Horrible week for American Idol. Or in VoteForTheWorst words, the week was VFTW gold. Majority of the contestants were terrible in an excruciatingly entertaining way (if watching embarrassed contestants is entertaining to you). I do not understand why but whenever this batch of contestants are allowed to choose from a wide variety of songs, they just tend to fail horribly.
Speaking of horrible, Paige Miles performed arguably the worst song I have ever seen in American Idol. She totally tanked that song as it was pitchy everywhere (seems like Paige redefined the term ‘pitchy’ with her rendition). What’s worse was that she exhibited such low self-esteem when she was asked about her performance. It is ironic that her best and only decent performance this season happened when she had laryngitis.
Speaking of horrible, Paige Miles performed arguably the worst song I have ever seen in American Idol. She totally tanked that song as it was pitchy everywhere (seems like Paige redefined the term ‘pitchy’ with her rendition). What’s worse was that she exhibited such low self-esteem when she was asked about her performance. It is ironic that her best and only decent performance this season happened when she had laryngitis.
Horrendous was followed by another excruciating performance. At least, it was entertaining (in an awful way). Tim Urban risked it by sliding and selling out to the fans and he failed dreadfully. His singing just does not cut it.
I am now running out of negative adjectives and I have just discussed two performances… oh wait, I forgot the first. Ah yeah, it was Lee DeWyze’s forgettable and subpar try at being Taylor Hicks. It was not pitchy but what just carried it was his voice. But you know what, Lee’s song was even far from the worst. The whole night was just that bad.
By the time Aaron Kelly stepped into the stage, everything he did became awesome to the judges who have lowered their expectations after two -20/10 performances. They raved about Aaron’s I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing cover, but to be honest, I did not get it. Aaron had good control of it but I did not like the changes he introduced to the song. In short, he murdered the Aerosmith classic.
You know what…there is just too much negativity. I will just breeze through with the rest from here on.
Crystal had the performance of the night. It was brilliantly done. I love how she changes the tone of her voice. Big Mike had an above average performance and was slightly underpimped for the very first time. By the way, is Andrew Garcia still a contestant? Katie Stevens had to be the surprise of the night. Her voice fit well in Fergie’s song. Damn! I think I am ranking her pitchy performance as the second best of the night (pitchy it is but I ranked Lee’s Lips of An Angel the best in the males before anyway). Casey James decently delivered but there was a lack of conviction and star power from him. Didi actually performed quite well but the judges threw her under the bus. (Goodness gracious! Why do my favorites always get hammered by the judges before the Top 10?!) Either way, they failed to make Didi cry.
Before I end my show recap, I have to say that I am a Siobhan fan for quite a long time already. That girl just amazes me from week to week. Having stated that, I still need to be honest in my analysis. I have to state that Siobhan’s performance this week was not good at all. The verses were decent but not spectacular. The screech was horrible… Yes, you read that right. I like hearing screams because I love rock songs but Siobhan’s latest shriek was off key and unnecessary. Two steps backward for the Cape Cod Gal. It was disappointing because it was her second pimp spot for the entire show. It looks like the producers are giving her the Adam Lambert treatment but it is not helping her chances at all. The judges do not give constructive criticisms anymore as they start to overpimp Siobhan.
The judges were actually good this week. Simon is back to his A game as he has been spot on except on criticizing Didi. Ellen continues to be funny while Kara is back to being the undercard to the main event (Simon). As for Randy, he is still the best mediocre judge of all time (yeah, I just put best and mediocre in one sentence… ladies and gentlemen, Randy Jackson!)
Power Rankings:
On the cusp: Big Mike. I actually liked the tone of his voice this week. I do not like this guy but three strong performances are enough to earn recognition.
5. Casey James. He is inching closer to the guy on #4 but since Casey did not have the strong conviction this week, it was not enough to topple…
4. Lee DeWyze. Mediocre performance this week but he still has more memorable performances than Casey James so he keeps this spot.
3. Didi Benami. Not as good as last week’s performance. Didi’s voice is still awesome and she is stunningly beautiful this week.
2. Siobhan Magnus. After a month at the top of my rankings, Siobhan descends to the 2nd spot. The judges have been so nice to her, but I won’t be. Simon saying that he likes Siobhan screaming all the way was like him saying, “Please do that so you will lose.” Siobhan should stop screaming in every performance. Don’t do it for the judges. Always do it for your fans, Siobhan. I may not have liked it when I first watched it but I would like to see the Siobhan of The House Of The Rising Sun again. Siobhan should focus on the verses rather than the screaming. I hope she bounces back next week.
1. Crystal Bowersox. She easily had the best performance of the night and that cemented her in this spot. Why? It is because Crystal never had a mediocre performance thus far. She was always in the top 3-5 every week. Also, she has become more likable this week especially when she had the carpet conversation and the guitar signing (I don’t like Miley as a singer but what Crystal did was classy). Suddenly, Crystal is starting to build up a good story in American Idol with her guitar signature thing. I may not have seen Crystal winning early on because she got pimped a lot, but I am starting to see her potential to win it all by dominating it the rest of the way. This is why Crystal assumes the top spot this week.
This blog entry does not end in power rankings though. I am going to tackle one important topic in this stage of the competition. We all know that it has been established that Crystal and Siobhan are the frontrunners. However, recent Idol history points to the fact that underdogs have better chances of winning than the early chosen ones. David Cook became a huge threat only after Billie Jean. Before that, David Archuleta, Carly Smithson and Michael Johns had the fan attention more. Last season, we had the classic case of underdog beats heavy favorite when Kris Allen came out of nowhere and defeated long-time favorite Adam Lambert. It was such a David and Goliath story that I think Kris Allen redefined the meaning of underdog. Thus, I bring to you the Kris Allen route theory.
What is the Kris Allen route theory? It is simply the underdog theory in American Idol where a certain contestant starts in the middle-of-the-pack (and sometimes was endangered because judges hammered him/her with heavy criticism), stays by week after week then suddenly belts out an interesting song at the right time so that this underdog peaks by the time the frontrunner loses some steam. Also, this underdog should never be overpimped. It can receive some good pimping from time to time (the best judge to overpimp a Kris Allen would be Kara because of her “ is back” statements and her tendency to overdrool on guys). Kris Allens should also have some strong performance in the early stages so that it could build on a loyal fanbase. Speaking of which, Kris Allens have a very good fanbase. You may notice that I have suddenly used Kris Allen as a term more than a name by now. I think the contestants that fall under the Kris Allen category have a legitimate chance of beating the current frontrunners because everybody loves an underdog. If I were betting, I would have put my money more on the Kris Allens than the frontrunners.
Shown below are the Kris Allen Rankings for this season (Crystal, Siobhan and Big Mike are out of the rankings because they have been quite pimped already)
5. Katie Stevens. Big Girls Don’t Cry put her in this discussion. I actually thought of putting her in 4th place but I listened to the performance again and it was really pitchy. Heading to the Bottom Three this early hurts Katie’s chances as well. (Kris Allen never went to the Bottom Three) Nevertheless, Katie Stevens has Katharine McPhee tendencies (even up to the unnecessary annoying high note that Kat pulls off every time she performs) so I think Katie is back into the possible contender discussion again.
4. Aaron Kelly. He has a strong fanbase (tween girls). He has shown some potential (Angie). He has been slightly better than Katie so far. Aaron deserves a spot in this discussion.
This blog entry does not end in power rankings though. I am going to tackle one important topic in this stage of the competition. We all know that it has been established that Crystal and Siobhan are the frontrunners. However, recent Idol history points to the fact that underdogs have better chances of winning than the early chosen ones. David Cook became a huge threat only after Billie Jean. Before that, David Archuleta, Carly Smithson and Michael Johns had the fan attention more. Last season, we had the classic case of underdog beats heavy favorite when Kris Allen came out of nowhere and defeated long-time favorite Adam Lambert. It was such a David and Goliath story that I think Kris Allen redefined the meaning of underdog. Thus, I bring to you the Kris Allen route theory.
What is the Kris Allen route theory? It is simply the underdog theory in American Idol where a certain contestant starts in the middle-of-the-pack (and sometimes was endangered because judges hammered him/her with heavy criticism), stays by week after week then suddenly belts out an interesting song at the right time so that this underdog peaks by the time the frontrunner loses some steam. Also, this underdog should never be overpimped. It can receive some good pimping from time to time (the best judge to overpimp a Kris Allen would be Kara because of her “
Shown below are the Kris Allen Rankings for this season (Crystal, Siobhan and Big Mike are out of the rankings because they have been quite pimped already)
5. Katie Stevens. Big Girls Don’t Cry put her in this discussion. I actually thought of putting her in 4th place but I listened to the performance again and it was really pitchy. Heading to the Bottom Three this early hurts Katie’s chances as well. (Kris Allen never went to the Bottom Three) Nevertheless, Katie Stevens has Katharine McPhee tendencies (even up to the unnecessary annoying high note that Kat pulls off every time she performs) so I think Katie is back into the possible contender discussion again.
4. Aaron Kelly. He has a strong fanbase (tween girls). He has shown some potential (Angie). He has been slightly better than Katie so far. Aaron deserves a spot in this discussion.
3. Lee DeWyze. I could have ranked him higher if I made this list last week but I realized that Lee has one big thing going against him – pitch issues. Nevertheless, Lee has that awesome raspy voice and likable personality that can attract the Kris Allen type of fans. Another plus is that Lee is a guy. Unfortunately, he was pimped early on so I think it loses some of his points for being a Kris Allen.
2. Casey James. He is actually a perfect mould to be this year’s Kris Allen. Girls drool on him and he has Kara’s backing. Casey has been under the radar for quite some time as well. One outstanding song from him would blast the competition. Also, Casey has a solid fanbase (Texas) that would help him in the long run. The judges have been raving too much that it is a girls’ year but I have a hunch that one strong performance from a male would easily catapult that guy as a very solid threat. Aside from the fact that most people who watch American Idol are females, the males have become huge underdogs by now.
2. Casey James. He is actually a perfect mould to be this year’s Kris Allen. Girls drool on him and he has Kara’s backing. Casey has been under the radar for quite some time as well. One outstanding song from him would blast the competition. Also, Casey has a solid fanbase (Texas) that would help him in the long run. The judges have been raving too much that it is a girls’ year but I have a hunch that one strong performance from a male would easily catapult that guy as a very solid threat. Aside from the fact that most people who watch American Idol are females, the males have become huge underdogs by now.
1. Didi Benami. From this season’s frontrunner to this year’s underdog. Didi maybe a female but she has been riding the Kris Allen route for quite a while (and Kara is a huge fan of Didi). Judges have hammered her badly (Lean On Me and You’re No Good) but she has the propensity to do quite well. She also has a nice personality that suits well for an underdog (as long as she does not cry, she will do good). Didi’s biggest quality is her voice and I think that is the reason why her fans vote for her despite of her lackluster performances. Speaking of which, Didi has been too harshly criticized that fans will never think that she is overpimped. Didi is attractive as well. The path is quite laid out for Didi as one great performance could easily turn the heads of people to her. And if Crystal Bowersox falls, Didi will get Crystal’s fans. I think there is a 50% chance of a shocker elimination between Crystal and Siobhan.
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