AI Top 6: Inspiration, Desperation and Exaggeration

Tonight is the first of the two-part extravaganza that it Idol Gives Back. Hey, I think it's great that money will be raised and that this will go some way to helping those who live in poverty. It's almost hard to be cynical about this when there is such an obviously good cause that will benefit from this week's episodes. But my heart is suitably cold and shriveled. It's not so much Idol that is giving back, after all, but Idol getting Americans to give and taking all the credit for it. If the show donated the advertising revenue from just one episode, that would be Idol Giving Back.

Anyway, on to the show. Lots of heart-string-tugging clips tonight. Ryan in Africa, Simon at a foodbank, you get the idea. Okay, it is hard to be cynical about these scenes, when the kids are looking all innocent and wide-eyed and you just want to scream at capitalistic excesses (Idol, anyone?) and the unfairness of disparate standards (again, Idol, anyone?).

But one can always be cynical about the performances and the judges, so let's just get to the good part. This week's theme? Inspirational songs, or "life anthems". I hope that phrase does not catch on.

Chris sings "Change the World", a song which brings to mind Singapore Idol (I think it was sung as a medley in the Grand Finale). It's a scandalous association, of course, since the song was originally sung by the iconic Eric Clapton. But there you have it, I hear the whole "You can change the wo-orld" refrain and I think of Christopher Michael Lee and Daphne Khoo and the rest of the SI1 gang. Clapton would be mortified. Anyway, back to Chris. He starts on a stool and negotiates the first phrases carefully, placing his voice properly to avoid the nasality that caused such a kerfuffle last week. He sounds good, for Chris. Not fantastic, since he has a chronic distaste of holding a note for longer than 1 second and the ever-present pitch problems are evident. Still, better than last week by a mile. Then he stands up and it all goes to hell. He starts singing from the side of his mouth again and his voice is coming out through his nose and he is doing that same, darn move he always does on stage AGAIN. He recovers at the end, and sounds pretty alright again, but that middle part was just bleagh. The judges are weirdly complimentary and I start to believe the conspiracy theorists claiming Chris to be a Chosen One.

Melinda does Faith Hill's "There will Come a Day", a song completely unfamiliar to me. She has kept last week's hair extensions (or is it a wig?) and looks smashing; that hairstyle is truly flattering on her. Melinda is Melinda, and I make no secret of the fact that I am a fan. She is in total control of her instrument and can therefore pay attention to trifling matters such as phrasing, lyrics and interpretation. The band is annoyingly loud and over the top during the chorus, but she shows what she is made of by soaring above them. It is beautifully sung and heartfelt. The judges love her, but I am irritated by an almost dismissive tone to their praise. It's like "you are a pro and you did good, like I expect you to." Anyone else sings like this and they would be falling over themselves to hail the next coming of Fantasia or Carrie.

Blake takes on the immortal "Imagine" composed and sung by John Lennon. One of the most familiar songs of the 20th century, and one which has received the Idol treatment before. Blake approaches this with no frills, no beatboxing, no tricked up rhythms, no cool arrangement; just a straight up rendition of a classic song. That voice that I want to hear is coming out to play and he sounds like the Blake we heard in the semis. It's not a stellar vocal and he loses control over a couple of notes. This will not erase memories of John Lennon, but I like what he is doing. It is a performance that respects the song lyrically and musically. The judges are divided, with Randy being a bit of an idiot (not the last time he will be one tonight) by wanting more out of Blake, Paula being frighteningly the one I agree most with, and Simon giving praise that is not qute praise.

LaKisha sings that god-awful coronation song "I Believe". Fantasia was saddled with this as her first single when she won Season 3. This is just a bad, bad song. It might even be the worst of all the coronation songs unleashed by the show. LaKisha is singing it very well and sounds better and more controlled than she has since her Top 12 performance of "God Bless the Child". She clearly identifies with the song and is inspired (drink!) by it. It is an emotional, heartfelt performance of an emotionally empty song. I don't know; I can admire the singing but I cannot get past the sheer awfulness of the song. The judges are probably drunk and declare Fantasia to be a non-touchable, an honour which they had herethereto conferred upon the likes of Mariah, Whitney and Aretha. Seriously? For what it's worth, I hate the screechy tone of Fantasia's voice but I think the song worked for her because of the specific context of her winning Idol. LaKisha's voice is far more pleasing to my ear, but there is no way she can make a silk purse out of this sow's ear. On a more positive note, to risk sounding like Paula, her make-up is wonderful and I think this is the best she has looked all season.

Phil sings Garth Brook's "The Change". He is truly embracing the country theme that got earned him unprecedented praise from Simon last week. Well, that's Phil for you. Nothing if not over-eager to please. He manages to carefully mention Oklahoma (twice!) in his pre-song bit. Trying to nail down his geographic demographic? Anyway, he is hatless again tonight which is immediately NOT a good footing to start on. The performance is vocally decent, although his low notes are as shaky as they have ever been. He hits a sweet spot in the chorus and sounds quite pleasant for the rest of the song. But it seems so effortful somehow. He is almost straining every muscle to get us to like him, choose him, vote for him. I think he is trying to project intensity but it comes across as desperation more than anything else. Not to take anything from his vocal, though, which was stronger than Chris's (undoubtedly) and Blake's (arguably). The judges tell him firmly that he should stick inside his "country" box, and good boy that he is, I am sure he will oblige.

Jordin sings Roger and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone", from the musical Carousel. As a Liverpool supporter, I don't even know what to think when Idol contestants take this song on. It's by no means sacrilegious to sing it, of course, but please, please don't mess it up. First things first, Jordin looks just fantastic. The hair and make-up people are doing great work with the ladies this week. Her singing is less successful. She starts off very shaky. Her voice is beautiful and because it is so grateful to the ear, I think it sometimes distracts listeners from her obvious technical weaknesses. They are almost jarringly evident in this performance; the big gulping breaths between phrases, the somewhat squally vibrato and the tendency to slide of the centre of her notes. She hits her strides halfway through and hits a few strong clear notes, showcasing the beauty of her voice. Then the glory notes start and there is some sing-screaming and a flat held note. I think she successfully conveyed the meaning of the song (as she perceives it, which is of course highly individual as there are a hundred interpretations of this song, even among Liverpool fans) but it was vocally less secure than I would have liked. The judges prove again that we do not watch the same show. Randy goes into hyperbole overdrive and insults half a dozen previous Idol contestants by calling this the best performance in the show's history. Paula and Simon are no less enthusiastic, but are at least more temperate in their choice of words. Geez, can this show be MORE obvious about wanting Jordin to win?

There have been a few performances on Idol that have been praised beyond all proportions. Fantasia's Summertime and Katherine McPhee's SOTR come immediately to mind. This performance by Jordin falls firmly into that category for me. But the producers are old hands at this, and I am sure, come May, Jordin Sparks will be crowned American Idol, to the delight and relief of Nigel Lythgoe and company. Then they can truly forget that Taylor Hicks ever existed and actually won the show last season.

Overall, a strange night. I liked the performances, was moved by the clips but was super-annoyed by the judges and the obvious and over-the-top bias towards certain contestants. Inspired? Not quite.