Idol Goes to the Movies

Tonight's theme is songs from the movies, and as a mentor we have Quentin Tarantino. If you recall season three (Fantasia year) Quentin was a guest judge on the show, and didn’t pull any punches. In this role, he seemed as crazy excited to work with the singers as they were to be in his presence.
Now we get the bad news. Because of all of the extra jabber causing them to run into Fringe last week,(and it isn’t the girls Simon) we only get to hear 2 judges after each contestant sings. They call it team judging, but I think it stinks. Let’s face it, he may be cruel, but 99% of the time Simon’s is the only advice worth listening to. After wasting about 10 minutes explaining all of this and watching highlights of Quentin’s movies, we begin.
Allison Iraheta "Don't Want To Miss a Thing," from Armageddon
What Allison lacks in personality and personal style she makes up for in pure raw talent. From the first note she really sells this song, even through a pretty weird rearrangement of the bridge. By the end of it I don’t even care that she has parachute pants on under a dress. Paula says something about Allison’s “special sauce” which borders on creepy and inappropriate, and Simon tells her she is the girl’s only hope and could be there at the end of this competition.

Anoop Desai "(Everything I do) I do it For You," from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
I really love this song, and I like the few liberties Anoop takes with the melody. He has a really great vocal, but for me the performance is average at best. He is starting to come off a little boring. Quentin told him to rough it up, and although I am not 100% sure what that meant, I am sure he didn’t do it. Randy thought it was a nice job, and so did Kara. I bet Simon would have had a slightly different spin. Anoop just doesn’t quite have the charisma that the other contestants do, and although he certainly should not go home after this performance, with what he is up against I bet he is in the bottom again.

Adam Lambert "Born To Be Wild," from Easy Rider
I know immediately that Adam is going to bring out the scream, even before he starts. Once again he is caked up with eyeliner, lipstick, nail polish and those skinny pants that I really don’t like. Once he starts singing though, I have to be honest, it is a vocal masterpiece and thoroughly entertaining. I prefer a cleaned up Adam singing a ballad; because the scream is just a little too much for me. Paula rambles out a few nonsensical clichés and Simon tells him the truth. Half of the audience will love it and the other half will hate it, but the vocal was fantastic.

Matt Giraud "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman," from Don Juan DeMarco
This is a great song, and I have so much hope for Matt because he is back behind the piano and he looks pretty relaxed. The problem is he is trying to make a Bryan Adams song an R & B song, and the runs start falling off pitch immediately. He actually has a few moments that cause me to wince. It is such a bummer, because I think this guy has great talent, but is still trying to find himself. Randy points out the pitch problems. Kara tells him if you are going to add crazy runs to a classic melody they have to be perfect, and the weren’t.

Danny Gokey "Endless Love," from Endless Love
Why a duet Danny? All I can picture is me and Katy Chura (high school friend, co-sandwich girl) singing into our bread knives at Ruma’s Deli-fighting over who gets the girl part. But I digress. This night is starting to feel like somebody’s wedding reception in 1985. He starts off rough for me, mainly because he is singing both parts to himself and he is probably getting confused. Midway through, he does build into a nice performance that is obviously heartfelt and emotional, and well sung. Paula must be stopped. I am gathering in between the nonsense that she liked it at the same point that I did. Simon was a little disappointed after seeing what David Cook could do with a Lionel Richie song, but appreciated his emotional connection. This guys is so popular, he will be fine.

Kris Allen "Falling Slowly," from Once
Now I am totally apoplectic because my cable has done some weird freezing thing and I don’t hear the song until the last note. I had to go and watch it later on line. I am a huge fan of this song, and I think that Kris gets everything about it right. This laid back guy is the real deal, and I am so excited to see what he is going to do each week. Randy didn’t get it, but Kara thought it was one of his best moments. This is the kind of emotional connection that I am looking for, and can only imagine how great it could have been on my big screen tv instead of on my laptop.

Lil Rounds "The Rose," from The Rose
Lil Rounds has no choice but to bring back the funk if she wants to stay in this thing, and she decides to make the Rose a gospel song? I will hand it to her that she is trying to make her mark, and if you play gospel in your car, well then you probably aren’t totally disappointed like me. I thought it was an average vocal, and although she looked great, I didn’t even really like what she did with the song if I am being honest. She is another Matt, with all that talent and training, week after week she still doesn’t get it. Paula had some offering of nonsense that I fast forwarded, but Simon told her it was the wrong song for her. Lil got a little bit sassy, which coupled with a boring performance should seal her fate.

Best of the night: Kris, Allison, Adam, Danny
Bottom three: Anoop, Matt, Lil
Going home: Lil