Here’s lookin’ up your old address, American Idol

I don’t know what all the talk was last night about “stellar performances.”Did I miss these performances? Did I nod off or something? I don’t recollect taking any restroom breaks when they could have come on. Nor did I step outside for a breath of fresh air. I don’t believe there were any stellar performances. Someone’s pulling my leg.

I’ll tell you what I did see last night on American Idol — the same old glad-handing by the judges throughout the night. (Where was that waterboard … er … I mean Critique-O-Dunk Tank I suggested to help things along?) I saw the weird and the leery come out of Steven Tyler once again. (“Here’s to lookin’ up your old address” he oozed at Haley Reinhart after her rendition of “Call Me”.) I witnessed the Twizzler-flimsy moves of our resident scarecrow Paul McDonald flailing about the stage right from the start. I saw an offering by Scott McCreery which in my opinion was a mistake — “I Cross My Heart” over Harry Nilsson’s Grammy Award winning “Everybody’s Talkin'” from Midnight Cowboy.

And even though I’m taking Ryan Seacrest’s words out of context, they sum up this episode to a “T”: “… it definitely illustrates the insane level of uncertainty.” Yes … it certainly does.

I’ve decided to take three performances from Idol’s Music Of The Movies night and look into them a bit deeper. (The other contestants’ stage appearances I’m discounting as “just there.” Nothing spectacular about any of them, despite what the judges may have said.)

Casey Abrams sings Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy”: Damn … was this move by Casey bold as all get out. I was all chest-puffed-out proud at him  for sticking to his guns and not backing down on his song choice. But “Nature Boy” … ??? Really?

Not only was it a tough tune to tackle (a myriad of things could have gone wrong with it), but who today even knows about this tune in the bubblegum world of American Idol? (Except for me and a bunch of my ancient friends who are music freaks, I mean.) Still, I liked Casey’s “damn the torpedoes” fearlessness in thumbing his nose in Jimmy Iovine’s direction.

The result? I liked it, but there were some quirky things going on in Casey’s version. Interesting growls. Extended lengths of strange. A bit of seemingly appropriate but still odd skat punctuating the end of the song. As much as I thought his turn was bold and ballsy, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he winds up once again in The Bottom Three.

Jacob Lusk sings “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”: This was nothing less than the perfect choice for Jacob. Dude’s very gratuitous with those plentiful runs though, isn’t he? It’s one of those signature characteristics he offers when he sings. It’s ingrained in him, practically expected when he takes the stage. I’m not a big fan of Jacob … but there are times when I’ve admired the cut of his jib. And with this performance? It fit him well.

(Funny Aside: Mr. Seacrest was enamored with his “cringe-chendos” during the performance. Whatta goof.)

Lastly, James Durbin getting his wail on. Again, here we have a song (Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal”) which appears to be something not a lot of people have knowledge of. I happen to remember it fondly; I was at the premiere of Heavy Metal when it came out in the summer of ’81. It’s a bit of an awkward song, but James handled it well. He stuck it right back at Jimmy Iovine just the same as Casey did before him, holding fast to what he believed was the right thing to do. And, once again, it worked.

The difference between James and Casey taking chances and standing their ground, however, is that James isn’t in any danger of landing in The Bottom Three for having sung this rock rip-roarer; Casey very well may be.

Stellar performances? No. I don’t think so. Even calling out the three videos above and reviewing them once again, they fall short of “stellar” … way short.

Different? Bold? Daring? Yes. But not stellar.

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Apr 14, 2011 @ 08:06 EST5EDT