American Idol 4, May 3 - Five Will Give You Two

It is the night before Armageddon. Before we begin this recap, I will be looking for signs of tension that must surely exist before the PrimeTime Live segment tomorrow night. I’ll be here to recap that for you as well.

But, before we get to all that, let’s reflect on the week that was. Bo’s drug history came to light, Constantine was dismissed and, folks, I’m sorry, it is not a scandal that he left before Scott! Scott’s fans voted, Constantine’s didn’t. I don’t care about what websites are out there. If you don’t care about American Idol, you just don’t care. You certainly wouldn’t care enough to try to get through on a number for two hours so you can have your own little tee-hee moment.

If you loved Constantine so much, you should have voted. If you didn’t, blame yourself. If you did, you should have voted more. That’s just the way the cookie crumbled. (And, don’t email me to tell me you voted for the whole two hours either. What do you want me to do about it, honestly?) You don’t think Scott should be there? There is something you can do about it. Vote for somebody you think is more deserving.

Constantine will be fine. Pray for the Soul of Betty (Connie’s band), has a record deal. You’ll hear from him again, be assured.

Paula, Corey, Trenyce’s truth she’s not up to telling... oy vay! But, let’s step away from all that, and get on with tonight’s show. There are current Idols who deserve our attention as much as Corey Clark. If not more.

Ryan welcomes us, reminds us Constantine is gone, and chides America for not voting enough. It’s that simple. He tells the Idols that they will be doing two songs tonight. First, they must perform a Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller song (perhaps the greatest song-writing duo you never heard of), and for something completely current, the Idols must perform any song currently in the Billboard Top 40 (any chart).

On we go:

Anthony Fedorov, "Poison Ivy"

Randy - "Tonight I’m really trying to see who wants to win it... not a winning performance for me."

Paula - "I have not seen this side of you the whole competition... I’m a bigger fan of you singing torch ballads, so I’m looking forward to the next song."

Simon - "That was an insipid amateurish performance, it was incredibly out of tune, you must do better on your next song."

Sting7 - Yeah, they are right. Not a great performance at all, Anthony. The song doesn’t really give him room for those flowing vocals, and while he did show energy, more than usual, you can’t give up what brought you to the dance. Let’s hope he hits a home run the second time again.

Scott Savol, "On Broadway"

Randy - "Definitely some bad notes, there were some pitch problems... every week you seem to come up just enough of the right vocals to pull it off!"

Paula - "You’ve got a lot of moxie... I’ve never heard a version besides George Benson’s, saying that, I really liked the way you did that."

Simon - "You’ve had more escapes than Houdini... I agree with Randy, bad notes aside, that was probably your best performance."

Sting7 - He just knocks me out. Scott Savol is telling you, he’s not going! I know some of you are going to call him cocky, but that’s your problem. Scott believes he deserves to be there and he does. He’s used to people telling him he’s going to fail, and he gave a verse to Simon in his face. I have to say I loved it. Couple of rough notes, but this is not a recital, it’s pop music. He delivered. Good for him.

Vonzell Solomon, "Treat Me Nice"

Randy - "That was one of the best vocals of a song I don’t even know... you made me interested – I don’t know that song, that’s the way to win this thing."

Paula - "Any musical producer would snatch you up in a minute, you are a consummate performer."

Simon - "There were elements that were good, but overall I thought it was a bit of a mess." (Randy, Paula, and Sting7 are shocked by that critique.)

Sting7 - I am far more on the side of Randy. I don’t know that song all that well, but like Randy, I liked it because of the way Vonzell brought it home. I really slept on Vonzell early on, and she’s making me pay for it! I can’t wait to see what she does next, which means, she has made me a fan!