AI4 recap, Finalists x 2 (05/24)

What we’ve all been waiting for. The Finals! At the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Bo vs. Carrie. Carrie vs. Bo. Stage presence vs. vocal ability. It’s not what I envisioned or dreamt of at the beginning, but I’m glad that it came down to these two. Real glad.

One thing that I’ve noticed is that all the finalists from the previous years (this one included) all had nice teeth. Both Bo and Carrie have nice chicklets. Constantine did not have nice teeth. Jasmine did not have nice teeth. Ergo, they were not finalists. Kinda reminds me of “There’s Something About Mary” when Cameron Diaz is joking that she liked capped teeth and Matt Dillon was eavesdropping on her and got his teeth capped. I mean, that’s not the funniest part of the movie by any means, but a funny part nonetheless.

So tonight they sing three (3) songs, two originals and one of their favorites from the season. I’m really torn about the “original” songs. I know and realize that when the winner records his/her CD, all the songs will be originals. But for the sake of the competition, covers are necessary for the audience to know the song and gauge how the singer sang it in relation to the original. It really is hard for the audience to follow along to a song that they don’t know.

They had a coin flip to decide the order for tonight and Seacrest, bumbling idiot that he is, flipped the coin down a vent on the old stage. Doesn’t surprise me a bit. They keep showing the clip of him throwing out the first pitch at the Cardinals game. To say he throws like a girl is an insult to girls everywhere.

01 – Bo, The Long Long Road
Bo grew a full on beard for the show this week. Came out in a tunic again and with shades that looked very John Lennon-ish. Kind of a downer of a song, but the crowd loved it. Bo is such a performer. Randy did not love the song, but it doesn’t matter what Bo sings, he brought it home in the end. Bo’s range surprised Randy. Paula congratulated Bo for having his dreams come true and making it to the finals. She admitted that it’s hard to sing a song that no one knows, but when she saw the audience vibin’ to it, she knew he did well. Simon said it was probably the closest final they’ve had yet (I beg to differ, as Ruben and Clay was pretty darn close). He said Bo looked like his high school chemistry teacher (whatever that means). Said it was a dreary song and that he’ll have to do a whole lot better than this performance to win it tonight.

They had all the 10 other finalists sitting right behind the judges and I didn’t recognize one. Seems as though Anwar cut his dreads and looks like Lenny Kravitz now. Or first year finalist EJ Day. Take your pick. And Jessica needs to put the fork down, as she’s gained some lbs since she was off the competition. Mikalah looked fine. Probably because we couldn’t hear her talking.

02 – Carrie, Inside Your Heaven
Another original song. She wore a short blazer and jeans with a floral print on them. Didn’t do all that great with this song. She sounded pitchy and nervous. But one thing she is great at is hitting the big notes. And the crowd responds accordingly every single time. Randy didn’t love the song, but she ended it well. Paula congratulated Carrie for having her dreams come true and making it to the finals. Said she brought it home at the end of the song. Simon said she was much better than Bo’s first song. Although her vocals were right on the edge, he gave round 1 to her. That was interesting because we thought she was a bit flat in parts.

03 – Bo, Vehicle
This was his choice as a repeat song from the season. Song reminded me of a theme song from a ‘70s cop/renegade show like Shaft or Starsky and Hutch or Baretta. Wore a denim shirt and really felt comfortable performing this song. Randy said that’s what I’m talking about. Paula called it a true authentic Bo. Simon welcomed him back and said now they’ve got a competition again. Hard to argue with his song choice, as he obviously hit it and the judges loved it.

04 – Carrie, Independence Day
This was her repeat song (by Martina McBride). She wore a tunic too. Brought out the country twang in her voice. Again hit the big notes. She’s really in her element when she sings country. Before the song, Seacrest said that the top 10 would be singing on tour. Does that mean Lindsey and Mikalah don’t get to tour? Because there were 12 finalists. Anyway, Randy welcomed her back and said “hot, that was.” Okay, if Randy was Yoda, that’s how he would’ve said it. Paula said primo. Excellent. Simon said it was not a great vocal and that he would’ve chosen last week’s “Crying” instead of this song. He gave round 2 to Bo.

05 – Bo, Inside Your Heaven
Interesting. He did his own version of this song (Carrie did it for her first song). Bo wore a cream colored blazer with a printed shirt under it. It looked like an outfit someone would wear to the race track, along with a fedora. And the race track reminds me of that movie with Richard Dreyfuss (“Let It Ride”) about a down on his luck gambler who hits like 3 or 4 races in a row at the track, letting his winnings ride on each subsequent race. One of the funny scenes was him going around the stables and betting area asking everyone who they liked in the upcoming race. He marked each horse off and picked the one that no one liked. Of course, that one won. I’ve never been to the track, but hear that it’s a pretty fun time out. Back to the song. It started a little low for Bo (it reminded me of a Neil Diamond song), but he did sing it more on key than Carrie did. Randy called him forever in the dawg pound. Paula was impressed because the song was outside his range. Simon said this was the only time that he saw his nerves, but he outsang Carrie on it. And he called Bo and absolute pleasure to work with on American Idol.

06 – Carrie, Angels Brought Me Here
Her last original song. She wore a black dress and necklace like she was going to be walking down the red carpet at the Oscars. It looked great on her, but I was surprised that she showed her legs because of those darn up lights on the stage. I thought she really did well with this song. She can hit and hold notes very well. Vocals have never been her problem. It’s always been her plain vanilla personality and lack of energy on stage. Randy gave her a standing O and said Wow. Paula said congrats and that she did a great job. Simon said she has a lot of guts and that she has done enough to win the competition.

Carrie definitely has better vocals than Bo (although probably not as strong or as controlled as Kelly Clarkson). Bo has way more personality and performance skills than Carrie. It’s really what you prefer. I chose not to vote because I like them both equal. This was a strange year because overall the talent of the finalists was the best of any of the four years. But there were no “wow” performances. And I don’t think either of them has the star quality that the previous winners have (Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia (even though I hate to admit that) and Clay too). And none of the other 10 had that either.

Whatever happens tomorrow night happens. I’m actually going to probably miss it because I’ll be traveling for work and will probably be eating a steak at Morton’s when the show is on. But the results shows are usually anti-climactic for me most of the time anyway, as my big night is the actual performances.

I’m bidding you all adieu, as this is the last recap of the season and maybe for good. I know that they’ll have an AI5, but if you didn’t know this already, my wife and I are expecting again in late October and these things may not fly come next February. We’ll see. We just found out yesterday that we’ll be having a little girl. And no, we won’t be naming her Fantasia. So, this has been fun and thanks for putting up with all the conversations that go on in my head.

For those of you who got on the list mid-season, I’ve posted all of the recaps on-line at http://airecaps.blogspot.com
They are posted chronological order with the most recent being first. It’s kind of backwards, but if you want to read them in order, you have to click on the first month (February), then read up, not down.

So that’s it for now. Ura. Out.