Wednesday, April 21, 2004

UH-OH MANDY

It was a Barry Manilow love fest last night on American Idol. Since I'm still computer free at night, I sat down and watched it with TinyTuna. I made a MPFs last night, but my comments -- although edited for content -- were nearly the same as if were sitting in front of my computer.



Diana DeGarmo ("One Voice") -- Call a priest, because she needs an exorcism, STAT. The shrieking spectre of Celine Dion is still Going on from last weeks scream-a-rama. I know she is only 16 and has a big voice, but there is no reason she needs to keep pushing so hard, unless she simply enjoys singing sharp.



George Huff ("Tryin' to get the feeling again") -- Hrmph. I like George, but by the time he was done singing last night, there wasn't much left of the original song. He may have been Trying to Get the Feeling Again, but it would have been better if he were Trying to Get the Melody Again. Too much improv and vocal gymnastics made it sound less like George the Singer and more like George of the Jungle.



Jennifer Hudson ("Weekend in New England") -- Nice singing. I haven't heard many of the earlier shows, but she was dead-on last night. When I am able to relax and listen rather than fret and critique during a performance, things are good. And they were.



Jasmine Trias ("I'll Never Love this way again") -- It was OK. She has an thin, youngish sound that drives me a little crazy, and she was overpowered when she sang in her lower range. Things got better as the song got higher. Simon noted she finally "got rid of the silly flower". Poor Simon. Jasmine made sure he saw that she had it on her skirt. I think she should take the hint, and toss it. We know who you are, and we don't need any more visual aids telling us you are from Hawaii. Take a hint and pitch the petunia.



John Stevens ("Mandy") -- Oh Mandy. Oh No, Mandy. Uh-oh Spaghetti-os, Mandy. MPF. Even Mandy says John Stevens must go. If anybody but John Stevens gets cut, well, I'll understand how Achy, Breaky Heart made kabillions of dollars. This song was too hard. This song was too low. This song was too grown up, and he had NO CLUE what to do with it. In addition, it seemed that to compensate for notes out of his range, he affected this bizarre pseudo-Irish accent. Please America, do NOT vote for the red-haired moppet, or you'll have to hear more about oh, say, MANDY.



LaToya London ("All the Time") and Fantasia Barrino ("Miracle") -- I see the finals being between these two women, with perhaps Jennifer Hudson as a potential spoiler. LaToya and Fantasia seem to be the most consistent from week to week. Powehouse singers, the both of them. Overall, I see (and hear) LaToya being more in control, vocally, and Fantasia being able to provide an unexpected jaw-dropping performance, when she is so moved. Song selection could prove key over the next several weeks.

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