American Idol recap

Today’s American Idol featured downloadable songs from I-Tunes and 9 contestants performed. Only 3 girls remain, and sadly, none performed at their best. I'm afraid that one may be going home.

In order of performance:

01 — Anoop Desai — Caught Up — 2 Stars

Each time Desai stopped singing, he lowered the mike. When he finally remembered to raise it back up to sing, his timing ending up a bit off. This song requires *snap* and is not very forgiving. Next time, keep the mike up high the whole time, Desai! 

Being first is always the absolute worst spot and unfortunately for Desai, he had to go on in the cold spot. Although Desai's rendition lacked the intense emotions of the later performances, I actually felt that this song really showed off his incredibly smooth and mellow vocal tone, somewhat reminiscent of Lionel Richie.

02 — Megan Joy — Turn Your Lights Down Low — 0 stars

Ugh! Beautiful girl. Not a beautiful voice. I've never liked it. (So sorry! I hate my own voice, too, really!)

03 — Danny Gokey — What Hurts the Most — 5 stars

Wow!  He's a Stah!!! 

04 — Allison Iraheta — Don't Speak — 4 stars

The judges were wrong to criticize Iraheta's killer outfit! Really. When I first saw her, I thought "Pebbles Flintstone." Retro '40s fashion designer, Kenley Collins (2008 Project Runway), could design a whole line for her. Cute, cute, cute. 

But, back to singing. This was actually one of my favorite Iraheta performances. My only criticism is that she built up the intensity too soon, then left the pot on the stove so it overboiled. (aka overdone). Take a cue from Gokey and Macintyre: soft - loud - really loud - climax - soft.

05 — Scott Macintyre — Just the Way You Are — 5 stars

Extremely impressive. Not only did Macintyre's beautiful voice make me melt, his arrangement actually made Billy Joel's 1977 song sound contemporary by adding minor keys and a jazz rhythm. This song was more than a performance. It was an artistic composition -- a painting made of sound. Wow!

06 — Matt Giraud — You Found Me — 5 stars

This is a great example of why performers should sing the songs they want to sing, not what they think will win them "the big prize" at the end.  Giraud picked this particular song by the Fray because he believed in the spiritual lyrics and could sing them with conviction and emotion. It was fabulous. I loved it!

Sadly, the judges didn't appreciate Giraud picking what Simon Cowell called, "not a good commercial song." Randy Jackson criticized Giraud for not singing his usual R&B and felt he wasn't as good at "rockin' out."  Judge Kara Dioguardi said it well, "At some point, you're going to have to commit." 

Well, maybe Giraud should commit to contemporary Christian rock music. Hey, I'd buy it!

07 — Lil Rounds — I Surrender — 2 stars

This song is a good example of why contestants should ignore the judges when picking their song each week. Rounds tried so hard to please the judges and the result was a bit of a train wreck. She can sing, yes, but the song didn't fit her powerhouse vocals very well. (Plus, it sounded a bit pitchy).

08 — Adam Lambert — Play That Funky Music — 4 stars

Lambert gets points for cool. Not only does he look like Elvis (especially with his hair up), he's just as cocky. The boys' got guts.

09 — Kris Allen — Ain't No Sunshine — 5 stars

Absolutely incredible. Wow! Wow! Wow!