Something old, something new, tonight my Idol blog is through. What started so strong early in the season has turned into a typical Idol season in which the audience (at least me) struggles to really care who is going to win the competition because let's be honest: no one is likely to buy the winner's album anyway. Between the mediocre performances, the crappy, too kind judging, and lack of personality for the contestants, I have simply become tired of finding something to write about, rant about, make fun of. For my six readers, thanks for reading this shlock. Now onto tonight...
Sheryl Crow as music royalty?! Really?! First Carole King and now Sheryl Crow? Apparently anyone who is willing to sell themselves out to Idol becomes royalty. I wonder what real music royalty like Paul McCartney would be considered? At least he has already been deemed Sir Paul McCartney by the Majesty herself (at least I think that is how it works)! Damn Monarchs and their crazy love for pomp and circumstance (well that Royal wedding was kind of cool).
James Durbin
Up first was Durbin with Jared Leto's "Closer to the Edge" which started very slow and pitchy and didn't get much better. In an out of character performance, Durbin seemed to be one note flat during the entire performance. Rather than enjoying what could have been a great performance, I felt as if I was being screamed at during the entire song. Shocking, he said sarcastically, the judges praised the performance...sometimes I feel like the judges are judging three year olds with their need for continued positive reinforcement.
Like Durbin's first performance, he seemed to struggle during "Without You", both in pitch and emotions. While Durbin seemed to find his voice when the power chorus came out, he showed that when he isn't bringing the power, his voice isn't as great as has been said all season.
Jacob Lusk
"No Air" started with Lusk on an odd-sounding falsetto that didn't quite find the right note. Lusk seemed to struggle through the entire performance and like Durbin, seemed to yell the entire song. It was nice to see Randy Jackson actually provide something besides smoke up the ass of the contestants. Jennifer Lopez who started the season strong has fell into a Paula-Abdul like trance of only providing the positive while Steven Tyler continues to be completely useless.
Lusk definitely put himself into "Love Hurts", but once again, did little to show who he is as an artist. I struggle to understand why Lusk hasn't realized that Gospel is his thing and he should continue down that path. Like I learned in my 8th grade play, "The Competition": Just Be Who You Are. What Lusk is is on the ropes.
Lauren Alaina
Lauren Alaina brought out her country pipes and picked the right song for a genre which she should pursue post-Idol. While clearly no Carrie Underwood, Alaina is much more talented than previous ditz and Idol contestant Kellie Pickler and with Pickler finding success, Alaina will most likely find marginal success, as well. Alaina should definitely stick with anything country-related as Idol enters its final weeks.
Donning Farrah Fawcett-esque hair and a beautiful long-flowing dress, Alaina looked the part for her performance of "Unchained Melody" but unfortunately didn't bring anything special to the song. Pitchy during parts and simply boring, Alaina doesn't have the type of voice to do a classic like this, especially the famous high note. I actually would have liked to have seen James Durbin or Jacob Lusk perform this with their range.
Scotty McCreery
Scott McCreery's "Gone" was solid, however one has to wonder what else McCreery has in his arsenal to win this thing. I stick to my theory that he will have a #1 country record and will do really well with that genre, but he still look like a young kid out there who has no idea what to do while he performs.
Like Alaina, McCreery bored the audience with his second song; what McCreery did different from Alaina, however, was that he was pitch perfect (as always) and made "Always on My Mind" a very tender moment.
Haley Reinhart
Haley Reinhart took the poor advice of Jimmy Iovine who continues to show that while he may be a good producer for established artists, he isn't doing much for the Idol contestants. During the Iovine chosen Lady Gaga song "You and I", Reinhart technically sounded good, however the performance was simply mediocre and Gaga is not an artist who Reinhart should model her career after.
Reinhart saved the best for last with a belting rendition of "House of the Rising Sun", by far the best performance this season for her and possibly one of the top performances of any artist this season. While I still don't love her growling during songs, Reinhart showed her power when she sang a capella...props to Sheryl Crow for that suggestion.
How the top five will fair during the rest of the season (as if I truly care):
5. Jacob Lusk
4. Haley Reinhart
3. Lauren Alaina
2. Scotty McCreery
1. James Durbin
