AI 10 3-16-11 The Top 12

“We’ve been watching the devastating events in Japan and tonight we’d like to offer our help,” explains Steven Tyler. “All the songs from tonight’s show will be available on iTunes for sale and all proceeds will be donated to the Japan relief effort,” per Jennifer. “In addition during tomorrow night’s results show we will explain how you can text your donation,” says Randy. “We thank you in advance for your generosity,” shouts Ryan. This is AMERICAN IDOL!

My weekly rant continues until the producers stop the madness of an announcer introducing our judges and host. Ryan if you walk down that staircase one more time I will arrange for someone to trip you. Enough is enough!

Tonight’s theme is “Songs from the year the contestants were born” or as I describe it, “torture to the ears and thank you for reminding me how old I am!”

I will save my bitching, excuse me, my insightful commentaries about the show until the end. Let us get on with discussing the performances of our top 12.

Naima Adedapo – “What’s Love Got to Do with It” 1984

Naima has some natural raw talent and she is a terrific performer, which is excellent to watch but we are in the middle of a singing contest, which means I would hope to hear some excellent vocals. I thought she was horribly off key for most of the beginning. Recovered a little bit during the chorus but then it broke apart towards the end. The last note was so sharp it could slice someone open. The arrangement was interesting but not sure, I totally enjoyed the changes they made to update the song. I did like her outfit though. She needs to work on controlling the vocals.

Steven – “You opened up a can of whoop-do-doo. You have a sorcerer’s grasp of melody. I loved it.”
Jennifer – “You bring your specific flavor to everything you do and I love that but I gave you a pass on the pitchiness last week, but it is becoming a consistent problem. I love your flavor but you need to work on your singing.”
Randy – “I am glad Jennifer brought that up. You were under pitch for most of the song. The vocals were a mess and all over the place.”

Paul McDonald – “I guess that’s why they call it the blues” 1984

I absolutely hated this performance. Paul was off key and mostly sharp. I realize he is sick but he was squeaking. I do not find his twitching around the stage interesting to watch either. Paul needs to address his lack of tone-breath connection because if he does not he will lose his voice permanently. I am not sure why people like him. I just do not get it.

Jennifer – “I can see you were struggling vocally but you have so much soul and so much star quality, it overcame that.”
Randy – “You were off-key for the first half. What I like about you though is you give off that Ray LaMontagne vibe, you do not compromise and you try to make every number your own. You just need to hit the notes.”
Steven – “You define a cool dude in a loose mood.”

Thia Megia – “Colors of the Wind” 1995

First Thia looked terrible; you put her in that boring, uninspiring dress. Give me a break. On top of it, her song choice was ridiculous and then she did absolutely nothing with the song. The vocal sounded fine but there was no connection, no feeling, she stood there like a robot and sang the words. This is a pretty song but you would never know that from this lackluster emotionless performance.

Randy – “The vocals were okay. You sing ballads every week. This was like a pageant performance. You need to take some chances and do something different. There was nothing special or unique about it. It was a little boring.”
Steven – “You sounded beautiful but is that song who you think you are?”
Jennifer – “When we first saw you we loved the unique tone and quality of your voice but we have lost that. You are being safe and we need to see you break out of that. I heard something in the tone of your vibrato and I am not sure if it is nerves or if that is just, how it is. You need to work on that, you need to learn to push on it.”

We have some filler when Ryan introduces us to the vocal coach from hell Peggy Blu who is in the audience. I thought Thia was nice to point out that she was sweeter than portrayed and she hugged them a lot. Interesting that Ryan points to Kate Hudson in the audience but makes no mention of her boyfriend Matt Bellamy who is the front man for the group Muse.

James Durbin – “I’ll be there for you” – 1989

This was an interesting choice for James and except for an off-key yell, the vocals were good. The thing about James is he seems like a seasoned pro when performing on stage. The kid was working the crowd, slapping the audience’s outstretched hands and stomping around the stage in his custom-made leather boots. (How is it that he does not have money for diapers but can afford custom-made boots? I am just asking.)

Steven – “You made Desmond child proud. I have leftover sandwiches under my bed older than you. Don’t get too poppy on me.” James replies that he is waiting to roll out Aerosmith for the finale are you willing to join me. Steven agrees.
Jennifer – “A good performer makes you want to sing along and that is what you did for me. Every time you get up there, you bring me so much joy.”
Randy – “There was a couple of pitch issues but what you do is figure out how to make it your own. Very tastefully done dude.”

Haley Reinhart – “I’m Your Baby tonight” 1990

Song selection, song selection and I will repeat it again, song selection is critical and Haley simply does not have the power to sing Whitney. I found the vocals to be harsh and shrill. This was my fingernails down the blackboard moment of the evening. I truly wanted to hit the mute button or going screaming from the room. This was a painful vocal to listen to and I was so happy when it ended.

Jennifer – “You look beautiful. You have an amazing voice. You did look tense up there in your body and movement and you need to learn how to focus on releasing the tension in your body in order to look more fluid. You do not have to force movement, you just need to do what comes naturally, just feel it.”
Randy – “I am confused. I am not sure who you are or that you are sure, either. You need to find out. The vocals were okay but the releases not so great.”
Steven – “I miss that Janis Joplin vibe when you are sweet and tough. You need to sing more blues.”

Stefano Langone – “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” 1989

Where did this vocal come from? Outside of the horrible ending note this vocal was almost pitch perfect and thousand times better than last week. This kid was having fun, he was able to change up the arrangement a little, adjust the phrasing, and delivered one freaking awesome solid kick-ass performance. If Stefano keeps this up, he might be the truly dark horse in the competition.

Randy – “This was the best performance of the night so far. You took a song with a huge degree of difficulty like the Olympics and slayed it. 10, 10, 10!”
Steven – “You are gonna make Jimmy Iovine more famouser!”
Jennifer – “The perfect song for you but you need to learn to open your eyes, lower your head in order to connect with the audience. If you sing to me a little more, look me in the eyes, you can win this!”

Pia Toscano – “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” 1988

I love Pia and this performance was good. I do not think it was as spectacular as last week but then again she is tackling Whitney, which I think she pulled off better than others have done. I just love the sound of her voice. There is a rich, deep, beautiful tone to it. I thought the arrangement of this song was a little cheesy but Pia made the most of it. The last part of the vocals was pure heaven. Those high notes sublime. My only complaint is Pia needs to feel more joy when she is singing. She needs to let loose and have some fun.

Steven – “You are why this show is called American Idol. You took that song over the top in your own special way and you nailed it!”
Jennifer – “I was so happy you chose an up-tempo number. You definitely have an angel watching over you.”
Randy – “Amazing vocals, Pia is in this competition to win it!”

Scotty McCreery – “Can I Trust You with my Heart” 1993

Scotty can sing there is no question about that but once again I do not believe he did anything different from any other performance except for keeping the irritating facial expressions to a minimum. The performance bored me.

Jennifer – “You pushed it out there.”
Randy – “You did Travis Tritt proud. You were brave and took a chance outside your comfort zone (REALLY?) We believe in you.
Steven – “You just need to keep being yourself and you will go places.”

Karen Rodriquez – “Love Will Lead You Back” 1989

What was up with that outfit? I thought the vocals were all over the place and she should never sing in her upper register ever again. I did not like the performance. I think I hated this worst than last week. The Spanish to English and back again is becoming boring.

Randy – “It was better than last week but I’m still not jumping up and down.”
Steven – “I love when you work in your ethnic what-it-isms.”
Jennifer – “I love that you attacked the song. As a performer never expose your weakness but play to your strengths. If you do not think you can hit the notes then do not even try, adjust the key, you need to perform from your heart and see how it translates.”

Casey Abrams – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” 1991

Casey seems to be doing well after his stint in the hospital last week. Casey always makes interesting choices and while it may be great to be the first to sing a certain group’s songs, it does not always means it is the right choice. I was never a fan of Nirvana and Casey did not win me over on that score. There is no doubt that Casey can sing but this was not his best vocal given the majority of it was off key and deep in the throat. Yet on the other hand, I could almost let some of those bad notes and tones go because Casey is so damn entertaining while on the stage. There is passion and fire when he is performing. I just feel good when watching him.

Steven – “You are so good, crazy, and talented. That’s the goop that great stuff is made of.”
Jennifer – “You had some big shoes to feel and I like that you took a risk. There was a lot of screeching so watch the screaming/intensity.”
Randy – “You are like Radiohead, Muse and Lykke Li. What I love about you is that you put art before commerce. You’re fearless.”

Lauren Alaina – “I’m the Only One”1994

Lauren certainly looked better this week and for the post part sounded somewhat better but this was once again the wrong song. It was not a bold choice because the arrangement and singing just brought out country and her twang was in full force. This is a song about raw yearning and passion, which I am hoping Lauren does not understand, but even if she did, it did not come out in her performance. I thought she ripped the song of all of its original emotion. I will give her credit because she has no fear when performing and she as least demonstrated confidence and swagger while singing.

Jennifer – “You gave it that country flavor. You took it and made it your own!”
Randy – “You should have a cold every week if you are going to sound like that. Very nice.”
Steven – “I agree. You are a shining star.”

Jacob Lusk – “Alone”

I do not think this was a good song choice at all. I do not think he did anything with it and there were some incredible sharp notes especially during the chorus. The key changes were not his friend because he stretched too hard and went off and struggled to find the right key. I did not like the arrangement, the over the top vocals or the performance. I realize Jacob has some incredible raw vocal talent but he has not been making the right song choices to show it off. I hated the entire thing.

Steven – “Your mother may not be able to sing but she gave you moxie. If gospel had a baby they would name it Jacob Lusk.”
Jennifer – “You give yourself completely to every performance, every moment you’re on-stage and we can all feel that.”
Randy – “You stepped out of your comfort zone. Jacob is in it to win it!”

My favorite part of the show is still watching the rehearsals and the interviews with the producers and Jimmy Iovine. There is so much more we could see I suspect.

The clips and interviews with the contestants and their families are as dull and uninteresting as they have been over the last nine seasons. If the producers cut, some of those videos the contestants would have more time to sing. Now that would be a novel concept.

I was thoroughly impressed with Jennifer Lopez during the performance because she really stepped up and offered some helpful criticisms but even more offered up some honest and insightful suggestions for improvement. Now that was a pleasant surprise. Steven Tyler is just plain crazy fun. Randy on the other hand is beginning to put me over the edge, if I hear whatever, whatever, whatever again I am going to flip out. Just say what you mean without all the ridiculous filler.

Overall, the show was better than last week but honestly, some people stumbled more while Stefano rose to the front of the pack.

I voted for Casey, Pia, Stefano, and Jacob.

My predictions for the bottom three are Karen, Haley and Thia. I believe Haley will be heading home.

The results show will include visits from the Black Eye Peas (yeah) and our current American Idol Lee DeWyze (I am so excited – NOT!).

Until tomorrow…