This week's "we're not doing themes this year" theme was the music from Sir Elton John. This really should have been a very good show because Sir Elton has a HUMONGOUS catalog of songs from which to choose and a great deal of them are show-stopper kinds of songs. Sadly, although most picked songs that were never done on this particular stage before, none could be rated as a show-stopper in my book. Not a single one gave me goose bumps.
Scotty (Country Comfort): This was a rather predictable choice for him. I mean, look at that title. It just screams his name. I was really hoping for a Tim McGraw-esque Tiny Dancer from him, though. I really dug this. Seriously, this boy does NOT need this show at all. He's got a wonderful voice and a goofy personality to offset the serious tone. Can we please just get him a contract now and skip the rest of the year? Srsly. You know what his only problem is at this point? He peeked early and has stayed consistent. There's going to be a time where he's going to need to step up a bit more otherwise he'll stall right out. He's been grabbing a lion's share of the votes most weeks, however this week Haley gave him a run for his money. Just goes to show you that the pimp spot does definitely help and singing in the first few spots on a 2 hour show can be detrimental. His odds went up again last week and as of Sunday afternoon he was at a +240. The Chart has him at 1-3/1st and the Maps give him a 9 state win. No way in hell he's going home this week.
Naima (I'm Still Standing): Um. Reggae? I'm beginning to think she's choosing odd arrangements to help hide the fact that she's extremely pitchy at times. I really wasn't feeling this at all. I've been fussing about how much I want Haley and Jacob gone, well Naima's in the same boat as they are now. Her odds went up drastically this last week to a +8000. I can still make some money if she wins if I put some scratch down now. She had a 2 state win on the Maps and a rating of 4-10/B3/7th on the Chart. She may or may not be in danger this week.
Paul (Rocket Man): Ok. So there's not much we can do about boyfriend's voice but we can get him to quit mumbling and complete his words and phrases. In his package, he mentioned doing this song with this band once and it turned out poorly. Can we say foreshadowing? Dude. You didn't do well the first time and I can assure you, this wasn't any better. Levon would have been the better choice for your voice. His odds took a bit of a tumble this last week (down to a +1600) and after this, I won't be surprised to see a bit more slippage come Sunday. The Chart has him at 6-11/B3/10th and the Maps gave him no love (well, the Loser Map did because he didn't lose anything... but the winner map gave him nothing either). Unless VFTW did it's job, you can be certain he could be one of the bottom dwellers this week.
Pia (Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me): Sweetie? We know you can do the ballads and aren't necessarily looking for Celine 2.0. Let's please pick up the tempo a little. We're fairly sure you've got it in you, so just bust it loose already! Ugh. The SUTA we got from the judges. No denying who one of the favorites is this time around. Yeah, you got SUTAed, Pia, but you also didn't knock Randy's ass out of his chair either. You've gotten as predictable as some of the others and this makes you boring and not as memorable as you could be. Please.... I wanna be wowed next week. Show me that you're deserving of MY vote. You want to be memorable with this song? Take a page out of Bo Bice's or Clay Aiken's play books. Now THOSE performances are memorable ones. Your's this week? Luke warm, honey. Her odds have risen slightly to a +400. A 2 in the Maps (2 wins/0losses) and a rating of 2-7/4th on the Chart tells me that she may be safe (the Charts have been fairly accurate this year so far) but we can't count her out for a B3 visit, no matter what the Chart says. They may stick her there just to shake her up some.
Stefano (Tiny Dancer): Bland bland bland. Sorry buddy. I tire of you. There was another who sang this song too, but he (JPL) wasn't any better than you were so I'm not even going to link his vid here. His odds have dropped to +2500. The Chart has him listed as an 8-11/B3/dead last, while the Maps disagree with a 4 win/1 loss in the states. Although he averages at a 3 state win, we may see him in the bottom anyhow. The Chart has been right for 2 weeks running now.
Lauren (Candle in the Wind): Now THIS was a nice interpretation. Every single syllable enunciated properly, a break or three where they should be. I cannot wait for the studio on this one. Oh Steven, those inappropriate comments are really going to get you in trouble one of these days. I've got one word for you in regards to Lauren... JAILBAIT. If she wins this, Taylor Swift is going to have some serious competition on her hands because I can see Lauren becoming the next lil dahlin' of the country circuit. For a third week in a row, Lauren's odds have stayed at +500. I'm a bit worried because although they're not slipping, there isn't any improvement either. She had a 2 state win and a rating of 5-11/B3/8th on the Chart. She, too, is a possible B3 candidate.
James (Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting): Perfect vocal choice. This is another one that seriously does not require this show, to be honest. You know what I want to see from him? To see if he has the restraint for a Mad World performance. That would be seriously cool. It would definitely solidify his Adam 2.0 status. Although, having a flaming piano rates right up there with some of the more memorable moments in the entire run of the show. LOL moment: when he mentioned he had so much hairspray in his hair that he was afraid of having a "Pepsi moment" (Coke's the show's sponsor) when the piano flamed up. Oops. His odds have been doing nothing but rising from week to week. This week's numbers have him at a +475. He had a 4-10/B3/6ht rating and a 3 on the Maps (4 wins/1 loss). Although I really don't foresee him going quite this soon, we can't count him out. If he goes, it won't be because he wasn't memorable, that's for certain.
Thia (Daniel): Seriously. Really? Well at least it wasn't another Disney song (and Sir Elton had a few of those). This was entirely too safe and too bland. Considering that TWO are going home this week, it was not the time to play it safe. We had reggae, a couple country singers and a flaming piano this week. You really think this lack-luster performance is going to get you remembered? Her odds have dropped to a +2500 this last week. She had a 6-11/B3/ 9th on the Chart and a -2 (that's not a typo, it is a negative number) on the Maps. I will be shocked if she lasts another week.
Casey (Your Song): Loving the make-over. I hate to say it, but he was beginning to look like an overgrown Ewok. No wait, more like Fozzie Bear. I love Love LOVE the fact he scaled back the vocal a bit and we got to see more of the Hollywood Casey this week. He reminded us why we fell in love with him in the first place. This is going to be a beautiful studio version and I can't wait until it's out there for sale. His odds slipped a bit from last week to a +900. I suspect it is a culmination of that Nirvana performance from two weeks ago and that rather frightening Marvin Gaye one from last week. This is the Casey we're wanting and this is where he needs to stay. He rated a 1-4/3rd on the Chart and had a 5 state win on the Maps this week. He seriously needed this to stay in the competition. The question is, how much of this is actual votes and how much of this is sympathy voting because he's been ill and almost lost it all last week?
Jacob (Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word): This was painful to listen to the first time and I've just muted the video I was listening back to. I can't be the only one who doesn't like this. Am I? He oversings every flippin song. You all should know what I'm going to say because I certainly have said it often enough. Then top things all off, all that damnedable SUTA. I can assure that all sides of my colon are suitably tanned now, thanks. Funny how they pointed out Pia's performance in his critique. Hmm. His odds held at a +1200 this week. the Chart has him at a 1-4/2nd rating, yet the Maps show him no love at all. Could we get lucky? Two do have to leave this week. Is it possible the Chart has it terribly wrong this week? It's been known to happen.
Haley (Bennie and the Jets): I firmly believe that it's written somewhere that you have to praise the pimp spot singer. Because the judge's critique really blew. Between Jacob and Pia, my colon was tanned. With Haley's SUTA, I can fully assure the readers that my colon is now is completely and absolutely deep fried, extra crispy. This. was. sucky. All that growling and snarling was a bit too much. Our poor chihuahua swore there was a dog fight going on outside and kept snarling at the tv. I've seen "lounge singers" that were more understated. You want an effective performance of this song? Take a look at this one. My regular readers will remember how I felt about him (and his friend Doug). Her odds went up some this week to a +6000. Must be the short outfit she wore last week. Hey Haley? The other Haley wants her style back, kthxbai. She had an 8 state win and a rating at 4-8/5th. No way in hell she's leaving this week and she can thank whomever placed her in the pimp spot. That and her stylist that puts her in such outfits.
So. Who's in the most danger of being sent home?
Basically, if you're not Scotty, Haley, or Casey... you should just be sure to be packed up before the results show. It'll go faster and will allow you more face time with your friends before they shove you out the door.
Paul: Unless that nefarious site did its job, this could be the last week for him. The site won't be too unhappy because they have 3 others they've been watching. I personally find his voice grating, then again Rod Stewart has that same type of voice and I adore him. *shrugs* A 10th listing and no states tells me that if he leaves it's because everyone was trying to keep Fozzie in the game and as such, Paul fell through the cracks.
Thia: Although she has a very pretty voice, she's boring, too safe, bland and totally unmemorable.
Jacob: Yeah, I know this is going out on the limb, but surely everyone is getting sick of that over singing, yes??? Hey. I'm telling ya, call T.D. Jakes. You definitely need to be leading one of those choirs.
Alternative choices:
Naima: She sang in the next worst spot of the night. Singing 2nd on a 2 hour night is never good. Top that with that off key reggae performance. Well I doubt that it truly caught on with the casual viewer. If you're going to do that to an artist's music, at least have the decency to find a lesser known song. Just my 2 cents there.
Pia: Overly predictable. This makes her rather bland and really boring. Plus there still feels like a brick wall between her and the fans. It's almost a "holier than thou" vibe and it's not pleasant.
Lauren: I'm not certain why she did so poorly this week. I thought her performance was just fine. However, I cannot deny the figures that I'm looking at. Maybe she just wasn't as memorable thanks to that fiery performance from James and that chilled down and rather restrained showing by Casey. Then following them a snarling mess called Haley. Yeah, now that I think of it, it may be hard to remember her past all that. Plus she's more country-pop than straight up country, like Scotty, so it's possible that she's splitting votes with him. If she hits the bottom, it may not be terribly surprising but it will be a shocker if she is sent home.
The only bigger shocker would be if James gets sent packing. I don't think he will because his odds are far too good and he had a solid performance, but I cannot ignore the placement on the Chart nor the low number of states he earned.
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