American Idol Review: Dreary Idol Hopefuls Let Connick Steal Show

Zzzzzzz. Zzzzzz. Oh! Is it time for my review already? Sorry, I was lulled to sleep by an equal parts boring and uninspiring week of American Idol. Since Ryan announced the news last Wednesday that our hopefuls would be singing songs from the original, ol’ blue-eyed idol Frank Sinatra, I’ve been harboring some producer resentment. During a year that’s lacked musical diversity, exciting personalities or an arguably strong vocal talent pool, I still can’t comprehend why they chose to dust off the crooner’s ditties instead of focusing on something more contemporary. (And I’m a fan of Sinatra’s timeless songs, but there’s no doubt that they lack a fresh sound or a wide range.)

Also, normally I’d have more to say about the odd turn in the mentoring process, but seriously, Harry Connick Jr. was the only good thing about this show. Normally, this late in the game, I wouldn’t agree to a mentor being such an integral part of the performance process. On top of his advice and encouragement, Connick picked the songs, tweaked the arraignments, wrote the orchestrations and acted as accompanying pianist, essentially operating as puppet master.

And with only five people, I need to see what the contestants can do and see them interpret a song from their perspective, molding it to their styles. Yet, the contestants aren’t that interesting so I’m not sure if this one-note night would be any worse than what would have happened if everyone had been, pretty much, left to their own devices. Plus, I got to see the crazy, funny, wild side of Connick that was watered-down for Hope Floats, and I also got to see more of Harry’s pretty face. Sadly, I still had to watch the rest of the performances.

TOP FIVE
5. Casey – “Blue Skies” – Things were, so clearly, going to be bad when Connick pointed out during rehearsal that when Casey sang the song, it was less about the lyrics and more about the blues music. So basically, he’s doing his typical thing, except putting no meaning behind what he’s saying? Awesome. Casey seemed tense and awkward, meandering around the stage without his guitar, though I commend him for stepping outside his box and pushing his range. Unfortunately, he was often flat, Kara compared his vibrato to a lamb, and he, even, conceded how uncomfortable he was. It’s clear Connick had a man-crush because he stood up for Casey, saying he performed it much better two hours prior and blamed it on how difficult it is to hear oneself on stage.

4. Aaron – “Fly Me to the Moon” – I think Big Connick intimidated the high school student into placid submission. Oh, no. Wait! That’s how every performance of Aaron’s comes across. Overall, he was much improved in the tone and quality of his voice. Still, he shows more personality in his smile at the end of every performance than during. Randy and Ellen were both worried about how he’d fare, mostly due to his age, but they both agreed that he pulled it off. Simon felt it lacked believability, and Kara pointed out that Sinatra was similar in stature to Aaron but managed to fill up the stage with his presence. And I still go by the belief that you can’t be a star if you’re short presence.

3. Crystal – “Summer Wind” – Melinda Doolittle. I couldn’t stop thinking about the season six contestant who was ousted third and was touted to have the best voice in the competition. What happened? She got boring. When you’re a front runner, you have very little to gain but so much to lose. Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks, the more interesting and/or youthful contestants, edged her out. It’s hard to imagine a finale without Crystal, but I said the same thing three years ago. And this week, I was genuinely worried. Crystal was so tentative at the start of her performance that I thought she’d drop the ball completely, but her subtle, vocal stylings started to ride the groove nicely. Still as Randy said, I felt sleepy. (Note to Crystal: Do not pick up the Siobhan baton and start going on and on about why your choices are right and the judges critiques are misguided…no matter how true. It’s not endearing unless there’s something funny or quippy in there. Otherwise, you are just wasting time and forcing the show to run over into Glee.)

2. Michael – “Just the Way You Look Tonight” – Once again, I’m awed by how much Mike’s voice has improved and how pretty it is. I really don’t have much to knock him on this week. He was the fourth performer and quickly became the best of night. Simon could see how well Connick’s arraignment gelled with the band and Mike, and he thought overall it was a fantastic group effort. But if I had to give him some advice, it’d be to reign in all the arm spreading and finger pointing. It may seem cheeky or like you are showing how you feel, but it comes off as too coordinated and cheesy.

1. Lee – “That’s Life” – Lee hit more bum notes than Mike, but his honest, smooth performance, which showed some personality, kicks him to the front of the pack. And more than anyone, his song took on a different personality than a beloved standard. It became a bluesy, rocky, soulful rendition. The song still held Sinatra’s emotion, but it had a different feel. Plus, it always works to your advantage to have your bum notes fall in the middle of the song and your money note to close out the performance instead of vice versa. Ellen mentioned what I’ve been thinking all season when she said, “If this was the last night of performances, you would have just won this whole thing.”

RESULTS SHOW
IDOLS RETURN
First of all, Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” performance was positively not age appropriate. It was, at the least, rated PG-13, and there was so much butt cheek that high schooler Aaron Kelly must have been sweating in his seat. Iwill say, though I’m pro-Gaga, she didn’t really wow me performance or vocal-wise. And there was little shock factor in all of the black lace, smoke, and topless male dancers. It certainly was nowhere near the caliber of her Grammy outing with Sir Elton John.

Connick surprised me by taking the stage and performing his song “And I Love Her” with what seemed to be a 25 piece band. It looked like the entire Idol orchestra. He sounded great, but although he is one tall glass of milk, his music is not really my cup of tea. Unless I’m watching When Harry Met Sally, man can he play the keys.

CURTAIN CALL
Mike and Aaron rounded out the bottom two. I really felt for Big Mike, because he looked so downtrodden. Really, he was the first to wake up the judges from their Sinatra coma, so did he deserve to be in the bottom below? I don’t think so, but fortunately, he didn’t have to go home so no harm, no foul.

Regrettably, Aaron didn’t have much choice in his exit song as the “I Will Never Leave the Stage” Connick was still posted on the stage with his band, but “Fly Me to the Moon” actually treated him better the second time around, and I felt more emotion from him than I’d seen in all his performances combined this season. Once again, I’m just impressed that the youngin’ kept his head high, had a smile on his face and was composed for his final song. It is a positive way to go out.

WRAP UP
So what did you think about this week’s performances and ouster? Are you feeling like me, who at this point just wants the finale to come and go already? And do we really need to watch for the next two weeks when the Top 2 seems so evident? It’s always a bad sign when the mentors are WAY more entertaining than all other components of the show.

PARTING SHOT
“I should be lying by the pool! Do you think Shania Twain was up here doing this?!” – Harry Connick, Jr.

Think Crystal has already won this?  Not so fast.  Check out Erin Bigelow’s take, in An “Iconnick” Sinatra Tribute, here.

Season 9, Episodes 36 & 37: Top 5 Performance and Results (originally aired May 4&5, 2010)

For more on American Idol, click here.

Photographs courtesy of Fox Broadcasting Company and IMDbPro.