American Idol 3, April 14: Cinematic Drama

Ryan welcomes us. This week, it’s movie music!

Intro the contestants, in the red room, no stroll out and wave tonight?

Intro the judges, who seem positively giddy tonight.

Tonight’s special guest judge is none other than Quentin Tarantino, who’s been all over the place saying he wasn’t going to be as polite and pleasant as previous judges. I’d find that refreshing, to be honest. Of course, there is a video package explaining who he is, and why he’s relevant. He’s also quite publicly a huge fan of the show. He’s a Ruben guy!

Eight contestants left, let’s see what they have tonight! They will tell us their favorite films, and I don’t really care. I’ll spare you. Let’s get with the singing!

George Huff, “Against All Odds”

Randy - “Wrong choice of song for me for you… it wasn’t quite on pitch… I did not love it.”

Paula - “You know I’m a huge fan… why would you pick that song? (George explains he felt it talks about his experience)… it wasn’t the right key for you, it didn’t show the colors of your face.”

Quentin - “You made me forget I hate that song!… you more than any of the other contestants get better and better each week and you own your space!”

Simon - “I think it was your weakest performance… bad choice of song… it was almost flat.”

Sting7 - Vocally, George was beautiful, masterful, soulful. But, I think the judges are struggling with what I’m struggling with. This plaintive yearning George – it’s jarring! Such a change from happy bouncing George. Wrong song, but he performed as well as he could. No damage here.

Jennifer Hudson, “I Have Nothing”

Randy - “You worked it out… it got a little pitchy, but you corrected it so beautifully… good performance!”

Paula - “I’m seeing you shine right now… this is who you are… the only thing I didn’t like was I don’t get to hear you sing more.”

Quentin - “Hudson takes on Houston and wins!… last week and this week, you came huge and now you can’t go back… anything less than this is a D.”

Simon - “Last week you proved you belong in this competition… now you have put yourself in the position to be a front runner… I wouldn’t be surprised if two girls have a doll of you with pins in it.”

Sting7 - I’m trying so hard not to say ‘I told you so.’ Jennifer was great and in the span of three weeks, she took Simon from “you suck” to “you may win this!” She was just dead-on perfect, every note was right, the right amount of brio, very well done. She’s learned to harness that power, and we get to enjoy what a unique talent she is!

Jon Peter Lewis, “Jailhouse Rock”

Randy - “All I can say is JPL is back! He’s back!”

Paula - “This is who you are, this is who America fell in love with… yeah yeah yeah!”

Quentin - “You are the geekiest rock star since Freddie and the Dreamers… when you get in your geeky mode, there is no one else like you!… Bravo!”

Simon - “I thought it was terrible… it’s not Comedy Idol… I am confused.” (Ryan asks why Simon is confused)… If that was an audition, I wouldn’t let it last two seconds, but you lot are giving it a standing ovation.

Sting7 - JPL was great tonight. Yes, great! You know why? He’s doing it his way again. The judges tried to mold him to what they are picturing and it doesn’t work. Even they have to admit that. Jon has a unique thing. It’s not what you’re used to, it’s not what you expect, but it works. The record books may show he was ahead of his time.

Diana DeGarmo, “My Heart Will Go On”

Randy - “You chose a very tough song… it was alright.

Paula - “Not many people can take on Celine…. Good job… not most moving performance.”

Quentin - “You pulled off the notes… but so what?… I felt like there was glass between us.”

Simon - “It’s always a risk with that song… I don’t think the audience gets who you are, you are like an overgrown child… it was automatic and predictable.”

Sting7 - Oh my. I’m not so sure Diana pulled it off. I heard a couple of clinkers in there. It’s the singer’s curse: you start off wrong and you know it’s wrong, and you wrestle to get it back, and suddenly, you aren’t emoting anywhere, you are trying to fix the key. Tough break, Diana is better than this. Quentin hit the nail on the head with the real problem with Diana. She has all the ingredients, but it doesn’t cook up to anything yet.

Fantasia Barrino, “Summertime”

Randy - (Standing O) “I’ve got to give you props… that is the single best performance of any season of Idol!”

Paula - (Standing O) “Oscar winning performance.”

Quentin - “That was the bomb, you are the bomb! And you know that!… you haven’t been funky in weeks… as great as that was, I want to see you rock the house again.”

Simon - “Fantasia, you proved the point with that performance tonight about why we are critical of people who just sing well… there was something magical in what you just did… not everyone is going to agree, but that’s the music industry… fabulous!”

Sting7 - (Trying to pull myself together) Whoa! I have been firmly in the Fantasia camp from day one. Yes, she’s sassy. Yes, she’s cocky, but hell, we don’t have to have her over for dinner! That was amazing. That was nothing short of star-making! Whether you like her, or you don’t, learn to love her, because she is going to be around long, long, after Idol is over. If Mike DeGeorge and I ever update the Top Idol Performances Ever, you can expect this performance tonight to be high, high, on the list!