“American Idol” 2009: I almost wanted to pee my pants

May 5, 2009 at 9:17pm

Some horrible accident befell the stage prior to the show starting, so none of the Idols had a proper run-through beforehand. That's interesting, although I don't think it really affected anything. And in addition to their solo songs, the Final Four performed duets for the same time. I've always felt they should do something like that, so I was glad to see it.

It was rock night - why did we wait so long for this genre? A legitimately contemporary genre? Even though the focus was on classic rock songs, all of the picks were more recognizable to the American audience than what we've heard on most of the recent theme nights. The mentor was guitar legend Slash, who I don't believe has ever sung (I could be wrong about that). The brief clips they showed with him meeting with the kids at the club suggested that he was largely useless as a mentor, so I fear he destroyed his remaining rock credibility for no reason. Also, I beat him on Guitar Hero, so he's kind of not that big a deal. (I kid, I kid.)

Adam Lambert was up first, singing "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. A good song choice for him, totally in his pocket. Adam looked like Elvis mixed with Rob Halford; the jacket didn't do much for me. I couldn't understand a word he said in the second verse, which is not a problem I usually have with him. I found that the band mitigated his screeching quite a bit. The part when he went a cappella was an "Idol moment," for sure. Kara had a good point when she suggested that this type of music is the album he should make - glam rock/classic rock from the 70s. It's so naturally operatic, it suits him very well. Kara has gotten a lot of criticism lately - some massively publicized poll resulted with a vast majority or respondents saying they wanted her off the show - but seriously, I like her. I think she brings a lot to the panel. Why not get rid of Randy, who just trots out the same useless clich�s every week?

Allison Iraheta "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin. Allison's weave looked pretty good - because she went to Adam's hair girl. A note to Allison, and all women: always listen to the gays when it comes to your hair. You will never be led astray. Another smart song choice - Allison naturally sounds like Janis with that gritty, big voice. The thing about Allison is that she has incredible control over her vocals, and she totally commits herself to every performance. She's probably the best young performer we've had on this show. (Note, however, that it came out this week that she's won a singing competition before, some Spanish-language show, so she has a bit of an edge.) Simon dinged her for sounding too much like Janis Joplin, but I don't think she was putting on airs. I think that's the way Allison would legitimately sing that song.

Kris & Danny dueted on "Renegade" by Styx. The two of them sounded great when they sang together. The song is kind of terrible. I think they both held their own, neither of them really came out on top. Danny probably put more into the song emotionally, but Kris probably sounded better on the vocals. All in all, though, it was a fun little experiment. I agreed with Kara (again) that it's kind of funny that the two straight-laced squares sang a song called "Renegade."

Kris Allen "Come Together" by The Beatles. I wasn't jazzed about the song choice. There's not a lot of range there, and the guitar riff is kind of the most important part of the song. Plus, I'm kind of sick of The Beatles at this point. I thought Kris' changes to the middle of the song were ambitious, but I'm not sure they ultimately paid off. I'd certainly put it third of the three performances so far. I agree with Paula (uh oh) that he's an artist - probably the most viable artist, but not necessarily singer - left in the bunch.

Danny Gokey "Dream On" by Aerosmith. Another smart song choice, although Danny sounded a little flat throughout the beginning. He got it together come the chorus and sounded good - his voice had some grit and character but still sounded wonderful on the soaring notes. The scream at the end sounded better in his rehearsal with Slash, but it was still passable. That has to be killer on his vocals. Not sure what he was going with the outfit. He looked like he was cater-waitering for Grape Ape's latest social function.

Adam & Allison dueted on "Slow Ride" by Foghat. Adam's pants were totally confronting; he looked like some goth watermelon and they left nothing to the imagination. Allison held her own on the stage with Adam, which I wasn't necessarily expecting, and they seemed to have a lot of fun and sounded great. I really enjoyed these duets! Why can't we do those during the interminable results show instead all of the terrible filler?

Tomorrow night: Man, tough call. I really think this is probably the best Final 4 this show has EVER had. None of them performed poorly, and all of them are very talented performers. I think Kris is almost certainly in the bottom 2. And probably Allison, too, but Gokey could join him. Adam's near-death experience last week could not have come at a better time for him, as he'll sail all the way to the finals at this point. If I had to bet I'd say that Kris might go home. Boo. � � � �

Comments for "“American Idol” 2009: I almost wanted to pee my pants" (9)

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M said on May. 05, 2009 at 10:34pm

You've got to be kidding about the scream Danny Gokey gave at the end of "Dream On" being "passable". It was truly CRINGE-WORTHY!! In fact, I think my ears are still bleeding from it...

I've always liked Danny's voice, but this week I was just embarrassed for him. That the judges gave him a pass was laughable. The other three all did far better than he did, in my opinion.

r said on May. 05, 2009 at 10:55pm

allison was right on. she just turned 17 and she channeled Janis. This is her voice, I think sang the right song for her and i've been saying and waiting for Janis all along. This contest is to find someone who can perform go forward. Allison is the only one who has the chops. look what she did last week, surprised the doodoo out of everyone. the others, same ol, same ol. really can't stand Adam, of course i'm not 12 and he isn't david bowie, just phony as a 3 dollar bill. who cares if he is gay, doesn't make you sing better or worse, just have better hair.

drj said on May. 06, 2009 at 2:33am

I thought they were all either bad or mediocre, with one decent performance.
Whole Lotta Love was always a bad song, made "classic" only by its age. And Adam just screeched his way through the whole thing. It hurt my ears. That is EXACTLY the kind of song and performance that diminishes rock. All sound and fury, signifying nothing at all.

Cry Baby is a great Janis song, which Allison should have hit out of the park. She didn't. The singing was thoughtless, dry, emotionless, meaningless, boring and forgettable. Missed opportunity there, Allison. Guess she was nervous. Or whatever. She sucked.

Kris was just plain terrible. Worse than karaoke. Total amateur time. He will go be going home, for sure. Too bad, because I've always like him the best... a real singer, amongst a bunch of wannabes and showoffs. But this one was too bad for him to survive. Soyanara, Kris.

Danny was the least bad of the four. That scream at the end... I've heard a lot worse from "stars"... but when they do it, it's "awesome". I thought it was fine. This is rock and roll... anything goes, so long as it flows.

Cathy said on May. 06, 2009 at 6:27am

OMG..was it just me? or was that a very strange show? Slash pathetic///what planet were the judges on?//bad timing for Chris and Danny as they both looked out of their comfort zone. This was so Adam and Allisons' show. I thought both were excellent. I'm thinking Adam did Allison;s makeup...awesome job too! Eric: loved your comment about the Grape Ape costume. I could go on and on. I think: Chris is out. I also think this is the best bottom 4! All are terrific.

Bernie said on May. 06, 2009 at 9:40am

I think they finally got it right with Adam's makeup! I thought his skin looked decent. Led Zeppelin is definately the type of song he can sing. But I'm not going to be like Kara and call him a Rock God.....

I'm not sure why the judges weren't happy with Allison... I think the song was a great pick for her smoky voice. I wasn't that impressed with Kris' performance, I liked the duet better than the solo. And I'm just worn out with Danny, the hands reaching out all the time drives me nuts!

I did like Adam and Allison's duet.... though I'll admit to you secretly that I had the keys in my head for Guitar Hero.. I'm pretty good at "Slow Ride"... hee hee hee.

As far as going home, I'd like to see Danny, but really have no clue how the vote will go.

Cathy said on May. 06, 2009 at 1:05pm

Ok..I just can't shut up. Somebody will be able to do this quickly...check out all the songs Danny has song and I'm thinking that they all have to do with a Great Love that is gone....am I right? I do love his voice....but there is always this under currant of how heart broken he is.....and it is getting tired.

Bernie: Oh yeah Mama...slow ride all the way!

Arizona breeze said on May. 06, 2009 at 1:28pm

I think both Allen and Gokey are in trouble here. Allen never showed up as far as I am concerned. Gokey's song gave me a headache and I don't even know if he knows how bad it really was. Allsion looked more natural and I think she felt comfortable in that song type but is it me or does anyone else have trouble understanding her? Did she sing Ho baby? I mean seriously it sounded to me like she was singing Hoooooooo Baby. Adam Lambert was the best performance by a military mile! Holy cow you know this kid changes every week. His hair, the make up artist did a great job. Wardrobe tech nice pick on clothes...wouldn't you just love having these peoples jobs? I love to be a professional shopper for folks. Adam and Allison totally came out dressed like Rock and Rollers and their wardrobe change for their duet...Nice! Loved Adam's pants and Allisons top. Okay so back to the singing...Adam Gave a whole lot of love. He seemed to sing that song so easily but go back and rewatch it. He really does a lot with each word in that song.

Bernie said on May. 06, 2009 at 1:56pm

"Take it easy...... *insert whammy bar*" ha ha

I almost forgot.. did anyone else catch when Kara told Danny that he should have sung something earlier from Aerosmith... such as "Amazing"? Wasn't that early 90's? Wasn't "Dream On" 70's? Or was Amazing just early for her? Ha ha...

Bob said on May. 06, 2009 at 10:28pm

Sorry to my fans (ie: Bernie and Cathy) for taking so long to comment.

I have to say this is the greatest Top 4 ever. I still hate Adam, but he is talented (I hear Huskaroos calling. 'They're just roomier.') Oh yeah, did he raid Michael Keaton's wardrobe or something with those pants. Beetlejuice anyone?

So, that's all I have to say. Nothing to really contribute this week.

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