American Idol Top 6 Do Andrew Lloyd Webber
Remember instances on American Idol in the past when Simon Cowell criticized singers for performances that are too “Broadway”? He must really be squirming in his seat as the American Idol Top 6 took on the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who’s only one of the greatest, if not the greatest composer of stage musicals of all time.
Here’s how I think they fared, regardless of what the judges said about their performances, because I purposely didn’t listen to what they had to say.
1. Syesha Mercado - “One Rock and Roll Too Many” from “Starlight Express”
For the first time, Syesha had fun. She was really in her element singing a theatrical song, and the heart that seemed to be missing from her previous performances suddenly came to the fore, and I absolutely loved the Michelle Pfeiffer-”The Fabulous Baker Boys” homage (you know, the whole singing on top of a grand piano thingie). The best performance of the night, bar none. It would really be a very great injustice if this girl suddenly finds herself in the bottom three once again tomorrow.
Here’s a video of her performance:
2. Jason Castro - “Memory” from “Cats”
Not just boring as usual, but completely atrocious. He ripped the Webber classic to shreds with a breathy version that is peppered with pitch problems. But he will move on to the next round, simply because America apparently has a thing for bow-legged boys with dreadlocks.
3. Brooke White - “You Must Love Me” from “Evita” film
The first time she fumbled at the beginning of a song and did a restart this season, it was charming. The second time around, it has become annoying, even asking the orchestra to take it from the top. Sure, she sang it with much heart, as she usually does, but she is the one who I think would be going out this week. Much of her charm from the beginning has already sort of diminished, and people will always remember her as the one who had to restart a song once too many. Not really the makings of an American Idol, is it?
4. David Archuleta - “Think of Me” from “Phantom of the Opera”
David Archuleta really does have a penchant for singing girls’ songs, and I wonder why. For a while there, I thought he was gonna burst into a falsetto at the end of the song like Christine does in the musical, but mercifully he didn’t. The arrangement was pretty cool, and the song indeed sounded like an acoustic guitar-driven pop song, not a semi-operatic piece sung by a soprano. As usual, another nice performance from the inevitable winner of this season, barring any major catastrophes and David Cook.
5. Carly Smithson - “Jesus Christ Superstar” from, uh, “Jesus Christ Superstar”
It was really fun listening to a woman doing a song sung by Judas in the musical. From all appearances, singing these types of songs is Carly’s cup of tea, and she pulled it off quite well. Although, at the risk of sounding like Randy Jackson, it was a bit “pitchy” when she does her runs during the chorus, but otherwise another stellar performance from the tattooed Irish bartender. Or is she a waitress? Damn, gotta check the facts.
6. David Cook - “Music of the Night” from “Phantom of the Opera”
I was really under the impression that this season’s only surviving rocker is going to pick a song from Webber’s most rocking musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, but boy, was I wrong. For the first time since we first saw him perform, David C. actually tried a balladeer approach to a song–and promptly fell flat on his face, and I don’t care what praises he got from the judges (OK, so I eavesdropped a bit. So sue me.) He doesn’t really have a great singing voice in the first place. The one thing that’s really got him going in this competition is his penchant for plagiarizing doing unorthodox arrangements of popular songs, and very little of that was evident in this performance. Sure, it’s a change from what we’re used to seeing, but not a very welcome one.
My bottom three: Jason Castro, Brooke White and Jason Castro. We all can daydream, can’t we?
