Posts Tagged Rat Pack
American Idol – Final 5 (Results Show)
Posted by S. J. in American Idol, Season 8 on April 28, 2009
Good Evening, America! I don’t know about you, but I severely enjoyed the performances last night, especially Danny, Allison, and my Adam Lambert-Martin. (It almost makes me wanna be nice tonight. But not quite.) Jamie Foxx deserves credit for his work with the Idols. He was able to pull a performance out of Danny that I didn’t think was possible anymore. But enough with the blah, blah, blah. It’s time to see someone’s dreams shattered! This… is American Idol!
Seacrest tells us that we’ll have performances tonight from Jamie Foxx, Natalie Cole… and Taylor Hicks. (Well, there goes my good mood.) Seriously? Taylor Hicks? He was the least deserving person to EVER win this show. I disliked him then, and… well, that hasn’t changed.
Ford Music Video time! This week, it’s to “Energy” by The Apples. It features slow-motion running by our Idols and, of course, a Ford Fusion. I like the black and white filming with hints of color. But if they were going to do slow-motion running, I would have preferred a more “Baywatch” themed video. Mmmm hmmmm.
Group Sing time to “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and “I Got Rhythm”. Allison starts us off surrounded by her harem of guys. They missed a big chance here to have Paula choreograph another dance number ala “Swing Kids”… or they could have gotten some of last year’s contestants from “So You Think You Can Dance” to come out and play back-up dancers. That was a lot for the first 5 minutes of the show. That just means we’ll have lots of filler for the other 55 minutes. Joy. (There was some filler with a cake fight, and all I could think was “DON’T GET IT IN ADAM’S HAIR! NOT THE HAIR!”)
Results time! All 5 Idols are brought on stage. Matt is sent to the right side of the stage. (Uh-oh, I think Idol pulled a fast one and moved the Evil Final 7 Split to the Final 5.) Danny is sent to the left side of the stage. Allison is also sent to the left side of the stage. (I pick these two to be the safe group.) Kris is sent to stand by Matt. That means my Adam Lambert-Martin has to make the tough choice of which group is safe and which group is the bottom. He picks Danny/Allison and goes to stand by them (thinking they are the Top 3), but Seacrest moves him over to Matt/Kris and declares Danny/Allison safe. That means Adam is in… the Bottom 3??? WHAT??? This better be some cruel and horrible joke. I swear if my Adam is sent home…. Oh, let’s just say, Hell hath no fury like Stephen scorned.
Natalie Cole is here to perform “Something’s Gotta Give” from her album “Still Unforgettable”. If you remember, in the 90’s, she was “Unforgettable”, and now she wants everyone to know that she is still… unforgettable? I wonder if it takes anything away from the message if you have to remind people. Hmmm, ‘tis a puzzlement.
Taylor Hicks has come home to Idol. Whoever said that you can never go home again… I wish they had been right. Fast-forward.
Back to the results. Our Bottom 3: Matt, Kris, and Adam. One person is going back to safety. And that person is… Kris? Oh, someone is really testing my patience. I don’t think the Idol Producers realize the terror I will unleash upon the world if Adam is sent home.
Jamie Foxx takes the stage to perform his hit “Blame It”. I know this is his current release, but I would have preferred for him to pull out some Ray Charles and do “Georgia on My Mind”. Oh well, can’t always get what you want. Or so they say.
Back to the final results! Matt or Adam? Which one is safe? (Better be Adam.) After 47 million votes, Adam is… SAFE!!! Yay! Whew! That was waaaaaaaaaaaaay too close for my liking. So, Matt Giraud is going home, as he should, and as I predicted. As I told someone earlier today, everything works out like it should. We’re forced to listen to “My Funny Valentine” one more time, and if he had sung like this last night, it would have been even more clear cut that he was the one to go home. That was just painful.
Well, that’s our show for tonight. My heart rate is slowly returning to normal. I didn’t realize it, but for about 30 seconds there, I had stopped breathing. Idol, why do you like to torture me so? We’re now down to our Final 4. Again, I really like all of them, but if Adam doesn’t win… well, it won’t be pretty. Tune in next week for another set of possibly amazing performances with a Rock & Roll theme. Same Steve Time. Same Steve Channel.
American Idol – Final 5 (Performance Show)
Posted by S. J. in American Idol, Season 8 on April 28, 2009
Good Evening, America! It’s Tuesday night, and here we are again. Back to see which of our remaining wannabe’s will compete against my Adam Lambert-Martin in the finale… which is only a few weeks away. Now that we’re down to the Final 5, I can honestly say that I don’t dislike any of the remaining contestants, which could pose a problem for finding someone to ridicule tonight. (I’m sure I’ll manage though.) With Allison that last remaining female in the competition, it begs the question if she can charm America enough to let her into the “Idol Boys Club”. A lot is riding on tonight for several people. So let’s get on with it. This… is American Idol!
Tonight, our Idols take on the songs of the Rat Pack era. And to help them along the way is none other than Jamie Foxx. (If you haven’t seen “Ray”, you should. It’s amazing.) Before we move on with the show, I’d like to give you a bit of history. The “Rat Pack” was a group of popular entertainers centered around Humphrey Bogart. In the 1960’s, the group also included Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. And it’s a little known fact that there were female “Rat Packers” including Shirley MacLaine, Lauren Bacall, Angie Dickinson, Marilyn Monroe, and Judy Garland. So, now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Kris Allen is up first singing “The Way You Look Tonight” which was originally done by Fred Astaire. As Jamie Foxx correctly pointed out, Kris doesn’t try to compete with vocal histrionics. He sings right in the pocket where he’s comfortable, and with that goofy grin and soothing voice, he can win over anyone. Not a huge fan of him carrying around the mic stand. Just looks akward. I liked that the arrangement kicked up to a more jazzy feel for a bit before coming back down for the emotional end. His final note was a touch weak and off, but I’m willing to forgive that. It wasn’t phenomenal, but it was nice.
Allison Iraheta is second with “Someone to Watch Over Me” by the Gershwin Brothers. Allison looks lovely tonight in her black dress, and she is now 17 years old. Happy Birthday, Allison! (Here’s hoping you don’t get voted off.) Her rough and smoky voice is perfect on this song. This is a wonderful, bluesy version of the song, and it allows Allison to be tender and emotional, but you know she could still kick your butt. Allison knocked it out of the park tonight. There is nothing negative I can say about the performance. I heart her.
Matt Giraud is third with “My Funny Valentine” by Rodgers & Hart. (Constantine flashback! Constantine flashback!) This is a difficult song, and I don’t think Matt has the chops to pull it off without trying to show off. Plus, I think he looks idiotic in that fedora. (At least it hides that mole.) The start to the song isn’t the best. His lower register is not his strong suit. Matt does mostly well on a hard song. He shines on the high notes, but he’s distracting and sounds like Bea Arthur (God rest her soul) on the low notes. Overall, this was blah for me. Just blah.
Danny Gokey is fourth with (one of my favorites) “Come Rain or Come Shine” by Harold Arlen and the great Johnny Mercer. There’s a nice trombone lead in, and Danny takes the stage. Somewhere a wedding party is missing its Best Man. (Sorry Danny. I don’t like the suit.) Vocally, this is typical Danny, and I mean that in the best possible way. He pays amazing tribute to the original Mercer version… for most of the song. Then it kicks into Vaudeville stripper music. Danny needs a pole to dance around. Kara kindly offers hers. In the end, I loved it. Great song. Great performance. Well done. Nice to see the old Danny back.
Adam Lambert-Martin is closing the show with “Feelin’ Good” by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse. Adam looks as cute as ever in his suit. I love his entrance on the steps with the backlighting. (That’s a strut and a half.) Vocally, Adam is strong and sultry. The stripper music from Danny’s song has returned, and it works here. This is classic Adam: taking something we all know and making it new again. And his note at the end… there aren’t words. Wow. Just wow. He does not have a vocal equal in this competition. In my mind, the boy can do no wrong.
Well, that’s our show for tonight. I have to say, this was one of the better nights of the season. Now that we’re winding down to the end, none of the singers are bad. I don’t think I can do a Bottom 3 this week, because I really enjoyed 4 of the performances. So, in that spirit, I’ll say that I think Matt Giraud is going home tomorrow night. Will I be right? Will I be wrong? Will Adam lift the restraining order against me? Tune in and find out. Same Steve Time. Same Steve Channel.