks.
Luckily, things got much better during round two.
Here's the stellar performance that was her second of the evening, redemption with a judges standing ovation:
Can Haley just go home now. I have not liked her from the beginning and with each week I am liking her less and less. Yes, she’s a good singer but her personality sux. There is nothing likable about her. She tells Randy “okay okay you said it, you don’t have to repeat yourself”, then smirks on stage, always looking to see if she is on the camera so she can put on her fake smile. Go home Haley!
Tina – you are so right and I completely forgot about her smirking when Pia got sent home. The judges were raving about her performance. I thought she sucked. Jordan Sparks sung that song a thousand times better!
tina
Wed 05/11/11 9:14 PM
Obviously your little precious Haley can do no wrong, go back and watch the elimination of Piaa nd you will see bimbo Haley SMIRKING.
Steve
Wed 05/11/11 9:20 PM
she wasn’t smirking, if you watch that carefully the cam just caught her between and she was crying and legit upset
Levente
Wed 05/11/11 10:17 PM
Pia? Is that you or your sister?
two cents
Wed 05/11/11 8:56 PM
I am so glad that you two have never had the misfortune of having your facial expressions misunderstood. It kills me how every year people KNOW exactly what the contestants are feeling and how arrogant they are… So my impression that Lauren is a whiny brat and Pia was a stuck up beauty queen must be right because that’s what I see on tv.
Exactly. It amazes me when someone claims to know exactly what the contestants are thinking and feeling and can wrongly judge them like that. Wrong!
Neesey
Wed 05/11/11 9:05 PM
I never said I KNOW how Haley is feeling, etc. My impression is based on what I see on TV, and of course the editing has a lot to do with it. You can’t tell me if I am right or wrong in my impressions of Haley just like I can’t tell you that you are wrong or right in your impression of Lauren/Pia. They are only “impressions” based on how we individually perceive the person. With that being said, based on what AI shows us, based on the editing of interviews with Haley, my impression is exactly what I stated in my previous post. Everyone has a different impression of each contestant. No one is wrong or right, it’s just how we feel and everyone is entitled to their own feelings.
Hello?!
Wed 05/11/11 10:58 PM
Nothing likable about her? Have you seen her legs? Be reasonable!
So everyone is giving Scotty crap about picking a song about 9/11 saying it was calculated so no one would critique it. Yet James sings a song that a drunken crowd in any bar in America could sing while wearing a Journey shirt to the former bass player of Journey wasn’t a calculated move?
JLO and Randy will obviously find something wrong with haley’s next performance. Hopefully Steven will stick up for Haley again because I know she is going to kill it!
Hardly, why would I be jealous of a bimbo marrying a drug-out, booze out, has been rock star.
petra
Wed 05/11/11 10:07 PM
Tina, go buy a vibrator or lose 80 pounds and go find a man. Your trolling is pathetic.
LKay
Thu 05/12/11 12:12 AM
@Tina T.Troll – I realize you’re a tween getting off on trolling this site. But isn’t it past your bedtime? BTW, your credibility would have been improved somewhat if you actually made comments about anyone you actually liked. But no… you troll these threads and spew your troll-talk. Hahaha, you’ve had your fun. OK, hope you had time to finish your homework with all your time here. Beddy bye time now – time for all little trolls to get their rest.
Nycgal
Wed 05/11/11 8:49 PM
Omg their hatred of Haley is so repulsive….. Randy in particular. Wow, I have never in 10 seasons watched such shameful behaviour from the judges. It is all so orchestrated and obvious that Haley is not one of the chosen ones. But it is an insult to our intelligence to watch these fools critique only Haley while everyone else is above reproach? They r disgusting….
The Haley hater have no credibility when they say she sucks. Just admit you dont like her and be done with it. If she sucked she wouldnt have made it this far. deal with it.
She made it this fair because of all you who think she can sing. Those of who you claim hate her, know she can not sing, she screams,growls and should have left already.
My fave was great last week, Haley Reinhart taking a big risk with Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and hitting it strong:
The version posted above is the best quality, but this one has the quarter-million views and counting, not to mention 1,545 comments and counting. That's bigger than any competitors from the week, with all video versions added up making more than 500k views.
For good measure, the studio version is has a bit of a different flavor:
The question is whether tonight (Wednesday night) Haley brings the goods to Carole King theme week on Idol, and if she can keep out of the bottom three. The fan base has been building, but will a more silent (country music loving) majority knock her out of the competition for good?
Even Idol legend Adam Lambert says he can't wait for her record. Time for Haley to take a big, winning risk and scoop it up...otherwise, also-ran.
Ever since last Thursday night I haven't been able to stop watching this at least a couple times each day:
The last time this happened to me was when Ms. Haley Reinhart surprised everybody and had her first ever Idol "moment":
Haley clearly has chops, she's showing growth, and she's never been heavily touted, barely making the Top 12. But now she's the one I'm rooting for, hopefully in a final against James Durbin, the two with the most amazing voices and most rock & roll soul.
There's this thing with her where she's got the earthy growls and runs, and with her jazz background she's skipping so close to the edge, you think she's not going to make the note, that her voice can't handle it. But she can.
Here's something they didn't even show on TV -- not sure how it leaked out. One of my all-time favorite songs, "Baby It's You" performed solo with just keyboard accompaniment in her final Hollywood Week elimination:
Very classic in a way, throwback to girl group greatness, that kind of supple voice and good jazz & blues training. Her iTunes recordings are even better in some ways, does some different things with her voice than onstage, where she has to deal with movement as well. But she's just 20, so there's time to train.
What's great is that she's got a distinct but beautiful instrument to listen to, she's got chops, she's got taste, she's got variety and when she goes out there the audience is sensing that she's giving her all. The number of views she has are huge and the comments have exploded since "Moanin'."
Thursday's American Idol results show contained a huge shocker that took everybody by surprise. Yes, Iggy Pop, godfather of punk rock, appeared for the first time in his trademark shirtlessness as he performed "Real Wild Child" and appeared to skeeve out center-seat Idol judge Jennifer Lopez, along with dozens of message board commenters who apparently need a musical education. Many of them called out Iggy's age, likening him to, for example, a withered paper bag. The joke is on them, however, as Iggy looked incredible for 63 and moved all over the stage. As The Los Angeles Times pointed out, Iggy was disturbing to the Idol universe and its populace; yep, he's still doing exactly what punk rock has done since its inception -- disrupting the squares and bringing the cool kids -- like Haley Reinhart who danced along when Iggy invaded the contestants' space -- to their feet.
But wait, Iggy wasn't even the new on Friday morning. His appearance was overshadowed by the surprise ouster of Howard Beach native Pia Toscano, commonly thought to have the best voice this season, capable of hitting triumphant high notes and holding them, even if taking criticism for doing too many ballads and being, well, a little bor-ing.
Getting cut at #9 is the big shock. #5, maybe, #3, okay, #2, sure. Vegas oddsmakers had her at #1, so this loss of America's vote seemed to shake the show to it's very foundations. Blame was rapidly laid at the judges for not being critical enough all around; at the voting system which seemed to favor WGWG - white guys with guitars -- ever since unlimited texting was implemented allowing teen girls with unlimited text plans to vote hundreds of times each for the cutest, not necessarily the most talented and never again to crown a woman; at general complacency that Pia would, of course, be safe.
While Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed on Friday that Pia was never a vote-getting frontrunner, one might argue that the one aspect of her Wednesday night performance that did her in might have been the outfit by guest designer Gwen Stefani that did her, let us say, no favors:
Compare to her sizzling black shoulderless outfit on Thursday night:
Need I say more?
But while early elimination might have hurt an contestant in seasons past, the smart money is on Pia being in better shape now than she might have been going all the way to the finals. The outpouring of sympathy began immediately with the judges, Ms. Lopez in angry tears, and continued with tweets from celebrities including Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson, as well as ex-Idol contestants. She went on to do lots of TV appearances Friday morning climaxing with a show-long stint with the Ricky Minor band (Minor left his Musical Director role on Idol at the end of last season) on The Tonight Show. Her version of "River Deep, Mountain High" even seems superior to the one she performed on Wednesday night.
And rumor has it that in-show Idol record producer Jimmy Iovine is signing her immediately to his Interscope Records, calling all around town for songwriters to deliver candidates for her first single and/or album, and that for the first time in the show's history there may be a contestant single released before the winner's gets out. Which seems like a very, very smart move compared to the usual wait until the contestants cool off in the public eye.
All in all, another twist in this first American Idol 2.0 season, another seismic change. While it is easy to see Pia coming out stronger, one wonders if the show will feel that much poorer for losing its strongest voice over the final seven episodes. That's over a month and a half without those golden high notes, without the classic glamor Pia brought to the show. Maybe the judges will get meaner, maybe the final two women, Haley and Lauren, will make it to the finals.
American Idol has never had this level of talent this early in the game, and no obvious frontrunner this late. The drama last week, which Michael Slezak masterfully shows in his smart, genius-ly edited week 4-part video report on TV Line, with the judges save of early fave Casey Abrams after three weeks of grow-ly performances and now all 11 contestants going on tour rather than the traditional 10, is only heightened this week when two singers will be eliminated.
Tonight's performances of Elton John/Bernie Taupin songs were, as a whole, more consistently good than any other season. In other years actually singing ability started to fall off, weaknesses revealed that weren't brought out by the audition process, only now on the big, live TV stage. This year it's mainly about preference, who you find more or less boring. However, I found that this night actually crystallized some things for me.
The best singers, most interesting, most imaginable as recording artists after the show, are, in the order that I think they'll finish:
1. Pia Toscana: Young, gorgeous Howard Beach woman with arguably the best instrument of all the singers, real conviction and wow moments while still seeming so humble, radio-ready version of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me tonight. At the moment, the one to beat, especially if she comes back and rocks convincingly, brings Howard Beach soul to River Deep Mountain High as she promises for next week.
2. Scott McCreery: Solid country skills, showing growth this week nailing Elton in a pure country vein. However this turns out, he will have a career.
3. James Durban: Brings the rock and roll sorely asking everywhere else but needs to do another controlled performance after two fun but not 100% consistent performances. But I think he's a top three, if there's any justice, and if he can show some real growth over the next two weeks, he could set himself on a trajectory to win it all.
4. Casey Abrams: Finally got musical again this week, and had my second favorite performance on Your Song. Casey can change it up more than anybody else without bending the songs out of recognition, and tonight he dug so deep post-save to show it was justified. And that last note was, per Randy, a Major Ninth. Could usurp James' position in the top three -- a month and a half from now.
5. Haley Reinhart: Best performance of the night, and a new classic version of Bennie and the Jets that bears rewatching more than any of the others tonight:
She could be the Lauren Alaina smoter, a nice girl who may have a country career in her future, but is not the second coming of Carrie Underwood. I'm sure the producers want to keep her around as long as possible for the country audience, maybe even scoring a top three position for herself, but I don't see the depth. She has a huskiness that makes her and Haley somewhat duplicates, especially as the weeks weave on. Top six and then duplicate elimination round.
Haley is the wild card. Can she keep growing, bringing her tone, moves and style without falling into Broadway? Could she be a top three or even win? I don't see that yet, but I like the Chicago vibe and the bluesiness. If she gets the chance to do a Janis Joplin song that hasn't been overdone or done better (i.e. by Crystal Bowersox last year) and makes an all-time great idol version of it, she could set a killer trajectory. She commits more than Lauren, but the smokiness can sometimes get overpowering.
Tonight it worked.
Tomorrow night, results night, is all about justice. While they are all good, the rest are cannon fodder. Thia (great voice with an interesting, almost adult character, but ultimately too young for the show, missing some essential life experience), Stefano (charming and talented but ultimately Vegas), Jacob (talented, remarkable instrument and energy, missing some depth), Paul (interesting voice but now the weakest singer remaining) and, finally, Naima, whom I love the best of this bunch and better than some of the others, but who needs an Idol Moment and has not had one yet. I'm hoping she survives at least a couple more weeks to see.
So if you're an Idol hater you probably haven't read this far, but if you've ever been a fan, now's the time to tune in again. So much of the goodness has to do with the new judge line-up as well, with Jennifer Lopez making a real name for herself anchoring the panel from the middle. You'd have expected Randy, moved over the top the far right Simon Cowell position, but while he's brought a little of the veteran harshness, it's Lopez who really feels for the singers and gives them the consistently smart, useful, professional feedback.
Steven Tyler was better in the audition rounds when he was more honest and willing to cut, now he's Mr. Affirmation, the old Paula role, with some crazy sayings that are either funny-brilliant or funny-Paula crazy. Occasionally he says something positive but professionally helpful, but I think everyone would like to see him step up his game.
Change is good. Interesting real people recently discovered and playing out their future week-by-week on the national stage of the highest rated show on U.S. television, and all the social media being generated and swirling around it.
And Ryan Seacrest, the other survivor of all 10 seasons including the Producer, cements his dominance as the best host-repreneur in the business since his idol, Dick Clark.
Lee beat Crystal, making the Vote for the Worst website the winner of this year's American Idol. You could see the glum look in the judge's faces, but then again they may be blaming themselves for pimping the guy who clearly lost every single round last night, making the finalist showdown obsolete once and for all. And they faded out the show before Lee even finished demolishing the U2 tune.
With Lee winning after so many off-key notes last night, the show is clearly no longer a singing competition, but even if going for distinction, it will be all the poorer for having failed to make Crystal their face this year, as in retrospect they seem to have been particularly mistaken with failing to do the same with Adam last year.
Lee is a sweet good guy with moments of inspiration, has his power alley with his sandy voice, but clearly the show is all about young texting girls and cougars+above, so that no one with any really rough edges or iconoclasm can win anymore. Heck, even 3rd Place finisher Casey James, unleashed and blazing on guitar, sang better than the season winner tonight.
Smart Simon Cowell, leaving at just the right time.
Casey James has been freed like an eagle from American Idol at the perfect #3, so he can now go out and be the musician he used to be but with the big deal experience now to put it all together. Since it's a singing competition and Casey is at least 50% a killer Texas-style rock & blues guitarist, the show couldn't fully showcase his talent except in glimpses.
Now, take a look at his performance of "I Don't Need No Doctor" on Ellen the day after he was released:
Don't say great things don't still come from the South.
Siobhan Magnus was the first authentic punk rocker on American Idol. She's a 20 year-old glass blower apprentice from Cape Cod with the soul pipes and glory notes. And she got cut this week.
While Siobhan is acknowledged to be peculiar even by her family. She didn't want to be put in a box on Idol, nor did she construct her own box. Like Crystal Bowersox, the only woman left competing in the top five, her appearances had the power to transform the show into something distinct, their own show, their own time.
Coming from a large and musical family, her mother's favorite band is The Ramones and she grew up singing "House of the Rising Sun" with her dad. Her wild mix of influence yielded the show-stopping rendition of "Think" where she revealed her ability to hit and hold psychotically high notes, an entremely un-Idol "Wicked Game," a gorgeous "Across the Universe" and the one she wanted the be the one everyone remembered, "Paint it Black":
The judges dissed her for having too many contradictions, no knowing where to put her in their heads. She replied that it was point of pride for her that she wouldn't even put herself in a box, let alone expect other people to. That's the Joe Strummer-style punk attitude, which makes sense as she's the first Top 12 contestant to have sung in a punk rock band.
And, best of all, her demeanor when she isn't a song goddess walking the stage or owning a room and the airwaves with a note, is so much slower, with the big wacky eyeglasses, but also more considered, per this exit interview at USA Today:
You've had one of the most eclectic musical backgrounds of anyone on the show.
What do you look for in music that gets you from Hanson to Rob Zombie to musical theater?
I guess anything that moves me, anything that comes across as sincere and emotional and an honest expression. Music, to me, is an outlet. It's what you turn to when you don't know how else to get your feelings out. I can detect that in an artist. When somebody writes a song and you hear it and you can tell that they needed to write that song to explain how they felt, then it moves me, and I like it.
There are so many different kinds of music, and there's a difference between good polka and bad polka. Even if it's not your favorite genre, you have to appreciate that it's good for what it is. I'm just blessed that I had parents who raised me with such varied tastes in music, so that I was never closed-minded to anything.
When you like so many different kinds of music, does it get hard to figure out what you sound best singing? Because the music you love and the music you're good at aren't always the same thing.
A little bit, but I try not to take it as a bad thing. I try to see it as gaining versatility. I learn from everything that I love. I learned how to sing the way I do through imitating singers that I love. I try and encapsulate all of that and create my own unique sound from that. I try and use it as a positive thing, that I like so many different kinds of music.
I'm guessing, while there will always be some Siobhan haters out there, this girl will sell music and appearances.
It's early in the season for me to be watching American Idol, let alone pegging finalists, but there are a number of very talented and interesting adults this year -- no one left is actually a bad singer who consistently can't hit the notes as in years past at this stage -- but I do want the kids to go. The Top 12 are figured out this week, with four getting cut, then down to once a week, and I guarantee you'll see at least two great performances every week.
MC has it nailed. As of this week, the competition is between one gal and one guy who are just broke away from their respective packs.
Chrystal Bowersox, guitar slinging young mom who looks nothing like any other Idol winner in the past, who is totally legit as a singer songwriter (if they ever let her play her songs) with a great sense of rhythm and taste in covers, usually on acoustic but completely owning the electric this week:
And Big Mike, Michael Lynche, another young parent just turned dad as the auditions kicked in, proved to be a force of nature next to the other men, even the ones in their 20's:
I'm telling you, Idol doubters, there's a number of other good ones as well, but if these two aren't in the final episode, either something's gone haywire or there is no justice. I can see myself buying her songs. He's a more traditional type of star, but what counts now is how they bring it and continue to grow week to week.
The last time I liked a contestant this much this early was Fantasia Barrino, who went on to win, even though she never looked like what you'd expect from a show like this. She was authentic, she had raw throwback talent like these two (Michael with the theatrical, Crystal with the Bonnie Raitt-era white blues/folk women), and she continued to grow noticeably week to week, giving her all in different ways, going the distance.
And, like Fantasia, these two are gunslingers. You can see it in their eyes, especially during the judging, they know what they've done but they're smart, they're thirsty to absorb the feedback.
Per my post last night, no big surprise or even letdown that Kris Allen beat his new best friend, Adam Lambert, tonight. I believe that Adam lost because he didn't really take any big chances last night, although his "A Change is Gonna Come" was close. And while the conventional wisdom seems to be that Adam did better on the coronation power ditty due to it being written more for his range (tilting the table, producers?), it sounded just like all the other second place finisher versions I've ever heard, i.e. vocally strong but not very unique. Kris' version was much more unique, even if the band threatened to drown out his more muted volume.
In some ways it was a fairy tale ending, underdog pulls it out, leading the others in Obama-era unity to the judges platform, someone having the sense to send his wife up there for the final embrace as the live show vignetted on them in deep embrace, a bookend matching his long embrace of Adam after the victory announcement.
Kris needed this win more than Adam, who will go on to be a big personality in music. They both seemed like completely decent guys, the camaraderie that's developed between them in the winnowing to the finals genuinely moving.
It may not be the Idol of your choice, but it's a pretty great America.
