It was Inspiration night on American Idol last night and the contestants were asked to sing a song that inspires them. The songbook was probably endless and overall I think they stayed way more current than they have been. I guess that's not making a great point when the last two weeks have been Elvis and Beatles songs. The great Alicia Keys was there to mentor the contestants this week and she did a pretty good job. As my friend and I said last night... with 12 Grammys on her shelf, you better believe I am listening to every damn word of advice Alicia Keys has to give me. Can you imagine saying no to Alicia Keys? "Actually, I think I'll sing it my own way". No... that would be dumb. I'm looking forward to her performance tonight for the Idol Gives Back show along with all of the other amazing musical acts. Break out the tissues and the wallet. I'm going to want to save every kid in Africa, buy every bed net I can to prevent Malaria, do all I can. For more information on how to give back, check out the Idol site. Idol Gives Back is an amazing thing. Be a part of it.
http://www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback/
Here are my thoughts from last night's show:
Casey James (Song Choice: Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow)
This performance was so annoyingly generic. And I think it's time for him to go. I don't even feel like writing about him. It's inspiration week... He coulda had a moment. A millions songs to choose and he picks this Fleetwood Mac song, which will always remind me of Bill Clinton's election campaign. My mother, who is not a Clinton fan, hates this song. Yep, she loathes Bill so much, she has to take it out on Fleetwood Mac. Anyways, bad choice of song and he should head home just because of it. Couldn't agree more with Simon - it was just a lazy song choice.
Lee Dewyze (Song Choice: The Boxer)
Here we go... Casey James, this is how it's done. I love this song and I loved this performance. It was just really pretty and finally we see something totally new on this show. Enough with the Mariah, Aersomith (Don't Wanna Miss a Thang), Whitney ballads... Simon and Garfunkel shakes it up. Lee just does it right. He has the Idol handbook. Pick a song that people like, but they don't even realize how good of a song it is... until someone reinvents it and makes it current. Lee is mastering this this season. I loved the last performance in which Simon said he had his moment, but for me... this was the performance in which he had his moment. Simon and Garfunkel would be proud. Consider this song downloaded.
Tim Urban (Song Choice: Better Days)
Love love this Goo Goo Dolls song. And Tim did a pretty good job with it. He's making smarter choices and this was one of them. No one ever tackles the Goo Goo Dolls on this show and they should. Their songs are fantastic. Dizzy Up the Girl is one of favorite albums. It has hit after hit. My friend and I have a little game we play where we rank each of their hit singles from this album and when "Iris" comes on the radio, we'll just call out "#6" (me) or #1 (her). My Dizzy Up the Girl ranking system goes something like this:
#1 - Slide
#2 - Black Balloon
#3 - Broadway
#4 - Acoustic
#5 - All Eyes On Me
#6 - Iris (it got bumped to 6 when they overplayed it, plus City of Angels with Meg and Nic Cage is a shitty movie)
What are your thoughts on this album!?
Back to Tim... I think High School Musical boy sticks around for another week. He was a pleasant surprise. Didn't do anything new with the song except for it being a little more acoustic, but he sounded nice and he flashed the pearly whites. That's good for about 10K votes.
Aaron Kelly (Song Choice: I Believe I Can Fly)
I thought Aaron was really good. I think this kid finally had his moment. I like that he took on this R. Kelly song and he made it more of a country ballad. Started off slow, but when he kicked into high gear, he was definitely in the pocket. This kid has a big voice and I think he's going to do really well in country music. I do like this song, but it is pretty darn cheesy. It's one of those songs that you like to sing, but don't really want to hear a MAN sing. It kind of takes the man chip away from him (kind of the way I feel about men who have never seen Top Gun. It kind of takes their penis away). Unfortunately, this song reminds me of the NBA player (and former UCONN basketball player) Rip Hamilton. Rip won my school a national championship and was/is one of my favorite players ever. But when he was asked how he gets fired up for a game, he said that he would listen to R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly". Really? Do you REALLY have to be so cheesy? Now I just picture my favorite player in the locker room with his freaking discman getting inspired by this queer song. It's totally ruined it for me. Can't you listen to a manly song like "Lose Yourself" by Eminem? I think everyone should get fired up for that song. It's the only answer that's acceptable.
Siohban Magnus (Song Choice: When You Believe)
Besides the fact that she looked like fairy from the latest Tinkerbell movie on the Disney channel, I thought Siohban did pretty well. I really really like Siohban. She is poised. She has great answers. Sometimes she take a little while to get her point out, but she chooses her words carefully. However, I'm beginning to feel lukewarm about her voice. She can hit the big notes, which she did last night... but I don't need them. I like her voice in a lower register. And I have to agree with being confused about what kind of album she'll make. Here's my only advice to her: Don't make the same album as Kat McPhee. I had the McPhever in season 5 and she then turned around and made the worst debut album ever. She was in such a rush to get this album out. I'm convinced she took every song that people like Ashlee Simpson and Lindsey Lohan passed on and put it on her album, just to get it released. And it was f'ing awful. There's one single called "Open Toes" and it's pretty much about getting a pedicure and going out on the town in open-toed shoes. It's f'ing stupid. LiLo is dumb as dirt and she probably had the good sense to pass on this song.
With all that said, I liked the arrangment of the song and I thought she controlled her voice and the song pretty well. She didn't try to be Mariah or Whitney, she just sang the song in a pretty way. It didn't wow anyone, but definitely didn't disappoint. Should be interesting to see how she fares tonight.
Michael Lynche (Song Choice: Hero)
My first reaction to the song choice: "This is a little Spiderman for me". Please note: I did not steal this line from Simon. It was the first thing that came to me when I heard he was singing this song. And I'd assume that everyone had this reaction since it was the theme song for a blockbuster superhero movie (great song by Dashboard Confessionals). I just don't want to hear anyone sing it. I just thought the performance was a little amateur for me and a giant step backwards for Big Mike. He sang it well, but it just didn't solidify why he was in the Top 7. He looked like he was performing in the early rounds of this competition. He is this "woman's work" and "In the Ghetto" guy... not a guy who wears a boring grey t-shirt and sing a rock song. It creeps me out to see him hold that guitar too. He's so big, it looks like a little Barbie guitar. It's unsettling.
Michael is in some trouble.
Crystal Bowersox (Song Choice: Get Ready)
In the words of Billy Madison, "Geez, why don't you just give her the trophy".
Crystal is amazing. There's not much more to say. This performance was the definition of inspirational. She sang it brilliantly. She's incredibly talented. The accapela at the beginning, the arrangement, the tears at the end for her father. Loved it all. She can pretty much do anything. We're looking at a true artist who is going make her mark on the music industry. I can't wait.
In Trouble: Casey, Big Mike, Aaron or Tim. The girls should be safe.
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