American Idol 6, March 20: The British Are Coming!

I just want you lovely readers to know how dedicated I am to recapping every note of tonight’s episode of American Idol. My family and I are moving this week, and today, most of our earthly possessions were loaded onto a truck. But I wouldn’t let them take my TV or computer so I could write this up for you. Right now, I am sitting in an empty room, on the floor, with the TV on the floor about a foot away from my feet. My laptop is literally on my lap. And baby, I am fired up for some Idol. So let’s get to it.

Ryan welcomes us to this week’s episode. In the background, we see Simon and Paula hug. Let’s see if they get along any better than usual this week. Ryan introduces the Idols, and Haley is looking rather… bouncy this week. Ryan asks Randy if there’s any excuse for forgetting the lyrics. Of course, he says no and advises everyone to bring their A game. Paula suggests that the Idols “picture Simon not dressed” to get rid of their nerves. Simon asks, mock-horrified, if that’s all Paula thinks about.

This week’s theme is the 1960’s British invasion. We get a quick history lesson, starting, of course, with The Beatles. Many British bands dominated the charts, and there was some pretty amazing bands. This week’s guest judges are Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits. Lulu was famous for her son “To Sir With Love,” with by the way, would be a great choice for Jordin Sparks. Peter worked with the guys and looks as peppy as ever. Lulu, of course, worked with the ladies. She is looking forward to hearing them sing this week. Peter says that they need to show the same enthusiasm as those ‘60s bands.

Haley is up first. She’s going to sing “Tell Him,” and she wants to be more aggressive, less sweet. Lulu thinks it’s a great choice, but advises her to shorten her phrasing, make it more staccato and to sing key parts into the camera. Lulu tells her that “big voices are great,” but that there’s a place for everybody. She tells Haley to be proud of who she is.

Haley, as I said, is looking bouncy in a gold halter top and hot pants. She is showing more personality than we’ve ever seen from her on this show. She looks kand sounds just adorable. She is a little too soft in parts, which is really the weakness of the performance. The big change, I think is that tonight, Haley decided to be the sexy one. It is, after all, a slot that Antonella vacated! This is her best performance yet. She’s not as good of a singer as the other powerhouses, but this could keep her around for a while longer. The crowd, by the way, loves it.

Randy: “That was the perfect song for you.” He says it was her best performance yet, and she has “the yo factor.

Paula: She had a girlish quality, she was adorable and flirtacious.

Simon: “You naughty little thing!” He says it was fun and young, but “a bit shrieky” in the middle. He thinks people will be talking about more than her singing.

Ryan thinks Simon might be in trouble with his girlfriend later. Ryan wonders if it was hard navigating the stairs in her heels. Haley smiles and says it involved “a lot of prayer.

Chris Richardson says he wants to “finally nail a song.” He’s going to sing “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.” He wants to connect, not just perform. Peter says he looks like a star, but he didn’t hear much of his voice. Peter seems to think he’s a bit breathy. He tells him to watch out for his vibrato. He tells him to stick with the melody, adding that it has a great melody. Peter thinks Chris never showed the audience that great melody. He is really quite critical, but I think that means Chris will have it figured out by the time he hits the stage.

Chris is sitting on a stool next to a guy playing the guitar. Sounds to me like he didn’t take Peter’s advice – the vibrato is definitely there. Remember last week when the judges slammed contestants for messing with the classics? That’s what Chris is doing here, and I really think he’d have done better if he’d done something simpler and more restrained. This one didn’t do it for me.

Randy: “Another great performance.” He likes seeing a different side of Chris and says it was a beautiful vocal.

Paula: This was a very smart choice, and he’s playing to win. She loved the acoustics and found it “sexy and charming.”

Simon: “Your best performance ever.” He had excellent control and didn’t make it sound old-fashioned.

Chris says it was hard not doing more runs, but he feels like it went well.

Stephanie, in a hot blue dress with boots, chats with Ryan. Her fan, Wanda, asks what the hardest part of getting ready is. Stephanie answers that it’s picking the right song, since it’s such an important decision. Ryan thinks the energy is different this week. Stephanie agrees, and says everyone is more focused.

Stephanie’s song is going to be “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me.” Lulu says she’s very grounded and sang it “looking right into my eyes.” Lulu compares her to Beyonce, which thrills Stephanie. Lulu predicts it’ll be great.

Stephanie is backed by a huge band, which is impressive. It’s a song that has the potential for a powerhouse performance, and Stephanie falls just short of hitting it.

Randy: It was pitchy in places and wasn’t his favorite. He thinks she has trouble with ballads, compared to up-tempo songs.

Paula: She loves Stephanie’s sexy dress and thinks she picked the right song. A few notes fell off, though, and she needs to have more fun.

Simon: Simon asks how she thinks she did. Stephanie hesitates and says she did well. The crowd cheers, but Simon thinks she’s losing her edge, her soul. He thinks it was cabaret and that she’s becoming too old for herself.

Stephanie admits she didn’t know many of the songs of the genre. She tried her best. Is she losing her edge? Stephanie’s willing to consider doing more up-tempo songs. Randy tells her to just go ahead and have fun with whatever she sings.