May 06, 2008

MUSIC: American Idol 08: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Even if the singers didn't have access to all 500 songs on the Hall of Fame's list of songs that shaped rock'n'roll, they surely had a wide enough choice that there was no excuse for poor song selection or bad performances tonight. Sadly, though, while some of the would-be Idols lived up to their potential with some of the year's best numbers, there were also a pair of clunkers that made it clear who's the weakest of the pack.

The rundown:

David C: "Hungry Like the Wolf" / "Baba O'Riley" -- All those songs to choose from, and David picks Duran Duran? It's not his best performance; he's oversinging, making his voice unpleasantly harsh, and his enunciation is particularly bad. Voice and enunciation both improve significantly on the second song, but it's not a very interesting song to begin with, and David does nothing to make it so. I'm reminded of the disastrous attempts various Idols have made to sing Rolling Stones songs, which inevitably teach us that what we love isn't the song; it's Mick Jagger's personality, stage presence, and performance. Same thing with The Who, it seems.

Syesha, "Proud Mary" / "A Change Is Gonna Come" -- Syesha is, by far, the best singer left in the competition -- spectacular voice, great versatility, superb technique -- and I always enjoy listening to her sing. But I'm still not sure I know who Syesha really is as a singer. She's giving a fine series of performances, but I always feels as if she's playing someone else. Tonight, we got Syesha in the roles of Tina Turner and Sam Cooke. That's not to suggest that she's merely doing impersonations -- she's not -- but there is something of Syesha that she's still holding back. It'll be fascinating to see the finals (should she make it that far) when she's given the Official American Idol Anthem and has to sing a song that hasn't been done by someone else already.

Jason, "I Shot the Sheriff" / "Mr. Tambourine Man" -- A pair of disastrous performances. To be sure, there is a bit more power and force to Jason's voice than usual, particularly in his first number, but the effort of putting it there takes away what little breath control he has, forcing him into even choppier phrasing than usual. He badly bobbles the lyrics on "Tambourine," and the coda that's been attached to the song is stupid and unnecessary, even by the standards of stupid unnecessary Idol codas.

David A, "Stand By Me" / "Love Me Tender" -- David has seemed a bit complacent in recent weeks, coasting on his teenybopper appeal without really putting in a lot of effort. But not tonight. His "Stand By Me" is a superb song selection that suits his voice beautifully; he sings it with grace and ease, even playing with the audience ("all you beautiful girls") in a way he's never done before. This is the first performance of the year that I might actually go to iTunes and buy. "Love Me Tender" isn't quite as good, and he relies a bit too heavily on his soulful eyes to get across the romantic intensity that he can't quite communicate vocally. Further, if you're going to tinker with the melody to give yourself a showy money note, as David does (the second appearance of "...ALL my dreams fulfill..."), then by golly, you had better hit that note instead of falling flat. That's a quibble, though, as David is clearly the class act of the evening.

For the night: David A, Syesha, David C, Jason.

For the season: Syesha, David A, David C, Jason.

Should go home: Unquestionably Jason.

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