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

Rosado's Recaps-American Idol

Posted: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:22:12 PDT

To paraphrase an Elton John tune that was probably not up for grabs this week, The Jeff Is Back...or shall I say The POP Is Back....Wait...I have it! The Jeffy Pop Is Back!

(Yep, too much caffeine earlier.)

Time for another wacky, but no less fun and a little more pointed than usual American Idol recap from your truly, and right off a birthday, no less (those of you who listen to the podcast already know, and your well wishes were more than appreciated...yet another reason those of you who haven't taken the podcast plunge? You need to do it! But more on that, later). 

Speaking of plunging,

CANNONBALL Idol Blog TIME! (SPLASH!)

It's Elton John week at the Idol ranch after a six year sabbatical..a delay which may have been due to this gem of a performance night blunder which you can relive courtesy of a brief audio excerpt by clicking under John Stevens' photo below (and, I beseech you, no food or liquid in your mouth while listening, for I'm not responsible for the contents landing on any electronic or personal...like a friend).

 

Click This If You Dare...

Time and therapy have done some good, but I still have flashbacks, kids. Thankfully,

no such horrors occurred last night...well, maybe a couple of near-misses...

Scotty: Kicking off the night in “Howdy, Pardners” fashion is the always smooth McCreery, who could not have picked a better song than Country Comfort, EJ's deep cut classic from 1970's Tumbleweed Connection album. If I haven't said it before, I'll blog it here:

Somebody get this kid a recording contract, STAT! Geez, he could have sacrificed himself in place of the judge's save and kept it alive for one of his Idol compadres (and you just know we're gonna have a shocker of a premature departure, folks...Happens every time...So Scotty, it's all your fault (!) if Pia gets booted ).

Hey, if all else fails, Scotty would make a great bass note singer for an Oak Ridge Boys/Jordanaires type group; and yet another killer bellow of a low one tonight at the end of his song eh, ladies?). Complete agreement with Randy's thoughts on Scotty being so comfortable on stage; a key factor in a great performer...when he or she's having fun, we're having fun.

Okay, I'll pull a Randy: HE WAS IN THE ZONE, KIDS!

Naima: I'm Still Standing...nice choice....Reinterpreting it in reggae style? Next!

Okay, I'll be semi-nice and not leave her critique at one line...but man, oh man, when

Naima revealed she'd be taking us up Bob Marley man way with her take on EJ's 1984 smash, I'm thinking, it's over (and that was while the lead-in video package played on).

What a poor choice after she'd made a halfway decent impression on me a week ago with a pretty decent cover of Dancing In The Street.

While I admire Ms. Adedapo for being true to herself, she pretty much killed whatever chances she had to stick around for a little while longer with her strategy last night.

Paul: In the same vein as Naima, but in a completely different light, I adore Paul for wearing his wardrobe homage to Bakersfield, California's influence on country and country rock music (Buck Owens, Gram Parsons, Dwight Yoakam)...and although his voice isn't a traditional one, neither is Bob Dylan's (as I mentioned in my pre-Idol chat with Paul's local friend Whitney Dean, which you can access a couple of blog posts below if you haven't checked it out already)...and his cover of Rocket Man was much more pleasurable than other EJ reboots to come.

My only criticism? Maybe just a little bit safe following his killer take on Tracks Of My Tears, but doggone..isn't he just a natural born showman? Slight boos to the judges who weren't as charmed by it, although Randy was on the money when he told Paul his quiet nature was “infectious”.

Also, Paul's stage wear gave Steven a chance to utter the one-liner of the night: “Is there some water in that suit? Looks like there's a few more flowers on there since the last time we saw it.”...Yep, send the Demon of Screamin' to the Catskills between tours.

Pia: Talk about walking the tightrope after the judges gently berated her for being all ballads, all the time last week. Even more daring? Picking the slightly overused Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me that's been done to death on talent shows (and God help ya if you're ever in a karaoke bar with someone who's had one shots too many trying to go for the Grammy).

But if I may borrow one of Steven T.'s catch phrases, Pia did it again....she not only did it, she sang it in a much more higher key than Elton's original, infused it with an irresistible gospel feel (with a very effective choir in support), hitting (as Jennifer rightly voiced) “otherworldly” notes.

Maybe Ms. Toscano's best performance to date.

Stefano-Wait, it hit me last night as I was watching...Mr. Langone is a dead ringer for Joey on Friends (albeit after he's sucked some helium from the balloon stand at the county fair). But I wanna tell ya (insert rim shot, here).

Seriously though, I didn't have a good feeling about his picking Tiny Dancer...and the rehearsal footage with Idol mentor/surrogate Simon Jimmy Iovine (the latter being a very appropriate comparison, if you think about it), was Godawful.

Yeah, I give the judges some slack in giving Stefano props for opening his eyes more (Yep, every baby learns to do that/it comes to them in time into adulthood), making more of a connection with the crowd, etc.-But folks, he still hasn't grown in my eyes 'n' ears...Still way too mannered, too concerned with working the camera (one doesn't do that this soon in the competition in the fashion he was doing)...and going for Jennifer's hand at the end (or was he bucking for a handout in these hard days and times)?

But at the same time, my Spanish blood makes me go into Peppermint Patty mode: Stefano, you sly dog.

Lauren: Showcasing a vocal maturity and polish far beyond her years, Lauren did a beautifully arranged version of Candle In The Wind. Wonderful selections of notes blended with heartfelt sincerity, Pia may have herself some serious competition for the best female contender if Lauren continues to improve...

...and what a nice compliment Jennifer paid when stating that the country saw what Steven, Randy and she discovered during the Nashville audition...

...but wait, didn't we see it, too? Jennifer!!! (Insert studio audience laughter, here). Cameras, lights, sound? In a way, we were there too, sweetie... (Jeffrey sweetly reaches out his hand, albeit long distance...and then says: Nah, don't wanna pull a Stefano).

(Insert studio audience laughter, here...)

James: Okay, here's the deal...I was hoping that Paul (the hometown Culture of Pop hero) would find my tweet on Twitter asking him to consider Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, and get back to his rockin' roots, because I think McDonald would have killed with this song....and then came Durbo (which I'd like to make his international nickname...for I think it suits him).

Can I get an amen for Durbo?! Huh? Huh? You combine Durbin 'n' Turbo and voila (!) Durbo! It even sounds like a wrestling name (or as people say in my parts, wrasslin'). Ask for his debut record of the same name by name (and James, if you do title that introductory platter as so, you better give me a percentage of the profits, dude...just a-sayin').

But I wanna tell ya (more rimshots)...

Bloggin' buffoonery aside, I don't think even Paul on his best night could have topped James' rollicking take on Elton's 1973 barn burner (complete with fiery Jerry Lee Lewis flaming piano...or pee-ann-uh, like the Killer would say)...James was meant to be paired with this song...and from working the crowd into a frenzy to taking command of the stage, it was absolute perfection; best performance of the night for me....and it would not surprise me if Sir EJ does this song in James' honor on his SNL host/musical gig this week...Why not, the show airs on Saturday! Duh! Captain (Fantastic)!

Thia-I don't know what's happened to the girl I labeled my pop princess and championed for so long, but she's become like a slowly departing ship, growing further and further away from shore these last three weeks. My hopes for some sort of revival rested on the hopes of Daniel, one of my all time fave songs of all time (which makes me think of my late brother Kenny, who like me, was a huge music, and Elton fan), and a melody I felt would suit her ballad register perfectly.

Alas, it was a single instead of a home run I was hoping for. While it was a pleasant enough performance, Thia doesn't yet possess the lung power or emotional depth to tackle a song like this...It's like Nancy Sinatra said on Twitter a few weeks ago when a couple of people auditioning were attempting My Way...although I don't have the exact quote in front of me, it was something akin to saying one has to go thru the ups and downs of life's experiences to sing such a song effectively....and that was most certainly the case to me in Thia's time on stage last night (although I still adore her to pieces).

Casey: What a ride this kid's having. A couple of rough weeks vocally after slamming 'em out of the park previously, three trips to the hospital, nearly collapsing after the judges saved him last week (making poor Seacrest looking like James Brown's on-stage cape handler rushing to his side), and mere hours ago, being the target of a brilliant (but affectionate) parody on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

Sporting a way nice beard and hair trim, Abrams opted to go the ballad route crooning the song that brought Elton into our lives 41 (really? 41) years ago: Your Song.

Although I wanted to really like it, there were more than a couple of flat notes that made me wince...and I think singing a ballad like this more or less straight all the way thru instead of going all Joe Cocker-y at the end would have far more enjoyable...

..which leads me to a point...at this point (tsk, tsk) about our three lovable judges last night...Did say, The Riddler (and I'm talking classic Frank Gorshin version from the ABC Network days, not that Jimbo redux..but nice try, Carey)...anyway...did the Riddler zap Steven, Jenny and Rands with some sort of lovey dovey ray gun before show time last eve?

Honest to God, Stefano, Thia and Casey have given far, far, FAR better performances...and if they or any or us need proof? You Tube, baby, You Tube...but wait...lemme tell ya about the last two performances of the eve..or give you my takes to bring it all back home.

Jacob-Jacob, Jacob, Jacob....the modern day cross between Tom Jones and Little Richard for me, man...and those of you really into music know where I'm coming from courtesy of his way, way, WAY-HEY (!), over the top version of Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.

For further proof, I must add this uproariously hilarious visual tweet from one of my fave writers for Entertainment Weekly, Annie Barrett (and once more I beseech you, no food or water in your mouth, please..)

Where in the world was Lucy Van Pelt last night when we needed her to play Cowell?

Save for Randy saying Jacob was a little restrained (whaaa?), the judges loved it...

There are no words.

Oh, but wait, my Culture of Pop brethren...for here comes our musical benediction for this review...

Haley (aka Curly Girl to me): Four words-Bennie and the Jets...

(Insert classic Dark Shadows commercial bumper music here)

Given her limited range for something ambitious, I was scuh-scuh-scuh-schu-scared-uh for her ...and from the moment she lounged across that pee-ann-uh Fabulous Baker Boys style and shouted “Hey, keeds”....I was in hysterics...then recovering and bracing myself for the high note in the middle (You know I read it in a mag-ah-zee-EEEN-Uh-Uhhhhhhh)..and then I lost it, AGAIN!

John Stevens? Perhaps all is forgiven, brother:

And yet, the critical crew below the stage LOVED it (whaaaa?)

Randy: “Best performance of the night!!!”

Oh, my...somebody get Marcus Welby, here....(geez, giving away clues to my age...and besides that, the man's dead!)...er, get McSexy, McDemographic or whatever his name is...

And on that wacky curtain closer, which two do YOU think we're be bidding adios to in the evening? Two departures should make for an interesting results show....and that is really all I can say, folks...A final one liner deserts me at this point...

See/blog ya.

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