Anyone FOUR Rock?

Ry-Ry, looking snazzy as always in his suit, brings us into this American Idol with a tale of drama and intrigue…it seems that the American Idol orb that floats atop the stair case (you know the one, where certain lucky Idols stand to show that they’re “on deck” and wave to their moms before commercial break) came crashing down in a none-too-pretty smatter of glass, electricity and certain danger.  Because of this our top four haven’t had a proper dress rehearsal, adding just that much more to our weekly American Idol experience. 

The top four enter the stage looking worthy of the rock genre…except Danny, who instead of donning a leather jacket, decided to go with a red button down shirt. Really, Danny? That’s your choice? Or is there someone in the wardrobe department who has it in for you? (see what I mean about intrigue??) To be fair, it could be that he had leather pants on, but the overall look was not rock ‘n roll. But as Simon always says (and is kind of wrong about because a lot of people vote for their favorite regardless of talent), this is a SINGING competition. So let’s get on with it!

Adam Lambert

“Whole Lot of Love” (or is it “Whole Lotta Love”? I’m not really up on Led Zeppelin)

The Glambert was in fine form tonight and most assuredly in his element.  Adam told us via his video interview that he wanted to “kill it” this week. And when he walked out he kind of looked like he could kill ME. I really liked it when the did a shot of the electric guitarist and he was utilizing his whammy bar. I also like the fact that I know what a whammy bar is, even if it is just because I learned it while playing guitar hero. 🙂

This week was definately the “have a rock edge” vs. the “have not a rock edge”.  Adam came out and did his thing and it was well done and well received.  He’s not my favorite, but the quality of his performance versus the others really was incredibly noticable. Plus, maybe if I say nice things and he ever reads my blog he can teach me to put on mascara like he does. I can never get my bottom lashes defined in quite the same way…

Allison Iraheta

“Cry Baby”

Allison came out rocking the purple highlights that Adam hooked her up with (See! He’s willing to share his beauty tricks with his friends…) and I wanted her to rock my face off. We all know she can do it! And while I thought she delivered a good performance, it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. Maybe it’s just that I wasn’t familiar with the song.  And even though I wasn’t blown away by the song, I do think it’d be a crying shame if she leaves on rock ‘n roll week.  Plus, is it acceptable *coughKaracough* to say that you give someone ” a prop”? Isn’t it “giving props”? Where does that saying even come from? And why do I always feel like Kara is yelling at me to get her point across?

We now interrupt this normal American Idol schedule to bring you the first duet, Kris and Danny.

Duet 1 – “Renegade”

I know it’s dumb. We just heard from the two most rockingrollingest members of our American Idol squad. But when Kris sang the first notes of Renegade and he and Danny got into their harmony, I got a few chills. That being said, there was a marked difference with this performance and the previous two and I kind of found it funny that both guys did the whole obligatory pick-up-the-microphone-stand even though clearly their hearts weren’t in it. I firmly believe that picking up the microphone stand should be because there is so much energy flowing through your performance that it has to go somewhere and you take it out on the microphone stand because it’s there.

Danny

Is it just me or did Danny look like he was skittish up on that stage? His eyes kept darting everywhere but the camera (aka us!) and he looked really nervous.  His voice really does lend itself more to rock than Kris’ but he just seemed a little unsure and while it sounded okay (except the harmonies, those were off the hook), I was a little put off by his stage presence.

Kris

Gotta love ‘im. I think he was definately the underdog going into this week and remained so throughout the night. I can’t help it. I like him best! I just like his style, his arrangements, his obvious nice-guy-ness and the fact that he’s way further than I ever thought he would (up until he did “Ain’t No Sunshine”). I thought he did an okay job with the song, though it really wasn’t rock-i-fied to the standard that we had heard at the top of the show.

Kris Allen

“Come Together”

Now that I’ve let my Kris-is-the-best flag fly, I think it’s probably pretty obvious that I disagreed with the judges take on his song. I thought he did as well as he could for a genre that obviously wasn’t his cup ‘o tea and picked a song that he could retain his sound and still be technically “rock”. I was impressed with the range and control he had, even if he did get dissed by the judges. I really hope he stays. Reallyreallyreally hope. But if he doesn’t, hey! There’s always that collaboration with Jamie Foxx that he could pursue. 🙂

Danny Gokey

“Dream On”

Yikes-a-mola. I like the tone of his voice, the gruffness definately helped him out here on rock week. He’s just not a great PERFORMER. I think he’s a darn good vocalist but at this stage he doesn’t have the performance gene that everyone else does. He just is thinking about it too hard! And oh, boy that last note scream. Not good. Really not good. I actually covered my ears.  All things being fair, I think Danny should go home this week. We’ll see if America agrees with me.

We now interrupt this normal American Idol schedule to bring you the second duet, Adam and Allison.

Duet 2 – “Slow Ride”

The only reason I know this song is because it’s one of my favorites to play on guitar hero. I found myself “playing along”. This was by far the best performance of the evening. They totally rocked the stage AND rocked my face off. I also was appreciative that Allison finally got to wear some comfy footwear. I’m quite sure that this added to the performance.  Plus, how cute was that hug at the end of the song? They’re a match made in duet heaven.

So, there we have it. With all the media buzz about Paula’s contract expiring this year and Simon’s next year and rumors that both could be moving on, what do you think about having 4 judges? If we only get three which would you like to see stay?

Wishing I could play Guitar Hero instead of go to work every day…Haddock out!