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Disco Downer as Top Four Contestants on ‘American Idol’ Disappoint
After last night ‘American Idol’ producers may want to rethink Disco Night for future competitions. There’s something depressing about hearing the top four ‘Idol’ hopefuls struggle through a catalog of Bee Gees hits not once, but twice. Is “singing” disco really a prerequisite to selling millions of records? If so ‘American Idol’ may have another Taylor Hicks on their hands as each contestant did their part to bury disco a little deeper in the musical graveyard.
Melinda Doolittle did little with her two song set and she’s the frontrunner. In a competition where she’s had one off night she stumbled twice with “Love You Inside and Out” and “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” Simon likened her first performance to that of a backup vocalist while even Paula alluded to the fact that she was not impressed. The saddest part about the night was Doolittle was probably the best of the four.
It was fitting for LaKisha Jones to sing “Stayin’ Alive” but after her rendition her ‘Idol’ life appeared to be on life-support. It’s hard to hear that song and get depressed (other than for the obvious reasons, such as its 2007 why am I trying to relive the 70s) but LaKisha sounded as if she was competing in ‘Emo Idol’ and may have earned a spot on the next Fall Out Boy album. Her second song choice was “Run to Me” and without a knockout performance Jones finds herself in serious danger of departure.
Jones may have been saved by the equally awful performances of Blake Lewis. When a record or cd skips the owner usually throws the thing in the trash. Why Blake continues to think people would buy an album of a defective sound is a true mystery. Not to say his style isn’t inventive or that it lacks skill, but who really wants to listen to 60 minutes of that. If I want to hear drums I’ll listen to a drummer, not some guy that makes a tom-tom sound with his mouth. Lewis won no praise for his rendition of “You Should Be Dancing” with Randy going as far as calling it corny. Blake’s second song “This is Where I Came In” left people scratching their heads once again. People blasted Sanjaya for not being able to sing but Blake didn’t prove himself to be any better on Tuesday night.
Jordin Sparks was probably on par with Doolittle when it came to performances. Sparks managed to get through “When You Love Somebody” and when Paula called it the best vocal performance of the night (up to that point) she wasn’t really saying much. Her second song “Woman in Love” seemed to impress Barry Gibb, leading him to say she may become one of the greatest female recording artists, but whatever Gibb said seems to go out the window, he’s the one responsible for the music being sung.
Based on the performances from last night the curtain may be closing on the Blake Lewis show. When it comes down to it LaKisha is a stronger singer and has proven it, Lewis has never really wowed anybody with his vocal range. But this is ‘American Idol’ and more than likely it will be LaKisha that gets sent home as Blake has a strong 10-year-old fan base that actually wants to listen to somebody imitate a record player and a broken needle.
