Wednesday, February 18, 2009

American Idol Recap- Season 8


I have been an American Idol fan from when Ryan Seacrest had a cohort, when Paula Abdul showed up to work sober, and from before the intro music became one of the most obnoxiously repetitive sounds known to man. Come on, American Idol, you have quite thoroughly branded yourself! You may stop with the intro music now, really. 

Something that is so different from this show than any other show I like, is that this show actually lends itself to commentary. Normally, when I am in the middle of an action sequence in 24 and someone sitting near me, says something- anything- I want to turn back time and have a re-d0. But with American Idol, it's fun to see who likes whom, and I especially like critiquing their performances, mostly for the fun of seeing if my critiques match the judges. So, this season, I am jotting down my comprehensive episode recap.

Last night, there were 12 contestants, and only three of them will be moving forward to be part of the actual Top 12, after all four sub-groups perform. I like the excitement of this format, for sure, but it is a lot of pressure right off of the bat. In this group, there were some people I like a lot, and so many of them will drift off into oblivion after tonight's announcements.

First performer of the night was Jackie Tohn. She is a New York native, and I wanted to love her performance, because her ruddy and different voice is so interesting. She picked "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley and it was not her best performance. I kept thinking, "Why are you shaking your shoulders? Control your voice." And after her performance, given her statements of wanting to change nothing, I have decided she is expendable. (If only my vote mattered!) Jackie, you are an unsigned performer, if you are not constantly striving to do better, get a crappy job and stop wasting time.

Next up was Ricky Braddy, from North Carolina. Let me say this: If Ricky does not advance to the next level, I will not blame the public for their stupidity. I will blame the producers for their selectivity.  Paula even mentioned that he had not been featured at all over the last three weeks, so he has no fan base whatsoever. And he so deserves one! He sang "A Song For You" by Leon Russell, and it was incredible! But BOOO to his mother for spouting "braddybunchdotcom."

The third performer of the night was Alexis Grace, from Memphis. She sang "Never Loved A Man" by Aretha Franklin. I thought she was good. Not top three worthy. And the judges seemed to get so pulled into her hype. Yes, she was vanilla, and now she has done a 180 with her look. But vocally, that should be viewed separately. I thought she was weak compared to Aretha, and Simon Cowell said she was "By a mile, the best contestant we've ever had." I hope he reviews last night's tape and rescinds that comment tonight, because it was absurd.

Fourth up was Brent Keith, from Ohio, and I don't like him. He sang Country music, "Hick Town," he was good, and sounded like every other professional Country music singer. To be honest, his was the only performance I fast-forwarded through, because ten seconds felt like 75. I felt like he was very much interested in manipulating the public to gain votes. He went so far as to shrug his shoulders when receiving a not-so-glowing critique and saying, "I'm sure Country music fans thought it was good." He also had the whole "I live paycheck to paycheck" shpiel. Yeah, Brent? So do most Americans. And Country music fans, if he doesn't win this competition, his tickets will be MUCH cheaper...

Stevie Wright was fifth. A seventeen year old girl from Phelan, CA. She chose to sing "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift, after she sang "At Last" by Etta James in try-outs. That's absurd! She was painfully nervous, her breathing was off, she sounded like she had the lung capacity of a seventy year old smoker, and I winced- a lot. Although I think she has potential and I like her voice, I would be surprised if she didn't receive the fewest amount of votes. And her mommy-figure actually said, "And she's never done this before!" Nobody has. But everyone did better.

Sixth up to mic was Anoop Desai from North Carolina singing "Angel Of Mine" by Monica. I thought the performance was on par with a show I would pay for, he has a sweet voice, and was mostly on pitch. Simon said that not enough people know the song, and I disagree. I just don't like the song from a guy when it comes down to it.

Lucky number seven was Casey Carlson, who hails from Minneapolis, and chose to sing The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." I thought, based on that performance, that I would buy an album of hers, because I totally wanted to sing along with her in my car. However, I agree with the judges that she chose an insane song to cover, but I think they went a little overboard in tearing her apart!

Michael Sarver was up next, from Jasper, Texas. I dislike how he says he works on an oil rig as a Roughneck. That's like saying "I write books and a pencil pusher." He sang "I Don't Wanna Be" by Gavin Degraw. He sounded great, he has no charisma whatsoever, and I thought his necklace would rip from his neck.

Anne Marie Boskovich from Nashville, TN is adorable! She sang "Natural Woman." I thought vocally, she was a little weak at times, a little flat, and not worthy based on that song. But Ted Danson in the audience seemed to love her, and I don't want to upset Ted. 

The tenth performer was Stephen Fowler- HUGE disappointment personally, from Cleveland, Ohio. I've been loving his voice even when he forgot his lyrics and walked off-stage last week. He chose to sing "Rock With You" by Michael Jackson. Why, Stephen? It was very cheesy and completely antiquated. I thought it was self-indulgent, because it was right on his comfort zone but he was living in a wrong century. Simon said "Corny" and that is being mild.

Tatiana Del Toro from Puerto Rico was up next. Ah, Tatiana. I want to refrain from talking about you, because I don't want you to gain popularity through notoriety, which seems to be perfectly fine by her. Although she reeks of falsity and everything I dislike in people, her rendition of "Saving All My Love" by Whitney Houston was by far the best female vocal of the night. I was shocked. Her plea at the end: "America, please vote, it's my dream and it's up to you to keep it alive." Please, Tatiana, it's you you are selling, so it is entirely up to YOU to keep it alive.

And saving the best for last, Danny Gokey from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been my favorite every night of this show this season. He came to try out four weeks after his wife passed away, because she would have wanted him to. He sang "Hero" by Mariah Carey, and did well. He has done much better in the past, though. So, for the first time in Idol history, I called and voted. I hope everyone likes him as much as I do.

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