AIX Recap, Finalists x 11 (03/23/11)

Motown Week! When I first saw Jennifer, I was like, “Holy eye shadow, Batman!” A lot of celebs in the audience, including Liv Tyler, Jennifer Beals and Kirsten Dunst (who was shown on TV, but not recognized by Ryan).

And I finally want to comment on Jimmy Iovine and his omnipresent baseball cap. He’s a little creepy, but I can tell he’s ultra talented. Maybe it’s the tinted glasses (are they Transitions?), but there’s something odd about him. But genius takes all forms. One of the blogs mentioned that having him as the in-house mentor would take away some of the awkwardness of the guest mentors (Barry Manilow, Mariah Carey, etc). Although I thought Harry Connick, Jr was awesome last year. And Manilow was pretty good too. Remember when they had Queen though and they wouldn’t let Ace change one of their songs?

01 – Casey Abrams, I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
Why do I always think of the California Raisins when I hear this song? It’s hard for me to criticize Casey because my son Jared loves him (luckily he likes James too and James rocks). I just don’t get Casey. Still don’t. It seems like he’s playing a big joke on the audience, but I get the feeling that’s just how he is. He’s not mocking the competition. He went out into the crowd, which I usually don’t appreciate. Had 4 female violinists behind the judges. And he sang to the Band Chick from American Pie (Alyson Hannigan, who now cracks me up as “Lily” in “How I Met Your Mother”). Casey turned out to be one of the weakest tonight in what turned out to be maybe the best show in AI history. Pretty much everyone was on point tonight. Still, Casey has a pretty big YouTube & Twitter following so he’s probably safe tomorrow.

02 – Thia Megia, (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave (Martha and the Vandellas)
If I close my eyes and listen, Thia sounds perfect. Her voice is so pure, but she lacks any showmanship and doesn’t really connect with the audience or camera, for that matter. Judges want her to cut loose even more. I think she’s in trouble tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then in the next few weeks. It’s unfortunate though, because she really can sing.

03 – Jacob Lusk, You’re All I Need To Get By (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrel)
Jimmy wanted Jacob to exercise some restraint tonight and he did. He controlled it early and even got playful with the melody (he was feeling it!). Very good performance for Jacob tonight, punctuated when Steven went up on stage and took the standing O to the next level by giving him a hug and calling him “Baby Luther.” JLo mentioned how he made them beg for the big notes. Jacob’s voice still is a bit odd to me at times (it sounds female sometimes), but he sure has some memorable performances. He’s safe tomorrow, but won’t win it all.

04 – Lauren Alaina, You Keep Me Hanging On (The Supremes)
I was nervous for Lauren given the genre tonight, but if this was the first time hearing her sing, I wouldn’t have known that she was a country singer. She crossed over for me that well. It was interesting that in her pre-song video she mentioned how people were saying mean things about her and she was taking them too hard. I wonder if the blogs and message boards were tearing her up? What were they saying? Obviously it affected her. I still really like her. I don’t mind that she has struggled out of the gates. I think it’s hard to keep up a high level for the length of the competition. Lauren had a long dress on and had to hike it up for when she went out into the audience. JLo mentioned how amazing she looked, which is usually code for “you sucked,” but I don’t think that was the case this time. Randy said her swagger was on high. I’m pretty sure Lauren’s safe tomorrow.

05 – Stefano Legano, Hello (Lionel Richie)
This song reminds me of the Notre Dame 8th grade dances in people’s garages. And I always remember the video, but after watching it again on YouTube, it’s kinda creepy. Richie’s a teacher who’s in love with a blind student. The ‘80s fashion in the video is quite remarkable though. And the blind student looks a little like Michael Jackson (circa “Thriller”). Stefano sings beautifully, but he still does close his eyes way too much. The judges kept commenting on how he needs to connect better. Stefano might be in trouble tomorrow night.

06 – Haley Reinhart, You Really Got A Hold On Me (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles)
“Holy short shorts, Batman!” Haley Reinhart obviously took notes from previous contestant Haley Scarnato. High heels and short shorts. Haley’s leaning back while she sings really annoys me. She did a decent job with this, but I think she’s still in the bottom 3 tomorrow and probably off, which is a bummer because only the top 10 go on tour.

07 – Scotty McCreery, For Once In My Life (Stevie Wonder)
Still not a fan of Scotty’s and probably will never be. His voice kills me. It’s so deep. It’s cool that way. But the way he holds the mike crooked bugs me too. Scotty is the anti-Stefano, as all he does is connect with the audience and camera. Scotty should be good tomorrow. I’d laugh if he got eliminated on country night.

08 – Pia Toscano, All In Love Is Fair (Stevie Wonder)
How crazy was it that her producer for this song was Harvey Mason, Jr? I totally remember him playing basketball for Arizona on those great teams with Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr, Tom Tolbert, etc. Reading his Wikipedia page, both parents were musicians (his father a noted jazz drummer) and multiple knee surgeries sidelined his basketball career. He does play in the NBA Entertainment league though. Pia was good again tonight. The only knock on her is that all she does is ballads and she doesn’t move around the stage. People think she’s boring, but I never get bored of a good singer. She wore a beautiful scoop back dress tonight that gave the people in the seats behind the stage a second show. I think Steven summed it up by calling her the closest star in the American Idol universe. It might be Pia and James in the finals, which I’d be good with.

09 – Paul McDonald, Tracks of My Tears (Smokey Robinson)
Like with Casey, I don’t get Paul. I might like him if I heard him on the radio for 1 song, but not a whole album. And those white white teeth bother me too. Steven called him very different, like (Bob) Dylan and Willie Nelson. I think Paul has quite a following too, so he’ll probably be safe tomorrow.

10 – Naima Adedapo, Dancing in the Street (Martha and the Vandellas)
I liked Naima’s muted color tonight, although the dress still looked like something out of Battlestar Gallactica. Vocals better tonight than before and she even got to add some African dancing in at the end. Pretty much a success for her, although she’s on the bubble tomorrow night (based on previous performances).

11 – James Durbin, Living For The City (Stevie Wonder)
I think James looks a bit like Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek from “Dawson’s Creek”). Van Der Beek took a turn on “One Tree Hill” last season as a crazy director. Man I loved Dawson’s Creek. We almost named our daughter “Joelle” so we could call her Joey. James was good again tonight. He just owns the stage when he sings. The he bowed and acknowledged EVERYONE. It reminded me of when Hulk Hogan used to point to the crowd and put his hand to his ear. He’d do it to every side of the ring. I’m not complaining because I think James should bask in the glow after every performance (if warranted). Judges loved it (although Randy thought it started rough) and James is safe tomorrow.

Top 3 – James, Jacob, Pia

Bottom 3 – (this is tough because I think everyone was pretty good) Haley, Casey, Paul

But I wouldn’t be surprised if Haley, Thia and either Stefano or Naima was in the bottom 3. My guess is that if Stefano or Naima get voted off, they will be saved.

Again, thanks for some of the comments back. They are always appreciated.