Top 11 Recap (From the Doc)

Let's just start by saying I'm not anti-country per se, just picky about country music. For example, I'm not a fan of Randy Travis, either as a musician or an Idol mentor. In past seasons the good mentors can take a performer who doesn't fit perfectly into his or her genre's little box and appreciate, as Paula would say, the authentic authenticity of the authentic you. In other words, whether the style is from the Middle East or Eastern Tennessee, nail polish or not, let's celebrate true artists. Heaven knows the pop world has adapted enough country songs to validate the musicality of the Grand Ole Opry. Randy Travis seemed to miss the boat on that whole crossover phenomenon that's expanded the career of many a country star. Rant. Off. (How's all of that for judging an artist's entire body of work based on a dozen or so sound bites during a hyped up Idol show?)

So I was pleasantly surprised (what's with all the Paula references this week?!) with the evening and saw fewer disappointments than I'm accustomed to on country weeks. Even Simon seemed to enjoy himself on more than one occasion, but not many more! What's with all the contestants talking to the judges so much this year. And "having fun" is a given for me. Singing well is the bigger task and the one that will get more of my votes. Randy Jackson has become really stale for me for a long time because he just seems to parrot Simon a lot, and he's so focused on getting his "dudes" and "dawgs" out there he doesn't say any thing intelligible, but tonight I liked him. He finally showed why they keep him around. He actually seems the most in tune with current music and how different artists can blend styles to suit their own strengths. Without saying much more about it, let's get to it.

Michael Sarver: And there it is. It's Josh Gracin all over again. Am I pop? Am I country? I'm "just having fun up here." Talk back. Don't listen. Criticize Simon. Wave to the crowd. Michael is a good singer, just in way over his head here. Next.

Allison Iraheta: I didn't really like the song this week. It was a bit too straight-up country for my liking, especially since she didn't really rock it out. Her performance was solid enough to stick around, but not my favorite. When they rolled the phone numbers at the end, Allison was one of the contestants that made me say, "Oh yeah. She sang tonight."

Kris Allen: I like this guy. He is very understated fashion-wise, which is a plus. He seems very comfortable up on stage and his voice is great. I think Simon was spot-on with his praise tonight, too. Kris is shaping up to be one of the four or five legitimate contenders.

Lil Rounds: She's so Season 1 or 2 for me. She has that power voice and can sing, but the music industry just isn't celebrating that kind of voice any more. Whitney, Mariah, Christina. They've had their places, but the artists of today are more artistic and less "wow!" And she did herself no favors by trying to prove she can sing other things. She can't, so stick to what you know and do it well.

Adam Lambert: If I thought Randy T. knew many songs outside of the Grand Ole Opry I'd figure he'd be humming "Dude Looks Like a Lady" to himself when he met Adam because he sure seemed to have something he wasn't saying about his experience with Adam. I am most disappointed in the judges after Adam's performance. If we want to discuss indulgence, we need to take a closer look at all of Simon's wedding singer analogies. Adam's performance was the #1 most original song this week. Randy J. hit it on the head for once--Adam sounded like an alternative rock band interpreting a country hit. I thought Kara's inability to say anything worthwhile on this one was shocking, and Simon hates country music so much I thought he would have had a bit more positive to say about this one. And anyone that can substitute the sitar for the slide guitar on country week deserves mad props.

Scott McIntyre: I can see what Paula was trying to get at here, but I think she's way off. I've long said Scott reminds me of Billy Joel in that they are both serviceable, but not fantastic singers who have a gift for using the piano to enhance their performances. Take away the piano and Billy Joel is just some guy in a bar looking for spare change. "Sing us a song, you're the man" just doesn't work. The audience sure seems connected to him each week so something's working. David Archuleta sure seemed to sing different versions of the same song each week last year and made it to the finals, so Scott may do just fine.

Alexis Grace: It was a good replication of the original for me, too. It was solid, but nothing great. I don't really have much more to say on this one.

Danny Gokey: Randy J. had the best comments on this one, too. Danny needs to support his lower register more to stay in tune so we can fully appreciate how great he is when he goes up to his higher register. Danny seemed to connect to this song and did really well with it. He would have made a greater splash if he'd parachuted from the top of the set, though.

Anoop Desai: What a great song choice and arrangement. You could really hear his own voice coming through. I like what Simon said about his attitude. There's no sense in talking back and complaining about songs and judges' opinions. Just take the criticism, use what you can, and come back stronger. I'm glad to see him redeem himself.

Megan Joy Corkrey: I'm still not convinced I like her much. She seems nice enough, and I'm sure she's a lovely person, but I can't get on board with her singing style. From her strange pronunciation (I've lived in Utah and Megan's singing accent isn't from there) to her awkward torso twist I just don't get it. She did pick the right style in which to sing this incredibly overdone song, though. I don't know.

Matt Giraud: If I had to vote for only one performance tonight it would be Matt's. I loved it. He's a great pianist who knows exactly how to use it in his presentation. His work on the ivories wasn't overdone, but was perfectly appropriate. He sounded way more confident this week and I'm glad to hear Simon give him his due. I did find it interesting that Paula didn't tell him to lose the piano at some point. When you give a great performance all that peripheral stuff doesn't matter.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE BOTTOM 3: Michael, Megan, Lil
BUYING A TICKET FOR THE IDOL TOUR: Michael
WILL THE JUDGES USE THEIR SAVE? A simple "no."

THIS WEEK'S SIGN THE APOCALYPSE IS UPON US: Ryan's IRS-inspired tie clip.

Idol Does Country

There were two kinds of performances tonight--"Good, but not good enough" and "Amazing." There were no in betweens.

Ryan started out the night looking like a total poindexter sporting that ugly dotted tie with the gold bar clip. I would've liked to see Ryan step out in jeans and a green T-shirt that said "I'm magically delicious."

But at least he looked presentable. Unlike the Brit with the ridiculously stretched out shirt (listen to me, critiquing fashion--my SILs Emily and Jessica will be so proud). I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with Simon wearing the same 2 alternating outfits every night of the year. That's fine. I myself could wear jeans, a white t-shirt, and black cardigan every day quite happily. But when you have millions of dollars, dude, at least buy new shirts. You know, so they look like they fit. Or something.

Truth is we wouldn't even notice if we didn't have to watch the 4 of them make their self-congratulatory walk every week. Seriously, this is going to be a weekly thing now? Ugh.

Randy Travis. He's all right, but reminds me of someone too uptight to hear anything outside the box. Is he on some sort of drug? I didn't know whether to be creeped out by his mannerisms or just put out, but he strikes me as an ultra conservative who doesn't know how to consider anything beyond what he deems as "normal." And dude is missing out. He's a one-trick pony and his pony does nothing but twang. Man, the sitar ROCKED. But more on that later.

And just so you know, I'm in the mood for credit. Let it be known that I made three predictions before they happened and I was totally right about all 3. This morning, I totally called what Danny would sing. When Anoop sang, I called that Simon would love it and say he now deserves the top 12. And when Adam was singing, I TOTALLY called what Randy said. Yep, right there. On my back. That's right. Pat. pat. pat.

Michael - Josh Gracin. That's who. Remember this past week when I said he reminded me of someone but I didn't know who and whoever it is is someone I don't like. Yeah, well, we figured out it's Josh Gracin and I was starting to get past it. Until tonight. I've been saying, "He looks like he has a chip on his shoulder, but everyone says he's so nice." I kept trying to see what everyone else saw. But tonight I saw the cocky arrogance that made me dislike Gracin. I hope it's the end of the road for Michael. He did well, but this group is amazing and out of these 11, if 1 shouldn't be on tour, it's Michael. Plus I hate it when people yell, "Whooo!" when they sing. And it's worse when it comes from a guy. And even worse when it's from a roughneck. In case you didn't know what he did for a living.

Allison - She managed to get some rock in that twang. It was really good, but (insert British accent here) "I'm not jumping out of my seat." Still, the girl has mad skills. Skillz? Skills. Skills? Skillz. Skills. Whatever. She's good.

Kris - Tender puppy indeed. Easy on the eyes. Easy on the ears. This boy was smart to come out like he did tonight sans guitar and sans big, flowery arrangement. It was gorgeous and I want to see more of him. He did a very smart thing tonight.

Little - Lil. Little. Lil. Little. Little. Little. Lil. Little. Little. Little. Little. Clearly, this was more memorable for me than the song. Lil has an amazing and powerful voice, but she's not unique. She's too polished. Fantasia would've never pulled this stuff. Even her show-stopping rendition of Summertime was raw. There's nothing raw about Little. Lil. Little. Little. Little. Little. She's a VERY good singer, but it's become passé. She's a few seasons too late, I'm afraid. She's being outperformed by a variety of unique originality. She's coming up on done with her "Lil Rounds."

Adam - I'm sure that his song tonight will get mixed reviews but I am not ashamed that I. LOVED. IT. It was FABULOUS. When I was in high school, alternative rock was my thing and that is EXACTLY what he did tonight on country night!!. I totally, totally called it before Randy even said it. Man, anyone, ANYONE who can pull off that kind of song on that kind of stage with that kind of chutzpah and come off sounding like a mix of The Cure, Mick Jagger, and Kiss to an arrangement that has both electric guitars and sitar music while the audience sits transfixed and mesmerized by his talent, falsetto, and absolute and utter audacity deserves to sail all the way to the top. I LOVE this guy. Love him. He does what only guys like Constantine, Daughtry, and David Cook have been able to do--keep us waiting in weekly anticipation of what in the world he's going to do this time and wow us with his artistry with a big, old "in your face" performance. And to do what he did on country night? He has my vote. Again and again and again. LOVE this guy. LOVED this performance. Nine Inch Nails does country? For once, I am TOTALLY on the Randy train. He is SPOT on. LOVED it.

Scott - You know, he's not perfect in his pitch all the time, but he is fantastic. He has a gorgeous, rich tone to his voice and I want more. He did an amazing job tonight and I think he is just fine behind the piano. I know that he might get boring fast, but hey, so did Archuletta. At least this guy is interesting. I hope he doesn't keep singing Archuletta ballads every single week, but he already seems far more uptempo than that. I like him. He deserves to stick around a bit longer. I think the judges don't want to come across like they're going easy on him because of his visual impairment and so they're sticking their feet in their mouth and, consequently, all landing on their behinds. Good grief, for like 8 weeks we hear, "Oh Scott, we can't wait til you're behind the piano. That's when your magic happens." And then we get 2 weeks of magic and they're all, "Oh Scott, don't use the piano." What? We JUST got the piano. Let him be. And bring on the Elton John weeks.

Alexis - It was okay. I don't know what else to say. It didn't suit her. When they said she kind of looks like Dolly Parton, I was all, "What?! No she doesn't!" And then Mark says, "Yeah, she kind of does." And I'm all, "Ohhh, I guess so." And then sheepishly, "That's not what I thought they meant." And Mark says, "Dolly Parton does have other features." I thought they were mocking Alexis. Hey shut up. We A cups have to stick together.

Danny - I so totally called this song for him tonight. The first part was rough but then it was awesome. I agree with Randy (weird, I know)--he needs to learn to control those lower, more tender notes. But as a power singer, this boy's got soul and this boy can sing the holy crap out of anything. He done good.

Anoop - That. Was. Awesome. I loved it. I like this guy. He's back. He did a smart thing. We got a humbled Anoop tonight and he sang his way right back into our hearts and minds. I like this guy very much and was happy to hear him get well-deserved praise. Anoop Dawg is in the house!

Megan - Wait, more credit for me. I called that she was sick! Pat, pat, pat. Thank you. Thank you. She looked GORGEOUS tonight. But I'm still uncomfortable when she sings. Or dances. Or both. Or something. Her intonation. Or nasal voice. Or something. It's very strange. Sometimes I dig it and sometimes I don't. Mostly I don't. But I do. But tonight, I didn't. Or something.

Matt - WOW! Wow wow wow wow WOW! I LOVE MATT! I have loved him ever since I heard him audition. When he sang "Georgia" in Hollywood, I do believe I applauded from my living room. That's right, I did. And tonight? I applauded again! There's something very sexy about his laid back, kind personality and demeanor combined with that raw, passionate, soulful singing. Add to that that the guy plays piano in a way that only people BORN with those skills can do? And you've got STAR power. This guy is a star. I have never agreed so much with Randy in one night EVER. From Timberlake to Buble? Amen, dawg. Amen. This guy finally got the credit he deserves.

MAN this year is tough. They're all good! My favorites tonight -- Kris, Adam, Scott, Danny, Anoop, and Matt (pretty much all the guys but Michael and no girls).

But Adam and Matt were tops for me by far. Followed by Anoop and Kris. Followed by Danny and Scott. And when I say "followed," I mean like milk follows cookies. As in, "follows" but really they go together. That's my Paula way of saying that I'm trying to rank order them, but they're almost ALL on par just the same for me.

My least favorites - Michael and the girls

Going home and not going on tour - Michael (though I think 'Little' is in trouble, too)

And we've come full circle: There were two kinds of performances tonight--"Good, but not good enough" and "Amazing." There were no in betweens.