I know Chris has a huge following both here and nationally, but I'm getting a shark-jumping vibe out of him ever since the whole Johnny Cash-Live-What If thing.
He hasn't done a WOW since that Fuel number, but to be fair, I'm partial to the Mammary Sisters.
Since I watch the show much later than almost everyone on this thread, I have the benefit of all your comments before seeing it for myself. I think Chris is the likely winner this year only because he seems to have the most buzz, but he just doesn't do anything for me.
I love the song 'Making Memories Of Us.' In fact, so far it's the only Keith Urban song I like. To me, Urban has got to be one of the most boring music stars out there these days, yet that one song resonates strongly with me. (It was a huge hit for Urban. If memory serves, he won CMA awards for the song and the album it came from. I'm playing the song now as I type this.)
Jonny, the day we got the news Tammy had died, you were so upset. Some nutjob here on AI had said something stupid, and you were so angry. I posted the lyrics to 'Making Memories Of Us' and they seemed to help.
Anyway, my point is that because I know that song so very well -- play it often -- I can say with total credibility that Chris did only a fair job with it. I don't think it would be all that hard to do a better version than Urban's, but Chris was not up to it. Partly, it's due to the fact that, due to time constraints, they can't sing complete songs on AI. You lose a lot by singing only half, or less, of a song. Kenny Rogers is right -- country music is about telling stories through song. When you can't tell the whole story, the song loses all sense.
Although it was good to hear Chris do something truly different, and to discover he has a decent voice, he hit some flat notes and simply did not connect with the song at all.
If I had to rate last night's performances, I'd say Taylor did by far the worst. I would not be surprised to see him in the bottom two tonight, and even see him go home after that mess.
I don't think Pickler was all that good. She just seemed good in contrast to the performances that came before her, because at least she was lively.
I'm struggling to give my opinion as to the best performance last night, because there wasn't a standout. I guess for me it would have to be Paris. The reason? As she was singing I thought the makeover people have done the best job with her. She's looking and dressing much more age appropriate. Stupid reason why someone stands out in a singing competition.