THE SISTERS GIBB
I was wrong several times over about tonight. First of all, I thought Maurice Gibb was the only brother still alive. Turns out, he's the one who died and Robin and Barry are still kicking.
I also thought Barry was here for 70's or Disco week, but instead it was just Barry Gibb week turned out to be not as limiting as one might expect. I wonder why this year the show has chosen to focus more on individual oevres rather than on genres.
In any event, the Barry Gibb songbook encompasses three eras, all of which were very different. Their early stuff had a lot of ballads and love songs. Then they re-emerged with Saturday Night Fever as disco icons. And then Barry Gibb became more of an adult contemporary guy with a lot of Barbara Streisand duets. Considering that there were three girls left, I thought we'd be hearing a lot of early ballads and later stuff. I wasn't expecting nearly as much disco.
I actually kind of liked Melinda's first song, though the judges were right that it wasn't outstanding. She took a group song from their disco era and made it into a little more of a singer's song than it had been, but it was a single down the middle, not an extra base hit.
Blake's rendition of You Should Be Dancing was one of the worst songs I've ever heard on Idol. He should be dancing. Dancing and not singing. His falsetto was excruciating. I don't think anybody sings falsetto while trying to dance. It takes a lot of focus for a man to push his voice out in that register and make it sound like something. His voice sounded like a siren. I didn't like the beat-boxing, but it was a relief from the falsetto. That one song negated all the points he scored with me last week.
I did like Lakeesha's Stayin' Alive, though I think she could have picked a better song. All of her songs have an emotional impact for me. She clearly lacks Melinda's skills, but she makes up for it with emotion. Around this time, I started wondering why nobody was singing one of the older ballads like, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. Jordin didn't do that, but I thought she was very smart to do To Love Somebody because compared to the three disco era songs that preceded it, it was much more of a singers showcase. It also allowed her to bring a little country feel to her delivery along with her R&B sound, making her sound very versatile.
She's also looking better every week. I'd now go so far as to say she's beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I'm not flying her to Vegas for the weekend, but maybe after her 18th birthday...
After Jordin opened the door, the other ladies sang some of the more ballad-y songs. Melinda sang Broken Heart, which was the song I was waiting for, but for the first 30 seconds, I thought it was a mistake. As soon as she started singing it, I realized why I wanted to hear it. It's cause Al Green once did a version of it and totally tore it up. The only problem was that instead of comparing her vocal to the famous cat-in-a-microwave sound of the Brothers Gibb, I was comparing it to the Al Green, which if you've never heard it, you really should. Melinda's take on it, wasn't quit up to Al's, but I have to say, in the second half, she definitely gave him a run for his money.
Another old Bee Gee's song I always liked was Words. Based on Blake's take on Imagine, I think he could have done that one very well. I also think he should have done one more ballady song rather than trying to go all Blake-y on both songs. Once again, I thought he was awful in his second song, this time on a mediocre song nobody ever heard of.
I like Lakeesha's second song though I do understand Simon's criticism of her. I just like Lakeesha, and while I don't see her making it to the finals as long as Melinda and Jordin are around, I would love to see her outlast Blake and make next week a three-way Divathon.
As for the pool, I sent emails this week to the seven people who have a chance of taking first place. If you didn't get the email... sorry. However, you might still have a shot at the money.
As for the first place. Steve Spector, who has held that spot since week one, when he correctly predicted the departure of Brandon could slip down for the first time this week. Basically, for him to have a chance to win it all, Blake or Melinda would have to go home. I think one of those occurances is possible. Lakeesha, obviously is vulnerable, and if she goes home, Steve will be fighting for survival. Actually, since Steve has Lakeesha in first place, he loses six points whether she goes home this week or next, but if she sticks around an extra week (and Blake departs) he loses fewer points for that.
If Blake goes home, that's a bad break for John Frost who has been gaining in the rankings and could win if Blake goes all the way.
However, at this point, I think John has a much better chance of being married to the winner. His better half Kristina not only has a great point total and the final four in the top four slots (something only she and John can claim) she also has Melinda and Jordin one and two. Pretty hard to beat that.
I really can't picture a final that's not Melinda-Jordin. And right now, I see Jordin winning it. However, my track record on picking anything this year is pretty terrible.
Comments
griffith park was on fire and our power was out. moving forward, need to get a back-up generator for the tivo. fear I will soon be saying goodbye to first place (unless Melinda is out- I which case I will claim savant status). either way, I will post tomorrow.