AI 8 4-14-09 or why oh why is QT a Mentor

They have dominated the small screen for weeks but tonight they go big time. Our top seven takes on the music from the movies under the watchful eye of a legend; this is Quentin Tarantino (QT) and QT finishes with and THIS IS AMERICAN IDOL.

I enjoy Ryan’s way of saying THIS IS AMERICAN IDOL; I did not need QT who just did not have the same flair.

It appears because of last week’s overage tonight will be “historic” because each contestant will only have two judges provide comments. Give me a break, if we did not waste so much time on other trivial crap there would be plenty of time. I did not like the two-judge comment only. It was off quilter for me. This is a damn singing competition and I want more singing.

Next, cue the QT montage or should I say fake movie trailer. I will take bets on who put this together - NOT! I realize QT has a movie coming out but I suspect Brad Pitt will be the draw not QT. I can respect QT has a filmmaker and his artistic vision but there are really only three of his movies I have actually enjoyed. QT is just a creepy individual and in my mind, I still see no reason for him to be a mentor. I do not believe he added anything at all. He might have talked tough but like all mentors before him, every contestant was brilliant and will blow us away. GIVE ME A BREAK!

Allison Iraheta – “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing”

Allison’s outfit was still a bit strange but it was not as bad as the last two weeks. She was definitely giving off the rock vibe. I am convinced she was not feeling well, she sounded ill especially at the beginning. The opening part of the song was off, really off but by the chorus, she hit her stride. I love the rich rawness of her voice and frankly, rock is messy so the performance worked for me. I thought the arrangement was interesting. What I love about Allison is she puts her heart and soul into each performance and it shows.

Paula – I have championed Adam from the beginning but you have the same “special sauce” (good heavens, my mind leaped where it should not go on that comment), you are authentic; your authenticity shines through, whether your 16 or 60 you are one remarkably talented young lady.

Simon – the “special sauce” is hot, spicy barbeque (enough with the special sauce, this is a family show), you are the girls only change for the competition, you are stronger and more confident, and what is important is you are beginning to believe in yourself.

Anoop Desai – “(Everything I do) I Do It for You”

Anoop needs a better stylist, what is up with his weird wardrobe choices, that jacket and outfit, ridiculous. I thought the arrangement was very bizarre. The first note of this performance was very rough, sharp and off-key. After this moment, the vocals were good. Tonight I believed Anoop; he sold the emotional meaning of the song. It was very soulful. Out of all of his performances, I liked this one the best. Anoop still needs to learn some performance skills. His vocals were stellar after the first note but the performance was boring.

Randy – Noop dog you found your zone, not only was it in tune, it was emotional, you did a really good job.

Kara – you found your place, a pop song plus soul, one of your best performances, the changes in the melody came from the heart, this is the first time I have connected to you, you did a good job.

Adam Lambert – “Born to be Wild”

What can I say? I totally loved this performance. Adam can sing anything. He is a totally solid performer. Adam has star quality. The way he was able to interact with the audience and the band without missing a beat or a note, it is almost as if he has been doing this for years. Adam definitely has charisma. A truly stunning performance. Adam frigging kicked butt. The song is already on my iPod.

Paula – Take in the audience screams, the reason you have shaken up this season is you dare to dance in the path of greatness, fortune rewards the brave and you are one of the bravest performers we have ever had, period.

Simon – you need to learn to express yourself more. Vocally it was incredible but parts of the performance were like the Rocky Horror Picture Show (What the f*^k!) This is a very well loved rock song and half the audience will love it and half will despise it. I do not think it will be as popular a performance as last week. I liked it.

Matt Giraud – “Have you ever really loved a woman”

Matt is back behind the piano and I thought it worked for this song. I like both the song and the movie it came from. Matt has a very pleasant/soulful voice. I am not sure this was his best performance but it was not the train wreck as outlined by Randy and Kara. The beginning was brilliant but towards the middle there were some really sharp notes and his falsetto was off tonight but I thought it rallied for a great ending. Personally, I think his nerves got the best of him.

Randy – this was an interesting performance, the start was cool, the bridge was pitchy, you can really sing but you can’t do all those runs, you don’t always have to dress up simple melodies too much, it makes them fall down, every run as to be perfect, it wasn’t your best

Kara – you struggle between soul songs and rough songs each week, I appreciated your soul twist and the R&B but it took away some of the melody which makes this song nice. You do have vocal chops.

Danny Gokey – “Endless Love”

Of all the great movie songs, he chooses this one. I can understand the significance but this is not a song that tests your vocal ability. I have to say I was thrown off by the no glasses look because Danny looked weird to me. This was a very uneven performance, there were some nice moments but there were some really weird notes and extremely awkward phrasing. The very beginning was brilliant and then the rest was to borrow from Simon – “forgettable”. This did not wow me at all.

Paula – from the opening I wasn’t sure, it appeared the key should have been lower but half way through you pulled it together, a beautiful rendition.

Simon – I can’t fault the way you sing but I was slightly disappointed in the performance, I did not like the harp and it was too traditional, it was a bit of a bore, clearly the song means a lot to you, the emotion was there, it appeared difficult to sing so I congratulate you for that.

Kris Allen – “Falling Slowly”

I loved this, I loved this, and I loved this. Kris gave my favorite performance of the night. This was a truly inspired song choice. The opening moments of this, song was brilliant; I got those goose bumps Kara is always talking about. I found this to be one of the most heartfelt performances by Kris. The pitch perfect harmonies with the back up singers were beautiful. I actually got tears in my eyes. This was a great vocal performance.

Randy – for me, it was pitchy

Kara – it is difficult to pick a song that not everyone knows (excuse me it won the academy award for best original song last year you idiot) but this was one of your best moments.

Lil Rounds – “The Rose”

Give me a break, another ridiculous song choice. Lil looked great, one of the best looks she has had in the competition but the singing was a mess. I hated the arrangement and I do not believe the gospel helped her at all. There were some serious pitch issues, she lacked support for some of the higher notes, and her enunciation sucked. This is a truly beautiful song but Lil did not connect to the message of the song and she could not sell it either. This was her weakest performance ever.

Paula – the song is beautiful and then she was blathering something about the road in the song and on the show, I was tuning her out.

Simon – you are getting it completely wrong, it was too soft, too middle of the road, there were some nice moments but you are not the artist we met many weeks ago.

Note to Lil, stop with the temper tantrum, it was unprofessional.

I had rehearsal last night so I had to watch the show via tape so I did not have the full two hours to vote. I did manage to get in 873 votes. All my votes went to Kris, Adam, Allison, Matt and Danny. I did vote once for Anoop.

My guess for the bottom three are Matt, Allison and Lil.

Lil is going home tonight and there will not be any judges’ save for her either. If for some strange reason Matt is left standing, the judges will use their save.

Unbelievably Miley Cyrus is singing tonight (oh that is right, she has a movie and soundtrack to plug) but the great news is Jennifer Hudson will be singing. Yeah!

Until tomorrow…