American Idol 5/8/2007 - Who's Your Favorite Bee Gee?
Hmmm. Maybe theme weeks aren't the best way to find great singers. Bee Gees night just didn't work. That's because this music does not allow solo vocalists to shine. From "Holiday" psych to "To Love Somebody" schlock to "Stayin Alive" shoogity, each Gee blended into the other more than he stood out from the falsetto whitewash. "Bee Gees" always subsumed "Barry Gibb." And their songs don't reward impeccable enunciation. No one has ever known what the freak the Brothers Gibb were singing in the verses (and even the chorus!) of "Stayin' Alive" (quick - recite all the lyrics right now!) and an adult contemporary attention to every diphthong renders the songs too pageanty, to borrow Simon's diagnosis of Jordin's "Woman in Love" (although "too Broadway" is another term that comes to mind).
So:
Blake fucked up with honors, bravely covering (that word somehow seems right for him - already such an artist!) an obscurity like "This Is Where I Came In." But an obscurity it remained - Paula said he made the song contemporary. But it IS contemporary - it was released in 2001! Wonder what Barry thought of that gaffe.
Melinda was competent and dull with only half a performance to ride on.
Lekisha couldn't find her way through the falsetto.
And then Jordin, my least fave. What is it about her that I don't dig? Maybe she seems too perfect an American Idol, largely due to the youth factor. After seven years of indentured servitude to Simon Co., she'll still be young which only expands her profit-making potential. Plus she's eager to please in a way that seems forced as if mom implored her to keep smiling through Simon's tirades no matter how much he humiliates her. Where's the grit, the 'tude? And actually, where's the niceness? Right, Melinda's "gee, am I really a great singer?" shtick has long since reached the crusty stage. But she seems genuinely ("seems" next to "genuinely" is a contradiction, I know, but that's how pop music works) friendly whereas Jordin plays at it, aspires to it. She's just not there yet. And I don't think she has it in her (or rather, her future keepers don't have it in them) to make interesting music out of getting to that illusion of genuineness.
But it's getting cozy and someone's gotta split. My hope? Jordin. My guess? Lekisha.
So:
Blake fucked up with honors, bravely covering (that word somehow seems right for him - already such an artist!) an obscurity like "This Is Where I Came In." But an obscurity it remained - Paula said he made the song contemporary. But it IS contemporary - it was released in 2001! Wonder what Barry thought of that gaffe.
Melinda was competent and dull with only half a performance to ride on.
Lekisha couldn't find her way through the falsetto.
And then Jordin, my least fave. What is it about her that I don't dig? Maybe she seems too perfect an American Idol, largely due to the youth factor. After seven years of indentured servitude to Simon Co., she'll still be young which only expands her profit-making potential. Plus she's eager to please in a way that seems forced as if mom implored her to keep smiling through Simon's tirades no matter how much he humiliates her. Where's the grit, the 'tude? And actually, where's the niceness? Right, Melinda's "gee, am I really a great singer?" shtick has long since reached the crusty stage. But she seems genuinely ("seems" next to "genuinely" is a contradiction, I know, but that's how pop music works) friendly whereas Jordin plays at it, aspires to it. She's just not there yet. And I don't think she has it in her (or rather, her future keepers don't have it in them) to make interesting music out of getting to that illusion of genuineness.
But it's getting cozy and someone's gotta split. My hope? Jordin. My guess? Lekisha.
posted by Kevin John Bozelka at 7:42 PM
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