Last night on "American Idol" I thought there would be several train wreck performances, I was very pleased there was only one. I know I don't have to do this, but I'm going to point out the obvious. Elton John is the man, he and Bernie Taupin wrote some of the greatest songs of all-time. 10 of his classics were sung last night and "Country Comfort". He has several other amazing songs that weren't sung last night. Amazing Elton John songs the "AI" contestants didn't sing include "Honky Cat", Philadelphia Freedom", "Crocodile Rock", "Island Girl", "Levon", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". Again those were the great songs that weren't sung!
Thankfully screen time for the producers has been severely cut back, thank goodness. Now can we get rid of Jimmy Iovine. I nearly always find his opinions worthless, he essentially is as helpful as Randy Jackson. I researched Iovine a bit, to see if he deserves his reputation as a great producer. I would have to say no. He did produce U2's "Rattle and Hum", which is one of their many great CDs. He also signed Lady Gaga in 2007. Those are two big things in his favor.
However he's also credited with giving Eminem's demo tape to Dr. Dre. That's a strike against Iovine for me. He also co-produced 50 Cent's "Get Rich of Die Tryin". That's another strike against him. He has done some good things, but I think he's a long ways from being a legend. Bringing up Lady Gaga doesn't quite make up for bringing us the very over rated Eminem.
11) Jacob Lusk, (down 4 spots) sang "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". All is right with the world again as he's back in his rightful place on my countdown. A terrible arrangement and a terrible performance. The shows only train wreck of the night. He was just dreadful and I don't understand all the love he gets from the judges. He's ungainly and I'm fearful that his eyes are going to bust out of his head. There's a line in the song he sang, "What have I got to do?" I'll answer that for you Jacob, go home. I'm afraid that he'll be back next week though. Grade: D-
This is how this song should sound:
10) Scotty McCreery (up 1 spot) sang "Country Comfort". The one trick pony strikes again. Jimmy I. calls it one of the best tricks. No it isn't. McCreery does the same thing each week and it's gotten boring. He's stuck in a very limited spot, what would he sing disco week? Can you imagine how bad that would be? I can't imagine sitting through a two hour concert of his. He might be this season's David Archuleta. Like Archuleta he has virtually no personality. He'd be lucky to have a "career" equal to Archuleta's. Let's hope he doesn't, one David Archuleta is more than enough. Scotty Grade: C. David Archuleta and his career: F
9) Naima Adedapo (up 1 spot) sang a reggae version of "I'm Still Standing". Now I know what you are thinking, how did that end up not being a train wreck? It wasn't and that's even with Naima singing with a reggae accent. Not only that Naima, but the 70's called and it wants it's outfit back. Even with all the above, it still didn't end up being a train wreck. It ended up being better than I thought it would be, but it still wasn't spectacular. If it was up to me Naima and Jacob would be the ones going home this week. Grade: C.
Randy called her performance "corny" but said she had "mad flavor". He then did a bunch of nonsensical mumbling. Steven said she was "pickin' a song that fits you". How is either one of those critiques suppose to be helpful? JLo, looking amazing as always, was right on when she said, "better idea than payoff". Grades: Randy: F as always, Steven: D- and JLo: C
8) Paul McDonald (same) sang "Rocket Man". I finally figured out who's singing voice his reminded me of: James Blunt. However Blunt is a much better singer and performer. Jimmy told him to sing it as if it was an encore. Well if that was his encore performance, I'm glad I didn't have to see the rest of the concert. Although that was his best performance that I've seen. It started out cool, but it went downhill. Does he have a chance of being the "AI" Season 10 champ? Not only no, but hell no. I think he'll be sent home in the next couple of weeks. Grade: C+.
7) James Durbin (down 3 spots) sang "Saturday Night Is Alright". I will admit it up front, I hate everything about James Durbin. He has an okay voice, but absolutely nothing else going for him. He has nasty hair and is extremely unattractive. He has all the charisma of a thorn. Also his performance went on too long. If it had been shorter, I would have given him a better grade. Grade: C+.
6) Stefano Langone (up 3 spots) sang "Tiny Dancer". I love how this song was arranged in that the chorus wasn't repeated too much. That really helped his performance. He bounced back from last week's terrible performance of "Hello". Maybe he had heard "Tiny Dancer" before picking it. He must have seen "Almost Famous". I don't think he'll win this, but I could see him finish in the Top 3. Grade: B-.
The rest of these performances were the cream of the crop for the night.
5) Lauren Alaina (down 4 spots) sang "Candle In The Wind". Sure she took a big drop in my Top 11. But that doesn't mean she didn't have an amazing performance. She just had the 5th most amazing performance of the night and there's no shame in that. I did wonder if she knows who the song is about? Also this is just an amazing song. Lauren looked like a star and the dress looked good on her. She has such an amazing voice and she might have the most potential of this season's contestants. I even caught myself wondering is she the next Carrie Underwood? After having that thought I zapped myself with the anti-hype gun. Looking back I was surprised that I gave her only a B- grade. That's what I thought in the moment so I'm sticking with it.
4) Haley Reinhart (up 2 spots) sang "Bennie and the Jets". Haley and her boobs received the night's pimp spot. Haley looked amazing last night. What is it about an attractive woman on the top of piano that is so sexy? I love her voice although I'm not sure she always uses it right. Grade: B+
3) Casey Abrams (same) sang "Your Song". I know I'm probably preaching to the choir, but this is definitely a Top 250 song. "Your Song" is just a great, great song. I didn't like how this episode started with showing the Casey Abrams save/meltdown again. I had watched "The Good Wife" before "AI". It made me think if I were a lawyer, I'd call showing that again prejudicial. Have the "AI" producers soured on Abrams? I also didn't like how the hype machine kicked in when "Hope Has Been Renewed" was displayed on the screen. Someone found my blog yesterday by googling "does Casey Abrams have a mental problem?". That person is not the first person to wonder that.
Anyway on to his performance. He did look a lot better after getting a trim on his beard and his unruly hair. He chose a great song and he sang it with passion. Casey is back and I hope it's not too late. Would winning this competition be a good or bad thing for his mental state. Could he be another Susan Boyle? A person with a great voice but really isn't cut out for the spotlight. Grade: B+.
Randy: "yo yo", then his goofy laugh then you were "absolutely brilliant". I agree with Randy? Egads!
This song grabs one by the throat from the opening note:
2) Thia Megia (up 3 spots) sang "Daniel". Two weeks ago, Thia was 11th on this list. She has one of the best performances last week during Motown week. That wasn't that impressive as last week was a horrid week. However Megia also had one of the best performances this week, and this week was the best week by far of the four weeks I've seen. I like the advice she received about making the song relate to her. She did when thinking about her brother leaving home. Thia definitely had a moment on Wednesday. Grade: B+.
Randy said she had "pitch issues", and picked a "very safe" song. Seriously Randy is an idiot!
Steven Tyler was spot on when he said, with the "right song, the voice appears". It was almost like this song was written for Thia. Can she keep this up though?
The amazingly gorgeous Pia Toscano:
1) Pia Toscano (up 1 spot) sang "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me". Let's get it out, yes Pia is absolutely gorgeous. And as ew.com's Dalton Ross said on "AI" yesterday, that dress fit her like a "glove". In other words it brought out all her feminine qualities. Now if she was only gorgeous, that would be one thing. But she also is an amazing singer. I agree with Randy for her to sing something besides a ballad. Last night she was fantastic, but I'm holding her to singing "River Deep, Mountain High" next week. Grade: B+.
"River Deep, Mountain High":
Pia's version of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me":
Elton John singing "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me":
themusicaddict
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