American Idol 3, April 6: Elton’s Songs Say So Much

Ryan welcomes us and tells us it’s Elton John week. There is a clip of Sir Elton surprising the contestants at rehearsals. Every jaw was at floor length. I can only imagine what a thrill it must have been!

Intro the contestants, intro the judges, let’s get to it! It’s Elton John Week!

Fantasia Barrino, “The Way You Look Tonight”

Randy - “I’m sure Elton must be listening somewhere… you sound like a young Aretha Franklin… very very very good!”

Paula - “There’s nothing about you I don’t love… You had the whole place going crazy!”

Simon - “I’m thought it was your weakest performance… there were parts where you were screeching.”

Sting7 - I love this girl. I love that she has tricks we haven’t even seen yet. I love the gospel feel she gave to an Elton John number (Elton says she’s ready for a contract right now.) She’s not an ingénue, she’s the voice of the other woman. She’s excellent! My money is still on her to win the whole thing. So far.

Jon Peter Lewis, “Rocket Man”

Randy - “The jacket is hot… not my favorite vocal performance… seems like you’re getting nervous up there… not seeing that winner attitude.”

Paula - “The hardest thing about Elton’s song is their range, you did reach that higher octave… I think you’re still finding yourself in the competition… not sure if you’re locked in to your own style.”

Simon - “It was average… you need voice lessons… you potentially have a good voice, but it’s not coming out, you’re not growing in the competition… not great.”

Sting7 - He’s getting there. I liked his pitch, I wish he would have sold the song a bit more with his stage presence. Vocally he did some good things, the bad things were minor. I think Paula is right that he is trying to find himself. I wonder if JPL is wrestling with the things he knows how to do versus the things he’s being asked to do now. He’s safe for this week, but the clock is ticking.

Jasmine Trias, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”

Randy - “Are you glad it’s over? … it’s a rangy song… these are the best songs for you… a good job, but overall a little pitchy.”

Paula - “You were a little pitchy… you are best when you color it up and let your vulnerability throw, it lets you slide into notes… when you go for power throughout, it comes out pitchy… you are best when you color it up.”

Simon - “What she’s saying is it wasn’t good enough… you’re not doing enough to win.”

Sting7 - The judges were a bit hard on her, I thought. There were a couple of pitchy moments there, one really obvious one in the low range, but overall, I thought she was great. The good totally outweighed the bad for me, but my curve is not as sharp as some! I loved how her voice grabbed the power notes, it was resonant. Despite the judges’ comments, this was the first time she actually impressed me. Go figure.

John Stevens, “Crocodile Rock”

Randy - “Did you have fun?… it was like one of the worst high school plays I’ve ever seen… I think you’re better than that.”

Paula - “The pitch was off, you hit bad notes… it’s hard to do this on live television… I think it was great that you broke out the box you were in and you had fun… I’m proud of you for taking the risk… you’re going to have to work harder on your vocals and your pitch.”

Simon - “Paula, you should be the first female President because anyone who can make good of that needs the top job… there was a film director named Ed Wood who made one of the worst films of all time called Plan Nine From Outer Space and after making it he said, ‘I’m going to be remembered for this.’ This was the musical equivalent... that was awful. You know I like you, but that was excruciating.”

Sting7 - Bad. Putrescent. I’m struggling at this keyboard to find the words. Elton said that a novelty song like this will go over huge or it will flop miserably. Even Elton seemed concerned at the rehearsal! This was a performance that didn’t even belong in the top 100. The crooning thing was cute for a minute, but John Stevens is wrong for this competition and whatever charm he brought before is turning painful for us to watch. When all this is over, Stevens will do an album of standards and go gold and make a nice little career for himself. But, he is clearly overmatched on American Idol. It’s not for him. Do the kid a favor and send him home.

Camile Velasco, “Good Bye Yellow Brick Road”

Randy - “Not your best performance… was a little pitchy, a little shaky… very alright for me.”

Paula - “That was not the right Elton John song for you… I felt it was shaky.”

Simon - “Somewhere in Las Vegas, a television is being thrown out a hotel room window… That’s the end of the road for you, I think.”

Sting7 - Wrong song. This was not the song for her, she’s too young to put the wistful whimsy into it, and Camile needs to belt. “Yellow Brick Road” is not the right kind of song for her voice, and when there is an obvious mismatch between song and vocal style, you just want to run. I’ll be right back!

George Huff, “Take Me To the Pilot”

Randy - “Mr. Huff… you worked it out, you did your thing, it gets better every week, you are the bomb!”

Paula - “In the pocket… you are just a singing machine… you’re making a sport of this competition.”

Simon - “You were unique, I think you for saving this show from being a horrible karaoke program… you have the confidence…” (audience cheering ended that sentence)

Sting7 - I’m just shaking my head. I don’t know if George has heard this song before this week (Elton said it was one of his more obscure, and he was a little concerned about George doing it), but he took it, made it George and dazzled the world! “Pilot” has some gospel tinges that George built on and took us to church! He’s simply amazing. And he almost wasn’t here! What would this season be without him?