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American Idol: The Boys are Back
28-Feb-2007
Written by: Jennifer O'Reilly
The boys make an admirable attempt to redeem themselves after their failure last week.
With the threat of elimination looming over them like a guillotine, the boys of American Idol finally stopped worrying about the details and launched into an all out race to save their lives. In my book, there are only three (at most four) possible elimination choices tonight, including one contestant who will almost definitely get the boot.
I’ll start with the performances that were positive. Blake Lewis continues to dazzle me with his sharp song choices and cool performance demeanor. Last night he chose Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity,” and Simon said that it came off like a cheap imitation of the video, which I find amazing since the video featured a rotating floor which famously allowed Jamiroqaui front man, Jay Kay, the ability to do impossible and impressive dance moves. Regardless of Simon’s ignorance of music videos, though, Blake shined once again, this time tickling us with a sampler of his beat box skills. Blake is by far my favorite of the boys, and I think he’ll go far in the competition.
Another positive moment came last night when two promising contestants in the early round showed that they were not just awkward pity cases. Chris Sligh, the goofy mop top, checked the sarcasm at the door and delivered a lovely and earnest performance of Ray Lamontaigne’s “Trouble,” dedicated to his wife. I’m a little worried that the revelation that Chris has a smoking hot wife may diminish his popularity somewhat though – people love to root for an underdog, and the sheer attractiveness of Chris’ partner makes you feel like one or two things have gone his way in life so far. The second comeback was from Sundance Head, someone who I had written off as all but eliminated already. Sundance sprang back to life this week as if someone had flipped a switch. His performance of “Mustang Sally” was energetic, soulful, and fun and despite the simplicity of the vocals, I think that’ll be enough to get those who were pulling for him to pass him through to the next round.
I wasn’t as impressed by Chris Richardson’s “Geek in Pink” as the judges were – I felt it was too similar to his performance last week and the wordy, quick style of it didn’t showcase his vocals at all. I was also blah about Nicholas Pedro’s performance of “Fever” – I felt pretty much the same way Simon did, which is to say, the quick cut-to shorts of the drummer were the part of the performance that impressed me the most.
Sanjaya, Brandon, AJ, and Jared are all in serious peril this week with performances that were weak or forgettable in a moment where the other contestants seriously stepped up. I’d like to formally bid adieu to the highly likeable Sanjaya – he took a chance on a classic this week with “Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” but crashed and burned when he failed to show up with even an iota of charisma. It will be a miracle if Sanjaya makes it through to the next round.
If I had to guess who the other person to go would be, I’d have to say Jared. His performance of “Let’s Get It On” was creepy and forced rather than sexy, and I think he’ll suffer for it. Brandon Rogers vocals on “Time After Time” were slightly worse than Jared’s, but Brandon is far cuter and much more sincere. Trying too hard to be sexy does not endear one to the audience, so I think Brandon’s approach will win out. The reason I include Phil Stacey in the list of the vulnerable is because I can barely remember his performance. Does anyone even remember what he sang?
Even though the boys stepped it up this week, they’re still riding way below the girls in terms of performance quality. Once the two groups are combined, I think Blake and Chris R. will be the only ones who will truly be able to compete with the ladies.
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