American Idol: Ten Aim to Step Up Their Game

Tuesday night’s kickoff was morose. Something about the air this season isn’t comfortable or fun and often, not entertaining. It’s more like walking on eggshells, but as the evening progressed, I regained that tiny glimmer of hope, inspired by some cool, smooth R&B inspired performances.

And what could make a night of better performances, well, even better? A smart mentor. Usher was so intelligent. He wasn’t the most chatty or gushy, and he never took off his sunglasses (except for Andrew who needed the Ushergaze the most), but I can’t remember any other mentors giving such concise help, savvy advice and not kissing their butts either.

Overall, I was extremely worried that our rag-tag bunch of acoustic-loving hopefuls would fall at the hands of the R&B Idols of past, but most held up, stuck to what they know and like and made me forget about the fast forward button on my remote for at awhile. At least, most did…

TOP 10
1. Lee • “Treat Her Like a Lady” • What I appreciate most about Lee is his acumen when it comes to making a song his own. If anyone has the best musicality, I’d say he gets it. It’s either that or the band is really inspired when they work with him. I can always tell what original he’s singing, but it consistently has a distinct Lee stamp. And he makes what’s really a song snippet sound like a full song, with a slow rise, high peak, bridge and satisfying wrap up. Kara said it best when she said, “you brought the song into your world. It could have been on your album.” Simon recommended he watch the tape back when he got home because his great performance could have changed his life that night.

2. Big Mike • “Ready for Love” • This season has not been so nice to guys singing girl songs. (Big thanks to Andrew for that.) But Mike did it right for once. He picked the best song in my opinion because it’s an R&B voice with a lot of soul and pretty, folksy guitar accompaniment. I completely got Simon’s comment that for the first time, he believed Mike as an artist. As of late, he’s been more entertainment than artistry. I’ve enjoyed it, but he was over the top for many. He leaned towards performing a song versus feeling it, but I felt it this week.

3. Crystal • “Midnight Train to Georgia” • I don’t recall if I forgot Crystal played the piano or if we’ve never been told. Either way, it was a nice wink, wink to see her fulfill the promise of dropping the guitar, only to park herself behind a piano. Undeniably, Crystal is a musician through and through. Never once have I watched her and thought she was turning it on for me. She wasn’t as at ease as she usually is but I forgave it because she tried something new by dropping the guitar, playing the piano and then getting up and grooving. The judges proceeded to shower deserved love.

4. Andrew • “Forever” • Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. YEAH! I knew when Usher took off the sunglasses that there’d be some magic happening. I finally wanted to download a song of Andrew’s, and I like it more than “Straight Up,” though still not by much. This is the first week that I saw the guy I fell in love with during the audition rounds and called a frontrunner for the crown. This week, he was original, he seemed comfortable, he didn’t try too hard and his voice meshed with the arrangement perfectly. Though Simon couldn’t let one week go by without some chidings, calling Andrew boring and telling him to turn up the personality, all the judges loved the improvement.

5. Casey • “Hold On, I’m Coming” • Casey’s issue is he’s stiff and always dons the same smiley and cute face. Big smiles and a good look might get your attention, but it doesn’t always hold it. Luckily, he has a great voice and sweet guitar skills, but he’s always competent and bland, and I need more. Last week, I felt he upped his vocal performance but maybe it was just the 80s nostalgia because while he still sounded great this week, I didn’t get as excited as I did last week. While the judges, overall, enjoyed it, Ellen felt he picked a safe song, and Kara felt he needs to pick an acoustic song that can show more of his range.

6. Aaron • “Ain’t No Sunshine” • One word explains my feelings after growing to appreciate Aaron’s talents last week. Underwhelmed. You could sense the same feeling from the judges. It was an okay, likeable performance but there was no POW and it lacked energy. I didn’t see the vocal strength I saw when he was cursed last week with 100 different illnesses. Again, I stand by my assumption that we should just throw these kids in with a bunch of kindergartners, get ‘em good and sick and then watch them kill performance after performance.

7. Katie • “Chain of Fools” • Her package did point out one thing to me. The girl who has a problem with looking young on stage definitely acts extremely mature even in front of teen idols that would turn me to mush. While looking chic, Katie still manages to dress like me, and she’s 17! Come on! Enjoy it while you can. She looked too old and lost all the current points she gained last week with her song choice. Even the backup dancers couldn’t help her infuse the sass and swag the song needed. Randy called it the best song of the night, and I officially disregarded all his critiques. Then, Ellen and Kara agreed. Huh? I held out for Simon who shot down Randy’s Christina Aguilera comparison, but still liked it and just wanted her to try country on. I get that there are LeAnn Rimeses, every once in a while, when it comes to teenage singers, but if any long lasting teen idol can prove something, it’s that the successful ones manage to stay hip and current even with age. Usher is a great example, but you can also turn to Justin Timberlake and Kelly Clarkson and Christina.

8. Siobhan • “Through The Wire” • I endured pure torture. I’m happy I made it through the wire, let alone through to the other side of that performance because I was thiiiiis close to taking a big leap of the nearest high rise. She was off key the entire time, and just when I thought she’d go a week without the screech, she just couldn’t help it. Though a little more on key, the yelp was still off. Ryan tried to start something, questioning the judges for telling contestants to take a risk and then being hard on them when they do. But I appreciated Randy’s response that if the judges are confusing, so what? In the end she could have sang it well, and she didn’t.

9. Didi • “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” • Pull it together, girlfriend! Breaking down in front of superstars is extremely awkward when you’re on camera and not surrounded by throngs of screaming 10-year-olds. Picking a song that moved her to tears during rehearsals wasn’t the smartest move, but it was also too big a song for her lilted voice. Then, she added in some bad notes and a flat performance. It never took off. The judges murdered her, and then Ryan decided to make things even more awkward and question her about the real life circumstance that evoked all that emotion in her. It was obviously something she didn’t want to talk about, and he kept egging her on until the judges came to her (and our) rescue. Essentially, fate sealed.

10. Tim • “Sweet Love” • Almost all my favorite songs never get covered in a way that makes me want to download anything but the original, and Tim didn’t change that. Once again, he was mostly on pitch, but totally boring, bland, Disney, soul-less (not Supernatural soul-less but less Aretha Franklin soul-less). He laughed the entirety of being judged which annoyed the heck out of me and probably made all those rebellious, parent-badmouthing tweens fall even more in love with him. He is this season’s Sanjaya with better hair.

IDOLS RETURN
After last week’s tepid, teeny-bopper fare, I was eager to see if we’d get any flashes from the past. We did in the form of the Teddy Bear Man Ruben Studdard. “Together” was horrible or at least any live version will always be. I know I bust a lot on this season but the seasoned Studdard only performed notches above the pack when he should have been miles ahead seven years later. But during his interview with Ryan, I remembered all the reason why I loved him more than Clay during their season two showdown. He’s so humble, sweet, funny, genuine and easy. It’s pleasant. So though I didn’t love the song, I loved his smile and am happy to see him and Clay hit the road on tour.

Usher, joined by Will.I.Am, got down on “OMG,” a song that’s more about bringing the dance floor to life than worrying about Usher’s pipes. It came off a little awkward on the Idol stage, but I just imagined myself getting cardio in at a club and felt the urge to shake my hips. And then there’s Diddy, who many love and many just can’t stand. Something about him always mesmerizes me. He’s like my person equivalent of a shiny, new nifty piece of technology. I go a long time thinking I can live without it, and then when it’s within my grasp I want more! And somehow I can forgive how seamlessly, effortlessly and almost earnestly he can make a moment all about him. His new album The Last Train To Paris and his single “Hello” is straight dance too which made me thankful that we got a rounded R&B night with Ruben and his softer, simpler side.

WRAP IT UP
This week was definitely more exciting. Most of the frontrunners started pulling away from the pack, and there were some formidable rebounds. Ryan seemed to pull out some lively, fun moments from the contestants, judges and Andrew’s mom. The producers introduced an interesting new feature, the backstage camera. I didn’t really care about watching contestants cheesing at the camera and high fiving each other, but watching Siobhan at the brink of a beak down was riveting. This is real life kiddies.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Idol without things that bothered me. I actually wanted to give Clash of the Titans a chance until I saw their overly egregious cross promotion. “Two epic battles rage between God and men, Idols and Judges.” I kid you not. Top that with hearing Kara say, “Aw, you’re still cute” about Simon in the most syrupy goo-goo ga-ga voice. I’m actually starting to like her this season, especially since she’s somehow become the judge I agree with most, but the constant fawning is a huge turn off. They can do that on their own time.

CURTAIN CALL
I wasn’t surprised to see Katie, Didi or Tim in the bottom, but it’s still like a knife in the gut every week that Tim squeaks by. And though this week pulled a bunch of enthusiasm out of me, even knowing that Didi was most definitely getting the boot, I still couldn’t muster up a lot of outrage. The contestants haven’t gotten me there yet, at least not the ones still here. Hearing her slay “Rhiannon” once more was bittersweet, but I always like to think that it’s better to go out on top.

PARTING SHOTS
“The way you were walking like you were sneaking into a bedroom…We can see you! You’re heading right towards us. Don’t try to be so sneaky.” – Ellen

“But it doesn’t matter because you’re gonna smile. The audience is gonna vote for you. Nobody cares, and you’re gonna be here next week, so well done!” – Simon

For another take on this week’s episodes, check out Another Idol Ushered Out by Erin Biglow.

Season 9, Episodes 26 & 27: Top 10 Performance and Top 10 Results (originally aired March 30 & 31, 2010)

For more on American Idol, click here.

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