Last night on “American Idol” the 10 remaining guys performed, and you could tell that most of them were terrified of the fact that the ladies pretty much blew them away last week. They would have to step up their game or face elimination, if not in the next two weeks, then surely when it’s just six and six left.
It’s always refreshing when the contestants take the judges’ advice and try to improve. Last night several of these guys came out of the gate and tried to wow America the same way that Lakisha, Stephanie and Sabrina did last Wednesday. Did they succeed? Some did, some were way off the mark, but most were somewhere in the middle.
Here is how it went down…..
THE GOOD
Phil Stacy kicked things off with John Waite’s “Missing You” and showed everyone that he has one of the best voices out of the remaining guys. It wasn’t flashy, but in a singing competition it was a good vocal performance. Randy said it was hot, Paula said Phil had great tone, and Simon said it was unoriginal but that Phil would sail through because he’s popular. My take? I think Simon secretly wishes he could sport the chrome dome the same way Phil and Chris Daughtry do.
Chris Sligh sang Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble” and for my money this kid is THE best male singer of the group. His awesome performance wasn’t a surprise, but the fact that dude has a cute wife probably threw America for a loop. Randy said Chris has a “big voice,” Paula said she liked it, and Simon said that Chris is a “very good singer.” This dude is going nowhere anytime soon.
Chris Richardson also came in prepared. He sang Jason Mraz’ “Geek in the Pink,” and quite honestly, he was better than Jason Mraz. Randy put it best, saying Chris was “in it to win it.” Simon even said it was the best performance of the night “by a mile.” Yeah, dude was entertaining, and did just enough vocally. Label this kid another dark horse.
THE IN-BETWEEN
AJ was off-key a bit and had this kind of feminine quality that I think just didn’t work. But again, this is a singing competition and dude did way better than last week. Randy admitted as much, and Simon said it was “nearly very good.” That’s about right.
Nick Pedro did a version of “Fever,” and it was more his style than what he sang last week. It was a little pitchy in spots, and Randy even said so, but it wasn’t too bad. Paula said she loves Nick’s tone, and Simon said it was a good vocal performance but that Nick lacked charisma.
Blake Lewis added his beat box/scat thing back into his performance this week, taking on Jamiroquai.
Randy said it was cool that Blake returned to his form, Paula said it was a good song choice, but Simon said it was off key in spots and not really original. He wasn’t bad, but Blake can do much better and everyone knows it.
Sundance Head brought down the house last night with his rendition of “Mustang Sally.” Dude showed why he made it this far, because he really does have a big voice. Randy and Paula said something to the effect of “Sundance is back,” but Simon admitted that he thinks Sundance can do even better. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t get on this guy’s bandwagon. Plus, that song is one of the most played out in wedding band/hotel lounge history.
THE BAD
Jared Cotter wasn’t the worst of the bunch, but two of these guys have to go home on Thursday. He sang Marvin Gaye and was slightly boring and really just okay. Paula said Jared is a good looking kid, and that might keep him around, but Simon summed it up by saying it was like a “Love Boat” performance.
Sunjaya dressed like Michael Jackson and sang “All Dressed Up.” I think it may have been one of the worst performances ever on this show, period. Randy said Sunjaya is a nice kid, but that this was like a bad high school talent show. Simon said it was “ghastly” and used the words “weak” and “weird.” If this kid doesn’t go home this week, then our great nation has a serious problem evaluating talent.
Brandon Rogers, I thought you would go far in this competition. But I can’t give you props for that very mediocre version of “Time After Time.” I mean, that song is almost as played out as “Mustang Sally” and it sure as hell didn’t show your vocal range. The judges said as much, and Simon said he needs to come out and “wow” everyone if he wants to stick around. I have a feeling he may not.
So that’s it, the ladies sing tonight and, surprisingly, Antonella is still in this competition even though all kinds of naughty photos of her are circulating around the Internet. She must have a good attorney.
But she won’t last long with that vocal ability or lack thereof anyway.
As for the guys, I’m going with Sunjaya and Brandon to exit on Thursday…I don’t think Brandon should go but he may have done just poorly enough last night. Other possibilities are Jared, AJ and Nick.
See you all tomorrow….
