American Idol Results - Top 10
Kids, Don’t Grow Up to Be These Guys!
How nice of Michael Lynche to open up tonight’s Results show. Wait, that wasn’t him? Oh, well, good thing Ryan Seacrest put the two guys together. Despite his weight loss, Ruben Studdard makes the other guy look like Not So Big Mike!
All kidding aside, and despite Ruben’s velvety Vandross voice, it was hopefully a moment for Mike to learn what not to be. We don’t need another Ruben—another fine singer with forgettable songs and a copycat sound. We need someone willing to be his own artist. And we more or less got that this week from Mike and other contestants. (Thought really, Mike, the My Pretty Ponytail has got to go!)
We were treated to some other examples of “what not to be” during the R&B oriented Top 10 Results Show. Stupidest comment of the night? Could it be Justin Bieber saying that Usher helped shape who he is as an artist? Well, of course! It all makes sense now, since both can’t sing a lick! For all of Usher’s good performance advice to the Idol contestants the other night, he was all flash without substance. His new single “OMG” stinks (did a 1st grader write those lyrics? Justin Bieber?), you could hear the auto-tune struggling to keep him sounding on pitch, and Will.i.am didn’t help much either midway through the song. But hey, the flame-pots were cool!
And yet somehow Usher seemed pretty good compared to the premiere performance of the Beam of Light, aka Diddy Dirty Money, formerly known as Diddy, formely known as P. Diddy, formerly known as Puff Daddy, formerly known as Sean Combs. Apparently he’s now formed a group with Salt n’ Pepa, but the performance was a complete farce from start to finish. (Hey buddy, way to bang those timpani! Too bad you were miming to a recording.)
Kids, if you’re going to make it big in the entertainment industry, please don’t become as smug, over-the-top, egotistical, and self-promoting as the average modern R&B act … especially Diddy Dirty Money, formerly known as … ah, forget it. (Seriously, would it have killed the Idol producers to throw in another act as classy as Ruben, but more established, like Gladys Knight or Chaka Khan or someone?)
Unfortunately, the Idol contestants are already forced into the shameless promotional segments. In addition to the weekly Ford music video (set to “Kung-Fu Fighting,” ugh), there was an odd segment where the contestants supposedly plugged Clash of the Titans—only instead of showing them promote it, a video simply showed the cast doing so. Since Idol chose to waste our time with that moment, I’ll try to reclaim some time for you as someone who’s reviewed it (for ChristianityToday.com): Don’t bother!
What’s that, you say? Why yes, somewhere amid all the shameless plugs, we had a Results Show last night! And as Simon rightly said to Ryan, “This is not the Oprah Winfrey show.” Yeesh, I like that the contestants are being interviewed more—like a Miss America pageant, it’s a chance to grade their personalities—but the Q&A’s are going on too long and a little uncomfortably.
I’m not going to be too hard on the producers, though, with a Results Show that went down as predictably as this one. Good call on their part to whittle it down to Katie or Siobhan, since the latter seemed like she could be in trouble after Tuesday night. But of course, Siobhan has built up a fan base over the last month, whereas the Katie still seems robotic to most people.
Didi was quickly identified as the next among the bottom—no surprise. My compliments to Ryan for the awesome fake-out concerning Mike’s fate ... and my compliments to Mike for consequently hoisting the miniature host above his head!
The producers again tried for suspense by whittling the contestants down to Tim and Andrew. Still, while Andrew has struggled lately, he did rather well this week, whereas Tim has become friends with the Stools of Doom these last few weeks. (Side note: My wife and I are puzzled why Kara and the judges are so puzzled over Tim’s smiling. Can’t a guy simply enjoy the moment of a lifetime? Can’t they see he’s a nice guy, and kind of nervous? Is it so hard to understand that Tim also finds it funny that he’s made it this far?)
In the end, things unfolded exactly as they should, thanks to America’s voting. The Bottom Three was pretty much spot on. Katie was soon sent back to safety, so the Bottom Two were exactly right. And while it’d be nice to see Tim sent packing, we all knew Didi was the one after her lackluster performance the other night.
Though she looked nervous and unsettled during her encore of “Rhiannon,” she sang it quite well. But to no one’s surprise, the judges didn’t save her from her exit. I wish the Judges’ Save were more suspenseful, but until Tim and Katie exit, it’s not going to matter. Yes, they need to use the Save before the Top 5, so expect them to use it on someone like Andrew, Aaron, or Casey in the next month.
One more quick observation: Remember how everyone was saying a month ago it’s going to be the ladies’ year on Idol this season? Yet here we are three weeks into the Finals, and three ladies have been sent packing. It’s just Crystal, Siobhan, and Katie now … and I think one of them is close to being sent home soon. I still (at this point) believe a woman is going to win this thing, but honor is due: several of the guys have stepped up. (Of course, this might also be proof that the wrong women were put into the Finals, but I’m tired of beating that dead horse.)
With Didi out, where does that leave our Top 9 ranking? A few shifts in popularity, but nothing too major:
1. Crystal Bowersox – Proved she’s capable of diversifying her sound—another big artistic step.
2. Lee DeWyze – Delivered his strongest, most contemporary, and most confident performance.
3. Michael Lynche – Big Mike displayed a more artistic, relevant side to his R&B/pop act.
4. Siobhan Magnus – Took a big step back with pitch problems and predictable vocal techniques.
5. Casey James – Hanging in there with a better blues-rock cover this week.
6. Andrew Garcia – Finally bounced back after months of stagnancy with an inspired performance.
7. Aaron Kelly – Seems to have plateaued with his routine pop-country style—lacks soul.
8. Katie Stevens – Her pitch problems have improved, but still seems disconnected with audience.
9. Tim Urban – After weeks of hanging out in the Bottom Three, his days are (finally!) numbered.
Any reactions to last night’s Idol? What do you make of all the shameless self-promotion from the R&B guest performers? Did the right contestants make the Bottom Three last night? Will you miss Didi? What do you make of the fact that half the women are gone already? Share your thoughts below, and we’ll continue on to the next round on Tuesday night, which I understand will be Lennon-McCartney night! (Bonus topic: Which contestant will end up mangling “Imagine” or “Yesterday”?)
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A bunch of singers, and then Crystal
What do you make of all the shameless self-promotion from the R&B guest performers?
I have to agree that Usher's guidance to the Idols was good; certainly more useful than the "mentoring" they got from Miley Cyrus (btw...can she drive yet?)
Did the right contestants make the Bottom Three last night?
YES. It was a toss up between Didi and Tim. He's been consistently vanilla. She hasn't been too bad until this week; it was dreadful. She was the right call. And as you suggest, next week, he'll be the right call.
Will you miss Didi?
No. Wait let me think about that. Still no.
What do you make of the fact that half the women are gone already?
Pretty average crop overall. Although I would agree that some past girls should have lasted a bit longer than some that did. But man, and this gets at this post's subject heading, Crystal is just way out of all these performers' league. Her vocals are fantastic and she's given wonderfully consistent enjoyable performances. She is the one to beat. And when it comes to skill, with this group, I don't think she can be beat. But American Idol is part popularity contest, so she could lose it on that.
Which contestant will end up mangling “Imagine” or “Yesterday”?
Good question. It's not clear to me how the selection process works, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Andrew or Tim (I can feel the pain now) go for "Yesterday". Don't be surprised to see Aaron try to reproduce another David Archaletta "Imagine" rendition unless he's steered away or smart enough to avoid it, but Katie may attempt it as well. It would be nice to see Siobhan attempt something a bit more subtle and moving like "Eleanor Rigby" to show styling and control, but not likely. She'll probably deliver another screaming ending; and yes, she screams. To anyone who is confused about what powerfully hitting a note means, that's not it; she screams. As amazing as it is that she can do it, and don't get me wrong, she has a really great voice, I find the screams painful. I'd expect Lee to do something with some energy like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" or "Get Back". Look for Casey to do something equally safe like "Day Tripper" or "Ticket to Ride" with another stand there and sing (and play) yawner performance; they're great songs, just not great Idol makers. It will be interesting to see what Michael choses; his choice is a mystery to me. Any thoughts on that, Russ?
Re: bunch o' singers and Crystal
Though I agree Idol is part popularity contest, don't doubt that Crystal has a following--both for her following and her quiet personality--early on, she said this was all about changing the life of her young daughter. It's impossible to say with certainty whether she'll win, but at at this point, it's hers to lose. (That said, I was bold enough a few weeks back to say she's going to win it all.)
Not sure if the selection rules have changed this year, but in past years, contestants pretty much pick numbers out of a hit, and then pick from a select list of cleared songs, one at a time. I think Casey would actually be most likely to do "Get Back." Katie and Aaron will try the pop ballads like "Yesterday," "Imagine,": or "The Long and Winding Road" (with little to no imagination). I'm most curious to see what Crystal, Lee, and Siobhan tackle.
The trick to Beatles week: don't be too obscure or weird with the choice. Gotta find something that's popular, yet also creative.