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He Said, She Said:Two songs don’t make a right.
#465 - 4--ed--He Said, She Said:Two songs don’t make a right.--2008-07-01 03:13:08
#American Idol has nothing to worry about. Tonight we did get a glimpse of the final though.
- Before I get into tonight’s show I want to give a high five ( I keep forgetting every week) to Caitlin & Will, the winners of “Can You Duet”. A show watched by less folks than Nashville Star. What a great story theirs is and what a great CD I’m looking forward to. They actually came in with different partners, lost them. The judges paired them up with someone else then split them up again. Then wisely they put them together. And after that it wasn’t even close. They are great so check them out here
Caitlin & Will Now for tonight’s show. I don’t know how cogent this will be since I got stung by over 30 Yellow Jackets today. Yeah, I’m feelin’ it. This show, not so much. Juliet has a bit of a different opinion.
She said –
Ashlee Hewitt “Don’t Stop Believing”. It’s Family Night on Nashville Star, and each of the contestants will be singing two songs. I wish John Rich hadn’t told us ahead of time that Ashlee would start this song on the piano and then switch to the guitar – it would have been a cooler stage move if I hadn’t been expecting it. Ashlee’s vocal was very solid; she started out nervous but it got better as it went. There’s still no real “wow” factor for me, though.
“Help Me Make It Through the Night” – this one started out better and Ashlee seemed more confident. I think I like her better on slow songs like this. That had to be the shortest performance in history though – what was that, like 30 seconds long? Weird.
He Said: First song was OK but I’m not jumpin’ out my chair. Ashlee just doesn’t have that punch she needs and for me and this was her best so far. Her second song was way more Country but off pitch a bit. She couldn’t be cuter.
Grade B-
She said –
Coffey “Hey Good Lookin’”. Coffey is good lookin’ tonight, that’s for sure! This was light and fun, but not really serious musicianship, and I definitely can’t see Coffey making a hit country album. He may be a country boy, but he’s not a country singer. This performance was the opposite of Ashlee’s – she’s got the voice, he’s got the performance skills.
“Take Me Home, Country Roads”. Coffey sounded nervous on this one after John Rich’s harsh critique of his first song. Still, he is great with engaging the crowd. After Coffey gets voted off (which could be very soon), he should stick around and give the other contestants performance tips.
He Said: What?! He’s Safe after that mess last week? Whatever. I doubt he’s safe after this mess this week. I wasn’t diggin’ this at all. Coffey was the worst I’ve ever heard him. Nothing good about this except maybe now he will “Take Me Home, Country Roads” just how prophetic that might be. home. And when John Rich said he should do American Idol it would have been hilarious and true if Coffey had said “Been there. Done That!” He should be thankful for 3 things: He has a cute daughter, he at least made it to the singing on TV rounds here, and I’m not the one who picks who goes home.
Grade D-
She said –
Tommy Stanley “God Bless the Broken Road”. Aww, it was sweet to watch Tommy get to see his family for the first time in over a year… I’m glad he made it to this week so we could share that with him. “Broken Road”, a Rascal Flatts hit, was a good song choice for Tommy. The vocal was pretty good, but the one high note at the end was horrible. All in all, I thought this was one of Tommy’s better performances.
“Tiny Dancer” – Tommy sang this one okay, I guess. It was such a short clip that there’s not much I can say about it.
He Said: All I can say is…..he tried.
Well…..that’s not all. He will be safe because one thing for sure about Country music fans is they are as patriotic as they are passionate about their music. First song was OK. Second I think I liked it better but I’m not on the wagon yet.
Grade C-
She said –
Pearl Heart “I’ll Still Be Loving You”. Wow, they look awesome! The sisters are not familiar with this song, but you’d never know it by this performance. Beautiful! This was the best of the night so far by a mile. This group is definitely growing on me.
“One Way Ticket” – Considering all the second songs tonight are incredibly short, this was a great song choice and I thought they did a good job with it. Very country! And the front girl is finally relaxing a bit and enjoying it, instead of looking tense.
He Said: Finally I’m entertained. They did miss a few harmonies but over all I liked it best so far. The bad thing about missing harmonies is even my wife can tell somethin’ ain’t right. It can be hurtful on the ears. Second song was petty cool. It did go all Country. I’m still a fan.
Grade B+ She said –
Melissa Lawson “This One’s for the Girls”. Okay, forget what I said about Pearl Heart being the best of the night. This was HOT! Melissa looked amazing tonight, and I really enjoyed her playing guitar. Her vocal as usual was incredible and she really engaged the audience and brought them to their feet. I wanted to jump up and dance! (But I was too busy scribbling notes.) Yay! Go Mel!
“Landslide” – This was soft, subdued, classy, and very nice. Melissa didn’t have much time to work with it, but it was beautiful while it lasted.
He Said: Melissa is showing everyone what to do and how to do it. Her first song was perfectly massaged and sung. She has such sparkling eyes. I don’t know where that came from. It’s like we now wait til Melissa sings to gauge the night. She messed up the gauge real good tonight. Even her second: 30 second song smoked everyone else so far. I don’t spect we’ll be seeing Melissa in the bottom 2 no mo. Yeah them stings is killin’ me.
Grade A+
She said –
Shawn Mayer “Breathe”. I don’t really love this song, but I actually thought this was as good if not better than the original Faith Hill version. Shawn has a really nice lower register. She looked beautiful tonight, and I’m pulling for her.
“Forever and Ever, Amen”. Hmmm… this was odd to hear Shawn on a Randy Travis song. I didn’t think it was nearly as bad as John Rich said, though.
He Said: I don’t like “Breathe” and it is very hard for anyone to sing live, just ask Jasmine Trias. So as much as it pains me I have to say Shawn did it mucho justice. In fact I do think this is by far her best on the show. I actually like her second piece as well. While I think she looked good tonight like Juliet said, she still looks as plastic as a dashboard hula doll to me.
Grade A
She said –
Gabe Garcia “Dead or Alive”. Spot on vocal! I still feel like Gabe is holding back a little performance-wise; he seems nervous. Still, it was a good song choice and I think he’s my second-favorite, behind Melissa. The cool thing about Gabe is that he is a genuine country artist no matter what he sings – by contrast with Coffey who isn’t a country singer no matter what song he sings.
“The Fireman” – Gabe relaxed a bit for the second song, and this was great, natural, 100% country. I’m still saying he reminds me of George Strait. And that’s a very good thing!
He Said: Gabe is the only guy in this thing that remotely sounds serious Country. And he sounds it good. Real good. This was a great Country take on “Dead or Alive”. I dug it. And Gabe loosened up a bit. He will be hard to beat. In fact I don’t think it will be done. He is what Country fans hope for. His second song put the nail in the coffin. The dude is on fire.
Grade A
She said –
Alyson Gilbert “She’s in Love with the Boy”. Yikes, poor Alyson was incredibly nervous having to sing this song right after finding out she’s in the Bottom 2. And she managed to take this Trisha Yearwood classic (and incidentally one of my favorite songs) and completely ruin it. Her low notes were very shaky and out of tune. The arrangement was terrible too – the song was very rushed, all cut to pieces, and missing half the lines so it didn’t even rhyme. Not good enough. Alyson looks lovely tonight, but again she’s way over-doing the facial expressions and it’s very distracting and weird. Maybe she’d be good on Broadway??? I don’t know… she’d better not beat out Laura & Sophie after that.
He Said: She looks the part but that all folks. I’m diggin’ those eyes but not those ooooo’s. She just does not have that thing. That thing being a great steady singing voice. She will be at best a lifetime bar singer I’m afraid. I was thinkin’ she would not be singing two tonight.
Grade C—
She said –
Laura & Sophie “Walking in Sunshine”. The good thing about this performance is that Laura & Sophie are definitely Country, even on a song like this. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t too bad either. I think the arrangement should have been a little faster from the beginning. I like these girls, but their youth and inexperience puts them at a significant disadvantage against some of the other contestants.
“
Because of You” – This was for me their worst performance to date. I think they were really distracted or something. One of them was rushing and they weren’t in time or in tune with each other. Thankfully it was very short.
He Said: I must say I am surprised by this revoltin’ development. I was so impressed by these two last week I was singing "PYT" in my head all week. That actually was one of the most creative and beat of this season. I would never have thought these two would be hanging out with Alyson in the bottom 2. And like Elvis before them, they were “All Shook Up”. You know that thing I said about harmonies earlier? It goes double for duos. When you miss a harmony in a duo it really sticks out and hurts. They were all over the place tonight. And it twernt good. The second song was mercifully over on a record 20 seconds. I love these two and really love there potential but potential for some season down the road, not now. At least we will get to see them one more week. And if they survive…..well you know.
Grade D
She thought: This was a really great show tonight. Several of the contestants (Ashlee, Pearl Heart, Melissa, Shawn, Gabe) really raised their game and we saw several excellent performances. Things are getting good, folks! Alyson went home tonight, which was okay with me. Coffey might have deserved it more judging from last week, but Alyson’s performance tonight was such a train wreck that it seems right for her to be the one leaving. Billy Ray tells us that 2 people are going home next week! It should be Coffey and Tommy, but I’d say Shawn and Laura & Sophie are also in danger.
He Thought: I’m not so sure this was as good as last week. I will agree with my cohort about the top 4 tonight and the right one went home for sure. No one on the show looks more like a Country singer than Alyson but everyone else was more Country……except maybe Coffey. In fact, my biggest shock of the night is he was not standing next to Alyson at the end. And if Coffey and Laura and Sophie aren’t going home next week I’ll be shocked again. I am a Laura and Sophie fan but this week was just, as Simon would say, abysmal for them. But if you look back at everyone, even Melissa, when they were in the bottom 2, are just very distracted and who could blame them. Laura and Sophie took that to a new level tonight and John was right. They are too young and too thin skinned to do this right now. Still love them though. They kind of reminded me tonight of someone who wants so badly to swim they jump in anyway and almost drown. Imagine them in 5 years.
And here’s my not so out on a limb prediction. The final 2 will be Melissa and Gabe and that is how it should be. I think Gabe will win. And the reason I think is this. After Carrie Underwood won Idol I started paying attention to Country music and actually liking it more than I ever thought I would. And after 3 years I can tell you what I have found out about Country fans. They are not fickle. They don’t like faker wanna be’s. And there are way more girls who listen to and fall in love with their Country crooners than guys and like I’ve said before “It ain’t even close”. And had Caitlin & Will been on this show instead of “Can You Duet?”, again, it would not have been close.
And I wonder if you took any of the top 12 from Idol this season and stuck them in here how much they would stand out and in a good way. It’s hard to believe the first season of this show was the only one to produce some stars. Well….maybe it isn’t.
Is it Monday yet?
Idolhead Ed &Juliet79
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