IdolHeadEd.com - Idol Gets Its Ya-Ya’s Out

In which young pop singers take on elderly rock bad boys….

I’ve been way off base with my departure predictions so far this season. I spent a little time this last week pondering just why that is, but it didn’t come completely clear until after tonight’s performance show. The first reason is obvious: I’m a trained musician, and I’ve based my departure predictions on who had the least to offer as a singer. But there’s another reason. I grew up with most of the classic songs sung on Idol. And whether I liked them or not, I understand them. I know their meaning and their context and exactly what they are meant to convey. Listening to tonight’s renditions of classic Stones songs (I say classic, because the ‘newest’ songs we heard tonight were from 1978), I realized how little the contestants and by extension, their texting peers, could possibly understand this music.   Where I tend to fault a contestant who doesn’t seem to ‘get’ the song (Tim, Andrew, I’m speaking to you), I realize that the voting audience doesn’t have clue one about it, either. No wonder I’m so far off base so much of the time. I’m looking for comprehension and context, while the texters are looking for a performer who makes sense to them in THEIR context. I was saddened by last week’s eliminations. I wondered why voters would retain some very average singers at the cost of some creative, even innovative, ones. But this is the same voting public who ultimately chose Kris Allen as last year’s winner – a contestant who was attractive, non-controversial, and very very MOR in both talent and song choice.   So You Think You Can Dance is very careful to bill itself as a show that chooses America’s ‘favorite’ dancer, not America’s ‘best’ dancer. Clearly, Idol picks America’s ‘favorite’ singer, not necessarily America’s ‘best’.

If there is such a thing as a constant in the history of Rock and Roll, it has to be the Stones. Begun in 1962, they were concurrent with the Beatles, and were palpably haunted by the success of their musical rivals. The Beatles were the ‘good’ boys of their day, whereas the Stones represented a darker side. The Beatles’ light shone bright throughout the ‘60s, but didn’t survive them, calling it quits in April of 1970. But the Stones just kept going. As Summer of Love idealism gave way to the Kent State Massacre, the Stonewall Rebellion, Watergate and the impeachment of Nixon, the public was done with strawberry fields and yellow submarines. We were looking for angrier, edgier voices and we found that in the Stones. Since 1965, they had been singing about taboo topics like depression and sudden death (Paint it Black), abuse of prescription drugs (Mother’s Little Helper), and illicit sex (Let’s Spend the Night Together). As society got angrier, the Stones became more relevant. The incredible strength and power of “Gimme Shelter” perfectly conveyed the world of anger and fear society felt over the cataclysmic societal changes of the times. It’s been a very long time since 1970 and while the Stones may no longer be the voice of today’s youth (they are in their 60s, after all), they have endured and remained viable in an industry where most bands strain to make it 2-3 years. The Stones still give an amazing live show with more energy and a greater sense of barely contained ‘badness’ than a fistful of vampire DVDs. It stills feels just a little rebellious to attend a Stones concert. Amazing, but true.

Mike Lynche opens the evening with an R&B-flavored version of “Miss You”. If you’re going to tinker with Stones’ music, giving it an R&B slant is the most logical way to go. Stones music is liberally laced with American blues tradition and highly influenced by Black American music. And even though “Miss You” is from the Stones’ anti-disco album “Some Girls”, reworking it as R&B succeeds. Mike gives a performance with considerable energy, but his vocals were obscured by the ‘too many notes’ disease he evidently inherited from Jermaine and Todrick. By now we all know that Mike is a performer, and by and large a good one. It’s time for Mike to concentrate on showing us he’s a singer. Still and all, he’s popular and one of the better guys, so I don’t see him as going anywhere soon.

“Play With Fire” is a dark song. The singer is warning his/her high society lover that he/she could be very dangerous to become involved with. Didi Benami ‘got’ that and gave us an appropriate rendition. I thought Didi was very strong on this tune, both in her vocals and her performance. She grabbed our attention and held it. These may not have been her best vocals ever, but they were solid. And I think that being able to concentrate solely on her singing (no guitar tonight) helped her focus. She did have a little lyrics bobble on one of the verses. I think she combined bits of 2 verses, or dropped a line. I can’t tell for sure until I listen to it again, but there was definitely something off there. But in spite of that, this was a good, solid performance and I think she chose a song that suited her well. I think Didi is gaining momentum and should have little to worry about this week.

Big fan of Casey James’s interpretation of “It’s All Over Now”. That song just begs to be ‘country-fied’ and Casey jumped on it. Rolling Stones meets Texas rockabilly blues doesn’t sound like the recipe for a winner, but in this case it was. I really love Casey on guitar, and he was careful to use the guitar as an accent piece and let his vocals be the focal point, which is why this performance worked where his previous electric guitar-accompanied piece did not. I have to disagree with Simon. Casey doesn’t need to work the stage. His persona is the laid back, ultra cool and sexy cowboy type who just comes out and ‘sangs.’ I think it works for him and he shouldn’t change it. It may not win him Idol, but I don’t think he wants the win anyway. I see Casey as going out around the top 5 or 4 and being completely happy with that result. There’s a market out there for Casey and he’ll connect with it. Like Chris Daughtry, he’ll do better without being put through the starmaker machinery (with humble thanks to Joni Mitchell who coined that wonderfully apt phrase).

I worried all week about Lacey Brown and what she’d find for herself in the Stones’ songbook. I could have seen her doing a successful job with “Mother’s Little Helper”, but I doubted that Idol would have allowed a song with those lyrics to be performed. I think “Ruby Tuesday” worked for her as well as anything else would have, and I really enjoyed her little changeups in the song. The ‘still I’m gonna miss you’ change was a touch of genius and truly suited her. But again, this was a slow and plodding song. The tempo was off – just a skoche too slow. But she was caught between a rock and a hard place here. If she sped it up enough to be energetic, she’d lose the meaning of the song. I think Lacey did as well here as she could, and boy oh boy, the camera LOVES this pretty girl. Even though she did well, Lacey is at risk tonight, I think.

“Gimme Shelter” is a song with which I have a deep personal connection. A part of me was hoping Siobhan would pick this song, although in light of how good she was, I’m glad she didn’t. Andrew Garcia made a valiant effort here, I think, but I got no passion, only occasional intensity, and puzzling vocals from him tonight. If Andrew had any idea what this song was about, it didn’t show. I don’t know how Andrew has lost his way so severely. He’s Hansel in the enchanted forest and the birds have eaten his breadcrumbs. He’s not Andrew anymore, and that’s fatal in this contest. The voting public doesn’t enjoy watching someone struggle and will, eventually, put them out of their misery. Many are comparing Andrew with Anwar Robinson, who started out with so much going for him and lost his way. Andrew is the contestant I think will leave tonight.

Katie Stevens did nothing to justify her inclusion into the Top 12 this week. And I say that even though I think “Wild Horses” was one of her stronger performances. For the first time, I felt Katie’s connection to the lyrics, and the quality of her voice shone through several times quite clearly. This girl is talented and will have a musical career of some type ahead of her. But she isn’t ready. Contrast Katie with Jordan Sparks and you’ll see what I mean. Jordan was so much more polished, even though contemporary in age. I think Katie chose the right song and did with it what she could, but it seemed under tempo and awkward in spots. If Andrew doesn’t go home this week, it might well be Katie.

Tim Urban, please get your cutie patootie self off my television screen! I think Tim is likeable and probably a very nice kid. And he’s not talentless (in fact, he sang rather well tonight), but I couldn’t get over the horror show that was “Under My Thumb” gone reggae. Does anyone rap Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus? I mean, c’mon. Some things are just terribly wrong. This young man clearly had no conception of the meaning of this song, as he grinned and twinkled through the whole thing. I sat there horror stricken. I almost couldn’t comment on this one. I still can’t believe I heard what I heard. The texters will see the cute boy and have no idea (nor will they care) what the song meant. We’re stuck with Tim. Someone much more talented will be sacrificed in his place for weeks to come.

As vanilla as this season has been so far, I knew that sooner or later, someone would pick up the gauntlet and do a risky, edgy performance and pull it off, too. It comes as no surprise that it was Siobhan Magnus. “Paint it Black” is about the depression attendant upon the death of a loved one. It’s dark, bleak, and yes, dramatic. And while Siobhan might not have been bleak, she was most assuredly dark and dramatic. The spirit of Adam Lambert was smiling in the wings as she performed tonight. Her descent down the stairs, her high-pitched screams at the climax of the song, her glam costume…..all signature Adam. Whether she did that consciously, or just stumbled into it, it was just what this season needed. Simon’s right – some will love it, some will hate it, but I don’t think anyone will say it was boring, or in any way vanilla. This girl may still be dark horse, but only in the respect to her lyrics. She set herself up as a contender tonight in everyone’s eyes, not just we critics who know such things. The buzz for Siobhan will continue to grow. Everyone is going to want to know what she’ll do next time. And I don’t think she’ll disappoint. There’s plenty of gas left in this tank. We still haven’t seen everything she has in her arsenal.

I thought this would be “the” night for Lee DeWyze. But sadly, I was wrong. He sang well, played well, did well. But it was so ordinary. And coming after Siobhan’s off the hook performance, it looked far too laissez-faire. I can understand Lee’s desire to do the unexpected (that is usually rewarded in this contest), but unexpected and boring isn’t a good combination. I was thinking “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” was a gimme for our working man’s rocker. I think he could have injected personality into that tune and got the audience up off their feet. To his credit, Lee does appear to be getting a little more comfortable on stage and with performing. But I hate to see this opportunity slip away from him. He could have done that ‘voodoo that he do so well’ in this genre. That may come back to haunt Lee, but it won’t be this week.

Finally we get a glimmer of what got the judges excited about Paige in Hollwyood. This wasn’t great, necessarily, but it was far better than anything previous we’ve heard from Paige. She seemed confident and in her element with “Honky Tonk Woman”. There was an earthiness to this performance that I didn’t think she had in her. And I do agree that it was doubly impressive since she had a case of laryngitis. But I resented the judges making such a big deal of that, just as I always resent when they push a contestant at me in one way or another. This should energize Paige’s fans, and she clearly has a bunch. Hopefully she’ll chose another song next week that will engage her to the same degree and we’ll see what she can do when she isn’t sick. I was positive that this would be her last week, but I’m backing away from that position. She gave a gutsy, clutch performance and deserves another week.

This is the first performance of Aaron Kelly’s that I could really praise. Aaron had a little of Archie’s magic tonight in his performance of “Angie”. Aaron wasn’t pushing his voice too hard, seemed to feel the lyrics and connect with the song, and at times had a lovely tone quality. He’s still not Archie, but you can see there’s talent there. As with Katie, I think Aaron needs more seasoning to be his best as a singer. No danger here. Voters will like this performance, and his appealing backstory, enough to keep Aaron in the running.

As always, Crystal Bowersox was damn good. Everything I’ve said about Crystal in previous columns still holds – mature, centered, natural performer, mad talent, love for her art. And I loved that she injected a little fun into this performance. I think maybe, just maybe, Crystal’s nerves show up as an element of extra control in her performances. Perhaps she’s loosening up a bit as she becomes more confident of her place as a frontrunner. The judges are starting their push to get her to ‘evolve’ toward their ideal pop singer, but I think she’ll continue to resist it. Like Casey, I think Crystal will be eliminated right at the end. And I think she’ll be just fine with that. Like Casey, I like she’ll be happier directing her own career. And beyond a doubt she’ll have one. I’ll buy anything she chooses to put out, and I haven’t said that about a contestant since Elliot Yamin. Oddly enough, I had a dream about Crystal the other night. She was playing in a local club and doing “Born on the Bayou” by CCR. She was flat out rippin’ it up. Made me wonder what she might do with a song of that type in real life. Hopefully we’ll find out. No worries about her sticking around long enough for us to see everything she has to offer.

On balance, this was a really good night. I’d thought it might be a bit of a disaster, but it wasn’t at all. No one sang terribly (although there were some dismal arrangements) and some were really really good. It will be interesting to see how America reacts.

Even though I should give up predictions, I’m stubborn and I won’t.

SHOULD GO:             Tim Urban

WILL GO:                    Andrew Garcia

Idolista, in Denver with her head in the clouds