Idol Worship: Top 10 Men
My take on this weeks Top 10 guys performance on American Idol:
Michael Lynche - “This is a Man’s World” by James Brown - Michael kicks it old school with some James Brown! Michael kind of sleepwalked through his performance last week...this week, his vocals and performance were on point. No bum notes, and he prowled the stage like he owned it. This was probably the best performance of the guys so far this young season.
John Park - "Gravity" by John Mayer - This week, John improved his vocal performance over last week, staying away from the dirge-like bass he was throwing last week. The only problem I have, is this is not the most popular John Mayer song to do, and there is a lack of energy in his on-stage performance. It was okay, but not great.
Casey James - “I Don’t Want to Be” by Gavin Degraw - This song has been done by at least 3 guys in prior seasons of American Idol, one of which was Bo Bice, so this is a tall order to fill for Casey. He starts out with a decent guitar solo...then it goes flat. The vocals were bland and underwhelming for this song. I think Casey put more effort into his guitar solo than this vocals this week. He'll still get enough votes to last another week, though.
Alex Lambert - “Everybody Knows” by John Legend - Last week Alex had a decent vocal performance, but looked like a deer caught in the headlights. This week he gets to perform with his guitar, and he's a lot more comfortable on stage. Vocally, everything sounded good and commerical, with no major missteps. He had a very solid performance.
Todrick Hall - “What’s Love Got to do with It” by Tina Turner - Last week, Toddrick took a song by Kelly Clarkson, and completely rearranged it so it wasn't recognizable. So what does he do this week? Take a song by Tina Turner, and rearrange it so it wasn't recognizable...again. I have no doubt that Toddrick has a great voice, but he needs to quit rearranging the songs, and just sing the hell out of them, instead. Not a fan of this performance.
Jermaine Sellers - "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye - Jermaine takes a simple Marvin Gaye and tries to make it more current...by oversinging it with needless vocal runs. A little goes a long way, sometimes, Jermaine. He sounded like a singer on a cruise ship. Cheesy performance. His arguing with the judges doens't help his situation, either.
Andrew Garcia - "You Give Me Something" by James Morrison - I was initially excited to hear he was going to sing this song, and I must say, it was a great letdown. This was not a great song for his voice, strangely enough. Blue-eyed soul is definiely not his genre. He was pitchy all over the place. Not an enjoyable performance this week.
Aaron Kelley - "My Girl" by The Temptations - I don't understand why Aaron picked such and old song. It was such a theme park type of performance. Aaron was on key for most of the song, but the vibrato in some spots were a bit much. It was a middling performance to me. I think he needs to find more contemporary songs to work with, and he's a lock for the Top 12.
Tim Urban - "Come On Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson - Last week, Tim was really horrible. He can't do falsettos and he chose a song where there was a falsetto in it! Smartly, he didn't sing it, That being said, it was a so-so performance, which was an improvement over last week. I still think he has no shot to make the Top 12, though.
Lee DeWyze - "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder - I will say this....this was the right song for his voice. The vocals has a couple of pitch issues, but it kind of fit in with the scruffy frat-rock vibe that he's giving. It was an adequate performance for sure. Not phenomenal, but okay.
Michael Lynche - “This is a Man’s World” by James Brown - Michael kicks it old school with some James Brown! Michael kind of sleepwalked through his performance last week...this week, his vocals and performance were on point. No bum notes, and he prowled the stage like he owned it. This was probably the best performance of the guys so far this young season.
John Park - "Gravity" by John Mayer - This week, John improved his vocal performance over last week, staying away from the dirge-like bass he was throwing last week. The only problem I have, is this is not the most popular John Mayer song to do, and there is a lack of energy in his on-stage performance. It was okay, but not great.
Casey James - “I Don’t Want to Be” by Gavin Degraw - This song has been done by at least 3 guys in prior seasons of American Idol, one of which was Bo Bice, so this is a tall order to fill for Casey. He starts out with a decent guitar solo...then it goes flat. The vocals were bland and underwhelming for this song. I think Casey put more effort into his guitar solo than this vocals this week. He'll still get enough votes to last another week, though.
Alex Lambert - “Everybody Knows” by John Legend - Last week Alex had a decent vocal performance, but looked like a deer caught in the headlights. This week he gets to perform with his guitar, and he's a lot more comfortable on stage. Vocally, everything sounded good and commerical, with no major missteps. He had a very solid performance.
Todrick Hall - “What’s Love Got to do with It” by Tina Turner - Last week, Toddrick took a song by Kelly Clarkson, and completely rearranged it so it wasn't recognizable. So what does he do this week? Take a song by Tina Turner, and rearrange it so it wasn't recognizable...again. I have no doubt that Toddrick has a great voice, but he needs to quit rearranging the songs, and just sing the hell out of them, instead. Not a fan of this performance.
Jermaine Sellers - "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye - Jermaine takes a simple Marvin Gaye and tries to make it more current...by oversinging it with needless vocal runs. A little goes a long way, sometimes, Jermaine. He sounded like a singer on a cruise ship. Cheesy performance. His arguing with the judges doens't help his situation, either.
Andrew Garcia - "You Give Me Something" by James Morrison - I was initially excited to hear he was going to sing this song, and I must say, it was a great letdown. This was not a great song for his voice, strangely enough. Blue-eyed soul is definiely not his genre. He was pitchy all over the place. Not an enjoyable performance this week.
Aaron Kelley - "My Girl" by The Temptations - I don't understand why Aaron picked such and old song. It was such a theme park type of performance. Aaron was on key for most of the song, but the vibrato in some spots were a bit much. It was a middling performance to me. I think he needs to find more contemporary songs to work with, and he's a lock for the Top 12.
Tim Urban - "Come On Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson - Last week, Tim was really horrible. He can't do falsettos and he chose a song where there was a falsetto in it! Smartly, he didn't sing it, That being said, it was a so-so performance, which was an improvement over last week. I still think he has no shot to make the Top 12, though.
Lee DeWyze - "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder - I will say this....this was the right song for his voice. The vocals has a couple of pitch issues, but it kind of fit in with the scruffy frat-rock vibe that he's giving. It was an adequate performance for sure. Not phenomenal, but okay.