american idol talk's blog

the finals -- top 4

by Steve Crisp
Published May. 6, 2009
Views: 153

Rock Week.

Two will hit it and two will bomb. Guess which ones are which? Probably not hard to figure out unless you've been living in a cave for the past two months. But there's a twist tonight.

For the first time on American Idol, contestants will be paired for duets. Everyone has their individual performance, then pairs get together and see if they can tear the house down. So how did they do?

1. Adam Lambert: Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin. That was Robert Plant meets Elvis. So good it's frightening. He can literally step in as a front man for any band past, present or future. He has a way of sliding into that minor which just sends chills up my spine. And it comes when you least expect it. Simply magnificent performance.

2. Allison Ireheta: Cry Baby by Janis Joplin. The Voice - the Tone - the Timing - the whole package is right there in a 17 year old. Allison plus huge quantities of Jack Danials equals Janis Joplin, that's how close she is. If she can only season herself and get rid of those nerves. But that will come in time, especially this summer when they go on tour. She'll get plenty of practice in front of 25,000 screaming fans, four nights a week.

First Duet -- Kris Allen and Danny Gokey: Renegade by Styx. Very nice harmonies and their voices meshed surprisingly well. But they obviously needed much more rehearsal on that one. They were weak on their solos. Individually there simply wasn't enough pizzazz to carry through. All I can further say is that their duet was better than most of the Ford commercials this year.

3. Kris Allen: Come Together by The Beatles. Even in death, John Lennon has nothing to worry about if that performance is any indication of artists to come. He didn't look the part, sing the part, or be the part. That was completely out of his league. And he knew it. He should have done something in southern rock, more like the Allman Brothers or Molly Hatchet. That at least would have fit his vocal style much better.

4. Danny Gokey: Dream On by Arrowsmith. The second he said what song he was doing, I cringed. There is that money note at the end which has to be hit. If you don't hit it, no money. And Danny is broke right now. The high note sounded like a screaming infant being tortured by a hundred nibbling snapping turtles. And within the entire low registers he sounds like he has the same number of marbles jammed into his cheeks. The best I can say is subdued chaos.

Second Duet: Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta: Slow Ride by Foghat. I've never really been a fan of that particular song, but boy were they hot together. From the start when Allison came slinking out on the stage like a python in heat (presuming pythons actually go into heat) to Adam just oozing out from upstage right, everything came together perfectly. The whole performance reminded me of a story Meatloaf tells about the time he tried to sell the concept of his Paradise By The Dashboard Light.

They pitched it to some industry honchos in the corporate offices. Meatloaf and Ellen Foley insisted that they just sing the song and the execs could judge it on its own merits. So they turned on the cassette deck with the instrumental back and started. But when they got to that middle bridge where Phil Rizzuto was doing the voiceovers, they decided to act out the action that was supposedly taking place in the back seat. They did it on the desk right in that office. The suits were appalled, but green-lighted it anyway, and the song has become a classic. Sometimes it pays to take risks.

So who's gotta go?

This is pretty much a no-brainer this week. Danny Gokey, the screeching chicken, is destined to fade into oblivion. Unfortunately, at this point, the personalities and just how many teen babes become infatuated with a particular performer play heavy on the voting. But on technical merits, of the lack thereof, bye bye Danny.

Filed under: Music