MMMMMKAY JUST NOT ENOUGH--AMERICAN IDOL REVIEW

MMMMMKAY JUST NOT ENOUGH—American Idol Results

One-Note Crooner Endearing, But Lucky To Get Even This Far

Jennifer Lopez couldn’t bring herself to say it, but, when it came down to it, fellow American Idol judge Harry Connick Jr. took the reigns and said what some of us have been saying for weeks: it’s time for MK Nobilette to go home. The cap-wearing, openly-gay contestant was considering groundbreaking in some corners and inspiring in others, and she certainly was a likeable soul, but it was evident a long time ago she didn’t have the chops for this competition. Her “Sing-For-the-Save” solo at the end—a reprise of John Legend’s “All of Me”, which was previously provided her best moment on the show—reminded even MK’s critics, like me, what a great tone of voice she had for crooning, but when she tried to air out her voice for longer notes, the winces started coming. MK never had the power for the long notes in a gentle John Legend song, let alone for the more energetic Alan Stone, Train and Pink renditions she attempted. She’d been in the Bottom Three two of the last three weeks, but it took an unmistakable death knell—an awful performance to lead off the show last night—to really pinch off her contention this season. Let’s all hope she can drum up some more energy and desire for the Idol Tour this summer.

MK was joined in the Bottom Three by Majesty Rose—whose stock has plummeted in the last two weeks—and Dexter Roberts, whose first appearance on the stools had been a long time coming for those of us bored by his lazily-predictable country renditions. Surprisingly, though, it was Dexter who joined MK in the Bottom Two, and who just barely escaped having to sing for the save. What Dexter’s fate would have been at the judges’ hands, I couldn’t tell you, but I’d have been interested to see. Still, it was MK’s time to go.

Dexter’s Bottom Three appearance made crystal clear what has become increasingly apparent on this season of Idol; there is parity, and a lot of it, amongst this year’s unspectacular group of contestants. The only singers who have yet to appear in the Bottom Three since the finals began are front-runners Caleb Johnson and Alex Preston, highly sought-after country rock chick Jessica Meuse, and CJ Harris, if you want to count him considering he only made the Top 13 as a judges’ Wild Card Pick (and he was lucky, to say the least, to avoid the Bottom Three after his utterly woebegone performance last night). Anyway, at least the fact that nearly everyone has been in the Bottom Three and Safe gives host Ryan Seacrest a lot of different teasing punchlines when he’s delivering results (“you are going back………to the lounge” “you are going to have to endure the stress….of the competition”).

Apart from the results themselves, the show was the typical pleasant but let’s-just-get-to-the-results cookie cutter these Thursday nights have consistently been. There were some nice moments when Harry, Jennifer, Keith Urban and even Ryan reminisced about the first time they heard themselves on the radio, and Caleb elicited “awwwws” from the women in the house when he openly apologized for making light on Wednesday of taunting fellow contestant Alex with peanuts, to which the latter is allergic (my favorite part of this was when Caleb, after a supportive pat on the back from Seacrest, reached over to shake Alex’s hand in truce; with his ducked hand and bland, plastered grin, it’s clear Alex didn’t have the faintest clue what was going on). JLO taught us all a little bit about owning the stage and the audience’s attention, even if it was in a performance of her new cheesy, nearly-unintelligible single “I Luh Ya Papi”. And a pick of Harry’s provided this week’s “Tastemakers” special, when his fellow New Orleans natives Royal Tree took to the stage and performed their song “Wild”. Wild it was, with the male lead singing constant falsetto and dancing up a storm, the rafters providing a late-act confetti explosion, and the whole band breaking into an even later-act heavy instrumental riff that sounded something like U2-lite.

Is this season of Idol anyone’s? Like I said, there’s serious parity (more to the point, no one has really, truly risen above the crowd yet, with Caleb—who’s come the closest—coming back to earth a little this week). Is Idol just long in the tooth? I think the judges are getting pretty frustrated that no one’s really blowing them away without question, and all three have, at points, straight-up lectured contestants on singing, overcoming obstacles onstage, and bringing energy and originality. It’s only going to get harder from here, though—MK’s omission was a long time coming, and her ouster means one seat in the Bottom Three that was usually taken is now vacant, and no wants to fill it. But that means some people are going to have to show another side.

This season’s parity is so great, and the judges’ views so in flux and America’s votes so—surprisingly—on point, that my power rankings are getting shuffled like decks of cards every week. This week, Alex took over the top spot after a second-straight ‘A’ performance, edging out Caleb, who (apparently) took a slight misstep.

POWER RANKINGS

1. Alex Preston-After his most passionate and powerful performance so far, Alex, already a crowd and judge favorite, is riding high. He needs to be careful not to let his very noticeable quirks upstage his singing, but he’s cruising along.
2. Caleb Johnson-I’m still a little confused as to what exactly I missed Wednesday night, when the judges and everybody thought Caleb’s performance was kinda lackluster when I was blown away, but this season’s best musical talent is still right at the top.
3. Malaya Watson-With her too-excited, screechy, Red-Bull-wired performances sliding further and further back into the rear-view mirror, replaced in the consciousness by crisper, more mature performances, Malaya’s cashing in on her considerable potential.
4. Sam Woolf-He’s probably the least-interesting contestant left, but he recovered well from a dalliance in the Bottom Three with his liveliest and best performance in a month. He’s got a lot to work on, but we know the girls are behind him.
5. Jena Irene-The last few weeks, Jena’s been doing what all the contestants should be doing—showing us exactly what kind of artist she could be out in the real world. Her Electronic Rock performance wasn’t the best, but America clearly lapped it up, and the judges are moving more and more into her corner.
6. Jessica Meuse-For the second time, Jessica was at the center of an epic debate by the judges on the merits of various keystones of performing music (passion vs. quality; mood vs. lyrics). While she has yet to really, really come to life, “Pumped Up Kicks” was a start—easily the most exciting she’s been—and she hasn’t been even close to jeopardy so far, but I really think, especially for an experienced singer, she needs to up her game big-time.
7. Dexter Roberts-His Bottom Three appearance was just, but he won’t go anywhere just yet. He definitely needs to show he’s more than just a country karaoke singer who picks the most obvious songs each week, but his votes will rebound.
8. CJ Harris-CJ avoids the bottom spot on my rankings simply because he’s getting the votes he needs despite being one of this season’s most consistently bland performers. He’s so lucky to have survived this week without a hitch, let alone to have gotten a legit heartfelt shout-out video from Hunter Hayes, who’s song he mangled last night. CJ showed another gear last week; he needs to shift back to it fast.
9. Majesty Rose-Man, if she was scared this week… Okay, so, she wasn’t in the Bottom Two this time, but two straight weeks in the Bottom Three with not-that-bad performances is a long way to fall for our former golden girl. Is it possible she’s just a little too light and airy to connect? She is all about flowers and twinkly smiles; she doesn’t quite have the passion to go along with her diverse vocal sounds and lovable personality. When most of her competitors are finding their niche audiences (if not their actual quality music niche), Majesty needs to find her A-game.