Carly Smithson, Syesha Mercado and Michael Johns comprised the bottom three and in a stunning turn of events, Michael Johns was booted off American Idol.
Smithson repeatedly motioned that she believed that she would be the Idol wannabe to go but it was John's turn to sing after receiving the worst news one can receive on the top rated show.
Johns performed a great copy cat version of Aerosmith's "Dream On" and should land with a record deal of his own.
More later.
Anne
Showing posts with label Michael Johns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Johns. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Inspiration Week on American Idol
It’s Inspiration Week on American Idol. You can count on an extra night for a special episode, Idol Gives Back, tonight at 8PM EST and an effort to raise $100 million dollars for charity.
Michael Johns “Dream On” Aerosmith
Johns kicked off the evening with good solid rock vocals until the end when at one point it sounded like he was screaming; and unfortunately he’s trying to rock an ascot for the second week in a row and that’s just kinda unforgivable but he’ll be back.
Syesha Mercado “I Believe” Fantasia
A good song for her big voice but again she struggled a little with the soft parts and though she was yelling at one point, she hit a very big note at the end. Overall it was a good performance and should be enough for her to stick around.
Jason Castro “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harbur, arrangement by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole)
Once again Castro gives a nice performance that does not seem to challenge him in any way. He’s still a wandering troubadour without a care in the world that demonstrates little depth. Overall, his performances are generic and forgettable and if tonight's performance stands out it's because of Kamakawiwoʻole's unique arrangement (featuring a ukulele) but Castro will be back next week.
Kristi Lee Cook “Anyway” (Martina McBride)
Kristi Lee Cook looked a little bit sultry in her performance of “Anyway” and though I can’t believe that she’s stuck around this long she was solid tonight and if we’re still voting based on merit deserves to be back next week.
David Cook “Innocent” Our Lady Peace
David Cook introduced the masses to Our Lady Peace via “Innocent” and was successful but not great. He revealed a message in his left palm to the camera that said “give back” to encourage viewers to donate to Idol Gives Back an effort to raise $100 million dollars.
Carly Smithson “The Show Must Go On” Queen
Carly showed off her powerful voice and vocal range but didn’t quite connect with this overly dramatic and somewhat dark performance. She likely landed in the bottom three.
David Archuleta “Angels” (Robbie Williams)
Did David Archuleta look comfortable onstage tonight? I thought so too and that might be because at age twelve, Archuleta was the Junior Vocal Champion on Star Search 2. He performed on the syndicated show more than ten times during the 2003 season before winning the $100,000 grand prize.
Tonight’s performance by Archuleta was nice and showed off the beautiful tone in his voice but but it wasn’t very exciting. Archuleta needs to learn to trust his instincts and his voice but at 17 and at this stage of the American Idol competition it may be difficult for him to pull off.
I also read several reports about his father Jeff Archuleta this week but I’ll leave that to your own research <Link to Google search Jeff Archuleta>
Brooke White “You’ve Got a Friend” (Carole King)
Brooke was boring tonight and didn’t do herself any favors with a mellow and uninspired version of a classic that Simon described as “nice.”
Randy Jackson once again came out with his best review (bestowed last week on soon to be booted Ramiele Malubay) “I wasn’t like jumpin up and down but I wasn’t mad at you either.” We’ll have to wait and see if this will become the kiss of death for another Idol wannabe.
More later,
Anne
Michael Johns “Dream On” Aerosmith
Johns kicked off the evening with good solid rock vocals until the end when at one point it sounded like he was screaming; and unfortunately he’s trying to rock an ascot for the second week in a row and that’s just kinda unforgivable but he’ll be back.
Syesha Mercado “I Believe” Fantasia
A good song for her big voice but again she struggled a little with the soft parts and though she was yelling at one point, she hit a very big note at the end. Overall it was a good performance and should be enough for her to stick around.
Jason Castro “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harbur, arrangement by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole)
Once again Castro gives a nice performance that does not seem to challenge him in any way. He’s still a wandering troubadour without a care in the world that demonstrates little depth. Overall, his performances are generic and forgettable and if tonight's performance stands out it's because of Kamakawiwoʻole's unique arrangement (featuring a ukulele) but Castro will be back next week.
Kristi Lee Cook “Anyway” (Martina McBride)
Kristi Lee Cook looked a little bit sultry in her performance of “Anyway” and though I can’t believe that she’s stuck around this long she was solid tonight and if we’re still voting based on merit deserves to be back next week.
David Cook “Innocent” Our Lady Peace
David Cook introduced the masses to Our Lady Peace via “Innocent” and was successful but not great. He revealed a message in his left palm to the camera that said “give back” to encourage viewers to donate to Idol Gives Back an effort to raise $100 million dollars.
Carly Smithson “The Show Must Go On” Queen
Carly showed off her powerful voice and vocal range but didn’t quite connect with this overly dramatic and somewhat dark performance. She likely landed in the bottom three.
David Archuleta “Angels” (Robbie Williams)
Did David Archuleta look comfortable onstage tonight? I thought so too and that might be because at age twelve, Archuleta was the Junior Vocal Champion on Star Search 2. He performed on the syndicated show more than ten times during the 2003 season before winning the $100,000 grand prize.
Tonight’s performance by Archuleta was nice and showed off the beautiful tone in his voice but but it wasn’t very exciting. Archuleta needs to learn to trust his instincts and his voice but at 17 and at this stage of the American Idol competition it may be difficult for him to pull off.
I also read several reports about his father Jeff Archuleta this week but I’ll leave that to your own research <Link to Google search Jeff Archuleta>
Brooke White “You’ve Got a Friend” (Carole King)
Brooke was boring tonight and didn’t do herself any favors with a mellow and uninspired version of a classic that Simon described as “nice.”
Randy Jackson once again came out with his best review (bestowed last week on soon to be booted Ramiele Malubay) “I wasn’t like jumpin up and down but I wasn’t mad at you either.” We’ll have to wait and see if this will become the kiss of death for another Idol wannabe.
More later,
Anne
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Dolly Parton week on American Idol
It's Dolly Parton week on American Idol and someone sang what may be her best song “I Will Always Love You” popularized by Whitney Houston in the film The Bodyguard with Kevin Costner but no one sang “9 to 5” and I can’t tell if that was a good thing. I love Dolly Parton; she is a legend and a sweetheart of a lady but unfortunately this week on American Idol just wasn’t very exciting. I don’t know if the contestants just didn’t connect with her music or if they just chose conservatively from her 3,000 song repertoire but here they are in order:
Brooke White “Jolene”
She comes off nice, sweet, pretty, has great hair and overall a wholesome appearance but her performance wasn’t very inspired and I think that she would have done better without the guitar. She didn’t demonstrate much range or reach and once again stayed well inside her confirmed comfort zone. It’s not that I dislike her it’s just that she’s not doing anything performance wise that is setting her apart. The clock is ticking for Brooke.
David Cook “Little Sparrow”
In a word: awesome. Cook arranged this one himself and he did an incredible job. It wasn’t quite as good as some of his other performances (“Billie Jean” Chris Cornell arrangement or “Hello” his own arrangement) but it was stellar and he continues to lead the way.
On a side note, David Cook was taken to the hospital after the show for an undisclosed reason but he was released and back at the hotel last night. I expect that we’ll hear details tonight.
Ramiele Malubay “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?”
I spaced out in the middle of her performance and my attention wasn’t recaptured until I heard Randy Jackson saying, “I wasn’t jumping up and down but I wasn’t mad at you either.” Randy Jackson finding new and wackier ways to say it was ok but nothing special. No one should underestimate this man’s entertainment value. After replaying his comment 3-4 times I rewound and forced myself to pay attention to Ramiele’s performance and ultimately agreed with Randy. Ramiele is a good performer and at 20 she’s got a decent shot at a career in music but she doesn’t stand out in this crowd.
Jason Castro “Traveling Along”
The AI Troubadour was back at it with a peppy but uninspired little ditty that showed no vocal reach, nothing new and at this point he has just grown tiresome. Unfortunately the dreaded one will stick around for another week.
Carly Smithson “Here You Come Again”
It was a really beautiful performance but could have been better. She did smile this week and you could hear it in her voice; there’s just a different quality that comes through the song, hard to describe but real. Carly should be back next week.
David Archuleta “Smokey Mountain Memories”
I’m having a hard time getting past all the hoopla surrounding Archuleta. He’s seventeen, cute, bashful and has a killer tone to his voice; but his song choices and style are putting him in a category with Josh Groban and I don’t think that style fits an American Idol but he’ll be back next week.
Kristi Lee Cook “Coat of Many Colors”
Not challenging, safe, boring, uninteresting and even though country is her thing it was only ok. This was likely her swan song.
Syesha Mercado “I Will Always Love You”
Strong but some pitch problems, once again we know that she can belt but on the softer parts her flaws are quite apparent. Overall it was a good performance of a very difficult song.
Michael Johns “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright”
Johns brought Rock and Soul to the stage when he ripped this one up. It was a very good performance and should be more than enough for him to stick around. Check out the video of his performance below.
Another side note: Johns fronted Film, an Atlanta based group that was showcased for labels but not signed. Johns left Film and joined The Rising which was subsequently signed to Maverick Records. Before being dropped by Maverick, The Rising recorded Future Unknown which was scheduled to be released in September 2003 but did not drop until recently when it appeared on Itunes. Looks like Carly isn't the only one with label experience.
Overall the show was not as exciting this week which is unfortunate because Dolly is a great artist and highly accomplished songwriter.
Results tonight.
Anne
Brooke White “Jolene”
She comes off nice, sweet, pretty, has great hair and overall a wholesome appearance but her performance wasn’t very inspired and I think that she would have done better without the guitar. She didn’t demonstrate much range or reach and once again stayed well inside her confirmed comfort zone. It’s not that I dislike her it’s just that she’s not doing anything performance wise that is setting her apart. The clock is ticking for Brooke.
David Cook “Little Sparrow”
In a word: awesome. Cook arranged this one himself and he did an incredible job. It wasn’t quite as good as some of his other performances (“Billie Jean” Chris Cornell arrangement or “Hello” his own arrangement) but it was stellar and he continues to lead the way.
On a side note, David Cook was taken to the hospital after the show for an undisclosed reason but he was released and back at the hotel last night. I expect that we’ll hear details tonight.
Ramiele Malubay “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?”
I spaced out in the middle of her performance and my attention wasn’t recaptured until I heard Randy Jackson saying, “I wasn’t jumping up and down but I wasn’t mad at you either.” Randy Jackson finding new and wackier ways to say it was ok but nothing special. No one should underestimate this man’s entertainment value. After replaying his comment 3-4 times I rewound and forced myself to pay attention to Ramiele’s performance and ultimately agreed with Randy. Ramiele is a good performer and at 20 she’s got a decent shot at a career in music but she doesn’t stand out in this crowd.
Jason Castro “Traveling Along”
The AI Troubadour was back at it with a peppy but uninspired little ditty that showed no vocal reach, nothing new and at this point he has just grown tiresome. Unfortunately the dreaded one will stick around for another week.
Carly Smithson “Here You Come Again”
It was a really beautiful performance but could have been better. She did smile this week and you could hear it in her voice; there’s just a different quality that comes through the song, hard to describe but real. Carly should be back next week.
David Archuleta “Smokey Mountain Memories”
I’m having a hard time getting past all the hoopla surrounding Archuleta. He’s seventeen, cute, bashful and has a killer tone to his voice; but his song choices and style are putting him in a category with Josh Groban and I don’t think that style fits an American Idol but he’ll be back next week.
Kristi Lee Cook “Coat of Many Colors”
Not challenging, safe, boring, uninteresting and even though country is her thing it was only ok. This was likely her swan song.
Syesha Mercado “I Will Always Love You”
Strong but some pitch problems, once again we know that she can belt but on the softer parts her flaws are quite apparent. Overall it was a good performance of a very difficult song.
Michael Johns “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright”
Johns brought Rock and Soul to the stage when he ripped this one up. It was a very good performance and should be more than enough for him to stick around. Check out the video of his performance below.
Another side note: Johns fronted Film, an Atlanta based group that was showcased for labels but not signed. Johns left Film and joined The Rising which was subsequently signed to Maverick Records. Before being dropped by Maverick, The Rising recorded Future Unknown which was scheduled to be released in September 2003 but did not drop until recently when it appeared on Itunes. Looks like Carly isn't the only one with label experience.
Overall the show was not as exciting this week which is unfortunate because Dolly is a great artist and highly accomplished songwriter.
Results tonight.
Anne
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
American Idol Top 10
David Cook was amazing tonight. Chris Cornell’s version of Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” had an even likelihood of bombing horrifically or being even more powerful than Cook’s performance of Lionel Richie’s “Hello” a few weeks ago. Cook masterfully worked the arrangement and stole the show and possibly the competition with his performance. Here’s the video, turn it up if you can.
Michael Johns also had an incredibly strong performance but he may have peaked. I've been waiting for him to sing “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” as it so clearly suits him and I don’t know what he can perform that will be better but I am interested in seeing if he can out do himself. He also gave an outstanding performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" during Hollywood Week so maybe he'd like to be Queen's lead singer but I believe that they turned down RockStar: Queen.
Syesha Mercado (Stephanie Mills “If I Were Your Woman”) was much improved this week. She was much better at hitting the softer notes as she’s got a big voice and can really belt but has demonstrated some control issues in previous performances. If she keeps it up she’ll do well and could have a career in music.
Carly Smithson (Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse of the Heart”) wasn't in top form tonight but she's a performer through and through. She’s poised onstage, has excellent vocal control and should advance unless the American Idol popularity contest is now in full swing (she was in the bottom three last week). As a side note for those of you who haven’t heard, Carly was signed to MCA under her maiden name Carly Hennessy for four years and released the album Ultimate High in 2001. Despite two million dollars in label support the record bombed and Hennesy was released from MCA. She tried out for season 5 of American Idol and made it to Hollywood but because her visa had expired she was unable to compete. She has since married and resides in San Diego, California. Clearly all this experience seems contributing to her success.
David Archuleta (Jeff Pescetto “You’re the Voice”) started poorly and though he carried it off, he's becoming boring because of his song choices; he may be too immature to navigate a win (he's 17). He offered a brilliant “Imagine” but that was three weeks ago and he’s failing to connect with both the audience and another knockout performance.
Case in point, compare tonight's performances by David Cook and David Archuleta; there's no contest, David Cook wins by a mile. Additionally Cook’s “Hello” was a brilliant interpretation of Lionel Richie’s classic and his performance of “Eleanor Rigby” two weeks ago was also a standout. Week in and week out it’s Cook who’s leading the way.
Still around:
Kristy Lee Cook (Lee Greenwood “God Bless the USA”) Much better this week with a completely unexpected but successful song choice but she should go soon for destroying The Beatles “Eight Days a Week”. I may never recover from that performance.
Ramiele Malubay (Heart “Alone”) She gave a good performance but not great.
Jason Castro (Sting “Fragile”) I’m really not impressed. Yes he’s got pretty eyes, a big toothy smile and comes off bashful and a little goofy but he consistently shows limited range and style. His performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” was touching but he reminds me more of a wandering troubadour than an American Idol.
Brooke White (The Police “Every Breath You Take”) She’s middle of the pack but stumbled this week after bombing in yellow last week with “Here Comes the Sun”. She’s got a lot of potential but really needs to step it up to get back into this competition.
Chikezie (Luther Vandross “If Only for One Night”) This may be his swan song.
Rock is reborn, on American Idol!?! Who ever would have thought?
More later,
Anne
Michael Johns also had an incredibly strong performance but he may have peaked. I've been waiting for him to sing “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” as it so clearly suits him and I don’t know what he can perform that will be better but I am interested in seeing if he can out do himself. He also gave an outstanding performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" during Hollywood Week so maybe he'd like to be Queen's lead singer but I believe that they turned down RockStar: Queen.
Syesha Mercado (Stephanie Mills “If I Were Your Woman”) was much improved this week. She was much better at hitting the softer notes as she’s got a big voice and can really belt but has demonstrated some control issues in previous performances. If she keeps it up she’ll do well and could have a career in music.
Carly Smithson (Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse of the Heart”) wasn't in top form tonight but she's a performer through and through. She’s poised onstage, has excellent vocal control and should advance unless the American Idol popularity contest is now in full swing (she was in the bottom three last week). As a side note for those of you who haven’t heard, Carly was signed to MCA under her maiden name Carly Hennessy for four years and released the album Ultimate High in 2001. Despite two million dollars in label support the record bombed and Hennesy was released from MCA. She tried out for season 5 of American Idol and made it to Hollywood but because her visa had expired she was unable to compete. She has since married and resides in San Diego, California. Clearly all this experience seems contributing to her success.
David Archuleta (Jeff Pescetto “You’re the Voice”) started poorly and though he carried it off, he's becoming boring because of his song choices; he may be too immature to navigate a win (he's 17). He offered a brilliant “Imagine” but that was three weeks ago and he’s failing to connect with both the audience and another knockout performance.
Case in point, compare tonight's performances by David Cook and David Archuleta; there's no contest, David Cook wins by a mile. Additionally Cook’s “Hello” was a brilliant interpretation of Lionel Richie’s classic and his performance of “Eleanor Rigby” two weeks ago was also a standout. Week in and week out it’s Cook who’s leading the way.
Still around:
Kristy Lee Cook (Lee Greenwood “God Bless the USA”) Much better this week with a completely unexpected but successful song choice but she should go soon for destroying The Beatles “Eight Days a Week”. I may never recover from that performance.
Ramiele Malubay (Heart “Alone”) She gave a good performance but not great.
Jason Castro (Sting “Fragile”) I’m really not impressed. Yes he’s got pretty eyes, a big toothy smile and comes off bashful and a little goofy but he consistently shows limited range and style. His performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” was touching but he reminds me more of a wandering troubadour than an American Idol.
Brooke White (The Police “Every Breath You Take”) She’s middle of the pack but stumbled this week after bombing in yellow last week with “Here Comes the Sun”. She’s got a lot of potential but really needs to step it up to get back into this competition.
Chikezie (Luther Vandross “If Only for One Night”) This may be his swan song.
Rock is reborn, on American Idol!?! Who ever would have thought?
More later,
Anne
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