Last night was duet night on American Idol. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take in the performances last night but thanks to the power of PVR's, we just finished watching the performances and the result.
Jamie Fox as a Mentor
I have to shamefully admit that I groaned a little when I heard Jamie Fox was a mentor this week. The last time I heard him sing on Idol, it wasn't very good. But I have to admit, he was a pretty good mentor. He spoke a lot about connecting with the meaning of the song and taking it to the next level. I mean, he REALLY gets it. I was impressed.
He also had two types of t-shirts as props; one with the word "contestant" and the other with the word "artist" written on the front of the shirt. Each person was given a shirt based on what Jamie thought of their performance. I thought it was quite a clever way of illustrating the difference between competing in a singing contest and actually becoming a legitimate artist.
Lee Dewyse
This week's theme was songs from the movies. Lee sang "Kiss from a Rose" and I have to confess that I had to look up what movie it was from. I was surprised to find out it was from Batman Forever. Jamie's advice about taking a song from the inside and projecting it out hit home for me this week. I'm trying really hard to connect to the songs I chose for my upcoming performance. I thought Lee looked out of his element and out of tune a lot of the time during this performance. I was pretty afraid that he would be going home.
Micheal Lynche
Michael happened to take on one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs "Will You Be There" and again, I had no idea it was on the Free Willy soundtrack. I thought the beginning of the song, in the lower part of his range was a little shaky but that it got better as the song went on. It's really tough to beat MJ at his best. Like Randy, I expected a more R&B style song.
Casey James
Casey sang "Mrs Robinson" from The Graduate and you just knew there were going to be references to him and Kara. All that aside, I thought the mandolin was super cool and he picked a really good song that suited his voice quality. I have to disagree with the judges who thought he didn't change it up enough; I thought he mixed it up enough but yet stayed true to the song.
Crystal Bowersox
Thank goodness! Chrystal is back! "I'm All Right" by Kenny Loggins from the movie Caddy Shack may have been an odd choice but she was amazing. Firstly, I have to say that Kenny is one of the best movie song writers from the 80's, so it's only fitting someone do one of his songs! The Top Gun soundtrack alone is amazing! She totally made this her own and even made it better. That's tough for me to say because I REALLY love Loggin's version of this song. She better win this thing is all I have to say!
On thing though - what was up with her boyfriend's pants? I have to give props to my husband for pointing them out before Ryan Secrest did. We actually had to rewind the PVR. Maybe it was a throwback from the 80's because they were American flag, weight lifter pants. Terrible!
Duets
Okay, I'm probably the only person who has seen "Once" and I was bored. And I found the song "Falling Slowly" really boring. But Crystal and Lee's version made me a believer! The dueling guitars were super cool, the complimented each other's strengths really well and had great chemistry.
Now, if you knew me in the 80's, along with being a fanatical Rick Springfield fan, you'd also know I was a fanatical Brian Adams fan. I still have my scrap book. I know, I'm a geek! So when they said that Casey and Mike were doing an Adams tune, I was so worried it was "Everything I do, I do for you" from Robin Hood. It's the one song I can't stand. Almost as much as Elvis's "Can't help falling in love." Instead, they sang "Have you ever really loved a woman."
Give Casey props - the boy can really play an axe! The judges loved the performance but I thought it was just okay.
Results Night
I was really afraid that Lee was gone. In my opinion, he was the weakest last night and I was surprised when he was safe. I thought Casey was a no brainer as well. And really, I wasn't too surprised that Idol chose to leave Michael and Crystal as last for a little "oh my goodness, is Crystal in danger" drama. The fact that Ryan kept saying the results were "in no particular order" gave it way. But in the end, she was safe and Michael was sent packing.
One last thought...
Former Idol contestants, Daughtry and Fantasia performed last night. Now, I'm the first to admit, I don't really like soul music and Fantasia isn't my type of artist. I really didn't like the song she sang so much, I told my husband I actually like "Battlefield" by Jennifer Hudson in comparison. It's a terrible song.
But...Idol has produced very diverse music and I think that is very cool. From Fantasia to Daughtry to Kelly and Carrie. The show as had some pretty diverse musical styles rise to the top. That's the beautiful thing about music. Everyone has different tastes and different genres appeal to different people. And in then, I think that's a very good think for music.
By the way, I thought Daughtry was the highlight of the night!
No comments:
Post a Comment