The Standards, like we have never heard some of them...

I told my Idol-viewing buddy, Chicagolady that this was going to be a good week. When she pointed out that it's entirely possible that it was going to be a terrible trainwreck, I said that either way it would be a good week. I'd either gleefully write about all the wonderful performances OR I'd gleefully pick the crap out of them. Promising her that, I must make this post as gleeful as humanly possible. Knowing what I do after my analyzing, though, I do reserve the right to use one "oh noes!" moment though.

When I found out Jamie Foxx was going to be the mentor, I very audibly gave off a WTF. My husband very gently pointed out that he'd played the part of Ray Charles in that one movie (Ray) AND he'd been in "some other movie of the same type" (Dreamgirls). My response? Yeah so what, just because he played the parts does NOT mean he can walk the walk. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mr Foxx was a very capable mentor this week (well at least until he got to Danny and Adam when he became a babbling idiot). When he suggested changes and the kids implemented said changes, their performances actually weren't that bad. I even ~liked~ (to an extent) Matt's performance. Yeah, I know. I'm shocked I had to type that one too.

The next WTF moment came when it was made known that there would only be one song each tonight. Hasn't it been SOP that the Top5 had to sing 2 songs a piece? Yeah, I thought so. However, since they added the 4th judge (who, personally, doesnt add much more than the OD'ed clapping seal does) AND since each judge is so egomaniacal in believing that their analysis is more important than anyone else's thereby blathering on and on about each contestant; plus the show would catch flak for eliminating the kids' packages... well I can see cutting a performance from each in an effort to come in on time. This meant we were stuck with LOADS of crap and commercials. Suffice to say, Idol was able to pay their bills (and then some) this week. Oh...and they STILL came in a good 2 minutes OVER SCHEDULE. Someone wanna explain HTF they managed that?? If they'd skipped the additional stool interview, they would have come in on time. Not many of us really wanted to hear from "Doug" anyhow.

Everyone lost states this week, some more than others. Everyone was also listed at 1-5 yellow B3 so I won't be adding that to the analysis (will this shorten the review... hell no). Again, I'll be relying on the Maps because the Chart just doesnt match up at all (a kid with the highest won states was listed as 3rd in Chart, you figure it out) and the Maps have been the most accurate of the two all season.

Kris (The Way You Look Tonight): Of the 5, Kris was the only one that J.F. expressed an interest (on air that is) in recording an album with. I'm not entirely certain how I feel about that because I'm really not so keen on the stuff he's put out to date, but we'll take the compliments where they come for now. At least it's good to know that there is definitely a future beyond Idol for Kris. Most especially since I'm not certain how big of a fan-base he has at this point. With him falling to the bottom of the Charts weekly yet doing well in the Maps, his fan base is kinda all over there; plus if MJ's any indication, he's splitting votes with Allison. How, I'll never know as they are like apples and oranges those two. I thought his song was nicely executed this week. I'm a bit worried about the singing position and the fact he chose one of the slowest flippin songs to do. With every chance that you're going to end up singing first (and you have to admit with each person that goes home those odds get higher) during a certain week, you need to pick something that's going to be a bit memorable. Something with a bit more something to it.... Fly Me to the Moon, I Won't Dance, Somewhere Beyond the Sea, Luck Be a Lady Tonight...there are plenty that were uptempo enough to cover some of the glitches he gets at times that would have grabbed everyone's attention. If he ends up in the B3 (and at this late stage of the game, it's very likely), it'll be because of singing position. He rated 4th in the Chart and scored a 2 on the Maps (7 wins and 5 losses). With a first singing position, Simon's lukewarm review AND those numbers working against him , it's highly possible he'll be in the B3. Although, now we're at the Top5 they may just make it a B2.

Allison (Someone to Watch Over Me): Way to go J.F. ! As if the judges weren't beating us over the head with how young she is (OMG...did y'all know she's ONLY 16..oops 17??? Damn!) YOU had to go and point out that she isn't old enough to have really experienced what this song talks about. Wait. Didn't I say that not too long ago ? I most certainly did. So what does J.F do? He suggests she think about the love from her parents to her flowing out to the audience... ok, yeah right. It was nice but I wasn't sold on it at all. I'm sure there were scores of other songs that would have been better choices for her voice. There was a bit of SUTA from Randy and the applauding seals but none from Simon. With singing in the second position of the night and Simon's panning, you'd think she's in danger right? I would suspect it too. However, she Charted at 3rd (which still puts her in the B3) and scored a 14 on the Maps (16 wins and only 2 losses) garnering the Lion's Share for the week. A surprise as it's been a position that Danny and Adam have been fighting over for weeks. I see a few (MJ) that are calling her as in danger this week. I'm going to go with my gut and call her safe this week. Do I think she deserved it? Nope, her performance wasn't all that.

Matt (Funny Valentine): J.F suggested a key change and for Matt to use his full voice. This was a wise choice as it could have been much much worse than it was. It wasn't nearly as good as this (even Randy liked this one and of the 3 Simon gave this one the highest praise) or even as good as this (he wasn't my fave, but he did perform this song well). Thank goodness he hid "Doug" tonight. That thing is distracting as all hell. Now that I'm listening to his song again, I don't even think it was as good as I thought it was last night. It started off really rough. That last glory note on the end was in tune though. Randy's 6 out of 10, was bloody well generous. If it was a freebee performance in a bar and I had a slight buzz going, I wouldn't walk out. I'd damn well want some of whatever Simon and Paula were noshin on last night though, for sure. Matt is listed as dead last on the Chart and scored a -8 on the Maps (5 wins and 13 losses). It's possible that for the first time in WEEKS the Chart may actually have it right. Matt's in highest danger of the B3 and I suspect he just may be going home this week.

Danny (Come Rain or Shine): Ok. I didnt get much out of the package with J.F. sorry. He babbled a bit and somehow managed to get Danny to do what he wanted. Whatev. It worked. I thought this was actually one of Danny's better performances. He didn't go full blast the whole time, kept it reined in until an appropriate point in the song and then ripped loose. Very nice but I think this one is actually a tad better (and I wasn't a fan of hers either so no hatin, 'k?). Randy's right about the fact Danny could do an album of standards and it'd sell big (hey, it's working for Barry Manilow and Rod Stewart). There was alot of SUTA for him this week. I hate to say it, it was pretty much deserved. I still don't like him much. The Chart has him in 1st place and on the Maps he scored a 9 (13 wins and 4 losses).I feel very certain he won't be in the B3 tonight.

Adam (Feeling Good): J.F. basically said if Adam sang this song the way he did during the mentoring session, he was going to knock everyone's head off. Is it me or does it look like Adam's put on a couple pounds? It's not really noticable in the full length shots because of the clothing, but when they tighten up for the close-ups, well he looks a tad puffier than I remember (by about 5-10 pounds). Ah well. Holy cow that glory note... he makes it look so effortless.... followed by a lower not so sustained note used as a punctuation mark, Im sure. I think Kara summed up best that he's shocking, in a good way.....confusing, shocking and sleazy. Yeah, that's Adam. I loved Simon's comment about how Randy complaining about Adam's theatrics was like complaining about a cow mooing. Better yet was him banning Ryan from the stairs because Adam had the best entrance all year. That strut...oooh. Ok, so this wasn't a throw the panties at the tv set while squealing like a fangirly performance for me, but I really enjoyed it. Actually even on a bad day, Adam out-performs most of the others on that stage. He's in a class all by himself. The Chart placed him in 2nd, HOWEVER the Maps tell another story. He scored a -2 (2 wins and 6 losses). Oh noes. Nope, Styxie's not a happy camper at all this week.


Ok so who truly belongs in the B3 based on performances?
Matt
Allison
Kris

Who will actually make the trip?
Matt
Adam
Kris

Home this week, if the Maps are right, Matt and his pet parasitic alien "Doug". If the show decides to go for a shocker (which we've yet to have)? Adam.