Mar 25 2009
“Idol” Race Still (Almost) Anybody’s Game
The Motown sound took center stage on FOX’s American Idol tonight, with several contestants showing exactly why they’re in the top 10.
Standout performances came from Danny Giraud (”Let’s Get it On”), Kris Allen (”How Sweet It Is To Be Love By You”), Allison Iraheta (”Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”) and- redeeming himself big time after last week’s oddity- Adam Lambert (”The Track of My Tears”). In fact, Lambert transformed himself into a clean-cut throwback to the 1950s/1960’s, hair neatly combed and not a trace of eye liner in sight.
Some contestants gave middling performances, including Scott MacIntyre (who clung to his piano for “You Can’t Hurry Love”) and Lil’ Rounds (who presented an “authentic,” as Simon Cowell called it, take on “Heatwave”). Faltering were Megan Joy Corkrey (”For Once In My Life”) and Michael Sarver (”Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”), both of whom should find themselves in the bottom three tomorrow evening. Corkrey’s song choice did not fit her distinct, jazz-like vocal style, and Sarver could not give his song the large delivery it deserves, with Cowell going so far as to say (truthfully) that he has no chance of winning the competition.
Anoop Desai gave a solid- if slightly dull- rendition of “Ooh Baby Baby,” while Danny Gokey offered some high energy for “Get Ready,” though he ended up ignoring mentor Smokey Robinson’s advice by not singing the backup-singer sections as well.
Tomorrow night, one of my favorites- Stevie Wonder- will perform a Motown medley, and Smokey Robinson duets with Joss Stone. Right now, though, the $64,000 question is, who will join Corkrey and Sarver in the bottom three? As seen many times over on past seasons of Idol, though, sometimes the unexpected happens- recall the week when Fantasia Barrino, LaToya London and Jennifer Hudson formed the bottom three? They arguably were the best vocalists of that particular season, yet mediocrity like Diana DeGramo and John Stevens survived past that week (with DeGarmo- who maybe had one great performance during the last weeks of the competition- even making it to the finals).
Even with the fact in mind that anything can happen when the power is turned over to the people, I still believe Corkrey and Sarver will make up two-thirds of the bottom three. And, frankly, either of them would be a fitting choice to leave the competition- and you can bet that the judges again will not use their one and only save to keep either of them around to torture themselves and viewers.
