What in the hell is Randy wearing? Actually, what is Paula wearing? This is weird, Simon is the most presentable of the three of them. Whoa, Ryan, the bitch comment was a bit out of line. Did both Jordin and Blake audition in Seattle? Huh, that’s a little odd. Jordin’s success has been a long time coming? Wha…? She’s seventeen. As if they don’t remind us of that every week. In other words, it’s been less time coming than for pretty much anyone else on the show ever. If she wins, she’ll be the youngest winner by at least two or three years. Ryan needs to brush up on his logic. Or his math. Or something.

Aw, Blake’s a gentleman. Most singers would choose to go first, but he really let Jordin pick. Also a good thing: They’re only singing one song they’ve done before. Last year, having them sing two songs they’d done before was a little boring.

Blake Lewis
You Give Love a Bad Name

I am so glad he picked this. Absolutely the best number he’s done all year, and when we get right down to it, it’s going to be his beat-boxing and distinctive arranging that sets him apart and gives him a shot. Okay, though, running around the stage to interact with the audience might be a good idea IF you can keep singing and not lose the vocal. That, unfortunately, he did not do. Still, other than those few seconds, very strong.

Jordin Sparks
Fighter

Ooh, hard song. I haven’t actually heard Christina sing it, but someone on Australian Idol tried it last year and crashed and burned. Jordin is doing twelve times better than she did. Yeah, that was actually very good on a song that has really tricky rhythm, a lot of words, etc. Good on you, Jordin. Stellar? Come on, Simon, call her “stellar.” Let’s revive the word. Or not. :p

Round One - Actually, Randy’s right. Performance to Blake, vocals to Jordin. However, I think I’ll give the overall edge to Jordin because Blake couldn’t keep the microphone close enough to his mouth to be heard, and that was amateurish.

Blake
She Will Be Loved

This is the one Maroon 5 song I like. But it’s not working for him nearly as well as “This Love” did. Yeah, I’m afraid this round is going to Jordin. I disagree with the judges, I thought a bunch of that was flat, and the high notes didn’t work out quite as well as I’d hoped. Okay, I agree with Simon. That didn’t bowl me over in any way shape or form.

Jordin
Broken Wing

Definitely a strong choice, since she did “I Who Have Nothing” last week, and this is probably her second best from the season. This or “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Very nice. Randy, we know she is seventeen. Please. Stop. Telling. Us. That. High praise from the judges, and she totally deserves it. She was comfortable in the whole wide range of that song, and she sounded great.

Round Two - Jordin all the way. Sorry, Blake.

And now they have to sing the songwriting competition winner. I didn’t go listen to them all, but I heard that most of them weren’t that great. Did any of y’all vote for a song? (note: I have always said “y’all,” since I think English needs a second-person plural and y’all sounds much better than youse; it has nothing to do with my moving to Texas. Just for the record.) The songwriters are from Seattle, too? WUWT? It’s a Northwest Seaboard conspiracy!!

Blake
This is My Now

Eh. It was a’ight. Both the song and the performance. He did what he could with it, I think, but that wasn’t too much. The harmonies sounded off, and yeah, not his style at all. Heh, he hated the song. You can tell.

Jordin
This is My Now

And we have to hear it again. Woot. /sarcasm. Although it’s more suited to Jordin than Blake. Still. Why do they insist on having these faux-inspirational songs for the singles? Very strong vocal…right up to the end when I think she started crying or something? But yeah. She’s it.

Round Three - Again, to Jordin. That makes a hat trick for Jordin for me, though the first round was a bit of a tie. So there you have it. They’ve done all they can.

DAUGHTRY!! Emosewa! Okay, see, now Kat has to be there tomorrow night. Please? Pretty please?

In honor of the American Idol finale this week, I’m ceding this week’s Music Monday to American Idol fever. My favorite winners, finalists, and a few of this year’s best tracks. (Sound clips from the show taken from Rickey.org)

Previous Idols

Kelly Clarkson

I wrote Kelly Clarkson off for years because she came from Idol. Those were the same years, incidentally, that I was scoffing at Idol itself. But now I love her, and she remains the best Idol as well as the first (I just saw Season One on American Idol Rewind, and the only other contestant that season who even remotely competed evenly with Kelly was Tamyra Gray–Tamyra’s about to start starring on Broadway in RENT as Mimi, by the way–I bet she’ll be great in that role). On the other hand, Kelly’s immediate release after Idol (”Thankful”) was not terribly impressive from what I’ve heard of it, so skip straight to her second release “Breakaway” (I tried to pick songs that haven’t been overplayed on the radio–but since I don’t listen to the radio, I might be grossly mistaken). Hopefully her upcoming release this summer will be similarly enjoyable.

[audio:Kelly Clarkson - Gone.mp3]
Kelly Clarkson - Gone (right-click-save to download)
[audio:Kelly Clarkson - Where is Your Heart.mp3]
Kelly Clarkson - Where is Your Heart (right-click-save to download)

(buy "Breakaway" from Amazon)
(pre-order "My December" from Amazon)

Katharine McPhee

What, did I skip a few years? My bad. I started watching in Season 5, and don’t care enough for what I’ve heard of Clay, Ruben, and Fantasia to bother going back and get their albums. I do like Carrie Underwood, but not being a country fan, I also haven’t been proactive about getting any of her music. So there you have it. On to Season 5. Kat’s self-titled debut album is a bit overly pop/R&B for my tastes, but it’s actually growing on me. Which is a little disturbing when I think about it (do I like everything if I only listen to it enough?). But anyway, one review I read of the the album is that her voice sounds great, and it’s just too bad that the material often dips into the banal–especially the lyrics. I would totally agree with that assessment. If you like Kat’s voice and want to hear more, you won’t hate the album, but you might be disappointed that she didn’t hold out for better material. Here are a couple of tracks. “Dangerous” is a laid-back club number, while “Ordinary World” shows off her vocal ability better than most of the other tracks.

[audio:Katharine McPhee - Dangerous.mp3]
Katharine McPhee - Dangerous (right-click-save…you get the idea)
[audio:Katharine McPhee - Ordinary World.mp3]
Katharine McPhee - Ordinary World

(buy "Katharine McPhee" from Amazon)

Daughtry

I have Daughtry’s album, but I’ve only heard it a time or two, not enough to pick out songs I like. In fact, most of the songs seem to run together as annoyingly similar. Just to have something of his, though, here’s “Home,” which is currently being used as the journey recap music for voted-off Idol contestants.

[audio:Daughtry - Home.mp3]
Daughtry - Home

(buy "Daughtry" from Amazon)

Elliott Yamin

I was also disappointed in Elliott’s album. (I guess I should stop hoping for good Idol debut albums, eh? Especially since not even Kelly’s first one was good…fingers crossed for sophomore efforts?) But his voice is still incredible, even if I think they hired chimps to write a few of the lyrics.

[audio:Elliott Yamin - Find a Way.mp3]
Elliott Yamin - Find a Way
[audio:Elliott Yamin - A Song for You.mp3]
Elliott Yamin - A Song for You

(buy "Elliott Yamin" from Amazon)

Taylor is conspicuously absent for the simple reason that I don’t like him. Deal.

Best of This Year

Why should Jordin Sparks win this year? Because of these songs, among others:

[audio:Jordin Sparks - To Love Somebody.mp3]
Jordin Sparks - To Love Somebody
[audio:Jordin Sparks - Youll Never Walk Alone.mp3]
Jordin Sparks - You’ll Never Walk Alone
[audio:Jordin Sparks - I Who Have Nothing.mp3]
Jordin Sparks - I Who Have Nothing

Why do I want Blake Lewis’s CD? Because of these performances, among several others:

[audio:Blake Lewis - Mack the Knife.mp3]
Blake Lewis - Mack the Knife
[audio:Blake Lewis - When I Get You Alone.mp3]
Blake Lewis - When I Get You Alone
[audio:Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name.mp3]
and especially Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name

Why was I surprised when Melinda Doolittle got voted off, even though I was rooting for a Jordin-Blake finale? Because she’s amazing:

[audio:Melinda Doolittle - Im a Woman.mp3]
Melinda Doolittle - I’m a Woman
[audio:Melinda Doolittle - My Funny Valentine.mp3]
Melinda Doolittle - My Funny Valentine
[audio:Melinda Doolittle - I Believe in You and Me.mp3]
Melinda Doolittle - I Believe in You and Me

Why did I feel bad when I started hoping LaKisha Jones would get voted off? Because I felt a bit shallow choosing personality rather than talent, which she clearly has:

[audio:LaKisha Jones - And I Am Telling You Im Not Going.mp3]
LaKisha Jones - And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going
[audio:LaKisha Jones - Midnight Train to Georgia.mp3]
LaKisha Jones - Midnight Train to Georgia
[audio:LaKisha Jones - This Aint a Love Song.mp3]
LaKisha Jones - This Ain’t a Love Song

Why did I want Chris Richardson to stay around as long as rationally possible? Well, partially because I was crushing on him. But also because I enjoyed his versions of these, among others:

[audio:Chris Richardson - Dont Get Around Much Anymore.mp3]
Chris Richardson - Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
[audio:Chris Richardson - Dont Let the Sun Catch You Crying.mp3]
Chris Richardson - Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying
[audio:Chris Richardson - Wanted Dead or Alive.mp3]
Chris Richardson - Wanted Dead or Alive

Why did I vote for Haley Scarnato even though I knew she couldn’t (and shouldn’t) win? Because I downright love her tone quality, even if I’m in a minority. And I think her voice is better suited to the recording studio than the live stage, and that hurt her.

[audio:Haley Scarnato - Its All Coming Back to Me Now.mp3]
Haley Scarnato - It’s All Coming Back to Me Now
[audio:Haley Scarnato - Aint Misbehavin.mp3]
Haley Scarnato - Ain’t Misbehavin’
[audio:Haley Scarnato - True Colors.mp3]
Haley Scarnato - True Colors

Just to prove I’m truly obsessed, I do have audio rips of pretty much all of the performances from both Seasons 5 and 6, if there are any y’all are interested in that I didn’t post here. American Idol.com has studio-recorded versions for sale, which I hear are often worthwhile getting, too, if you’re even more obsessed than me.

I’m super tired for some reason tonight, so this’ll be brief.

From the going home clips: Jordin is adorable. Get used to fame, sweetheart. Blake is such a dork. I love it. Melinda’s cute. I love her, too.

ELLIOTT!!! Damn, he looks different. So we’ve had Carrie, Fantasia, Elliott and even Kelly perform on the show this year, and Taylor’s going to perform in the finale I know. Kat? Please? Just for me? Hey, they’re actually going to the judges after a guest performance? That’s awesome. Of course they’re complimentary. :p

Yeah, I still don’t like Maroon 5. Blake’s better than their lead singer.

And results after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

And we have a perfect final three. I’d be happy if any of them won, though I’m still pulling for Jordin. Much better than last year, when I loved Kat, liked Elliot, and hated Taylor. Yeah, that didn’t work out. Ooh, three songs a piece. Last year the producer-guy did a horrible job picking songs. But the judges did a good job, so we’ll see how they do.

Jordin Sparks
song: Wishing on a Star by Rose Royce

Don’t know that I know this song, but Jordin seemed happy about it. She certainly seems comfortable with it. A good vocal performance, but not hugely exciting to me. Still, nicely done. Heh…she looked happy when she heard what she was singing even though she’d never heard of it? Interesting.

Blake Lewis
song: Roxanne by The Police

Ooh, this song was in Moulin Rogue. Yeah, that’s the only version I’ve heard. I’m not sure if I liked Blake’s vocal or not. It was a little shouty in the upper ranges. But yeah, the performance wasn’t bad. Simon’s right, though. Good but not great.

Melinda Doolittle
song: I Believe in You and Me by Whitney Houston

Did Melinda just call Randy Jackson “Randy Johnson”? I think she did… He can’t even avoid name-dropping IN MEMOS. But this is an awesome performance. Melinda just pulled into the lead for the night. Perfection. She is far too good to be here, I’m sorry.

Jordin Sparks

Favorite song: Mmmbop by Hanson. O-kay. I liked that performance, though. It was fun. I’m all about the fun, you know? Hee. She seems extraordinarily comfortable for being the semi-finals. I like that. Is Simon on something tonight? He’s been drinking out of Paula’s cup, hasn’t he?

Blake Lewis
song: This Love by Maroon 5

Nice choice for Blake, I think. Very contemporary. Not a song I particularly like, though. Let’s see if Randy rips on him for beatboxing. He could beatbox all the time for all I care. It’s hot, dude. Yeah, that was definitely his style.

Melinda Doolittle
song: Nutbush City Limits by Ike and Tina Turner?

Okay, not a fan of the song. At all. The lyrics don’t make sense, and the instrumentation is really annoying. She sang it well, as always, but I think I gotta make this round a tie between Jordin and Blake. Maybe a slight edge to Blake.

Jordin Sparks
song: I Who Have Nothing

This was an awesome performance the first time she did it. The first moment I thought she could really win. Hopefully it puts her in the finale! Oh, yes. I’m getting goosebumps at that high note. That’s a good sign. Bring it home, sweetheart. We’ll see how the others do, but that was great. Shut up Simon. Don’t listen to him, Jordin.

Blake Lewis
song: When I Get You Alone

Another great song choice for Blake. When he’s not constrained by stupid disco themes, he knows exactly how to pick songs for himself. Again, totally, totally hot! Ooh, now we have a tie for this round, too.

Melinda Doolittle
song: I’m a Woman

I was hoping she’d do one of the standards! A little Peggy Lee is never out of line. That’s all I’m saying. Although I think her first performance of it was a little better, though of course, this was also very good. I gotta go again with a tie between Jordin and Blake.

Best Performances - Jordin’s last one, Blake’s last two, Melinda’s first one.
Who’s in the finale? - I have no idea, and I don’t even care that much. I’d like to see Blake in the final just because he brings a very different vibe than Melinda and Jordin, and that makes for better television. But both Jordin and Melinda also deserve to be there. Melinda’s been the most consistent, but I still hold that she’s already too professional for the show. What do y’all think?

I just got home, so I missed the first half of the show (my parents aren’t blessed with a DVR anymore, since they have no use for it). I came in in the middle of the group song, which I enjoyed. I like the group songs. Oh, and now they’re getting to see Fantastic Four 2? Yay for more cross-marketing. So if this is “Rise of the Silver Surfer,” does that mean they’re going to have a third one which is “Fall of the Silver Surfer”? Seems logical. Wait, they didn’t get to see the whole thing? That’s a rip. Ooh, Jessica Alba. Makes me miss Dark Angel. They should’ve kept that up instead of doing The Fantastic Four movies. Yeah, I know, the two things are not really related. But still.

The AI producers are doing a band search show now? Interesting. You know what they need to do? Let solo performers use instruments and showcase their own songs. Like Australian Idol did last year and is doing again this year. That would rock. Oh, and now we have to hear Barry Gibb. Was there a random performance by some random artist earlier on the show, like they’ve been doing?

Results after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Oh, geez, Jennifer was right…tonight is disco night. I HATE disco. But I pretty much don’t get the seventies at all, so… (BTW, I just got home to St. Louis after all day driving, so thus I am not live-blogging the show.)

Melinda Doolittle

See, I don’t even like Melinda singing disco. She sounds shriller than usual, probably because of the original falsetto flavor of the song. It’s just…insubstantial and I don’t like disco. At all. They need to not choose this theme. Because it sucks. Heh, they’re looking for a wow fact that she didn’t give. Because the song sucked. I apologize if you like disco. But I’m probably going to be running it down all night.

Blake Lewis
You Should Be Dancing

Yay for beatboxing, though. But there’s no way he can top last week. See, I like the falsetto for effect, but whole songs in it? NO. And that’s like the most boring beatboxing he’s done. Maybe I’m just tired. No, I just hate disco music. Randy, it sounds corny because disco is inherently corny. Hopefully the second one will be better.

LaKisha Jones
Stayin’ Alive

Way to go LaKisha picking the flagship song. That was sarcastic, BTW, as LaKisha once again seems to show very little song-choosing intelligence. One of her better shirts, though, I think. Parts of that weren’t bad, but the ending was…what even was that? Besides flat.

Jordin Sparks
To Love Somebody

If anyone could do disco and make me like it, it’s probably Jordin. *fingers crossed* Oh, see, it’s not really disco (in the dancing way). Good call, Jordin. This is why you will win. Oh, and the fact that you can sing your butt off. Yes! First actual listenable performance tonight! Rock on! Especially good considering last week’s shaky performance…

And now for the second round. I really miss Chris. :(

Melinda Doolittle
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

She’s got a point about the loser line. :) People tend to leave when they sing leaving songs. Now, this is more like it. Nice full ballad. Yes, that’s what I’m talking about. Not my favorite of her performances, but definitely head and shoulders above the first one. The ending was excellent.

Blake Lewis
This Is Where I Came In

Feels like he’s phoning it in…totally the wrong time to be this laidback. I mean, I know it’s the song, but he isn’t choosing the right songs. Randy, he beatboxed this week and last week, but not for like six weeks before that! He doesn’t do it every time. I’m sort of with Simon–the song was really, really weird, and I didn’t care for it. Which is mucho disappointing, because I *heart* Blake!

LaKisha Jones
Run to Me

And LaKisha’s back to ballads, too–a much better choice for her than disco dance tunes. Vocal was fine, but she’s boring me a lot lately.

Jordin Sparks
A Woman in Love

Okay, baby, bring it home. And a Streisand song–great choice for her voice. Wow, high praise from Gibb. I think I actually liked her first performance better, but she’s still great. She’s my winner.

Can we learn from tonight to not do a seventies/disco theme ever again? As a theme it CRASHED AND BURNED.

Best Performances - Jordin’s first, Melinda’s second.
Going Home - Well, I have to admit that both of Blake’s performances were lackluster tonight, even more so than any of the others. Yet, LaKisha is coming off weeks of lackluster performances, so I’d still send her home. But this was such a weird night, we could get an upset this week.

So now we make up for being extra-nice last week by being extra-mean this week.

What is Simon doing to Paula? Geez. Yay Blake! Ryan, don’t launch into impromptu song and dance numbers when you’re interviewing people. It doesn’t work. There is absolutely no reason for tonight’s show to be an hour long. We have not only a recap of last night’s performances, but also of the entire Idol Gives Back Show. Which wasn’t really, like, that good, except for Kelly Clarkson. And maybe Jack Black.

Oh, and now we have another random performance by someone who has nothing to do with anything. Who can’t sing. I’m sorry, I should be in a good mood, given that I just turned in my last major paper of the semester. Is Fantasia reading the same teleprompter as Reuben did? Yeah, I’m pretty sure she did. They should switch that up.

Jon Bon Jovi reminds me of Roger from RENT. That’s probably a backwards reference, but hey. Oh, hey, they gave Taylor a different teleprompter script.

Results after the cut.

Next week…did he say boogie sounds? So that’s, what, big band? Awesome! I love big band. But they’ve already done American Songbook, so interesting choice of theme.

Read the rest of this entry »

$70 million, eh? Nice. Although, I did think Newscorp’s $5 million was a bit low…I mean, that’s like 1/20th of what they spend on a single film production. Anyhoo.

Bon Jovi? Really? A whole show devoted to Bon Jovi songs? Okay. They should let me program this thing.

Phil Stacey
song: Blaze of Glory

Phil’s going first! This is good for those of us who, you know, want him kicked off. First place is the death slot. He’s up in the audience again? That’s not tended to be a great idea. He’s trying to be Daughtry. And he, you know, isn’t. No matter what Bon Jovi says, his voice is not this big. Then again, remember how biased I am on this. Can Randy make it through a show without name-dropping? Nah, didn’t think so.

By the way, everyone should go watch the recaps/commentary of the show at IdolCritic.com. Really funny, and usually spot on. Last week, she pointed out the absurdity of Paula’s pleased surprise at Phil’s sounding good throughout the whole song. As if what we’re going for with American Idol was someone who could once in a while sing a song without sounding like crap. Hee.

Jordin Sparks
song: Livin’ on a Prayer

Ooh, difficult to sing…don’t frell up, Jordin! But she’s so great, I’m sure she’ll be fine. Wow, she looks kinda scary. Ooh, nice, she’s got the boys with the guitars up there. We love boys with guitars. There was a phrase or two that seemed a little shaky, but overall, she worked it out. Interesting song choice, though…not really my favorite for her, but she’s still my fave. This is sort of like when Kat had to sing Elvis songs last year.

LaKisha Jones
song: This Ain’t a Love Song

Sounds like LaKisha picked a good song for herself. Mmm. But she’s my second-least favorite right now. This is not working out for me. And yeah, that was really good, but that’s a bit much, Simon. Damn, this screws up my plan for Phil and LaKisha to go home tomorrow. Wow, look at me. I’m so warped that I’m hoping certain people do bad so they get kicked off. I’m going off the deep end. I apologize, LaKisha. I don’t dislike you, I just…like you less than Jordin, Blake, Melinda, and Chris.

Blake Lewis
song: You Give Love a Bad Name

Uh-oh. Changing the arrangement doesn’t always work for Blake. But this one has high possibility for beat-boxing, and that could save him, since he hasn’t done it for a long time. YAY BEATBOXING!! Dude, I am totally loving this. Whether the judges will or not, who knows. But I do. It’s totally awesome. Let me repeat that. THAT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME. YAY! I CAN’T STOP SCREAMING!!

Chris Richardson
song: Wanted Dead or Alive

Uh-oh, Daughtry did this last year, and as much as I enjoy Chris, he doesn’t have Daughtry’s vocal power. I do like the tone he’s got going on, though. Very different from Chris D., but still quite good. He needs to quit using the mic stand EXACTLY like Daughtry did, though. (This is difficult to write, because they’re both Chrises…). And he didn’t go nasally at all. All in all, a solid performance, I thought. Hopefully his placement late in the show will aid him against Phil.

Melinda Doolittle
song: Have a Nice Day

Oh, come on, Melinda, you’re good at everything. She’s so cute. How come she only gets one guitar guy and Jordin got two? :p Wonderful, of course. Heh…her face at the end was awesome.

Best Tonight - BLAKE, Melinda, and…probably LaKisha, although I liked Chris better. What the hell. Chris.
Going Home - Hopefully PHIL, and…LaKisha. Because the other options would make me less happy. But, probably Chris. Sigh.