American Idol Recap – 4/7/09
You shouldn’t be surprised that Friday’s column didn’t go up. Unless I’m in California and it’s a “Bachelor” recap, I think we can just assume I’m not gonna do it. I seriously contemplated putting it up Sunday afternoon, but after one of the longest nights out on Saturday, let’s say I was in no shape, nor the right frame of mind to be talking about what the hell happened on “Celebrity Apprentice”. That was by far one of the more fun and inebriated nights I’ve had in a while. So I’d like to thank the five others I was with that night, Mahe’s, Kobe’s, and Jack’s Bistro for providing endless amounts of alcohol to the six of us, and letting me wear out my dancing shoes over the course of three or four hours. The dancing fool was on display all over Seal Beach this past Saturday night. I should’ve charged admission to watch those performances. Also, apparently I’ve earned the nickname “Spiderman” from that evening. Hmmmm, interesting. Some stories are better left untold, although that story apparently will have legs for years. The more it’s told, the more exaggerated and over-the-top it gets. Do I deserve the nickname? It’s debatable. I’ll stick with Reality Steve for the time being. All in all, an unbelievable train wreck of a night that won’t soon be forgotten or matched. Until I show up again next month, I’m sure.
Good news! The comments section is back to working again. A little different with the number of comments appearing at the top of the column and not the bottom, and obviously you still have to register to the site to leave a comment (to weed out all the d-bags), but right now it looks to be fully functional. Also, the site underwent another face lift. Can’t say it’ll be the last one either. It might, but I have no idea. We’re still trying things out. I like the fact the left hand margin has widened a bit so the column doesn’t look so cramped. But with banners and web advertising now, only certain formats will allow us to do what we want, so bear with us. I’m guessing it’ll change again at some point, so get your comments in now before it stops working again.
As you know, I never watch Idol live (or anything for that matter since there’s no need to with the invention of TiVo and DVR’s), however last night that worked to my disadvantage, as I’m assuming it did with everyone else who didn’t add minutes to their recording since Adam Lambert’s performance got cut off. They weren’t even back from commercial and an hour and two minutes into the show when mine cut off. So there will be no review of Adam’s performance since I never saw it. Two reviews I read online said he sang “Mad World” from 1982, Simon was the only judge who commented and gave him a standing ovation. Really? I don’t remember Simon ever giving anyone a standing ovation in the history of this show yet he did it for Adam when most of America never saw it? I wonder if they will replay Adam’s performance on the results show tonight since they know a lot of people record the show. My guess is they do although it won’t matter at that point since the votes are already in. Adam isn’t going anywhere anyway. On to the performances I actually did see.
Danny Gokey, “Stand By Me”: I really wasn’t a fan of this particular version. The original is much much better but he still sang it well. He can sing the phone book. See? I could be a judge on this show. And let’s point something out about the “Idol” producers in regards to Danny. Remember during the auditions and Hollywood week, they spent a lot of time focusing on his wife who died four weeks before the audition. Which they should’ve. It’s part of his story and there’s really no way it wouldn’t have got out anyway. But have you noticed that since the finals started, it hasn’t been mentioned once in any of the pre-packaged videos? Even Danny apologized before the finals started saying he was sorry if it was being shoved down peoples throats. Smart of them to pull back on it and let his singing stand on its own. Don’t they usually have an “Inspiration Week”? I’m guessing that’s when we’ll get the full court press again with the dead wife.
Kris Allen, “All She Wants To Do Is Dance”: One word: corny. It was obvious what the judges were going to say about the performance about 30 seconds in. I was watching it thinking, “If I were to hire out a band for a wedding or a party, and they played that song, that’s exactly how I’d expect the lead singer to perform it.” There was nothing exciting about that performance, and after back to back weeks, he could be in trouble. That was really bland. And that makes it two weeks in a row for people who performed off to the side of the judges in front of a little mosh pit that the judges didn’t like. Although, Matt’s “You Found Me” last week was 100 times better than Kris’ this week. I will still debate anyone til the end of time that Matt last week was a better than average performance. Still can’t believe they destroyed that performance.
Lil Rounds, “What’s Love Got To Do With It”: Well, at least she didn’t look 60 years old like she did last week. Another forgetful performance though. And even Paula gave her the dreaded, “Who are you as an artist” line tonight. That’s never good. We did find out that “Lil Rounds” isn’t a stage name. That was interesting. Lil is short for “Lilly”, her grandma’s name. Cute. And “Rounds” describes her ass.
Anoop Desai, “True Colors”: You know it’s a good performance if a guy can pull off singing a chicks song. I know this will come as a disappointment to Anoop and the music he wants to make someday, but he’s got to stop being an R&B wannabe since his voice is much more suited for ballads. Plus, the less we have to see of him trying to pop his collar and look like King Hard Ass while trying to dance, the better. Did Paula really have to say, “You showed your true colors tonight, like a rainbow?” C’mon, you lush. Could you possibly be any more cheesy? God, go away. The meds can only last so long. Anyone else notice this mini “controversy” they talked about with him last week talking back to the judges? I certainly didn’t. I had no idea he said “Excuse me?” back to Kara last week or I would’ve given him hell. No one talks to my woman like that. I didn’t even read about that on the internet anywhere. Guess I’m out of the loop. Anyway, don’t ever do it again Anoop. Kara will “Here’s the thing, you know” you to death.
Scott MacIntyre, “The Search Is Over”: Here’s what I got out of this performance: Scott should never not be in front of the piano, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t play one note on that guitar. It didn’t even sound like he was playing and it looked like his guitar was a toy. Very bizarre performance. He was just off the whole time. But Paula’s critique made up for everything. Actually, I don’t even know what she said during her critique since I couldn’t stop staring at the lipstick that was spread all over her teeth. She is officially the biggest mess on television. Every single week its something new with her. You know what you’re getting with Randy, you know what you’re getting with Kara, and you know what you’re getting with Simon. Paula? Forget it. She could cry after someone sings, or have sex with Corey Clark on stage, we never know. Some people may say that’s what makes her so interesting. I say it’s what makes her so annoying.
Allison Iraheta, “I Can’t Make You Love Me”: She sang well tonight, one of the first times I actually liked her peformance. But her outfit sucked. I didn’t get the ruffled feather dress with the leather jacket look. Didn’t make any sense. Especially for a song like that. And I couldn’t agree more with Simon when he told her that she needs to become more likable. Right now, I don’t see any star quality with her whatsoever. She’s not a mainstream America recording artist at this point and I think a lot has to do with the fact that we don’t know much about her. Then again, she’s only 16 so maybe there isn’t much to know. Her story isn’t all that interesting, and there’s just a warmness about her that’s missing. Look at me throwing in words like “warmness”. What the hell is wrong with me?
Matt Giraud, “Part Time Lover”: This performance infuriated me. Why? Because once again, Matt’s performance gets overshadowed by a time crunch and even though all four judges complimented him, it was up against the clock and all felt rushed. I’ve always liked this song, this is the type of music he will be making with his album, and he’s slowly becoming one of my all time favorites in this shows history. I think I might’ve said this before, but, I don’t think Matt will win this competition, but I think he may end up having the best career. He can sing, he’s got that “pop” look to him, and he’s a multi-talented performer. Very impressed with tonight but it wouldn’t shock me if he ends up in the bottom three. Unfortunate they were running out of time with him on the judges comments. That’s the 2nd or 3rd time that’s happened to him this season.
Adam Lambert, “Mad World”: Uhhhh, I guess it was good? Wouldn’t know. I’ll catch it online sometime tomorrow.
So this Friday we will have a double edition of “Reality Roundup”, even though my computer absolutely crashed again today. No idea what’s wrong with it. I’m going to have to use my fathers computer until this is fixed. I have no idea what happened. I get home from California and all these pop ups start showing and now when I turn it on, I can’t even get to my desktop before error messages start occurring. I really hate computers sometimes. But I will be back Friday with your regular “Reality Roundup” including some of the latest emails from you the readers. As always, any questions, comments, emails, praises, criticisms, guesses as to where “Spiderman” came from, feel free to email me at steve@realitysteve.com. See you Friday.
Reality Steve, no top three performances or bottom three predictions?! I always look forward to those!! so, ill give you mine
Top Three:
1. Adam Lambert
2. Matt Giraud
3. Allison Iraheta
Bottom Three:
1. Anoop Desai
2. Scott MacIntyre
3. Kris Allen (although this pains me, I love him)
Do you agree??
Base on last night performances, my bottom three are:
1] Lil
2] Kris
3] Scott
Maybe tonight’s result show will be a shocker, who knows? Anything can happen!
Adam was genius last night. I watched it this morning. I am still crying.
Top three
adam
matt
first guy
bottom
Kris
Scott
Lil
I do think the top three will be Adam, Matt, and Danny.Thank God Megan is gone. Hey the girl could NOT sing. Now , I can watch the show in peace. Scott, Lil and Anoop bottom three.
I am so disappointed you weren’t able to see and evaluate Adam’s performace because it was AMAZING! Seriously. As good a job as Matt did, honestly, I forgot all about him as soon as Adam started in. I have been an Adam fan from the beginning and I get he’s not everyone’s style but he is just in a whole other league than the rest of them. And I disagree with you – I think Adam will have the best career, not Matt. I hope Adam wins but at this point I think he could leave the show now and still get a record contract. I think even Simon said last week something to the effect of it being irrelevant with him at this point if he’s as popular with the audience.
Top Three
Adam
Matt
Danny
Bottom Three
Kris
Scott
Lil Rounds
I am predicting Scott will go home. And really, it’s time. I like Scott a lot but let’s face it, you could go to any Church service on Sunday morning and find people who sing like him. Even his better performance (like last week when he sang the Billie Joel song) don’t blow me away.
Glad you had a good time on vacation… forgot that you were gone and missed you.
I also barely ever watch live, (sometimes only minutes behind,) but rely on the DVR completely.
But after last week, I’m going to try my damndest to watch Idol live. It’s really screwing up my programming otherwise. There are 3 shows I’d like to watch at 9 (DWTS, Mentalist, and 90210,) and as it is with DVR, I’ve already had to oust the Mentalist because DVR only allows 2. By putting an extra 5 minutes on my timer for Idol, I’m now losing a whole second show. This show needs to be watched live.
Even with the extra 5 minutes last night, that was not enough, and my DVR popped off right when Simon stood up, and it causes my screen to freeze and I missed anything Simon may have said. Damn DVR.
Anyway…
I agree with you about Danny. And did notice the no dead wife thing.
Kris: agreed.
Lil: enough already. Her run is over. She could have nailed that Tina Turner song last night and didn’t. Time to go home.
Anoop: eh. I totally missed the so-called controversy, too. If you find it on the Internet, can you post the link?
Scott: loved it. I love that song, and he belted it pretty good in my opinion.
Allison: great. Loved her. Loved the song. Yes, she’s a mess to look at. Who she is as a person? She’s 16! Who the hell is anything as a person at 16? Damn, you can’t even drive yet.
Matt: yes, got the shaft. He is good, and the judges know it. But America’s not going to know it if he never has any talk time on stage.
Adam: didn’t like it. Will be curious to see what you say. He CAN sing. Song was weird.
My top 3:
Allison
Danny
Scott
My bottom 3:
Lil
Anoop
Kris
The real bottom 3:
Scott
Lil
Kris
Going home: Scott
Adam’s performance was weird and WAY too theatrical. Just my take- Matt takes the cake for me! I think Scotty is booted tonight…. TERRIBLE performance.
Here’s my take:
My top 3:
Adam – Love the original by Tears for Fears, and love the “Donnie Darko” version that Adam did even more. I thought it made complete sense for him to sing that version. I understand that some may find it weird, but my musical tastes tend to be a little left of center. Plus, it is undeniable that his voice is in a league of its own. I will be happy as long as he doesn’t do another cheesy, disco “Play that Funky Music” ever ever again. Disco makes me hurt inside.
Matt – Loved it, loved it. I love Stevie’s version, but i am glad he did one a little more up to date. He’s the only one on the show that I would actually buy a record from. He has the look, the voice, and the music style that I prefer. I have yet to buy an album from an American Idol contestant (I did download David Cook’s Billie Jean), but he may be the first. I agree with you that Matt’s Fray performance last week was waaaay better than the judges made it out to be. I was glad he showed he could do something a little more rockpop than R&B. Even though it does make me happy that he channels Justin Timberlake from time to time.
3. If I had to pick, I guess Allison Iraheta – She really sang that song well and had a few little vocal nuances of her own. Plus, I have fond memories listening to that song after a bad break up while sobbing and eating chocolate chip ice cream out of the container. I do agree with the judges that other than her voice, she does nothing for me really. She doesnt have that likeability that Kelly Clarkson had.
Bottom 3:
1. Scott – Please, someone put that boy out of his misery. I know he can’t help that he looks kinda strange when he sings, but even if you close your eyes, it doesn’t sound good. I was actually surprised by his song choice. I would have put money on him singing “We are the World” by USA for Africa. Just seemed to go more with his cheesy, positive message songs he sings every week.
2. Lil’ Rounds – I totally guessed that she would sing Tina Turner, but I was hoping for a “today’s version of Tina”. It was like she watched the music video and tried, unsuccessfully, to mimic her every move.
3. Hmmm, this one is a toss up. I didn’t care for either Danny or Kris this week. I feel like Kris is trying to be like Jason Mraz, and I wasn’t liking the brass funk ensemble in the back. I really would have preferred him to sing another slow one…like a cool version of Wham’s Careless Whisper. As for Danny, I sooo want to like him, he does have an awesome voice, but every week I feel like he is slipping more and more into that Gospel/Contemporary Christian/Cheesy category that I am not a fan of. Stand by Me is one of the best songs of all time, I wish he didn’t make it all 80’s jazz on us.
For me Anoop was actually pretty good this week, so I couldn’t put him in my bottom 3, but I feel like he could be in America’s bottom 3. His sang True Colors very well, and I bet the general public had no clue that he was singing a Cindi Lauper song. I just don’t think he is very marketable.
Wow, sorry so long…I have never written on here and I have a lot of opinions.
My faves are usually Allison/ and Danny, and were again last night. I like Adam when he sings like that, he usually comes off as all kinds of screaming. I was disappointed in Kris, Lil keeps saying she will listen to the judges but never does, how many more chances is America supposed to give her.
Bottom three should be Lil, Scott, and Kris
Will be Scott,Kris and Matt
Scott going home
Adam was superb until the last note, but overall it was an incredible performance. You can see it on youtube. They gave him the last spot because they knew he was the best, and it’s not fair millions of viewers didn’t get to see his best performance (so far) because they ran over so much. Bleh. (For the record I am not a huge Adam fangirl, I don’t care at all who wins this show.)
I absolutely love Adam and thought he was brilliant last night. It’s a shame that so many people had to miss his performance. He was in a league of his own. I used to love the Tears for Fears version of that song, but I think I actually liked Adam’s version even better. I am like jljohnson, though and my taste is sometimes a little left of center, so I can see where it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. That said, I can honestly say that I would definitely buy any CD that Adam puts out.
here is a link for Adams performance last night which BLEW THE OTHERS AWAY HE WAS MAD GOOD….http://bashhh.blogspot.com/2009/04/adam-lambert-april-7-mad-world-american.html copy and paste this link and WATCH IT
YOU WON”T REGRET IT -I cried when I saw it he was that good…. Reality Steve you should be the one giving everyone a link to the video are you sleeping?
Steve, so GLAD your comment page is back and my ol’ broke down puter isn’t freezing up on your page. Really enjoyed your read this week. Adam was AMAZING and as much an uproar America is all in about Adam singing at 8:02 and the show not ending until 8:08…one of my friends said they ought to cut the group song tonight and let ADAM sing his song instead! ITA with her! Thank you for giving Allison a little ‘luv’ this week, I appreciate it! She doesn’t have the range or ability to cover songs like Kelly Clarkson does, but I truly think she is ‘genuine’ & ‘authentic’ and gifted and is amazing for 16 years old. I’m glad she doesn’t constantly babble and conducts herself with respectful restraint and maturity before the judges. That may not be way cool with the young set, but it is ‘cool’ with me. I just wonder if the reason some folks are a little ‘cold’ about Allison is they don’t want to be part of helping create a ‘teenage singing diva’ that trainwrecks, crashes and burns into adulthood like a few before her time who take up miles of celebrity blog and tabloid space! With Adam and Danny in this year’s competition, I’m not sold that Allison can win it all, but I am sold that she belongs and needs to keep on competing a while longer.
Why oh why, Kris, did you insist on pulling a Matt G. and place yourself in the American Idol “mosh pit”? It’s just weird. No good can come of it. You can’t move. There’s weird stares from tweens who clap off-beat, and, oh yeah, this ain’t Unplugged. Kris went with a goofy song choice of “All She Wants To Do Is Dance,” and as much as I hate to agree with Kara, it was a bit “jazz school homework-ish.” But who cares about this, right? I mean, Kris is “hot.” Even audience members shout this out during judges’ critiques. To this I give you the Simon Cowell retort, “This isn’t Top Model.”
-check out my blog at
http://www.myrealitybit.com/
(I love reality TV too and blog mostly about Idol w/ up-to-date pictures as well as Celebrity Apprentice!)
@aimeenp
like you, I have a lot of opinions too!
in fact, so many I started my own blog:
http://www.myrealitybit.com/
check me out! I write about all reality tv, especially IDOL and Celebrity Apprentice with up-to-date pictures!
The “A” Team Does It Again!: Allison sings one of my favorite songs, Bonnie Rait’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and surprise surprise, KILLS IT! Paula was exactly right when she said although Allison stuck to the melody and the arrangement, Allison still found a way to make it her own. A true artist indeed. I was happy to finally see the judges giving her all the praise she deserves, but can Simon please spare me the little jabs he always manages to get in by telling her she needs to start saying things like “cool beans” to be more personable like Kelly Clarkson?! I (like I know many of you) get nervous when Allison speaks. She has tamed that beast. Let’s not wake it, okay? I guess we can’t “just make them love you” after all, Allison.
And the end slot of the night goes to Adam. I won’t discuss any more how this going over the hour time slot allotted just need not happen again. Instead of seeing my beautiful Adam, I found myself looking at some evil alien head on Fringe. Okay, I digress. Adam’s “Mad World” was haunting. It was touching. It emotionally reached out, grabbed you, and took a hold of your soul whether you liked it or not. The words seemed personal to Adam, and he gave it a meaning probably no other contestant could. A standing “O” from Simon . . need I say more.
Kris Slips Up: Why oh why, Kris, did you insist on pulling a Matt G. and place yourself in the American Idol “mosh pit”? It’s just weird. No good can come of it. You can’t move. There’s weird stares from tweens who clap off-beat, and, oh yeah, this ain’t Unplugged. Kris went with a goofy song choice of “All She Wants To Do Is Dance,” and as much as I hate to agree with Kara, it was a bit “jazz school homework-ish.” But who cares about this, right? I mean, Kris is “hot.” Even audience members shout this out during judges’ critiques. To this I give you the Simon Cowell retort, “This isn’t Top Model.”
http://www.myrealitybit.com/
Adam was phenomenal. Showed such vocal control and constraint this time. He was really very amazing. Sorry the judges didn’t get to comment, but then Simon’s standing O said enough I think. I believe this was the first standing O by Simon this early in the competitition. He always gives a standing O when the winner is announced, but that’s a given. Never at this junction.
I think Allison deserves to continue as well. But I don’t find her memorable. I think she picks the wrong songs. Yes her voice is strong enough to handle a Bonnie Raitt number, but the words are too old for a 16 year old to sing. Her performances don’t feel honest to me, and that is my #1 pet peeve.
Matt was very good last night – kinda Justin Timberlake. I do not like the Stevie Wonder version of the song at all, so I was more than a little worried when I heard he was going to sing this song. But he did mix it up to be more his style. Didn’t deserve Kara’s crazy love though. But until Matt speeds it up, and sounds credible, I won’t consider him a valid Idol choice. LOVED that he got out from behind the piano though.
Last week Kris was phenomenal, this week he reverted back to his not-memorable performance. Don’t be surprised to see him in the bottom 2. Bad song choice. Bad idea to stand with the “mosh pit”. Did he hear nothing from the judges last week and their critique of Matt in the pit?
Lil can go now please. She’s not listening to the judges. They tell her to do something original, and instead brings out a Tina Turner impersonation. Song much too safe, and she was pitchy throughout the song anyway. I actually want her to go before Scott, though for pure voice talent I think she is the better singer than Scott.
Scott – yeah ok. I liked he brought out the guitar. At least he’s trying new things and taking the judges criticism to heart. But he doesn’t have the vocal chops of the other singers to go much further.
Danny – it was good. Not great. Kinda weird they put him in the 1st spot on the show. I thought it was better than that.
Anoop – it was good. Not memorable. And I’m sick of the college look.
Will the save be used?
No.
Bottom 3:
Lil
Scott
Kris
Going home:
Kris (bit of a shocker I know)
If you google American Idol. it takes you to their homepage and you can watch whoever you want. Adam’s is on their, in it’s entirety. I watched it and it was good.
I’ve been watching AI for years, and I just don’t get the comments some of you are making about this year’s contestants. For example, RealitySteve thinks Matt is one of the best in the history of the show…or at least one of his favorites of all time ? To each his own I guess. Personally, I think Matt has a decent voice, but lacks stage presence and star appeal. Basically, Matt is a very good karaoke singer… as is Kris, Lil, and Scott. Danny has a good voice, but lacks stage presence and is forgettable. In fact, the only song I can remember from Danny was his botched version of “Jesus Takes The Wheel”.
Lets be honest, there’s only two contestants on this year’s show with a potential future in the business…Adam and Allison. Adam definately has stage presence and star appeal, but his voice leaves something to be desired. He can hit the falsetto notes with ease, but his regular voice is mediocre. Adam is approaching his late twenties and one has to wonder why he hasn’t received a record deal by now if he indeed is as good as some of you think. Its not as if he just started singing this year.
As for Allison – she’s only 16 years old yet commands the stage unlike anyone I’ve seen at that age. But most importantly, she has the vocals to be a great singer. The performance she gave this week was every bit as good as Adam’s, but because it wasn’t as flashy, some people might not get it. The song Allison sang was a difficult song for a 16 year old, yet she interpreted the song like a seasoned pro. I doubt she will win this year because voters base their votes on a wide range of factors, but make no mistake, Allison has the talent to be around the music business for many years to come. Also, for those of you who aren’t seasoned AI viewers, you might want to check out a site called dialidol.com…The site has a method of predicting who will get kicked off the show each week, and their accuracy has been pretty reliable over the last few years.
“Lil’, you look terrific tonight.” Ugh, that’s the only thing good about the performance, she looked great.
Matt was supurb, made the song his own. Allison wasn’t bad, but in a year’s worth of songs that’s the best one she could choose?
I still don’t like Adam, but I guess if one is a fan, his performance would bring rave reviews. I don’t know, I just don’t get it.
The bottom three was spot on and Scott deserved to go, Lil’ better be careful or she’s next (otherwise she’ll go after Anoop, of course)….
I missed this weeks show, still have not been able to watch the DVR. I’m just so getting burned out on this season all ready. I think Allison has a great voice, but I can’t get over the fact that she looks like a troll doll. I used to like Adam, back in the early audition days, but now I just keep on thinking how great he’d be dressed up in drag as Cher. And, his voice is starting to strike a nerve with me.
I hope Steve O gets booted off dwts next weeek. He’s becoming another Cloris Leachman!!!!!