American Idol: Standards Night

This week, AI's theme was "The Great American Songbook", according to the product-placement types who are living in Rod Stewart's pocket. According to me, the theme was "Standards", because I don't live in Rod Stewart's pocket and it's just so much less of a mouthful! In previous incarnations, this was "Big Band" night but AI was too cheap to splash on an actual big band this year.

Standards, next to show tunes, is my favourite genre of post 20th century music (not counting Richard Strauss and Puccini as I think opera is a 18th/19th century genre). I always look forward to these themes on AI, even if the singing disappoints like it did in last year's Musicals Night. Great music, even if badly sung, is still great music. The wonderful thing about standards is that they can legitimately be interpreted a thousand ways. It is a genre that rewards those with musicality and exposes the sub-talented.

How did this year's bunch of hopefuls fare? Before getting to the singing, comments on a couple of the guest stars:

Alistair Stewart is the most adorable baby ever in 5 seasons of AI. No disrespect meant to Nikki McKibbin's and Fantasia's kids. Stewart Jr is just seriously cute, all sparkling eyes and dimpled smiles.

Rod Stewart is not much of a standards singer (voice too wispy for the traditional style he chooses for these songs) but seems a super chap. His lively personality was a welcome change after Kenny Rogers' cranky grandpa act two weeks ago. There is also the cheeky Cockneyish accent and a genuine sense of humour.

The main order of business began with ....

Chris singing It's a Wonderful World.
One-Phrase Food Analogy: Thick-crusted quiche

He said it himself, that this would be a departure for him from his usually shouty, screamy alt-rock stylings (well, he said "belting" but there was some hesitation while he hunted for the right word, after presumably discarding "screaming" and "shouting" as prone to misinterpretation). Over the weeks, I kept trying to understand the judges' adulation of Chris, only to come up short because I could never actually hear his voice through all the smoke, lights and sheer loudness. On country night, he sang a ballad but his vibrato completely hid his voice. Singing this Louis Armstrong classic, I was pleasantly surprised by the very appealing baritone he revealed. So, this is what Chris sounds like when he is singing more quietly and exerts himself to control his projection. I liked it a lot. He had a few wobbly low notes when his vibrato paid a brief unwelcome visit, but his mid-range was strong and very pleasing. The performance was solid if not particularly exciting. It actually worked better if I just listened and did not look at the screen. The outfit was all wrong, for one thing. He dressed like he was about to challenge the Jets to a rumble, and he acted like it too. He was just so damned serious and somber, all the while singing a song proclaiming "It's a Wonderful World". Is it a "rocker pride" thing that you have to be angry all the time?


Paris singing These Foolish Things
One-Phrase Food Analogy: Fine Dark Chocolate

The girl's personality perplexes me; I cannot decide if she is smug or just self-assured, a fame-whore or just uninhibited, shiftless or just versatile. She does seem the type that inexplicably bugs some people while others find her fun. I have described her as "tediously precocious" so maybe my inability to warm to her has more to do with her age than anything else. Whatever uncertainties I have about her personality, this performance leaves me completely certain about her singing: the girl is phenomenally talented, I think the most talented of this year's lot. This was vocally gorgeous, full of beautifully modulated notes and great phrasing. Her voice, with its tonal variety, is just a perfect fit for this music and her interpretation was superb. At several points, I thought "shades of Ella Fitzgerald" and I can have no higher praise than that. The outfit was a bit of a head-scratcher, though. I had no problems with her wearing a suit, which did have the 1930's office-girl look and was therefore at least era-appropriate. The tangerine/orange colour was another thing. Thankfully, she sang so well, I was not distracted. She will not win AI but if she chooses to continue to sing, she could have a hell of a career.

Taylor singing You Send Me
One-Phrase Food Analogy: Microwaved Buttered Popcorn

For such a colourful character, Taylor bores me. Even his spaz attack while singing Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" could not stir me from my indifference towards either hate or delight. I think I just got tired of him at some point, and I can't even be bothered to figure out if he is full of shtick or completely genuine. He bores me as a performer but I do think he is a good singer. His voice has a distinctive flavour which would record quite well. I would not turn off the radio if he is singing a song I like but I probably would not buy his album. This was another perfectly fine vocal performance, with an authentic swing sensibility. I did not much care for the arrangement which was so lacking in pizazz and energy before the trademark Taylor-style riffing kicked in and livened things up considerably. Musically, it was a strange choice to structure the song like that. If anything, the discordance was too jarring for the performance to hang together as a complete package. That said, I probably enjoyed this the most of any of his performances. Even the "Return of the Killer Spaz" during the riffing seemed unaffected and entirely fitting. He showed a real understanding of the genre and I admire that. I even liked the lounge lizard outfit, although it added another 5 years to him 42 years (he's 29? HA!).

Elliot singing It Had to be You
One-Phrase Food Analogy: Gourmet Creme brulee

Even though I hate sounding like Simon Cowell, I have to admit I prefer Elliot with my eyes closed. Not that he's ugly or anything, but he has a tendency to squint his perfectly nice eyes and smile in a most unsettling manner. I know it's nerves more than anything else, but it distracts me from his wonderful voice, my favourite among this year's finalists. Simon said he lacks personality and many seem to find him boring. I think his problem is that he lacks stage presence which again is probably a function of nerves, but aurally, he almost always delivers. The videos might not inspire rewatching, but the mp3s are keepers. Tonight, his voice was in tip-top form, rich, resonant and full of character. This song does not build very much and if executed without style, can be deadly boring. It's to his immense credit that my interest never flagged at any point and it anything, his distinctive phrasing really caught the ear. It was a noticeably 'Elliot' version of the song, with a nice touch of old-school soul but nevertheless remaining true to the spirit of the classic tune. It was like being wrapped up in a comfortable blanket while sipping hot chocolate on a rainy night.

Kellie singing Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
One-Phrase Food Analogy: Rancid milk

I don't usually hate any of the AI contestants (although Jasmine Trias and Jon Parker Lewis from S3 pushed quite a few buttons and Constantine in S4 bugged me initially before I discovered my apathy). I can honestly say that I hate the Pickler. I don't even care if her dumb-blonde shtick is an act; either way, it's annoying as hell. If it is for real; well, I am just opposed to such moronic levels of stupidity on principle and even more opposed to the lack of self-awareness. If it is an act, it ceased being funny 5 weeks ago and she really needs to dial it back. And I haven't even gotten to the singing yet - was it not obvious from the 1st semi-final that the girl cannot sing? She has some pretty notes and the potential to be decent, but she needs HEAPS of training before she gets there. This particular performance was just wretched. It started out acceptably enough, with a few of her bell-like chest notes getting an airing. Halfway through, she went off-key, was ahead of the music and was twanging so badly, she was practically yodelling. It was easily the worst performance by anyone in this season's finals (even worse than some of Ace's more laughable efforts). As for the whole pouting, 'Ah'mm sawree' act at the end, the less said the better. This is such a pretty song too, sigh.


Ace singing That's All
One-Phrase Food Analogy: Soggy Oatmeal

Ah, Ace Young. So desperately seeking approval, so out of his depth. I simply don't see the physical beauty that so many seem to be swooning over, so his continued presence in the finals is rather baffling to me. It certainly can't be on the strength of his singing, which is about the same as the Pickler's (that is to say, not very strong). I actually like Ace as a person; he seems very sweet, if extremely dim, and his need for affirmation is actually kind of appealing in light of the way the judges have been coming down on him. Still, he is not a singer. This was one of his better performances, but at the same time highligted his shortcomings as a vocalist. He was nasal for much of the song and his much-vaunted falsetto was thin and strained. There was also lack of dynamics and a flatness to the delivery. That said, he kept on pitch and sang with feeling and enthusiasm, and props to him for that. No props for the pony-tailed hair, though. I don't think Ace is good-looking at all, but have never thought of him as ugly (I just think he's very average looking). In that pony-tail, for a second, I really found him to be quite unattractive, a very poor man's version of Matthew Fox. The suit was nice enough, I suppose. If nothing else, he made an effort to dress for the theme.

Katherine singing Someone to Watch Over Me
One-Phrase Food Analogy: Fairy Floss

This was to be Katherine's week to shine. Her voice and musical sensibilities are widely held to be uniquely suited for sultry, jazzy songs. In her pre-song video clip, she is shown effortlessly reeling off phrases from several standards. Obviously, she knows this music. On paper (yes, Pickler, it's an actual phrase), I should be all over Katherine; she sings in a style that I usually like, has a pleasant voice, usually picks songs I like and has a vocal technique as sound as any contestant in all 5 seasons. Yet, I find her good performances easier to admire than to enjoy, and her poorer performances usually bore me to tears. This week, she had a good performance which was celebrated to the high heavens by the judges. I thought it was vocally fine but unexciting. She was going for a quiet, intimate performance of this poignant song (and I agree that is the right approach to it) and it ended up somewhat underwhelming for me. There was also an unevenness in the tonal quality, which was really obvious in this crooning style of singing. I think her voice lacks purity of tone throughout her register, with her higher notes usually sounding quite brassy and sometimes even squally. I think she would have fared better on something more sultry and torchy. Taken as a whole, though, this was a very professional and assured performance, and she did show an affinity for the genre.