American Idol: Top 8 Perform

Last night, the contestants chose songs that were out during the year they were born. All but one of them (Allison Iraheta, born in 1992) were born in the 1980s. Only one of them is older than my oldest kid - Danny Gokey, who's 29. (My oldest kid will be 28 this Friday.) This part of the competition always brings interesting and varied song choices. Last year it gave us one of the best songs performed in that competition: David Archuleta's performance of a song I'd never heard before, "You're The Voice" by Australian singer John Farnham. I downloaded it, and I still play it and love it. It also gave us David Cook's performance of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", which was also very good, and which I also downloaded.

This year was no exception. The song choices were varied, some of them were great, some of them not so much. Here goes:

Danny Gokey, born April 24, 1980: “ Stand By Me”, based on the Mickey Gilley version

This started out in a slow, syrupy style, which didn't suit him at all. He hit a few notes kind of poorly. But then the song went up-tempo and it fit his performance style and his voice a little better. Frankly, I still prefer the Ben E. King version. The judges basically liked it. Randy didn't like the arrangement, but he said Danny made him like it. Simon said overall, great.

Kris Allen, born June 21, 1985: “All She Wants To Do is Dance”, by Don Henley

I always liked this song; it's wonderful social commentary, a little political. Kris has that kind of shaky vibrato; he'll never be Don Henley. He had to clean up the lyrics a little. I'm going to quote the second verse, which he omitted:

Well the government bugged the men's room
In the local disco lounge
And all she wants to do is dance, dance

To keep the boys from sellin'
All the weapons they could scrounge
And all she wants to do is dance

But that don't keep the boys
From makin' a buck or two
And all she wants to do is dance, dance

They still can sell the army
All the drugs that they can do
And all she wants to do is
All she wants to do is dance
And make romance

I don't like his voice, and I didn't like this arrangement at all. He performed down in the mosh pit, surrounded by adoring girls. Kara didn’t like it. “Jazz funk homework,” she said. She thought it lost a lot of its youth. Paula said he's likable. Simon thought it was indulgent, boring, forgettable. He thought he came over as a guitarist who wanted to sing. Randy thought the arrangement was a little self-indulgent; he lost Kris in the arrangement.

Lil Rounds, born Oct 20, 1984: “What's Love Got to Do With It”, by Tina Turner

I thought this song would be a good choice for Lil. It's a powerful song, one I've always liked. But she tried too hard to be Tina Turner. She wore a short black skirt and silver high heels, and strutted around the stage in an imitation of Tina's walk. She wasn't always on pitch, but she showed a lot of passion when she sang, and there were some really nice parts. But once again, she didn't live up to what I think Lil can do. Paula complimented her outfit, which is always a bad start. She doesn't think Lil took it far enough; she used the dreaded K word (karaoke). Simon said "We're not looking for a second- or third-rate Tina Turner"; he labeled it "one of those ghastly copycat performances". Randy agreed with Paula and Simon. He didn't think Tina was the right choice for Lil. Kara uses the A word again (artist). She didn't think the song showed Lil's artistry.

Anoop Desai, born Dec 20, 1986: “True Colors”, by Cyndi Lauper

I loved this performance. He started out sitting on a stool, with just a guitar accompaniment, really a very nice touch. He wasn't perfect, but all in all it was a downloadable performance, definitely good. He gave it a gentle touch. Randy thought the way he pulled it back was good. Very nice, controlled vocal. Kara said he controlled the song, not the other way around. Paula liked it, too. Simon said he's like a yo-yo - some weeks he's great, others he's terrible. Simon doesn't think it was fantastic, but it was really good.

Scott MacIntyre, born June 22, 1985: “The Search is Over”, by Survivor

I never liked this song, and Scott didn't change my opinion. He started out standing on stage holding a guitar, which he wasn't playing. When he finally started playing it, the chords he used were jarring, kind of a raucous electric sound which didn't fit the song. I don't think it was a good choice for him. The crowd seemed to love him, though, as usual. Kara commended him for coming out with his guitar, but she didn't like his song choice. Some good moments, some off moments. Paula gave him credit, too; she was surprised by the guitar, and thought an acoustic one might be more fitting. She thought he screeched some of his high notes (he did). Simon suggested he go back to the piano next week. The song was horrible; the guitar playing wasn't much better. The two didn't go together, either. Randy thought it was all okay; it didn't show him as a star.

Allison Iraheta, born April 27, 1992: “I Can't Make You Love Me”, by Bonnie Raitt

I groaned when I heard her song choice. This song has been overdone on American Idol: Kimberly Locke, Constantine Maroulis (on whom I had a major crush) and Amy Krebs (whom I don't remember) have done it, according to Wikipedia (which, being what it is, already credits Allison Iraheta's version). But Allison pulled it off. She did a lovely job, very mature for a teenager. Her hair was styled in a conservative (comparatively) style; she wore a black dress that was cut oddly at the hem (short in front, long in back), but looked good. Her voice fit this song very well; every note was gorgeous. Paula said she made it her own. Simon thought it was very good. He thinks she needs to come out of herself more; he doesn't think he knows her. Randy says she reminds him of Kelly Clarkson. She needs to engage the public a bit more. I think he was referring to the fact that she's been in the bottom three twice now, even though she's so talented. I love her performing. I think she's a born star.

Matt Giraud, born May 11, 1985: “Part-Time Lovers”, by Stevie Wonder

He wore a fedora that made him look like a 1940s-era gangster. It looked kind of cool, actually. His arrangement was more bluesy than the original; it suited him. But I think he put in too much ornamentation, too many runs. Randy thought it was one of the best of the night vocally. Kara loved it, too. Paula gave him a standing O. Simon said “Well done.”

Adam Lambert, born January 29, 1982: “Mad World”, by Tears for Fears

He did a very subdued performance, based on that version by Gary Jules that was out a few years ago, simple piano for the first (shortened) verse. This is a song I can sing from memory, so I could tell every place he played with the lyrics. He chose to be lit by blue light throughout the song, which was pitched higher than the original, to suit Adam’s superior high voice. I loved it. I hope that he does the full-length version on the download; I’d get it. (Why not? I’ve already got two versions of the song on my iPod.) They were out of time by then, so Simon was the only judge to give his critique; he chose to give Adam a standing ovation. This is Simon we’re talking about here; he never gives standing Os. Adam is head and shoulders above the other performers in this series. It’s almost unfair to everybody else, having him in the competition.

Bottom three? Well, Scott MacIntyre should be there. He's past his expiration date on this show, and I'm pretty sure he'll be eliminated tonight. It's hard to figure out who will join him in the bottom 3, though. I'd put Kris Allen there, but he's got a huge fan base. Possibly Lil Rounds or Matt Giraud (he's been there before). But Matt was actually good enough tonight that I liked his performance. So I don't know. We'll see.