Season 5: The 12 tryin’ to be…
…American Idol winners! This is when the show officially starts. Only 12 left, the big stage, Ricky Minor and the smokin’ band expanded… Gotta love it. I’m going to be pigbacking off of brutha Dean’s post since he always beats me to them. The theme was the legendary Stevie Wonder. Talk about a last name that accurately describes someone. Mr. Wonder has written and sung so many unique and wonderful songs that it boggles the mind. But as Prince said in a recent interview on my Sirius satellite radio, “Stevie Wonder’s songs will trip you up vocally since they are so nuanced and dynamic.” Ain’t that the truth. My thoughts about last night performances:
Ace Young: Stevie Wonder should have been right up his alley. But he sung “Do I Do” which is the wrong song for him. Gotta agree with Dean on this one. He did sound strained. Now if he would have sung “Overjoyed” he would have smoked it. But it’s Ace. He’s movin’ on.
Kellie Pickler: You could tell her confidence was low (heck she even said it). “Blame It On The Sun”… HMMM! Hated it! And I like Kellie’s personality but I knew Stevie’s songs would get her. Very dull. Even if it was a country take, she lacked emotion.
Elliot Yamin: My man came through. You can tell he loves Stevie Wonder. He did a good job singing “Knocks Me Off My Feet”. Handled it well. Great voice and emotion.
Mandisa: Ahh! “Don’t You Worry Bout A Thing” is a good song for her. BUT she sung it like the version done by Incognito (the legendary UK-based jazz/funk/R&B band, not The Incognito). Not a bad thing but if she would have been closer to Stevie’s way, she would have done better. All that said, the woman has skills and sung her ass off.
Bucky Covington: He shocked the heck outta me by turning in a solid performance of “Superstition”. Totally outside his comfort zone yet he made it his own. Did a grizzled and gruff performance that worked out well. Do yo’ thang Bucky! Ya got my vote.
Melissa McGhee: Unlike Dean, I did notice the missed lyrics since this is one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs. But I gotta give it up Melissa. She sung “Lately” with emotion and dare I say love. I was really impressed. As my wife said, “That white chick put her foot in that song”. Ditto!
Lisa Tucker: No! No! No! You can’t sing “Signed Sealed Delivered” with little emotion. I like Lisa and she can sing but she’s needs to inject some love into uptempo songs. Hated it! But wasn’t the worst performance of the night. But the next performer…
Kevin Covais: I absolutely despise this young man’s singing style and voice. Love his personality but he just can’t sing to me. He’s here and Gedeon at home? Yuck. He destroyed “Part Time Lover”. I agree with Simon 100% on this one: appalling!
Katherine McPhee: My! My! My! Ol’ Katherine is growing on me like ivy on a brick wall. Not only did he sing the heck out of “Till You Come Back To Me”, she’s had the whole soulful/sexy vibe workin’. Yeah, she made a brutha want to come back to her. HOLLA! Great!
Taylor Hicks: Taylor’s old school. Taylor’s a performer. And Taylor knew how to handle “Livin’ For The City”. Yes sir! I was clappin’ my hands with a big smile on my face. Another great performance.
Paris Bennett: About time Paris! “All I Do” was perfect for her. She needs to just keep it here and roll with it. Don’t get too cute. Get ugly! She’s “Fantasia Jr.” to me. Three great performances in a row!
Chris Daughtry: The relief was all over Chris’ face when he found out “Higher Ground” was written and sung originally by Stevie Wonder. And he did a good job of singing it. An exciting performance but it wasn’t his best. But damn good.
Best performances: Katherine, Taylor, and Paris.
Who should go home: Kevin (PLEASE!).
Who’s probably going home: Lisa.
[zing! to Dean Esmay]
