Week number two, and after all the adrenaline from week 1 is in the review mirror I’m counting on quite a let down this evening . Can any rise to challenge our four front runners? Well if there were any week for some also rans to come forward it would be country music week. Country music: where anyone can sing, and unfortunately they do (bit biased, sorry.)
Let’s get to the pain.
Michael Sarver, “Ain’t Goin’ Down” – See, this is why I hate country music night. I’m pretty sure Michael Sarver isn’t a great singer, but how in the world am I supposed to tell. It just doesn’t take much vocal talent to slur every word and note. This is going to be a long night. (B)
Allison Iraheta, “Blame it On Your Heart” – Let me be clear, Allison sings very well, but I’m definitely over her theatrics. It kinda reminds me of the same thing that put me off about Archuletta (possibly wrongly I should add) last year, too much polish and manufacturedness. I know I’m in the minority on this, but Allison has lost me. (B+)
Kris Allen, “Make You Feel My Love” – It seems to me that Kris is guaranteed a spot in the top 5 based soley on the 13 year old female vote. For me though, that was a solid (yet slightly boring) performance. (B)
Lil Rounds, “Independance Day” – The first of our presumed final four (March madness infection, sorry.) to take the stage seems a little shaky in the first verse, and the chorus seems a little shouty. Not sure Lil is gonna like that one when she hears it later. Welcome back to the pack, Ms. Rounds. (B-)
Adam Lambert, “Ring of Fire” – Lambert does country, this could be interesting. The dude has an incredible voice, but this performance did nothing to calm down the over acting and flamboyance. But hey, maybe that’s what he’s going for. He belongs on Broadway, and he will have an amazing career there, but that was too over the top to get behind fully. (B+)
Scott MacIntyre, “Wild Angels” – Forgive the insensitive pun, but I hope America will open their eyes this week and see that Scott is out of his league vocally on this show. If you want to keep voting for him because he’s blind, feel free, but if you close your eyes (again, sorry) and just listen, you’ll hear a pretty mediocre singer, trying desperately to keep up. (C+)
Alexis Grace, “Jolene” – So far, I haven’t been blown away with any of the supposed front runners and Alexis is no different. She struggled to stay solid on the notes, and it was a bit boring. These guys may think they can coast a few weeks, but it’s exactly these kind of performances that end up biting people in the end (pun intended). (B-)
Danny Gokey, “Jesus Take the Wheel” – Now that’s how it’s done my friends. Maybe it’s cause I’m already a fan, maybe it’s because of the song, but whatever the case, that blew me away. Wow. (A+)
Anoop Desai, “Always On My Mind” – Well, howabout this, Noop can actually sing a nice refrained song and nail it. That was great and did a lot to wash out those rancid memories of “My Prerogative” and “Beat it”. (A)
Megan Joy, “I Go Walking After Midnight” – Wait, did she change her name? Have I been calling her the wrong name? What did I miss? Seriously, has she always been Megan Joy? In the end it doesn’t matter, her “unique” voice is officially no longer “unique” and now just plain “annoying”. If she’s sick, send her home to heal. (D)
Matt Giraud, “So Small” – I think Matt is the dark horse this year. He’s just enough under the radar that he could pull off a huge performance and surprise everyone, yet he’s competent enough that you can see him as a star. As for this performance, it was a bit off at times, but well performed. (B)
Overall Rankings
Danny Gokey
Adam Lambert
Alexis Grace
Lil Rounds
Matt Giraud
Kris Allen
Anoop Desai
Allison Iraheta
Michael Carver
Scott MacIntyre
Megan Joy
Who should go home:
Megan Joy
Who will go home:
I have the feeling that people may be waking up to the fact that Scott can’t sing that well, but I think it will be another week or two before he goes home. I think Allison or Megan are easy targets, but I have to tell you, it’s Alexis that I worry for the most. People think she is safe so they aren’t motivated to vote for her. Her performance was underwhelming and forgettable. It’s a perfect recipe for disaster. It seems crazy, but we’ve seen it happen before. The only question will be if the judges use one of their life lines to keep her around.