Finally, we’ve hit the Top Twelve – six guys and six gals, which means we get a bigger stage, bigger audience and the onset of theme weeks. And if I heard Ryan right last Thursday, it’s Stevie Wonder week, meaning that if you like Stevie, I hope you brought your earplugs. In the past year of both Canadian and American Idol, very few singers have sang Stevie Wonder particularly well, leading to my calling Stevie the “Idol Killer”, since Simon (or Zack Werner) can tee off so easily on the contestants.
For this year’s American Idol, I don’t think anyone’s going to do anything off the beaten path, but if we do (how’s that for hedging?) Chris is probably the singer to do it – similar to Rex Goudie, he could pull off “Pastime Paradise”, but that would give him four emo/emo-like songs in a row, and you KNOW Simon and Randy will call him on it.
So Chris aside, we’re probably getting the standards, although I’m sure someone will sing something unexpected – Paris singing the Red Hot Chili Peppers cover of “Higher Ground”, for instance. In fact, if we don’t hear “Lately”, “Overjoyed” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” then I’ll be hella-surprised. In fact, “Sir Duke” is a question mark in my mind, although it would certainly fit the M.O. of four women – Paris, Melissa, Katherine and Paris.
Dora predicts that Kevin “Weasel Wyzell” Covais is going home. Is she correct? We’ll see.
My new theory is that Bucky rode the coattails of the Kellie fans (since he’s also from the Carolinas) and since they can’t support both, this year’s top twin will go home. Will my post-show prediction match this? Idol is on… now.
Opening Credits.
Welcome to the newer, bigger, sadly balcony-less set. Ryan Seacrest is here, and he lets us know it’s Top Twelve time.
Let Us Take You Back to the path our finalists took here. And here they are! And here are the judges, Odie, Garfield and Nermal. It’s up to you to decide who’s who.
Now, because we have two hours to fill, let’s look at Stevie Wonder.
And now, it’s time for the first performance – Ace Young, and he’s singing “Do I Do”.
Ace is off key. Really off key. Lots of energy, but he’s off key. Did I mention that he’s off key? And was he singing to the girl or guy? This is frakking painful. The best part? When Ace is done.
Randy – It was just alright tonight for me.
Paula – Totally disagree. Started the night off fantastic. Paula seriously needs a hearing aid.
Simon – Luckily for you this audience is very easily pleased. (The audience takes a second to figure out it’s a slam) You need to do better than that.
Rating: 1.5/10
We’ve got Kellie and Elliott coming up after the
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Kellie Pickler doesn’t know much about Stevie Wonder. But she’s singing “Blame it on the Sun” anyways. She countrifies it. It starts out okay, and turns flat at the chorus. However, it’s boring and rather forgettable.
Randy – The performance didn’t work for me. Love the shoes though.
Paula – A little bit too safe. But you look gorgeous.
Simon – Everything went wrong tonight. You put half of America to sleep.
Rating: 3.5/10
Elliott Yamin sounds like “Elliott Yao Ming” when Ryan says it, and unlike Kellie, he’s the biggest fan of Stevie Wonder (of the 12). And Stevie’s even impressed by him. Elliott is singing “Knocks Me Off My Feet”
Elliott does a credible job. Not the greatest, but he does Stevie Winder justice. He puts some soul into the performance, and that carries him through the nervousness.
Randy – I didn’t think this was your best performance, but you showed that you had some vibe.
Paula – Babbles about standing next to your idol and how good he is.
Simon – Best so far but for me that did not have the wow factor. It’s very important that you start showing a bit of originality. (Um, isn’t that difficult when you’re covering STEVIE FRICKING WONDER?)
Rating: 5.5/10
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We’re back, and Ryan helps take the shoes off of Mandisa, and she tries not to cry seeing Stevie. She’s singing “Don’t You Worry About A Thing”.
Mandisa is really flat (it seems to be a theme tonight), but she recovers and powers it out the end. Very uneven performance, but it probably won’t hurt her this week.
Randy – You were amazing last week. This wasn’t as great. You’re the best so far.
Paula – You can sing anything.
Simon – OK. Now we have a competition. Best so far.
Rating: 5/10
Bucky is coming up after the
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SHOCKINGLY, Bucky Covington does not own a Stevie Wonder song, nor does he listen to Stevie Wonder. But I suspect he listens to another Stevie – the late Stevie Ray Vaughn – as he chooses to sing “Superstition”.
And here’s another shocker – this is the best performance so far. He’s showing some soul, some energy, and most important – he’s not off key. And for a Stevie Wonder week, that’s about all you can hope for.
Randy – It was definitely the right choice for you. It wasn’t the greatest vocal performance but I really enjoyed it.
Paula – I wish you would’ve gotten out of your comfort zone a little more. Really good though.
Simon – It was one of your best performances so far, but that (the “Jessica Simpson” hairstyle) has got to go.
Rating: 6.5/10
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We’re back, and Melissa McGhee is mortified that she sang Stevie’s lyrics wrong in front of him, and he has a grand old time messing with her mind. She’s singing a ballad on the show (and wearing a dress – good call there) for the first time, here’s our token performance of “Lately”.
This is totally the wrong song for her. She’s off for the most part, and she tries, but her nerves get the best of her. This will put her firmly in the bottom three.
Randy – You look like you know exactly what I’m gonna say. Melissa: I forgot the lyrics. We got a smart one here! You got pipes, you can sing.
Paula – You should wear a dress more often. There is something very soothing about your voice.
Simon – In my opinion, that was your best performance so far. It wasn’t perfect, but it was edgy, very contemporary, very good, very strong.
Rating: 2.5/10
We’re getting Lisa after the
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Lisa Tucker sings Whitney for Stevie Wonder. Her song is “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, or if you’re Fantasia, “Shined, Shealed, Delivered”.
This is kind of odd. It’s an energetic performance, but its uninspiring singing job. It’s like Lisa’s going through the motions when singing, and it makes me kind of bored.
Randy – The hottest part of that song was the end. The middle part I was getting a little bored.
Paula – Didn’t make sense to me, so I’m not transcribing it.
Simon – One of the best performances tonight. For the first time, I saw somebody absolutely take control of the stage.
Rating: 4/10
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Kevin Covais has preteen groupies. Stevie calls Kevin’s voice “interesting”. He’s singing “Part-Time Lover”.
Oh my. It’s like Mr. Bean moving around the stage combined with bad singing. Kevin sounds like he’s got a frog in his throat. Stevie Wonder songs are so wrong for this kid.
Randy – Hey dude, you’re wearing makeup. Stevie was right, it was definitely “interesting”.
Paula – Is forced to point out a sign to say something good about the performance.
Simon – This was the point in the show where Stevie Wonder turns down the volume (Hey, at least he didn’t have to SEE the performance). It was appalling.
Rating: 3/10
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Katherine McPhee is nervous because she’s messed up a Stevie song already. She’s singing “Until You Come Back To Me”.
She’s finally learned to harness her power, but again she’s not really connecting with the studio audience. Singing-wise, it’s the best performance yet, but Bucky – yes, Bucky – put together a better package, and I’m ranking him just slightly ahead of her.
Randy – That was unbelievable.
Paula – There’s something about your voice that just pierces the heart. That was your best performance ever.
Simon – You’re good. There is something about you that reminds me – vocally – of Kelly Clarkson.
Rating: 6/10
We’re getting the Energy Twins, Taylor and Paris, after the
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Taylor Hicks is from the South, and “Living For the City” reminds him of his hometown.
Finally, FINALLY, someone decides to OWN a Stevie Wonder song. Taylor takes the song and as the judges say, makes it his own. He’s showing soul, he’s making full use of the stage, and he’s singing well. He’s FEELING it, y’all.
Randy – I know all of those gigs that you played have finally paid off.
Paula – She’s babbling again. Suffice to say, she liked the performance.
Simon – Your appeal is that you’re like every dad that got drunk at a wedding, got on stage, and sang. The difference is, you can sing.
Rating: 8/10
Paris Bennett reminds Stevie Wonder of Fantasia. Apparently, that’s a compliment. She’s singing “All I Do”.
It’s hard to top Taylor’s performance, and to her credit, Paris gives a good go of it. But it falls short, and while it’s a good performance overall, it’s just not up there with Taylor.
Randy – You were unbelievable tonight.
Paula – Whatever.
Simon – It’s like we’re watching two different competitions tonight. The first half is all right, then the second half is brilliant. Very good.
Rating: 7/10
One contestant is left, and he’s coming up after the
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Chris Daughtry is looking more like Chris Daniels right now, and had trouble finding the right song, and then he realized that “Higher Ground” was available. He’s trying to merge Chili Peppers with Stevie Wonder.
Definitely unique. I don’t know that it was outstanding, but he rocks it out while staying true to Stevie Wonder, and while I don’t think it was better than Taylor, it definitely stands out above the others.
Randy – Every week, you figure out a way to make it your own. You worked it out.
Paula – It was fantastic.
Simon – Thank God for Chris. Because this for me was the only “real world” performance tonight. Best tonight by a mile.
Rating: 7/10
Time to recap the singers, and time to start voting.
