Wednesday, March 17, 2010

American Idol, Top 12: Rolling Stones Night

The "American Idol" finals began last night with the contestants singing Rolling Stones songs, and (like the comparable first Beatles Night a couple of seasons ago), the end result was surprisingly not terrible. I thought a lot of the contestants would struggle with the theme and/or be swallowed up by the big stage, but most were okay, and a few were much better than that. (Admittedly, it was the few you would expect to be better.) A review coming up just as soon as you tell a younger version of me to stay on pitch...

In order:

Michael Lynche, "Miss You": Lots of "Idol" men mistakenly believe they have a good falsetto, but Big Mike actually has one, which makes this disco-era Stones track a smart pick for him. He takes the song in a more R&B direction, works the stage as well as any contestant will on the night, and can both sing and understand his limitations. It's fun to watch him work up there, and he's easy enough to listen to.

Didi Benami, "Play with Fire": Every time I see Didi without her guitar, I get nervous for her (even if she gave Fienberg a good excuse for not bringing it out each time), but this was the first time she looked comfortable and confident on stage, and she connected with the emotions of her song better than most of the competition did. Like spiritual "Idol" ancestor Brooke White, her range isn't very big, but the tone of her voice is compelling so long as she stays inside that range, which she did tonight.

Casey James, "It's All Over Now": If I saw that performance at a bar, I'd be really happy with it. And that's not a bad thing; there's a kind of baseline competence to Casey that means I'm going to enjoy his presumed long run on the show, even if I don't think he should win. He seems a better TV performer than stage performer so far, in that he knows exactly how to play to the camera but not necessarily how to move around up there while doing that. The movie to a country rock sound is a smart one for him; like I said in my Top 12 preview, that style suits his voice better, and should also help keep him around, since country fans are a surprisingly underserved "Idol" demographic, even with the success not only of Carrie, but of lesser lights like Bucky Covington and Kellie Pickler.

Lacey Brown, "Ruby Tuesday": Lacey and Didi are aiming for the same niche, and have the same baby-doll quality in their voices, but I tend to like Lacey's performances much less both because there's a lot of vibrato in her voice, and because, as the judges noted, there's something really calculated about her performances. Didi, whether she's nervous or confident, seems authentic in how she's carrying herself; Lacey (like Katie, and like some other past contestants), seems like she planned this all out in exact detail: And now I will perch adorably on the edge of the stage! Now I shall smile adorably at the camera! (And, yes, everybody has to rehearse and choreograph their performances; some are just more natural about it than others.) A decent vocal, but nothing special.

Andrew Garcia, "Gimme Shelter": I had hoped Crystal would sing this, but Andrew instead took it, ditched his trusty guitar and tried to show he could bust out of the Girl Songs Sung Acoustically By a Dude niche. It wasn't entirely successful - as Kara noted(*), it wasn't nearly as passionate as this song demanded - but there was a nice gruff edge to Andrew's voice that we hadn't seen before, and he worked the stage well.

(*) She still comes across as abrasive and narcissistic and annoying, but I have to say that Kara has been giving by far the best critiques of the judges this season. And I can't decide if Simon's constant complaints about her taking songs literally is just another case of Simon being lowbrow and caring only about marketing and not (to use Kara's favorite word) artistry, or if, again, he's annoyed that the "Idol" judges are starting to act a bit more like "X Factor" judges - or at least not like complete idiots. It was a lot easier for Simon to seem smart, after all, when he was sharing the table with insane Pauler and incoherent Randy.

Katie Stevens, "Wild Horses": Katie was awful as the semis came to a close, but like a bunch of the others, the big stage (and/or access to one of the best back catalogs of all time) seems to have woken her up. She sounded very much like the singer with all the potential from Hollywood, even if I didn't love the arrangement, which halfway through turned into nothing but her repeating the chorus over and over at increasing volume.

Tim Urban, "Under My Thumb": My wife missed the show last night and asked me if Tim (whom she's understandably surprised is still hanging around) was any good. "He was good in that he hit most of the notes in the extremely limited range he set up with this arrangement, but the arrangement itself was godawful and wrong-headed and jaw-dropping." I loved how even the judges were left largely speechless by it, and I can only hope that their "well, good on your for trying" half-praise might have killed Tim with kindness the way they have with previous Tim types like Kevin Covais and Sanjaya.

Siobhan Magnus, "Paint It Black": Love her. She's like Adam Lambert in terms of the versatility and power and sense of theatricality to her performances, but unlike him in that she doesn't seem to enjoy wailing for the sake of it. This performance built in a way you don't usually see from 90-second "Idol" performances, and she was just as good in the quiet, dramatic low notes as she was when she stood up and started belting. She and Crystal are the clear front-runners at this point, but it'll be interesting to see what happens, given that I think both of them are going to be divisive in some way. Siobhan is awesome, but she's also really weird (see the prom dress + combat boots ensemble). Can they both make it to the final 2, or will someone with less talent but more across-the-board appeal bump one of them out before then?

Lee Dewyze, "Beast of Burden": Lee could certainly be that someone. He takes a kind of roots rock approach to the song, which stripped the song of some of its edge but still sounded very good. Like Big Mike or Casey (but better), not the most challenging or impressive vocal, but the type that should keep him in the race a long time.

Paige Miles, "Honky Tonk Woman": Graded on a curve due to her laryngitis, that was darned good. No curve, and it was froggy and sharp in spots, and I wish contestants could resist the urge to gender swap the lyrics of songs, but still it was a vast improvement on anything Paige did for the last three weeks.

Aaron Kelly, "Angie": As usual, there are parts that are really warbly and strained, and others where he sounds just fine, but incredibly bland. Tim needs to go before him, but there's nothing interesting about Aaron as either singer or stage performer.

Crystal Bowersox, "You Can't Always Get What You Want": I'd have put Siobhan in the pimp spot (though the producers have been making weird pimp spot choices this year, with several pimp-ees getting beaten up by the judges and ending the show on a down note), but if Crystal didn't blow the roof off the joint quite as hard as Siobhan did, she was still damn good. After giving Credence a gospel tinge in the semis, she took this very gosepl-y song and instead made it bluesier, changing the beat while keeping the melody. She's incredibly confident on stage, has total command of her instrument (and by that I mean her voice as much as her guitar, as she can kick out her vocals and then easily bring them back down and not seem showy doing it), and is a pleasure to both watch and listen to.

Best of the night: Siobhan, with Crystal a bit further back but still way ahead of anybody else.

In danger:
I really want to say Tim, and if not him Aaron or Lacey, but I've got a bad feeling about Andrew. The judges beat him up when he does the thing he does best, and then that pushes him to do something outside his comfort zone (which they also complain about). Hopefully, the clip package with his dad (the sweetest ex-gangster you'll ever meet) will get him enough sympathy votes that he can outlast some of the more blatant cannon fodder, even though I doubt he's very long for this show.

What did everybody else think?

29 comments:

weiqin said...

Hey Alan, just to call you one on one of your mistakes... It's Casey James, not Casey Blake...

Lol. Looks like you're not very good with remembering names are you?! (I'm remembering all your Sarah Lancaster/Sarah Walker mistakes in your Chuck reviews now...)

Anyway I thought the top 12 was much better than expected, I was actually quite relieved. Almost didn't want to watch it after Adam Lambert got voted off.

That being said, there wasn't any WOW moment, but for such a lacklustre group, I'll take what I can get.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Ha, so he is. This is Casey Blake.

Lane said...

is it wrong that whenever I see Andrew I think he looks like Kim Jong Il?

Dan said...

I just don't get the love for Siobhan. It baffles me. I didn't care much for his style, but Adam Lambert had an absolutely spectacular voice. Siobhan has a mediocre voice but can hit some insane notes... just because she has a weird fashion sense and a bit of a flair for the dramatic, that doesn't make her Adam Lambert.

Linda said...

"Anyway I thought the top 12 was much better than expected, I was actually quite relieved. Almost didn't want to watch it after Adam Lambert got voted off."

I'm assuming this is intentionally funny.

J said...

Caught about twenty minutes of this before it became too excruciating to watch. Came in on Didi (FYE!-YUH!), who was awful, and cut out after "Gimme Shelter," which was awful. The ones in between that were awful. If I need to kill time before Lost next week, I think I'll stick with a book.

Anonymous said...

Re: Linda,

I assumed that too and giggled. :)

Alex said...

I agree, Alan- Car-a (tm. Simon) is doing a much better job of judging this season. Maybe she really has gotten herself together, finally. When you think about it, she should really be the *best* judge, because she's more familiar with current popular music and what sells, and she's worked with so many different kinds of artists.

I *want* her to do well, but sometimes she's just so off-base.

PTD said...

I was surprised by the lack of truly awful performances. Tim Urban was the closest to a REAL stinker, but even his performance wasn't colossally bad.

I loved, loved, loved Sioban. You hit it on the head that it's rare a short Idol performance manages to build like that one did. Her very last note bordered on all out screech, but it still worked for me.

With Adam, I always felt that he belted out his notes just to show he could. Thus far, I've felt that with Sioban she uses that power when the song calls for it.

I'm really getting tired of the judges hammering Andrew. They just have to back off, let him do what he does, and enjoy it. He's got an amazing tone, and I'd hate to see him go. They are just too much in his head right now. Knocked when he does his thing, knocked when he tries something different.

I suppose I just wish he had kept that Straight Up performance in his back pocket so we didn't have to hear about it every week.

Indeed said...

I don't get the love for Siobahn either - although she's prefereable to many others in this group. However, I actually found her vocals terrible last night. I hated the way it sounded.
While I've liked Crytal all along, I officially love her now. She really is such a natural performer and vocalist. Frankly, I don't think the judges gave her enough credit last night.
Something about Casey's goofy grinning during his performances bugs me. If he cut down on that, I would enjoy him a lot more.
Big Mike needs to bring down the "performing" about ten notches. I cannot take him seriously.

Jay said...

Not sure what happened to my comment, but basically, while I agree that Kara is offering better criticism this year than last, and while she was right to call Andrew out on not connecting with Gimme Shelter (man what a dark song), nobody on the panel pointed out how ridiculous Tim Urban's Jack Johnsoning of Under My Thumb was, considering it's one of the Stones' most misogynist songs.

There's a way to do that song and not come off like an ass, but man that sure wasn't it. "She's under my thumb/and it's all right"...

Sam Hobart said...

Was anyone else hoping that someone would be nuts enough to try Sympathy for te Devil?

weiqin said...

@Linda... OH I MEANT ALEX LAMBERT. Haha. Totally unintentional, but pretty funny, no?

Hollywoodaholic said...

How much are Sway Bots paid? And is there a Sway Bot union? And who decides which songs to awkwardly and inappropriate sway to (in this case, Didi's "Play with Fire). Well, at least it wasn't "Under My Thumb." Now THAT would be really awkward, and probably violate some FCC morals code.

Anonymous said...

someone who dropped on the siobhan train early too, check out boston.barstoolsports.com. he handicapped the field back when there was a top 50 (or something) and absolutely nailed it. http://boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/handicapping-american-idol-2010/

Marc said...

Im just honestly curious, if you find Kara narcissistic, where do you rank Simon Cowell in that area?

I have a lot of respect for Kara as a singer/songwriter, shes responsible for a lot of the biggest hits last year (and lots of them are good ones like "Sober" from Pink). I'll admit that i wasnt a fan of her on the show last year. but this year she seems like she really cares and as you noted is giving great advice. Now abrasive and narcissistic - that sound like Simon to me. Throw in sometimes cruel as well. Although last night he was kinder than ususal.

themightypuck said...

Bowersox seems to be the only one who exudes enough confidence to make it seem like she is doing more than karaoke.

Dave said...

How forgettable are some of the contestants this year? Forgettable enough that, as I type this I cannot remember the name of the girl who sang "Honky Tonk Woman." Oh well... I just wanted to point out that the gender-swapped lyrics (awkward as they were), were, in this case, cribbed from Tina Turner, along with the horn arrangement.

Pretty much everyone gets credit for deviating from the original arrangements - even Tim. Like the Beatles, the Stones' records do not lend themselves to straight-up covers as they are too much embedded in everyone's subconscious. That said, good as some of the songs are, this pointed up that it is not so much the songs but the particular recordings that are great. "Gimme Shelter" without the great female backing vocal, "YCAGWYW" without the boogie piano and gospel chorale, "Under My Thumb" without the tension between the rhythm guitar and vibraphone.... None of these songs would be hits as presented on this show.

LA said...

@Dave Merry Clayton was 9 months pregnant when she recorded that iconic backing vocal on Gimme Shelter.

I agree with you, Alan, that Andrew is in trouble. Tim Urban, too.

Sam Hobart said...

"None of these songs would be hits as presented on this show."

Done in a studio with some practice and polish I might disagree on Siobhan's "Paint It Black" and Didi's "Play With Fire" (although she didn't do much to change up the arrangment her voice just works for that song).

SoCal said...

Lacey couldn't be more boring if she tried up there on stage...and to top it off, her vocal was horrible

Hatfield said...

Someone should have done "Shine a Light," the great underrated song in the Stones' catalogue. Seriously, it would have killed.

iamnoahjames.com said...

The show actually wasn't that strong as a whole. Didi was great, but Paige & Katie keep confusing me as to why they are there.

Let me know what you think of my recap:

http://iamnoahjames.com/2010/03/17/idolspec-top-12-performance-show-–-3162010/

jana said...

Alan. You consider Siobhan strange because of her outfit? Her outfit was adorable; I thought she looked better last night than ever. Now if you want to get into outfits, what's up with Lacey Brown's? Pick a style already.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Jana, I consider Siobhan strange because she is (but in an adorable way). Check out any of the clip reels they've done on her, or how she carries herself in interviews with Seacrest. The look last night (not just the dress with the boots, but the big '80s hair with the exposed tat, etc.) just played into that. I dig that about her, that she's not just trying to look like something that she isn't.

Me said...

Count me in as one of those who don't get all the Siobhan love getting slung around. Don't get me wrong, I think she's very good and absolutely in the top 4 or 5 but there's something about the tone of her voice that, to me, is just a little off somewhere. And the first 30 seconds of her performance last night just wasn't that good, was it? Think the judges totally let her off the hook for that really shaky opening since she finished it strong.

My guess is the bottom 3 come from among the reigning "Bottom 4" - Andrew, Lacey, Aaron and Paige. I think we all know Tim is gonna be with us for a while, right? Tweens.

Over-all, I thought the judges went pretty easy on the group as a whole. I think this was complete damage control. Who's going to continue to watch singers that even the judges don't like? Buck up the lower end, knock down the upper end a little, make it appear it's a horse race.

Gayle said...

No mention on how Seacrest was more of an ass than usual last night?

I can't remember, in previous seasons did most of the contestants seem as underwhelming as they do this year?

pws said...

Siobhan's voice annoys the daylights out of me. Whenever she sings in her lower range she sounds like she's singing from her nose and I want to shake her and tell her to sing from her freakin' diaphragm already! Seriously, that nasal edge is as grating as nails on a chalkboard. On the flip side her high range actually sounds quite nice when she's not screeching her high notes.

My favorite is still Crystal. She has power and a genuine spirit/presence to her voice. Everyone else just comes off as really mediocre or bland right now.

ADL said...

I rewatched the performances tonight because my husband hadn't seen them and I disliked them less than yesterday.

Urban was so terrible my head still hurts.

A couple of shocks: one is that I agree - Kara is making the best critiques, by far. She understands that song meanings count for something. How I wish the meaning of "A Change Is Gonna Come" had been pointed out. Simon looks foolish telling her the meaning of the songs don't matter.


And I surprised how much I'm liking Siobhan. I loved her look and performance . She kind of screams but at least she can figure out a Rolling Stone song is meant to be dramatic.