I dreaded this night. The top twelve guys were so boring in comparison to the women, it's hard to listen to them again. It's hard to give attention to a guy after he's burned you once, and ten of the last twelve burned us. The theme tonight is Dedications or some corny crap like that. I'm ignoring the reasoning and concentrating on the singing.
Going first tonight is last week's last singer, Phil Stacey, the bald guy. He is singing “ Missing You”. It's on-key and quiet, okay so far. He builds to the big note and the song ends too soon, but he does a good job. It's okay, not knocked out, but not so disappointed like last week. He should be back next week unless everyone else has improved a million percent this week.
Jared Cotter is singing Marvin Gaye this week, trying to stretch a bit. It's a big stretch. Marvin is one of my favorite all time singers. The opening is strong and what else would a lady's man sing except, “Let's Get it On”. This is one of my favorite songs. The only thing bothering me are Jared's bright white tennis shoes. Marvin would never have worn those on stage. It was a good homage to Marvin, well sung and punctuated in the right places. It wasn't all his, but he did a good job. Paula is acting on High Level 9 tonight. That's a code orange backstage, and Simon gets the cue to try to make her sit up straight during her on-camera time. Good luck Simon and Jared aka The Lady's Man.
A. J. Tabaldo is the cute kid with the soft voice this year. Deja vu on A.J.'s? He is singing “Feeling Good” and it is like they replaced all of last week's men with pod people singers this week. He's on key and projecting, not at all like last week. He looks and sounds good and distinguishes himself tonight with a semi-great performance.
Sanjaya Malakar has had a makeover. He was a little too pretty and disheveled maybe. He is “Stepping Out” with a new style tonight. The song fits his voice, but he gets really weak in the middle. You have to sing it all the way through. The first and last don't count if we fall asleep in the middle. And he misses the buildup to the big note at the end. It was better than last week, but still not good. The judges don't like it at all. Not a great 90 seconds of his life or ours. Should have slept in the melon field with everyone else. Cute will carry you just so far is all I'm saying.
Chris Sligh has a great looking wife. All this time we thought he probably was a geeky highschool kid living in a cramped bedroom at home, and instead he's married to a babe. He is singing, “Trouble” and he shows us an entirely new side of himself and he sings like a pro. He is truly a case of the book not resembling it's cover. He's the best kind of oddball you could hope to find. He can sing great, and nothing fits with the preconceived notion of an Idol, which makes him nearly perfect. Definitely final twelve..
Nick Pedro is singing “Fever”, but it sounds like he has a debilitating one. His voice is not strong enough to push my buttons. It's thin and raspy. I have visions of Peggy Lee snapping at him to pick it up. This is like karaoke if anyone has been. The last line is the best, but still not good enough. It was mostly boring. Not feverish at all. More like post-Nyquil.
Blake Lewis was the best last week. His hat is not my favorite this week. I'm reminded of Spanky and Our Gang instead of street cred. I do like his song, and he works in some beatbox. He is singing “Virtual Insanity” and it is more current than any other song tonight. The judges fight over whether he was good or not. Simon is working the code orange and trying to not set Paula off, so he barely gets a word in. You know how it goes. Insert meaningless Ryan chatter. Paula stands up. Simon sets her back down. Rinse, repeat.
“Time After Time” is Brandon Roger's choice of song. He has a pleasant voice, but I'm not sure if he isn't best as a backup singer. I don't hear a distinction of voice that you expect from soloists. It was bland and boring. If you have to explain why we should have been moved, instead of moving us, you didn't do your job. Sing it, don't say it. Simon says the same thing with a lot more words and Paula puts her fingers in her ears. Code Scarlet for Brandon and Paula.
Chris Richardson of the JT look/sing-alike is starting off with the the same corkscrew bouncing move he did last week. He has a different song though and shows some energy. We are not going to fall asleep mid-performance on Chris. Some of us are going to shake booty and others will just tap their toe like me. Girls dig Chris. Randy digs Chris. Paula digs Chris. Simon digs Chris. Chris did good I guess. I never got past simple toe tapping, but I'm tired and thankful it's nearly over.
Sundance Head has been getting by on luck. His talent hasn't been that obvious up to this point. I don't like this emotional stuff before singing. It's like Queen for a Day. Who can make up the biggest boo-hoo story and impress the audience? Anyhow, Sundance is singing “Ride Sally Ride” and I wouldn't want it dedicated to me. It's about being a bad girl. Is his wife a bad girl? He is a lot better at this than anything he has previously done. I wonder if his dad suggested this? It's from his dad's era, but he rocks it. He finally acts like a singer and gets a hit instead of fouling out. It's only a single though, not a home run or even third base.
If all things were fair in the world, Sanjaya, Brandon, and Nick would be in the bottom three, but anything can happen in Idol world. If the women improve this much tomorrow night, we will all be dancing.