Wednesday
13May2009
American Idol - The Top 3 Rock It For Show #300!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 6:55AM
Well, guess who's back?! That's right, back again is the incredible onemattDOTcom American Idol Recap! I took last week off due to my issues with my Charter DVR, but I'm back on the case this week, and so here we go! This week, my good friend and fellow Idol watcher Brianna Huffman is sitting in on the blog as guest reviewer. So thanks for helping out, Bri!
Well, tonight's show was right up there as one of the best of the year so far...6 great performances, and my DVR didn't miss a one! Granted, I had to reprogram it to catch the entire show, but its a small price to pay. I thought tonight was a great night for all three contestants, and contrary to what some folks have said, I think the three best singers have made it to this stage of the competition. How did all three do in their performances? They were given one song by the judges, and one song they were able to pick on their own? Would they pick good songs? Let's get to it!
Danny Gokey
Song One (Judges' Choice)
Performed - "Dance Little Sister" by Terence Trent D'Arby
Brianna Huffman - I definitely felt like this song was right in his genre and suits his voice really well. It started out a little shaky but I felt like he was having a lot of fun and you could tell he felt really comfortable the farther he got into the song. This is the most I’ve enjoyed him in a while. For me, Danny hasn’t really done anything to wow me. I think he will be the one to go home.
Matt McLean - So Gokey was up first, and he was given a barely known Terence Trent D'Arby song, "Dance Little Sister", and I thought his performance here was good...I'm giving most of the contestants good scores tonight as a whole because I feel as if unless you completely bomb, you deserve a good number. Danny's score on this one would've been a bit higher if he wasn't so predictable with this song.
onemattDOTcom Score - 9.1 / 10.0
Song Two (Personal Choice)
Performed - "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker
Brianna Huffman - Not a big fan of the start of the song. I don’t think he did a good job on the arrangement. I do feel he had great vocals once he got into the chorus and felt more comfortable. I feel like I’m repeating myself again. I think Danny has a confidence issues. To me he always starts off shaky and then works his way into it. I do feel he could have done a lot more with this song. For me, I think his first song was a lot better.
Matt McLean - I liked his second song more, with the arrangement of the Joe Cocker classic "You Are So Beautiful" being very well done in my opinion. I'm starting to see some wear and tear on this contestants voices for sure, and you could hear it a little on the first song, not so much on the second.
onemattDOTcom Score - 9.3 / 10.0
Total Score - 18.4 / 20.0
Adam Lambert
Song One (Judges' Choice)
Performed - "One" by U2
Brianna Huffman - I think you all know that I am not a fan of Adam. I am a huge fan of U2 and he better not shriek up this song….OK, I loved the beginning and then when he got into the chorus I was up under the bed sheets hoping he would please stop. It was a tad bit over the top. I would have loved it had he kept it like the beginning. I have to say that he is truly talented but I can’t get over his vocals and how theatrical he is. With that being said, I don’t think he was any where near as theatrical during this song as he has been in the past. Maybe he read my comment from the previous recap.
Matt McLean - Many people (including Idol judge Simon Cowell) have predicted that Adam is a shoe-in for the title this year...I disagree. I do think that this weeks performances will have a great deal to do with who makes it to the finals, more so than how they've done all year long. And Adam's choice from Simon Cowell was "One" by U2...I know several folks who are big U2 fans, and if I had to hear their take, I'm sure I'd get a mixed reaction. Adam is no doubt a talented singer, but man...his high vocals can sometimes break glass. That being said, he was on with that song.
onemattDOTcom Score - 9.3 / 10.0
Song Two (Personal Choice)
Performed - "Cryin'" by Aerosmith
Brianna Huffman - Before Adam started I really thought this song was going to be the song I would actually walk away saying I loved it and he was really good. Boy was I wrong. First off, he should have cut the back up singers…they were totally screwing that up for him. Either they were singing in a different key or a half a beat behind him. He took full advantage of his shrieking abilities and blew this one out of the water in a bad way. For me, some parts of the song you couldn’t understand anything he was singing.
Matt McLean - His own choice, "Cryin'" by Aerosmith, to me, this one was a bit too "Adam" for my liking. Anybody worth their salt as a fan of music can't deny how talented Adam Lambert is...and he may in fact be the American Idol for 2009, but I'm sorry Randy...he is NOT a rock star.
onemattDOTcom Score - 9.3 / 10.0
Total Score - 18.6 / 20.0
Kris Allen
Song One (Judges' Choice)
Performed - "Apologize" by One Republic
Brianna Huffman - First I want to say that I like how AT&T gave him the generic freebie phone you receive with any new 2 year contract…come AT&T, you can do better than that on national TV. I hate, HATE putting him behind Adam but I do feel Adam did a little, smidgen better during Judges pick. I was very excited about this song and the fact that he is playing the piano. I would have liked the tempo to have been a little faster. Overall I think he did a wonderful job with the song. On a side note - I truly feel like the judges are sabotaging Kris.
Matt McLean - Tonight is a big night for Kris...a lot of people aren't talking about him. I'm not entirely sure why either. This guy has been consistently good to great most of the season, and tonight was no exception. I'm with Simon here...if they wanted him to get creative with their song, they should've been a bit more proactive in making him aware of it. Kris' take on the One Republic song "Apologize" was good, but not great...it showcased his range a bit, but his falsetto is not his strong suit, so I think that's where he got tripped up tonight.
onemattDOTcom Score - 8.9 / 10.0
Song Two (Personal Choice)
Performed "Heartless" by Kanye West
Brianna Huffman - First, I wanted to run out of the room when he disclosed his song choice. There isn’t one Hip/Hop-Rap bone in his body and I thought this was going to be the death of him on Idol. BOY WAS I WRONG!!! I LOVED it!!! I think he did a wonderful job with the arrangement and never in a million years thought it could have been done and done so well. Nothing else can be said.
Matt McLean - But the song of the night belonged to Kris when he did an acoustic version of "Heartless" by Kanye...absolutely incredible take on the hip-hop song, and really showed his range and musical ability. Fantastic song choice and a great performance!
Score - 9.8 / 10.0
Total Score - 18.7 / 20.0
Brianna had the songs ranked, so I'll give those to you as well...
6 - Adam – "Cryin'"
5 - Danny – "You Are So Beautiful"
4 - Danny – "Dance Little Sister"
3 - Kris – "Apologize"
2- Adam – "One"
1 - Kris - "Heartless"
Based on that, I'm not sure who she has going to the Finals...definitely Kris, but who between Adam or Danny? As far as I'm concerned...this one is in the books. I think it's pretty clear what I think...I've got Kris and Adam in the finals, with Danny bidding a fond farewell tonight. What do YOU think, America? It's been a while, but what the hey...let's hear it!
Well, tonight's show was right up there as one of the best of the year so far...6 great performances, and my DVR didn't miss a one! Granted, I had to reprogram it to catch the entire show, but its a small price to pay. I thought tonight was a great night for all three contestants, and contrary to what some folks have said, I think the three best singers have made it to this stage of the competition. How did all three do in their performances? They were given one song by the judges, and one song they were able to pick on their own? Would they pick good songs? Let's get to it!
Danny Gokey
Song One (Judges' Choice)
Performed - "Dance Little Sister" by Terence Trent D'Arby
Brianna Huffman - I definitely felt like this song was right in his genre and suits his voice really well. It started out a little shaky but I felt like he was having a lot of fun and you could tell he felt really comfortable the farther he got into the song. This is the most I’ve enjoyed him in a while. For me, Danny hasn’t really done anything to wow me. I think he will be the one to go home.
Matt McLean - So Gokey was up first, and he was given a barely known Terence Trent D'Arby song, "Dance Little Sister", and I thought his performance here was good...I'm giving most of the contestants good scores tonight as a whole because I feel as if unless you completely bomb, you deserve a good number. Danny's score on this one would've been a bit higher if he wasn't so predictable with this song.
onemattDOTcom Score - 9.1 / 10.0
Song Two (Personal Choice)
Performed - "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker
Brianna Huffman - Not a big fan of the start of the song. I don’t think he did a good job on the arrangement. I do feel he had great vocals once he got into the chorus and felt more comfortable. I feel like I’m repeating myself again. I think Danny has a confidence issues. To me he always starts off shaky and then works his way into it. I do feel he could have done a lot more with this song. For me, I think his first song was a lot better.
Matt McLean - I liked his second song more, with the arrangement of the Joe Cocker classic "You Are So Beautiful" being very well done in my opinion. I'm starting to see some wear and tear on this contestants voices for sure, and you could hear it a little on the first song, not so much on the second.
onemattDOTcom Score - 9.3 / 10.0
Total Score - 18.4 / 20.0
Adam Lambert
Song One (Judges' Choice)
Performed - "One" by U2
Brianna Huffman - I think you all know that I am not a fan of Adam. I am a huge fan of U2 and he better not shriek up this song….OK, I loved the beginning and then when he got into the chorus I was up under the bed sheets hoping he would please stop. It was a tad bit over the top. I would have loved it had he kept it like the beginning. I have to say that he is truly talented but I can’t get over his vocals and how theatrical he is. With that being said, I don’t think he was any where near as theatrical during this song as he has been in the past. Maybe he read my comment from the previous recap.
Matt McLean - Many people (including Idol judge Simon Cowell) have predicted that Adam is a shoe-in for the title this year...I disagree. I do think that this weeks performances will have a great deal to do with who makes it to the finals, more so than how they've done all year long. And Adam's choice from Simon Cowell was "One" by U2...I know several folks who are big U2 fans, and if I had to hear their take, I'm sure I'd get a mixed reaction. Adam is no doubt a talented singer, but man...his high vocals can sometimes break glass. That being said, he was on with that song.
onemattDOTcom Score - 9.3 / 10.0
Song Two (Personal Choice)
Performed - "Cryin'" by Aerosmith
Brianna Huffman - Before Adam started I really thought this song was going to be the song I would actually walk away saying I loved it and he was really good. Boy was I wrong. First off, he should have cut the back up singers…they were totally screwing that up for him. Either they were singing in a different key or a half a beat behind him. He took full advantage of his shrieking abilities and blew this one out of the water in a bad way. For me, some parts of the song you couldn’t understand anything he was singing.
Matt McLean - His own choice, "Cryin'" by Aerosmith, to me, this one was a bit too "Adam" for my liking. Anybody worth their salt as a fan of music can't deny how talented Adam Lambert is...and he may in fact be the American Idol for 2009, but I'm sorry Randy...he is NOT a rock star.
onemattDOTcom Score - 9.3 / 10.0
Total Score - 18.6 / 20.0
Kris Allen
Song One (Judges' Choice)
Performed - "Apologize" by One Republic
Brianna Huffman - First I want to say that I like how AT&T gave him the generic freebie phone you receive with any new 2 year contract…come AT&T, you can do better than that on national TV. I hate, HATE putting him behind Adam but I do feel Adam did a little, smidgen better during Judges pick. I was very excited about this song and the fact that he is playing the piano. I would have liked the tempo to have been a little faster. Overall I think he did a wonderful job with the song. On a side note - I truly feel like the judges are sabotaging Kris.
Matt McLean - Tonight is a big night for Kris...a lot of people aren't talking about him. I'm not entirely sure why either. This guy has been consistently good to great most of the season, and tonight was no exception. I'm with Simon here...if they wanted him to get creative with their song, they should've been a bit more proactive in making him aware of it. Kris' take on the One Republic song "Apologize" was good, but not great...it showcased his range a bit, but his falsetto is not his strong suit, so I think that's where he got tripped up tonight.
onemattDOTcom Score - 8.9 / 10.0
Song Two (Personal Choice)
Performed "Heartless" by Kanye West
Brianna Huffman - First, I wanted to run out of the room when he disclosed his song choice. There isn’t one Hip/Hop-Rap bone in his body and I thought this was going to be the death of him on Idol. BOY WAS I WRONG!!! I LOVED it!!! I think he did a wonderful job with the arrangement and never in a million years thought it could have been done and done so well. Nothing else can be said.
Matt McLean - But the song of the night belonged to Kris when he did an acoustic version of "Heartless" by Kanye...absolutely incredible take on the hip-hop song, and really showed his range and musical ability. Fantastic song choice and a great performance!
Score - 9.8 / 10.0
Total Score - 18.7 / 20.0
Brianna had the songs ranked, so I'll give those to you as well...
6 - Adam – "Cryin'"
5 - Danny – "You Are So Beautiful"
4 - Danny – "Dance Little Sister"
3 - Kris – "Apologize"
2- Adam – "One"
1 - Kris - "Heartless"
Based on that, I'm not sure who she has going to the Finals...definitely Kris, but who between Adam or Danny? As far as I'm concerned...this one is in the books. I think it's pretty clear what I think...I've got Kris and Adam in the finals, with Danny bidding a fond farewell tonight. What do YOU think, America? It's been a while, but what the hey...let's hear it!
Reader Comments (2)
It's funny because I've been an Adam fan all along, but I completely agreed with Brianna on the performances last night and the ranking of the songs. What Adam did to Cryin' was just wrong! It is a great song but borderline "shrieky" as is, and he took it to the nth degree! I loved Heartless, and thought it was by far the winning moment of the night. I'm guessing Adam and Kris for the finals, but you never know.
I think Adam was robbed, I've never seen anyone who could sing that well. As far as I am concerned Idol has just lost a fan!!!!!