American Idol: Livening Things Up a Bit

Clearly, American Idol has done something right if I’m consistently comparing this season’s contestants to past innovators like David Cook, Adam Lambert & Kris Allen and past belters like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. But I’ll put money on the fact that season nine will go down in infamy as the season that killed Idol. The contestants are a little bit drearier than normal. The artistry is uninspiring. The performances are inconsistent. The judges have seemed to lower the bar. Simon’s leaving. Paula’s gone. Kara’s making sense. Ryan’s been awkward and confused. Things are just off, and two or three exciting contestants (left that is) and a handful of true Idol “moments” isn’t enough to salvage a show that got beat by Dancing with the Stars last week. Which is why I believe not only was this week’s use of the judges’ save kind of endorphin-enducing (smart!) but also generated a much needed watercooler moment. More on that later.

You’d think by my rant that this week’s Lennon-McCartney-centric performances were a wreck. We know last time they visited this catalog, lamely stretching to two nights, things weren’t too pretty, but I wasn’t even disappointed in the singing. Overall, the contestants were on par with last week which still puts them ahead of the lunacy they were putting out into the music universe during the semi-finals rounds. What I’ve been settling in with each week that passes is that I just don’t care about these guys. I like some of them, but I just don’t care about them. And when you’re asking your audience to invest not one, but two to four, hours a week, you’d better put something riveting on the table, engaging me and making me want to come back for more.

Instead, I suffered through nine performances stretched over two hours. Using my oh-so intelligent mathematical brain, I deduced that about 9 minutes were spent on each contestant, including the intro package and interview, the performance (usually under two minutes), the judging and the post-song interview. That’s too much time filled with Ke$ha-style “blah, blah, blah.” This was also exacerbated by the fact that there was no mentor, so instead we were treated to video of all the contestants basically making fun of each other. Sure, it humanized many contestants who needed it, but it was mostly a bunch of inside jokes that we’d never be in on. It’s not that as small bits the packages wouldn’t be entertaining, but as a whole, it was just too much. So let’s avoid a similar problem and get on with the long and winding night.

TOP 9
9. Aaron • “The Long And Winding Road” • The song began on uneven ground, but Aaron found some sweet spots in his voice as it came to a close. What was missing was excitement, some flavor and any sense of what kind of artist he’d be. No one on the panel enjoyed it, and Kara and Simon agreed that his performances were starting to seem rinsed and repeated.

8. Siobhan • “Across the Universe” • Siobhan took a hint from Adam Lambert’s “Mad World” last season and toned down some of the theatrics. It was still dramatic, of course, because this is Siobhan we‘re talking about, but there was no high screech, just a high note in a nice falsetto. Still, her pitch was off, and I felt her regress back to the early weeks when I didn’t really recognize anything appealing in her voice. Sometimes she sounds congested to me, and I wanted to scream, “Get some Claritin, stat!” But I appreciated her efforts to do something new and sit in her head voice a little more.

7. Tim • “All My Loving” • Frak! I actually liked a Tim song. The judges liked it too. Cue the Twilight Zone music. Then, I realized I’d have to seriously consider how I rank him! Huh? Overall, Tim didn’t push it to the point where the song came off as fake, and his performance was honest. He made interesting little tweaks to the melody, and he sang it well. Randy threw in a low blow when he mentioned that he’d judge him on a “Tim scale” since he’s in a category of his own. He might as well have dubbed it the “doesn’t deserve to be going on tour” category. But everyone gave him kudos for putting in a solid performance. Better, but still not that good.

6. Lee • “Hey Jude” • For the most part, I enjoyed Lee’s version of the classic with a pretty, but simple, melody. He fell quite a bit because it wasn’t pitch perfect by any means, and the fact that he had a man in full Scottish kilt and playing the bagpipes who entered midway through the song was utterly ridiculous, but it was a different take on the song. And you can’t deny he put his own stamp on it. It knocked him down after some consistent progress, and some will be turned off by his audacity, but he’s feeling more comfortable, getting looser, and I think that will equal gold in the future.

5. Andrew • “Can’t Buy Me Love” • I feel like Andrew and I are embroiled in a dysfunctional relationship. I get all giddy and excited. Then, a layer of mystery is pulled back, and I’m left disappointed and confused. But, of course, one big gesture later, and I’m pulled back in. Oh, but it’s not too long before the cycle starts all over again. This week was much cheesier and less contemporary than last week, but at least he looked comfortable and sang well. I’m still thinking, should I just get out now while we’re slightly ahead? It might save us both a lot of sadness and misery.

4. Mike • “Eleanor Rigby” • You either like Big Mike or he’s just too much for you, but no matter what your preference, you can’t deny that he’s managed to be confident and stay on key. I was surprised however that the first time I fell a little off the Mike Wagon, all the judges were scrambling to get on board. Due to a serious communications breakdown between people sitting mere inches away from each other, who knows what the judges really loved, but everyone but Simon agreed that Mike was on fire. I agreed that the arrangement was strong, interesting and could be on the radio now, but it was hindered by a weaker vocal performance than Mike usually puts in.

3. Katie • “Let It Be” • Katie needed that “two weeks in the bottom three” kick to the pants. I’d pretty much forgotten the girl I’d seen during the early rounds, so I was pleasantly surprised to find an emotional, in tune and in control singer entertaining me with one of my Beatles’ favs. I’m not sure where this Katie has been hiding, but please don’t do the Idol regression. Though Simon tried to hog the limelight, saying she took his advice and went more country, I agreed with Randy and Kara that she, actually, infused a more R&B, pop soul, spicing it up just enough to intrigue me but leaving the best parts of the song intact. Plus she left some of the mechanics behind, even making me laugh by telling Ryan she’d been asked by five guys to prom, and she should choose by reviewing their phone bills and seeing who’d voted for her the most. Sassy!

2. Casey • “Jealous Guy” • Casey took Kara’s advice and showed off more of his range and brought back the acoustic guitar. I appreciate the rocker boy more than the strumming crooner, but I also felt more from him than ever. Unfortunately, I think that his range isn’t as large as Kara believes so his voice was grating to me, but I agreed with Randy that I felt like I was seeing and learning about a part of him he‘d never shown. And in a way that was what was important and needed from him. We already knew he can play well, and now I know that he can let us in too. Simon went too far by labeling him the best of the night, but I get his excitement over his improvements as the competition has progressed.

1. Crystal • “Come Together” • There was a didgeridoo on stage. Yes, score Crystal. It needs to be said that week after week, Crystal manages to perform effortlessly and sing well. She also takes wonderful liberties with the songs that she chooses, changing the melody and making it her own. The judges haven’t really given her the necessary props for her ingenuity. Kara smartly pointed out that she also showed herself to be slinky, sexy and sassy in her Bonnie Rait-esque version. And Ellen summed it well. “With you, the only thing I have to worry about is a new way to tell you how great you are.”

IDOLS RETURN
David Archuleta reprised “Imagine”  beautifully which has also been done by Jennifer Hudson and Ruben Studdard in the past. And he is still so adorable. I’m glad no one attempted to fill those shoes this season though I was surprised. And Jason Derulo and Rihanna both gave the contestants a master class in performing and how to avoid stage pyrotechnics.

Next week brings back last season runner-up Adam Lambert. I’ll leave the jury out, for now, on whether it’s too soon for a contestant to turn mentor, but he’s got to have great advice after succeeding so well on the show while maintaining his own identity.

CURTAIN CALL
Ryan prefaced results night by saying the producers said the results would shock us. From the start, I thought it’d be a whole lot of hype and not so big a payoff in the end, but boy was I wrong. It took an elimination to actually wake me up. Now, we’ve got an entertaining reality show even if I have the throw a contestant under the bus to get it!

The three remaining girls were the first to be pulled up to center stage, but were dubbed safe. Ryan then proceeded to separate the guys into two groups. The first one consisted of Lee, Tim and Casey, while Mike, Andrew and Aaron rounded out the second. With all the shock talk, I started to hope that Tim’s group would be in the bottom with Tim finally going home. But he hasn’t gone home after a horrible performance so why would he leave after a good one, and Lee and Casey were obviously not the lowest vote-getters.

When Ryan confirmed my suspicions, I felt sad because the only obvious shock would be for Mike to leave. His only reprieve was one last song and the judges’ mercy. He, rightly, chose “This Woman’s Work” and sang it with every breath in his body. His wife was bawling. I wanted to bawl though I wasn’t quite there, and the judges looked deep in conversation.

Once he was done, Simon tried to keep on a poker face, but with the crowd erupting around them, he couldn’t hold it long, and Mike was gifted with another chance to prove himself.

WRAP UP
So what began a dull week, ended with a bang. In a Battles of the Seasons – Beatles Week, I’d have to give it to season seven. Carly Smithson’s “Come Together,” David Archuleta’s “The Long and Winding Road,” Brooke White’s “Let It Be,” David Cook’s “Eleanor Ridby” and Michael John’s “Across the Universe” hands down win every time. It’s also interesting that so many songs were re-covered when the contestants could have really used this week to distinguish themselves.

But beggars can’t be choosers, and I’m happy that some nice sounding performances were put out on the stage, and where they might have lacked in originality, the show filled all that empty space with some hilariously absurd moments. (Dare I say bagpipes again? Oh, and the contestants also imaging babies between the bromantic Lee and Andrew that would pop out as Baby Gokeys got me too.)  And Twitter, forums and entertainment sites will be aflutter with viewers judging the judges’ choice. Let’s just hope that Crystal, Lee and Casey don’t find themselves in the bottom anytime soon, especially next week when two contestants will have to go home.

PARTING SHOTS
“And that’s called singing out of tune.” Simon, after Kara tried to prove a point by singing.

“Even when that guy got separated from his parade…you didn’t even get rattled.” – Ellen to Lee

For another take on this week’s episodes, check out You Say You Want a Revolution? by Erin Biglow.

Season 9, Episodes 28 & 29: Top 9 Performance and Top 9 Results (originally aired April 6 & 7, 2010)

For more on American Idol, click here.

Photographs courtesy of Fox Broadcasting Company, Michael Becker and IMDbPro.