With any luck, the videos won't need any code tweaking this week. I do apologize for the glitch but since I don't personally tape and upload it and get the videos from another source, I'm pretty much at their mercy.
This week, the DI Chart has no real clear leader (they're all in yellow and only one has any number values assigned to him). The Maps were just as bad with none on the "loser" map and all but one managing to get at least one state. Some showed improvement mapwise from last week, some slipped way down. You can definitely see who was helped by the pimp spot from one week to the next, that's for sure.
Big Mike Lynch (This Is a Man's World by James Brown): Randy, dawg, his performance wasn't worthy of the standing O...yet. Don't get me wrong, Mike's got a helluva lot of potential, but that wasn't all that. Yes, it's the right direction to go in. I'd like to hear what Mike can do with Luther Vandross because I think that would totally nail a spot in the Top 10 for him. As it stands right now, he's no more than the free entertainment that you can see at any resort. He's no headliner, yet. Looking at the Map, he showed a one state change dropping to a 1 this week. I suspect that it was simply due to the fact he sang first this time and that it was a two hour show. I'm kind of holding out hope that he's around one more week. However, considering how close most of them were performance-wise this week I'll have to consider anyone with 2 states or less in the danger zone.
John Park (Gravity by John Mayer): Umm. I'm no John Mayer fan. There are maybe a small handful of his songs I actually enjoy. The performance was better than last week's but still not all that. It was really too safe and rather forgettable. It's a shame because the guy's got chops. I mean you gotta have some decent chops if you're going to sing in an acapella group. Maybe that's what he needs to do this next week, assuming he makes it through this round, strip the song right down. Totally give the band the week off and pull a Bo Bice. Yeah, it's a bit early in the competition for a stunt like that and will be setting the bar a bit higher for himself going into the following week , but he's gonna need to do something to prove he can be memorable and deserves to be on that stage. The Map shows an increase of one state to a 1 this week (hey, it's an improvement) so evidentally the other fans of the show are seeing potential too. Unfortunately, with the early singing position in a 2 hour show, I won't be surprised if he's cannon fodder this week and Purple Haze will get their lead singer/musical director back.
Casey James (I Don't Wanna Be by Gavin DeGraw): How many times to we have to say this, do NOT attempt to do a song on this show when a previous contestant has DONE it and no one has DONE this one better than Bo Bice (Yay for being able to compare to him not once but twice this week!!). This song has been performed by no fewer than 3 past contestants so maybe it's time to retire it? Although this was one of the more memorable performances of the night, the guitar covered alot of the vocal flaws. This week he held steady with 4 wins on the Map. I'm pretty sure he's safe for one more week, but we saw what happened last week. I thought Tyler was in danger but didn't seriously think he was going to be in the bottom and what happened? He went home! *sobs*
Alex Lambert (Everybody Knows by John Legend): The one thing that can throw a decent singer off their game is nerves and when you drop a lyric (didn't happen this time) or hit a bum note (this happened a few times), it can put you into a tailspin. I am hoping that all he needs is a huge confidence boost to dispell the nerves because he's so flippin likeable. I'm still not sure I'm liking his choice in songs but experience will fix that. You know who I'd like to see him do? Some Jack Johnson... yeah, that'd be sweet. America, or at least those that use the DI program, seems to agree because he shot up from a 0 last week to a 5 state win. I don't think he's in any danger this week even though he sang mid-pack.
Todrick Hall (What's Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner): Again, I'm going to ask why Todrick is still on the show when this story is still floating around? The sad thing is, unless it hits the national news (or at least TMZ), nothing will be done about it because the majority of the viewers of this show are totally unaware of it. Anyhow, the idea of tweaking songs up is cool as a way to freshen and make it a bit more modern. Changing it up just because you can and doing a total remodel on it (especially those that are very well known), not a good idea. Sing one straight. He might actually want to visit John Legend's songbook. Oh! Or maybe some Lenny Kravitz?? Fly Away would have enough of the cock of the walk strut to it that he craves and he'll be able to just sing it as is. The good news is that he stayed the same from last week, the bad news is that he still only got a zero. This week we cannot blame it on being the first singer of the night, he was mid-pack this time. Kara was right, where did the original Todrick go? Maybe he sold his spot to this doppelganger and then split town? I mean, he HAS done it before. Being the only one with no states whatsoever, yet again, he is in the most danger of going home this week.
Jermaine Sellers ( What's Goin On by Marvin Gaye): I really do not like this dude. It's the attitude, I know it is. Um and ditto the above comment from Todrick's. You do not over tweak a well known song, ever. He does have a beautiful voice though. I had to look up Ellen's suggestion of trying out some Frankie Beverly and Maze and I have to admit, she's got it right on. He went from a goose egg to a 1 state win this week so evidentally he did something right. The question is, is it enough?
Andrew Garcia (You Give Me Something by James Morrison): He has a gorgeous recording voice, but Im not so certain I like a live performance from him. Not sure what it is. I think Ellen was right when she pointed out that when he did that awesome rendition of Paula's Straight Up , he set the bar impossibly high for himself. The trouble now is how to top that? He needs another few moments like THAT if he's going to survive this competition. Last week he had the pimp spot and it really showed in the Map numbers this week. He slid from an 11 win way down to only 2 states won this week. I think last week's numbers were due to not only the pimp spot but also because he was coming off the high from the Hollywood Rounds. Number say he's in danger, but I don't think he'll be going home this week. He severely needs another awesome performance next week though.
Aaron Kelly (My Girl by The Temptations): This was a nice performance but rather dated. R&B gone country-ish. Not really memorable. I remembered more about the fact he does photography then anything. In the Maps he dropped from a 3 to a single state win. This isn't good. He's definitely in trouble this week, especially since he seems to split votes with Casey, Tim and Alex and they all did rather well.
Tim Urban (Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson): This song should have been a great choice for him. However, his performance of it wasn't all that. You know it's bad when the judges ask you "how was that for you?". Yes, it was a bit of an improvement and he had a good attitude but a karaoke performance is still subpar at this level of competition. Looking at the Map he shot up from a 2 state win to a 6 state win. As it looks like that damnedable site has a victory with him this week, I'd like to suggest a little Rocco DeLuca (now that I think of it, Alex would do well with a DeLuca song as well....).
Lee Dewyze (Lips of an Angel by Hinder): Hm. This artist was absolutely the right choice for Lee's voice. I really do wish he'd picked another song though because I really do NOT like this song at all. I really wish he'd chosen Without You, Better Than Me or better yet really cut loose and do their version of Born To Be Wild. No wait, I don't think his nerves will allow him to do that last one, not yet at least. Seriously, the only thing standing in his way right now is his nerves. The pimp spot helped him out this week and he went from a 1 state win all the way up to a 6 state win. I really hope he can keep this momentum up. Dude, believe in yourself, you've really got it.
So, who goes home this week?
Unfortunately Mike, Todrick and Jermaine are all splitting votes as they are all singing in the same wheelhouse. Aaron, Alex, Casey and Tim are splitting the "Omigosh he's cute"/ country male artist vote.
This week's weak links:
Mike: He sang first on a 2 hour show night and although there was some improvement from the prior week, I'm not certain anyone will remember it much. The only way they'll remember is the fact he's a new papa and he's built like Ruben.
John: He's fodder. A second place sing and an unmemorable performance with a lack of connection with the song didn't do him any favors this week.
Todrick: The only one to not garner any states and with Munchkingate hanging over his head, it's just a matter of time before he's gone. The only one with a bigger diva 'tude then him is Jermaine.
Jermaine: The diva 'tude really needs to go. I was so over it during the Hollywood rounds and I'm beyond past it now. I'm just waiting on the show to tell him to pack his onesie and go already. Only thing to save him this week is if Mike or Todrick are sent packing because we know Idol won't send two AAMs home the same week because the publicity would really suck for them if they do.
Andrew: As much as I hate to say this after all the pimping he got during Hollyweird, I do believe he had set the bar too high and I'm beginning to doubt that he's going to even match it at this point. He needs to be taking notes from Crystal and Lilly this next week if he makes it. Know what you can do and go out and own it.
Aaron Kelly: With Casey getting the cougar vote and Tim getting the tween vote and both of them singing country, Aaron's in real trouble. When you have others in the same wheelhouse, just being cute aint going to cut it. You.MUST.be.memorable. Sadly, he wasn't.
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