Idol: Rank ‘Em 1-to-8
8 ) Scott
7) Kris
6) Lil Rounds
5) Danny
4) Anoop
3) Matt
2) Allison
1) Adam
I can’t talk about Scott any longer. Terrible. Kris has a good voice, but that arrangement was terrible, the band completely drowned him out and he just wasn’t very dynamic. Bad song choice. It’s nice to finally learn that Lil isn’t short for “Little” (even though Simon still calls her that). Her performance wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t that great. I realized something when the judges were telling Lil that she needs to make the song hers, is that the easiest way to do that is pick a song sung by the opposite sex. Anoop did exactly that following Lil with a Cyndi Lauper song and it worked for him. Didn’t blow me away, but it was pretty good. He’s just not good enough to last much longer though. Danny was a little off this week. He sounds good but that arrangement was utterly horrible. Matt was great but I think he hasn’t overcome his problem of being forgettable. He just doesn’t have a persona like the others. But he’s good. I thought Allison sounded great. That song is a tough one and she pulled it off really well (and crazy that she was born the year that song came out. I usually don’t think of myself as being old, but that does it.) And for those of you who DVR’d it probably missed Adam’s performance. We were pretty annoyed. But have no fear, you can watch it at this link. And he killed. He really is beginning to break away from the pack at this point. I mean, I know it’s hyperbolic to say that he’s in a different league, but he really is. It’s like he’s toying with the other contestants now. It’s now a contest for second place.
There’s three ways:
1. Re-mix the song yourself, which is what David Cook was masterful at.
2. Sing a song of the opposite sex. But let’s not forget that Phil Collins covered Lauper’s song, bringing me to #3.
3. Sing a cover of a song that somehow the judges have never heard. Adam’s version of Tears for Fears’ Mad World was pretty close (though not exactly) to Gary Jules’ cover.
Comment by Tim J — April 7, 2009 @ 11:18 pm
Adam was also better because he chose a song that didn’t totally suck. (In fact Mad World is a great song in my opinion) I was astonished that these people chose the sucky songs they did. True Colors is a pretty good song but the rest were atrocious.
Comment by Geoff J — April 8, 2009 @ 12:01 am
I Can’t Make You Love Me is a great song too, but yeah, they chose bad songs.
Comment by Rusty — April 8, 2009 @ 6:16 am
8 ) Scott
7) Lil
6) Anoop
5) Danny
4) Allison
3) Matt
2) Kris
1) Adam **if only because he chose a truly great song
Comment by gabby — April 8, 2009 @ 8:13 am
What I know about American Idol:
* It sucks, if for no other reason than it went long and caused my DVR to miss the last 5 minutes of Fringe. Question: Is there anything worse than having one of your favorite shows cut short just as the heroine is chasing a serial killer? Answer: Yes. It could cut off right after you find out that one of your favorite characters (Dr. Kutner) on one of your favorite shows (House) put a gun to his head and committed suicide. It’s been a bad DVR week for me. But I digress.
* In exchange for missing the last 5 minutes of Fringe, I was subjected to a few minutes of Adam’s rendition of “Mad World.” While I do like that song, and even like the Gary Jules version of the song from the Donnie Darko soundtrack that Adam’s performance was based on, I hated his performance. Sure, he can sing, but his affectations drive me absolutely crazy.
Comment by BTD Greg — April 8, 2009 @ 8:21 am
Sure, he can sing, but his affectations drive me absolutely crazy.
I endorse this comment.
Comment by Geoff J — April 8, 2009 @ 10:04 am
I love his affectations. It’s what makes him so much better than anyone else. Well, that and his incredible range/spot-on vocals.
My parents are visiting this week. They’re in their 70s. They’ve never seen AI. After Adam sang my mom said, “I just want him to keep on singing!”
Comment by Susan M — April 8, 2009 @ 10:56 am
Yeah, Susan I just don’t get that. He’s fine, but he’s nothing great. My soft spot for the song and the fact that this season SUCKS made it the top of the night for me, but seriously…that isn’t saying much.
Comment by gabby — April 8, 2009 @ 11:00 am
Thanks for the House spoiler, BTD Greg. Bah!
Comment by bythelbs — April 8, 2009 @ 11:26 am
bythelbs,
Sorry about that. If it’s any consolation, this happens very early in the episode. What happens next is…[Oh crap! My DVR just cut off. Never mind.]
Comment by BTD Greg — April 8, 2009 @ 12:25 pm
You’re forgiven, BTD Greg.
Comment by bythelbs — April 8, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
Affectations? This needs to be explained further. I’m not seeing any. All he did was sit in a chair, then stand up. What is the affectation in that?
If you’re talking about vocal affectations, there are sure a lot fewer of those with Adam than with most other AI contestants I’ve ever seen. Most sing far to many vocal runs in order
I think Adam is truly a great singer but mostly he’s just a great performer, which is so sadly lacking in any of the other contestants. That’s the main reason he seems so much better: he picks great songs (usually), and he actually performs them, as opposed to just singing them or doing a karaoke immitation of the original artist.
Scott was so bad. Seriously, can anyone explain why you would pick a Survivor song? He should be voted off for that alone. That band was a joke even when that song hit the radio. Ditto for Kris. Bad song choice, and worse arrangement.
These contestants either have abysmal musical taste or they are getting awful advice from someone.
Comment by MCQ — April 8, 2009 @ 3:47 pm
I pretty much only found Adam’s and Allison’s performances to be worth listening to. Matt did surprisingly well, but I can’t stand how inconsistent he is.
I didn’t like Adam early on, but I’m really beginning to look forward to his performances quite a bit.
AI has run over their allotted time consistently this season. I find it obnoxious. It didn’t happen so often in the past and I suspect it’s because they’re trying to give 4 judges time to say something worth saying, while still accounting for all of the floofy crap Paula has to say to make people feel better.
Comment by Laura — April 8, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
The judges talk too much and constantly repeat themselves. Bloated egos require too much airtime. Who thought that adding another judge was a good idea? Replacing them with one person who was experienced, intelligent, honest and articulate would be way better. My application is pending.
Comment by MCQ — April 8, 2009 @ 4:22 pm
How is it that the judges have never heard Mad World from the Darko soundtrack as Tim J referenced? They do this every year. They think something is original that is just original to them.
Allison has a great sound to her voice. Adam’s great and all but way to screechy and high for me. I dont think I could handle more than a song or two on an album from me. too much work to listen to him
Comment by J. Madson — April 8, 2009 @ 5:47 pm
I liked that on the week about their childhoods, Adam did a song about being a kid.
Comment by Susan M — April 8, 2009 @ 7:28 pm
Who thought that adding another judge was a good idea?
Let’s hope they’re slowly fazing out Paula. If she says “magical” one more time I’m going to reach through my TV and strangle her.
I can’t talk about Scott any longer. Terrible.
“The Search is Over” didn’t do it for you? You probably have an axe to grind with half blind people…
BTW, I just saw them pretend like they were considering saving him…Show him some respect and treat him like a man! bleh!
Comment by CJ Douglass — April 8, 2009 @ 7:59 pm
“Let’s hope they’re slowly fazing out Paula.”
That idea just brought tears to my eyes. I think I will give it a standing ovation… It’s just so, … You know when I was reading it… it just made me… You are are an artist CJ, a true artist.
Comment by MCQ — April 8, 2009 @ 10:52 pm
Sat down to watch fringe, saw Adam sing (different, but good), then at the end TIVO cut off at the chase scene!! Kicked son off face book and went to HULU to watch the end. Thank goodness for that.
Comment by TStevens — April 9, 2009 @ 11:19 am