Where to begin? I really am at a loss for words this week. Oh... we had some solid performances and a couple that were better than they usually do, plus one or two that really need to step up. I'm not entirely certain what show the judges were watching. It just goes to prove that the dynamics in the theatre don't always carry over to us in the tv audience, no matter how hi our def is. There were times this week that Chicago and I were sure we were watching a whole different show than REKS at the table.
While I'm bitchin... I may as well register a complaint about the choice of this week's mentor. Don't get me wrong, I love Adam to death and think that he is an awesome showman and yes, Elvis was a helluva showman. However, it just would have made more sense (at least to me) if someone who was in the band (or in this case a musically inclined kin) was in the mentor role this week. Who better to help interpret the King of Rock's music than his own daughter, the Princess of Rock, herself? Just saying that Adam would have been better utilized during a Broadway week or better yet a Dance theme (that's what most of his cd is this time anyhow).
This week the Maps are totally whacked. I can't believe how fast things were changing there during voting. Evidentally the fan groups were very very busy at the phones. I won't be surprised if they say that the highest number of votes for this season were received this week. Top things all off, we had 3 go into the green on the chart (although one is still listed as possibly in danger according to DI).
Crystal (Saved): I'd never heard this song before, which is odd because although I'm not a 100% Elvis fan, I do love when he busted out in the Gospel voice and I have a great many of those songs. Girlfriend brought us all to church this week. Well, at least brought us to the church that I got used to in N'Awlins. This was another solid Crystal performance. I do have to worry that since she's solid from week to week if she doesn't need to step it up some and push it up to the next level as some of the lesser singers are starting to catch up and the rest of the chaff is going to be skimmed off in the next week or two. This means she won't be standing out quite so much and she needs to start differentiating herself NOW. Looking at the numbers on the Maps and in the Chart, we're beginning to see what will happen if she doesn't. This week's Maps she won 9 states but actually LOST one (please allow me to have a WTF moment...) for a total of 8 states won. This is DOWN 2 states from last week. She's ranked at 1-3 green on the chart and is listed second (she'd been listed first almost all the prior weeks) behind Michael (please allow me to have another WTF moment...). Her odds have just gotten better and better since day one so Vegas hasn't lost faith in her yet. I don't forsee her in danger this week but she's going to need to push it farther next week and start really bringing the star we know she is. As of time of edit, Crystal's odds have dipped but not enough to be overly worried about.
Ok... everyone chant our mantra again.... a few more times so maybe they'll finally get it (only a couple of those kids have caught on so far)
DO NOT SING A SONG A PREVIOUS IDOL HAS DONE!!!!
You think they'll learn? I doubt our next one will because I am very certain this is his last week.
Andrew (Hound Dog): Not to say this was bad, but I'm not even bothering listening to it again. It was so bad that even Teflon Tim sounded awesome. This was so bad I was yelling B3 B3 B3 before they even got out of the video package. This was so very bad that I had to go back to this performance to get it out of my mind. Mind you, I was a bigtime Daughtry fan during the season being referenced and Katherine McPhee's performance was more palatable than Andrew's. She even dropped a lyric and hardly anyone noticed. To show you how bad it was, I would put money down that Sanjaya could have pulled off a better performance. Yeah, it was that bad. His voice was whiny and there was seriously no energy to his performance. He lost 2 states this week and had no wins. This is down 2 states from the last couple of weeks (the last 2 weeks have had zeroes). His odds, crashing. He is in mortal danger this week and I will NOT be surprised if he's sent packing. Even if the judges HAD the save to use still, they wouldn't use it to save him after a stinker of a performance as that. This evening Andrew's odds dropped even farther, he's in a dead heat for last place with another at this point.
Tim (I Can't Help Falling In Love With You): Oooh. He didn't take Adam's suggestion which I do believe would have made it an awesome performance . I'm going to take my cue from the judges and say this was a good TIM performance. It was nice, but bor-ring. I so hope they send him home because if he sings another fkn song with Love in the title, I'm gonna need to drink myself into a stupor to write his review. I can't believe I'm about to do this, but Tim... you also need to check out KatherineMcPhee's performance. THIS is how the smoldering and eye boinking of the tweens is SUPPOSED to look. This is one of the performances this week that I swear someone laced the Coke glasses with some of Paula's patented Loopy-juice because surely they did not all just love that?? Please tell me it's reverse psychology or their batteries fell out of their earwigs. With one win and one loss this week, he's down from last week. His odds? Well if you place $100 down now and he miraculously wins, you'll be more than $13,000 richer. Can he PLEASE GO HOME NOW??? At the time of the edit, Tim's odds ROSE substantially in less than 24 hrs. HE's in a dead heat (although still last place) with Andrew. A $100 on Tim or Andrew will pay out only $7676 if either manages to win. Maybe Vegas will have it right this week and the lowest on their charts will go home?
Lee (A Little Less Conversation): This was another solid vocal but while the show was on I couldn't put my finger on why I wasn't happy with it. For some reason, he's still not quite connecting like he should. So while I was looking up another video for a later performer, I figured out why I was so disenchanted with his performance. You remember that I said I was a huge Daughtry fan, right? Season 5 should have been his and he was totally robbed of the win. Not that I'm upset or anything, maybe a touch bitter, but dammit he's doing so much better without the show. Anyways, I digress. You see, I found this performance of Chris's which was done on Top 4 night. Albiet not one of his finer performances (they had 2 songs that week), it's still done better than Lee's this year. This week he had 3 states won with no losses, a drop of 7 states from last week. Granted, last week was the pimp spot and he was riding that benefit so there would be a slight dip this week. However, Crystal has more than proved that you don't need the pimp spot to garner the most votes. You just need a great performance week to week. His odds dropped somewhat from last week but he's still up from Day 1 which is good. It does not keep him out of danger this week though. Considering that 2 will be going home this week and there's no save as a safety net, this was NOT the week to be less than awesome. At the edit, Lee's odds have risen slightly.
Aaron (Blue Suede Shoes): This was one of Aaron's finer performances. I personally enjoyed it. The vocal itself (if you listen and don't watch) is much better than the overall performance visually. When you're watching, he kinda comes across as a teacup chihuahua pup thinking it's a full grown Rottweiller, it just doesn't look right. He had 2 wins this week which brings him up by one from last week. His odds went up slightly this week and although the odds really still stink, they're up from Day 1. The judges were definitely into the PPLJ as they liked Tim's performance over Aaron's. We know the two are splitting votes though so I won't be shocked if he's in danger this week as well. Looks like Vegas agreed with the judges and didn't like his performance either. His odds fell by quite a bit over night.
Siobhan (Suspicious Minds): I like the fact that she took Adam's suggestion to speed it up a touch. There's still something about her voice that annoys the hell outta me though. Yes, she hit her power notes, but they were in better control and not the scream we usually get. I'm wondering if Adam taught her how to control it. Then again, you don't necessarily need to hit those notes either as was proved by Chris Daughtry. I really hated the judges critique this time. I can't quite put my finger on it. It was almost like getting directions from your store manager to do things one way and next thing you know, that boss is gone and there's a new one in their place who promptly tells you you're doing things the wrong way simply because that's not the way corporate wants them done... even though the way you did it works best for your particular store. The whole situation just makes my skin itch. She only won 2 states this week putting her down 3 states from last week. Her odds have risen a bit and she's still up from Day 1. With only 2 states, though, I'm going to have to suggest that she may be in trouble this week. Vegas didn't like Siobhan either as her odds dropped quite a bit as well.Mike (In The Ghetto): Ok. Part of me wants to say that this song's an overly obvious choice for an AAM while the other part of me says that it's perfect because he's a story teller. It was a nice performance but something was missing. Maybe it's because I'm a bit more used to the big, gospel feel that it normally has. You know, like Taylor Hicks did (remember, I wasn't a fan of his either) and not the light, intimate feel that this one had. He's ranked 1-3 green on the Chart and listed ahead of Crystal *takes yet another WTF moment*. This week he won 4 states putting him up one from last week. The odds dropped a bit this week, maybe in anticipation that he wouldn't do the King justice, but they're still up from Day 1. Considering that he's riding the wave from last week's save (and just might be for another week yet), I don't see him being in danger this week. Evidently this week Vegas thinks he's riding that wave too, because overnight his odds had a right nice jump for the better.
Katie (Baby What Do You Want Me To Do?): Heh. I ~loved~ the choice of this song just for the title alone. Considering that all the kids have been getting such contradictory advice all damned season long. It was a very nice vocal tonight. She needed to work the stage more though. Put a bit more strut in her walk and really get up into Simon's face. The audience would have eaten that right the hell up. The only reason Simon hated it is because he saw it for what it was, an F-U song. This week she won 5 states, up 4 states from last week. I want to say that it's simply because she's in the sweet spot just infront of the pimp spot, but we won't be able to tell until next week. She keeps this up and it may turn out to be 2 girls in the finale. Her odds are still dropping but I think they may take an upswing by tomorrow's posting. Depending on what next week's theme is (more than likely something inspirational because it's Idol Gives Back, isn't it?), those odds may just be going up even farther pretty soon. Although the Chart has her rated as a 4-9 and listed in dead last, I don't think she'll be in danger this week. Not with a 5 state win. If she had 3 or less, maybe. If by chance she hits the B3, I'll be mighty surprised. I think Vegas must have gotten into that PPLJ with the judges because her odds fell like a rock.
Casey (Lawdy Miss Clawdy): This was a good choice for his voice. A nice solid vocal, rather enjoyable to be honest. Enjoyable, but no real wow factor. Could it be that the rumor is a bit more truth than rumor? It didn't slow down Adam's fans any, and they still lusted after him. Then again Adam is alot more comfortable with his sexuality and is a more seasoned performer. Casey was ranked 1-7 green but is still listed as a B3 possibility. Usually those in green do NOT have anything to worry about though. Even with a lackluster performance, the pimp spot helped out as he managed to win 9 states this week putting him 8 states ahead of last week. His odds fell this week a bit but he's still up from Day 1. Considering the number of states won, and the fact that the Maps have been a trifle more accurate than the Chart, I'd have to reason that Casey's safe this week. He'll need to step it up and polish those performances though if he plans on getting too much farther. After less than 24 hours, Casey's odds have slipped somewhat. He really needs to attack this competition and step it up because the cougar voters will only get him so far.
So. Who leaves this week?
Andrew: For sure and I'm almost certain (about 97%) that he's as good as gone. This was the worst performance to date and he's simply not improving at all. Whiny and no damned energy in the performance. With no save available (not that they'd use it on him), it's as good as signing a DNR while you're in the hospital. I'll be surprised if he stays around another week.
Who leaves with him? One of the following:
Tim: The perpetual bottom dweller actually had an ok yet very dull performance. VFTW better have stepped up its game this week because he's gonna need every vote. His odds have him as a favorite to leave, but they've been that way all season. It would just be his luck to be booted out when he's ~finally~ having decent increases. We've had it happen before, the contestant being sent home after what is arguably one of their finer performances due to it either being too little too late OR the performance was SO good that the fans felt he'd/she'd be safe for the week.
Lee: I can't believe I'm actually having to put him here but he's just not completely connecting. It's like when you get a short in something and it works intermittently but only if you hold the wire "just so". You gotta connect all the time for it to fully work. Considering that we have two going this week, we could very well have a shocker boot and this is definitely not the week to have one of those non-connecting weeks.
Aaron: Another one that's hitting the bottom more times than we care to count. Plus we all know he's splitting the tween vote with Tim and the country vote with Casey. Kinda sucks to be him. One of the better performances of the night, he got mixed reviews from the judges (they all like exactly half of his performance).
Siobhan: Didn't fully commit to one style for her song, so it came across confusing to the judges and more than likely to everyone else as well. We appreciated the restrained higher notes though. Thank you for not screaming and thank you for having the balls to stand up for yourself in a rather well worded retort to Simon. If anything saves you this week, that ballsy retort just may have.
A double shocker will have Siobhan AND Lee leaving before Andrew. Guaranteed there'll be some pissed off fans if that happens. Not that I really think that would happen, but anything's possible at this point.
Casey, Katie, Mike and Crystal should all be safe this week. Mike only because he's coasting on the save from last week, Casey due to the pimp spot and Katie simply because she grew a set this week.
If it comes down to Andrew, Aaron and Tim... it may be Aaron losing out to Tim (again talent losing out to the cuteness factor).
No comments:
Post a Comment