Jazzlife - because all of life is jazz

- or it am not American Idol results night.

There were 4 strong performances last night (save for Archeleta forgetting some words) and two mediocre ones. Based on performances I expected either Brooke White or Jason Castro to get the axe.

I was mentally preparing myself to say goodbye to Brooke. Instead both she and Jason were safe.

Sayesha Mercado and Carly Smithson were at the bottom… and I’ve been down on Sayesha for some time now, so for me to say she was very good Tuesday speaks volumes!

Carly was cut. In past years, the final six were a case of losing a talented person every week. This year doesn’t seem the case.

First off, I have to say: that opening group number of One Sweet Day was brutal. The group hit some major off-key notes at the song’s bridge!

That song also reminded me how disingenuous and strange Sayesha Mercado is: it’s a sad and somber song, and she was SMILING, for Pete’s sake.

That she was in the Bottom Three made sense. She sings well, but she only imitates, doesn’t innovate. She was annoying enough that I was actually angry that she was safe.

I expected Kristy Lee Cook to be cut - but several weeks ago with her bad version of The Beatles Eight Days a Week. This week she was actually pretty good.

I missed a few days of this, so some of my comments already have answers:

Performance show April 8 2008

The inspirational songs produced a mixed bag of thoughts for me.

I really didn’t like Michael Johns performance of the Aerosmith song Dream On. It really came off as an imitation of the original, not adding anything new to it.

Carly Smithson took on a tough challenge in the Queen song Show Must Go On. The last time we heard it from Idol competitors was Princess P a few years ago. Like Elvis, Freddy Mercury is tough to cover; his voice was so distinctive.

I’m still not sure if the contestants really understand the reasons for it as inspirational: when he performed it, Freddy was dying of AIDS. In fact, he died less than a year after the album with this song came out. I’ve always seen it as his farewell song, and this meaning is a reason why it’s one of my theme songs.

Sayesha Mercado again took on a ballad from a very difficult diva to follow, and didn’t really bring anything new to it. She just hasn’t given us an idea of the kind of performer she’d be.

Brooke White performing a Carly Simon song was a perfect choice for her. I see her very much as our generation’s version of her.

Idol Gives Back, April 9, 2008

Based on last year, I prepared myself to break down in tears most of the show. I surprised myself by being more sturdy this year.

Seeing the drama and tragedy in Africa was still heartbreaking though. When Annie Lennox broke down, I felt it as well. Forest Whitaker and his wife did on a film the next night. That showed a lot of strength on their part.

There were some amazing performances on the show. Annie Wilson proved that she still has it when she sang Barracuda. Likewise the above-mentioned Annie Lennox, who brought the house down. Sheila E. is still one of the best drummers around.

One song that did get to me: the Idols performance of Seasons of Love from RENT. That song has always been one that gets me very emotional.

The comedians proved a mixed bag. Jimmy Kimmel’s Roast on Simon Cowell was superb.
His girlfriend Sarah Silverman had some great zingers as well. One who really failed here though: Robin Williams. A communist era Russian was almost 20 years out of date. Also, his “Meal or No Meal” joke was in very poor taste with the starvation in Africa.

One thing I was glad that they didn’t do this year: they didn’t have an appearance by George Bush. New Orleans devastation was in major part due to his lack of attention to the situation. Showing his face at all last year was offensive.

Results Show April 10, 2008

The three performances that seemed off two nights ago were all in the bottom three: Carly, Michael and Sayesha.

What surprised me a bit was Michael being eliminated so soon. My theory of him being the ringer this year like Melinda Doolittle was before is now shot!

I haven’t posted here in a few weeks. A shame, since some of the eliminations were noteworthy: David Hernandez as the first one cut wasn’t a surprise; after the reveal of his past career as a male stripper, I didn’t think America would tolerate him any more. Amanda Overmeyer being cut so soon wasn’t a surprise either; about her, I had to agree with Simon: she really didn’t seem to have any variety in her performance.

I was surprised and disappointed about Chickezie last week though. I expected him to be cut at some point, but after he showed inventiveness on the first Beatles week, I thought he could go a lot further. Unfortunately Kristie Lee Cook played the patriotism card that week, so even though she’s not terribly good overall, she saved herself.

I have to agree with other pundits on one thing: Sayesha just seems very freaky and phony. What has saved her the past few weeks is that she’s an excellent singer, but in interview she just doesn’t seem genuine. She’s just… off.

This week: Kristy, Ramielle Malubay and one of my favorites Brooke White ended up in the bottom three. Brooke was safe, meaning that Kristy and Ramielle were left. Neither one was a surprise. As I’ve said I don’t think Kristy is that good, and while Ramielle showed talent in Hollywood, but she’s been underwhelming ever since. Ultimately she was cut this week.

Let me reiterate: while I don’t know her, others have said she’s a sweet little lady. I make no criticism of her character. As a performer though I’ve found her lacking.

Of the final 10 ladies, only two performed well. There were far too many performances that were mediocre to my ear.

Alexandria tried more to sing than to shout, but it didn’t sound good. Her bride of Frankenstein look didn’t help either. Kady also missed for the second week in a row. I suspect that they will be eliminated tonight.

David Archeleta is the darling of the judges and the fans. I may be getting paranoid after 7 seasons, but part of me thinks he’ll be eliminated as a shocker this year.

Overall the men performed better this  week than last, but Jason Yeager was still underwhelming. He I suspect will be cut this week. I’m not sure who the other guy will be this time though. I know that in general Simon is getting crabbier about the reactions to him now.

This is the really big drag of my PC being in repair right now: I only get on this blog when I’m at work; I finished my week just before the results show last week, and it was 4 days til I was here again. As a result: this material is very much staledated.

Of the first 4 cuts, one was a definite choice. Amy Davis looked good, but her rendition of “Where the boys are” was hideously off key - both times.  Garrett Hayley was just mediocre - although not as much as Jason Yaegar’s version of “Moon River” though.

I was a bit disappointed with the other two cuts. Both Joanne Bourgella and Colton Berry were the last picked - although Simon didn’t want Colton to start with, so it’s no loss for him.

Simon’s comments to him though… as nasty and mean as Simon often is, he was rude beyond belief. I wonder is kicking puppies and babies is a hobby of his as well.

The women seem slightly better than the guys this year, but only by a performer or two. Granted some of the women had the flu, so that may change next week.

Michael Jones (the Australian guy, if I have his name wrong) already seems to be this year’s ringer like Melinda Doolitle last year… he’s a’ready good enough that he doesn’t need the competition.

It began last night — or as I should say for the early auditions, the madness began last night.

The folks who sing bloody awful or come in stupid costumes… after six seasons, they can’t honestly think they have a chance in heck. They must only think they could have their fifteen minutes of fame.

I also think that hearing the truly awful makes the talented ones sound that much better. The good ones so far really have.

Oscar Peterson dies .

Last year James Brown was announced dead at Xmas, now Oscar.

My University concert hall was named for him years ago. I’m glad he was alive for that honor. Still, this really sucks.