AIX Recap, Finalists x 12 (03/16/11)

I apologize about last week, but it really was too hectic to get it all done. I haven’t even watched the show and I probably won’t. I did see the elimination show and wasn’t all that surprised that Ashton went. I think she was too hard for the public to get behind. She was a total diva who couldn’t believe she didn’t get voted into the finals. I’m not too broken up that she’s gone. Although figuring out what she’d wear every week would’ve had some merit…

On to this week, the ever popular “birth year” song week. This week is never a disaster, as it’s themed, but it’s not limiting (ie, country week, etc).

01 – Naima Adedapo (1984), What’s Love Got To Do With It (Tina Turner)
This was a mess for me right from the start. I thought this was horrible. But I did notice that the contestants finally had ear plugs for the feedback (is that what they are and what they’re for?), so Naima can’t blame her pitchyness on that! I’ve said before, what’s the downside of letting the contestants use those ear plugs? You get better singing? All the former contestants who came back to sing got to use them. Steven loved it. He must’ve missed the memo saying it’s okay to be critical, because JLo and Randy both mentioned her pitch problems. Jennifer called her consistently pitchy (so she’s got that going for her; consistency!). Naima should be in the bottom 3 tomorrow.

02 – Paul McDonald (1984), I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues (Elton John)
Sounded like Paul was losing his voice during the song. Or is that how his voice really is? I still don’t get him. He sounds like he should have a vinyl record selling from KTEL. On a different note, we just saw “Gnomeo and Juliet” in the theaters and Elton John was the executive producer and contributed on the soundtrack. It was a wonderful movie. Great music. Pretty cool story (really followed the storylines). 3D didn’t blow me away, but none of the 3D movies have yet. It’s funny how EVERY single movie HAS to be in 3D now. The judges predictably liked Paul. I’m not a fan, but he seems to have a following.

03 – Thia Megia (1995), Colors of the Wind (Vanessa Williams)
Thia’s voice really belies her age. But that’s about it. She seems pretty fun loving and personable off the stage, but she doesn’t sing with any personality (much like most of the other Asian singers in the past). It’s a bit frustrating, to be honest with you. Nice song and she sang it well, but it was a forgettable, safe song. On to Vanessa Williams. Love her character on “Desperate Housewives.” And she had a pretty successful singing career too. Had. I meant has, as she is still releasing albums. On the NBA Superstars video (circa 1990), Isiah Thomas’ highlights were played to “The Right Stuff.” Randy called Thia boring. I think she’s safe tomorrow, but she won’t last much longer if something doesn’t change.

04 – James Durbin (1989), I’ll Be There For You (Bon Jovi)
Pretty good effort here. I think James could be the lead singer on many rock bands right now. He’s got showmanship, along with the chops. My son Jared loves him. Funny thing. He mentioned there were a lot of good rock songs in ’89 and alluded to an Aerosmith song. Looking at the album “Pump,” there was “Love In An Elevator,” “Janie’s Got a Gun,” “What It Takes.” Surprised he didn’t do one of those, but he said he was saving that for the finale. Nice. Steven said if he made it there, he’ll sing it with him up on stage. So I guess he’s committed to that then because even if James doesn’t make it, he’ll have some stage time during the announcement show. I guess we’ll see Steven up there! James should be safe tomorrow.

05 – Haley Reinhart (1990), I’m Your Baby Tonight (Whitney Houston)
Of all the Whitney songs to choose, this one is interesting. It’s not one of Whitney’s huge ballads, so she’s safe there. But it’s also not that great of a song. Haley handled it pretty well, as there were some fast lyric parts and she did the Haley “growl” in there. But her posture when she’s singing (I think she’s trying to be sexy?) really is offputting. It’s like she has bad posture. It’s like fake sexy like Amy Proehler’s one legged character on SNL. And to add insult to injury, she ended up with a smear of lipstick above her chin. And to pour salt on that wound, Ryan tried to take it off. But he licked his finger to do it. Gross. Nice gesture, but gross. Randy criticized her for being all over the place in her song choices, but I don’t think being versatile should be looked down upon. You really can’t win because if you stick to your strength too much, they tell you to branch out. Haley may be in the bottom again tomorrow.

06 – Stefano Langone (1989), If You Don’t Know Me By Now (Simply Red)
So Stefano continues on the impossibly long song title streak. I think he killed it tonight. I’ve always been a fan of his. And I loved his outfit, complete with the white high tops. His performance reminded me a bit of an ‘80s group doing a ‘50s song, kinda like when “New Edition” did “Earth Angel.” Randy called it the best of the night. Stefano should be safe tomorrow. I think he’s from Seattle, but he might have San Jose roots? The beauty parlor next to my dry cleaners had “Vote for Stefano” in their windows.

07 – Pia Toscano (1988), Where Do Broken Hearts Go (Whitney Houston)
My wife Kristin thinks Pia looks like a cross between Selena Gomez and Mila Kunis (from “That ‘70s Show”). I really dug this song tonight, because it was the uptempo remix version. I remember in the ‘90s when it was en vogue to release another album with the same songs but with the “club mix” or the “Jimmy Jam mix,” etc. This song reminded me of that. And that outfit looked like it was from the ‘70s, a la “Charlie’s Angels.” My only fear for Pia is that she’s been so good, so early and it’s hard to keep that up. Ask David Archuleta about that. Pia’s safe tomorrow.

08 – Scotty McCreery (1993), Can I Trust You With My Heart (Travis Tritt)
I’m still not a fan of Scotty’s and it still goes back to Hollywood Week. I think I need to let that go, but I haven’t yet. Throw in the fact that I’ll probably never know a single song he sings. That makes him hard for me to judge. Was it better than the original? I don’t know. Did he change it up? I have no idea. Does he still look like Alfred E. Newman? Yes. That much I know. Scotty’s not going to win this, but he will be a country music recording star after he’s done here.

09 – Karen Rodriguez (1989), Love Will Lead You Back (Taylor Dayne)
When I first saw the outfit, I immediately though Divinyls and B-52s (or the Fembots from “Austin Powers”). I was like, is she really going to sing “I Touch Myself?” Would that be “Yo Toucho Yo” in Spanish? This song ate her up. I love Taylor Dayne, but Dayne was such a powerful singer and Karen couldn’t match that. Not even in Spanish. Judges handled her with kid gloves, but JLo was the most constructive by saying play to your strengths. If you can’t hit a note, don’t try. She should be in the bottom tomorrow.

10 – Casey Abrams (1991), Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
Man I don’t get this guy. Maybe it’s because I didn’t see any of his Hollywood Week stuff, but I just don’t get him. He was screaming and pitchy tonight. Song wasn’t done for the vocals, which I get, but he hasn’t won me over one bit. Looks like Santa in the “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” stop-motion, claymation classic (done in 1970, by the way). I think Casey has quite a following, so he’ll be safe.

11 – Lauren Alaina (1994), I’m The Only One (Melissa Etheridge)
I like Lauren. And I think the producers LOVE Lauren. They give her a sitdown with Ryan (those of which I hate because he’s in them) to explain that she has the flu. I thought she sounded like she was sick tonight. She was okay, but we’ve heard her be much better. I think she’ll be okay tomorrow. I expect better from her in the future.

12 – Jacob Lusk (1987), Alone (Heart)
Finally! A one word song title! My wife Kristin thinks he sounds like a male Nell Carter. Jacob’s interesting because he works himself into a frenzy and almost goes into a trance when he sings each song. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it comes off as over-singing. He was okay tonight, but definitely not great. I still think he’ll be okay tomorrow.

So, I think the top 2 were Stefano and Pia. Wouldn’t they make a nice Italian couple? And I think the bottom 2 were Naima and Karen.