YAWN
So the men are one for three.
After stinking the first week and looking okay the second week mostly because of the improvement, this week had them dipping again.
The fact is, the men just ain't much this year. I didn't love Nick (was that his name) but his voice had a nice texture and he was different. And I'm not about to start an AJ fan either, but he did bring it last week and then ended up bringing it home. I felt like they were both actually missed this week.
I started this thing as a fan of Phil, Brandon and Chris Sleigh. But the judges were right about Phil. He's got some big notes at the top but he's also got some bad notes on the bottom. And he's yet to sing a song that I love. Brandon has also underperformed during this phase of the competition and I agree with Simon that he chose a very poor showcase for his voice this week.
Chris Sleigh did okay, but there again, it was a forgettable song, sung reasonably well, but with no transcendent moment. I still like him, but I like him less each week. And after Taylor, I'm not really in the mood for another unlikely Idol to make a miraculous run.
Chris and Sundance are a lot alike. Big guys. Big voices. Strongest on bluesy songs rather than on pop songs. Of the two I like Chris better mostly on personality. Sundance might have the better voice. He might have the strongest male voice in the competititon, but I don't care. He does nothing for me.
The one guy who has grown on me so far is Jared. He's branded himself as the sexy guy, and I think it's working. I was surprised at the judge's lukewarm treatment of him this week. But they are right, he is a good singer, not a great one. However being a good singer, and a sexy one is enough to take him far this season.
So who does that leave? Sunjaya, Chris Richardson and Blake. I have nothing to say about Sunjaya. He sang slightly better this weak. He improved all the way from terrible to awful. It seems he gets big vote totals each week, but I have to imagine that he's not going to pick up new fans until he learns to sing better. So it's just a matter of waiting till the rising tide of votes sweeps past his loyal following and drops him to the bottom. Will that happen this week? Doubtful.
This is the brutal week. One quarter of all those remaining go home, but for those who survive, comes passage into the finals where the cuts become far easier. So, if Sunjaya does make it past the reaper's blade this week, he could skip along for several more weeks as other mediocre men and terrific women fall prey to America's fickle voting habits.
So we've got that to looks forward too.
At least this week, the judges admitted that they kind of blew it by picking him in the first place. They sounded like Democratic congresspeople who had voted for the war four years ago.
And then we have out two audience favorites... Blake and Chris R. They have a lot in common. They are both appealing and contemporary. And also, I would have to say that neither has a great voice. I will admit that Blake is a very versatile and interesting singer with his great sense of rhythm, his great gift for stylistic mimicry and his blending of disparate styles. But I just don't hear a great voice behind it.
As for Chris R, he is the emperor's clothing to me. The first two weeks, I thought he picked songs that allowed him to get by on attitude and style. This week he went with a ballad and I thought he was way off pitch. The judges did not agree. Guess I'm stupid or something.
So who is going home? I haven't the slightest idea.
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