Rock Week

The theme this week is Rock week and the mentor is Slash. The contestants were able to jam at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip, and some you can tell right off are going to be more natural at this genre than others. Ryan also tells us that for the first time on Idol there will be duets this evening. I guess we will never be going back to an hour and a half, and there isn't quite enough time for them to each do two solos. Shame on you Idol, you have three guys, who gets bad luck of the draw to sing to another guy (I bet I know). Before I start I have to say that this genre was fine for me when I was in high school, but along with my big 80's hair I left this behind a long time ago. I am ambiguous about Slash, and as a mentor all I can really say is that I am happy at his age he is managing to keep his full head of hair. As far as helping the fab four, I am not sure his advice was as great as mentors from past weeks.

Adam Lambert "Whole Lotta Love"
Adam sounds just as good as Led Zepplin and he takes Slash's advice and doesn't sing too much in his higher register. This is a great classic Led Zepplin song and he totally nails it. He stays pretty close to the original, but his performance is strong and his vocal is perfect. Randy said that no one will think about Broadway after this performance,(this is true) and that he was a rock star. Kara one upped him and said Adam is a Rock God. Paula said (I just repeat it folks) that Adam was a whole lotta perfect. (sigh) Simon said it was his favorite of Adam's performances and that nobody would be able to top it.

Allison Iraheta "Cry Baby"
I first notice that she looks really pretty, and her hair (although half purple) looks much softer. She also looks thinner, but that could be the head to toe black. I think she sounds great and performs really well. She has such a similar voice to Janis Joplin's that it is hard for me to tell if she alters the song, but I do enjoy her performance. Randy didn't love the song choice. Kara thought she should have done a different Janis song. Paula thought she did a great job. Simon thought she looked confident and aside from being a little copy cat, she had a great vocal. Allison attempts to explain her song choice reasoning, and then Simon tells her to go ahead and beg.
After some banter, Ryan moves us toward duet number one. Big shock, it is Kris and Danny. They pick "Renegade", which is probably my least favorite Styx song.I guess this isn't exactly a duet, it is dueling solos with two lines of harmony. Who thought this was a good idea? From start to finish it is strange and doesn't sound great. The fact that they can sing in harmony does not help the overall oddness of the duet choice.
Randy liked the harmonies. Kara thought they had some pitchy moments separately but together they were strong.(?) Paula thought they were "powerful" and "compelling". Simon gets the giggles from this useless commentary and says what I am thinking-"I don't know what to say". In the end he says that Danny was better than Kris.

Kris Allen "Come Together"
I am not excited about the song choice, because it I am thinking if he picks Beatles, why not "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"? He proves me wrong right away, and sounds really good. He also looks very comfortable on stage, and he does manage to make the song sound like a Kris Allen song, which is not an easy thing to do. I end up really appreciating and enjoying the performance. Randy thought he still sounded like himself, loved the performance but not the song choice. Kara really didn't like the performance. Paula thought his artistic delivery was great. Simon didn't like it at all. He thought it was like eating ice for lunch (which in his house, this is apparently made with mineral water).

Danny Gokey "Dream On"
Slash thought that Danny was naturally gifted but that the final scream could go either way. Vocally, the song starts off well, but the performance feels forced and awkward. Three quarters of the way through he does some weird "doo doo doo" thing that totally does not work. Then the scream happens and guess what? It goes the wrong way. It really goes the wrong way. As in horrific. Randy said it was not perfect but A+ for trying? Kara thought he added too much swagger. Paula didn't think the song choice was the right one, but that she was a big fan. Simon said the last note was like a horror show but he still thought he would be safe. So how is this right? Kris has a flawless performance and gets raked over the coals and Danny goes down in flames and it is all about the effort?

Next was the duet with Adam and Allison and they pick, of all songs, "Slow Ride". Again, I think it is a dumb song choice with almost no melody, but these two are performing in their comfort zone, so they manage to pull it off. As intended, they are better than duet number one. Better as in they performed better and sang their song better, but would I ever want or need a repeat performance? That would be a big fat no. Why not Cheryl Crow and Kid Rock's rock ballad? It is still a rock song, and at least one that might have been an I-tunes download favorite.

I think it is a shame, because Kris Allen is a hugely talented kid who had one pretty good performance, and it felt like he was set up to go home tonight. I felt that Kris was as uncomfortable as Danny was with this genre, but completely overcame it in his solo where Danny fell flat.

Because of the way the night went down I think Danny and Kris will be in the bottom with Kris going home. I had really hoped for a Kris, Adam finish but I have a feeling that this might not happen. Oh well, Chris Daughtry knows a thing or two about being number four, and look what he has done with it. By the way, tune in tomorrow to see him live....