American Idol 4, April 26: AI2K!

Ryan welcomes us. Hey, there’s Heather Locklear with kids that couldn’t be hers! What is her secret?

Intro the judges, flashback to last Wednesday, when Ryan asked what the gang was doing at the turn of the century. Anthony says he was a freshman in high school, went to a party and what happens in Pennsylvania stays in Pennsylvania. Word! Bo says he was doing a gig with his band (wink!) in Nashville. Ryan tells them they will be able to sing songs from 2000 to present, songs of the new millennium, let’s call it. They all look a bit relieved.

Ryan tells us we will visit the hometowns of each contestant so their moms can tell us they were wonderful children. We have no doubt about this, so let’s get on with the stuff you care about!

Carrie Underwood, "When God-Fearing Women Get the Blues"

Randy - "Wow! The good part to me is that you returned to your country roots... pitchwise, I never felt like you were ever quite where the background singers were, you were just under through the whole song."

Paula - "At this stage of the game, you need to pick songs that celebrate your strong vocals and your personalities... I think this song threw away that you had great vocals."

Simon - "(to Paula) I don’t think anything you say is going to make much difference tonight to be honest with you. Mind you, that goes for every week. (back to Carrie) Last week you were completely out of kilter, it was like someone else chose the song. This week I think you chose the song. I personally don’t understand this kind of music... the people who buy this kind of music will absolutely love you after that."

Sting7 - I think I agree with everyone. Not sure what that shot at Paula was about, but I definitely think she was under the pitch. Thanks to Nashville Star, I’ve heard how that song was supposed to be sung (by Erika Jo), and Carrie wasn’t there. Where was the Carrie of "Alone"? I think Carrie picked a song she liked and kind of phoned it in. Bad time for that!

Hey, there’s Clay Aiken, apparently borrowing Will Robinson’s sweater from Lost In Space! Clay says he’s never been on that side of things (in the audience), Ryan tells him he doesn’t need to do anything but enjoy the show. Other than find some socks, Ryan jokes. Heh, that Ryan! They should give him a star or something.

Bo Bice, "I Don’t Want To Be"

Randy - "I love about you man, the words you sang couldn’t have been put better... you are honest, you’re true, American Idol finally has a true rock star! You!"

Paula - "You picked the song that totally describes yourself, week after week consistent, the crowd loves you, you’re honest, you’re true to yourself. You’re incredible tonight."

Simon - "You got your confidence back, second week in a row, the only downside – do not wear the Lenny Kravitz sunglasses. They went out in 1988. Not a good look!"

Sting7 - I think this is the first time we heard a song that is currently on the charts on Idol! Clearly, Bo is fond of this Gavin DeGraw number, he sings with all the fire we know him for. I have to admit I am surprised that the rockers have lasted so long. Good for Bo, but not wowed, somehow.

Vonzell Solomon, "I Turn To You"

Randy - "Second week in a row, you choose the most difficult song we’ll probably hear tonight... you chose a Christina joint, and I mean, you sang it!... America, we’re trying to find the best in the country – I’m proud of you because you sang that!

Paula - "When I heard you were going to sing that song I was a little nervous at first because Christina’s Christina. What’s amazing is... not only did you nail the song, you have this innate ability to connect with the audience... you turn on this magic when you hit the bridge and the key change, and this magic happened that is bone-chilling!"

Simon - "It’s very difficult here Vonzell when we sit and listen to the performance because it’s very very loud in here. I have a horrible feeling it wasn’t as good as you thought (to Paula). I think it was flat in the beginning.” (Randy and Paula disagree.)

Sting7 - Look at that! Vonzell conquers Christina Aguilera! Simon shouldn’t worry, she may have been a teensy bit flat in the beginning, but not enough to mar a brilliant performance. That is an incredibly hard song to sing, Christina is part of that new breed of singer who feels the need to do runs over every stanza of music, and managing to match that (and some places do it better) is just astonishing. Vonzell will be hard to beat tonight! Very hard!

We visit with Heather Locklear and camera-shocked daughter Ava. With some prompting from Mommy, Ava tells us she loves Anthony! She's all of six.

Anthony Fedorov, "Surrender"

Randy - "You know what, it started a little rough, but with the high notes, you’re really good with the high notes, you brought it home, man!"

Paula - "The last point of reference I have is season one when Kelly Clarkson sang that song (I said that already!) in season one and I thought ‘wow, he’s gonna take on a Celine Dion song’ but I think it’s the first performance there was a beginning middle and an end... and your vocals grew with the song. I think it was one of your best performances."

Simon - "You’re a very brave man. I personally hated it, however, there’s good news to come. The whole point is to sing songs that appeal to the people who like you, and that’s exactly what you did with that song. You nailed it."

Sting7 - This kid is coming on! An absolutely beautiful vocal performance! It’s as much control as we’ve seen him display, and he added a few nice touches to the chord change of his own. I remember when a slightly hoarse Kelly Clarkson performed this song and it was chilling. Anthony was right there! I could tell by the look on Simon’s face that he’s going to hate it, but trust me – amazing! Another difficult song to sing. Anthony is playing to win, look out!

Constantine Maroulis, "How You Remind Me"

Randy - "You know I’m always going to keep it real with you, right? I felt like I was sitting in any bar in America not really caring who the singer was, it was high on performing and low on vocals. It’s a singing competition to find the best in America, the performance was a 10, but the singing was still like a 5. It was all pitchy, it was rough for me, I didn’t love it."

Paula - "For me, this wasn’t my favorite song because it didn’t showcase your vocals. But American Idol is also about the overall performance. You’re the one that seems to get through any genre without any effort… you’re still the most amazing performer up there."

Simon - "I think when you left your band and joined the competition, you crossed to the other side... it came across as a bad imitation of the original. Your much better when you were doing your crooning thing, and when you crossed back into rock and roll, it didn’t feel real."

Sting7 - Just like Carrie, I think Constantine has sung this song plenty and didn’t really give this performance the rehearsal it needed. Pitchy all over the place, but he performed it like a champion. This nut is hard to crack. I think Randy is dead-on about the vocals. Simon is probably right about Constantine wanting to replant that rocker flag. He left it, and coming back to it just felt weird. It was the Constantine I didn’t like.

Scott Savol, "Dance With My Father"

Randy - "That song I think it’s your weakest performance in weeks, dude. It was just pitchy all over the place."

Paula - "Scott, you always sing very pleasant, I just don’t think the song did you justice in tapping into the heart strings."

Simon - "I’d pack your suitcase tonight."

Sting7 - It has been almost a week since I wrote that piece about how Scott Savol doesn’t deserve to be regarded as John Stevens Version 2.0. Easily, 3/4 of the email I got back said you are cheering for this average Joe and yes, you do see his talent. Well, my friends, our work is cut out for us tonight. I wanted to love it, but compared to the others who performed tonight, Scott was clearly below the bar. "Dance With My Father" is one of those songs that never fail to choke me up... until tonight. I daresay Scott has a complicated relationship with his father (just from the things he’s said), and this song may have brought more emotion than he could harness. I know he’d want this one to do over again. It just doesn’t work that way, though. (Curious shot of his friends and family, looking crushed. I think they know in their hearts that Scott will be hard to save this week.)

And, so ends another week of competition.

Here’s how I think the voting should go:

1. Vonzell
2. Anthony
3. Bo
4. Carrie
5. Constantine
6. Scott

Here’s how I think the voting will go:

1. Bo
2. Vonzell
3. Carrie
4. Anthony
5. Constantine
6. Scott

I think Anthony and Constantine will join Scott in the bottom three, but they should go ahead leave their stuff on the couch. They will be back. Scott will not. It was a good ride kid, don’t stop working.

Join me tomorrow and we’ll see if I’m right.

Sting7 has been a respected published writer for many years, as a music editor, entertainment critic, columnist, and interviewer. He also has a curious love for pro-wrestling! You can email Stinger at stingseven@yahoo.com.

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