I think i'm abit peeved tonight. It could either be because i missed the first two performances of American Idol or I'm just not too happy with this episode somehow or other. I'm getting tired of Simon Cowell's derogatory remarks, Paula Abdul's toothy smiles & "cushioned" commentaries, and Randy Jackson's often indecipherable lingo. And Randy Secrest's apparent enmity towards SImon and his lame jokes are so annoyingly affected, I sometimes feel like setting his blonde mullet on fire (a feeling i used to reserve especially for miss britney spears). MOreover, I'm sooo sick of seeing these young contestants selling themselves on national television in their brief three-minute biographies, telling the world "Hey Look At me! I'm Nice & sweet! Love me! VOte me!!" Maybe I'm a little overboard here but I'm feeling disgruntled and cynical as hell -- So sue me!!!!
@#%$!!~@!!
*phew* i hope i got evrything out of my system. My apologies to evryone...
Seriously though, this batch of AI finalists are really good although they ARE trying a little too hard at times. I didnt manage to catch Diana Degarmo & George Huff performing onstage (singing Broken Wing & I Can Love You Like That respectively) but I heard their audio clips and i think they were actually quite good. Diana sounded as competent as ever (she still reminds me of a younger Lee Ann RImes) but not really in the league of spectacular. George, however, was surprisingly quite credible doing a country song. Nevertheless, I think all that gushing about how long Diana was able to hold her last note was abit unwarranted. Clay Aiken & Kimberley Locke, in my honest opinion, had mastered that holding-the-last-note-for-very-very-long trick to near perfection already. Furthermore, we had all seen how Latoya London could out-shriek and out-breath anyone in this competition during her All By Myself performance... SO what's the big deal????
Fantasia Barrino's Always On My Mind on the other hand, knocked the wind out of me because she was so amazingly subdued and subtle; how unlike her usual brassy & complacent self. I'm impressed! I must grudgingly admit, she may win me over yet... JOhn Steven's performance last week may be dreadfully dreary but he more than redeemed himself with a classy, laid-back rendition of King Of The ROad. What can i say? i find his red-hair, freckles & winsome smile abit disarming... ;p I think he had picked the perfect song to showcase his "evergreen" vocals but i wish he could give his performances a little more spark, if you get what i mean.
SPark was also something definitely lacking in Camille Velasco even though she conveniently "RnBed" the Eagles' Desperado to suit her smooth, husky vocals. I have nothing against Camille's vocal stylings; she certainly has the Idol-looks and potential but I wish she had a tad more chutzpah & attitude. Half of the time, the live band just drowned her voice and i could hardly make out what she was singing. Nonetheless, I really hope she gets through and with the whole of Hawaii voting for her, she undoubtedly will. hehehe. One of my other favorites, Jennifer Hudson, was up next and she was looking her absolute best this week; gone were her gaudy, cheapo curls & replaced by sleek, straight hair! I thought her rendition of No One Else On Earth was simply awesome, contrary to whatever anyone else has to say. So There!!! Don't argue with me; i'm utterly convinced that she's one of the most talented singers in this competition! ;p
Jon Peter Lewis (more affectionately abbreviated to JPL) did NOT execute any funny dance moves, thankfully, but I regrettably realise his vocals werent exactly top-notch when he sang She Believes In Me. Hence, perhaps his fervid dance steps prior to this performance were attempts to distract us from this sad fact.. hmmmm... Well, he does possess a nice voice & it's certainly a refreshing change from the glossy boyband vocals which I'm so used to hearing from the radio nowadays. Jasmine Trias' take of Faith Hill's Breathe was vocally better than Julia Demato's version from last season but I was still a tad disappointed. Maybe I was just expecting this Hawaiian teenager to blow me away like what she did last week with Inseparable. Whatever the case, it was good; just not "very, very" good.
Both Matthew Rogers and Latoya London chose to do songs already done last season by (none other than) Joshua Gracin. Hardly surprising since this IS country week & JOshua IS notorious for his countryfied vocals. Anyway, before I digress any further, I think Matthew's Amazed was just a hair's breadth of being intolerable (I liked Joshy's version wayy better, obviously) while Latoya's Aint Goin Down Til The Sun Comes Up was just sublime (much more enjoyable than Joshy's unintelligible rendition). I think Matt has a great "pop" voice which doesnt seem to suit his gruff appearance but I feel that he has yet to give a really terrific performance... and he MUST lay off that ingratiating smile of his. It's nauseating (looks like i've borrowed a leaf from Simon's vocab book)!
Amy Adams was the night's finale and I think she was perfectly at home singing Dixie Chicks' Sin Wagon. This was certainly her best performance so far in the competition & I was glad she didn't let me down after last week's dismal showing. Although I gravely suspect she won't be able to top this one, I'm still pissed at SImon for throwing that "I dont understand Country music" comment at her. It isnt fair; he should have said that at the very beginning instead of at that moment just so he could steal the thunder from Amy's performance. He's such an idiot. A filthy rich idiot.... i HAte him~! grrrrr...
Predictions: Going by what SImon had to say about each of the contestants, i think the bottom three for this week would be Jennifer, Camille & Amy. If I had to go with what I truly feel, I think Matt should be the one who has to go but then, i've learnt (albeit most painfully) that life just isnt fair so that's definitely too good to be true :p
