American Idol 12 - Trey & Nick's Week in Review - Top 8
Hey guys, Nick here. Welcome to another edition of Week In Review, American Idol edition, where myself, along with fellow writer Trey M., give our take on the week's performances and results, while also looking ahead to next week's show.
Credit: FOX
Whose chances of going further have improved?
Janelle. That performance just completely flipped the script of her story in the competition. She had seemed like such a one-note country belle, but her version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" showed a versatility far beyond what could have reasonably been expected, going in. It was also her best vocal of the season so far. Trey also added that Burnell deserves a mention here, as he predicts he'll be the last man standing, outlasting at least two of the girls solely on the merit of his gender. I can certainly see where Trey is coming from on that prediction, and it wouldn't surprise me if he proved to be right, but I get the feeling if anyone benefits from being a dude, it'll be Lazaro. And even then...
Whose chances have decreased?
Angie. If she hadn't been in that group number with Candice and Amber, she might have come up in conversation as a potential bottom 3 candidate. She just completely flopped this week, and though Burnell arguably had a crummier week than she did (landing in the bottom 3 with fellow trainwreck groupmates Devin and Lazaro), I feel like her showing this week did real damage to her credibility as an artist. She comes across as if she's trying too hard to fit into a mold that's in line with the judges'/Jimmy's expectations. She's gotten away from the artistry that made her compelling in the first place, and she risks becoming completely forgettable if she doesn't get back to that soon. Angie reminded me of Katelyn Epperly early in the competition for how she presented the total package of looks, vocals, musicianship and originality. This week, she was giving me Haley Scarnato flashbacks. And yeah, that's...just not a good thing at all.
Best performance of the week?
Janelle. Maybe our expectations were just low, but that was way better than we ever would have expected it to be. Just a terrific performance from front to back. Amber also deserves a shout-out for taking her bottom 3 showing and using it as motivation to deliver a powerhouse vocal on Wednesday night (though the standing O was a bit much). That said, I don't think I'll ever be able to hear "Lately" on Idol without thinking of RJ Helton. (What? I was a fan!)
Worst performance of the week?
The Lazaro/Devin/Burnell performance was so bad that it wouldn't surprise me if they were to ditch group numbers on performance night altogether. I don't think Nicki was harsh enough for what a trainwreck that was. It was a performance you had to watch through closed fingers. It was like a Charlie's Angels made entirely out of Bosleys. Here's a pretty terrific, hilarious frame-by-frame analysis of why the performance was as bad as it was.
Most disappointing performance of the week?
Devin was one of the competition's best vocalists, but he always had a problem connecting, or infusing any of his performances with real emotion. "The Tracks of My Tears" should have been an easy lay-up for him -- and vocally, it was. But he still didn't really connect, and the decision to keep the song's original arrangement, instead of going for a more low-key, acoustic rendition (or even a piano-tinged take), made his vocal feel strangely dated. It was an old-fashioned performance, and while Joshua Ledet proved that old-fashioned doesn't necessarily have to mean irrelevant, Devin failed to make the same statement with his performance. He just came across as a decent, if unspectacular, performer. If he had delivered even a tenth of the emotion and feeling with which he infused his Save Me performance of "Somos Novios (It's Impossible)", he might have escaped the bottom 3 altogether.
Credit: FOX
Should the judges have used the save on Devin?
While Devin was undoubtedly one of the best singers in the entire competition, and even taking into account that his Save Me performance might have been his personal best, I don't feel like he was making any real effort to grow as an artist, or to show us anything different. Week-in and week-out, he'd give us a technically proficient vocal that was frequently among the better vocals of the night. But that would usually be it. There would be no nuance, no variation in performance style, and, most curiously, no Spanish. The one thing he could have done that would have set him apart, and he opted not to do it. I just don't get it, since his Spanish infusions were what made him interesting in the semifinals. Maybe he assumed that because it didn't work for Karen Rodriguez, it wouldn't work for him? I'm not sure. I will say that the Spanish felt like a more natural extension of his performances than it did with Karen, which is why I wish he'd have used it a little more often than zero times, past the semifinals. It's a shame to lose him this early, but I feel the judges were right to reserve their save for someone who might actually have a shot at winning. At best, the save would have bought Devin an extra week or two, at most.
Which contestant will Devin supporters back? Will anybody get a bump up?
Assuming they just don't stop voting, my guess is they would gravitate toward Burnell more than Lazaro. Yes, there's more of a potential Spanish overlap between Devin's and Lazaro's fanbases, but I feel like Devin fans, for better or worse, might see Lazaro's safety coming at Devin's expense. But who knows? It's not really a science, since fans of one contestant will often back a contestant you might not expect them to once their favorite is eliminated. For all we know, Devin fans might start backing Janelle. All I know is that contestants tend to get a slight bump from the transfer of fan bases, and though it usually doesn't start mattering until we're down to top 6 or so, the fewer number of contestants this year could mean that it starts to matter a lot sooner. Then again, Devin was in the bottom three all three weeks of the finals so far, so I have to question if his fan base is even big enough to give anyone a significant bump...not that we'll know one way or the other, since they've stopped with the rankings (and thank God for that).
Credit: FOX
Should group performances be eliminated from the live performance shows?
Given how it went with Lazaro/Devin/Burnell, our immediate inclination is to say that they should absolutely be nixed immediately. As it stands now, they're not really contributing anything worthwhile to the competition. Sure, it gives the vocalists an extra chance to show what they've got, but it rarely feels like we realize anything new about the contestants. Like last year: of course Elise was going to sound better than Phillip on "Somebody That I Used to Know". But was anyone going to stop voting for Phillip and start voting for her instead? Similarly, we already know Kree comes across as more of a bonafide pro than Janelle. Do we really need to have it hammered home and risk creating a backlash? I just feel like most of the performances are simply okay, at best; and disastrous wastes of time, at worst. I've yet to see a single group number that justified the concept, no matter how many standing ovations the judges wanted to give Joshua and Jessica last season. I'd rather just get another solo performance than a group vocal, since that part of the competition should have ended in Hollywood.
Song Suggestions for Classic Rock (No Ballads) Week:
Some of these might stretch the parameters of the theme, but here we go:
Kree: "Crazy On You" by Heart or "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac would suit her well, as would just about anything by Janis Joplin.
Angie: I'd be all for her doing "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac, though that might be a bit safe. I could actually see her pulling off "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin, if she's that insistent on avoiding the piano as if it's going to give her some communicable illness. Lastly, even though I love Haley Reinhart's version to death, I think Angie could really nail "Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John at her piano, if that can be classified as a classic rock track.
Amber: "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N Roses could work out nicely for her. "Ruby Tuesday" by The Rolling Stones could be a good fit for her as well, assuming that the verses aren't considered too ballad-esque to disqualify it from consideration. "More Than A Feeling" by Boston might also be a decent fit. Either way, she should really embrace the theme as an opportunity to break free of her over-reliance on ballads.
Lazaro: I think, with this theme, Lazaro is thoroughly boned no matter what he picks. That said, though its early parts skirt around the borders of balladry, I think "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd could get him back on track. I also think he might be able to pull off a Rolling Stones song, maybe "Honky Tonk Woman" (although given how Paige Miles did it in Season 9, that could actually be a better fit for Amber) or "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (though, again, that might be right on the border of the theme).
Candice: At the risk of turning this into Rolling Stones night, Candice could slay "Satisfaction". She could also rip "Walk This Way" or "Cryin'" by Aerosmith to shreds.
Burnell: This is the hardest person to pick for, in my opinion. Even harder than Lazaro, since nothing really jumps out at me from the classic rock catalog for him. He might be able to get away with "Light My Fire" by The Doors or "American Woman" by The Guess Who. He could also make "Roxanne" by The Police work, if we're counting that as classic rock. I just really have no idea for Burnell, since I can't even think of what his voice would sound like on a classic rock track, so I'm just throwing things against the wall to see what sticks. Commenters, help us out!
Janelle: Come to think of it, "Sweet Child O Mine" might be better for her than it would be for Amber, but then I'd have to think of something new for Amber, and I just draw a blank when it comes to her. That said, I would love to hear Janelle do "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, corny as the actual performance might actually end up being.
So what do you think? Did America get it right this week? Should the judges have saved Devin? Will any contestant receive a bump from Devin's elimination? Should group performances be eliminated? What were the best/worst performances of the week? What should the finalists sing next week? WILL I EVER STOP ASKING QUESTIONS?! Sound off in the comments!
