American Idol Recap: The Top 3 (and once again four judges means we're gypped!)


I want three songs...there was only about 9 minutes of singing last night. But a half hour of yapping. And oh, BTW: This is the post in which I commit blasphemy.

OK, my reality TV recaps are a little bitter this week, I admit it. At least America did the right thing last night and finally eliminated Ty (see my Dancing with the Stars recap for that little amuse-bouche of bitter.) But will American Idol producers do the right thing and realize that lots of us do actually watch the show for the singing, not the yapping. I know, shocking. No one asked me, but if Simon left it would. not. matter. one. bit. (To me, IMHO, YMMV, etc. etc.)

So let's get to what little singing there was. The final three each sang one song chosen by a judge(s) and one of their own choice. No Clive Davis eyes this year. Only because they have FOUR judges, and are only branching into two songs each for the Top THREE, not the Top Four as they have in the past, they had to have Kara and Randy pick a song TOGETHER for Kris. LAME.

Grumble grumble.

OK, OK, I'm moving on with my life and starting the recap now, I swear:

1. Danny

a. First he sang the song Paul chose for him...Terence Trent D'Arby's "Dance Little Sister"
I will give Paula props for an unexpected song choice. great for Danny's soulful white boy rasp, but as I've said before: His vocals always shine, but his performance skillz do not always shine. I have never bought into his upbeat songs as much as his ballads. Mostly because he can't dance, it's true. He looks sort of awkward and, I don't know, older than his years. He just tends to look aimless when he's moving around...without purpose, and certainly without grace. This time he tried to come on with a little more sex appeal than he usually does, and that worked for me. The awkward boogying did not. (Oh, and side note: The physical muzzling of Paula also did not work for me. It makes me uncomfortable and feels extremely sexist...and last nights' lasted a particularly longtime until it really seemed quite over the line...is it just me?)

b. Then he sang his choice: "You Are So Beautiful" (and while Joe Cocker's is the most familiar version, I was glad that Randy let us know that Billy Preston actually wrote the song.) OK, so I'm going to say one snarky thing and then move on. The first line of the song, Danny did that annoying thing where singers put an "h" front of a vowel, so instead of singing "You are so beautiful to me", it sounded like he sang "You whore so beautiful to me" (OK, well really it sounded like "You har so beautiful to me", but "You whore so beautiful to me" is way funnier.) I thought he was going to do a Tom Waitsian revision of the song set in a dockside bar or something, but no...he reined in the inappropriate H-sounds for the rest of the performance.Let me be fair and say that the S.O. loved this and was absolutely shocked when I turned to him after the song and said, "Meh." "Meh?" he said, "That's what you have to say?" Yes. Meh. I didn't recognize the whole middle portion of the song and continue to think that enduring melodies are probably enduring because they're pretty great. Sure, embellish a little, play a little...but if you totally re-work the melody of a great song, don't expect me to love it. This theme will recur in this recap, don't you worry.

Bottom line: When Danny sticks to what he does best, he sounds great, but he's not wildly original, and I don't know about you, but I never spent any time wondering what would come from Danny next...i knew it would be some highly competent white boy soul singing. Still, I'm guessing he may have the most hardline, strong fan base out there. I think he should be at risk to go, but I worry he is not at all.

2. Kris

a. First he sang the song that Kara AND Randy chose for him: "Apologize" by One Republic. He played the piano. And he sang. And what everybody said is basically all you can say: It was a fine copycat verison, but there was not one thing special about it...and that is not what we have come to expect from Kris. Didn't make it his own at. all. Competent, indeed. Thrilling? No.

b. Then he sang his choice: Kanye West's "Heartless", but leaning more towards the Fray's cover version. Either way - this was the song that will put him into the final, if he makes it. I loved the arrangement, the vocals, the guitar. Now, he did have a little too much of the beatific Kris expression going on. He could have poured a little more of the emotion he had on "Falling Slowly" into it. But it was, indeed, as Randy said: #betterthankanye

Bottom line: I tend to think Kris is gone, but truth be told, occasionally inappropriate beatific expression or no, I'd rather have an Adam/Kris finale than any other combo. I like all three guys, but Adam and Kris have kept me most intrigued and most curious about what they'll do each week.

3. Adam

a. First he sang the song that Simon chose for him: U2's "One". If you want a master class on how to cover and update an already amazing song, please U2 inviting Mary J. Blige to sing "One" with them. Kick-ass, but faithful to the melody. Sounds absolutely current, without completely bastardizing the song. And then there was whatever abomination that was last night when Adam completely destroyed that song. I hated it. I loathed it. It was appalling. Usually when he plays with the melody it is so excellent because he does it with taste and discretion and restraint and creativity. This time around, after a somewhat promising and tender start, he just decided to pick whatever the highest note in the existing chords were and wail them out, quite indiscriminately and without any discernible actual melody in there. Adam has, quite often, not been my particular cup of tea. I'm fond of saying that. But usually I give him total props and admiration. This was a hot tranny mess (and I know I'm mixing my reality show references, but that's how bad it really was.) Shudder shudder. If he goes home it's because he offended U2 fans the world over!

b. The he sang his choice "Crying" by Aerosmith. Adam's judgement was just way off last night. If we was going to turn U2 from a heartwrenching ode to a hot wailing mess, then his second choice should have been something that evoked what he did with "Mad World". This was fine, but there was nothing surprising or captivating about it. It was Adam wailing. Again. With more of that disturbing tongue sticking out of his mouth on the high notes stuff. Totally unnecessary and annoying. yes, yes, he can sing. No doubt. But he's also an artist. Artistry was not what he chose to focus on last night.

Bottom line: Yes, I'll say it! I did not like Adam last night. Not one bit. Gasp! Blashpemy! And if he goes home (which I think is entirely possible) it will be because he decided to turn the amplifiers up to 11, instead of just doing what got him this far.

So, what the real bottom line?

The Top 2 should be Adam and Kris.

I think the Top 2 will be Adam and Danny.

But really, they are all three talented, and they all three had an up and down night. So I won't be surprise at any outcome.

But what did you think?

Posted: Wed - May 13, 2009 at 01:43 PM       EmailFeedback

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