American Idol -- Top 12 Guys
They've started themes in the early rounds now. So it's '60's Week.
I'M SO HAPPY THIS SHOW IS BACK.
01. David Hernandez sings "The Midnight Hour"
David looks really nervous. Like, about to vomit on the side of the stage nervous. He starts the song with a gospel-type flavour, then zips into a more standard arrangement of the song. I wasn't happy with the runs, but I liked his tone and thought he did a good job of holding it together right up until the end, when he fell apart and lost the final notes. I hope he gets the chance to make it through to the next round; I feel like he deserves the chance to best those nerves!
02. Chikezie sings "More Today Than Yesterday"
Chikezie, who has apparently dropped his last name a la Cher, chooses to dress as a cross between a pimp and a '70's era bridegroom. I'm blinded by the suit, but unfortunately can still hear the song. It's... horrible. I have no idea what he was going for. It just comes across as cheezy in the not-good way. Then he talks back to the judges and gets a little argumentative. Really annoying.
In the break they talk to Colton Berry, who jokes that from certain angles he looks like Ellen Degeneres. I feel a surge of love for him and his adorable sense of humour.
03. David Cook sings "Happy Together"
FUN. David puts together an updated, current arrangement of the song. I kept thinking that this would fit in perfectly on a movie soundtrack... I'm not entirely sure why. He sounded great and looked very confident on the stage.
04. Jason Yeager sings "Moon River"
Oh, niiiiice. Jason does a kind of Michael Buble-esque take on the song. He looked very comfortable on stage and he's also adorable. (Also, the stuff with him and his kid was too sweet.)
05. Robbie Carrico sings "One"
This is, of course, that "One is the loneliest number" song. I hate this song. I also hate Robbie Carrico's wallet chain, and I think he's about as authentic as costume jewellry. The song is boring, bland, and very very very poppy, which is funny from the guy who says he wants to 'do rock'. Inexplicably, Simon calls it "current". Ugh.
06. David Archuleta sings "You Better Shop Around"
Love this kid's voice! It's full and rich and everytime I see him I wonder where the heck it's coming from. Lovely tone. This truly sounds flawless to me. And he's freakin' adorable.
07. Danny Noriega sings "Jailhouse Rock"
Oh, I wanted to love Danny, because he is so fabulously gay and his voice during his auditions was aaaamazing. Alas, this is not really good. I mean, if you're gonna cover Elvis you've gotta have great vocals or great showmanship, and Danny looks super nervous to me. I did love his snap back to Simon though (and apparently Simon liked it too, coz he smiled.)
08. Luke Menard sings "Everybody's Talking At Me"
... I dunno. It might just be that I don't like this kind of voice. It was very light and wispy. Just... meh. Luke is HOT, though. [/shallow]
09. Colton Berry sings "Suspicious Minds"
As I said above, if you're gonna cover Elvis, have great vocals or great showmanship. I think Colton nailed the showmanship and his voice sounded good as well. The big problem I had with this (my favourite Elvis song) is that Colton kept wearing a big bright smile, so he seriously wasn't feeling the lyrics at all. But he looked confident and I hope he gets further along.
10. Garrett Haley sings "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"
Garrett does a slowed down lowkey version of the song, and I thought it was beautiful. It felt very heartfelt and bittersweet to me. He was soooo nervous and I thought he did a really good job with it. I realize that I'm totally going to be in the minority about this one.
11. Jason Castro sings "Daydream"
Oooh oooh oooh. This was SO good. His voice is really interesting, and what I love the most is that he doesn't fit into any preconceived box, like "rocker" or "boybander" or "crooner". Jason feels authentic (take that, Robbie Carrico.) Really really good. So good.
12. Michael Johns sings "Light My Fire"
I didn't like it. And I'm probably in the minority on THAT, too. But when the judges are harping on making an old song current, and then you come out and basically play a poor man's Jim Morrison and add NOTHING of flavour or originality, how is that a great performance? His voice is very good, and I liked him a LOT in the Hollywood round, but I wasn't feeling this at all.
My Prediction for Bottom 2:
Luke Menard and Chikezie.
I'M SO HAPPY THIS SHOW IS BACK.
01. David Hernandez sings "The Midnight Hour"
David looks really nervous. Like, about to vomit on the side of the stage nervous. He starts the song with a gospel-type flavour, then zips into a more standard arrangement of the song. I wasn't happy with the runs, but I liked his tone and thought he did a good job of holding it together right up until the end, when he fell apart and lost the final notes. I hope he gets the chance to make it through to the next round; I feel like he deserves the chance to best those nerves!
02. Chikezie sings "More Today Than Yesterday"
Chikezie, who has apparently dropped his last name a la Cher, chooses to dress as a cross between a pimp and a '70's era bridegroom. I'm blinded by the suit, but unfortunately can still hear the song. It's... horrible. I have no idea what he was going for. It just comes across as cheezy in the not-good way. Then he talks back to the judges and gets a little argumentative. Really annoying.
In the break they talk to Colton Berry, who jokes that from certain angles he looks like Ellen Degeneres. I feel a surge of love for him and his adorable sense of humour.
03. David Cook sings "Happy Together"
FUN. David puts together an updated, current arrangement of the song. I kept thinking that this would fit in perfectly on a movie soundtrack... I'm not entirely sure why. He sounded great and looked very confident on the stage.
04. Jason Yeager sings "Moon River"
Oh, niiiiice. Jason does a kind of Michael Buble-esque take on the song. He looked very comfortable on stage and he's also adorable. (Also, the stuff with him and his kid was too sweet.)
05. Robbie Carrico sings "One"
This is, of course, that "One is the loneliest number" song. I hate this song. I also hate Robbie Carrico's wallet chain, and I think he's about as authentic as costume jewellry. The song is boring, bland, and very very very poppy, which is funny from the guy who says he wants to 'do rock'. Inexplicably, Simon calls it "current". Ugh.
06. David Archuleta sings "You Better Shop Around"
Love this kid's voice! It's full and rich and everytime I see him I wonder where the heck it's coming from. Lovely tone. This truly sounds flawless to me. And he's freakin' adorable.
07. Danny Noriega sings "Jailhouse Rock"
Oh, I wanted to love Danny, because he is so fabulously gay and his voice during his auditions was aaaamazing. Alas, this is not really good. I mean, if you're gonna cover Elvis you've gotta have great vocals or great showmanship, and Danny looks super nervous to me. I did love his snap back to Simon though (and apparently Simon liked it too, coz he smiled.)
08. Luke Menard sings "Everybody's Talking At Me"
... I dunno. It might just be that I don't like this kind of voice. It was very light and wispy. Just... meh. Luke is HOT, though. [/shallow]
09. Colton Berry sings "Suspicious Minds"
As I said above, if you're gonna cover Elvis, have great vocals or great showmanship. I think Colton nailed the showmanship and his voice sounded good as well. The big problem I had with this (my favourite Elvis song) is that Colton kept wearing a big bright smile, so he seriously wasn't feeling the lyrics at all. But he looked confident and I hope he gets further along.
10. Garrett Haley sings "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"
Garrett does a slowed down lowkey version of the song, and I thought it was beautiful. It felt very heartfelt and bittersweet to me. He was soooo nervous and I thought he did a really good job with it. I realize that I'm totally going to be in the minority about this one.
11. Jason Castro sings "Daydream"
Oooh oooh oooh. This was SO good. His voice is really interesting, and what I love the most is that he doesn't fit into any preconceived box, like "rocker" or "boybander" or "crooner". Jason feels authentic (take that, Robbie Carrico.) Really really good. So good.
12. Michael Johns sings "Light My Fire"
I didn't like it. And I'm probably in the minority on THAT, too. But when the judges are harping on making an old song current, and then you come out and basically play a poor man's Jim Morrison and add NOTHING of flavour or originality, how is that a great performance? His voice is very good, and I liked him a LOT in the Hollywood round, but I wasn't feeling this at all.
My Prediction for Bottom 2:
Luke Menard and Chikezie.