Rosado's Recaps-American Idol - The Cultute of Pop, DVD, Movie, TV, Pop Culture Review

Rosado's Recaps-American Idol

Posted: Tue, 1 Mar 2011 20:29:09 PST

Season 10, Episode 11

As we begin the nitty gritty of Season 10 of American Idol, Randy's ready for the reboot, Jennifer feels they've picked some top talent, and Steven's got the censors on edge...So leave it to Dudley Doocrest to hand the Demon Of Screaming a cardboard Idol logo sign.

Yeah, like that's gonna help, Ry.

So...here...we.... GO! The Journey To A Superstar starts....NOW! (after the break).

PERFORMANCES:

Clint Jun Gamboa-Okay, even though I wanna paint a wax mustache on this kid who taunted our dearly departed Jaceee, I gotta admit, Clint owns the stage while delivering the Stevie Wonder classic Superstition, although I think he may be over singing it just a bit approaching the middle. But, in the climax he puts a nice little bow on things with a cool sequence of screams...Steven is reserved in his judgment, but gives him props. Jennifer's a lot more enthusiastic and Rands is pretty much in agreement.

Jeff's Grade: B-

Jovanny Barreto-Delivering a smooth take on Edwin McCain's I'll Be, he displays a terrific, controlled alto voice throughout. Not a home run, but not a bad start for him...and the stage presence is definitely there. Steven approves, Jen feels happy saying he showed America what he had to deliver. But Randy had to play the Simon this time out, not wanting to upset the “apple cart”, but from modulation on up, it just didn't move him.

Jeff's Grade: B

Jordan Dorsey-Sounding like he was gonna bring the smooth, he shed his blazer, and got down to business with Usher's OMG. But, I have to say it sounded to me like he was singing behind the beat and a little breathless at times. Not good. Steven says it wasn't his best performance, Jen asks if this kind of singer he wanted to be, and Randy said Jordan had to bring something different to the table in performances like this to make an impact.

Jeff's Grade: C-

Tim Halperin-His take on Rob Thomas' Streetcorner Symphony (Come On Over) offered a relaxed, confident, vocally easy on the ears moment. However, it's not the kind of song I'd use to introduce myself during Top 12 week. Steven felt it didn't do him any justice, adding “I've heard you sing so much better.” Jen stated while he did it well, she wants people to hear and see what Tim's really made of..Randy pretty much agrees with Steven's opinion in the end.

Jeff's Grade: C

Brett Loewenstern-Man, have we come a long way or what since the television debut of The Doors on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967. Being able to sing the line “Couldn't get much higher” on TV during the family viewing hour at that. Brett's take on Light My Fire starts out too calmly for me, and improves a bit toward the end, but it was a little too variety show for me; it didn't really have that dramatic finale I was awaiting. On the plus side, Brett reminds me vocally of Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, which isn't a bad thing...Steven: “You did it again, nice going”, Jen loves it because it displays himself. Randy wraps up the critique by stating he had pitch problems, but got better toward the end...

Jeff's Grade: B-

James Durbin:Perfect song choice right off the bat with Judas Priest's early 80's FM rock classic You've Got Another Thing Comin'....and he just nails it, by God; for me, it's the best Idol performance in nearly two years, perhaps since Adam Lambert and Alison Iraheta's take on Foghat's Slow Ride....Somewhere Priest front man Rob Halford is giving the heavy metal bullhead sign...Steven thought it was awesome (and a few more choice words I can't mention), Jen feels he's so natural, Randy says “That's how you do it”...Enough said. Best performance of the night so far.

Jeff's Grade: A

Robbie Rosen-Along with James, another of my huge faves amongst the lads, with that terrific blend from alto to falsetto is so endearing...and although I've heard him sing much better with more control and better pitching than his take on Angel, his charm and fan base will no doubt pull him thru. Steven says he sings a ballad like nobody's business, Jen remarks he can tell a story, and Randy states he didn't feel it was his best performance and didn't really come together, and felt Robbie wasn't comfortable.

Jeff's Grade: B

Scotty McCreedy-Country crooner who's got me very anxious to see what his song selection will be. So, with that neat little curl to his lip and cool confidence that remind me of George Strait, Scotty sends out a perfect take on the John Michael Montgomery chestnut Letters From Home, 2^nd best performance of the night for me so far...Steven said he couldn't have picked a better song to represent himself, Jen's beyond being in agreement, and Randy completes the trifecta of praise.

Jeff's Grade: A-

Stefano Langone-Love this guy's stage presence and he feels every note and word while actually making me like Bruno Mars' calling card Just The Way You Are. In a way Stefano has the same heart on his sleeve mentality that made Danny Gokey so appealing in Season 8...and his lung power is superb. An almost perfect performance until he hit that bum falsetto note near the end which was unfortunately timed with the director cutting to the judges as Jennifer winced more than a bit. However in the end, all three judges went easy on Stefano, near unanimous in praising the same characteristics I like about this kid.

Jeff's Grade: B+

Paul McDonald-A real find in the homestretch of Hollywood, this usually soft spoken vocalist takes a bit of chance on Rod Stewart's 1971 masterpiece Maggie May, and while I admire Paul for not painting himself in a corner to be typecast, it was more than a little rough vocally. Judges thoughts? Completely the opposite of mine. Steven says his voice has real character, Jen loves the way he moves and smiles, and Randy calls him unique and different than anything they've ever had on the show. So what do I know, eh?

Jeff's Grade: C+

Jacob Lusk-The gent that had us at God Bless The Child, starts out in a subdued mood on A House Is Not A Home, the Burt Bacharach/Hal David penned classic, masterfully working his way up his range...and it is absolutely fantastic...the judges and I are in perfect sync. Steven shouts divine intervention, Jen loves him for bringing back the spirit of Luther Vandross, and Randy's over the moon as well. At this point in the show, it's a dead heat between Jacob and James for top honors tonight...

Jeff's Grade: A+

Casey Abrams-This warrior got out of a sick bed to deliver a killer version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 1950's rock classic I Put A Spell On You, so much so that I'd advise the powers that be at Jay's cemetery to check the grounds to see if the soil around his tombstone has been disturbed in any way...and I absolutely loved it. Steven felt it was unreal and good as it gets; crazy good, Jen says he's sexy, and the dawg loved it saying exactly what I joked about above, somewhere Mr. Hawkins has donned his trademark stage cape once more, and is jumping up and down.

Jeff's Grade: A

Finally, with night one out of the way, let me say what I'm diggin'...and no so diggin' about the Season 10 reboot at this point of the process...

Not So Diggin':

-The arena stage already? I preferred the more intimate confines of the cozy club-like stage with a smaller audience which also gave the judges to warm up for the big shows yet to come.; Steven and (to a much lesser extent) Jennifer could have benefited from this.

-Although I've become a huge Jennifer Lopez fan since the season opener, what was the deal with all the Moon In June close-up's? Very distracting (although this started back in the days with Kara DeGuardi and her cougar-esque crushes on certain male contestants).

-Steven Tyler's sometimes understated and strangely muted critiques. Perhaps a little unfair of me to pick on him since we've just began the live (or live on tape) shows at this point, but I guess I'm wanting more of the screamin' demon from him..

Diggin':

-Tighter, snazzier, pre-performance video packages...

-Jennifer Lopez's articulate, well thought out judge's critiques; the real suprise of this show...

-The 90 minute run times for these early shows; they make for a much more exciting viewing experience minus the humdrum filler we've been subjected to over the years.

-The new on-line voting system at americanidol.com...What, the net's only predated the premiere of this show by nearly a decade or so? It's about time.

Final Thoughts: My picks for the top five to go through are: Casey, James, Jacob, Scotty and Jason...My wild card pick?: Robbie....

Next up, the top 12 ladies grace the stage, so come on back tomorrow night for my impressions..

-J.R.

-Jeffrey Rosado is a writer, performer, pop culture historian and all around nice guy, unless you ignore the Do Not Disturb sign at the entrance to his Idol lair, at which point you will be locked in a steam room with the surviving members of The Village People.

Follow Jeff on Twitter: marquee_man

 

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