palebluedot

Honestly I wasn't too thrilled with any of the performances tonight.

Burt Bacharach was not a good choice because most of his songs are very hard to sing...they just aren't simple love songs.

I wasn't totally blown away or driven to tears with Tamyra's performance.


Of all the performances Nikki's was the worse.

R.J. wasn't too bad this week but not to exciting.

Justin was just plain boring.

Kelly faltered a bit as did Tamyra.

But again Bacharach isn't easy.

I think part of the problem is seeing something live takes something away from the judgement. I remember thinking some shows that my band did were great...the growd was into it...it sounded good on stage, etc. Yet when we went back and listened to the tape we could find things wrong. So we in TV land can be more objective. I probably would have been more excited by the performances had I been there live.

My guess Nikki is gone.

the aftermath

Goodbye Nikki.

Tamyra was tonight's "winner" IMO. She blew everyone out of the water tonight, including Kelly. RJ and Justin == Meh

matta

these "themes" blow lately. Nikki was just unlucky with the last few choices

conscience

Why the hell did anyone not sing my favorite Burt song?

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head?

Damn it !!!!

Best: Tamyra...but Paula is a little too into it.

Worst: RJ...My second favorite Burt Song....Nobody can beat Christopher Cross on that song.

das Monkey

• Quoth matta •<HR SIZE=1>these "themes" blow lately. Nikki was just unlucky with the last few choices <HR SIZE=1>

The themes don't blow ... the performers just can't seem to handle it.

I have to agree with the dot again ... I was most underwhelmed by all the performances.

Burt is most definitely the man. I guess it's hard to know how much time they really had to practice with him and the song selections, but each one of them was more nervous than usual and not only looked but sounded uncomfortable with their songs. The only person I think that actually improved on previous weeks was R.J. Everyone else took a step (or four) back.

Tamyra was the strongest, but certainly not her best, and Paula's reaction was just silly. In fact, it's time to just get rid of the judges.

Randy: Contestant Name, Contestant Name, Contestant Name ... what's up, man? Love the outfit ... I'm feelin' ya ... you did your thing, man. You made the song your own and did your thing.

Paula: *sniffle* You're like Mike Piazza. Touchdown!!! Good job. Good ... job. Goodjob.

Simon: Look ... this ... is ... American ... IIIdol.

For the first week, I think Nikki was the worst. She's shown a remarkable ability to just be a little better than someone else and hang around in spite of her quite obvious lack of talent. But now we're at the point where Tamyra and Kelly are vastly superior on the female side, and R.J. and Justin both did a better job tonight.

Side note: when did Ejay join the CHP? Did you see those glasses he was sporting? Someone call Erik Estrada's lawyer - he's been robbed!!! Also, you could see Christina shush-ing him behind the judges the whole night.

My pick to depart the show is Nikki. However, something in my gut makes me think Justin's not very secure either.

das

Patman

I can't believe 2 of the 5 finalists are from the north-northeast side of just outside Atlanta (I work in Norcross, where Tamyra's from).

Maybe I'm a bit easy, but my nipples got hard listening to Kelly sing (though her phrasing of "Walk on by" was not what I'm used to). I like the bluesiness, but she's shutting herself from a lot of material if she stays in that style because she's got a good solid memorable voice.

I thought Tamyra's got the pipes to be a diva within the next 5 years, but she was all over the map with "A house is not a home," just a bit too much, she needs to stay within the zip code of the auditorium she's performing in.

Justin was a bit too sing-songy in his rendition of "The Look of Love" (I'm used to Diana Krall singing it on her latest album that I almost didn't recognize it when Justin was signing it.

RJ and Nikki are mainly Star Search fodder. I don't know why AI drags out the inevitable. Cut them both loose and get on with it.

It will be a showdown between Kelly and Tamyra, and depending on song choice and performance, the better singer will win. But both will have a good shot at a career in singing.

WarriorPrincess

Man - I expected more. I couldn't even get myself motivated to vote tonight.

As usual, Kelly and Tamyra were the best, but both seemed squeaky - like they were hoarse. Too much practicing, maybe? Anyway, the only time I got chills tonight was when Justin did a tiny bit of falsetto - in the midst of a mediocre performance. And for that reason I want him to stay. But he blew it - a love song was the perfect chance to showcase the special quality of his voice, and he went for power he doesn't have instead of doing the quiet but poigniant thing he can do so well. Don't try for power, Justin - the girls have power, you don't. Well - two of the girls anyway. Your voice just gets ordinary when you get loud.

Nikki and RJ are barely holding on - the mixing was WAY off for Nikki, and her voice was so much louder than the others when they performed that it sounded even worse. The girl has no range. She seems sweet, but that's not good enough. RJ just needs to join a boy band that will teach him what to do with his body while on stage - time for choreographed moves and canned music.

Guess I'm feeling a bit harsh tonight - I blame it on computer frustration.

CapRockBrewingCo.

I don't see how RJ has made it this far. He sucks. He is much worse than Nikki.

Big Quasimodo

@ das - You're really in your element here, aren't you!

Agree (and was constantly explaining to my wife) that Bacharach's songs are tough to sing. Funny part is that Nikki's song (Always Something There to Remind Me) was the easiest one to sing.

Totally agree that the fawning over Tamyra was way off. I mean Barbra Streisand and Luther Vandross sang that song. No way to "make that song your own" and do anything other than screw it up with reference standards like that. I think both Tamyra and Kelly should have used the phrasing of the seminal recordings (either Barbra or Luther, or a mix, and Dionne) instead of "Star Searching" them up with inappropriate "range flexes". Still, both have wonderful voices. Bottom line, a standard is a standard, and unless you are something really special, homage is recommended.

RJ did fine, and so did Justin. I am kind of a part-timer on this show, so I have not heard Justin's falsetto much, and have missed most of RJ's performances too, but I can see where RJ is basically boy band material, albeit he can certainly be "the cute one".

I still think Justin is the Idol.

Now about that Dinkelman guy........

das Monkey

Don't worry. None of us have. The ladies around here are convinced that his falsetto can open the gates of Heaven and guide our people to the Promised Land, but we haven't really heard it but that once in the early rounds. Had I known singing falsetto was the key to making women faint and cry (the good kind, not from malnutrition or something), I could have saved myself some money in college.

Moisturizer for mugging to the camera: $5.00
Paper clip to stick in electrical socket: $0.79/box
Falsetto: Priceless

das

Pikul

Dunkleman = Mark Linn-Baker

Nikki should not be singing anything that approaches bouncy pop.

That "instrumental arrangement" on "Walk on By" was horrible and fumbled all over the place.

Jadzia

Kelly - was good, but not as good as she usually is. I hated that top she was wearing. Kind of unflattering.

RJ - God is he awful. I never thought I 'd actually want to hear Christopher Cross sing, but RJ's version of "Arthur's Theme" did that. RJ was definitely not singing that song in a high enough key, so the whole song he sounde dlike he was speak-singing it or almost shouting it rather than hit the high notes. Poor Dudley Moore is probably rolling in his grave. RJ would have been more entertaining if he had on a tux a& tails and stumbled around drunk.

Tamyra - I don't get what the judges were raving about. I thought the first minute and a half was very generic Whitney Houston-ish soul diva singing. Kind of boring and Tamyra was missing that usual spark she had. She did end on a high note - literally. The end was spectacular but I thought the rest of it was boring.

Justin - Well he finally gave us a glimpse of that falsetto last night. But it was too brief and the rest of his performance was lackluster. He should have sang Burt & Elvis' "God Give Me Strength." That would have given me chills. And what was with the outfit? I thought he was going to hand me a daisy at the airport or something.

Nikki - Well, last week I knew she was in trouble when Randy's first comment was "Nice shoes." This week his first comment was "Cute kid." LOL. What's to say about her wretched performance? I love that song, but she was horrible. And what the hell are those outfits she wears? It looks like a tablecloth wrapped over pants or something.

Best laugh last night - "Welcome to the dark side, Paula" after she ripped on Nikki. You know you are bad when PAULA ABDUL doesn't have anything nice to say about your performance.

Did anythging else think her kid looked like Jonathan Lipnicki from Jerry Maguire? It was kind of sad/funny how he was crying after the judges ripped her apart.

Random thoughts:

Ryan Starr looked like she was going to rumble with someone after the show. She adjusted her boobies a lot while she was sitting behind Simon. Must have thought the camera couldn't see.

Was that Christina's fiance next to her? Good looking guy. I don't Simon has a chance now.

And all the arrangements on the songs seemed really bad. Not to mention the canned backing vocals on "Always Something There to Remind Me".

goLUCKY

What songs did they sing?

Jadzia

Kelly - "Walk on By"

RJ - "Arthur's Theme"

Tamyra - "A House is Not a Home"

Justin - "The Look of Love"

Nikki - "Always Something There to Remind Me"

palebluedot

Anyone know what next weeks theme is?

das Monkey

• Quoth palebluedot •<HR SIZE=1>Anyone know what next weeks theme is? <HR SIZE=1>

Maybe the Focus will be Lita Ford.

das

Daytripper

Thank you! The best performance on television EVER!?? (Simon's words). Give me a f---ing break! I'm tired of everyone fawning all over Tamyra. She's great. And gorgeous. And has that American Idol star quality. But let's get real here. The best? EVER?? Stop it. Guess Simon didn't see Aretha Franklin filling in for Pavaratti (sp?) on that awards show several years ago.

And I'm going to go out on a limb and say I thought Kelly did the best she could with the material she chose. Her voice was as strong as ever. Didn't care for the song. I'm not a huge Burt fan. But she was just as good if not better than Tamyra last night (IMO). Nikki stunk. Plain and simple. Kind of reminded me of Ryan's performance a few weeks ago when Simon said she was "terrible". And her son handing her a flower?? She just topped Justin with the calculating. Just shameless.

Big Quasimodo

****Aside****

Isn't it in Simon's best interests to "play up" the eventual winner as much as possible? Including shaming the loser's to make the eventual winner seem sooooo much better than most others that they are worthy of "Whitney Houston" status? I mean, doesn't he have a vested interest in the winner's initial career earnings? I would imagine that a pre-requisite of getting on the show is a 1-year (or more) contract with a production company in which he is a principal...probably even the losers have to pay that production company a percentage of personal earnings over some period of time....don't forget that even the "loser" survivors and "real worlders" can carve out some feeble career from their "15-minutes of fame".

"OKAY?"

Just wonderin.....

das Monkey

Finally, some good old fashioned American cynicism. You're probably right on target with those thoughts.

das

IdgIe49

man, RJ has some nice teeth!!! thats the only thing I like about him. and I liked Nikki's song. I was thinking the Whitney Houston thing when Tamyra was singing, so I was happy to hear Simon say it. That was actually the first time I actually watched the show in its entirety. The Mole is over now so ...

matta

I disagree with you DAS. The themes suck. There are tons of "idols" that can't sing Burt Bacharach well. Does that mean they're not good singers?

edit: when i say "idols" i mean famous singers that are regarded as idols

das Monkey

• Quoth matta •<HR SIZE=1>I disagree with you DAS. The themes suck. There are tons of "idols" that can't sing Burt Bacharach well. Does that mean they're not good singers?

edit: when i say "idols" i mean famous singers that are regarded as idols <HR SIZE=1>

See, my American Idol would be more than just a voice. Celine Dion has a great voice, but brain matter was replaced with air. Whitney Houston has a great voice, but brain matter was replaced by crackrock (among other things). Mariah Carey has a great voice, but brain matter was replaced by little dancing leprechauns. That's not to say that my American Idol needs to be intelligent; more I just wanted to rag on airheads, crackwhores, and looneys.

But I do want an idol who is multi-faceted, and these themes are exposing their flaws. In my opinion, the themes only suck because the performers aren't up to the challenge. So they all failed this week. But imagine if one of them had shined with Burt's tunes. It would have been worth it for me. Sometimes you need to raise the bar to see who is more than just karaoke. The Big Band episode did just that. Some did a great job, and others looked small. Burt raised the bar yet another level, and we found their ceiling.

Personally, I don't want to see the same pop songs from week to week. I don't think the idol should be limited to that narrow range of music just because it's easier than others and more popular to the bubblegum teenagers. To each his own though, and I understand where you're coming from. I guess I'm as interested in what they can't do as what they can. If I'm going to vote on this at the end of the series, I want more than just a string of successful pop performances to make my decision.

das

Patman

I just want to see one of them do justice to "Open Arms" by Journey.

palebluedot

That would be nice but that's unfortunately not what we will get as none of these performers are songwriters.

Exactly right. When I said Bacharach was a bad choice I didn't mean that exactly. He was a good choice to test their limits (although that may have not been the reason) and it certainly did.

Yep...the themes have been great. Unfortuanately when all is over we will probably get a string of pop performances on the album that is released from the winner.

I just hope they do something interesting with whomever wins (<SIZE=1>Kelly</SIZE>) and not just the same drivel cluttering the airwaves and store racks. My hopes aren't high...

HotThang

You forgot:

"Dude"
"RJ, you know I love those initials man!"

Could it be because they stand for REAL JOKE????

Sam