Idol Chatter & Voice Views

My favorite quote from the past week comes from Nigel Lythgoe.

Obviously miffed by speculation that Idol was pre-taping tonight’s show so it could manipulate the outcome, Dizzyfeet dashed off this message on Twitter.

“We are pre-taping for 2 weeks as we have a new Director & new judges. It has nothing to do with manipulation you morons.”

Well, if Idol is such a manipulation-free zone, this moron would like an answer to a simple question: How does Idol determine the order of performance? Do the contestants get to draw numbers from a hat or something?

It’s never seemed that way in the past. The show’s producers seem to purposely pick what they expect to be one of the best performances for the show-closer.

Which brings us to tonight, when we get Naima Adedadpo as a show-closer.

Naima, the gal who needed a wild card berth just to make the finals?

Seems an unlikely choice, unless the producers are trying to put her in a spot to become one of our favorites.

Oh, well, Naima will be closing the show with Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” If you missed the spoiler blog, here’s the other songs we’ll hear tonight.

The song list

Lauren Alaina: “Any Man of Mine” (Shania Twain)
Casey Abrams:  “With a Little Help from My Friends” (The Beatles)
Ashthon Jones: “When You Tell Me that You Love Me” (Diana Ross)
Paul McDonald: “Come Pick Me Up” (Ryan Adams)
Pia Toscano:   “All By Myself” (Eric Carmen)
James Durbin:  “Maybe I’m Amazed” (Paul McCartney)
Haley Reinhart:”Blue” (LeAnn Rimes)
Jacob Lusk:    “I Believe I Can Fly (R. Kelly)
Thia Megia:    “Smile” (Charlie Chaplin)
Stefano Langone: “Lately” (Stevie Wonder)
Karen Rodriguez: “I Could Fall in Love” (Selena)
Scotty McCreery: “The River” (Garth Brooks)
Naima Adedapo:   “Umbrella” (Rihanna)

As normal, I’ll be providing song-by-song grades as the night progresses, then returning with a recap blog on who should stay and who should go.

Lauren Alaina: The teen from Georgia seems a more likely show-closer. Instead she’ll kick off the next two hours. That’s normally a precarious position. Not for Lauren Alaina. She’s too popular. She’ll be singing Shania’s “Any Man of Mine,” a tune we’ve heard a time or two before on Idol. Enjoy the energy, because there are lots of ballads on tonight’s song list. Here’s what impresses me about Lauren: If she feels a bit of nerves taking the stage at 16, it doesn’t show. And she’s picked a song in her vocal wheelhouse. That won’t go down as a classic Idol performance, but it was a fun way to kick off the night. Keep having fun, Lauren. Grade: B-

Casey Abrams: Casey takes on Joe Cocker. Sounds like a nice match. Speaking of fearless. Casey lets it all hang out on stage, doesn’t he. I wondered how he’d do without his instruments. Wow, he does just fine. Nothing in that performance changes my mind that he’s the singer to beat in this competition. That was a blazing performance. Grade: A- (And only the minus because someone later might be better.)

Ashthon Jones: The wild card pick will be singing “When You Tell Me That You Love Me.” Uh-oh, I hear something pitchy. OK, now Ashthon is getting back on track. All right, I did not love that performance. There was a big glory note in the middle, surrounded by lots of sharp singing. This is the point where Paula would say, “Ashthon, you look lovely tonight.” I would have far rather have seen her sing something more upbeat and fun, a la Lauren Alaina. Grade: C-.

Paul McDonald: Looks like Paul left his $4.5K jacket at home tonight. And he’s singing a song with an R-rated chorus and that’s a little more obscure than your normal Idol openings. This should be interesting. Well, he got around the R-rated chorus by changing the lyrics. Watching Paul dance is sorta fun all in itself. The vocal was fine. Nothing to dance over. But Paul’s got enough support that he should coast this week. Grade: B-

Pia Toscano: Anxious to see Pia perform. She’s been impressive every time she’s been on stage. But last week will to tough to top. Dang. The gal can sing. Brave song choice, tackling a Celine Dion song. Randy hit it on the head. Contestants are warned to shy away from Celine, Mariah and company. Pia need not shy away from any song. But now, I want to see her try something more fun and upbeat. Grade: B+

James Durbin: The rocker’s song choice surprised me a little. But it does offer an opportunity for James to shriek. Hmm. What that song choice did is allow James to show off the very nice tone in his voice. He showed control. He limited the shrieks. And he turned in a dead-on vocal that shows he can do more than shriek. Grade: B

Haley Reinhart: The gal from Wheeling, Ill., goes country, singing LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue.” Haley’s looking lovely and she’s doing a decent job with the song. But I’m afraid that vocal will pale in comparison to the last couple we’ve heard. And I think Randy nailed it on the head: It was a boring performance. A little sleepy. Grade: C

James Lusk: Another brave song choice. Jacob singing “I Believe I Can Fly.” Rough opening. Solid middle of the song. Then slipping into overblown and oversung. And why do some of the singers get background vocalists and others get to go it alone on stage. I was not a fan of that performance. Grade: C-

Thia Megia: Not surprised Thia has no idea who Charlie Chaplin is. She’s only 15. She knows the song, “Smile,” because of the Michael Jackson version. Oh, yeah, that’s who Randy compared her to in a moment of delusion last week. I suddenly feel like I’m watching a beauty pageant for teens. If Haley’s performance was sleepy, that was sleepier. Fine vocal. Just nothing special. And, Randy’s right, the arrangement was a little strange in the second half. Grade: C-.

Stefano Langone: Another energetic performance from Stefano. He takes “Lately” uptempo and hits lots of big notes at the end after what sounded to me like a rocky opening. Don’t know if he followed the advice to keep his eyes open. Don’t know that the fans who vote for good-looking guys on Idol will care. Grade: C.

Karen Rodriguez: She has Selena “Barbie” dolls in her room. And I think there should be a ballad-quota on Idol. Because after a brilliant opening, this show is slipping into the ordinary. A lackluster vocal. Nothing we haven’t heard 100 times before on Idol. Jennifer wasn’t a fan of the performance, and she’s been one of Karen’s biggest fans to date. Grade: D+

Scotty McCreery: Like this song choice. He’ll be singing “The River” by Garth Brooks. Thanks, Scotty, for bringing tonight’s show back alive. Of course, with that voice, all you had to do was open your mouth. Excellent vocal. Loved the a cappella bit in the middle. As soon as I heard this song, I knew it would be a great match for this talented singer. Grade: B+

Naima Adedapo: A gal who should have been very nervous entering tonight’s show, gets to close the show with Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” Hey, and somehow Naima merits special effects. The opening seemed rough. Liked the middle when she broke into the dance moves. But, honestly, the vocal wasn’t that great. Compared to Rihanna? Seriously now folks. But, hey, Jennifer doesn’t care about pitchy. Bottom line: Not a show-closing worthy performance. Grade: C.

Recap blog coming soon.