American Idol Recap: Syesha Never Had A Chance
May 14, 2008 · Print This Article
Los Angeles (CMR) - Well, it looks like the producers of American Idol are going to get their wish. By simply throwing Syesha to the wolves last night, a David versus David final two seems inevitable.
The judges were on:
Simon was right on the money when he said the round went to Cowell and Cook. When we learned that Cook was going to tackle Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” I thought he was crazy, though I liked Simon’s reasoning behind it (testing Rocker Dave’s vocal skills, testing his limits as an artist). With some guitar added to the mix, his arrangement showed off his signature gravelly sound, and his falsetto, which we haven’t really heard, and breathed new life into a great, classic song. Oh, and the way his mom was standing there, tears in her eyes, pride on her face, made the moment all the more beautiful.
Paula’s choice for Little David was “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel. A solid choice that showed off his amazing vocal skills. The arrangement was a little un-Archuleta-like as well; featuring the orchestra’s strings section merely complemented his voice and didn’t overtake it. Though I agreed with Randy – probably the one time I did last night – that it may have packed more of a punch if Little David was tickling the ivories during the Piano Man’s song.
Randy gave Syesha the daunting task of singing Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.” She sang it beautifully, don’t get me wrong, but why give the last lady standing one of the most successful songs in the last five years? It’s tough to change the arrangement of a song that still seems so current. I think she did the absolute best she could with it – changing a few notes here and there – but she got a raw deal from the less-than-imaginative dawg.
The contestants’ choices weren’t so hot:
Syesha didn’t do herself any favours by singing “Fever” in a cabaret-like debacle. It didn’t show off the vocal skills we all know she has, though she did manage to make it super-sexy. It seemed more like an audition for Chicago or A Chorus Line, which may be a good thing since, according to the judges, that’s where she’s headed after Idol anyway.
While I have to give credit to Little Dave for trying to tackle a “younger” song … picking Chris Brown’s “With You”? Really? It may have been a refreshing choice – contemporary R&B instead of snoozy ballad – but it was pretty horrifying. And there were some unsure notes and a couple of times when it looked like he was about to forget the lyrics. He looked pretty uncomfortable as the song went on, and I was uncomfortable watching.
Oh, wait. I just remembered the other time I agreed with Randy. Never has there been a more appropriate time for the dawg to utter the term “pitchy” than after Rocker Dave’s performance. I love the Switchfoot song, but it in no way shows any type of vocal talent. It’s the kind of song I sing in my car. Alone. Paula’s words were never truer: trying to cram a four-minute song into a minute and a half is tough, and it seemed like just when it was getting good, the ending came. Not a good round for any of them.
Producers’ picks:
Oh, Nigel Lythgoe and Co. Could you have at least tried to make it less obvious? Their choice for poor Little David was, as Simon so eloquently put it, “gooey.” Dan Fogelberg’s “Longer” sounded like it should’ve been for a retirement home commercial. He’s 17, people! How about Hoobastank’s “The Reason” or Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved?” Sort of ballad-y but still would’ve managed to show off his talents without aging him seven decades.
By giving Syesha a song from the Happy Feet soundtrack by Gia Farrell (who!?!), they basically threw her chances out the window. They actually threw her out of the window from the top floor of a skyscraper that’s on top of a mountain. Of all the songs in the history of songs, choosing “Hit Me Up,” where the background singers had almost as many vocals as she did? Seriously? Thankfully, the girl’s an actress because it was the only way she managed to get through that unfortunate song choice.
And then apparently, the producers were back on the Rocker Dave train, giving him the perfect closing song: “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” While it didn’t have the magic of “Always Be My Baby” or “Hello,” he, like Simon said, was the winner of the night.
I agreed with a lot that Paula said last night, which is shocking because most times I think she’s a kook. Her comments were clear and concise and her words actually had some meaning (loved when she told off a bantering Randy and Simon, and said to Cook, “it’s so funny that [they think] it’s about the two of them because it’s about you.”) Way to go, girl!
Oh, and Randy, if you use the phrase “you could sing the phone book” one more time, I may just throw a stack of Yellow Pages at my lovely LCD.
PROOF OF AMERICAN IDOL FRAUD!!!!
This is the second year in a row that American Idol has had a songwriting contest. Since the contest ended last year I’ve researched the contestants from last year and this year….FYI there were over 25,000 entries last year at $10.00 for each song. 20 songs were then chosen out of the 25,000 for an online vote. The winner’s song is then performed on the American Idol Finale. The problem I have is that one of THIS years Top 20 Finalist is a Co-writer of LAST years Top 20 Winner.
Somebody from American Idol has some explaining to do.
THERE IS A LOT, LOT, LOT MORE!!!!!
FOR ALL THE FACTS PLEASE VISIT….
http://americanidolexposed.weebly.com/