AMERICAN IDOL XIII: Contestant Caleb Johnson (Credit: Fox / Michael Becker)
After last week's "American Idol" results show, the conspiracy theorists were out in force.
Did teenage heartthrob Sam Woolf really get the fewest votes last week? Or did producers say that he did so that he'd be saved by the judges to energize his tween-heavy fanbase? I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories, but considering Wednesday night's opening for '80s Week, they sure did need Sam around so they could use the Duran Duran classic "Hungry Like the Wolf." Hmm.
In any case, Young Sam and the rest of the Top 8 mostly struggled through songs from the decade before they were born, even though they got support from "Idol" winner David Cook and Keith Urban's fake mullet.
Here's how the night shook out:
1. Caleb Johnson, "Faithfully": At this point, he really is in a class all by himself when he performs. He has a big voice and knows how to use it in a way none of the other finalists can really match. His powerful version of the Journey classic ballad really pleased the judges. "I have been waiting for that since the first day I met you," Harry Connick Jr. said. Urban liked it, calling it "a fannypack" because it was "all function" for some reason.
2. Alex Preston, "Every Breath You Take": Musically, Alex has the skills to rearrange circles around the competition. His reworking of The Police classic was impressively transforming and, in the end, kind of pretty, but not great. "It sounded like a new tune," Connick said, though he warned, "The coffeehouse treatment is going to catch up to you." Jennifer Lopez disliked it outright, saying, "I miss the melody of that song… It really just lost the soul of the song."
3. Alex Preston & Sam Woolf, "The Girl Is Mine": This guitar-filled version of the Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney classic was incredibly cute and a sign that Sam has potential to do well if given the right support.
4. Sam Woolf, "Time After Time": Sam was meandering a bit until he reached the chorus of the Cyndi Lauper classic, probably because he was so worried about handling the early bit alone with just his acoustic guitar. However, about two-thirds in he found the vulnerability and charm that got him in the first place. The judges were encouraging about the baby-step forward. "I felt you really trying to feel it," Lopez said. "You're supposed to feel something when it's happening." Connick recommended that he watch some Ricky Nelson videos on YouTube. No, really.
5. Jena Irene, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll": This was a step back for Jena. Her reworking of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" into a piano ballad was about as far as you could get from the Joan Jett & The Blackhearts version. She was also kind of off-key by the time she got to the chorus, when it turned into a more standard version. "I wasn't a fan of the arrangement," Lopez said. Jena did send out a message to Long Beach's Jett, though, thinking that the Long Island Music Hall of Famer may be watching. "I love you so much," she said to Jett.
6. Caleb Johnson & Jena Irene, "It's Only Love": They did OK with the Bryan Adams & Tina Turner duet, but they were behind the beat until they reached the chorus.
7. C.J. Harris, "Free Fallin'": It's a bad sign for the Top 8 class that C.J. is somehow still around. His version of the Tom Petty classic started off shaky and was off-key more or less throughout the whole song. But he does perform well and his genuine delivery almost makes it worthwhile. J. Lo said that she roots for him "note for note" because he's so wont to go off-key. Urban said he loves the optimism in his voice. Connick tells him that he will eventually learn to be on-key. Um, shouldn't that have come before he makes it into the Top 7 of "Idol"?
8. Dexter Roberts, "Keep Your Hands to Yourself": Dexter has been the master of the low-risk song, but this was the lowest risk by far. He sanded off the more challenging bits of the Georgia Satellites song and all of Dan Baird's vocal quirks to create a nice-sounding, but ultimately bland performance. "You sang it really, really well," Connick said. Urban suggested he do something completely unexpected.
9. Jessica Meuse, "Call Me": This was nearly as low-risk as Dexter's "Keep Your Hands to Yourself," until the high notes near the end. She seemed to be waiting for the song to end more than the audience. "You need to feel that groove," Connick said. Lopez told her that she needed to understand the song better, adding, "If you can't tap into that for yourself, it's not a good song for you." It was not a good song for her.
10. Dexter Roberts & Jessica Meuse, "Islands in the Stream": Dexter had to strain for a change on the Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers duet and the results were not good. They were flat pretty much throughout and their chemistry seemed uncomfortable.
11. C.J. Harris & Malaya Watson, "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me": C.J. looked natural on the Aretha Franklin & George Michael duet, but Malaya had such a tough time with the Aretha parts that Connick even broke the judges' rule of not critiquing the duets, saying, "It was a little more regional theater than powerful entertainment."
12, Malaya Watson, "Through the Fire": Oh sweet Malaya, no. The Chaka Khan song is difficult to sing and Malaya struggled throughout. But what made it worse was it was clear someone had gotten into her head and made her noticeably uncomfortable in her performance. Her style is just to let the music carry her and instead she spent most of the song holding back with disastrous results. "It sounded like the entire performance was geared for [the end]," Connick said. Unfortunately, this may be the end for Malaya. Now, she was one who could really have deserved The Save.
BOTTOM THREE: Malaya, C.J., Jessica
WILL BE ELIMINATED: Malaya
ACTUALLY ELIMINATED: ???
Tags: American Idol
Source : http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/backstage-pass-1.811987/american-idol-recap-caleb-johnson-dominates-80s-week-1.7664362
