Last night the Final Four proved that they really like animals, as their “Songs of the Cinema” choices evoked thoughts of a whale, a gopher and a “cougar.” (Oh, and don’t forget Batman! Or was it Seal?)
Though they may know a lot about animals, they could still stand to learn a thing or two about song selection. With so many pieces to consider, one wonders how they decided upon these seemingly random ones. And while the judges enjoyed the two duet numbers, both songs were performed just last season on the same “Songs of the Cinema” episode.
There were a few differences, though. For instance, instead of last year’s WTF guest mentor, Quentin Tarantino, this year we were graced with the presence of WTF guest mentor Jamie Foxx.
Again.
Was he really that great a judge during last year’s Rat Pack Week? He clearly bribed the producers with his ingenious “Artist/Contestant” T-shirt schtick and weaseled his way back to the Idol stage. (In his defense, I’m sure that concept sounded much better on paper. At least, I hope it did.)
Apparently he was the perfect choice for Movie Week since he won the Oscar for his dramatic portrayal of Ray Charles. (Oh, and also because he sings deep songs about a-a-a-a-a-alcohol.) Do you really need to be a movie actor to sing a movie song, though? Lord knows that we won’t see any of these Idols acting soon; there is not a Jennifer Hudson among them and I doubt they could collaborate on anything as deep as “From Justin to Kelly.”
LEE DEWYZE “Kiss From A Rose” by Seal from “Batman Forever”
Despite Foxx’s attempts to “Michael Mann” him by getting uncomfortably close to Lee’s face while he sang, this song just didn’t work. And what an odd choice it was! The notes are up and down and all over the place, plus there are so many distractions in the form of strings and backing vocals. While Lee’s got a bit of raspiness to his voice, there’s only one Seal; and, based on this performance, DeWyze isn’t gonna be waking up next to Heidi Klum any time soon. That being said, I still think Lee could take home the prize in two weeks. In fact, I will be shocked if he doesn’t make it to the Final Two.
MICHAEL LYNCHE “Will You Be There” by Michael Jackson from “Free Willy”
Big Mike is feeling a lot of pressure from his city and his family to make it to the Top Three. Perhaps he’d feel less pressure if he didn’t choose songs by legendary superstar Michael Jackson. What was he thinking? While this is a beautiful song, its beauty is in the way it keeps building to the gospel climax. On “AI,” there isn’t enough time to build to much of anything and the edited versions often sound watered down. Oh, and BTW, this isn’t “American Gospel Choir Idol.” I want to hear what Mike can do, not how good the backup singers are. I’m not sure that this performance is going to propel him into the Top 3, like he so desperately wants. He clearly doesn’t know how to use The Secret properly anyway. As Ellen pointed out, he doesn’t need to be dreaming about the Top Three; he needs to be dreaming about winning. Oh and btw, Jamie Foxx, for your safety next time I would refrain from telling Big Mike that he doesn’t deserve the coveted “Artist” T-shirt.
CASEY JAMES “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel from “The Graduate”
Foxx asked Casey to seduce him as he sang. It seems like everyone of a certain age wants to ride that Casey bandwagon! The judges teased him (perhaps a little too much) about the song meaning and its implications regarding Kara. Perhaps it was a calculated move to mobilize the Casey Cougar Caucus; that boy may be blonde but he sure ain’t dumb. As for the actual performance, the delivery was a little lackadaisical and James reminded me of a sexy Tiny Tim with his mandolin and crazy hair. Will good looks be enough to keep him here after tonight? I’m not so sure, especially since, unlike Mike, he didn’t mention employing any visualization techniques to bring him into the Top Three.
CRYSTAL BOWERSOX “I’m Alright” by Kenny Loggins from “Caddyshack”
Crystal thinks that the judges have been tougher on her the past couple of weeks and she’s right. I don’t blame them, though; they have to try to build up some sort of suspense as far as who will win. When she was dropping the F-bomb in her rehearsal with Jamie Foxx, I wasn’t sure she’d pull it together in time, especially since “it” was a Kenny Loggins song from a comedy. She turned the song into something completely soulful and true, though. As she stood before her bong-lamp microphone stand thingy, she seemed to challenge the audience by singing, “Who do you want?” My guess is that it’s her who a good portion of the viewers want. Hands down the best performance of the night.
As for the duets that the judges oohed and aahed over, I thought they were just OK. I think that maybe the panel feels obligated to be a little hyperbolic at this point in the season. Lee and Crystal belted out the Oscar-winning “Falling Slowly” from “Once” and while it was good, it didn’t compare to Kris Allen’s rendition last year. Oddly enough, I thought Lee was the stronger link. It was interesting that the two front-runners were paired together.
Casey and Michael’s performance of “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” from “Don Juan DeMarco” was pleasant enough but, again, it wasn’t as original or effortless as Matt Giraud’s version of the same song last year. The funny thing is that the judges didn’t much care for my beloved Matt’s performance but, to me, it’s head and shoulders above Casey and Mike’s. Different seasons, different standards I guess.
