A consequence of the tenth “American Idol” season having so many strong finalists is the fact that most of the contestants possess very unique “sweet spots.” Scotty McCreery will never be able to vocally annihilate a song the way Pia Toscano does, but for what he tries to accomplish and who he tries to target with his deep country voice, he can often end up making a bigger impact. Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart clearly own the “soulful growl” for their respective genres, but performances from Stefano Langone and Thia Megia would be viewed as excellent if they incorporated just a hint of grit and emotion, whereas Abrams and Reinhart would bomb if they did not come across as overly-edgy.
The challenge of “ranking” the contestants against each other is exacerbated on nights like this week’s “Motown Night,” in which the eleven remaining finalists generally all hit did well. There was only one performance that generally offered little in the way of excitement, and even that one was far from terrible.
Where flaws develop, therefore, is more in the comparison to expectations and previous standards than in comparison to the accepted definition of a “good performance.” Most contestants were good and will continue to be good this year, so the question instead needs to be asked, “What was accomplished with this performance?”
Meeting or Exceeding Expectations
Casey Abrams, for example, technically did a great job on “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” His vocals were on point, his emotion was evident and the pure, soulful quality of his delivery outmatched nearly every contestant. The only real flaw was his wet, slicked hairstyle, which was reminiscent of how Zach Galifianakis looked in his “Hangover” tuxedo. Not exactly a “pop star” look.
Yet something about Wednesday’s number felt a bit flat and unmemorable. Even though the performance was a trainwreck, on “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Casey amped up the intensity and built himself up as a true risk-taker. Performances like his excellent “With a Little Help from My Friends” would actually feel like “old news,” since we know that Casey, deep down, has far more emotion to unload.
And that is what similarly hurt “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” Casey sounded tremendous and did seem to believe the song, but the level of engagement and audience control was a bit missing. By setting himself as someone who needs to go over-the-top and off-the-wall, Casey made it so that performances like this come across as “going through the motions,” no matter how vocally brilliant.
James Durbin, however, very much achieved his goals. His “Living for the City” was not a vocal masterpiece; the arrangement, in fact, felt one-note at times, taking away the “storytelling” and build that help make Durbin’s ridiculous high notes come across as special. That being said, he owned the performance from start-to-finish, exciting the crowd in a way that has rarely been seen on “Idol.” This is a contestant who gets performing, and he knows how to make everything register with the audience–even if the vocals, themselves, are nothing outlandishly special.
And who else has shown that caliber of ability to work the crowd after a performance? Durbin, a pro wrestling fan (or a global entertainment fan, as WWE might demand he say), was basically channeling Hulk Hogan on stage.
Jacob Lusk scored on both counts with his “You’re All I Need to Get By.” The vocals, though not absolutely perfect, were so pure, honest, powerful and well-constructed. He used his range and power perfectly, refraining from the oversinging that has made some of his previous performances so polarizing. The honesty and poised delivery were simply in classes of their own, re-positioning Lusk as a true contender in this competition. He will continue to have haters–some people will simply not “get” the wildly over-the-top performances and feel as if the judges are unfairly showering him with praise–but if he continues performing like this, he will hedge that hate with an immense fanbase.
The Style Challenge
When heavier female singers appear on stage, attention is often played to how “flattering” their outfits are. In reality, critics are really assessing whether or not the wardrobe selection made the female look thin (or “tight” as “Knocked Up” would say). Unflattering for the heavier Lauren Alaina would therefore not be a color choice that clashed with her eyes, hair color or complexity but one that failed to minimize her weight–or, worse, one that drew special attention to the “less-toned” parts of her figure.
Style critics should thus take note of Lauren’s long, flowing dress for “You Keep Me Hanging On.” It certainly did not appear to make her look thin–but combined with her hairstyle, it worked for her, providing far and away her most attractive, confident and comfortable appearance to date.
It did, however, have a downside–the dress continuously got in the way of her movements and thus created a distraction. As J-Lo noted, the real positive of this performance was Lauren’s attitude–she showed off her diva flare and stage ownership in a manner that was far more honest than is usually the case with teen contestants. But even that was hampered by the fact that she needed to continue picking up the dress as she moved. For a performance that saw her walk around the judges’ table, flirtatiously perform against Randy Jackson and try to engage the crowd, looser movement should have been the priority.
Still, the attitude and decent vocal showing made for a very acceptable Lauren Alaina performance. One would not think she was a part of frontrunner discussions based on this showing, but one would similarly not expect her to be endangered.
Thia Megia, Lauren’s fellow teen female, also clicked with a fun, youthful style. More importantly, she finally showed some personality on “Heat Wave.” Her movements were definitely awkward, and the bouncing around definitely affected her breath at times, but it was still nice to see Thia let loose and escape from her shell. The fact that she prioritized “fun” over “notes” also meant the return of her interesting tone, one which Randy Jackson has long compared to Michael Jackson.
Comparatively, however, Thia was still one of the weaker performers of the night. With confident performers like James Durbin and Paul McDonald on stage, it is hard to jump up and down over a still-timid female moving around a bit more than she usually does.
On the subject of Paul McDonald, he greatly improved courtesy of a guitar in the middle of the stage. With his weird movements restricted by the instrument and microphone placement, the singer could instead focus on delivering a soulful, honest rendition of “Tracks of My Tears.” It is doubtful anyone will ever rival Adam Lambert’s astounding rendition of this song (while “Mad World” got the most love in season eight, “Tracks of My Tears” was arguably the better performance), but McDonald did not even try to compete–he, instead, went with a more folksy rendition that totally gelled with his vocal style. Forever a wildcard–Paul has fans but the size of his fanbase remains a mystery–he will likely never be a perceived lock to avoid elimination, but he definitely should not go home after this terrific number.
Singing vs. Performing
While Thia Megia broke out of her shell to mixed success (but encouraging praise from the judges), others faltered by too-strongly embracing the comfort of their walls.
Stefano Langone easily delivered the night’s worst performance on “Hello.” The vocals were decent, albeit underwhelming and nasally, but the real problem, as J-Lo correctly explained, was the lack of attachment to the song. This could have been any angsty ballad–there was nothing suggesting Stefano was even attempting to feign a personal connection to the lyrics. The comparison to David Cook’s tremendous season seven rendition is irrelevant–Stefano missed the mark and delivered the night’s weakest performance.
Pia Toscano suffered from something similar, although her vocals were obviously on a different level. She sang “All in Love is Fair” tremendously, but this was about as “going through the motions” as is humanly possible for someone of her talent level. Yes, Pia should probably be chastised for selecting yet another ballad, but it was not so much the song choice as it was an uninspired product from Pia. There are effortless performances and there are performances without effort–this seemed far more like the latter. She made some interesting, if not brilliant vocal decisions, but ultimately, Pia just stuck to something that she knew she could safely sing. She did not do anything to establish a real connection to the song, and the result was a performance that will be remembered for how little “extra” Pia did rather than for how well she sang.
As a point of defense for Pia, it is, however, worth noting that the judges delivered their first bit of “inconsistency” on this number. All three agreed with the reaction that Pia needed to step outside of her ballad comfort zone and try something that could even be classified as “mid-tempo,” but they actually praised her for taking that sort of risk the prior week. Headline Planet’s review argued that Pia still failed to show the “personality” and excitement that would have been the objective for an up-tempo number, but the judges did not rip her at all. It thus seems unfair for them to pretend last week never happened.
Playing to Your Strengths
In season three, “Motown week” required crooner (and, believe it or not, frontrunner at the time) John Stevens to finally step out of his comfort zone. He failed, and his “My Girl” remains the epitome of an “Idol” trainwreck. Scotty McCreery, this year’s deep-voiced country star, was technically at risk of the same failure.
He did not fail, although he predictably did not deliver his best showing of the season.
The performance itself, a very country-flavored take on “For Once in My Life,” was actually quite interesting. The country music audience often embraces covers of pop and R&B songs, and so in a non-“Idol” world, this cover would possibly have the best chance of success at radio. It was certainly not a “My Girl”-caliber performance.
But the real tragedy was the fact that McCreery did not truly seize the opportunity to show off the “singing” part of his package he first truly unveiled last week. McCreery seldomly seized some of the power notes in the song–even when he did midway through the number, he was quick to bring the action back to his low rumble. No one would fault Scotty for making this number his own, but it simultaneously would have been nice to see him try to sing on par with the original. Then, he would not just have the most likable voice in the competition, he would also position himself to rank as a respected singer.
Haley Reinhart, meanwhile, finally selected a song that meshed with her signature-growl. “You Really Got a Hold on Me” is far from current and thus not exactly what she needs to be a true force in this competition, but it definitely felt appropriate for her talent and allowed her to shine on stage. The movements and vocal tricks actually seemed a bit dishonest and “forced” onto the song at times, but when she was clicking, she was as dangerous as any female in the competition. The look was a bit much, and the movements were a bit sloppy and chaotic, but this was a big step forward for a contestant who was in the bottom two both previous weeks of the finals.
It remains unclear what Naima Adedapo’s purpose and intent are in this competition. Her fashion does not even remotely match her vocal style, and the frequent dance breakdowns never have any profound musical relevance to the song. Yes, it is hard to claim that dancing during “Dancing in the Streets” is inappropriate, but the over-the-top, African-inspired dance moves did not at all mesh with the rendition of the song she performed.
They were, however, enough to get the judges on board. The vocal performance itself was a reliable, but uninspired showing for “American Idol,” but the addition of the dancing and her facial intensity seemed to make the judges believers. It remains to be seen if fans will buy into that mask.
Elimination Thoughts
Headline Planet has been nearly dead-on in all three weeks of this competition (semifinals and the two finals weeks), but that streak could end this week. Thia and Stefano would appear to be locks for the bottom group simply based on quality, but they have not yet been in the bottom three–and it’s not like they were terrible. Haley should have done enough to avoid that placement this week, but it is clear from the prior two weeks that she does not have a huge fanbase. Naima’s recent trip to the bottom three also suggests she, too, might be low on the total supporters count.
And, with most generally doing a good job, the possibility of a surprise trip to the bottom group is definitely in play.
Performance Rankings – Top 11 Show
1) Jacob Lusk
2) James Durbin
3) Paul McDonald
4) Casey Abrams
5) Lauren Alaina
6) Haley Reinhart
7) Pia Toscano
8) Scotty McCreery
9) Naima Adedapo
10) Thia Megia
11) Stefano Langone
Rankings Average After Three Weeks of Finals
James Durbin 3
Jacob Lusk 3.33
Pia Toscano 4
Scotty McCreery 5
Paul McDonald 5.33
Casey Abrams 5.66
Lauren Alaina 6
Stefano Langone 7
Haley Reinhart 7.66
Naima Adedapo 10
Thia Megia 10.33