AIIX recap, Finalists x 4 (05/11/10)

Movie song night tonight, with Jamie Foxx as the mentor. I like Jamie Foxx as an actor and singer, but I don’t think he’s a very good mentor. At all. Especially coming off the heels of the best mentor (Connick, Jr) since Barry Manilow. Loved Jamie in “Ray,” but also in “Dreamgirls.” And actually liked him as Willie Beamen in “Any Given Sunday” too. Looking at Jamie with his head shaved and goatee, he looks a bit like Chad Ochocinco too.

01 – Lee, Kiss From a Rose (Seal, “Batman Forever”)
Looking at the Batman franchise, there have been quite a few movies out there. I remember the first one with Jack Nicholson as the Joker. It was the “in” thing to get chosen to be a villain in those movies for awhile. But then I just lost interest. I think I saw “Batman & Robin” but haven’t seen any of the Christian Bale as Batman movies. I hear “The Dark Knight” is good, but haven’t gotten around to seeing it yet. This performance for Lee reminded me of the old Lee. The one who had nice tone and was pitchy, but didn’t sizzle. He ended the song well though. Don’t think he changed the song up much. Randy thought he was pitchy in spots and did nothing with the song. Ellen wished he would’ve done more with the song. Kara thought that was one of the most difficult songs to sing. Simon thought it was verging on karaoke. Lee wasn’t great tonight and is probably on the bubble tomorrow night.

02 – Big Mike, Will You Be There (Michael Jackson, “Free Willy”)
Can I just say that I hate the two handed Chicken Dance wave that Mike does? Mike said it was a goal of his last year to make the top 3 so that he could go home (to St. Petersburg, FL). I hope he goes home via the voting… I thought Mike was okay tonight. I don’t think gospel is his strong suit. Randy thought it sounded like an R&B artist doing gospel. Ellen thought it was weird that his goal was to be in the top 3 when his goal should be to win it all. Kara said she wanted goosebumps but he didn’t deliver them tonight. Simon was confused on the whole “Free Willy” concept. I don’t know if they’ll have a bottom 2 (instead of 3) tomorrow night. I think Mike’s in the bottom 2.

Duet – Lee & Crystal, Falling Slowly (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, “Once”)
Best original song at the 2008 Oscars, although there was some controversy about its (my wife Kristin proofreads these things and I had put “it’s” instead of “its” here; that’s the one grammatical error that I always get wrong) eligibility for the award because it had been performed and released prior to the release of the movie, “Once.” I thought Lee and Crystal sounded very good together. They harmonized like Troy and Gabriella (you have to have kids to get that reference). Actually this song reminded me of a Peter Cetera duet (you pick the accompanying artist; Amy Grant, Cher, Chaka Khan, Crystal Bernard). I think I mentioned this before, but I once saw Crystal Bernard at a Bulls game. Tiger Woods was there. And we put him up on the big board to honor his first win at The Masters. But Crystal Bernard was there with Taylor Dayne (who had sung the National Anthem at the game). Taylor Dayne’s Greatest Hits is a great CD. You know you’re getting old when all of your favorite CDs are Greatest Hits compilations! Back to the duet at hand. Randy thought that could be a hit right now. Ellen dubbed them the next Captain and Tennille. Kara called that one of her favorite moments of the season. Simon called it a fantastic song. This really made Lee shine, especially on the heels of his lackluster solo performance. Crystal called Lee her “musical crush.” This was good tonight.

03 – Casey, Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel, “The Graduate”)
Hello again, Mr. Gladstone… This whole production was offputting to me. Casey played the 8-string “ukulele” and sat on an island away from the main stage. I hate it when contestants (not artists) sing either behind the judges or on the island. Randy joked that the song was about Kara, but also didn’t think he changed it up at all. Ellen wished he had a big boy guitar, but liked how he changed it up. He did change it up. It was like Goat Boy singing Mrs. Robinson. Kara thought this was an example of Casey fighting to stay in the competition. Simon didn’t think this song had the substance for such a big night in the competition. He thought it was lazy and could’ve made more of an impact. Evidently I don’t give Casey the credit he deserves for his guitar work. I’ll tell you this though. He bugs me less than Big Mike. So I hope he stays tomorrow night!

04 – Crystal, I’m Alright (Kenny Loggins, “Caddyshack”)
This was right in Crystal’s wheelhouse tonight. She changed the song up to her folksy, bluesy style. I’ve probably written this before, but Kenny Loggins (as you know) was the king of the soundtracks in the ‘80s (Caddyshack, Footloose, Over The Top, Top Gun). A while back I was on an airplane listening to the inflight channels and the spotlight artist was Kenny Loggins. In his interviews between songs, he said that he was ashamed of that period of his music, because he felt he sold out. If that’s the case, the ‘90s version of Kenny would be “Smashmouth.” Anyway, Crystal was good tonight. Better than she’s been in the last few weeks. I hope she’s gotten back on track for good now. Because now it’s “winning time!” Randy said she definitely was an artist tonight (Jamie had t-shirts for the singers. Either you were a “contestant” or an “artist.”). Ellen thought she took that song and made it better. Kara kept calling her an artist. Simon said she’s back in the game. I think Crystal’s the only one that should be safe tomorrow. She should pack her bags (the AI tradition is for the final 3 to go back to their respective hometowns) and get ready to return to Ohio. I thought (assumed, maybe) that she was from Columbus, but the AI website says she’s from Elliston, OH which is way up by Toledo.

Duet – Casey & Mike, Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman (Bryan Adams, “Don Juan DeMarco”)
When my wife Kristin first heard this song, she said she wished Casey sang this for his solo. And of course, Casey & Mike sang the song on the walkway behind the judges (taking deep breaths, counting slowly to 10). All four contestants/artists played their guitars in the duets tonight. Interesting. I thought Casey was good and Mike just okay (his falsetto was flat at the end) in this song. Randy thought this was a nice one. Ellen joked that “yes, as a matter of fact, I have loved a woman.” Funny stuff. Kara thought the duets were better than all the solos. Simon said they were a million times better than the solos.

Overall it was an okay night tonight. It amazes me how the duets could be better than the solos. You’d think that the duets would be hard to pull off in so little time.

Bottom 2: Big Mike, Casey

Going home: all 4 (one for good and the other 3 as part of the Final 3 gig)

Going home for good: Big Mike