Country night, Season 8 style. Wait, who here likes this crap?
Stephani here! Grand Ole Opry night has come and go, friends. And thank heavens for that – I mean, seriously. I don’t think any of these guys are going to go on to record country music, and the only contestant who *might* was a hot bag of crap tonight. So on we go… at least it wasn’t a *total* trainwreck.
1.) Michael Sarver – Ain’t Goin’ Down Till the Sun Comes Up. You know you did a shitty job when bloody Josh Gracin from Season 2 outsings you on a song. But again, this was never meant to actually be a “real” Idol song, it’s one of those songs you try to sing all drunk at a dive karaoke bar in Oklahoma [I should know, I love to sing this song]. There’s just too many words! And I’m not convinced he sang them all! [I know all the words, for the record]. Oh my heck. And to make his case worse, he talked back to the judges. BIG no-no. Please get voted off go back to being Bruce Willis on an oil rig, you country smart-ass.
2.) Allison Iraheta – Blame It On Your Heart. Aw, I still like her, with her cute mushmouth and fabulous cherry-red hair and her growly so-not-16-years-old voice. That said, country isn’t this chick’s genre, but she did her thang [tm Randy]. She does this adorable little Ruplestiltskin dance in her workshop with Randy Travis [which, thank God, she did not do on stage] and then I was reminded again that she was born in effing 1992. At least she did better than I thought she would.
3.) Kris Allen – To Make You Feel My Love. Dudes, this isn’t even *really* a Garth Brooks song, it’s a Bob Dylan song. Anyway, with that aside, I still want to take young Kris home and do wonderfully bad things to him. He showed his softer side – which, without a doubt, had fangirls from coast to coast squealing like they were at a Jonas Brothers convention. He didn’t use his guitar – and he still shone without it. He’s got a beautiful voice. But it HAS to be said – with a song this slow and romantic, couldn’t they at least have given him some awesome pimp lighting? Like seriously, I thought I was staring at the blue screen of death while watching him, and that was *weird*.
4.) Lil [not Little] Rounds – Independance Day. Girl, now it’s a damn good thing you didn’t take Randy’s advice and sing that overblown cover of “I Will Always Love You” that every freaking diva in America thinks they can nail. But four seasons ago Carrie NAILED this – and recorded it. She didn’t match up, sadly. Not to mention this song is one of the biggest forms of country music buzzkill [a mom kills her husband and herself and then the daughter goes on to tell her story? Yikes] and should probably never be sung ever again by someone not named Martina McBride. Even that’s a push. But she was alright – just not amazing.
5.) Adam Lambert – Ring of Fire. The first “love it or hate it” performance of the season! I loved it, the husband wanted to throw our brand-new LCD TV down the stairs after it was over. Sure, it was unconventional and Middle Eastern and kind of weird, but my lil’ theatre boy SOLD IT. I felt like I needed to go get tested for chlamydia after watching it. This is what Constantine from Season 4 wanted to be but epically failed. Yeah, sure, it was a little indulgent – but I’d rather hear this than Adam trying to straight-face it through some Garth Brooks. And for those saying Johnny Cash is rolling in his grave? Not likely. The Man in Black covered genres all the freaking time.
6.) Scott Macintyre – Wild Angels. Well, this is a refreshing change – someone other than a glory-noting wannabe diva singing Martina McBride. Kinda warms my jaded, hardened heart. Once again we see Scott in his comfort zone, behind the piano, and I feel his interpretation is pretty damn good. Sure, he’s the musical equivalent of Xanax, but he’s definitely improving every week. And Paula, seriously, give the blind kid a break! With this recession going on, Idol can’t afford to hire extra stage hands to keep Scott from accidentally walking off the front of the stage, so let the kid sit, k?
7.) Alexis Grace – Jolene. Yikes. I’m sorry, this is one of my favorite songs EVER, and it needs to be sang with ANGST and LONGING. None of this vocal riffing shit. Dolly sang it straight; hell, Brooke sang it straight last year even if she got a bit smiley in parts. But seriously, girl, quit dressing like a call girl and feel the raw emotion behind the song. No one cares about melisma when you’re singing fucking DOLLY PARTON. [By the way, this is what I hoped Adam would sing - the White Stripes version, of course. He would have nailed it.]
8.) Danny Gokey – Jesus Take the Wheel. Dude, we get it – you’re a church-going kid, a choir leader, and your wife died. You love Jesus. But this is the WORST SONG IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD for so so so many reasons. The preachy, nonsensical lyrics completely kill it for me no matter who is singing it – and I like Carrie Underwood. He wore a jacket that made him look like the sixth member of NSync and while his vocals were technically very good, I didn’t get that he was feeling it that much – which I suppose you have to do when you’re singing about Jesus literally taking the wheel of your car before you crash and die.
9.) Anoop Desai – Always On My Mind. I love me some Anoop. I love me some Anoop when he gets all 1980s and sings songs by artists who are now persona non grata. But I LOVED this – his vocals were spot-on, he brought emotion to the table and he definitely redeemed himself in the judges’ eyes. If he keeps singing songs that aren’t karaoke staples, he could make it very far this season, which would please me to no end.
10.) Megan Corkery – Walking After Midnight. Still don’t like her. Still don’t know why the judges have to give her the damn money shot after she sings. Because, seriously – they compare her to “current” artists, like Duffy or Amy Crackhead Winehouse or Adele. But the big, gaping difference between them and Megan is that they can sing extremely well and they can sell a song completely. Megan’s weird four-year-old dance moves [she is a single mom, after all] and half-spoken way of singing and inability to hold a note longer than 1.3256 seconds does not make her a viable pop star. And girl, please – put on a damn bra.
11.) Matt Giraud – So Small. If the judges want to talk about current, take this kid – he’s got aspects of John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, John Legend and Robin Thicke all wrapped up into one very pretty, very Jason Segal-lookalike package. I hadn’t heard this song before he sang it and after hearing it, I can’t imagine Carrie Underwood making it her own. The judges love him. I love him. But one minor gripe – why do they give Scott [y'know, the BLIND guy] a hard time for always using the piano, but not Matt? It baffles me.
So Michael grumbled a lot of words. Allison tried to make country sound like punk rock Miley Cyrus. Kris went all heartthrob. Lil avoided R&B on country night and got bitched out for her troubles. Adam confused most of America, especially the bible belters. Scott continued making very pretty sounding muzak. Alexis missed the point completely. Danny yelled a lot about Jesus and shit. Anoop showed there’s more to him than bad 1980s has-beens. Megan jumped in the running for Kellie Pickler 2.0. And Matt took one step closer to assuming JT’s throne.
See ya tomorrow for the results!
LIVE BLOGGING THE Country/Opry IDOL EPISODE…
MINUTE BY MINUTE Reactions!
How Green of them.
It’s St. Pattys Day. So here we go.
The judges walked out again! Still awakward and unnecessary.
Unnecessary and awkward
Top 11 come out. And Adam still dresses the part, and it seems pretty natural. Sometimes you see people try the rocker look and it seems posed. Him, I think its real. Because it borderlines feminine rock. So therefore it suits him.
GOO montage. Makes me want to download some Randy Travis.
•MICHAEL SARVER Ain’t goin’ down til the sun comes up- WOW. I LOVE THIS SONG. Its a damn hard song to sing, even being me in my car by myself. So I can’t imagine pulling off these lyrics in front of a crowd. Here we go… I think he will.
Its a little manic. Not as manic as I thought it could have been. He possibly broke the record for most lyrics sung in the allotted time given on the show.
The judges will be medium to cold on it. Simon will hate it.
JUDGES
Randy-Medium. Thought the vocals were too easy.
Kara- She missed the big notes. MICHAEL says Country is about havin’ “Some fun”
Paula- Loved that he fun. Thats what I got through her stuttering.
Simon-Simon wanted it to be good, but didn’t understand a word he said. Calls it clumsy (Crowd boos cause he’s telling the truth)
WOW. Michael responds “if we were perfect, we wouldn’t need this show.” Ryan asks Simon if he liked the performance or not. Simon responds “on a scale of 1-10. I’d give it a 1.2.” Really? You put this guy through over 100,000′s of people. You’d give that performance a 1.2?? You are a schmuck for that one. But he is who he is.
Commercial break.
•Allison Iraheta Patti Loveless- Don’t know the song. But her package with Randy was cute. Theres a controversial dance move. Lets see if she’ll do it.
Allison GOT MAD VOCALS!
I like it so far. This song sounds familiar. She made it current. Like her hair, outfits appropriate. No dance move yet…
Big note coming I think…nailed it.
The judges will love it. Simon will think that its current.
Judges
Kara- Sing the alphabet comment… Made the song her own. Getting better and better.
Paula- Another rock solid performance. Tells her to experiment with her vocals, be vulnerable.
Simon- Good. Possibly struggling with the words? She says so. Verging on percocious (I saw that too. I bit indulgent)
Randy- THOUGHT IT WAS DOPE! USING MY WORD!! LOVE IT.
GOOD job AL.
•Kris Allen- Garth Brooks song- (?) Cool package. Randy seems sincere with his comments. he’s very chill.
Guitarless? I’m liking it. These are the vocals I remember hearing from the Hollywood rounds. Nice false son! He seems very
Kris is doin' his thang!
comfortable with this genre. Simon might think it was a bit depressing or boring. He’ll need a big note to be satisfied.
Ended with a falsetto. Nice. I liked it. My favorite so far, by a mile. Good look too.
JUDGES
Paula- Honest and pure. Pleasantly surprised.
Simon-Wow. He thought it was terrific. Great song choice. Completely in control. First time he thought that Kris as a chance of doing really well in this competition.
Randy-Tender moments from his dawg Kris. “Tender Dawg”
Kara-Didn’t feel Opry-like. It was very Kris Allen.
Kris is my favorite tonight so far. BUT Danny and Adam haven’t gone yet.
Commercial Break
•Lil Rounds She has fixed her hair. Congratulations. Shes singing Martina McBride Independence Day. Wow. Thats balls. Carrie Underwood killed this song in season 4. And everyone else has perrished with this song. So here we go.
REALLY? PROM? CHURCH???
DOES SHE ALWAYS HAVE TO DRESS LIKE SHES GOING TO PROM OR SINGING AT CHURCH!!??
She said shes going to sing without her R&B tinge. We’ll see.
Is she going to prom??? Why does she dress this way? I don’t like it. But this is the first verse, so the big parts coming. Here we go. INNNDEEPENDENCE DAY… Wait, where did it go? Another part before that. OH here it comes…
LEETT FREEDOM SSSSINNNNNG!
Nice. She almost had a moment. That last part was better than the first. Hated the ending.
The judges will gush and call her the next whatever. Here we go.
Judges
Randy- Ambitious song choice. Front part he didn’t like. It didn’t feel comfortable! THANK YOU FOR KEEPING IT REAL.
Kara- The 2nd half was the Lil we love. TRUE. Lil did what she felt, so good for her. Not her best.
Paula- Everything is going right for Round… (LIES. haha). Paula said she should have sang just one verse instead of two. I agree.
Simon- “Look, little.” haha. He has trouble with her name. “It came over as one of those girls who has to sing a song someone else requested, and felt and looked uncomfortable.” I AGREE! “The song wasn’t you LIL.” AND I AGREE. he suggested doing what every other R&B singer does: Take a country song and make it there own. I AGREE!
SIMON IS A GENIUS.
So I think Lil was trying to pick something new and doing something different. She said that 1,000 times. She wasn’t as dorky as before, which I hated. I need the dorky Lil.
OOOH here comes Adam L!
-Commercial Break-
•ADAM LAMBERT
Ryan asked if Adams performance will have the Adam signature. And he said “YES” This video package is hilarious. Randy T said
Randy Travis and Adam L. AWKWARD!
“Im nervous. I don’t know what to say about this boy.”Hilarious.
Sitars? Im interested. I love that jacket! Very LA. Im digging this. Big Notes coming?? DUDE can sing. Period. The most unique performance EVER on this show. PERIOD. Wow. And apparently his theater friends are in the crowd for him. He definitely polarizes the entire audience.
JUDGES
Kara- She thinks it strange. The egyptian feel, all very strange. She kind of liked it.
Paula (gushing already)- Adam is true to who he is as an artist. Great choice of song. Loved it.
This dude is a rock star. HEY Rockstars can be GAY!
Almost Led Zeppelin type.
Simon- *Throws hands up* “Randy was trying to say WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” People are throwing their TV sets out the window. That was absolute indulgent rubbish.” Damn.
Randy (Comes to the rescue)- Imagine NiN doing country, and that’s what it would be. I AGREE! GOOD Job Randy!
Hands down. The first performance I want to re-watch tonight. That encapsulated Adams essence. BRAVO MAN!
-Commercial Break-
•Scotty Mac- Wild Wings- Scott, my man, you are very eh, blind eh, but eh still. He makes Christopher Cross look like Trent Reznor. I hate his song choices. He’s boring.
JUDGES:
Paula- She doesn’t want him to use the piano because she believes that theres a disconnect. (Eh, I think its more about song choice)
Simon- He calls the idea of him getting rid of the piano STUPID! Paula asks him to not be disrespectful. Simon calls her disrespectful. Then says its more song choice than the piano. THEN COMPARES SCOTTY MAC to Elton EFFIN’ JOHN? Really? NOPE! WRONG! *ALARM SOUND* WRONG.
awkward
Randy- Randy wants HOT INCREDIBLE vocals (which I have never heard from Scott)
Kara- Calls Simon and Paulas squabble “a fight.” Tells Scott he brings class and poise to the stage. (I guess)
I just don’t think he’s a good singer. He is more of a composer and piano player at this point. I hear Randy Yell “RAY CHARLES WEEK” haha nice.
•Alexis Grace- Jolene- I wasn’t a big fan of this song when Brooke White. And I’m not a big fan of it when this girl sings it. They said she looks like a young Dolly Parton. Really?? Missing two BIG elements! BREASTS
Judges
Randy- It didn’t work. Good song choice. Not a great performance.
Kara- Wanted her to sing an angry country girl song.
Paula- Enjoyed the vulnerable side. NEW DRINKING GAME: EVERY time she says Vulnerable, take a shot.
Simon-Forgettable.
-Commercial Break-
√Danny Gokey!!! Video package: Can’t get the words!! Jesus Take the Wheel. Very touching… I might cry. Here we go.
The first performance to make my roommate go nuts. And with good reason when he hits the chorus!! AMAZING!!! This kid has got the chops! Tears came from my eyes and my roommates eyes. HE JUST HAD A MOMENT! AND HE KILLED IT. Wow. wow.
I wonder if he was thinking about his wife. Sadness!
wow. wow. wow. wow. wow. wow. wow. wow. wow. wow.
Judges:
Kara- Didn’t like the first half. Shes NUTS. but she said the 2nd half was amazing.
Paula- Carrie would rush out and buy that version.
Simon- Simon agrees with Paula. But tells Kara that Danny can’t possibly scream the entire song.
Randy- Agrees with Kara. You need to support the verses. Good Advice.
I was expecting way more praise. But the crowd loves him to death.
•ANOOOOOOP Desai- You’re always on My Mind- Willie Nelson. Boring video package, but nice.
Here we go.
HOODIE!?? TOP 11? U look like a college student who stopped by Idol to sing a song!
WTF are you wearing!???? Playa, take some advice from people around you. Dress like a singer.
Nice tone to his voice though. THOUSAND times better than last week. ANOOOOOP! FROM BOLLYWOOD TO HOLLYWOOD!!
Not a good look bro!!
Judges:
Paula- He’s back! Proud of him to pick a song to put his interp on it. His vocals are tender and honest.
Simon- Anoop went from zero to hero. One of Simons favorite performances of the night. NICE
Randy- It wasn’t Anoop jumping around… The arraingment was great.
Kara- Almost untouchable song. Karas opinion best performance of the night.
-Commercial Break-
•Megan JO- THE RESIDENT HOTTIE! singing I go walking after midnight… never heard of it.
Here we go.
Sexiest Sleeved girl in Idol history! Take that CARLY!!!
It was alright. Im just never blown away with her vocals on an Idol level. But I could imagine the right album being made for her and me buying it.
•Judges:
Randy- Impressed.
Kara- Impressed that you came out with the flu.
Paula-Lets people know that she was in and out of the hospital this week. She is a fighter.
Simon- Says she should have the flu every week.
Snottie Hottie! I still love her even if shes sick!
Ryan hands her a handful of tissues. Says she has Influenza B??
here comes Matt G TO CLOSE IT!
-Commercial Break-
•Matt G So Small by Carrie Underwood. Randy is unsure in the video package. But at the end he is excited for America to see it.
Pauld standing and at Mid clap FOR MATTY G!
Here we go.
Soulful. I like it. At the piano, where he belongs. Amazing. Amazing. My 2nd favorite performance of the night.
•
Kara- Loved it.
Paula- Bless Carrie for letting them perform those songs.
Simon- Believes Danny out sang Danny G tonight…
Randy-His favorite too. Says that he reminds him of Buble and Timberlake.
SHOWS OVER.
SUMMARY
What an amazing show… MILES better than the show last week. This one felt less like karaoke and more like a singing competition.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES by ANOOP! Danny G! Matt G! KRIS A!! AMAZING GUYS! This could be the top 4 we are looking at in the finale.
Lil Rounds continues her underwhelming. She might not get to her Token Black Chick 3rd place spot after all! We’ll see!
BOTTOM SHIT PERFORMANCES OF THE NIGHT!
Alexis Grace- Lost in the fray, as I guessed she would.
Scotty Mac- EH!
Michael Sarver- I had higher expectations. MY BAD
Megan Joy- HOT but the vocals aren’t Idol. But I would definitely buy her cd if she had a decent single.
WHOS GOING HOME???
Its time to call it a wrap Scotty Mac! Sry! SEE UR WAY OUT!
TIME TO GO
G.O.O NIGHT on IDOL! My feelings…
Hmm… Grand Ole Opry Night? Trainwrecks to follow?
The GranD OlE OprY
So tonight is country night, but more specifically G.O.O night. haha GOO NIGHT!
I don’t know what the dif is by calling it country or G.O.O. night, but maybe Big & Rich aren’t a part of the G.O.O. So no Save a Horse biz tonight. I’ve always been a fan of country night, especially when the guys sing the ballads. Some of the better performances of the past have been:
Elliott Yamin If Tomorrow Never Comes
Chris Daughtry Making Memories of Us
Syesha Mercado I Will Always Love You
Bucky Covington Best I Ever Had
Just to name a few…
I think it’s going to be a good show. My guess right now for stand out performances will be
Allison Iraheta- Perhaps singing Before He Cheats?
Adam Lambert- Showing a more dramatic side this week.
Danny Gokey- Another week where he will coast through.
Anoop Dasai- HE’S BACK THIS WEEK! Heard it here first.
If I had to guess the bottom 3
Megan Jo Corkrey
Scotty Mac
Kris Allen
MAYBE Anoop. But I doubt it.
Michael Jackson night fails to bring 13 continuous trainwrecks.
Stephani here! Here we go… the Top 13. The first round of the finals. A sink or swim round for many Idol performers.
First of all, I’m feeling like this season is a bit disjointed… there’s WAY too much focus on the judges. First with the semi-finals format forcing a wild card round [all of whom were chosen by the judges], the weird intro they had tonight and now some kind of results show twist? Seriously? if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… but they are anyway.
Oh well… onto the people we actually vote for.
1.) Lil Rounds – The Way You Make Me Feel. First of all, WHAT is she wearing? White tapered mom jeans and a cotton candy pink loofah on her shoulder? Well, girl has stage presence, at the very least. She reminds me of a combo of LaToya and Fantasia from season three – shouty meets young married mom. She was good, but the continual pimping will keep her afloat.
2.) Scott McIntyre – Keep the Faith. I suppose it was this or “Heal the World”, right? I just knew dude would sing something inspirational. He busted out the grand piano and I think this was the best he’s been in weeks. Of course, that isn’t saying much because the main reason he made the finals was his super inspirational backstory and the fact that the judges treat him with kid gloves. I still want to see him stick around, though, if only to see how he handles the cheesetastic group sings and to see if they put him behind the wheel of a Ford in a pimpmercial. Yeah, I’m going to hell.
3.) Danny Gokey – PYT. All I could think about before he sang was, “Didn’t Justin Guarini massacre this song in season one?” Luckily, Danny fared much better, even though his totally off-the-wall dork dancing sometimes overshadowed his very good vocals. I like this guy, but I may not continue to if the judges keep pimping him to high heavens. The last guy who had great vocals and drunk-uncle-at-a-wedding dance moves was Taylor Hicks… don’t they hate him now?
4.) Michael Sarver – You Are Not Alone. God, I HATE this song. The video tainted it for me years ago… creepy. Anyway, he does a passable job and he keeps doing this creepy smiling thing during the song and I can’t get over how much he reminds me of Josh Gracin from season two. They’ve both got that whole “I’m American, freedom isn’t free, yadayada” thing going for them. Oh and in case anyone out there forgot, he works on an oil rig. Just saying.
5.) Jasmine Murray – I’ll Be There. Jacko sang this as a wee one with the Jackson 5, and Jasmine is the token pretty Disney princess of the season, so I guess this fits. Again, a passable job, but not at all exciting. I’d rather go listen to the Mariah Carey cover. Not to mention she was flat and looked like she was competing for Miss Teen Mississippi. Not safe.
6.) Kris Allen – Remember the Time. Oh, Kris. You are my token Idol crush for this season. You and your cute dimples and cute guitar playing and cute, well, everything. I suppose it helps that he’s quite talented, though he didn’t get much screen time so he needs to bring it to stay in the game. He was also very good tonight – he needs to bring out the guitar more often because it’s obvious he’s a better performer with it. The best part? When Simon called him out for talking about his wife because of the teenage girl vote, and wifey giving Simon a massive bitchface from the audience. Priceless.
7.) Allison Iraheta – Give In To Me. I like this girl. She’s super young, but it’s not obvious – she’s not a pretty pageant princess or anything. And her voice is unlike any other 16-year-old I’ve heard, except maybe Christina Aguilera back then. This was a great song for her and she rocked it out. I’m pretty sure if she doesn’t completely blow out her voice, she’s gonna make it very far. Then after the judges told her to be less dark, she makes a random comment about how she’s not on stage cutting herself or anything. I decided to vote for her after that.
8.) Anoop Desai – Beat It. The judges need to give the kid a break. He wasn’t bad – not great either – but hell, after their comments you’d have thought he sacrificed kittens on stage. They were right about one thing, though – it’s a very “karaoke” song unless you can seriously bring the angst and do something new with it. Unfortunately, Anoop Dawg seems like a nice guy who isn’t really capable of this kind of angst, so maybe he should have sang “In the Closet” or something. I dunno.
9.) Jorge Nunez – Never Can Say Goodbye. Holy cruise ship, Batman. This wasn’t bad by any stretch – but what was it? Oh right, boring. He’s got a great voice, but when I hear him sing I envision generic looking Chippindale waiters serving me Bahama Mamas by the pool on the lido deck. I don’t think this kid has long for this competition – unless Puerto Rico is the new Hawaii. Time will tell.
10.) Megan Corkrey – Rockin’ Robin. All the songs in the Michael Jackson catalog and she chooses THIS? There are no words, really… other than trainwreck. I can’t deal with her flailing that she tries to pass off as dancing, and she’s not a fit up here on this stage – she’s definitely more suited for smaller venues, and she’s completely outshined. I don’t care how “current” she is. And seriously, someone tell me what was up with those bird calls at the end?
11.) Adam Lambert – Black or White. The most flamboyant Idol contestant to date sings one of MJ’s most flamboyant songs. It’s quite fitting. Pimped-out lighting aside, I loved it. The level of talent, stage presence and self-awareness is so refreshing that I don’t care that he’s probably a ringer. For once I think the judges were totally spot-on with their over-the-top raves. I can’t wait to see what he pulls out in the future. Oh, and he’s hot.
12.) Matt Giraud – Human Nature. This kid is a professional. With both last week’s and tonight’s performances, he has completely erased the “Viva la Vida” debacle for me. Like Scott, he channeled his piano skills into a very impressive performance and all I could think was how much he resembled Justin Timberlake – both in appearance and performance quality. He didn’t need to bust out the glory notes here and this understated performance was one of the best of the night.
13.) Alexis Grace – Dirty Diana. I so wouldn’t have picked her for the pimp spot, but I guess someone new had to get it. Once again she channeled her inner Katy Perry and “dirtied” it up for America. I like her well enough, but she’s just… there for me. The pimp lighting made her performance seem so much better than it really was. I guess they need to prop the girls up this season, though, with the bevy of male talent they have.
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