I'm watching on a bit of TiVo delay and just saw Lambert's performance. I'm not sure how I'll feel about him down the line, but his phrasing on Black & White was great (particularly with the "and I told 'em about a quality" part).
Carmichael Harold | 03.10.09 - 10:02 pm | #

I thought that Alexis won the night. I have trouble placing Adam. If I put aside that I hate-hate-hate his upper register, I'd say that technically, that was leagues ahead of everyone other than Alexis. But, as it happens, I DO hate-hate-hate his upper register, and he keeps relying on it so much. And he's so theatrical that I can't see him as a contemprary artist. I don't even know how to rank that.

I was pretty meh on just about everyone else.

Lil was good, but karaoke.

Scott can't seem to hit notes very well.

I like Danny's voice but not the song choice (although, hey, it wasn't insprational), but I hated the intro and the dancing.

Michael was pretty good.

Jasmine was awful and should go home.

Kris was fine, I guess. I don't quite get how the guitar added to the song, other than him being comfy playing it.

Allison seemed shouty to me. Better than plenty of them, but....

Anoop. [Insert sad face here.] Ah, I want to like him so much, but I've yet to like a performance.

Jorge. Blah.

Megan: Can't dance. Hit or miss on notes.

Matt was fine (other than me not liking that sort of style) except that that last run was bad.
Jenn. | 03.10.09 - 10:15 pm | #

I think Anoop has been so likeable that he'll get the votes needed to last another week, but I can't imagine him becoming a legitimate contender to win the thing.

While I detested Adam's wild-card performance, I thought he clearly was the best of the night. Then again, the theme seemed right in his wheelhouse. I thought Alexis and Danny also were very good.
StvMg | 03.10.09 - 10:34 pm | #

With the dearth of pre-finals performances, I feel like we're just starting to get a handle on what people are capable of, and just getting the outlines of the tiers.

I'll defer to Adam on when tier-posting is appropriate, and simply note that there are only 3 folks who should feel safe tonight -- Lil, Danny, and Adam.
Mr. Cosmo | 03.10.09 - 10:44 pm | #

I'm sorry, I don't get all the Adam worship. To me, his performance was shrieky and self-indulgent. I think he'd do just fine on Broadway. I can't imagine buying an album of his.

Danny was the revelation of the night. I had thought that he was a nice guy with a sympathetic backstory and an interesting voice. But he was so much better than that tonight. It's the performance I'll remember most.

And if the shocking rules change is that the judges get a voice in the decision, then I'm done with the show. At least half the enjoyment of watching is the unpredictability of America.
Fred App | 03.10.09 - 10:55 pm | #

The big lesson for me tonight was that I really don't like most of the Michael Jackson songbook. Which shouldn't have been news to me -- I went into tonight liking Off the Wall and Thriller and . . . that's it, and nothing I heard subsequently changed my mind. MJ's songs are about performance -- it's not like the Heart catalog, which apparently anyone with a bit of a raspy belt can sing; most of his songs, particularly the uptempo ones, sound ridiculous unless they're done really well, and the ballads are mostly kind of sappy and dull.

I'm in the Jasmine must go camp. She just doesn't have the goodwill banked that the other sucky people do (Scott, Anooop, and Agador Spartacus -- which is the best nickname ever). And her comments weren't negative enough to get the kiddies texting. I think she's toast.

As for the rest of Adam's categories: I'd more or less agree, except that I thought that Kris was on a par with at least the Rigger, and possibly also Giraud, who I still am not drawn to. And I hate his jaunty little fedora. So I'd drop Rigger and Matt down a group.

I lurve Megan. Yeah, Rockin Robin is a silly little song, but what else was she going to sing? I love watching her, I love listening to her, I love that weird little twangy accent thing she does, and I hope she makes it through this totally-wrong-for-her week to be able to pick something more appropriate next week. Big band week, anyone?

So, Lambert and Gokey:
RDJJ - I agree with Jenn that the opening was terrible, but he's got the most amazing deep roar of a voice that I just don't remember ever hearing on the show before. And his aw-shucksy-folksy bit with the dancing was one of the best judge responses I can recall. He's really likeable and he can sing.

Lambert - I hate Black or White. A lot. It takes a really memorable feat of singing to make me want to listen to this song. Adam totally pulled it off. I agree with Carmichael Harold about the phrasing -- he knows how to take apart a song and to put it back together. I still don't know what Adam's going to do in a week that doesn't lend itself to his particular style, but this was right in his wheelhouse and I thought it kicked ass. (Unlike, say, Anoop, who proved that an unsingable song really is unsingable.)
KCosmo | 03.10.09 - 11:00 pm | #

Kris probably would have been higher had he actually employed the guitar in the performance of the song, or ditched it altogether.
Adam | Homepage | 03.10.09 - 11:09 pm | #

I think Allison Iraheta is in the Thriller category too. She is awesome. Most of the other choices, based on your puns, are spot on. I would that Kris Allen's attire didn't suggest R & B, but more of Larry the Cable Guy.
Benny | 03.10.09 - 11:09 pm | #

"Agador Spartacus"?
Jenn. | 03.10.09 - 11:10 pm | #

Jenn -- Jorge = Hank Azaria in the Birdcage.
Mr. Cosmo | 03.10.09 - 11:12 pm | #

Forget the performances -- what was with the terrible gameshow intro?
AmyP | 03.10.09 - 11:13 pm | #

Ahhh. Soon understanding.

AmyP is right. What the hell was up with that intro?
Jenn. | 03.10.09 - 11:29 pm | #

You guys wanna speculate on what the twist is? They can't possibly be dumb enough to give the judges veto power over who stays and goes, can they? But what else could Ryan and Simon have been implying?
Alan Sepinwall | 03.10.09 - 11:32 pm | #

That's certainly what I took from it -- some kind of veto. Which would stink.
Adam | Homepage | 03.10.09 - 11:34 pm | #

I missed that hint---DVR cut off---but I hope that's not it, Alan.
Jenn. | 03.10.09 - 11:34 pm | #

Maybe the voters eliminate one singer and the judges eliminate a second?

I agree with Fred App that Adam was really dreadful. He sings like a broadway actor playing a rock singer. He's got a tremendous range and owns the stage like no one else in this group, but the total performance just didn't click. It wasn't musical. It was like a bad musical about MJ.

(And seriously, how do you do Black or White without at least a few seconds of smashing a car with a baseball bat or tire iron?)

Dead Wife Guy was the only performance whose singing was any good. (His dancing, not so much.)

Low-rent Jason Mraz's guitar playing didn't have anything to do with the rest of his song.

I fast forwarded through at least half of Oil rig, low-rent Chris Martin, the eyebrows, and blind guy. Low-rent Chris Martin wasn't bad, just boring.

Blind guy was really terrible, even though the judges seemed to like him.
Andrew | Homepage | 03.10.09 - 11:49 pm | #

If Idol were to announce any change that involved taking power out of the hands of The People, it would be an act of programming self-immolation on an epic scale.

Seacrest begins nearly every Wednesday with "What have you done, America?" If he had to change it to, "What are some snobby British guy, some guy who claims he played with Journey, a mentally defective former pop star and some chick you've never heard of about to do, America?" that just wouldn't have the same ring.

It would be ever-so-bad...

Then again, democracy doesn't work. Perhaps it's better for "Idol" to install a little fascism. But why now?

Daniel
Daniel | Homepage | 03.10.09 - 11:52 pm | #

Has there ever been a worse backing track than on "Rockin' Robin"? Good Lord, that sounded like a monkey banging a Casio keyboard on acid back there. (The singing was way less tragic than her last two attempts. Still not good.)

Allison: Awesome. Adam: Awesome.

Danny and Lil: Both decent-to-good, but why must they shout at me during the parts of songs that are supposed to be come-ons? It is not sexy. The last time Lil sang "you really turn me on" it sounded like a threat.

Coldplay Goatboy: Improved. Still bleating.

Jorge: Did not realize this was that Communards song until the very end. Yawn.

Anoop: I actually thought the singing wasn't that bad, but there were lots of other problems -- he didn't handle the mic well and kept dropping out, would've been better just a hair faster, spent too much time just walking back and forth across the stage. Amateurish.

The twist: I think it almost has to be something like the judges making one of the cuts. If it were going to be something like immunity for the night's best performance it would've been announced, right?
victoria | Homepage | 03.11.09 - 12:06 am | #

I would bet it's something like: America chooses "chopping block"; they sing for their lives; then, judges decide.
Adam | Homepage | 03.11.09 - 12:06 am | #

Also, want to know why Agador Spartacus is going home? When in doubt, it's always someone whose last song would be ironic or painful as a farewell, and "Never Can Say Goodbye" fits.
Adam | Homepage | 03.11.09 - 12:10 am | #

Haven't the producers done enough to tilt the playing field? They pimped the hell out of the people that they wanted in the finals. They used the pimp spots, Simon pronouncements of who should get through, and then the wild card, to field with maybe an exception or two the people that they wanted. They then have everything from song choice (didn't it sound like Jorge was saying that he didn't really have a choice this week?), to lighting, to singing slot, to judges' comments to try to tilt some more. Do they really need to give the judges veto power, too?
Jenn. | 03.11.09 - 12:15 am | #

the song that blind guy sang
was so terrible that it sounded like a rejected coronation song
all it was missing was a line about magical rainbows
Katie | 03.11.09 - 12:39 am | #

Aww, Anoop! I love Anoop and really can't stand Michael Jackson except for maybe two or three songs, so I'm pretty biased on this one. Still, I don't think Anoop was that bad. Frankly, I thought Lil Rounds and Lamebert were worse - proof that it's all subjective. RDJJ was great & I don't think his dance moves will hurt him too much - they're kind of endearing. Also liked Alexis and Matt Giraud.

I hope Anoop sticks around just for the fun factor. And he does have a pretty good voice, he just needs a better song next time. Speaking of, how exactly do they choose songs? What happens if two contestants want the same song?

Really hope the judges don't get final say on who stays and who goes.
erin | 03.11.09 - 1:02 am | #

I want Scott to go home. Now. And I love Adam, but I think I've been clear on that for a while now. Everyone else has said everything about the performances, so I'm just going to toss out that whatever stylist thought Lil should be wearing pleated pants should be fired. NO ONE looks good it them, and she is no exception.
Maret | 03.11.09 - 1:30 am | #

Weird rhythm problems tonight. Grace was behind, and not behind-the-beat but just waaaay behind the entire song and you could hear how off Kris Allen's guitar was even though they didn't even bother to plug it into the PA -- I'm pretty sure all the guitar sound we got was through the really high-quality vocal mic. So as it turns out, he's not a guitar virtuoso. And Macintyre is not a good piano player either.

Iraheta sings much better than Glocksen, though her pipes petered out at the end and she started dropping flat.

I did like the two or three seconds of Megan singing things Meganly, but I'm guessing that looking the way she looked tonight she could have butchered that stupid song and still not have been voted out this early.
isaac_spaceman | Homepage | 03.11.09 - 2:40 am | #

Agador Spartacus = brilliant nickname, but his performance had me reaching for the pirin.


Scott was a parody of White Gospel Music. What must he do to provoke even the tiniest bit of critique from the judges? C'mon America- vote Scott off!

I liked Lambert, RDJJ and Allison the best- the rest were kind of meh, though I still have a special feeling for Megan and her flapping elbows.
kevbo nobo | 03.11.09 - 7:04 am | #

"An act of programming self-immolation on an epic scale." I think Daniel describes it perfectly. The reason Idol is so popular is that viewer feel invested in the results. You don't just have to shout at the TV if you think Simon is being an ass; you can pick up the phone and show him who's boss. If you take that part away, then it becomes just another reality show.

I think the producers are killing themselves trying to chase shadows. They're looking to recapture the ratings they had in their first few seasons, and it ain't gonna happen. The novelty is gone, and there are too many other shows that look the same. They should be happy with just getting the best ratings this season without worrying about how they compare to the past.
Fred App | 03.11.09 - 8:35 am | #

Is it that they want to boost the Wednesday ratings, and they think adding Kanye and Kelly-level stars every week isn't enough? Are they trying to kill LOST? Good news is that we don't have to move the island out of the way, given ABC's commitment.
Adam | 03.11.09 - 8:58 am | #

I agree with much of the above commentary. Might be leaning toward Gokey or Giraud as an early fave.

I like Alexis a lot, but Dirty Diana? Come on. I love the song Dirty Diana ... mostly because they lyrics seriously crack me up ... especially the part where Diana chases after Jacko's protaganist (who's on the phone with his lover because he For-Got his Keys) and screams into the phone "he's NOT comin' home beCAUSE he's sleepin' with me." I think a singer really has to choose between a total buy-in on the nonsensically awesome drama that is the song, or treat it ironically, and she didn't do either. Her outfit looked great, which was really the point of the song choice.
3under5 | Homepage | 03.11.09 - 9:46 am | #

Adam, I thought you were kidding with the Rushfield quote. Alas, not.
Roger | 03.11.09 - 9:48 am | #

I just took a tour of the youtube videos posted of Adam Lambert's various musical theater performances. There's a reason why he is so comfortable on the stage......
PiledHighandDeep | 03.11.09 - 10:09 am | #

And after watching some of this stuff...may I humbly offer a ALOTT5MA style nickname for Adam? I'm thinking Little Freddie Mercury.
PiledHighandDeep | 03.11.09 - 10:15 am | #

Prince won.

Adam sounds more like Steven Tyler than the great (God Rest His Fabulous Soul) Freddy Mercury.

Adam, I don't understand your placing of Megan. If a pop singer can't sing than she better be hot, and sexual. Megan's dancing suggests perhaps not such a great lover imho, and hot girl that cannot sing and that voting male (and/or female) audience does not covet as a lover, is not tier 2 methinks.

Surprised at all the folks who don't like the Michael Jackson Catalog except for a couple of songs. Not liking Michael I can understand. I mean as I said above before parroting Chris Rock, Prince won. But MJ is a hell of singer. The fact that his songs cannot be duplicated by other singers in a close to original/cover arrangement is not proof of bad songs, but of an otherworldly talent. See Sting.
Anonymous | 03.11.09 - 10:27 am | #

Heh, PiledHighandDeep.

Claire Zulkey at the AV Club had a good explanation of the issues that I have with Adam Lambert: "People seem to have very strong feelings about Adam Lambert and apparently I am in the minority. I thought his performance of "Black or White" was over-the-top and Axl-Rosey. "This style of his is going to get really old after a few weeks," I thought. Basically he sings the way a trumpet player would play if the trumpet player periodically liked to blow as HARD AS POSSIBLE a few times into the instrument each song, thereby ruining a decent performance with theatrics. But Paula didn't agree with me as she was near-tears telling Fall Out Man how he'll be in the finals and even Simon thought it was amazing which was a letdown to me. I believe that Adam can sing but his style annoys the crap out of me."
Jenn. | 03.11.09 - 10:30 am | #

I don't have an opinion on Adam Lambert yet -- but I do find him totally mesmerizing onstage. I didn't actually think Black or White was all that great, but I couldn't take my eyes off him. That's showmanship.

Allison Iraheta has a ton of confidence, but I think she also sounds like she's blowing out her vocal cords.

Alexis Grace was great on the verse last night, but the rest of the song sort of fell apart for me.

I thought Matt Giraud was terrific. I missed him in the early rounds, so he was a very nice surprise. I also really liked Kris Allen's performance, regardless of whether the guitar was miked or not. His poor wife looked angry/sad when Simon said he shouldn't have brought her out that early.

There are a lot of people in these finals who cannot win American Idol, I think. (Scott, Jorge, Anoop, Sarver, and Jasmine, I'm looking at you.)
gretchen | 03.11.09 - 11:10 am | #

Did Rushfield really include "Smithson" on that list of so-called titans? He's a joke.
KCosmo | 03.11.09 - 11:38 am | #

Pretty funny. I think that everyone on that list has either sold a million or more copies of a CD, sold a million or more copies of a single, won a Grammy, or won an Oscar (or some combination), with one notable exception. Heh.
Jenn. | 03.11.09 - 11:46 am | #

KCosmo, I'm with you on Rushfield's Smithson reference. I know he's been a little over-the-top on his Smithson praise in the past, but when you're talking about careers that have been launched, shouldn't you limit your references to people who have actually put out records since they competed on AI?
StvMg | 03.11.09 - 6:28 pm | #