MUSIC: American Idol 08: women's semifinals, week 2

70s week continues with a most unimpressive night from the women. There were very few good performances and lots of bad ones; this is a tough group of singers to get a handle on.

The rundown:

Carly, "Crazy On You" -- Great song choice for her voice and style. She handles the pitch and dynamic range very well, and it's a vast improvement over last week; the power on display is actually appropriate to the song.

Syesha, "Me and Mr. Jones" -- Some songs you can gender switch, and some you can't. The "Mrs." was crucial in the original, as it instantly told us we were dealing with adultery; making it "Mr." robs the song of that element of the forbidden. (And how ballsy would it have been for Syesha to actually sing the original without a gender switch?) As for the performance itself, Syesha's personality -- all bright, sunny smiles -- doesn't match the song, and she's not bringing any sense of taboo to it herself. The notes are there, but the emotion isn't.

Brooke, "You're So Vain" -- Her enunciation is a bit mushy, and that first chorus is badly off-key. But I like the clear tone of her voice, and on a weak night, this will probably be good enough to keep her around.

Ramiele, "Don't Leave Me This Way" -- That chorus is repetitve, isn't it, pounding out those three punched notes every five seconds, and it starts to get dull awfully fast if it's not in the hands of an incredibly charismatic singer. And tonight, Ramiele is not that singer; she's utterly devoid of personality, and the song falls completely flat as a result.

Kristy, "You're No Good" -- Again, a chorus that wears out its welcome very quickly. Kristy gives a solid performance, but it's not a particularly memorable one. I think the judges are right that country would be the way to go for her.

Amanda, "Carry On Wayward Son" -- There may have been a note or two somewhere in there that was on pitch, but if there was, I missed it. This was a godawful mess, and when Amanda started "dancing" during the brief instrumental break, I honestly thought she was having a seizure.

Alaina, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" -- Breathy Alaina and full-voiced Alaina are like two different singers. The breathy Alaina is rarely on pitch, doesn't hold my attention, and feels like a bad Vegas act. At full voice, she still has some pitch problems, but at least you're aware that there's a singer on stage.

Alexandréa, "If You Leave Me Now" -- I forget what a weird, angular melody this song has, and Alexandréa handles the odd leaps reasonably well. But the energy and charisma that made her so much fun to watch last weak has vanished, and it's a dull, flabby performance.

Kady, "Magic Man" -- what is it about Idol women and sex? They keep choosing songs that are all about getting laid, and they sing them as if they're going on a hayride. Aside from her apparent lack of interpretive skills, the low notes in the verses disappear entirely.

Asia'h, "All By Myself" -- Simon nails it: She's almost a good enough singer to pull this one off, but not quite, and when you fail on this one, it's going to be a spectacular failure. To her credit, the low notes at the beginning could be clearly heard and were on pitch.

For the night: Carly, Brooke, Kristy, Syesha, Ramiele, Alexandréa, Asia'h, Alaina, Kady, Amanda.

Overall:

• Deserving to be in the top 12: none of the women have given two solid performances yet.
• Deserving to come back next week and fight it out: Ramiele, Alexandréa, Carly, Brooke, Syesha, Asia'h, Alaina, Kristy
• Deserving to be sent home: Kady, Amanda

MUSIC: American Idol 08: men's semifinals, week 2

So here I am, back from the hospital, where the surgery seems to have gone just dandy. I'm moving a little slower than normal, but for the most part, I'm perfectly functional.

And having scrupulously avoided spoiler info, I'm ready to pass judgment on the li'l Idols, beginning with the men. It's 70s night, and for the most part, it goes much better than 60s night, with one or two contestants showing remarkable improvement.

The rundown (now with Percocet!):

Michael, "Go Your Own Way" -- The bouncing makes him look very nervous. The song's range is too much for him; there's too much vibrato in the lower register, and he never quite hits the high note (on "go YOUR own way"). Another middle-of-the-pack performance.

Jason C, "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" -- I liked this better than the judges did; the musical reinterpretation was effective (and it wasn't until he hit the chorus that I finally recognized the song). The end of the first chorus was bobbled a bit, but it's a nice performance, and Jason clearly knows what type of material suits him.

Luke, "Killer Queen" -- Well, his enunciation is very good. But it's an overly polite performance, with no sense of danger; just listen to those wimpy "yeah"s at the end of the song.

Robbie, "Hot Blooded" -- He's got a fine voice, and there are no serious pitch problems. But -- and maybe this gets at the rock v. pop thing that the judges go on about with him -- it's a very controlled performance, with not much spontaneity. You know that Robbie could sing this song 50 times and that every note, every phrasing, every breath would be exactly the same; rock music, I think, needs at least the illusion that the singer might lose control.

Danny, "Superstar" -- The opening is weak; when he gets quiet and breathy, his pitch gets worse. By the end, though, when he gets to sing out a bit, it's not half bad, and I begin to understand what the judges saw in him that got him to this point. He's not going to win, but with the right material, he could be entertaining enough to keep around for a few weeks.

David H, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" -- Energy, charisma, personality, and he's telling the story instead of just singing the words. The tacked-on coda is particularly egregious, even by Idol standards, but even there, his melisma is tasteful and on pitch.

Jason Y, "Long Train Running" -- The judges correctly note that this isn't a song to show off a singer's range; even worse, he doesn't always hit the few notes he is asked for. He looks comfortable on stage -- he certainly moves better than Michael -- and it's a smart image change from last week, but it's a forgettable performance.

Chikezie, "I Believe to My Soul" -- Winner of the Most Improved award; this is the type of music he should be singing. His voice is rich and full, there's charisma to spare, and he's having fun. One of the night's best.

David C, "All Right Now" -- The song suits his voice very well, but you still can't get past the fact that neither song nor voice is very interesting. He gets better and more relaxed as he goes along, I suppose, but it never rises above bland.

David A, "Imagine" -- Whaddya mean, he's only 17? This is a freakishly confident, poised, self-assured performance for someone that young. Oh, there are some scattered notes that aren't quite on pitch, but there's such heart and emotion in the performance that they barely matter.

For the night: David A, Chikezie, David H, Robbie, Jason C, Danny, Michael, David C, Luke, David Y.

Overall:

• Deserving to be in the top 12: David A, David H, Robbie, Jason C
• Deserving to come back next week and fight it out: Chikezie, Michael, Danny, Jason Y
• Deserving to be sent home: Luke, David C

MUSIC: American Idol 08: men's semifinals, week 2

So here I am, back from the hospital, where the surgery seems to have gone just dandy. I'm moving a little slow

A note for those who stop by here each week looking for American Idol recaps:

First, thanks for your support.

Second, this week's recaps will be a bit late, as I'm checking into the hospital tomorrow morning for minor surgery. If all goes as expected (and it will, it will, it will, I'm telling myself over and over again that it will), I'll be checked out on Wednesday, and the episodes will be waiting for me on the TiVo, but I suspect that it may be a day or two before I'm up to watching and critiquing the would-be Idols.

MUSIC: American Idol 08: women's semifinals, week 1

It's the ladies' turn to take on the 60s tonight. The highs are higher, the lows are lower, and a few early frontrunners are established.

The quick rundown:

Kristy, "Rescue Me" -- There's not an ounce of sex to be found in this performance. What does Kristy think "take me, baby" means? It's a pretty enough voice, but it lacks the horny rawness that this song requires.

Joanne, "I Say a Little Prayer" -- Kudos to her for getting Bacharach's tricky rhythms right, but her pitch is off throughout, and her voice is a bit too strident and piercing for my taste.

Alaina, "More Today Than Yesterday" -- The slow intro doesn't work, but once the tempo picks up, it's a confident performance, and great fun to watch.

Amanda, "Baby, Please Don't Go" -- Frantic, inarticulate shrieking and a remarkably unattractive voice make for one of the most painful performances in Idol history.

Amy, "Where the Boys Are" -- ...and miraculously, Amy manages to be even worse than Amanda. The pitch is disastrous throughout, and it's absolutely the wrong song for her.

Brooke, "Happy Together" -- There's just a hint of country in her voice, and it works surprisingly well on this song. It's not a particularly memorable performance, but it's pleasant.

Alexandréa, "Spinning Wheel" -- From the moment she enters down those stairs, she's in complete control of the stage and the audience. The melisma break coming out of the chorus into the second verse is impeccable. Fabulous!

Kady, "A Groovy Kind of Love" -- Kady seems to be on the verge of falling asleep even as she sings. That makes two of us.

Asia'h, "Piece of My Heart" -- It's a very relaxed, comfortable performance. There's something about her voice -- a slightly choked, strangled quality -- that rubs me the wrong way, but she's certainly got talent, and I do want to hear her again.

Ramiele, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" -- She certainly knows how to work the melodrama, and her dynamics are nicely controlled. Where most singers would be pushing like hell on those big belt notes at the end, you have the sense that Ramiele is just getting warmed up and has a couple more levels of volume to go if she needs them.

Syesha, "Tobacco Road" -- Incredibly dull song, and the arrangement is, I think, a bit too rock for her voice and style. Given those flaws, it was a very good performance.

Carly, "The Shadow of Your Smile" -- the low notes are too low for her, she's working awfully hard for the high notes, and this is not a song that should be belted in the first place. She may have a good voice, but her musical instincts aren't good.

Deserving to come back next week: Alexandréa, Ramiele, Alaina.

Not sure yet, but would like to hear more: Asia'h, Syesha, Brooke, Carly.

Won't miss 'em when they're gone: Kady, Kristy, Joanne, Amanda, Amy.

MUSIC: American Idol 08: men's semifinals, week 1

And they're off!

I haven't watched any of the audition or Hollywood week shows, and have managed to avoid any YouTube clips, so this was my first glimpse of these contestants.

It's 60s night -- theme weeks are a new twist for the semis, which had been free choice in previous years. I wished they'd left it that way; it was nice for the contestants to have a few weeks in which they could sing songs they really felt comfortable with before being thrown into the challenges of theme nights.

The goal of the semifinals is simply to get rid of the deadwood, so we'll just do a very quick rundown:

David H, "In the Midnight Hour" -- the slow intro with the organ is fabulous, with a lovely little falsetto break. The rest of the song isn't quite as good, and there's one very sour note near the end, but overall, it's quite nice.

Chikezie, "More Today Than Yesterday" -- a disastrous arrangement makes the song sound like something from a cruise ship lounge. His voice isn't particularly distinctive or interesting.

David C, "Happy Together" -- pitch is off throughout, and he tends to bellow in a most unattractive fashion.

Jason Y, "Moon River" -- if we were looking for the next Perry Como, he'd be our winner hands down, but can he actually sing in a more contemporary style?

Robbie, "One" -- I suspect that the judges are right and he's really a pop singer; his voice is a bit too clear and pure for him to be a real rocker. A solid performance, if not wildly memorable.

David A, "Shop Around" -- he can't quite hit the low notes in this key, but it's a fine, energetic performance.

Danny, "Jailhouse Rock" -- if you can't enunciate, then don't choose a song with lots of words in it.

Luke, "Everybody's Talking" -- Pitch is off throughout, and there's just a bit of rhythmic stiffness, as if he hasn't really learned the song yet and is still frantically counting beats in his head.

Colton, "Suspicious Minds" -- It's an adequate performance (the slow section is the weakest), but there's absolutely no force of personality behind it, nothing to push it off the screen.

Garrett, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" -- It's 60s night, so doing the slow 70s version is a cheat to begin with. Remarkably dull; it is, as the judges are so often wont to say, like bad karaoke.

Jason C, "Daydream" -- I wasn't quite as impressed as the judges were, but there is a nice relaxed warmth to his singing that I like.

Michael, "Light My Fire" -- Stupid song choice; never invite comparisons to one of the most iconic performers in rock history. Reasonably well done, though.

Deserving to come back next week: David H, David A, Robbie.

Not sure yet, but would like to hear more: Jason C, Jason Y, Michael, Luke.

Won't miss 'em when they're gone: Chikezie, Colton, Garrett, Danny, David C.

MUSIC: LA Philharmonic 08-09 season

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