May 8: How Deep Is Your Love?
American Idol 6, May 8: How Deep Is Your Love? by Betsy Wasser -- 05/09/2007 Remember way back in Hollywood week when Blake Lewis’s group did that amazing rendition of “How Deep Is Your Love?” Now Blake and the other contenders for the crown will ask that question of the audience. Who can inspire love deep enough to make the final three? Welcome to another week of American Idol! We’re down to the top four, with three women and just one guy. Ryan implores us, as always, to vote for our favorites. He quickly introduces the judges. Each contestant will sing two songs tonight, all courtesy of Barry Gibb. We see a quick bio of Barry Gibb, including his many hits with the Bee Gees. He has also worked as a song writer and producer with Diana Ross, Celine Dion, and Barbra Streissand. Barry harmonizes on “How Deep Is Your Love” with the top four, and they sound great. Barry says he’s worked with women a lot, so he was happy with the three women in the group. He suggests that the four of them form a group together. It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard! Barry says it’s a huge compliment to hear other people sing his songs. Melinda begins. She’ll do “Love You Inside and Out.” Barry isn’t sure how she’ll do with the falsetto. She explains that her goal is to make this song, written for a group, work for an individual. Barry says she pulls it off. Melinda’s vocals are, as always, impeccable. She brings a real soulful vibe to the song – it sounds almost more gospel than disco. She is also becoming a better performer every week, infusing each song with passion and confidence. A great start. Randy: He’s looking tonight to see who’s in it to win it. It was a solid performance, but not exciting. Paula: It’s hard to critique her because her vocals are always spot-on. She’s looking for something that will make them say wow – maybe styling? Maybe song choice? Simon: He thinks Paula wasn’t that impressed. He expects incredible, and this was more of a backing vocalist’s performance. She’s better than that, and he looks forward to her next song. Ryan asks Paula if that was really what she was saying. Paula says that it’s a good thing she’s short and succinct, or they’d go over every night. Note that she doesn’t say that Simon had it wrong. Blake Lewis chose “You Should Be Dancing.” Barry says it’s a dance anthem. Blake enthuses that it’s been an amazing week, a cool chance to meet one of the pioneers of dance music. Barry thinks Blake’s beat boxing really suits the song. He says Blake’s the only one who could do it. I think it would be really hard for a guy to sing a Bee Gees song, because Barry’s falsetto was so fierce. Blake manages to handle the high notes just fine. His beat boxing and other vocalizations come across as really cool. In the middle, he totally works it out with some vocal scratching. The song sounds modern again, and the performance is a lot of fun. Randy: Sometimes the beat boxing works, but tonight it didn’t. He thought it was corny. Randy compares it to a “weird discotech in some foreign country.” Hey, Randy’s stealing Simon’s lines! Paula: Paula thinks it started shaky and that his pitch was off. His beat boxing showed true musicianship. He proved that he’s unique. Simon: He agrees with unique, but he hated it. The music cuts off Simon yet again. Simon looks cranky. LaKisha has chosen “Stayin’ Alive,” which Barry says is a tough song to sing. He says that it’s hard for a girl to sing a song that was originally done by a guy in falsetto. Barry sings it for her, and she loves it. He likes the slower version she’s going to do. LaKisha full on struts onto the stage and proceeds to completely work out the song. Can she nail the money note? Well, in the first pass, she lets it drop and the backup singers handle it. Hopefully she’s saving it for the end. The arrangement of this song is really unique and it suits LaKisha. But where was that money note? We’ve heard LaKisha sing for weeks now, and I’d think she could do it. I’m disappointed. It’s like when you’re watching figure skating, hoping the athlete will go for the triple. You know they’ve nailed it in rehearsals, so you’re ready to see something amazing. But they play it safe and just do a double. That’s kind of what LaKisha did here. Randy: He’s glad she has two songs. He doesn’t think she should have changed up the melody - she tried to do too much. Paula: The audience was on their feet. Simon jokes that they were heading for the exits. Paula says that’s not what she was saying, but that the slower tempo brought the mood down. Simon: “No kiss tonight, baby.” He thinks she was shouting and that she was “verging on scary in parts.” He tells her to bring it back on the second song. Ryan notes that Simon is “not the kind that calls back after a first date.” Jordin is ready for her boring question. What has she learned about herself? Jordin says she can handle a lot more than she thought she could. It’s a lot of work, plus she has to work in three hours of school. She says her grades are good. She’s singing “To Love Somebody.” Barry says it’s hard to imagine a woman singing it, but when he hears Jordin, she’s impressed. Jordin says that she was determined to show the feeling she got from it. Barry thinks that although lots of people have done the song, he hasn’t heard a greater version than Jordin’s. Jordin does a great job, but I guess the opinions of the judges are infecting me. It’s good, but it’s not amazing. There’s no wow in this performance, and we all know Jordin’s capable of a wow. Maybe because the competition is so stiff at this point, we really have high expectations. Randy: It was the best vocal of the night. He compares her to Mariah and Aretha. He says that so far, she’s winning. Paula: She looks beautiful, and no doubt, it was the best vocal. Simon: Simon agrees. “We’re back in the competition.” Melinda has the next question, and it’s actually an interesting one. What was the first tape or CD she ever bought. She is slightly embarrassed to admit it was Michael Jackson’s Bad, though her mom renamed it Good. Melinda is going to sing “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” Melinda admits that she took the word “loser” out of the song. She doesn’t want to curse herself, and I don’t blame her one bit, especially after Phil got shot down in a blaze of glory and Gina had to smile, though her heart was breaking. Once again, Melinda sounds really good. You know what the problem is? Melinda has set the bar really high for herself. Every week, she clears it. And although that’s certainly not a bad thing, it’s also not really exciting. Like, maybe she should move the bar somewhere else. Or run backwards to get to it. It’s possible I’ve taken this metaphor too far. Anyway, at the end, though, she turns it out, adding a whole new layer of passion to the song. I wish we’d seen that the whole way through. Randy: Much better, with a beautiful ending. Paula: Beautiful vocal, a throwback to Stephanie Mills. But vocals isn’t all it takes to be a great performer. Paula’d love her to throw away her technique and just surprise them. Simon: The second half of the song put her into the semifinals. Blake’s second song is “This Is Where I Came In.” Barry is shocked by that. Blake says he picked it because it was a lesser known song. He says he wanted to do something contemporary with it. Barry says that his band thought it could be a hit, but they were wrong! Maybe Blake can do it. This is hard to judge, because I think there’s a reason this song wasn’t a hit. There’s just nothing that exciting about it. I think it was a real mistake for him to choose it. Not good. Randy: It was better than the last one, but he’s not that excited. He says Blake doesn’t have to beat box every time. I say that’s not really fair, since Blake went for weeks without the beat box. Paula: “But if he can, he can.” Blake is the “contemporary rebel.” She doesn’t know the song, but she liked his performance. Simon: The song was “completely tuneless” and he doesn’t know why Blake picked it. He thinks Blake had a rough night. It was a weird choice of song. Blake looks really nervous as Ryan reads his numbers. There’s some silliness with Judge Judy that I’m not going to bother to recap. LaKisha is going to do “Run To Me” because she thinks it’s a beautiful ballad. Barry says the key changes twice in the song, which is a real challenge. He tells her she has an amazing range. He thinks she’ll rise it. This was much more a typical LaKisha performance than the first one. The girl can do ballads, that’s for sure. She belts the chorus like I was hoping she’d do in “Stayin’ Alive.” Her voice broke at the end, but it kind of worked with the song. Randy: He notes that her voice broke, but that it was otherwise good. Paula: She shouldn’t beat herself up about that note. She’s a champ. Simon: Better than the first, but still not great. She and Blake are vulnerable. I agree with Simon. Jordin is ready to close the show, with “A Woman In Love.” It’s gutsy to do Barbra. Barry says her version is different than the original, but it’s subject to different interpretations. He tells her she can choose how to sing her high notes – intense or gentle. He thinks she’s going to be a great recording artist. Jordin is full-on diva in this performance, and she sounds excellent. I can see why they put her last, though this probably isn’t as good as her first song. Randy: It wasn’t her best performance, and it was pitchy. It was a tough song to sing. Paula: She’s beautiful, but it wasn’t the best. She loves Jordin anyway. Simon: It was old-fashioned and pageant-y. She’s 17, and Simon thinks she should sing younger. Ryan races through Jordin’s numbers. Well, at least we didn’t waste any time with Judge Judy. This week really didn’t wow me. I think that all four of them are aware of the talent of their competitors. There is no easy cannon fodder left, so they may be a little scared and playing it safe. Here’s how I’d rank them: Jordin Melinda LaKisha Blake I think Blake had the hardest time this week, and he’s a lot more vulnerable than I imagined he’d be. That said, I think that LaKisha will be singing us out tomorrow night, thus giving her the potentially ironic song of “Stayin’ Alive.” Blake’s uniqueness will save him. Am I right?
American Idol 6, May 8: How Deep Is Your Love? by Betsy Wasser -- 05/09/2007 Remember way back in Hollywood week when Blake Lewis’s group did that amazing rendition of “How Deep Is Your Love?” Now Blake and the other contenders for the crown will ask that question of the audience. Who can inspire love deep enough to make the final three? Welcome to another week of American Idol! We’re down to the top four, with three women and just one guy. Ryan implores us, as always, to vote for our favorites. He quickly introduces the judges. Each contestant will sing two songs tonight, all courtesy of Barry Gibb. We see a quick bio of Barry Gibb, including his many hits with the Bee Gees. He has also worked as a song writer and producer with Diana Ross, Celine Dion, and Barbra Streissand. Barry harmonizes on “How Deep Is Your Love” with the top four, and they sound great. Barry says he’s worked with women a lot, so he was happy with the three women in the group. He suggests that the four of them form a group together. It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard! Barry says it’s a huge compliment to hear other people sing his songs. Melinda begins. She’ll do “Love You Inside and Out.” Barry isn’t sure how she’ll do with the falsetto. She explains that her goal is to make this song, written for a group, work for an individual. Barry says she pulls it off. Melinda’s vocals are, as always, impeccable. She brings a real soulful vibe to the song – it sounds almost more gospel than disco. She is also becoming a better performer every week, infusing each song with passion and confidence. A great start. Randy: He’s looking tonight to see who’s in it to win it. It was a solid performance, but not exciting. Paula: It’s hard to critique her because her vocals are always spot-on. She’s looking for something that will make them say wow – maybe styling? Maybe song choice? Simon: He thinks Paula wasn’t that impressed. He expects incredible, and this was more of a backing vocalist’s performance. She’s better than that, and he looks forward to her next song. Ryan asks Paula if that was really what she was saying. Paula says that it’s a good thing she’s short and succinct, or they’d go over every night. Note that she doesn’t say that Simon had it wrong. Blake Lewis chose “You Should Be Dancing.” Barry says it’s a dance anthem. Blake enthuses that it’s been an amazing week, a cool chance to meet one of the pioneers of dance music. Barry thinks Blake’s beat boxing really suits the song. He says Blake’s the only one who could do it. I think it would be really hard for a guy to sing a Bee Gees song, because Barry’s falsetto was so fierce. Blake manages to handle the high notes just fine. His beat boxing and other vocalizations come across as really cool. In the middle, he totally works it out with some vocal scratching. The song sounds modern again, and the performance is a lot of fun. Randy: Sometimes the beat boxing works, but tonight it didn’t. He thought it was corny. Randy compares it to a “weird discotech in some foreign country.” Hey, Randy’s stealing Simon’s lines! Paula: Paula thinks it started shaky and that his pitch was off. His beat boxing showed true musicianship. He proved that he’s unique. Simon: He agrees with unique, but he hated it. The music cuts off Simon yet again. Simon looks cranky. LaKisha has chosen “Stayin’ Alive,” which Barry says is a tough song to sing. He says that it’s hard for a girl to sing a song that was originally done by a guy in falsetto. Barry sings it for her, and she loves it. He likes the slower version she’s going to do. LaKisha full on struts onto the stage and proceeds to completely work out the song. Can she nail the money note? Well, in the first pass, she lets it drop and the backup singers handle it. Hopefully she’s saving it for the end. The arrangement of this song is really unique and it suits LaKisha. But where was that money note? We’ve heard LaKisha sing for weeks now, and I’d think she could do it. I’m disappointed. It’s like when you’re watching figure skating, hoping the athlete will go for the triple. You know they’ve nailed it in rehearsals, so you’re ready to see something amazing. But they play it safe and just do a double. That’s kind of what LaKisha did here. Randy: He’s glad she has two songs. He doesn’t think she should have changed up the melody - she tried to do too much. Paula: The audience was on their feet. Simon jokes that they were heading for the exits. Paula says that’s not what she was saying, but that the slower tempo brought the mood down. Simon: “No kiss tonight, baby.” He thinks she was shouting and that she was “verging on scary in parts.” He tells her to bring it back on the second song. Ryan notes that Simon is “not the kind that calls back after a first date.” Jordin is ready for her boring question. What has she learned about herself? Jordin says she can handle a lot more than she thought she could. It’s a lot of work, plus she has to work in three hours of school. She says her grades are good. She’s singing “To Love Somebody.” Barry says it’s hard to imagine a woman singing it, but when he hears Jordin, she’s impressed. Jordin says that she was determined to show the feeling she got from it. Barry thinks that although lots of people have done the song, he hasn’t heard a greater version than Jordin’s. Jordin does a great job, but I guess the opinions of the judges are infecting me. It’s good, but it’s not amazing. There’s no wow in this performance, and we all know Jordin’s capable of a wow. Maybe because the competition is so stiff at this point, we really have high expectations. Randy: It was the best vocal of the night. He compares her to Mariah and Aretha. He says that so far, she’s winning. Paula: She looks beautiful, and no doubt, it was the best vocal. Simon: Simon agrees. “We’re back in the competition.” Melinda has the next question, and it’s actually an interesting one. What was the first tape or CD she ever bought. She is slightly embarrassed to admit it was Michael Jackson’s Bad, though her mom renamed it Good. Melinda is going to sing “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” Melinda admits that she took the word “loser” out of the song. She doesn’t want to curse herself, and I don’t blame her one bit, especially after Phil got shot down in a blaze of glory and Gina had to smile, though her heart was breaking. Once again, Melinda sounds really good. You know what the problem is? Melinda has set the bar really high for herself. Every week, she clears it. And although that’s certainly not a bad thing, it’s also not really exciting. Like, maybe she should move the bar somewhere else. Or run backwards to get to it. It’s possible I’ve taken this metaphor too far. Anyway, at the end, though, she turns it out, adding a whole new layer of passion to the song. I wish we’d seen that the whole way through. Randy: Much better, with a beautiful ending. Paula: Beautiful vocal, a throwback to Stephanie Mills. But vocals isn’t all it takes to be a great performer. Paula’d love her to throw away her technique and just surprise them. Simon: The second half of the song put her into the semifinals. Blake’s second song is “This Is Where I Came In.” Barry is shocked by that. Blake says he picked it because it was a lesser known song. He says he wanted to do something contemporary with it. Barry says that his band thought it could be a hit, but they were wrong! Maybe Blake can do it. This is hard to judge, because I think there’s a reason this song wasn’t a hit. There’s just nothing that exciting about it. I think it was a real mistake for him to choose it. Not good. Randy: It was better than the last one, but he’s not that excited. He says Blake doesn’t have to beat box every time. I say that’s not really fair, since Blake went for weeks without the beat box. Paula: “But if he can, he can.” Blake is the “contemporary rebel.” She doesn’t know the song, but she liked his performance. Simon: The song was “completely tuneless” and he doesn’t know why Blake picked it. He thinks Blake had a rough night. It was a weird choice of song. Blake looks really nervous as Ryan reads his numbers. There’s some silliness with Judge Judy that I’m not going to bother to recap. LaKisha is going to do “Run To Me” because she thinks it’s a beautiful ballad. Barry says the key changes twice in the song, which is a real challenge. He tells her she has an amazing range. He thinks she’ll rise it. This was much more a typical LaKisha performance than the first one. The girl can do ballads, that’s for sure. She belts the chorus like I was hoping she’d do in “Stayin’ Alive.” Her voice broke at the end, but it kind of worked with the song. Randy: He notes that her voice broke, but that it was otherwise good. Paula: She shouldn’t beat herself up about that note. She’s a champ. Simon: Better than the first, but still not great. She and Blake are vulnerable. I agree with Simon. Jordin is ready to close the show, with “A Woman In Love.” It’s gutsy to do Barbra. Barry says her version is different than the original, but it’s subject to different interpretations. He tells her she can choose how to sing her high notes – intense or gentle. He thinks she’s going to be a great recording artist. Jordin is full-on diva in this performance, and she sounds excellent. I can see why they put her last, though this probably isn’t as good as her first song. Randy: It wasn’t her best performance, and it was pitchy. It was a tough song to sing. Paula: She’s beautiful, but it wasn’t the best. She loves Jordin anyway. Simon: It was old-fashioned and pageant-y. She’s 17, and Simon thinks she should sing younger. Ryan races through Jordin’s numbers. Well, at least we didn’t waste any time with Judge Judy. This week really didn’t wow me. I think that all four of them are aware of the talent of their competitors. There is no easy cannon fodder left, so they may be a little scared and playing it safe. Here’s how I’d rank them: Jordin Melinda LaKisha Blake I think Blake had the hardest time this week, and he’s a lot more vulnerable than I imagined he’d be. That said, I think that LaKisha will be singing us out tomorrow night, thus giving her the potentially ironic song of “Stayin’ Alive.” Blake’s uniqueness will save him. Am I right?