Last night the 10 remaining female contestants on “American Idol” got to show their stuff again.
Unfortunately, the performances were pretty mediocre across the board. It seemed every chick either picked the wrong song or picked a song with no energy or emotion. The ones who were great last week were still pretty good, but pretty good is not going to win this thing.
Of course, the one good thing about last night was that no one really sucked bad enough to be a clear-cut favorite for elimination. But lucky for you I’m going to give you my picks anyway.
The show started with more judge banter…Paula and Simon admitting that they both annoy each other….really, do any of us care?
Here is the Art Vandalay breakdown:
THE GOOD
Again, it was hard to choose the best performances from a slew of mediocre ones, but two singers are clearly the most talented here: Mandisa and Paris Bennett.
Mandisa sang Faith Hill’s “Cry” and while it wasn’t the best song choice for her, Simon said it best: “When you are ‘on,’ there is no better female singer in this competition.”
Paris sang “Wind Beneath My Wings” and the judges accurately said that it was not convincing when a 17 year old sings an old lady song. This kid can also wail, but she played it a bit too safe last night.
THE IN-BETWEEN
It was a whole night of in-between, but here are the most mediocre of the mediocre:
Cutie Katharine McPhee started off the show with a Stevie Wonder ballad, a curious choice because it was both safe and slow enough to expose her difficulty staying in tune for the whole song. You can tell she’s got great pipes, but she just didn’t use them last night. And is it just me, or is this girl pregnant? Either that or she shops at the maternity store.
Kinnik Sky sang Gretchen Wilson’s “Here For the Party” and it almost seemed like she was shouting, not singing. Like Simon said, it was like a theme park performance.
Lisa Tucker sang an old Jackson 5 song and, while I think she’s one of the top females, she didn’t quite deliver last night like she’s capable.
Melissa McGhee made reference to that fact that she’s a “Florida girl” and always wears flip-flops, even on Hollywood red carpets….blah blah blah. She sang a Reba song that Randy said was “hot” and Paula, of course, agreed like she always does. Simon said Melissa did not connect with the audience and I agreed. Plus her belly was sticking out a bit too much for my liking.
Ayla, the basketball playing giant, sang a Celine Dion song. Mrs. Vandalay said she was wearing a “Betty Rubble” dress, the way it was cut on the bottom. Pretty funny stuff. Anyway, Ayla definitely exceeded expectations and the judges made it clear that she was one of the hardest workers and that might take her far in this competition.
Kellie Pickler sang Bonnie Raitt and did pretty well…..considering she was awful last week, Kellie definitely rebounded. And she’s got that cutesy, all-American look that might carry her a few more rounds.
THE BAD
It’s worth noting that after Melissa McGhee sang, I made note of the fact that Paula should switch seats with Randy, because all she ever does is parrot what he says and add more of her fluff. Miraculously, Paula heard me and did just that.
So then came Heather Cox, who sang Mariah Carey’s “Hero.” Paula accurately noted that Mariah Carey’s got big shoes to fill, and that you’re taking a risk when performing one of her songs in a competition like this. She wasn’t as bad as she was last week, but bad enough to get booted off. Mrs. Vandalay also pointed out that Heather’s got nice fake knockers….her job at the Foxy Unicorn should still be available to her.
Brenna Brenna Brenna. Your schtick gets more annoying every week. Brenna sang Donna Summer’s “Last Dance,” another incredibly brave choice of song. Brenna, you have danced your last dance on this show. You thought you were good, but trust me, America will not agree. Now just go away. And while you’re at it, please take Ryan Seacrest with you.
Tonight, it’s the guys…..will lispy Kevin sack up and sing something with more balls? Will Elliot finally morph into Abe Lincoln? Will Gedeon’s smile make Simon run? Will Fred Savage kick David The Crooner’s ass? Tune in and check back with us tomorrow for the recap.
