AI Week 9: Popular Doesn't Mean Great

Here are my token remarks on last week’s American Idol. The theme was Popular iTunes download, which is almost like saying the contestants can choose any song they want. It was a blessing and a curse for some. Because as the judges pointed out...that you like the song doesn’t mean that it suits you or you can sing it well.

My top 3 for this week are:

Kris Allen
Adam Lambert
Danny Gokey

I didn’t notice Kris until now. He didn’t have the best performance of the night but it was the most enjoyable. He sang Ain’t No Sunshine and made the song his own with that refreshing arrangement. I was also surprised that he knew how to work the piano. And his laid-back, casual demeanour works as well. He looks like Chris Evans on a diet. He just has to watch his facial nuances coz he sometimes looks like a chimpanzee when he sings.

The best performance belonged, for the nth time, to Adam Lambert. Onstage, this guy is magnificent. For the first time in AI history, a contestant does not look like one...everything in him screams “superstar.” I winced when Ryan said he will sing Play That Funky Music (go to any retro concert or party and this will surely be played, together with Buttercup and Just Got Lucky). But he gave this tired song his own twist.

Danny Gokey performed one of my favourite songs ever: Rascal Flatt’s What Hurts The Most (my personal theme song last 2007). One point already for that. Although he remained true to the song, his emotive voice overflows throughout.

But what really hurts the most is Megan Joy (who was rightfully booted out). It was very painful to watch her take on Bob Marley’s Turn Your Lights Down Low. And almost stealing the horrid spotlight from Meagan is again Anoop Desai. He sang Usher’s Caught Up. His voice was not bad, it’s just that he chooses songs that needed energy but his stage presence is deadpan.

Matt Giraud, Scott MacIntyre and Allison Iraheta also gave commendable performances. The judges lambasted Matt but I did enjoy his take on the very contemporary You Found Me (The Fray). On second thought...yeah, it did look too copycat. He could have injected his signature falsetto. Or sang OneRepublic.