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

Rosado's Recaps-American Idol

Posted: Thu, 12 May 2011 14:36:41 PDT

Week of May 9^th, 2011

  

Yep, it's Final Four time of year once more...no, no, not that kind of final four where you angrily rip up brackets on the first day thanks to a team that went 20-7 in the regular season only to collapse to a team that barely made into March Madness.

I'm talking about May Madness of the American Idol kind, boys 'n' girls...and do we have a contest in the making thanks to last night's show. All four finalists had magical moments so exceptional to the point, that I've no CLUE as to what's gonna transpire in the hours after this blog is posted.

So, with such circumstances on the table, I wanna get to the performances of each contestant, stat. Let's go!

James: Kinda' played it safe this week, but if you had his following and momentum, would you be straining your vocal chords at this stage. That said, James had a few off-notes in Don't Stop Believing that the judges evidently didn't hear-most likely due to the band overpowering his vocals in the TV studio-but, I did like his radical amped up revamp of Love Potion Number 9 which is the hardest he's rocked since Heavy Metal a few weeks back.

Jeff's Combined Grade For Both: A-

Haley: All eyes 'n' ears were on my newly christened bad girl (as opposed to my labeling of curly all season long..for she's developed claws, man) to see what she could do in opposition to Idol's season long sweetie pie Lauren (Alaina).

To put it in blunt, honest terms for Haley's performance of Earth Song (Michael Jackson)? Came off like Dusty Springfield attempting to cover Edith Piaf (and I adored Dusty, but she NEVER would've made an artistic decision to do that). Also, I know nerves are at a maximum at this point of the game, but Haley should have cooled her jets and taken the judges criticism like a woman, and not like a child.

But, to her credit, did she knock it out of the park...and thru the glass of the Italian restaurant across the street with an amazing cover of I (Who Have Nothing), bettering Jordin Sparks' rendition in Season 6. Not only her best performance, but a potential game changer for this phoenix of a competitor.

Jeff's Combined Grade For Both: *B+

*(But for I (Who Have Nothing): A+

Scotty: Congrats, McCreery. For the second week going, you didn't get on my nerves. Not only that, two absolutely brilliant song choices. Not only in picking the once again timely Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning?) which fit those county pipes perfectly, but in FINALLY stepping outside your comfort zone to have a little fun with the Coasters R'n'B classic Youngblood (especially when you could have played it safe with yet another paint-by-the-numbers rendition of an Elvis Presley tune). You had fun which in turn captivated the audience and showed you're not just a one trick pony. As Simon Cowell would say, well done.

Jeff's Combined Grade For Both: A-

Lauren: A so, so pivotal week for her...and I've no doubt that Lauren listened to both Jimmy Iovine and real music lovers like me that encouraged her to go for those high notes. Mercy, Miss Percy did she ever on Martina McBride's underrated gem Anyway, achieving challenging heights I just knew were inside of her.

Her second song choice of Trouble from Elvis Presley was a risky move, given her Christian beliefs. Yet, the Tupelo boy who changed rock and roll was profoundly religious, too...but, he saw the humor in the song in addition to its rebellion. Thus, that's why I'm writing this paragraph; he made the Leiber-Stoller penned simmer to a boil rocker a classic.

Fortunately, she had the same approach in tackling the song her way. She had fun with it, and did it her way to near perfection. I suspect that plane ticket back home she so richly wants prior to next week is pretty much close to reality.

Jeff's Combined Grade For Both: A

Round and round the Idol circle goes, who goes home (tonight), nobody knows! For once, no picks from me; perhaps for the first time in all the years I've watched this program, it is truly anybody's game.

Although it's my dream to see James and Lauren in the final, I'm actually trying to avert my mind from that possibility to avoid disappointment. That's how close this race is at the moment.

Good luck to all, and I'll be back Friday with our TCOP post-show analysis podcast.

 

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