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RECAP TIME YOU FOLKS FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA....AND ALL THE SHIPS AT SEA AS WELL !!!

How to title this thread ?

As someone else says : Barry Works with the Kids! And now they're all Fanilows !

There must be a good reason why “American Idol” is not only the biggest show in television, but the hottest as well.

From the minute Season 5 began in January, “Idol’s” ratings have been up, way up, over Season 4. About 3 million more are watching, a spike of 11 percent.

TAKE NOTE according to the Kansas City Star --- In January “Idol” forced President Geena Davis out of ABC’s White House and into an undisclosed location. Last month it reduced NBC' s Winter Olympics to a three-ring circus.

Here is an analysis from the Kansas Star :

It’s unheard of for a reality show with “Idol’s” mileage to be gaining steam. Why is it?

Is it this year’s talent pool? Can’t be. It’s no deeper than in seasons past, no matter what host Ryan Seacrest says. One theory out there is that, unlike TVs last phenom, ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” Fox didn’t run “Idol” into the ground with repeated airings. It’s on for just four months a year.

Then it’s gone.

In show business as in much of life, absence does make the heart grow fonder. But that hardly explains “Idol’s” massive and growing appeal.
Here’s my theory.

Americans have a lot of choices for music today. They can listen to commercial radio, satellite radio or their iPod mix. They can buy music from artists under contract to major labels or music just in the niches that interest them.

But a singing star is still made only one way. “American Idol” is magnetic for the same reason that “Your Hit Parade” was magnetic on radio and early TV after the war. It’s why Arthur Godfrey and his “Talent Scouts” became so powerful in the 1950s.

“Idol” has grasped a basic truth: MASS TASTE DID NOT GO AWAT WHEN THE CD BURNER WAS INVENTED.

With no help from the recording industry or radio, it has replicated the hitmaker environment that we all took part in during our youth.

The difference between then and now is that Godfrey wouldn’t let anyone on his show until they were ready. I have a CD of Patsy Cline’s first appearance on Godfrey’s “Talent Scouts,” belting out “Walking After Midnight” like a pro, which by then she practically was.
With “Idol,” the stars are no longer delivered to us, shined up and prepackaged. That’s also part of the show’s genius, realizing that we like to watch the sausage getting made.

From the excruciating auditions to the rookie mistakes in the opening rounds to the “Idol” winner’s debut CD — almost always a million-selling, critically panned, forgettable recording — we watch a star being born, and the procedure is about as pretty as birth itself.

Extending this questionable analogy, that would make judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul the proud parents, judge Simon Cowell the midwife and host Ryan Seacrest the PR director of the hospital (the only way Seacrest could ape Dick Clark’s career more closely is if he dyed his hair jet black).
Cowell is the show’s one crucial presence. As a successful producer and businessman, he acts as “Idol’s” economic conscience. He is forever reminding the singers not to choose “safe” songs — a far more withering rebuke than his better known, “That was just horrible,” because failure to take risks means failure to sell records. And selling is the only way to measure stardom.

Sustained risk-taking and consistent selling take years, but it speaks well to the “Idol” format that it has launched a wave of megastars in Canada, Great Britain and other countries.

So, enough with the analysis of the show as cultural phenomenon itself and on with the show....

It's 50's night, and we got Buddy Holly, but none of the roots of rock and roll: No Bo Diddley, no Little Richard, no Chuck Berry ( bummer, no one atempted Johnny B. Good ), no Elvis!

And the women -- No Rosemary Clooney, no Patti Page?

Plus, Paula was definitely on her medical overdose and/or on something.

LET ME BE THE FIRST TO CONGRATULATE MYSELF AND TOOT MY HORN ON *ONE* ACCURATE SONG CHOICE FOR Paris.

If you remember my previous post, I said for Paris :

One song that really stuck to me was -”Fever” by Peggy Lee-She
already sang this IMPRESSIVELY in the Hollywood auditions, she’d be
smart to reprise it and show us the full version.

Well, what do you know ? She seems to have heard me and actually DID this number. Good for you girl.

I also ALMOST made a correct prediction on WALK THE LINE. However, I had pegged Bucky for it. Chris Daughtry took up the cudgels instead.

Let's review the performances ....

Mandisa - "I Don't Hurt Anymore" by Dinah Washington -

She looks FABULOUS tonight in a black dress and period bouffant. Mandisa's weight is never going to be an issue for me if she continues to sing as well as she did on Dinah Washington's "I Don't Hurt Anymore." Barry Manilow was too confusing when he said she had "no range." I think he meant that she had no LIMIT to her range. But man, she was smoking !!

Meanwhile, good ol' Simon Legree called it a "Stripper Song". What the heck, it was sexy. On the Howard Stern show last week, Simon said that Mandisa had "0 chance to win." That's probably true, but she has to end up in the Top 5. Too bad, she won't win NOT because she isn't the best, but because people look on the outside instead of substance. That's just the way it is folks, FACE IT. She's one of the most versatile and consistent performers out of all the contestants. Positive critiques from all the judges. Frenchie Davis might not have made it, but Mandisa is showing us what Season 2 would have been like had Frenchie not been disqualified.

Ryan calls Mandisa a "Mandiva". WHAT AN APPROPRIATE TITLE FOR HER FIRST FULL LENGTH ALBUM !!

My good old drinkin' buddy --- Bucky Covington is next. What is he gonna sing ? His hair looked great tonight ( no Simon, I am NOT reminded of Jessica Simpson, so cut it out ). Bucky still seems a little stiff and awkward on the big stage, but that hand to hand mic move is way cool. Bucky's raspy, gritty vocals aren't powerful, but they are interesting and bring something unique to the Idol stage. Let;s face it folks --- Alt-country/rocker types like Bucky will never succeed on this show, because stable, subtle performances do not cut it in a venue as large and expansive as this. It's unfortunate, but the producers seem to be gunning for Bucky. During the judges critiques, Randy and Paula were fine, but then Simon started to hit on him, "A pointless karaoke performance." Ouch. And then, just to make sure we the viewers got the point that Bucky does indeed suck--he was practically re-critiqued all over again during his post-performance chat with Ryan--where Simon got to add that his performance was "below average". TALK ABOUT KICKING AN INJURED DOG. WILL WE SEE A MELISSA McGHEE like backlash ? But at whose expense ? ( NOTE: I fear for Elliott ).

We had a little scene where the camera panned showing that Constatine Maroulis switched careers and became a librarian with THICK GLASSES, and that Ryan Cabrera. was wearing a blond chocolate babka. What's up with that ?

Now we come to the girl who listens to uncle ( that would be me ). Paris has decided to reprise her short teaser of FEVER by Peggy Lee for us.

Paris sang a song that's way too worldly for a seventeen year old, but electrified, regardless. Another really good week for Paris. She really makes this tune original. While Peggy Lee's version was sultry and sexy, a really good arrangement here allowed Paris to start off slowly and then belt it out at the end. Personally, while she sounded SUPERB like a 30 year-old in a 17 year-old body. I still felt something missing. She's got the moves and the sass, but I think its too affected. To me, she did an R&B version of "Fever", and I was hoping for something more jazzy, closer to the original by the great Peggy Lee. But that's just me folks.

The judges loved her. If Paris can continue to choose great songs, she is going to go deep in this competition. In her post-performance chat with Ryan, she was more subdued than usual. Is it just me or does anyone see a major disconnect between her speaking voice and her singing voice ? When she speaks, I could swear she'd make a good voice-over for a Sesame Street muppet.

NEXT UP, Vin Diesel with the beard AKA -- Chris Daughtry.

Chris Daughtry chooses the classic "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash ( and decides that Joaquin Phoenix aping him is enough ).

The controversy tonight, of course, is that Chris's performance was played by the producers as if he's doing the very first rock version of "I Walk the Line" ever! And oh-my-goodness-he-made-it-his-own! But no one mentions that Chris's very favorite rock band, Live, recorded a cover of this song.
He's a clever but KNOWLEDGABLE fellow this Chris. HE KNOWS HIS ROCK RECORDS. Last week, he knew that Red Hot Chili Peppers did Stevie Wonder and chose that song to reprise within his comfort zone. Now he picks Johnny Cash's classic he KNEW was recorded by LIVE as a ROCK song.

Don't believe it ? Listen to the LIVE band arrangement. Live's arrangement isn't identical, but is very similar to Chris's. But the melody line Chris sings is almost identical to that of Live lead singer, Ed Kowalczyk's. So, when Simon says that Chris took a great song and made it his own version, and that Chris is the first artist they've ever had on the show who's refused to compromise (sorry, he compromised the minute he walked out on that idol stage, Simon)--you all know it's a great big fat bag of disingenuous pimp meant to propel Chris one giant step further to winning the whole shebang.

Let's be fair to Chris folks.... whether it's original or not, Chris wants to win this and if someone can ape Whitney or Stevie when singing their songs, why can't Chris do it within his own genre ? I BLAME SIMON for this disingeneous "IT's ORIGINAL" remark. IT ISN'T.

And note, Johnny Cash himself converted "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails into a country song, with fabulous results. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

So NO, Chris might not be diversified like Kelly Clarkson was in the first season, but I love his voice, and I liked his lower register on the opening parts of the song. And I liked his ability to re-arrange the song. Maybe Chris will eventually diversify, but somehow, Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino got away with doing almost exclusively R&B or turning their songs into R&B. Carrie Underwood did the same with country, except for the Heart song and one or two others that she was bad at. So why is Chris getting sledgehammered over the fact that he's singing only rock?

Now we have Ryan mentioning Simon's foray last week onto the talk show circuit, including Larry King on CNN and Howard Stern on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Ryan asks about Simon's prediction of the Final Three. REALLY FOLKS, Asking Simon for predictions like this is unfair to the audience. While its up to the people who vote NOT to be influenced by Simon, in a competition in which the telephone voters are supposed to decide who wins, I think JUDGES should be prohibited from making these predictions. Let America decide, the judges should critique the performances. It disturbs me that they are acting like shills for who they personally want to promote.

With that rant out of the way ........back to my recap.

Next comes .Kate Mcphee ( or as Ryan would say -- Mcpheever ). She who, Simon would like to be the next Kelly Clarkson, she whose voice sounds technically brilliant because her mom trained her for this and provided her with a first rate Boston Conservatory education.

Katharine McPhee CHOOSES Johnny Mercer's "Come Rain or Come Shine" by many great singers ( my personal fav is Billie Holiday's version ).
Kat ? Did you change stylist ? You don't look preggie tonight ! TOP FORM.

OK, Another classy, beautiful, sultry performance by Katharine but she just leaves me with a feeling of having heard this all before. She hit a few strident notes on top--she can sound shrill in her upper register--mama take note. But, still a controlled, nicely done performance. Katharine is at her best when she's singing in an old-school, cabaret style (and I don't use that word pejoratively the way Simon does). She's had two very good, but similar sounding performances in a row, and if she continues to play it safe, she runs the risk of becoming --- how shall I put it --- PREDICTABLE. Kat doesn't strike me as the female equivalent of Michael Buble, and this isn't the 1940's where she could audition to sing for Kay Kaiser or the Jimmy Dorsey band. I wish she would sing something other than mostly standards.

Here is the real problem with Kat. I don't know how to market her. Simon calls her current in her pre-Hollywood audition, but I can't seem to see it. Is she really POP or Theater ? Hey Kat, how about doing something different like Carrie Underwood did last season ? Sing us some Pat Benatar. Then maybe I'll ride on your love train. I'm still out on this one.

But don't get me wrong, YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL and I LOVE TO LOOK AT YOU. But heck, this is a singing competition. Let's show more versatility shall we ?

Ahhh Taylor. Thank heaven you're in this show. Every year I know I've found my favorite Idol contestant when I discover the one who's talented, quirky, unpredictable and at least a little bit dorky. This season it's Taylor Hicks for me. He comes in looking like George Clooney, Jay Leno and Steve Martin rolled into one in a white suit.

But when I heard his song choice --- BUDDY HOLLY ( the second time this evening ) NOT FADE AWAY , I CRINGED.

Look folks, I have been a Taylor Hicks fan from the moment someone lent me a copy of his IN YOUR TIME CD. I decided to listen to his UNDER THE RADAR CD online and I knew I was hearing a talented composer/singer/performer who deserves the wider fan base than he has now.

I have been following his rise to stardom since day 1 of this season. Therefore, you cannot call me a fair-weather fan. I KNOW what Taylor is capable of delivering. That is why last night’s performance left me hanging.

Let’s make an OBJECTIVE analysis.

There is a difference between a NOVELTY song that became a hit because of it’s pure novelty, and a TRUE HIT SONG that can be performed to show off what you are capable of doing.

Songs like — Tiny Tim’s TIP-TOE TO THE TULIPS, and HOCKY POCKY and DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY — belong to the NOVELTY type of hits IMHO.

And then there are the songs that you perform. Song like — GEORGIA, LIVING FOR THE CITY and so many others.

The problem with Taylor is he did not seem to distinguish between NOVELTY hits and performance songs.

Buddy Holly’s song NOT FADE AWAY is borderline novelty ( it was JUST THAT when it first came out ) with just a few chords, a repetitive melody that is VERRRRY DEPENDENT on instrumentals and background percussion. Your voice WILL get overshadowed by the instruments. The song was probably a better idea in theory, than in reality. The repetitive lyrics and melody, while hypnotic and seductive on record, are probably not the best for an Idol performance. There is little opportunity to showcase vocals and if not sung exceedingly well can lose the audience pretty quickly. The Rolling Stones and even the Grateful Dead covered this songs too. BUT NOTE --- THEY HAD INSTRUMENTALS and LENGTH OF TIME to perform. How the heck are you going to showcase this in a venue that limits you to 2 minutes ?

Don’t get me wrong, concerts and live performances MUST have their share of novelty songs. Heck, even the 3 Tenors add a few nods to popular novelty songs like SAMBA in their concerts.

But do you HONESTLY BELIEVE that you can do this in what is a SINGING COMPETITION where you only get ONE CHANCE to show what you can do ?

Face it — this isn’t happy hour or a bar peformance, Taylor. THIS IS THEME NIGHT WHERE YOU PERFORM ONCE A WEEK FOR 35 MILLION PEOPLE.

Put it this way — if a pre-drugged Whitney Houston were to come back today and perform before American Idol IN COMPETITION with other great singers, and instead of asking her to sing I HAVE NOTHING, you chose the song — Old MacDonald Had a Farm — for her to sing, what would that make her look like ?

I know, I know, this is an extreme example, but I hope you folks get my drift as to why even a great performer like Taylor has to choose his songs right. If this were his own concert, YES, he can sing this song.

But heck, he’s IN A COMPETITION FOR GOODNESS SAKE. He’s going to be compared with OTHER SINGERS. Singing a near novelty song like this with just 4 chords and a repetitive monotonic beat isn’t going to cut it.

IN REAL ESTATE, THE RULE IS — LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

SIMILARLY, IN A SONG COMPETITION, THE RULE IS — SONG CHOICE, SONG CHOICE, SONG CHOICE.

Note to Taylor : GET RID OF YOUR ADVISER.

Having gotten the negatives out of the way, let's give some praise where praise is due.....

I think Taylor's performance made the song. The dancing, the riffing with the saxophone player, and playing to the audience made the performance really entertaining. And I think Taylor's vocals were very good within the confines of the limited melody.

But I knew from the song choice alone that Taylor was setting himself up for a major Simon tongue lash ( I WAS RIGHT ). He said, "That was a mess...this isn't a party dancing competition" . Taylor's response was right on --- "Well, that's what the 50's were about man". Simon just is too dense to get it. The song didn't help either.

Taylor has GOT TO SLOW DOWN NEXT WEEK ( I'm sure his fans will pull him through ). We get yuor point Taylor, you are infectous, you can perform and you can excite the audience. NOW SHOW US YOUR SERIOUS SIDE. Give us GEORGIA ON MY MIND.

AHHH, My pretty 17 magazine cover girl is next.

Lisa Tucker chooses to sing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" by Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers - Poor Lisa. Really, you'd think this song--written from the point of view of a teenager, would be perfect for her. But, the key was too low, she had trouble staying on pitch, and was behind the beat throughout the song.

Didn't Barry Manilow tell her that she had to come roaring out of the gate vocally to do that song justice ? Did Lisa even listen to the Diana Ross cover or the original by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers? Her tone was too low and she took way too long before the required pitch kicked in.

Its really too bad, because I would really like to see her play electric guitar on the tour and hear her sing "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix ( well, she did say he's her fav right ?). Lisa seems to be losing confidence after being in the bottom 3 last week. No energy, no conviction, just mailing it in.

When Simon critiqued her--calling it "cutesy" and not a "wow performance," Lisa looked like she was going to cry.

I feel for her. She's young, pretty, poised and has a great voice. BUT NOTE --- she needs maturing and at this stage of the game, she is being overpowered by older singers. Personally, I just can't seem to connect with her. It's the Quentin Tarantino "glass wall" all over again.

She is in the bibble again. And she bore the brunt of Simon's rage after he and Paula got into a tiff over Taylor Hicks.

And who do we spy on the audience ? Jasmine "ALOHA KITTY" Trias, looking splendid without the flower in her hair.

Next comes the SURVIVOR himself -- the one most people predict will go next BUT NEVER DOES. He's like the kiddie version of the TERMINATOR. what does not kill him only makes him ...... come back to make us want to make fun of him more !!!

Kevin Covais decides on the classic -----> "When I Fall In Love" performed by many great singers ( my personal fav being Julio Iglesias' version ).
Barry unwittingly makes a lot of people laugh by telling Kevin to sing the song so softly that no one can hear it (HEH HEH )

The Chicken mangles it a little, a flat note here, a sharp note there. But in total, it is not a train wreck. You can't help but root for him to do well. In fact, within the Kevin Covais catalog, it might even be said to be one of his better ones. Good modulation, hitting all the right emotions too. Lisa is the better and more polished singer. But Kevin can teach her a thing or too about FEELING the song. I think he might have done enough to make the tour.

Paula and Randy love him, Simon of course softpedals the criticism in the hope he gets the boot tomorrow ( NOT IF the rabid VOTE FOR WORST movement can help it ).

This is the point where Simon shows his hypocrisy and declares this show to be a "Singing Competition."

Well Simon, let me remind you of what you said to Kellie Pickler last week in the wake of her less than stellar vocals. You tried to save your personal MINX by saying vocals did not matter. You're trying to have it one way for one contestant and another for unfavored ones.

I just found out from a Jewish colleague that the word YAMIN means RIGHT in Hebrew --- RIGHT ON !!

My favorite FAUN is back -- Elliott Yamin decides to sing -- "Teach me Tonight" by Frank Sinatra ( but he's going to do the Al Jarreau version that got him nominated for a Grammy ).

Now THAT is Very 50's be-bop tonight. Elliott, whose experience goes no further than local karaoke bars back in his hometown in Virginia, has the potential to be a great Jazz/soul singer. His video clip was interesting-- he first tells us tha he wasn't really a fan of Barry Manilow UNTIL he started workign with him and found what a great arranger he is.

IN FACT, watching him work with Barry it became clear that with some coaching, Elliott could really soar. He needs to send Barry a nice big THANk-YOU box of chocolates for helping him. Tonight we actually saw some of the PERFORMING side of Elliott. Mr Yamin meet Frankie Avalon. RICH, RICH TONE.

We need to get him to the studio right now folks. This guy can SUNG.

Will it garner enough votes for him ? Here's where things get to be IFFY. He doesn't have Ace Young's looks and LET's FACE IT. In a society that values style above substance, this is a major disadvantage.

LOOKIE HERE, it seems that the Season 4 alumni are back in force... WHO DO WE SEE NOW ??? The lovely and gracious ...Lindsey Cardinale in the audience! Really underrated singer from season 4.

Check out her MySpace, she's put up some music--very much in the vein of Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson--her Louisiana smokey vocals never sounded better.

BACK TO THE RECAP...

Now, my favorite Gherkin -- Kellie Pickler takes the stage. She chooses Patsy Cline's "Walking after Midnight" ( GREAT PICK ).

I can't believe Barry didn't know this song. He must have googled it on his laptop so he could tell Gherkin to act sad during the song. She didn't listen, but a lot of singers sing an upbeat version of this song, despite its meaning. I noticed when the great Patsy sang this that it has a very wide range ( up to 5 notes ), but I think it will be good for Gherkin because she has a good upper register. But let's face it folks -- Kellie is trying to win us via her PERSONALITY, not her vocals. You know--stick a camera in her face, while she does a bunch of dumb blond stuff every week that's supposed to be funny and endearing....

But let's be fair --- she did a pretty good job on Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight", even if she did vamp around the stage, babble on incomprehensibly after the performance, and look like several clue-less beauty contestants I've seen answering those inane question they throw at them. She could have injected a little more desperation into the performance, but it was a good mixture of vocals and personality.

Do you know why Simon is soft on Kellie ? I'll tell you why --- IT's MUCHO DINERO man. The evil, cunning Simon is looking for his very own Jessica Simpson to market to America and he's found his catch.

Did you notice how her mic actually went blank when she tried to respond to --- Ryan's question, which I believe was --- "DO YOUHAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE WITH US TONIGHT ?". I think the producers might have done that on purpose because I think it was out of the script and her mind might have gone BLANK there.

Paula kept calling Kellie a tigress..."you are a tigress tonight, a tigress...you are a tigress" . Hmmmm... A Tiger MINKS ? Now that's a nice title for her first album...

You notice that Ryan asked a 7 year old girl who her fav was and she unabashedly said -- ACE YOUNG !

Tells you a lot about who he's appealing to. BUT CAN THEY VOTE ?

Ace Young chooses "In the Still of the Night" by the Five Satins. Sheeesh, This song has been performed N times already. Both by male and female. Just goes to show how knowledgable these kids are regarding pop history. That song was No. 1 just about every year when New York's oldies WCBS-FM did its annual Top 500 greatest songs of all time.

OK folks, I'm not jealous of Ace Young. I want to look like him but more than that, I really want to like his singing, I really do. But alas and alack, every week he's just showing me that he is one of the weakest voices in this competition. NO POWER. BREATHY, LITTLE RANGE,

Here is where I disagree with Barry. Barry asked Ace to finish with his falsetto? Barry must hate America. It wasn't horrible, but I think Ace is essentially trying to make us remember his "Father Figure" almost every week.

Ace is going to make it to the top 10 simply because he's too PURTY not to make the idol tour. But after that, I'm not even sure if he can get pass Kevin Covais. Ace is more of the boy band type of singer. I'm not sure if he's ready to go solo.

MY RANKING FROM BEST TO WORST :

MANDISA
PARIS
KATE
ELLIOTT
CHRIS
TAYLOR
KELLIE
LISA
ACE
KEVIN
BUCKY

WHO SHOULD GO : KEVIN
WHO WILL GO : LISA

After 5 weeks on the show, I already have an inkling of who should make the top 6 :

IN no particular order ---- Mandisa, Kate, Paris, Taylor, Chris and Elliott

But since the world's not fair ( Simon in particular ), the top 6 will be :

Mandisa, Kate, Paris, Taylor, Chris and Kellie