Once again this is being posted later than I'd like for it to be, but life happens. Here goes nothing (shouldn't that be the slogan for Idol X?)
Scotty and his faces kicked off Elton John night. Now, I must confess I am an Elton fan, but I'm not a highly educated one. I'm an Elton hits fan. I probably couldn't name one deep cut. Scotty, on the other hand, found a very deep cut. Well, that or he got a word document list of every Elton John song and hit ctrl F and typed in "country." Yeah, let's go with that theory. Scotty chose a country song that even Elton himself probably forgot he'd ever recorded. Why did he choose this?? Because Scotty has less than one dimension, if that's possible. Did it sound all right? Sure, it sounded like Scotty doing a country song. No one would have ever known or cared that it was an Elton John tune. Sir Smirks A Lot will undoubtedly have a nice country career ahead of him, but he's so annoying on so many levels. On the bright side, at least we know he used his real accent.
See how nicely I segued into the next performer? Naima decided she was going to pretend to be Jamaican this week, after taking us to Namibia in the previous week. Thus "I'm Still Standing" because I'm still stonding, and all the world was worse for it. It was atrocious and, to steal a Simon word, indulgent. I highly doubt she won any fans with this performance, and is in serious danger of leaving.
Paul came next with my favorite Elton John song, "Rocket Man." The problem with doing this song in Idolverse is that the verse builds and builds until the grand pay off in the chorus. With less than two minutes to perform, you're not able to build up to the big payoff. I think this hurt Paul a bit. Don't get me wrong, it was a decent performance and he's not leaving based off of it, but it's a song that requires some marinating time. That being said, find a Jason Mraz cover of the song. Pure magic.
Pia came next and, sadly, did what Pia does. As Kate in Lost is to running, Pia is to slow, predictable song choices. Did she sing it well? Yes. But in one of the rarest of occasions this season, the judges were right last week when they told her to speed it up and show us something different. She needs to do that soon or run the risk of being overlooked by the audience.
Stefano took "Tiny Dancer" and abused it with his tiny range. The boy just isn't that great of a singer. He's pretty much a waste of space at this point. Filler in an already filler dominated season. Please put us out of his misery soon, America.
Lauren Alaina was at her best last night, and for the first time I saw a glimpse of what the judges see in her "Underwood Possibilities." I'm not anointing her into that category in any way, but she's able to do with her country tone what Scotty isn't: take it other places. She can still sound like a country singer, but doesn't have to make everything sound like a country song. I thought her outfit was a bit ridiculous, and I wish they'd never show her stage mom, but kudos to Lauren.
James Durbin came out and did exactly what I had told my wife he would, which is sing a mediocre version of "Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting." I didn't predict the flaming piano, but I should have. This guy is such a watered down version of Adam Lambert, it's kind of fun to watch him overcompensate.
Thia came out and performed....oops, sorry, as soon as I started typing about her my computer went into sleep mode. This girl is one of the most forgettable performers in recent Idol big stage memory.
Casey finally decided to sing in this singing competition. You'd think this was a wise move. Unfortunately for the furry jokester, his vocal limitations were on full display, making it clear why he's been shooting for personality over voice. If we'd never seen his personality, and just heard him sing "Your Song," he wouldn't have gotten this far. Good save there panel.
Oh Jacob Lusk, great job listening to Jimmy Iovine's plea for not being over dramatic. This year's gospel singer came out with shadowed silhouette and fog machine in full effect, and continued to overdo it.
Haley closed the show with an Elton song I actually can't stand. I know, I know, blasphemy, but Buh buh buh Bennie does nothing for me, nor did Haley's growly, sometimes screamy rendition of it. The judges of course thought she'd just reinvented the wheel, but I didn't love it. The girl has spunk, I'll give her that, but the vocals are just so-so for me. The growling has to go, as does the look on Jennifer Lopez's "someone just did an SBD near me" face when they cut away to her during Haley's performance. If you don't know what SBD is...I won't ruin the surprise.
I might add more later, but I'll end it now so I can watch the results. Prediction: Thia, Naima and Stefano in the bottom three, Naima and Stefano go home (I only say Stefano because I vowed never to pick Thia again).
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