AMERICAN IDOL Top 5 Performances

One of the bad things about daring to have a life on IDOL night is that I’m inevitably spoiled by the reviews on Twitter.  And yes it’s possible that I just not check Twitter to avoid being spoilerd, I said it’s possible…not that I would do it.

So here we are at 11:15pm on Tuesday and my IDOL night is just beginning. Here’s to hoping my exhaustion doesn’t taint my thoughts on the performances.

It’s Rat Pack night. All the IDOL get to play dress up and pretend their Frank or Sammy.  Not sure what to expect, but at least we’ll see some good duds.

Tonight’s mentor was a bit of mystery to the contestants. No one knew who it could be.  As Kris mentioned, it’s Rat Pack week and all those people are…dead.  So who could it be?  Yikes, it’s Jamie Foxx.  I’m not a Jamie hater but no one likes to hear the sound of his own voice more than Jamie Foxx. And despite his many accomplishments I still see Jamie Foxx as Wanda from “In Living Color”.

iTunes Standings..
Before we get to the singing, did y’all hear of the supposed iTunes slip up this week.  Apparently there was some kind of glitch over at iTunes and for a short period of time the sales number for the Idols were made public.  This is something IDOL and iTunes keeps underwraps so as not to influcene the voting public.

So how did our IDOL’s fair?  It should come as no surprise that Adam Lambert was leading the IDOL races with 6 of the top 10 downloads.  But what is surprising to most (but not me) was that Kris Allen was second in line with 3 songs in the top 10.  Seems like everyone expected The Gokey to be there.  Not the case.  He only had 1 song on the charts.  Looks like I’m not the only one loving Kris Allen. Let’s hope this “glitch” wasn’t planned – the producers do love Danny.  God, I’m so cynical.

Kris Allen
Back to the music. Kicking things off tonight is Mr. #2 himself, Kris Allen, with “The Way You Look Tonight”. Jamie declared that Kris is his #1. He wants to do a record with him.  Oh I like that Jamie Foxx…ha ha. Um. Yeah.  Sorry, I’m not sure I even heard the performance, I was too lost in the haze of my heart. That boy makes me swoon.  Actually I thought the performance was fantastic.  The arrangement, alternating from the swooning to the sway was really interesting.  I’ll be adding that one to my Kris Allen iTunes mix.

Randy thought this was Kris’s best performance to date. I don’t know about that but I’ll take it! Kara said he set the technical standard incredibly high. Kris looks floored. Paula called him a “contemporary crooner”.  Simon thought the performance was “wet”. (Whatever that means).  He didn’t get the feeling tonight that Kris could win it all.  Listen, I’m not sure he can either, I think Adam has this wrapped up, but I think Adam can make it to the final two.

Allison Iraheta
Allison looked really beautiful tonight. I liked that she infused her rocker style with a more classic look.  She’s singing “Someone to Watch Over to Me” – one of the most beautiful songs ever written.  I liked Jamie’s advice to express her love for her family through the song.  Allison looked really touched. And her performance was stunning.  There was a maturity to Allison tonight that we have not seen before. Her voice control was fantastic. This girl is sixteen?  I’m not sure I believe it.  God I hope she gets the respect she deserves after this performance.

Randy loved it!  Is this the first time one of the judges actually compared her to Pink? Probably not, but it’s something I think every single week.  Kara continued with the praise and self her performance was gut wrenching, deep emotional rendition. Paula loved it too and called it alluring and tender. Simon kind of complimented but then he said that she’s probably going home tonight.  So frustrating!  Go Allison!

[Woo Hoo!  Just saw the Fox promo for Glee with a quote from GiveMeMyRemote.com.  Score!]

Matt Giraud
After the glowing praise for Kris and Allison, I thought it was telling that Jamie didn’t have much to say about Matt’s “My Funny Valentine”.  But I thought it was very cool that Jamie later called Matt back and gave him some notes on how to make the performance stronger. Matt was an early favorite of mine, but he’s currently my #4 of this final 5.  I put Matt right above Danny. Sorry, I know Danny can sing, but I don’t think Danny has shown any growth or artistry (sorry I know I sound like Kara) through the entire competition. It’s the same thing every week.  Ok sorry, off The Gokey back to Matt. No one in the history of IDOL will ever perform this song better than Melinda Doolittle did a few seasons back.  Matt’s interpretation was a little off for me.  He was turning his voice on some of the notes trying to be a little more stylistic, but I thought it came off as hokey. Some of the bigger notes were beautiful. So glad that he took Jamie’s advice on holding the “stay” in his range – it worked well and it was powerful.

Randy thought it was a little bit pitchy and he didn’t think it all came together.  He gave it a 6 out of 10.  Since when did the judges feel the need to give these number ratings.  Kara didn’t feel the emotional connection.  Paula disagreed with Kara…probably just to disagree.  Simon thought it was believable and authentic and he thought Matt was absolutely brilliant.

Danny Gokey
Danny’s singing “Come Rain or Come Shine”. I must say Danny was looking all kinds of handsome tonight is his suit. He performed this song beautifully tonight.  The second half of the song was unexpected and all kinds of awesome. I think this was my favorite performance of Danny’s this entire competition.  He’s still my least favorite, but I think he did so much better than Matt tonight. Well done, Gokey. Well done.

Randy thought Danny could have an album of songs like this. Kara thought he had swagger tonight. She said it was the most creative he’s ever been with a melody (glad I’m not the only one that thought that). Paula thought the performance was stellar! Simon thought he proved a point with the vocals and the performance. He thought it was outstanding.

Simon praised Jamie Foxx and I’m going to second that praise.

Adam Lambert
Based on Jamie’s comments to Kris, I didn’t get the immediate sense that Jamie liked Adam all that much.  But Jamie thought he was going to knock everyone’s head off, so I guess I was wrong. Adam is singing one of the coolest songs “Feelin’ Good”. Get ready for a little Adam screaming.  If Simon was looking for confidence, well then he must love Adam because he was swimming in it.  I’ve become a total Adam convert but I don’t think this was one of my favorite performances from him.  It felt a little showtunesy.  And to steal from Simon, perhaps a bit self indulgent.  Won’t be downloading this one. But there’s no denying this guy is off the frakkin’ charts talented.

Randy thought it was a little too theaterical but thought it was another good performance. Kara thought he was shocking, sleezy and superb – all superlatives in her book. Paual compared him to Michael Phelps.  Simon really liked the performance and liked that Adam is in this to win it.  He also said it was the best entrance of the year and that because of Adam’s walk down the stairs, Ryan is no longer allowed to enter that way.  Ha!

So I guess I wasn’t as tired as I thought I’d be watching.

My top three (in order): Kris Allen, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta

I think it should be Matt that goes home this week, but it will most likely be Allison.  Where are the punk guys with the crushes?!  Allison needs your votes.  She’s got mine!

Ok friends.  Let’s talk IDOL.  Thought on last night’s performances?