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It's Bon Jovi night on American Idol, and I'm sure the flatiron will get more work than it even did when Sanjaya was still around. (Can you imagine if JBJ and Sanjaya had been in the same room? The hair products required to support that meeting could have stocked an entire season of Shear Genius!)
Anyway, host Ryan Seacrest shares the total raised for charity from last week's \"Idol Gives Back\" -- almost $70 million. Then, a montage reintroduces us to Bon Jovi. (You know them: They're wanted, dead or alive. Etc.) So the contestants met with Jon Bon Jovi and his keyboardist, David Bryan. Jon tells them his kids love the show and that the contestants need to make the songs their own, advice they might have heard before.
Phil Stacey is opening with \"Blaze of Glory.\" Which is not a good goodbye song, if he goes home tomorrow. (\"I'm goin' down in a blaze of gloreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ...\") Phil starts the song in the middle of the audience, and they audience members look like they don't know quite what to do with the cameras that close. He really seems to be hitting his stride. It's pretty late in the competition for that, but it's working for him. Randy Jackson says other than country week, this is his best performance yet. Paula says it's the best opening he's had all season long. Simon says, \"I thought it was OK ... I didn't hear any authenticity, and I thought in the middle, you were like a bad actor playing a role.\" He adds that he thinks he's out next week.
Jordin Sparks is going to sing \"Livin' on a Prayer.\" But first Ryan is talking from the audience, where Gina Glocksen (who would have loved this theme week) is there. Jordin makes a lot of friends, telling Jon that her mom is going to freak, but her mom \"was raised on Bon Jovi.\" It's still adorable, but doesn't make Jon feel all that young, I'm sure. She rocks out (with some giant hair working, too), but some of the low parts are uncharacteristically rough. But she performs the heck out of it nonetheless. Randy says it was interesting, and that rock was tough for her, he could tell. He adds that the big notes were good, but that the verses were \"rough.\" (So I'm not the only one.) He says he could tell she knew she wasn't quite getting it on that first low note. Paula says she went for it and gives her credit. Simon says (\"Give it to me,\" says Jordin), \"Cue the boos ... The look was like something out of The Addams Family. The singing was out of control.\"
LaKisha Jones takes a viewer question about what training she's had. She says none, other than church. Ryan asks if she's going to \"take it to church tonight.\" She says she's \"going to give it a little sumthin' sumthin'.\" In her intro, she says she's never heard Bon Jovi's music before, but she's seen him on Oprah. She's going to sing \"This Ain't a Love Song.\" Jon says he's not a betting man, but he would bet money on her not going home this week. I really wish they would ditch the background singers because they just muddle things for me. About the last third of the song, she switches back into the diva mode we saw when she sang \"And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going.\" Which is a good thing. Randy: \"LaKisha is back this week.\" He says she was singing it to Simon, to prove herself to him. He says she started a little rough, but by the middle of the song, she sold it and \"blew it out the box.\" Paula says her lower tones are the money in her pocket. Simon: \"LaKisha, I actually could kiss you after that.\" Ryan walks her over to him, and he gives her a peck. \"You were so good, and I love the fact ...\" then the music cuts him off. He gets to add, \"You rose to the challenge, you absolutely nailed it.\" And he says that he loves her lips. Which takes it to creepy-ville. Nice job, Simon.
No longer blond, Blake Lewis is next. He's going to sing \"You Give Love a Bad Name.\" Jon tells him it is an \"adventurous rendition.\" This could be horrendous or awesome. Jon: \"Sixteen measures of him not singing on a show that's about singing. ... It makes me wonder.\" He starts out mimicking a record player, and the song starts, and it's all slowed down with occasional breaks. He goes big in the chorus, though. Then he beatboxes and alternates with the drummer for a while, then scats, then sings the chorus big again. As much as everyone is going to fixate on the parts where he wasn't singing, his voice actually sounds much, much stronger than it has in weeks. I think the gamble was worth it. Randy gives him the award for most original version of a song ever on the show. He says he took a leap of faith and won. Paula says it was the \"biggest leap of faith,\" which she might have heard somewhere recently. She says it was hot. Simon's mom was rocking in the audience. Simon says half the audience will hate it, and half will love it and that it was the right thing to do: \"This is what's going to keep you in the competition next week.\"
Chris Richardson is next with a viewer question about what he tells himself before he goes out on stage. He says to have fun, man. He's going to sing \"Wanted Dead or Alive.\" He's shown totally blowing the words in front of Jon Bovi Jovi. Jon tells him to \"find the blue note\" in the song. He sounds like Chris trying to sound like Bon Jovi. Which is actually way better than his usual \"nasally is a type of singing\" mode. Randy says he put a little R&B twist on it and it was good. Paula says it's a great night. Simon: \"I think you did as much as you possibly could with the song.\"
Melinda Doolittle is closing the show yet again. She tells Jon she is so bad at rock. She's going to sing \"Have a Nice Day.\" He tells her to \"testify ... it's church.\" She says she likes church, so she's going for it. As uncomfortable as she purported to be beforehand, as usual, she rocks it on the stage. Literally this time. Randy says he doesn't know if it was her best, but it was still good. Paula says that from the first note, they knew the game was on. Simon says it \"was like a young Tina Turner ... and vocally, it was in another league.\"
Lastly, President Bush and Laura Bush appear in a clip thanking people for their donations.
A lot of people stepped it up tonight, so it's hard to say who might be out tomorrow. Don't forget that it will be two, with tonight's votes combined with last week's. With as many votes as were cast last week, I wonder whether this week's performances will actually have as much of an impact. I'm going to predict Chris is out, even though he did better than I expected last night. What do you think?
May 1, 2007, 9:57 PM |
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发表于 2007-5-3 08:20:48