June 25th, 2009 A Day I'll Never Forget

Hello,

This video is for those of you who either missed this or were too young to watch it when it was originally performed. This was the performance that really brought Michael Jackson to the forefront of pop music. I remember watching this when I was in high school and being absolutely blown away. This is the first place where be broke out the moonwalk. Very few people can dance as well as Michael Jackson. He was the consummate showman.

I wasn't going to write a blog today until I heard the very sad news last night. As you know Micheal Jackson died yesterday at the age of 50. He died from cardiac arrest. Michael Jackson, one of the most amazingly talented musicians ever, started performing when he was 4.

Fox, one to never let good taste stand in the way of its greed, is re airing the Top 13 "American Idol" episode when it was the Michael Jackson theme. There were some pretty amazing performances that night notably by Alexis Grace, Adam Lambert and Megan Joy. I also liked Scott McIntyre's "Remember The Time" and Anoop Desai's "Beat It". Although that last performance was criticized by nearly everyone else.

Here's what I wrote March 11th, 2009 about that episode.
Some quick observations about last night's Top 13 episode. First of all thank goodness someone other than Adam, Lil or Danny had the pimp spot. Tonight it was Alexis and she rocked "Dirty Diana". I'm glad the performers are allowed to play instruments again, although only 3 of them played instruments. I wish we could see the band again. Why are they hidden?

Simon continues to be the only constantly insightful judge. Randy says a variation on about 3 or 4 themes for almost every contestant. Paula sometimes makes relevant comments, but she is so loopy. I think it has something to do with her makeup but Paula was looking very strange tonight. Sometimes that makes it hard to concentrate on what she is saying. At least she's better than Kara, her critiques of late have almost been completely worthless. She said to Danny Gokey you have "joy when you step on that stage". Thanks Kara, that was completely worthless. To Alexis she said, "glad to have you back". Where did she go? Again I hate this new format. With the producers fully hyping contestants, it's easy for good but quiet performers to get lost in the shuffle.

Tonight is the results show and either one or two contestants will be eliminated. It's a closely guarded secret. Simon said two people last night would be eliminated. However there are rumors that there may be some sort of veto the judges can use if a performer they like gets eliminated. For instance, if Danny Gokey gets eliminated tonight the judges can veto that and he'll stay on the show. Carrie Underwood will be singing goodbye to however many contestants go home tonight. We'll be hearing her remake of Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home". I think "AI" is having her sing the farewell song so they can show how successful their show has been. I really only consider five "Idols" successful: Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson. Also Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West will also be singing on the show tonight.

Overall I thought that Michael Jackson was a good theme, in fact it's one of the best themes in "AI" history. Jackson, for all his freakishness, is a musical genius. I even liked some of his lesser or unknown songs last night. I would also love to see a Stevie Wonder theme night. Also have a theme night of a great rock band, for instance Def Leppard. I'd love to see Alexis Grace sing "Love Bites" or "Pour Some Sugar On Me". I'm laughing to myself, what would Danny Gokey sing in a Def Leppard week?

Here's a quick review of last night's performances, my grade and whether I'd buy the song on iTunes or not. Thanks again to mjsbigblog.com in that I can copy and paste her list.

1) Lil Rounds - “The Way You Make Me Feel”. She sang it well but what was with that hideous outfit she was wearing? She needs to wear something that flatters her figure better. The judges fawned over her as usual. She also is very telegenic. Grade: B There's no way I would buy this technically proficient but boring song choice.

2) Scott MacIntyre - “Keep the Faith”. When I first heard this I kept on thinking of the Billy Joel song, "Keeping The Faith. I really like MacIntyre and I'm glad he can play his piano again. This is a song I've never heard before. Simon told him being artistic is good but he shouldn't be "artistic on this show". Huh? Grade: B+. I'll definitely buy his performance as well as buy the Micheal Jackson original version.

3) Danny Gokey - “Pretty Young Thing” Thankfully he didn't go the inspirational song route. By the way this is a great, great song and he did a great job singing it. I'm still conflicted about him though. I still get sort of a David Archuleta feeling from him. However he is a much better singer, performer and has considerable more stage presence. Grade: A-. I'll buy this performance.

4) Michael Sarver - “You Are Not Alone” I thought he gave a pretty solid performance. (This is the sort of song I thought Danny Gokey would sing.) Although I thought he sung it well, he's already lost in the shuffle. My prediction is in a few weeks Sarver, Kris Allen and Matt Giraud will barely be remembered. I don't hate any of them they're just sort of bland. Technically pretty good but not someone I would be inspired enough to call and keep them on the show. Grade: C. I wouldn't buy this performance.

5) Jasmine Murray - “I’ll Be There” I disagreed a lot with the judges tonight, including on her performance. She did a great job singing that song and sounded fantastic. The judges were lukewarm on her though. On ew.com's "AI" predicting who is going home contest, my choice is her. Also Michael Slezak and the majority of voters thinks she's going home as well. It's not that I hate her, it's I don't think she has that big of a voting bloc behind her. I'd rather see her week after week though than most of the guys. Grade: B. It's a toss up on whether I'd buy this performance.

6) Kris Allen - “Remember the Time” A very boring song choice. Again bland and utterly forgettable. A good voice although his guitar playing brought nothing to his performance tonight. He might survive for 2 or 3 weeks, but I can't see him going further than that. Grade C-. Am I going to buy this song? Hell no!

7) Allison Iraheta - “Give in to Me” I was a little disappointed with this song, mostly because of the lamented dread song choice. I love her voice and I liked her performance. It did feel like it ran on a bit too long. She should have sang "Bad" or one of Michael's rock songs. Overall I really like her, this was just not my favorite performance. Grade: B-, mainly because of the song choice. Buy? probably not.

8) Anoop Desai - “Beat It” This is the performance I disagree with the judges the most on. I like his new haircut, he sort of sounded like Michael Jackson. He's also think he's a natural performer. I still like him, but he's starting to lose his front runner status quickly. Grade: A and I'm definitely going to buy this song.

9) Jorge Nunez - “Never Can Say Goodbye” Why, why, why did he pick this song? I thought this was the worst song choice of the night. He's been dreadful the last couple of weeks and this is someone who can be very good. However I'm going to start calling him No Way Jorge. If he keeps on going with these middling performances, there is no way he's going to win. Kara had one of her only relevant critiques of tonight when she suggested that he should have sang "She's Out of My Life". That definitely would have been much better. If tonight is a double elimination he could be gone as well. Grade D- and there's no way I'll ever buy this performance.

10) Megan Joy Corkrey - “Rockin’ Robin” Another weird song choice, but somehow she pulled it off. Megan please pick a much more contemporary song next week. She's very telegenic and by far the best looking woman remaining on the show. She's not getting enough love from the judges. Grade: B and I'm definitely buying this performance.

11) Adam Lambert - “Black and White” Although he struts too much, this is a much better performance than than his terrible performance of "Satisfaction". I love how Paula stated that he and Danny Gokey will probably make the finals. Grade: B+ and I'll probably buy this performance.

12) Matt Giraud - “Human Nature” Another one of the men who are getting lost in the shuffle. He brought a bit of funk to his performance, but overall his performance was only okay. Grade: C and I won't be buying this performance.

13) Alexis Grace - “Dirty Diana” I thought she was fantastic. She had a little bit of a Madonna look tonight. Grade A-. I love her bluesy vibe and she has made a lot of great song choices. She should help some of the other contestants. Not only am I going to buy this performance, this will be the first performance I buy.


Also after taking Rolling Stone to task for some of their less than inspiring covers of late, I know who is going to be on their next cover. It's going to be Michael Jackson and I couldn't agree more. They have plenty of time to put together this issue and this should be a classic issue.

All morning I have been listening to Michael Jackson music and enjoying his excellent catalog of music he left behind. The man is a musical genius and he wrote some of the greatest songs of all-time. This is the man that either wrote or brought to our attention "Billie Jean", "Bad", "Smooth Criminal", Dirty Diana", "Black or White", "Thriller", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "She's Out Of My Life", "Beat It", "Human Nature" and "Pretty Young Thing".

Unfortunately the man later in his life turned into a freak and became a parody of himself. I acknowledge that and recognize he did some really bad things. However my sadness comes from the fact that a true musical genius died. In an age where people call that lame dude from One Republic a musical genius, this makes it even more sad.

Michael Jackson r.i.p.

themusicaddict