Idol 2013: Idol Goes to Detroit

Yep, Paul voted off last week. Not a surprise, as I had him on alert, but still: he was cut too early. I like that Idol has obviously worked hard to not have another "white guy with a guitar" win the show, by avoiding anyone with a guitar... well now they got rid of the last white guy. Not to say Paul could have won, but it is humorous anyway.

I missed the show this week, actually. And I didn't feel like watching my DVR recording until Friday morning. That's what I think of Motown week. So, this recap won't have some of the same features as my usual recaps.

Oh, sorry, it's Detroit week! Anyone from Detroit is fair game? I can't WAIT to hear who takes on "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. Surely, they'd change it to "Detroit Week" from "Motown Week" for a reason, right?

The Top 8: Motown Week Songs from Detroit

Candice Glover "Heard It Through the Grapevine"
Probably one of the better versions of this song done on Idol. And there's a hell of a lot of them! If I had to guess, I'd guess this song has been done every single year. Unfortunately, I'm holding that against Candice. But I love her.

I'm not even bothering with the duets and trios. Sorry Idol.

Lazaro Arbos "For Once In My Life"
Much better than recent efforts. Still not great, but much, much better. At least he doesn't look like he's going to burst into tears!

Janelle Arthur "Keep Me Hanging On"
Absolutely phenomenal. I'm sure Motown purists hated this... but Janelle took yet another tired song choice and warped it into something totally new, contemporary, and fantastic. Brilliant.

Devin Valez "Tracks of My Tears"
Idol's resident lounge singer was a trainwreck on this song. It's one thing to not quite connect with a song's lyrics, it's another thing entirely to completely ignore them. A mess and a half.

Burnell Taylor "My Cherie Amour"
What a strange performance. Burnell does some completely fantastic things vocally here... but also constricts his voice really weirdly at times. Hard to explain, but it's almost like he's trying to add a quirkiness to his voice that does not need to be there. Still, overall a good performance.

Angie Miller "Shop Around"
What even is this? I understand that Angie probably wants to show she can do more than the Colton Dixon type stuff she shines on... but make sure you can pull something off before you try to do it. This performance was a mess in almost every way possible. Yikes.

Amber Holcomb "Lately"
I'm glad this week had Stevie in it. He's really under-represented on the Idol stage. This performance was pretty fantastic, but not exactly anything new from Amber. Wonderful vocals as always, but she's just not the most exciting contestant.

Kree Harrison "Don't Play That Song"
Drop that mic, Kree. Those runs in the choruses? No big deal, just whatever. Just Kree. I do feel like she was holding back a little bit... but when you do what she does week in and week out, why bring out the big guns now?

Wrap Up

Kree and Candice continue to pull away from the pack, and Janelle hops on board the leader train too. Angie bumped off? I'd say so.

Speaking of trains, the Devin train hit a wall and was sent packing, and rightfully so (based on this week, anyway). Lazaro will probably get the boot last week, leaving a top 6 that is probably as it should be. 

Coincidence that the guys are getting picked off one-by-one? Not at all. The girls are just that much better than this season... which I'm sure is by total coincidence, right Idol producers?

Timm's Votes

Obviously, I didn't vote this week, but if I had....

Janelle - 20

Kree - 17

Candice - 13

I like to think week-to-week with my votes. Janelle was the clear cut winner for me this week, with Kree and Candice rounding out my top 3.

As for my bottom three... Devin, Angie and Lazaro, with Lazaro going home (based on the body of work... because he was the best of those three this week).

Idol 2013: The Beatles

Justice served last week. Goodbye Curtis.

Also, the sing off for the tour? Yippee! I totally didn't even bother to watch the performances, because the whole concept is silly. But good for Aubrey, I guess.

I know I bemoan tired themes... but Idol ALWAYS needs a Beatles week (or Lennon/McCartney week... whichever this actually is). I do, however, reserve the right to bitch about obvious/uninspired song choices in the theme. So, there.

The Top 9: The Songs of John Lennon & Paul McCartney

Kree Harrison "A Little Help from My Friends"

Dead. Not my favorite Beatles track, but Kree killed it. As usual. I would have really enjoyed her doing something like "Oh! Darling", but then again, I'll listen to her do anything. Turn down the backup vocalists, Idol! 

Burnell Taylor "Let It Be"

You know someone would do this song. Let's just be glad it wasn't Curtis, because he obviously would have. But honestly, there was a lot to love about this performance by Burnell. For the most part, he trusted what just may be the greatest melody ever written, which I absolutely appreciate. And riffs he did add worked just right. Well done.

Amber Holcomb "She's Leaving Home" 

Bravo to Amber for not choosing one of the big hits that everyone and their mother knows.... I fully acknowledge that I have never heard this song before. Though that said, I'm not sure going off the beaten path helped her too much. Amber seemed tentative at points, and her pitch struggled a little bit because of it. I do love the sparkle in Amber's voice when she really nails the notes, which is quite often.

Lazaro Arbos "In My Life"

Ho boy. Mess and a half. There isn't much working for poor Lazaro here. He's completely out of his element in this competition.

Candice Glover "Come Together"

Dead. Absolutely dead. Absolutely perfect in every way.

Paul Jolley "Eleanor Rigby"

Paul would do the most theatrical of all the major Beatles songs. Probably not the best song choice, but I found it mostly enjoyable anyway. I really wish he found a song he could really connect with, as opposed to a song he could perform... you know?

Angie Miller "Yesterday"

Fact: I did not know Angie was from Beverly, MA. Good stuff. It's fitting that Angie "revealed" during her pre-performance interview that she was a theater kid in high school, because this song was her most dramatic so far. She said she needed to go simple... but I don't think she succeeded. Great vocals, but I'm not so sure I totally dug it. And why wasn't she on piano for this song? Also, I loved Randy's comparison's to Haley from Paramore and "old girl" from Evanescence. 

Devin Velez "The Long and Winding Road"

This would be Devin's song choice. Devin is a great vocalist, but that's about it. Boring, predictable performance... you knew exactly what it was going to be like from the get go. He's not exciting.

Janelle Arthur "I Will"

Now this is the exact opposite of Amber's song. Janelle took a largely unknown song and turned it into a star performance. Sure, there were a few shaky notes here and there, but it doesn't even matter. Perfection, a great way to end this show. Well done!

Wrap Up

Overall, I'd call this a pretty strong night. There was only one complete dud, which is a pretty good percentage from this crop of contestants! And I was actually pleasantly surprised with the song selections this week... some questionable choices, and all the usuals were present, but overall, big upgrade from last week. 

Timm's Votes

Candice - 18

Kree - 18

Janelle - 8

Paul - 3

Angie - 3

I'm sad that I limited myself to 50 votes... not sad enough to up the limit and work the phones, but still. Candice and Kree are in a completely different competition from the rest of this year's finalists, which is reflected in my vote totals. Actually, can we eliminate the other 7 contestants of this show, and just make the remaining 8 weeks* of the show a sing off between Candice and Kree? We can leave Janelle, Angie and Paul for flavor, but it really continues to look like a two horse race. 

Lazaro really should be gone this week, but given that he was in 4th place last week, it looks like his story has been effective. Because of that, I'd put Amber and probably Paul on alert (sadly)

*Not a mis-count. There are 8 weeks left. Good thing that save is in play... meaning Kree & Candice are safe!

Idol 2013: Songs That Need to Be Banned

Yeah, so I'm not all that surprised by any of the cuts from last week. Burnell making it through was a slight surprise, but not really enough to make me ask why. So, I won't dwell. Top 10!

The Top 10: Celebrating the Songs of Prior Winners

Curtis Finch, Jr.  "I Believe" by Fantasia Barrino
I'm jealous of Nicki Minaj for not having to watch that. There was absolutely nothing redeeming about that performance. Ho boy. Ho boy.

Janelle Arthur "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry (done by Scotty McCreery)
Pretty much as good as this could have been, given the arrangement. This is not the type of country music Janelle should be doing. Had she re-worked the song a little bit into what she does, this would probably be better... instead, it came off as forced karaoke.

Devin Velez "Temporary Home" by Carrie Underwood
Ho boy. Devin says he wants to prove he "can do more than just the ballads"... by doing a ballad? This really isn't my favorite Carrie Underwood song, and I like it even less when it's done in the style of a second-rate lounge singer.

Angie Miller "I Surrender" by Celine Dion (done by Kelly Clarkson)
Ugh. Celine. I get this performance... I do. Angie surely wants to show she doesn't need to be at the piano, and that she can be a powerhouse vocalist. The problem is that she really does need to be at the piano, and she really isn't a 'plant your feet and belt your face off' kind of singer. This performance was rather sleepy and came across rather forced. Unfortunate.

Paul Jolley "Amazed" by Lonestar (done by Scotty McCreery)
I really love Paul's tone, but so far his vocals really haven't been quite there... and this is more of that. The song choice is horrible (as it always is). Also, Jimmy Iovine using the whole Broadway singing thing as an insult? C'mon now. Let's just say it... Paul comes off a bit too flamboyant for country music.

Candice Glover "I Who Have Nothing" by Ben E. King (done by Jordin Sparks)
HOT DAMN.

Lazaro Arbos "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson
I really, really like Lazaro. I'm pretty sure it's impossible not to. But that was pretty bad. I really hate to say this, but it's kind of stating the obvious: I'd be really surprised if he's not, at best, the bottom 2 survivor tomorrow.

Kree Harrison "Crying" by Roy Orbison (done by Carrie Underwood)
Kree's tone is an absolute thing of beauty. The upper notes at the end of the song weren't as strong as the rest of it, but that's totally fine. It's only the top 10, but this already seems like a two-horse race. Sidenote: this would have been a good song for Janelle to do.

Burnell Taylor "Flying Without Wings" by Westlife (done by Ruben Studdard)
I'm sorry. If I'm being completely honest, I zoned out for the duration of this performance... just like I did for all of Ruben Studdard in season 2. Perhaps there's a connection.

Amber Holcomb "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson
The end of the intro package was about how Amber wants to make this song into her own... she does it by runs and rushing through it. Well played. It was alright. The top notes were a bit yelly, but maybe it's just me.

Wrap-Up

Two requests from the Idol producers:

1. Please choose new themes. I'm aware this is a new theme... but it's a theme that demanded contestant rehash "Idol standards". Come on, man. Or, at the very least, create a banned songs list. Please.
2. Please set up a live camera on Mariah Carey at all times. The looks on her face when Nicki says/does Nicki things? Absolutely incredible. 

Timm's Votes

Candice - 25

Kree - 20

Paul - 5

Candice slayed a beast of a song, Kree rocked, and I like Paul. My votes are pretty straightforward. Done and done.

Idol 2013: Guys Turn

Girls last night, guys tonight. I look forward to finding this year's safe, somewhat generic white dude, likely playing a guitar, that will win the whole thing! All that said, I'm fine with that. Typically. Anyhoo. Let's go.

Guys Night in Vegas: The Top 10

Elijah Liu "Stay" by Rihanna

Sleepy, pretty boring performance. Adequate vocal I suppose, but nothing that really wows me or really makes me want to see more. The judges liked his song choice, but I really don't think it did him any favors.

Cortez Shaw "Locked Out of Paradise" by Bruno Mars

The problem with doing a song like this in it's original style is that it will always sound like the original, and will always pale in comparison. That's the case here. This was a performance you'd expect to see at any karaoke bar.

Charlie Askew "Mama" by Genesis

Was there nobody else at the auditions or through the Hollywood rounds? Or are the producers trying to make a funny? Also, I'm legit in pain over how awkward the post-performance interview was.

Nick Boddington "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls

I totally get what Nick is trying to do with this song, and as I said last night with Angie's performance, I typically love it. But this was really messy, all over the place. Good song choice, but the vocals weren't there, often times not even close. The honesty and feeling was there, but that's about it.

Burnell Taylor "I'm Here" from The Color Purple: The Musical

This song is such a terrible choice for Idol. There's no chorus to really show the singer off, save for the final note. And also, Burnell brought nothing really new to the song. Pretty generic. And he's done it before on the show? Risky indeed. Also, watch the hand gestures!

Paul Jolley "Just a Fool" by Christina Aguilera

Easily the best so far, and not even close. Pitch issues on the top notes, but got a lucky draw with the background vocalist being too loud. If he works that out, though, Paul could be onto something. Great tone. And look. And I completely get the pop-country path for him. More pop. For obvious reasons.

Lazaro Arbos "Feeling Good" from The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd

Worked the song out in a huge way. This is a song done to death post-Bublé, but Lazaro totally made it work for him. Strong vocal, and equally strong performance. Good stuff! But Mariah is right: a song that sits better in his voice would have made this even better.

Curtis Finch, Jr. "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly.

REALLY? Why do contestants chose this song? It's an automatic tune-out for me. When the opening notes are played, you know exactly how it's going to be sung... and Curtis does it exactly how you'd expect. Pass. Un-PC comment: Good to know Idol filled it's gospel singer to jam down your throat quota! 

Devin Velez "Somos Novios" by Andrea Bocelli

Obviously I'm the wrong demo, but the whole Spanglish thing totally turns me off, puts me at such a distance. Capable enough vocals, but the whole thing seemed so generic to me. 

Vincent Powell "The End of the Road" by Boyz II Men

Again with the predictable, overindulgent, saccharine song choice. I enjoy that he just gave up singing the song by the end and just went for all sorts of vocal tricks and gimmicks. Annoying.

Wrap-Up

I've vaguely followed along with assorted Idol bloggers from the beginning of the competition, so I had a very general idea of what to expect coming into this. I'd read that the guys were a rough bunch this year, but I figured that was overstating it a bit. Boy, was I wrong. Eek. There may be a few guys here that could blossom into a good contestant, but I can't see too much more than that. Hopefully I'm wrong, but this seemed mostly like tired gimmick after tired gimmick.

I guess there is a way for the producers to avoid yet another "white guy with a guitar" winning the thing... don't bring any to the voting round!

THAT SAID, I do have some favorites...

Timm's Votes

Elijah - 5

Nick - 5

Lazaro - 15

Paul - 25

I could get used to supporting Paul. While Lazaro seems like he could be a product of his story, I really enjoyed him tonight, so he gets some love. I threw some votes to Elijah and Nick, because I wouldn't mind seeing what else they can bring to the table. All that said, I'm fully, 100% expecting that Curtis will go through, no problem at all. Hell, he'll probably be the one that is trumped up as the favorite all season long until his "SHOCKING!" elimination in the top 4. But I'm so over that. Vincent will probably go through as well. Devin's got an endearing mother... him too. Hopefully, at least Paul can cut through the noise.

Idol 2013: It Begins!

Idol has finally begun! Well, for me anyway. As I wrote a couple weeks ago, this is where I'm beginning Idol. I could continue to write an intro, but it'd really end up being exactly what I wrote before. So, let's get to it:

Ladies Night in Vegas: The Top 10

Zoanette Johnson  "What's Love Got to Do With It?" by Tina Turner
It's fitting that the Vegas set Idol is working with tonight reminds me of The Voice... because this performance reminded me of The Voice. You know: loud, messy, pointless.... Eek.

Breanna Steer "Flaws and All" by Beyonce
I don't know what that was. I'm going to call that a terrible song choice, because I have no idea what Breanna is capable of going by this performance.

Aubrey Cleland "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie
Nerves? Too big a song for her voice? Hard to tell. The verses were fine, but her voice didn't soar like it should have in the chorus. Best of the three so far, but not spectacular.

Janelle Arthur "If I Can Dream" by Elvis
Randy calls for her to do something more throwback and classic-country... agreed completely. He meant it as a compliment, but I don't. The song is so simple, and Janelle tried to do too much to make it too modern, which didn't work for me. Definitely the best so far, but again, that's not saying a whole heck of a lot.

Tenna Torres "Lost" by Faith Hill
I think a more fitting title for this performance might be "lost lyrics"... It seems to me that Teena cared more about how her voice wrapped itself around the song than the diction. And that wrapping (which is how I can best describe it) was kind of sloppy. Interesting.

Angie Miller "Never Gone" by Colton Dixon
Now this is what I'm talking about. Give me an artist sanging what they believe in at the piano (yes, sanging), and I'm happy. While her tone did some weird things (perhaps it was the song, which I don't know), that performance was fantastic. Call me a sucker, but I loved that.

Amber Holcomb "I Believe in You and Me" by Whitney Houston
Whitney is such a boring, predictable choice. Always with the Whitney! But in any case, Amber sounded pretty good, overall, if a tad inconsistent. At times she sounded like she was trying to emulate Whitney (you will fail), at times she sounded a bit amateurish. But at times, it clicked in a big way. Next time... move away from Whitney.

Kree Harrison "Stronger" by Faith Hill
There it is. Not a perfect vocal by any means, but definitely the best vocal of the night so far. And I love the natural-feeling confidence Kree exudes... I can't even explain it. Loved me some Angie, but Kress is my favorite so far.

Adriana Latonio "Stand Up for Love" by Destiny's Child
Rough. It seems like the whole performance was built around the big moments of the song, and it was really shaky otherwise. And even the big parts didn't work.

Candice Glover "Ordinary People" by John Legend
Not my style of music, but Candice nailed this performance. Absolutely nailed it in every way possible. Sorry Kree, Candice wins tonight.

Wrap Up

Some contestants absolutely nailed it tonight: big ups to Candice, Kree and Angie. But a big 'ole eek to Zoanette, Adriana and Breanna. We shall see how things work out, but there's a pretty clear separation, at least at the top end.

Before I reveal how I'll be voting, I need to touch on two new things to Idol 2013: the new judges and the app.

The Judges. As I wrote before, I really dislike Nicki Minaj. But you know what? I'm eating crow tonight. While I still don't like her whole schtick or whatever you want to call it, I absolutely loved her as a judge tonight. I found myself agreeing with her almost every single time, and I loved how she got her opinions across: shockingly succinct and often hilarious. I also enjoyed Keith Urban, but it did seem like he was coming across as the dreaded "nice judge". I would comment on Mariah... but she was on the other side of Randy, who gets fast forwarded through. Sorry Mariah.

The App. This thing is a beauty. When Seacrest first started chatting it up, I was reminded of the pretty crappy X Factor app, but the Idol one is lightyears better. Why? BECAUSE IT WORKS. Even though I was watching the show on DVR, the live-sync feature works beautifully, giving me all sorts of info on the contestants and the songs they were singing (which is good, because I didn't know a number of them tonight). The app also allows very simple voting, something I'll be taking part in this year (fun fact: I've only voted for Idol once, the season 9 final. Kris Allen all night long, baby.). Also, because of the way you allot votes, that is how I'll be "scoring" each night on Idol. So without further adieu...

Timm's Votes

Janelle - 3
Angie - 14
Kree - 16
Candice - 17

Candice won the night, but I can already tell Kree and Angie will likely emerge as my favorites. I also threw a few votes Janelle's way, because I appreciate a good country singer. Obviously, I would move those three on, with the fifth advancing female being Amber. And really, it's not even that close for me. Naturally, I'll be horribly, horribly wrong. But whatever.

As The 'JUSTICE LEAGUE' Movie Rumor Mill Turns...

Darkseid villian! Man of Steel cameos. Armie Hammer as Batman! No, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Batman! Just kidding, no Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ryan Reynolds back as Green Lantern? No, scratch all that, let's focus on just Batman. Actually... how about Bale/Cavill?

C'mon already. This, amongst many other reasons, is why a Justice League movie is doomed from the get-go.

The Christian Bale rumor is the latest in a long line of speculation, just hitting the mainstream today. The key word here is a simple one: why? Why would Christian Bale return to the role? He's played the role three times to a huge success, culminating in a very satisfying, fitting end. The man is showered with acclaim whenever he's in a new film... he certainly doesn't need the cape and cowl. And from a story standpoint, didn't we leave him in a really good place? Never mind the fact that Bale's Batman isn't exactly the 'call up the aliens and other super powered guys for help' type. It's cheap, it's lazy, and it's a way too many steps towards tarnishing the legacy of a damn good trilogy of films.

However.

A comment on the firstshowing.net article about the new Bale rumors got me to thinking. The comment:

Bale would make sense if at the same time as justice League nolan or his brother made dark knight returns for late 2014 where robin does take on the mantle but gets killed so bruce comes back to avenge him and thus leads into justice League and would definitely be a reason for bruce to name his future sidekick Robin in honor of his fallen replacement!

This... this certainly could work. If there is a good story as to why Bale's Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham, then perhaps it could be massaged into something that works. How about this: The Dark Knight Rises suggests that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake would take over the Batman mantle - perhaps something happens to prevent that from happening (as the commenter says, he is killed). Darkseid comes in, all but destroys Gotham, Bruce Wayne returns. Realizing that he is not the hero the city needs, he tracks down the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash and forms the Justice League, acting as the equivalent of The Avengers' Nick Fury. From there, you could introduce a character like a Dick Greyson to become Batman.

Alternatively, just drop Christian Bale all together. Drop this Robin/John Blake as Batman creation from The Dark Knight Rises. Have Man of Steel launch a new Justice League universe (or have it continue the universe began in Green Lantern). Ignore the whole Dark Knight trilogy. Cast someone new as Bruce Wayne. Cast someone new as Green Lantern if you want to ignore that film too. Make it work.

Unfortunately, judging by how long it's taking this Justice League movie to get off the ground or really gain any sort of traction... that won't happen. And when it will, it will probably be more Green Lantern then Batman Begins, in that it'll be a mess. Which is really too bad.