THIS is AMERICAN IDOL!

<i><b>THIS</b> is AMERICAN IDOL!</i>

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The not so Grand "ole opry"

The not so Grand "ole opry"

The not so Grand "ole opry". After last week where most of the performances were really really good. Tonight, the vast number of the performances were not all that great.
The run down:

Michael Sarver - Bad song choice - "Ain't going down". Although this is one of my most favorite Garth Brook songs, it is not one that you should try to do in this competition. He should have done "Calling Baton Rouge" if he wanted do an upbeat Garth song. Can you say Super Cheesy performance? Did he sing it or gasp it?...after this performance I would say he's going down when the sun comes up. This performance actually made Josh Gracin sound good. Sarver shouldn't be in the top 12 and this performance proved it. He's there simply because he appeals to the middle America crowd who liked his story and because the Idol Machinery super-hyped him in the early rounds.

Allison - "Blame it on your heart". Another one of my favorite Country songs. Decent performance. I actually would have liked to have seen her put a little more of an edge on it. I felt that she was holding back too much. Vocals were good but I think she is capable of more...and we've seen it from her.

Kris - Does another Garth song (This one I don't know). All I can say is....OK....?
It was good. Enough to get him through but nothing spectacular about it. But the song wasn't really intended for that.

Lil Rounds - She looks great tonight. "Independence Day" - another great song...not sure it is a great choice for her though. Somewhat weak in the beginning but she pulled it through in the chorus. Not her genre and it showed...but at her worst she still better than most at their best.

Adam - "Ring of Fire" . Loved the segment with he and Randy Travis. Interesting version of the song. Man can he hit the high notes. I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites of his. But it was certainly unique and worlds better than Sarver.

Scott - "Wild Angels" - This was actually one of his better vocals. I enjoyed his performance here. I liked this one better than the judges did. I thought Paula and Kara were actually quite patronizing towards him. Treat him the way you would treat any other performer.

Alexis - "Jolene" by Dolly Parton - Great Great Song. Maybe I'm too critical because I LOVE Dolly..but I found this performance very weak. I didn't really love the arrangement. I thought it ruined the song.

Danny - Doing Carrie Underwear - "Jesus take the wheel"...shouldn't we have guessed he would do this one? He demonstrated that he is no Carrie Underwood. Extremely weak until the chorus. The chorus was good but he should have done so much better this week than he did. It was just aiiight.

Anoop - "Always on my mind" - Best vocal of the night. Understated and soulful.
He did what the other people did not do and that is, he controlled the vocals in the verse and brought it out in the chorus.

Megan - "Walking after midnight" - She looks really good. She's certainly got a unique sound...but I'm starting to wonder if she is a "one hit wonder"....She's got that great "Squirrel Nut Zipperz" sound...Amy Winehouse-"y". But how long can that carry her through?

Matt - "so small". He did a nice job with switching up the arrangement. One of the better ones of the night. He pulled this one out.

So ranking in the order of the night from top to bottom: Anoop, Allison, Matt, Kris Megan, Scott, Danny, Lil, Adam, Alexis, Sarver.

So there you have it. My Bottom 3: Alexis, Sarver and surprisingly Adam

America's bottom three: Alexis, Lil Rounds, Megan

Who should go: Sarver.
Who goes home: This is tough this year....I'm going to have to say Alexis.

6 comments:

Allison said...

Hey Rubbertoe! And K and L! (And I see J most everyday so he knows how I feel - although now he is Dr. J!)

Sorry for the absense from the blog this season. I have spent all of February sick :( and then catching up with work :( :(

I agree with you about Anoop. I thought he was terrific last night and definately showed why he is Top 11 material.

I liked Matt G. I just love a man who plays the piano and the contrast between him and my other piano man Scott was really evidence last night. Good song and arrangement.

I also thought that this was Scott M.'s best live performance so far. I just like him. I know he is not the best vocalist, but I really just like him. I think America does too.

Adam's performance was strange for me. I like that he kept to his style, I hate that I kind of felt violated at the end of the song. I thought that performace would land him in the Bottom 3. Not going home, but in the bottom 3.

The rest were a mix of alright and pretty good performances. Most of which are forgetable:
I think Michael S. is nearing the end of the road. Maybe not this week, but in next couple of weeks.
I fear for Allison tonight since she went 2nd and she doesn't seem to have the compelling back story and America seems to like the guys better.
Alexis didn't do much for me either as a Dolly fan.
And Lil Rounds should have picked a different song (although the judges would have really criticized her if she had picked "I Will Always Love You.")
Every week I think "who is that Kris guy, I don't remember him." I liked him and the song this week. I am familar with the song and thought it was a good choice, but I would have like the guitar.

J said...

Rubbertoe,

I look forward every week to reading your reviews because, this year, they are so different from mine. It just cracks me up. I think I remember us agreeing on most everything last year . . . Have we drifted apart? Do we need to go on a blogstaff retreat? :)

Oh, and btw, it is now Dr.L as well! :)

Allison said...

Congrats to Dr. L! I knew her defense was coming up, but I didn't know it had happened! This blog may be a little to smart for me now!

DrL/K said...

Good title Rubbertoe! not a lot that was Grand or Opry about it last night. Poor Sarver - and he probably thought this was going to be his 'safe' week - but song choice was arrgghhh.

I hadn't even thought about Megan as Squirrel Nut Zipperz-ish - but you are so right! She should leave the show immediately and go do that - spare us!

Can't wait for tonight's result show! Should be fun :)

And last but not least - Hey Allison!! So glad you are here with us! We have missed you. Totally with you on Matt G - he was rockin' the piano last night - loved it!

DrL/K said...

Thanks Allison! and no, this blog is JUST right for all of us!

DrL/K said...

Way to go Rubbertoe!