Chattanooga Pulse

Each week when I sit down in front of my computer to jot down my thoughts and predictions about this week’s episode of American Idol, it is usually fairly easy. I note themes, both good and bad, look over my notes about silly judges, off-key contestants, childish judges, bizarre musical arrangements, mind-wandering judges, poor songs choices, and have I mentioned how often the judges misbehave? Well, this week even the seemingly alien-controlled comments by the pod person wearing Simon Cowell’s face couldn’t put a damper on what was easily one of the best nights of Idol in several years.

From the moment I saw how the top five were dressed, I knew we were up for an interesting evening. I had been busy with other things the past week and hadn’t noted what the theme was, so I was both happy and a bit nervous when it was announced that the Idolists would be riffing through the Great American Songbook, Rat Pack edition. I have long had a soft spot in my musical psyche for these tunes, all of which require great vocal skill, a deft touch with phrasing, and do not lend themselves well at all to over singing. Considering that Idol has become the dominant force that it is largely in part to an endless parade of those that love to compete in, as Jamie Foxx put it so succinctly, the “Throat Olympics”, you can begin to understand my trepidation.

I was relieved quite a bit when it was revealed that the aforementioned Foxx was going to the “surprise” mentor this week. I’ve been a fan of Foxx since his early stand-up days and was, along with millions of others, astounded by his Oscar-winning performance in “Ray”. He has been a major force in music as well as acting, and I was curious to see how he would bring his intensity to the mentoring process. I was also curious to see how the Idolists, who haven’t been stars long enough to be even remotely comfortable with their new found fame, would deal with being in the presence of a true mega-star.

First up on the night was an amazingly relaxed Kris Allen. After giving a rather intense looking Foxx a taste of his version of “The Way You Look Tonight”, Kris seemed amused and amazed when Foxx offered to record a song with him regardless of where he finishes in the contest. Buoyed in part by the offer, Kris came out and gave a truly superb performance. The tempo change in the middles of the song, and then the backing down to the slow finish combined with a near effortless vocal should have had all four judges eating out of his hand. And so it was for the first three who were justifiably lavish in their praise.

Then we get to Simon. I am convinced that some alien being had taken over his mind (or at least his mouth) tonight. The usually acerbically reliable judge was wandering into territory usually staked out exclusively for Paula Abdul. Kris was “wet”? As in “the opposite of dry”? Excuse me while I do my imitation of a confused German Shepherd and cock my head to side, one ear sticking up. It had to be the aliens speaking, and if you don’t believe my theory, did you note the fact that they dressed their Simon-symbiote in a navy blue t-shirt. Everyone on this planet knows that Simon only wear three colors: white, grey or black. If that isn’t proof, I don’t know what to tell you.

Up next was the birthday girl Allison Iraheta, who looked very nice and far less wild child. She seemed nervous as a, well, 17 year old around Foxx but once she starts singing, nothing else is able to break through her confidence. Her take on “Someone to Watch Over Me” was quite simply the best performance of the entire season for her. She wrapped her husky voice around a song that demanded a dark, smoke-filled room in some jazz club in the 1950’s and did it justice. Her reward? Effusive and well-earned praise from the first three judges, and then a now bizarre-world critique from Zarquon Delt’ar Porfitq of the Orion Nebula, formerly known as Simon Cowell. Seriously, Orions, he’s supposed to wear a black shirt. Trust me.

After two stellar performances, it was time for the luckiest man left in the competition to take center stage. Here is the one mentoring bit where I felt Foxx should have well enough alone, though. Something tells me he felt compelled to make some suggestion to Matt Giraud, even though it was obvious he felt completely satisfied with Matt’s original version. Lowering the key of “My Funny Valentine” just to sit up a big ending note didn’t pay off the way either of them had hoped, at least not for me. And even that Matt sang it very well, I kept thinking back to Constantine Maroulis’ fantastic take on the same song back in Season Four. If I had been in Foxx’s shoes, my advice to Matt would have been to change songs instead of changing key. And in keeping with the trend of the evening, PseudoSimon thought it was fantastic. Maybe instead of Jamie Foxx, we needed Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to handle the aliens, “Men In Black” style.

At this point in the evening, though, I was enjoying myself enough to stop worrying too much about whatever it was that was wearing Simon’s skin, because I was completely absorbed in what can only be described as Danny Gokey’s return to first-runner-up status with his absolutely amazing delivery on “Come Rain Come Shine”. As freaked out as he (and, to be honest, me as well) was by Foxx getting right up “in his grill”, he took that intensity that Foxx was looking to bring out and poured it all completely into what was easily his best performance of the season. I have rather fallen off the Danny Train over the past month, but as of tonight I am back in the club car and ordering a round for everyone. Randy Jackson put it best when he reminded everyone that aside from all the fluff and gruff, Idol is in fact a singing contest. And Danny can flat out sing with the best of them. Even the aliens were forced to agree. Either that, or the dream-destroying black pit that passes for Simon’s soul was reasserting control over the alien control.

Hey, I actually like Simon a lot, but how often does one get to write the line, “the dream-destroying black pit that passes for a soul”? Anyway, I digress…

And I digressed, or rather OBsessed all the way through the final commercial break of the evening wondering and worrying about Adam Lambert. I had just watched the first four give what easily could be described as their best performances of the season (yes, even Matt). Was Adam going to be able to step it up even another notch? Was he going to just be his normal great and therefore seem a bit off compared to how much improved everyone else was? Or was he going to do something completely insane like a Middle-Eastern take on a Johnny Cash classic? Oh wait… never mind
.
I knew that I shouldn’t have worried at all judging by Foxx’s reaction to Adam. After hearing just a taste of “Feeling Good”, Foxx was rendered near speechless, only able to mutter an obviously awestruck, “What???”. The rest of us were soon to experience what Foxx was feeling when Adam strutted down the center steps like a bantam rooster who knows he is king of the barnyard and likes it that way. And as great as his entrance was, it was completely overshadowed by what was simply the very best power note sung all season. Forget about the Throat Olympics, Adam could sign aliens right back to their star system solely with the power of his voice. It was a stunningly amazing performance that had me hitting rewind on my DVR remote as soon as the judges finished heaping praise after praise upon him. Failing an alien abduction of his own, it is utterly obvious who is going to be standing under a shower of confetti in just under three weeks. Let’s just hope Adam remembers to wear waterproof eyeliner.

But I am yet quite through with my performance judging. During the course of what has been one of the most inconsistent seasons musically for Idol, Ricky Minor and the band came through tonight in tip top condition. The arrangements were rock-solid, the individual musicians were obviously at the tip of their game (it was cool seeing someone get down and dirty with a trombone on the most-watched TV show in the country), and the entire evening was absolutely anchored by Minor’s best performance of the year.

So, who is going home? Well, it’s fairly obvious that even as good as Matt was, and make no mistake, he was quite good, his best wasn’t in the same category as the rest. In seasons past, this is the week that we go to a bottom two instead of three, which likely means that Kris will be joining Matt on the Silver Stools of Despair. It’s been a great run for Matt, one that went on two weeks longer than, honestly, it really should have, but he’s proved himself to be a talented showman and I suspect he won’t have to go back to piano bars anytime soon after the summer tour ends. Fifth place is still fifth place no matter how you got there, so he should be proud of going out on such a high note.