Summary
"American Idol" - Top Seven Finalists Perform - April 14, 2009
Theme: Movie Songs
In the audience: Little Steven Van Zandt; Katie Couric; Quentin Tarantino who is tonight's mentor.
Video Package: We get an overview of Tarantino's career. He's an admittedly "avid" fan of the show. They show us the film music studio where he'll mentor the kids. He thinks it's a good group.
In a change-up tonight they only have two judges critique each performance in an effort- futile as it turns out- to come in on time. Also the band is onstage tonight.
Contestant #1: Allison Iraheta
Song: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Aerosmith (from "Armageddon")
Video: Quentin Tarantino elicits what he thinks is a great performance from Allison simply by sitting down and asking her to sing again. She felt like she was auditioning for one of his movies.
Performance: It's not her best performance, the low parts in the beginning are sort of breathy and the power bits are a little heaving. She puts her back into it though. The crowd loves it.
Paula: She says she has vocally championed Adam but Allison has the same special sauce. She rhapsodizes about her skills.
Simon: He says he thinks it was barbecue sauce Paula was referring to and says she's the girls' only hope in the competition and she's getting stronger and more confident.
Contestant #2: Anoop Desai
Song: "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)," Bryan Adams (from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves")
Video:Quentin wants him to dig deep and rough it up vocally and kill the audience with a big vocal.
Performance: He doesn't really take Q's advice, and goes with a pretty straightforward, earnest performance. He hits some rough notes ending the verse and going into the chorus but recovers.
Randy: He thought it was going to be rough but he thinks he's found the zone in the last couple of weeks and he's rocking the house and it was in tune and it had some emotion jumping off. He thought it was really good.
Kara: She agrees he's found his place in pop songs and adding his soul to it. Thinks it was one of his best vocals and she really felt connected to him.
Contestant #3: Adam Lambert
Song: "Born to Be Wild," Steppenwolf (from "Easy Rider")
Video: Q is excited to see what Adam is going to do for his funky arrangement this week. For some reason he only gets to see a little bit and remains excited about getting surprised. Q thinks he's the real deal.
Performance: He does a campy electro version of the song. Sort of a "bad boy" Scissor Sisters take of the tune. He attempts some headbanging. It ends in an incredibly silly, overwrought faux metal screamathon. Again, his technique, control, stage presence, and range are incredibly impressive but it's cartoony when he goes up into the new wave of British heavy metal/hair band shriek. He is super-likable though and has an adorable smile and laugh at the end.
Paula: Stands up and hoots and says he dares to dance in the path of greatness and that fortune rewards the brave and he's one of the bravest contestants she's ever witnessed.
Simon: He says vocally it was incredible but the downside was that it was a little like watching the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" musical in parts. Simon opines that it probably won't be as popular as last week since it will probably split the audience. He says he liked it but that last week was more original and current.
Contestant #4: Matt Giraud
Song: "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman," Bryan Adams ( from "Don Juan DeMarco")
Video: Q thinks it will be one of Matt's top 3 performances. Matt loves the song. Q tells him to not lose the enunciation of the lyrics.
Performance: Matt sits at the piano and sings it all sing-song and earnestly to begin. Then the band and strings kick in. There are a few pitch issues but he does seem really in the moment. He gets a little choppy in the bridge and his falsetto falters a bit. He ends nicely though with a trilling falsetto.
Randy: Thinks it started cool but hit a rough patch at the bridge for him. He thinks that you shouldn't do "all that stuff" with a really simple melody. Doesn't think it was one of his best performances.
Kara: She calls it the struggle - rock vs. soul - and she appreciates that he tried to soul it up but in doing so he took away some of the core melodies.
Contestant #5: Danny Gokey
Song: "Endless Love," Lionel Richie/Diana Ross (from "Endless Love")
Video: Danny loves this song. Q wants him to keep the hand gestures to the minimum so the power of his emotion can come out of his eyes and not dissipate out of his fingers.
Performance: He's using hand gestures right away and he hits a very odd note near the beginning. He recovers from that and it's a typically fine vocal performance but he can't stop his hands to save his life. Also, no glasses tonight.
Paula: She was worried about the key at the beginning but thinks he pulled it together in the middle and that it was beautiful.
Simon: Can't fault the way he sang the song but is disappointed by the boring arrangement. Having said that he thinks the song clearly means a lot to Danny personally - given the subject matter and the death of his wife- so he congratulates him for that.
Contestant #6: Kris Allen
Song: "Falling Slowly," Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova (from "Once")
Video: Thinks he lived up to the spirit of the competition the most because he picked a song from a movie that meant something to him. Q suggests playing an instrument... or not.
Performance: He decides against playing and is a little shaky to begin with since sustain is not his strong suit in his low register. The female backing vocalist comes in and outshines him. He's clearly connected to the song emotionally and it gets stronger as it builds and he hits a lovely falsetto note. The second half of this might be my favorite performance of his yet.
Randy: It never quite caught on for him even though he loves the song. For him it was pitchy from note one.
Kara: She thought it was a risk to pick an obscure song but she thought it was one of his best moments ever.
Contestant #7: Lil Rounds
Song: "The Rose," Bette Midler (from "The Rose")
Video: Q's a big fan of Lil's and was thrilled to meet her. He likes how she switches in the middle from a more straightforward cover to a gospelized version.
Performance: She looks great. You know what that means. It starts okay but then it goes all over the place, flat, sharp, occasionally in tune. It's messy especially after the switch. It was like she couldn't hear herself. I'm also beginning to think her nerves get the better of her.
Paula: She compliments the song and paraphrases the lyrics, saying the road is long. She essentially says nothing.
Simon: Thinks she's getting it completely wrong: the song was too soft and middle-of-the-road. It had some nice moments but was not right for her and she is not the artist that they met 7 or 8 weeks ago. Lil tries to talk back saying that they tell her to be an artist and when she heard the song she thought it was beautiful and tried to add her own R&B spin to it. Simon responds that it was a Bette Midler song. She says that she knows Bette Midler is not an artist you'd picture Lil singing but that she put an R&B feel to it. Paula tells her to not be afraid to say what she feels.
Bottom Three prediction: Matt, Lil, and Anoop
Directed : Unknown
Written : Unknown
Stars : Simon Cowell Mark Thompson Ryan Seacrest Randy Jackson
Genres : Music Documentary Game-Show Reality-TV
Release date : Apr 13, 2009
Countries of origin : United States
Official sites : ABC American Idol
Language : English
Filming locations : Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, USA
Production companies : Fremantle FremantleMedia 19 Television
Summary
"American Idol" - Top Seven Finalists Perform - April 14, 2009
Theme: Movie Songs
In the audience: Little Steven Van Zandt; Katie Couric; Quentin Tarantino who is tonight's mentor.
Video Package: We get an overview of Tarantino's career. He's an admittedly "avid" fan of the show. They show us the film music studio where he'll mentor the kids. He thinks it's a good group.
In a change-up tonight they only have two judges critique each performance in an effort- futile as it turns out- to come in on time. Also the band is onstage tonight.
Contestant #1: Allison Iraheta
Song: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Aerosmith (from "Armageddon")
Video: Quentin Tarantino elicits what he thinks is a great performance from Allison simply by sitting down and asking her to sing again. She felt like she was auditioning for one of his movies.
Performance: It's not her best performance, the low parts in the beginning are sort of breathy and the power bits are a little heaving. She puts her back into it though. The crowd loves it.
Paula: She says she has vocally championed Adam but Allison has the same special sauce. She rhapsodizes about her skills.
Simon: He says he thinks it was barbecue sauce Paula was referring to and says she's the girls' only hope in the competition and she's getting stronger and more confident.
Contestant #2: Anoop Desai
Song: "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)," Bryan Adams (from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves")
Video:Quentin wants him to dig deep and rough it up vocally and kill the audience with a big vocal.
Performance: He doesn't really take Q's advice, and goes with a pretty straightforward, earnest performance. He hits some rough notes ending the verse and going into the chorus but recovers.
Randy: He thought it was going to be rough but he thinks he's found the zone in the last couple of weeks and he's rocking the house and it was in tune and it had some emotion jumping off. He thought it was really good.
Kara: She agrees he's found his place in pop songs and adding his soul to it. Thinks it was one of his best vocals and she really felt connected to him.
Contestant #3: Adam Lambert
Song: "Born to Be Wild," Steppenwolf (from "Easy Rider")
Video: Q is excited to see what Adam is going to do for his funky arrangement this week. For some reason he only gets to see a little bit and remains excited about getting surprised. Q thinks he's the real deal.
Performance: He does a campy electro version of the song. Sort of a "bad boy" Scissor Sisters take of the tune. He attempts some headbanging. It ends in an incredibly silly, overwrought faux metal screamathon. Again, his technique, control, stage presence, and range are incredibly impressive but it's cartoony when he goes up into the new wave of British heavy metal/hair band shriek. He is super-likable though and has an adorable smile and laugh at the end.
Paula: Stands up and hoots and says he dares to dance in the path of greatness and that fortune rewards the brave and he's one of the bravest contestants she's ever witnessed.
Simon: He says vocally it was incredible but the downside was that it was a little like watching the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" musical in parts. Simon opines that it probably won't be as popular as last week since it will probably split the audience. He says he liked it but that last week was more original and current.
Contestant #4: Matt Giraud
Song: "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman," Bryan Adams ( from "Don Juan DeMarco")
Video: Q thinks it will be one of Matt's top 3 performances. Matt loves the song. Q tells him to not lose the enunciation of the lyrics.
Performance: Matt sits at the piano and sings it all sing-song and earnestly to begin. Then the band and strings kick in. There are a few pitch issues but he does seem really in the moment. He gets a little choppy in the bridge and his falsetto falters a bit. He ends nicely though with a trilling falsetto.
Randy: Thinks it started cool but hit a rough patch at the bridge for him. He thinks that you shouldn't do "all that stuff" with a really simple melody. Doesn't think it was one of his best performances.
Kara: She calls it the struggle - rock vs. soul - and she appreciates that he tried to soul it up but in doing so he took away some of the core melodies.
Contestant #5: Danny Gokey
Song: "Endless Love," Lionel Richie/Diana Ross (from "Endless Love")
Video: Danny loves this song. Q wants him to keep the hand gestures to the minimum so the power of his emotion can come out of his eyes and not dissipate out of his fingers.
Performance: He's using hand gestures right away and he hits a very odd note near the beginning. He recovers from that and it's a typically fine vocal performance but he can't stop his hands to save his life. Also, no glasses tonight.
Paula: She was worried about the key at the beginning but thinks he pulled it together in the middle and that it was beautiful.
Simon: Can't fault the way he sang the song but is disappointed by the boring arrangement. Having said that he thinks the song clearly means a lot to Danny personally - given the subject matter and the death of his wife- so he congratulates him for that.
Contestant #6: Kris Allen
Song: "Falling Slowly," Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova (from "Once")
Video: Thinks he lived up to the spirit of the competition the most because he picked a song from a movie that meant something to him. Q suggests playing an instrument... or not.
Performance: He decides against playing and is a little shaky to begin with since sustain is not his strong suit in his low register. The female backing vocalist comes in and outshines him. He's clearly connected to the song emotionally and it gets stronger as it builds and he hits a lovely falsetto note. The second half of this might be my favorite performance of his yet.
Randy: It never quite caught on for him even though he loves the song. For him it was pitchy from note one.
Kara: She thought it was a risk to pick an obscure song but she thought it was one of his best moments ever.
Contestant #7: Lil Rounds
Song: "The Rose," Bette Midler (from "The Rose")
Video: Q's a big fan of Lil's and was thrilled to meet her. He likes how she switches in the middle from a more straightforward cover to a gospelized version.
Performance: She looks great. You know what that means. It starts okay but then it goes all over the place, flat, sharp, occasionally in tune. It's messy especially after the switch. It was like she couldn't hear herself. I'm also beginning to think her nerves get the better of her.
Paula: She compliments the song and paraphrases the lyrics, saying the road is long. She essentially says nothing.
Simon: Thinks she's getting it completely wrong: the song was too soft and middle-of-the-road. It had some nice moments but was not right for her and she is not the artist that they met 7 or 8 weeks ago. Lil tries to talk back saying that they tell her to be an artist and when she heard the song she thought it was beautiful and tried to add her own R&B spin to it. Simon responds that it was a Bette Midler song. She says that she knows Bette Midler is not an artist you'd picture Lil singing but that she put an R&B feel to it. Paula tells her to not be afraid to say what she feels.
Bottom Three prediction: Matt, Lil, and Anoop
Genres : Music Documentary Game-Show Reality-TV
Release date : Apr 13, 2009
Countries of origin : United States
Official sites : ABC American Idol
Language : English
Filming locations : Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, USA
Production companies : Fremantle FremantleMedia 19 Television
