One Write Thinking reader wondered if I’d be watching American Idol and preparing my blog posts while using my new treadmill desk. I don’t know how often that might happen. But only because the TV in the spare room is small and ancient and not well positioned for watching while using a laptop on the treadmill. So I may have to remain a couch potato for these blog posts.
Tonight’s performances will be from the songs of Carole King. Oh, yum. I’m a huge fan of her music. It appears we’ll get the performances individually and in duets.
Jacob (Oh No, Not My Baby): Liked his blue and yellow outfit. Judges loved this but it didn’t do anything for me at all. It wasn’t bad. No major off-key moments that I caught. But it didn’t shine. While I recognize the kid can sing, I just don’t get pleasure watching or listening to him. It’s obviously a matter of taste. I’ll give him a 3.2.
Lauren (Where You Lead): A very nice performance from Lauren. It surprises me that she is so insecure because she’s got a lot of talent. Judges loved it. It didn’t blow me away, but it was sweet and solid. I’ll give her a 4.1.
Casey and Haley duet (I Feel the Earth Move): These two make for a great duet. Lots of chemistry between them. Fine, fine performance. They’ll get a 4.6 from me.
Scotty (You’ve Got a Friend): One obvious thing about Scotty is that he is dedicated and a hard-worker and willing to take criticism and make changes to make himself better. (Note: He didn’t hold the mic funny this week.) He is only 17, and I can’t help but believe he is going to be very successful in country music for many years to come. Anyway, love this song. It’s a ring tone on my phone. And I loved the way he sang it. Nice, romantic, soft, with a country-twist. Showed that he has more than just a bass voice, too. He gets a 4.8. (But he didn’t get it for “the look.” LOL!)
James (Will You Still Love Tomorrow): Jimmy Iovine said, “Carole King and James Durbin were made to come together.” He started off a cappella. I got goose pimples on my arms. It got even better with the band. Yes, yes, yes. Almost perfection. I’ll take off a tenth just for a little bit of screech that didn’t need to be there. 4.9.
Scotty and Lauren duet (Up on the Roof): Third time these two have been paired. This time was good but not my favorite of their duets. Solid. Nice harmony, I thought, on Scotty’s part. I’ll give them a 4.4.
Casey (Hi-De-Ho): Yes, this song does seem to have been written for Casey, looking good in a black fedora. He was sort of talking, shouting, singing the song. And of course, growling it. Played it up with the band. I don’t think it did much to show off his singing ability, though, which could cause him some trouble when it comes to votes. But if it were part of an entire Casey show, I think I would have enjoyed it. I’ll give him a 3.9.
Haley (Beautiful): I loved this performance. But I sure wish they wouldn’t shoot the camera from below when she is wearing such a short skirt. It really isn’t attractive. That complaint aside, this was one of my favorite performances of the night. No goose pimples, but really, really fine. She gets a 4.7.
James and Jacob duet (I’m Into Something Good): Oh, this was not a good way to end the show. Jacob was atrocious. James was over the top. Even Steven said it wasn’t award-winning. Understatement. Only gets a 2.9 from me.
My favorites tonight? That’s so easy (unlike last week when I was blah on everybody). Without a doubt, James and Scotty were the best of the night
Who should go home tomorrow? It’s time for Jacob to bid goodbye to the Idol stage. We’ll see if voters agree with me.
~robin
I am totally with you on everything…James and Scotty best performances of the night. (Though Scotty got my votes, I also really like James.) And I would say Jacob is leaving…he was definitely my least favorite performance of the night.
By the way, it’s interesting how I’ve done a metamorphosis on James. In auditions, I couldn’t stand him…all that screaming. However, as the weeks have gone on, he’s grown on me ALOT and is now my second favorite.
Patti, I think James is enormously talented. I believe he is the best "rocker" they've had on AI. I'm consistent in not liking singers who scream instead of sing, but James has surprised me in that he can slip in a scream/screech that is still musical. If it isn't, I knock off points in my silly little scoring system. If either Scotty or James wins this year, I will be content. I wouldn't hate it if Haley or Lauren won either, although I think it unlikely they will. Haley has been in the bottom a number of times so I think she is a long shot to win. Casey? Well, he could pull it off. Less than a month now to the finals so we will soon know.
Hey, Robin. I agree with you on the final duet. My wife liked it and even thought Jacob did okay, but I didn’t like it. I thought Scotty did very well on “You’ve Got A Friend.” And, as I said in my blog, the four singers under James were all very, very close. Once we get rid of Jacob, it’s going to be very difficult. I keep saying I don’t understand why Haley keeps getting in the bottom three. With all due respect, she can sing rings around Lauren. Anyway, for me, they are all very, very close. The fact that I put Lauren and Scotty in the “bottom three” doesn’t mean that I didn’t like them last night. Jacob should be the whole bottom three. All by himself. LOL!! Honestly, I think it was James on top, the other four in the middle, and Jacob at the bottom.
I wondered about the TV size close to your treadmill. 🙂
One of the judges spoke about James’ consistency every week. I see him a bit like Adam Lambert in that respect – I always looked forward to Adam’s songs. But like Lambert he will do no better than #2. Scotty will win for the same reasons that Chris Allen won over Lambert.
Jeff, you didn't like that blue and yellow suit Jacob was wearing!! LOL! I actually did. It seemed appropriate for him and his style. I'm not absolutely certain, but I think I got the first goosebumps of the season over James and I laughed when I saw you got them too. Yes, after Jacob goes I think it will be impossible to predict a winner with any certainty.
I'll disagree with you, Bob. I don't think Scotty will win for the same reason as Chris –– if what you mean is the teeny-bopper girls' vote. Scotty has enormous talent and is supported by far more voters than teenage girls with unlimited texting plans. If he wins, it will because voters come from all different demographics. While I liked Adam Lambert (again, huge talent with some major moments on AI), I think he lost the top spot because of some of his own choices. Scotty is much more likable than Adam, IMHO. For that matter, James is much more likable than Adam.
The good news is, contestants on AI don't have to win to go on to success.
You may be right Robin. I like Scotty but I am just not much of a C&W fan. I would like to see James win it all.