This week ... it's a COMPETITION again!! Without further ado, my assessment:
Anoop Desai - "Caught Up" by Usher
I don't know this song so I have nothing to compare it to...but what I saw was Anoop trying to act the hip, streetwise R&B singer, and not quite pulling it off. He doesn't have a style to call his own -- he has a great voice, but it's not gelling with any of the music he's choosing (with the exception of his You Are Always On My Mind during Country Week). I was bored again. He seemed downright angry with the judges, barely able to bite his tongue. That attitude won't help him with the voters, but those Troopers are a steadfast lot.
MTME Rating: 3 / 5
Megan Corkrey - "Turn Your Lights Down Low" by Bob Marley
I'm going to try to find enough synonyms for quirky so that I don't have to overuse that word in this, what I expect to be the last or second-last Megan review. I like her--or at least, I want to like her. There were parts of this, a couple of 5-second snippets when she was doing a run of whooooaaas, that I actually liked. She has such a unique (quirky), interesting voice. It's a (brace yourself) Dylanesque voice. By that I mean, it sounds almost intentionally off key. On the "right" song, when she combines that weird (quirky), jarringly atonal, clipped delivery with a song that is equally as unusual (quirky) and a similar arrangement, it can work. Problem is, that can't happen week after week on this show. It's fun once. Was fun once ... on Black Horse & Cherry Tree. I think Simon said something like "everything we liked about you is now becoming annoying." That about sums it up for me, too. It's starting to be kind of heartbreaking watching the judges criticize her week after week, and Megan just standing there all pretty and smiley. I hope the voters (despite valiant attempts by the bratwursters to thwart the process) put her out of her misery soon. It's getting hard to watch.
MTME Rating: 2.5/5
Danny Gokey - "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts
A-ha!! Did Danny read my advice to him? No, you don't think?? Coz he did EXACTLY what I wanted him to do: find a great song, sing it well, make me FEEL what he is feeling. I was transfixed by the performance, even though he was just standing there basically (!), and was still a bit too yell-y for my tastes. Didn't matter this time, because he was sooooo connected to that song. Genuinely connected to a genuine lyric, not disingenuously using a lyric to take a short-cut between his own emotion and the emotion he wants to make the audience feel. (yes, I could psychanalyze that. I'll resist.) He said as much afterwards himself. This was one of the tops of the night for me, and a welcome surprise--I was starting to think I was overlooking something since so many others find him so great, and until tonight, I haven't.
MTME Rating: 4.25/5
Allison Iraheta - "Don’t Speak" by No Doubt
Allison is not much of a guitar player. She looked like she was very uncomfortable playing it, even in the rehearsal when she had to look at her fingers before each chord. Why'd she bother, other than to don the trappings of a "rock star"? She doesn't need to do that...we know she's a rock star as soon as she opens her mouth. And No Doubt? Really? Her voice sounded quite good, almost great, but the overall performance was as cluttered and messy as her outfit. Sorry Allison...this one didn't work for me, and as I said in my "Advice To The Contestants" post last night, this could end up really hurting you. Your support is too soft to withstand an less-than-stellar performance.
MTME Rating: 3.5/5
Scott MacIntyre - “Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel
Ok, yes: Billy Joel is perfect for him. But, heck ... why couldn't he have done one of Billy Joel's COOL songs?!? (uhh, which one's that, CC? LOL) Instead, Scott took a 30+ year old song which was sappy and old-fashioned even in 1977, and made it sound even more old-fashioned with a truly horrific arrangement. Also, while he's a very good piano player (not quite Billy Joel, but GEFI, or "good enough for Idol"), soloing with the piano makes the imperfections in his voice even more evident. That big note at the end? That was truly dated and cheesy. It sounded like something you'd hear off-season at a hotel lounge in the Catskills.
MTME Rating: 2.75/5
Matt Giraud - “You Found Me” by the Fray
Really rough beginning ... bottoming out and off pitch on low notes, and sounded wavery throughout, perhaps nerves, perhaps exacerbated by standing in the middle of the audience. He really was quite off -- BUT, I felt the emotion in his voice and you could see it in his face. He is such a natural musician, truly sympatico with his instrument. And, I confess, I LOVE this song--I love the ambiguity and angst in the lyrics. I, for one, think we need more angst on this show, not less. Real angst, real emotions: the whole gamut of them, messy, spontaneous and authentic. Not trite sentiment or vacuous pop or contrived drama, which is what we typically get from the show, and from the songs allowed by the format. Matt kind of choked this week trying, again, to show off his 'current' side. It went awry as his Coldplay fiasco did, and for similar reasons. I refuse to believe, though, that he can't sound current and also hit that sweet soulful spot of his. We'll see what the voters think.
MTME Rating: 3.25/5
Lil Rounds - “I Surrender" by Céline Dion
Someone on the PBP said that she tore a page out of Jhud's book with her hairstyle, and as soon as I heard that I put my finger on what was wrong between this song and Lil. First, it SHOULD have been good--I mean, Lil has been pimped as though she has the chops to pull off Celine. But she didn't do it. Her voice sounded thin. And when it didn't sound thin, it sounded like she was trying too hard to make it sound ... not thin. And she was fighting the pitch all the way through. She took a backwards step on the fashion, too: not quite all the way back to her mother-of-the-bride days, but definitely in bridesmaid territory.
MTME Rating: 2.75/5
Adam Lambert - “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry
Oh, good! It was NOT the best performance of the night .... no, not by a longshot. I'm going to make this short and sweet, because I'm tired of writing about Adam. He reverted to his screamy schtick. A screamschtickle. I wanted another layer, another veil, another Adam. I didn't get it. MTME Rating: 3.5/5
WOW. WOW. WOW. I would NEVER have guessed that Kris would be the horsie who would pull out front this week. A great, great song which he Krisified. He showed his versatility and another side to his musical personality on the electric piano. The vocal was almost impeccable. He missed a line, though, anyone catch it? It SO didn't matter. Best performance of his so far this year, and definitely the best performance of the night ... well-deserving of the last spot. I did find the strange caterpillar thing on his upper lip a little distracting. It looked itchy. Oh, and our cutie-patootie sweet little Kris--that boy brought some HEAT to this song!! I know (I know, I know, I know) exactly what he's gonna be up to "when she comes home." hehehe This will be the first iTune I download this year. WOW, i am relistening now and it is beyond a phenomenal vocal and arrangement. Chills, I tell you.
MTME Rankings:
Danny 4.25
Adam 3.5
Allison 3.5
Matt 3.25
Anoop 3
Scott 2.75
Lil 2.75
Megan 2.5
So, what do YOU think?? Are your faves holding steady? Who surprised you, changed your mind, or made you sad, mad or glad?
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