WWTBAM Bored

Wow. This night saw some contestants COMPLETELY out of their element, probably more so than any other night this season. The only theme more challenging would've been "Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Lithuanian Folk Songs" night. This theme destroyed two Idols in particular. Read on if you dare.

1-David C. "Music of the Night" from "Phantom of the Opera". The two below here may have performed more purely vocally, but this gets top rating because of the difficulty level involved, and especially because he was the only "fish out of water" who rose to the challenge. Mr. Cook is no Michael Crawford, but he resisted the impulse to "emo" or "alt-rock" the arrangement, and sang it straight and true, showing a pretty decent stage voice. Not perfect, but "just right". My son, who is a big "Phantom" fan, thought it, and I quote, "sucked", as he heard a bit of it on his way to the bathroom, but I quite enjoyed it. A

2-Syesha "One Rock & Roll Too Many" from "Starlight Express". Came in too early at the beginning, otherwise she showed some much needed pizzazz and sang it quite well. A-

3-David A "Think of Me" from "Phantom of the Opera". Interesting. He turned this diva-centric semi-operatic piece into a male pop ballad. I won't say it worked completely, but it was original and performed well. A-

4-Carly "Superstar" from "Jesus Christ Superstar". Started a bit Vegas-y, then she hit her stride and powered up. problem is, she was screwing up the lyrics left and right (although I doubt many viewers knew it unless they really knew the song). It will be interesting to see if the conservative religious section of America holds the song choice against her. If so, Andrew Lloyd really screwed her over by talking her into doing this one instead of "All I Ask of You" (which she probably originally selected because she was nervous about "Superstar"'s lyrical content). B-

5-Jason "Memory" from "Cats". Oh dear. Not Jason's shining moment. He looked like I did at the age of 6 when I was told "no ice cream until you finish your creamed corn". If he had a "get out of jail free" card he woulda played it tonight and skipped ahead to next week. Way out of his element. It was as painful to him to sing it as it was for us to listen to it. And was it just me, or did he sound like Vinny Barbarino in his interview?
D

6-Brooke "You Must Love Me" from "Evita" (the movie). Oh dear part 2. Back to back with Jason, this was the worst double play combination since Second Baseman Larry Leadglove and Shortstop Billy Bootumall played for the Hoboken Nosox. Second time this season she's had a false start, and this one was a doozy. I couldn't tell if she was giving it the proper emotional read that Webber advised her to do, or if she was just on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I spent the whole song holding my breath, wondering if she was going to collapse completely. Methinks the pressure is getting to her. Unless she gets a LOT of sympathy votes, this is as far as she goes. I should give her a F but I just don't have the heart to do it, and she DID have a couple of nice, if very brief, moments D-

Standings

David A 91 pts
Carly 84 pts
David C 82 pts
Jason 81 pts
Syesha 80 pts
Brooke 63 pts

Of the 6 that are left, David C and Jason are my favorites personally, but I don't think they've been as consistent as David A, even though I find young David nowhere near as interesting as DC and JC. Carly's performances have earned her a couple more points, but I wouldn't buy a cd by her if it was the last one on the market. It's been a strange season.

I was gonna start the thread and just hand off to KT who I know enjoys ALW. I am, by no stretch, a fan of musicals or "show music" although I have a little more appreciation of it listening to ALW explain where the songs should be coming from. I am sad to say that I did not know any of the songs save for Superstar so I was briefly exiting my cave and hearing (or remembering) them all for the first time. I have seen the Phantom movie but did not remember the song as the movie bored me (sorry, it's just not my kind of flick). And, from what I heard, I will go out on a limb and say goodbye to either Brooke or Jason tomorrow. Syesha actually showed some life tonight and I think that saved her for another week. IMO, it's going to be a David vs David finale and the rest is just pretense.

One other thing I neglected to mention. A few weeks agho Brooke started and stopped a song. The judges INCLUDING Paula praised her bravery ("if it doesn't feel right, you owe it to yourself to start it from a better place"). Yet tonight, Paula says "NEVER EVER stop and start over".

What a friggin' idiot. Have another drink.

T_Bone0806 wrote:One other thing I neglected to mention. A few weeks agho Brooke started and stopped a song. The judges INCLUDING Paula praised her bravery ("if it doesn't feel right, you owe it to yourself to start it from a better place"). Yet tonight, Paula says "NEVER EVER stop and start over".

What a friggin' idiot. Have another drink.

I can't understand half the crap she spews. Most of the time we fast forward through her comments.

I have to say though, that I have co-opted some of her phrases for my own personal life. Usually when Maddie exits my car at 6:50 in the morning for her math class, I will say something like, "make sure you shine today and show the world the real you."

She says things to me like, "what does that mean Mother?" and then we laugh.

I pretty much agree with t-bone - Brooke and Jason were hideous. I'm an ALW fan - I winced when Jason said he was doing Memories.

I wonder if Brooke could have done better with Everything's Alright from JCS. The Evita was a stretch.

I liked David C. - although the last note was a triffle much for me. But he showed versatility - a plus.

Syesha was in her element - I actually saw Starlight in London - before it became a Vegas "Spectacular".

David A. surprised me - he pulle dit off better than I thought he would.

Carly was OK - why not change the lyrics while your adding some personality.

Brooke and JAson are the bottom two - does Carly or Syesha join them.

We are watching the show right now and Maddie is disappointed that Syesha is not singing her song while wearing roller skates.

Syesha did well on a song from a show I haven't seen (Starlight Express). She may indeed have a future in that genre - Diana DeGarmo got decent reviews in Hairspray as Penny, and Fantasia was very well-received as the lead in The Color Purple.

UPDATE: also doing stints were Frenchie Davis and Tamyra Gray in Rent, Constantine in The Wedding Singer, Anthony Federov in The Fantasticks, and Amy Adams toured with Joseph. I would loved to have seen her, as the Narrator is more important than Joseph to make that show work. /UPDATE

I adore Jason but he did totally the wrong song for him. He should have done "No Matter What" from Whistle Down the Wind. If that wasn't on the list, then "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph. It is more an Archuleta song, but his choice went fine, so there should not have been a knock-down, drag-out fight over it.

Brooke was adequate but she has been needing to leave for a few weeks. This shit matters too much to her. Sort-of like Amanda was kind of glad to leave, though I think she would liked to have made the tour and then exited. I have always said, if you're not going to win, you may as well get a few weeks of your life back. One of the Davids is winning this, so everyone else should chill.

I also spent her entire song waiting for another train wreck.

Webber saved Carly. She would have killed us with another dramatic diva song. This was totally the right move for her, and if somehow she leaves, it's a fun song to go out on.

But she won't leave.

Bottom 3:
Syesha (dreaded #1 spot plus she's been bottom 3 a lot)
Brooke (I don't know where Kristy Lee's votes went but it's not here)
Jason (yikes)

Jason will be safe one more week because he has prettier eyes than anyone, and young girls vote. Syesha has a voting bloc but I don't know if it will get her through. Brooke lost some voters tonight, with her restart, though she has finally stopped talking back while the judges are reviewing her. Paula as much told her in her critique that she is history.

We are down to three tiers:

David and David
Jason and Carly
Brooke and Syesha

It is remotely possible David Cook will go a little early (good for his career a la Daughtry), and Carly or Jason could reach the final. But everyone knows about Cook's brother's brain tumor now, and he is getting sympathy votes he does not want.

I thought his performance tonight merited votes. It is an incredibly hard song to sing, and he did very well. He does not have the polished pretty stage voice, but that is almost a plus. After you hear Crawford and them do this song so often, it's neat to hear it with a little more character and a little less perfection.

T_Bone0806 wrote:One other thing I neglected to mention. A few weeks agho Brooke started and stopped a song. The judges INCLUDING Paula praised her bravery ("if it doesn't feel right, you owe it to yourself to start it from a better place"). Yet tonight, Paula says "NEVER EVER stop and start over".

What a friggin' idiot. Have another drink.

Not that I am defending Paula.

The distinction was on the previous song, it was Brooke and the piano, so she wasn't making 40 people start over. That did show vulnerability. Tonight she dragged other people down with her, and I am not anywhere near so willing to overlook it.

well, looks like I may have missed the two most interesting performances.

There was something called a hockey game going on. In fact, there is another one going on now, and I should depart, thusly.

I did not think anyone would dare "Superstar" for fear of alienating just enough votes to be shmucked.

And I did like David A's switch of a diva song to a philosophic ballad which might have come from a seventies singer-songwriter.

I pressed "mute" twice, elsewhence, and exactly where one might have expected.

David Cook "Music of the Night" on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOlwi8YbB88

Carly Smithson "Superstar":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HXnxJLFKdY

I agree with most of this thread. I'm convinced Brooke is on her way out. Bad sign #1 for her was long before she took the stage; Syesha did well pretty much saving herself. Then came Brooke's own struggles up there. That face frowning back at the judges doesn't help either and it may finally catch up to her. She has VFTW but VFTW is either cursed or not that influential this year. Get the kleenex out for her.

I think Jason will continue to escape the bottom two thanks to those dreds and the young ladies voting for him, perhaps more fervently sensing him in a little danger. I don't sense a lot of support for Syesha so I think she may still be 2nd from bottom though a good margin above Brooke.








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I had a really long message with lots of insightful commentary in it...and then IE crashed on me. Damn. So here's a synopsis:

It wasn't a complete train wreck.

Brooke didn't completely recover from her mis-start, but I think everyone who ignored Archuleta's blowing the lyric THREE TIMES IN ONE SONG a few weeks ago should give her a break. It's an emotional song to begin with, and I thought that while you have to take the blown lyric into consideration, she still wasn't the worst of the night (that would be Jason).

Here's what everyone should have sung:

Syesha: "One Rock and Roll Too Many" wasn't a bad choice, and better than most, but I'd have liked to hear her sing "With One Look" from "Sunset Blvd."

Brooke: "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from "Jesus Christ Superstar" would have been better for her. Or "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from "Evita".

Jason: "Memory"? Seriously, dude? No, no, and no again. But frankly, I'm not sure ANY of Lloyd Webber's songs would be good for him. Maybe "Pilate's Dream" (also from "Superstar"), but it's too short. Oh, wait..."Herod's Song"!

Archuleta: The best thing about it was the arrangement, but "Think of Me" was not a good choice. I'd give him "Any Dream Will Do" (from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat") or "On This Night of a Thousand Stars" (from "Evita").

Carly: Second best song choice of the night, I've got nothing better for her.

Cook: His "Music of the Night" showed how stiff and lifeless he is when not doing the emo-grunge thing. It was as if he spent the whole song waiting for that one note. ("Let your soul take you where you want to BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....."), and while he hit it, there's more to the song than just that one note. He'd have been MUCH better off with "Heaven On Their Minds" (again, from "Superstar").

KillerTomato wrote:
Jason: "Memory"? Seriously, dude? No, no, and no again. But frankly, I'm not sure ANY of Lloyd Webber's songs would be good for him. Maybe "Pilate's Dream" (also from "Superstar"), but it's too short. Oh, wait..."Herod's Song"!

How about "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph? i think that it woudl have been a perfect song for him. He sort of has that Donny Osmond earnestness.

I haven't liked David A all season. I think that he is technically very good, but lacks emotion and soul. He needs to grow up a bit and experience life.

Has anybody ever made a more unsuitable song choice than Jason's choice of Memory?

In Cats, it was sung by Grizabella, an ancient, lonely feline who knew she was near death. The memories of her youth comprised the only thing of value she had left. She sang:

Memory, all alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again.

That song has made me cry every time I've seen Cats and, by association, brought me close to tears every time I've heard it since. . . until tonight.

So, what was Jason remembering? The day in kindergarten when he got an extra cookie by mistake? The time in junior high when he won a game of Red Rover? Yeah, those days are long gone. Bittersweet, it is not.

silvercamaro wrote:Has anybody ever made a more unsuitable song choice than Jason's choice of Memory?

In Cats, it was sung by Grizabella, an ancient, lonely feline who knew she was near death. The memories of her youth comprised the only thing of value she had left. She sang:

Memory, all alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again.

That song has made me cry every time I've seen Cats and, by association, brought me close to tears every time I've heard it since. . . until tonight.

So, what was Jason remembering? The day in kindergarten when he got an extra cookie by mistake? The time in junior high when he won a game of Red Rover? Yeah, those days are long gone. Bittersweet, it is not.

I've always been a fan of Jason, but he choked big-time in his song choice tonight.

Ritterskoop wrote:David Cook "Music of the Night" on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOlwi8YbB88

Carly Smithson "Superstar":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HXnxJLFKdY

Thanks, I kner that YouTube would still be around after the hockey games were over....

Ms. Smithson's performance is interesting and brave.
Mr. Cook's performance is very good. Except for the last "of the night".

I expect Jason will get to explore his feline side somewhere else after tomorrow, until the Gang of Ten get together again.

silvercamaro wrote:Has anybody ever made a more unsuitable song choice than Jason's choice of Memory?

In Cats, it was sung by Grizabella, an ancient, lonely feline who knew she was near death. The memories of her youth comprised the only thing of value she had left. She sang:

Memory, all alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again.

That song has made me cry every time I've seen Cats and, by association, brought me close to tears every time I've heard it since. . . until tonight.

So, what was Jason remembering? The day in kindergarten when he got an extra cookie by mistake? The time in junior high when he won a game of Red Rover? Yeah, those days are long gone. Bittersweet, it is not.

No one in that show is old enough to sing this song. Roomie gets pissed when anyone under 75 does "September Song".

Jason picked the one song he had heard, which is too bad for us. Coach Byrd and the staff are not supposed to recommend songs for them, but just this once I wish she'd steered him toward anything else.

etaoin22 wrote:
I expect Jason will get to explore his feline side somewhere else after tomorrow, until the Gang of Ten get together again.

A blogger I read said he should have at least worn whiskers and tights.

That would have kept some of us interested longer, anyway.

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:I haven't liked David A all season. I think that he is technically very good, but lacks emotion and soul. He needs to grow up a bit and experience life.

I keep telling my kids he belongs in those Disney channel musicals that make me ill.

T_Bone0806 wrote:The only theme more challenging would've been "Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Lithuanian Folk Songs" night.

Ooooh! Someone please give me a "Heads Up!" if they do that one!

gotribego26 wrote:

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:I haven't liked David A all season. I think that he is technically very good, but lacks emotion and soul. He needs to grow up a bit and experience life.

I keep telling my kids he belongs in those Disney channel musicals that make me ill.

EXACTLY! I can see him in High School Musical V.

And I again think it's interesting that nobody has mentioned that he flubbed his lyrics last night too. Not as dramatically as Brooke, but I watched it again, and he went up in the second verse pretty badly. Lucky for him they cut to an overhead shot when he did it, so you couldn't read his pouty, well-moistened lips.

And Carly needs a rhyming dictionary.

If anybody still has the show TiVO'd, you have to go back to Syeesha's performance. About halfway through, she goes over to the guitar player and starts singing to him. He does what many red-blooded males do, except he does it on National TV. He looks down her shirt! And he didn't do it in a way in which he was trying to hide it. Tracey caught it right away and said we had to rewind. Which we did, again and again and again. Absolutely hilarious!

As for my rankings:

1. Carly - OK, maybe she missed some notes and maybe she forgot some words, but she had fun and it was memorable. I absolutely loved it.

2. David C. - As Randy said, if you can sing, you can sing anything, and David C. proved it tonight. I'm glad he did a straightforward version rather than a grunged out take on this. He still needs to get rid of that self-satisfied, faux humility that he exhibits whenever he is praised, though. At least he didn't do the pray and bow move this week, though.

3. Syeesha - I had never heard this song before but loved it. She was in her element and didn't seem to mind Mr. Guitar Man undressing her with his eyes. Too strikes against her, though, is that she went first and that she is a regular visitor to the bottom three.

4. David A. - Yeah, he sung it well and yeah, he's a lock to make at least the top 3 and probably the top 2, but there is nothing unique about any of this performances. The Under 11 female demographic, though, will continue to vote for him in droves.

5. Brooke - My cynical side says that she figured that starting and stopping worked for her once, why not try it again. She will get some sympathy votes, but not enough to keep her out of the bottom three.

6. Jason- Yuk. I've never gotten this guy and hopefully not many people got him last night. I've complained in the past about his devil-may-care, isn't it cool I'm here, Jon Peter Lewis on pot persona, but after this week, I kind of miss this.

Bottom 3: If it's not Syeesha, Brooke, and Jason, I'll be shocked. My guess is Syeesha goes.

Anyone still think this was a good idea? No one? Just as I thought. They're losing younger viewers, and show tunes ain't gonna bring 'em back...

Syesha was good, missed a note there at the end, and was totally cabaret. They didn't call her on it since this was the most animated she's been all season, and we were spared yet another ballad out of her. But this isn't America's Next Broadway Star. She's out of place.

I missed hearing most of Jason since Erin chose that moment to go into meltdown, but I didn't expect him to be good since he's sick as a dog but didn't want them to mention it. Evidently at rehearsals he was very obviously sick and a bit cranky, but he sucked it up and slapped that grin on his face for the show. But, hey--it's Jason, so he could perform his song with armpit farts and I'd still love his goofy ass.

Wow. Brooke. She's gone from Idol: Unplugged to Idol: Unhinged before our eyes, hasn't she? Major high expectations from her after ALW's comments and....phhhht. You get one restart, girl. No one else has EVER had one in the time I've watched. And I've watched all but the first season.

I can't believe that David A was one of my favorites for the night. I didn't feel like I had to brush my teeth after all that sugar for a change.

Thanks to ALW for making Carly change songs. She really did get shouty for a while, but she was lively and entertaining and the song suited her voice.

Usually David C is weak at the beginning and pulls it together at the end. This time he started well and ended crappy. I didn't like the song one bit and he was boring, but that's just the best he could do with that piece of junk.

Carly or Brooke will go home, with Jason rounding out the bottom 3.

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:I haven't liked David A all season. I think that he is technically very good, but lacks emotion and soul. He needs to grow up a bit and experience life.

Wow, I have got to give PSM props! She nailed it right on the head.

Like many of hte singers that appear on Idol, David A and Syesha just don't seem to get that songs are more than notes and just words. They both sing with vacant eyes and soul-less voices.

Except for a few times, Brooke gets the emotion of a song right, even if the notes/words are not techncially right. To me, it is much more important to get the feeling of a song, especially if it is a Broadway song. To me, Carly was by far the best performance.

Also, I am surprised that so many think that Christians would be offended by anyone singing a song from Jesus Christ Superstar and not vote for them just based on that one reason. In reality, especially with Idol, it is much more likely that non-Christians will punsih someone for singing a religious song or voicing a religious belief. (Remember Mandisa?)

All I can say is that my wife seems to really like JCS (although much of Webber's stuff is dreck, with Phantom being the biggest offender), and she is as much of an example of a devout Christian as you will find. In fact, she has performed JCS.