More “American Idol”!
I think last night’s American Idol had probably the worst group of singers out of the 36. There were a few bright spots, though. I have four who I believe should advance (I’ll pick my three plus a back up).
1) Lil Rounds. I think pretty much everyone would say she deserves to be in the top 12. Amazing talent. So comfortable on stage. How did this woman NOT find success before this show?
2) Ju’Not Joyner. Loved him. Such a great understated performance. He also seemed very comfortable on stage, and I think he’ll do interesting things with the music each week. He is one who’d know how to create a ‘new’ version out of something.
3) Felicia Barton. Why oh why did they not originally pick this girl for the final 36? It boggles my mind. She is very very good. Great look. Great vocals (maybe a bit flat or screechy in some places). She did Alicia Keyes proud with that rendition of “No one.”
4) Kristen McNamara. She is my iffy 4th person. I don’t particularly like the girl, but she’s got a voice and she can sing. I think her outfit was very babydoll strange, and she does have a tendency to do some karaoke styled moves. But she was in tune, sang pretty damn well, and isn’t bad to look at. She just needs a stylist desperately.
Jorge Nunez probably should be in there somewhere, too. I didn’t particularly like him in the earlier Hollywood rounds or even in his audition. But he did pretty well with “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” And, Simon, DON’T encourage him to sing with a heavy accent! Eeek. I could still hear a bit of one in his singing, but not so much that it made the lyrics unintelligible. If Jorge wants to showcase why he is ‘different,’ he should sing a song that has both Spanish and English lyrics. There are quite a few of those. Look at the successful Latin artists in America and play off of that. Because you’d probably fit very well into that group of successful singers.
Curious to see what happens tonight with the voting. I didn’t participate this week. If I’m particularly moved, I will sometimes dial the phone. But this week, I think the people I like are safe…particularly Ju’Not and Lil Rounds. If I’m wrong, well, you can blame me!
One note, I felt particularly bad for Scott, the blind guy. I didn’t think he sang all that well, and I think the judges high praise was condescending and awful. Look, just because you might feel badly because he’s blind is no reason to oversell his performance and praise him for what would’ve been mediocre if performed by anyone else. Scott would not want you to lie or make him feel better. He’s probably dealt with that his whole life…people compensating for what they believe are his shortcomings.
So, what did you think?