With the Judges Save being used on Casey last week, two people go home tonight. It’s definitely not a good week to have a bad performance.
The theme of the week is Elton John songs, so we’re clearly using the highly constrained themes this season. Too bad, I liked the looser approach of the first couple of weeks.
And, I like Elton John, but how can the producers expect the performers to develop their own style if they’re forced into …
While working on the write-up of last night’s American Idol performances, something occurred to me…
The Top Eleven competed last night using hits from Motown. I’m not a fan of the “weekly themes” approach, but at least this is a theme with a wide range of songs. The ones I really hate are the single artist themes.
In any case, on to the recaps…
Casey Abrams
I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye
It was ok, but I didn’t love it. It never felt like it was going anywhere.
The Wife: Solid performance, …
I haven’t blogged on the new season of American Idol, as I’ve been on the road a lot, and haven’t been able to watch most episodes until several days after their showing. By the point I had seen the show, it was old news.
In any case, The Wife and I finally caught up over the weekend, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the season so far.
I didn’t expect much from the new judges, but I’ve been …
One of the many interesting tools offered by the search giant is Google Trends. It allows one to compare the number of searches on various queries. I thought it might be a useful tool for predicting the winner of American Idol tonight. The theory is that web searches reflect interest, which should translate into votes.
Unfortunately, it only has data through May 24th (Monday) at this point, so it doesn’t tell us what the interest was last night, when …
Last night was the finals of American Idol 9, with Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze each performing three songs. The first was the contestant’s choice of a song of theirs from earlier in the season. The second was chosen by American Idol producer Simon Fuller. The third was the song the winner would release.
As a welcome change, the song to be released was not some schmatzy crap written just for the show, as it has been in years past, …
For the Top Three, each contestant performed two songs: one they chose themselves (performed first by each contestant) and one chosen by the judges.
Casey James
Ok, It’s Alright With Me by Eric Hurchinson
Not Casey’s best vocal. He lost the melody briefly several times, and it just never went anywhere. The Wife said it was boring.
I agree.
Crystal Bowersox
Come to My Window by Melissa Etheridge
It almost sounded like Crystal was out of breath all the way …
This week’s theme was Songs from the Movies, with Jamie Foxx mentoring. In addition to their solo performances, each contestant performed a duet with another contestant.
Lee Dewyze
Kiss From A Rose by Seal (from Batman Forever)
Rough night for Lee. Pitchy notes all over, and a big step backwards. The Wife agreed that it wasn’t his week, but at least he hasn’t had a bad week in a while.
Michael Lynche
Will You Be There by Michael Jackson …
The theme for the Top Five was songs of Frank Sinatra. Harry Connick Jr. provided mentoring as well as arranged the songs for the performances.
Aaron Kelly
Fly Me to the Moon
This is a good theme for Aaron, as Frank didn’t really have all that big a voice either. But Blue Eyes could do things with his voice that no one else could.
Unfortunately, there’s no swing in Aaron’s performance. “I don’t think he could swing it if he …
I wasn’t able to watch television Tuesday evening, so the Wife and I watched both the performances and the results show Wednesday evening. One can certainly get through the shows quickly when you skip the commercials, fluff and repetiion.
The theme for the week was songs of Shania Twain.
Lee Dewyze
You’re Still The One
Loved the opening. It was really in a sweet spot of his voice. But why is he doing that John Mayer thing with his mouth, …
