American Idol 2, April 22: Big Hits and Bigger Misses

Joshua Gracin, “That’s When I’ll Stop Loving You”

Hey, where did the country accent go?! Mind you, I’m not complaining. Well, not until he tries to hit some high notes and, well, misses. Apparently, he lost his singing voice somewhere as well. Ick. He’s off-key so much that he needs a locksmith. It’s like without the accent, he can’t control his voice at all. Randy does the right thing in pointing this out – saying he is sharp the whole song and not in tune. But Paula is, well, Paula. She actually boos Randy for telling the truth (now Randy knows what it feels like when he does it to Simon). She says she’s proud that he’s capable of taking risks and being vulnerable. What the hell kind of pop-psychology crap is that? Did he take a risk? Yes. And he fell flat on his face. Sheesh.

Simon says he sang through his nose. He changed his style again after saying he was going country all the way. And worst of all, he’s a Marine and he just did a Bronze Ice hairstyle commercial, and eventually he has to go back to the base and face that! (He’s being funny, incidentally. And he’s referring to one of the “embedded” commercials, where some of the contestants plug a product in a little clip – I hadn’t mentioned it before, but it showed a hairstylist working on the hair of all of them. Yes, it was that exciting, which is why I hadn’t mentioned it.) When Joshua is done with the judges, Ryan asks if there is anything he’s like to say to Simon. Josh says no, he’s respectful of his elders and Simon is definitely elder. Simon takes it well and laughs. But will the voters take it as being pissy?

Carmen Rasmusen, “Love Will Lead You Back”

In the intro for this performance, Diane says is a “challenging song.” Uh oh. As much as I’d liked Carmen earlier in the competition, I don’t think she’s up to anything “challenging.” I’m even more worried when Carmen says the song is a chance to show off her range. I get a mental image of the robot from Lost in Space shouting, “Warning! Warning!”

It’s not as bad as I feared – better than Josh, but that’s not saying much. Better than her performance last week. But that’s not saying much, either. However, I just do not like her voice in this song. I’ve noted before that she has an interesting and somewhat unique sound. That means she needs to pick songs that work well with it. This one doesn’t. She seems to be a nice enough girl, but that doesn’t mean she should win American Idol. Essentially, this is what Randy says in noting that she is not even close to the best singer. She gets this “Oh My God!” face when he says it and I have to wonder – does she really think she is?

Paula, of course, says something meaningless like, “you’ve come back and redeemed yourself.” Diane says it’s the best she’s heard Carmen. Randy interjects and asks if that’s good enough though.

Simon says he agrees with all of them. It’s better than last week, but she can’t win this; still, she’s done well to get this far. (Uh oh, I can just see the Carmen supporters deciding to take him up on the challenge after he’s thrown down that gauntlet.) Carmen gets all wide-eyed like it’s a big shock. Hello? Has she listened to herself and the others?

To make it worse, Ryan asks her afterwards if she can win and she says yes, she can. It’s about coming back and getting stronger, and that’s what she’s doing. Um, no. It’s about being the best. And that’s not what she’s been doing. I mean, I understand that she just couldn’t say, “No, I can’t win. I might as well just drop out now.” But she didn’t have to appear so danged shocked. It’s reality. That said, I don’t think she’s going this week. (See below for more details.)

Ruben Studdard, “Music of My Heart”

Ruben says he’s picked a song that’s different from everything else he’s done. At first, I don’t get it – I mean, it’s another ballad. How is that different? But slowly it dawns on me – he’s talking about singing in a higher register rather than the Barry White type of voice. I didn’t notice right away that this is what he meant because he’s still kicking serious butt with this song. All of the judges agree, not surprisingly. Randy says he’s up there with Clay, one of the best in America. (Again, so much for picking Kim as the best after the first performance.) Paula says he proved Simon wrong by showing his upper register. Diane says he’s great. Simon takes issue with Paula and says that he recommended Ruben show something a little different, and he did – which means he was right, not wrong. (Gotta agree with Simon there. He never said Ruben can’t sing something different. He just said he wants to see him try. Ruben tried and succeeded.) Simon continues that earlier it was a walk for Ruben and Clay, but now they’d better watch out for Kimberley!

So, now it’s time for my ranking. This week was tough. Well, the bottom three weren’t. But the top three definitely are. I once again am having trouble deciding who should go where, but I refuse to wimp out and call it a tie. So here is what I have to say:

1. Ruben

2. Clay

3. Kimberley

Big Gap

4. Trenyce

5. Carmen

6. Joshua

Yes, I thought Kimberley did quite well. I think she caught up to the bar that had existed before tonight. But then I think Ruben and Clay went and pushed that bar a bit higher by showing their versatility and strength.

I said earlier that I thought Trenyce would not last much longer. So, how much longer do I think she’ll last? Twenty-four hours. I predict she will be gone with this results show.

Wait! I hear you yelling at your screens – I put her above both Carmen and Joshua, why would I predict she’ll leave? The answer lies not in talent or ability, but in fan support. I discussed in my article on the mind of the voter how so many people vote based on who they like rather than who has more talent. Well, I think this will be a perfect case of it. Both Josh and Carmen have huge fan bases that doesn't seem to care how poorly they do on any given night. I don't think Trenyce has anything to match that. Add to that the fact that both Carmen and Joshua had such bad performances that their fans know they are vulnerable. Heck, even Ryan appeared to know, as he gave Josh the “vote for your favorites” plug he has recently reserved for Carmen. Those fans will call in double-time to save both. Trenyce won’t stand a chance, I’m afraid.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

Be sure to sign up for the RealityNewsOnline/FoxesOnIdol e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on both sites! For all of the RealityNewsOnline articles about this show, check out the American Idol page.

For more news about reality TV, be sure to check SirLinksALot!