AI4 recap, Semi-Finalists, Gals x 10 (03/01)

Missed the first half again. Jared, our son, is great, but he still doesn’t completely grasp the concept that he needs to be sound asleep by 8:00 on Tuesday nights for Daddy to watch AI uninterrupted. He’s working on it though.

01 – Aloha Mischeaux, You Don’t Know My Name (Alicia Keys)
I don’t really know Alicia Keys’ songs all that well, but I do know that she’s pretty hot and also sings songs that are hard to 1) imitate and 2) even harder to rearrange to make it your own. I did catch her duet with Jamie Foxx at the Grammy’s though. As talented as Alicia Keys is, Jamie Foxx can hold his own. I did hear that he was trained in music in college. He’s a very talented comedian. Got his start on “In Living Color.” Didn’t go much for a few years, then played some cool roles. Like Willie Beamen in “Any Given Sunday.” Drew rave reviews for his portrayal of Bundini Brown, Muhammad Ali’s spiritual advisor in “Ali.” Of course, you’ve all heard of his Oscar (and Golden Globe) winning performance of Ray Charles in “Ray.” He also gave a nice little performance in “Shade,” an overlooked con movie about poker with a decent cast (Sylvester Stallone, Gabriel Byrne, Melanie Griffith, Stuart Townsend, Thandie Newton). Brother-in-law grabbed that for me for a stocking stuffer. DVD has some cool card tricks on it. And I love to play Hold ‘Em. I just wish I was a better player… Back to Aloha. Came out in a pink shawl and pink flower in her hair. That’s her thing, kinda like Jasmine from last year. But somehow I don’t think they have community centers rented out with telephones set up for “volunteers” to come down to vote for her all night in St Louis like they did for Jazzy in Honolulu last year. Aloha seems fun, but I’m really not digging her yet. Randy said it was not her best performance. She was pitchy and all over the place (fallout from picking an Alicia Keys song). Paula said it was a tough song to pick. Simon said the song gave her no chance to show her originality and that she seemed “affected.” I hate that word and the way the judges use it. First off, the kids have no idea what it means. Heck, I don’t really even know what they mean. There was that kid in the auditions who was turned down, but his singing coach made it that they called “affected.” And last year there was a girl in the auditions that Paula called “affected.” Oh well, Aloha was not good tonight. Will Aloha mean goodbye? We’ll see tomorrow night.

02 – Lindsey Cardinale
I have no idea what song she sang, let alone the artist whose song it was. It was a fun song. The AI website now lists the songs that the contestants sing. But not until the day after they sing them. So I can tell you “after the recap” what was sung, but then it really doesn’t matter at that point. Lindsey is a pretty girl, but this song had no range (I think that I can say that) and was limiting vocally. But I think that she needed this song to make her feel good about herself in the competition, because she did not do well last week. She wore jeans and a top that kinda made her look pregnant, but not DeGarmo-like. Randy said it was good and better than last week. Paula wants her to stretch herself a little and show off that low, sexy voice, but was glad she picked an up tempo song. Simon didn’t like the song and said that he didn’t even remember what she sang last week, which is a bad thing. He thinks she can be better than she was and is in danger of not being noticed, which will eventually get her voted off the show. I voted for Lindsey tonight because, given the rest of the performances tonight, she was in the top 5. Plus, she said her hometown of Ponchatoula, LA is known for their strawberries, as my hometown of Watsonville is. We’re kindred spirits in that respect. For those of you who thought Watsonville was the “Artichoke Capital of the World,” that distinction goes to CASTROVILLE, not Watsonville.

03 – Jessica Sierra, With A Broken Wing? (some country singer)
Again, another unidentifiable song for me. In her intro, she said that she was definitely a country girl and would like to live on a farm. Maybe she can swap places with Carrie Underwood. Jessica’s outfit was um, interesting. It looked like she was wearing blue drapes, cut down to be a blouse. And white pants. She looked like she should be in the Color Guard. I really liked her performance though. Randy liked her big voice and said that she did a lot better than last week (which is funny because I liked her performance last week). Paula said that she was glad that she did her own version of that song (I can’t believe that she didn’t say “you made it your own”). Simon called it the best vocal performance of the competition for the girls so far. I guess he liked it. I voted for Jessica tonight. I’m really not a C&W fan, but she was pretty good. And if she gets voted off soon, she may still be able to make USA’s Country Star show…

04 – Mikalah Gordon
I don’t know what song she sang, but she sang it very well. She totally toned it down tonight. Although my cousin Stacy called her an annoying version of Minnie Driver. I don’t know what to think of Minnie Driver. The first time I saw her was in “Circle of Friends” with Chris O’Donnell, when she had to gain a bunch of weight to play the part. She was cool in “Grosse Point Blank” and even dated Matt Damon (or was it Tom Brady? Has anyone ever seen them in the same room?) during “Good Will Hunting.” It seems as though she lost the weight from the first movie, but not in the face. She’s got a big face. Like Rocky Dennis in “Mask.” Back to Mikalah. Real cool performance. Sophisticated. Dressed nice. I think she really took Simon’s comments from last week to heart and re-did her image. It worked tonight. Randy gave her mad props, especially to attack a song like that. Paula called her subdued and she nailed it. Simon called it a joy to watch and listen to and it was not a bit annoying. I voted for her tonight. We’ll see how she bounces back next week. Does she keep it toned down or revert back to the borderline annoying teenager?

05 – Celena Rae, When the Lights Go Down? (Faith Hill?)
Not really that familiar with this song, but I’m guessing this was the title because she sang those words like 20 times. It was like George Harrison’s “I Got My Mind Set On You.” Celena came out with some bad earrings that looked like hair extensions, but dangling from her ears. And I thought she was screaming at times. Randy called it okay and a’ight, but not great. Paula said she didn’t click with the song. Simon said there’s a fine line between being a pop star and singing in a hotel and that the performance was of the latter. I agree. I’ve never connected with Celena either. She looks like someone. Kinda Jennifer Love Hewitt, but not really. Remember when FOX was going to have the “Summer of Love” when they spun her off “Party of Five” with “Time of Your Life” where she was trying to look for her biological father? She was ready to make it big, then faded away. She had “Can’t Hardly Wait” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” but then really nothing. I just saw a “Celebrity Poker Showdown” and Lacey Chabert (Claudia from PO5) was playing and it’s hard to believe, but she’s grown into a looker that’s even better looking than Love. The funny part is that Lacey played Hewitt’s part in “Not Another Teen Movie” which was a parody of numerous movies. Or does Celena look like a younger Sigourney Weaver? Or a younger Lesley Ann Warren? Any way you slice it, Celena should not be in the final 6.

06 – Nadia Turner
Um, didn’t know this song either. I don’t think Nadia and I have the same songs in our iPods (I mean, if I had an iPod). She still went with the fun white tank top and red skirt. But she looked like she had WWF (well, WWE now since the World Wildlife Fund sued and made them change to the World Wrestling Entertainment) boots on. Did an okay performance, but it was not as good as last week’s. Randy said that she uses what she’s got (translation?) and doesn’t have the best voice (which she probably disagrees with) but can perform. Paula credited her for taking risks. Simon said it was a strange song choice, almost as if she was forced to sing that song and made the best of it. He went on to say it made her sound older and cabaret. I did not vote for Nadia tonight, but think she’s safe tomorrow night.

07 – Amanda Avila, Turn the Beat Around (Vickie Sue Robinson)
This was the song that Carmen Rasmussen from season 2 sang. You know the girl that had all the zits on her face that looked like a constellation? It was a very upbeat song, but I had trouble hearing her vocals at times. I liked it, but then again, I can’t help but to think of Phoebe Cates (as Linda Barrett) in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” when I see her. Randy said the song showed her range. Paula said she raised her game and picked the right song. Simon said that it’s so loud in the studio that he couldn’t hear if she was in tune all song, but overall the performance was good. I voted for Phoe, er, Amanda tonight. Shocker.

08 – Janay Castine
I have no idea what this song was and I don’t want to embarrass myself by taking a stab at it. This was just a bad song choice by a girl who is in over her head. She came out in a tie dye half shirt and put on a club performance that really was not good at all. And I think she has colored contacts in. I’m really not a fan of colored contacts. Randy really gave it to her and said, flat out, that it was not very good. Paula said it wasn’t bad, but disconnected. Simon said she’s not experienced enough of a singer to be in the competition. She should be gone tomorrow night. I will be shocked and disappointed if she is not.

09 – Carrie Underwood, Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin)
Carrie has accepted the “Farm Girl” label with open arms. Why run from the truth? I thought she was a bit stiff in her on stage performance, but thought the vocals were good. I wasn’t down with the denim on denim look though. She needs a makeover to get her a bit more mainstream in her fashion. It was funny, after her performance, Seacrest put his arm around her and she hugged back and it took him by surprise. Was he surprised because he actually had female contact? Then I thought about it and thought it was a bit creepy, since she’s only 21. The judges didn’t really go for the performance. Randy said it was hard to emulate Janis. Paula said it was not her favorite performance. Simon said it was reminiscent of a cover band. But he’s torn because they really like her. I thought she was good tonight and I think she’ll make it through and hope that she can do even better next week. I voted for her.

10 – Vonzell Solomon, A Woman’s Worth? (Alicia Keys)
Was that the song? All of Alicia Keys’ songs sound the same to me. Alicia Keys is becoming the Whitney Houston of this season. Girls keep choosing the songs, failing to realize that they can’t sing them better than Alicia did. Vonzell did a good job though and the crowd was into it. She came out in black with some gold choker/necklace/Nefertiti type thing around her neck, but it looked kinda cool. And it matched her gold belt too. Vonzell seems so fun and I’m a fan of hers … as long as she doesn’t start “Elaine” dancing. Randy liked it. Paula said it started off good and it was ambitious to sing Alicia Keys. Simon said she overcooked the performance and that sometimes, less is more. Regardless, I voted for Vonzell tonight.

Overall tonight’s performances were disappointing. The guys killed it on Monday. I think that the final 6 should be Carrie, Vonzell, Amanda, Jessica, Nadia and Mikalah. I think that Aloha, Janay, Celena and Lindsey are on the bubble tomorrow night.

This cut should be okay (the people voted off will probably deserve it). Next week will get tougher. Then the final 12 will be brutal because I’m guessing that all 12 will be worthy of being the American Idol. It will come down to song choice. There will be no free weeks once the finals start. It will be very interesting to see how “niche singers” (Bo=rocker, Jessica/Carrie=country) can adapt to the themes that I think they will throw at them.

That’s it for now and I still miss my wife…