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‘American Idol’…good thing country week is over ya’ll
This week, under the tutelage of country music legend Kenny Rogers, the nine remaining Idols sang country music. Attempted to sing country music is more like it. Most of them were mediocre at best and a couple just failed miserably. How much of that was their own fault or a lack of creative direction or inspiration from Kenny R.? He seemed more critical than encouraging to me. And what’s with Kenny Roger’s face? Plastic surgery? He looks so different than I remember. Is it the goatee instead of full beard? Help me someone, it’s drivin’ me crazy.
Taylor Hicks: Country Roads by John Denver
I think this is the first performance of Taylor’s that I just didn’t care for. No Taylor personality at all. He sang it tentatively and uncertain. Almost as if someone had a gun to his head and said perform Country Roads or die. There was no spark. I can’t imagine there wasn’t a better song for him because I never imagined Taylor could be so monumentally blah.
Mandisa: Any Man of Mine by Shania Twain
Mandisa could sing the phone book and sound okay. But I didn’t care for this performance. She didn’t do badly, she tried to have fun, but it just didn’t work. My sister and I have butchered this song in the car many, many times and had more personality.
Elliot Yamin: If Tomorrow Never Comes by Garth Brooks
I love Elliot’s voice but I was a little bummed because I was hoping for something more…more…hmmm… just more. When I watched it a second time I liked it more but it wasn’t like WOW. Then again it wasn’t his style. I think he may have looked more comfortable sitting on a stool like Ace and Chris.
Paris Bennett: How Do I Live by Trisha Yearwood
Paris was as pitchy as I’ve ever heard her. Like the judges said all night, just because its country doesn’t mean it’s easy, but I expected her to at least be in tune.
Ace Young: I Wanna Cry by Keith Urban
Keith Urban was a great artist for Ace to sing. Not too twangy. Nice range for his voice but I didn’t “feelâ€? it. You don’t sing about your heart breaking and wanting to cry unless you can at least communicate some of the desperate melancholy that the lyrics talk about. He didn’t. Sometimes I think he just tries too hard to perform instead of communicate. A friend, who has never been an Ace fan, says it’s like he practices in front of a mirror to get those looks perfect. It kind of felt like that to me tonight. (Okay friend of mine…I’m almost ready to admit you were right about Ace all along. Almost.)
Kellie Pickler: Fancy by Bobbie Gentry/Reba McEntire
I don’t remember on prior seasons Ryan Seacrest being so quick to discuss rumors and speculations with the contestants. Interesting. So if Ryan says she’s sweet then it must be true. Whatever! That said, I ate my words with Bucky a couple of times and I’ll do it with Kellie now. This was the perfect song for her and she sang the hell out of it.
Chris Daughtry: Making Memories of Us by Keith Urban
I think Chris has proven that he can sing just about anything. He may not ever choose country again, but I thought he did okay for himself. Simon was correct in that it was a pretty boring song though.
Katharine McPhee: Bringing Out the Elvis by Faith Hill
I loved this song for Katharine. I think it was my favorite performance of hers. She was HOT. I know I’m a fan, but I thought she was far sexier than Kellie Pickler has ever been and I would even put Katharine up against Faith Hill herself on this one.
Bucky Covington: Best I Ever Had by Gary Allan
What were you thinking Bucky? All the country songs in the world and you picked this one? I would have preferred to see you do any number of Toby Keith songs or even Big & Rich. I’m unfamiliar with this tune, but if he was in pitch I would be surprised. Unlike the judges, I hated it.
My favorites tonight: Kellie and Katharine
In deep doo doo are Paris and Bucky. The last of the three is tougher because no one else was awful despite the horrible song choices. I would say Taylor and Elliot but Taylor has a pretty big fan base. Who knows? This week we could see a couple surprises.
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Comments
By laura 2
April 5, 2006 2:51 PM | Link to this
I’ve heard that the contestants only have a catalog of approved songs to choose from, so that may have limited them some in their choices. I was really disappointed in Taylor. He is so up and bubbly usually, but he made even a dorky John Denver jingle sound dreary last night. I think he got some bad advice from someone. Chris did well, he’s got that “it” Simon said Ace had earlier this year. Even though I’m not a Bucky fan,(he always sounds like he needs to blow his nose to me) he was spot-on Gary Allen last night. It wasn’t the best song, but he sang it just like the original, so i guess he can’t be blamed for that. I predict we’ll be minus Paris next week. I’d like to say Kellie, but she pulled it off once more. I am getting tired of her “dumb little me” act too. Maybe she’ll go next week….well a girl can dream, can’t she?
By Regina
April 5, 2006 10:17 AM | Link to this
Okay, this is definitely getting out of hand. I have never been an avid Idol wather until this year and I am starting to see why. I have always watched the try-out shows to see how many people think they can sing. Now I am wondering if the right group was chosen. For the first time I really enjoyed Chris. I hope chooses to do more ballads so you can hear the depth of his voice. Thought the Katherine was terrific (for country). The rest of the group…blah. I was EXTREMEly disappointed with Taylor and Mandissa my favorites in the competition. Well tonight we’ll see who lives on.
By liz
April 5, 2006 10:16 AM | Link to this
What a disappointing Idol week. I wonder if maybe the contestants are not allowed to sing certain songs. If those were the best songs that country music has to offer (which of course is not true) then we’re all in for a boring ride. I disagree with most of you about Katharine. I hated the song choice..Elvis something or other..and she was trying too hard to overcome the label of “ice queen”. If the song choices had been better - the rest (except Bucky) would have been fun to watch. Time for Bucky to head back to ‘lina.
By Rob
April 5, 2006 10:14 AM | Link to this
I don’t care for Kellie or Ace, but they stepped it up this week and should stick around till next week. As good as Elliot’s singing voice may be, he just has no stage presence. You might as well put a mic next to a cd player. Chris did what he needed to do and showed that he had some range and Katherine joined him in giving the two most professional performances of the night. This was Bucky’s week to show off his country chops but he failed. Kenny said he needed to enunciate his lyrics and… he didn’t. In tune or not, I could only understand about every third word. He needs to go.
By Heather
April 5, 2006 9:28 AM | Link to this
Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too upset that I missed a large part of the show last night, huh?! The only performers that I saw in full were Chris, Ace, Bucky and Katharine. I loved Katharine’s performance! I was glad to see Chris do a ballad - although, I don’t think it was great - I think he should do more. If he does, I think he’ll pick up even more fans. Ace was okay - better than he has been in a few weeks - but, the infatuation is gone! And Bucky - didn’t Kenny tell you to OVERenunciate? I still couldn’t understand a word you “sang”. Go HOME!
By Kim
April 5, 2006 8:52 AM | Link to this
Wow - tough week. First of all - Kenny Rogers was a poor choice to guide them - I can’t stand him. I DO like country music - but hate everything that he has ever done - not the mentoring type. And yes, Kelle - he’s had plastic surgery - lots of it - and the hair is different than that swept up and back look he wore for decades. Now that I have that out of the way - what lousy song choices this week. I do think that Kenny dulled up my dear Taylor. What a terrible song for him to choose! He’s an Alabama boy - he should have done one of Alabama’s 40+ #1 hits! His voice would be well suited to their bluesy style. I would have loved to hear him do “The Closer You Get” or “Fire in the Night”…sigh… Normally I love him, but he sure didn’t produce last night. I can only hope he has a sufficient fan base to allow him this screw-up. Chris did a good job with the sad song he chose - I REALLY wanted to hear him do “Shameless” by Garth Brooks - that gravelly voice would have been perfect for that! Katherine was fabulous this week - I think she had everything right and was really shining - best performance of the night. And I’ll admit it - Kellie’s vocals were pretty good this week - but I still hate her. I hate the way she pumps her eyebrows when she sings and I hate the weird way she pronounces words trying to act like she’s all that or something. She’s just so FAKE. Don’t act it - be it. I thought Ace delivered one of his best performances - good job. I even phoned in some votes for him this week. And Bucky - dude - what were you doing??? Terrible, terrible choice on a week when he could have really kicked it. I would have liked to see him do “Thunder Rolls”. As it is - that performance just might be the one that sends him home. Elliot, Mandisa and Paris were lackluster - totally off the mark. The bottom 3 is tough, cos most of them sucked last night. I think maybe Bucky or Paris will go home this week, and I look for the 3rd bottom person to be Ace or Elliot. Ace did well this week - but I think his fan base has been fading. It will be interesting to see - tough call!
By Not an Idol Fan
April 5, 2006 8:48 AM | Link to this
I HATE country music. That said, once again you got it wrong. Why do you continue to force me to support Bucky. He did a great job last night. Based on last night, he should not be in the bottom three tonight. Based on overall talent, he is one of the three worst left on the show (joinning Ace and Kellie). Ace and Paris were just sad. Bye-bye Ace.
By Karen
April 5, 2006 8:47 AM | Link to this
I wasn’t home last night but I did DVR the show to watch tonight before the results show. It doesn’t sound like I missed much!
By Meghan
April 5, 2006 8:15 AM | Link to this
I couldn’t agree more with you Ben. The last few weeks have been boring, and I am starting to dread to hear some of the performances. I think, though they have great voices, some of the idols need consultants on what songs to sing. I think someone mentioned this before, but it would be a great idea to have an America’s Choice night, where we get to pick the song for each contestant. I thought Taylor, Mandissa and Paris were awful; Ace, Elliot and Chris were boring; Kelly and Katherine rocked, and Bucky was actually at his best (and I am not a Bucky fan). My bottom three: Ace, Paris, and Bucky. Going home: Ace. Hopefully next week this show has some more spark, or I am going to try to find something else to watch on Tuesdays!
By Alysson
April 5, 2006 7:44 AM | Link to this
I am actually getting really tired of watching Idol on Tuesday nights. It’s just been SO blah for me for the past few weeks. I like the performers as people, but none of them are really inspiring me to buy a CD… I’m totally agreeing with Simon on this one. Surprisingly, I liked Ace a lot more than most of the others this week. I think it was a great song choice for him. I also thought Kellie did a great job. Bye bye Bucky or Paris.
By Ben
April 5, 2006 1:57 AM | Link to this
Is it just me or are the performances getting more dull as the weeks go by? Country week for the most part was a bust. I was most disappointed with Taylor. Not the best song choice and topped it off with a very flat performance. Ditto for Bucky. Kellie, Chris and Katharine were the best of the lot. I was really suprised Chris could sing a ballad and did it very well. My prediction for the bottom three are Bucky, Ace and Paris. Maybe it’s time to say bye-bye Bucky.
By Kelle
April 4, 2006 11:56 PM | Link to this
Leslie, you might be right about Kenny’s hair. Has he maybe lost weight too? I think Bucky goes home this week and Ace will get yet one or possibly two more chances to step it up.
By Leslie
April 4, 2006 11:37 PM | Link to this
Whew! This was a hard one this week for everyone (myself included, since I am NOT a country fan). I was especially shocked by Taylor - it was like someone (Kenny Rogers?) sucked the life right out of him. I usually think he is over-the-top, but his joyless performance was painful to watch. I’m not really a Taylor fan, but I hope he rebounds next week. I think Elliot was the best tonight. After him, I enjoyed Katharine (who I thought was better than Pickler) and Chris the most. I was so glad to hear Chris finally sing a ballad! The bottom 3 from tonight - I predict Ace, Bucky and, going out on a limb, Mandisa. And sorry Kelle, but I think Ace will be going home, although I thought he did better tonight. By the way, I think it’s Kenny’s hair that’s bugging you…