AI:6 - Making Little Girls Cry
Finals week #2 — The British Invasion.
Good theme. Great coaches. Quality performances.
And one tremendous sign: Bringing Chubby Back 
It’s a joy to watch theme weeks, when the celeb coaches are so clearly involved, invested, and excited by working with the contestants. Both Peter Noone & Lulu were fabulous — especially Lulu! She ranks right up there with Barry Manilow & Rod Stewart as the top collaborative, constructive, and downright useful celeb coaches on AI.
There was a lot of crap to come out of the 1960s (musically and otherwise), but there was a lot of really great stuff to spring to life during that decade too (right big sis?). Most of the songs that were performed this week were proof of that. Even after 40+ years, these songs held up under the glare of a huge spotlight. Great music makes it easy for even middling singers to give good performances, and it allows the truly talented singers to stretch & unleash great performances. This week’s theme proved that in spades.
Let’s change things up a little bit this week. Here are the performances, ranked according to my preference:
Jordin - “I Who Have Nothing”: The performance of the night. By far. Powerful, controlled, moving. Jordin has something that neither Melinda nor LaKisha have — the “Y Factor”. Youth. That playfulness & relatability could easily translate into a monster fanbase, if she keeps up the strong performances. Oddly enough, Simon was a bit off in thinking that the performance was too dark. Listening to the words, it’s pretty obvious that “I Who Have Nothing” is not an upbeat ditty. No, it’s an expression of angst by someone who is desperate to try and get/keep the object of their affection. It’s all about unrequited “gloominess”, and Jordin nailed it. It had all the hallmarks of an “Idol Moment” classic performance. Yes, it did.
Blake - “Time Of The Season”: The male performance of the night. This guy is cool, although he needs to be careful that he doesn’t annoy some folks with his self-assuredness. This week, he did a great job of updating a classic song without overdoing it, and in the process he ended up with a 40+ year old song that really could be released today and not sound like a 40+ year old song. Very nicely done.
Melinda - “As Long As He Needs Me”: She’s polished. She’s professional. She’s good. I was a bit bored by the song, but Melinda did such a nice job of crafting & delivering it that I didn’t really mind all that much. It was not, however, a performance worthy of the anchor spot. But, I’m sure she’ll redeem herself in that slot sometime in the near future, ’cause she ain’t going nowhere.
Haley - “Tell Him”: Ok, let me preface this by stating this — I’m a guy. Now, with that out of the way, let’s get started. Haley looked good. GOOD. You know, REALLY REALLY GOOD. She might have even sang, but I don’t really remember. She looked so good that she put Kat McPhee & her yellow dress to shame. Seriously, though, I think Haley did a great job of rebounding from last week’s debacle. She picked a great song, and delivered a very strong performance. That she looked all nice & jiggly good while she did it was just a bonus. I think that ultimately she’ll be safe again this week, although I wouldn’t be shocked if she ends up in the bottom three.
Chris S. - “She’s Not There”: Another redemptive performance. And you’ve just got to love someone who is Bringing Chubby Back! Chris was quite engaging last night, and it was nice to see. I like him, both because he has a very nice voice, and because I like his backstory (anyone who get’s kicked out of Bob Jones U. can’t be all bad — see this great post at Katie’s Beer for more background). Chris is safe, and deservedly so.
Gina - “Painted Black”: Gina’s performance made me really wish that she had been on Rock Star instead of AI. This is a good thing. Because, while she can definitely sing, she’s also a credible “rocker chic”. Given the opportunity, I think Gina could’ve competed favorably with Jordis, Suzie, Storm, & Dilana. That said, I thought her rendition of “Painted Black” was good enough to merit making the tour, but I fear that she might well end up in the bottom three tonight.
LaKisha - “Diamonds Are Forever”: I think Lulu was right - LaKisha should’ve chosen the other song. This was a capable, but ultimately boring & forgettable performance. It really shouldn’t be much of a surprise, though, given that Bond theme songs aren’t the deepest or most challenging poetical works out there. I think that she chose it because she wanted to get to the money note at the end — and she did get it; however, it was a long boring trip to get there. She’ll be safe this week because she’s LaKisha, but she better hope that next week has a theme that’s more to her liking, ’cause two sub-par and/or forgettable weeks in a row ain’t a good thing for anyone…
Stephanie - “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”: She’s so good, so classy, and so pretty that I really wanted to like her performance this week. But I just couldn’t. It just wasn’t as good as she needs it to be in order to go deep into this competition — not when she’s up against Jordin, LaKisha, & Melinda. Stephanie could be a surprise entry into the bottom three. I don’t think it’ll happen, and if it does, she’ll be the one sent right back to safety. I hope she gets back in the game next week…
Chris R. - “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying”: He’s down this low primarily because I just don’t like his voice. I guess he’s technically good enough & all, but I just don’t “get” him. He’s too “boy band-y” for my taste, and I don’t like the register in which he most comfortably sings (it’s too high), and he always sounds like he’s whining to me. That said, I think he’ll be safe this week, because enough folks (girl & women-type folks) do like that style & range.
Phil - “Tobacco Road”: Oh, Phil. You’re lucky that Sanjaya tried to growl his way to “grit” this week, because that’s all that saved you from having the most faux performance of the week. You so very much tried to put as much grit & growl into “Tobacco Road” as David Lee Roth & Steve Vai did, but you just couldn’t pull it off. I’m glad you had fun, because I think it’s going to be your swan song in this competition. You don’t deserve to go home before Sanjaya, but I think you will…
Sanjaya - “You Really Got Me”: I know that I sure want to break down and cry whenever I hear him sing… Well, at least he tried to act like a male this week. (His wardrobe didn’t help the effort, but still…) It seemed a little forced, but at least he got as much growl & “grit” as possible out of his cracking-any-day-now voice. And it was nice to see his sister & her “Fanjayas” on display. Seriously, though, he needs to go home. But we know that it isn’t going to happen — he’s going to be on the AI Tour, come hell or high water. From an economic perspective, I can understand that, even as it appalls me from a musical perspective. Oh well, maybe next week…
Overall, the performances this week were much stronger than last week’s. It’s nice to see the singers settle down & get acclimated to the big stage. It bodes well for upcoming weeks.
The Predictions:
Safe: Chris S., Melinda, LaKisha, Blake, Chris R. Stephanie, Jordin, Sanjaya
The Bottom 3: Phil, Gina, Haley
The Voting @ Schloß TB:
Mel: Sanjaya
Deb: Blake
ghp: Jordin
Going Home: As always, it should be Sanjaya. Given the reality of my projected bottom three, however, it will probably be Phil.
We’ll see tonight…
-ghp
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