American Idol

Via CBS News

So far this season, I’m two for two. I thought Curtis would leave two weeks ago and predicted Paul to be gone last week. I’m not quite as confident this week. If this show were fair, Lazaro would leave the show this week. But he should’ve left last week and the week before (but I knew he wouldn’t). The judges gave him the pity compliments tonight after his performance of Stevie Wonder’s For Once In My Life. It wasn’t good. It was just better than last week’s poor effort. But that wasn’t the worst part. Duets and group songs were re-introduced this week. Lazaro, Burnell, and Devin performed I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) and it was horrendous. Nicki Minaj told them that it was so bad that they should leave the stage and Burnell and Devin blamed it on Lazaro not knowing his words. That should be the end. But will it?

Thankfully Smokey Robinson was helping out the contestants this week. We got to see a lot of Smokedog. Who doesn’t love Smokey?

Performances Of The Night

There were two near perfect performances tonight. Amber performed Stevie Wonder’s Lately. She hit all the good parts of the song and performed it with supreme confidence. She has the most swagger on the show. As good as it was, I’m not quite sure it was as good as my favorite Lately cover of all time.

Kree (Summer) went out on a limb and did Aretha Franklin’s Don’t Play That Song. It was probably the least known song of the night, which was both a gift and a curse. Just about anyone could sing along with the songs (mostly inspired by Motown, but technically the city of Detroit) except for this one. And while it wasn’t the best she’s done, she’s so comfortable with herself that it just looks like she’s singing everything well. By the song not being too familiar, it allowed Kree to do it in her own style and it sounded fresh and new.

(By the way, I think I lean on Mariah’s critique (or non-critique) the most when it comes to how well they actually performed. Nicki’s straight up blunt, Keith is Paula in a white man’s body, and Randy is Randy, but I feel like Mariah judges all of the singers based on how much better she is than they are. And I think she thinks Kree, Candice, and Amber could sing background for her.)

Burnell’s My Cherie Amour was a great song choice and was solid, but a bit forgettable. He should’ve crushed it this week and didn’t. But he’s the best guy going. The honorable mention goes to Candice who only misses because she looks uncomfortable moving around on stage. Her voice is the best of the group though. Devin tried hard with Tracks Of My Tears, but I just listened to Adam Lambert’s version the other day and while it was a good Devin performance, it couldn’t touch Adam’s version with a ten foot pole. The judges loved Janelle’s performance but I didn’t think she was that good all night long. She’s like a homelier version of Kellie Pickler with a better voice.

Who Dropped The Ball?

Other than Lazero? It was Angie for sure. I didn’t know Shop Around could be such a sleazy song until she performed it. This must be the Ke$ha version.


The problem with Angie is what I’ve said from the start. She’s not self-aware. She thinks this is a popularity contest first and singing contest second. That will work well for her until she lasts past some of the favorites and then the teenage girl vote will turn on her badly. She’ll be the most hated by that demographic before it’s said and done.

Who Goes Home?

Lazaro’s time is up. He’s barbecue chicken. I think Angie has a couple more weeks of falsely confident performances. I think Burnell could be in the bottom three. He was a bit forgettable even though he’s been the best guy so far.