American Idol Season 10 - The Top Five Sing Songs from Now and Then

     

     An interesting theme this week. And I wouldn't ever call Sheryl Crow "rock royalty," but she's certainly seasoned enough to give good advice. 

     James Durbin starts off the show with "Closer to the Edge" by 30 Seconds to Mars. It was cute to see him perform with Sheryl Crow, but seeing him perform, I'd disagree with Jimmy Iovine's assessment that he does this (modern sound, supposedly) better than what he has been doing (again supposedly, '80s rock). He began off key, and his voice didn't sound powerful through the bulk of the song. After his scream (bad choice), he was on key for a while, briefly off again, and ended on. I thought the song was a poor choice that made him sound run of the mill and inconsequential; dismissable. I think he has to appeal to a wider sector of the audience than he has been, though, so I don't know if his technical ability matters as much at this point (as much as his widening that appeal). It's also true that he's done better "different" songs before, and this did show another (albeit poor) side of him. 

     Jacob Lusk has inexplicably chosen "No Air," a male/female duet, and is planning to sing both parts. More on that later. He's from Compton? How come I feel like I've never heard that before? This leaves me thinking Compton must not be what it used to be, or what I used to think it was. Jimmy Iovine reminds me of Sophia Petrillo. 

     So I think Jacob's made a disastrous choice singing both parts of the duet. I mean, we who love to sing love to do that in the car and the shower, but it's generally understood that it's such a bad idea that even drunk karaoke-ers know well enough to avoid it. Singing both muddles both parts, and neither sounded very good or on key here. It also highlighted the fact that while not quite feminine, his voice doesn't sound very masculine. It's an uncomfortable middle ground. 

     Jennifer is so skilled at bullshitting! Let's avoid the issue of your opinion or judgment and just give him some advice. I totally agree with Randy: the duet was a bad choice, he was sharp, and neither performer fit who he seems to be. 

      Lauren Alaina keeps to her country with "Flat on the Floor." I loved Sheryl's advice to her to stay still and channel the power into the song. She did that for Candle in the Wind and it was worked seamlessly. Of course, I don't know how this song is conducive to that delivery. 

     She didn't do it anyway---rather, she did it as much as she could, the song not being conducive to stillness, as noted. She didn't travel too much, which was good, because it conserved her energy for her voice. Se sounded great and looked cute in spite of that horribly unflattering and cheap-looking metal bead fringe "skirt" they gave her.

     Scotty McCreery is going a little off the straight line with "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry. He really needs to quit the face making, as much as some people may find it charming. 

     He sounded really good and this was a very different song for him, sort of cute rockabilly country. I think I prefer his more serious and tender songs, but this is still a fun side to see and know is there. Of course Randy has to say it's a private personal concert again tonight, but in this case I can excuse it in light of the air of Scotty's performance. 

     Haley Reinhart is singing an unreleased Lady Gaga song called "You and I." If it isn't released, I don't really see how we're supposed to properly evaluate her performance of it in comparison to what the others are doing. And historically speaking, songs few people know don't score well for contestants. In my estimation, it's also a bad move that it came from Jimmy Iovine and not her. That means it's not her passion, and her not knowing it at all beforehand might weaken her performance. Also, having someone outright tell a singer what to do makes them less respectable in my opinion. Although I don't know that Idol is really the place to look for a display of that sort of respectability. 

     The song brings Haley right back to the first few weeks of the competition, when she was the creepy growling baby beauty contestant. I'm not saying her voice hasn't progressed---the end with this song was especially good---but it wasn't an attractive song from her. To see a young girl singing some of these lines is just unsavory, and together with the baby pageant tipsy walk effect, it's just creepy. And again, it was a verse then jam format song. Not really singing through a full song. Something about it reminded me of Billy Joel's Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.

     I agree with Jennifer and Randy that it was a dangerous move---I actually thought maybe Jimmy wanted to get rid of her! But also publicize Lady Gaga. No big surprise she's guesting next week. Wonder what she'll sing. . . 

     Round Two!

     Wow, Jimmy must really love Harry Nilsson! I don't think I've ever heard any of his (sung, not written---credit to poor doomed Badfinger on this one) songs on Idol before, much less two in one season.

     James Durbin hits his second round with "Without You." It's sweet that James felt the emotion of the song, but it's not really a song for him. There were maybe two lines that he was able to get out decently, but of course he was also crying. Let's hope that lets him still keep some votes. You tend to sound sucky when you're crying. 

     And Randy immediately notes it: emotional singing can really win a lot of people over. Usually I feel like that's at a concert, where you already know the talent of the performer. But it works here too, it seems. And I guess it's true, as Jennifer notes, we do know he can sing. I just wish he were more consistent. I think other contestants are stronger vocally, but he is an interesting and really nice guy who is very creative, knows and appreciates a lot of good music, and is a hard worker. And if nothing else of that does, he creativity should definitely score him points. 

     Jacob Lusk is surprising us all with "Love Hurts," which is a brilliant suggestion for him from Jimmy. But Jacob should have understood how to do it without being coached by Sheryl, although she certainly did some lovely coaching. I'd like to hear her do a cover of it. The fact that Jacob didn't really get it at first makes me worry how limited he is in his own musical mind. He could do all sorts of stuff, but maybe this limitation of imagination is what's been keeping him sounding largely the same throughout this competition even more than his consistent vocal patterns. Sheryl sang it beautifully, so I hope Jacob really gets it and doesn't do a version that sounds too like his usual self. 

     Of course he ended up sounding more feminine than Sheryl! And he had to put in his weird throat gargle singing. But not too much, in comparison to what he has done. One "true" was totally off, but on the whole, I'd say this song was a big improvement from his first performance. Sound-wise, huge. I don't think he quite did it right for the song, but it showed what he could do if he wanted to. 

     Jennifer made too much of the off-key "true." Randy was nice, and I agree with him that the high note was impressive.

     Lauren Alaina is doing "Unchained Melody." Oh! Che-rist! Is what I thought to myself . . . but didn't she sing this in the auditions? And it was good. So we'll cross our fingers.

     What a gorgeous dress! And here, she was mostly standing still. It was very lovely. She looked a little nervous, but so beautiful. And in spite of the fact that I wanted her to go high on the "I need your love," and I knew she could, the song was transfixing as she sang it. I think she sang it better at the auditions, but this was stellar nonetheless. You could really tell that high note shook her, though, the way she grabbed at her skirt nervously afterward. I hope it doesn't bite her.

   

     Scotty McCreery is back with "Always on My Mind." I love this song. Immediately, I'm pleased not to hear any Willie Nelson in there, despite the country. I'd hoped to avoid that since he's such a true Elvis fan, and Elvis had a haunting spin on this no one else has yet to match. Scotty sang it so prettily, he really seemed to understand the touching Elvis nuances in it. I think this one is my favorite from him. Yay! I'd buy a single. (In theory. I don't do that.) 

     As soon as I heard Haley Reinhart was doing the Animals, I thought "Oh god! What's she going to do?! Not House of the Rising Sun!" My sister proclaimed, "She's going to sing her way off the show." But entering and singing a cappella is a great idea, because she's got a great voice.

     It was all good and nicely Fiona Apple until the "one," when the backup music and growling began. Then it was okay, until near the end, when it devolved to just growls and "hunh" singing. The ultimate finale was great, though. 

     "I guess she redeemed herself," my sister decided, as I considered "does that cancel the stinky early one and get her 5 points of 10, or does it get her even closer to 10?" After quick reflection, I think it gets her to 7. Impressive. 

     I disagree with Jennifer's enthusiastic and ridiculous statement that the song has never been sung like that before, unless she was going with the most basic truth of that kind of observation, like Haley hasn't sung it, so it hasn't been sung by her. Still, good show, Haley.

Tonight's ranking: 

1) Scotty

2) Lauren

3) Haley

4) James

5) Jacob

Who should go? Jacob. He's lost with the others here. He's not what they are. 

Who do I want to stay? Everyone else.

Who would I bet on? Scotty. I am not much of a gambler. I could win a lot, but I don't bet unless I really think I know it's a sure thing.