American Idol 2008 equals to the Beatles Feast
American Idol 2008 equals to the Beatles Feast
American Idol decided that what the public really needed was another week of the contestants singing Beatles’ songs. Honestly, was anyone demanding this? It seemed to put the vocalists at a disadvantage, since many of them didn’t excel with the Fab Four’s catalog during the first week. Even Simon Cowell pointed out that two weeks of Beatles’ tune was excessive. As usual, he was right. Now, on to the contestants:
Amanda Overmyer: On the plus side, she seemed genuinely happy to be on stage. The smile seemed finally seemed authentic. But then came the performance. Amanda sang “Back in the U.S.S.R.” and it sounded like every other song she sings. In other words, I could only make out half of what she was screaming about. Paula gushed: “You are quintessential, authentic who you are!” And that’s an exact quote – I even hit rewind on the DVR to make sure. C-.
Kristy Lee Cook: The girl deserves credit for fighting back from last week’s nightmarish take on “Eight Days a Week.” This time, she offered “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” and clearly wasn’t familiar with the song. On the other hand, she seemed more confident and poised, and the slightly bombastic arrangement was rather clever. Then again, maybe I was the only one who felt like that. Paula opened her comments with the dreaded: “This is the best you’ve ever looked.” You know you’re in trouble when Paula starts praising your makeup job. B-.
David Archuleta: After all the gossipy tales about little David having a domineering stage father hit the blogs last week, all I could think of was the kid standing there, quivering, saying, “Please don’t hate me, Daddy!” No reason for worry this week, because David was back on his game. He took “The Long and Winding Road” and delivered it simply and effectively, showcasing his mature delivery. Simon said it was “amazing.” It’s official: The kid is back in the picture. A.
Michael Johns: When the Aussie said he was going to sing “A Day In the Life,” I imagined he was on an uphill climb. That’s a complex song in the first place. Then, he’s trying to squeeze it down to under two minutes. The result was borderline disastrous, sounding more like a whacked-out medley than one cohesive song. He’s in trouble this week. C-.
Brooke White: The Valley native scored such a homerun last week that it was going to be difficult to top it. Smartly, she didn’t try to. “Here Comes the Sun” is a lightweight, breezy song, so comparisons to “Let It Be” were kind of meaningless. But Brooke took a feathery song and made it even lighter than it is. For instance, she wore a sun-colored dress, and danced around stage, like a slightly awkward fairy. Still, she’s awfully cute when she performs: At one, she spun around on stage and let out a “woo!” Simon attacked that move, and Brooke agreed. “The ‘woo’ totally slipped out!” she offered. How can you be hard on this girl? Although, after this performance, a gig as a host on Romper Room doesn’t seem out of the question. B-.
David Cook: David is getting into a one-trick pony rut. Unlike Amanda, his “trick” is a little easier to take, but it would be nice to see more variety from him. He chose “Day Tripper” and even used a voice box. My, how Peter Frampton of him. It wasn’t particularly engaging, and David looked a little smug, like he was still riding high after last week’s praise. Simon called him on it, too, saying that this week’s performance wasn’t as good as David thought. C+
Carly Smithson: Carly tackled “Blackbird,” which could possibly be my favorite Beatles’ song. I add the “possibly” because it was really a snoozer in her hands for some reason. Carly is an outstanding vocalist, but it just didn’t seem to click. To put it in old-guy lingo, it would have been a fine album track, but not a single. After getting knocked by Simon, her attempt at explaining the tune’s significance – something about the contestants all being wounded blackbirds – sounded silly. The tune should just “work;” you shouldn’t have to explain to us why we should like it. C+
Jason Castro: Jason is another one who seems to be in sort of a rut. He did “Michelle,” a sweet, cutesy song, and sheepishly grinned through it while staring out at the audience. It may have been more effective if it didn’t feel so much like his performances of “Daydream” or “I Just Want to Be Your Everything.” He needs to branch out a little bit more. Still, the little girls obviously like him. B-.
Syesha Mercado: I remember reading that “Yesterday” is the most recorded pop song of all time. That could be why I feel like I never need to hear another version of it ever again. It’s a great song, sure. But how many times can you hear it? Syesha’s perfectly acceptable rendition didn’t change my opinion. She sang it well and looked great, as always. Still, with middle-of-the-road performances like this, she’s terminally going to be running with the rear of the pack. B-.
Chikezie: Last week Chikezie earned raves by blending genres in his performance. He tried that again tonight, going from smooth R&B to bluegrass in a strangely reworked version of “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” Maybe if he hadn’t done the same thing just last week, it might have been more surprising. Instead, it just seemed calculated and awkward. Lightning did not strike twice. C.
Ramiele Malubay: Ramiele sported a cute hat and sang a cute song, “I Should Have Known Better.” But it was kind of like what happened with Brooke: It just seemed a little too lightweight for this stage of the competition. She wasn’t horrible, by any means, but there just wasn’t much there. Well, there was the cute hat. C.
David Archuleta: After all the gossipy tales about little David having a domineering stage father hit the blogs last week, all I could think of was the kid standing there, quivering, saying, “Please don’t hate me, Daddy!” No reason for worry this week, because David was back on his game. He took “The Long and Winding Road” and delivered it simply and effectively, showcasing his mature delivery. Simon said it was “amazing.” It’s official: The kid is back in the picture. A.
Related posts
Thank you for visting iflove.com, the fairy legend of Edward Chen the Movie Star! You may want to Find Love or subscribe to RSS feed. Enjoy or do a search!
[...] WhiteEyebrows wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAmerican Idol 2008 equals to the Beatles Feast American Idol 2008 equals to the Beatles Feast American Idol decided that what the public really needed was another week of the contestants singing Beatles’ songs. Honestly, was anyone demanding this? It seemed to put the vocalists at a disadvantage, since many of them didn’t excel with the Fab Four’s catalog during the first week. Even […] [...]