Idol: Number 1 Without A Bullet

Just yesterday, I was bemoaning the fact that even the giants of reality television seem to have run their course... and last night's Idol did nothing to change that fact.  If anything, it only seemed to confirm it as the gist of what I was reading about last night's show was how boring/bad it was... or the need to skip ahead a good month and get to the "good" part.

The major problem last night was song choice.  It was No. 1 Billboard hits (and on ANY chart!), so you an insane amount to choose from... and while I know getting songs cleared is always an issue, it still seems that the contestants could have made better decisions.  I found them to be crappy songs or so sick of hearing them year after year after year on Idol.  I call for a ban on "Against All Odds," "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," "When A Man Loves A Woman," and "Superstition."

Also, pulling the show down... the increasingly painful to watch Seacrest.  Pretty much every time he tries do "more," it falls incredibly flat... from the cringe-worthy Simon banter, to writing the note to tonsillitis-y Aaron (umm, Ryan he's the one that needs not to talk, not you!), to calling him Archuleta (which I totally agree about and mentioned last week, but it's my job to be snarky), to screwing up Didi's last name as some combo of bellini and panani (yeah, sure she's never heard that before).  Just wish he would host, instead of trying to "entertain."

The mentor for the night was 17-year old Miley Cyrus... and while agree she's probably had "a lifetime of experience," it just seemed a bit for her to be doling out advice... other than "Here's some bourbon and carton of Marlboros, lower that voice kiddo!"  

Ok, time for the order of finish... and yes, it's eerily similar to Week 1... so get used to it (if I do keep it up!):

Crystal Bowersox (“Me & Bobby McGee”) - The only moment last night that I got a little bit of goosebumps, even though I thought she lost it with all the riffing (i.e. not singing in a singing competition).  I think she will continue to be the "thank goodness" moment each performance show.

Siobhan Magnus (“Superstition”) - I wasn't totally in love with this.  Until she hit her glory note, which was a bit rough last night, it was pretty darn tepid.  But I just love how she turns from this total dork in the bumper piece, to this tigress on stage.  

Didi Benami (“You're No Good”) - I don't know what the heck the judges were talking about last night as I don't think Didi did anything dramatically different than the previous week.  Sure, it was a bit more "put on" but I did see it as a contemporary performance ala something that we could hear from the likes of Adele, Duffy, or Amy Winehouse.  

Lee Dewyze (“The Letter”) - This is where I start getting less enthusiastic about things, still giving Lee a "pass" here, but it's more that it was good, not great, and don't have anything bad to say about it ... unlike everyone else that will follow.

Casey James (“The Power of Love”) - When I heard that Casey was singing this song, I thought "Wow, a Celine Dion song, that's interesting / impressive / different!"  Then I was knocked out of my gay daydream and informed it was the 80s Huey Lewis & The News song.  Again, the only thing that gives Casey a pass here is hair envy and that he sounded good, though I agree with Simon that I don't think he added anything new or different to it.  

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Aaron Kelly (“I Don't Want To Miss A Thing”)- I should have give Aaron a pass given that he did sound pretty good, especially considering his throat issues. Speaking of being sick, this is the song that I am most sick of hearing on Idol... and likewise, I don't like being told beforehand that a contestant has a health issue.  If the performance is crappy, than perhaps the excuse is acceptable.  But I thought he sounded just fine.

Michael Lynche (“When A Man Loves A Woman”) - I thought Mike did reasonably well but I am already getting tired of his being in love, having a new baby, isn't life great schmaltz.  The song choice was more an eye-roller than anything else.

Katie Stevens (“Big Girls Don't Cry”)- Kudos to Katie for the one contemporary song of the evening. I didn't research it, but I think the majority of songs pre-dated my college years... and folks, that's a long time ago.  I am not sure what the judges were hearing here that they were mis-hearing with say Didi, I thought Katie sounded incredibly sharp throughout most of the song, painfully so.  Perhaps that's what Kara was getting at when she said "Mad pitch issues"... and the song seem suited to her, it was still hard to reconcile Fergie vs. the 16-year old.

Andrew Garcia (“I Heard It Through The Grapevine”) - Alas, another night where Andrew could not escape the ghost of Paula Abdul!   I actually feel sorry for the guy... and Kara that "Straight Up" moment is playing in his head because no one will shut up about it!  But an abysmally poor, incredibly dated song choice.. well, at this point, I hope he gets put out of his misery... and I kind of sense he's ready for it.

Tim Urban (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”) - The grilled cheese sandwich of the night.  The judges nailed it that he is trying to be some "Glee" guy or Zac Efron v2.0, but at this time he's on borrowed time which pretty much means he's wasting my time, though looking cute doing so.

Paige Miles (“Against All Odds”) - One can only hope that if Paige survives this week that her laryngitis comes back with a vengeance, because she sounded a lot better last week when someone she couldn't barely talk.  I hate to say it, but I think this may have been one of the worst Idol performances ever at this point in the competition (the "big stage"). 

Elimination Prediction: Considering they rounded out the Bottom 3 along with my correct eliminee predication last week, Lacey... I can't help but think Paige and Tim will earn the stools again this week.  Though given that appearance along with getting shredded by the judges could have earned them a sympathy vote, but I still don't think so.  I think Andrew will join them as I would hope his support system is starting to crumble, but I think the "odds" are good that Paige will be the one to go and miss out on the summer tour.

Comments

[Amy]

I totally agree with you about being "over" some of our main staple reality shows. I admit I gave up on DWTS almost three years ago because of Samantha (gag) Harris. Now that she's gone, I'm boycotting because of Kate Gosselin.

And this season of Idol is SO BORING! I no real interest in anyone. Crystal is great, I'd buy her album for sure, but she's not Idol material. And if Simon really is gone next year, I'm done.

My newer fave reality shows are Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. Dr. Drew is a hottie!