THE SLEEPY (TOP) 12--American Idol Performances
Timid Contestants Thoroughly Unremarkable in Snoozefest
As Performance Night for the 12 remaining contestants on American Idol drew to a close, judge Jennifer Lopez called out the night’s singers, saying: “We need the ‘Wow’. You need to Wow us! We need Powerhouse performances! Think about what showcases your voice the best…it needs to Be There!” Sure, it was another bit of advice from one of the judges (JLO has partnered with Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban this season) of Idol—whose role this year has clearly been expanded to mentor/teacher, given the very practical advice they’ve been giving—but it was also a cry for help, in my opinion from the Idol producers...
“Please step it up! We are competing with The Voice here; this show is all about the contestants; we don’t have fun, sexy judges like Adam Levine and Blake Shelton (and Shakira) to keep viewers tuning in if the music isn’t good!”
Paraphrased, but still. Wednesday night’s Top 12 performances—themed “Home”—were an unfortunate reminder of what an overly-earnest performance show like Idol can be at its worst. Absent the cool spinning chairs, head-to-head face-offs and cackling A-list judges of competitors like The Voice, Idol has only burgeoning performers to keep people watching, and if those burgeoning performers aren’t interesting, well….Basically, Top 12 night was a snooze, with words like Timid, Unremarkable, Bland, Colorless and Safe all competing to be the headlining adjectives in my two-part title of this article. Instructed to sing songs that remind them of/encapsulate the meaning of their hometowns, the contestants get all of a B- for effort in a night that saw most performers do just enough to get the audience to cheer on their behalf, but not much more. Serviceable is another word, one I forgot to mention above. Forgettable is another.
From a Detroit , Michigan
The girl with the really black hair and the funky-weird voice took a crack at a more uppity number, singing K.T. Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See”. She showed some more energy, as the judges noted, but her raspy vocals are much better suited (and more exciting to hear) to singing ballads, as they also noted. Underwhelming on the opening number on an underwhelming night isn’t something you generally want to do. Grade: B-
Fortune Forecast: Probably in danger. Jena
Alex Preston, 20
From Mt. VernonNew Hampshire
The quirky guy with the guitar kept the guitar and the quirks this week, but bringing both those defining traits to a rendition of Gavin DeGraw’s upbeat hit “I Don’t Wanna Be” was a bad idea. From over-enunciating the first few lines to slurring others, Alex stumbled bad, with his self-professed awkwardness proving self-defeating this time around. The judges weren’t impressed, labeling the performance “off”, “not your best” and noting the “instability”. Grade: C
Fortune Forecast: Probably safe. Alex has cruised thus far despite his off-beat style and different looks. That said, this was his first performance that wasn’t worth at least giving a second chance if you weren’t a fan the first time. The fact that he went second on a long, slow night also didn't help.
Jessica Meuse, 23
From Slapout , Alabama
She has pink hair and she’s from a tiny town; she also amped up the glamour this week, with her pink-and-black locks wavy all the way down. This year’s resident rocker chick tried something softer, going with Dido’s “White Flag”, apparently one she usually plays for her gigs. It didn’t have the same old-school rasp as her performance last week. I thought it was decent, but the judges vehemently disagreed, calling it “blasé” and “distracting” and starting a night-long debate whether it’s better to really mean what you’re singing even if you’re off pitch, or sing on-pitch with a lack of emotion. Hmmm. Grade: B-
Fortune Forecast: Probably safe. I was surprised by the judges’ backlash (though I hadn’t yet fully realized the mediocrity the night would sink into), because I thought Jessica seemed pretty comfortable with it. Jessica’s talented and memorable enough that I can’t see her going home yet.
Dexter Roberts, 22
From Fayette , Alabama
One of only two contestants to get unbridled praise from the judges on this night, country boy Dexter showed his softer side with a rendition of “Lucky Man” by Montgomery Gentry. He still has yet to do anything that really distinguishes him from the dozens of country artists I hear on the radio every day—be it his voice, his attitude, or some other quirk—but he’s got a solid voice and we know what we’re getting each week. The judges praised him for showing vulnerability and picking “the perfect song”. Grade: B+
Fortune Forecast: Safe with a capital S. If he cruised through last week when he opened the show in pretty poor fashion, he’ll be fine this week, when he was arguably the best performer. I can’t see Dexter winning this season, but I can picture him making the Top 5.
Emily Piriz, 18
From Orlando , Florida
The nerve on that girl! First she tried to sex up Idol as a 17-year-old, singing “Ooh La La”, then she sang Pink last week and tried to make it a nice girl song, and then she sang a Jennifer Lopez song (“Let’s Get Loud”) in front of Jennifer Lopez! Emily Piriz is legal now, and, though Harry and Keith thought she got overwhelmed by the music and the runaway train energy of the song, JLO herself liked it, and isn’t that praise enough? If you ask me, Emily’s becoming one of the more consistent, watchable performers on the show (certainly among the girls). Grade: B
Fortune Forecast: Do you think the sickly-sweet “Love you, babe” video from her Marine boyfriend will help her stick in people’s minds? I don’t see Emily going on to win this competition, but she’s been solid enough the last few weeks when a lot of people have been terrible, so I think she’ll move forward.
Caleb Johnson, 22
From Asheville , North Carolina
By now, we know what we’re getting from Caleb: howling, hair-whipping, rock concert pyrotechnics and a more fully-realized performance than some of his fellow contestants can dream of putting on. It’s not always original, but it’s nice these days, when most of the field is flailing. He sounded radio-ready again singing “Working Man” by Rush, his self-professed favorite band. He sings with utter conviction and he’s the one who hasn’t disappointed yet, though the judges are onto something when they say he needs to prove he can do something other than straight-up rock. Grade: B+
Fortune Forecast: Safe. Caleb doesn’t strike me as one of the “Most Popular” contestants on the show right now, but he’s certainly been delivering consistently, and that’s more than others can say. He’s been showing them how to do it; he’ll be fine.
MK Nobilette, 20
From San Francisco , California
For the second week in a row, I watched MK perform and thought she has a great sounding voice, but she just doesn’t have the power, personality or stage presence to pull of a big number. She just doesn’t. When her cover of Train’s “Drops of Jupiter” was in its low-key opening stages, she sounded great; as soon as she tried to go bigger and dig into the song, it failed, which was also true of her performance last week. And her crooner tone sounds especially bad when she tries to hit notes she can’t. Grade: C+
Fortune Forecast: Despite my own reservations about her Top 13 performance, I was surprised MK was in the Bottom Three last week. Her performance this week was definitely better, but not great. Arguably the least dynamic contestant now that Kristen is gone, MK might survive this week, but she’ll be gone by the time the real competition starts.
CJ Harris, 23
From Jasper, Alabama
Just as the same criticism seems to apply to MK each week, so the same words describe CJ Harris each week—safe, a perfectly-fine cover artist without a wisp of originality. He sang John Mayer’s “Waitin’ on the World to Change” just fine, but that’s what CJ’s performances always are—just fine. He’s a perfectly pleasant guy, but, along with MK, he’s among this season’s least-interesting. Grade: B-
Fortune Forecast: I was surprised CJ didn’t sniff the Bottom Three last week; I guess it doesn’t hurt that he’s at least choosing to cover well-known songs by the likes of John Mayer and Darius Rucker. He won’t make the Top Five this season, but if he made it through last week, he should be safe again.
Sam Woolf, 17
From Bradenton , Florida
And the hits just keep on coming. MK’s not dynamic enough, CJ’s always in his safe zone, and this year’s Girl Magnet, Sam, is a great singer but a sub-standard performer. He sat on stage surrounded by adoring female fans as he sang “Just One” by the Blind Pilots, and I guess it was okay; I was just distracted by the incandescent, adoring admiration shining on the faces of all the girls within arm’s reach of him. While Keith Urban said he’d buy Sam’s record, Harry hit the nail on the head when he said “I’m starting to feel like there’s one beat when you sing…you need to try something else”. Grade: B-
Fortune Forecast: Sam’s not going anywhere, not when girls swoon at the very mention of his name. He has a very good, refined voice that’s always pleasant, but he’ll need to show some energy and some range to be a real contender.
From Southfield , Michigan
In desperate need of something to improve her fortunes from last week (only Kristen’s lower vote total kept her on the show), Malaya sat at the piano for three-quarters of her rendition of Tamala Mann’s “Take Me To the King”, and got unanimous praise from the judges. Toning down the fireworks gave her the chance to show off the range of her voice, which is incredible (piercing, yes, but incredible). Well, she gave it a shot. Will it pay off? Grade: B
Fortune Forecast: This is tough. Malaya stood out in my mind as one of the most talented contestants up until last week, when she deservedly wound up in the Bottom 2; problem is, once you reach that low point on this show, you rarely recover for long. Despite the judges' praise, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her there again.
Ben Briley, 24
From Gallatin , Tennessee
One of the contestants who’s doing the best at standing out, Ben Briley toned his own considerable energy down a good bit to sing Chris Nail’s “Turning Home”. JLO liked it, Harry and Keith weren’t huge fans. I thought Ben showed he actually has a good voice when he’s not screeching or going full-tilt honytonk like he has in the past. Grade: B
Fortune Forecast: Safe. I don’t know if he’s one of the most talented contestants, per se, but Ben stands out, and I know we’re going to see him again.
Majesty Rose, 22
From Goldsboro , North Carolina
Last week, it was Jena who sang a Coldplay song
Fortune Forecast: Safe. She went last and everyone loves her. Majesty will live to fight another day (and probably several others beyond that).
So? A pretty uninspiring night. It’s lucky America
Who's going home? Eh... If it were up to me, MK would be shown the door this week (I like her, but she just doesn't have the chops for this competition), with Alex and CJ joining her in the Bottom Three. Of them, MK's the most likely to wind up one of the supposedly uncomfortable Bottom Three stools. I have a bad feeling Malaya's fortunes didn't improve enough, even with a much better performance. And I think Jena's chances took a big hit after her so-so performance to begin a long, boring night. Consider CJ a possible alternate for Bottom Three candidacy.
Who's going home? Eh... If it were up to me, MK would be shown the door this week (I like her, but she just doesn't have the chops for this competition), with Alex and CJ joining her in the Bottom Three. Of them, MK's the most likely to wind up one of the supposedly uncomfortable Bottom Three stools. I have a bad feeling Malaya's fortunes didn't improve enough, even with a much better performance. And I think Jena's chances took a big hit after her so-so performance to begin a long, boring night. Consider CJ a possible alternate for Bottom Three candidacy.
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