Let me say just this about Adam Lambert as a mentor: he was a great choice, made for the wrong reasons. Idol doesn’t choose its mentors because they think they’ll be good, they choose them for promotional value (for both the show, and the artist). The fact that Adam had a lot of valuable things to say meant that the producers were lucky, not smart. In the context of who has been chosen to mentor in the past, he is absolutely a suspect choice that reeks of Idol still trying to push him as the guy-who-should-have-won.
That said, frankly, this is what they should always have been looking for in a mentor: someone who is not necessarily the biggest name but who has been in the trenches and who is unafraid to give actual advice, which has been the downfall of most mentors to date. Worrying more about how you’re going to look should not outweigh mentorship duties. It would make a more interesting show.
This is what I’m talking about when I say that I enjoy reality shows that show process as much as product. I’m talking about things like Top Chef or Project Runway, where we get to see how the contestants arrive at what they present us with. That’s what I’m looking for out of these mentorship segments—a glimpse into the artistic process, not a celebrity getting a few more minutes of exposure.
Also, when I heard Adam say the word “authentic” I truly wondered if he’d been given a script of the catchphrases of Season Nine.
On with the show, where we get to hear the top nine (again) take on Elvis.
Andrew Garcia, “Hound Dog”
Adam straight up calls him boring in the mentor session, but Andrew doesn’t do anything to fix this. I think he just doesn’t know how.
I wouldn’t say this is Andrew’s worst performance, but it was definitely the worst of the night. When it’s suggested that you make your performance more exciting, you don’t slow it down and add some faux swagger. That just makes it awkward. Vocally, he’s always been average, and when he doesn’t bring anything like innovation or musicality to the table, that lands him at the bottom.
Aaron Kelly, “Blue Suede Shoes”
What a strange, awkward choice of song for him. Vocally he’s flat almost all the way through, and his stage presence is…awkward. I actually kind of like the way he swings it in the middle, but overall…no. Sorry. (And maybe it’s just me, but when they show Adam in the audience he looks more like he’s grimacing than smiling.)
Katie Stevens, “Baby What Do You Want Me to Do”
Vocally this is actually pretty good, as long as I’m not actually watching it. When I’m watching it, it all just seems so overwrought. Maybe my second favourite vocal out of her (though when I’m talking about Katie, favourite might not be the word I’m looking for). This likely isn’t going to send her home, especially since the judges liked it.
Michael Lynche, “In the Ghetto”
Adam tells him to be more theatrical, and I want to just reach through the television and grab his collar and say, “Do not tell him to be more theatrical, Adam! You do not know what you are unleashing.” Adam hears him say “theatrical” and obviously thinks it means the same thing it meant when they said it to him. It doesn’t.
The performance, though, is actually restrained and heartfelt. Vocally I think it’s really good, and I wasn’t uncomfortable watching it, which I don’t say about Big Mike often. However he came about choosing it, it felt like the right choice for him tonight.
Siobhan Magnus, “Suspicious Minds”
Adam tells her to give it some more rhythm, which actually does seem to improve the performance in rehearsal but it doesn’t seem to make it onto the stage. I love her voice (always), and I think she’s such an interesting performer and person, but I want to see more energy on this song. It does get going after a while, but overall it was something of a disappointment. The judges were pretty harsh, but Adam looked like he genuinely enjoyed the performance, at least.
Tim Urban, “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
I know, right? Tim Urban this high again? Tim Urban above Siobhan? Maybe he was just fooling us all in the first few rounds, seeing how long he could get by on just a pretty smile and a good attitude. (The answer is: way further than you’d think.)
Adam encourages him to use his falsetto, advice which Tim wisely does not follow, much to the entire viewing public’s relief. I know Adam hasn’t had time to watch the show, but someone should play Apologize for him one of these days. And Tim’s performance is…good. Once again it’s a clever and not demanding song choice, and he doesn’t try to do anything with it that’s outside of his abilities. But the simple arrangement isn’t just good for Tim, it’s also good for the song.
Casey James, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”
Adam just said “climax” to Casey. The show is now complete. Okay, yeah, I’m shallow as fuck sometimes.
My feed cuts up all over the place on this one, but what I did hear, I enjoyed. It seemed fairly ordinary, though. It was a typical Casey performance, not at the level of last week. A typical Casey performance, however, is usually my cuppa, so that’s fine with me.
Crystal Bowersox, “Saved”
I really like Crystal when she digs into gospel-inspired stuff, and I like that she went with upbeat tonight. It was nice to start out with something with so much personality, and I thought she was really engaging and had a lot of energy. Something was slightly off for me, though, and she got a little shouty at times. So maybe not one of my favourite Crystal performances, but still a strong performance compared to her competition.
The bedazzled guitar banter after her performance seemed like kind of a pandering moment to me, but it was cute.
Lee DeWyze, “A Little Less Conversation”
Adam’s advice to him was that he needed to perform, that you need to do more on stage than you do in the studio, which is what people have been saying all along and which is advice that Lee really needs to hear. Thankfully, he listens, and while performance-wise he still has some growth to do, tonight Lee took a giant step forward. The song choice and arrangement were both great, and he pretty much owned it.
After last week, Lee really, really needed to do that.
Also on American Idol tonight: Ryan makes an inappropriate Brian Dunkleman joke (seriously, do most people watching even remember who he is anymore?) and an even more inappropriate blowjob joke in front of Adam Lambert’s mother. That about sums up the show.
Assuming they’re going to do a bottom three this time, I’m calling Andrew, Aaron and Siobhan. I don’t want Siobhan in the bottom three and don’t think she deserves it, but I have a feeling. She’s not going anywhere, though. Andrew’s going first, then Aaron. If they end up with an extra person in the bottom, on account of knocking two of them out, I’m calling Katie.