I have a growing dissatisfaction with TV lately. I find myself bored by plot lines, inundated with advertisements for new shows that get canceled quickly, and in general unhappy with what is being called "entertainment" these days. If not for "The Pacific", "Dexter", and "Amazing Race", I would be just fine without TV.
Don't get me wrong about a lot of shows. I enjoy the entire NBC Thursday comedy lineup, as well as Survivor and Justified and what not. But increasingly, I just find myself ready for things to come to an end, so I can move on with my life and not have to endure another week of the same old crap.
This is similar to the way I feel about American Idol this season. Week after week, we are treated the same old same old as each contestant gets up there and gives us exactly what we got the week before.
Aaron Kelly, how many ballads can you sing? Will you ever find a song you can stay in tune for? Do you have a creative bone in your body to infuse a song with a new and fresh arrangement? Long Winding Road left me wishing I'd exited sooner.
Katie Stevens offered a nice change from her usual crappy versions of songs she does. She demonstrated that she yet has some vocal talent. But in the same breath, she did the same song Brooke White did a few seasons back, only with less feeling and talent. Maybe this is the problem with American Idol. With a limited songbook to choose from, they end up repeating songs that someone else already knocked out the box.
Andrew Garcia, your playing the acoustic guitar for "Can't Buy Me Love" was pointless. We couldn't hear it, and it hindered your ability to have fun with the song. You stuck in the same range for the whole song, didn't vocally jump around, and killed whatever energy was produced by the arrangement. You had so much potential! Now, you will find yourself on the outside looking in.
Big Mike is a star. He's a cheese. He's perfect for Broadway. He's perfect for American Idol. Everyone complains about the cheesiness, but, let's be honest, American Idol is all about cheesiness. He took a different spin on "Eleanor Rigby" with an R&B feel, and it was pretty cool. But in the end, I wonder if the lyrics were lost a bit with the big arrangement. This is, after all, called one of the saddest songs of all time, and Mike made it into show tune.
Even Crystal Bowersox I am starting to lose some patience with. She's by far the most talented of the whole crew, but week after week, she brings the same vocals to every song. We know she's going to throw in her "yeahs" and her twangy, soulful, deep throated voice into every song. In the end though, I wonder if she really feels like she wants to be on this show, and if instead, she'd rather be back in Chicago, playing at bars and entertaining crowds of hundreds instead of thousands. Because eventually, I want the winner of this show to become a chameleon, capable of captivating a crowd, no matter what song it is. Crystal is a one trick pony. The trick is a good trick, but eventually, it will leave me wanting more.
Turban...did well. I mean, it's the best he's done. He's still a joke, but he actually didn't do as bad as he did in previous weeks. Finally he found a song that didn't challenge him very much, and he proved he could rise up to that.
Casey picked the right song for his voice, finished fantastic, and showed a bit more chops this week. Unfortunately, he's not convinced he's having a good time, or that he enjoys the national spotlight. Week after week, he stays behind the guitar, unwilling to engage the audience or move even a little bit, demonstrating all the physicality of a robot. I'm pretty sure we could get a robot on stage that looked like Casey James and no one would know the difference each week.
Siobhan, man she's weird. Man. I just don't get her. I used to believe she had the vocal chops to be this season's strongest voice, but now I just don't know. When she's not screaming, she's sharp. She has a very timid voice. When she's not throwing vibrato on the end of a phrase, she's pitchy throughout. If she gave herself more air when she has to go into her higher range, maybe she wouldn't be out of tune.
And Lee...bagpipes? Really? I just didn't get this one. Everyone seemed to love it, but I thought it was a train wreck. He started flat, threw in some weird vocal inflections, and turned it into a karaoke sing by shouting "come on everybody!" That was just weird. He's supposedly a star, but he doesn't act like one, perform like one, or feel like one. However, in this crappy season, he'll go far, because he's better than the rest.
Last night's Idol Rankings: 1. Katie. 2. Casey. 3. Crystal. 4. Big Mike. 5. Turban. 6. Lee. 7. Andrew. 8. Siobhan. 9. Aaron
Tonight's Bottom Three: Andrew, Tim and Katie (shouldn't be her, but based on the way voting is going, she's going to be there).
Bottom Three should be as I listed them.
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I would agree with most of it, but it was better than you make it out to be! :o) I agree there's no clear-cut star. I change my favorite every week. But that kind of makes it more exciting!
ReplyDeleteI have to say this...I completely disagree with you on Casey!!! I don't think he's hiding behind his guitar at all! He knows who he is, and he improves vocally every week, and I think he looks SO comfortable up there - and he's definitely having fun. He is one of my favorite to watch, so I am shocked by your dislike of his stage presence! He is one of my top two or three, EASILY.
I don't think Lee was great last night, but I like him a lot - LOVE his tone. I think he just had an off-week, and that being said, it wasn't even that bad.
Katie was a lot better, but you're right about the comparison to Brooke White - I actually think Katie has more vocal ability than Brooke White, but Brooke White had more passion and ability to perform and live and breathe the music. Katie just sings. She's getting better though, and she sounded great last night.
Mike was good. That's all I can say. I don't really care...but he was good!
Siobhan, I still DON'T GET. I really hope she goes home tonight! But even if she does, I think the judges would save her unfortunately. I am anxious to see her go. I don't think she's got the vocal ability. She has a freak talent - something she can show off in a karaoke bar or in a fun band, but she's not a great singer, and I'm tired of listening.
Aaron can go - sweet kid with a good voice, but he's about done. He is the one who bores me on the stage with his robotic movements - they're always the same.
Crystal is great. Love her. She's good at what she does. I am never surprised or amazed by now, because she's just good, and she's who she is! I would probably buy her album, but you're right, she's not super versatile. She's got her niche, and she's sticking to it.
Andrew was good at the beginning, and then the band took over. He should have stuck with his own arrangement instead of being afraid to mess with the song. It's a great song, as is, but it was boring for him. I hope the beginning saved him, because I think he's good.
Tim is Tim. Nice guy. Nice voice. He can be done anytime too. At least he's having fun.
I am hoping the bottom three will be: Aaron, Tim, and Siobhan. Don't really care who goes, as long as it's not Casey, Lee, Crystal or Mike. But I could see Andrew or Katie also being in the bottom three somehow. We'll see what happens tonight! Thanks for the fun rundowns every week, Matt!
I agree with most of it too, but was shocked when Big Mike got the fewest votes. Yep, his rendition was only okay, but so was everyone else's. Week after week, I'm surprised that Tim hangs in, and while I like Aaron, his voice is just not strong or mature enough to carry through most of the songs. And what don't these kids get about singing on pitch? Sometimes the vocals really hurt, especially when they're holding a long tag note and it goes flatter and flatter and...
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