The field shrinks a bit more, and outside of Scott everyone remaining has some potential to do something impressive on any given night. Here's how I think they stand in the public's mind.
Smooth Sailing
1. Danny Gokey
2. Adam Lambert
3. Kris Allen
Treading Water
4. Lil Rounds
5. Scott MacIntyre
6. Allison Iraheta
Drowning
7. Matt Giraud
8. Anoop Desai
It pains me to put Scott above Allison, but his popularity/sympathy vote coupled with what truly was his best performance yet last week puts him in relatively safe territory for the time being. Eventually the similarity and monotony of his performances will catch up with him, but it hasn't yet.
I think Allison would be in fine shape if the judges had actually addressed her good performance instead of just taking shots at her outfit, but at this point it is what it is, and she landed in the bottom three. However, I think the raw deal she got last week will be noted, and I expect positive comments will be bestowed upon her next week in order to make amends.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Morning After
The full analysis is just below, but here's the quick ranking of last night's performances.
I have to believe that Megan is getting sent home tonight. I also won't be surprised to see Allison in the bottom three again, even though she doesn't remotely deserve it. There's even a part of me that's nervous about Allison getting sent home tonight, or at least needing a save to keep her going.
1) Kris Allen - Rather stunning.
2) Adam Lambert - Singing the best counts for a lot.
3) Danny Gokey - Emotional, just like he likes it.
4) Allison Iraheta - She's really, really good.
5) Scott MacIntyre - More "smart" than "good."
6) Lil Rounds - On cruise control, but that's getting risky.
7) Matt Giraud - Could be another tense results show.
8) Anoop Desai - Crashes back to earth.
9) Megan Joy - Vastly inferior.
I have to believe that Megan is getting sent home tonight. I also won't be surprised to see Allison in the bottom three again, even though she doesn't remotely deserve it. There's even a part of me that's nervous about Allison getting sent home tonight, or at least needing a save to keep her going.
1) Kris Allen - Rather stunning.
2) Adam Lambert - Singing the best counts for a lot.
3) Danny Gokey - Emotional, just like he likes it.
4) Allison Iraheta - She's really, really good.
5) Scott MacIntyre - More "smart" than "good."
6) Lil Rounds - On cruise control, but that's getting risky.
7) Matt Giraud - Could be another tense results show.
8) Anoop Desai - Crashes back to earth.
9) Megan Joy - Vastly inferior.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Top 9 - iTunes Top Downloads... or something.
Here's the analysis you crave.
____________________________________________
Anoop Desai - "Caught Up"
Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 50
Versatility: 50
Star power: 50
Song choice: 50
This just isn't the kind of performance you can afford to turn in when you're leading off the show. Anoop sounded pretty good, but it lacked energy. It's hard to go first, and Anoop had openly accepted the challenge to amp things back up a bit, but he dropped the ball here. It probably won't doom him, but the best he can hope for is that he gets by and this performance is quickly forgotten. He missed an opportunity here, however, to show that the "Beat It" disaster was a fluke and that he does indeed possess some versatility. It's looking more and more like he can only really succeed with the ballads.
____________________________________________
Megan Joy - "Turn Your Lights Down Low"
Vocal ability: 45
Consistency: 40
Versatility: 40
Star power: 45
Song choice: 40
Kara nailed it. For the first time her voice actually annoyed me. I've said before that her voice isn't great, but that I like it. This is the first time I didn't even like her on her own terms. It's hard to see this not going down as the worst performance of the night, and likewise she seems ticketed for another visit to the bottom three. With Sarver gone, Megan looks like the next obvious choice to get the boot, but I'm not ready to commit to that just yet.
____________________________________________
Danny Gokey - "What Hurts The Most"
Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 60
Versatility: 55
Star power: 55
Song choice: 60
This wasn't nearly as good as the judges would have you believe. It was good, and it's the kind of song choice and performance that make his fans flip head-over-heels for him, but it wasn't show stopping. I'll even agree that it was his best of the finals so far, but wasn't as good as "Hero" from the semifinals. I guess maybe that's too far in the past to matter much at this point, but that's where I think he set the bar for himself, and this wasn't quite on par. Doesn't really matter, though, as he's safe as can be.
____________________________________________
Allison Iraheta - "Don't Speak"
Vocal ability: 65
Consistency: 65
Versatility: 60
Star power: 60
Song choice: 60
Why was all the discussion about her clothes? She's basically been dressing like this all season. Was it a little bit wackier than her previous outfits? Sure, I guess so. But no one took even a moment to comment on the strength of her performance, which once again was really good. It was the kind of commentary that makes you want to break your television, because you can just imagine the lack of attention paid to her singing causes people to think it was worse than it was, and poof, Allison will be in trouble again. I think she's great, but the treatment she got tonight makes me nervous for her on the results show. This was just unfair.
____________________________________________
Scott MacIntyre- "Just The Way You Are"
Vocal ability: 45
Consistency: 50
Versatility: 40
Star power: 45
Song choice: 55
This was his best of the season, though that's not really saying much. And with all the hubbub about Allison's look just a few minutes ago, why not spend the entire time talking about Scott's goofy new 'do and silly leather jacket. His look is more of a departure from the norm than Allison's. And look, now they've got me writing about nothing but appearances one week after I decided to strike that category from my rankings altogether because it just doesn't matter all that much. Or at least it shouldn't. Anyway, this was good for Scott. He did what he does best very well tonight. It's still not impressive, but it'll get him through to next week.
____________________________________________
Matt Giraud - "You Found Me"
Vocal ability: 55
Consistency: 55
Versatility: 55
Star power: 50
Song choice: 55
Tonight just keeps getting stranger. There was nothing great about this, but I was surprised by how unanimously the judges panned it. In fairness, I'm not familiar with the original version of the song he sang, so maybe it was, in fact, too "sound-alike." If so, then that's a fair criticism. But, even so, I thought they were harsher on him than even a derivative performance would warrant. After visiting the bottom three last week, surprising as that was, this isn't a good development for Matt. He might be headed back there once again.
____________________________________________
Lil Rounds - "I Surrender"
Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 55
Versatility: 55
Star power: 55
Song choice: 50
Well, at least we have a bit of a return to normalcy. This was pretty good, though we got the expected "too serious" comments from the panel. But at least they recognized the singing itself as being good, and they refrained from commenting on her outfit and hair (which didn't fit her at all, by the way). As the weeks go by, though, I'm less and less optimistic about Lil's chances in the competition. She's a good singer, but every week I'm waiting for a true breakthrough performance from her, and it just hasn't come. Though she's vastly superior to Megan, I think I've about reached a similar point with Lil where I just think this is all she has to offer. Good stuff, but nothing show-stopping.
____________________________________________
Adam Lambert - "Play That Funky Music"
Vocal ability: 70
Consistency: 60
Versatility: 65
Star power: 65
Song choice: 55
As always, he's the most interesting, and he's the only one who truly seems interested in doing anything with any real degree of difficulty or risk. There was a return to some of the hair-metal shriekiness of previous weeks -- a bit too much for my taste, in fact. Once he goes up there once or twice, we get it, and don't need to hear it four more times. So, that aspect will keep the haters hating and lovers loving. This was my least favorite performance of his so far, but after the past two weeks, it wasn't surprising to see him revert to form a little bit. Still, it's the best of the night so far.
____________________________________________
Kris Allen - "Ain't No Sunshine"
Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 60
Versatility: 60
Star power: 55
Song choice: 60
Well, damn, that was really good. This is the first time I've liked Kris this season, and I think he actually just gave the performance of the night. It's always hard to follow Adam, but Kris had the perfect change-of-pace song ready to go. Something more upbeat would have been overshadowed, but this was very nuanced and intelligent. Definitely his best of the season, and the first time his actual on-stage performance made me really pay attention and take him seriously. Until now, he hadn't had any shaky performances, but I also didn't think he'd had any truly great ones. This one was great.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Anoop Desai - "Caught Up"
Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 50
Versatility: 50
Star power: 50
Song choice: 50
This just isn't the kind of performance you can afford to turn in when you're leading off the show. Anoop sounded pretty good, but it lacked energy. It's hard to go first, and Anoop had openly accepted the challenge to amp things back up a bit, but he dropped the ball here. It probably won't doom him, but the best he can hope for is that he gets by and this performance is quickly forgotten. He missed an opportunity here, however, to show that the "Beat It" disaster was a fluke and that he does indeed possess some versatility. It's looking more and more like he can only really succeed with the ballads.
____________________________________________
Megan Joy - "Turn Your Lights Down Low"
Vocal ability: 45
Consistency: 40
Versatility: 40
Star power: 45
Song choice: 40
Kara nailed it. For the first time her voice actually annoyed me. I've said before that her voice isn't great, but that I like it. This is the first time I didn't even like her on her own terms. It's hard to see this not going down as the worst performance of the night, and likewise she seems ticketed for another visit to the bottom three. With Sarver gone, Megan looks like the next obvious choice to get the boot, but I'm not ready to commit to that just yet.
____________________________________________
Danny Gokey - "What Hurts The Most"
Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 60
Versatility: 55
Star power: 55
Song choice: 60
This wasn't nearly as good as the judges would have you believe. It was good, and it's the kind of song choice and performance that make his fans flip head-over-heels for him, but it wasn't show stopping. I'll even agree that it was his best of the finals so far, but wasn't as good as "Hero" from the semifinals. I guess maybe that's too far in the past to matter much at this point, but that's where I think he set the bar for himself, and this wasn't quite on par. Doesn't really matter, though, as he's safe as can be.
____________________________________________
Allison Iraheta - "Don't Speak"
Vocal ability: 65
Consistency: 65
Versatility: 60
Star power: 60
Song choice: 60
Why was all the discussion about her clothes? She's basically been dressing like this all season. Was it a little bit wackier than her previous outfits? Sure, I guess so. But no one took even a moment to comment on the strength of her performance, which once again was really good. It was the kind of commentary that makes you want to break your television, because you can just imagine the lack of attention paid to her singing causes people to think it was worse than it was, and poof, Allison will be in trouble again. I think she's great, but the treatment she got tonight makes me nervous for her on the results show. This was just unfair.
____________________________________________
Scott MacIntyre- "Just The Way You Are"
Vocal ability: 45
Consistency: 50
Versatility: 40
Star power: 45
Song choice: 55
This was his best of the season, though that's not really saying much. And with all the hubbub about Allison's look just a few minutes ago, why not spend the entire time talking about Scott's goofy new 'do and silly leather jacket. His look is more of a departure from the norm than Allison's. And look, now they've got me writing about nothing but appearances one week after I decided to strike that category from my rankings altogether because it just doesn't matter all that much. Or at least it shouldn't. Anyway, this was good for Scott. He did what he does best very well tonight. It's still not impressive, but it'll get him through to next week.
____________________________________________
Matt Giraud - "You Found Me"
Vocal ability: 55
Consistency: 55
Versatility: 55
Star power: 50
Song choice: 55
Tonight just keeps getting stranger. There was nothing great about this, but I was surprised by how unanimously the judges panned it. In fairness, I'm not familiar with the original version of the song he sang, so maybe it was, in fact, too "sound-alike." If so, then that's a fair criticism. But, even so, I thought they were harsher on him than even a derivative performance would warrant. After visiting the bottom three last week, surprising as that was, this isn't a good development for Matt. He might be headed back there once again.
____________________________________________
Lil Rounds - "I Surrender"
Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 55
Versatility: 55
Star power: 55
Song choice: 50
Well, at least we have a bit of a return to normalcy. This was pretty good, though we got the expected "too serious" comments from the panel. But at least they recognized the singing itself as being good, and they refrained from commenting on her outfit and hair (which didn't fit her at all, by the way). As the weeks go by, though, I'm less and less optimistic about Lil's chances in the competition. She's a good singer, but every week I'm waiting for a true breakthrough performance from her, and it just hasn't come. Though she's vastly superior to Megan, I think I've about reached a similar point with Lil where I just think this is all she has to offer. Good stuff, but nothing show-stopping.
____________________________________________
Adam Lambert - "Play That Funky Music"
Vocal ability: 70
Consistency: 60
Versatility: 65
Star power: 65
Song choice: 55
As always, he's the most interesting, and he's the only one who truly seems interested in doing anything with any real degree of difficulty or risk. There was a return to some of the hair-metal shriekiness of previous weeks -- a bit too much for my taste, in fact. Once he goes up there once or twice, we get it, and don't need to hear it four more times. So, that aspect will keep the haters hating and lovers loving. This was my least favorite performance of his so far, but after the past two weeks, it wasn't surprising to see him revert to form a little bit. Still, it's the best of the night so far.
____________________________________________
Kris Allen - "Ain't No Sunshine"
Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 60
Versatility: 60
Star power: 55
Song choice: 60
Well, damn, that was really good. This is the first time I've liked Kris this season, and I think he actually just gave the performance of the night. It's always hard to follow Adam, but Kris had the perfect change-of-pace song ready to go. Something more upbeat would have been overshadowed, but this was very nuanced and intelligent. Definitely his best of the season, and the first time his actual on-stage performance made me really pay attention and take him seriously. Until now, he hadn't had any shaky performances, but I also didn't think he'd had any truly great ones. This one was great.
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