Wednesday, March 25, 2009

AI- Top 10 Performance


This. Is. My. Top. 10. (well, except for Megan, who isn’t my top anything) (okay, she’s my Top AI annoyance this year).

Randy is wearing a pastel golf sweater and chains. Kara’s in a bibbed blue Junior League sheath. Paula’s sporting a tutu. And Simon is Simon. Ryan makes a stairway entrance, and points out that Smokey Robinson, whose forehead is as smooth as a baby’s butt, and Berry Gordy, are in the audience, which makes sense, since this is Motown Week.

The kids sojourn to Motown to gawp at the pictures and the history (as well they should). Of all of them, Lil is the most moved. This music is right in her wheelhouse, and it should be her night to shine.

We open with Matt, who is continuing the Golf Sweater theme in a v-neck cardigan, blue shirt and tie. He’s singing it Let’s Get On, which is one of my favorite Marvin Gaye songs. He misses a note or two, but for the first time, I really liked Matt’s performance. This was an excellent song selection for him- good piano accompaniment and falsetto.

Kris is wearing a vaguely militaristic shirt with zip codes near the epaulettes, and a binary solo on the bottom. He chose How Sweet it Is, and while I have a hard time forgetting James Taylor, Kris sounds very good up there with his guitar. I notice that Kris’s wife is labeled as Kris’s Family, and I wonder why.

I groan when I hear that Scott is singing You Can’t Hurry Love. He’s wearing a pin striped jacket and a paisley shirt, and is sitting at the piano (which I think is a good idea, no matter what Paula said last week). I like the slow beginning- Scott’s voice is pure and lovely. But when he swings into the uptempo portion, I cringe. It’s a bad arrangement and the whole thing feels awkward and more than a little weird.

I do wish that Simon would shut up during Paula’s critiques. She may not be making much sense (though tonight she’s not doing badly on that front), but it’s her turn to talk. Paula surprises Simon with a box of crayons and a coloring book to occupy him while he’s not actually talking (side note: There’s just something pretty about a new box of crayons- all those colors lined up so neatly).

Megan “Joy” has Joey Heatherton hair, and a Connie Stevens dress (circa 77 Sunset Strip)(damn, now I have Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb in my head). She’s singing For Once in My Life, and it is beyond bad. It’s embarrassing. You know you’re in trouble when Paula begins your critique by telling you how beautiful you are. I think Megan got a pass last week for being sick, but it’s time for her to go home.

I’m not sure about Anoop’s choice of Ooh, Baby Baby, but, WOW! This is absolutely the perfect song for him. Anoop has upped his game for the second week in a row. The judges aren’t gushing nearly enough- that was a beautiful performance.

Michael may not be too proud to beg, but maybe he should. Paula didn’t even bother to compliment his looks before saying how very bad that was.

Lil is wearing a 20’s style fringe dress and wig (in tribute to that famous flapper, Diana Ross). I get a sinking feeling when she tells Smokey that she’s singing Heatwave. I don’t feel any better when she starts her prancey dance, and shrieks this shouty song. Out of the entire Motown catalog, Lil with the wonderful voice, chooses one that effectively masks her talent. It’s not a terrible performance, but for the second week in a row, I’m disappointed. Lil’s face plainly says that she’s not used to hearing real criticism, and once again, I want her to shut up.

Adam is slicked up like a teenage Kurt Russell. He’s singing Tracks of My Tears, and are all y’all sitting down? I love this spare arrangement (no backup singers, just guitars- very Jason Castro), and I love what Adam does with this song. He gets a Standing O from Smokey, and deserves it. If I did iTunes, I would download this one in a flash.

Danny’s jeans are bunched funny at the hems- at first I thought he was wearing big black scrunchies around his ankles. He’s singing Get Ready, and he sounds great as always, but there is nothing special about this song or performance (especially coming right after Adam’s surprising performance).

Allison is decked out like Kelly Osbourne. She’s singing Papa Was a Rolling Stone and she is flat-out killing it. She bypassed the girlie cuteness of the Hannah Montana ilk, and went straight to Bonnie Raitt. AI has wanted a girl rocker from Season 1. Now they finally have one- and she’s 16 years old (going on 59). Paula delivers her glowing critique in a crayon mustache (serves her right for handing them to Simon in the first place). Given that she was in the Bottom Three last week, I threw a few votes in Allison’s direction tonight.

Top 10 Great Performances: Adam, Allison, Anoop (not necessarily in that order, but not necessarily not in that order either).

Tonight’s Good Performances: Matt, Kris, Danny (probably in that order)

Tonight’s Mediocre/Blah Performances: Scott, Lil (order irrelevant)

The Bad Performances: Megan, Michael (definitely in that order).

Please let Megan go home tomorrow night.

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