February
24/25 - Group 3
A classic American Idol
barb could describe last week's show...
"Absolutely dreadful".
Needless to say, tonight's eight, known in the
collective as Group Three, better put their hearts,
minds, asses, and other body organs into tonight's show,
otherwise, we're gonna have a pretty crappy season. All
I can say is... Seacrest, you owe us.
He gives us... Elizabeth LeTendre first. All spunk and
half class, she learned the hard way that 1.5 doesn't
mean you're the one. But she might be the one to beat
with "I Wanna Dance with Somebody". Impressive range,
and she owns the stage with her energy, but she's all
over the place tonewise. And shouting isn't helping
either. But so far, better than at least half of group
2.
Randy: "That was hot! Already better than last week!"
Paula: "Your vocals are spot on tonight. Excellent job."
Simon: "Good singer, cheap performance."
Yeah, I bet Simon can perform with the best of them.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, admits to being "horny and cheap."
So does Ryan. Scary. What's scary also? Eric Yoder, the
second coming of Clay Aiken, voicewise. Hes hoping to
find some personality inside, but he won't find it "In
the Still of the Night". Flat and emotionless. Very flat
and very emotionless. And he showboats. Yeah, he knows
he sucks. And the falsetto is definitely a killer.
Although Randy disagrees.
Randy: "The performance
was cool for me, but you brought it home at the end."
Paula: "A little sketchy at the beginning."
Simon: "You are, at the moment, just a good voice."
Wow, all three disagree. I didn't see anything
appealing. But apparently the kids love it, so who am I.
Next up, Amy Adams, makeup artist and nervous wreck. How
nervous? In a word, sorta. She sounds like Celine in the
first few bars of "The Power of Love". And the second
few bars. And when she injects herself, it comes off as
a bit weak. In short, passable, but only passable. Not
phenomenal quite yet, but getting there.
Randy: "You got the personality. I was impressed that
you started out by yourself."
Paula: "You are phenomenal."
Simon: "I look at you and I think Cabaret Idol rather
than American Idol."
If she can get out of the cabaret stage, she could go
far in the contest. Big note, William Hung will bang one
more time on Monday's "American Idol: Uncut, Uncensored,
Untalented". Make a note. Fourth on the hole, "Pen
salesman" Jon Peter Lewis. He has no more pens, but he
looks like Kurt Nilsen... could be a plus side. He tries
out "Tiny Dancer". And we have the first person that I
actually wholly like. If he can get out of that facial
rut, he's going to go far.
Randy: "Sounds kinda cartoonish, but I was feeling you."
Paula: "I think you did a nice job."
Simon: "I think you are an American with a good voice."
If he doesn't get through, then he should make Wild
Card. We'll see when the votes go through. Remember,
America loves a loser. Next up from down the road in
Pembroke is Charly Lowry. Hey, Tar Heel! Gotta love
that. She brings the soul to "Chain of Fools". Could be
better. Could be worse. But she works the stage, and
that should garner a few thousand votes. As much as I
liked the ending, it was a "so what" performance.
Randy: "Pitchwise, you were all over the place. It was
just alright for me."
Paula: "Looking for a tighter performance."
Simon: "I'm going to say something really odd. I agree
with [Paula]. You just got to let go."
As for me, see above note on Jon Peter Lewis. Rolling
all five of his necks is Jonah Moananu. The drama
teacher/808 State MC wants America to vote for him
because he can sing. And he can, proving it on "I Wish".
BUT it isn't the power performance it needs to be. Come
on, you need to bring it. You've got a one in four
chance of making the show. You've got to convince me
that you want it...
Randy: "You didn't really show the vocal skills. Now you
need to shine, baby."
Paula: "Just wasn't heavy on melody."
Simon: "I just don't think you're very good."
Down to two... First one: Leah LaBelle (Vladowski). Her
mom's a pop star, and if we're lucky, good talent is
genetic. She starts out weak on "I Have Nothing".
Unfortunately, she stays there for a while. At least
until the hook. That's when she pours on the power. I
see potential, but right now, "I Have Nothing" is pretty
descriptive of the entire package.
Randy: "Whitney's very tough to do. I still feel you. I
love the style of your voice."
Paula: "You are a star. You have, by far, such extreme
potential."
Simon: "You have almost everything right, but you're not
quite right yet. I think, potentially, you are the best
we've seen tonight."
And finally, we've got La Toya London. She couldn't stop
looking mum-sy. My sister personally thinks her new
wardrobe hurts her eyes. But what about the voice? "All
By Myself" is the song she eventually choose. This is
one of those songs that, unless you can nail it, you
shouldn't try. She tries to own it, and for the most
part, succeeds. That was the breakout I was looking for
all series! This is what Idol is all about. Standing O =
definite top 12.
Randy: "You're the best I've heard ever since we started
this!"
Paula: "You have the most unbelievable quiet confidence
we've seen."
Simon: "Superb and outstanding."
Hey, La Toya. Just a secret between you, me, and the
readers of this site... I think you made it. For me now,
it's a draw between Jon Peter and Amy for the second
chair, with Amy edging out but barely. Tomorrow, we'll
see who joins Diana, Fantasia, Matt, and Camile in the
top 12.
I am sort of frustrated
- I completely agree with Chico - which quite frankly,
scares me. La Toya is a no-brainer to get in - but I
think that Amy's charisma and performance was so
powerful that she will edge out Jon Peter Lewis for the
second spot.
We'll see if I'm right - but FOX starts the segment by
doing the obvious - telling La Toya that she is in the
top three. We then rattle off four people who will not
be joining us - Liz, Eric, Charly and Jonah, before we
get to Amy Adams - and she's in. That leaves us with
Leah and Jon Peter Lewis. I still don't see three women
advancing, so I guess that the salesman makes it in. He
does, and me and Chico are both 3 for 3.
Who advances? In first place is...La Toya. That's not a
surprise - and I will agree with Chico that Amy, due to
the stronger charisma, gets in as well. She does, and
Amy and La Toya are your 2 finalists.
The final 8 people include... George Huff. Wha? Well
apparently, thanks to other people getting into trouble
with the law, Mr. Huff is back to perform. We'll see
next week if he takes full advantage of his second
opportunity - or if he doesn't, who does. |