Wednesday, February 22, 2006
American Idol: Feb. 22
So, is there actually a male talent that doesn’t suck on this show? Seriously.
I missed the first few vocals, and Chris Daughtry did a fair impression of Bon Jovi (as if that were a good thing), but to this point in the evening everyone else has been some combination of mediocre and miserable.
Kevin Coval’s whiny voice is painful to experience. Sway’s falsetto is impressive, but his vocals were mostly messy and overdone. Bucky Covington was, perhaps, the worst of the bunch. While his song choice wasn’t bad (even if predictable), he sounded forced and off key most of the way through.
And then Gedeon came along and sang “Shout”, which hasn’t got much in the way of vocal difficulty. Sure, it was fun--it was even a good performance--but it didn’t really prove much. I felt a big “so what” at the end of the thing, personally. As annoying as he is, I have to admit that at least I didn’t feel like voting against him when he was done.
While I tend to think that American Idol is a wild celebration of the merely decent, the tepid, the conventional, and the unexceptional, this group of guys seems to be underperforming tremendously. Both Paula and Randy keep saying kind things about these guys, but it all really boils down to this: it would be hard imagining any of these guys setting the world on fire with their singing careers.
To be fair (and to update the post), Elliott Yamin sounded good and put on a good performance. That was probably the performance of the evening (even if it was Stevie Wonder). Even Simon said nice things.
As for Ace Young, I can’t stand his nasal voice or his general lack of manliness. And, damnit, die creepy soulful gaze, die.
Very lastly, I had forgotten about Taylor Hicks. I love this guy, I love his voice, and I hope like hell that he stays on the show for a long time to come. Vote Taylor Hicks.
Update: Now that’s a mighty good question. Mighty good.
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Comments & Trackbacks
Do you think they are putting a lot of eggs in the basket of that last older guy? I thought his vocals were tepid on that Elton John song. But he at least has a personality, which is more than I can say for the others - especially the Bon Jovi soundalike. Oh, him and the Lynyrd Skynyrd hick.
(Gad, I can’t believe I’ve gotten sucked into this miasma!)
I feel for you. I really do. You never should have watched the show.
You know, I don’t think Hicks’ vocals were great, but his personality definitely carries him. And he really does manage to stand out from the rest of the bunch.
I disagree. I think his vocals were great, in that they were different and interesting. He sings with joy. It is inspiring to watch him perform. A show as silly as this is lucky to have him. I love him. I hope he wins it.
I still don’t know that I would think that his vocals were great, but I know I like the guy and I hope he does well. I definitely think that he’s the only guy that I’ll actually be rooting for.
I thought the vocals were okay, but Levon was not a song for him, and it started out slow. He seemed to stumble a bit on the “he was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas Day...” bit. I thought he should have done something more soulful. But it seemed like most of them were trying to go “out of the box” today.
and they really need to get rid of the wavery voiced kid and the guy who idolizes barry manilow. Ack!
I like Taylor Hicks and wish I would have caught some his band’s shows back when I called Alabama home (uh, if he was performing 5 years ago). But then I like Joe Cocker and classic Southern and blues vocals, so I kind of have to like the guy. And Simon’s final comment was… sniff… touching.
Now, one thing I DID confirm during tonight’s show is that Katharine McPhee is H-O-T.
So, there’s that.
I definitely enjoyed the watching the women more than the men. All kidding about hot chicks aside (as if hot chicks are something to ever kid about) I didn’t see a single performance last night that was even the least bit memorable but I saw several that I hope to forget.
And in an even sadder note, my wife really likes creepy-soulful-gaze boy…
No. No. That can’t be true.
I always speak so well of your wife, and she betrays me like this. I thought that creepy gaze would only work on teenage girls.
Next thing you know, you’ll tell me she had no problem with longing hobbit glances, either.
So, is it okay that I really like Ace and Taylor Hicks? And that I am really happy that they kicked Becky? Matt and I are hopelessly addicted to this damn show.
I’m with you. The men are pretty weak, and Taylor Hicks will be the last one of them standing.
But Becky O’Donohue. Goddamn.