April 28/29 - Finals
Round 7
Bienvenidos a "American Idol," y el busco de una nueva
estrella continua con el especial de Gloria Estefan.
That's right, her music is the theme, she's the guest
judge, and backing the Idols are, could you think of
anyone else really, the Miami Sound Machine! She trained
em, and now she judges'em. This is gonna be hype... I
hope. First off, Fantasia Barrino tells everyone to "Get
on Your Feet" with her song, that she explicitly
dedicated to last week's ousted Jennifer Hudson. And
with her song, she's telling me personally to get on my
feet and head for the exit. I mean, sure she hypes up
the crowd and plays to the band. But intonation is way
off at points. I chalk it up to a bad song choice. I
mean, she could've picked a song as funky as this, but
she didn't. Trust me. I have every Gloria Estefan album
since "Primitive Love".
And yes, pimping for Jennifer's vote will not help.
Randy: Great performance. Vocally, I don't know
if I felt you, heard you. Just a little wobbly.
Gloria: With all due respect to the judges, you
haven't sung a bad note in the competition.
Paula: It's about performing, and you take on the
task of what the theme is. You gave it your all and you
look great.
Simon: I'm actually going to agree with Randy.
You sounded like a cartoon character... Donald Duck in
helium. You're a great performer, but when you watch
this back, you're going to look and say that wasn't
great.
Fantasia's defense: "A lot of people tell me I look like
Bugs Bunny." I would've guessed Elmer Fudd.
Hehehehehehehe
Rolling along to George Huff, who will
try to incorporate a little salsa move in his
performance of "Live for Loving You." I could've seen
Fantasia do this, but George didn't really do too badly
on his own. He's injecting his own little thing. And the
George bounce is back. And so is the George salsa
shuffle. Is he coming back? Possibly. Is he the next
Idol? Probably not.
Randy: At least you found yourself in that song.
It's hard to dance and sing. (George can't dance)
Gloria: One of my favorite songs. You did a great
job.
Paula: You gave it your all. You smiled.
Gloria: Simon's shaking his shoulders!
Paula: He's shimmying.
Simon: Start with the good news: Gloria, you have
a great band. If this was the first time seeing you, I
would be amazed to know that you were in the final six
of this competition. That was amateurish. (To Ryan) He
was as good as your presenting skills.
And then the audience boos. Again. But Ryan gives George
false hope as he brings out La Toya London. She wanted
to do something outside her box, so she goes into
"Rhythm is Gonna Get You". La Toya works the stage
without having to pimp anything. And she sells the song
with her voice, her moves, her dress, just the whole
package. There was a few iffy points, but the rest of
the performance more than makes up for it. She's gonna
get a few of Jennifer's votes... and maybe a few more.
I'd say that I would be surprised if she was NOT in the
final.
Randy: First of all, you look beautiful. You seem
to settle in well with a band. It was good, I wasn't
wowed.
Gloria: When I saw you in the auditions, I didn't
know I was going to be there, but I knew that you were
going to be there.
Paula: I just wish there was more than a minute
and 40 seconds.
Simon: I think you needed to do what you did
tonight, because I think there was a danger of you
becoming boring. It was an okay performance. It proved
that you could do more than just stand there and sing
well, and not be boring.
That was a compliment, by the way. Next is John Stevens.
He's singing the "Music of My Heart", trying to focus on
her grandmother to mellow him out. Yeah, like he needs
help with that. He NEEDS to get some pitch back. He
NEEDS to get some tone back. He NEEDS to be put out of
his misery. And mine. I like his little ensemble
tonight, though.
Randy: I love the shoes, dawg. You're the nicest
guy I know. The song... horrendous. There were probably
three notes in tune the whole thing.
Gloria: I think you made your grandma proud.
Paula: You gave a valiant effort. I'm proud of
you. You did your best.
Simon: One of the reasons you are doing so well
is because you have taken every bullet thrown at you
like a man. No complaint. You and Latin music go
together like chocolate ice cream and an onion.
Yeah, he's taken every bullet... SO WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD
YET?! Okay, enough angst. Next is Jasmine Trias. Another
big fan. Sounds like "Here We Are" at practice. Mature
song. Beautiful at practice. But that's practice. Now
comes the real deal. And the real deal starts abnormally
strong for her. That's a good thing. From there, it
tails off. That's a bad thing. And she's starting to
sound scratchy with the bridge. I tell you. There was
power in the flower, and the flower is gone. She also
needs to do something dangerous. This is starting to
sound eerily predictable.
Randy: Good song choice. Fell a little short for
me.
Gloria: I thought you did beautiful.
Paula: I've always been a fan of your voice, and
today is no exception.
Simon: At best, that was a pleasant imitation. It
was pleasant, and tonight, pleasant is good.
Judge fight ensues between the newlyweds. And no,
they're not newlyweds. Finally, Diana DeGarmo, the most
saccharine singer since Hilary Duff... and I'm not a fan
of Hilary Duff. She'll "Turn the Beat Around," and as
much as it pains me to admit, she's starting to become a
favorite. She sounds great, but she's not really doing
anything really daring. Emotionally, this is a very
charged song, but she's just flailing her arm. And she
shouts. But other than that, better than the only other
female on the bubble. That'll keep her in the top for
this week, I think. Again, not saying much.
Randy: Cowell's always talking about the age, but
you got mad talent. That was really good.
Gloria: Thanks for giving props to my band. You
were great.
Paula: Another great week for you.
Simon: I'll give the performance a seven and the
dress a zero. You can't have it all, Diana.
AGREED! Okay, that's it. All of the performances sucked.
But some sucked more than others, some sucked less.
Right now, it's a game between should and will, because
we're coming off the chaos upset and now we're in
butterfly mode. All things considered... Diana, Jasmine,
and John should be in the bottom. George, Jasmine, and
John will be in the bottom with John being escorted off
the premises. But that's just me.
And remember... you don't vote... they go to the HOUSE.
*points left* Vote... *points right* House. We learned
that the hard way last week.
---
Chico's Idol Chart - Gloria Estefan (or: "The Requisite
SUCK Episode")
1 - La Toya
2 - George
3 - Diana
4 - Jasmine
5 - Fantasia
6 - John
After seven rounds:
1 La Toya (80)
2 George (73)
3 Fantasia (65)
4 Diana (54)
5 Jasmine (51)
6 John (38)
Results coming... |