American Idol: Final Three
Here we go.... we're getting down to the wire, my AI friends. Tonight, each finalist sings two songs: one is a song that one of the judges picked for them and the other is a song they chose for themselves. This could prove to be interesting. Each contestant gets three phone numbers.
Danny Gokey -- Paula chose Terence Trent D'Arby's Dance Little Sister. He's making this song sound like it's his own song that was written for him. That's a good thing. Lots of energy... and of course, Paula is up and dancing. Anyway, that was a fun performance! Randy thought it was dope. Kara didn't like the dancing. Um, Kara, who cares? Moving on... Paula loved it. Simon thought the dancing was desperate (huh?) but vocally, very good. (5701, 5704, 5707)
Kris Allen -- Randy and Kara chose One Republic's Apologize. Kris is behind the ivories (playing the piano). He's having some pitch problems in the beginning... (We need some Timbaland in the background... zzzzz) I didn't like the performance; I thought it was boring. Randy said the song showed the future that Kris can be as a performer. Kara felt that he needed to be hitting it out of the park -- she wanted him to make it more his own and take more chances. Paula was, of course, proud of him, yadda, yadda, yadda. Simon said something to Kara about choosing the song for him and then blaming him for doing the song. He thought it was a competent version of the original, but not stellar. (5702, 5705, 5708)
Adam Lambert -- Simon chose U2's One. (Simon had to call Bono of U2 to get permission for Adam to do the song!) This sounds like a completely different song -- I like that it's stripped down. Someone please shut the background singers up! I don't want to hear them -- they're off-key! Anyway... this was fantastic. Randy didn't like Adam going off of the (known) melody. Kara said that Adam proved that he could take a song, change everything up, and make it unbelievable. Paula thought it was brilliant and superb. Simon thought it was a brilliant, brilliant performance. (5703, 5706, 5709)
Danny Gokey chose to sing Joe Cocker's You Are So Beautiful. His voice is perfect for this song. He did have some pitch problems in the beginning... but once the pace of the song picked up, he recovered. Randy said that Danny just showed that he really (times 3) can sing. Kara said the performance was stunning. Paula said Danny left all of them breathless. (I am still breathing....) Simon said he would call it a vocal masterclass. (5701, 5704, 5707)
Kris Allen chose to sing Heartless by Kanye West. (Huh?!??) This may be a little too recent for my liking... Actually, this is kinda working. He's playing the guitar and singing... but I feel that sometimes, his singing suffers when he plays the guitar. Kris needed this performance to save him. Randy said that Kris' version was better than the original. Kara said that was what she was looking for with Apologize. Paula said that the song kept Kris relevant. Uh, ok. Simon thought it was a lame song choice for Kris, but he thought it was an excellent performance. (5702, 5705, 5708)
Adam Lambert chose to sing Aerosmith's Cryin'. BIG song... (SHUT THE BACKGROUND SINGERS UP ALREADY!!!) His singing is just effortless! I wasn't totally fond of the arrangement, but Adam just sang the hell out of that song. Randy said that Adam is one of the best that they have EVER had on that stage. Kara said it was amazing. Paula said that if Steven Tyler was a mentor, he wouldn't have anything to mentor Adam on. Simon said that Adam deserves to be in the final based on talent. (He said to make sure to vote... not to assume that Adam will make it in.) (5703, 5706, 5709)
WOW. I'd better get to voting... I can't have Adam not be in the final. If I had to choose, I'd say that Danny and Adam should be the final two. Kris' second song was a hell of a lot better, but not enough to save him, I'm afraid. Tune in tomorrow night....