American Idol 2009: Top 6+1 Show
We could get used to American Idol starting a little earlier with the scene-setting tweets from Ryan:
RyanSeacrest: On idol set now..rehersal…I think you’ll like some of the arrangements…certainly different than what I expected. See u in a few
Different. Why does my mind immediately go to Adam Lambert when I read that?
RyanSeacrest: Having an artichoke and getting a haircut is dressing rm at idol…kara said she still gets a bit nervous before we go live
When the show starts, Ryan’s wearing an attractive grey suit and the tie bar looks a little lower than he’s worn it previously. Slightly random comment but my eyes wandered there often enough that I have to say … I love the cut of the pants he was wearing; particularly the lower leg.
Ryan reminds us that two of the seven are going home after this show, and it’s down to the voting public now as the judges have used their one and only veto. He introduced the judges, pointing out that Simon had dressed for the occasion, before bringing out the contestants.
Nooo! Where’s sparkly Adam? I was worried he’d go for toned down as he was due a slow song going off his previous pattern. As he clearly doesn’t like to be predictable, I was hoping he’d figure that unpredictable was predictable now and would double bluff. Still with me? I wanted to see sequins and glitter, damn it!
Ryan introduced Lil without a VT. If that’s how they’re saving time, it’s a big improvement on the judging team farce. She looked great but she didn’t sound too good.
Randy thought it sounded wild but didn’t show what kind of artist she could be. Kara thought everyone had been waiting for her to sing something like that but she wasn’t sure it was worth the wait. Oooh bitchy! Paula thought it was a good recovery from having no voice yesterday. Simon said she looked sad but the song was without originality. Ryan gave Lil a chance to reply even though she’d already talked across Simon.
Next up was Kris and Ryan teased him about his training in the disco genre. I love Kris and I liked what he was trying to do with it, but I didn’t actually enjoy the performance.
Kara thought it was a risk that paid off. Paula said that a lot of women are known to shop in the men’s department, but there aren’t many men who are willing to shop in the women’s. Thanks, Paula. Simon asked for a translator (you’d think he’d speak fluent Paula by now) before saying he thought Kris’ performance was original and well thought out. Randy thinks that Kris knows who he is, which I’m sure is helpful. Kris has the giggles after listening to Simon and Randy talk about women’s underwear and Ryan told him ‘ that meant they like you!’
After the commercial break (with an “I’m a Mac” advert!), Danny sang an Earth, Wind and Fire song that I don’t remember.
I hated it from the first wonky note but his hair looks nice tonight … is it different or am I looking for a distraction? Randy thought it worked, Kara complimented him for staying on pitch but didn’t think it was a memorable performance. Paula was talking about vocal agility while Simon was rolling his eyes and she thinks Danny has one of the sexiest voices ever. Simon couldn’t fault the vocals (go on Si, you know you want to …) but found it awkward, clumsy and lacking any star power.
Ryan said the competition was heating up before introducing Allison singing Hot Stuff. I only just got that while typing it out. Doh! Can I use watching at 2.30 am as an excuse for being slow on the uptake?
For me that was much more like it! I liked the performance and her heels were fab! Randy found the arrangement over-indulgent but thinks she is one of the best singers left in the competition. Kara agreed, saying making it slower wasn’t good but she liked the song choice. Paula liked the edginess and thought Allison’s last note hit it off the charts. Simon thought it was a brilliant performance. Ryan asked Allison about the heels … he noticed them too. Is he having a heel envy day … he was checking out Scary Spice’s heels this morning!
Next up was Adam Lambert who Ryan talked to about the unconventional approach to disco night and whether he would be changing things up a bit. Adam’s chosen yet another of my favourite songs: If I Can’t Have You. There are so many versions of this song (my favourite has always been the late 80s recording by This Way Up) that it’s probably going to be quite difficult to not make it karaoke-ish. The vocal is beautiful and I like how he’s changed up the melody. Oh he’s swinging it up a bit. Simon’s going to love this for originality!
%@$! Adam is killing me.
I have GOOSEBUMPS! I forgive him for the lack of sequins; this is awesome.
Randy thinks he’s ready right now, Kara thought he was brilliant. Paula felt his pain and vulnerability and Simon wasn’t feeling the pain but would have put $10,000 on Adam doing Donna Summer. Simon thought it was original with immaculate vocals and said he’d never heard the song sung that way before.
Ryan, in possibly the comment of the season so far, said that Adam was melting Paula into a pool of Abdul!
Who can follow that? Matt Giraud is giving it a go and it started off pretty well although I thought it was going to be a train wreck when I heard what he was going to sing. The wheels fell of a bit in the chorus, but overall it was better than expected.
Randy didn’t love the song choice or arrangement, Kara didn’t think it was crazy original the way Adam was but thought he brought the mood back to disco. Paula thought it was a strike and thinks he’s staying this week but Simon didn’t like it, calling it desperate with no originality. Ryan reminds America that it’s up to them to vote and decide.
Ryan’s very businesslike tonight, moving things along quickly, but it’s sucking the personality out of things a bit … the show needs more time for banter. Hopefully there’ll be more in the results show. I suppose what I’m saying really is the show needs more Ryan.
Last up is Anoop and Ryan’s checking out Kara’s Coca Cola cup which is cute even if it’s not subtle. Anoop is awful. It’s old fashioned. I don’t know the song but it doesn’t sound as though he’s come up with anything original.
Randy thought the last note was rough and didn’t love the arrangement. Kara thought it was a good song choice and could be on the radio. Paula said ‘real men know how to wear pink’ and Anoop has beautiful teeth. Simon is disagreeing with the positive comments; he found it mediocre at best, a horrible version of the song and Anoop’s worst performance. To round out the critique of Anoop’s wardrobe and appearance, Ryan commented on his eyebrows!
Looks like they made it in on time. It didn’t feel as rushed as last week, but I think there needs to be a bit more interaction between Ryan and the judges. He’s the viewers’ link to the judges so cutting that part cuts us off from them as well as cutting off the opportunity for snark and one liners.
Despite having started the day early with his radio show, Ryan’s day wasn’t over as he tweeted later:
RyanSeacrest: long day…spoke at a dinner for charity. met tony blair..regardless of where you are on his politics he is one heck of a great speaker
And with our favourite sign-off, I’m giving him the last word here too:
RyanSeacrest: clocked 14 hours today…crashing. goodnight…talk to u in a few on radio. seacrest out!
