After a lovely day at the beach, our family gathered around the tele and took in American Idol. I wanted to make sure we captured it all, so get this - I programmed the VCR in the condo to make sure it recorded. With a timer. For reals. So here are my thoughts from 1991, presented as always, before any of the judges make beeps and noises that seem like critique but are more like beeps and noises… enjoy the sweetness, and happy spring break everyone!
Colton: "Everything" - Well he's not wasting any time going for the worship/praise/hey-I'm-a-Jesus-guy-so-vote-for-me-thing. But I kid! I think he's genuine for sure, and I love this song. I remember when our church took this song and "turned" it into a praise song. Very much an anthem. But when you sing "you tell me, how could it be, any better than this" - you should smile. Just sayin'.
Skylar: "Gunpowder and Lead" That skirt does not do her figure any favors. What are you doing HIlfiger? This is a hot number for sure, but it is not a difficult song. I see what Jimmy's saying about danger, there are too many good voices out there doing acrobatics with their moments. But never forget the power of country music…!
Stevie Nicks' Medley: Well if Phillip isn't a dead ringer for Lindsay Buckingham...! Nice, but why?
HeeJun: "A Song For You" - He really does have a great voice. Why can't they let him have both things? But I do think Jimmy nailed it with him - he is very sensitive and worries about what people will think of him, and in many ways comedy can be a front for lots of insecurities. Not sure if that's really what's going on with him, but it wouldn't surprise me. This is a great rendition of this song, but how is this different from when he took on Richard Marx? His last "yeah" and that smile was a perfect mix of both sides of his personality - serious and whimsical. He needs both in every performance.
Hollie: "Jesus Takes the Wheel" - Normally I'm not a sucker for those mentor moments, but I bought Stevie coaching her and getting emotional thinking about her mom passing. In the second verse, Hollie came a life a little and started to tell the story. And can you really beat a song that has Jesus featured so prominently? No, I didn't think so.
DeAndre: "Sometimes I Cry" - There is usually not a single thing I like about a song like this unless it's written and performed by Prince. He was pretty amazing, but I still think this is a isolated fan base who would be into this kind of talent and feat, and he'll still probably be in the bottom three. He executed it well, but it won't be enough.
Jessica: "Beautiful Nightmare" - It's kinda funny, but her talking about how much she loves Beyonce and emulated her as a child revealed a mimic thing that probably has been going on for a long time but is less noticeable as a Philippino-Mexican vocalist. But she mimics Beyonce a lot in this, and of course, she's really really good at it.
Michael Jackson Medley: - I'll only say that it was entertaining. Seems like a cash money grab from the folks bringing you "Immortal" in Vegas.
Phillip: "Still Rainin'" - Okay so I figured it out. Phillip is like the legit version of Taylor Hicks. You know how you liked Taylor Hicks, but you felt kinda silly because even though he was genuine, he also seemed kinda cheese ball? Well, Phillip is much better than that, obviously, he plays guitar, but more importantly, he's got street cred. He loves this song more though, than it should have gone on for…
Joshua: "Without You" - Cue the Coming to America clip… In some ways, I think that he would have been better off without the notes from Stevie about believing the story, because that's not what is missing from him most of the time. What's with the wiping of his face/nose at the end there? I think this one translated much better live than it did on television. For me, Flip Wilson showed back up, with a little Gollum on the side.
Madonna Medley: The only think I'll say about this is that Skylar is awesome, but when she doesn't know what to do around a non-country song, she growls. She needs a new gimmick for when she sings pop songs.
Elise: "Whole Lotta Love" - I'm enjoying the war between Elise's shaking hips and the director moving from wide shots to extreme close ups to avoid them. It's like the Ed Sullivan show all over again. This was great and she totally nailed it - but for her sake I wish that she hadn't revealed that she sang it in her band. Because I think she deserved to have people not think of this performance as a retread. It was rock, and roll.
RANDOM NOTES:
I think that the Tommy Hilfiger experiment is just about over, being regulated to an opening video montage but no individual moments.
Colton said worship, and then he said church.
Now Randy's breaking out the Christianish Band name-dropping with Switchfoot and MuteMath references. I call them the "Pronoun Jesus" bands. Where it could be about a girl, a parent, or Jesus. But the pronoun keeps it omnidirectional and safe for the whole family.
Steven Tyler to HeeJun: That song just sung you. Wha…?
Jason Derulo's sparkling neckbrace. Ouch and Fabulous!
Randy Jackson put "constructive criticism" in his own air quotes. Wow.
Steven Tyler: "I'm not going to mess with Jesus or Carrie"
Ryan: "The hot new trio 'ThreeDirection,' Ladies and Gentlemen."
Loved that Elise and Steven Tyler were wearing the same pants.
So who is going home? Is it possible that Colton will suffer from going first? Might be the first bottom three for him if the curse holds up. But HeeJun might be done. Or DeAndre. Who do you think?
Colton: "Everything" - Well he's not wasting any time going for the worship/praise/hey-I'm-a-Jesus-guy-so-vote-for-me-thing. But I kid! I think he's genuine for sure, and I love this song. I remember when our church took this song and "turned" it into a praise song. Very much an anthem. But when you sing "you tell me, how could it be, any better than this" - you should smile. Just sayin'.
Skylar: "Gunpowder and Lead" That skirt does not do her figure any favors. What are you doing HIlfiger? This is a hot number for sure, but it is not a difficult song. I see what Jimmy's saying about danger, there are too many good voices out there doing acrobatics with their moments. But never forget the power of country music…!
Stevie Nicks' Medley: Well if Phillip isn't a dead ringer for Lindsay Buckingham...! Nice, but why?
HeeJun: "A Song For You" - He really does have a great voice. Why can't they let him have both things? But I do think Jimmy nailed it with him - he is very sensitive and worries about what people will think of him, and in many ways comedy can be a front for lots of insecurities. Not sure if that's really what's going on with him, but it wouldn't surprise me. This is a great rendition of this song, but how is this different from when he took on Richard Marx? His last "yeah" and that smile was a perfect mix of both sides of his personality - serious and whimsical. He needs both in every performance.
Hollie: "Jesus Takes the Wheel" - Normally I'm not a sucker for those mentor moments, but I bought Stevie coaching her and getting emotional thinking about her mom passing. In the second verse, Hollie came a life a little and started to tell the story. And can you really beat a song that has Jesus featured so prominently? No, I didn't think so.
DeAndre: "Sometimes I Cry" - There is usually not a single thing I like about a song like this unless it's written and performed by Prince. He was pretty amazing, but I still think this is a isolated fan base who would be into this kind of talent and feat, and he'll still probably be in the bottom three. He executed it well, but it won't be enough.
Jessica: "Beautiful Nightmare" - It's kinda funny, but her talking about how much she loves Beyonce and emulated her as a child revealed a mimic thing that probably has been going on for a long time but is less noticeable as a Philippino-Mexican vocalist. But she mimics Beyonce a lot in this, and of course, she's really really good at it.
Michael Jackson Medley: - I'll only say that it was entertaining. Seems like a cash money grab from the folks bringing you "Immortal" in Vegas.
Phillip: "Still Rainin'" - Okay so I figured it out. Phillip is like the legit version of Taylor Hicks. You know how you liked Taylor Hicks, but you felt kinda silly because even though he was genuine, he also seemed kinda cheese ball? Well, Phillip is much better than that, obviously, he plays guitar, but more importantly, he's got street cred. He loves this song more though, than it should have gone on for…
Joshua: "Without You" - Cue the Coming to America clip… In some ways, I think that he would have been better off without the notes from Stevie about believing the story, because that's not what is missing from him most of the time. What's with the wiping of his face/nose at the end there? I think this one translated much better live than it did on television. For me, Flip Wilson showed back up, with a little Gollum on the side.
Madonna Medley: The only think I'll say about this is that Skylar is awesome, but when she doesn't know what to do around a non-country song, she growls. She needs a new gimmick for when she sings pop songs.
Elise: "Whole Lotta Love" - I'm enjoying the war between Elise's shaking hips and the director moving from wide shots to extreme close ups to avoid them. It's like the Ed Sullivan show all over again. This was great and she totally nailed it - but for her sake I wish that she hadn't revealed that she sang it in her band. Because I think she deserved to have people not think of this performance as a retread. It was rock, and roll.
RANDOM NOTES:
I think that the Tommy Hilfiger experiment is just about over, being regulated to an opening video montage but no individual moments.
Colton said worship, and then he said church.
Now Randy's breaking out the Christianish Band name-dropping with Switchfoot and MuteMath references. I call them the "Pronoun Jesus" bands. Where it could be about a girl, a parent, or Jesus. But the pronoun keeps it omnidirectional and safe for the whole family.
Steven Tyler to HeeJun: That song just sung you. Wha…?
Jason Derulo's sparkling neckbrace. Ouch and Fabulous!
Randy Jackson put "constructive criticism" in his own air quotes. Wow.
Steven Tyler: "I'm not going to mess with Jesus or Carrie"
Ryan: "The hot new trio 'ThreeDirection,' Ladies and Gentlemen."
Loved that Elise and Steven Tyler were wearing the same pants.
So who is going home? Is it possible that Colton will suffer from going first? Might be the first bottom three for him if the curse holds up. But HeeJun might be done. Or DeAndre. Who do you think?
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