It seems the the Idol gods work in funny and mysterious ways. The most hyped group – Group 1 – turned out to be a giant disappointment and flopped pretty badly. Group 2 was more of the same – with the added twist of more than a few favorites turning out to be failures.
And somehow, out of the giant pile of cow dung that has been Season Eight so far, it produced one of the better group rounds that Idol has seen. That may seem like faint praise, but it isn’t: group rounds have, and always will be, rough shows. (I’d extend that rule to all semifinal shows, but they have given us some good showstoppers in the past – like Hello.)
One can’t help but think, however, that the producers knew exactly what they were doing with this group. Save for Lil Rounds, this group was known more for backstory than singing ability. The genre-savvy of us will know exactly what that means: this group was designated to be the good cannon fodder. It had the singers who could sing, but whom TPTB didn’t really want to advance. There’s a giant bit of irony in that the “cannon fodder” outdid every other group.
Fully a third of the performances were, in our book, very, very good. Best of the night: Lil Rounds. No great surprise there, but it was legitimately excellent, unlike the unconvincing wins of the last two weeks. There’s an element of predictability in her song choice, but that’s not bad in the first performance out. Great vocals, and the Idol stylists have had their way with Lil and made her look current – which she didn’t before. Well done.
For someone who got turned down for the Top 36, Felicia Barton did really, really well. Alicia Keys songs are never easy to do in the best of times, and will eat lesser singers alive. Barton made a very good go at it, and made us wonder: what were the judges thinking in Hollywood? There must have been something in the air in that mansion. Well done – but more on her later.
Jorge Nunez really set himself a difficult task by picking a song – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – that’s been sung by four Idol second placers. It’s a long time into the future before we’ll know if Nunez will make it five, but what’s clear is: he sung the song very well, and his vocals were up to the task. The crying at the end will win a few sympathy votes, but he really didn’t need it.
Scott Macintyre has easily the most compelling back story (to me, anyway), and he proved up to the task (mostly) with Mandolin Rain. The vocals were mostly good – if rough in parts – but there’s a unique quality in his voice that elevates him above the rest. It may not be politically correct to say so, but I’ve always wondered if Macintyre’s blindness would affect his performance abilities. For now, that doesn’t appear to be an issue.
The next four singers ranged from decent to okay, but at least didn’t give us any reasons to cringe in horror. I actually suggested Hey There Delilah as a good song choice for Jason Castro last year, so I found Ju’Not Joyner’s choice of it interesting. I applaud him for putting a unique spin on the song, but the vocals were not always there. A good effort, but I can’t elevate him to join the top 4 because of the singing.
Kristen McNamara was another pleasant surprise, since she’s been more known for drama than actual singing. Give Me One Reason was a lot more interesting than the singing itself deserved, and that was entirely due to McNamara’s personality. Not the greatest song choice, but definitely entertaining.
Kendall Beard wanted to grab the slot that country artists seem to have reserved every year, but Martina McBride was not the smartest choice. Martina’s voice is a fair bit lower than Beard’s, and as a result it didn’t sound right at all. What we did hear was okay, but it didn’t show off her talents.
Von Smith laid off the over-singing, but to be honest there really wasn’t much else in the performance. It was okay – not a train wreck – but nothing else to remember.
Of course, with semifinals comes disasters – and we had four of them.
I Would Do Anything For That (But I Won’t Do That) has to be as a weird song choice, even for Nathaniel Marshall. Technically, it has been done on the Idol stage, but only during a results show – by Meat Loaf and Katharine McPhee. After this performance, I hope I don’t have to hear it for a while. Duets translated into a one-singer song rarely work well.
Alex Wagner-Trugman, to be blunt, was awful. Forget the knocking-down-the-microphone-stand bit, the singing was just so-so – until he started growling, which made it awful. It sounded like a parody of a singer, not someone actually singing.
Both Taylor Vaifanua and Arianna Afsar had the same problem – they took on big songs and were simply overwhelmed. It’s a cautionary tale to all the teenagers out there: just because you can hit – and hold – a high, powerful note for a long time does not make you a good singer. Afsar, in particularly, would have been interesting to hear from – a few years down the road. As it is, though… no.
What a mess this is going to be: The nightmare of the group rounds was good singers going home because they were in a Group of Death, while worse ones advanced due to lucky placement.
Well, something like that has come to pass. Easy picks first. Lil Rounds and Scott Macintyre are easily through. They both did well, and with the healthy amount of early time they both got they have solid fanbases that should do well.
Because of the glut of talent in this group, there are an awful lot of choices for the third slot. Felicia Barton was not only good, but she’ll have an awfully inspired fanbase (if a small one, because it’s still quite early). They’ll be voting hard to rectify the perceived insult TPTB inflicted on Felicia by leaving her out of the Top 36. Jorge Nunez’s was not only good, but will pick up some sympathy votes as well.
One person who could play spoiler is Ju’Not Joyner. He was good enough that he’ll keep it reasonably close to the front runners, and praise from the judges always helps. Ask Michael Sarver.
Had he been in Group 2, I wouldn’t mind him advancing, but in this group there are at least two singers – maybe a few more, in fact – who sang better, or have more potential. He should be in the wildcard, but not advance directly.
I really, really, hope that Felicia Barton makes it. I am genuinely afraid that if she does not make it this time, she will not even be invited to the wildcard. Yes, America, the producers could be that blatant.
Here’s why. The producers do not appear to be fans of Barton; they didn’t even consider her top 36 material! If she’s invited back, there’s a good chance the producers will look like complete and utter idiots: either she reprises No One, which will probably be pretty good (even if reprises never do as well as the original), or she pulls out another showstopper that everyone will remember – like Hello for David Cook, You’re So Vain for Brooke White, Whipping Post for Bo Bice, Moody’s Mood for Love – songs that almost single-handedly put people in contention for winning. Barton certainly seems capable of pulling off something that good.
Would the producers really risk that? I don’t think so. Given how everything that has been done so far, this season, has increased the amount of behind-the-scenes manipulation, inviting Barton back is almost a no-win proposition. It would only distract from the coronation of the Chosen One, whoever that ends up being.
Not picking Barton would perhaps be the most disgraceful decision of a season full of them. Felicia not only deserves to go through, sending her through would be nothing short of the proverbial middle finger to the producers – the Idolsphere has had enough of your “rigging”, and we wil not take it anymore.
The Idol Guy picks: Rounds, Macintyre, and Barton to advance.
A final note about the wildcard: Rumors abound that this week’s wildcard will not have any original songs. I’ve never been happy with the wildcard to begin with, but replays would turn into a bad idea into a farce.
If the producers are stupid enough to do that, I won’t bother covering the wildcard. I’ll note the results, but that will happen next week, not this week. If I wanted to watch replays, I’d go MJ or Rickey. It’s something that all Idol fans should consider. If we are unhappy with the decisions being made, let’s make our voices felt in the way that’ll be heard loud and clear: ratings.
Tags: Alex Wagner-Trugman, Arianna Afsar, Felicia Barton, Jorge Nunez, Ju'Not Joyner, Kendall Beard, Kristen McNamara, Lil Rounds, Nathaniel Marshall, Performance night, Scott Macintyre, Taylor Vaifanua, Von Smith