Digital Brainwaves

American Idol 8 – Top 11: Grand Ole Opry

Mar 18, 2009 That's Hot

Idol goes to the Opry, with Randy Travis as a guest mentor. Having been out with friends for St. Patrick’s Day, I didn’t get to watch live, so my votes are “I would have voted for…” votes.

• “…This… is American Idol!”
• The judges and Ryan get last week’s intros again.
• A quick shot of Irish music and green visuals for St Patrick’s Day.
• A short video intro for the Grand Ole Opry and this week’s mentor, Randy Travis, who is in the audience.
  1. Michael Sarver – “Ain’t Goin’ Down ’til the Sun Comes Up” – Wow… damned impressive job remembering (and repeating) all those lyrics. Really nice start to the show.
  2. Allison Iraheta – “Blame It Your Heart” – If it weren’t for the the obvious country accompaniment, I could hear this as a rock song. Allison does an awesome job, and nails this song.
  3. Kris Allen – “To Make You Feel My Love” – We already know this song works with the country taken out, ’cause Billy Joel has covered it. Good work by Kris on this song. I’m usually a little leery of Idol singers attempting to do ballads, ’cause it’s harder to hide problems. Kris didn’t need to hide anything, though — he’s spot on with this performance.
  4. Lil Rounds – “Independence Day” – We already know Lil is a great singer, but something seems off in this performance… almost like she’s just a smidge flat, which I can just hear in the last note. Not bad overall, but I agree with Randy — she doesn’t sound comfortable singing this one.
• Uh, Simon… there’s no apostrophe in “Lil” — it’s not short for “Little.” Try again.
  5. Adam Lambert – “Ring of Fire” – Randy Travis looks a little stunned by Adam. This is a very weird, but rather interesting arrangement for a Johnny Cash classic. It does the job, though, of covering the song while fitting Adam’s style. Definite points for originality.
  6. Scott MacIntyre – “Wild Angels” – I don’t recognize the song, but it sounds really good. Not much to say about it… just, good.
  7. Alexis Grace – “Jolene” – I don’t know if she normally looks like Dolly Parton, but with her hairdo tonight, she definitely does. I didn’t hear the pitch problems that Randy did, but then, I’m less than familiar with the song, so who knows.
  8. Danny Gokey – “Jesus Take the Wheel” – Not bad, but it doesn’t sound all that unique. Thinking Simon might bring out the old “forgettable” line…
  9. Anoop Desai – “You Were Always On My Mind” – Like Kris’s song, this works as a great ballad even when the country is removed. I’m much more impressed with Anoop than I was last week — far and away, a much better performance, way improved over last week’s.
  10. Megan Joy Corkrey – “Walkin’ After Midnight” – Megan gets her country week to shine… It sounded kinda weird to me, but at the same time, it was interesting in its weirdness. At first it sounded goofy, but I eventually warmed to it. Not bad.
  11. Matt Giraud – “So Small” – Maybe it’s a ballad thing — once again, this doesn’t sound like a country song, but it really really works here. Matt does a great job here. Like Anoop (though not quite to the same degree), much improved over last week.

I would have voted for: Michael (1), Allison (2), Kris (3), Adam (5), Scott (6), Alexis (7), Anoop (9), Megan (10) and Matt (11)
Predictions
Bottom three: Danny, Alexis, Michael
Going home: Danny

Tomorrow night: Brad Paisley and a duet featuring Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood, plus the voting results!