American Idol Top 7 Reviews Pt II

poll by twiigs.com

There seems something not quite right about status symbol ads in the middle of Idol Gives Back and you have to wonder why, for one week, Silent Night, Bernard ruddy Matthews, Heinz, Nintendo etc., or even ITV2 themselves, couldn't zip up. Ignoring the silly ads, though, the great and the good were there, including Obama & Michelle delivering the words from a screen pront quite well and Bill Gates with Mrs Gates looking far more comfortable.

Annie Lennox amazed from Britain with the classy and heartfelt Universal Child (which I recommend Didi Benami tries on tour). I can't recall ever seeing anyone attempting Led Zeppelin's classic Stairway to Heaven live before and was impressed with Mary Jo Blige and a rock entourage obviously enjoying themselves.

Carrie Underwood wowed everyone, not just by the way she looks, but with a great song and live, reminding us that the show really can promote great talent. David Cook, too, with just a guitar put on one hell of a good performance to an audience of 7 year old African kids and a couple of cameramen. It was interesting to see just who of the last competitors you could imagine in similar roles next year or the year after.

I genuinely believe Crystal would have made a brilliant job of the Josh Stone version of I Put A Spell On You track near the start of the show, especially with good ol' Jeff Beck accompanying her. Nice to see him back in the limelight again after 40 years.

The performance by the Top 10 was lacklustre with only Crystal and Siobhan seeming to play any major part, the latter looking very cool this week as well as almost uncomfortably tall. They really should object to being asked to do some doltish sing-a-long at the start of each show. They're individuals and I feel sorry for people like Crystal, Lee and Casey doing the dance and chorus like puppets.

The bottom three were more or less as I'd predicted: Casey, Aaron and Tim. Aaron won the teenage vote this time and we bade farewell to Tim who appears, at least in the edition I watched, to have been spared the final song and wave goodbye stuff. That was probably just as well after the witty remarks about all that from the woman comedian earlier in the show.

American Idol Top 7 Reviews Pt I

Casey 5
Don't Stop a risky choice and he sounds strained at the top end, not only during practice with Alicia either, unfortunately. Performance lacked character, although he himself comes across well. Difficult to judge as he's first up and he's been well-supported so far. I was disappointed as I'd seen him as a winner but don't now.
Lee 16
The Boxer a great song, one of my all-time favourites. Cut ridiculously short but what there was was so much better than Casey's effort and moved him well ahead of that rival in this competition. Improving every week and no sign of stopping. Looking better too.
Tim 7½
Better Days suited him well and would be his kind of song. Again, way too short to have a proper impact but well-presented and believable. A little plain. Good but plain.
Aaron 7
If I Can Fly was one big risk. Seemed hurried, a song that needs to be laid out for us to consider and move with. Passion appeared and you could tell that he'd been singing this for years in a pretty professional performance. He might get away with it but someone has to go and he may not have taken the best bet for this week.
Siobhan 7
When You Believe Multi-patterned and quite beautiful in places. A tough song which worked well for her but may not appeal to a wide enough audience or fan base. She spoke really well afterwards which was courageous and intelligent.
Mike 6½
Hero was a bit muddled and, whilst a cool choice yet again, it wasn't his best week. Eventually he took control and got the song in order and, as Randy said, 'it worked out'. Just.
Crystal 20
With People Get Ready, taking a further step away from her comfort zone of playing tracks she knows well on a dusty stage with friends as backing singers and an audience a few feet away, a fantastic performance, worthy of the competition just stopping now and celebrating her brilliance. Emotion at the end just showed how real she is. Totally different league to everyone else tonight.

American Idol Top 9 (again) reviews

Crystal 10½
For some reason this didn't seem to suit her, excellent though she was in almost every way. Kinda thing you might find on a B side. Top marks for quality and solid performance but no extras this week. I wonder how the public voters will take it, bearing in mind the big teenage fan numbers building up for one or two others who really ought to be going but may not.

AndrewG 4
So good to see Adam Lambert being so honest. This was not good. OK, in tune but eminently missable. I've never rated this guy who for some reason was favourite at one point. With two departing this week, surely he has to be one of them, and I'm writing this without having yet seen the others.

Tim 14
That worked well. Possibly his best effort so far and making up for several weeks of average. Again, great advice from Adam who seems to be right on contestants' wavelengths. His fans will like that and the judges' complimentary remarks will boost his confidence of making the final few. Need to see what Aaron comes up with, though, who could split his support vote. People will remember that and I can see him going down a gentle storm during the tour with that simple track. He always looks a bit out of place doing the Glee smiley stuff, as does Crystal but for different reasons.

Lee 8½
If this track hadn't already been done that way a few years ago this would have been brilliant. Unfortunately, it had been and he just seemed to be doing a copy, admittedly very competently. Not a good week for him but not a bad one either. Solid, not inspiring. Judges seemed to love it so maybe it was better in the studio that on the screen.

Aaron 7
Hmm. Where's he going with this. Break half-way through made a difference and just rescued it. No mistakes and a decent performance although he just couldn't really grab the song and make it his, which would have been damn difficult anyway. No idea about this one really. He may be in trouble as Tim did so much better. Way better than AndrewG though.

Siobhan 10
Terrible ending. She almost went in a fabulous direction that would have had everyone raving about good she was but, instead, may have lost a lot of people. Who is she? Bit mixed up and confusing. Sheena Easton meets someone else. That won't do her much good this week but she does look fantastic and, with someone telling her what to do, this girl could be a star. Hence my marks (5+5).

Mike 11
He (or someone) is picking great songs to perform. This seemed too short to tell the story, though. Nicely presented and one of a few that have that extra spark so far this time. The 'save' made sense.

Katie 14½
That was the best performance so far. Great look and style. Well done. Not at all familiar with the track which may cause her some problems but she deserves to stick around and actually out-Crystalled Crystal in my view. I don't see her winning (unless she's dead lucky with selections and happens on some tracks that just suit her and no-one else as can happen as we know!) but heading for a place in the last few and comes across as someone who could sell records and deliver some goods.

Casey 9
Rounding off the week and with generally pretty average competition preceding his stroll on stage, he had every chance of walking off with a huge smile and securing that good solid place in the last 7 which ought to see him through to a final. He didn't really take it, just cruised, again. Pity.

The star of the show, however, has to be Adam Lambert who was really good both as a mentor and in communicating so well on screen. Amazing guy, but when is he going to break into the UK?

American Idol Top 9 Reviews Pt II

Tim 9
Far better than before - a different guy on stage tonight (well, last night - UK gets the programme a day behind). A bit restrained when he could have let go and got some extra ☼ points but pretty damn good and the girls will not worry about the rubbish guitar-playing - and they're the votes he needs. Pretty cool overall and spot on in many ways. Back in the game. Just.

Casey 17
Just really good, great choice and that performance should seal a place for the next few weeks. This guy is one of the very few that deserve to be competing as an American Idol.

Siobhan 15
Of all the hundreds of lennon & McCartney tracks to go for this was one big risk. I don't know of any other attempt at this but she came close to making it her own and a little special. In places, brilliant, although that may escape the attention of those dialling in ATT premium rate land. She looked good too - a genuine artiste. Oddly, despite the 10½ point difference between her and Aaron, I'd be nervous tomorrow in her shoes.

Lee 13
Good strong crowd-pleaser. He can sing and is building up a lot of confidence. Reminiscent of the 2008 David winner. If Casey slips up, he's got a chance. And anyone who can admit to choosing a bagpipe player to accompany a delivery of Hey Jude deserves some support.

American Idol Top 10 Reviews Pt I

Siobham 6½
Oh dear, missing important notes didn't gain her many fans. But she did look good and the song kinda worked, the screech in tune becoming a feature that she'll either live to love or regret. Something for the over 40s but not so sure about younger viewers reaching for the phone. She'll be safe, though.

Casey 19
Professional, obviously enjoying himself this week. An excellent performance but still maybe just a bit 'old'

Mike 20!
Good choice. He's becoming the dark horse. A few more great choices like this and he'll give Crystal a run for her money.

Didi 4½
I really like this girl. She began the competition so well and has a unique individual style but this was pretty awful and will put her very much in the danger zone. I see trouble ahead but, luckily, I have a feeling there'll be others not doing terribly well who are less popular out there in US Phone Land.

Tim 6
In tune unlike Siobhan but loses points because it was just noring. I think he might be on the way out if US PhoneLand prefer Aaron.