You can take that title multiple ways, but they all fit. The show’s in trouble, the contestants are in trouble, the whole thing’s a cluster. Where do I start? (Maybe by stating that there are spoilers here. Don’t read if you don’t want results.)
– How about America’s Next Top Drama Queen, Tatiana! If VH1 can hand out the title of Best Week Ever, then maybe we should award the Worst Week Ever to Ms. Del Toro. Despite the fact that she had moments of brilliance on Tuesday night (mixed in with moments of mediocrity), the judges who supposedly put her through to this round were completely SHOCKED that she could sing. She’s delusional enough to work around that, though. Tonight, on the other hand, was just downright cruel. American Idol truly slipped to a new low, as the producers held Tatiana out for the final judgment against Danny Gokey, who most have already pegged to make it to the top 2. The news had to be broken to her at some point, but the true cruelty was in following her emotional breakdown all through Danny’s repeat performance of “Hero”. It was just downright evil. Speaking of evil…
– Danny Gokey lost a LOT of points tonight. Anyone notice how smug and impatient he was while waiting for his coronation? He couldn’t have shown more contempt for Ryan if he had held a gun to Seacrest’s head and demanded to know the winner. Sorry, Danny, but there’s no editing of packages at this point of the game. The American public gets to see you, warts and all. On top of that, his closing performance of “Hero” was (to quote Simon from a few weeks ago) indulgent. Something changed between Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and I definitely don’t like it.
– America gets the whole picture. While there was talk that Anoop Desai was destined for Top 12 greatness, a buzz was also building for Michael (formerly Jeremy) Sarver. The fact that the vote was so close between the two of them shows that folks took into account the full history of their performances, because if the viewers hadn’t taken that into account, Ricky Braddy should have easily had Michael’s spot in the top 3. Chances are good that both Desai and Braddy will be back for the Wildcard round.
– You only get one shot. Jackie Tohn, Anne Marie Boskovich, and Brian Keith…it’s been nice knowing you. Anne Marie might make it back to the Wildcard round, but all three took major falls from contenders to also-rans based on one performance. And let’s not even get into the rest of the ladies. The guys really do have the upper hand this year, with the exception of Alexis Grace, who was miles away from her female counterparts.
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Cast Recording of 
So Hollywood Week, with all of its drama, wrapped up this week on American Idol, and it’s hard to know where we stand, since it’s been a bit of a cluster this season so far. However, I do think we have some clear answers on certain aspects:
– Talent can shine through – I will, begrudgingly, use Von Smith as an example. Up until Wednesday night, I was extremely opposed to Von going on to the Top 36, based on some of the most bombastic performances ever seen on Idol. Problem was, boy actually can sing, and he apparently took Simon’s criticism to heart the final day of Hollywood Week, performing a much more subdued song in his final audition. Well played, Von…well played.
There are some pretty cool things going on here in the non-virtual world, so updates won’t be coming quite as regularly for the next week. Without going into too much detail, there are a couple of cool professional/academic challenges that need to be met, along with a top-secret mission in the personal life that will be accomplished by Sunday night. I’m hoping that I can fill y’all in next week. [BTW, the clock is in tribute to PSB, who are now up for pre-orders for their upcoming CD. It’s a good time to be a fan of pop music.]
What I would like to mention really quick is that, while folks were initially talking about Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Jennifer Hudson, and Sugarland being the recipients of bumps, it looks like Adele really came out the big winner. Krauss & Plant’s current #1 is a given, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Best New Artist pick up this much momentum off of a Grammy win without having significant success prior to the show. After having been blown away by the response that she received off of the Saturday Night Live performance, it looks like the record company did a perfect job of positioning her to peak at just the right time. The challenge at this point is how do you capitalize on this, because I’ve felt all along that “Chasing Pavements” was the only song that really stood a chance on pop radio here in America. Could “Hometown Glory” be a hit? I hope so, but I just don’t know.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
BEST NEW ARTIST
RECORD OF THE YEAR
SONG OF THE YEAR
And to mix things up a bit…
BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
One whole hour of auditions, and I wrote down six names of folks I was impressed by. Not a good start, but definitely better than an audition show. First off, Lil Rounds (left) sang the Whitney version of “I Will Always Love You”, and as much as I hate to admit it, she tore it up. Still should be a song never attempted in that form, but she did alright. Jasmine Murray lost some of that nasally sound, and really did a great job with “The Trouble With Love”. I really enjoyed Stephen Fowler’s take on Stevie Wonder, and Jeremy Michael Sarver (I think there’s another Michael Sarver out there, hence the Jeremy addition) also gave a pretty soulful performance. Danny Gokey’s take on Seal was alright, although I wasn’t in love with it like Paula, but the highlight for me only lasted 10 seconds. Matt Giraud, dueling piano player from Kalamazoo, showed he not only has the vocals, but he also has the image and presence to truly challenge for the title of American Idol.
Group Day is the stuff of legends. Throw three or four strangers together, and you might get instant chemistry. As in EXPLOSIVE chemistry! So let’s talk about the inspirational performances. “White Chocolate” contained two potential stars in Matt Giraud (right) and India Morrison. While Matt played the Justin Timberlake role well, India blew everyone away with her rap in the mix. It seems like she’s being positioned for the Blake Lewis role in this season, but I hope she’s treated legitimately, instead of as just a novelty.
My mom’s vinyl collection probably seemed pretty pedestrian at the time, but to me, it was awe-inspiring. The Beatles, James Taylor, Electric Light Orchestra, Melanie (look THAT one up, kids), Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, and Barry White all populated my early musical education. Between those records and the AM transistor radio that used to hide under my pillow late at night, I became a sponge for pop music.
As the 70’s ended, and I was able to assert myself a little more on what music I would listen to, I stuck pretty close to the pop charts. First 45: it’s a tie between “The Rainbow Connection” and “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”. First LP: “Hi Infidelity”. Yeah…all over the place. I would listen to the American Top 40 every Sunday, and I would track the pop hits on index cards religiously. The lady at the Central Library in Syracuse must have known my voice when I would have to call and get chart positions I had missed that previous Sunday from the new issue of Billboard magazine. For the longest time, my most cherished possession was a vinyl copy of American Top 40 that I had won for sending in a postcard. I need to check to see if my mom still has that.
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Pop Music Notes 