Total Pageviews

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

A.I. thoughts

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with almost all of the performances. Sure some were better than others but all in all I expected more from the group given the theme. Anyway, here are my grades/comments on each:

1. Noop Dogg: B-. It's clear the guy can sing but more and more I realize the guy doesn't have the kind of stage presence needed and his clothes still suck. I think he tried to listen the judges comments last week and go with a more upbeat song but he is at his best singing slower songs. Not only does that suit his voice better but then he can limit his movements which have proven only to hurt him. I suppose I am more disappointed in Nooper because he seems like he knows himself as an artist and his strengths and weaknesses and I expect him to do a better job with his song choices. People need to recognize that just because they like a song doesn't necessarily mean they can sing/perform it well. As Robs has mentioned previously, if you close your eyes and just listen to his voice it's good. However, watching him just brings the performance down. I agreed largely with Randy's comments. Basically, he said, good vocals and bad performance. Again, Nooper should have stuck with the slower, love songs because he is starting to lose his luster. I think he will be safe this week but he has to start picking it up.

2. Megan: F. She is just out of her league. I am getting REAL tired of her weird voice and stiff movements. I am also getting real tired of her arrogance. For the second week in a row the judges basically said she sucks and shouldn't be on the show anymore and she just smiles stupidly and says, 'I liked the song and I have my fans so screw you!' She has got to go.

3. Gokey: A-. Another good performance. It stood out a bit more since the other performances weren't that great. Still, the guy doesn't really have the "look." He looks like the smaller, chubbier, goofier looking brother of Robert Downey, Jr. He still didn't do anything to "wow" me but it was definitely a good performance.

4. Red Haired Girl: B-. It started out decent but the chorus parts didn't have the "strength" I thought it needed. I will say that she does not sound like a 16 year old at all. The judges got on her for her outfit. I really didn't care about that. The song was just a little weak for me.

5. Crazy Haired Dude: C+. I agree with the judges that this was his best performance to date. He was the first contestant last night that I felt picked a good song that suited him. I see him singing Billy Joel, James Taylor, James Ingram or something along those lines. Softer songs that use the piano. He is at his best behind the piano and I commend him for his song choice. However, I wasn't crazy about the arrangement and his voice is still kind of weak in my opinion.

6. I missed Rounds and Giraud so I have no comment on either of them.

7. Lambert: B-. He is the opposite of Nooper. He shrieks like Axl Rose (in fact, I would actually like to hear him sing some GNR) so I don't care much for his vocals. However, he knows how to put on a good performance. He can capture the audience and that is his strong point. I will say that I am really sick of Paula. Half the time I don't even understand what her comments are. It's like she is trying to come across as really technical and deep but she just comes across stupid. Her comments to Lambert yesterday comparing him to legends Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler are ridiculous. Clearly, she is just in love with this dude and has lost her sense of providing any fair comments on his performance. She's an idiot.

8. Kris: B+. Kris is interesting because for most of the season I have felt that he is largely forgettable. However, the last two weeks he has put on some strong performances and good arrangements taking songs and making them his own. He has done this effectively and done well playing both the guitar and keyboards. Suddenly, he actually seems like he is in the mix. I still think he is just on the periphery but he has definitely made some strides in this competition.

Again, all in all, I wasn't amazed by any one person. Some performances were better than others. It will be interesting to see who gets eliminated. My thoughts are still that Megan and Crazy Haired Dude should be eliminated before anyone else. We'll see what happens.

3 comments:

Rob said...

Pretty reasonable grades. Based on last night's performances, I think Gokey, Kris, and Adam deserve to be safe.

Megan should be out - she is just terrible.

Anoop, Lil, Scott, Matt, and Allison all had problems last night.

Megan is a disaster and I think she is just being saved by crazy voters who either love her looks or want to see the train wreck continue.

Anoop can sing, but he cannot perform. I hated his song choice last night and his Michael Jackson-type jacket was horrible.

Lil picked a bad song and gave a mediocre performance.

Allison looked ridiculous and did not give one of her stronger performances.

Scott was OK, but I don't think his performance was all that great. His personality also does not fit with being THE IDOL.

Matt gave the worst singing performaance I have seen him give. It was off pitch and weird.

Adam was good, and Gokey was good (although not as good as the judges seemed to think). But, clearly the best performance of the night was Kris. I like the guy and think he is very talented. He is understated and doesn't try to do too much (hear that Noop).

deepie said...

I have refrained from commenting on this topic due to my general who gives an F attitude about the show, but I'll throw in my 2-rupees in honor of Noop Dogg.

I hope he wins. Then we'll all see just how pointless this show has become. He's not a star. He doesn't have the stage presence to be a star, yet he's made it this far which proves my point.

AI has contributed to the overall decline in the quality of music we hear these days. Artists are more interested in being pop-tarts and the flavor of the month rather than creating real, narcotic and hallucinagin influenced music that has real depth and signifies real talent. Artists can't put together 2 or 3 songs to make a good album anymore, which has contributed to the demise of CD sales. Sure some of the winners have been good...but usually the losers are actually more talented than the winners...Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and Elliot Yamin come to mind.

Bottom line...you can blame AI in part for the demise of real music and the dearth of garbage pop we are innundated with on a daily basis. When we make an "idol" out of someone who isn't going to be responsible for writing their own music or someone who receives accolades for looking the part...that's not musical talent...that's Milli Vanilli.

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!! (Jay Cutler to the 'Skins!?!?!)

Good Day!

Rob said...

I love AI.

Anoop's act is running thin. He can either change his clothes and get real, or he is out.

I laugh at the whole Cutler thing. I hope he ends up in DC. It would cost the Redskins a couple of high picks and they can get a whiner with a gun to be their QB - remember Jeff George?

Whatever happens, they have driven a wedge between the Redskins and JC. It is clear that he is not in their long-term plans.