Category: American Idol (Page 23 of 31)

Good karma does count for something. Recently while drawing $20 from the ATM, a $50 bill came out and I did the right thing and returned it to the bank teller. Yes, my friends, Art Marley is a good person. Not only did the bank give me a cash reward, but last night Ace Young got kicked off “American Idol,” just as I had wished for a day earlier.

Of course, even though the show was thirty minutes long, we had to endure the agony of Ryan Seacrest trying to fill time and Rod Stewart performing. Actually the old man wasn’t so bad doing a rendition of “The Way You Look Tonight” from his latest collection of standards.

Then it was all business….Ryan divvied up the remaining seven contestants into groups of 3, plus one.
The plus one was Taylor Hicks, who was immediately told he was safe. I’m not stupid….the reason he was the first to safety was because he got the highest number of votes Tuesday night. Look out America, the fifth Idol just might have gray hair.

Then Taylor was asked to stand by the group he thought was safe…..Elliott, Kellie and Katharine…or Ace, Chris and Paris. He faked a move, shaking Chris’ hand, then moving to the other group…and he was correct. I guess Elliott really is going to keep hanging around….I mean, dude can sing his ass off, so it’s all good. But Kellie not in the bottom 3 after that awful showing Tuesday?

So then it was down to Ace, Paris and Chris and Paris was the first one of the three to be put back to safety. Then it came down to Chris and Ace….look, I didn’t count the votes but I can almost guarantee there was about a 10 million vote differential between Chris and Ace. Vocally at least, there is no comparison. America, you got it right.

Next week, the classically trained Italian pop singer Andre Bocelli will be guiding the Idols as they choose from the greatest love songs of all time. Thankfully we don’t have to see Ace sing a sappy ballad and watch Paula Abdul drool in her Coke cup. But more importantly, we’ve got a half dozen contestants left…..which means we’re only a handful of weeks from crowning our next Idol.

Wow, has this season been a blur? It has, and now we’re left with a final six of contestants that are all worthy of winning it all. Thankfully. See you next week my friends…

Marley, OUT.

For Mrs. Marley, it was a nightmare come true. She despises Rod Stewart like Red Sox fans despise the Yankees. Needless to say, I watched last night’s “American Idol” episode featuring Rod Stewart, alone.

But it wasn’t quite what I expected. The contestants didn’t sing Stewart’s hits or even his bad stuff (then again, those terms shouldn’t be mutually exclusive). Instead, like Stewart did on his latest album, they took on standards. And to the surprise of me, the judges, and probably all of America, the contestants really came alive last night. Well, most of them…..here is the recap:

THE GOOD

Chris Daughtry started things off with “What a Wonderful World,” and instead of trying to rock the song up, he stayed true to the melody and the mood, and it was a stunning rendition. The only thing that was weird was when he went to sit near the dude playing guitar on stage and almost looked like he was singing to the old guy. But Chris was still the man.

Paris Bennett sang “These Foolish Things” and, with her background in jazz, was totally in her element. But she still had to deliver a killer performance, and did just that. We all know Paris has good genes, but come on…..she’s really only 17? Wow. Simon said she was “terrific” and there’s not much more to say.

Taylor Hicks and Ryan Seacrest were yukking it up before he sang, about how “Saturday Night Live” was parodying Taylor the other night. But his performance of “You Send Me” was no joke……every week Taylor reminds us of why he’s still hanging around and is a serious threat to take home the big prize. It was a safe performance early, but as it went on and Taylor injected his personality…..let’s just say there is no stopping this gray haired wonder.

Katharine McPhee ended the night with a version of “Someone To Watch Over Me” and it was pretty frickin’ amazing. Simon said Katharine was in a different league compared to everyone else….I don’t know about that, but she sure as hell isn’t going to be in the bottom 3 this week.

THE IN-BETWEEN

Elliott Yamin was not mediocre, but a B-plus performance of “It Had To Be You” is not going to cut it at this stage of the competition. Simon hit it on the head…it was a good vocal, but lacked personality, at least compared to the others last night. Elliott, it might finally be time to go back to your day job of impersonating Abe Lincoln, or whatever it is that you do.

Ace Young was actually not bad for Ace Young last night. He cleaned up nicely, wearing a suit and slicking his hair back…..and Simon actually said his rendition of “That’s All” was “charming”……..the first real praise from Simon to Ace in weeks, but still it didn’t measure up to the four kickass performances last night.

THE BAD

As soon as I saw Kellie Pickler being coached by Rod Stewart, I thought of 2 things. One, Rod is probably wanting to throw her the Rod….and two, she’s not going to do very well tonight. I was right on at least one of those predictions…..Kellie sang “Bewitched” and to say it was pitchy would be kind to Kellie. She was just all over the place, and even claimed herself to have “butchered” the song.

It will be interesting to see how the voting turns out this week. Oh, and a word about voting….when Ryan Seacrest keeps telling America that they can’t complain about who gets kicked off if they don’t vote, I just want to jump through my TV and kick him in the nads…..dude, give it a rest…..every week like 40 million people vote, isn’t that enough for you? Or are 20 million of those you and Terri Hatcher hitting redial?

Based solely on performance, I think Kellie Pickler was the worst last night and should be going home…..however, she’s still way too cute, funny and generally talented enough for America not to give her another week or two. It’s probably going to be Elliott, because he’ s been near the bottom before and Simon’s comments about no personality may have cost him votes. I hope it’s Ace, because as far as I’m concerned he and Ryan Seacrest can both go take a long walk off a short pier.

Mrs. Marley will not witness Rod singing tonight, but she can forward through it later on TiVo.
Who will be going home? See you tomorrow for the results and commentary.

Marley, OUT.

Last night America got a taste of big dollar advertising and how it influences TV. Forget 5 hour Super Bowls and 4-plus hour World Series games. The one-hour results show of “American Idol” ranks right up there and probably commands similar $$ for those precious commercials. But for those of us who just want to know who got booted off, the wait was excruciating.

First, the remaining contestants performed more Queen music, doing a medley. But it was hard to watch with a video montage occuring on a split screen. One of the medley songs was “Killer Queen,” making me wonder why no one attempted that one on Tuesday night.

Then they showed video of each of the contestants’ parents…mildly interesting, but mostly boring.

After that they announced next week’s theme: the music of Rod Stewart. Mrs. Marley almost vomited on command because she loathes Rod Stewart about as much as she loathes root canal.
I guess I’ll be watching next week’s episodes alone.

Then Ryan Seacrest went one by one with the contestants, showing them more video of their parents and families before letting them know if they were safe or in the bottom 3. 20 minutes later, he had declared Taylor, Katharine, Chris and Kellie safe. Then Elliott was the first bottom 3 victim, and he was asked to sing for everyone. After more commercials, Ace was also relegated to the bottom 3 and was asked to sing. Are you kidding me? You want real entertainment? Get Kellie and Katharine to start making out.

Then it was down to Bucky and Paris, with Bucky going to the bottom 3 and Paris going to safety. Of course, then we had to endure Bucky singing again before finding out who went home. And as the Buckster was singing “Fat Bottom Girls” again, it occurred to me: this dude really needs to go home. Lucky for me America felt the same.

Now, people of Bumfuck, North Carolina…..you can go change the population sign from 42 back to 43.
Your Bucky is back.

Ace Young, I think you may be next…especially if you try something stupid like “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Actually seeing what the contestants choose to sing is half the fun. See you guys next week.

Marley, OUT.

So last night’s “American Idol” featured the songs of Queen, one of the greatest rock bands of the last 3 decades. Though Freddy Mercury passed away and jurassic rocker Paul Rodgers took his place in the band, Queen’s music is still legendary. But how would the contestants measure up to the great Freddy Mercury, and sing songs that were obviously more difficult than anything they have tried yet?

Let’s go to the videotape…..

THE GOOD

Ladies and gentleman, Kellie Pickler is peaking at the right time. She may not understand Simon’s British accent through her hillbilly ears, but she took on “Bohemian Rhapsody” and gave a performance that no one expected. Not me, not the judges, not America. Kellie looked like Lita Ford and sang with a rocker growl she hasn’t really shown yet.

Gray haired boy Taylor Hicks may have appeared “drunk” to Simon Cowell, but to me he was the best performer last night. He took on “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” which might seem in itself to be a safe choice. But dude rocked it out and never veered off key….he was entertaining and to me at least, kicked everyone else’s ass.

THE IN-BETWEEN

Chris Daughtry sang “Innuendo” and while Simon at the time said it was the best vocal of the night, I also agree with his assessment that it was a poor song choice. Not everyone knows the song, and Chris could have picked something more familiar and made a statement. Instead, he probably wasn’t in the top 3 of voting last night.

Katharine McPhee sang the ballad “Who Wants to Live Forever” and though it was Celine Dion-ish at times in power, Katharine seemed to shout and didn’t quite put the necessary feeling into it. She’s been in the bottom 3 before and I’m not sure she wont’ be back there again tonight.

Elliott Yamin sang “Somebody To Love,” which is probably as difficult to sing as “Bohemian Rhapsody” but he proved why he is still hanging around at this stage. Dude can bring it vocally, but he still wasn’t as entertaining last night as Kellie or Taylor.

Paris Bennett sang “The Show Must Go On” and while I agree with Simon that it was a little strange seeing this innocent young girl in black leather singing a power ballad, she still has what it takes vocally and could go all the way.

THE BAD

Bucky Covington, you are a karaoke machine. You proved that again last night with your countrified rendition of “Fat Bottom Girls.” Randy even used the word “karaoke” in his remarks, and that’s really what it was. You can sing, sure, but you are not going to be a star.

Side note: the funniest moment of the night was when Ryan Seacrest asked Bucky what it was like to sing Freddy Mercury, and Bucky replied, “He’s not somebody you want to get behind.” Ryan then answered, without missing a beat: “You can say that again.” All I have to say is, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that…”

Ace Young is so full of himself, and he may just be losing votes because of that. He took on “We Will Rock You” and it was, as Simon said, “a mess.” What’s more, he tried to get Brian May and the boys to change the arrangement of the song just for him. Thankfully they declined. But in response to Simon, Ace said “I think I rocked.” I’m glad you did, dude, now just go home.

So who will it be? Bucky, Ace, Katharine, Elliott? Maybe even Paris? Well, if America wants to redeem itself, it will vote off Bucky or Ace because let’s face it, they are not Idol material.

Tonight there is an excuciating one hour episode for the results show…..I wonder what will be in store to fill all that time. Will they bring back Barry Manilow, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers and Brian May to form a supergroup? Will the big gay Mexican priest return again? Will Darrell and Terrell return in orange jumpsuits? Will Ryan Seacrest propose to Terri Hatcher? Okay, that’s enough from me today…see you for the results.

Marley, OUT.