American Idol Recap – Top 8
Adam and Matt Impress as Idols Sing Songs from their Birth Year
Apr 7, 2009
Last week the American Idol finalists had a wide variety of songs to choose from singing iTunes most popular downloads, and Megan Joy went home. This week, the Top 8 finalists had a more difficult task; selecting songs from the year they were born. Here’s how each one did, and who might be going home.
Danny Gokey: “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King (performed by Mickey Gilley in 1980)
Danny did a kind of quasi-disco 80’s version of Mickey Gilley’s version of the Ben E. King classic. It was a bit slow developing, but Danny went up-tempo at the end and really injected a lot of soul into the performance. The song was a great match for his voice, and the performance was far better than what we have heard from Danny the past two weeks; once again, he should be easily through to the Top-7.
Kris Allen: “All She Wants to do is Dance” by Don Henley (1984)
After two straight weeks of solid performances, Kris fell kind of flat with this one. He tried to do a funky version of the song, and it was okay that he wanted to switch it up, but the problems were twofold – the song really did not stretch Kris’ voice at all (it just is not a challenging song), and the guitar still is not helping him. Kris is much better either behind the piano or working the stage. He does has a lot of momentum from the past two weeks, though, so Kris should not be in trouble
Lil Rounds: “What’s Love Got to do with It” by Tina Turner (1984)
Lil is a bit frustrating; she clearly has the best pure singing voice in the competition, but Lil really has yet to show us who she really is up on stage. It was a good song choice, and Lil sang it great, but everything from the vocals to the moves and mannerisms on stage looked like she was trying to do a Tina Turner impression. Lil just needs to pick an obscure song that she does not have any preconceived notions about, and just get up on stage and bring it. Hopefully Lil is not in trouble this week, because it is not time for her to go home yet.
Anoop Desai: “True Colors” by Cindy Lauper (1986)
The judges liked the performance, but that was far from the best we have heard from Anoop. It is a good song, but the performance was kind of boring and, as Simon usually says, “Forgettable”. He did add his own twist to the song, but it just did not stand out compared to some of the other performances. Anoop might be in the bottom three this week.
Scott MacIntyre: “The Search is Over” by Survivor (1985)
This one is the judge’s fault. They made Scott feel bad a few weeks ago about being behind the piano every week, so he decided no to use the piano, and it was not a good choice. Nobody ever told Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder to get up from behind the piano - if Scott wants to be there, he should be allowed to. Scott really struggled on this song and the high notes were not very good. Scott will likely be in the bottom three, and if he is back next week, hopefully the piano will be, too.
Allison Iraheta: “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt (1992)
It was so disappointing that Allison did not do Guns ‘n Roses 1992 hit “November Rain” – she would have knocked it completely out of the park. Even if the Bonnie Raitt song was a little out of character (and a little played out on the show), Allison still did a great job with it, and she did show quite a bit of versatility picking something out of her genre. Allison was in the bottom three last week, which was totally unbelievable. She should get through easily this week, if she gets the votes.
Matt Giraud: “Part Time Lover” by Stevie Wonder (1985)
It is really difficult to make a Stevie Wonder song sound cooler than the original, but that is exactly what Matt did with this one. He was like a funky Michael Buble up on stage, and Matt proved that he does not need to be behind the piano to turn in a great performance. That was probably the second-best performance of the night, and Matt’s second-best of the competition, and it would be shocking if he is anywhere near the bottom three.
Adam Lambert: “Mad World” by Tears for Fears (1982)
Adam’s unique take on this little-known Tears song was not as original as it might appear; it was clearly inspired by Gary Jules remake of the song done about six years ago. The good news, though, is that Adam’s performance was actually better than the Jules cover; the song had an intensity that Adam captured perfectly. Everyone was waiting for Adam to break out into a huge vocal or jump up a couple of octaves, but it never happened – and that was kind of the point. It was a little risky, because “Mad World” is not a very well known song and some people might not have understood the performance, but it was clearly one of the best of the night. It also got a standing ovation from Simon, so what else is there to be said?
For the third week in a row, the best songs of the night were the last two; Adam Lambert and Matt Giraud were a notch above the other finalists. Scott MacIntyre and Anoop Desai will likely be in the bottom three, and surprisingly enough, Lil Rounds might be, too. Lil should be fine, leaving Anoop and Scott to battle it out for the final spot in the top-7, and it is very likely the judges would not be willing to save either from elimination.
Here is what happened as the Top 7 Idol finalists returned for Movie Night.
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