Tuesday, April 7, 2009

American Idol Rocks the '80s (and a tiny bit of the '90s)

It was "Songs from the Year You Were Born" night on American Idol. What it ended up being was an '80s retrospective since only one contestant was born in a different year (Allison, in '92). Ah, the '80s... it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Which pretty much sums up tonight's show.

DANNY - Stand by Me - This is the first night I've been less than thrilled with Danny. I didn't like the beginning, the middle was okay, and the end was really good. But I still see Danny in the top two.

KRIS - All She Wants to Do is Dance - Yikes, Kris took a major step back tonight. Playing the guitar to this song was odd. The arrangement was weird, too. Kinda cheesy.

LIL - What's Love Got To Do With It? - I have to agree with the judges... where has Lil gone? The last great performance she gave was right before they narrowed it down to 13. Since then, she's kinda been all over the place. When she hits those power notes, she's amazing, but her lower range is weak and her phrasing is often choppy, like she can't keep up with the music. Come back, Lil, come back!

ANOOP - True Colors - This was the first great song of the night! He gave a heartfelt rendition of this song. I really like the softer side of Anoop.

SCOTT - The Search is Over - I blame Paula. There was no piano tonight. Instead, Scott played the electric guitar. Too bad it sounded like he was playing a different song than he was singing. I like Scott a lot, but tonight was not good.

ALLISON - I Can't Make You Love Me - Fabulous! By pulling back some of her angry-rock-chick persona, Allison nailed this song. We got to see a different side of her and experience more of her range.

MATT - Part-Time Lover - Another great performance. I was worried about Matt after last week, but tonight he was wonderful.

ADAM - Mad World - Adam was born in '82 (which is the same year I graduated high school, not that that makes me feel old or anything), so I was surprised that I've never heard the song he chose. But that really didn't matter. It was such a low-key, honest performance, it sucked me right in. Even Simon gave him a standing ovation. Last week, someone posed the question, "But would you really buy Adam's album?" My answer to that is, YES, absolutely. And when can I get it?

Okay, so who's in the bottom three tomorrow? Judged solely on tonight's performances, I say Kris, Lil, and Scott. And I think Scott's going to go home. What do you think?

No comments: