I’m kind of sort of all kinds of embarrassed that it took until tonight for me to think, “Hey! Maybe I should check YouTube for the guys I missed the other day!” This after having waited a couple days for the official AI website to post them, then having become highly offended (well, slightly miffed) that those jagoffs were all, “Check out the videos on iTunes … by the way PAY UP!!”
Yeah, I am that slow.
So anyway, I jumped onto YouTube and got to see my guys, which is awesome, because I’ve been sticking my fingers in my ears and la-la-la-ing around for the past couple days whenever anyone in my vicinity has discussed the elimination, as I wanted not to know until I’d gotten to see the boys for myself.
So anyway, here’s the complete and unabridged version of my take on the boys. Goes without saying the grading system hasn’t changed, right? However, I did not watch Lee, Alex, or Tim via YouTube, having caught them on the original night, so … although my computer has a nice audio set up … I may have been comparing crabapples to fuji apples (e.g., much bigger, juicier, betterer apples).
Michael Lynch, 26: This Woman’s Work – Maxwell. Song choice 10; performance 10, gut-check 1 … total score: 21. Wow … very cool; he’s like a soul ninja. After only two weeks, even I know this guy is the real deal. Loved it. And I guess it shows my age that I'd had no idea a guy even sang a version ... I was all "that's that awesome Kate Bush song I haven't heard in forever!"
Lee Dewyze, 23: Fireflies – Owl City. Song choice 10; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 20. Still love that raspy voice! Very, very cool what Lee did with this (even with a few pitchy moments).
Alex Lambert, 19: Trouble – Ray LaMontagne. Song choice 10; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 20. One of my favorite songs, and Alex’s spin was so earnest! So sweet! Nice job. VOTED OFF
Tim Urban, 20: Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley version. Song choice 10; performance 9; gut-check 1 … total score: 20. I am so done with AI folk pulling this one out of the available song hat; it has been done to death. But I also know it’s a good performance when I have to force myself not to sing along … which happened tonight. Vast improvement over last week. Everyone knows this is a tough one to pull off, and Tim did so well!
Casey Jones, 27: You’ll Think of Me – Keith Urban. Song choice 9; performance 9, gut-check 1 … total score: 19. This definitely made me want more of Casey; I want to see what he can do with an entire song, instead of just a minute. And that one moment where he grwwwld it out? You GO, boy! More of THAT! Please!
Andrew Garcia, 24: Genie in a Bottle – Christina Aguilera. Song choice: 10; performance: 8; gut-check: 1 … total score: 18. I didn’t quite like it at first, but the damn thing has stuck in my head and I’m still singing it … Andrew’s version of it … hours later. I had originally scored Andrew last, but have had to move him up due to my subconscious approval.
Aaron Kelly, 16: I’m Already There – Lonestar. Song choice: 9; performance: 8; gut-check: 1 … total score: 18. This song always makes me well up, this time being no exception. This performance proves what I had hoped … that Aaron can sing the contemporary stuff. Good job.
Todrick Hall, 24: Somebody to Love – Queen. Song choice: 9; performance: 6; gut-check: 0 … total score: 15. There’s no denying Todrick can sing, but this was like watching home movies of his high school musical days on VH1’s Before They Were Stars: amateur performance with a lot of heart but certainly not at the skill level of, say, an Adam Lambert or a David Cook. Queen is just too hard an act to follow without almost supreme confidence. VOTED OFF
In all the guys did much, much better overall than last week; after that fiasco I was seriously thinking the gals were going to cream the boys once the top 10 got together, but now I’m not so sure. It will be interesting to see who got voted off, so I’m going to shut this puppy down, fire up the DVR, and find out for myself … be right back.
Oh, and I’ve heard so much about Andrew Garcia’s take on “Straight Up” that I finally checked it out on YouTube as well. Phenomenal. Kid has chops, no?
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