I guess I’m going to be like a million other blogs out there and write about AI for a while. If you watch this show, it’s hard not to want to make comments about what you just watched. I’m no exception.
Luke Menard: I feel sorry for this guy. Like most, I never considered him to be in the Top 10 or anything, but with each performance my sympathy grew. Seriously. I was hoping he’d do better this week, simply because he seems like such a nice guy and it’d be nice for him if his time in the AI spotlight could be remembered for something other than “the boring guy who murdered “Killer Queen”. Sure, his voice is weak on anything but certain high notes, but you’d think there’d be a few songs out there that would showcase the talent he does have in a better light. However, “Wake Me Up Before You Go” was not it. I never liked that song much to begin with, and he did it no favors. Poor Luke.
David Archuleta: I like the kid. I really do. But I’m not enamored of him and I don’t think he’s the best singer or The Chosen One. He sings clean, but there’s nothing that uniquely special about his voice. Also, in terms of AI, I’m beginning to think he’s peaking too early, aka Melinda Dolittle. The other two things that might hurt him in the long run are: 1-Jason Castro might start “stealing” votes away from David and 2-if David keeps up with his trend of “this song had a great message about love and hope and giving” he may eventually annoy a lot of people. Not because he likes love and hope, but because most people don’t like to be preached to.
Danny Noriega: He’s entertaining in an “I got an attitude fer sure” way, but he can’t sing or perform at all. Watching him dance is painful. I’d like to see him go away.
David Hernandez: He was great last week. This week, as soon as he started talking about boogers in his nose, I started tuning out. Not something we needed to know, Mr. Hernandez. But he has enough talent he might stick around.
Michael Johns: Sigh. I so wanted to love this guy. But with each performance he becomes less and less interesting. He needs to learn some new “moves”, because his physical performance is exactly the same week after week. I mean exactly. Borrrring. His vocals seem to be going downhill as well. Unlike some, I wasn’t impressed with his “Don’t You Forget About Me.” I loved Simple Minds, I loved that song, and Michael just did NOT capture it at all. People who think he did should go back and listen to Simple Minds again. Jim Kerr’s voice lightly soared, raising an otherwise lightweight pop song into a classic for the time period. Michael didn’t sink, but neither did he soar. His rock screeching end-notes were terrible. Plus, Michael’s voice cracked in a number of places. Unless he starts to pick it up again soon, I’m going to forget about him.
David Cook: Interesting. Something about him kind of creeps me out tho. I’m not sure what, and I’m sure it’s not rational. His voice “rocks” okay, but I dunno … he might make the top8 or so, but I kinda doubt it.
Jason Castro: Much better than last week. He’s turning on the charm, becoming a little more comfortable perhaps. His awkwardness and shyness seems a lot more genuine to me than David Archuleta’s “I’ve been performing since I was 6 but hey aww shucks” routine. Jason may start stealing votes from Archuleta if he keeps this up.
Chikezie: When the man isn’t busy puffing his ego or picking horrendous outfits to wear, there’s no doubt he’s capable of good vocals. But the man’s attitude annoys me - it’s not cute or charming or entertaining. Still, as the judges like to repeat, it’s a singing competition, so on that basis I can see him moving forward.
Speaking of the judges - what was Paula on? Her ramblings were even more disjointed and scary than usual. Maybe it’s time for an intervention. Both Paula and Randy could go away and I’d never miss them. Some of Simon’s expressions in response to Paula’s babbling were priceless. Simon’s occasionally a bit too “mean”, but 9 times out of 10 I agree with his comments. At least he’s not talking about rainbows and colors or using the word “pitchy” every single sentence.
