American Idol - Week One - 3/13/07

Welcome one and all to my (2nd? 3rd?) annual weekly review of the American Idol Final 12!
Thanks to all my returning commenters and readers just curious on my take.

Agree? Disagree? Let me hear you!
Posting comments are free.
So shall we move onto the show?

First off, I have to say first off how I think the girls still lead the boys in performances. Last night they proved it again. Granted, you have to admit, the girls had an advantage singing the music of Diana Ross and The Supremes, what with the "old-fashioned belters" like Lakisha and Melinda in the group. Also, the boys tried too hard to update the Motown classics with hipper, more contemporary singing styles. It didn’t work, in my opinion. I agree with what all the judges said at one point; "let the classics be the classics."

So onto the contestants’ performances:

1. BRANDON ROGERS – sung “You Can’t Hurry Love” - Wow, this was bad. On top of a really awkward performance, he forgets the words? Yikes. I’ll give him a break this week, because not only did he open the show as the first performer, he did it on a new stage. However, that aside, there is no excuse at this stage of the competition for you to forget the words. Brandon’s performance was forgettable, bad, and to be honest, a little boring. Brandon is one of my picks for the bottom three.

2. MELINDA DOOLITTLE – sung “Home” – Now, THIS was a performance. I haven’t heard this song in years, since I first saw “The Wiz” back when I was a wee lad. She made it new again for me, and her voice was absolutely perfect for it. Melinda’s genuine surprise when hearing the judges comments and the audience’s reaction was touching. She still doesn’t know how good she really is yet, which just makes her all the more endearing. I can’t wait to see her during the next couple of months grow with confidence and finally accept how good she is. Simon called her a "young Gladys Knight", and I couldn’t agree with him more.

3. CHRIS SLIGH – sung “Endless Love” - When someone says something like “you butchered that song”, you think that would be enough to describe how bad someone sang a song. That phrase isn’t nearly enough to describe the awful mess Chris made out of this song. Wow. It actually made Brandon’s performance look not as bad in comparison. Now don’t get me wrong here, Chris’ vocals were fine, he definitely can sing well. That wasn’t the problem. The arrangement was horrendous, a true “mess” as Randy described it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris isn’t in the bottom three tonight, though I doubt he’s going home. I’m really surprised at him, because I do kind of enjoy his voice. Oh and I agree with Simon when he said Chris should keep his glasses on. I think that’s part of his appeal now, the “glasses and afro” guy.

4. GINA GLOCKSON – sung “Love Child” - Before I get to her performance, has Gina lost weight, or is it just me? I have to admit it. I think Gina is on that borderline right now of either doing well, or bottoming out. Her performance was adequate at best. She seemed to try to gain momentum on an arrangement that was slowed down. Not her best by far, and she is definitely better then the performance she had tonight. I hope she comes back, because I really wanna see what she’s capable of. I’m not a fan yet, but I like her personality. Much as I don’t want her to go home, she is my next pick for the bottom three tonight. (though I hope she’s safe)

5. SANJAYA MALAKAR – sung “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” - Is there really anything I can say at this point? Do I really need to point out the obvious here? Truly one of the WORST renditions of this awesome song I’ve EVER heard. (and I’ve heard some truly awful renditions of songs on AI in the past 6 years) This is a song that uplifts me everytime I hear it, and he just totally ruined it for me. I feel bad in a way, because this kid has no confidence in his vocal ability, and part of that is because he keeps getting horrible feedback from the judges. Is it any wonder why so far he’s been shocked he wasn’t voted off yet?
I don’t blame him though, because it’s his song choices that are killing him. He is simply either picking songs that are either unknown or too big for him. (like this one) I honestly think if he picks the right song, I may actually say “Wow, that wasn’t bad, it was pretty good”. However, am I a fan. Most definitely not, he should have gone home 3-4 weeks ago. Much as I hope he’s in the bottom three, I hate to say he will be safe thanks to the Indian vote. (much like the Hawaiians came to Jasmine Trias’ rescue many times a couple of years ago)

6. HALEY SCARNATO – sung “Missing You” - Okay like you guys, I do not think she deserves to be in the Top 12. The other girl, Sabrina, deserved to be here instead. But I find myself a little impressed with Haley’s performance tonight. I agree with Simon, when he said he thinks she showed real stage presence, despite her nerves getting the best of her. I agree with him, she really stood out. Did she forget the words? Yep. Was her performance pitchy? (OH yes.) But I remember last year, a certain girl named Katharine McPhee was the same way. By far, she definitely sucked tonight, but I don’t think it was enough to get her into the bottom three tonight. I think her heartfelt appreciation of the judges comments won the voting audience over enough to save her. Will she be around until the end? Doubtful, but hey, McPhee had been predicted to be voted off plenty of times before last season before she made it to the final two.

7. PHIL STACY - sung “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” - Vocally, I loved this performance. However, I do agree with Simon (as most of the time I do – Paula is useless and appeared quite plastered last night) that Phil has a tendency to shout his bigger notes. I’m not sure how I feel about Phil yet. I like his personality, and his voice is decent. I just don’t think he has the stage presence yet. I’m actually not sure if he’ll even get stage presence in the coming weeks, but who knows, he may surprise me.

8. LaKISHA JONES – sung “God Bless the Child” - This is MY girl!! I was a fan of "Kiki" when I first heard her belt out her first song during the auditions. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not familiar with Billie Holiday’s songs, but she sold it to me. Man, what a great controlled performance, just like a pro. She looked totally at home on the big stage, and was not intimidated at all by the bigger audience. This is my girl, and hopefully, she’ll make it to at least the final three if not the final two.

9. BLAKE LEWIS – sung “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” - Ah, Blake. Blake, Blake, Blake. Okay, so I’m on the fence with him. I like his voice, I think he has a lot of talent. But dammit, I agree with Randy when he tells Blake that he doesn’t have to "Blake-a-size" every song. And it’s true, because I don’t think every song Blake sings needs his beat-boxing or re-mixing. As I said before, "let the classics be the classics." I want to remind Blake it’s SINGING competition, not a beat-boxing or song remixing competition. You’re a good singer Blake, just stick to it.

10. STEPHANIE EDWARDS – sung “Love Hangover” - I was really disappointed with her tonight. She was one of my early favorites, and the fact that she forget some of the words (the third contestant to do so tonight!) irked me. On top of that, I SOOOO agreed with the judges when they said she teased us with only part of the song, and omitted the up-tempo part of it. I found myself waiting for the familiar part of the song to start up, only for it to not appear at all. It was like getting worked up during foreplay, only to have the person turn over and say they have a headache when the time came to “perform”. I like Stephanie, but I think this performance placed her in the bottom three tonight. I hope she stays, because she really is better then this performance.

11. CHRIS RICHARDSON – sung “The Boss” - Okay, so I admit it. I do have a crush on Chris. His Justin Timberlake-like voice and looks makes me melt. That aside, this was my least favorite performance from him. I loved his take on “Geek In The Pink” from a couple of weeks back, a song that was totally unfamiliar to me, but he sold it. This performance, while not as bad as Simon made it out to be (the vocals weren’t that “dreadful”), he did but in a bit too many runs in the song. Chris definitely tried his best to sell the performance, but it kind of fell flat. I’m rooting for Chris, though I doubt he’ll make it to the final three. I think he’ll be back next week.

12. JORDIN SPARKS – sung “If We Hold On Together” - She impressed me. If I was on the fence about her before, her personality and performance tonight finally made me a fan. She truly was fantastic tonight, and I agree when Randy said she just made it "a three girl race." I was unfamiliar with this song, but Jordin made it for me. I was really digging her elegant vibe, and I still find it hard to believe she’s only 17. I’d love to see this girl get pretty far, and she has the youth factor, which will help her in some respects. Lakisha and Melinda definitely have to contend with her, and she proved that tonight.

My Bottom Three Picks: Brandon Rogers, Gina Glockson and Stephanie Edwards.
My Pick to be Eliminated Tonight: Brandon Rogers

So what do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? Comments?