AI4 recap, Finalists x 11 (03/22)

Nothing much from last week. Did get some ideas of whom Vonzell looks like, but I’ll get to them when I get to her in the recap. B Gwyn wonders why they brought back Nikko and not Amanda. My thoughts are that since Mario opted out, they wanted a guy to make it and even 6 and 6 again. They said that he had the second lowest votes (Travis had the lowest among the guys). Amanda, I think, had the second lowest among the girls. Bryan is such a pharma guy. He argued that you can’t compare the votes that Nikko got on his night to those that Amanda got on her night. He called it analogous to those who compare across clinical trials. If it’s not a head-to-head study, you simply cannot make a comparison. Some of you pharma people will appreciate that. BUT, I don’t think that Amanda was even an option because of their insistence of keeping it 6 guys and 6 girls in the final 12. Hear me now and believe me later, I would’ve rather seen Amanda back in the competition, as would a number of guys out there.

01 – Anthony Fedorov, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (Aretha Franklin with George Michael)
Anthony comes out in an homage to Ryan Seacrest: t-shirt and blazer. Nothing like sucking up to the host. What is this that I’ve heard about George Michael? They did a documentary on him so that he could tell his story, then he’s going to retire into oblivion? Thanks George. Skip the movie and just go. Your Wham! days are over. Although I did like that “Freedom” video when they shot it in China. And what was up with his butt? Remember those SNL skits with the guy focusing on his butt? Ladies, help me out on this one. Was his butt that nice? And George Michael is such a common name. Same name guy also does “The Sports Machine,” a highlights show usually shown on Sunday nights. He would set up a clip with some meaningless banter then push some oversized button to start the clip. In the day and age of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS and ESPN U, “The Sports Machine” is really antiquated. Back to Anthony. Good voice, nice kid. A little goofy. I won’t be heartbroken when he’s out. It may be this week. I think he’s vulnerable every week from here in. Randy said it was a good song choice and he had fun with it. Said “he’s back.” Paula said he came back strong (I guess that means he sucked last week?). Simon called it an okay performance and said it was a sexy routine that didn’t work. He likened it to Randy appearing on Baywatch. But Randy may have been on Baywatch. Didn’t they have an episode where they had to get a beached whale back to sea?

02 – Carrie Underwood, Alone (Heart)
I love me some Carrie Underwood. Kudos to the make over department. Carrie came out with big hair, like she stuck her finger in the light socket. Reminiscent of the Heatmeister in Rudolph’s Shiny New Year. She turned a new leaf and didn’t look so wholesome anymore. I’m not complaining. Carrie looked the part tonight, especially for singing the Ann & Nancy Wilson, Heart song. You know, I looked up Heart’s Greatest Hits and they all sound the same. “What About Love.” “Never.” “These Dreams.” “Alone.” They all sound the same. Carrie is a little large, but definitely in charge. But what bugs me about her is that after every performance, Seacrest is always touching her, in a dirty old man sort of way. Randy said “WOW” and called it one of her best performances and that she finally came alive. Paula said that she took a risk doing the Heart song, but did it well. Simon called her the favorite to win it all and predicted that she will sell more records than any other previous American Idol. I voted for Carrie tonight.

03 – Scott Savol, Against All Odds (Phil Collins)
Jessica sang this song the first week of the competition. Scott came out with his baseball cap cocked off center and threw if off at a strategically placed part in the song. Had the smoke tinted glasses on and tossed them aside at another juncture. All of this was for effect, which sort of bugs me, but not to the extent that it did last year when George Huff flung things into the crowd. It was a bad decision to ditch the glasses because then we had to look at his cold blooded killer eyes for the last part of the song. Regardless, I still think Scott’s got a sweet voice and I hope he stays around. Randy said he worked it out. Paula said he’s getting better week after week. Simon said it was good that it was only a 3 minute song or else it may have been a total striptease. He said it was a good performance, but the vocals were not fantastic. I disagree with that. Scott was good and consistent again tonight. The problem is, consistent may not be good enough for him pretty soon in the competition. I think he’s also on the fence every night from here on out.

04 – Bo Bice, Time In A Bottle (Jim Croce)
Bo was really subdued with this song choice tonight. Started out by sitting on the stage. He did get up throughout the song though, which was better than last year when Fantasia did her whole Summertime thing sprawled across the floor (which totally bugged me and still does to this day. I need to put that behind me. I really do.). Bo’s ending of the song was kinda weak. I know it’s a ballad, but usually you’re supposed to end your songs with a bang and not a whimper. I think I’m just being picky. I thought Bo was good tonight and I think that he’ll be in the Final Four, if not win it all. I’ll just never vote for him. He wore a black shirt with an almost Aloha print on it. It was like Reyn Spooner meets Ted Baker. Pretty cool look though. Randy called it subdued, but showed his range and his sensitive side. Paula called him a gift to the 60 million people watching. Simon said that when he watches him, it’s like he’s not even a part of the competition, which is a compliment. I agree with Simon. First off, the dude looks like he’s 40. And he’s very accomplished. He’s growing on me and I don’t wish him ill will. He’s definitely safe and should go deep into the competition.

05 – Nikko Smith, Incomplete (Sisqo)
I gotta tell you, I’m really not familiar with this song. Isn’t this the guy who sang the “Thong Song?” So Nikko loses points in my book for singing a song (no matter how good a song it is) from someone who also sang a song about thongs. And this wasn’t a song about the ones that go on your feet. Nikko’s style is impeccable. He always wears black. Tonight a black suit, with a black fedora and he added a black overcoat tonight. Silver tie, but mostly all black. I thought it was good, but not great. Better than last week when he only had a few days to prepare since he got called back mid week. Randy said the real Nikko Smith showed up. I have no idea what he meant by that. Paula called it brilliant and it showcased his beautiful voice. It’s (I think I used “it’s” correctly that time. Its my wife’s pet peeve that I don’t use the apostrophe correctly all the time. And yes, I left it out on purpose in that last sentence) funny, but I got a call from Sarah Royalty about Nikko’s performance, which is funny in itself because she lives in Chicago now and sees the show live, three hours before most of us do out on the West coast. But she was so compelled to call me because of how Paula reacted during Nikko’s performance. Did anyone else notice how, when they panned the crowd, Paula was going nuts, standing up and cheering, but NO ONE else was? Since she tipped me on it, I saw it and had a nice chuckle. Poor Sarah used to text message me during the performances in year’s past but now has to call and speak in generalities, so as to not upset my tape-delayed viewing. That reminds me of the first season when Kelly Clarkson won. We were watching at my in-law’s house and my sister-in-law went on the Net to check e-mail or get a recipe or something and the start up page was MSN or Yahoo or something that gave headline stories. She didn’t realize what she was reading when she blurted out “Kelly Clarkson is the new American Idol.” It’s funny because they were like 5 minutes from announcing it PST. We were like, thanks Kor. Although I was happy with the result. Justin bugs the heck out of me. I think I need to let that go too. Simon said that this was, give or take a few notes, by far his best performance. I like Nikko, but he’s not in the top four. He may be on the fence every night now too. Especially since he may not have a strong fan base, evidenced by the fact that he was eliminated once already…

06 – Vonzell Solomon, Best of My Love (The Emotions)
Okay, I got a Mary J. Blige from Adele. Mary J. is too harsh looking for Vonzell. Although I loved Mary J.’s first album (What’s The 411?). “Reminisce.” “Real Love.” “You Remind Me.” “Sweet Thing.” I also got an Iman crossed with Grace Jones from June. Interesting, but neither is as cute as Vonzell. Finally, I came up with who she reminds me of. Gabrielle Union. Although Gabrielle has a rounder face. You may know her from “Bring It On” or “Deliver Us From Eva” or “Bad Boys II.” Local girl from Pleasanton. Went to Nebraska (she was born in Omaha), transferred to Cuesta College (down in San Luis Obispo) and ended up at UCLA. Is married to former NFL player Chris Howard. Is a big fan of New Edition. See what you can learn from bios on IMDB.com (the Internet Movie DataBase)? Vonzell came out in a pink tank and grey capri pants (TAP marketing, please work on getting black or teal pants next time). She worked the stage pretty well. Fun song for her. Randy said Vonzell’s back. Paula said her vocals really came out. Simon said that this will be the first time in the competition that people will remember her. Funny how that coincides with the fact that I finally put a finger on whom I think she looks like. I hope Vonzell stays longer.

07 – Constantine Maroulis, I Think I Love You (The Partridge Family)
This was really a #1 song? Does it really count if it’s a make believe group that sings it? Did the Brady Bunch hit #1 with “It’s A Sunshine Day?” Or “We Can Make the World A Whole Lot Brighter?” Or that classic “Time to Change” when Peter’s voice is cracking? I actually owned this CD at some point in my life. Don’t think this won’t show up as a White Elephant gift this Christmas… Constantine “rocked” this song up quite a bit. I just think that the competition can only support one rocker and that one is Bo. Constantine will hang around for awhile, but there is no way he should win this thing. He’s like Joshua Gracin from a few years ago. I think he lasted longer than he should’ve, but I’m glad that he didn’t win it all. Randy called it and interesting song choice, but he went over the top with it. Paula said he has the best sense of showmanship of the group and says he probably has an amazing female fan base. Simon said it was like ordering a guard dog for your home and getting a poodle with a leather jacket. Translation: don’t rock up the Partridge Family. Constantine can leave at any time for all I’m concerned.

08 – Nadia Turner, Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)
I was looking forward to her singing this after she introduced it. I loved Cyndi Lauper, but not for “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” and “She Bop.” By the way, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” was a classic ‘80s movie. Did you realize that Helen Hunt, Jonathan Silverman and Shannen Doherty were also in that movie (of course, SJP was the main character). Cyndi Lauper was great with the ballads. “All Through the Night.” “True Colors.” “I Drove All Night.” “Change of Heart.” “Time After Time” was great too, but then Nadia went and butchered it. Nadia came out with a mohawk. Yes, a mohawk, like that guy in “Say Anything” that Lloyd and Diane drive home after the graduation party because he’s too drunk to drive and can’t remember where he lives. It was a SERIOUS ‘80s look. If Samuel L. Jackson saw her in “Pulp Fiction,” he’d say, “what’s up, Flock of Seagulls?” June said that all she needed was a Bob Mackie dress and she would’ve duplicated Cher’s appearance at the Oscars. Nadia had fun with the song. Started on the podium behind the judges, but she just didn’t pull it off. I don’t know if I was expecting to hear Cyndi’s unique voice with the song, but Nadia was not good tonight. She’s one of my 2 favorite girls, but I think that she may be in jeopardy tomorrow night. In past years, at this point in the competition (11 left) that performance would’ve been okay because there were still people who were worse. But the competition is so good now that one bad song choice or off night may get you booted. I’m hoping that she makes it through to redeem herself. Randy called her a star on that stage all the time (which means it wasn’t good, but he didn’t want to kill her). Paula said she rocked it, but she was not a fan of her song choice. Simon called it an over the top cruise ship cabaret performance and it was her weakest song by a mile. I agree. I cross my fingers that she makes it through.

09 – Mikalah Gordon, Love Will Lead You Back (Taylor Dayne)
How can she pick this song? Last week I professed my sincere adoration of Taylor Dayne and now Mikalah “sings” one of her songs. Is there anything more wrong than that? Mikalah was brutal tonight. Her hair was nice. That’s about the only thing nice I can say about her. She had some peacock feather thing around her neck that looked like a mask that you’d wear to a masquerade ball. If she’s not gone tomorrow night, I’ll be disappointed. Randy said he missed the young, fun Mikalah and that she was pitchy. Paula said earlier that she sounded like a young Taylor Dayne and wanted her to be careful to not try to emulate her. Simon called it complete and utter mess. That was putting it lightly. But you’re probably asking yourself, “how does Jason REALLY feel about Mikalah?”

10 – Anwar Robinson, Ain’t Nobody (Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan)
Good performance, but not great. Sounded like the music was louder than his voice. He, too, used the riser behind the judges. I think it would’ve been funny if he sang a Milli Vanilli song, like “Blame It On the Rain” or “Girl You Know It’s True.” Did they ever have a #1 Billboard hit? And if they did, did they have to give their #1 spot to the #2 after the whole lip-syncing scandal went down? That’s like Mike Greenwell asking for his MVP trophy now that Jose Canseco admitted he won the award with the “help” of steroids. Randy called it another ambitious song choice (which means he didn’t like it), but he always brings it home well. Paula called it an incredible job. Simon called his performance inconsistent and risky to take on a song like that. I voted for Anwar tonight, partly because he’s my favorite to win it all.

11- Jessica Sierra, Total Eclipse of the Heard (Bonnie Tyler)
How great was this song in the ‘80s? How many times does she say “turn around” in this song? About 20 times. If you really listen to the lyrics of this song, they are powerful. I’d say that Bonnie Tyler was a one-hit wonder, but she did have “Holding Out For A Hero” that graced the “Footloose” soundtrack. Don’t get me started on “Footloose.” We just saw that movie on cable the other day. Believe me, you either love the movie or you hate it with a passion. Personally, I love the movie. It was hokey, yes. It took itself WAY too serious, I know that. But you can’t deny the fact that Kevin Bacon was in it. And the splendiferous soundtrack. Kenny Loggins (Footloose and I’m Free), Denise Williams (Let’s Hear It For The Boy), Ann Wilson/Mike Reno (Almost Paradise), Bonnie Tyler (Holding Out For A Hero, played during the Tractor Chicken scene), Shalamar (Dancing In The Sheets). And for the 15th anniversary soundtrack, they added Foreigner (Waiting For A Girl Like You), John Cougar Mellancamp (Hurts So Good) and Quiet Riot (Bang Your Head). Saw this production at the Chicago Theater. Just love it. I was worried when Jessica sang this because Bonnie Tyler has such a distinctive voice and Jessica really didn’t change it much, but the judges liked it. She wore a very interesting top tonight. See thru on the lower half. Kinda Diana DiGarmo-ish, which is not a good look. By the way, Jessica reminds me of “Miami” a character in ESPN’s original series “Tilt” about poker. Randy called it a brilliant performance. Paula said she closed the show right on top. Simon said that everyone has been saying the guys are dominating but Jessica and Carrie outsang everyone tonight. I concur. I voted for Jessica tonight.

Overall, it was a good night (except for Mikalah). If she does get ousted tomorrow, the competition then turns serious because everyone is good and somewhat Idol-worthy. Some are more worthy than others, but assuming Mikalah is gone tomorrow, every cut will be hard after her.