American Idol: Boredom-Inducing Song Choices

I love you Poptimal.com. I’m dying of the flu, yet I’m writing my recap. That’s true love. So on to American Idol before I fall asleep at my keyboard.

After watching Tuesday night’s episode with pitch problems and boredom-inducing song choices, I may have spoken too early when I said this season of American Idol has produced the best singers to date.

Twelve contestants sang their hearts out this week from the Billboard Top 100 chart. So lets get down to the Good, the Horrendous and the Strange which from now on will be referred to as the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. (We don’t have any of the audition freaks, so the former doesn’t really apply anymore.)

THE GOOD
Ricky Braddy. Where have they been hiding this kid? It’s definitely a disservice to him that he hasn’t gotten any screen time. He sings “A Song for You” by Leon Russell and kills it.

Alexis Grace is definitely one of my favorite. She’s all cute and petite and streaked pink. I was surprised when she picked a such a big song, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” by Aretha Franklin but she made it hers and looked pretty and confident doing it.

Anoop Desai is definitely likable, as Simon said, and he has a great voice so he should be a shoo-in. But the truth is, he doesn’t have one of those touching stories that merits screen time in American Idol world, and he didn’t get enough screen time to get people to really pick up the phone. It’s sad because I think he’d be a great addition to the show.

Danny Gokey is obviously the show’s favorite. I know that his wife passed away but do they have to remind us every second he’s on camera? I thought he was trying to move forward with his life. He sang “Hero” by Mariah Carey, and by hitting those power notes, I think he ensured his place in the top 12.

THE BAD
Jackie Tohn sings “A Little Less Conversation” by my man Elvis. Strange song choice, but she’s got enough rasp to pull it off. I’ve heard her sound better, but at least she looks like she’s enjoying herself, gyrating all over the stage like that.

Brent Keith is just a cute ole southern boy. Sadly his tape doesn’t begin due to technical difficulties so Ryan has to walk him down to the stage while asking him questions and checking in on the tape status. It’s awkward, and could easily have affected his performance of “Hicktown” by Jason Aldean.

Anne Marie Boskovich was the one that Simon told to return all gussied up during the auditions. She looked beautiful on Tuesday, singing “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin, but unlike Alexis, singing Aretha is clearly too big for her. I don’t know why people choose songs that don’t fit their personalities or voices at all.

Tatiana Del Toro makes me really uncomfortable. I hate not knowing if she’s playing a part or being her own crazy self. What’s even stranger is that she actually sounds good singing Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love.” Too bad her bedroom eyes at the end of the song makes me want to vomit.

THE UGLY
Stevie Wright was one of my early draft picks, but she tanked with a capital T. The judges told her to embrace her youth, so she chose “You Belong to Me” by Taylor Swift. Sadly, she sounds horrible singing the song. Swift’s voice is unique and very countrified, and the song doesn’t allow Stevie to show her range and capabilities.

Casey Carlson is a pretty girl, sure. So why does she have to keep winking and making strange face. That is NOT cute. She sings “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” by The Police but it’s wooden and so not right for her age. She should have chosen something by Miley Cyrus or Colbie Caillat, anything young, fresh and hip.

Michael Sarver sings one of my personal favorites, Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Want to Be,” but it’s more like a butchering. He’s completely off, but it’s clear that the judges love him; Simon even says that he hopes people vote for him anyway.

Stephen Fowler is one of those contestants I loved during the early auditions and hated throughout Hollywood week, especially when he got up and walked away from his keyboard. Unfortunately the judges believes he had more passion during that botched performance than he did this week when he sang Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You.”

THE RESULTS
I’m sure you’ve notice a lot of your favorites in the bottom, and unfortunately for most of the contestants, they only have one song to prove themselves. As you can see, I chose four contestants to fill the top ranks, but only three will make it through to the next round.

Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver and Danny Gokey avoid the Seacrest guillotine. Two I believe truly deserve this, the other benefited from Simon’s plea.

Next week we’re treated to Megan Corkrey, Mishavonna Henson, Nick Mitchell, Adam Lambert, Jeanine Vailes, Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, Jasmine Murray, Jesse Langseth, Kai Kalama, Matt Breitzke and Matt Giraud. Hopefully they’ll be more Goods than Uglies.

Season 8, Episodes 12 & 13: Semifinals: Group 1 & Results: Group 1 (originally aired February 17 & 18, 2009)

For more on American Idol, click here.

Photographs courtesy of Fox Broadcasting Company