Air Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2011 [8-10pm]
Theme: Songs from Your Musical Idols
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| Source: mjsbigblog.com |
In-House Mentor Jimmy Iovine and some big-time producers are now working with the contestants. A producer is assigned to each singer. I wonder if they will have the same producer week in and week out or will there be a new one every time.
After coming back from commercial breaks, they showed some of the backstage reaction by the singers. They tried this for about a week a year or two ago; why did they bring it back? To fill up time? I actually don't mind seeing those videos.
In interviews and earlier episodes, Randy kept saying that this year is "Season 10 the remix." And he brought that phrase back last night. Is anyone else annoyed by this broken-record?
Before I get to my commentary, I just wanted to say that you can click on each of the below links to open up those studio recordings on iTunes. You will not be charged for clicking on these links, unless you click 'buy' on iTunes.
1. Lauren Alaina - Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine"
It would have been hard for her to beat last week's performance. But even so, I felt letdown this time. With this song, I hope her young age doesn't start (or continue) affecting her song choices. Her voice, while nothing really wrong, didn't stand out against the original.
2. Casey Abrams - The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends"
It's no surprise that Joe Cocker is his Idol. And now that his health seems well, I could hear an improvement in his voice. He should certainly continue with this vibe, because he could continue to do well with it. I might buy this on iTunes.
3. Ashthon Jones - Diana Ross' "When You Tell Me That You Love Me"
I found this to be a very bland performance. She started off on the wrong notes to begin with, which continued throughout the first half. We got to see the voice that we love later on, but by that point it was too late.
4. Paul McDonald - Ryan Adams' "Come Pick Me Up"
In hindsight, I think I was too tough on him last week. So I was going to try to be more open-minded this time. Unfortunately, though, he didn't bring it. The start with the soft notes didn't sound right, and there were pitch problems.
5. Pia Toscano - Celine Dion's "All By Myself"
For the second week in a row, she has picked songs that are not only so well-known, but are in some respects similar in nature to each other. She's definitely a balladeer, but I hope she doesn't rely too heavily on that because I want to see what else she can do. On a positive note - her voice sounded better than last week.
6. James Durbin - Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed"
After covering such a rock-heavy song last time, I was a little surprised by this choice, but it 100% worked. A few off notes, but overall, he is proving to be very versatile. Great song choice - Another one I might buy on iTunes.
7. Haley Reinhart - LeAnn Rimes' "Blue"
From Alicia Keys last week to LeAnn Rimes this week, it's obvious she doesn't know who she is as an artist. She needs some better focus in that area. On the good side - the yodel-like part was really well done and her voice was better, but I was bored the whole time.
8. Jacob Lusk - R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"
Why oh why did he have to sing one of the safest songs ever to cover? He has a sort of warble to his voice that I'm not a fan of. What saved him, though, was the brilliant high note run near the end, because it it weren't for that, this wouldn't have stood out as much.
9. Thia Megia - Michael Jackson's "Smile"
The more intimate beginning was definitely the best part. But partway through, the beat and arrangement changed completely and threw off the entire vibe and brought the performance down. If her producer suggested that, maybe she needs a new one.
10. Stefano Langone - Stevie Wonder's "Lately"
This was a little strange for me. He tried to make his voice sound differently at the start, but it didn't work. By the end, though, he got his voice back on track and saved himself. The worst part was the backtrack; the beat did not fit the song or his voice at all.
11. Karen Rodriguez - Selina's "I Could Fall in Love"
A few people tonight are picking songs that are too big for them. This was one of them; the song swallowed her up. She couldn't hit any of the low notes, sounding flat. And the high note was sharp.
12. Scotty McCreery - Garth Brooks' "The River"
Like with Paul, I decided to be more open-minded this time around. He has a great voice and the song obviously fit him perfectly. But regardless of his signature low voice, I hope he can sing a song where I can just listen and go - that's a Scotty McCreery song, because I'm still not completely getting why he has the top social media spot of the Top 13.
13. Naima Adedapo - Rihanna's "Umbrella"
She has such a great style about her, which livens up the competition. But she didn't have control of her voice, and I didn't like the rapping. The dancing didn't help the voice either. Overall, not my favorite, but this might be a great studio recording.
Compilation Album - American Idol Top 13 Season 10: Click on this link see compilation album on iTunes of all of the above songs.
Favorite Performances: James Durbin / Casey Abrams
My Votes: James Durbin - 30 votes
Bottom 3 Predictions: Ashthon Jones / Haley Reinhart / Karen Rodriguez
Elimination Prediction: Ashthon Jones
It was pretty easy this week to pick who's going home tonight. Ashthon was among the three weakest singers of the night. Even if someone else is cut, there's no doubt that she will at least be in the Bottom 3. Speaking of which, who will join her there? It also seems obvious that Haley and Karen should be there as well. But if any of them aren't, there's always the chance that Lauren Alaina may sneak in (she sang first and disappointed), or even Paul McDonald, though these two have pretty big fan bases so there's less of a chance.
Getting back to Ashthon for a moment. She has the least amount of social media followers, as you can see in my analysis last weekend. So that's more evidence of her early demise.
Tonight, we're back to the one-hour results show (8-9pm). Diddy-Dirty Money will perform. And Adam Lambert will return to the Idol stage to I'm sure blow us away with an acoustic version of his song, "Aftermath."
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