It’s not a hill, it’s a mountain
As you start out the climb
Do you believe me or are you doubting
We’re gonna make it all the way to the light
But I know I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy tonight
– u2
yeah, that’s about the story of the week so far… last week, good, this week, not so much… more as it develops…
peace… love… bdg…
yikes… i totally forgot about Idol this week… as such, i need to be quick about the comments and the picks… quick quick… then, i’ll come back around and toch on some of the other stuff swirling in my little head…
THE FINAL ELEVEN
now playing: Better Class of Losers – Randy Travis
It’s a celebration of country music and the Grand Ole Opry… cool, i guess… Simon hates country music… clearly Randy Travis will be performing this week? he looks a lot like Zach Morris from Saved By the Bell… well, when he was much younger… anyway, let’s get moving…
Michael Sarver sure, he can do pretty well here… Randy Travis thinks he’ll do well… i didn’t catch the name of the song, but i’ll assume it’s Garth Brooks… lots of words here… ah, yeah… Ain’t Going Down Til the Sun Comes Up… well, look, so this guy keeps getting told that he has a good voice and he picks a song that leaves him so out of breath that he doesn’t really sing at all… bad choice for me… i guess it was alright of a performance, but i’m not feeling it… Randy (the dawg) says it was fun, but limited his vocal… Kara says she missed the big notes, but that was a lot of words… Paula says fun is fun and fun spreads from here to there… Simon says it should’ve been good, but it wasn’t so much…
Allison “Red”… Blame it on Your Heart… oh yeah, she’s the rocker chick this year… this song kind of suits her voice nicely… it’s a little fast, but she’s doing well with it… as long as she can make herself shout some of the words, she’s good… Kara says Allison can sing the alphabet… Paula says something about the power of her voice and that she’ll go far… Simon says it was good, but a little tuneless… Randy says it was dope…
Kris “With a K” without his guitar… he’s singing a ballad… and i thought i heard them say it was another Garth song, but i can’t say that i know it… there’s something of a giant gap in my musical collection when it comes to country… i like the song though and i like the way he’s singing it… he’s got a pretty nice tone and a nice little falsetto note to end it… Paula says she is pleasantly surprised… Simon says it was terrific… Randy says Kris is a tender dawg… Kara says it didn’t even sound country, it was beautiful…
Lil Rounds singing Independence Day which i think is Martina McBride?… anyway… it certainly doesn’t ring like a country tune right off… which is fine, it’s just that her voice isn’t used to this type of song… she’s a little flat here and there… it’s gotta be distracting to see yourself on the floor in front of you… big note to close it out… i thought it was just okay… she’s good though… Randy says ambitious, but it wasn’t comfortable… Kara says here’s the thing… you do what you feel, so props for that… Paula says everything was spot on (including the booze in her coke cup)… Simon says little and lil are the same and it sounded like she was forced to sing a crappy song at a wedding… she really talks too much and that takes her down a few notches for me…
now playing: Before He Cheats – Carrie Underwood
“Wicked” Adam Randy Travis is scared of Adam… taking a Johnny Cash song to the oddest of places… this actually reminds me of Quinlin from The Blood Violets… i like the oddity of it all and yet despite how strange it all is and how non-traditional it is, it’s incredibly well controlled and entirely spot on… exactly what he wanted to do with it… nice… the exact example of what they were trying to convey to “Little”… Kara says it was strange… Paula says she is amazed… Simon says “what the hell was that?”… absolute, indulgent rubbish… Randy says it’s current, young, fresh, hot…
“Mistah Scott-tare” singing a girl song… i can’t quite place what it is exactly that i don’t like about this guy, but each week, with each performance, i’m just like, yeah, whatever… that was nice, but let’s move on… I guess this is how a lot of people felt about Brooke last year… that was a bad falsetto… yeah, well, it was fine… Paula says it was impressive and lovely, but the piano is a crutch… Simon says Paula is stupid… then they argue a bit while everyone else laughs… Simon then says that he’s not choosing good enough songs… Randy says yo, where’s the hot vocals, dawg?… Kara says rawr… step it up and wow us…
Alexis “Pink Highlights” singing Joleen… didn’t she sing a song that was named after a girl’s name last week too?… right… Dirty Diana…… i don’t know… she didn’t impress me last week and i still am not hearing anything special here today… she can go home for all i care… Randy says he’s not sure she hit the notes… she starts talking back… Kara says that she lost her edge… Paula says it was vulnerable… Simon says it was soundalike… which means that she sounds like the original…
Danny “Gokie Dokie” singing Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take the Wheel… what’s with the guy’s singing girl songs… my leg is asleep… he’s wearing a snow white coat… you know, i don’t even really like this song… his problem is that he was so incredibly reserved on this verse and then now the he’s opened it up for the chorus (where he’s clearly more comfortable with the song)… it’s almost obnoxious… i do like it though… he’s got a nice voice and i hope he’s fine… Kara says basically what i said… Paula says something or other… ba-bi-bee-ba-boo… BRILLIANT…. Simon says that he somehow understood what Paula said and that he agrees with her… Randy says the verses needed help…
now playing: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash
Anoop-a-noop i missed the title, but it’s a familiar song… not so much as a country song… ah, right, Ronnie Milsap… it’s really low-key… and almost dark… like a eulogy… but oh well, that opened up just slightly before the lights went back out… Paula says Anoop is back… Simon says he went from zero to hero… Randy says this is why we wanted you back… Kara says it was very hard to do and he did it… amazing…
Megan Joy “Lydia” singing I Go Walking After Midnight… this is truly a Grand Ole Opry song… and she’s knocking it out of the park… that little twist thing that she does is kind of annoying though… and i just have to wonder how natural that bluesy tone is in her voice… and well, this whole thing just falls apart during the second half… started off great though… Randy says woah, glad that’s over… she coughs which tells me that she’s forcing that tone… Kara says it was perfect and that she has the flu… she coughs a few more times for good merit… Paula says something about the hospital and oh, it’s kind of like when Phoebe wanted to get sick to keep singing a certain way… Simon says she needs to be sick every week…
Matt Giraud behind the piano singing something from Carrie Underwood?… again a guy singing a girl song… it’s alright and all, but it really doesn’t feel all that current and his voice dissolves when he goes for the big notes… ah, So Small… yeah… it was actually kind of a mess in the middle and just okay on the ends… Kara says it was amazing… Paula says it was authen…auth… authentic… Simon and Randy both said it was one of the best of the night… well, i missed that one…
MY PICKS
Bottom Three: Michael, Alexis, Matt
Going Home Sweet Home: Alexis
peace… love… bdg…