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

Rosado's Recaps-American Idol

Posted: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 7:26:05 PDT

Hello again my Idol/Culture of Pop regulars...

Been a long, grinding, busy day as of this dispatch. As many of you know the legendary Elizabeth Taylor passed on at a still far too young age of 79..and wanting to pay tribute, I had to wait for interviewees to become available. By 5 pm (CST), I was ready to collapse...and did for a half hour...but amazingly, I woke up and found myself reinvigorated at the thought of what local Idol fave Paul McDonald had planned for Motown Night..speaking of which...

...let's get into this weekly analytical literary clambake, shall we?

Like my all time favorite group (The Beatles), the music of the legendary Motown Records label is part of my musical DNA. Even today, I can still remember my big brother Kenny spinning the classic album Temptations Sing Smokey (which spawned the number one soul music evergreen My Girl, and the highly underrated Top 20 follow-up It's Growin'); in radio terms, he had that long player in heavy rotation for many a month, which in turn led to him helping me discover other motor city musical greats.

So, my love of other Motown mainstays (Supremes, Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, and Martha & The Vandellas for starters) had me both anxious, nervous and giddy for tonight's show, even before showtime commenced.

So, after the obligatory yet informative, sincere mini-documentary on Berry Gordy's legendary company, we're off to the races...or rather, the Grapevine...

Casey-Holy crapamundo! The 'fro has been tamed! And, a'la Samson in the Bible,.so has this once promising contender's effectiveness, I'm afraid. Gave him a pass last week for a faithful recreation of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit due to his terrific ability to slap the electric bass and shout. But, his vocals on the Gladys Knight/Pips & Marvin Gaye barn burner (I Heard It Thru The Grapevine) were extremely screechy to me, along with his overdone roaming about the stage. All the more weird? The judges were evidently on some kind of nice juice for the majority of the night with Randy taking the cake in judge's patter: “You can only do you”.

In my best Archie Bunker whine, hah?

Thia-Okay, from the judges on up, we've all been wanting our little ballad princess to spread her wings, right? But when I heard the words heat and wave? Talk about shudder shock. Brought to life originally by the leather lungs of fellow Alabama native Martha Reeves (and her wonderful Vandellas), I had my doubts on whether Ms. Magia could be up to such a challenge..and the end result?

Hate to be cranky two contestants in a row, but from the fluttery vibrato to her awkward attempts to bust a move, it was painful to watch 'n' hear.

Heat Wave is the kind of song that demands a bull horn of a voice (like Linda Rondstadt who did a terrific cover of it in the 1970's), something Thia just doesn't possess; a Diana Ross/Supremes tune like Come See About Me would've satisfied the judges urges for her to groove and might very well have fit her abilities perfectly. Judges' thoughts? Again, I'm thinking WTH were they on! But as I write in retrospect, I think perhaps, they were just being kind...

Song selection at this point is beyond crucial with everyone vying for Top 10 tour status on this episode. Thus, I'm afraid Thia may indeed suffer the emotional equivalent of effects from a heat wave come results show time tonight.

Jacob: Ah, this is gonna be a short critique for Brother Lusk, folks. Mother Nature came a-callin' via my TV market's Emergency Broadcast System, taking over every channel to alternately scare ya, and completely block out your cable...at least Comcast's does.

Insert expletives, here...but no broken windows like some bratty pop star, nor torn shirt...I value my clothing, maturity and reputation far too much.

-Little social comment there, America (insert sarcastic happy face, here)-

But! From what I did see/hear of Jacob's You're All I Need (To Get By)? Very cool, creatively inventive reinterpretation. Although Lusk still hasn't returned to the magic of his early performances for me just yet, this is the best performance he's given in the last three weeks to my ears.

Lauren: For starters, what has happened to that little girl from Georgia? And, I mean that in a good way...and in kind of a scary way, too. Like, paging Gary Puckett and The Union Gap (“Young girl....you're much too young, girl”)!

Alternately not helping my unrequited/far too old crush? A really, really impressive take on the bouncy 1966 Supremes chart topper You Keep Me Hangin' On. Starting in a smoldering, slow, slinky, come hither tone that progresses to a faithful recreation of the original's arrangement, Lauren's a little pitchy here and there, but her lung power's back at full throttle, she's working the stage like a real pro, and she looks beyond beautiful and so, SO grown up.

Wheeeere are you, Gary Puckett?????!!! Get me out of here!

Okay, folks...please realise I'm just being silly....Kinda ...but I'd be lying if I didn't say Lauren has me wishing for my own personal reinvention of Tom Hank's wonderful movie Big, where I'd become young enough to court Lauren to her prom. She's gonna make some young man very, very honored to be her boyfriend, soon.

Randy said it best from the judges' corner (You got the swagger on high)...and I am so looking forward to weeks ahead...for if Lauren stays the course, we could have one heck of a female vocal dogfight between her and Pia (the latter coming up in my overview, shortly).

Stefano: Here's the example of how you can be an American Idol hero one week, and a goat, the next. His choice of Lionel Richie's 1984 romantic classic Hello seemed a promising one, but the key is WAAAAY too high for his range, making me wonder why he didn't stay in the original recording's A minor arrangement.

Also, you don't shout a love song, you caress it, you give it feeling...and doggone if Judge Jennifer didn't echo my thoughts precisely, saying such tunes need “to come from the heart”.

Like Thia earlier, this performance could spell curtains for Langone, despite a heavy fan base.

Haley-Ah, the polarizing Curly Girl as I love to call her; fans either love or loathe her...me being in the former camp)...but hey, somebody's been using a straightener this week...and STILL, she has my heart aflutter (paging Dr. Gary Puckett again, stat!). But yet, it was tough last week to put her down for I'm Your Baby Tonight...but her song choice this week from the Motown hall of gold?:You've Really Got A Hold On Me, one of my all time faves, memorably introduced to me by The Beatles (I also love Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' original, too).

Despite a rough beginning, Haley gave it 110 percent bringing out the sexy while keeping her voice under control wonderfully. Okay, wavering notes at the end were slightly uncomfortable, but overall, a very, very solid comeback in the vein of Lauren's last week...(but Haley is just SO gonna have to stop wearing those short skirts, or I'll need an increased dosage of heart meds).

Scotty: Three words that put fear in my heart from Seacrest prior to a commercial break: “Scotty on Motown!” (insert old fashioned horror movie organ, here).

Boy, I should have put my pre-judgement on hold.

Just like former Idol wunderkind Adam Lambert, Scotty marvelously took what to everybody else seemed to think would be an impossible task for him: Stepping out of his Twang Town tone to take on the Stevie Wonder classic For Once In My Life

Not unlike what the groundbreaking Ray Charles did with country, Scotty did with soul: Confident, he delivered with flair, and smoothness without having to change his vocal style at all...not to mention what Randy delightfully referred to as that “lady killer” low note at the end.

Best performance of the night so far...Well done, Mr. McCreery.

Pia: Just the mere mention of the song title All In Love Is Fair gave me goosebumps. Although I really wanted Miss Pia to go uptown in tempo this week, I felt a potential Idol “moment” was about to occur given her perchance for doing memorable vocals on any kind of standard.

Surprising in the end? Her take on the Stevie Wonder penned classic came off as “meh”...and a rather disappointing “meh”, at that. Brother Randy (Jackson) said it best: “Ballads, ballads, ballads...can't live on ballads alone”.

Same time, same station next week, Pia...Unless the fan base fails you like Jennifer Hudson. Kind of a scary thought, but I think Pia's following is sufficient enough to not make that a reality.

Paul McDonald-...and now, the partial part of this week's Idol blog (laughter). Yeah, I know, Paul's a Huntsville, AL native like me, but hey...didn't stop me from being a wee bit critical of his performance from a week ago (a nasally I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues). But the dreaded C word is not needed this week at all.

Taking a bit of a risk in many a veteran Idol follower's eyes (like me, who's been aboard the musical show's train since the beginning) Paul's Motown choice? Smokey Robinson and The Miracles' 1965 soulful love lament Tracks Of My Tears.

Loyalists out there remember Adam Lambert's unforgettable unplugged version from two years ago? I certainly did. How in the world was Paul going to attempt to top such a moment?

By not attempting to at all...and being true to his fashion.

Playing acoustic guitar for the first time on the show, along with not having to bop about the huge stage like in weeks past, Paul did a simply fantastic country rock flavoured rendition of the song in just the right key combined with a perfect, emotionally connected vocal...and did it get the crowd on its feet or what? He didn't even need to incite them...and the way he gently opened and closed the song with that unforgettable line of “People say I'm the life of the party...” was perfect, just perfect.

Best Paul performance since Blackbird at the Nashville auditions and a potential game changer if he proves to be this effective next week.

Naima-By far, Idol's weakest competitor, wasn't expecting much...and more than a little scared when she touted Dancing In The Street for her song of the week. Being a huge Martha Reeves fan as stated earlier (whom I once had a chance to meet once; beyond lovely person), I didn't want one of my go-to songs ruined, especially when she startled babbling about adding dancers, dancing a bit herself, etc. (shudder-shudder-shudder-shudder-shudder-).

What we got in the end was.....not bad. Kinda winced at the dance bit at the end which looked more like an unintentional plug for fellow FOX competition show So You Think You Can Dance, but prior to the boog-ah-loo at the end, I've never heard Naima sing stronger, the pants of breath I'd criticized her for weren't in evidence, and for the most part, her vocals were of the caliber I think even Martha would approve of...and may I add Naima has never looked better; very good choice of wardrobe...and while I'm a world's away from Jennifer's “goosebumps” kudos, I do believe Naima won't have to worry about being in danger territory tonight.

James-Don't ya just love an Idol that ends on a superlative musical note?

Dynamo Durbin just sang the ever lovin' dickens out of Stevie Wonder's masterpiece Livin' For The City, getting' into it with everyone from the crowd to legendary Funk Brothers alumnae bass player Bob Babbitt who sat in with the Idol band throughout the night. Great, great moment for James after an off night a week ago.

Tops last night for me?: A dead heat between Scotty and James for best performance of the evening with Paul coming in a very, very close second. Honorary mentions to a much improved Haley and a second straight winner of a week for Lauren.

Now, the bad news. Bottom three picks?: Thia, Casey, and Stefano...However, we all know how American can sometimes...get it wrong, so who knows...and brace yourself!

I'll be back tomorrow with elimination night show thoughts, but scroll down for the first of several podcast chats I have coming up with Paul McDonald's good friend Whitney Dean, as we give our thoughts 'n' keep up with his American Idol journey...

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