Song for You

Okay, so, I don’t have the comfort of DVR tonight…I’m at a seminar on achieving excellence, at a training center in Potomac…it’s NICE, but I don’t think they want us in our rooms a lot because seriously? This room is the size of your average work cube. Now imagine a cube with a double bed in it. I’m just grateful that the tv has a remote. Apparently this place used to be a nun school (abbey?) or something, but it is gorgeous and it runs like a campus, right down to the dining hall. As classes go, this one is good, although it cracks me up that I’m Achieving Excellence this week…cuz honestly? I’ve been fine with mediocrity.

So, I turn on Idol to find that Jamie Foxx is the mentor tonight and oddly enough, I don’t have trouble with it. If anyone can teach people how to parlay determination into a multi-faceted career, it’s Foxx. Whether he’s your taste or not, I think there’s no denying he’s talented. Particularly because just about everyone remembers him from Ray now as opposed to Wanda from In Living Color. Plus, I have to admit that one or two of the songs I’ve heard from his latest release make me snap my fingers a bit.

First up? Kris Allen singing The Way You Look Tonight. Jamie says something about the “throat Olympics” making me rethink my being all right with his mentoring. Kris is very humble about the praise that Jamie heaps on him, making me like him all the more. I feel I might be breaking up with Matt. Or at the very least, cheating on him. Just sayin’. So anyway, this is one of my favorites. Performed by one of my favorites, so it will be hard to find fault with this. Okay, I kind of wished that it hadn’t gone up tempo at all, but it’s no matter; I so enjoy Kris’ voice. This was very good, and I’m really starting to believe that he could very well end up in the finals. Randara thinks it’s his best performance yet, and that he’s set the standard very high. Ooh…you can tell that it’s getting serious, because Kara and Paula both look a little dressier than they have before. Paula says he’s evolved to a sophisticated gentleman (hello, Cougar!), and that his crooning was near impeccable. Simon’s not as enthusiastic, but then again, when is he ever? Simon says it’s a bit wet, comparing Kris to a safe cocker spaniel. When Ryan asks what he meant by ‘wet’, Simon says “not dry”. Welcome back, Captain Obvious.

Alison Iraheta – who looks gorgeous! She says being the only girl left is scary. Hey! She’s 17 now! Happy Birthday! I do like Alison; I think she’s very young and fun, but standards night may hurt her if she tries to be all rocker-chick tonight. She’s doing Someone to Watch Over Me, another favorite of mine. Okay, I think I may love all the songs tonight. Jamie gives some credible performance tips, making me almost forget “Throat Olympics”. I’m not sure how I feel about this performance, honestly. It’s *good*, meaning she got all the notes right, and some good emoting. But I think this song is more…uh, for lack of a better word, innocent than she did it. I hear this song and I think “please hurry and take care of me”. She sang it and I heard “you better get your a$$ back here”. Randy says yo about 1000 times, noting that she did it in her style and that he loved it. Kara thinks she’s no longer a one-trick pony and that if that doesn’t land her in the finals, she doesn’t know what will. Paula heard the innocence that I found lacking, and Simon asks her if she thinks she can win at this stage, and she says that she thinks she can. Simon asks because he doesn’t believe *she* believes she can win it and maybe she’s been overshadowed. Simon thinks she may be in trouble tonight, which is not to say that he didn’t like her performance, but I think he’s saying that she didn’t do enough tonight to eclipse the frontrunners. Kara disagrees with Simon (SHOCKING!)

Next up – Matt Giraudi singing My Funny Valentine, and he will either rock this, or he will be going home. I’m writing this on the commercial before I hear the first note. He has a real chance here to own his R&B style. I really hope he does. The bad-hair-day hat is back. During the rehearsal, Jamie looks like he’s thinking about lunch, and then calls him back to give him some real advice, and I remember that Jamie is a classically trained musician. I kinda wish that Matt had done his own piano playing. Okay, what does this song mean? “Your looks are laughable, unphotographable”? Are they singing this song to an ugly person? Okay, the middle and end of this were wonderful, but the beginning was a little rough for me. If they are looking for Matt to leave next, he will not get a great critique…Randy thinks it’s a little pitchy. Kara thinks that he didn’t do much to establish himself and that she missed the connection…Paula loved it, and she really appreciates that he took Jamie’s advice. Simon loves it, calling it the only authentic performance tonight, saying he could tell that he (Matt) loves jazz, and compares him to Nat King Cole. Now I don’t know about all that, but I’m always happy when Simon is happy with my boyfriends.

Which reminds me, I’ve been hearing all this chat about Simon leaving Idol -- that it’s too much for him to do two shows in the UK and this one. Uh-huh. Unless they are ready to end the AI franchise, I’m dismissing this rumor outright. Simon IS American Idol. There are some shows that can absorb losing a major player (NYPD did it for years; ER did for a while before it became complete a$$, and Law and Order proved that you could do it, and do it well), but not AI. Simon is to American Idol what Dorothy Zbornak was to the Golden Girls. Not that the others weren’t spectacularly funny, but she was so integral to the success of the ensemble, it didn't work. The Golden Girls spin-off lasted a season without Dorothy. So I say, forget it. I also say, Rest in Peace, B. Art. Your comedic timing was legendary.

Danny Gokey is singing Come Rain or Come Shine. I’m enjoying Jamie Foxx as the mentor, I really am. Oh, Danny is singing the hell out of this. I love love love it! Although that last note scared me a bit, this was probably my favorite performance of the night, and my favorite one from Danny in like a month, because he was starting to rest on his laurels a bit. He rocked the joint. His vocals were spectacular and he worked that stage like a pro…very nicely done. Randy once again goes on to remind us it’s a singing competition (do we not know that?). Kara says he has swag. Hello, Kara? Swag is what you get in the green room…I’ve never heard swagger abbreviated like that. Paula loves it too. (Lovin’ Paula’s hair, by the way). Simon notes his confidence, saying he proved a point that he thinks he can win this, and you know, I think he can too. Simon notes that Jamie bought out an outstanding performance in Danny. That was kickin.

Okay, this commercial for minute maid brain juice is a total knockoff of an internet joke that continuously cracks me up, so this is only a minor complaint. See, without DVR, I comment on commercials too! And this show Glee seems like it’s going to be a page from my high school life, unlike, say, The Secret Life of the American Teen-Ager…which I like, but Glee Club sounds more like me.

The winner of AI 8, Adam Lambert, is singing Feelin’ Good. I’m full of predictions tonight, because he’s going to rock this joint. Adam starts on the stairs, and I wonder if they all have that option, because it works. I realize I’m going to be in the minority, but I love this white suit…this sh!t is beyond fabulous. Adam is conjuring up Freddy Mercury for me right now, and I mean that very complimentary because I love Freddy Mercury’s voice. Adam’s intonation is spot-on; and his pitch is flawless. Randy says it was too theatrical for his taste, but that he can sing. Kara can’t figure out what the heck she wants to say and stumbles all over herself. Paula has 19 Entertainment about to call the lawyers when Paula says Adam makes her feel better than good. Simon says he’s in it to win it, and laughs that Randy has issues with Adam being theatrical, because if you looked up ‘theatrical’ in the dictionary, there’s Adam staring right back at you. Simon tells Adam that he had the best entrance of the season and that Ryan is no longer allowed to use the stairs, because Adam worked them (we’re running out of time AI! Do you want me or not!?!?!?!?!).

So, I think it’s been a while, but I can honestly say that I enjoy each of the remaining performers. I think America got the top 5 exactly right. I don’t remember if they do the bottom two or the bottom three now that it’s only five, but if I were to rank the performances tonight?

1. Danny
2. Adam
3. Kris
4. Matt
5. Alison

Okay, onto to Dancing with the Stars, and Robin Thicke is on it…and I just love this man. He’s cheesy like his dad, and soulful like his mom. I love ballroom dancing (wow! I love a lot of things tonight. I’m telling you, this leadership center is kind of magical!). I own the DWTS Cardio DVD, which is its own blog, but the ladies dancing remind me of this woman at the Inaugural Ball who stayed on the dance floor with her hands bent in that “dancer stance”. It cracked Michele and me up, which means you just can’t do those hands just anywhere! On DWTS, it looks like good form, on a random dance floor in the National Harbor, it’s completely cheesy.