American Idol 3/17/09 was the night for a country music theme, with country music star Randy Travis serving as mentor.
The first American Idol to perform was Michael Sarver, who sang Garth Brook’s “Ain’t Goin Down Til The Sun Comes Up“. The judges weren’t very impressed. Simon Cowell hated it and said he couldn’t understand a single word Michael was singing. Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul said it was “fun” but they missed hearing Michael’s vocal range, and Paula said country music was the genre that suits Michael.
Next up was Allison Iraheta singing “Blame It On Your Heart” by Patty Loveless. All four judges agreed Allison’s performance was a good one. Kara DioGuardi gave Allison props for making the song her own. Paula said it was a rock-solid performance. Randy Jackson said the song performance was “dope”. Dear ol’ Simon Cowell didn’t feel the performance was that great, saying it was a bit out of tune at times, but overall felt she did a decent job.
Next was Kris Allen, who sang “To Make You Feel My Love” by Garth Brooks. The judges were all surprisingly impressed with the performance, even without the guitar. Paula said she was “pleasantly surprised”. Simon said Kris did a “terrific” job and called Kris a “tender dog.”
Lil Rounds was next with her version of Martina McBride’s “Independence Day“. Lil Rounds is still growing on me, but her performance and song choice just didn’t seem right, but I can’t put my finger on why. Is it just me or did Lil Rounds sound off-key some of the time? Randy said it was an ambitious song choice but it didn’t feel comfortable to him. Paula must have missed the vocals I heard because Paula thought Lil Rounds was right on target with the performance. Simon Cowell said she sounded like a girl trying to sing a song at a wedding that she didn’t like. Ouch.
Next up was American Idol Fan Site favorite Adam Lambert singing “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash. I was a tad nervous when Adam first started singing Ring of Fire, because he’s rather unpredictable and no one is ever quite sure what Adam is going to do. Paula and Kara DioGuardi liked it and Kara said it was “strangely entertaining”. Simon said “What the hell was that?!” and called the performance “indulgent rubbish”. Randy equated Adam’s performance as being like Nine Inch Nails doing a country song, but he said it was “fresh” and current. Strange but good is the way I would it, and the Adam Lambert Ring of Fire Video has been a hot search topic ever since.
Scott MacIntyre sang “Wild Angels” by Martina McBride, at the piano. It was okay…I guess. It started off pretty boring, but towards the end his voice soared. The judges agreed that Scott chooses songs that are too safe, just like the songs Scott has performed over the last couple of weeks, and I have to agree. Paula Abdul said Scott should ditch the piano. Simon said Paula’s comment was disrespectful and told Scott he’s choosing songs that aren’t right for him, are not good enough to stay in the competition. Yeah, I’d have to agree with Simon on that one.
Next was Alexis Grace, who did an okay job singing Dolly Parton’s song “Jolene“. I’m used to hearing her strong vocals, but this performance was rather drab and boring. Trying to “make a song your own” is one thing, but this attempt fell flat, and the judges negative feedback proved they agreed. Randy said the song choice was a good one but the performance itself was not her best. Kara heard it the same way I did and said it was a little flat. Paula, oh Paula, said she liked it and Simon said it was okay…
Recent widower Danny Gokey sang “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. I sat on the edge of my seat waiting to see how Danny would do performing this song, but he got through it alright and overall did a pretty decent job. Paula and Simon like the performance, but Simon hated what Danny was wearing. Kara and Randy heard some pitch problems during the first half, but the choruses were great.
Anoop Desai performed Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind” and the judges were unanimous with their praise, proclaiming Anoop as the best performance of the night. Simon said he went from Zero to Hero with that performance and arrangement. Anoop is also growing on me, and I must agree that he did a great job performing this song, but I just think there are better singers in this competition. We’ll just have to wait and see how it goes with Anoop.
Surprisingly enough, Megan Joy Corkrey did a great job singing Patsy Cline’s “Walkin After Midnight“. Just like Randy Jackson, I also thought the performance would be a train wreck, but we were both impressed. Kara and Paula commented on how Megan sang while having the flu, adding that the performance was great whether Megan had the flu or not. Jokingly, Simon Cowell said she should have the flu every week.
The last performance of the night was Matt Giraud, who sang “So Small” by Carrie Underwood with good results. Kara DioGuardi felt the performance was amazing and said “there ain’t nothin’ small about you”. Randy said he feels that Matt’s performance was his personal favorite of the night. Simon said that Matt hasn’t yet gotten the credit he deserves for his vocals and that he outsang Danny Gokey.
What was your favorite performance of the night on American Idol? Who do you think will be in the bottom two?
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