“Some Idol Contestants Clash With Their Mentors” by Guy Aoki

Wednesday, April 13.  In the past, “Idol” singers usually listened to the advice Interscope Records chairman Jimmy Iovine gave them on song selection and approach.  But tonight, more of those vying for the crown decided to follow their own gut instincts, and it paid off.  The theme this week was hits featured in motion pictures which made for some real stretches.  Apparently, the “Idol” producers like Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am so much that he’s once again serving as a mentor alongside Iovine.

1.  Paul McDonald:  “That Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll”/Bob Seger.  Iovine suggested McDonald add a beatbox section in the middle, but Will.i.am wisely reminded him of the song’s lyrics celebrating rock and said such an idea would run counter to that pride.  The singer’s first few words were bad from the get go.  When he asserted that “Today’s music ain’t got the same soul,” I felt the same way about Idol contestants like him and the quality of their voices.  This was McDonald’s second upbeat song in a row which helped hide his vocal shortcomings. 

     Jennifer Lopez felt he kept getting better as a performer and that he “killed it again.”  Randy Jackson declared, “America, you just witnessed the first number at the Paul McDonald concert!”

2.   Lauren Alaina:  “The Climb”/Miley Cyrus.  If I didn’t already know the title of this song, I certainly would never have known it from the way this southerner mumbled it.  Iovine told Alaina she was a better singer than Cyrus, which embarrassed her.  It’s hard to keep remembering this contestant’s just 16 years old because her face and size make her look like she’s 40.  She did all right except she didn’t quite make “the climb” vocally on the first chorus, taking a bit too long to get there.  Nevertheless, Lopez said it was “beautifully done.”  Jackson felt she made the song sound as if it was written for her.  Steven Tyler said “I love what you bring to a song, and I love more what a song brings to you.”  Huh? 

3.  Stefano Langone:  “End of the Road”/Boyz II Men.  Will.i.am said the singer, who was in the bottom two last week, had to shake the feeling of “I’m next” or he wouldn’t do well tonight.  Iovine told him, “I’m always giving you a hard time because I believe you can win!”  Liar.  If he was that great a vocalist to begin with, you wouldn’t have such trouble with him.  Langone has one of the weakest voices amongst those remaining in the competition, and he’s the last of the judges’ wild card choices to survive (he should never have been put in the Top 13; his spot should’ve gone to Clint Jun Gamboa).  Still, he sang the song just fine.

     Jackson asserted that the original lead vocalist of that hit--Wanya (pronounced Wan-YE as he corrected me--shaking his head--in my interview with him and the group in 1995; stupid me:  I should’ve known it’d be pronounced that way!) Morris--was going to text him that he “just slayed the song” declaring it “your best vocal on this stage to date!”  Lopez revealed that a few weeks ago when Langone was in the bottom three, she’d given him advice:  “You gotta stop singing to stay; you gotta start singing to win.  You looked at me, and I knew you could do it.  And you did it.  You did it tonight!  That was (I think she said “the shit!” because the sound cut out).” 

4.  Scotty McCreery:  “Cross My Heart”/George Strait.  Our country boy initially tried doing Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin’” but settled on something safer.  He’s making us believe he doesn’t have much of a vocal range (OK, he did go for a high note toward the end but still…) Isn’t it time the judges give the “boy who can do no wrong” the “it’s time to stop being safe and quit doing the same old thing?”  Guess not.  Apparently, Lopez read criticism that the judges are too easy on the contestants because she explained that it’s hard to be tough when they give such great performances.  At least she admitted it wasn’t the greatest song choice.  Jackson, displaying hypocrisy once again (he kept telling Thia Megia and Pia Toscano to stop singing ballads all the time), asserted his supposed motto in life: “If it ain’t broke, don’t you even consider fixing it!”  Somewhere, our two former contestants just flipped a bird at the television screen. 

 

5.  Casey Abrams:  “Nature Boy”/Nat King Cole.  Redbeard wanted to go with this classic but Iovine said it was too quiet.  Abrams tried his second choice--“In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins--but wasn’t feeling it, so he decided to stick with his original choice.  Iovine told the camera that at this point, the contestants should take the advice of their mentors.  “And Casey chose not to.  So he better be right!”  Woah!  Abrams sang it quietly (going off key a couple of times) playing his upright bass accompanied by a pianist.  They even took a 15 second break just to let the instruments seep in with the singer only scatting over them.

     Steven Tyler started the standing ovation, which was quickly followed by Lopez and Jackson.  Lopez admits she was worried at the beginning but she loves that contestants are performing in so many different styles.  “You don’t have to be a pop star.  You can be Norah Jones” and still sell millions of records and win Grammys.  Jackson said he was happy that they have “real true artists” on the show and he could see Abrams making a jazz album.  “The world cannot live on pop stars alone!”  Tyler said his Mom sang that song to him way back when and the singer made it sound cool again.  He pointed out that Abrams defied Iovine and that he was a true artist for it.

     Conclusion:  Though we don’t know how Abrams would’ve sounded doing the Phil Collins hit, it’s such a sparse song that there’s not much you can do with it vocally.  He probably made the better choice. 

6.   Haley Reinhart:  “Call Me”/Blondie.  She started off on a rough note and once again seemed to be playing “dress up” adding her growl as opposed to it flowing naturally out of her as her normal voice.  She did some high stepping across the stage but it still seemed insincere until she did some cute cooing in the middle that gave it some personality.  Jackson felt it sounded like karaoke in the beginning.  Tyler agreed but still felt she did a good job and liked her (short) dress.  Yuck!  Lopez sided with Jackson though worried she was influencing the public to once again vote off another female when Reinhart was one of only two left.  Still, she felt the singer hadn’t maintained the level of her last two performances. 

7.  Jacon Lusk:  “Bridge Over Troubled Water”/Simon and Garfunkel.  I appreciated the fact that Iovine chastised my “favorite” singer for saying last week that if the audience didn’t like his performance of “Man in the Mirror” that they weren’t in touch with their own feelings:  “Don’t preach to people.”  Lusk thought he’d either do “The Impossible Dream” or “You’ll Never Walk Alone” but Iovine dismissed both as too corny.  He suggested the Simon and Garfunkel classic which was featured in “The Pursuit of Happyness.”  Isn’t that a stretch?  A song which hit #1 in 1970 and was included in a film 36 years later is “a movie song?”  I disagree with the record executive.  Lusk’s choices were rather good ones with very inspirational lyrics.  Jerry Lewis has kept the latter alive all these years as his closer for the Muscular Dystrophy Telethons and I tear up with him every time I hear him try to finish it without crying.

     Anyway, in the taped package, Lusk humbly said, “I hope America likes it.”  No “and if they don’t it’s because they don’t really have hearts?!”  OK, he’s learning.  He screwed up the line “When evening falls so hard.”  It sounded like “when here and fall so hard.”  Ay sos madia!  Otherwise, he did it OK.  I just can’t stand his wooly voice.  It’s not that I can’t appreciate gospel influenced performers; I love Gladys Knight and some of the Staple Singers (“Let’s Do It Again”) stuff.  Lusk is like most of the younger generation of singers who don’t know when to turn off that shakiness in their voices—or can’t.

     As usual, the judges fell over themselves praising him.  Tyler said he sounded “angelic” and that he loved “your crenscendos (sic).”  Jackson said he believed every word he sang. 

8.   James Durbin:  “Heavy Metal”/Sammy Hagar.  Iovine hated this choice saying it didn’t have a great hook.  Durbin argued it’s hard to hear it when it’s played on the piano (during rehearsal).  Iovine seemed taken aback, as if this punk kid was questioning his experience and expertise:  “You think I’m an accident?  I heard a song before it was on the piano and knew it was a hit—somebody just hummed it.”  Still, Durbin--like Abrams--decided to go against Iovine’s advice giving a confident performance where he even sang on top of the judges’ table and shook their hands.   Yes, the hook wasn’t that strong, but the overall performance won over the crowd, and it was the best of the night.  Lopez asked, “Who woulda ever thought that on ‘American Idol’ we would have metal?!”  Why not?  Jackson felt he was at Durbin’s concert  adding, “I’m happy you stuck to your guns.” 

     The case of Abrams and Durbin--and to a lesser extent Lusk (since he went along with Iovine’s advice instead of going with this gut)--illustrates the kind of tension that often exists between recording artists and record company executives who mean well but often assert too much of themselves into the creative process and sometimes wind up forcing performers to make albums they hate or which fail to connect with the public.  On the other hand, there are hundreds of stories of brass forcing artists to record songs they hated which resulted in big hits.  Some examples:  “Do You Know The Way To San Jose” and “Heartbreaker” for Dionne Warwick, “Knock Three Times” and “Tie A Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree” for Tony Orlando and Dawn, “Can’t Smile Without You” for Barry Manilow, and “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” for Steven Tyler’s band Aerosmith.

     Again, predicting the bottom three for tonight is difficult because the contestants are more consistent this year than in the past, but I’m going with Stefano Langone (because he’s been in the bottom three twice even when he sang well the last time he was put there), Haley Reinhart (the only across-the-board disappointment from the judges and she’s also been in the bottom three twice before) and Jacob Lusk (I don’t think the voters have forgotten his arrogant statement from last week).  Going home:  Stefano Langone (he was in the bottom three more recently than Reinhart).

     Check in here tomorrow night after we learn the results and see performances by Rihanna (ugh!) and the original winner of “American Idol” Kelly Clarkson.