OK, I know these prospective Idols are young, but to hear them talk about the British Invasion, you'd think it took place in Shakespeare's time. Several of the contestants were openly worried about finding something they could mold to their style, which is no doubt why somany liberties were taken with the established definition of the term British Invasion. But in short, show tunes (like Melinda performed), American songs that secondarily became hits by British artists (Haley, Jordin), and movie themes from the 1970s (Lakisha) are typically not thought of as fitting under the Invasion umbrella.
Still, these nights that test the ability of the frontrunners to stretch have given us many classic moments over the years, and this turned out to be the most entertaining episode of the year thus far--although a certain 13 year-old girl had a lot to do with that. The big long term story from the night, however, is that AI6 is clearly no longer a two-person race, if it ever was--when you see how I ranked them last week, you'll see what I mean.
Idol should be commended for finding Lulu and peter Noone to serve as gurst coaches for the week. At first, I thought these two seemed like they would be too small potatoes for the biggest show on television, but both proved surprisingly well acquainted with AI and with this year's contestants, and had almost invariably excellent advice, not that all of it was heeded. Lulu had song choice and phrasing selections, and Noone got through to Chris Richardson in a way none of the permanent judges have been able to (mostly because they're trying too hard not to hurt feelings).
As my pre-Final 12 predictions might have suggested, I was not surprised to see Stephanie going home as early as she did, even though the media tended to play her departure as a shocker. As Simon noted, she just seemed to fade gradually after the first week, perhaps discouraged at being left out of all the Melinda/Lakisha speculation. She had difficulty moving beyond her particular style and making a connection to viewers/voters (though missing out on early publicity certainly didn't help--Stephanie was the last of the 7 contestants to get no airtime in Hollywood or from their audition to be eliminated). The problem Stephanie had is that the people who might have been predisposed to like her were probably voting for other singers who just plain did it better. So I'm not especially angered by the fact that Sanjaya is still there and the superior Stephanie isn't, because she wasn't a plausible candidate to win anyway.
My ratings for the week...well, they're just a little less predictable than usual, as Melinda maks way for some new blood at the top:
1. Jordin ("I [Who Have Nothing]"): She's mostly been just OK so far, and the week she did "Reflection" she wasn't even that good. But this was a true revelation--the first performance of the year other than Lakisha's "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" and Melinda's "My Funny Valentine" to scream out "star". And don't think the producers aren't excited about the possibility that this teenager could become a contender--the makeover this week, which tamed her curly hair and had the effect of making her look even more mature than she already did, was proof that they're starting to groom her literally and figuratively. Jordin took this over-the-top ballad, which isn't terribly well known these days, and invested it with a startling amount of emotion, so much so that Simon half-joked about how depressing she was. She still doesn't nail every note--she can't compete with Melinda here--but it's not a pure vocal competition and never has been. IIf she wins (and it still has to be considered a longshot at this point), this will be the week we'll look back on. And anyone think she's still going to have trouble getting a boyfriend after this?
2. Melinda ("As Long As He Needs Me"): I thought about docking her for her blatant violation of the spirit of the week's theme, since a song from an early 1960s musical is hardly in keeping with the "British Invasion". And I think it was a mistake for her to do a ballad from a musical for the second straight week, since she already has an issue with the perception she skews old. But just judging the actual performance, it was stellar as always. I don't think it's important that Melinda did the song straight, with no appreication of this song's context in Oliver! (where it's sung by a woman about the lover who will eventually kill her). More important is that she made listeners believe through the conviction in her vocals, and phrased everything perfectly as she invariably does. I can't put her first tonight, but it's not a criticism in the least.
3. Chris S. ("She's Not There"): Gee, too bad he didn't do "I'm Henry the VIII, I Am". The stroll through the crowd for the song's opening verse was reminiscent of Taylor, and it was probably supposed to be since Chris has something of a love/hate relationship with the Hicks legend. Chris's voice doesn't have the ethereal quality of the Zombies' Colin Bluestone, but the verse was pretty good, especially since he had to worry about threading his way down the aisle. I think he made a mistake on the chorus by barking it blues-style somewhat, although it works with a song called "She's Not There". Basically, though, it was a good night for Chris, who finally picked a song most viewers will know and sang it well. This makes, for those keeping track, 4 times in 5 weeks I've thought Chris delivered the best vocal of any of the men.
4. Lakisha ("Diamonds Are Forever"): Would she have been better off taking Lulu's advice to do Cilla Black's "You're My World"? Probably, because despite the fairly high rating, this performance was only fair by the high standards Lakisha has set for herself. My guess is she searched for something--anything--she could adapt to her diva style, and settled on Shirley Bassey's theme to Sean Connery's last official Bond film. Lakisha just didn't seem engaged, and tried to compensate with a pretty frank imitation of Bassey's dramatic style. She didn't miss any notes in a noticeable way, but didn't really connect either. I wish Lakisha had shown some guts and dared to go a bit otuside her comfort zone, but this came across as an attempt to hold serve until she could get back on solid (American) ground.
5. Chris R. ("Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"): Peter Noone was, apparently, the first person on Idol to grab Chris by the lapels and tell him to stop putting all those silly melisma runs into everything, letting him know that this ain't the way Gerry and the Pacemakers did it back in my day!It led Chris to what was far and away his best performance of the season so far. He still threw in a few runs, but they were usually confined to the final words of verses, and he (as Noone suggested) mostly left the title line alone. He still has a thin and not terribly versatile voice, but this week we actually got to hear it stripped of all the affectations, accompanied only by a guitarist. I'm sure he's going to be out there Timberlaking it up again very soon, but it's the first time he's delivered a song worthy of the tongue baths he's been getting the last month.
6. Blake ("Time of the Season"): I don't get it at all. Last week, I thought Blake's updating of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was solid and clever, but the judges didn't seem charmed. This week, he gave a similar treatment to the Zombies' ethereal classic, and while the judges loved it, it didn't do a lot for me. I thought the vocals were thin and the failure to attempt the falsetto on the title line was noticeable, especially when he lost pitch the last two times he tried it. The beatboxing on the bridge came across as even more gimmicky than usual this time, and I thought the performance actually crossed over into kitsch towards the end when he started winking at the crowd. Still, the judges are in love again. Maybe I just have too much affection for the original version to credit Blake fairly.
7. Haley ("Tell Him"): Lulu's advice to Haley for this song (best known for its American version, by The Exciters) was quite good: sing it with punch, rather than trying to do runs on the lyrics as so many Idol wannabes want to try. I'd say this worked half-well--Haley still sounds like a refugee from a halftime show in 1974. Her vocals are blandly pretty on a song that isn't at all taxing, although she manages to punch it up in the moments she's not worn out by her dancing. Oh yeah...the dancing. She bounced out on stage in shorts and a flimsy looking top with an obvious lack of support (except on the sides, where the double sided tape was doing yeoman's duty). In case anyone missed the image she was trying to create, she stood in front of the judges and the front row of the audience and did her little shimmy. She finally, after 5 weeks, has herself an image: the "naughty little thing," as Simon called her. I'm not sure that can get her much farther, but it's gotten her onto the tour, and that didn't seem all too likely a few weeks back.
8. Sanjaya ("You Really Got Me"): Well, good grief, man. This performance helped to explain why American Idol is the most popular show there is, because this was GREAT entertainment, which is why I don't have Sanjaya in his accustomed last place, or even next-to-last. I have to give him credit for showing more energy than I thought he could ever possibly bring, even though it was utterly non-rock and roll (hell, so was David Lee Roth). This is a song that rewards attitude more than straight singing chops, and he was determined to try to sell it. It was funny that Peter Noone didn't want him to do his group's "I'm Into Something Good", but I'm glad he was discouraging because we then would have been deprived of RAWK Sanjaya and his little crying friend. My question is whether this represents some sort of turn of the corner for him--can he really keep up this energy level now week after week? Because that's really been his main issue all along.
9. Stephanie ("You Don't Have to say You Love Me"): At first, I thought this would be the ideal song for Stephanie: a huge ballad that would allow her to indulge her diva-ness. But it turns out she was really the worng kind of singer for Dusty Springfield's classic, lacking the necessary phrasing and the confidence to not push the lyric. The chorus gave her a chance to salvage things--had she nailed it, the judges would have forgiven her the shaky verse--but then she started cracking notes left and right, including the very last one. I think Randy hit on what the problem was here--Stephanie didn't have the ability to "chop it up" and put her Beyonce-ian affectations into it. She's a decent performer and apparently a nice girl too, but too limited in the end to be an American Idol.
10. Phil ("Tobacco Road"): Did you know the Nashville Teens were British? Neither did I. Not many would have guessed that of the 3 attempts at really rocking this night, Sanjaya and Phil would account for two of them. "Tobacco Run" was performed by the Idol guys during the last show of AI5, and I found myself wishing for the return of Ace Young while Phil was singing it. I wasn't expecting a huge power chord accompanying Phil, nor did I expect him to carry the mike stand all over the place a la Bo Bice. Bottom line is that while he was game, he doesn't have the sort of voice you need with an arrangement like this. He can be loud, but in the service of a power ballad, not a real rocker. Still, it might have been a canny move in this rock-light season, although I think inviting the audience to criticize the judges is usually a poor idea. Anyway, Phil made the tour, and I never thought he'd get that far.
11. Gina ("Paint It, Black"): Are people still going to keep calling this girl a rocker after this effort of unmitigated suck? Lulu told her she needed to bring the drama, but Gina couldn't even come across as a snotty teenager. The first verse was awful enough, but then she just went off on her own melodic tangent--honestly, what tune was she doing there, because it definitely wasn't "Paint It, Black". I have to think she was working off a cover I don't know. The last minute of this performance was practically unhinged, capped off by Gina saying she wanted to see the sun "flying high up in the sky", which is not the lyric. Simon was right to say that Gina is "style over content," but that was true way before tonight.