Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Copyright 2005 Fox Broadcasting

Viewers who feel, like I do, that the themes for this year's American Idol have not been as creative, this was proven last night, when contestants were told to sing song from the years 2000-2005. This was another open-ended category allowing them all to choose songs with which they felt comfortable, or to fall into old, bad habits, as the case may be.

For example, Carrie Underwood took the stage first with a rollicking country song, "When God Fearin' Women Get the Blues."

It was very much her genre, and she belted it out. But I don't think most members of the audience would recognize it, and it didn't give her much chance to show off her vocals. I thought it was a poor choice. Not only that, but she had straightened her hair, which paired with her dark blue western shirt, made her look like a blonde cowboy version of Cher. At the end of the performance, she was coughing as if she had a cold, but that didn't excuse the song or the outfit.

Judge Randy Jackson said he was glad to see her return to her roots but that the performance and pitch were never quite on. Nice judge Paula Abdul agreed with that assessment and said that Carrie needs to celebrate song vocals and personality. This song hadn't done that. But tough judge Simon Cowell said that last week, when she'd tried to do a rock song, she was completely off kilter. While he doesn't understand this kind of music, he felt the people who are voting for her would love it.

Bo Bice did a great performance of the Gavin DeGraw song, "I Don't Want to Be," which features the lyrics, "I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately." He pulled out all the stops, even twirling the mic stand. Bo Bice, the quintessential rock star, was back.

Randy said, "You've got some hands on you" and noted that the words worked well for him. He said he likes the fact that Bo is true to himself. Paula said that he'd picked a song that describes him, and that it was incredible. Simon noted that he'd gotten his confidence back and that it was the strongest performance so far. But the downside, he said with a smile, was that he should stay away from the Lenny Kravitz sunglasses.

Vonzell Solomon was really off, singing the Christina Aguilera song "I Turn to You." She was pitchy and all over the place. It was an embarrassment.

Randy said she'd picked the most difficult song and, incredibly, said that he was proud of her performance. Paula said she'd been nervous about that song choice but that she'd nailed it and turned on the magic. And Simon confessed that it's difficult to hear in the studio because it's very loud, but that he had a horrible feeling it wasn't as good as Paula thought. He said he thought it sounded flat in the beginning.

I wasn't at all surprised that Anthony Fedorov chose a Celine Dion song, "I Surrender." That encapsulates him right there: he lives and breathes the most middle of the road pop music imaginable, which is probably part of his appeal. That combined with being a young, humble guy, reasonably good looking, with an interesting background. He didn't stay on pitch and the performance was lackluster. I dare say it was even more boring than the original.

Randy said it had started out rough but that in the chorus he brought it home. Paula said she was reminded of Kelly Clarkson's performance of the same song in season one and that it was one of his best. Simon said the choice was very brave but that he'd hated it. But again, he admitted it's important to sing songs that voters for a given contestant will enjoy.

Next up was Constantine Maroulis, returning to a rock song with "How You Remind Me." It was a little uneven, but he had fun with it, giving it the Constantine treatment.

I think Randy summed it up when he said that females love Constantine, but that he'd felt he was sitting in a bar watching any band. He gave him high marks on performance but low on vocals. Paula said it was not her favorite song, but American Idol is also about performing and that he's the one contestant who moves effortlessly between genres. Simon said that when he left his band, Constantine had come to the "dark side," or pop music. Going back to rock no longer seemed natural. He called it a bad imitation of the original.

Finishing off the night, Scott Savol performed "Dance With My Father." He was really off, failing on the high notes and off pitch for most of the song. Randy called it his weakest in weeks and noted it was pitchy. Paula said he has a pleasant voice, but that the song didn't do justice to it. Simon minced no words in saying, "I'd pack your suitcase tonight."

Considering that Scott has been in the bottom three several times before, I think Simon's assessment is correct and he'll be the one to go home. I'm not sure who will round out the bottom three. Possibly Vonzell. Maybe Anthony, if there's any justice in the world. It could also be Carrie or Constantine, if there voters felt their performances weren't as strong.

When it gets down to this few people, it gets harder and harder to predict.

More Musings on American Idol:

American Idol, Season Four

American Idol, Season Three

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

Musings Index

What do you think? Share your thoughts
at Alyce's message board (left button):