AI 11 - The Final Four, But Does It Matter Any More?

     I can't believe Skylar Laine went home last week. That was ridiculous. She was by far the most commercially profitable contestant right out of the box. The people left are either niche performers (Joshua, Phillip) or need further shaping to define what they would be for a pop audience. 

     Why are these freaks screaming and cheering so much?

     Many of the themes this year are incredibly stupid. This episode is no different. California and songs the contestants wish they'd written. 

     Yes, Phillip, Time of the Season pretty much sucked. Oh, crap, now he's going to murder Have You Ever Seen the Rain. Too upbeat right off, Phillip. I don't even want to listen to this. What kind of beat is this? Is it the CCR rumba? I guess his voice isn't that bad on it, but I'm having a hard time really listening without my ears closing off in defense. Again he's doing his weird, sickening garbage "ow-aw" stuff. If you're going to cover a song, at least don't make it worse. At least copy it. Please.

     How could the audience could be cheering for that total BS? They are actually cheering wildly. Oh, that's what they're cheering for. When Randy said "as soon as you smiled" a girl screamed---that's what the cheering is for. They sort of skipped over the judges except for Jennifer claiming he's doing a new Joe Cocker thing (unlike the old Joe Cocker thing she's commented on before?)

     Hollie is doing "Faithfully." How is this a California song? I don't know, and I guess I don't want to know, because I have my own preferred connotations for it that have nothing to do with California. She's got some of her bad habits going on, more in the beginning than the middle and end. She sounds a little slow and flat, but of course her voice still has such a beautiful tone, it's nice to listen to. 

     I'm glad the judges liked it even more than I did, because of the people left, I like Hollie and Joshua the best. Jennifer was right, she really did seem a lot more confident in this performance, which is a huge plus for her. She's got more voice than she does confidence in it, so the more she works on that aspect, the better. 

     How could you not be sure of what that song is about, though? Maybe Hollie isn't as smart as I thought. Or maybe again, this is part of the problem of having such young contestants. They have no idea what they're doing or saying. 

     Jason DeRulo (or however you spell it) is pleased to be working on his new audience-collaborative "hit song." Wow, in addition to being a singer, he's a psychic too! It's always funny when that happens. So often singer-psychics know about their upcoming "hit songs" and are nice enough to warn the rest of us.

     I really like Joshua. I don't like Josh Groban, but the song "You Raise Me Up" often sounds nice. Joshua starts off nicely restrained and quiet. Keep it simple for a while, please! I like that best. Good. He never went too far into the ooooaahhooohh. Good good. I liked it. It was modest but lovely. I'd like it if he enunciated a little bit more; sometimes he stretches out the phrasing a little bit much and loses some consonants (in there he lost some Ps off the end of "up").

     I really highly dislike Jessica. She acts entitled, and I don't know what she hopes to accomplish by saying singing is the only thing she can do---at 16, I don't think you should be saying that you know you can only do one thing. She just rubs me the wrong way. Once again she's singing a song that's too old for her, Etta James's "Steal Away." Her voice is great, and I like the blues growl howling, but I still don't like her "huh"s and the attitude is ugly on her because it's so mature and she should be young. It also just comes off rote, not with real experience and sincerity. I don't think it will appeal to the young 'uns, so I'm hoping this will be the end of her. She can go home and learn some humility, then get signed and work on a record. 

     Of course the judges love her and fawn all over her as usual. 

     Joshua and Phillip duet again, on what I think is a Jason Mraz song because it's annoying, but maybe it's a Maroon 5 or Matchbox 20 song (same reason). "This love has taken its toll on me," etc. Joshua sings fine, Phillip does his odd monotone side-mouth wailing. The crowd roars, the judges are psychotically overappreciative. Ah! Maroon 5. Thanks Randy.

     Jessica and Hollie are going to compete at Eternal Flame, which is the stupidest song for them to sing since Susanna Hoffs has a very plain and simple voice, nothing like either one of them. Jessica overdid it and Hollie was tightmouthed and a little to quiet at starts and stops. The harmonies didn't sound right, the swings looked like arm slings, not fun and not pleasurable.

     Oh, Randy feels the same. Jennifer likes the song. Me too, Jennifer, but that doesn't mean I liked their singing it. 

     Why is Tom Cruise the lead in Rock of Ages? This has been bothering me since I first heard about it. I mean, only when I am thinking about Rock of Ages, which is about four times in the past three months. Why in hell would anyone cast Tom Cruise as a rock star? A mistake second only to making him, say, Lestat.

     The gang sings a strange version of Foreigner's "Waiting For A Girl Like You." The harmonies sound good, and Phillip's first part actually shows his voice in a nice light. The stilted addition of "waiting for a guy like you" for the ladies to sing was stupid, and Phillip's later idiosyncratic "waiting"s. It was better than Eternal Flame, that's for sure.

     Hm. Phillip wishes he could have written "Volcano" by Damien Rice. Shocking! I really am surprised. I wonder if he'll sound different. Jimmy seems to think so. Wow, I wonder if he really can do that. 

     He sounds quite more melodic than he ever has before. There's a lovely softness, and not of the ugly sidemouthed ow-owing. This sounds good, and it sounds commercial. More in a college radio kind of way, but that crosses over regularly. This works for me. My sister claims it's still "Dave Matthews singing this song," but she knows Dave Matthews, I don't. I definitely liked it, much better than anything he's done before. I also really like his outfit. His t-shirt and blazer looks more polished than the messy button-downs he often wears.

     The judges liked it, not surprisingly, since they always like him and this is the best he's done. 

     I love "I Can't Make You Love Me," although I have a totally different take on it than Hollie, who seems to be thinking of it in an unrequited way and I think of it more as a in love with a jerk who doesn't appreciate you kind of way. I agree with what Jimmy says, she can't oversing it. She sounded beautiful in the rehearsal.

     I don't understand, but once again, Hollie is doing her "singer" voice when she's performing, instead of singing it like herself, like she did in the rehearsal. Her outfit is bizarre. Another pantsuit, and it looks like she's got a colostomy bag. They skipped part of the song for some reason, she was tight and Shirley Temple all the way through, and the end was wrong in how she went high. She didn't seem to be feeling the lyrics, and it felt too old for her. Her voice sounded okay, but she fell into all her old traps.

     The judges pretty much agreed with me, and Randy brought in another good point that this is a quiet song for someone without a lot of vocal superpower, so it wasn't the best choice for her. I hope she still makes it through.

     Joshua is singing "It's A Man's World," and I'm looking forward to it. Of course it could be and likely will be perfect. I think he's really getting it that you have to sing normally for most of the time, and not push it over the line the whole time, or it's not special when you do take it over and out. It is pretty perfect, but this demonstrates that he's such a niche singer of this type that I actually feel like he's sung this song before. I have no problem with that. A lot of time jazz and blues singers are consistent in how they sound singing a whole series of standards, but you still love them all. But it's not pop music, and that's why I don't quite see how he fits commercially.

     The judges see it as more special and different than I do, it seems. I thought it was very well done, possibly a best for him, but definitely not a best for the show, and I don't think even a best for the season. Still, exceptionally good. 

     The producers have set things up so Jessica is the final performance going into the final three, because they're pushing for her to win. I guess maybe from their perspective it doesn't matter what else there is to her other than a skinny 16-year-old with a great voice. She doesn't need to know anything or be an artist. What they want is a blank slate with vocal ability.

     Jessica is singing "And I'm Telling You," so she can power out the song like she likes to do. Little Miss Feels Like She Deserves It misses the sad futility of this song and sees it as a demand that shall be met. 

     She's got lots of her "huh"s in there and the usual powery, growly, correct singing. One odd breath placed in there around the "no way I will." All her singing and yowling will not make me love her, though. I just don't like her or her attitude. It doesn't matter how talented she is, her personality is nil.

Tonight's Ranking:

1) Joshua

The rest all tie for me for various reasons. 

Who should go? Phillip should go. 

Who will go? Not Phillip, so I'm guessing Hollie. I wish if a girl had to go, it would be Jessica, but I don't see that happening.

I'm not sure I'm going to write about this show again next year. I don't like the direction it's been heading in since the changeover of judges, and i don't think it is what it once was. But we'll see.