Tonight the theme was popular downloads from ITunes. That meant the top nine could sing just about whatever song they felt like singing. WHATEVER SONG! Scott (and you know what I think of him) said, "This is the week we've been waiting for."Oh, really?
Actually, I have to say that SCOTT sounded better tonight than he has all season. He sang Billy Joel's "I Love You Just The Way You Are." Still mediocre at best, he stayed in his comfort zone and sat at his piano and did a rendition of the song that would make Mr. Joel say hmmmmm. . . .
That's all I'm saying about Scott tonight. He simply shouldn't be on the same stage as the rest of the bunch.
ANOOP led off the night with Usher's "Caught Up." He did a decent job, stepped up the tempo this week, but still failed to hit us with the wow factor. Anoop is a good singer, but he lacks any other presence on stage. If he could learn a bit of booty-shaking to accentuate his more up-tempo songs, then he would be a much greater force to be reckoned with. Still, I think Anoop will make it through to the next round because everyone likes Anoop, the person.
Next up -- MEGAN. She did a shaky version of a song I've never heard before -- Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low," (later released by Lauren Hill). Come on. If you have a chance to sing pretty much ANY song, why pick such an obscure OLD song. Bob Marley has been dead for what -- twenty years??? She whined her way through it to a very anticlimactic climax. I'm trying to think of who she should do. What artist she should cover. Hmmm. . . . Can't think of any. How bout just singing for tips at the local coffee shop. Poor Megan was born about fifty years too late. She'd have been great as a flowers-in-the-hair hippy chick warbling out tunes in Haight-Ashbury in the sixties. I won't be surprised if she packs her bags this time.
Country night was a few weeks ago, but DANNY, nevertheless, took a country turn this week with "What Hurts The Most" by Rascal Flats. With the death of his wife just months before he auditioned for the show, I'm sure Danny has TONS of emotions to pull from to put into his performances, and it shows. He seems to truly "feel" the music inside of him. Danny sounded like he always does. I said last week that he needs to do something, anything, out of the box to keep our interest. He did a decent job, but not great. Was his country choice a ploy to garner the country music lovers' votes now that Michael is gone? Good strategy. My interest in him is waning. The judges loved him. He'll definitely be back for another chance to show us what he's got.
No Doubt's "Don't Speak" was ALLISON's choice, and it was a good choice. This time, she brought her guitar with her and showed us that she is even more talented than we thought. She put her own spin on it, as usual, and sounded great. At 16 years old, this song might be an "oldie" by her standards, but was one of the most contemporary songs of the evening. Allison came out on stage wearing a bizarre looking dress which got a lot of flack from the judges, but so what??? It only added to her uniqueness. She had staying power and should be around for the weeks ahead. Does she have what it takes to win it all? I believe she does.
MATT sang "You Found Me" by The Fray. Props to Matt for choosing the most current song of the night. These are the songs that those who go on to get recording contracts will be singing. Not old stuff like most of the others chose. Matt has great talent. I liked his performance, but I also felt like it wasn't really his style. I felt like he was trying to copy the original instead of making it his own. Matt's got a ton of soul, and should stay in that zone. Robin Thicke. Justin Timberlake. Or, as the judges said, a band like One Republic. Anyway, Matt was in the bottom three last week, and with this performance this week, he'll probably be in the bottom three again. I hope not.
That brings us to LIL. This is her third bad showing in a row. Lil has moments of greatness, but is so inconsistent that I don't think she has a chance of winning this competition. Lil sang "I Surrender" by Celine Dion. Yes, you heard me -- "I Surrender" by Celine Dion. First of all, no matter how good you think you are, you DON'T do Celine Dion. Just like you DON'T do Whitney Houston. You can NEVER sound as good. Well, Lil didn't even sound marginally good. She seems to get worse and worse each week, and she has been making terrible song choices. She could have done any song she wanted to. MJ Bligh? Alicia Keyes? Rihanna? She may be in the bottom three, and I won't be surprised.
"Play That Funky Music White Boy." Remember that one? By one-hit-wonders Wild Cherry? 1976? Well, that was the song that ADAM screeched out. He had his slicked-back boufant hair-do thing going on again. The judges fawned over him to the point that almost made me puke. As far as I'm concerned, this shrieky style of his has worn out its welcome. Wasn't that the trademark sound of all those 90's hair bands? Why do the judges love him so much? Like Simon so often comments -- I had to cover my ears on this one. True genius? Really, Paula?? Puh-leez!
So, as you can tell, in this reporter's opinion, the night was pretty much a bust. By far, the worst night of the competition so far. That was -- until KRIS took the stage. He did "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. Hands down the best performance of the night and maybe the whole competition. This time, Kris was behind the keyboard. Who knew? We've seen him with his guitar, but not with his keyboard (unless he played it Hollywood week. I don't remember). A flawless, awesome rendition of the classic song. Yes, the song is more than 30 years old, but Kris gave it his own flair and made the song work as if it were released just last year. Very quickly moving to the top of my list, Kris is the one to watch. While guys like Danny, Matt and Anoop sometimes seem like they're pushing it, or trying too hard, it all seems effortless for Kris. Not a bad performance yet. Everyone else had better bring it.
See ya next time.
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