Wednesday, March 01, 2006

American Idol Girls Night Top 10

Katharine McPhee - (All is Fair in Love)
Looks like they are going to go in reverse order from last week. Katharine comes out wearing something that can only be described as awful (is she pregnant suddenly) and delves into a really slow little Stevie song. When she does her runs she loses it a bit, not sure what goes on with her voice but she doesn't control it very well. She can sing, but its not nearly as good as the week before. It felt like something in a sub par nightclub. Also she didn't have the same sparkle in her eye as the first week. Given her strong performance last week and the intro video of her and Kellie rolling around in bed together, she ain't going home this week.

Kinnik Sky - (Here for the Party)
Kinnik is not a bad singer, and probably not a good singer, she is stuck somewhere in the middle, kinda like those dead people in the new CBS hit show Ghost Whisperer staring Jennifer Love Hewitt Friday 8 PM ET (hopefully someone from the eye will see this and send me some free stuff). Kinnik tried the belt it out method last week, so this week its country time! Fast paced good ol country music is fine when people are drunk in a bar and your friends are flying off the mechanical bull, but on American Idol...eh...just doesn't work for me. The song provides no chance for her to show her vocal range; the song has a range of about 3 notes. Not to mention you have Kellie on the show, the only girl in the world who has cleared more brush than George W. Bush and Kinnik can’t out country her, so don’t' try. When Simon mentioned Disney Land I bet the idol producers were freaking out 'they didn't pay for that plug they didn't pay' This might have been it for Kinnik. If she goes, really who cares other than the founders of http://www.savekinnick.com

Lisa Tucker - (Who's Lovin You )
Why do people feel the need to do Jackson 5 and Temptations songs?? They were groups...you are not a group, you are a single person, unless you have multiple personalities and will sing all the parts pick another song! I wonder how people choose Jackson 5 songs, there was one last week as well. Hey I need a song to showcase my abilities, oh hey, let me do something made famous by an 11 year old boy, yeah that's a great song! She sounded only ok on this song. There were no glaring errors pitch wise other than being a bit flat in the beginning of the song. This was the epitome of a 'so what' performance. She should be safe another week.

Melissa McGhee - (Why Haven’t I Heard from You)
Since she had no airtime before the show hit the top 24, she has to establish herself for the home audience. Speaking of 24, has anyone noticed how they use the number 24 all over the place! Its almost like Fox has a show called 24, whoah, brilliant marketing idea, next thing you now they'll put big red Coke cups in front of the judges! I have a great idea – what if the contestants made commercials for Ford cars during the season, I'm going to text Ryan the idea on my Sidekick. Anyway, back to Melissa, she sings another country song (uh oh). 4 people have sung so far, and we have two country selections, this feels like one of those nights where no one really steps up. She knows she could have been eliminated last week, so its time to unveil the midriff. She looks and sounds good tonight. She doesn’t have a “big” voice but it’s a good one when she stays in her range. So far this is the best performance of the night, maybe not the best vocals, but the best performance. She should be safe this week.

Heather Cox (Hero)
Song choice song choice song choice. Hey I didn’t do that well last week, in fact most people didn’t seem to like my choice of a really slow song, what song should I do? Hey I know, I’ll try and sing a Mariah ballad!!!!!! Idol Rule – certain singers have voices you can’t possibly match, young Elton, Mariah, crack free Whitney, Celine, Freddie Mercury - you can only sing their songs if a) you can actually hit all the notes about as well as they can, which is doubtful, or b) you alter the song enough that you aren’t sounding like a bad copy of the original. For instance, last week Taylor did Levon by Elton John. Taylor has nowhere near the range of Elton and can’t hit the high notes, but he didn’t try, he altered the song to make it work for him. Heather, who claims to be a stalker of the show, is unfortunately a stupid stalker. The ‘you’ll find the way’ part of the song, the big climax was just not good, she should have taken it up a bit at the end or at the very least held the right pitch. She did look good tonight, an elegant pants outfit all in black, however she should have copied Melissa and removed the mid part of her driff. Heather should be very worried this week - we learned last week that looks alone will not save you (just ask Bobby).

Brenna Gethers – (Last dance)
Hopefully her last performance. Another Idol Rule – don’t pick songs that are like 5 mins long and have a huge long build up to the chorus. When you only have 1 min 30 secs to sing it’s just awkward. She did not sound bad, nor did she sound good, it was very ok. Certainly it paled in comparison to the original, which is tough since everyone who has ever been to a prom, wedding, office holiday party, or Star Trek convention has heard this song. I think Brenna and her various poses will be gone on Thursday.


Paris Bennett – (Wind beneath my wings)
What is up with her necklaces, she is like a little Mr. T. Anyone who has seen the true tearjerker “Beaches” knows this song (I challenge any guy to watch that movie all the way through and not cry like a baby at the end). Paris just does not have the maturity to sing this song, its about a lifetime of respect and love for a person, she just doesn’t have that at 16 years old. The song is too low for her, she sounds much better when she sings in her higher voice. It was ok, but pretty boring; none of the spunk that made her so special up till this point. She is still safe this week.

Ayla - I Want You to Need Me
Couple of pitch problems during the first part of the song, but she settled down pretty quickly and found the right notes. This is a good song selection, it’s a Celine song, but its not one that everyone can sing along too, so we don’t have the constant comparison of ‘is she as good as Celine?” She does a pretty good job with it, just like last week she pulled it off. Did anyone notices the back-handed compliments the judges gave her: Translation – wow, we only put you through because you are good looking, tall, and play basketball, but we thought you were going to suck, but you don’t, you are…almost…good. Maybe next week if she does well they will not be so shocked that she is a pretty decent singer. She will be safe this week.


Kellie Pickler (Something to Talk About)
“Calamarrrrrrri – I can live without ever eating that again”, is the exact moment that Kellie ensured her spot in the top 12. Kellie should start recording books on tape, I’m certain of this. I’ve heard some people compare her to Carrie from last year. Not even close, their voices are totally different and Carrie looked like a little robot, but Kellie looks like she is on the stage for the first time just having fun. She reminds me of Reba a little. Of course I know about three country stars, so I don’t have much to compare her with. Her voice is not perfect but it has a very likable quality. Good song choice and good performance she is safer this week than a quail being hunted by Dick ‘the Vice” Cheney.


Mandisa – Cry
Odd choice of songs. For a change I think the idol person has a bigger voice than the person who sang the original. I wonder if Tim Mcgraw is rethinking his marriage now that he hears how Mandisa can sing that song, ok probably not unless he is like that character in Road Trip. Why did Mandisa pick a country song? Last week it was a Heart rock song. She sounded pretty good tonight, had some bad notes here and there, but when she finds the pitch she has a great voice. It feels like she is doing everything she can to sound different than the ‘large black woman stereotype’ they established for her in the opening rounds. She has done enough of that, we know she can sing other styles of music already, next week she needs to bring out the Aretha and show America her full potential.

Final Thoughts –
You gotta like how Ryan makes fun of all the other shows that idol crushed last Thursday night. I wonder if Brady does this to Peyton during Pro Bowl week. This Thuesday was not as good as last week for the women; I think maybe they are feeling the pressure. Kinnik, Brenna, and Heather should be in trouble, with Heather getting one more week and the other two heading home. Finally, Paula used the word ‘innate’ tonight. What the heck? When did she learn new words? I miss the old Paula, the one that looked like she belonged in the back of the van in a Cheech & Chong movie. Can someone please slip her some acid before the guys sing so we can get see her go insane again! I’m guessing the producers are keeping a super close eye on her this season because of Ace, who is just a bit more attractive than rodent boy Corey Clark.

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