Photo: Becker/FOX
Before American Idol even hit the air last night, Ryan Seacrest demonstrated how Twitter has gone too far with a TMI tweet: “at Idol…bout to go live. I haven’t peed since lunch.” If that wasn’t enough to make you wince, 80 percent of the show’s final 12 semifinal songs would have done the trick. So would the inexplicable chunk of time devoted to emo whiner Nathaniel Marshall — producers have to be pulling for the pierced hard-luck kid to make the Top 12 or they wouldn’t have trotted out his grandmother and aunt and inquired as to his song choice (Meatloaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” — a tune he used to enjoy with his now-incarcerated mom). By the way, a few hours after Idol wrapped, U2 killed their performance of “Magnificent” on Letterman. Remind me why we’re suffering through a few dozen crappy Alicia Keys covers again?
Here’s a quick rundown of the last (thankfully) key semifinal performances:
Ones to Watch:
• Lil Rounds wrapped the show (and hopefully her Top 12 spot) with Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You,” twisting one of the lyrics into “Call this show if you can’t be without me, baby.” So awesome, we’ll forgive Paula for this: “I have a sneaking suspicion we’re going to see you for many more lil rounds” (and the backup singers for dropping the ball!).
• We never thought we’d say this but … Von Smith! “I don’t want America to be like, ah, stop screaming at me,” he told us before conjuring George Michael on Marvin Gaye’s “You’re All I Need to Get By.” Simon thought it was more Clay Aiken and came thisclose to an inappropriate gay joke.
• Scott MacIntyre’s version of Bruce Hornsby’s “Mandolin Rain” was good enough for a standing ovation and a high-five (for real this time) from Seacrest, who added, “That’s how we roll, Scotty the Boddy.” Dude, he’s blind, not deaf — don’t insult his intelligence.
Meh:
• Ju’not Joyner’s “Hey There Delilah” came off too subtle and off-key, but the judges Ate. It. Up. Joyner then said something about getting a cortisone shot in the ass and everything went to hell.
• Felicia Barton a.k.a. the girl who got called back after Joanna Paciti was disqualified, had a lot to prove with her Alicia Keys song. Minus one botched high note, she brought it.
• First the judges yell at Kristen McNamara for her distinctive pinkish hair, then they tell her they don’t know who she is after her Tracy Chapman song.
• First the judges yell at Jorge Nunez to eliminate his Puerto Rican accent with a dialect coach, then they tell him he should be himself.
Ones to Wipe From Your Memory With Bleach:
• Alex Wagner-Trugman’s Elton John song was so gulpy, cheesy, oversung and growly, he set up a Paula punchline: “You gave us our money’s worth, I just don’t know how much money we spent.”
Thanks for the Memories:
• More proof Mama Mia is ruining young lives: Arianna Afsar sings “The Winner Takes It All,” ends up taking none.
• Kendall Beard’s Martina McBride tune was pageant-rific. Unless she shows up for the Wildcard dressed for the swimsuit competition, she’ll likely be gone.
Share
Email
Stumble
AIM
Del.icio.us
DiggThis
Fark It!
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.
Get RS Mobile
RSS